#111
The door was closed, but morning sunlight gently squeezed through the gaps. Ha-seong slowly opened his eyes. He had to keep his eyes closed for a moment due to the sunlight scattering in his vision. As Ha-seong, who had gotten used to the bright light, slowly raised his body, he finally noticed the warmth wrapped around his body.
“…”
Do-hyeok was fast asleep with his arm around Ha-seong’s waist.
…Come to think of it, quite a lot had happened last night.
‘Ah, I said stop… ngh.’
‘Just come.’
That was the end of it.
Ha-seong couldn’t overcome his drowsy eyelids and had apparently fallen asleep like that. Come to think of it, something was a bit strange. There wasn’t a single sticky place on his body, and he only felt refreshed. Surely yesterday, that bastard’s explicit touch…
Anyway, there was nothing sticky and he only felt refreshed, so Ha-seong couldn’t help but be bewildered for a moment.
“Did he clean me up?”
When Ha-seong turned his head, he could see a basin and towel placed in front of the small bathroom attached to the room. Last night, Do-hyeok had apparently immediately cleaned up Ha-seong who had fallen asleep just like that.
“…Are you awake?”
As he vaguely imagined him cleaning his body by himself, he heard a drowsy voice from beside him.
“Huh? Yeah.”
Do-hyeok rubbed his eyes half-asleep and raised his upper body. Perhaps because he’d slept quite well, Do-hyeok’s hair was sticking out in all directions like a bird’s nest.
“Your hair’s all sticking up.”
Why was it so unbecoming yet funny? Ha-seong burst into a chuckle and naturally raised his hand to stroke Do-hyeok’s hair a couple times. Soon his eyes met directly with the black pupils staring intently at him.
“…”
A quiet silence flowed through the narrow room. Even though morning had come, there were only the two of them in this room, and the two men who had crossed lines that shouldn’t be crossed yesterday exchanged strange glances without either taking the lead. Ha-seong’s hand that had been stroking his hair suddenly stopped, and Do-hyeok slowly closed the distance.
Though he knew what he was thinking of doing, Ha-seong only made a troubled expression without pushing him away. Just as the gradually closing distance was about to mix their breaths together.
Bang bang-
“If you’re awake, wash up and come out! Time to eat.”
Grandmother suddenly knocked on the two men’s door and shouted. Thanks to that, Ha-seong, who was startled, ended up pushing Do-hyeok’s shoulder.
“Yes! I’ll, I’ll come out.”
Ha-seong, relieved to see grandmother’s shadow disappear, turned his head. Though he thought he’d pushed lightly, Do-hyeok had flown quite far and was lying sprawled out.
“Hey, I didn’t even push you that hard.”
“I told you. Please… think about hyung’s strength.”
“Hmm, sorry.”
Whether he’d hit the back of his head, Do-hyeok ruffled his hair and got up from his spot.
“Hyung, wash up first.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
Right. It would probably be better to get away from that bastard right now. He was trying to kiss me just now, right? Ha-seong’s heart was beating loudly. It seemed best to quickly escape to the bathroom before his face got even hotter.
Yesterday they’d done even more than that, but still, trying to do embarrassing things again even after dawn was quite shameful. Had his head gotten messed up from being around Cha Do-hyeok so much? As Ha-seong made a troubled expression and ruffled his hair.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah, what.”
Smooch-
Just as Ha-seong, who was walking to the bathroom, carelessly turned his head at Do-hyeok’s call, Do-hyeok suddenly bent down and gently kissed Ha-seong’s lips. The sound of lips sticking together and separating spread cheerfully through the room.
“What I couldn’t do earlier.”
It was an incredibly nonchalant tone compared to what he’d done. As Ha-seong just moved his lips like someone who’d lost his words, Do-hyeok chuckled and lightly patted his head.
“Hyung is cute when you’re flustered.”
At Do-hyeok’s words to hurry up and wash, Ha-seong fumed but eventually ran away to the bathroom. Ha-seong, who quickly went inside, turned on the sink water and rapidly splashed cold water on his face. This made his slightly heated face feel somewhat better.
“…Little thing. Really acting up.”
Ha-seong sighed deeply.
Had Ha-seong ever been flustered? No matter what monster appeared, even when experiencing the ridiculous situation of a dungeon’s grade rising from C-rank to S-rank, Ha-seong had never once been flustered.
But lately it was completely different. Because of one brazen guy five years younger, he was dying from experiencing all kinds of sensations and emotions he’d never felt once in his life.
Looking blankly at himself in the mirror, yesterday’s events were about to come to mind again unnecessarily. The fact that seemed even crazier was that they’d both done such things while completely sober.
“Wow, they say you never know what will happen in a person’s life.”
However, Ha-seong felt like even if he went back to yesterday, even if the same situation came, he would act the same way as yesterday.
Because he didn’t dislike it. Do-hyeok’s touch, breath, voice. He didn’t dislike any of it. More precisely, it felt good. It was true that such sensations and acts were his first time, but thinking about it now, it seemed like it felt even better because it was Cha Do-hyeok.
“This won’t do. Such thoughts are dangerous.”
Just when he’d managed to calm down, his cheeks were about to heat up on their own again. The fact that his face could easily turn red depending on emotions was also something Ha-seong learned for the first time in his 27 years of life.
* * *
“You were talking to yourself a lot in the bathroom, what were you saying?”
“Shut up. I wasn’t saying anything.”
On the way to the restaurant, Do-hyeok subtly pressed his body against him, so Ha-seong pushed him away. When they entered the restaurant where they’d eaten dinner last night, appetizing smells wafted over.
“If you’re here, sit down quickly.”
Grandmother, who had been cooking in the kitchen, spotted the two and pointed to a table on one side. There were also several other guests visible in the restaurant. Min-woo, who had been watching the two enter, jumped in surprise and quickly ran into the kitchen.
Following that unnatural retreating figure with his eyes, Ha-seong soon sat down with Do-hyeok.
“But wasn’t it uncomfortable yesterday?”
As he took a spoonful of rice, grandmother sat next to Ha-seong and spoke to him.
“No. The room was narrow, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.”
Ha-seong smiled brightly and answered politely. After all, he couldn’t say that yesterday’s events had happened because there was only one blanket.
“No. Not that, the blanket.”
“The blanket?”
Ha-seong asked back, bewildered.
“Come to think of it, that room is for one person, so there would have been only enough blankets and mats for one person. I thought of it when I woke up this morning too. If you’d come to me last night, I would have gotten you another one.”
At grandmother’s words, Ha-seong’s head turned toward exactly one person. Toward Cha Do-hyeok, who was quietly eating his rice.
‘Hyung, they say there’s no spare blanket. We’ll have to sleep together.’
What Do-hyeok had confidently said last night when Ha-seong told him to go ask if there were spare blankets. That grandmother had gone to bed, that he shouldn’t go out—it had all apparently been lies.
“But well, it’s fortunate that you slept well. You two must get along well. Two men sleeping comfortably under one blanket.”
“Yes. Well, we’re like that.”
Do-hyeok, who had casually ignored Ha-seong’s pouring gaze from in front, answered grandmother’s words quite quickly. Grandmother told them to ask if they needed anything and left the two men’s table.
“What was that?”
“What?”
“What do you mean what? You said there was no spare blanket yesterday.”
He definitely remembered. That appearance of telling lies without batting an eye. Moreover, hadn’t he scratched at Ha-seong’s insides when he was about to sleep roughly covered by his outer clothes, asking why he was avoiding it, whether he was being conscious of it now?
“Hyung.”
“What.”
Do-hyeok took a spoonful of soup and put down his spoon as if he’d finished eating.
“I was just taking advantage of the opportunity.”
At his calm words, Ha-seong’s mouth fell open. He was so brazen that no words came out. Was the saying that the younger they are, the more brazen, made exactly for this guy? That meant he’d put on method acting with such lies because he wanted to sleep under one blanket with Ha-seong yesterday.
It seemed not only Ha-seong but also Cha Do-hyeok possessed acting skills that would make a Best Actor award step aside. Ha-seong finished eating without feeling the need to respond.
After finishing their meal, the two immediately packed their belongings and prepared to leave.
“Be careful on your way. The boat will probably be the first one in an hour. That’s the earliest one, so take that one.”
Grandmother stood side by side with Min-woo and personally saw the two off. Perhaps because young people rarely came, even though it was a short time, grandmother seemed to have unknowingly grown attached.
Fortunately, the weather was clear today. The heavy rain that had poured down until dawn as if there was a hole in the sky yesterday had stopped, and now it was a morning with warm sunlight shining down on the ground.
“Yes. Thank you, grandmother. If I come again later, I’ll greet you.”
“What’s there to see here that’s good enough to come again? Just go quickly. Don’t miss the boat again.”
Ha-seong grabbed Do-hyeok’s head and pressed it down while bowing almost 90 degrees. Then he looked at Min-woo standing beside them, but he just awkwardly nodded his head with an uncomfortable expression.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
The two who finished their greetings turned their backs.
“Hey, Cha Do-hyeok. Before we go, let’s stop by Baek Sa-jin’s house once more.”
Ha-seong said to Do-hyeok as they left the guesthouse. After that, the two talked about this and that in low voices, then soon headed to Baek Sa-jin’s house nearby.
Ha-seong and Do-hyeok standing in the yard, looking around as if searching for something. And from between the door cracks, some gaze was scanning the two as if spying on them. Rolling their eyes as if not wanting to miss a single movement of Do-hyeok and Ha-seong, when suddenly the two figures completely disappeared.
Huh? They were definitely there just now, where did they go? Just as the eyes following the two were moving busily as if flustered.
Bang-
The rusty gate suddenly burst open, and Ha-seong and Do-hyeok, who they thought had disappeared, revealed themselves.
“I knew it was you.”
At Ha-seong’s words, Min-woo, who was startled, fell backward.
“The one who kept spying on us like that yesterday too.”
Min-woo looked up at the two with a face that didn’t know what to do, sweating profusely.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
