Different Dreams in the Same Bed (22)
Jaehyuk stopped walking.
A familiar face visible through the cafe’s glass window. Kang Jeongbae was smiling. Pretty broadly at that. It was an expression he hadn’t seen since last night through this morning. The young man sitting across from Jeongbae naturally leaned his body forward. The man’s hand stealthily stroked the back of Jeongbae’s hand. Jaehyuk’s vision stopped at that point. Something connected quickly in his head.
One-night tutoring.
Jaehyuk didn’t watch the scene to the end. He turned around and closed the location tracking app on his phone. Strength entered his hand without him knowing.
“…Fuck.”
This time, he really felt like he’d lost him.
***
Jeongbae deliberately laughed heartily. It was his intention not to give Jang Haewon any ammunition with his scheming.
“Your Konglish pronunciation is really cute. Your pronunciation still hasn’t improved, has it?”
When Haewon asked playfully while rolling his eyes, Jeongbae shrugged his shoulders.
“Ahaha. I have a pen. I’m still at that level. Unchanging honesty.”
Haewon’s hand lightly pinched Jeongbae’s cheek.
“You really haven’t changed. How do you even solve problems?”
Jang Haewon. One-night tutoring teacher. English instructor. He was the very person who’d made him break out in a cold sweat after running into him at Jaehyuk’s school recently. They ran into each other right at the cafe he’d come to with Isol. An awkward atmosphere flowed for a moment…
“Bathroom for a sec.”
When Isol tactfully left his seat, Haewon stuck close to Jeongbae and stroked from the back of his hand. Jeongbae carefully pulled his hand away. He had to draw a proper line. He had no interest in the other person clinging on due to a pointless misunderstanding.
“Playing hard to get. Why didn’t you answer my calls?”
When Haewon asked with a smile, Jeongbae moved his cheek as if embarrassed and laughed shortly. He’d already blocked the number he’d given him long ago.
“Actually, I’m seeing someone. I’m sorry.”
A brief silence.
“…But that doesn’t necessarily mean…”
“I don’t sleep with just anyone anymore.”
At the firm answer, Haewon’s smiling face hardened coldly.
“Am I just anyone?”
“……”
Jeongbae didn’t answer that he wasn’t. Right now, the cleanest thing was to quickly get cursed at and end it. Haewon let out a “ha” empty laugh, then silently packed up his laptop and things that had been spread out and left the cafe.
“Whew. You’re more cold-hearted than you look.”
Isol, who had returned at some point, whistled.
“……”
“You could flirt moderately and manage your fish farm. Why cut it off so sharply like that? Things aren’t going that well with Yoon Jaehyuk either.”
“……”
“He looks decent too, and if he’s an instructor at our school, he’s probably a golden spoon aiming for a professor position…”
Jeongbae kept his head down and just fidgeted with his fingers.
“Don’t you regret it?”
“Regret what? He’s far too good for me.”
Isol patted his shoulder.
“Still, you shouldn’t cut it off so much that you create resentment. You need a safe breakup.”
“…He’s not a bad person, and he didn’t like me that much either.”
Jeongbae’s cheeks reddened as he replied hesitantly. Isol unconsciously raised his hand and ruffled Jeongbae’s hair. He was exactly like a dejected country dog.
“Well, if you have Yoon Jaehyuk, you have everything. Just drink your coffee. I’ll buy this one.”
“No, I’ll—”
“You bought tteokbokki. Now we’re best friends, so it’s fifty-fifty.”
Isol grinned.
“I may mooch off alphas, but I’m not someone who mooches off friends.”
A natural face. Jeongbae couldn’t help but snicker at that honesty and harmless joke. The two sat in the cafe and talked about this and that. Isol asked Jeongbae about various things.
“Twenty-eight years old? Wow, you look young?”
“Maybe it’s because I’m immature.”
“You’re a hyung. I’ll call you hyung. Can I keep talking casually?”
Jeongbae quietly nodded. He felt good thinking he had a younger sibling like Dogyeom or Sejin. He originally had a disposition that liked taking care of others.
“Jeongbae hyung, then why are you studying?”
“Because I want to be a doctor…”
Isol stared intently at Jeongbae’s face as if greatly surprised.
“You’re not someone who tells lies… this is strange.”
“I’m serious.”
Jeongbae made his usual good-natured smile and took a sip of coffee. The menu Isol had personally chosen tasted warm and sweet. After that, Isol continued to ask persistently about this and that. What kind of work he did, how much he studied, what his grades were like.
“Hmm… then math is your weakest subject. Right?”
Isol, who was quite knowledgeable about college admissions, rattled off possible universities and departments just from hearing the scores.
“Come to our school. With those scores…”
“The cutoff for medical school is too high.”
“Aren’t you interested in any major other than medical school? Yoon Jaehyuk probably tried to persuade you to come to law school.”
“He did, but…”
This time Jeongbae didn’t answer readily and hedged.
“What are you going to do after becoming a doctor?”
“Make money, and not be looked down on by people…”
“Still… if you do pre-med and medical school, intern and resident, and fellow, it’s almost 10 years…”
Isol trailed off, but Jeongbae already knew what words would come next.
An impossible dream.
Words that don’t know reality.
Jeongbae, who had been avoiding his gaze for a moment, smiled broadly and changed the subject.
“Um… Isol-ssi…”
“Just Isol.”
“Mm-hm, Isol, you’re preparing for law school, right?”
“Because being a lawyer is my dream. Ah, hyung, do you know Yoon Jaehyuk’s family runs a law firm?”
Jeongbae’s face hardened for a moment.
[Hanju]
He’d even visited there before. He was that desperate at the time, but looking back, it was a dizzying memory. He’d met Jaehyuk’s father Yoon Moohyun, who unlike his intimidating appearance was kind and warm, and he’d also heard stories about his mother who was said to be persistent and terrifying. A person to the extent that even Yoon Jaehyuk would tuck his tail and run away.
“I wonder if Yoon Jaehyuk’s hyung will inherit the law firm.”
“Hyung?”
Jeongbae jumped in surprise. It was the first time he’d heard about Jaehyuk’s older brother. Isol nudged him with his elbow and continued speaking.
“You keep using formal speech when we agreed to talk casually. Yoon Jaehyuk has a hyung. You didn’t know?”
“Not at all…”
“What do you two talk about when you’re stuck together all day?”
Isol gave a mock rebuke, but Jeongbae couldn’t hide his bewildered expression. Since he was an orphanage kid who lost his parents early, he didn’t particularly have things to talk about regarding family relationships, but what were Yoon Jaehyuk’s inner thoughts for not even mentioning his perfectly existing older brother?
‘As expected… I’m embarrassing to show to his family…’
With Moohyun, it couldn’t be helped since Jeongbae had gone directly to the law firm, but seeing that he’d even hidden his hyung’s existence… he felt like he knew without asking further. Jeongbae shook his head several times and then listened again to Isol’s words as he chattered excitedly.
***
“Oh, you were home. You came early…”
Jeongbae jumped in surprise at the large presence as soon as he opened the front door.
“Why? I can’t come early? Where were you coming back from now?”
At the usual calm tone, Jeongbae was relieved.
“Ah, I just wanted to get some fresh air.”
“Who did you meet?”
“Mm-hm, well, just someone I know.”
At Jeongbae’s answer, Jaehyuk didn’t ask further. Yesterday and today he’d left his seat alone at the library, but Jaehyuk didn’t contact him once as if uninterested. Since he didn’t seem curious about where he was, reporting every little thing about leaving his seat or going first seemed like being annoying, so he’d come home.
‘It’s still a time when he should be at school though…’
It was when Jeongbae, who had been briefly puzzled, entered the room to change clothes without much suspicion.
Suddenly his body was pulled and forcibly made to sit on the floor.
“Jaehyuk? What are you doing right now…”
Thud.
Jaehyuk laid Jeongbae down and climbed on top of his stomach. Large hands pressed down both wrists. Jeongbae struggled.
“It’s… suffocating. Why are you suddenly like this?”
Jaehyuk said nothing. His face was still expressionless. Even as he twisted his body this way and that, he didn’t respond and just put his nose to his neck and sniffed the smell of his body. His top rode up as is, and he touched down carefully from his armpits to his nipples to his navel, bringing his nose to them as if conducting an inspection.
“Wh… what are you doing?”
“You didn’t wash before coming.”
A low, calm voice.
“What does that mean…”
“Ha, it’s not finished yet.”
His hand pulled down Jeongbae’s pants and underwear simultaneously.
“Wh… what are you doing? It’s… dirty. St… stop, it tickles.”
Hot breath touched a sensitive area. Jeongbae got goosebumps. His toes curled at the ticklishness and embarrassment.
“Jae… Jaehyuk. Why… why are you like this?”
Jaehyuk had no answer. After burying his nose deeply and sniffing like a hunting dog for a while, he slowly raised his head and made eye contact. Only then did Jeongbae feel something was strange. His expression was calm, but his eyes were flashing.
“I’m… scared. Jaehyuk. Are you angry?”
They were in a relationship that had mixed bodies several times. It wasn’t a relationship where skinship was uncomfortable, so why was he suddenly like this? Like he was… suspicious or evaluating. Jeongbae slowly bit his lips.
“What do I do if you only notice now?”
“What… what does that mean? Why… why?”
Jaehyuk’s voice was calm. He twisted his injured wrist several times but wouldn’t let go. Jeongbae gave up trying to escape and relaxed his strength.
“Hm? Tell me. Why are you suddenly like this? What did I… do wrong?”
Jeongbae coaxed gently. He just wanted to soothe him. He wanted to stroke his cheeks and head, hold his thick body tightly in his arms, fill the hurt and empty parts, and listen to his story. But…
“That’s right. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Jaehyuk snickered.
“Then… why are you like this?”
The strength pressing on his wrists loosened just a little. It didn’t loosen, only the position changed. Jaehyuk’s hand came down along Jeongbae’s wrist and wrapped around each finger one by one. Like weaving so he couldn’t escape.
“I am.”
A brief silence. Jaehyuk avoided his gaze then met it again.
“The problem is that you’re too unbothered.”
Jeongbae’s eyes shook greatly.
“I thought about you all day.”
Their breaths were close. Jaehyuk buried his forehead against Jeongbae’s chest and spoke lowly.
“Where you went, who you met, whether someone other than me was sitting next to you.”
Jaehyuk’s thumb slowly rubbed the back of Jeongbae’s hand. As if confirming.
“One-night tutoring. That’s how I met you too.”
Jeongbae’s body froze. It sounded exactly like ‘You’re promiscuous.’
“Jaehyuk…”
He only called his name, but Jaehyuk’s body came down further. As if completely trapping him.
“Don’t say anything. Right now… I wish you wouldn’t say anything.”
