“Ahjumma, are you a sea otter?”
Eunho perked his ears up and examined her from head to toe. No matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find any sign of a sea otter.
“Oh, don’t even get me started.”
She waved her hand as if she were fed up.
“Convenience stores, supermarkets… I keep hiding things without realizing it, so I can’t even go anymore. I’ve been accused of being a thief more than once.”
“A thief?”
“If it weren’t for President Kwon, it would’ve been a disaster. Last time I even ended up at the police station.”
Because an enraged store owner had shouted at the top of his lungs and called the police, she had been stuck at the station for quite a while. If Yi-beom hadn’t contacted her just in time, she might’ve had to make an embarrassing call to her sons who lived far away.
“I owe him a big debt. Ah… you really shouldn’t end up indebted to President Kwon.”
Having a vague idea of what Kwon Yi-beom did for a living, she joked like that. Even so, she continued tossing napa cabbage into the boiling pot and seasoning vegetables in between.
The rabbit, watching while hopping in place, twitched his nose. A phone! Ahjumma would definitely have a phone.
“Ahjumma!”
Eunho quickly grabbed her arm with both paws. She turned around in surprise, having just opened the pot lid to taste the broth.
Eunho’s eyes sparkled.
“Could I… use your phone just once?”
If it were Ahjumma, she would lend it to him. Sure, she had known Yi-beom longer—but ever since Eunho first came to live with Yi-beom, she had always been on his side.
The day they first met, she had smacked Yi-beom on the back, asking where he’d picked up someone so young-looking. It was the first time Eunho had ever seen someone hit Yi-beom, and he had stared at her with wide eyes.
“Have some conscience! Conscience!”
“You knew I didn’t have any when you took the job, didn’t you?”
“I knew you had none, but I didn’t know you’d even grown fur!”
She had shot Yi-beom a look, saying how could he bring home such a soft, fluffy kid. For a while, until Eunho got used to staying in the house, she would scold Yi-beom whenever she saw him.
“My phone…?”
But contrary to Eunho’s expectations, she only looked troubled.
“Well… President Kwon told me not to give it to you.”
“What?”
How should she explain this… Fidgeting her fingers, she spoke hesitantly.
“I want to lend it to you too, but… it’s a request from President Kwon, so it’s hard.”
“I-I only need one call.”
Now she was the only person Eunho could rely on. Hopping down to the floor, he quickly wrapped both legs around her leg.
“Just one call, please? Yeah?”
“Don’t do this, Eunho student…”
“J-just one is enough. One minute—no, even thirty seconds! Or at least a text…”
Really short—if he could just leave a number somehow, there would be hope. If he could let anyone know about his situation.
Eunho looked up at her with round, pleading eyes.
“O-oh dear. The soup’s going to boil over.”
Carefully lifting her leg, she opened the pot lid. The inside was perfectly calm, but she lowered the heat anyway.
“I almost made it too salty. President Kwon told me to put in lots of carrots and simmer it well no matter what.”
“Not carrots, a text…”
“You like seasoned carrots too, right? Or should I roll them gently with some sugar syrup?”
Ahjumma wasn’t on his side either. Giving up, Eunho trudged toward the dining table.
“Please roll them with sugar…”
The carrots weren’t guilty. Truly.
***
He had tried making all kinds of plans, but there was nothing he could actually do. If he starved, he worried about the baby in his belly, and jumping from the second-floor terrace was too dangerous.
A man in a suit approached the sprawled-out Eunho. Still stuck to the sofa, Eunho opened only his eyes to look at him. It was Uncle Younguk.
“The boss sent this.”
He held out an envelope.
“What is it?”
“A photo book you said you wanted to see.”
When he opened the envelope, it was filled with photo books by a famous photographer. The moment he saw the cover, life returned to Eunho’s eyes.
“W-where did you even get this?”
It was a photo book that was difficult to obtain even overseas. The print run had been tiny, and since it ended with the first edition, copies sometimes even appeared at auction houses.
Mouth agape, Eunho accepted the album with trembling hands. It was a perfect first edition, still wrapped in plastic.
“As long as you behave quietly, things like this are nothing.”
Meaning, for your own safety—and for the safety of everyone else… Younguk swallowed the rest of his words, thinking of Yi-beom who was probably watching through the surveillance cameras even now.
“We’re still trying to get the Sakamoto photo book, so please wait a little longer.”
“The Sakamoto p-photo book…?”
“You should be able to receive it within two days.”
This is insane. Eunho’s eyes lost focus and trembled. Was this a dream? He slapped his own cheek with his foot—it hurt too much. Definitely reality.
The Sakamoto photo book was practically a legend among photography majors. People said once you saw the photos you couldn’t look away, but almost no one had ever seen an actual copy. It was practically an urban myth.
“Waa…”
Completely absorbed in the photo book, Eunho transformed back into human form with a pop. He figured hands would be better than paws for opening the packaging.
“Good heavens!”
Who are you trying to blind now! Startled, Ahjumma hurriedly untied her apron and thrust it at Eunho, covering her own eyes with one hand.
“Put this on quickly!”
“Ah—waa! I’m sorry!”
Only then did Eunho realize he was naked. Face flushing red, he took the apron.
“I’m sorry! Sorry—ah, I’m still not used to this yet…!”
“I didn’t see anything! I saw nothing!”
Raising both hands toward the direction of the surveillance camera, Younguk rushed out of the house. It even sounded like the doorbell rang just before he left.
Whether that happened or not, Eunho’s mind was completely occupied with the photo book. Throwing the apron on roughly, he carefully peeled off the plastic wrap with his fingertips.
“…Maybe I’ll stay until the day after tomorrow?”
The Sakamoto photo book was coming. That much was worth staying for, wasn’t it?
It wasn’t urgent yet. Staring fixedly at the photo book, Eunho muttered to himself. His legs swung excitedly.
***
With the sound of the door lock, Yi-beom entered. As the metallic clicks echoed several times from outside, Eunho sat up.
“You’re back!”
He trotted toward the entrance like usual to greet him, but then stopped mid-step. Only then did he notice Yi-beom frozen while taking off his shoes.
“…Fuck.”
A low growl slipped from Yi-beom’s mouth.
“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you, Jung Eunho.”
Throwing his bag far away, Yi-beom rushed toward him at a speed too fast to follow. Before Eunho could even react, Yi-beom lifted him up.
“Yesterday it was a white T-shirt, today it’s an apron?”
“……”
“Want to just take everything off tomorrow?”
Yi-beom’s gaze dropped downward. Maybe because he had grabbed him in a hurry, the apron strings had slipped loosely down his arm, and the teddy-bear-printed front barely covered his chest. The faint outline of a round shape beneath it made Yi-beom’s Adam’s apple bob heavily.
“We’re in a locked-up relationship, aren’t we?”
“W-we were in a sleeping-together relationship, but Ahjussi skipped ahead…”
“Then let’s be in a taking-everything-off relationship.”
“P-pervert.”
I should’ve gotten dressed… He’d been so absorbed in the photo book that he lost track of time. If only he’d put clothes on five minutes ago. Regret came too late—he was already caught by Yi-beom.
Golden eyes swept over him. Every place Yi-beom’s gaze touched made Eunho’s lower belly warm and his thighs tense. Trying to suppress the reaction building below, Eunho pressed the apron down tightly—
Not realizing it only provoked Yi-beom more.
“You knew I was a pervert when you got involved with me.”
Burying his face against Eunho’s shoulder, Yi-beom carried him up the stairs. His footsteps were quicker than usual. Nipping at his shoulder as if chewing, he laid Eunho down on the bed.
Dropping face-first onto the mattress, Eunho blurted out hurried excuses.
“Th-this isn’t something I wore on purpose…”
“……”
“I t-turned into a rabbit and then back into a person. It’s different from the white T-shirt—I mean, it’s not intentional, ah…”
Yi-beom’s body loomed over him. The same posture as the tiger that had trapped the rabbit the night before.
At this rate, he was going to get eaten! It meant something different from last night, but Eunho would still be the one dying. Meeting those golden eyes, Eunho quickly flipped himself over.
“N-no! Not now!”
A desperate voice slipped out like a moan.
“I can’t right now! I mean—not doing it. Hng…”
Bending his knees and stretching his arms, Eunho tried to crawl away to the other side. As his pale back tied with a ribbon was revealed, Yi-beom muttered another curse.
Every time Eunho crawled forward, the ribbon swayed over his hips. A strained sound escaped Yi-beom’s lips.
“Trying to run away again?”
In an instant, his leg was lifted. Feeling a hand coil around his ankle, Eunho gasped and looked back.
“I think I’ve been pretty patient.”
“……”
“How much more trouble are you trying to make me go through, huh?”
Yi-beom’s eyes were unfocused. Kiss—he pressed his lips to Eunho’s ankle, then planted soft kisses along his calf.
“T-then don’t make me suffer.”
“If things worked the way I wanted, you wouldn’t even be here in the first place.”
With a dangerous expression, Yi-beom bit into his thigh. As his lips moved with wet sounds, Eunho’s body trembled.
Sweet. Every time he pressed his lips down and sucked, a faintly sweet moisture seeped out. It was sweet enough to rot his teeth, and Yi-beom couldn’t stop biting.
