“Do you like watching dirty stuff?”
Not knowing where Jae-ha’s thoughts had gone, Hae-hyun seemed to have gotten the wrong idea entirely. After a quick glance at the scene on the tablet—where a man and a woman were tearing at each other’s clothes in equal measure—Jae-ha smirked mischievously.
“That’s more your thing. You like being naked, don’t you?”
“Me?!”
Hae-hyun practically choked. His tightly furrowed brow screamed innocence as he shot back in rapid-fire bursts.
“What are you even saying? Why would I like something like that? I even sleep with all my clothes on!”
There were guys who slept in nothing but their underwear, but apparently, Hae-hyun wasn’t one of them. Come to think of it, aside from that very first encounter, Jae-ha had never actually seen him bare. Even when showering, Hae-hyun always carried a full set of clothes into the bathroom to change before stepping back out.
“Then why weren’t you even wearing underwear the first time I saw you?”
The memory of their first meeting was far too vivid to just take his word for it.
“T-that was…”
Startled, Hae-hyun chewed nervously on his lips before mumbling an awkward excuse.
“I didn’t know the spell had worn off. It’s not supposed to break like that. And… honestly, I was still half-asleep…”
“But even after I shook you awake, you weren’t that surprised.”
“Of course I was! …I just didn’t show it.”
“Why not?”
That was something Jae-ha genuinely wanted to know. At his curious question, Hae-hyun’s eyes darted around before he finally sighed, sounding resigned.
“If I started freaking out too, it would’ve made me look like a total pervert. I was honestly there with good intentions.”
His lips jutted out slightly in a sulky pout. Jae-ha fought back laughter as he answered.
“No, not reacting actually made you seem more like a pervert.”
“Huh?”
Hae-hyun’s eyes widened, caught completely off guard.
“Why? Didn’t I look serious?”
Serious, my ass.
“You looked like a serious pervert.”
“……”
His eyes filled with frustration, but he couldn’t come up with a counterargument. All that escaped was a sulky mumble under his breath.
“I’m not a pervert.”
When Jae-ha didn’t respond, he added quietly, “I really mean it.” And when Jae-ha still didn’t react, he stopped watching the drama and started watching him instead.
“…Are you mad? Still?”
“It wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience.”
At that, Hae-hyun grew restless, fidgeting and darting glances around. After a long pause, he blurted out a suggestion, his voice stiff and hesitant.
“…Do you want to touch my puppy jellybeans?”
That broke him. Jae-ha burst out laughing.
“W-why are you laughing?”
Hae-hyun’s flustered voice barely registered. Seriously, what kind of guy was this?
“Why the puppy jellybeans?”
He could hardly get the words out between stifled laughter.
“…My brother said if you play with the jellybean, it makes you less angry.”
Hae-hyun muttered, looking sulky. Realizing he was being teased, his gaze turned defiant.
“Oh yeah? So you’re saying you’re sorry enough to turn into a dog for me?”
“Stop teasing me. You’re annoying.”
“Why? If you let me play with it, I was gonna forgive you. I like jellybeans, you know.”
“…Really?”
Instead of answering, Jae-ha laughed again. Hae-hyun glared at him, his expression sharp and fierce—but it wasn’t intimidating at all. Chuckling, Jae-ha gave his arm a light pat.
“Alright, I’m sorry.”
“Your personality’s seriously weird. No one’s ever told you that?”
“Nope.”
“Well, start hearing it now.”
Jae-ha considered telling him that saying it so earnestly only made it funnier, but decided to hold back. Watching him grow like this might not be such a bad thing. He patted him again.
“I said I got it, Hae-hyun.”
Hae-hyun froze. His round eyes locked on Jae-ha, and their gazes held. After chattering on nonstop, why was he suddenly quiet? Jae-ha blinked in confusion just as Hae-hyun hastily snatched the tablet.
“L-let’s watch the drama. If we talk too much, we’ll miss the story.”
And what, you can’t just rewind it? Jae-ha thought, but he let it slide and turned back to the screen. People often changed the subject or rambled nonsense around him, and he’d learned it was kinder not to call them out.
By the time they were nearing the end of the episode, Jae-ha suddenly felt warm breath against his collarbone. Tilting his eyes down, he saw Hae-hyun’s head drooping, eyelids shut. This after nagging him to focus on the show? He must have finally let his guard down.
But seriously—falling asleep now? The screen was blaring tense music as an affair was about to be exposed. Jae-ha sighed and gently nudged him.
“Hey, lie down if you’re gonna sleep.”
Still asleep, Hae-hyun only frowned and burrowed deeper into his chest. With a soft groan—half whine, half sleep murmur—he slipped right into Jae-ha’s arms before Jae-ha even had time to react.
Why did that feel so natural? Was this why people couldn’t stop coming to him at night? If he had a boyfriend like this, it’d actually be kind of cute. Oh right, he’d come home late last night too. Maybe that’s why he was so tired now? Jae-ha smirked, shifting his posture.
When he opened his arm, Hae-hyun immediately nestled against his chest, rubbing his head in and clinging tight. He was a bit heavy for Jae-ha—who’d only ever offered his arm as a pillow to girlfriends—but at least it was easier to breathe this way.
With this oversized puppy curled against him, even Jae-ha started to feel drowsy. Eventually, instead of playing the next episode, he set the tablet on the nightstand and closed his eyes. The warmth at his side was already starting to feel familiar.
***
Bzzz. Bzzz.
Walking down the school hallway, his phone suddenly buzzed. How did she always know to call right when class ended? Jae-ha glanced at the screen with mild curiosity before picking up.
“What?”
His curt greeting was met with an indignant voice right away.
— What do you mean, ‘what’? Can’t a mom call her son?
“You usually don’t, that’s why.”
He teased lightly, though it wasn’t entirely a joke. His mother, Kim Mu-yeon, was a woman of strong character. As the head of a small company, her days were too busy to devote much time to her kids.
Ever since Jae-ha moved out at twenty, she’d only visited his apartment a handful of times, and called even less. He himself only went home during holidays.
Not that they had a bad relationship. She had always supported him generously, and she could afford to. Her philosophy was simple: Why save it for later if I’ll just be giving it to him anyway? Thanks to her, Jae-ha had enjoyed independence earlier than most. Ironically, that same abundance only fed his restless boredom, pushing him to chase after thrills.
Still, their family ties were warm—maybe even warmer than most. That was partly their easygoing natures, and partly thanks to Jae-ha’s younger sister, who secretly loved family chatter and kept everyone connected.
— Have you eaten?
“I was just heading to the lounge to eat.”
— Good. Buying food’s the best.
Cooking had never been Mu-yeon’s strength. With no talent, she never practiced, and without practice, she never learned. Because of that, Jae-ha had never once received homemade side dishes like other kids. His fridge had always been empty.
Well, these days it smelled more like home, thanks to a certain puppy keeping it stocked.
“So what’s this about?”
— Oh, nothing… You’re doing okay, right?
It was the kind of question you only asked when something wasn’t okay. Jae-ha brushed it off.
“Just school. Nothing special.”
It’s not like he could tell his mom he might be cursed, or that he was living with a guy who turned into a dog.
— That’s good. …You’re not going clubbing these days, are you?
Her voice turned sharp. Jae-ha quickly denied it with exaggerated sincerity.
“No. Just school.”
— If another weird girl calls me pretending to be your girlfriend, I swear I’ll collapse.
“I told you, that won’t happen again.”
Back when he’d been restless and on break from school, a girl who secretly liked him had stolen his phone at a club and pretended to be his girlfriend for over a month.
She even called Mu-yeon, chatting about Jae-ha and building rapport. But Mu-yeon sensed something was off. She stormed into his place unannounced, interrogated him, and dragged the truth out of him. That incident taught Jae-ha the importance of locking his phone.
And that wasn’t the only chaos Mu-yeon had endured secondhand just for being his mother—desert-island adventures, stormy fishing trips, you name it. Eventually fed up with his recklessness and carefree optimism, she smacked him on the back and told him to just graduate already. And so, Seo Jae-ha’s drifting days ended.
“Why bring this up now?”
— I had a dream last night. Your grandmother appeared.
“…What about Grandma?”
His grandmother had passed away long ago—so long ago he barely remembered her.
What does she have to do with me? he asked, puzzled. Mu-yeon hesitated, clearly aware of how illogical it sounded.
— She said… a lot of things were clinging to you.
“…Uh-huh.”
— I told her, ‘My son’s always been super popular,’ and she smacked me.
“……”
That was so like her. Jae-ha silently applauded his eternally childlike mother.
— But when I woke up, I felt weird. You really are okay, right? You haven’t run into anyone strange? Like a pervert or a stalker?
“None. Don’t worry.”
Well… there was one guy he’d suspected of being a creepy stalker. Aside from that, life was normal.
For some barely-remembered grandmother to appear in a dream just to give him a warning—the curse must’ve been strong. And she wasn’t wrong, either. Still, with Hae-hyun around, what could really happen? Ever since he’d started living with him, the strange phenomena had stopped, and he’d even shown off his powers to reassure him.
“Maybe Grandma just missed you.”
— Maybe. Still, I felt refreshed when I woke up. That’s my mom for you.
What kind of logic is that? Come to think of it, Mu-yeon always mentioned her mother whenever she wasn’t feeling well. Maybe Grandma had been an anion too. Jae-ha shook off the silly thought and wrapped up the call.
“Alright. But don’t just rely on dreams. Try exercising too.”
— Grandma nagged me in the dream too, told me to eat properly. But I’ve been eating well and walking a lot these days!
Jae-ha wondered when she’d realize that pacing circles around the living room didn’t count as exercise, but as a dutiful son, he kept the truth to himself.
“I’ll visit for Chuseok.”
— Okay.
When the call ended, he was already in front of the student lounge. Opening the door, he was greeted by a chorus of voices.
“Oh, oppa! You’re here!”
“Welcome!”
“Jae-ha, want to eat? We’re just about to order.”
Perfect timing. Jae-ha smiled and asked,
“What’s on the menu?”
Today’s lunch was Chinese food. After quickly putting in his order, he sat at the table—only for one of the few seniors still on campus, Lee Cheong-hee, to voice her complaint.
“Jae-ha, why are your replies so slow lately?”
Cheong-hee had been especially fond of him since his freshman year, always praising his looks and inviting him for drinks. But Jae-ha got along with her only because she never crossed the line beyond harmless compliments.
Her interest in him was nothing more than a vague fondness for good-looking people, and despite knowing each other for years, it had never turned romantic. Cheong-hee loved alcohol far more than men.
“Did I?”
“You did! Even when I ask you to drink, you take hours to respond.”
“Wow, Seo Jae-ha. You ditching Cheong-hee noona now?”
“See, this is why good-looking guys—nose up in the air.”
The crowded table burst into laughter, eager to tease him.
“But seriously, Jae-ha oppa has been slower than usual. I texted him in the morning asking where he was, and he didn’t answer until the afternoon.”
“Yeah. He’s always been a little inconsistent, but not this bad.”
The mood shifted slightly as others chimed in agreement. Kim Min-ho, who’d been leading the teasing, looked baffled.
“Wait, you all text Seo Jae one-on-one?”
“Hey, aren’t all the girls in our department secretly messaging him?”
Of course, that wasn’t true.
“No, I chat with him too,” one guy said.
“Same here. But yeah, he hasn’t been checking his phone much lately.”
Realizing even the guys were saying the same, Min-ho blinked a few times, then slowly turned to look at Jae-ha.
“…So, can I message you too?”
“Ah, oppa! Seriously?!”
“Wait, Min-ho, you don’t already talk to him?”
