With one hand binding Eunho’s two wrists together, he lowered his head. The place Yi-beom aimed for was the chest that had already stiffened upright.
“W-wait!”
Eunho hurriedly tried to push Yi-beom away, but it was useless. A large arm circled his waist, and his escape route had long since been cut off.
As Yi-beom’s lips formed a small circle, Eunho sucked in a sharp breath. With cute, wet chup-chup sounds, Yi-beom dragged his mouth across his chest.
“Hng, ah… Ahjussi.”
“It’s not the steak that’s burning— it’s my chest, Eunho.”
The sensation felt strange. Maybe because it had been so long; already his thighs were tensing, and Eunho let out a soft moan as he wrapped his arms around Yi-beom’s head. As if responding, Yi-beom sucked even harder.
“Haaah……”
His eyes shut on their own, his toes curling. The plans he’d made with Chanwoo earlier, the conversation he’d had with Yi-beom by the entrance— all of it faded from his mind. The only thing that mattered right now was Yi-beom, held within his arms.
Yi-beom held tight as Eunho’s body kept trying to fall backward. For some reason, those thick arms felt especially good today.
“Please… stop pretending you don’t know.”
“Hah… ngh.”
As if telling him to focus, Yi-beom bared his teeth. The sudden sting made Eunho cry out with a mixed gasp.
“Ngh!”
“Stop acting so desperate, hmm?”
With one last soft kiss, Yi-beom slowly pulled away. Strangely disappointed, Eunho cupped Yi-beom’s face with both hands this time.
“I’m in a hurry too.”
With teardrops clinging to his lashes, Eunho looked up at him.
“What are you in a hurry for?”
“This.”
When Eunho tightened his grip, Yi-beom obediently leaned closer. Eunho quickly pecked his cheek. Then he curved his eyes in a sly, teasing smile.
“…Fuck.” Seeing this unbearably adorable Eunho, Yi-beom muttered a curse under his breath.
“Aren’t you in a hurry for anything else?”
“…Mm.”
Eunho tilted his head, trailing off. As his hesitation dragged on, Yi-beom grew impatient.
“Think carefully, Eunho. Come on.”
There were many right answers. Kissing was good. Having his chest sucked was good. Asking to be touched lower down would’ve been even better.
“Fuck, Eunho.”
He felt restless, like a high schooler in heat. Looking down at Yi-beom, who didn’t know what to do with himself, Eunho pointed at his own stomach.
“I remembered.”
“You mean putting it inside? Right here, right now?”
“Yes.”
“…Fuck, good thing you’re not actually a rabbit……”
Yi-beom’s gaze was already devouring Eunho’s body. If he pushed himself into that stomach, stirred deep inside just once— … At that moment, Eunho spoke.
“Let’s eat. Carrot steak.”
Grrr— Eunho’s stomach rumbled again. This time, it felt like Yi-beom’s heart collapsed instead.
***
Fortunately, Yi-beom let Eunho go. The constant growling from his stomach left Yi-beom with nothing else he could do.
Come to think of it, Yi-beom was sensitive about Eunho’s meals. No matter the moment— even when things were heating up— if Eunho showed signs of hunger, Yi-beom postponed everything. He would feed him first, then return to whatever they were doing.
Crunch, crunch— chewing on a carrot, Eunho glanced at Yi-beom sitting across from him.
“What, does it taste bad?”
Yi-beom asked while cutting his steak. Clean, swift slices fell beneath the knife. Moving a cut piece onto Eunho’s plate, he added,
“Want something else?”
“N-no, it’s good.”
Worried Yi-beom might suggest eating something thicker and harder instead, Eunho hurriedly chewed the carrot. Crunch, crunch— the sweet scent filled his mouth.
Resting his chin on one hand, Yi-beom watched him with affectionate eyes. He looked as if he were full just from watching.
“But, hey.”
“……”
“What did you do with Park Chanwoo in the bathroom?”
At that moment, the half-chewed carrot slid down Eunho’s throat.
“Cough, cough…!”
Because it went down unchewed, his throat burned sharply. Clutching his neck, Eunho coughed.
It hurt enough to make his eyes water. No matter how much he coughed, the carrot seemed stuck, refusing to go down. Cough! As he gasped, something touched his lips.
“Drink water first.”
Before he realized it, Yi-beom was beside him, tilting a glass toward him. The cold water went down, and only then did Eunho feel like he could breathe again.
“You okay?”
“Yes……”
Wiping away the tears that had formed, Yi-beom let out a soft, breathy laugh.
“Was it that shocking, baby?”
“……”
“Then should I not ask?”
Eunho rolled his eyes around. Honestly, he wanted to nod, but that might make him look suspicious.
What do I do?
No matter how much he thought, he didn’t know what to say. Something lodged in his heart like a piece of carrot, poking at him over and over.
Yi-beom watched his fidgeting fingers with a strange look.
“Forget it.”
Yi-beom muttered.
“I wasn’t asking because I expected an answer anyway.”
Only after confirming Eunho had stopped coughing did Yi-beom return to his seat. As if nothing had happened, he resumed cutting his steak.
Breaking apart an innocent carrot, Eunho carefully watched Yi-beom’s expression. If Yi-beom was going to cover for him, it was better to ask now. Otherwise, he’d have to lie and say nothing happened in the bathroom.
Still… I think hearing the answer would make him less anxious.
Steeling himself, Eunho spoke again.
“Why… aren’t you asking?”
At that moment, Yi-beom’s knife froze mid-cut.
“A-Ahjussi is curious too, right? Whether I kept my promise or not.”
“……”
“Then why aren’t you asking…?”
Without a word, Yi-beom tapped the rim of his plate with his fingertip. Tok, tok. The clear sound filled the silence. After a long moment of thought, he finally spoke.
“Eunho.”
His low voice called out. A strange tension flowed between them. Eunho swallowed without meaning to.
“It doesn’t matter if you didn’t keep the promise. Nothing changes.”
“…What?”
“Even if you said you were trapped by that water deer.”
Placing a small cut of steak onto Eunho’s plate, Yi-beom continued,
“You’ll still be trapped here.”
He speared both carrot and steak together with his fork and brought it toward Eunho’s mouth.
“In this house, you just have to stay pretty, eating only what I give you.”
“……”
“So it’s fine. You don’t have to tell me.”
Without thinking, Eunho accepted the bite like a baby bird. Good. The corner of Yi-beom’s lips lifted gently. It was a benevolent smile, like someone granting mercy to prey already caught.
Eunho stared at him, entranced. Any thought that Yi-beom’s tone sounded faintly threatening had long since vanished. Now as before, Eunho had always been weak to Yi-beom’s smiling face.
The heavy atmosphere that had sunk between them disappeared as if it had never existed. Meeting Eunho’s gaze that refused to leave his face, Yi-beom rested his chin on his hand.
“You said you keep promises well. You even drew hearts for me.”
“……”
“Did your feelings change?”
“No, no!”
Eunho hurriedly shook his head.
“I can still give you hearts.”
He gathered the broken carrot pieces to one side of the plate. Picking out a few that still had shape, Eunho moved them onto Yi-beom’s plate.
Rolling the triangular carrot pieces around, he managed to form something resembling a heart. Watching the ears that perked up as Eunho focused, Yi-beom asked,
“But that heart… looks a bit crooked?”
“Gasp.”
Eunho inhaled sharply at Yi-beom’s words.
“M-my feelings aren’t crooked!”
Quickly trimming off a piece sticking out of shape, Eunho perfected the heart. Worried Yi-beom might misunderstand, he pushed the plate forward.
“Is it okay now?”
“Yeah.”
Watching Eunho gather the last bits of carrot, Yi-beom suppressed the urge to pull him into a tight embrace.
“It’ll be fine.”
The small voice followed.
It was a whisper that could’ve been meant for himself, or for Eunho— impossible to tell.
***
He couldn’t tell how the day passed. Maybe because he’d been so tense in front of Eunchan and Chanwoo, or maybe because he’d eaten everything Yi-beom fed him, Eunho’s head kept tipping back as he sat on the sofa.
Yi-beom cupped the nodding head of the drowsy Eunho and naturally pulled him into his arms.
“Go sleep inside.”
“Hnn… no.”
He barely forced his heavy eyes open. The movie was still playing on TV— the same one they’d stopped halfway through during their theater date.
“I have to finish this before sleeping… I was curious about it.”
He’d secretly wondered about the rest of it ever since that day. Seeing Eunho watching with half-closed eyes, Yi-beom let out a breathy laugh.
“I can just watch it to the end and tell you what happens.”
