Pyeonghwa Apartment 801 (2)
“You’re up early.”
At Jaehyuk’s low voice, Jeongbae glanced back slightly.
“Yeah, I don’t really sleep in.”
“When do you even sleep?”
Seeing how he’d even covered him with the blanket, he definitely went to sleep later. Jaehyuk looked at Jeongbae with a puzzled expression.
“Sleep is something you do when you’re dead.”
Jeongbae shrugged his shoulders.
“If you’re up, eat. There weren’t many ingredients, so I made sesame porridge.”
The savory smell was already vibrating throughout the house. Jaehyuk groggily got up and approached Jeongbae.
Although he’d barged into Jeongbae’s home without warning, Jaehyuk kept being surprised.
First, the house was too clean and tidy. It wasn’t fancy, but there wasn’t a speck of dust. Items were in their proper places, and even the blanket he’d been covered with smelled of soft fabric softener.
And.
‘When does he rest?’
Last night, as soon as they finished eating, Jeongbae sat right down in his chair. He opened his book like that, gripped his pencil, and concentrated as if holding his breath. That habit wasn’t made in just a day or two.
‘He studies like this every night after coming home from work?’
Even during the one-night tutoring session, his concentration and sense of understanding weren’t bad. But he’d thought it was just putting on a show of trying hard.
Kang Jeongbae was really studying. Worn-out problem books, neatly arranged pens, regular breathing that followed with each page turn. It wasn’t forced—it was a habit ingrained in his body. Something only someone desperately and urgently trying to accomplish something could do…
Looking at the clock, it was 6 AM.
He himself had fallen asleep while looking at books, so Jeongbae could have slept at most three or four hours.
‘He’s completely different from his first impression. Diligent.’
Jaehyuk quietly put the savory sesame porridge in his mouth while gazing at Jeongbae’s calm face. His small mouth ate food slowly, chewing. Even his chopstick handling was neat and pretty. Jaehyuk’s heart beat quietly.
Honestly, seeing Kang Jeongbae up close was cool. Very much so. Every single action he took pleased him completely. When their eyes met, his eyes widened slightly and he bowed his head deeply. His small nose twitching was so cute.
‘Where did someone like this come from?’
Meanwhile, Jeongbae, who had no way of knowing Jaehyuk’s thoughts, found the gaze staring at him unbearably burdensome.
‘…Why is he like that? Don’t tell me I did something wrong.’
He put down his spoon for no reason then picked it up again.
‘Is the porridge not tasty?’
The seasoning was a bit bland, but it wasn’t inedible. When Jeongbae finished eating and cleaned up, Jaehyuk quietly wiped the table. His dishcloth handling was skillful.
‘Strangely, his living habits are good.’
Always an arrogant attitude. Handsome but expressionless face. A somewhat condescending tone. He’d definitely thought he was a rich young master who’d never done housework, but watching him cook and clean up afterward was as smooth as flowing water. Praising him for a clean bathroom too, and he was neater and more considerate than expected.
Jeongbae bit his lip without realizing it.
“Are you normally this neat?”
“Yeah, you are too.”
Jaehyuk answered nonchalantly and rinsed the dishcloth well, wrung out the moisture tightly, and hung it on the sink.
That was true. Jeongbae liked things clean. Rather than it being his innate personality, it was because he’d grown up in a place that was too messy. Always someone else’s belongings mixed in, the noisy orphanage. In that, Jeongbae always wanted his own clean space.
An organized world, as much as his hands could reach. Only in that space could he breathe a little more comfortably.
“……”
When Jeongbae closed his mouth for a moment, a large hand slowly approached and gently brushed the hair that had fallen over Jeongbae’s forehead. His face heated up and his heart suddenly pounded.
“Get ready now.”
“For what?”
At Jeongbae’s surprised question, Jaehyuk’s face came right up to his nose. Close enough that their breaths touched.
“I adjusted to your schedule too.”
His deep eyes held laughter.
“Now it’s your turn.”
At Jaehyuk’s smile, Jeongbae’s heart dropped with a thud once more.
A park near the house with lush trees.
Jeongbae was on the verge of death. More precisely, on the verge of running out of breath.
“Huff. Huff… Huff. Huff.”
His throat tasted like blood, and his legs had lost their function. The reason Jeongbae was in this state…
“Faster, faster. Don’t rest your legs, keep moving. Arms too.”
Was because of Yoon Jaehyuk. Something about morning exercise being his daily routine. Unlike himself who felt like dying, Jaehyuk didn’t even seem out of breath, as if taking a stroll.
“You’re the only one who needs to run. Why me too?”
Jeongbae’s protest was desperate, but useless.
“If you don’t have stamina, your brain won’t work either. Studying requires stamina too.”
“…Shut up.”
Jeongbae was so out of breath he could barely continue speaking.
‘Ah, I think I’m dying….’
In the middle of the park where morning sunlight was breaking through, Jaehyuk glanced down at his wristwatch without a single breath disturbed.
“Exactly 2km left.”
“…What?”
Jeongbae’s vision went dark.
“Huff, huff… I’m dying.”
“That’s not even enough to warm up your muscles.”
“Huff huff… Do you know what rigor mortis is?”
Jaehyuk chuckled. His eyes went to the round forehead revealed between hair wet with sweat. Moist black eyes and flushed red cheeks.
‘Ah, he’s so pretty I could die.’
Jaehyuk never skipped exercise a single day, rain or shine. Bringing Jeongbae along was half a joke. But seeing him desperately following made him pleased.
“But still, you’re not stopping.”
“Huff huff… I’m enduring through sheer spite.”
“That’s the best. Enduring to the end.”
Though it was an impulsive act, he thought it was good that he’d clung to Kang Jeongbae. From one to ten, everything pleased him completely. His always smiling face, kind and diligent attitude, hardworking habits.
He was going to move out independently eventually anyway, and now that such a pleasing person had appeared, it was actually fortunate.
‘I almost lost him.’
Jaehyuk had been like this with everything until now. Doing whatever he felt like doing first and dealing with it later. Hesitating and regretting was absolutely distasteful. Kang Jeongbae, running hard while making dying sounds. Looking at his small back of the head with black hair swaying, Jaehyuk couldn’t help but grin foolishly.
‘What else should I do with him?’
Just running together was nice. Studying too, eating too. Just imagining being beside him made his heart flutter for no reason. Ah, and the nighttime activities he’d held back on yesterday out of consideration.
‘I hope his rut comes soon. So we can do it to our heart’s content.’
The corners of Jaehyuk’s mouth, always expressionless, didn’t know how to go down.
“Huff huff… Why are you smiling?”
When Jeongbae glared at him, Jaehyuk smacked his butt.
“Ow! You!”
“Watch the front. Stop staring at my face.”
“When did I!”
“I know I’m handsome too.”
Though he himself had been staring lewdly from behind, Jaehyuk pinned it on Jeongbae.
“Huff… Huff….”
Jeongbae was indignant but couldn’t refute that it wasn’t true. After gasping for breath like that for a while, he muttered.
“Fine, you’re amazing.”
Jeongbae gritted his teeth and pushed forward. He didn’t want to show weakness. Once he started something, he was the type to see it through to the end. Jaehyuk leisurely but without overtaking followed behind Jeongbae as he charged forward. The cool morning air greeted the two.
“Haah… Huff huff….”
At the goal point, Jeongbae collapsed right there. His heart was pounding so loudly that surrounding sounds felt distant. He couldn’t breathe, but strangely he felt good. His legs were trembling but his head was rather clear. Not a single stray thought entered.
Only the sensation of being alive remained. It had been truly a long time since he’d run with all his might like this.
“Ah, it’s cold.”
At the cool sensation touching his cheek, he turned his head to see Yoon Jaehyuk looking down at him. He seemed to have gotten drinks from the vending machine in the meantime.
“Drink.”
He barely sat up but his hands were shaking so the cap wouldn’t open. Jaehyuk snatched the plastic bottle again.
Crack.
He opened the cap in one go and handed it to Jeongbae, then gulped down his own drink. His protruding Adam’s apple moved up and down, and sweat drops rolled down his jaw. Jeongbae somehow couldn’t take his eyes off that sight.
“Refreshing, right?”
Jaehyuk, who’d emptied the bottle in one go, casually asked while crushing the empty plastic bottle. Jeongbae just quietly nodded.
“Let’s go.”
He stood up silently and followed Jaehyuk. The cool morning air felt unfamiliar and refreshing. The sound of their footsteps walking side by side matched rhythmically. He was different from expectations from one to ten.
Even when he’d barged into his house, he’d thought he’d get bored after a few rounds of sex and leave. There were alphas who wanted to have fun with an oddball like himself after all.
But Jaehyuk, though only for one evening, just spent Jeongbae’s daily life together and shared his own habits.
‘Just like… lovers.’
Jeongbae’s head bowed deeply and his expression twisted. It was dangerous. Quickly… he had to detach Yoon Jaehyuk as soon as possible. Jeongbae knew all too well that warmth could become poison.
Returning home, Jeongbae hurriedly prepared to go to work. Work time at the rice soup restaurant was 9 o’clock. Jaehyuk said he had no classes in the morning and wandered around leisurely.
“Um… just a moment.”
Jeongbae spoke with difficulty. Jaehyuk’s expressionless face slid closer. A handsome face whose thoughts he couldn’t read at all. It seemed he really had to send Jaehyuk away now. Jeongbae pressed his lips together once. Somehow nervous, he swallowed automatically.
“I’d like you to go home now.”
“……”
“You, you can see… there’s no fun being with me. I just work and study, that’s all.”
He felt Jaehyuk’s gaze. Jeongbae deliberately turned his head and continued speaking.
“And I’m an orphan.”
“……”
“What I said about having younger brothers was a lie. They’re not real brothers, they’re kids from the orphanage. I have no parents or siblings, and I’m poor. And I’m uneducated.”
His voice trembled at the end.
“I barely graduated from a technical high school for machinery, did welding, then worked at a rice soup restaurant. I do manual labor and drive for a designated driver service too.”
Jaehyuk didn’t move.
“Anything else?”
“Huh?”
At the low questioning voice, Jeongbae flinched.
“Is there anything else I should know?”
As if to say go ahead and try to the end, Jaehyuk slowly pulled a dining chair right in front of his nose and sat down. A suffocating expressionless face and sharp gaze. Jeongbae tried hard to straighten his shoulders that kept shrinking. He hadn’t even brought up the really embarrassing story yet.
“And… I’ve slept with a lot of other people besides you.”
“……”
“I’m really promiscuous. A, a slut. That’s right. I’ve had tons of one-night stands too.”
“Oh yeah?”
Jaehyuk asked back with a snicker. Jeongbae tried to calm his face burning hot with shame. Misery washed over him as if he’d become a laughingstock. But he had to endure it.
“…And I slept with that doctor at the hospital we went to.”
In an instant, the air stopped.
“We go way back.”
