‘Aigoo! Why did you get veggies when I told you not to? You can’t cook them well...’ Jiyong looked into the bags Seungri carried in, pouting, ‘Don’t tell me you are going to try and cook them...’

‘Kwon Jiyong, I am only treating your friend because I’m giving you face! Beggers can’t be choosers!’

Seungri placed the vegetables he bought on the table. ‘Stirfrying cabbage, xiao bai cai and a wintermelon dish, these shouldn’t be that hard. I will leave the short ribs and fish to you,’ he rolled up his sleeves. This time he definitely had to do them well, otherwise Jiyong would about his previous lackluster efforts for the rest of their lives.

‘Er...’ Jiyong looked at the bunch of greens on the table, ‘Don’t tell me you are preparing all these for my friend?’

‘What’s wrong with vegetables? If cooked well, they are tasty too. I also bought fish and meat,’ Seungri said as he tried to fire up the stove.

‘But you can’t cook them well,’ Jiyong squatted next to Seungri and helped him with the fire.

‘Anyway, just treat him like a normal friend ok?’ Jiyong said after seeing unwillingness flashed across Seungri’s face.

Seungri nodded, he wasn’t too happy about Jiyong’s connections with these ‘friends’. Who knows if they would be their future enemies, so it’s best to stay away.

‘Such a good boy, come here, gimme a kiss,’ Jiyong Seungri’s head.

‘Knock knock,’ Choi Seunghyun stood at the doorway of the kitchen. ‘Is it ok to leave the shop unwatched while you two lovebirds flirt back here?’

‘Choi Seunghyun, you go and watch the shop. Don’t come in here,’ Jiyong gestured at him to leave.

Choi walked into the kitchen,‘Eh, boss, you shouldn’t be like this.’ He looked at the bunches of vegetables, ‘Jiyong, you can’t be just feeding me that right?’

Seungri kept quiet and started to prepare the food. Jiyong said curtly to Choi Seunghyun, ‘You are lucky we are giving you food. Besides, can’t you see the meat over there?’

Choi looked over at the expressionless Lee Seunghyun and tactfully left the kitchen.

He went and sat down to people watch, enjoying the mundane. He perused the things in the shop - a simple tea set, two ordinary stools, nothing special, yet holding special meaning. This period of simple living must have been treasured greatly by the two of them.

Maybe it was the cold look on Choi’s face but until Jiyong called him over for dinner, there was not a single customer. Jiyong took the opportunity to close for the day since it was also cold, there were not many people shopping around on the streets.

As Jiyong busied around, carrying the table to use for dining into the courtyard, wiping it clean diligently, helping Lee Seunghyun with the dishes, Choi stood there watching him - Kwon Jiyong, a man above thousands, one who planned ahead of many. He had never seen this side of Jiyong before, helping out, cleaning with his own hands, carrying the dishes because he was afraid that the other might get burnt. Yet all this seemed so natural.

Initially Choi Seunghyun hadn’t planned on interacting much with Lee Seunghyun. For people with the same goals, they become friends, while for people in opposition, the end could not be good.

If he had known that Kwon Jiyong would become like this, he would never have agreed for him to come and look for Lee Seunghyun. Lee Seunghyun would only become Jiyong’s weakness.

To him, the two of them were being silly. A thing like love, if they just grit their teeth, it would have just slowly faded with the passing of time. Yet, they chose to be together.

Didn’t they understand this is like quenching thirst with poison?

‘Choi Seunghyung,’ Jiyong called, breaking Choi’s thoughts, ‘what are you daydreaming about? Come and eat!’

Choi Seunghyun took a flask of wine and sat down, ‘Let’s share this.’

Seungri shook his head, ‘You two go ahead. After dinner, I plan to put up the signboard.’

‘Ok, then I will just have a bit and later I can help you with the signboard,’ Jiyong turned to look at Choi, ‘We can drink more later in the night. Last one standing wins!’

Nodding, Choi Seunghyun said, ‘These dishes don’t go well with wine anyway. I will go and grab some snacks later.’

Seungri’s head shot up, ‘Esteemed guest, all these dishes are prepared for you specially. You need to finish them all.’

Choi looked at Seungi doubtfully and picked up a piece of meat. He chewed it carefully and nodded. He then ate some vegetables and seemed to swallow them with more difficulty. ‘Better than I expected,’ he said and silently started to eat.

Seungri suddenly felt bad, as he watched Choi dig in. He had purposely added more salt into the vegetables, yet Choi ate them up without saying anything.

‘Why are you watching him eat so intently,’ Jiyong tapped at Seungri’s head angstily.

‘Jealous, wife?’ Seungri grinned and leaned closer to Jiyong, who nodded.

Seungri couldn’t help but smile, ‘Don’t think too much.’

Choi who had a mouthful of food in his mouth, almost choked. WIFE?! He stared wide-eyed at Jiyong, in disbelief. Sigh brother, you’ve let me down.

Jiyong noticed the look on Choi Seunghyun’s face and realised instantly the misunderstanding. Before he could explain, Choi spoke first, ‘Well, Jiyong, this was a surprise...but I will try my best to accept it.’

‘Choi Seunghyun you misunderstood! He called me ‘wife’ by habit! I...’ Jiyong glanced at Seungri, and was embarrassed to speak about such matters so openly. He breathed in deeply, ‘Okay, whatever you think.’

Seungri broke out into laughter at Jiyong’s red face, ‘Wife, I’m done eating. You guys chat, I will go and check if the signboard is ready.’

‘I will go help you later, the signboard should be put up by two of us.’ Jiyong turned to Choi, ‘You finish this by yourself.’

Coincidentally, the signboard was delivered just as Seungri opened the door. Happily, he brought it in and went to take down the old one. Just as he climbed up the ladder, Jiyong was there smiling, arms open. Seungri passed him the old signboard and Jiyong handed him the new one. The two of them worked in tandem, something which made Choi unconfortable. He sighed and walked out to check out the new board.

Seungri got off the ladder excitedly, Jiyong’s grip keeping him steady. Both of them went to join Choi Seunghyun. Jiyong smiled tenderly at Seungri, still holding his hand, ‘Shopowner, Yong-hyun Wines is now officially open.’

Seungri laughed happily, ‘Yes, prosperity to Yong-hyun Wines!’

===

thanks to everyone for your kind comments ^^ I'm so grateful that there are people still looking forward to this!

Regarding names, in the original text, they are all addressed by their full names, ie Kwon Jiyong, Lee Seunghyun etc. But here as I'm lazy to type lol I just use 'Seungri' and 'Choi' except in speech where I follow the original. Sorry for any confusion!