It was the moment my body was seized by a shallow thrill and a sinister atmosphere.
The silence of the quiet night only heightened the tension between the two of us. The faint rustle of fabric brushing together and the damp, sticky sounds of breath rang sharply in my ears.
Min Siheon lifted his head from my shoulder and stared at me persistently.
Bright light spilled in through the open doorway. Only this place seemed swallowed by thick darkness.
Unable to say anything, I simply looked at him. Min Siheon tilted his head and parted his damp, soaked lips to speak.
“…Should we live together?”
It was a rather sudden suggestion to hear at this moment. My mind sank into confusion at his words.
No, maybe it wasn’t because of the suggestion. The truth was, I hadn’t been able to take my eyes off his lips for a while now.
Even in this restrained position where I couldn’t move even one arm as I pleased, those moisture-laden lips tickled at my heart.
The soft, wet sensation that had brushed against the back of my neck had clearly carved itself deep into my mind.
Otherwise, there’s no way I’d be like this in front of someone who’s sick. I made excuses, trying to ignore the wave of self-loathing that rushed in.
Since earlier, a dull itch had been building lower down. No matter how hard I tried not to let it show, the slight lift of my hips was impossible to control.
As if he noticed, Min Siheon pressed his lips to my nape again.
“Let’s live together, Jungwoo.”
At his low breath, a shiver ran up my spine. Even as his hot breath poured over my skin, I didn’t feel the urge to run away.
A strange sensation crept up from the tips of my toes, like ants crawling upward. My curled toes tightened, and I scrunched my brows.
Even though he knew I was in no position to answer, Min Siheon seemed desperate to hear what he wanted.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him stick out his tongue. The wet flesh wandered around my nape.
The area was far wider and deeper than where he had bitten before.
Just as I felt each small bump on his tongue pressing against every cell in my body, there was a nuance in him urging me for an answer.
As if he wouldn’t do anything more until he heard the words he wanted, he pressed wet kisses along my back.
It tickles, it tickles so much. I must be crazy. …Or maybe the alcohol I drank earlier was the problem.
Squirming, I barely managed to lower one arm and grab at his thigh. Clutching the denim of his jeans, I began seriously rationalizing with myself.
Right. I like him. I didn’t want to be apart from him anyway. And Min Siheon is begging like this—what’s so bad about living together?
Pushing realistic concerns aside, I sank into strange fantasies. I felt like an idiot who didn’t know up from down.
Even then, my lower body was honest; beneath my hips, I could feel a heavy fullness. There was no turning back from this. I decided to let go of everything right there.
“…Do you like me that much?”
As I swallowed thickly, I wanted to confirm Min Siheon’s sincerity. I pretended to be calm to mask even a fraction of my anxious heart as I asked.
Even to my own ears, my voice sounded unfamiliar—damp, heated. I hadn’t known I could speak in a voice like this. Whenever I was with Min Siheon, I discovered hidden sides of myself.
“Yeah.”
He must have noticed the heat laced between my words. At his firm, single-word answer—without a trace of hesitation—my body jolted as if struck by electricity.
The hum of the dehumidifier rang in my ears as I tried to steady my breathing, panting as though I’d just sprinted at full speed.
Haa, haa. By now, both of us were drenched in sweat.
The shirt that had only just dried clung heavily to me again, soaked with tense rivulets of sweat.
I can’t take it anymore. Squeezing out the last of my strength, I twisted my upper body and lunged straight for the lips that came into view first.
The cool scent of the cologne Min Siheon often wore rushed into my nose. Mixed with the slightly salty smell of sweat and the bitter trace of alcohol from the bar, it created a lewd fragrance.
I’m drunk. Normally, that combination would have been unpleasant—but with Min Siheon, that alone overturned everything.
I placed my hand against his pale, soft cheek, turning his head as I kissed him. Our thick tongues clashed and filled each other’s mouths completely.
We were so immersed that I was on the verge of hiccuping from lack of breath.
As the oxygen to my brain thinned and my vision began to blur white, I tightened my hand against his cheek.
“…Hah—ngh.”
I pulled my head slightly away from Min Siheon, who was holding me up in his arms.
Haah— the oxygen flooding into my lungs felt miraculous. I didn’t care at all what a mess I must have looked like.
The Min Siheon who had just gripped me with such force was completely different from the one now. He looked at me like a gentle lamb, reaching out desperately.
Even as our sticky skin brushed beyond our crossed arms, I felt no disgust—only a strange sense of wonder.
“…Jungwoo.”
At the mere two syllables of my name from his lips, I swallowed dryly. Just wait a little, Min Siheon.
Even as I caught my breath, he kept staring at me with that sticky gaze.
I had no intention of avoiding his lingering eyes any longer.
“…Okay. Let’s live together.”
The moment he heard my answer, Min Siheon lunged at me. Even as my vision flipped upside down, I felt no pain.
As he moved tirelessly, I lifted my arms and held him tightly. In that embrace, I pressed kiss after kiss to the side of his head.
***
It’s hot… I can’t breathe… I twisted my body in suffocation. The air brushing past my arm was perfectly comfortable, and yet, for some reason, the space around me felt unbearably warm.
Wanting to get away from the discomfort, I lifted my chin and shifted. The sheets rustled with a dry, crinkling sound.
I put strength into my arms and legs, trying to break free from whatever was binding me, but I couldn’t move the way I wanted at all.
Is this a dream? It seems I’m asleep right now.
Normally, the moment I realized that, my eyes would snap open. But today, an unusually strong lethargy pinned me down; I couldn’t even twitch a finger.
What did I do yesterday…? I carefully traced back my memory. Standing on the boundary between reality and dream, everything drifted past like an illusion.
Right. I’d had drinks with some high school friends. Since it had been so long, maybe I overdid it.
After pondering for a while, I spotted one very familiar face among the flickering images.
Min Siheon—my boyfriend, who had joined the gathering at my suggestion. He’d looked quite unwell, as if his condition had been off, so I remembered bringing him home in a hurry.
I’d only meant to change his clothes and check on him, but somehow we got carried away and ended up doing all sorts of things.
Until what time did we even go? I remembered how, that day of all days, Min Siheon had shown no restraint whatsoever.
Because of my stamina, I couldn’t even faint recklessly; the world that had swayed all night flashed before me. Min Siheon had definitely been pale, his face drained as he pressed me on.
…Pale. Is he okay? The moment that thought struck me, my eyes flew open.
“Min Siheon…!”
With an aching body, I hurriedly threw off the blanket. I tried to lift my upper body to check on him, but all I managed was to struggle uselessly, bound tightly.
The sight of bare skin everywhere startled me into full awareness.
A muscular upper body entirely different in presence from when clothed. This was Min Siheon.
Pushing aside my embarrassment, I was just about to check on him first when a low voice came from above.
I met the eyes of Min Siheon, who had apparently been awake and looking down at me.
“You’re awake? Did you dream about me or something?”
“You were up?”
Seeing how perfectly fine he looked, the tension drained from me. If you were awake, you could’ve woken me. He was lying on the bed without a single thread on, holding me tightly in his arms.
The guy who’d been retching like that yesterday. It felt unfamiliar to see him lying there naked, unlike usual.
Before I could scold him, worry took over and I tried to check his condition. But perhaps thinking I was trying to pull away, Min Siheon tightened his arms around me, stopping me.
“Ugh, what are you doing? Let me see your face. Your stomach? You don’t have a fever anymore, right?”
I remembered how his body had been far hotter than normal, and questions spilled out in a rush. I wanted to at least reach up and press a hand to his forehead, but right now, nothing seemed to move as I wished.
With an uneasy heart, I patted the arm that was locking me in place. It was meant to say I wasn’t going anywhere, so loosen up a bit—but Min Siheon didn’t seem inclined to do that.
“It hurts.”
“What?! It hurts? Should we go to the hospital? Hey, let go of me—hurry…!”
“Since it hurts, just stay like this with me. I think I’ll feel better.”
“…You.”
It seemed Min Siheon’s condition had improved quite a lot. Feeling the faint puffs of laughter against my head, I realized I’d been had.
You deserve to get hit. Frustration burst out of me, and I smacked his shoulder with my palm.
Smack— his damp skin, not properly washed after sweating, made a sticky sound.
“Ow.”
“Don’t fake it. That trick doesn’t work anymore.”
“Really?”
“…You’re so annoying.”
He seemed completely back to the Min Siheon I knew. Relieved, I bickered lightly with him, and he broke into a soft smile before pulling my head tightly into his chest.
So it was you after all. The culprit behind my nightmare. Still, I don’t know what got into him yesterday.
It felt like more than just bad condition—there was something oddly off about it…
Trying to push away the anxiety creeping up my spine, I decided, for now, to simply enjoy this lazy, sweet afternoon nap.
