Gentle Giant Chapter 43
Chapter 4
Juho, who came out of the bathroom with warm steam, looked at the bed and let out a small laugh.
Earlier he had looked at him with longing eyes as if he would wait forever, but now he had fallen so deeply asleep. He was sleeping quite soundly, with his head precariously tilted.
As Juho observed Dain, he suddenly realized something. The place where Dain was sleeping carelessly was by the headboard where Juho had been waiting for Dain just moments before. Thinking that he had deliberately changed direction to go there and lean against it made him laugh again.
“Cute.”
Juho, who uttered the word he repeated like a habit, approached Dain with long strides.
His fluffy hair, left uncombed after washing, was puffed up and sticking messily to Dain’s face. Dain didn’t move an inch, as if the hair wasn’t even tickling him.
After staring intently at that sight for a while, Juho’s gaze touched Dain’s lips. The lips that had been strawberry milk pink had now changed to a deep color like strawberry juice. The lips that had felt thin and small had also become plump at some point.
Smack, thinking of the sweet taste inside Dain’s mouth that he had sampled earlier, Juho licked his lips.
When Dain, with his feline beast-man’s characteristic rough tongue, licked his lips longingly, Juho had to gather all the patience he’d ever had. What would Jung Dain know about his feelings when he turned away as if nothing happened, controlling his boiling lower half and cursing inwardly…?
Contrary to his dizzy inner feelings, Juho gently stroked and arranged Dain’s hair. It would be good if he woke up from this movement, and it wouldn’t be bad if he didn’t wake up either.
Actually, if Dain rushed at him again asking to kiss like earlier, he wasn’t confident he could end it with just a gentle kiss like before.
Naive Jung Dain who couldn’t even distinguish between a peck and a kiss. What was the point of talking about anything beyond that. He was a bastard for feeling his stomach tighten again just looking at that face sleeping peacefully without knowing anything. It seemed better to just let him sleep today.
Juho, who let out a long sigh rising from deep within, bent his upper body.
After carefully supporting Dain’s armpits and the back of his knees, he lifted him slightly, then straightened his posture and laid him on the bed.
Dain, who was particularly sensitive to heat, seemed to be losing weight little by little even now at the end of summer. Juho’s eyebrows furrowed at the face that had become slightly thinner than when they first met. He thought he should actively find and feed him healthy things when autumn came.
“We have a lot to do, don’t we?”
Juho whispered softly in the ear of Dain, who was sleeping while making purring sounds. As if he heard Juho’s voice even in his sleep, Dain turned his body toward Juho.
At that willing appearance, Juho hugged Dain tightly. Then he deeply inhaled the baby scent coming from Dain’s neck.
Jung Dain’s scent, Juho muttered small and buried his nose completely in Dain’s neck. He wanted to keep the air of this moment, the scent of this moment, forever in his lungs.
* * *
Flash. Dain quickly lifted his eyelids at the dazzling sunlight he could feel even with his closed eyes.
He had definitely been sitting leaning against the bed, so why was he feeling the sunlight in such a comfortable position…? Question marks floated around in Dain’s head as he thought about last night with his dazed mind.
“Hyung, did you sleep well?”
“…Huh? Juho…?”
Juho, who had been awake for who knows how long, was looking down at Dain with his head propped up on his hand.
At Dain’s answer, Juho smiled gently and gave a short kiss on Dain’s forehead that was gleaming in the sunlight.
At that tickling feeling, Dain scrunched his shoulders, closed his eyes tightly, opened them, and slightly raised the corners of his mouth. If he opened his mouth, it felt like only foolish laughter would come out without him realizing it.
“Cute.”
Juho muttered while arranging Dain’s disheveled hair. Dain’s ears turned slightly red, not having expected to hear the word “cute” as soon as he woke up in the morning.
At that change, Juho, who said “cute” again, lowered his head a bit more and gave a kiss on Dain’s lips. The lips that had returned to strawberry milk color while he slept were a bit disappointing.
Before Juho’s lips could touch his lips again, Dain quickly covered his mouth with his hand. It was morning, and he hadn’t even brushed his teeth yet…
At Dain’s action of covering his mouth with his hand, Juho raised his eyebrows.
When Juho grabbed Dain’s hand and tried to lower it, Dain shook his head. Juho’s mood was getting increasingly uncomfortable. Seeing that expression, Dain still kept his mouth covered with his hand and quickly continued speaking.
“Hey, without even brushing teeth…! You can’t do that, Juho!”
“Ah…”
“So let’s brush our teeth first and then do it. Wait?”
Dain hurriedly came out with a toothbrush. He had thoughtfully brought both Juho’s and his own.
Though he had already washed up, Juho took the toothbrush from Dain and brushed his teeth together. Sometimes Dain seemed like a kindergartener who was just big in size.
After thoroughly brushing his teeth and rinsing several times, Dain finished brushing first with sparkling teeth and a grin, then grabbed both cheeks of Juho who was looking at him.
“Come here, let’s kiss with hyung!”
At Dain’s cute provocation, Juho rushed at Dain with a face full of smiles.
The two people, who were giggling and making smacking sounds, soon began to covet each other’s mouths without anyone going first.
“Mmm.”
Watching Dain move more actively than yesterday just because he had tried it once, Juho made a languid expression. A refreshing and sweet taste, the only one in the world. Juho lightly bit Dain’s lips. If he could, he wanted to chew and eat them thoroughly.
At the stimulating feeling from his lips, a natural growling sound flowed from Dain’s throat.
So good. It’s not just good last night, this morning is good too.
Dain thought while sucking in Juho’s plump lips. Everything he did with Juho seemed like it would be good from one to ten. He hoped Juho felt the same. Dain gently stroked his firm back muscles while hoping inside that Juho felt the same as him.
It was a long and short kiss. Even while separating their lips, they kissed again several times because they were reluctant to part.
Dain, who had lost his reason and barely came to his senses, smiled shyly while arranging Juho’s t-shirt that had become messy from his grabbing.
At that cute smile, Juho rubbed his nose against Dain’s hair again, hugged Dain, and headed to the kitchen. No matter how good kissing was, he had to take care of Dain’s breakfast.
Juho, who simply made French toast by dipping it in egg, put the bowl down on the table where Dain was sitting and asked.
“So, your noona said to come visit while she’s doing an advertisement shoot?”
“Mmhm! Did I tell you before? That our noona became a Scarlett advertisement model.”
“Scarlett…?”
“Mmhm! We watched a movie together at the theater before. You know, right?”
At Dain’s question, Juho nodded. He had heard before that Dain’s noona was working as a model and was doing advertisement shoots. But of all things, the company she was working as an advertisement model for this time was ‘Scarlett’. Was even this fate? Juho let out a somewhat deflated laugh.
He was sure he had heard about the advertisement when he went to work on Monday for the interview. According to that report, the advertisement shooting day was…
“So they’re shooting this Friday, can you come after work ends, Juho? It’s an aquarium! You know! A really big aquarium!!”
“Ah, I know. Aquarium.”
Right, it was Friday. That’s right.
Juho secretly clicked his tongue without Dain knowing. Friday was the day he had dinner plans with the executives. That’s why he had just passed over that report without making a big deal of it. If he had known this would happen, he should have looked at it in more detail.
“I really love aquariums. So noona specially asked the people doing the shoot for me. Our noona is amazing, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. I felt this way before too, but noona really takes good care of you, hyung.”
“Of course! She calls more often than mom, you know? Right now the youngest is in his senior year of high school, so mom is busy taking care of the youngest.”
When family talk came up, Dain talked excitedly with his cheeks turning red.
Juho felt amazed at Dain’s same reaction every time family talk came up. Then he thought of his own family. His mother, with whom he had exactly one phone conversation after coming to Korea from America, and his hyungs whose numbers he didn’t even know. His mood soured.
“Yeah yeah, so Juho, can you come that day? She said one friend would be okay too.”
“Ah, what should I do.”
Juho continued with a regretful expression.
“They said there’s a company dinner that day. Mm, I don’t think I can go right after work ends.”
“Oh, really…?”
Dain’s shoulders drooped. Since he had wanted to show Juho to noona, disappointment washed over him.
Juho’s company people probably didn’t deliberately pick that day for the company dinner, but he still felt disappointed.
At Dain’s appearance where his ears seemed to have drooped even though they weren’t visible, Juho didn’t know what to do. He hadn’t expected him to be this disappointed, so he quickly patted Dain’s shoulder.
“Hyuuung. That day seems like a really important company dinner. If it’s okay even if I’m late, I’ll definitely go. Okay?”
“Really…?”
“Yes. I don’t know when the advertisement will end, but if the company dinner ends earlier than the advertisement shoot, I’ll definitely go.”
Juho promised Dain several times that he would go. Though Dain felt like he was being childishly demanding, he still really wanted to be with Juho at a place full of things he loved – the aquarium and even noona.
Dain nodded greatly.
“Mmhm! Okay. They said they’d start the advertisement shoot after closing, so you don’t need to rush. And if you’re too tired, definitely contact me. It’s okay!”
Still hoping that Juho wouldn’t overdo it too much, Dain added a word. It might have been useless since he had already shown too much disappointment.
“I understand, hyung. I’ll contact you depending on the situation that day. You liked aquariums, hyung?”
“Yeah! I love them so much! I completely fell for them after going to an aquarium on a school trip before!”
Dain’s eyes sparkled. His head was already full of fish and aquatic plants swaying under blue waves.
Though he had been to aquariums several times whenever he had time after coming up to Seoul, this was the first time going to this place. Dain’s bottom wiggled happily with anticipation of going to a new place.
At that honest reaction, Juho’s mood curve was gradually going downward.
Now did he have to compete even with speechless fish? It was puzzling why Jung Dain liked and was pleased with so many things.
Was his wish too big – wanting Jung Dain to like only Lee Juho, just like Lee Juho who only liked Jung Dain?
Regardless of his bad mood, Juho gave a piece of toast to Dain, who wasn’t putting the toast to his mouth because he was busy talking about the aquarium. Watching Dain naturally take it in his mouth, then give a thumbs up saying it was delicious, his mood smoothly improved again.
Lee Juho was too easy a man for Jung Dain.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
