“Starting today, I’m sleeping in my own room.”
The words Yugeon delivered first thing in the morning struck Migeon like a bolt from the blue. Even though he’d expected it. Migeon, who had followed Yugeon after he packed up all the luggage he’d unpacked in his room and took it to his own room, stood at the threshold and asked in a dejected voice.
“…Can’t you just stay in my room with me?”
“Why would I when there’s a perfectly good room?”
Yugeon answered curtly and opened the wardrobe to organize his clothes. Inside the wardrobe was even a set of bedding. It was the same bedding as what was in his younger brother’s room.
“What, there was another set of bedding.”
Migeon’s gaze, which had been staring intently at Yugeon’s back as he examined the bedding with an excited voice, shifted upward slightly. Migeon, who had been looking somewhere in the air in the center of the room, looked at Yugeon again and asked.
“Are you really going to sleep separately?”
“I need to have my own room too. We’re going to live together for life.”
Migeon flinched as if reacting to the words “live together for life,” then surveyed the room with anxious eyes before closing his eyes as if resigned.
“Fine.”
After breakfast, Yugeon adamantly stopped Migeon from going to work. He said Migeon shouldn’t overdo it with his injured arm in case it got worse, and insisted he rest a few more days. Migeon reassured Yugeon that it was just a minor injury, but in the end couldn’t win against his stubbornness and agreed to rest one more day. However, saying he didn’t want to be alone, he followed Yugeon all the way to his used bookstore and stayed glued to him all day, occupying a spot.
That evening, Yugeon was strangely excited at the thought of sleeping in his own room.
The truth was, he’d been staying in his younger brother’s room all this time as if he were imposing, so he couldn’t shake the feeling of being a freeloader. He’d always been anxious—wondering if he was making his younger brother uncomfortable, if some sleep habit he didn’t know about was disturbing his brother’s sleep, if his brother was forcing himself to endure discomfort.
It had actually been reassuring when his brother told him he didn’t mind Yugeon clinging to him while sleeping. But now he finally had his own room. He even felt like he’d finally settled down, shedding his status as a freeloader.
But unlike Yugeon, Migeon’s face was gloomy.
Migeon stood at the threshold staring intently at Yugeon laying out bedding in the room, then once again looked somewhere in the air. The center of the room, a spot slightly lower than the ceiling.
Migeon entered the room as if he couldn’t help it and grabbed Yugeon’s arm.
“Hyung, just… can’t you sleep with me just for tonight?”
Yugeon raised his head and looked at his younger brother.
“We can’t sleep together forever. It’s not like there’s only one room now, or only one set of bedding.”
“……”
“And people will think it’s strange if they see us, you know?”
“I don’t care….”
“Well, you should care.”
“……”
“Anyway, starting today I’m sleeping in my own room. Give up and go to your room too.”
Migeon bit his lower lip and hesitated for a moment before speaking in a voice full of concern.
“Then… sleep with the door open, hyung.”
“The door?”
“Yeah. Make sure you keep it open.”
Migeon urged him repeatedly. Yugeon found it strange, but excited at the thought of being able to sleep alone, he simply nodded.
And so Yugeon faced his first night, falling asleep while looking at the bright moon outside the window. Alone, he fell asleep so lightly with a carefree heart, but when he opened his eyes in the morning, he woke up feeling constricted all over and crushed by a heavy weight.
“……”
Rolling his eyes wondering what was so uncomfortable, Yugeon momentarily thought he was lying in his younger brother’s room. Because at some point, his younger brother had been sleeping stuck right next to him. Yugeon stared blankly at his sleeping brother, then covered his eyes with his arm without even sighing.
So this was why he’d told him to sleep with the door open.
After seeing off his younger brother leaving for work and opening the bookstore, Yugeon sat at the cash register stretching. Maybe because his sleeping place had changed, his body felt strangely stiff. Yugeon rolled his shoulders this way and that while scanning outside the door. He wondered if Imugi might visit. With what happened between his younger brother and Lee Seyeong, if Imugi came, he really wanted to ask clearly whether he truly wouldn’t accept offerings anymore.
But throughout the morning, Imugi didn’t show himself. And so it became noon. Just as he was about to go into the back room to eat lunch and catch his breath, he heard the sound of the bookstore door opening.
Yugeon, who had been about to enter the room, turned back around to greet the customer.
“Welco—”
But he couldn’t finish his greeting. Because standing between the open doors was Lee Jaeyeong.
“Yugeon….”
Lee Jaeyeong called out to Yugeon in an affectionate voice. Yugeon, who had frozen, suddenly came to his senses and muttered with a face drained of color.
“How…?”
Hadn’t he heard he’d been locked up?
Lee Jaeyeong entered the store completely and closed the door behind him. The rough sound gave him chills. It felt like the outside and inside were completely cut off. When Yugeon looked at the door with anxious eyes, Lee Jaeyeong took a step toward him and said.
“I missed you….”
Only then did Yugeon’s gaze turn to Lee Jaeyeong. After alternating between looking at his two hands, he swallowed dryly and said calmly.
“Long time no see.”
He didn’t seem to be holding something like a knife, but it seemed like he shouldn’t provoke Lee Jaeyeong. So he greeted him as usual. He didn’t want to let on that he was nervous, but contrary to his feelings, his voice trembled badly. When Yugeon greeted him, Lee Jaeyeong smiled eerily and took another step closer.
“Yeah, didn’t you miss me?”
Lee Jaeyeong’s hand touched Yugeon’s hand. And slowly clasped Yugeon’s hand. Yugeon screamed internally but tried not to show it. He glanced toward the door outside, hoping someone might pass by the bookstore, but only the afternoon sunlight was shining brightly.
His mouth and lips were bone dry. It seemed like he’d feel safer if he could somehow get outside. It would be easier to run away if necessary too. Yugeon moistened his dry lips and smiled awkwardly.
“It’s a bit hot inside, shall we go outside and talk?”
But at Yugeon’s words, Lee Jaeyeong’s face hardened in an instant as if he’d never smiled.
“Didn’t you miss me?”
“…What?”
“I’m asking if you didn’t miss me. Why do you keep saying other things? I’m asking if you didn’t miss me.”
Lee Jaeyeong’s reaction was strange. An uneasy feeling crept up from his toes. Warning bells rang loudly in his head.
“L-let’s go outside and talk.”
Yugeon urged a bit urgently, and Lee Jaeyeong stared at Yugeon before tilting his head at a bizarre angle and asking.
“Why?”
At that sight, Yugeon’s spine tingled and he unconsciously averted his gaze as if avoiding him. He felt like his whole body was shrinking. He also felt a strange chill. When Yugeon lowered his gaze, Lee Jaeyeong’s pupils split in two. And with the split pupils, he checked the small back room over Yugeon’s shoulder, and then the split pupils returned to one as if they’d finished their task.
It was instantaneous. Lee Jaeyeong snatched Yugeon’s waist and pulled him close.
Before the startled Yugeon could even react, Lee Jaeyeong dragged Yugeon into the back room.
“Wai—!”
Yugeon desperately reached out trying to grab the doorframe, but he was thrown onto the floor of the back room first. Yugeon, who hit the floor hard, let out a suppressed scream and groaned. Perhaps from the shock, he couldn’t breathe for a moment.
Clutching his chest and gasping with his mouth wide open, once Yugeon’s breathing gradually returned, he sat up with a furrowed brow and glared at Lee Jaeyeong.
Lee Jaeyeong had entered the room without even taking off his shoes and stood in front of the sliding door. And he slowly approached while Yugeon watched.
“There are too many things here that disturb us.”
Lee Jaeyeong knelt down in front of Yugeon, grabbed his upper body and laid him back down. Then he climbed on top of Yugeon’s stomach.
“Everything about you is mine.”
“*Cough*, what, nonsense…!”
Lee Jaeyeong grabbed Yugeon’s chin and kissed him. A squishy mass of flesh burrowed between his lips that hadn’t closed.
“!”
Horrified, Yugeon turned his head trying to push Lee Jaeyeong away, but Lee Jaeyeong didn’t budge. Instead, he put more force into the hand gripping his chin so he couldn’t turn his head. Yugeon, who had been struggling, hit Lee Jaeyeong’s shoulders and arms randomly, then even grabbed and pulled his hair. But still Lee Jaeyeong didn’t budge.
Only the greedy sounds of sucking and licking their locked lips were loud. Unable to bear it, Yugeon bit down hard on Lee Jaeyeong’s tongue invading his mouth.
With a crunching sound, Lee Jaeyeong’s actions stopped abruptly. Lee Jaeyeong, who had been closing his eyes as if intoxicated, slowly opened them and looked at Yugeon, then pulled away his lips and sat up. His lips were stained red as blood flowing from inside his mouth spread between them.
As soon as Lee Jaeyeong pulled away, Yugeon roughly wiped his lips with the back of his hand as if something dirty had touched them and shouted.
“Get off!”
Lee Jaeyeong, who had been moving his mouth for a moment as if checking his tongue, only looked down at Yugeon, then stretched out both hands to press down beside Yugeon’s face and stuck out his glistening, blood-soaked tongue. Yugeon twisted his body to avoid Lee Jaeyeong as much as possible with a horrified expression, but Lee Jaeyeong paid no attention and slowly licked up Yugeon’s cheek. Blood-mixed saliva stretched viscously over Yugeon’s cheek like snail slime.
“Stop it!”
Yugeon shouted again and roughly pushed Lee Jaeyeong’s face away with both hands. But Lee Jaeyeong didn’t care and licked even Yugeon’s palms. It felt like bugs were writhing and crawling over his hands and cheeks.
Yugeon twisted and moved his body this way and that, trying somehow to escape from Lee Jaeyeong sitting on his stomach. Lee Jaeyeong laughed watching Yugeon like that.
“What’s wrong, Yugeon? You should stay still.”
Lee Jaeyeong, who had been coaxing him with gentle words, put his hand under Yugeon’s short sleeves, pushed them up, and stroked his forearms.
“Stop it! Don’t touch me!”
His face drained of color from the unwanted contact, Yugeon shook off his arms wildly. Lee Jaeyeong furrowed his brow as if disappointed, then pulled up Yugeon’s arms, pinned them above his head, and thickly licked and sucked his armpits.
It felt like every nerve in his body was on edge. It was horrible and disgusting. Yugeon’s eyes widened as he struck Lee Jaeyeong’s face with his other free hand.
As if it was an unexpected blow, Lee Jaeyeong swayed on top of Yugeon’s body. Yugeon didn’t miss the opportunity and shook off Lee Jaeyeong’s hand, then flipped his upper body and braced the floor to get up. But at that moment, Lee Jaeyeong’s hand grabbed the back of Yugeon’s neck and slammed his face into the floor.
With a bang, his mind went dizzy. His ears rang and his vision shook, blurred, and receded. Strength drained from his whole body.
When Yugeon went limp, Lee Jaeyeong lowered his head next to Yugeon’s face to check on him.
“Hah… ugh….”
When Yugeon moaned softly, Lee Jaeyeong smiled and kissed Yugeon’s head, then made him lie completely face down. And after removing his t-shirt, he licked his shoulders and back while stripping off his pants and underwear.
