When he opened his eyes to the alarm sound—or rather, when he tried to open them—Hongdan thought someone had sewn his eyelids shut. As if boasting that he’d cried like a madman all dawn, both his eyelids were swollen, and his eyelashes were clumped with tears. His throat was so scratchy that even swallowing saliva was painful.
Hongdan cursed inwardly as he rubbed his eyes roughly. He wanted to immediately tear apart the reality that he had to go to work in this state, but he wasn’t an omnipotent being who could do that, and since he’d fallen asleep without washing last night, today he needed to be more diligent than usu…….
“……Huh.”
……He should be, but.
A somewhat stupid exclamation popped out of Hongdan’s mouth. The hand that had been hovering near his collarbone to unbutton his shirt stopped right there.
Hongdan lowered his gaze.
“What is this……”
What he was wearing wasn’t outdoor clothes. Come to think of it, his body had been oddly comfortable since he woke up.
His comfort t-shirt that had been faithfully performing its pajama role for seven years, and his high school gym pants that he wore like skin every time he went to bed. They were scraps of fabric that could hardly be seen as clothes.
It was obvious without looking who had found these in the closet and dressed him.
No, he could have just left, so why bother…….
He even seemed to have gotten hit quite a bit. It was surprising that he’d quietly fucked off without clinging to him using that as an excuse.
Hongdan swept his nape once with his embarrassed hand.
Then he looked at the firmly closed door. If he opened that door, there would be the guy who’d played dress-up on him while he slept soundly. He hesitated a bit but ultimately chose to carefully turn the doorknob.
Because it was an old villa building that was almost fifteen years old, if he opened it carelessly, it would definitely make a rusty metal sound. Without letting go of the handle, Hongdan pushed the door all the way in, then fixed the direction of his toes forward instead of to the right.
Toward the front room, where the uninvited guest would be sleeping as if it were his own home.
Yeon Seonha had looked mature enough to easily pass ID checks since high school. Of course, he never actually put it into practice thanks to his distinguished family.
Anyway, the point is that unlike that ripened appearance, he was a funny bastard who maintained what little humanity he had left only by sleeping like a newborn. Therefore, since he’d clearly gone to sleep later than him, there was no way he’d be awake at this hour.
Still, just in case, Hongdan decided to be careful with his actions. Since Yeon Seonha, who said he’d lost his memory, was far too different from that arrogant piece of trash he knew, it wouldn’t be strange if he suddenly teased him saying his morning drowsiness had completely disappeared.
Hongdan pushed the tacky wooden door with even slower movements than when he’d opened his own room door earlier. Soon the edge of the beige bedding he’d roughly pulled out should be visible, and then the big toe sticking out slightly due to Seonha’s characteristically inconsiderate height should be next…….
“……What.”
……But it wasn’t visible.
There wasn’t a bulging corner in the blanket to begin with. It wasn’t that Seonha’s head wasn’t visible because he was sleeping curled up. The guy who should be in this space right now simply wasn’t there. All that remained was the lingering scent of coconut that had already soaked into the bedding.
Hongdan no longer hesitated and flung the door wide open.
As expected…… he’s not here.
No matter how many times he checked, Yeon Seonha wasn’t visible. Thinking it might be a childish prank, he even did the crazy thing of opening the closet, but there was nowhere for that huge build to hide in this tiny room to begin with.
Then that means he went outside in the end…….
Why?
That bastard who made all kinds of fuss begging to stay here, so suddenly like this?
……Really?
Though the reason still couldn’t be guessed, the moment he became certain of the conclusion, wrinkles formed on Hongdan’s brow. Because the scratchy feeling still remained, a low seething sound also flowed from his throat.
“Where did you go, you idiot.”
“Behind you, Hongdan.”
“Ack, fuck!”
Because of the familiar low voice that suddenly descended by his ear, Hongdan’s shoulders jumped greatly.
Is this bastard leaking pheromones everywhere for this very purpose?
With the coconut scent resonating throughout the house, he didn’t even know he was approaching.
Hongdan turned around sharply with an even more crumpled face. The heart that had softened for a moment after receiving comfort in Seonha’s embrace all night regained its coldness.
“This creepy thing, really…… No, first, you. Where did you go from this early in the morning? Don’t tell me you didn’t sleep?”
Because his startled heart hadn’t calmed yet, a sharp tone like an interrogation came out. However, Seonha’s answer was only nonchalant.
“Ah, I just went to the mart for a bit.”
“What mart all of a sudden? When you don’t even know how to boil a single pack of ramen.”
“That was because the gas wouldn’t light……”
Hongdan drooped his eyebrows and pushed away Seonha who was trying to lean on him slyly, then mulled over whether he’d given him a tour of the neighborhood. However, since the guy came here, they’d only been fighting the whole time, and not a moment of such affection came to mind. To begin with, though the one day living together felt long, they were only on their third day of cohabitation.
Then did he go find it on his own?
Well, as a modern person living in this digital revolution era, it would also be a problem if he couldn’t find a nearby mart with his smartphone. Though he did whine via text the whole time yesterday unable to find something to fill his meals with. Even if he was an idiot, it seemed he could actually go to a mart on his own.
Hongdan turned toward the bathroom without adding any further response. There was no reason to continue the argument, and as a rule, even if a bit of leisure arose before going to work, if you started dawdling you’d definitely be late. But the overly frivolous mouth that he wanted to pinch stuck right to him.
“But I was watching the whole time you were all hunched up cautiously opening my door. You looked so serious, Hongdan, I couldn’t say anything. What, was there something you wanted to steal? Or me? Did you come into my room because you wanted to see me, Hongdan?”
“Ugh, be quiet!”
In the end, Hongdan had no choice but to yell. But even after getting scolded from the morning, he kept grinning, and the guy seemed happy somewhere.
“Look at you yelling first because you’re embarrassed. Ah, cute.”
“Cute my ass, freeze to death. Did this bastard become a masochist after cracking his head once?”
“Mm, if that’s your preference, Hongdan, I can accommodate it.”
“Bullshit, crazy.”
Hongdan cursed under his breath as he turned on the bathroom switch. It was silent pressure to shut up around now and quietly fuck off. But when Hongdan’s left foot was about halfway into the bathroom slippers, Seonha grabbed Hongdan’s wrist somewhat urgently.
“Don’t brush your teeth, right now!”
“What are you talking about?”
Hongdan twisted his caught wrist and furrowed his eyebrows. Nevertheless, because Seonha was gripping so strongly, it didn’t come free easily. Instead of loosening his strength, he pulled even more toward the outside where he was.
“I prepared breakfast, I’m saying. If you brush now, you’ll have to brush your teeth twice. Just wash your face and come out.”
“You…… prepared what?”
At words he couldn’t even imagine coming from his mouth, Hongdan’s face noticeably hardened. Then Seonha shook Hongdan’s wrist back and forth, awakening him to the fact that this was reality.
“Breakfast! I woke up at six to prepare it to feed you, Hongdan.”
“You woke up at six? ……You?”
As expected, it was a statement that didn’t suit Yeon Seonha.
That sleepyhead woke up at six in the morning and prepared my breakfast?
……Why?
“Yeah. Because I wanted to do it for you. You also looked like you’d lost too much weight.”
Are you fattening me up to sell me somewhere?
Before he knew it, Seonha was gently rubbing the soft flesh on the inside of Hongdan’s wrist with his thumb. While doing so, he grinned every time their gazes collided. Even that seemingly shy smile was unfamiliar beyond comparison. Contrary to Seonha’s intention to match his mood, Hongdan’s face only hardened more.
“So I went to the mart too…… are you going to refuse this too?”
When no response came back from the other person, Seonha sharply shrank his shoulders, inducing sympathy. At the same time, he deeply hung his head and stole glances at Hongdan. Each time he rolled his eyes once, he drooped the corners of his mouth and his body downward, downward.
It was truly a ridiculous sight. For someone with a build so disgustingly huge that it made this house look small to crumple his entire body like that, just to feed him one meal.
Though he didn’t know what crazy thing he’d suddenly become fixated on while patting his back last night, Hongdan wasn’t cold-hearted enough to kick away the meal table that the guy who’d only ever boiled ramen in his entire life as cooking had specially prepared for him. Actually, it was also because the savory food smell he couldn’t detect earlier, hidden by Seonha’s pheromones, was getting progressively stronger. It was a scent that quite stimulated his appetite.
Hongdan quietly brought the foot he’d put into the bathroom back to the living room.
“If it’s not good, I won’t eat it.”
“Okay!”
As Hongdan’s feet turned toward the kitchen, Seonha lifted Hongdan’s arm that he’d been holding and bounced in place. Hongdan gave him a light rebuke of “Collapse, you pig bastard,” then turned the shabby partition set up to divide the living room and kitchen.
The moment he finally confirmed the dining table.
“……What is this?”
“Hehe- looks delicious, right?”
Hongdan’s face froze even more coldly than when Seonha earlier couldn’t hide his excitement saying he’d prepared breakfast. As if all the blood in his body had frozen in that instant.
