“Oh, I crashed at our Go Hoon’s place last night, you know. And get this—he even cooked bean sprout soup for me this morning with his own hands. Like, are you kidding me? He’s like a doting housewife or something.”
Jo Seong-il pressed in closer to Hoon and gave a teasing grin. All that fuss over a single night spent at his place, acting like the two of them suddenly shared something special.
Clearly, he was doing it to get a rise out of him, enjoying the reaction. Just as he expected, Go Hoon frowned in disgust.
“Gross. Don’t say weird shit.”
“His house?”
But the unexpected reaction came from somewhere else entirely.
“You mean you two slept in the same room?”
Turning his head without thinking, Go Hoon flinched slightly. His eyes met Bae Jung-yoon’s. Those dark irises were staring straight at him, unblinking, as if demanding an explanation.
What the hell is with that look? Why did he suddenly feel like someone who’d been caught cheating behind his partner’s back? Letting a guy friend crash at his place for one night—what was so wrong with that?
Sure, he knew Bae Jung-yoon had a body capable of having sex with men, but this wasn’t about that.
You’re you, and I’m me. So why was he getting that look from Bae Jung-yoon?
“Hey, why the hell are you looking at our Go Hoon like that? People are gonna think he secretly brought some girl over behind his girlfriend’s back or something.”
Jo Seong-il seemed to share the confusion, throwing a playful jab at Jung-yoon.
Exactly. Go Hoon silently agreed and took a step forward—only for Bae Jung-yoon to wedge himself between the two, closing the gap and wrapping a solid arm around Hoon’s shoulders.
“Hoon-ah, can I come over to your place too?”
The sudden question hit him out of nowhere. Go Hoon’s expression crumpled instinctively.
Bae Jung-yoon’s house was also near campus, just like his. Which meant there was absolutely no reason for him to crash at Hoon’s cramped, rundown place. Why would he go out of his way to sleep there?
“What, are you jealous that only I stayed over at Hoon’s place?”
“Yeah. I’m jealous. Hoon-ah, can’t I stay over too?”
When Seong-il jabbed him in the ribs and asked, Jung-yoon didn’t even hesitate before answering. Hoon narrowed his eyes as he looked at him.
With that sly smile, it was impossible to tell if Bae Jung-yoon was being serious or just messing around.
“Ohh~? So our Bae Jung-yoon’s more jealous than he looks?”
But Jo Seong-il didn’t seem to take the reply seriously. Not wanting to make a big deal out of it either, Go Hoon decided to respond lightly.
“Your place isn’t far either. Just stay there. My place is so small, it already feels cramped with just this bastard Seong-il in it.”
It wasn’t a lie. Even Seong-il filled up the tight space. If Bae Jung-yoon—who was bigger than him—came over too? Just the thought of it made him feel claustrophobic.
“Exactly. Why the hell would you even want to go over to our Hoon’s place? It’s not like you live far away like me. And from what I saw on X-Star, your place looks super nice. Don’t even think about it, punk. Only I’m allowed over at our Go Hoon’s house.”
Thankfully, Jo Seong-il took his side this time—though it was obvious he was mostly trying to mess with Jung-yoon. The unnecessary “our, our” before Hoon’s name was kind of annoying, but since Seong-il was actually being useful for once, Hoon decided not to call it out.
“Anyway, since we’re on the topic… can I come hang out at your place sometime, Jung-yoon?”
That bastard had to go and ruin it.
Jo Seong-il suddenly tried to sneak in his own agenda, jumping on the moment like it was some kind of open market. Watching the whole scene unfold, Hoon scoffed in disbelief. Then, Bae Jung-yoon answered.
“Sure. Come over.”
He accepted the invite way too easily, leaving Seong-il wide-eyed.
“Seriously? I really can?”
“Yeah. Really. Come over.”
“Hell yeah! I’m finally gonna see our Jung-yoon’s place! When are you free? This week maybe?”
Seong-il chirped excitedly, chatting nonstop with an elated face. Go Hoon quietly watched them and kept his mouth shut. Something told him that saying the wrong thing here would just land him in trouble.
“Hoon-ah.”
Of course. Just when he thought he could stay out of it.
As he remained silent on purpose, a voice called out to him. Go Hoon turned his gaze to Bae Jung-yoon. With eyes crinkled gently and a voice practically dripping with sugar, he offered,
“You should come with Seong-il too. I’ll cook something tasty for you.”
Staring at Bae Jung-yoon’s sweet smile, Hoon made a quiet vow to himself. He would never step foot in that house.
He just knew. For some reason, it absolutely had to be that way.
His instincts screamed at him:
Do not go to Bae Jung-yoon’s place.
***
Time passed in a lazy blur. The same daily routine repeated over and over, and the fatigue slowly piled up.
These days, Go Hoon’s life was a constant battle against sleep.
He tried to squeeze in naps whenever he had a free moment, but for some reason, his eyelids still felt unbearably heavy. Just last year, he could survive on less sleep without feeling this drained.
Maybe it was because the military had forced him into a regimented routine, and now that his schedule was suddenly thrown out of sync, his body couldn’t adjust. As the fatigue worsened day by day, he even began wondering if he should get a full health checkup at a hospital.
Could it be that his entire constitution had changed since he started turning into a cat? Aren’t cats known for sleeping a lot? The thought crossed his mind, but it was still just speculation—there was no way to be sure.
Out of the 24 hours in a day, the time between 2 and 3 p.m. was the most brutal. On days without afternoon classes, he could sneak in a quick nap. But when he did have a class, there was nothing he could do.
Today, too, the sunlight streaming in from outside was warm and cozy, and the indoor temperature was perfect for sleep.
The professor’s signature monotonous tone echoed dully around his ears. No matter how hard he tried to stay alert, his body had long since betrayed his will.
His head kept bobbing forward, lower and lower. The arm that had been propping up his chin eventually gave way, and he could feel his body slowly tilting forward.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the professor noticed and called him out. His brain kept repeating Open your eyes, open your eyes, but his body refused to comply.
Who knew how long he’d been wrestling with sleep like that—when thud, just as his head dropped, something soft and warm pressed gently against his forehead.
Too soft and warm to be a desk.
Realizing this, Go Hoon fluttered his eyelids open.
What’s touching my forehead?
He turned his head, puzzled—and met eyes with Bae Jung-yoon, who was staring at him in silence.
Those dark eyes, lowered slightly, were eerily calm. How long had he been watching him like that?
Go Hoon blinked, dazed, holding his gaze with Bae Jung-yoon’s for a few seconds. Then, suddenly, he snapped upright with a jolt.
Bae Jung-yoon’s hand had been holding him back, stopping his forehead from slamming into the desk.
Now aware of what had happened, a wave of embarrassment washed over him.
“…Sorry.”
He apologized in a low, subdued voice. The moment the words left his mouth, he wondered if thank you might’ve been more appropriate.
But Bae Jung-yoon, unaware of Go Hoon’s inner turmoil, gave a faint smile and quietly withdrew his hovering hand. Go Hoon shook his head, trying to chase away the lingering drowsiness. The awkwardness still clung to him.
While he was doing that, Bae Jung-yoon picked up his pen and scribbled something in the corner of his notebook before sliding it toward him. When their eyes met, he gave a small glance, as if telling Hoon to read it.
Frowning slightly, Go Hoon leaned in to read the small handwriting.
Did you not sleep well?
The handwriting was extremely neat. So neat, in fact, that it was hard to believe a guy had written it. Staring at those crisp black letters, Go Hoon finally picked up his own pen.
Just a bit.
After jotting down the brief reply, he couldn’t help but compare their handwriting. His messy, crooked scrawl was sitting right next to those tidy, perfectly shaped letters—just like their appearances, really.
After reading what Hoon wrote, Bae Jung-yoon wordlessly pushed over his coffee. Go Hoon gave him a look that said, What are you doing?
Jung-yoon scribbled again.
I only had a few sips.
You drink the rest.
Go Hoon immediately shook his head.
I’m good, he mouthed.
But Bae Jung-yoon wasn’t having it.
He went as far as placing the cup directly into Go Hoon’s hand. Then, as if to say the conversation was over, he turned back and focused on the lecture.
If he raised his voice now, the professor would definitely notice. Go Hoon stared helplessly at the iced Americano now sitting in his hand. Seeing the droplets forming on the plastic cup suddenly made him aware of his thirst.
After a brief pause, he carefully wiped the end of the straw with his sleeve.
It might seem overly cautious, but still—Jung-yoon’s mouth had probably touched it. It felt more considerate to wipe it off first, for both their sakes.
He wiped the straw multiple times to make sure it was completely dry before finally bringing it to his lips and taking a sip. The cool liquid ran down his throat and pooled in his chest. As the caffeine began coursing through his system, it might’ve just been placebo, but he actually felt less sleepy.
Thanks to that, his vision sharpened, and he managed to survive the remaining three-hour marathon lecture with a clearer mind.
And when all the classes were finally over, he collapsed on the floor the moment he got home. He only snapped back to reality when a loud alarm began blaring.
Go Hoon jolted upright and shut off the alarm. As usual, he instinctively checked his phone’s notification bar. At the very top was a message from Bae Jung-yoon sent about an hour ago.
At first, he assumed Jung-yoon had posted something in their group chat for the team project. Today was the deadline for Park Ki-cheol to send over the finalized data, and it looked like a photo was attached.
Go Hoon opened the chat without thinking.
Then his eyes went wide.
“…What the hell is this?”
The photo showed none other than himself, fast asleep with his head hanging down.
