“No—no thanks, okay? Why would we? I don’t want to!”
He’d lost count of how many times he’d been dumbfounded today. The more Haram talked to Tae-yi, the harder it became to stay sane. He’d promised himself hundreds of times before coming to Seoul that he wouldn’t get dragged into his mess again, but it was already happening. It was overwhelming.
“You’ve rejected me three times now.”
Something in Tae-yi’s tone sounded faintly bitter, but Haram wasn’t about to get sucked in again. He pointed at the pot sitting pitifully by the window and shouted,
“Go sleep with that thing!”
With that firm declaration, Haram dragged the blanket along the floor and stormed out of the room. Tae-yi looked from the tomato plant to Haram’s retreating back, squirming slightly like a caterpillar before letting out a laugh. Da Haram—he was the only one who could still make him laugh. Tae-yi had never once thought about wanting a life filled with laughter, but Da Haram had made him realize that maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
Still chuckling quietly, Tae-yi sat on the edge of the bed, pulled out his phone from his pocket, and began typing a message.
***
“Uuugh… cold…”
“Just bear with it a little longer.”
Half-asleep, Haram scrunched his face and groaned at the chill spreading across his skin. Hearing the sleepy whine, Tae-yi gave a small laugh and pressed a sheet mask onto Haram’s palm-sized face. His face was so small it looked like the mask had swallowed him whole.
It supposedly contained every ingredient known to soothe the skin. By tomorrow, he probably wouldn’t need to stay in his Sky Squirrel form anymore. Thankfully, the burn hadn’t been severe enough to require ointment. Still, what on earth had possessed him to fall asleep in the garden, under the blazing midday sun? The more Tae-yi thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.
Smiling faintly at the memory of Haram’s half-scorched face, Tae-yi’s gaze drifted to the white T-shirt the boy wore. Without thinking, he flicked his finger lightly against the nipple that poked through the thin fabric. Haram let out a shaky breath, his brows knitting as if uncomfortable. But when he didn’t react much beyond that, Tae-yi grew bolder.
He pulled back the blanket covering Haram’s stomach. The lower half of his body, clad only in light gray underwear, was revealed. Tae-yi’s eyes lingered on the outline beneath the thin fabric—the unmistakable shape of an erection pressing against the cloth. He swallowed hard and brought his hand down, wrapping his fingers around the bulge. As his palm rubbed slowly along the taut thigh, Haram’s body twitched, and a small whimper escaped him—like a puppy’s faint cry.
“Nnngh…”
The uncomfortable sensation made him stir. With a trembling flutter, Haram’s eyelids opened, his vision adjusting to the dimness.
“You awake?”
Tae-yi asked softly, half the underwear already pulled down, a faint smile curving his lips as their eyes met in the dark. Still foggy with sleep, Haram blinked at him blankly—then, realizing what was happening, bolted upright.
“You… you pervert!”
The shout made the mask sheet fall limply from his face. Only when he saw Haram’s horrified expression did Tae-yi slowly remove his hand from where it had been.
Kicking frantically, Haram managed to push him away and hurriedly yanked his underwear back up.
“Why are you in here?!”
Just because you own the place doesn’t mean you can just walk into a guest’s room! And definitely not to pull this kind of perverted crap!
Red-faced and seething, Haram glared at him. Tae-yi finally spoke, completely unfazed.
“You took my blanket. So I figured we should share. What was I supposed to sleep under?”
That calm, logical tone made something inside Haram boil over. He grabbed the blanket with both hands and shoved it into Tae-yi’s arms.
“Get out…!”
He pointed furiously at the door. Tae-yi obediently clutched the blanket and stood—but before leaving, he added casually,
“It’s… a bit hard.”
The moment those words registered, Haram’s thighs snapped together, tail curling up tightly against his chest.
“You touched me! What do you expect?!”
Anyone would react like that! It’s not just me!—he wanted to add, but the words came out as incoherent frustration. Stretching his arm toward the door again, Haram’s voice trembled with outrage.
Watching the fuming squirrel, Tae-yi gave a faint, teasing smile and murmured almost to himself,
“I was talking about me.”
You’re the one who got hard, huh.
Hearing that, Haram’s silver hair stood on end as his Sky Squirrel ears popped up. He instantly clapped his hands over them and ducked his head. He’d heard it, but he refused to acknowledge it. Before the pervert could twist his mind any further, he shut his ears to the world.
Tae-yi let out a soft laugh at the sight of Haram curling himself up into a tight little ball. Hugging the blanket that Haram had brought for him, he left the room at an easy pace.
Click. The door shut behind him.
Only then did Haram lift his head, glaring at the firmly closed door. He clenched his fists and smacked the mattress in frustration.
“Kang Tae-yi…!”
He wanted to curse, but he was terrible at it. He’d never practiced swearing, so the only insult that came out was the one word he’d already overused. Pervert. It was the best insult he had for Kang Tae-yi—and yet, even that didn’t seem to bother the man in the slightest.
After venting his anger on the mattress for a while, Haram stood up awkwardly, frowning at the uncomfortable tightness below his waist.
“What the hell is wrong with me…”
As he got up, he noticed the small table beside the bed stacked with boxes. He blinked rapidly, trying to read the English on the packaging. He couldn’t make it out, but the pictures suggested they were facial masks. He’d never bought or used anything like that before. Remembering the sheet on his face earlier, he looked at the bed.
There, lying crumpled among the sheets, was the used mask pack. Picking it up, he rubbed its drying surface with his fingers, then grabbed one of the unopened boxes and headed for the bathroom.
“Whoa…”
Examining his reflection in the mirror, Haram touched his cheek in amazement. The redness had gone down a lot. Was this because of the mask pack? Could something this thin really heal skin like that? It worked way better than all the cold water and ice compresses he’d used all day. Feeling the smooth, moist skin under his fingertips, Haram smiled faintly—only to press his lips together at the thought of Tae-yi.
“He could’ve just put the pack on and left. Why touch me like that… pervert…”
No matter how gentle he pretended to be, Kang Tae-yi was still a pervert. That fact didn’t change. Yet, despite knowing that, guilt tugged faintly at Haram for having kicked him out so harshly.
Pulling a new mask pack from the box, Haram hesitated, then left the bathroom. He sighed in relief when he saw that his arousal had finally subsided, then slipped into a pair of sweatpants. Tugging his silver-gray tail through the waistband, he made his way to Tae-yi’s room.
Knock knock.
Standing outside, Haram fidgeted with the mask pack in his hand, waiting. A moment later, the door swung open. He lifted the pack slightly, forcing a shy smile.
“Thanks for this…”
But his voice faltered mid-sentence. He froze as soon as he saw Tae-yi’s flushed face—and the sound of a wet squelch reached his ears. Horrified, Haram’s gaze dropped, and his eyes went wide.
The sight filled his vision completely—the swollen, exposed tip standing upright before him.
Haram’s face went stark white. Without thinking, he shoved Tae-yi hard in the chest, forcing him back into the room, and slammed the door shut behind him with a loud bang.
“Y-you insane bastard.”
He’s actually insane. Finally, the curse tore out of his mouth. Shaking his head violently, he tried to scrub the image of that thing from his mind. When Tae-yi’s ragged breathing sounded faintly through the door, Haram clapped his hands over his ears and stomped frantically in place before bolting down the hallway.
***
His job title was Chief Yoon, but no matter how he looked at it, he had too much on his plate. He’d promised himself thousands of times that after wrapping up this overseas project, he’d finally resign for good.
Unlike yesterday—when his main concern in the rearview mirror had been reading his boss’s mood—today, his gaze lingered on Kang Tae-yi’s skin instead. When their eyes met through the mirror, Yoon cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Uh… your skin looks especially good today, Director.”
“…What?”
Kang Tae-yi frowned, giving him a look that clearly said, What the hell are you talking about? Yoon scratched his head and continued uncertainly.
“Didn’t you… maybe do some skincare last night?”
If not, then what had that text been about—the one ordering him to go buy skin-soothing masks? Out of all the instructions he’d ever received, that one had to be the most bewildering. Kang Tae-yi, of all people, asking for mask packs? For a moment, Yoon had genuinely worried that maybe Chairman Kang Tae-jin’s stress had finally gotten under his skin—literally.
Catching Yoon’s confused expression, Tae-yi let out a short, amused laugh and shook his head, picking up his tablet.
“What about Kang Tae-jin’s side?”
“He met with the investors from the resort project yesterday, but there hasn’t been any movement since.”
At that, Tae-yi turned toward the window, deep in thought. His plan was proceeding more smoothly than expected, and Kang Tae-jin’s resistance had been surprisingly mild. That, in itself, was unsettling. A strange sense of unease crept in.
If Kang Tae-jin was plotting something, Tae-yi would catch on soon enough. Pushing the unnecessary thoughts aside, he focused back on his tablet, ready to return to work.
