Chapter 7 - Caring Husband

After his first night in his new home, Yibo felt energized and very comfortable when he woke up in the morning. Zhan was already awake and had prepared breakfast for them both. They ate together and left the appartment together. And because they had the same route, they rode together in Zhan's car. Zhan dropped Yibo off at the mini market and promised to let him bring something for lunch and pick him up again in the evening.

At lunchtime, Yibo's best friend Seungyoun came to the Mini Market and wanted to know what came out of the divorce hearing appointment. Yibo explained to him in short words, "The judge ruled that Zhan and I must stay married for at least 6 months and live together as a married couple."

"Oh my god. You're forced to live with a strange guy and play spouses?" Seungyoun was shocked.

"Yes, but I agreed to it. And Zhan is honestly very nice. More than nice, in fact. I was able to move in with him yesterday and got my own room. I'm allowed to arrange it the way I want. I also met his parents. You wouldn't believe how great they are. His mother is the author of "The Black Hand" and his father drew the cover for it. We all sat together last night, ate and talked. The mood was pleasant and relaxed."

"Aha so it sounds like you're doing really well with it. And after just one day?"

"I'm doing really well right now. I can't explain to you why. But being around Zhan makes me feel really comfortable. I can relax with him and just be myself. And you know? Tomorrow is my day off and Zhan is asking a good friend to cover for him at the restaurant so he can take the day off too. This is because we are going to buy furniture for my room. He said we'll furnish the appartment so we'll both feel comfy there."

"And that's even though you'll only be living there for six months?"

"He offered me this morning to stay with him even after those six months. On Monday, he'll accompany me to the office so I can re-register there. I..." Yibo stopped as a young woman came into the mini market carrying several small boxes.

"Good day Mr. Wang. My name is Lili. I work for Mr. Xiao. He sends me to you with lunch. He told me to tell you to eat it while it's still hot. And he will pick you up punctually at 6 pm so you can go grocery shopping before you go home." Explained Lili.

"Very well thank you very much. I will eat it right away. Please tell him my thanks."

"I will. Bon appetite." She said, put the boxes down and took her leave again.

Seungyoun opened one box after another. "This smells really delicious and looks great. Chance or fate, maybe heaven, sent you a caring husband."

"There's enough food for two. Please help yourself. And yes, he is very caring."

"You don't seem to mind that I call him your husband?"

"No not at all. It's true. He is my husband. Yesterday it would have bothered me if you called him that. But not anymore."

"You like him, don't you?"

"What?"

"Well, I mean, you feel comfortable with him and you can relax with him and just be yourself. That means you like him, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I kind of do."

"That's the main thing. I'm glad you get along so well. And when I see how he spoils you, I don't worry anymore. I think now you can finally enjoy your life, too."

"I'll try. Sure, we just met yesterday. But I think we're going to get along very well. He treats me well and I like being around him."

Seungyoun tasted a stuffed dumpling. "Heavens this is yummy. The filling is awesome!"

"Mmm. Super yummy." Yibo replied smacking his lips and with a wide smile that Seungyoun liked a lot. He hadn't seen his best friend smile like that in a very long time, and hoped that from now on he would always be able to see Yibo with such a joyful, beaming smile.

After the two ate everything and washed the boxes, Seungyoun offered to take the boxes to Zhan's restaurant. Yibo agreed, since he couldn't leave himself and his best friend would eventually meet Zhan anyway. Seungyoun immediately set off for the restaurant, which took less than five minutes to walk.

Arriving at the restaurant, he entered it and saw that there was not a single seat left. "Sorry, at the moment we don't have a free seat. You're welcome to wait and enjoy a drink on the house in the meantime." Said the same employee who had come into the mini market earlier,

"Lili right? That's your name, right?" Said Youn.

"Yes, that's right."

"We saw each other earlier at the Mini Market. I wanted to return the boxes and ask if Mr. Xiao might have a moment for me."

"I'll go ask him." She said and disappeared behind a swinging door in the kitchen. Only a moment later she returned with Zhan. She pointed to Youn and Zhan went to him.

"Hello. I'm Xiao Zhan. You wanted to see me?" Zhan introduced himself.

"I'm Kim Seungyoun. I'm Yibo's best friend."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. What can I help you with?"

"Could we talk somewhere undisturbed for a moment?"

"Yeah sure. Just follow me. We'll go to my office." Said Zhan and Youn followed him.

Once in the office, the two sat down and Youn said, "I know it's busy here right now and you don't have much time. But I hope you can spare a few minutes for me."

"That's no problem. I have capable staff that can manage just fine without me."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Well, I wanted to thank you for being so nice to Yibo. I know that unfortunate circumstances have brought you to live as a married couple now. But..."

"Wait a minute. So I wouldn't call it unfortunate circumstances. It was a mistake by the registrar. But to be honest, I'm glad it turned out that way. This may sound strange because I've only known Yibo since yesterday afternoon. But I kind of like him. He's cute and kind and I like having him around. It brings me joy that he's there."

"Really? You're not just saying that?"

"I'm completely serious."

"Oh, God, thank you."

"Why?"

"Because I think you're very good for Yibo. When he told me about you and just now at dinner, he looked incredibly happy. I haven't seen him smile like that in years. I wish so much for him that he never loses that smile again."

"Why hasn't he smiled in years?"

"It started when his parents kept pressuring him to finally find a wife and get married. And then, drunk, he made that mistake and accepted that bitch Lara's proposal to marry each other and couldn't get out of it when he sobered up and realized what he'd done. His "marriage" was hard for him. Although they were only trying to help each other with this marriage and were supposed to be good friends, Lara only ever took advantage of him. She never treated him like a good friend but more like an employee. Yibo you have to clean this or that, do the laundry, go shopping, vacuum and mop the floor, take care of this and that. Damn, Yibo has always been so kind-hearted and sweet and always did everything to make Lara happy. He's also so trusting that he didn't even notice how much Lara took advantage of him. And so that I could not influence him, I was never allowed to visit him at their home. If I met him and we went to a bar or something, she was almost always there. And if not, I didn't want to spoil the good mood by telling Yibo my opinion about Lara." Youn saw Zhan's brow furrow and he clenched his fists.

"I understand. She treated him like dirt! And when she didn't need him anymore, she just cut him out of her life." Replied Zhan angrily.

"Yeah, you could put it that way."

"Thank goodness he got rid of that bitch! Now he's with me and I promise you he'll be fine with me. Even though we're only married on paper, I'm a caring husband to him! I won't let him be treated like that again. And hey, you can visit Yibo at our appartment anytime. I don't mind at all! And don't worry, I won't be sitting next to you watching. I can, however, make you some snacks and then leave you alone. And just so you know, when the six months are up, he can stay with me. I don't want him to leave. He's welcome to stay with me as long as he wants."

"Say, can it be that your food tastes as good as your soul is good?"

"Huh?"

"Yibo let me taste his lunch and it tasted heavenly. And now I'm talking to you and it feels like heaven sent you to finally make Yibo happy."

"I don't know what you're talking about to be honest. And it embarrasses me when you say heaven sent me. I'm just the way I am. And because I really like Yibo, I'm especially good to him. Besides, he deserves that after enduring three years with that Lara."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you. I'm just grateful for your kindness."

"Just stop already, or my cheeks will remain red with embarrassment until tonight. Let's just say we both want Yibo to be fine. You as his best friend and me as his husband, friend or whatever. And we'll both do our best so that Yibo can be happy."

"Yes, let's do our best."

"Very good. And now I have to go on working. But before you go, I'll give you a snack. And on the weekend, I'll invite you. I want to celebrate Yibo's moving in a bit."

"I'll be glad to come. And I'll gladly accept the snack."

"Well, let's go. By the way, one of my friends will come too. He's Korean like you. His name is Wooseok and he's really cute. Maybe he's exactly your type."

"How...um...how do you know I'm gay? Did Yibo tell you that?"

"Yibo didn't tell me anything. We haven't gotten to talk about our friends yet. But I saw your rainbow pin. Wooseok has the same one."

"Ah I see. So you don't mind homosexuality?"

"Me? Hahaha, no absolutely not. My..." Zhan thought for a moment... "Don't tell Yibo yet. I don't want him to misunderstand anything and think I'm only being nice to him because of my parents. Well, my parents are huge BL fans. They even write BL stories together. And they actively help in the gay scene. They even provide counseling for gay men and women, or boys and girls."

"Is that really true?"

"Mhm. Before my mother devoted herself to writing books, she was a psychologist. My father took a few courses in college and is allowed to offer counseling, just like my mother. They do it for free and help mostly boys and girls who are confused and don't know what to do. They also counsel the boys about sex, how to prepare, and protection. You know."

"And they do that for free? Are they saints?"

"They offer it for free because they want to help educate the young people. They are standing by them when no one else will."

"That's really great."

"True. But as I said, please don't tell Yibo yet. I want to tell him myself in the coming days."

"Don't worry, I'll keep it to myself. And believe me when I tell you that Yibo will understand. He's smart and knows you don't just care about him because your parents are BL fans."

"Good to know. But now I really need to get back to work."

"All right. Thanks for your time."

"Thanks for visiting." Said Zhan. They left his office and Zhan gave him a box of various snacks as a gift.

As Seungyoun left the small restaurant, he smiled. He said to himself in his mind, "Now I am reassured. Yibo is in good hands. He will be fine with Zhan." Then he went to his car and with a relieved heart, drove back to work. What more could he want than for his best friend to have found someone who cares so much about him and is so concerned about Yibo's well-being?