What happened was this—just as I was about to wake Min Siheon and tell him to lie down properly to sleep, he opened his eyes and pulled me in, dragging me right next to his bed.
Startled by Min Siheon’s face suddenly appearing at my side, I widened my eyes. That made two unexpected moves from him today already.
“You’re insane.”
“That’s harsh.”
“If you’re going to talk in your sleep, at least do it normally. What are you even trying to do now?”
I twisted my shoulder, trying to slip away, but Min Siheon—who had even tucked the blanket over me—gripped my shoulder tightly. Then he stretched out his long arm and gently pressed down over my chest.
His strength was ridiculous; I couldn’t move my upper body at all. I thrashed my legs under the blanket for a while, and then Min Siheon, eyes still tightly shut, spoke.
“I’m cold. The side of the bed felt too empty.”
“Am I a heater? If you’re cold, put some clothes on. Let me go.”
“…No. This is warmer.”
“Hey.”
The more I tried to get free, the more his arm pressed down firmly over my torso. I wasn’t sure whether I should feel relieved that this wasn’t like earlier, when he’d hugged me outright.
In rhythm with his steady breathing, it felt like the pounding of my own heart echoed in my ears. My chest was still racing from how startled I’d been.
I called Min Siheon’s name several times. But the voice that answered me grew quieter, the pronunciation slurring as if he were drifting deeper into sleep.
“I said let me go. I need to go home too. At least let me sit up.”
“…I’m sleepy.”
“I’m not sleepy. So let go. …Wow, repaying kindness with betrayal. Min Siheon, don’t fall asleep. Hey, I said don’t sleep. Min Siheon? …Siheon-ah??”
“……”
Soon enough, Min Siheon seemed to fall completely asleep, offering no response. He simply kept his eyes shut tight, showing off those long eyelashes.
The parts touching were just his arm and my chest, but for some reason, every time I turned my head and saw his face, a strange feeling crept up my spine.
Is this kind of skinship really allowed even between friends in a BL novel…? Staring up at the ceiling, I threw out questions I couldn’t ask anyone else.
The world inside the book Cha Seung-ah had read was seriously a weird place.
***
A faint light brushed against my face. As I frowned and shifted my body, I realized there was something warm and large beside me.
I felt a weight pressing down on my upper body, making it a little hard to breathe. When I tried to lift my arm to get free, someone’s voice reached me—low and gentle.
“…Mm, what is it?”
“You can sleep more.”
“…Okay.”
“Jungwoo, you even talk in your sleep.”
…What? Who is that? Since I usually slept alone, I couldn’t hide my surprise.
I hurriedly forced my eyelids open, and a blurry shape filled my vision.
Huh…? Right in front of me was Min Siheon, lying on his side facing me. Unlike me—frozen stiff in confusion—he looked like a magazine photoshoot come to life, casually propped on one arm.
“Did you sleep well?”
“…Min Siheon? Why are you—…Oh, right. The cold.”
Min Siheon, apparently recovered already, wore a satisfied smile. My brain wasn’t fully awake yet, so I slowly retraced my thoughts.
Only then did the chain of events that led me here flash through my mind. Right… I’d come to take care of him and tried to go home, but he stopped me. Then he dragged me onto the bed.
At first, I hadn’t given up hope and struggled hard to get away. But then I’d glanced at the blankets scattered everywhere for no reason, and Min Siheon had mumbled that he was cold.
That’s where I made my fatal mistake—treating the sick guy like some kind of lord and covering him with the blanket. No matter how I thought about it, I seemed to have a weak spot when it came to him.
Honestly, aside from the sudden falling asleep part, Min Siheon’s bed was ridiculously comfortable.
The plush feeling wrapped around me like it was proudly announcing itself as an expensive mattress, making my brain go pleasantly numb.
Between redoing this ridiculous college life and pretending I wasn’t exhausted, I must’ve been more worn out than I thought. Watching someone else’s love triangle every day felt like a series of trials in itself.
In that state, good bedding, soft lighting, and the gentle warmth of another person’s body heat were unfairly tempting.
Me dozing off was entirely the environment’s fault.
In the end, I couldn’t resist the sweet lure of sleep and told myself I’d just rest my eyes for thirty minutes—and this was the result.
One thing was certain: judging by how my body felt, it had been way more than thirty minutes.
“Hey, what time is it?”
I asked while looking at his bright face, which showed no trace of illness anymore. His smooth, glowing skin only made his already handsome features shine more.
When I turned my head toward the window, the sky had already turned bluish, as if the sun had set. White clouds were clearing away, leaving an ambiguous scene that didn’t quite look like midday. At least, I felt relieved that it didn’t seem too late.
As I pushed myself up, seeing Min Siheon lying there leisurely on the other side suddenly made irritation bubble up inside me.
“You… You were faking being sick, weren’t you.”
“No. I was really sick. I just got better now.”
Seeing him pout like he was pitiful, I decided to get off the bed. Sure, I was weak when it came to him, but I’d done more than enough by now.
I threw off the blanket and stood, only to realize I was still dressed exactly the way I’d been when I came to visit him.
Even if the bed’s owner allowed it, lying down like that felt a bit questionable.
Sneaking a glance at Min Siheon, I saw him get up too, stretching like he’d had a great sleep.
The medicine must have worked incredibly well—he looked not just recovered, but completely refreshed.
Meanwhile, I could feel my own face was probably swollen even without looking in a mirror. Yet somehow, even with messy bed hair, his looks still shone.
I shook my head, thinking he must be a different species from me. But strangely, despite not lying down for that long—or so I thought—I felt unusually well-rested.
Actually, since this semester started—no, since entering this world inside the book—this might’ve been the least exhausted I’d felt.
Ignoring the uneasy feeling, I walked toward the door.
“You’re completely better now, right? Then I’m heading home.”
“Jungwoo, don’t you have class in the morning? Are you going straight home?”
“Yeah, I’ve got a morning class tomorrow. So I should go back now and rest—”
Something about Min Siheon’s words snagged at me. Why did it sound like he and I were talking about different dates?
With a bad feeling creeping up, I looked back out the window. The sky somehow seemed brighter than before.
If the sun had been setting, it should’ve been getting darker.
But instead, the outside was growing brighter—the light felt more like a sunrise than a sunset. As the clouds cleared and the sky opened up, that bluish tint faded away.
Bright light, like early morning sunshine, began filling the room.
“…Don’t tell me it’s morning right now.”
“Yeah. More like that moment between dawn and morning. It’s not even six yet. Want to sleep more?”
“……”
After answering my question calmly, Min Siheon pulled back the blanket and patted the spot beside him.
I had no idea what he found so amusing, but his eyes sparkled with mischief.
Damn it—I’d gotten completely swept up by this guy again. Not that it was the first time, but today felt especially ridiculous.
***
“Yeah, uh… I fell asleep while working on an assignment. Sorry I couldn’t reply.”
—What’s with you? You said that yesterday too.
“…What?”
—Seung-ah said she called you? Apparently your friend named Siheon answered. Oh my, Jungwoo, you didn’t know?
“Ah, no, it’s fine then. I’ve got lectures today, so I think I’ll head straight to school. I’ll come home after class.”
7:30 in the morning. I ended the call while looking at the sun already up outside the window. Even as I opened the terrace door to get some fresh morning air, it didn’t quite feel real.
Only after confirming with Min Siheon did I realize I’d slept nearly twelve hours after coming to visit him yesterday.
What I’d assumed was just an evening nap had actually carried me past midnight into the next morning.
Panicking at the realization that I’d stayed out overnight without saying anything, I quickly contacted my family. Even though I was an adult, Cha Seung-ah was still a minor at home, so I tried to report in regularly—I worried they might’ve thought something bad happened.
But when I hurriedly called my parents, they told me I’d apparently gotten permission to stay out yesterday.
Confused, I checked my phone and found a call I hadn’t answered.
→ [Cha Seung-ah] 9:57 PM 2 minutes 12 seconds
It seemed Cha Seung-ah had called first when I didn’t come home late at night. Since my phone had been on vibrate, I must not have noticed while asleep. According to my mom, Min Siheon had answered it.
Which meant Min Siheon had been awake last night. He must have secretly picked up the call from my family while leaving me asleep.
Closing the balcony door, I walked toward the kitchen. There stood Min Siheon, busy cooking while wearing an apron.
Whether he noticed my betrayed huffing or not, Min Siheon kept setting plates down on the island counter.
After being so sick yesterday, today he looked not just fine but practically glowing.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d been thoroughly played. If he was going to bounce back this quickly, maybe he didn’t need my help at all.
“Min Siheon, what time did you wake up yesterday? Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Yesterday? I woke up briefly around nine. Why?”
“That’s not something you just brush off. I heard you answered Cha Seung-ah’s call. You should’ve woken me. Why let me keep sleeping?”
“If I woke you, you would’ve gone home and left me.”
“Well, yeah—that’s obvious. This is your house, not mine.”
“You could live here, though.”
At my firm reply, Min Siheon’s eyes seemed to change for a split second. His light-colored irises looked like they darkened.
Startled, I took a step back, and Min Siheon quickly put on a gentle smile.
…Was I imagining things? Scratching my head awkwardly, I watched as Min Siheon gestured for me to come eat breakfast.
