I looked around the empty living room before searching for Jun. Turning toward the direction of the noise, I saw him cleaning around the bed with the vacuum. There wasn’t anything secretly hidden under there, so even if he lingered nearby, it didn’t bother me.
“Juni, don’t overdo it.”
But when Jun stood up after cleaning one corner of the bed, he came out holding something. It was a pair of socks and underwear that had been wedged somewhere under the bed, gray dust clinging to them from who knew how long.
“Hyung’s underwear? Interesting taste. Don’t tell me you wear string panties too?”
“No. I don’t wear stuff like that……”
I didn’t bother adding that I had bought some but never wore them.
What Jun held was one of the bold purchases I’d made back when the Panty Stalker incident happened. It wasn’t a thong, but the fabric over the butt was unusually minimal. I’d thought it was normal since it had my usual leopard print pattern, but while sleeping it kept slipping between my cheeks, so I must’ve taken it off half-asleep and tossed it aside. Looks like it had gotten stuck somewhere near the bed headboard.
But Jun headed straight for the bathroom with it. Turning on the sink, he soaped it up and started washing it by hand.
“Ju-Juni. I’ll do that.”
Since he was looking down at the sink, I could only see his profile, but when I called him “Juni,” the corner of his mouth lifted slightly. He should’ve been annoyed at being ordered around, yet he looked almost happy—like a kid playing house.
The underwear didn’t have much fabric in the back, so it looked awkward between his hands as he rubbed it together. He squeezed it hard with one hand to rinse out the foam, scrunching it up. The moment he spread it out to show it was clean, I rushed in and snatched it away.
“Th-thanks.”
“Hyung… the underwear that was in that delivery box before… that was yours too, right?”
I’d been about to turn and leave, but his words hit me like a hand grabbing the back of my head. I’d never told him about my past, yet he spoke as if he knew everything. The similar patterns had given it away.
Semen on underwear I used to wear.
If someone had bought new underwear and sent it, it would’ve been one-sided—but the fact that it was something I’d worn implied a lot. Either someone deeply connected to me, or someone who’d known me for a long time. The latter felt closer to the truth—but that was from the pervert sender’s perspective. I still didn’t know who they were.
“…Yeah. Once I find him, I’m going to warn him to stop.”
“Isn’t that what he wants?”
“Warning him?”
“No. You obsessing over him. Looking for him.”
Was that true? While I was thinking about it, a wet sock came flying toward me. I moved to catch it, and the thought abruptly snapped away.
I was standing by the bathroom door when Jun approached.
“Get out. I need to use it.”
I backed away, and the bathroom door slammed shut right in front of me.
Carrying the damp underwear, I went into the small room, turned on the dehumidifier, and hung it on the drying rack. I’d considered buying a dryer, but since I’d only live here temporarily before moving again, I didn’t want to add more appliances.
♩♬♪—
A melody played, signaling the laundry was done. The apartment’s soundproofing wasn’t great, so when the balcony door was open, I could even hear the upstairs neighbor’s washing machine sometimes. Once, I’d gone out thinking my laundry was finished when it wasn’t—turns out they used the same machine model.
But this time, the sound definitely came from ours. Somehow an hour had flown by while we cleaned, and the timing lined up perfectly.
I pulled out the tangled laundry and dumped it onto the floor of the small room. As I shook each piece and hung them up, Jun came over and started helping.
“Go rest. I’ll do it.”
“No. Let’s do it together.”
Since I lived alone, there wasn’t much laundry, and we finished quickly. Jun shook out a pair of underwear and snickered.
“Let’s respect personal taste.”
“Who said anything?”
“Hyung, you’re wilder than I thought. Is this Animal Kingdom? What animal is this one?”
He admired the different patterns like they were fascinating specimens.
“Is this a cheetah?”
“Leopard.”
“This one’s a leopard too?”
“That’s a jaguar. Hey, just hang them up. Stop asking.”
Jun lined up three animal-print underwear pieces side by side and stood there stroking his chin, tilting his head as if analyzing them. Since he looked so puzzled, I ended up explaining kindly.
“Just dots like this—cheetah. Black outlines like this—leopard. And if it’s leopard-like but with dots in the middle, that’s a jaguar.”
“Hmm… interesting. But if all three fought, who would win?”
“…Look it up.”
For something so trivial, he compared the patterns with genuine curiosity. Honestly, hardly anyone would care this much about animal prints like I did. Then again, someone who only wore black or monochrome clothes like him probably found these flashy patterns fascinating.
The place wasn’t big enough to call it real cleaning, but moving around and sweating a little made me want a shower. I’d also broken out in a cold sweat earlier from the hangover.
“Rest for a bit. I’m going to shower.”
Jun lowered the sleeves he’d rolled up and sat down on the sofa. I glanced at him before stepping into the bathroom, stripping off my clothes, and letting water run over my body.
Ah.
Suddenly, something from yesterday came to mind. While drinking, I’d declared, If I ever play Blood Planet again, I’m a total bastard, and packed the access device into a box, leaving it in the utility room.
If it had been under the living room table like usual, Jun probably would’ve asked if I played Blood Planet. Just imagining that made me shiver. He already came and went from my place however he wanted—I didn’t want him holding leverage over me in the game too.
After finishing the shower, I felt refreshed down to my core. It wasn’t even evening yet; if I took a nap and woke up, it’d be perfect timing for dinner.
But… ah.
I hadn’t brought any clean clothes into the bathroom. I didn’t want to put my slightly sweaty clothes back on either. In the end, I figured we were both men anyway and loosely covered my lower half with a towel. The small room was right next door, so I just had to dash out quickly.
I could hear the TV beyond the bathroom door, which meant Jun’s attention was probably on the screen. There was a good chance he wouldn’t even look at me.
Click.
I cracked open the bathroom door and stepped onto the mat with my wet foot. If I dried off and went straight into the small room, that’d be it—but when I glanced forward, Jun was sitting there with his laptop open, staring right at me.
Trying not to look flustered, I slowly placed my other foot on the mat, wiped off the water, and turned toward the small room. As I did, Jun snapped his laptop shut.
Honestly, judging by appearances, I wasn’t really his type, so I didn’t feel particularly self-conscious. I figured he was just looking at a thinner, smaller guy’s body without any deeper meaning.
While rummaging for clothes in the small room, the towel slipped down. Well, I was alone in here, so I didn’t think much of it and kept searching naked.
Back at my hometown house, I had piles of T-shirts and shorts I never wore. Since I hadn’t brought many when I moved, casual home clothes were actually scarce here. Next time I visited, I should pack some—even if just to use as rags. Thinking that, I grabbed a T-shirt and pulled it on. Then I dug through drawers wondering what underwear to wear when the door suddenly burst open.
“Hyung!”
“Hey! Why are you just barging in?!”
“I was curious if there were more underwear.”
I’d been standing there like a teddy bear with my lower half completely bare, so I yanked my T-shirt down to cover the middle. But before I could hide anything, Jun had already seen it—his eyebrow lifted slightly.
“It’s bigger than I thought—”
“…Yeah. Got it. Now get out.”
I shoved him out of the room before he could finish whatever he was about to say. Then I locked the door and rummaged through the drawers again. Like his own was anything special. A guy’s junk was all pretty much the same anyway.
I picked out a tiger-print pair that seemed to represent my current mood and put them on, steeling myself. Then I pulled on a plain gray pair of sweatpants and left the room.
The clock on the living room wall read 4:30. Too early for dinner. I walked over to where Jun was sitting.
Jun was on the sofa flipping through a takeout menu booklet. His long fingers moved smoothly as he turned each page, pinching the paper between them while flipping back and forth, clearly debating what to eat.
After the shower, drowsiness washed over me. I wanted to go straight to the bedroom and sleep, but since Jun was technically a guest, I felt like I should at least let him know first.
“Sorry, but I’m going to take a nap. If you get hungry, order something, and if you’ve got somewhere to be, just go.”
“I’m not really hungry.”
Saying okay, I headed to the bedroom and buried my tired body into the bed. The soft blanket brushing against my face made sleep come instantly. Honestly, it was a miracle I hadn’t come in here last night covered in sugar.
Falling asleep while a guest was in the living room felt rude, but my body desperately needed rest. My usual limit was one bottle of soju—no wonder I’d crashed after three. As I drifted deeper, my awareness faded away.
Somewhere at the edge of my dimming senses, the bed shifted slightly, and I felt someone stroking my back.
“…Mm?”
I barely stirred, rolling from my stomach onto my back. Half-asleep, annoyed at being touched while resting, I mumbled for Jun to let me sleep.
But Jun sat closer, leaning over me. Through half-lidded eyes, I saw his gaze—deep and intent. His bangs looked longer than usual, maybe because he was leaning down, shadows darkening around his eyes and making them glint faintly.
“Aren’t you going to give me a reward?”
“A… reward?”
I blinked slowly, repeating his words.
A reward… right. Since he was sitting to my left, I lazily dropped my left hand onto his thigh. Then I just closed my eyes again, leaving it there as if telling him to handle it himself.
But Jun brushed my hand away.
“Not that.”
“Huh?” I muttered, pulling my hand back. If he didn’t want my left hand, did he want the right? I rolled toward him and held it out.
“Here.”
“Not into that either.”
Then forget it, I thought irritably, turning onto my stomach again. I could feel his stare on my back, but I ignored it.
The bed was warm, my body heavy—perfect conditions for a nap. My breathing evened out as consciousness drifted further away, sinking deeper into sleep.
…When I wake up, I’ll just buy him something good. That can be his reward.
As I reached that silent compromise in my dreams, the bed jolted sharply. It felt like Jun, who’d been sitting on the edge, had climbed fully onto it. I tried to ignore it, but when he sat on my waist, the weight made me frown.
“Hey… get… off. Heavy.”
“If the owner doesn’t feed me, I’ll have to find my own food.”
The moment he finished speaking, the back of my T-shirt was yanked up in one swift motion.
