“Aah!”
A scream burst out suddenly. It wasn’t intentional, but Lim Haeyul couldn’t help it given the situation.
He pushed away a bewildered Cha Jae-woo and rolled off the bed, wrapped in a blanket. Cha Jae-woo didn’t try to stop him as he fled to the edge of the large bed. Cha Jae-woo just stared blankly.
“You’re shameless!” Lim Haeyul shouted, his mind half-gone from lack of sleep. He said things he would never say under normal circumstances. But he didn’t regret it. It seemed fitting for Cha Jae-woo.
“What?” Cha Jae-woo asked, confused.
“You’re really shameless. I swear, I’ll never guide like that again… Never!” Lim Haeyul declared, recalling the intense struggle from the night before. He vowed never to guide with bare skin again, even if it meant giving up his ambition.
Lim Haeyul glared, his eyes wide with determination. He stood up, still wrapped in the blanket, looking like a caterpillar. But he didn’t care. Anything was better than letting the blanket fall off, especially with Cha Jae-woo watching him with that puzzled expression.
‘How can he look so clueless? Why is he so calm?’ Lim Haeyul thought, shaking his head. He didn’t want to understand right now. All he wanted was to get back to his room, finally free from Cha Jae-woo’s grasp.
“Ah!” Lim Haeyul yelped as Cha Jae-woo grabbed the blanket, preventing him from leaving the bed. The familiar sensation brought a flush to his face. For a moment, he considered dropping the blanket and running, but he knew he’d be caught. The mere thought was humiliating.
“Let go!” Lim Haeyul demanded.
“Not until you explain,” Cha Jae-woo insisted.
“Explain what? You know exactly why I’m upset!” Lim Haeyul snapped, but his anger faded as Cha Jae-woo seemed genuinely confused.
Lim Haeyul stared at him, incredulous. Cha Jae-woo really seemed to have no memory of last night. Was he drunk? But that didn’t make sense; alcohol shouldn’t affect an Esper’s abilities like that. It was all so confusing.
“You really don’t remember?” Lim Haeyul asked, hoping it wasn’t true. All that struggle, all that embarrassment—it couldn’t have been for nothing.
But Cha Jae-woo nodded, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Lim Haeyul felt a surge of anger.
“That’s not fair…” he muttered.
Last night had been a nightmare—or maybe a dream. Lim Haeyul wasn’t sure. All he knew was that it had been intense. He should have left the room when he had the chance, when the tension had eased slightly. But he had been captivated by Cha Jae-woo’s gaze, unable to move.
And then, out of nowhere, Cha Jae-woo had kissed him. The shock still made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. And the kiss—it had been overwhelming, leaving him breathless and dizzy. He had been completely swept away.
It wasn’t until Cha Jae-woo’s lips moved from his mouth to his cheek, then to his neck, that Lim Haeyul came to his senses. Specifically, when Cha Jae-woo bit his shoulder. He finally realized the situation: clothes strewn about, the blanket barely hanging onto the bed, and Cha Jae-woo looking at him with intense desire.
Lim Haeyul finally realized something was wrong. He quickly grabbed the blanket, which was about to fall off the bed, and used it as a barrier between himself and Cha Jae-woo. Cha Jae-woo frowned, clearly displeased, but to Lim Haeyul, the blanket felt like a lifeline.
He struggled to wrap the blanket tightly around himself as Cha Jae-woo continued to kiss him, holding his chin firmly. Lim Haeyul was determined to keep the blanket on, fearing what might happen if he didn’t.
“…….”
“Do you know how hard I tried…!” Lim Haeyul quickly recounted the previous night’s events, his voice filled with frustration. Cha Jae-woo listened silently, his expression unchanged, as if he remembered nothing.
How could he not remember? Lim Haeyul thought. Cha Jae-woo had chased him around the room, trying to remove the blanket and do more. Yet, he seemed to recall none of it.
It was infuriating. Lim Haeyul explained the situation, his voice filled with indignation, and then sighed deeply. If Cha Jae-woo had been in better health, who knows what might have happened?
The silent struggle ended only when Cha Jae-woo, exhausted, fell asleep. Lim Haeyul felt a chilling sense that if Cha Jae-woo had been in his usual condition, it might never have ended.
“Anyway, I tried to leave once you finally fell asleep, but you were holding me so tightly I couldn’t move. I’m not a body pillow! I almost suffocated under that blanket.”
“Ah.”
“This isn’t right! I mean, I do like you, Cha Jae-woo, but that doesn’t mean you can just… pounce on me like that! I’m not as… promiscuous as you—no, that’s not what I meant! Anyway, I’m glad my feelings aren’t real, or else…!”
Lim Haeyul realized how hurtful the situation was. Cha Jae-woo had been all over him one night and remembered nothing the next day. If Lim Haeyul hadn’t come to his senses, he would have been the one left hurt.
He glared at Cha Jae-woo, shaking his head. It was all Cha Jae-woo’s fault, and Lim Haeyul felt no guilt. He was the one nursing a one-sided love, left to comfort Cha Jae-woo’s loneliness and then forgotten.
“Ha…”
But Lim Haeyul’s confidence vanished at the sound of Cha Jae-woo’s sigh. He suddenly felt a wave of anger from Cha Jae-woo, even though he couldn’t read his emotions.
“I mean… nothing really happened, so…” Lim Haeyul quickly tried to smooth things over, sensing he might have gone too far.
“I’m sorry…” he said, feeling a mix of frustration and injustice. He was the one who should be apologizing, even though Cha Jae-woo was at fault.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Cha Jae-woo replied, shaking his head. Lim Haeyul nodded slightly, still sensing Cha Jae-woo’s anger.
“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Cha Jae-woo repeated, running a hand over his face. His dark eyes gleamed with an unreadable expression.
Lim Haeyul slowly backed away, still wrapped in the blanket. “I… I need to take a shower.”
“…….”
“You should too. You got caught in the rain yesterday and didn’t shower properly.”
Cha Jae-woo didn’t stop him this time. Lim Haeyul turned and quickly grabbed the doorknob, eager to leave. But Cha Jae-woo’s voice stopped him.
“Come back.”
Lim Haeyul froze, then slowly turned around. He didn’t want to stay, but Cha Jae-woo’s mood was clear.
“Not now. Shower and get dressed properly, then come back.”
Lim Haeyul didn’t respond. He didn’t want to come back, but he knew he had to. Cha Jae-woo’s mood was impossible to ignore.
“Can’t we eat and spend some time apart first…?” Lim Haeyul suggested hesitantly.
“I’ll explain why I did what I did yesterday,” Cha Jae-woo said, cutting him off. Lim Haeyul’s eyes widened with curiosity.
“Can’t you tell me now?” he asked eagerly. He had forgotten to ask for an explanation in his haste to leave. Why had Cha Jae-woo acted that way? He hadn’t been drunk or affected by a gate.
“Shower first,” Cha Jae-woo said firmly, waving him off. Lim Haeyul opened his mouth to protest but thought better of it.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, quickly closing the door behind him. He hurried down the hall, his footsteps echoing loudly.
He wanted answers as soon as possible. He was curious about how Cha Jae-woo’s abilities had been affected and why he had acted that way. And most importantly, he wanted to know why his first kiss had been taken like that.
