Ha Jun-seo stepped out of the bathroom, looking unusually cheerful. He headed straight to the kitchen and began preparing breakfast. Seo Ha-yoon set the table with utensils, plates, and cups, helping out with small tasks whenever Ha Jun-seo asked.
Toasted bread with butter and jam, soup, and a simple salad were laid out on the table.
“Sang-hyuk, come eat breakfast.”
Seo Ha-yoon called out to Choi Sang-hyuk. But when he showed no signs of moving, Ha-yoon walked over and swiftly snatched the tablet from his hands. Choi Sang-hyuk shot him a glare, practically cursing with his eyes. However, Seo Ha-yoon had grown far too accustomed to it by now. He hid the tablet behind his back and pointed at the table.
“I’ll give it back after you eat.”
“…You’re such a brat.”
Choi Sang-hyuk clicked his tongue softly but got up from his seat. Seo Ha-yoon placed the tablet down on the sofa before following Sang-hyuk to the dining table and sitting down.
The three of them ate in silence. But the awkwardness was much less than before.
Seo Ha-yoon took a bite of the fresh salad first, then tore off a piece of bread and dipped it into the soup. After that, he spread a generous amount of butter and jam onto the bread and stuffed it into his mouth. The rich, sweet flavor was absolutely delicious.
As he ate, Seo Ha-yoon suddenly glanced at Ha Jun-seo and Choi Sang-hyuk. True to their personalities, each was eating in their own distinct way.
Ha Jun-seo moved gracefully, every gesture smooth and refined, like a young master raised in a noble household. On the other hand, Choi Sang-hyuk was bold and masculine in everything he did, his actions precise and firm. Even the way he ate exuded a charismatic, manly aura.
The more Seo Ha-yoon looked at them, the better he felt. He still couldn’t believe that these incredibly handsome men were his lovers. It was almost surreal.
Resting his chin on one hand, he grinned to himself as he admired the two men. Noticing his gaze, both of them turned to look at him.
“What? Am I that handsome?”
“Just eat your food.”
Even their ways of speaking were completely different. Seo Ha-yoon felt a deep sense of satisfaction filling his chest as he returned to his soup.
This unusual yet perfectly ordinary moment of daily life felt so precious. He was so happy and grateful that he even wondered if he truly deserved it. But in the end, it was his life. Seo Ha-yoon decided to appreciate what he had and fully enjoy every bit of it.
He would cherish both of them and live his life to the fullest. He would become a lover they wouldn’t be ashamed of. He would make sure they never regretted choosing him.
‘I love you. Both of you.’
He whispered it silently in his heart, and just that alone made his chest overflow with happiness.
“What should we do after breakfast?”
As soon as Seo Ha-yoon asked, both men frowned simultaneously.
“Us?”
“Did you just say ‘us’?”
The two of them spoke at the same time, looking utterly appalled. Their reaction was so ridiculously cute that Seo Ha-yoon couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.
His concern over how to spend the weekend had been pointless. As soon as he finished breakfast and settled onto the sofa, he began nodding off. It was undoubtedly the aftereffect of last night’s intense sex.
It felt like such a waste to spend his precious weekend just sleeping, so he rubbed his eyes, trying his best to fight off the drowsiness. But in the end, sleep won. As he slumped against the sofa backrest, someone scooped him up and carried him to bed. Seo Ha-yoon didn’t even have the strength to open his eyes. He simply burrowed under the blanket that was draped over him and passed out completely.
And then, he dreamed. Even within the dream, he knew it was a dream.
Seo Ha-yoon was walking with a limp, a bag clutched in his hand. It must have been summer—he was wearing shorts, and his bare calves were covered in switch marks. His palms, swollen and reddened, ached terribly as they gripped a shoe bag.
The sun was already setting, casting a crimson glow over the rooftops of the houses. Groups of children ran past him, either heading home or rushing to cram school. Every time people hurried by, Seo Ha-yoon felt even more alone, even more isolated. It was as if two separate worlds coexisted in the same place—one filled with ordinary, happy people and the other, his own.
At last, he arrived home. A house’s front door was supposed to bring a sense of relief, a feeling of safety. But for Seo Ha-yoon, it was nothing of the sort. The sight of it alone filled him with a suffocating fear, as if stepping inside would drag him into a pit of darkness. He stood frozen at the entrance for a long time, glancing around, but there was nowhere else to go.
Grrrgle—
His stomach growled. Seo Ha-yoon placed a hand over his empty belly and bit down hard on his lip. Inside his bag was his test paper. He hadn’t scored a perfect 100 this time either, which meant he probably wouldn’t be getting dinner tonight.
Only after the sky had turned completely dark did he finally resign himself and step through the gate.
As soon as he opened the front door, the interior of the house came into view. His shoulders tensed involuntarily, and his heart pounded against his ribs.
‘I… I’m home.’
His voice barely escaped his throat, little more than a whisper.
The bedroom door opened, and his mother stepped out.
“The test paper?”
Without a greeting, she extended her hand. Seo Ha-yoon hesitated, then slowly shrugged off his backpack and set it down at his feet. With trembling fingers, he pulled out the test paper and handed it over.
His mother snatched it from his grasp. The moment her eyes landed on the score, her expression twisted with anger.
“Get inside.”
She snapped, storming into his room.
Seo Ha-yoon’s room always had a switch lying around. His breath hitched as he swallowed down a sob, his feet dragging reluctantly toward the bedroom.
The moment he stepped into the room, the scene changed.
Seo Ha-yoon found himself standing in a tiny goshiwon room. The small, cramped space contained only a cheap desk, a single bed, and a clothes hanger mounted on the wall. The air was thick with a musty odor.
Exhausted from work, Seo Ha-yoon threw himself onto the narrow bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. It was low enough that he could take it all in at a glance. The old, peeling wallpaper was stained and discolored, and in one corner, a small spider had spun its web. Seo Ha-yoon watched the spider’s delicate movements.
For him, a sleeping space was no longer a place of fear. Instead, it had become a place of crushing loneliness. Inside the cramped goshiwon, he felt like a silkworm in a cocoon, trapped in isolation, completely severed from the world. Whether as a child or an adult, Seo Ha-yoon’s world had always been the same.
“This fucking world.”
He muttered as he continued staring at the ceiling. The future unfolding in his mind held no hope—only darkness and despair.
As he lay in silence, his ears suddenly picked up a quiet voice calling to him.
“Ha-yoon.”
It was soft, gentle, overflowing with warmth. Just hearing it made him feel like crying. How wonderful it would be if someone truly called his name like that, with such tenderness and affection. If only there was someone like that for him.
“Let him sleep. Skipping one meal won’t kill him.”
This time, another voice spoke—a deep, low baritone. For some reason, it felt familiar, stirring an inexplicable longing within him.
“Still, he should eat something before going back to sleep.”
The gentle voice responded, and then it called him again.
“Ha-yoon. Just wake up for a moment, okay? You need to eat lunch. Then you can go back to sleep.”
There was no doubt about it. The voice was calling for him. Someone was calling his name. Who was it? Who had such a warm, affectionate voice? He wanted to see their face.
‘Say my name again. Please.’
Seo Ha-yoon cried out internally.
“He must be really exhausted. He won’t even open his eyes. Ha-yoon. Ha-yoon?”
A gentle hand grasped him lightly, giving him a small shake. The cracked, suffocating ceiling of the goshiwon split with a jagged zzzk.
“How would that wake him up? Seo Ha-yoon, get up and eat. Then you can go back to sleep.”
A firm hand tapped his cheek. The crack in the ceiling deepened with another sharp zzzk, widening further.
Seo Ha-yoon clung desperately to the voices and the touch reaching out to him. He just knew—this was what he had always longed for. Now that he had felt it, he couldn’t let it go. He held onto it as if his life depended on it.
His eyelids trembled. They felt impossibly heavy, but he forced them open, bit by bit. The world around him gradually came into focus. He blinked sluggishly, and without realizing it, a tear swelled up and rolled down his cheek.
“Ha-yoon?”
“Why are you crying?”
Both men spoke at the same time.
The moment he saw their faces, a deep sense of relief washed over him. But at the same time, the overwhelming loneliness and emptiness from his dream came rushing back.
Seo Ha-yoon shuddered as the lingering emotions from the dream washed over him.
“This is reality, right?”
His voice trembled as he asked. Both men reached out and cupped his cheeks. Seo Ha-yoon grasped their hands tightly with both of his own. They were warm. This was real. It was definitely real.
The moment he confirmed it, a wave of relief surged through him, and his tears spilled over.
“Oh, come on…”
Ha Jun-seo clicked his tongue and pulled Seo Ha-yoon into his arms, gently rubbing his back in soothing strokes.
“What’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream?”
“Yeah…”
Seo Ha-yoon sniffled as he answered.
“Poor thing.”
Ha Jun-seo murmured and pressed a series of soft kisses to Seo Ha-yoon’s forehead.
“What are you, a kid? Move aside.”
Choi Sang-hyuk scowled and forcibly pried Ha Jun-seo away. Then, without hesitation, he stretched out his arms and effortlessly lifted Seo Ha-yoon into the air.
“Uwah!”
His body suddenly being hoisted up startled him so much that his tears dried up instantly. Without paying his reaction any mind, Choi Sang-hyuk slung Seo Ha-yoon over his shoulder and marched toward the kitchen. He plopped him down onto a chair at the dining table with a firm thud.
“Quit acting spoiled and eat. How old are you to be crying over a nightmare?”
He flicked Seo Ha-yoon’s forehead with his finger.
Trailing behind them, Ha Jun-seo lightly kicked Choi Sang-hyuk’s calf with the tip of his foot.
“Why are you scolding him when he’s already upset? He just got scared. It’s normal to cry after a nightmare.”
“Shut up. Sit down and eat your food.”
“Excuse you, I made this food.”
“Did I ask you to? You did it because you wanted to.”
“I didn’t make it for you. I made it for Ha-yoon!”
The two of them started bickering.
Watching them, Seo Ha-yoon couldn’t help but grin.
The moment they noticed, both of them turned to him at the same time.
“What’s so funny?”
“Why are you laughing?”
Even the way they asked was identical. Seo Ha-yoon’s smile grew even wider.
Chuckling, he said, “I like watching you two argue. It’s like you’re best friends. You are relatives, right? Were you really close when you were kids?”
At that, both men’s faces twisted as if they’d just bitten into something foul. It was the exact same expression—as if they had just heard something they absolutely did not want to hear.
Seeing that, Seo Ha-yoon finally burst out laughing. The lingering dread of his nightmare and the traces of his tears had already disappeared without a trace.
“Alright, alright. Let’s eat.”
He reached out and placed a spoon into each of their hands.
The two of them still hadn’t wiped the grimace off their faces.
Deliberately, Seo Ha-yoon scooped up a big spoonful of rice, shoved it into his mouth, and began chewing with exaggerated enthusiasm.
Finally, the two men composed themselves and turned their attention back to their food.
Seo Ha-yoon watched as the two men ate, a deep sense of happiness filling his chest. And in that moment, he thought—no, decided. He would never lose this. Never.
“Sang-hyuk. Jun-seo.”
At his sudden call, both men looked up.
Seo Ha-yoon met their gazes and finally said the words he hadn’t been able to voice earlier.
“I love you.”
Their expressions shifted into something indescribable.
Seo Ha-yoon simply smiled at them and picked up his spoon again, resuming his meal.
The food tasted sweeter than ever.
<End>
