It was a summer vacation ripening with heat—and with a sticky, clinging kind of romance I’d never experienced before in my life.
How many days had it been now, practically living at Min Siheon’s place?
I bent my fingers to count, then let out a deep sigh when I realized one hand wasn’t enough. Even roughly estimating, it had clearly been over a week.
I’d told my family, sure—but wasn’t this going a little too far?
I glanced sideways at Min Siheon, who was sitting on the sofa with my head resting on his lap. He was checking his phone with one hand while brushing my bangs aside with the other.
“Hey, Siheon….”
“Yeah, what is it?”
At my call, Min Siheon lowered his head. How did he still look flawless even from this angle?
I stuck out my lips slightly, and maybe he took that as a request for a kiss, because he leaned down and pressed his lips against mine.
“Hey, that’s not what I meant.”
“It wasn’t?”
When I pushed him away with my arm, he yielded easily and flashed a bright smile. I mean, sure, I was the one who suggested we go on a date first, but still.
“Isn’t this kind of long…?”
Apparently, Min Siheon and I had very different ideas of what that meant. Deciding this couldn’t continue, I sat up.
“What exactly is so long?”
“The date, the date. Yeah, I said we should go on one, but doesn’t it feel like this date just never ends?”
We’d definitely gone into town—had a proper meal, stopped by a café, spent a fulfilling, nice time together.
It had felt not that different from our usual routine, so calling it a “date” had seemed a bit strange—but back then we weren’t officially together. After confessing and starting to date, every ordinary moment we spent together counted as a date.
The problem started when we came back to Min Siheon’s house because we’d been disappointed we couldn’t be physically affectionate outside with so many eyes on us.
I’d thought it’d be a day or two at most. Who would’ve guessed I’d end up practically trapped here for nearly a week?
We cooked dinner, and well… did various other things. By now, I’d gotten used to his bed, sleeping in lazily until noon the next day.
When I’d finally tried to go home, that was when Min Siheon caught me.
“You said we’re on a date.”
“We did go on one.”
“I’m not done yet.”
“What? Then what was yesterday—eating, going to a café, coming back here and, well… anyway, spending the whole day together?”
“Wasn’t being together just a given?”
That stubborn iron will of his had kicked in again. Insisting his date still wasn’t over, he wrapped his arms tightly around my waist.
If he’d simply blocked the door, I could’ve pushed past him and left. But with that gentle face, tugging at my clothes and pleading for me not to go, I just couldn’t bring myself to take another step.
And so one day became two, then three, then four. The time spent at his house kept stretching on.
At some point, even I had forgotten how it started and just settled in comfortably.
This can’t keep going. At this rate, summer vacation of my sophomore year would end before I even set foot back at my family home.
Once we moved up to third year, things would definitely get busy—even during breaks—and by fourth year, job hunting would make it hard to stick together like this.
If I kept indulging him like this and it became a habit, I might never be able to undo it.
More than anything, the biggest issue was that I caved to him far too easily.
I used to be stubborn too. But what was love, that I couldn’t treat Min Siheon carelessly at all?
I need to get a grip. I raised both hands and slapped my cheeks lightly, but Min Siheon grabbed my wrists to stop me.
Startled, I widened my eyes—only for his large body to burrow into my arms like he was acting spoiled.
Before I knew it, I was sitting on the sofa with Min Siheon enclosing me in his embrace.
I was straddling his thigh, both wrists pinned tightly in his hands, his solid weight pressing down on me.
For some reason, a sigh escaped me. Feeling his warm breath against the nape of my neck, I naturally tilted my chin up and stared at the ceiling.
“…This is exactly the problem.”
The way our conversations would just disappear like this the moment I let my guard down. If I couldn’t be firm, I at least needed to stay neutral. I cautiously tested him.
“Hey, Siheon. Shouldn’t we meet the guys at least once?”
“…The guys?”
“Yeah. I got a message yesterday. If we wait any longer, Yoo In-ho’s going to start losing it. How about we head out for a bit? We can call Heemin and Taeyoon too and grab a meal.”
“…….”
Min Siheon didn’t answer right away. Did he notice? That I was planning to stop by my family home under the pretense of going out?
Forget In-ho—if Go Heemin and Kang Taeyoon were there, I’d probably be able to slip away somehow.
I felt bad, but I needed to go home at least once.
It’s not like I was saying we wouldn’t see each other all vacation. We’d probably meet three or four times a week, easily. And yet here I was, having to soothe him in between. What a strange situation.
Deciding it was time to stand firm, I put all my effort into persuading him.
When I placed my hand on his pale cheek and patted it gently, Min Siheon—who seemed deep in thought—placed his hand over mine.
“Hmm… actually, I was looking into taking a trip with you, Jungwoo.”
“A trip?”
That was unexpected.
I rolled my eyes toward the phone he’d tossed aside. On the still-lit screen were posts about travel destinations.
He really had planned to spend the entire vacation with me.
Was my heart trembling because I was excited—or because I knew I’d never win against Min Siheon and was already feeling overwhelmed? I couldn’t tell.
Maybe it showed too clearly, because I could see my flustered reflection in Min Siheon’s eyes.
“Jungwoo, your eyes are shaking. Do you not want to?”
“As if. It’s not that….”
It’s just that at this rate, I might never make it home. I don’t even know anymore. Fine—whatever happens, happens. I leaned back into his arms.
My skin, chilled by the air conditioner, warmed instantly where it touched him, and my thoughts went blank.
I pressed my forehead against his white nape and rubbed lightly. His hands tightened around me.
“Hmm….”
Min Siheon let out a long hum, sounding contemplative. After a moment, he patted my back lightly, as if he’d made a decision.
“…Then let’s meet the guys first.”
“Huh?”
At the sound vibrating through his solid chest, I quickly lifted my head. Between the strands of hair falling over his face, his long eyelashes fluttered.
“You said you wanted to see them. But you have to go on a trip with me too, okay?”
“I didn’t say I wanted to see them that badly.”
“Then we don’t have to meet them?”
“Why are you always so all-or-nothing? We’re meeting them—yeah, we’re meeting them.”
It really did feel like I was completely in his grasp. Even so, I couldn’t bring myself to hate him.
It’s just a trip. I could go anywhere with Min Siheon.
I was a little scared of whatever plan he’d come up with, but he’d compromised a lot for me too. I wanted to grant him that much, at least.
“Then I’ll message them later. Guess I’m finally going outside after a while.”
“…Okay.”
Seeing Min Siheon smile gently, the back of my head felt hot.
I shifted slightly, leaning my upper body closer. Through our pressed chests, a pounding heartbeat echoed—couldn’t tell whose.
Isn’t that kind of fast? Nothing about this guy ever felt ordinary.
Was it because he was excited about the trip, or because he was sulking about meeting the others? I poked his shoulder playfully with my finger.
“Don’t express your dissatisfaction with your body.”
“…I just like being with you.”
“Honestly, you’re all talk.”
“Haha… I’ll be a good boy, so give me a reward.”
The mood was starting to shift in a strange direction. …I should tell Yoo In-ho to meet the day after tomorrow instead of tomorrow. This was exactly why I needed to visit home.
We were really clinging to each other in broad daylight. But so what? Honestly, my brain was a little fried too.
***
“So how many days did you say?”
“Why are you so curious about that?”
“Hey, tell me before Yoo In-ho gets here.”
“…Hmm, a week.”
“A week?”
“…And two more days.”
“So nine days? Don’t tell me—you’ve been living at Min Siheon’s place since finals ended?”
We’d come out to meet our classmates together. Except for Yoo In-ho, who said he’d be a little late due to personal matters, we met Kang Taeyoon and Go Heemin first.
While waiting for Yoo In-ho at a café, Go Heemin reacted in shock. It was while Min Siheon and Kang Taeyoon had stepped away to order drinks.
Apparently he’d been extremely curious, because a barrage of questions poured out of him.
Even though he’d seen us glued together since we started dating, other people’s love lives still fascinated him.
He clicked his tongue, nodding, saying he’d wondered why I’d been so hard to reach lately—now he finally knew.
“That bastard’s really persistent. Does he seriously want to keep you locked down like that?”
“What are you talking about? I had a say in it too, you know.”
“He’s completely lost it. Hey, Cha Jungwoo, since when were you such a hopeless romantic?”
“That hurts, so stop hitting me with facts.”
Even so, I wasn’t thrilled to hear Min Siheon being insulted. So when I defended him, Go Heemin’s face crumpled.
“That guy’s softer than you think. The reason he got mad in the lecture hall was because I kept avoiding him. Hey, think about it—what kind of saint accepts an apology right away from someone who avoided him for a whole week?”
“…What?”
“Anyway, don’t worry too much.”
“I’m going crazy. How did he manage to wrap you around his finger like this?”
Just then, a heavy weight pressed down on me from behind. Caught off guard, my upper body nearly folded over the table.
“……!”
“Yo~ comrades, long time no see. …But doesn’t it feel a little too long? You bastards?!”
“Oh, you’re here. My head already hurts.”
It was Yoo In-ho, having finished whatever he needed to do. The perfect person to break the awkward atmosphere had arrived.
More importantly, could he stop pressing down on me? My lower back throbbed painfully from overexertion the other day.
Yoo In-ho, you damn bastard. I could only swallow my tears inwardly.
