In truth, Yi-hyeon wanted to stay here longer too. Because he liked Han Jun. But if he kept dawdling like this and ended up missing the bus, that would be seriously troublesome, so he’d forced himself—painfully—to make up his mind before he lost the will to leave altogether. Just then, a desolate, falling voice caught him and weighed heavily on him.
“I bought a cream cheesecake so we could eat it together.”
His heart melted endlessly, and for a moment he wondered if he should just stay a little longer—but he soon shook his head. If they stayed together any longer, he’d keep smiling, keep blushing, and eventually Han Jun would start finding his behavior strange. That thought made him uneasy.
“The buses stop soon. I’m full too. We can eat it next time.”
“This is an insanely famous cake—you’re lucky if you can even get it when you open-run for it. I only managed to snag one because I got lucky.”
“Then how about we eat it together at school on Monday?”
“The cream is a special homemade recipe. The expiration date is literally just one day.”
Hearing the disappointment in Han Jun’s dejected voice made Yi-hyeon feel miserable. Sensing Yi-hyeon’s hesitation, Han Jun drove in the final nail.
“What about the subway? That runs late. Ah, please.”
At Han Jun’s voice, laced with coy pleading, the resolve Yi-hyeon had built so firmly softened completely. This was a guy who didn’t even know how to recharge a bus card—did he really know the subway lines properly? Yi-hyeon’s orphanage was quite far from the subway, so he had every reason to refuse Han Jun’s suggestion. But in the end, he lost to Han Jun, who clung to him, asking if he couldn’t just eat one bite before leaving.
“That’s true. I can take the subway. It’s not like eating cake takes hours.”
Defeated by his feelings for Han Jun, Yi-hyeon nodded helplessly and set the bag he’d slung over his shoulder back down on the floor.
“I’ll grab it real quick.”
Watching Han Jun leave the room with his face brightened again, Yi-hyeon wondered if the reason his heart felt calmer—despite having to walk thirty minutes through a scary night street—was simply because he liked him.
Even the way he looks excited is cute……
Smiling contentedly as he watched Han Jun’s retreating figure, Yi-hyeon happened to catch sight of his own face reflected in the vanity mirror and hurriedly wiped the smile away.
He decided that once they finished the cake, he’d go home immediately.
***
A little while later, Han Jun returned with the cake plated on an elegant, high-end dish.
The moment he set it on the table, he scooped up some cream with a piece of fluffy sponge on a fork, held it out to Yi-hyeon, and smiled brightly.
“I’ll eat it.”
“I already scooped it. Hurry, say ‘ah.’ It’s seriously good.”
Urged on by Han Jun, Yi-hyeon reluctantly opened his mouth. The instant the cake resting on the fork entered his mouth, his eyes slid shut on their own, and a soft hum slipped from his throat.
“Mmm, what is this? This is insane. Why is it so good?”
“I told you. It’s super famous. Most of the time, even if you line up from morning, you still can’t get it.”
“Did you line up again this time?”
“Is that even a question? Of course—”
Han Jun, who had scooped another bite with the fork that had just gone in and out of Yi-hyeon’s mouth and brought it to his own lips, abruptly cut himself off. Then he coughed lightly, saying it went down the wrong way.
After washing his throat down with a drink, Han Jun continued.
“Of course that’s how you’re supposed to buy it, but this time I asked someone who had errands in that area to get it for me.”
“I see.”
Here I was thinking you lined up just for me.
The tension that had crept into Yi-hyeon’s shoulders eased, dropping back down. Picking up his fork, Yi-hyeon took another bite of cake. It was so good that it felt like the word “special” hadn’t been slapped on it for nothing.
Despite saying he was full, the cake disappeared quickly. When Yi-hyeon scraped up even the cream stuck to the bottom of the plate and finally set his fork down, Han Jun—who’d been staring at him—let out a short chuckle.
“Why do you always get stuff all over your mouth when you eat? Is it because your mouth’s small? Or are you doing it on purpose, hoping someone will wipe it for you?”
Han Jun spoke in a voice thick with amusement.
“Where?”
When Yi-hyeon rubbed at his mouth carelessly with the back of his hand, Han Jun tapped his own cheek to show him the spot. Even after another swipe with his hand, it apparently didn’t come off, because Han Jun reached out toward Yi-hyeon’s face.
“Not there—here.”
Han Jun pressed his thumb firmly against the corner of Yi-hyeon’s mouth.
“I’ll wipe—”
“Hold still.”
Han Jun’s eyes softened, the outer corners drooping slightly. At that languid, relaxed gaze, Yi-hyeon swallowed dryly without realizing it. He tried to stand up, saying he’d grab a tissue, but Han Jun immediately caught him. His thumb went straight into Yi-hyeon’s mouth.
Hot blood surged from Yi-hyeon’s heart straight up into his face. He stared wide-eyed and grabbed Han Jun’s wrist.
“Why would you do that… that’s gross.”
“My hand is gross?”
“No, I mean—it was something that was on my face.”
“Did you come out without washing your face?”
“That’s not what I mean.”
As Han Jun kept saying strange things, a sigh finally burst from Yi-hyeon.
“Ha… no, it’s weird, isn’t it? This is something only couples do.”
“What? Couples? Pfft—haha!”
Trying to hold it back, Han Jun ended up bursting into refreshing laughter. He laughed so hard it made Yi-hyeon embarrassed, and only after Han Jun’s entire ears turned bright red did he finally stop. Then he asked Yi-hyeon in a surprisingly serious voice.
“If it’s something only couples do, did it make you uncomfortable that I did it to you?”
To be honest, it wasn’t that he felt uncomfortable—if anything, it would be more accurate to say he’d been shamelessly fluttered. The spot on his lips where Han Jun’s thumb had touched still felt warm, as if the body heat lingered.
“It’s not that I felt uncomfortable, it’s just……”
“As long as it didn’t bother you, that’s fine.”
Han Jun smiled and pressed his thumb firmly against Yi-hyeon’s lips once more. If he stayed together like this any longer, he’d end up exposing the feelings that made his heart race.
Thinking that, Yi-hyeon said it was really time for him to go and stood up. He reached for the place where his bag was—but Han Jun lightly smacked the bag back with the back of his hand. Then his hand slid between Yi-hyeon’s fingers, tangling with them as he laced their fingers together.
From that moment on, Yi-hyeon’s heart began pounding uncontrollably fast.
“Is someone going to eat you or something? Why are you so desperate to leave?”
Han Jun tugged on their interlaced hands and pulled Yi-hyeon back down beside him. As Yi-hyeon wobbled and fell back into his seat, his body brushed against Han Jun’s. Yi-hyeon, who already had big eyes, opened them even wider and met the gaze of Han Jun, who was staring straight down at him.
“Well, because the last train—”
“If it stops running, you can just sleep over. There’s nothing weird about hanging out late and crashing at a friend’s place.”
Strength pulsed through Han Jun’s hot hand, still holding Yi-hyeon’s fingers tightly.
Han Jun probably didn’t mean anything special by telling him to stay the night. When it got late, most of the staff would go home anyway, leaving only one person behind to look after Chairman Joo. And today, with Chairman Joo out of the house, Han Jun was alone in the vast, silent mansion. So of course, it made sense for him to casually tell a friend to sleep over—but Yi-hyeon’s thoughts only grew more tangled. Because he couldn’t stop wondering whether Han Jun really needed to say it while holding his hand like this.
“Stay over.”
Another wave of confusion crashed into Yi-hyeon’s already unsettled mind.
“……What?”
“I said, stay over.”
Still holding Yi-hyeon’s hand, Han Jun only tilted his head slightly. Through the strands of hair that slid down in the direction he leaned, his dark eyes stood out clearly. In the shadow cast by his high nose bridge, Han Jun’s lips parted just enough to breathe, glowing vividly with life.
“Well, I mean……”
Since tomorrow was Sunday, and if it wouldn’t be a bother, Yi-hyeon didn’t actually mind staying over. But he was also worried that the ulterior thoughts settling in his heart might make him read too much into Han Jun’s actions, letting himself hope for more.
What if he let something slip while half-asleep?
Determined to refuse, Yi-hyeon opened the mouth he’d been holding tightly shut. At that very moment, Han Jun pulled his eyebrows down as far as they’d go and squeezed Yi-hyeon’s hand tightly.
“Can’t you?”
At that pitiful, puppy-like expression, Yi-hyeon’s emotions warmed and softened, and like someone under a spell, his head and mouth stopped working in sync.
“……Totally can.”
Ugh 💜💜💜