* * *
“That was a close call…”
When Seo Sihan asked if they could release more of the video, Jeong Minha refused, giving the above reason. But the real reason was something else.
If he thought back from the beginning, Seo Sihan and Jeong Minha hadn’t just fought coolly—they’d also been coolly dating. Even if the voices couldn’t be heard, their actions were suspicious from the start.
Of course, to ordinary people it would just look like they got along well, but for Jeong Minha who had plenty of guilty feelings, he absolutely couldn’t stand it. Especially at the end when Seo Sihan fell on top of him in the helicopter—even Jeong Minha, who had been breathing heavily with excitement, was so shocked he stopped breathing.
Besides that, there was hand-holding, linking arms, hugging, staring intently, and so on. Jeong Minha recalled the memories and just flopped face-down on the bed, burying his face in the pillow. He had a feeling that even his ears were probably red right now.
* * *
A few days after the video was released.
Jeong Minha was coming out to the living room drinking cola when he heard a familiar voice from the TV and whipped his head around.
―What are you talking about? I absolutely can’t abandon you. Get on my back right now.
Seo Sihan was sitting on the living room sofa hugging a squirrel cushion, eyes sparkling as he watched TV. On the screen, the two of them from that day could be seen. Even the audio was coming through vividly. The camera perspective switched between first-person and third-person—it was just like a drama or movie.
Jeong Minha almost spit out his cola like that orange drink spitting meme, but managed to swallow safely and asked.
“…Hyung? What is that?”
“Hm? That’s when we played the game…”
“Why… is that on TV?”
“Ah, this is just me connecting and playing what’s on my computer. Only I’m watching it.”
“Why on earth… is that on your computer…?”
“I asked them to give only me the full video.”
At Seo Sihan’s shameless answer, Jeong Minha was at a loss for words. He just glared at him incredulously, then walked over and sat down next to Seo Sihan.
“Is it fun?”
“Very. Even watching it again, Minha is really cool.”
“Ahaha. I am pretty…”
Jeong Minha, won over by the praise, ended up bringing snacks too and started watching together. It was embarrassing to see himself, but seeing Seo Sihan from a video perspective was definitely interesting.
Especially when he was focused on fighting, seeing Seo Sihan coolly taking down zombies with an axe from behind—he unconsciously stopped eating his snacks and watched with concentration.
Then, taking this opportunity to clearly see the person in the black robe shooting at him, Jeong Minha watched Seo Sihan run to save him and get bitten by a zombie, and was shocked.
“Waah! This isn’t right! But hyung came running so seriously like that and I was going on about whether it was a mouse or what? Ugh…”
Jeong Minha left various comments while watching in real-time. Seo Sihan looked at the on-screen Jeong Minha, then looked at the real Jeong Minha. Coolness, pride, fondness, cuteness—various emotions came flooding in.
“…!”
Just as Jeong Minha had suddenly hugged his arm in the abandoned building back then, Seo Sihan also hugged the right arm of Jeong Minha who was eating snacks beside him. He held him in his arms and even tilted his head, docilely leaning on Jeong Minha’s shoulder.
Thanks to that, Jeong Minha who had been eating snacks with his left hand froze just like that.
Whose heartbeat it was—it was so loud that even the loud TV couldn’t be heard properly that night.
* * *
Coming back to mid-August.
It was right after Seo Sihan and Jeong Minha finished the zombie game as testers.
While the development team that obtained Hard Mode data was diligently preparing ahead of the game’s release, Jeong Minha was enjoying a peaceful summer vacation.
As always, he woke up at 6 AM, went for a morning jog, finished washing up, then went to Seo Sihan’s room. It was 7:30.
In the past, as soon as he entered he would have flopped on top of the lying Seo Sihan. That was because he was starving to death and Seo Sihan didn’t wake up easily when called verbally.
But lately Seo Sihan seemed more tired in the mornings, whether because his work at the company was busier, so he decided to wake him as gently as possible. Therefore, instead of just flopping on him, he lifted the blanket slightly and lay down next to him.
“…”
Jeong Minha lay down next to Seo Sihan who was sleeping lying properly on his back, and just quietly blinked his eyes. How can a person be perfect even in the morning? Thanks to his eyes being closed docilely, his long eyelashes could be seen even better.
While admiring that beauty, he recalled his original purpose again. To eat breakfast… no, even for hyung’s commute to work, he had to wake him up.
“Hyung…”
He pulled Seo Sihan’s left arm and held it in his arms, then leaned his head on his shoulder. After being in this state for a few minutes, Seo Sihan half-opened his drowsy eyes and just turned his gaze. And as soon as he confirmed who it was, he slowly turned his body to hug him.
“…!”
Having somehow ended up frozen while held in Seo Sihan’s arms, Jeong Minha hesitated for a moment, then soon also reached out his arms to hug him back.
After calming his pounding heart like that, he recalled his purpose again. While still held in his arms, he just lifted his face and spoke.
“Hyung, wake up.”
“…”
“Hyung?”
“Mm…”
The only difference about Seo Sihan who was equally perfect morning, noon, and night was his voice. Though it was an obvious thing to say, his voice when not fully awake from sleep was definitely lower and more husky. Usually it was just cute, but now listening while pressed so close like this, somehow his face felt hot.
While making a fuss about this alone internally, he sneaked a glance at the quiet Seo Sihan. He was just continuing to sleep. Feeling absurd, Jeong Minha kept talking to him.
“Hyung, are you awake?”
“Mmm…”
“Liar. You’re sleeping, aren’t you?”
“Mm…”
“Aren’t you going to work?”
“…”
“But I was curious—if hyung is late, does anyone say anything to you?”
“…”
As Jeong Minha kept chattering beside him, Seo Sihan pulled him closer while pressing even tighter.
“Just… a little… more…”
With his face buried in his chest, Jeong Minha was forced to close his mouth. Honestly it was such a good situation that he just gave up and indulged his selfish desires. Since Seo Sihan was sleeping with his eyes closed, it was less embarrassing.
Before he knew it, the 8 o’clock alarm went off.
Jeong Minha, who had fallen asleep together momentarily, snapped his eyes open. Originally even when the 6 o’clock alarm went off, he would get up and turn it off as soon as he heard the sound, so even now he could wake up immediately.
As Jeong Minha struggled to sit up like that, Seo Sihan also finally slowly opened his eyes. After confirming it wasn’t a dream by seeing Jeong Minha still held in his arms, he smiled and said.
“This… is so good.”
“What is?”
“Minha hugging me and waking me up…”
“…”
You’re the one who hugged me and the alarm is what woke you up, though? Jeong Minha was dumbfounded but lost his words at Seo Sihan’s face smiling prettily from the morning.
But from Seo Sihan’s perspective, it really was a big difference. Usually he would be sleeping well when suddenly Jeong Minha flopped on top of him, waking him up with a start.
The first few times he made pained sounds, so after that the action of gently flopping on him was cute, but it was equally suffocating. He had no choice but to get up right away.
But this time, that very Jeong Minha kindly even held back his hunger and woke him slowly. He even gently hugged him, so thanks to that he woke up charging happiness from the morning.
* * *
“Hyung, let’s sleep together tonight.”
“Hm?”
After Seo Sihan came home from work, Jeong Minha brought it up with a determined expression while they were eating dinner together. At this, Seo Sihan thought for a moment and asked.
“By any chance, is it that se… oomph.”
Before he could even get the word out, his mouth was blocked. That was because Jeong Minha hurriedly picked up rolled egg with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.
“N-no! It’s not! Really, let’s just sleep together!”
He quietly chewed while watching Jeong Minha who was embarrassed and angry. Knowing that Seo Sihan liked rolled egg the most, Jeong Minha deliberately kept putting it in his mouth while continuing the conversation alone.
“I’ll get rid of hyung’s insomnia today.”
“…?”
He just listened with a smile, but hearing the explanation that followed, his eyes gradually grew wider. It was quite serious.
