Bae Jung-yoon carefully lowered his foot, letting it settle into the slipper.
“All done.”
He murmured as he stood up, and Go Hoon gave him a nod.
“You go ahead. I need to take care of something.”
He could feel the eyes staring down at him. Go Hoon didn’t look away on purpose. Bae Jung-yoon soon gave a casual nod.
“Okay. Take your time.”
His voice held a faint trace of amusement. It felt like there was something pointed beneath the words, but Go Hoon couldn’t call it out. With a towel in hand, Bae Jung-yoon strolled out of the bathroom. Once he heard the soft click of the door closing, Go Hoon pressed his palms hard against his eyes.
“…Fuck.”
The curse slipped out between clenched teeth. His hand swept roughly up his face, then dug into his hair.
“You’ve seriously lost it, Go Hoon.”
He’d almost caused a major scene. Sure, life had been busy, but maybe he’d been living too much like a monk. Getting hard from something that minor? Ridiculous.
There was no other explanation. Feeling a flash of sexual tension from someone just washing his feet—what kind of nonsense was that?
And it wasn’t even some random stranger—it was Bae Jung-yoon. How utterly pathetic.
His face now flushed with heat, Go Hoon pressed both hands to his cheeks and shook his head.
No, no. Men are just biologically prone to react to stimulation. There’s nothing wrong with me. It’s just a normal physiological response.
But then, why did Bae Jung-yoon keep touching him like that? As a fellow guy, he had to know. He had to understand how even unintentional contact could get someone worked up. That’s probably why he said what he did.
“Okay. Take your time.”
Replaying that lazy, teasing tone only made his ears burn hotter. His hands clenched into fists.
This was all that guy’s fault.
Even if he had gotten hard in front of Bae Jung-yoon, the guy had no right to be offended. Seriously, who the hell just casually strokes someone’s knees or thighs? That was the damn trigger. It’s no wonder his whole body had gone on high alert at just a light touch to his foot.
Trying to justify it to himself like this was shameless, but still, Go Hoon couldn’t shake the mess of feelings inside him.
Am I some kind of pervert?
A doubt he’d never once allowed himself crept into his thoughts.
***
Go Hoon stared blankly at his textbook.
The professor was enthusiastically lecturing at the front of the room, but none of it registered.
It had been like this for days.
Ever since that day—the day he almost embarrassed himself in front of Bae Jung-yoon.
Since then, Go Hoon hadn’t let him wash his feet again.
Instead, he bought a silicone foot brush online and started scrubbing them himself.
Thanks to lightning-fast delivery, the brush arrived the next day. It worked amazingly well.
It had suction cups on the bottom, so he could stick it to the floor, lather it with soap, and scrub with just his feet. No hands needed, and it still got them squeaky clean. He was more than satisfied.
Bae Jung-yoon, meanwhile, watched him from the side, stifling laughter with that unreadable smirk of his.
Was he amused by how desperately Go Hoon tried to avoid being touched? Or had he already figured out the reason?
He didn’t say anything—just watched, clearly entertained.
That somehow made Go Hoon feel even more gross inside. But he couldn’t show it. He had to at least be grateful that Bae Jung-yoon didn’t question why he’d gone out of his way to buy such a thing.
He thought it would be enough to avoid any more awkward incidents.
But he was wrong.
That moment from before had taken root in his brain, deep and heavy.
The touch tracing over his scar. The hand gently washing his foot.
He thought about it when Bae Jung-yoon was beside him. And even when he wasn’t.
Just replaying it in his head made him flustered—but the worst part was the way heat coiled low in his stomach every time it happened.
He wasn’t some horny teenager getting off to meaningless skinship from the girl next door.
Why did he keep replaying that scene?
That wasn’t even the worst of it.
Bae Jung-yoon’s habits were the real problem.
Maybe it was because Go Hoon didn’t say anything the first time he woke up to find the guy totally naked.
Since then, Bae Jung-yoon had shown zero hesitation about walking around nude in front of him.
That’s when Go Hoon realized he’d been completely wrong about him.
It wasn’t that Bae Jung-yoon had been indifferent because he was a cat.
He was just the type of person who felt absolutely no shame.
That’s why he’d stripped in front of Kkongddeok-i without a care. That’s why, even now, he kept living like usual, completely unbothered by anyone else’s presence.
Honestly, Go Hoon didn’t feel great about sharing a bed with someone like that. But he wasn’t in a position to complain and tell him to stop sleeping naked, either.
He was the one freeloading under someone else’s roof.
It was Bae Jung-yoon who gave him a place to stay and even took care of him. The guy didn’t seem the least bit self-conscious, which made Go Hoon feel even more ridiculous for being so reactive.
All he could do was sleep as far away from him as possible, clinging to the edge of the bed. But no matter what he did, every morning he woke up practically pressed up against him.
Just like this morning.
The moment he opened his heavy eyelids, Bae Jung-yoon’s face was right there, inches from his own.
He had no idea how long the guy had been awake, but those deep black eyes were quietly watching him.
“Did you sleep well?”
That low, rumbling voice echoed in his memory, and Go Hoon instantly shut it down.
What the hell was he doing thinking about that in the middle of class? He gave his head a light shake and bit down on the end of his pen.
By the time the lecture ended, the pen cap was covered in bite marks.
Go Hoon stepped out of the lecture hall and headed straight for the Academic Information Center. He needed to kill some time until Bae Jung-yoon’s last class was over.
What had been happening to him lately—these strange, unexplainable things—he could only label them as anomalies. Nothing else made sense. But no matter how confusing it was, avoiding Bae Jung-yoon wasn’t an option. Without him, this comfortable setup he had would vanish in an instant.
There was no way he could afford to hire a caretaker. And his own home? It was far from accessible. Just getting up the stairs took forever.
All things considered, relying on Bae Jung-yoon wasn’t just a choice—it was inevitable. So there was no point grumbling about it. The smarter move was to lay low and keep quiet.
He settled into the laptop seat he’d reserved through the center’s app and started sifting through papers to use for his report. Given the state of his head lately, there was no way he could absorb dense academic material easily. But he couldn’t afford to space out forever, so he forced himself to focus on the black-and-white text in front of him.
Little by little, the fog in his mind started to clear.
Time slipped by as he got more absorbed in the research, until he finally checked the clock.
“…Already?”
The time they’d agreed to meet was quickly approaching.
With a quiet sigh, Go Hoon packed up and strolled out of the center, heading toward the outdoor parking lot.
It wasn’t far, but the blazing sun overhead had sweat beading at his scalp and trickling down his back in no time.
It was April, but it already felt like summer had arrived. Then again, Korea hadn’t really had four proper seasons in years. Clicking his tongue in irritation, he instinctively fanned his short-sleeved T-shirt to cool off—when a voice called out from behind.
“Go Hoon sunbae…!”
He turned his head. A little distance away, Kim Yeo-jin was hurrying toward him.
What’s she in such a rush for? Did she have something urgent to say? He was puzzled—until a guess came to mind. Maybe she’d heard something about Park Ki-cheol.
Go Hoon stayed put. His leg made it hard to even consider turning back.
When Yeo-jin reached him, she bent over, hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. Then she straightened, her eyes wide with concern.
“Sunbae… you’re hurt?”
“…Yeah. Just a bit.”
He gave her a somewhat awkward reply.
“What happened?”
“Fell off my bike.”
“Oh no… You must’ve gotten hurt pretty badly. You should’ve been more careful…”
Yeo-jin looked genuinely distressed, and Go Hoon found himself quietly watching her. He was the one injured, but she looked like she was the one in pain.
He almost laughed at how ridiculous it seemed—but stopped himself.
Damn it, Bae Jung-yoon. Why’d you have to go and say something?
The thought made him frown, but when his eyes met Yeo-jin’s, he quickly softened his expression.
She hesitated for a moment, then started darting her gaze around, clearly nervous. Her face gradually turned pink, and she tucked her hair behind her ear with both hands.
Go Hoon raised an eyebrow. What’s going on with her all of a sudden?
Just as he started to wonder, she seemed to gather her courage and opened her mouth to speak.
“Um, sunbae…”
“Go Hoon.”
Before she could finish, a familiar voice cut in.
Go Hoon flinched and turned. As expected, there stood Bae Jung-yoon.
Caught off guard, Go Hoon gave him a sheepish look. Of all times… why now?
Almost as if he’d read his mind, Bae Jung-yoon’s gaze flicked toward Yeo-jin.
“Yeo-jin’s here too.”
His timing was starting to feel borderline supernatural. With his usual unbothered air, Bae Jung-yoon strolled over.
“Hi, Jung-yoon sunbae.”
Yeo-jin’s smile was awkward, her expression stiff, but she managed to greet him politely.
Go Hoon quickly stepped in.
“Weren’t we supposed to meet at the parking lot? What are you doing here?”
“I figured it might be hard for you to walk all the way there, so I came to meet you.”
As if the distance to the parking lot was even that far.
Go Hoon frowned slightly but then remembered he’d been talking with Yeo-jin. He turned back to her.
“What were you trying to tell me earlier?”
“Oh… it’s nothing.”
Yeo-jin shook her head. For a moment, she looked almost disappointed. Maybe it was just his imagination, but it seemed like she’d worked up the nerve to say something—and lost the chance.
“Are you two going somewhere…?”
She glanced back and forth between them, eyes curious.
“Well—”
“I’m giving Go Hoon a ride home,” Bae Jung-yoon said smoothly, cutting him off.
Before Go Hoon could respond, Bae Jung-yoon stepped in beside him, draped an arm around his shoulder, and pulled him close.
“As you can see, he’s not doing so great. As his friend, I should be here to help him out, right?”
He said it with that same calm, easy smile—like it was the most natural thing in the world.
