Chapter 16
Yuwon couldn’t wake up for a while even after taking the medicine. He wondered if maybe the medicine was useless too, but that didn’t seem to be the case since his burning fever had subsided and his breathing had noticeably stabilized.
Judging that he had fallen asleep intoxicated by the medicine, Jeonghyeok didn’t leave the bedside. Nursing a grown man at this age was absurd, but he was concerned that leaving him alone would weigh on his mind.
Eventually, two hours passed, and Yuwon opened his eyes only after sweating so much that the bed was soaked.
“Ajeossi…?”
Yuwon blinked his dazed eyes like someone dreaming. He wondered if he was seeing things again, but the man before him didn’t disappear.
“Are you a bit more lucid now?”
“What… how did this, ugh.”
Before he could finish speaking, sharp pain flowed down his spine. Now that his fever had gone down, he could finally feel the pain in his waist and buttocks.
“Just lie still.”
Jeonghyeok picked up the fallen towel as he spoke. Then he went to the bathroom to wet the towel and casually placed it on Yuwon’s forehead.
“Thank you.”
“For what? Giving you disease and then medicine?”
Taking care of Yuwon now was an apology for what he had done last night. Nothing more, nothing less, so there was no need to accept thanks.
Jeonghyeok, who had been looking at Yuwon lying obediently, finally got up from the bed. He needed to move quickly since he was already two hours late for work.
Yuwon asked Jeonghyeok, who was moving away:
“Where are you going?”
“Work. Go home when you feel better.”
Was he telling him to stay alone in a house without the owner? Yuwon made a slightly troubled expression, then hastily sat up. Thanks to that, he had to feel the back pain he had just experienced once more.
When he made an “ugh” sound, Jeonghyeok scrunched up his face and scolded Yuwon.
“Didn’t you hear me tell you to lie down?”
“No. That’s not it…”
Sitting up properly made his buttocks hurt terribly, but Yuwon didn’t give up and continued speaking.
“Please give me your number, ajeossi.”
At his clear words, Jeonghyeok slightly furrowed his brow.
“Why do you need that?”
Why, indeed. It was such an obvious request that he hadn’t thought of a reason.
In Yuwon’s values, sexual relations meant becoming special with that person just by themselves. Since there was no way to become physically closer than this, now all that remained was to become mentally closer.
Where he was, who he was with, what he was doing. He wanted to ask about all the things he had always been curious about without holding back anymore. He wanted to gradually become intimate and special with ajeossi like that.
“Because we need to… contact each other from now on.”
“……”
But Jeonghyeok’s reaction was somehow strange. It was an expression like “what do you need a phone number for?” Even when he waited patiently, no proper answer came, so Yuwon’s face gradually distorted.
Could this ajeossi possibly…
“Were you planning to sleep with me once and be done with it?”
At the pointed question, Jeonghyeok still chose silence. Because it wasn’t entirely wrong.
Yesterday’s incident was clearly a mistake. A mistake that should never be committed again. Above all, his instinct told him he shouldn’t keep getting entangled with this bewitching guy. Just by making a relationship with a man possible – something he never thought he’d do in his life – Yuwon was a dangerous person to him.
When Jeonghyeok kept his mouth tightly shut, Yuwon glared and argued:
“Are you trash, ajeossi?”
“What? Trash?”
“You are trash. Having fun with a young kid for a day and then just throwing them away – isn’t that what this is right now?”
The sharp criticism left him breathless. Jeonghyeok couldn’t say anything. Was this guy really the same one who had hugged him with an innocent face yesterday? He seemed like a different person.
What’s more, there wasn’t a single thing wrong with what he said. Having fun with a young kid for a day and throwing them away – anyone would call that trash.
“It was my first time. It was my first time, but…”
“Hey, Kim Yuwon.”
“This is really too much…”
Looking at Yuwon, who was about to cry, Jeonghyeok felt dizzy with complex emotions.
After thinking for a moment, Jeonghyeok scratched the back of his head and took out his phone.
“Okay, okay. I’ll give it to you. I’ll give you my phone number, so just be quiet.”
“Really?”
“…Yeah.”
Though he felt like he was being had, giving a phone number itself didn’t have any particular meaning, right? He could just casually answer calls.
Jeonghyeok went to the contacts screen on his phone and held it out to Yuwon.
“Enter your number.”
The gloomy expression from just moments ago was nowhere to be found – Yuwon pressed his number into Jeonghyeok’s phone with a bright face. Then he even made a call to definitely save Jeonghyeok’s phone number in his own phone.
“Here.”
He had planned to just take Yuwon’s phone number and casually say he’d contact him later, but Yuwon’s shrewd actions made that impossible.
Jeonghyeok quietly looked down at the phone number Yuwon had entered. Then he slowly typed in the three characters: Kim Yuwon.
When he pressed the save button, the round name that appeared on the screen poked at his eyes. Jeonghyeok, who stuffed his phone into his pocket, let out a hollow laugh. It was a self-deprecating laugh.
***
Hmm, mmm, hmm, mmm.
Humming kept flowing out without him realizing it. While washing the overflowing bowls and plates, Yuwon hummed pop songs he used to enjoy singing as a child.
Even though his back was still stiff and his buttocks ached since yesterday’s incident, such pain was nothing. He kept smiling and felt elated all day as if floating on clouds. Just the fact that Jeonghyeok’s phone number was saved in the phone in his apron pocket was enough for that.
Whenever memories of last night crossed his mind, his face would flare up. The black eyes and rough breathing of the man consumed by lust still seemed to be pressing down on his body. The tingling sensation at the tips of his hands and feet, the feeling of hot pulsing racing from his chest to the top of his head.
This was the first time he had felt such uncontrollable emotions, but Yuwon could know for certain. This wasn’t curiosity or simple fondness. It was an intense attraction that desired union.
“Yuwon, hi.”
“Hello, noona.”
Sohyeon, who had come to work in the afternoon, entered the kitchen. Yuwon, who bowed his head in greeting, continued with his dishwashing. He also resumed humming the song that had been interrupted.
Sohyeon watched such a Yuwon carefully and asked:
“Did something good happen today?”
“What?”
“You’re smiling right now. I wondered if something good happened.”
When Yuwon just hung his head without any particular answer, Sohyeon’s eyes widened as she made a fuss.
“What, what? Did something really good happen?”
“…No, nothing like that.”
Even as he said that, his face was turning red. Sohyeon poked Yuwon’s sides.
“Your problem is that you can’t hide your expressions.”
“Do I really do that?”
“Totally. You’re at the level of walking around with ‘I have something happy’ written on your forehead.”
He had always been full of worries, but now that his expression had brightened, his already handsome face looked even more radiant.
“Smile like that from now on. It looks much better.”
Yuwon replied “thank you” in a small voice. It was only a matter of time before both his cheeks turned reddish.
Was it that obvious? He thought he was acting the same as usual, but apparently it couldn’t be hidden.
After Sohyeon left the kitchen, Yuwon finished the dishwashing and then took out the phone he had put in his apron pocket.
After tapping the screen a few times, Jeonghyeok’s phone number appeared. He wanted to call, but he couldn’t.
After thinking for a moment, Yuwon sent him a message.
[Did you have lunch?]
No reply came. However, Yuwon didn’t mind and put his phone back in his pocket.
He hadn’t expected an immediate reply anyway. Considering ajeossi’s behavior so far, he was grateful just for getting his phone number.
Yuwon cheerfully left the kitchen, filled the chopstick holders, and sent another message.
[I had kimchi fried rice]
After staring down at his still quiet phone for a moment, he now wiped the tables. Hmm, hmm, hmm. Humming while working seemed less tiring than usual.
After carefully hanging up the wrung-out dishrag, Yuwon took out his phone again and sent another message to Jeonghyeok.
[Ajeossi]
After calling him once and leaving a little gap:
[I miss you]
This was actually what he had wanted to say.
Embarrassed and with his heart trembling, Yuwon quickly put his phone back in his pocket. Naturally not expecting a reply, he was about to go clean the windows when a short vibration sounded from his pocket.
Yuwon stopped walking and took out his phone to check.
[Come over after work]
Seeing the brief response on the screen, Yuwon’s eyes widened. The corners of his mouth naturally rose as if they might reach his ears.
Yuwon hurriedly moved his fingers to send a reply.
[Yes!! I’ll come right away]
Should he send another message saying he missed him? After thinking about it, he decided against it. He wanted to save that to tell ajeossi directly when he saw him in the evening.
Hmm, mmm, hmm, hmm. The humming started again. This time it was a song with a slightly faster beat.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
