Originally, when your partner looks pitiful, precious, and pitiable, and when they look cute—that’s when it’s real, even more than when they look pretty, handsome, or cool. That’s why idol fans consumed by han and fans crazy about moe-fication are scary, and right now Jion was like that.
A kid who can’t even eat alone, he must have wanted to cure his hangover when he woke up in the morning but just woke me up…… like a big dog…… cute and pitiful…….
And if only he’d said these words out loud, Seonwoo Jin would have gained the certainty that Jion still cherished him, his heart would have immediately melted, and acting cutely disproportionate to his huge frame and being indulged like before, the two would have returned to their previous fake friend relationship.
But because Jion couldn’t endure the awkwardness of the still half-baked reconciliation stage, he kept his mouth shut, and thanks to that, the subtle tension between the two began to run in different directions.
“……Eat.”
“……Yeah, thanks.”
Just how early had he woken up in the morning, and just how much did he hate eating alone—Seonwoo Jin had already finished cooking bean sprout soup. Though not as skilled as Ryu Geon, he was quite good, and Jion frantically scooped up the broth.
“Ah, the broth is good.”
“Eat rice too.”
“Sorry, the rice won’t go down right now.”
“Is your hangover bad?”
“Uh…… a bit……”
To be fair, the amount he drank was less than when he’d been carried in on Seonwoo Jin’s back before, but the problem was drinking soju-beer all at once while off guard. Jion pressed his throbbing head with his palm while endlessly scooping up the broth.
“……Should I go buy medicine?”
And Seonwoo Jin, who sat across from him hurriedly eating rice, looked worriedly at Jion’s rice bowl that hadn’t decreased even one spoonful. Jion smiled weakly at Seonwoo Jin’s kindness and shook his head.
“No, you eat……”
Really, the hangover was one thing, but when Seonwoo Jin was kind to him, his skills of acting pretty and acting fragile activated almost reflexively. Unaware of this fact, Seonwoo Jin fell into worry alone, hurriedly ate his rice, and stood Jion up.
“Go inside and lie down.”
“No, you cooked so I should do the dishes……”
“No, rest, rest.”
Seonwoo Jin led him to the room while supporting him with his arm around Jion’s waist. In that brief moment, he seemed to have forgotten that Jion had walked out of that room on his own two feet. With overprotection and guarding that had started again before he knew it, Seonwoo Jin lifted Jion and laid him prettily on his bed, then covered him with the blanket too.
“Rest. If you need anything, call me.”
“……Thanks.”
At that meticulous and submissive attitude, Jion was greatly satisfied while deliberately moving only his lips to make faint sounds, continuing to act weak. Unaware that he’d unconsciously buried Jion in his own bed, Seonwoo Jin repeatedly urged Jion to call him if he felt unwell, then backed out of the room.
“……Hmm……”
And as soon as the door closed, the faint sickliness that had been floating on Jion’s face completely disappeared. Jion belatedly checked his phone to see if there were any remaining messages or traces of the drinking session. Surely if he’d done anything peculiar or strange, Jinyeong would have left a mocking message. But there was nothing particular in the group chat.
Ryu Geon
[Guys, I’m on the first train so I’m leaving first!]
Jinyeong
[I’m leaving too, see you tomorrow]
Eungi
[Mom came to pick me up hehe I’m leaving too. Woojin hyung, if you’re bored alone, contact me]
Departure records were left in order in the group chat without the manager. Looking at the content, it seemed Seonwoo Jin wasn’t going to his parents’ home and was staying at the dorm.
“……Where is that guy’s home anyway?”
He thought they’d been stuck together closely and had many conversations since the regression, but he knew almost nothing about his personal history except that Seonwoo Jin’s mother and he greatly resembled each other. Jion muttered while touching his face.
“Should I play the mom role for two days……”
A half-casted mom lying sick in bed from a hangover receiving care. It felt like a state where he should be receiving filial piety from Seonwoo Jin. Jion put down his phone and tried to sleep a bit more, then belatedly realized he was lying in Seonwoo Jin’s bed.
“Ah.”
Was it since yesterday afternoon? Since he’d been occupying it continuously, Seonwoo Jin’s smell on the bedding had weakened in the meantime. He buried his face in the pillow and sniffed, but Seonwoo Jin’s characteristic sweet, bright, and rich fragrance had long since disappeared.
“Aw……”
Jion glanced toward the vanity then gave up. If he stole and sprayed cologne now, it would definitely show. Just rest…… Swallowing his regret and closing his eyes, sleep came over him again. The room became quiet, and outside the room, Seonwoo Jin heard through the sound that Jion had fallen asleep and sighed.
“……Is Jion not going home?”
Jion didn’t know much about Seonwoo Jin, but Seonwoo Jin knew a bit more about Jion. That his parents’ home wasn’t far enough from Seoul to need to take vacation time to go, so he didn’t feel regretful about staying at the dorm, and that when his hangover was bad, he could manage daily life to some extent but his tension kept dropping so it was obvious his condition wasn’t good.
If his condition is bad enough that he can only drink broth, he definitely won’t go home and will rest at the dorm, so does that mean it’s just the two of us at the dorm today? Ah, awkward.
While thinking it was uncomfortable since they hadn’t properly reconciled yet, a subtle smile played around Seonwoo Jin’s lips. The members of BNCZ tended to rely on Jion quite a bit, so there weren’t many opportunities to have Jion completely to himself. Although Jion’s condition wasn’t good so they couldn’t do something together, Seonwoo Jin was quite excited that they could be alone together.
“……What should we eat for dinner?”
In the meantime, he’d already gone to the convenience store to buy and stock up on ion drinks, but Seonwoo Jin endlessly searched for foods good for hangovers and finished preparing to provide support. However, even though he’d roughly eaten lunch and lain down, Jion didn’t get up easily, as if he wasn’t even hungry. Seonwoo Jin, who had been sitting quietly on the sofa without even turning on the TV in case it disturbed Jion’s sleep, writhed in boredom then suddenly stood up.
“……I just won’t wake him up.”
Seonwoo Jin headed to the room on tiptoes trying not to make footstep sounds. And after checking the room that was faintly dark with the curtains drawn, he even held his breath. Limiting his biological activities to the extreme so as not to disturb Jion’s stable sleep, Seonwoo Jin lowered his body and approached his own bed where Jion was sleeping.
He wanted to curl up and lie down next to him, but if he did that, Jion would probably wake up. They hadn’t reconciled yet either…….
“……All the other kids were happy for me like it was their own business when Park Homin failed, but not you? Aren’t you happy? Is it someone else’s business?”
Ah, I should have just celebrated together then. That would have been natural. Seonwoo Jin regretted his foolish and delayed reaction and sat down beside the bed. And like a puppy waiting for its owner to wake up, with his arms and chin resting on the bed, he watched Jion sleep.
Of course, he didn’t intend to watch until Jion woke up. Just, there was nothing else to do right now besides staring at Jion…… And watching someone sleep isn’t a bad thing, right? Seonwoo Jin sat down in the lazy, bright darkness of the afternoon and stared at Jion’s profile.
He’s got pillow marks.
Seeing the cute lines left on the cheek where he’d stolen a kiss yesterday, Seonwoo Jin swallowed laughter inside. When his eyes touched the loosely parted lips, he didn’t even have the leisure to laugh because he was having dangerous thoughts for a moment. Recalling last night when he’d childishly done an indirect kiss, Seonwoo Jin unconsciously felt embarrassed and ticklish inside and pressed his forehead against the bed.
“Ugh……”
An unconscious groan came out from the embarrassed yet fluttering feelings. Hearing the vibration of the bed where he pressed his forehead, the feeling of one side sinking, and the groaning sound sinking below, Jion turned over toward Seonwoo Jin.
“Mmm…… Woojin……”?
Without even being able to open his eyes, Jion reached his hand toward the direction of the sound. And belatedly at Seonwoo Jin’s fragrance wafting from that direction, Jion reflexively grabbed his hair.
“Ah!”
Seonwoo Jin tried to scream but quickly held his breath and lowered his voice, slowly moving his body in the direction Jion was pulling. Satisfied with the body following softly, Jion let go of the hair he was holding and groped to touch Seonwoo Jin’s ear, nose, and then chin.
“Mmm…… come here……”
He needed this fragrance. As Seonwoo Jin got closer, with the feeling of what was lacking being filled, Jion pulled Seonwoo Jin toward himself with his eyes closed.
“Uh, uh……”
“Let’s sleep together……”
“Uh, Jion…… that’s…… that……”
As the hand of Jion, whose body temperature had risen from waking during sleep, stroked his face and touched his neck then pulled him by the shoulder, Seonwoo Jin tried to wake him up to not lose his grip on his consciousness even while being pulled defenseless. However, as soon as Seonwoo Jin’s careful hand touched Jion’s chest, Jion snatched that hand and strongly pulled it toward himself.
“I want to sleep with you……”
It was a bombardment of unconsciously dangerous remarks. Seonwoo Jin squeezed both eyes shut.
