The Autumn Harvest Festival should have felt warm, welcoming—like honey on bread.
But under the swaying lanterns and cheerful music, there was a chill in the air. Not from the weather—but from words spoken behind cupped hands and tight smiles.
Jun-seo stood beside the game booth, biting into a caramel apple but barely tasting it. His eyes scanned the crowd, and when they finally landed on Kwang-su—freshly arrived, tired, a bit rumpled, but smiling—his face lit up.
"You're late," Jun-seo said, folding his arms.
"I missed you, too," Kwang-su said smoothly, sliding beside him.
Jun-seo tried to stay mad, but Kwang-su bumped their shoulders together, gave him that boyish grin, and suddenly Jun-seo was laughing again.
Yet their moment of peace didn't last. A few villagers near the contest stage began whispering.
"There's that old teacher... and that bakery man. Still acting like that in public?"
"It's not natural."
"Ruining the traditions of our village."
Jun-seo's stomach twisted. Kwang-su heard it too. He stepped closer, his hand brushing Jun-seo's for comfort—but it wasn't for himself. It was for his grandfather.
Mr. Min stood under the lights of the main stage, holding a paper in trembling hands. The contest was about to begin.
And right beside him, Mr. Jin-woo was tense. Not with fear—but with fury.
Because just steps away stood her.
Madam Hye-ran.
Elegant in appearance, but sharp as broken glass in her voice.
She leaned toward Mr. Min and whispered with her poison tongue, "You've really settled, haven't you? Always playing house in someone else's ruins."
Min blinked. "I... excuse me?"
"You're the replacement. That's all. Jin-woo was mine. You think your weak, soft presence can compare?"
Min's hands trembled.
Jin-woo had heard it.
He stormed up to them, fire in his eyes. "Back off."
"Oh? I'm just talking. That's allowed in this village, isn't it?"
A few people nearby looked away awkwardly. Some muttered. One old man crossed his arms.
"You hear that? What kind of man leaves his wife and pretends he's something else?"
Min's face turned pale.
Jun-seo stepped forward, voice shaking, "Stop talking to him like that!"
"Young man," Hye-ran said coolly, "You should learn your elders' failures before repeating them."
And then... Jin-woo spoke.
But not in anger.
In pain.
"You want them to hear the truth? Fine."
The crowd quieted.
"I was married. I had children. And I was miserable. Not because I hated them. But because I hated who I had to be."
He looked at Min, his voice lowering.
"She cheated on me. Left me hollow. I left everything behind and came here, hoping to rot quietly."
"I didn't want to love again. I didn't even want to live again."
Min's lips parted. He hadn't heard this part before.
"Then I met this man. Mr. Min. The village's golden boy. A teacher, warm and good. But he wasn't happy either. He was married to a girl half in love with someone else. Both of them trapped by their families' choices."
Jun-seo's chest tightened. Kwang-su took his hand.
"He came to my bakery after school. I grunted. I barked. I ignored him."
Min gave a tiny laugh, almost tearful.
"And he smiled every damn time," Jin-woo said, voice breaking. "So I broke down. And when I did, he was there. Not to fix me—but to sit with me in the dark until I wanted to light a candle again."
A few villagers looked away. Others seemed to waver.
"It took me thirty-five years to realize I wanted to live my life honestly. Not quietly. Not secretly. And if you think your traditions matter more than my happiness, then burn the traditions."
Then his hand reached for Min's. "I don't care if it breaks your traditions. He's mine. And I'm his."
There was silence. And then—
A sharp slap echoed.
Min had slapped Hye-ran's hand away from his arm.
"I've spent my life being told what I'm allowed to feel," Min said, his voice no longer timid. "I've sacrificed, I've been polite. But if being polite means watching you insult the man I love in front of everyone, then I choose rudeness."
Hye-ran's lips thinned.
Jun-seo raised his hand. "I'm proud of my grandfather."
Kwang-su stepped up beside him. "And I'm proud of mine."
A few murmurs in the crowd. An older woman clapped quietly. A couple more followed.
Hye-ran gave one last sneer. "This village is lost."
"No," Jin-woo said. "For the first time, it's learning how to love."
She left, heels clicking against stone, cutting through the crowd that no longer looked at her the same.
That night, as fireworks exploded in the sky, Kwang-su and Jun-seo shared candied apples under the stars.
"You okay?" Kwang-su asked.
Jun-seo nodded. "Yeah. You?"
"Proud," Kwang-su said, watching his grandfather steal a soft kiss from Mr. Min near the bakery table.
Jun-seo smirked. "Looks like your grumpy genes come from somewhere."
Kwang-su grinned. "Yeah, but at least we fall for the softest ones."
Their fingers laced quietly, and above them, golden sparks bloomed like blessings in the night sky.