Haon immediately called the weekend owner. He thought it would be better to tell him quickly to minimize any potential damage.
He was prepared to accept any kind of harsh words, but unexpectedly, the owner didn’t get angry at all when Haon said he might have to quit. Instead, he worried about his well-being. The owner’s tone suggested he had somewhat anticipated Haon’s decision to leave. He even gave Haon concerned advice, telling him not to work at a bar if possible in the future, along with a reminder to stay close to his boyfriend.
With that, Haon’s part-time job at the pub was decided to end this weekend. He had originally planned to find another short-term weekend job, but he gave up on that idea.
Right now, what was important to Haon wasn’t money, but Inho.
Vibration. Vibration.
The vibration of the phone under his pillow woke Haon. With a groggy face from sleep, he took out his phone and quickly pressed the screen. In his haste, he ended the call without even checking who it was, worried that Inho might wake up.
Holding the phone, Haon quietly sat up. He was bare-chested, wearing only his pajama bottoms. Inho, sound asleep, also had his firm, bare skin exposed outside the blanket. It felt a little chilly since it was dawn. Haon first covered Inho with the blanket, and then checked his phone, only covering his lower body.
‘Ah…’
It was a call from Seong-gu hyung. He had hung up without answering, so his hyung would definitely be worried. As expected, messages were piling up in his chat with Seong-gu hyung.
[Call me right away if you see this]
Reading the last message, Haon swallowed hard. Seeing his hyung’s message, which clearly showed anger at a glance, made him suddenly tense. He even wondered if something had happened at home.
With a worried heart, he looked back and forth between his phone and Inho. He thought about going downstairs for a quick call, but his feet wouldn’t move. He didn’t want to leave the deeply asleep Inho alone, not even for a moment.
Vibration…
While Haon was hesitating, his phone rang again. Flustered, Haon accidentally pressed the call button.
“Ye, hello?”
He answered the phone in a very small voice. Fortunately, there was no sign of Inho waking up from his deep sleep. Relieved that he could at least talk like this, a lion’s roar that pierced his ears poured out from the other side of the phone.
—Hey, Jung Haon!!
“Hyu, hyung…?”
Haon’s eyes widened as his sleep vanished.
—You punk, are you dead or alive?! Why aren’t you answering your phone?! Are you kidding me?! Huh?! Do you know how worried hyung was?!
Haon was at a loss for words at Seong-gu hyung’s voice, which was full of anger. He hurriedly crawled to the edge of the bed and curled up as much as possible. He didn’t forget to turn down the phone volume.
—You should have replied if you read my text. And you didn’t even contact me first! Then at least reply properly! Am I wrong?!
“No, you’re right. Hyung is always right…”
—What’s wrong with your voice again?!
When Haon whispered, an irritated Seong-gu shouted if he was sick. Haon shook his head and hesitated before saying he had a cold. He hoped that would make his hyung less angry.
—Did you go to the hospital?
When he said he was sick, Seong-gu didn’t raise his voice anymore. Haon rubbed his tingling ear and felt relieved.
“I went. I’m okay.”
—How can someone who can’t even take medicine catch a cold? Are you overdoing it again?
“I’m not overdoing it. I’m taking it easy these days.”
He kept talking on the phone while glancing at the sleeping Inho. Lying on his side facing Haon, Inho didn’t even twitch an eyebrow, like a sculpture. Haon stole glances at Inho’s smooth cheek and jawline, and ended up missing what Seong-gu hyung was saying.
—Are you listening to me?
“Uh, yeah?”
A loud sigh echoed from the other side of the phone.
—Seriously, you’re too much, Jung Haon. You shouldn’t be like this.
“I’m sorry. I’ll listen carefully. Tell me again.”
—No matter how busy you are, you should at least text me once a week. Are you annoyed by hyung?
Haon vehemently denied that he could ever be annoyed. He just hadn’t been in the right state of mind to contact him. In his heart, he was always thinking of Seong-gu hyung.
“I’m really doing well. But… I haven’t had the time to contact you…”
He trailed off, murmuring almost in a whisper. It was clearly his fault, so he had nothing else to say. He was just sorry.
—Are you sure nothing’s really wrong? Are you positive?
“Yeah, hyung, I’m fine. I’m happy.”
Haon himself was taken aback by the last words that suddenly came out. Happy, after making Seong-gu hyung upset.
—Happy?
As expected, his hyung’s voice became even lower, sounding upset. But Haon answered truthfully. He was very happy.
—Are you dating? That alpha?
Amazed that Seong-gu hyung had seen right through him, he affirmed it.
—What? Seriously?
Surprised, Seong-gu pressed him to tell him what had happened in the meantime.
“I’ll tell you in detail later. When my throat gets better.”
It was difficult to talk for a long time right now because Inho was sleeping. Haon continued with his slightly more skillful lies and apologized to his hyung once again.
—Then don’t talk much and just listen for a moment.
“Okay.”
—You appeared in my dream today.
Haon, unable to follow the sudden change in topic, asked back, “Huh?”
—You appeared in my dream. You suddenly came out and cried your eyes out without saying anything. Ha, I thought my heart was really going to break, you rascal.
Seong-gu sighed, saying that’s why he had called so early in the morning. He usually tried to just text, but he was so worried that he couldn’t bear it.
—You haven’t looked at my texts for days, and then you suddenly appear in my dream crying like you’ve lost your country. How could hyung just stand by?
He said that if Haon hadn’t answered the phone today either, he was planning to come up to Seoul right away. Haon listened to his hyung’s story and tilted his head.
“Hyung, did you text me…?”
—You didn’t know? Do you live without looking at your phone at all?
That was kind of true, but he always checked his text notifications.
“Just a moment.”
Haon took the phone away from his ear for a moment and opened the text screen. Other than the one he had just received, there were no new texts from Seong-gu hyung.
—You didn’t get my text? Change your phone. That thing’s reached the end of its life. You’ve been using it for ages, haven’t you?
“…Yeah. I should change it.”
Haon, his voice trailing off, looked at Inho with calm eyes. He carefully reached out and brushed a strand of hair off Inho’s cheek.
—Still, it’s a relief that you’re happy.
“Yeah, I’m happy. Really.”
He looked at Inho and spoke sincerely, as if there was nothing wrong. Even if there was, it wouldn’t be able to disturb Haon’s current happiness. Haon was sure of that in his heart.
—Come back anytime if things get tough. Our parents and the village elders are all waiting for you.
“Really?”
—Of course. They ask me when you’re coming back every time I see them. It’s driving me crazy.
Haon chuckled and moved closer to Inho. Even if he talked on the phone next to him, Inho didn’t seem like he would wake up. He was in a very deep sleep.
Haon gently placed his finger under Inho’s nose. He felt a faint breath and found himself a little silly for feeling relieved.
At that moment, Inho slightly turned his head and kicked off the blanket Haon had put over him in his sleep. Even though the bedroom temperature was comfortable, he seemed hot and let out a stuffy breath. Haon fanned Inho with his hand and murmured softly.
“Huh.”
—Yeah.
“It must be hard for someone from Seoul to live in the countryside.”
It was a question that suddenly popped into his head. Haon stroked the ends of Inho’s brown hair and continued to whisper.
“The countryside isn’t very fun… and there’s nothing to do at night.”
It was clearly different from Seoul, which glittered with the city’s nightscape. The neighborhood Haon lived in didn’t even have a common convenience store. Going there for a short visit was one thing, but it was absurd for Inho to live there.
—Of course it’s hard! Don’t bring him here!
Seong-gu, who had been quietly listening to Haon’s words, suddenly shouted. Haon didn’t know, but he was currently grabbing his neck. To Seong-gu, who still thought of Haon as a newborn calf,
It was a story that would make his blood pressure rise.
—You haven’t even been dating for that long, yet you’re thinking about living together! Don’t even dream about it, you punk!
“Ah, no… th, uh… okay. I won’t.”
Haon, whose earlobes had turned red, scratched his chin without making excuses. He could only imagine how much trouble he would be in if his hyung found out that he was currently naked in bed with Inho.
He should definitely not mention that they were living together. Haon firmly resolved.
Only after listening to Seong-gu hyung’s lecture for over ten minutes was he able to put down his phone. It was a little tiring, but he was happy to hear his hyung’s voice after a long time.
He put his phone back under his pillow and slipped under the blanket. He thought about checking the text screen again but decided against it.
“Inho-ssi.”
He lightly nipped the tip of the unresponsive Inho’s nose and continued the conversation by himself. Leaning against Inho’s body, whose temperature seemed a little higher, he pulled the blanket down to just below his chest. It also felt like his own fever had gone down, making Inho’s body temperature feel higher.
“What shall we do today?”
Of course, there was no reaction from Inho. Haon watched Inho, who was sound asleep, with a satisfied smile.
“Let’s go out today…”
Even after the heat aftereffects had subsided, they hadn’t gone outside even once because Haon still had a slight fever. Inho didn’t even think about going out. He spent most of his time in bed with Haon, or cooking in the kitchen.
“Let’s go on a date for the first time in a while.”
Haon, whose lips were touching Inho’s, whispered as their skin brushed. Let’s eat lots of delicious food and soak up plenty of sunlight, he said.
