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“Um… I want to keep being with you, hyung, and sleep together, and eat meals together, and if there’s somewhere nice—no, it doesn’t have to be anywhere special—I just want to go places with you.”
Seunghyeok’s eyes curved with amusement.
“You had that many things you wanted to do with me?”
There was laughter in Seunghyeok’s voice. Junghyun closed his mouth and nibbled on his lips. He felt like he had blurted out too much in his excitement.
“It’s nice having so many things to do. Anything else?”
Junghyun tried to gauge whether Seunghyeok was teasing him or not. Judging by his expression, it didn’t seem like he was. Junghyun continued with what he had paused saying.
“…I want to go to an amusement park too. And share headbands, and I heard chu-churros taste really good when you buy them at an amusement park.”
“Is that so? Sounds nice. Should we go sometime during the week?”
“…No, I wasn’t saying we should go right away.”
“Come to think of it, I’ve never had churros either.”
Surprised by this unexpected revelation, Junghyun looked up at Seunghyeok with an “Oh.” Seunghyeok smiled gently.
“Will you go with me?”
The conversation had somehow turned strange. If they were going, it should be Seunghyeok taking Junghyun.
Junghyun nodded but opened his mouth to object, only to close it again under Seunghyeok’s steady gaze. Like a fish pulled onto land, Junghyun gaped for a moment before finally asking:
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because you’re cute.”
“…I’m not cute.”
Seunghyeok didn’t respond. After quietly observing Junghyun, he finally spoke.
“Junghyun, people don’t usually consider those things as asking for a lot.”
His voice was calm, but there was a definite firmness in it.
It was difficult to meet his steady gaze. Junghyun’s face heated up, and his heart fluttered pleasantly.
Not knowing what to say, Junghyun could only roll his lips inward and bite them.
This was the first time Junghyun had experienced someone looking at him this way. He had thought that looking at someone so warmly was only possible in dramas and movies, but experiencing it firsthand was so sweet he never wanted to lose it. It felt like he had become addicted.
Though it might be shameless, he wished Seunghyeok would keep looking at him like this. He wanted to sit leaning against each other on a lazy weekend, in a living room with warm sunlight streaming in, feeling the breeze. If Seunghyeok kept looking at him with eyes like now, he might be too embarrassed to lift his head, but he wouldn’t dislike it. No, rather than not disliking it, he enjoyed it so much that he’d feel disappointed if Seunghyeok stopped looking at him that way.
He wondered if Seunghyeok’s earlier request for more concern came from a similar feeling.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Huh? What?”
With one arm resting on the window and supporting his chin, Seunghyeok turned the steering wheel with one hand as he spoke. A smile played at the corner of Seunghyeok’s lips as he glanced at Junghyun.
Junghyun realized he had been staring at him without even being aware of it and felt his face grow hot. Junghyun turned to face forward, and feeling Seunghyeok’s gaze still on him, he hastily said:
“No, um, hyung, you should watch the front, the road!”
Seunghyeok laughed softly and turned his head forward.
As soon as he parked the car in the apartment’s parking lot, Seunghyeok leaned his upper body forward and kissed Junghyun on the lips.
Junghyun was a bit surprised but didn’t reject the kiss, accepting it. His head felt hazy from Seunghyeok’s pheromone scent that had begun flowing out at some point.
In the quiet car, the sound of lips touching and parting could be heard.
Seunghyeok licked his lips, now glistening with saliva.
“I’d like to do more, but I don’t think I’d be able to control myself.”
Agreeing with those words, Junghyun nodded.
When they got out of the car, held hands, and returned home, the front door looked a bit different. He thought it might be his imagination, but it definitely wasn’t. The door lock had been changed to something different from before they left.
“Did the door lock change?”
“You’ve only seen it a few times, but you remembered?”
“Yes, well… the color is completely different.”
“Our Junghyun has such a good memory.”
“…”
Feeling like he was being teased, Junghyun puffed up one cheek but quickly deflated it. Then he shifted his gaze from the door lock to Seunghyeok.
Seeing Junghyun’s puzzlement about why the door lock had been replaced when it wasn’t broken, Seunghyeok added an explanation.
“It was getting old.”
“…Okay.”
Seunghyeok seemed to notice that Junghyun had something to say as he looked at him. When asked what was wrong, Junghyun slowly opened his mouth.
“Are you worried I might run away? If that’s the case, you don’t need to change the door lock.”
After finishing his words, Junghyun rolled his lips inward and chewed on them nervously. Seunghyeok, listening to Junghyun, let out a small laugh.
“Did it seem like I changed it because I was worried about that?”
“Isn’t that it?”
Seunghyeok didn’t answer right away, just quietly smiled. The door opened with a sound different from before as Seunghyeok let Junghyun in first, then leaned against the metal door to keep it from closing.
Junghyun was about to take off his shoes when he realized Seunghyeok wasn’t coming in, so he straightened up. Seunghyeok finally opened his mouth.
“It’s so bad guys don’t steal you away.”
“What? Bad guys?”
“Do you trust me?”
Seunghyeok’s words often jumped to topics like this that were hard to follow. Why was he suddenly asking about trust? Seunghyeok himself should know well that Junghyun trusted him more than anyone.
When Junghyun didn’t answer immediately, blinking his eyelids, Seunghyeok pressed.
“You don’t trust me? Can’t trust me?”
“Ah, no. I trust you.”
Junghyun nodded his head and answered quickly. Seeming pleased with that, Seunghyeok’s eyes curved as he gently patted Junghyun’s head.
“Don’t follow anyone but me. And don’t open the door for just anyone.”
Junghyun blinked with round eyes.
He couldn’t understand why Seunghyeok was telling him such obvious things.
“You need to answer.”
“Yes, I will.”
“Promise?”
“Huh?”
Seunghyeok held out his pinky finger to Junghyun.
Was this an extension of how he had teased Junghyun before? Junghyun pondered deeply, but looking at his face, it seemed he was serious. As he hooked his pinky finger, Seunghyeok said in a serious voice:
“We need to seal it too.”
“…”
Though he couldn’t understand what was going on, Junghyun raised his thumb, and Seunghyeok pressed his thumb against it. Seunghyeok said seriously that since they had sealed it, Junghyun couldn’t back out, and Junghyun nodded. Only then did Seunghyeok seem satisfied, smiling as he patted Junghyun’s head.
It felt somewhat suspicious, but the ambiguity wasn’t enough to make him ask why Seunghyeok was acting this way.
Junghyun’s lips didn’t open again.
Like an obedient, good child, he surrendered his body to Seunghyeok’s hands.
* * *
Seunghyeok confirmed that his physical condition had improved significantly compared to yesterday. His head, which had felt heavy, had mostly returned to normal.
He recalled how Junghyun, held in his arms yesterday, had been diligently releasing pheromones. As if he had sensed Seunghyeok’s unconscious craving for pheromones, he had worked very hard to release them—pheromones at twice the natural amount.
It was all done for him. That in itself was unbearably lovable.
He had planned to eat lunch together before returning, but Junghyun, unusually stubborn, insisted that Seunghyeok must be busy today and made him go to work.
In the midst of these thoughts, Seunghyeok let out a small laugh. “Had to go to work,” he thought.
Never once in his life had he thought of working as something he “had to” do, so this unconscious thought surprised even himself. Of course, it was a pleasant surprise.
Though they had parted only a short while ago, he already wanted to see Junghyun again. He decided to finish his work quickly and return home.
There were still unresolved matters, but he chose to push them out of his mind for now.
Just as Seunghyeok was about to open the office door, his phone rang. The name that appeared on the screen was Seo Yunyoung. He began the call as he walked inside.
“What is it?”
-CEO Ji, hello. It’s me.
“…”
Seunghyeok checked his phone screen again. The name “Seo Yunyoung” was definitely displayed.
The voice suddenly saying “It’s me” was quite familiar.
It was Jeong Taejun.
He spoke quickly without waiting for whatever Seunghyeok might say.
-Some crazy guy driving a foreign car crashed into us, and Secretary Seo Yunyoung has been taken away in an ambulance, so I’m calling instead. Her life isn’t in danger, and she’s been transported to Korea University Hospital. I’ll call again after checking on her condition.
The background was definitely chaotic.
After listening quietly, Seunghyeok spoke.
“How are you?”
-…
“What?”
-I didn’t expect you to ask about that. You’ve been influenced by Junghyun. You’ve gotten softer.
Judging that the situation wasn’t too serious if he could joke around, Seunghyeok hung up without responding.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
