Chapter 50
“I heard you two decided to live together, but what were you doing for two days, holed up at home without even eating?”
“…”
“And yesterday your voice was almost hoarse.”
Haru slowly scanned Seo Won’s entire body with suspicious eyes.
“You didn’t even come out right away…”
“…”
“You know that’s really suspicious, right?”
Seo Won swallowed dry saliva and slightly turned his head. When he glanced sideways at Baek Rak, he looked interested.
Didn’t you just act uninterested?
Even though he was giving hints for Baek Rak to do something about Haru, Baek Rak just watched leisurely, even crossing his legs. Whenever things seemed to be going well, he always did annoying things like this.
It seemed like Baek Rak wouldn’t help, and Haru didn’t look like he planned to get an explanation from Baek Rak. Don’t tell me I was the easy target…
Seo Won sighed and answered blankly.
“What’s so curious about it?”
“Of course I’m curious! Baek Rak’s been acting weird ever since you came.”
Now he didn’t even seem to plan on speaking quietly. Haru’s voice tone returned to normal. By the way, Baek Rak acting weird? Wasn’t he originally a weird guy?
“I think I said this before… Baek Rak is right there. Please ask the person involved. Don’t do this to me.”
“You want to hear the same answer? If Baek Rak was going to tell me, I would have asked him already.”
“…Of course.”
Looking at it now, their relationship was really peculiar.
It was true that Baek Rak treated Yu Sol and Haru well, but should he say he didn’t really let them close… Because of that, the two seemed to constantly wonder about Baek Rak and loiter around him.
Since he had suddenly plunked himself down next to such a Baek Rak, they couldn’t help but be curious.
He roughly understood the situation, but it was just as frustrating on his end. Looking at it this way, Baek Rak was definitely the problem.
“Anyway, what did you two do yesterday? Tell me quickly.”
Seo Won stared intently at Haru at his pressing.
Was he asking while knowing everything, or was he really asking because he didn’t know? Now it was getting confusing. He didn’t seem ignorant about sex, but the guy seemed subtly innocent, so he couldn’t be sure.
Since he had absolutely no intention of telling the truth, he made up something appropriate.
“We exercised.”
“…You exercised at home?”
“Exercise doesn’t discriminate by location.”
The moment he said that, a short laugh was heard from somewhere. Looking to the side, Baek Rak was subtly laughing while covering his mouth. Why is he acting like that?
Haru still didn’t seem to understand and continued pressing.
“You really exercised for two whole days? With Baek Rak helping from the side? Why?”
“…Because my stamina isn’t very good.”
Then Baek Rak’s shoulders shook again. Though no sound was heard, he could tell the guy was holding back laughter. Was this guy someone who could laugh like this?
He looked at him puzzled. Haru also belatedly looked at Baek Rak and widened his eyes as if he couldn’t believe it.
Receiving both their gazes, Baek Rak said without erasing the smile from his lips,
“That’s right, I’m making Yoon Seo Won exercise because his stamina isn’t good.”
“…Whoa, really?”
“He doesn’t like showing it to others, so we did it at home… but maybe we’ll do it outside from now on.”
Seo Won, who had been listening quietly, felt something was off. They were clearly talking about exercise, but it sounded strangely meaningful.
Was he missing something? As he was pondering that, he suddenly realized. What it would sound like if you replaced ‘exercise’ with something else…
Seo Won’s face instantly heated up. Is he crazy? Do what outside? As he glared at the guy in shock, the clueless Haru began making the situation even stranger.
“I want to do it together too! Why are only you two doing it?”
“That’s… a bit difficult.”
“Why?”
“Well…”
“Are you doing some secret training or something? What is it? I want to do it too!”
“It would be hard for you.”
Please stop! Seo Won screamed internally. He felt like he was going crazy from this insane conversation.
Baek Rak and Haru were saying completely different things, but the conversation was working. It was like talking at cross-purposes, but he understood exactly what Baek Rak was saying. Moreover, that it was directed at him, not Haru.
“There’s no way I couldn’t do what a civilian can do!”
“Then get permission from Yoon Seo Won.”
“What, I need permission too?”
Haru looked at Seo Won with displeasure. He didn’t understand what the big deal was about exercising that they had to do it in secret, but Yoon Seo Won would definitely give permission. Thinking that Baek Rak was just trying to tease him, he was about to call out to the guy when Seo Won suddenly burst out,
“No!”
“What… huh?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Hey, Yoon Seo Won. What is it? What are you so shocked about that you’re saying no?”
“Anyway, no. Absolutely no. Never!”
“Huh?”
Like a machine that only had ‘no’ programmed into it, Seo Won firmly refused. His eyes blazing seemed to show he was very angry. Overwhelmed by that energy, Haru hesitated.
“…No, but what’s the reason it’s not allowed?”
“I don’t know. If you really want to do it, do it with him. Leave me out.”
“Huh?”
When surprised Haru looked at Baek Rak, he shook his head.
“It’s exercise that can’t be done without Yoon Seo Won.”
“Cra… Hey, cut it out.”
“Exercise isn’t something you do halfway. If you’re going to do it, you have to do it properly.”
“Stop it, you bastard.”
The atmosphere of Seo Won growling with his face bright red was quite menacing. He had thought he was a gentle person who couldn’t even get angry, but he seemed to have more personality than expected. Haru watched the two’s war of nerves and quietly backed away.
“…I’ll figure it out on my own. The exercise, you two do it.”
“That’s what I’m saying?”
When Baek Rak acted nonchalantly as if there was no problem now, Seo Won couldn’t hide his irritation and jumped up from his seat. Then he glared at Baek Rak and disappeared toward the Yeongdeungpo Station ticket gate.
Haru, who had been watching that scene blankly, said as if surprised,
“When he gets angry, he’s kind of scary…”
“I don’t know. He seems embarrassed to me.”
“Huh? That?”
Baek Rak got up from his seat without any particular answer. When Haru also got up awkwardly, Baek Rak pointed downstairs and said,
“It looks like everything’s ready, so go downstairs.”
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
Even at the reluctant answer, Baek Rak didn’t pay much attention. He just dusted off his pants and moved in the direction where Seo Won had disappeared.
Haru watched Baek Rak walking away and only tilted his head after he disappeared from sight.
“What are those two, really.”
Seo Won, who had passed through the ticket gate and gone down to the platform, lay down on a large wooden box on the tracks. Since everyone had flocked to grill meat for the first time in a while, there was no one around.
Seo Won muttered while covering his face that he still couldn’t calm down, which was red.
“…So annoying, really.”
The conversation between Baek Rak and Haru kept circling in his head.
From Haru’s perspective, it would have been nothing special, just that kind of conversation. But if you thought about it the way Baek Rak intended, it was obscene and lewd beyond compare.
Saying maybe they’d do it outside, saying it would be difficult to do it together. Then he even teased him by saying it would be fine if he got permission.
Did he find it funny that he made up that they exercised? Still, how could he say such things so brazenly… No, Haru did make things weird, but he did it without knowing anything, so he was innocent. Baek Rak was the problem.
What was even more absurd was that such situations were automatically being drawn in his head regardless of his will.
Outside, with others nearby, hiding and secretly.
When did his imagination become so rich to do this? He really felt like he was going crazy. Because of Baek Rak, that bastard, what kind of chaos is this… He was embarrassed and angry, so his face still felt hot.
“Pervert.”
“Ah! You scared me! What?”
Startled by Baek Rak who appeared without any sign, he jumped up. But the surprise was brief – at the word calling him a pervert, Seo Won’s feet went numb. It felt like Baek Rak had caught what was in his head.
“Wh-why am I?”
“Exercise that doesn’t discriminate by location, you said.”
“Why is that…”
Seo Won, who was about to ask what the problem was, trailed off at a sudden thought. So that’s why he was laughing earlier…
“I guess you want to do it anywhere?”
“That’s not what I meant. It was just something I said to brush off Haru, so why are you making a fuss?”
“That’s how it sounded to me.”
“…Are you crazy?”
Seo Won glared at Baek Rak in shock. He was about to question his sanity, asking what nonsense he was talking about, but something about Baek Rak’s gaze was strange.
Looking closely, he wasn’t looking at his eyes. The guy’s gaze, which would have stared persistently normally, was directed elsewhere.
First it was his nape. Then the gaze slowly moved to his chin. His pupils didn’t stop and continued moving up. From chin to cheek, passing his eyes to scan his forehead and nose bridge.
The pupils that had passed over his entire face finally settled on his lips.
For some reason, the places Baek Rak’s gaze had passed felt ticklish. His lips trembled unconsciously. Burdened by the gaze that wouldn’t look away for even a moment, he bit his lip. Then Baek Rak’s eyes became narrow.
“Why, why… are you looking like that?”
He asked while slyly backing his buttocks away at the unusual atmosphere.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
