“Daeyoung-ah, you lost weight since I last saw you?”
“Did I?”
I tried to manage my expression, unnecessarily touching my cheeks.
Regardless of what Seongheon hyung’s true nature was, his current behavior was no different from before. Although there was still some lingering hurt in my heart, maybe because I got the Goldmess egg yesterday and things were going smoothly? Currently my mood had improved considerably, and I didn’t dislike hyung today.
I just raised my gaze and looked at hyung’s face. Maybe because the hair that covered his forehead was neatly swept to the side, hyung’s light brown eyes looking down at me stood out even more.
“I could just take the bus.”
At my answer, hyung’s smile spread gently like the scent of perfume lingering around. Should I also dress up carefully like hyung? While contemplating, I looked down at the chest of the shabby t-shirt I was wearing.
“Hyung! I just need to change clothes. Sit on the sofa!”
“Yeah, take your time and come down.”
I headed to my room, leaving Seongheon hyung sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, looking at his phone.
As I climbed the stairs, I scrutinized hyung’s profile tilted at an angle—maybe because of his moderately angular jawline, I felt a restrained masculinity.
‘Does hyung dress like that when meeting his girlfriend?’
I suddenly became curious about the existence of hyung’s girlfriend. Should I ask to see her later if hyung gets a girlfriend? I became a little curious about what kind of person hyung would meet.
The clothes I was originally going to wear were comfortable slacks and a padded jacket, but worried I’d look too shabby next to Seongheon hyung, I took out the black coat I only wear on holidays.
While going down the stairs, I heard Mom and Seongheon hyung’s conversation in the living room.
“Oh my, Seongheon-ah!”
“Hello, ma’am.”
“What brings you here? Daesu ate breakfast and left.”
“I know. I came to hang out with Daeyoung today.”
“Ohohoho, really?”
Mom was chatting warmly with Seongheon hyung in a tone mixed with laughter, then yelled toward the stairs where I was coming down.
“Daeyoung!!!! Seongheon is waiting!”
“I’m coming down now!”
After Mom said to have a good time, she disappeared behind the kitchen. Somehow Mom is only kind to other people’s children.
Seongheon hyung scanned the clothes I wore up and down, then asked worriedly.
“Daeyoung-ah, won’t you be cold dressed like that?”
“Yeah, hyung’s wearing a coat too.”
“Mine is cashmere so it’s fine, but yours…”
Mine was a cheap coat bought online, so the fabric was so stiff it was hard to tell if it was non-woven fabric. When wearing this, even if I fastened the collar as much as possible, cold wind seeped in as if breathing holes existed separately, making me shiver.
Unlike me, the coat worn by hyung standing opposite looked incredibly soft, so I unconsciously stroked near the arm in admiration.
“Wow, it’s really soft.”
Then I suddenly remembered Seongheon hyung yelling at Daesu hyung not to touch his body and hurriedly pulled my hand away, but fortunately hyung just gave me a warm smile.
“Come here.”
“Huh?”
As I stood still with a stiff body, Seongheon hyung approached closely, opened his coat wide, and wrapped me in a hug.
My timidly stiffened body melted with one warm embrace. The coat hyung wore today was in beige tones, so being hugged the entire time felt as cozy as hugging a big bear doll.
‘Still… is it okay for him to hug me?’
I gathered courage and also gently wrapped my arms around hyung’s firm back. Along with the soft touch of the black knit on my palms, I could feel hyung’s warm body temperature directly.
‘I think the tiger’s face was in the spot I’m stroking now…’
I was a bit startled, but that thought was also swept away by the soft touch.
“How is it, warm right?”
Hyung’s warmth spread through my body and it was so cozy that I unconsciously rubbed my forehead against hyung’s shoulder. Behind my back, hyung’s palm covered me like a blanket along with the coat.
“Yeah, super warm. Expensive things really are different. Hyung, when you don’t wear these clothes anymore, give them to me.”
“Hmm… No.”
I lifted my forehead from his shoulder and looked up at hyung. Seongheon hyung looked down at my disappointed expression and smiled mischievously.
“Why? Too precious to give to me?”
“No. If you’re cold, you’ll hug me like this.”
“You just don’t want to give it so you’re making excuses… Anyway, hyung’s clothes are all really soft.”
Hyung’s body was firm but the clothes were soft as cotton wherever I touched, making me feel good. How long had it been since I hugged hyung—the knit touching my cheek was so soft I wanted to use it as a pillow.
Maybe because of this touch, I couldn’t even remember the unfamiliar appearance of hyung I saw the other day. I just really liked being with hyung like this.
“And hyung smells really good. What’s the perfume’s name?”
“It was custom-made at a perfume workshop, so it doesn’t have a name.”
“Custom-made?”
“Yeah. Guess what scents are mixed in. Then I’ll make one for you too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Really.”
The clothes had a scent too, but the closer I got to hyung’s face, the richer the fragrance became. Naturally, I moved my face along hyung’s shoulder line, smelling the scent─
“Is it vanilla scent? It’s also like fig…”
“You’re guessing pretty close?”
“This scent suits hyung really well. It’s sweet, and the more I smell it, it’s not perfume but like hyung’s body scent.”
In a word, it was an addictive scent.
“Guess one more.”
Sniffing toward where the scent was richer and putting my nose there, before I knew it, I was burying my face deeply in hyung’s nape and inhaling.
I seemed to vaguely know what scent it was, but it was faintly coming to mind, so I was inhaling more deeply when—
“Daeyoung-ah.”
“Yeah?”
“Did you just kiss my neck?”
“Huh? …Ah! Hyung, no, it’s my nose. Nose! Sorry!”
Flustered, I tried to pull my head away, but instead Seongheon hyung lowered his head and rubbed his face against my cheek.
“Our Daeyoung, it feels so good hugging you after a long time.”
Hyung seemed okay with contact with me, and hugged me even tighter.
“Can’t, can’t breathe. Hyuuung!”
“Huh? Haha.”
“Ah, again! You’re teasing me!”
I’d seen on a TV comedy corner about hugging until ribs crumble, and I was being compressed all over my body to the point I wondered if that was actually possible.
“Surrender! Surrender!!”
Like surrendering by hitting the floor during wrestling, I resisted by hitting Seongheon hyung’s back.
“Haha, you still fit snugly in my arms.”
When Seongheon hyung laughed, the chest pressed against mine gently vibrated. As he slowly released the strength in his arms, I slightly separated my body and stared up at hyung laughing.
Seeing hyung’s face still smiling innocently, I became a bit curious.
‘By the way, is hyung’s mood… okay?’
The reason I’m thinking this is because the hyungs already know that the Goldmess egg is gone.
This morning, Daesu hyung, who was sitting at the table, was on the phone with Gangjin hyung and weakly dropped the spoon he was using to scoop soup. Then he muttered something about Goldmess, stood up with an expression like he’d lost his country, and looked at Mom weakly.
「Mom… I’m going to sleep at Gangjin’s house tonight.」
The internet repair technician said he wouldn’t come until Monday afternoon, so in the end he said he’d live at Gangjin hyung’s house all weekend and even packed simple luggage. I can’t tell you how satisfying it was to watch Daesu hyung walking across the yard with drooping shoulders, trudging along.
So I thought Seongheon hyung would also have a somewhat scary face today instead of a smiling one, but unexpectedly he was exactly the same as usual. No, he even seemed brighter, which made me anxious.
‘Don’t tell me I can’t negotiate with the Goldmess egg? Wasn’t that the most important thing to the hyungs?’
That couldn’t be. Because throughout all servers, only 2 people acquired the Goldmess egg. One of them is Seongheon hyung, who’s smiling brightly in front of me right now.
‘Hmm, he’s too calm…’
“Daeyoung-ah.”
“Yeah?”
“Why are you scrutinizing me so closely?”
“Huh? Just…”
“Because I’m too handsome?”
“Mm. Hyung is handsome.”
“How much?”
“Hmm… A lot?”
“How much is a lot?”
“More handsome than Gangjin hyung and Daesu hyung combined.”
“That’s not saying much when you combine those guys.”
“True, if we combine our hyungs, it’s rather a minus, right? Haha.”
“Right. Daeyoung-ah, you can badmouth Daesu in front of me. You know only I’ll accept that, right?”
“I know, I know. That’s why I like hyung.”
“I like you too, Daeyoung-ah.”
Seongheon hyung bent his upper body more and hugged me even more tightly.
Hyung’s chin brushed past my earlobe and went down, and his cheek touched my nape. Because hyung’s cheek was slightly colder than my body temperature, my shoulders shrank a little.
“Daeyoung-ah. Should we stay hugging like this?”
“That’s a bit…”
“Why?”
“It’s hot and I’m hungry.”
“Ah, right. We have to go eat.”
“Yeah.”
Even though he was the one who asked to see my girlfriend first, Seongheon hyung made a face like it was bothersome to go out and reluctantly released his arms. Then, as if I’d come out of being buried in cozy cotton, somewhere in my body felt empty.
“Should I change to a different coat? I wonder if I’ll be cold.”
“It’s okay. I’ll give you a ride when you come back too.”
“No, hyung. I have to go somewhere after lunch.”
“With your girlfriend?”
“No, a school friend.”
“Let me join. I’ll buy dinner too.”
“I have something to do with just that friend. Sorry.”
“These days Daeyoung doesn’t look for me much? Am I past my prime now?”
“No, what are you saying. I always want to hang out with hyung. But today I really have something I must do with that friend.”
Because at the PC room I’m going to receive the Goldmess egg from Dongwoo and register it at the auction house today! That way my alibi of having the home internet cut will be proven!!
Of course, Seongheon hyung, who had no way of knowing my ulterior motive, drooped his handsome eyebrows and looked down at me intently. As I made eye contact with hyung, I remembered what Gangjin hyung said before.
「Kids were scared of Seongheon. They said they’d slip away as soon as they made eye contact with him.」
Seeing the gaze of those deep eyes gently sweeping over me, I wondered ‘Why did everyone avoid such gentle eyes?’
