Chapter 146
Tae-geon’s blank gaze, which had been staring vacantly into space, turned towards the employee as a hand lifted his chin.
“…Surely you’re not planning to start in this state?”
“……”
When the employee remained silent, Tae-geon let out a short laugh of disbelief. Then he suddenly reached out and felt the employee’s lower face.
The employee seemed startled, tensing up and clenching his jaw. Despite sensing the employee’s frozen tension, Tae-geon continued to haphazardly feel his philtrum, lips, and chin, furrowing one eyebrow.
“Twenty-three? Twenty-two? …Twenty?”
“……”
“Do you grow facial hair?”
“……”
“Hah.”
Tae-geon let out a tired sigh at the still-silent employee. Suddenly, all his fighting spirit evaporated. He had thought the employee must be around his age to stand up to him so well, but if he was just a young kid, that was a different story.
“There should be shaving foam on the shelf. First, lather up your chin with that, then tilt the razor blade and sweep upwards from bottom to top.”
“……”
As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of the employee pumping shaving foam could be heard. Soon, soft foam was spread over his mouth. A cold metal blade touched the center of his chin, now completely covered in white foam.
Swish- Swish-
The blade began to move delicately along his jawline, from bottom to top and top to bottom. The careful movements suggested the employee was closely checking for any cuts where the razor had passed. The blade meticulously covered the skin, even under the philtrum and lips, before finally moving away.
Whoosh-
The sound of rinsing the razor could be heard. Soon after, a wet towel touched under his chin. The remaining foam was wiped away cleanly.
As the touch withdrew, Tae-geon felt oddly regretful. That touch, reminding him of someone from long-ago memories, kept making him feel wistful and nostalgic.
“I’d like to wash up a bit.”
“……”
“Because of my hand.”
Even while feeling that his behavior was unusual for him, Tae-geon held onto the employee, raising his bandaged hand.
Tae-geon, naked, plunged roughly into the bathtub, causing the hot water inside to overflow with white foam. This drenched Hyeon-woo, who was bending towards Tae-geon. Caught by the sudden splash, a choked gasp escaped Hyeon-woo’s lips.
“…Ah, were you there? My apologies.”
“……”
Hyeon-woo gritted his teeth at the words that were neither an apology nor anything else.
Still the same temper, I see.
It was clearly intentional. Glaring at Tae-geon, Hyeon-woo took off his uniform jacket, now uncomfortably clinging due to the water, and tossed it into a corner of the bathroom. After fixing his wet bangs, he pulled the shower head and turned on the water. Hearing this, Tae-geon poked his head out of the tub.
Hyeon-woo checked the water temperature with the back of his hand before starting to wet Tae-geon’s black hair. He carefully swept back every strand scattered on his forehead, thoroughly soaking it, then pumped shampoo into his palm and massaged it into the wet hair. Soon, a rich lather with a fragrant scent formed.
Looking down at Tae-geon, who had closed his eyes and surrendered completely to his touch, Hyeon-woo felt a churning in his stomach as an old memory surfaced.
Was it because this mansion was cursed?
Every moment here seemed to connect with some point in past memories. Like the exit and entrance of a wormhole. It was beyond mere reminiscence of the past. He kept feeling pulled into specific coordinates of memory. As these moments repeated, the emotions, feelings, and sentiments of that time began to gradually invade his mind.
It was confusing. He wasn’t sure if these emotions he was feeling now were truly his own, or if they originated from the past.
Hyeon-woo shook his head vigorously.
Get a grip. He mustn’t be enticed by the curse trying to bewitch him.
Whoosh-
The white foam covering Tae-geon’s head was quickly washed away by the stream of water. As Hyeon-woo thoroughly rinsed his hair, he suddenly noticed something faint spread widely from Tae-geon’s shoulder to his upper arm.
Squinting and examining it closely, Hyeon-woo realized it was quite an old burn scar. Until a few years ago, he had had the exact same mark on his own body, though it had now disappeared without a trace.
It was certainly a trace from when Tae-geon had tried to save him from the inferno during the fire at the place where he had been confined.
Suddenly, an inexplicable emotion flared up like flames. His chest boiled hot with a mix of anger, hatred, resentment, and something like love-hate towards that day. Contradictory emotions clashed fiercely within him.
Hyeon-woo couldn’t understand why he was so conflicted. Should he be grateful now? It was Tae-geon who had confined him there in the first place. Nearly dying, losing precious people – it was all Tae-geon’s fault. So why was he getting confused again, swept up in these worthless emotions?
Was it guilt? Was he unconsciously feeling responsible because of the imprint Tae-geon had made on him, because the imprint that had taken everything from Tae-geon was due to him?
Hyeon-woo gritted his teeth.
He had once coveted Tae-geon’s heart, but he had never wished for Tae-geon to imprint on him. No, he hadn’t even dared to dream of it. Hadn’t it been trampled mercilessly before it could even sprout? Tae-geon had carelessly spoken of and defiled his affection. So there was no need to feel even a shred of guilt or responsibility for Tae-geon’s one-sided imprint.
Struggling to organize his turbulent emotions, Hyeon-woo reached out and turned off the faucet. The stream of water pouring over Tae-geon’s head stopped. After squeezing out the water from the now foam-free hair with both hands, Hyeon-woo tapped Tae-geon’s shoulder twice. It was a signal to get up.
Tae-geon stepped out of the bathtub. The sound of pumping body wash came from nearby, followed by the rustling of a shower puff creating lather as it approached.
The shower puff, buried in soft foam, touched Tae-geon’s right shoulder blade. It then slid smoothly from shoulder to elbow, from elbow to wrist, dug into the armpit, and was moving towards the ribs and side when Tae-geon suddenly grabbed the employee’s wrist.
“…!”
Hyeon-woo swallowed a scream of surprise. A terrible force gripped his captured wrist. The more he twisted to escape, the tighter it squeezed. Hyeon-woo, his brow deeply furrowed in pain, barely managed to raise his head to look at Tae-geon.
The inscrutable black eyes were shaking slightly. His Adam’s apple, with veins bulging, was convulsing violently, and his chest heaved up and down as he breathed heavily.
Goosebumps spread across Hyeon-woo’s entire body. Feeling like prey before a starving beast, he couldn’t move and could only swallow dry saliva. Suddenly, Tae-geon buried his nose in Hyeon-woo’s nape. Like a bird of prey snatching its quarry, he pressed his nose tip precisely to the target without the slightest error.
“Hik?!”
He barely managed to suppress a shrill scream. The sharp bridge of the nose, which had been roaming around his nape and collarbone, moved up along his neckline. Tae-geon’s head, which had been persistently exploring under his chin, around his ear, and inside his hair, finally pulled away after a long while.
“…You may leave now.”
As Tae-geon said this sharply, his eyes were no longer shaking. His Adam’s apple, which had been pulsing violently, and his chest, which had been heaving greatly, had already calmed down. No, more than calm, they were icily cold.
Whew, I thought I’d been found out.
Hyeon-woo inwardly sighed with relief. He remembered the doctor saying Tae-geon’s sense of smell was paralyzed. It might be rude to Tae-geon, but at this moment, Hyeon-woo thought it was extremely fortunate that he couldn’t smell, as he tried to calm his startled heart. But Tae-geon spoke sharply to Hyeon-woo once more.
“Are you deaf now too? I said leave.”
This guy really…!
Unable to bear it anymore, Hyeon-woo threw the shower puff he was holding hard at Tae-geon’s chest before leaving the bathroom.
“Try washing yourself well alone!” he grumbled inwardly, but when Tae-geon didn’t come out for a while, Hyeon-woo worried that he might have slipped and fallen on the wet floor. As he peeked anxiously at the bathroom door, Tae-geon finally appeared.
Far from slipping, he had even managed to dry his hair neatly. Hyeon-woo felt foolish for worrying alone. He glared at Tae-geon. One advantage was that he could stare openly at that annoying face since Tae-geon couldn’t see.
After finishing the cleanup of the bathroom Tae-geon had used, Hyeon-woo headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner. After serving the meal, it would be about time for him to get off work. His own meal would come after that.
As he was starting to feel hungry, his eyes were drawn to Tae-geon’s neatly arranged food on the trolley. Hyeon-woo scrutinized each item of Tae-geon’s dinner menu with eyes still not free from resentment. It seemed that ribs were the main dish of the day. The grilled tofu, which looked mild, also seemed very appetizing.
Hyeon-woo, having brought up the trolley, knocked on Tae-geon’s door.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
