The scene changed.
Seo Ha-yoon was washing the dishes in front of the sink. Though, calling it dishwashing was a bit of an exaggeration—it was just a few plates. Finishing up quickly, he trudged into the living room. There, Choi Sang-hyuk sat with his legs crossed, gazing seriously at a tablet.
His black eyes flicked toward Seo Ha-yoon for a brief moment before returning to the screen. Even when Seo Ha-yoon plopped down beside him, Choi Sang-hyuk didn’t show the slightest interest.
“Hey, Choi Sang-hyuk.”
Seo Ha-yoon called out abruptly. Judging by his tone, it was clear he always spoke to him like this.
“Talk.”
Choi Sang-hyuk responded without lifting his gaze from the tablet. Suddenly, Seo Ha-yoon snatched it right out of his hands.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Say my name.”
“What?”
“Say my name.”
“What are you trying to pull, Seo Ha-yoon?”
Choi Sang-hyuk’s low voice carried a hint of warning, but Seo Ha-yoon just scoffed.
“So you do remember, huh? I was starting to think you’d completely forgotten I existed since you haven’t called my name or even looked at me for months.”
“Cut the crap and give that back.”
“Nope.”
Seo Ha-yoon grinned and hid the tablet behind his back, taunting him. Choi Sang-hyuk narrowed his eyes slightly before reaching around to grab it. At that moment, Seo Ha-yoon wrapped his arms around Choi Sang-hyuk’s neck and pressed their lips together.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“What do you think? It’s a kiss. You don’t like it?”
“Seo Ha-yoon, quit messing around.”
Choi Sang-hyuk’s voice turned cold, his eyes radiating an intensity that could make anyone’s blood run cold. But Seo Ha-yoon didn’t even flinch.
“You said you get turned on by me. So why won’t you even look at me?”
“Sounds like you wanted me to.”
“When you’ve got someone as good-looking as me in your house, it only makes sense to admire me every second of the day, don’t you think?”
Seo Ha-yoon was unbelievably bold—almost admirable, really.
“Can you buy me a house?”
He asked out of nowhere.
“What?”
Choi Sang-hyuk frowned.
“A nice house. A new, big one with a view of the Han River.”
“Seo Ha-yoon.”
“Not just allowance—can you give me living expenses too? A lot.”
“I told you to stop messing around.”
“If you do that, I’ll sleep with you.”
Choi Sang-hyuk let out a sigh and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it up. He took a deep drag, his face showing the slightest hint of unease. But before he could take another puff, Seo Ha-yoon snatched the cigarette from his fingers and crushed it into the ashtray.
“And don’t smoke in front of me. I hate the smell.”
“You’ve been behaving for months. Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”
“Because I’ve been watching you for months. Look, guys and girls are going to swarm around me like flies for the rest of my life anyway. Rather than dealing with ugly, disgusting perverts, I might as well choose you.”
Seo Ha-yoon spoke as if he were doing him some grand favor. It was almost laughable.
“Besides, if you’re willing to drop a ridiculous amount like ten million won a month just to keep me around, that means you have feelings for me, right? You said I turn you on. You like me.”
Choi Sang-hyuk stared at him in silence, his expression unreadable. Seo Ha-yoon’s breaths came out a little unsteady as he waited for a response. He seemed slightly nervous.
“Hurry up and answer. If you don’t want this, I’ll leave and find someone else.”
Seo Ha-yoon pushed for a reply.
“Seo Ha-yoon. Do you really think you’re worth that much?”
“That’s not for me to decide. That’s for you to know. So, Choi Sang-hyuk, what about you? Do you think I’m worth it?”
Choi Sang-hyuk’s gaze darkened even further. Then, after a brief pause, he suddenly wrapped an arm around Seo Ha-yoon’s waist, pulling him in close. Their lips were nearly touching, as if he was about to kiss him at any moment.
Still, Seo Ha-yoon whispered, “Say it, Choi Sang-hyuk. Am I worth that much to you?”
Choi Sang-hyuk didn’t answer. Instead, he crashed their lips together in a searing, devouring kiss. Seo Ha-yoon responded just as eagerly, his arms winding around Choi Sang-hyuk’s neck, pulling him in deeper.
Thud! Their bodies pressed tightly together as they tumbled onto the couch.
As the heated, fervent kiss continued, Seo Ha-yoon suddenly murmured, “And don’t try to control me. I’m sleeping with you, not becoming your slave.”
Choi Sang-hyuk gave no verbal response. He simply captured Seo Ha-yoon’s lips once more, kissing him with a hunger that felt almost predatory. The familiar scent of his cologne enveloped them both.
***
When he opened his eyes, it was the dead of night.
Kim Min-seok stared blankly at the shadowed wall before turning over. On the other side of the room, Choi Sang-hyuk was still working on his tablet. Kim Min-seok studied his face with a newfound curiosity.
“…He was curled up in a bar alley, looking like a stray cat someone had thrown away. Pale and pretty, yet spewing all sorts of filthy curses while crying his eyes out. And that sight… was damn arousing.”
He recalled when Choi Sang-hyuk had told him about his first meeting with Seo Ha-yoon.
And it was true. In Seo Ha-yoon’s own memory, that was exactly how they had met.
“Cigarette…”
Choi Sang-hyuk, though aware that Kim Min-seok had woken up, kept his eyes fixed on the tablet. However, at the small murmur, his gaze finally flickered over. Kim Min-seok met his eyes and continued speaking in a drowsy voice, still heavy with sleep.
“Do you smoke?”
“I don’t.”
“But you used to, didn’t you?”
“I quit.”
“Aha.”
Kim Min-seok became even more convinced that the dream he just had was actually Seo Ha-yoon’s memory.
“Why did you quit? It’s not easy to stop smoking.”
“Because a certain someone wouldn’t stop bitching about the smell.”
Choi Sang-hyuk replied nonchalantly as he tapped on his tablet. The idea that he had quit smoking for Seo Ha-yoon sounded strangely sweet. His chest stirred. Kim Min-seok absentmindedly rubbed at his chest, trying to soothe the inexplicable sensation.
Now that he thought about it, there was a faint trace of Choi Sang-hyuk’s cologne lingering in the bedroom. Kim Min-seok reached out, grabbed Choi Sang-hyuk’s wrist, and brought it right up to his nose, sniffing deeply. Sure enough, that was the source. The combination of his skin’s natural scent and the cologne was intoxicating. Without a shred of shame, Kim Min-seok pressed his nose against Choi Sang-hyuk’s wrist, inhaling greedily.
“…What are you doing?”
Choi Sang-hyuk’s voice was slightly husky.
“It smells so good.”
Kim Min-seok answered shamelessly. He gazed up at Choi Sang-hyuk, who was sitting propped up against the bed, then asked impulsively,
“I want to kiss you.”
“…Quit messing around, Seo Ha-yoon.”
Choi Sang-hyuk reacted a beat late. The fact that he didn’t immediately lean in for a kiss made Kim Min-seok inexplicably sulky.
“You don’t want to?”
Kim Min-seok pouted, his tone almost petulant. He’d never had the chance to act spoiled with anyone before, yet here he was, doing exactly that with Choi Sang-hyuk. It felt foreign to him.
“You woke up and now you’re brimming with energy again, huh?”
“It’s not like that. I don’t mean sex… I just suddenly want to kiss you. Can’t I?”
This man wasn’t even his. He was Seo Ha-yoon’s man. And yet, Kim Min-seok desperately wanted to kiss him. The urge clawed at him.
“Haa—”
Choi Sang-hyuk exhaled a long sigh as if resigning himself. He placed the tablet on the nightstand and, without warning, yanked Kim Min-seok toward him, pressing their lips together in an instant. His lips, slightly cooler than usual, were incredibly soft and warm against Kim Min-seok’s.
Kim Min-seok didn’t wait for him to take the lead. He ran his tongue along Choi Sang-hyuk’s lips before slipping inside.
“Mmh…”
Choi Sang-hyuk’s lips were just as sweet as he’d imagined. The sensation of their lips and tongues intertwining melted through him, soaking into his chest and body. It felt like he was being drowned in honey.
Chuuup— Chup.
Unlike usual, perhaps because of what had happened earlier, Choi Sang-hyuk kissed him with an almost unbearable gentleness. Every movement was careful, as if he were handling something fragile. It made Kim Min-seok feel strangely cherished. The fluttering in his chest grew even stronger.
“Mmh… Mm…”
A sweet, breathy moan naturally escaped his lips. It felt so good. The strong arms wrapped around his waist felt like an impenetrable shield, as if they could protect him from anything in the world. The large hand stroking his hair was unbearably tender. Kim Min-seok wrapped his arms around Choi Sang-hyuk’s neck and ran his fingers through his hair. Surprisingly, it was incredibly soft. That small, meaningless detail somehow filled him with warmth.
Chuuup—
With a wet sound, their lips finally parted. Kim Min-seok remained in Choi Sang-hyuk’s arms, resting his head against his broad shoulder. Choi Sang-hyuk absentmindedly played with strands of his hair, while Kim Min-seok silently reveled in the feel of his muscular chest pressed against him. It was strange how a moment of simply touching and being touched could feel so peaceful.
“I had a dream.”
“What kind of dream?”
“A dream about Seo Ha-yoon. I think it was one of his memories. In the dream, I saw the moment Seo Ha-yoon first met you.”
“I see.”
