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The soft notes of the acoustic guitar wafted through the air, carried along by the near constant breeze that kept the oppressive summer heat at bay.
Juho stole a glance at his husband.
Jaeyoon had hardly moved since they had found this park bench. Eyes closed, face tilted toward the sun, he could have passed for a statue were it not for the gentle rise and fall of his chest.
Apparently, they weren’t in a hurry, Juho thought, trying to fight the annoyance he was feeling. He was all for taking one’s time and embracing the moments of quiet when they appeared, but it was his birthday, and Jaeyoon hadn’t even acknowledged it yet. At this point it was too late for him to bring up the subject without appearing petulant or accusatory. It had crossed his mind that maybe Jaeyoon was planning a surprise, but, if so, why wasn’t he in a hurry to take care of the business that had brought them to Chicago?
With a silent sigh, he stretched one arm out around Jaeyoon’s shoulders and slid his other hand over the other’s, interlacing their fingers.
“What are you thinking about?” he murmured softly.
Jaeyoon turned slightly to meet his gaze and smiled.
“The mustache you had in prison.”
Juho drew back in surprise.
“But I thought you didn't like it. You always ask me to shave.”
“It's the stubble I don’t like,” Jaeyoon corrected, “by the time we met back up in Nambu, your mustache was filled out and soft.”
Juho paused to ponder this revelation. Why was this coming up now? Didn’t Jaeyoon have better things to think about, like why he was ignoring his husband’s birthday and wasting the day sitting on a park bench.
“You know, we were rather limited with what we could do together back then,” Jaeyoon continued, “We never got the chance to explore its full potential.”
“Jaeyoon-ssi!”Juho jumped up from his seat, “we’re in public.”
Jaeyoon grabbed his hand and pulled him back down with a laugh, “And by public you mean a solitary singer-songwriter several yards away who couldn’t possibly hear us over his own busking. Come on babe, you can’t blame me for being curious.”
“So what? Should I refrain from kissing you for weeks until my facial hair is all grown out to your standards?”
“Don’t be absurd,” Jaeyoon gave him a quick kiss, “that sounds horrendous.”
“Okay boss,” Juho said half-jokingly. “When is your business meeting anyway?” he asked, trying not to sound impatient.
“Why? You don’t like this concert?”
“No! I mean, it's fine. This bench quit being comfortable a while ago.”
“Hmm, well it looks like he's wrapping up anyway,” Jaeyoon gestured at the guitarist who was now putting his instrument in its case, “Let’s stop at Starbucks and I’ll get you an iced Americano before the meeting.”
“Yeah, okay,” agreed Juho, thinking about the free birthday drink already loaded in his account. Had Jaeyoon really forgotten? It seemed so unlike him.
The Americano was more bitter than sweet, Juho thought, as he followed Jaeyoon past shuttered offices in the non-descript building.
“Ah, here we are.”
“Horse insurance?” Juho read the sign beside the door.
“Sure, we like to diversify our holdings,” Jaeyoon pushed open the door, “After you.”
The office was sparsely decorated, a few chairs, a painting of a horse, a random fish tank.
“Hello, we are here to see Mr. Kim,” Jaeyoon greeted the old lady behind the desk with carefully enunciated English.
Juho examined the nameplate in front of her. How on earth does one pronounce Zborowsky ?
“Mr. Kim! Some men to see you!” she yelled behind her. “He’ll be right out,” she turned back to them with a smile.
Mr. Kim was indeed right out, nearly tripping over his own feet in his hurry. He looked familiar, Juho thought, in the light blue polo and faded jeans.
“Mr. Lee! I didn’t expect... It is an honor to have you here,” he stammered, ushering them into a back room. The office was cramped with a desk overflowing with paperwork, file cabinets along the walls, and chairs.
Jaeyoon and Juho took their seats while the man worked his way back around the desk.
“I’m so sorry, if I had known it was you, I would have been in early to clean this place up.”
“No, no, Minsung,” Jaeyoon waved off his apology, “we enjoyed listening to your music more than a tidy office.”
Minsung’s eyes widened, and cheeks reddened.
“It was you two, in the park this morning.”
That’s why he looked familiar, Juho realized, noticing the guitar case leaning against one of the filing cabinets.
“You should have said hello.”
“And interrupt an artist? I couldn’t,” Jaeyoon said with a smile. “I understand you have some books for me to look at?”
“Yes,” Minsung started to pick up a notebook from the desk but changed his mind, going back to the door. “Mrs. Z, you can go home. I'll close up when we leave,” he yelled before returning to the desk.
I guess that's one way to deal with an unpronounceable name, Juho thought.
Soon Jaeyoon and Minsung were poring over the books, talking numbers of horses and policies for mortality, medical, loss of use, and liability insurance.
“I have to admit, I'm really struggling with managing the amount of cash I've been dealt. There are only so many horses I can insure.”
“And you can't buy insurance for a dead horse,” Jaeyoon joked.
“Well, we have a few times, actually. If we use these forms, Mrs. Z will notarize them without realizing that the day and month are flipped. But that can only be done during a limited time each month. I’m having more success turning the cash over in my busking tips,” Minsung admitted, “if I could just get enough gigs to make it seem realistic.”
Jaeyoon leaned back and scratched his head.
“Have you ever thought about off track betting?” he suggested.
“It has crossed my mind, but I decided it would conflict too much with the insurance business. It could draw the wrong kind of attention.”
“I see,” Jaeyoon stood up suddenly. “Let's go get dinner,” he said, “and bring your guitar.”
Juho would never have chosen to celebrate his birthday at the place Jaeyoon took them to, not that what they were doing could ever be considered ‘celebrating.’
Play Hard was a mediocre bar at best, its only value lay in it being the kind of place that lonely or bored men could come to watch sports on the twenty-some TVs mounted on the walls and gamble away all their money in the backroom betting parlor.
Jaeyoon and Minsung didn't seem too care, being too engrossed in solving business problems.
Juho stabbed at the limp lettuce in his taco salad and watched the last few minutes of the hot dog eating contest on the television. He’d always appreciated his husband’s work ethic, but he had 364 other days in the year that he could talk about the future of money laundering and NFTs.
“Can I get you guys anything else? Dessert perhaps?” the waitress offered, setting down a fresh pitcher of beer.
“No thank you. But if you can let Miss Kim know that Lee Jaeyoon is here to see her,” He flashed his dimples and Juho was pretty sure he could hear her heart speed up.
“You know, back at university, my friends and I would take turns pretending it was our birthday to see if we could get freebies from bars,” Minsung reminisced once she was out of earshot.
“Hah, well you don't want to start off a potential business partnership on lies. Youngsun is an old friend, but she runs a tight ship. I’m sure she can help with your excess inventory, and her house band is in desperate need of a guitar. It's a win-win, as long a you can get along.”
He couldn't stand it any longer. Juho stood up, unsure if the churning in his stomach was due to the taco salad or Jaeyoon's continued blatant disregard for his special day.
“I’m not feeling so well. I think I’ll go back to the hotel and lie down.”
Jaeyoon’s eyes widened in concern, looking up at him from his seat. Juho could tell the man was conflicted, the way his gaze darted around the room and between Juho and Minsung. Finally, he stood up too.
“You can handle the meeting on your own, right?” he addressed Minsung.
“No, no, it’s okay,” Juho protested. He didn’t want him to pressure him. “It’s not that big of a deal. Stay here and finish up what you were doing.”
Jaeyoon ignored him. He pulled several bills from his wallet and placed them on the table then removed his father’s ring and dropped it on top, “In case she needs proof that she can trust you. I’ll pick it up from you later,” he told Minsung.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Juho said as they walked down the street away from the sports bar, “I can get back to the hotel on my own, and I know how important your work is to you.”
“Fuck that, I thought that I was retired and could do what I wanted.”
Juho smiled. A comfortable warmth spread through his chest as they walked down the street hand in hand. Who cared if he forgot his birthday. Jaeyoon always chose him when it mattered most. It seemed ridiculous now that he’d doubted him for even a moment. The resentment he’d allowed to fester throughout the day melted under the bright summer sun.
“Here we are,” Jaeyoon announced.
“Where?”
They weren't anywhere near the hotel. Juho realized with embarrassment that he hadn’t been paying any attention to the direction they had been walking. The sparkling waters of Lake Michigan stretched out before them, dotted with boats of all shapes and sizes as far as the eye could see.
Jaeyoon just smiled and tugged his hand, leading him down onto the pier. He stopped them in front of a large yacht that had word Paradise painted across the bow.
“She's all yours,” Jaeyoon's eyes sparked in excitement, “Happy birthday.”
Juho's jaw dropped. This was too much.
“What am I supposed to do with a boat?”
“Get away,” Jaeyoon suggested, “Don't tell me you never wish to hide away for a bit. Believe it or not, I know you.”
“But I don’t know the first thing about operating a boat.”
“Please,” Jaeyoon dismissed the concern with a wave of his hand, “I took over the route between Busan and Fukuoka for my dad when I was fifteen. You're in good hands.”
“So, I’ll need those hands if I want to go out on the water,” Juho pointed out the flaw in the plan. Would Jaeyoon be able to take him out whenever he wanted? For that matter, would he even like boating? He’d never actually tried it before and now they had this huge boat.
“Anytime, anywhere you wanna go, I can be your driver,” Jaeyoon promised. “Now come check it out.”
The yacht was basically a whole house, three bedrooms, a full bathroom, kitchen, bar, even a hottub. All of their luggage had been brought over from the hotel, making Juho wonder how Jaeyoon had managed to pull that off when they’d been together all day.
“Do you need a nap before I take her out on the lake? I don’t want to make you any sicker than you are.” Juho noted the concern on Jaeyoon’s face where he stood leaning against the door frame.
Oh right, he remembered what had prompted their departure from the bar in the first place.
“I’m feeling a lot better now.” He slid his hand around Jaeyoon’s waist, smiling at the way Jaeyoon reciprocated, pulling him into a hug, “and I’m eager to see my captain at work.”
“The boat is yours, so you’re the captain,” Jaeyoon corrected him.
“Is that so?”
“It sure is,” Jaeyoon laid a kiss on his cheek. “Shall I take her out, captain?”
“Let’s do it,” Juho agreed, thinking that this was a dynamic that could be fun to explore.
Jaeyoon settled into the pilot’s chair and turned the motor on. Juho watched in admiration beside him as he deftly maneuvered the craft out of the marina and into the open waters. Jaeyoon’s excitement about being on the lake was contagious, and Juho’s concerns about the logistics that came with the gift quickly dissipated. Seeing Jaeyoon happy was all he ever wanted anyway.
“I bet you thought I had forgotten your birthday.”
They were laying out on the deck watching the sunset after a dinner of takeout from Juho’s favorite steakhouse that Jaeyoon had stashed in the galley.
“It had crossed my mind,” Juho admitted, “You were really convincing.”
“I’m really sorry. I knew that if I acknowledged it, then I wouldn’t be able to focus on work, so I tried cramming too much into the day, so I could devote the rest of our time to you.”
“That makes no sense.”
“I realize that now,” Jaeyoon sighed, “and I could have course-corrected earlier, but I got caught up in what I was doing.”
Juho reached over for Jaeyoon’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
“And I could have had a better mood about it.”
“Great, now that we admit we were both in the wrong, I think we need to make up to each other,” Jaeyoon rolled over and snuggled into him.
He was so beautiful, Juho thought, gazing lovingly at his face. He traced Jaeyoon’s lips with his thumb before capturing them in a soft languid kiss.
BANG!
Juho jumped back at the sudden sound of explosions.
Jaeyoon propped himself up on his elbows and laughed.
“It’s just the fireworks, scaredy cat.”
Huh ? Juho watched in amazement as the fireworks lit up the night sky in every direction.
“Was this you too?” he asked.
“If planning on being in America on July 4th counts,” Jaeyoon grinned, “Happy birthday, my love.”