That was the moment. Something inside the fried rice crunched between his teeth. As the small ingredient split in two, a sweet, chewy flavor spread throughout his mouth.
“Hhk.”
Eunho’s eyes went wide. This, this…! His body trembled on its own.
“Ahjussi……”
It was a heavenly taste. A flavor like a drug. A taste he wouldn’t mind eating all day long.
It was a carrot.
“I think…… I found something I like more than Ahjussi.”
What the hell is this nonsense? Yi-beom’s expression twisted sharply, his eyes flashing.
“What?”
“……”
“Say that again. More than me…… what?”
“A-ah, no, I misspoke.”
Seeing the light in Yi-beom’s eyes, Eunho quickly shut his mouth. Nothing good ever came from talking more at times like this.
But Yi-beom had already heard him clearly. Hah. The corner of Yi-beom’s lips curled coldly upward.
Without a word, Yi-beom stood and took the bowl from Eunho. Then he picked up his chopsticks and began separating something from the fried rice, piece by piece.
“……Ahjussi.”
Eunho whimpered.
“……I won’t do it again.”
“Too late.”
Eunho’s eyes drooped pitifully as he stared desperately at the chopsticks. With chilling precision, Yi-beom plucked the carrots out from the fried rice. Watching the growing pile of carrots, Eunho’s face crumpled.
Even knowing it was childish, Yi-beom couldn’t stop moving his chopsticks. It wasn’t something a thirty-five-year-old man should be doing, but after spending the whole day carving rabbit-shaped apples and then having his runaway lover come back, Yi-beom couldn’t help feeling twisted up inside.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d focused this hard. He even removed the tiny carrot pieces clinging to bits of green onion one by one before finally setting his chopsticks down.
Fuck, what the hell am I doing?
Seeing the mound of carrots piled neatly on the table, reality hit Yi-beom too. But what irritated him even more was Eunho lying slumped over like a man who’d lost his country.
Still face-down on the table with only his eyes open, Eunho spoke.
“Isn’t that too much?”
“You don’t think you’re the one being too much?”
Eunho pressed his lips together. Of course he was. Leaving the house on his own, misunderstanding Yi-beom— it had all been his fault.
“S-still, how could you take only the carrots out of the fried rice?”
Even so, even so this wasn’t right! Taking his carrots away? Sparks flashed in Eunho’s eyes.
“I told you I like carrots!”
“You said you like them more than me.”
“Then are you going to take them out forever? Even if Mrs. Park makes it?”
A surge of anger rose up, and Eunho raised his voice. Even knowing this wasn’t worth getting upset over, he couldn’t control his emotions.
Like an addict who’d had his drug taken away, Eunho was in a state of extreme agitation. That’s what carrots meant to a rabbit. And Ahjussi didn’t even understand! Eunho breathed out shakily.
“You used to feed me more when I said something was delicious!”
“That’s the same thing?”
“What’s different about it!”
Huffing, Eunho jerked his head up. Then, just like he’d practiced, he tensed his body.
With a pop, a white T-shirt collapsed onto the spot where Eunho had been sitting. From within it, a small rabbit poked its face out.
“You…!”
Startled, Yi-beom rose from his seat, but Eunho had already pushed off with all his strength. The pink rabbit launched itself straight into the pile of carrots.
“Jung Eunho!”
Opening its mouth wide, the rabbit stuffed carrots in nonstop. Yi-beom hurriedly grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and lifted it.
“You little—!”
Yi-beom shut his mouth mid-scold. Even in that moment, the innocent rabbit kept chewing carrots, cheeks puffed. He couldn’t bring himself to get angry.
Fuck. At least don’t be this cute. Yi-beom slowly closed and opened his eyes. He’d always been weak toward Eunho, but it felt even worse now that Eunho had turned into a rabbit.
Letting out a deep sigh, Yi-beom sat back down. He gathered the scattered carrots on the table and placed them in front of Eunho.
“Eat slowly. I won’t take them away.”
Eunho burrowed into Yi-beom’s arms and tilted his head back. His rabbit ears perked up.
“R-really?”
“Or should I just snatch them?”
Gasp— Eunho sucked in a breath and quickly shoved another carrot into his mouth. The sound of tiny teeth chewing echoed through the kitchen.
Haah. Leaning fully against the back of his chair, Yi-beom looked down at him.
“So annoying, Jung Eunho.”
Unlike his words, Yi-beom’s hand was gently stroking Eunho’s back. The movements were practically those of a caretaker.
“You’re the only one who treats me this fucking badly.”
“……”
“Because I got rid of everyone else before you.”
Even Yi-beom didn’t know why he was endlessly soft only toward Jung Eunho. It had been that way since the first time they met. Normally, he would’ve punched someone for stubbornly insisting the bathroom was over there.
That day, what Yi-beom chose wasn’t to shove Eunho aside— it was to pull him into his arms.
He couldn’t firmly push away that young punk whose blood hadn’t even dried yet.
“But why the fuck can’t I get mad?”
Ung? Eunho, who had been fully absorbed in carrot bliss, lifted his head. Seeing those round eyes made another sigh escape him.
“Just eat. Don’t worry about it.”
“Ung.”
Guess it’s nothing serious. Eunho happily went back to eating carrots. Watching him devour them mindlessly, Yi-beom let out a laugh.
***
After dinner, Eunho flopped onto the bed and checked his phone first. There were already several missed calls from Eunchan. Since it was too late to call back, Eunho decided to send a message instead.
[Hyung, don’t worry. It was just……]
He hesitated for a moment before continuing.
[Just a couple’s fight. But it’s okay. We decided to pretend it never happened.]
Leaving behind a message that would make Eunchan’s insides flip over if he saw it, Eunho casually exited the chat window.
Even aside from Eunchan’s messages, there were plenty left. Group chats and private chats alike. Red notification marks filled the screen. Eunho began replying one by one, telling everyone he was fine.
—Ding.
The first reply came from Chanwoo.
[Are you seriously okay?]
Chanwoo had been his best friend since high school, and they’d even gone to the same university. Realizing he’d completely forgotten about him while dealing with Yi-beom, Eunho sent a reply with an apologetic expression.
[Yeah, what about you?]
[Hey, I almost got totally fucked.]
Kim Chanwoo was a good guy, but his mouth was pretty rough. Reading the message full of swearing, Eunho wondered why everyone around him talked like that.
[I animalized on the subway and freaked the hell out.]
[What are you?]
[Water deer.]
Eunho snickered as he typed back.
[Water deer?]
[Yeah, fuck. I twisted my neck around and sprinted from car 1 to car 8.]
Imagining a water deer screaming kkiiiieeek while running through the subway made laughter burst out of him. It was such a Chanwoo-like animal. Even normally, he tended to scream whenever something happened.
When Eunho had introduced Yi-beom as his lover, Chanwoo had also made a water-deer-like shriek.
Remembering Yi-beom’s face crumpling at that moment, Eunho couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing. “Wahaha—!”
“Jung Eunho.”
Still laughing with tears in his eyes, Eunho looked up. Yi-beom had just come out of the shower.
“You cheating on me while I’m gone?”
“……”
Eunho stared at him blankly. Standing in front of the bathroom, Yi-beom had a towel wrapped around his lower half as he approached.
No matter how many times he saw it, it was a body worth admiring. A bronzed, solid chest, and beneath it abs carved like sculpture.
Each breath made his muscles ripple. Despite living in the underworld, Yi-beom had no tattoos, but the shifting muscles with every breath created an atmosphere more overwhelming than any ink.
A droplet of water he hadn’t wiped away slid down between his pecs. Watching the moisture glide lower, pooling near his hipbone, Eunho swallowed hard.
“Jung Eunho.”
Startled out of staring at his body, Eunho lifted his head. Yi-beom was already standing right in front of him. A large hand tilted Eunho’s chin upward.
“Those are excited eyes.”
His low voice vibrated near Eunho’s ear. When no answer came, Yi-beom’s hand slid downward. The touch tracing his neck made Eunho let out an unconscious moan.
“Our Eunho.”
“……”
“Why are you so excited, I wonder.”
He couldn’t breathe. Like prey caught in a trap, he couldn’t do anything. Even turning his gaze or running away felt possible only with Yi-beom’s permission. Eunho met his eyes with trembling ones.
In an instant, Yi-beom’s body moved over him. Fast enough that resistance was impossible— like a tiger going in for the hunt.
A dark shadow fell over him. Even without transforming, Yi-beom’s thick, large body was a tiger itself. Like a carnivore that had pulled its prey into its grasp, Yi-beom looked down at Eunho with relaxed confidence.
“Jung Eunho.”
Just hearing his name made heat gather low in his belly and his thighs tense. Ah… Eunho let out a quiet moan.
“I couldn’t sleep for a week. Because you weren’t here.”
“……”
“I tried to sleep.”
Yi-beom whispered, sliding his leg between Eunho’s thighs.
“But without something warm and cozy, I just couldn’t fall asleep.”
