“Focus on me after the sun goes down, Logi. I can’t tolerate anything more than that.”
He laughed at the tiny whisper.
“You talked about me again, didn’t you?!”
Jeremy bristled once more at the whisper shared between just the two of them. Jae-young dropped his body casually and shrugged his shoulders.
“That’s a persecution complex, I’m telling you.”
“This time I’m sure! I heard everything! Logi, don’t just laugh, answer me! Did you talk about me or not?”
Heard my ass. There was no time to figure out if the person was innocent or just stupid. If he was the biological child of the adoptive father, he would be a member of the same mafia organization, but he seemed too soft for that.
He raised his arm over one crossed leg. With his chin resting on his hand, he cast his gaze out the window, and unfamiliar scenery filled his vision.
The place where they would stay during their one-week schedule was not a hotel, but a skyscraper apartment standing in the middle of the downtown area.
He had heard that it previously belonged to Sa Gong-hyun, but when he came to Korea, he had more or less passed it on to Jeremy. The apartment was also a space where he occasionally stayed when he had to visit Manhattan.
The house was so spacious and lavish that it made one’s jaw drop. Despite being an apartment, it had a duplex structure, and floor-to-ceiling windows that clearly overlooked Manhattan’s night view occupied an entire wall. It couldn’t even be compared to the Han River view apartment where he had been paying monthly rent.
No matter how he looked at it, it wasn’t the kind of interior Sa Gong-hyun would like. Just then, Jeremy boasted beside Jae-young, who was standing with his mouth wide open, that this house was his own creation. Apparently, he had started remodeling construction taking advantage of Sa Gong-hyun’s departure to Korea.
He should have realized it from the time he was flying on a private jet, but Sa Gong-hyun was an even more extraordinary person than Jae-young had imagined. Acquiring such a house in Manhattan would be impossible even if one pulled off hundreds of scams.
Jeremy finally left after even enjoying dinner together. Just spending a few hours with someone more talkative than himself had completely drained him.
Of course, it was partly because he had immediately countered whenever Jeremy picked a fight, and partly because they had fought while continuously emptying glasses of alcohol to see who would win.
“…What, kind of, alcohol, *hic*… is so strong.”
In Korea, finding someone who could drink more than him was like catching a star from the sky, but as soon as he crossed the ocean to a foreign land, he was defeated.
His pride was hurt, and his eyes ached from trying to keep them wide open with half-closed lids the whole time. While he was so drunk that he could barely hold his body up, it galled him that Jeremy, that guy, had walked away perfectly fine on his own two feet.
“I’ll *hic*… never lose again.”
Jae-young, who was panting and hiccupping, sniffled once. He got up from his seat unsteadily and went to the living room.
He looked around the inside of the apartment. Was it because he was drunk? Somehow, it felt like it had gotten wider than when he first stepped in.
His head was spinning, so he sat down on the floor. While rolling his eyes with his heavy head tilted back, he suddenly noticed the stairs.
“…Ah, right.”
He had brought a bath bomb to take a bath after eating…
Jae-young blinked his eyelids leisurely while urging his dull thought process. A smile suddenly bloomed on his face, which had been staring into space. It was a silly grin; if he had seen himself in his right mind, he would have shuddered asking what kind of foolish smile this was.
Jae-young, who leaned forward as if prostrating, stood up from his seat. He found his auxiliary bag among the pile of luggage.
Bending his body as if it was being sucked in, he rummaged through the bag. He discovered the bath bomb he had been looking for while spilling everything from the bag onto the floor.
Jae-young’s hand now stretched toward his suitcase. With difficulty, he unlocked the password and rummaged through the neatly folded clothes.
Suddenly, it seemed as if he heard a sigh from behind.
“Do Jae-young, what are you doing there?”
Sa Gong-hyun, standing three or four steps away, spoke in an incredulous voice. As if the drunk couldn’t even hear his voice, he was only frantically searching for something.
In that short time, the house had become a mess. The way he was rummaging through every bag looked exactly like a thief. It seemed like he was looking for something.
He soon discovered the bath bomb in Jae-young’s hand. Without making any noise, he approached and took out a robe from Jae-young’s suitcase. It was the couple’s robe that Jae-young had said he ordered for the trip.
When he pulled it close to his hand, Sa Gong-hyun let out an excited moan.
“Found it.”
As if finding just one bathrobe could bring such joy, Jae-young let out a stream of laughter.
Jae-young soon sat cross-legged, placing the bathrobe and bath additive on his knee, and began struggling to take off his t-shirt.
Sa Gong-hyun, who had been watching his actions while sitting with bent knees, helped him with this. Judging by his appearance, he seemed completely unaware that someone was assisting him in undressing.
It was fortunate that Jae-young had drunk straight liquor; otherwise, it was obvious that Sa Gong-hyun would have issued a drinking ban every other day.
The way he stood up and took off his pants was so amusing it was impossible not to laugh. Jae-young put on the bathrobe in an instant. Even in his drunken state, he fastened the front flap very meticulously.
“…What a scene.”
Despite everything—bedroom, furniture—being arranged on the first floor, he climbed the stairs. Sa Gong-hyun picked up the bath additive that Jae-young had failed to take with him and was rolling on the floor.
Loosening his stiff neck, he slowly followed behind Jae-young. He could hear him humming from ahead. Hic, between his humming sounds, alcohol-scented hiccups were mixed in.
Following him up the stairs, there was a bathtub installed on one side of the second floor. The glass window placed next to it was like a photograph capturing the city landscape.
This was the bathtub that Jae-young had been eyeing for a while. He couldn’t bear to see Jeremy gloating, so he didn’t show any of his impressed feelings. Nevertheless, he couldn’t hide the excitement mixing in his eyes.
Jae-young approached the large bathtub and turned on the faucet.
“…Huh?”
After touching the stream of water slightly and looking at his empty hand, he let out a small exclamation. Sa Gong-hyun, who had been leaning on the railing, moved leisurely. He pressed close from behind and handed over the bath additive.
“Star…tled…”
Jae-young, who had been feeling his body with both hands, uttered words with a completely slurred pronunciation. He turned around. His blank eyes stared at Sa Gong-hyun, who was looking down at him quietly with his head tilted.
“What is it. Make some, hic… noise when you approach.”
Due to the alcohol, his cheeks had turned slightly red. He would close his mouth firmly and wink one eye every time he hiccupped.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
