#68
The slightly swollen lips came down and pressed firmly on various parts of his face. For a long time, he carefully kissed from the forehead to the eyes and the tips of the ears, conveying his affection for the other person.
“You should wash up.”
The polite voice asking while trapping Ho-woo beneath him was filled with bubbling desire. Anyone who heard it would recognize the seduction in that voice.
Here? Really?
Ho-woo’s face became a bit startled.
It was beyond the range permitted by an ordinary person’s conscience and public morality. He gently pushed away his lover’s body.
“Instructor, you’re moving too fast.”
The body that normally wouldn’t budge from such a weak force gracefully retreated at his gesture.
“A teacher always wants to teach everything quickly.”
“Weren’t you saying you’d learn earlier?”
The man who had acted like a diligent student eager to learn anything now pounced to teach, running his hand through his disheveled hair with a smirk. His expression was unsatisfied and sulky.
“I’m going to take a shower.”
Ho-woo announced to Yul, who looked impeccable without a drop of sweat, and disappeared with quick steps into the public shower room connected to the training room.
Yul, who had been staring at Ho-woo’s retreating figure, exhaled a long breath, suppressing the heat boiling inside him.
If he had let his mind slip a little, he would have pushed forward, but his reason was tougher than whale sinew.
The man who knew better than anyone that regretting and dwelling on a situation that had already passed wouldn’t bring it back, closed his eyes gently.
Lee Ho-woo was now his lover and guide. So he reminded himself repeatedly that there was no need to rush.
His sensitive hearing clearly picked up the sound of water falling beyond the closed glass door. All of the Esper’s senses were directed beyond the closed door.
‘Ah! Cold!’
From the voice muttering in shock, probably from accidentally turning on cold water, to the small humming.
All of these no longer existed in an unreachable place.
It just needed time.
He pretended to be relaxed, resting his chin on his raised knee. Ho-woo’s sounds, which he had been focusing on to the point of barely noticing the passage of time, continued sporadically with sighs and groans after the water stopped.
***
Didn’t they say exercise changes your lifestyle habits?
Ho-woo definitely thought that was true. Otherwise, the sight of himself trudging along on Monday morning, dragging his body shocked by sudden exercise, was too pitiful.
He must have been trudging quite noticeably, as Seong-jo made an uneasy face and quietly pushed a donut-shaped cushion towards Ho-woo.
Ho-woo, whose entire body was suffering from muscle pain, pondered for a moment why he needed a donut-shaped cushion, but not wanting to coldly reject Seong-jo’s kindness, he graciously accepted it with thanks.
Of course, at that moment, Seong-jo’s expression darkened further, but Ho-woo, who had turned his gaze to the monitor, didn’t see that face.
It was just running, but his whole body was screaming in creaking protest, so Ho-woo briefly imagined the future he would face every weekend for the next two months, then deliberately erased it from his mind.
Still, it wasn’t all bad.
Ho-woo reflexively touched his lower lip. His face slightly flushed at the memory that naturally followed.
Well, it wasn’t all bad.
Lost in thought for a moment, Ho-woo turned his head at the gaze he felt from the side, made eye contact with Seong-jo, and reflexively put on his social smile.
“Do you need help with something?”
Although he was trying to keep his distance from Seong-jo, he was still his senior at work, so he had to help with work-related matters. So he naturally asked while glancing at Seong-jo’s monitor, but Seong-jo made a slightly distorted face and shook his head. He just stared blankly at the cushion Ho-woo was sitting on with a gloomy expression, sighing deeply several times and shaking his head.
Is he regretting lending the cushion? He gave it himself.
Ho-woo thought about returning it now, but feeling annoyed at being given the cold shoulder, he sat on that cushion until the end of the workday.
“Thanks for this.”
When Ho-woo returned the cushion before leaving the office, Seong-jo’s face became even more dejected. Leaving him behind, Ho-woo quickly pulled out his phone.
The pager on his wrist was quiet. He had seen messages come in during work, but Mondays were particularly busy, so he had devoted himself to work, even giving up his lunch break. As a result, he hadn’t had time to look at his phone.
[What did you eat for lunch today?]
Yul’s message, which had arrived just before lunchtime, exuded affection even through the text. After that, when Ho-woo didn’t reply, several more messages had come in.
[You shouldn’t keep eating unhealthy things. Should I pack you a lunchbox?]
[Since you’re not answering, I’ll do as I please. I’ll pack you a lunchbox.]
[See you after work.]
Ho-woo frowned at Yul’s messages, which had somehow decided on packing a lunchbox.
It’s easy to say. Filling a small container with different side dishes every day wasn’t an easy task. Ho-woo didn’t want to put Yul through such trouble.
Ho-woo let several elevators full of people go down at the end of the workday and called Yul. He answered the phone before it even had a chance to ring, as if he had been waiting.
-Judging by your call, it seems you’ve finished work.
The soft, sweet voice gently scratched Ho-woo’s eardrum. Ho-woo rubbed his neck, which had goosebumps from the voice so low it made his nape tingle.
“I was too busy today, so I just saw your messages now. Why suddenly a lunchbox?”
-Isn’t receiving a lunchbox from your lover while dating a romantic ideal?
“That’s fine once or twice, but packing one every day is too troublesome.”
Ho-woo, who had gotten into the now-empty elevator and pressed the button for the first floor, looked up at the decreasing numbers.
-I want to do it. I really wanted to do this for you.
Despite Ho-woo’s refusal, Yul didn’t seem to have any intention of backing down.
-I’ve already bought lunchboxes.
“What… When?”
-Of course, right after I sent the message.
They had commuted together in the morning, yet he had time to buy lunchboxes? Ho-woo was amazed at this incredible drive.
At this rate, telling him not to do it would only have the opposite effect, so it seemed better to let him do as he wished for a few days.
He’ll give up after a few days of doing it.
Ho-woo, who had reached the first floor and exited the elevator, pushed his employee ID into his bag and walked out of the building.
As soon as he left the cool air-conditioned building, hot and humid air rushed in.
It’s hot.
Even though there was still a faint coolness clinging to his body, he found himself saying it was hot.
“I clearly told you not to, right? You can stop anytime you want to.”
-I wonder. I’m not sure if that day will come.
Ho-woo silently snorted at the words tinged with quiet confidence.
Let’s see how long this lasts. Well, eating a lunchbox packed by his lover wasn’t a bad thing for him. Moreover, Yul usually made side dishes that matched Ho-woo’s tastes very well, so it was much better than buying food.
He just didn’t want to see Yul’s dejected face later, apologizing after getting tired of it.
-Did you just snicker?
Huh? How did he know when I didn’t make a sound?
Ho-woo reflexively looked around. Having encountered Yul on his way home from work a few times before, he wondered if he was watching from somewhere, but there was only an unfamiliar black car parked in front of the company with its blinkers on. The car had dark tinting, making the inside completely invisible.
-Stop looking around. Just follow the ice straight ahead.
“―!”
As Yul spoke, pure white frost settled at Ho-woo’s feet. It stretched out across the sidewalk like a path.
The thin ice made a crunching sound as Ho-woo stepped on it. The finely crushed ice quickly melted in the hot air after Ho-woo passed over it, as if it had fulfilled its role.
-Do you know what I bought for the first time today?
“Lunchboxes?”
-Well, I did buy those too.
Ho-woo, who had reached the car parked on the side of the road following the frost path, lightly tapped on the darkly tinted glass.
Ho-woo’s sensitive ears caught the click of the car’s lock being released. Simultaneously, beyond the window that lowered, Yul was leaning on the steering wheel, his eyes curved like crescent moons as he smiled.
“I bought a car.”
Ho-woo heard the voice coming from the phone at his ear and the voice flowing from right in front of him at the same time. He struggled to turn his dazed head for a moment.
His lover was an Esper. And an Esper with tremendous power, enough for even Ho-woo, who didn’t know much about Esper strength, to recognize.
A man who could probably traverse from one end of the city to the other in no time with his own power, without needing to rely on a vehicle, had bought a car.
The reason was obvious.
It was because of him.
Ho-woo debated whether he should be happy about this or nag that he had spent unnecessary money, but seeing Yul’s exceptionally happy expression, he decided to be genuinely pleased for him.
There’s nothing more depressing than being scolded after spending money.
“Now you won’t say you want to take the subway when you’re with me, right? I was a bit hurt then, you know.”
He wrinkled his eyes slightly and scrunched his nose, looking exactly like a fox.
