Blossoming (6)
On our taxi ride home, Sa Hae-geon tried to act casual as he took my hand, but his expression betrayed him. Seeing his dejected face made me uncomfortable. But no matter how I thought about it, there was nothing between Woo Jae-dam and me that Sa Hae-geon needed to worry about.
To me, Woo Jae-dam was simply a colleague and junior in the same field, nothing more, nothing less. Besides, Woo Jae-dam had only just become an adult Esper. I wasn’t immoral or shameless enough to create any subtle undercurrents with someone like him.
And I could firmly state that I’d never had feelings worth Sa Hae-geon’s concern for any ability user I’d met, not just Woo Jae-dam. But explaining this to him every time I met an ability user seemed inappropriate. That would be unpleasant and draining for both of us.
As I gently stroked the back of Sa Hae-geon’s hand with my thumb while looking out the window, he spoke up.
“Are you angry, hyung?”
“…Huh? Angry?”
“Yes. It feels like I’m being a constant nuisance. I keep making you worry.”
True to his excellent self-awareness, he had accurately assessed the situation. But while the first part was correct, the second wasn’t. I didn’t find Sa Hae-geon’s behavior annoying at all. I gazed out the window for a moment. Thanks to the meeting ending early, the sun was still high in the sky. I felt inexplicably happy about leaving work while the sun was still directly overhead rather than setting.
Wanting Sa Hae-geon to see the same scenery, I glanced at the seat beside me and saw him with his head bowed, still waiting for my answer.
“Hae-geon.”
“…Yes.”
“It’s true that I’m concerned about you, but that doesn’t mean it’s annoying.”
“…”
“So look over there. We’re getting off work while the sun is still up.”
“…Yes.”
Sa Hae-geon responded quietly and turned his head toward the window I was pointing at. The sunlight spread across his deep sea-like eyes, making them sparkle like light dancing on water. I stared blankly at that sight before squeezing our interlocked hands.
As soon as we arrived home, Sa Hae-geon and I embraced each other without hesitation.
“Meowwww!”
I heard Cream demanding attention at our feet, but I didn’t have time to look down. Finally, Cream grumbled something in displeasure before turning around and trotting away.
At the same time, I felt Sa Hae-geon’s lips, which had been buried in my hair, begin to move.
“Hyung.”
“Mm.”
“I think Cream is upset.”
“Can’t be helped.”
“Why?”
“Because right now, it’s more important to soothe the heart of a twenty-one-year-old Sa Hae-geon, which is harder to appease than Cream’s.”
Sa Hae-geon’s arms around my waist twitched slightly. His hands, which had been wandering momentarily, tightened around my waist again. Soon, I heard his disgruntled mumbling above my head.
“Don’t treat me like a child.”
“When did I treat you like a child? I didn’t.”
“Don’t deny it either.”
Sa Hae-geon gently bit my head with his teeth. It didn’t hurt, but I was perplexed by this inexplicable behavior. It’s not like he was teething or something.
“Hae-geon, what are you doing? Don’t tell me your teeth are itchy?”
At my question, Sa Hae-geon let out a shocked gasp. Then, in a voice tinged with disbelief, he asked:
“What exactly do you think I am?”
His tone carried a faint but detectable sense of betrayal, which made me burst into laughter as I hugged him tightly.
“I’m joking, just joking. You were cute, so I teased you a bit.”
“…Don’t make jokes like that anymore. I almost thought you considered me a child or a dog.”
“Well, you do look like a puppy sometimes. Is it wrong to say that…?”
“Hyung…!”
“Sorry, sorry.”
Sa Hae-geon called my name reproachfully with a slightly trembling voice. He hugged me so tightly I could barely breathe, then bit my ear in frustration. It didn’t really hurt, but I deliberately exaggerated my pain.
“Ouch. That hurts.”
“That’s a lie. I didn’t bite hard.”
“Really? Then maybe your canines are as sharp as a puppy’s.”
“…What did you say? Hyung!”
Sa Hae-geon’s voice grew louder at my continued teasing. He breathed a bit roughly before burying his face in my shoulder. Then he rubbed his face vigorously, like a puppy throwing a tantrum. After doing this for a while, he suddenly called me in a serious voice, as if he’d realized something.
“Hyung.”
“Yes.”
“Why aren’t you saying it’s a joke this time?”
“…Huh?”
It was a sharp question. I couldn’t deny Sa Hae-geon’s words and remained silent. Then Sa Hae-geon removed his face from my shoulder and stammered:
“Don’t tell me… you… you were serious?”
When I again gave no response, Sa Hae-geon’s arms around me went limp. He distanced himself from me as if we hadn’t just been hugging each other tightly, and headed to his room as if escaping. Somehow, I was left standing alone at the entrance.
Long after lunchtime had passed, Sa Hae-geon still hadn’t emerged from his room. I wondered if we might end up sleeping in separate rooms tonight. We hadn’t even been dating that long… Had I been too mischievous? He seemed genuinely upset.
I hesitated in front of Sa Hae-geon’s door, then, after receiving a pointed look from Cream as if asking what I was doing standing there, I carefully knocked.
“…Hae-geon.”
“…”
Sa Hae-geon was quiet, not answering. Was he expressing his unwillingness to talk to me through silence? Or was he just taking a nap? I knocked once more, but again, there was no answer. If Sa Hae-geon and I were nothing to each other, I might have just assumed he was sleeping and let it go, but we were in a relationship, weren’t we?
“I’m coming in.”
With that, I flung open the door and barged into Sa Hae-geon’s room, which was quiet. Only the blanket mounded like a small hill on the bed, rising and falling rhythmically, indicated his presence in the room. Was he really sleeping? I tiptoed to the bedside and looked down at the blanket.
Sa Hae-geon must have heard me approaching, yet he remained silent. He was either deeply asleep or seriously upset. Well, I could find out which.
Just as I carefully grabbed his blanket to pull it back, the blanket split open like a monster’s jaws and swallowed me whole in an instant.
“Uh…”
Somehow, I found myself lying under the blanket with Sa Hae-geon. It happened so suddenly that I couldn’t even grasp the situation. Still, one thing was clear: Sa Hae-geon hadn’t been sleeping.
“You weren’t asleep? Then why didn’t you answer? I knocked twice.”
Instead of answering, Sa Hae-geon wrapped his arms around me from behind. He buried his hot lips against my nape and mumbled. Every time he spoke, his breath tickled my skin.
“I didn’t want to answer.”
“…What? That’s not right. You should at least answer. I thought you were sleeping.”
“You teased me first, hyung.”
“No, why is the conversation going in this direction again…”
“Was it my fault?”
Sa Hae-geon asked primly.
“…No. I’m sorry. I just thought your reaction was cute.”
“Stop trying to resolve everything by calling me cute. It doesn’t work…”
But Sa Hae-geon’s voice carried a strange satisfaction despite his words. Of course, considering his effort to hide it, I pretended not to notice. His mood seemingly improved, Sa Hae-geon kept kissing my nape. His hot, moist lips traced along my neck.
“…Hae-geon.”
Sa Hae-geon answered by lightly biting my exposed nape.
“Ah…”
He hadn’t bitten hard, but the indescribable stimulation jolted me alert. Belatedly, I fumbled to cover the skin where Sa Hae-geon’s lips touched. In response, Sa Hae-geon began planting kisses on the back of my hand.
“You, what are you doing… It’s ticklish, why do you keep…”
Sa Hae-geon, who had been showering my hand with kisses, suddenly buried his nose in my shoulder. Taking a deep breath, he murmured:
“You’re so careless it’s almost heartless, hyung.”
“What?”
“I’m saying sometimes I hate you.”
Sa Hae-geon whispered his answer, then turned my head and captured my lips.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
