#61
The couple’s dinner was simple and modest. They had both overlooked something – that the homeowner had been away for nearly two weeks.
They made fried rice with the barely surviving wrinkled potatoes and not-so-good carrots from the refrigerator’s ingredients. Fortunately, his refrigerator was better stocked than Ho-woo’s, which was full of instant foods, despite the owner being away for nearly two weeks.
Oh-yul’s face was infinitely serious as he drew a heart with ketchup on top of the mounded fried rice, and he even showed a bit of pride when presenting the finished product.
Unexpectedly domestic, huh.
This handsome man, despite his appearance, enjoyed cooking, and his skills were quite proficient.
“Did you learn to cook on purpose?”
“I didn’t particularly learn from anyone. I studied from books.”
Ho-woo, busily putting his share of food into his mouth, glanced at several tightly closed doors. The living room, covered with a soft gray rug that sank to the ankles, didn’t seem to have any bookshelves.
“The books are in the study.”
Study?
The neighbor living next door made an expression of disbelief, as if he had misheard.
This house has only one room. One room in the living room, one bathroom. In such a house layout, shouldn’t the room that should be there be a bedroom, not a dressing room or a study?
“That room over there is indeed the bedroom.”
His lover, who keenly noticed Ho-woo’s confusion, readily gave permission, saying he could open the door and look after finishing the meal.
Ho-woo looked around the house anew. The feeling of visiting as a lover now was quite different from when he came as a guest.
The balcony and windows, which had been covered with thick blackout curtains when he first came, were now wide open, fully embracing the cool evening breeze.
“When I first came, everything was covered, but today you opened them for ventilation?”
“…?”
“I mean the curtains.”
“Ah, no. They’re no longer needed, so I’ll be getting rid of them soon.”
Although the statement about no longer needing them was a bit strange, it seemed odd for Ho-woo to dictate their usefulness, so he let it pass.
No, come to think of it, it was good. Those gloomy curtains were bothersome no matter how you looked at it.
“I think that’s good too.”
His lover was excessively quiet. He had thought a quiet neighbor who didn’t make much noise was good, but thinking of it as the lover living next door, it wasn’t so great.
“Live a bit more noisily.”
Though he knew it was an absurd request, Ho-woo boldly made it. Telling someone to live noisily was strange even to himself, but this man needed to make his presence known a bit more.
At Ho-woo’s words, Yul slightly crinkled his eyes. His neat, straight fingers ticklishly stroked from the back of Ho-woo’s hand to the tips of his fingers.
“Then how about we make noise together? I’m confident I can do well.”
Is he suggesting we sing together or something?
Imagining what it would be like if Oh-yul sang, it didn’t seem bad. His low, soft voice carrying a melody would surely be pleasant to hear.
“Okay, let’s do that.”
At Ho-woo’s ready permission, the corners of Yul’s lips quivered slightly. A chuckle escaped through his tightly bitten teeth.
“Would you like to see the bedroom first?”
Oh-yul, who had put the empty dishes in the sink, rolled up his sleeves and nodded towards the tightly closed door.
“I’ll help you too.”
It wouldn’t be polite to let him clean up alone when he had prepared the meal by himself. Ho-woo, who had awkwardly stood up, was about to mutter “dishwasher” at the sight of water droplets gathering around him and neatly finishing the dishwashing, but he firmly held his tongue.
One slip-up was enough for the statements made so far.
“Now it’s time to see the bedroom.”
Oh-yul strode towards the bedroom. As he twisted the handle of the tightly closed door, it opened silently.
Pitch-black darkness was there. The only light illuminating the inside was the light seeping through the opened door gap.
The room, carefully covered with blackout curtains, contained only a large bed standing alone and built-in closets.
Unlike the bright, open atmosphere of the room in the industrial complex, the atmosphere of this dark and completely isolated room was cool and cold rather than cozy.
“We should remove the curtains here too.”
Ho-woo boldly stepped into the darkness, relying on the light coming from behind. Without hesitation, he reached out and pushed the heavily hanging curtains completely to both sides, then turned to look at Yul.
He was leaning obliquely against the door, staring at Ho-woo with a strange expression that was neither smiling nor expressionless. His shining eyes curved into gentle lines.
“Stay the night.”
Did I hear wrong?
“Stay the night here, Ho-woo.”
Despite Ho-woo not being short, Yul, blocking the doorway, showed no signs of gaps. He seemed unwilling to move aside until Ho-woo’s permission to stay the night was given.
“You know my house is right next door, right?”
It’s not like they’re far apart, just neighbors separated by a thin wall, yet he’s asking to stay the night. At Ho-woo’s bewildered retort, Yul slightly drooped the corners of his lips.
With just that small change, Ho-woo felt like the most pitiful and miserable man in the world was standing before him. The eyes he met were moist.
“So it doesn’t matter if you stay the night.”
Honestly, it didn’t really matter. Being next door, there would be no problem preparing for work after waking up. And Yul’s bed was big. It was large enough for two adult men to lie down comfortably, so adding Ho-woo wouldn’t make for an uncomfortable sleeping arrangement.
The problem was that Ho-woo’s own mindset had changed, and his relationship with the man before him was no longer just that of a neighbor.
He wasn’t confident he could lie down and sleep casually in the same bed with him.
However, Ho-woo raised the white flag at Oh-yul’s gloomy expression as he stood blocking the door. He couldn’t bring himself to say no to that face.
He must have heard “no” so many times until now, and Ho-woo didn’t want to add another rejection on top of that.
Well, what could happen from just sleeping?
“Alright.”
At Ho-woo’s finally given permission, Yul’s eyes narrowed into crescents.
***
Ah, that dream. It’s been a while.
Ho-woo nuzzled his face into the large hand cupping his cheek. The hand with thick joints and warm temperature felt very familiar despite seeming like it had been a long time, still giving a comfortable feeling.
His lips curled up round at the ends involuntarily, feeling somewhat glad. A floating sensation of floundering at the boundary between sleep and reality buoyed his body.
Even in his half-asleep state, Ho-woo recalled that it felt similar to when he touched Yul. Soft, gentle water embraced his body, gently brushing between his fingers.
He liked water and loved the sea. Although he had never seen the sea directly, Ho-woo really liked the vast horizon shown on TV.
If he had the chance, he wanted to go to the sea. Even though he now knew how unreasonably difficult that childhood wish was, he still yearned for it subconsciously.
Stretching his stiff body, Ho-woo completely entrusted himself to that large hand. The thought that the man who had now become his lover was sleeping beside him briefly crossed his mind even in his drowsy state, but so what? This was Ho-woo’s old dream that no one knew about.
The large hand that always stayed around his face unexpectedly moved from his cheek to gently grip his nape. As if strangling, it amply held his neck with both hands, then followed the curve down to knead his shoulders firmly as if feeling the bones, passed over his forearms, rustled between his fingers, and then retreated.
Despite the distant sensation, a deep breath escaped through his slightly parted lips in disappointment.
The hand that had moved away this time claimed his chest. Carefully and unhurriedly, it flowed down his body, examining it meticulously. It pressed gently over his chest, ticklish sides, and flat stomach.
The touch felt more like a thorough inspection rather than something erotic.
As if trying to engrave every detail of Lee Ho-woo onto the hand, it slowly confirmed how the skin was pressed, how smooth and elastic it was, and the shape of the bones.
Though it was touching here and there at will, he didn’t feel like pushing it away.
Is it because it’s a dream?
Ho-woo, who had been continuing his thoughts nonchalantly, suddenly opened his eyes wide when he felt where the firm hand that had been roaming his upper body was heading without hesitation.
No! Not that!
Ho-woo sat up abruptly in shock, breathing heavily. This damn dream has gone crazy, last time it spoke in Oh-yul’s voice, and now it’s acting completely on its own.
Ho-woo looked out the window where the blackout curtains had been removed, his face now wide awake. It was still dark outside, but dawn was faintly breaking.
In that dim light, like twilight when dogs and wolves can’t be distinguished, his lover lay sound asleep beside him.
He didn’t wake up. That’s a relief.
It would have been a bit conscience-stricken if Yul had woken up because of him at this early dawn, but he was sleeping, breathing lightly.
He had turned his body sideways towards Ho-woo, slightly curled up his large frame, and wore a cool expression. The perfect expressionless face without even a hint of a smile looked similar to the photo uploaded at the industrial complex.
“How did I not know about such a pretty face until now?”
It was regrettable that he only came to know it now, when it was such a striking appearance that would surely leave a strong impression if seen even once in life.
