70
* * *
Even inside the elevator, Samin persistently teased him, but Doun maintained his silence. It was because he had just felt embarrassed after saying something wrong earlier.
The memory of the man who had said he was a fan and offered words of support at the cafe had long since faded. What his nickname was, what he looked like, what he said.
“Hyung. Why won’t you answer me? Hm?”
Samin was making a fuss asking for an answer until Doun pressed the door lock password. He couldn’t trust himself not to tease someone who would give reactions several times bigger than others with just a little prodding.
Doun, who had stubbornly ignored the chattering voice, finally spat out a word to Samin when they entered the entrance.
“You keep casually speaking informally to me lately, but I’m your hyung, you know? Do you sometimes forget my age?”
This young fogey again. Samin was about to accommodate Doun’s attempt at establishing hierarchy, but his pride was hurt by the comment about forgetting his age. Though they had been in contact for a short time, he prided himself on knowing quite a bit about Doun.
“That’s not true? I know tons about hyung?”
How much could this guy who had only known him for about a month know? Doun asked with a suspicious expression.
“What do you know so much about? Try saying it once.”
When he actually set up the stage, he thought he’d just say things like his name or hunter nickname, but the information that poured out as if he’d been waiting was tremendous.
“You’re twenty-six this year and your birthday is July 7th by the solar calendar. Nickname Magnetic. Ranked 1st and the skills you use often are Stigma and Flash. You said you’d bury your bones in Yeoun Guild, and you like spicy food.”
“Hey…… Wait a minute.”
“Your drunken behavior is cutely laughing and driving people crazy, and it seems like you hug people tightly when sleeping. I can’t guarantee this since I’ve only experienced it once. And hyung, you like dogs, right? I remember everything about you asking if you could save Ppomi’s photos.”
“……”
“And you always wear a hat when going out, and looking at how you dress, you seem to like black. And that hyung likes me very much? If you keep telling me to continue, I could say more, but if I just summarize, it’s about this much?”
It was an information bombardment. Doun recalled bits and pieces of the information Samin had rapidly rattled off and got fired up.
“Hey. Wait. There’s something weird slipped in at the end. Why do I like you very much?”
“Who was the first person invited to hyung’s house? Me, right? You even told me to sleep over? You answer when I call, you joined our guild. From my perspective, love is overflowing? Isn’t it?”
“……”
“See. You can’t refute it. Hyung, be honest with your heart. Hyung likes Samin, you know? Very much…… Hyung likes me, likes me……”
Samin chanted to Doun in a low voice while drawing circles with his index finger as if trying to hypnotize him. Inside, he was praying to some unknown god to please like him.
Doun looked at such a Samin pathetically and shook his head. A guy who looks decently handsome acts exactly like an elementary schooler. These days elementary schoolers are mature so they probably wouldn’t even do this.
“What are you doing? Don’t hypnotize me. Crazy bastard.”
“You don’t even intend to be hypnotized by me.”
Doun felt a prick for a moment. He had to acknowledge his perceptiveness.
Samin, who sensed his mischief had failed again today, sighed deeply and sat on the living room sofa. The way he patted the spot next to him urging him to sit was very natural.
When Doun sat on the sofa keeping his distance, Samin glanced at the suitcase still placed in the corner of the living room that needed organizing.
“Ah. We spent today meaningfully. Finished the team building at the pension, ate, went for a walk, and went to a cafe to rest.”
He deliberately didn’t mention seeing the message about another guild alliance successfully conquering the 55th floor from morning. Doun, who slowly retraced what he had done today, nodded and mumbled.
“……There really were a lot of things today.”
“Being with me is super fun and you don’t notice time passing, right? If you date me, I could do even more fun things for you……”
“No, why do you keep inserting weird appeals?”
“Ah, this doesn’t work either?”
He thought his mischief might work if he was lucky. It still seemed like he had a long way to go.
“Would it work when you’re obviously being mischievous?”
Doun shook his head showing reluctance.
“Just wait and see. I’m going to be mischievous until it works on hyung. Not an Indian rain dance but a Kyung Samin rain dance, I’ll show you exactly.”
“Indian rain dance? What’s that again? Always saying weird things.”
“Indians did rain dances until it rained, right? I’ll keep doing conquest attempts until they succeed, and I’ll keep pursuing until hyung likes me.”
“Don’t you think about my position receiving the pursuit?”
“Oh? You know I’m pursuing hyung?”
His attitude was so shameless it seemed like he might have laid the groundwork just to hear this answer from Doun. It was an unpredictable way of speaking. Doun covered his face with one hand, exploding with frustration at the fact that he had fallen for Kyung Samin’s speaking style again.
‘Ah, I got caught up again. In that weird speaking style.’
Even though he tried to pay attention to keep his wits about him, he was always somehow caught up. He knew he was indecisive and easily swayed by people without backbone. He was someone who often heard that watching him was frustrating and incomprehensible why he lived like that.
‘He only teases people and looks frivolous and light…… Kyung Samin is really annoying.’
Though he grumbled like that inside, what was more annoying was himself, who didn’t find that brazenness hateful at all.
Though he had told Samin not to do it with disgust, if he actually stopped being clingy about liking him, he thought he might feel disappointed. Doun couldn’t define his feelings toward Samin.
He was definitely grateful to Samin. He had helped him in every way for his comeback. Whenever he was about to get depressed, he somehow got him outside to refresh his mood and comforted his dejected self.
Honestly, even blood brothers wouldn’t readily do such things. Favors are only good once or twice. The affection that Samin, who was practically a stranger, gave to Doun was special.
However, separate from such gratitude, he couldn’t rashly answer the question of whether he thought of Samin as a romantic partner. Doun had lived for 26 years with the fixed notion that romance was with the opposite sex.
Romance between men. Doun could imagine holding hands with Samin, hugging, and even going as far as kissing. Since people of the same gender could hold hands or hug when overcome with emotion.
Kissing was also skinship he couldn’t have even imagined if Samin hadn’t made the first move with pleading eyes.
‘I can’t imagine what would happen beyond that.’
Not just light kisses but sticky kisses and beyond. You’d have to have done such things with a man to know. Doun was just confused. He slyly looked up at Samin who was grinning in front of him.
‘Me kissing with him and doing… lewd things?’
His gaze began to move downward. Then Doun, who recalled the size of Samin’s lower body that he had discovered a few times, quickly turned his head.
“Hey, you sleep alone in the bed tonight. I’m going to sleep in the living room.”
“……Suddenly?”
Samin made a tearful face at the news like a bolt from the blue. Suddenly staring at him intently, then his face becoming subtle on his own, and finally saying to sleep alone.
“You were saying let’s sleep together until earlier, so why are you saying you’ll sleep alone in the living room? Did you get angry because I was leading you on with questions?”
“What? So you were obviously aiming for that earlier?”
Looking at his reaction, it didn’t seem like he declared separate rooms because he was angry about the leading questions. What could the reason be? Samin wanted to lie next to Doun even if it meant staying up all night with open eyes. If that wasn’t possible, he needed to be in the same space to feel at ease.
Didn’t the ancestors say that out of sight is out of mind? He could only extract a few more words from Doun by hovering nearby and imprinting his presence.
“No way! Even if I sleep on the floor, hyung should sleep on the bed. Sleeping separately is absolutely not allowed!”
The way he threw a tantrum was perfectly suited to Samin, like a child throwing a fit in front of the snack aisle at a large mart asking to buy snacks. At his desperate struggle to somehow stick close to him, Doun asked with a displeased expression.
“……Can’t bear to see the person you like sleeping in the living room?”
“Isn’t that obvious? What crazy bastard in the world would make the person they like sleep on the living room sofa while taking the bed for themselves?”
“If there’s none in the world, you could be the first to do it.”
“I don’t want to be first in something like that? I don’t want to. I’m going to sleep with hyung!”
“If you hate me sleeping on the sofa that much, then you……”
Doun forcibly cut off the words that were about to reflexively come out. Because he couldn’t bring himself to say ‘you sleep on the sofa.’ No matter what, making the guy who ran all the way to his house to comfort his depression sleep on the sofa. Even so, this wasn’t right.
“Me? What about me?”
Under the gaze staring directly at him, Doun just moved his lips. He had started speaking in anger, but didn’t know what to say. He decided to just say anything to brush it off.
“You should do better from now on.”
“Huh? Do what better here? Do better at pursuing? Anyway, we’re sleeping together today, right?”
When he wanted it this much, his heart started to feel uncomfortable again about refusing. Besides, this wasn’t the first time they slept together, and if he did anything inappropriate while sleeping, it might be better to give appropriate punishment later even if he had to feed him a potion.
Finally, Doun nodded as if giving up.
“Fine. Let’s sleep. Whatever……”
“Awesome. Let’s hurry and go to sleep. Or do you want to watch some more videos?”
Looking at Samin humming along with his answer, Doun found himself faintly smiling without knowing it. As if he had unknowingly been permeated by Samin’s bright and positive energy. The musty dust smell that had filled the house was nowhere to be found, and it was full of a hectic but refreshing scent.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
