# Chapter 51
Though his heart was thumping loudly, it wasn’t the anxious flutter Seowoo usually felt when looking directly into Dohyun’s eyes.
There was definitely a sense of guilt and tension, but strangely, he wasn’t afraid. He didn’t want to avoid Dohyun’s gaze, nor did he feel the need to.
Their faces were incredibly close from leaning in toward each other. The distance between their lips was barely the width of a shot glass—the exact measurement Dohyun had used.
“You’re… drunk,” Seowoo said slowly.
Dohyun laughed softly. “You’re the one who’s drunk, Han Seowoo-ssi.”
Dohyun extended his index finger from the hand holding his glass. The tip of his finger lightly tapped Seowoo’s upper lip. Seowoo’s eyes crinkled in response.
“Looking at how you’re not backing away despite me going this far.”
“Why should I back away? Why, what am I afraid of?”
“You’re afraid of me, aren’t you?”
That was certainly a valid reason. Seowoo definitely feared Dohyun. Though he’d tried his best to hide it, Dohyun had repeatedly scoffed at his poor attempts to lie.
Seowoo had witnessed Dohyun intimidating others, threatening them, and committing illegal acts. He had every reason to be afraid and couldn’t hide his anxiety. But…
“Not right now.”
Seowoo no longer thought Dohyun would hold a knife to his throat or throw punches like when they first met.
His expression remained unwavering as he made his declaration, showing there was no lie in his words. Dohyun raised an eyebrow and slightly lifted his lips.
“That’s interesting… I haven’t changed at all.”
At Dohyun’s leisurely response, Seowoo silently blinked, studying his expression.
He had thought Dohyun was exceptionally skilled at lying, someone who lived with falsehoods constantly on his tongue. Wasn’t he the kind of smooth talker who made it difficult to distinguish between truth and lies?
But once Seowoo recognized it, he could somewhat differentiate between when Dohyun was lying and when he wasn’t.
Though Dohyun was slick-tongued, he actually hesitated when telling the truth. As if he rarely revealed his honest feelings. His eyes or expression would sometimes falter.
The exaggeratedly smooth and relaxed attitude mostly emerged when he was lying.
Yes, exactly like now.
“That’s a lie,” Seowoo said firmly.
Dohyun raised his eyebrows as if surprised by the unexpected response.
“How would you know that?”
“It shows.”
It was the exact same answer Dohyun had given earlier. Whether truth or joke, it was amusing. Dohyun let out a hollow laugh.
“It shows everywhere.”
“That’s something I’ve truly… never heard before in my life.”
“I’m not joking.”
“Really?”
Dohyun lowered his hand, placing the glass back on the table. As he leaned his upper body forward, their already close bodies moved even closer together.
They were so close that they could feel each other’s breath on their lips with every inhale and exhale. Their noses were almost touching.
Neither of them pulled away or straightened up. Neither looked away.
Seowoo’s heart pounded more fiercely than ever before. Even in the face of death, his heart hadn’t raced this much. Why was it now threatening to leap out of his throat? Was it just the alcohol?
Maintaining that peculiar distance between them, Dohyun softly spoke.
“Shall we do a test?”
“A test?”
“Try to guess whether I’m lying or not.”
“I’m confident I can.”
When Seowoo smiled, Dohyun’s eyes narrowed into sharp curves. This was the first time he’d seen that smile so closely. His eyes were longer than Seowoo had thought. They matched well with his eye color.
Amusingly, Seowoo found himself appreciating Dohyun’s smile. Was this also because he was drunk? He closed his eyes deeply, then opened them as Dohyun whispered in a voice as sweet as his smile.
“I’m going to kill you.”
But the content was anything but sweet.
At such a brutal statement, Seowoo’s intoxication seemed to lift slightly, and his eyes widened. Was this a death threat? After Seowoo had said he wasn’t scared, was Dohyun now openly threatening him?
Unlike Seowoo, whose eyes darted around nervously, Dohyun’s expression remained largely unchanged.
“…Are you serious?”
“I told you to distinguish, didn’t I? You said you could tell.”
So this was his test, with such a brutal sentence? Even for a gangster, this seemed excessive. Bringing up death so casually—it was absurd.
Seowoo narrowed his eyes and stared intently at Dohyun, who silently studied Seowoo’s expression for a moment. Then, slowly, he uttered his next sentence.
“I regret bringing you here.”
What was that supposed to mean? It was such a frustrating statement that Seowoo momentarily forgot he was the one who’d boldly suggested this test. Seowoo didn’t even feel like carefully observing Dohyun’s expression anymore.
As Seowoo’s expression gradually contorted, Dohyun slightly raised his lips in a smile.
“You said you were confident, but you’re not answering.”
“Are you just deliberately teasing me now?”
Instead of responding immediately to that question, Dohyun recited his next line.
“You’re making me quite tired.”
“…Cut it out.”
Truth or lie, listening to this was infuriating. It seemed clear now that Dohyun was just trying to provoke him. He was deliberately saying the most irritating things.
As Seowoo grabbed the glass Dohyun had put down, intending to drink, he felt a hand grasp his wrist. It wasn’t too rough, but it was firm enough that he couldn’t break free.
Dohyun’s strong hand slowly slid down from his wrist to cover the back of his hand gently. He took the glass away, put it down, and then interlaced their fingers together.
That sequence of actions felt surprisingly natural. It wasn’t like this was the first time they’d held hands. The skin where they touched burned hot.
“I’m going to kiss you.”
A low, relaxed, gentle voice. But there was no playfulness or humor mixed into his tone.
Seowoo quickly came to his senses and examined Dohyun’s face. Was he serious, or was this another ridiculous joke?
But before he could figure it out, a large hand grasped his cheek. It was an affectionate touch without any hint of aggression.
As Dohyun pulled him closer, stroking near his jaw, Seowoo’s lips parted involuntarily. Their lips overlapped, and between them passed each other’s breaths, then tongues, then saliva.
Dohyun persistently, slowly penetrated Seowoo’s mouth as if to completely color it. They remained wetly attached until Seowoo’s breathing grew ragged. So much that they had to frantically grip each other’s hands.
“…Ah.”
Dohyun lightly patted Seowoo’s cheek as he failed to regain his senses due to the lingering effects of the kiss and the alcohol. The touch naturally extended from his cheek to his ear.
“You still don’t seem to understand.”
“…I told you I do.”
Seowoo faced Dohyun directly, meeting his eyes with a reproachful voice. Dohyun didn’t shy away and laughed softly.
He should have been afraid when his cheek was grasped, annoyed when Dohyun spoke, and chilled by his gaze. That’s definitely how it was at first.
But his touch was gentle, his voice mild, his gaze serene. It was perplexing. Either Seowoo was drunk, or Seo Dohyun had gone mad. One of those was definitely true.
Even through blurred vision, Seowoo still gazed directly at Dohyun. As they silently looked at each other, Dohyun lightly kissed Seowoo’s moist lips.
“You’re drunk. I can tell because you’re not slapping my face…”
After a low chuckle, Dohyun pulled Seowoo’s hand to his own cheek. Was he asking to be slapped?
Seowoo slowly closed and opened his eyes. The palm of his hand against Dohyun’s cheek felt burning hot.
“…It’s hot.”
“I’m sorry, but it’s your hand that’s hot.”
“Should I slap you once?”
“By all means…”
Should he really slap him? As Seowoo fidgeted with his hand, Dohyun tilted his head slightly and pressed his lips to Seowoo’s palm.
In that moment, Seowoo’s mind went blank. The thought of slapping him completely vanished. Dohyun lowered his eyes.
“I should let you hit me. Who are you to me?”
His expression had little humor. His slightly crumpled lips made his smile seem broken. His voice was low, and though it seemed normal, it felt calm.
Seowoo could sense it. It was the same response as before.
“This… isn’t a lie.”
At that, Dohyun closed his eyes and broke into a full-faced smile. Did he even smile like this? Just as that question crossed Seowoo’s mind, he felt warmth enveloping the back of his neck.
“This is bad.”
Same tone, same expression. With that slightly frowning, peculiar smile, Dohyun once again brought his face close.
“I don’t really know what expression I should make when I hear words like this.”
❖ ❖ ❖
“…Ugh.”
A groan escaped involuntarily as soon as Seowoo opened his eyes. The intense hangover that felt like his head was ringing made him instinctively grab his forehead.
He fumbled, reaching out for the bedside table, but strangely, his arm passed straight through empty air.
“…?”
Something was off. His hand should have touched the table when he moved his arm like that.
Only then did Seowoo properly open his eyes. Looking around, sure enough, this wasn’t his room.
A very clean, monochrome interior. Minimally used furniture and expensive-looking decorations combined to create an impression of a bedroom straight out of a drama.
When Seowoo first saw the room, he had been inwardly impressed by the surprisingly sophisticated interior. It seemed too refined to be Seo Dohyun’s taste.
Seowoo’s thoughts came to an abrupt halt as he was recalling. Wait a minute.
‘…Am I in Seo Dohyun’s room right now?!’
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
