#54
But his words were definitely more relaxed than usual and his pronunciation was subtly slurred. Bonoh decided to push a little more boldly.
“…You have someone you’re waiting to confess to you. That’s what made me think to ask.”
Bonoh shook his legs under the table. Taeseong looked down at his glass for a moment, then nodded slightly as if he understood.
“Ahh… So that’s what our Bonoh was curious about…”
Then he picked up his glass and downed the remaining soju in one go. ‘Our Bonoh’? Joo Taeseong is definitely drunk. Bonoh was certain. His trembling legs stopped.
“What’s wrong with doing it? It’s not like they’re a total disaster, and if they’re decent, it’s worth doing. Right, Kim Bonoh?”
Taeseong looked at Bonoh as if seeking agreement. The moment he heard those words, Bonoh put down his chopsticks and suddenly looked up.
“Hey, why are you bringing up total disasters here!”
His voice got louder without him realizing it. Is he saying I was a total disaster right now? Bonoh felt inexplicably guilty.
“I, I wasn’t talking about that, you know?”
He added unnecessarily, but even to Bonoh’s own ears it sounded like an excuse. Taeseong lifted one corner of his mouth and snickered.
“…Really? Then you won’t be a total disaster again?”
“Yeah! I won’t, absolutely not!”
“I see…”
Taeseong drew out the end of his words. What was so funny? He chuckled softly as if satisfied with Bonoh’s answer and ran his hand through his hair. His large hand revealed his forehead before his hair scattered again.
Bonoh stared at that sight with his mouth slightly open. It was a meaningless gesture, but that brief moment felt strangely long.
Behind Taeseong was an alcohol advertisement poster stuck on the wall. It was a photo of the most popular actor smiling while holding a glass. But to Bonoh, Taeseong running his hand through his hair just now looked much more wonderful than the actor in the poster.
‘No, what am I doing right now?’
Suddenly Bonoh snapped to attention. He had been trying to figure out who Taeseong’s partner was, but instead got caught up in the mention of total disasters.
Still, it wasn’t completely fruitless. Saying that decent was okay meant the other person was probably someone from school. The moment he thought of that, Bonoh felt inexplicably dejected. His appetite disappeared and his buzz seemed to fade a bit. Quite some time must have passed as all the tables in the restaurant were full. People grilling meat and drinking were chattering noisily.
Since Joo Taeseong also seemed drunk, there was no need to stay here longer. Maybe he could ask for details on the way back to the dormitory.
“Let’s get up now.”
Bonoh said while looking at Taeseong. Then after pausing briefly, he added:
“You… can walk, right?”
At those words, Taeseong just quietly looked at Bonoh. He couldn’t possibly interpret that gaze as a positive signal. Bonoh let out a long breath.
***
Bonoh barely managed to support Taeseong’s body, almost dragging him to the elevator. The guy was already big, and being drunk made him feel even heavier. Both shoulders ached and his arms were numb. At least it was fortunate that the restaurant was close to the dormitory. If it had been a little further, he might have abandoned Taeseong and come back alone.
The numbers on the display were going down one by one. The elevator’s descent was still slow. Taeseong’s body weight was entirely on Bonoh’s left shoulder. With one arm draped over Bonoh’s shoulder, Taeseong was practically being carried. Bonoh sighed.
“Being like this reminds me of the old days. Joo Taeseong, you don’t remember, do you? When we went to the emergency room, I carried you down too.”
“……”
Taeseong said nothing. He didn’t know if he had fallen asleep while leaning there briefly, or if he was ignoring him despite hearing.
The elevator door that arrived at the first floor slowly opened. Bonoh struggled to support Taeseong as they entered the elevator. The reflection of both of them appeared clearly in the elevator’s interior mirror.
Bonoh looked through the mirror at Taeseong, who was slumped over leaning on his shoulder. He was leaning his head with his eyes closed. He could hear Taeseong’s slow, steady breathing near his ear. Bonoh looked at that face and quietly muttered:
“…Joo Taeseong, who exactly is this person you like?”
Bonoh himself didn’t know why he said this now. Joo Taeseong was drunk and couldn’t even open his eyes properly. If he was going to make him drink again, he should feed him just enough to be able to answer. No, he should just find another method next time.
It was at that moment of thinking. Suddenly Taeseong opened his eyes. Bonoh flinched momentarily.
“What? You weren’t sleeping?”
Bonoh watched Taeseong’s reaction, wondering if he had heard what he just said. Taeseong blinked slowly and opened his mouth.
“Me? The person I like…”
“……”
He heard. Bonoh bit his lip. The sound of him swallowing saliva was loud even to his own ears. Without even breathing, Bonoh waited for Taeseong’s words to continue.
“…Kim Bonoh.”
“Huh?”
Taeseong let out a very small laugh.
“I like Kim Bonoh though?”
Bonoh swayed a little in place before regaining his balance. It felt like the alcohol was rushing up. His face heated up instantly. His mouth opened, then he could barely speak without being able to close it:
“…Hey, don’t joke around.”
Taeseong said nothing and just buried his face in Bonoh’s shoulder. Then he quietly laughed under his breath. Taeseong’s laughter-tinged breath touched Bonoh’s shoulder and nape.
“Geez… You’re joking, aren’t you?”
Bonoh playfully grabbed Taeseong’s hair. Of course. If he really liked me, he wouldn’t have said it like that in the first place. After all the trouble of dragging him here, he’s just joking around – he should have just left him at the restaurant earlier.
“Ow…”
Despite barely putting any force into his hand, Taeseong exaggerated his pain.
The elevator that arrived at the third floor stopped. The moment the door opened, Bonoh removed Taeseong’s arm from his shoulder. Then he walked out alone.
“You come on your own.”
Bonoh walked on without looking back. Though he was inwardly concerned about Taeseong left alone, he decided to ignore him out of spite. Just bringing him this far was enough, what more. Thinking that, he took out his card key from his pocket.
The moment he opened the door and entered the entrance, someone pushed through the not-quite-closed door right behind him. And hugged Bonoh just like that.
“Hey, what!”
Taeseong wrapped both arms around Bonoh’s body and pulled him close. With the sudden added weight, Bonoh lost his balance. Without even properly taking off his shoes, their bodies overlapped as they stumbled backward with Taeseong. Eventually they fell to the floor in that state.
The moment they fell, if Taeseong hadn’t covered his head with his hands, Bonoh might have hit his head on the floor. The two lay with their bodies overlapped in front of the entrance. Taeseong’s body temperature and weight were directly on top of Bonoh who was on the floor. Bonoh felt slightly suffocated.
The sensor light in the entrance went out. The darkened room was just quiet. Bonoh, pressed down by Taeseong’s weight, barely opened his mouth.
“Hey… Move. You’re heavy.”
“…Kim Bonoh. Why did you abandon me?”
Taeseong spoke in a low, slow voice. At those words, Bonoh pressed his lips tightly together.
“Abandon what abandon… And you’re the one who—”
“Me? When did I—”
“Forget it. Let’s not talk. Get up quickly. Joo Taeseong, you hate dirty things.”
“I can’t get up…”
Taeseong muttered weakly. Bonoh let out a long sigh and reached out to push Taeseong to the side. When Taeseong’s weight was relieved, he could breathe. Bonoh got up from the floor and first turned on the light.
The room suddenly brightened, making Bonoh blink from the momentary glare. Joo Taeseong was still lying on the floor. With his eyes closed, he looked like he would fall asleep soon. If he slept like this, he’d get a stiff neck. But to put him straight on the bed, given Joo Taeseong’s usual neat-freak personality, he’d probably get complaints the next day.
“Joo Taeseong, get up.”
Bonoh approached Taeseong and pulled his arm. He succeeded in barely sitting up the strengthless Taeseong.
“Let’s take off your clothes first.”
With those words, Bonoh reached for the buttons of Taeseong’s shirt. He was about to unbutton from the top when Taeseong stared intently at Bonoh.
“…Kim Bonoh pervert.”
“What? What are you thinking right now? Are you going to get on the bed wearing clothes that smell like pork belly? Geez, really. Who’s calling who a pervert?”
Bonoh said with wide eyes. He tried to help and ended up being called a pervert. Perhaps because he protested his innocence, Taeseong stayed obedient until Bonoh finished unbuttoning everything. When the shirt was removed, Taeseong’s magnificent upper body was revealed. Due to his muscles, his body looked much bigger undressed than when clothed.
At the thick chest and upper body muscles, Bonoh almost opened his mouth without realizing it. They both ate pork belly and soju, so why did Joo Taeseong only have well-built muscles without any fat? Was this why it was good to exercise regularly?
Trying hard to resist his gaze from going to Taeseong’s naked body, Bonoh reached for Taeseong’s belt buckle. As he was about to unbuckle it and pull down the zipper, he felt a piercing gaze from above his head. When he slightly raised his head, he met Taeseong’s gaze looking down at him head-on.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
