# Chapter 36
The two returned home. It was the same house where Yeomin had been staying with Jiho.
Yeomin felt a new sentiment as he entered the hallway.
When he left here, he thought he would never come back…
“I’ll take your luggage to your room.”
“Room?”
“We’re a couple now, so of course we’ll share a room, right?”
‘I hadn’t thought that far… sharing a room…?’
While Yeomin’s brain was still processing this, Jiho snatched his bag away. How could he be so nimble?
Jiho sat Yeomin, whose hands were now empty, on the living room sofa.
“Wait—”
“Rest. You must have had a hard time being away from home.”
“What hard time? I only stayed at Lee Taeyang’s place for one night…”
“That’s a hardship.”
He said it so firmly that Yeomin didn’t even feel like arguing. There was no point in wasting breath on a verbal sparring match.
Yeomin finally looked around the house. The house was in the same state as when he left, but on the sofa table lay neatly arranged documents he hadn’t seen before.
It was a contract that seemed to have been prepared in advance, as if Jiho knew Yeomin would come here.
Jiho explained from beside Yeomin:
“This is the contract amount. I’ve prepared enough that you won’t have to worry about school expenses until you graduate. What do you think?”
Yeomin, who naturally checked the amount first, barely managed to keep his jaw from dropping.
“Um… it’s, it’s fine.”
Wondering if he had seen wrong, he read the contract amount several times, but the numbers remained the same. Yeomin’s hand holding the contract began to tremble.
It might be pocket change for an Ian Group heir, but for Yeomin, who was still a college student, it was a significant sum.
As if he had anticipated Yeomin’s reaction, Jiho looked satisfied.
“And there are additional payments depending on the situation, indicated here, so please check.”
“You… seem to have prepared very thoroughly?”
Jiho responded with a smile to Yeomin’s suspicious tone. He’s always so mysterious.
Yeomin continued examining the rest of the contract items.
In fact, Yeomin had expected a dating contract to contain detailed contents like “N kisses per week, or relations…”
But the actual contract wasn’t like that. The approximate terms written in the contract were as follows:
1) Joo Yeomin must live in the same house as Seol Jiho and sleep in the same room.
2) They must carry out at least one date per week publicly. Beyond this, the number of dates may increase as needed with mutual consent.
3) During the contract period with Seol Jiho, Joo Yeomin must not have one-on-one meetings with others. (Both same and opposite sex BUT excluding family)
4) During the contract period with Seol Jiho, Joo Yeomin must not date others.
‘Item 3 is a bit concerning… but, it’s not a big deal compared to what I expected?’
Knowing how hard it is to earn even minimum wage in this world, this seemed like nothing.
Yeomin thought it would be easy.
“So I just have to follow this exactly?”
“Ah, and I’d like you to discuss and decide major and minor things with me. I’ll add this to the contract as well.”
“Okay. In exchange, clearly write the termination point. And add a clause saying you will absolutely not request a contract extension. Put that in as a term.”
Jiho immediately accepted Yeomin’s decisive request.
“Understood.”
“And one more thing. Add a clause that you also won’t meet anyone else while dating me.”
“…I didn’t think of that.”
The corner of Jiho’s mouth twitched subtly. He was trying hard to control it, but his expression clearly said he was thrilled.
Yeomin wondered if he should have said it, but he wanted to make things clear.
“I’m staking my life on you, so I don’t want to become like a borrowed sack of barley if you suddenly find someone else. Not that it would actually happen… but I don’t want to appear that way to others.”
A discarded cup holder at least has some value if you collect twenty of them for a free coffee. But being left like a duck’s egg in the Nakdong River after fake-dating this guy—you can’t even recycle that status anywhere.
Yeomin absolutely didn’t want to end up like that.
As Yeomin was confidently making his demands, he suddenly felt his breathing constricted.
“Hyung…”
Jiho suddenly wrapped his arms around Yeomin’s neck, making everything go dark.
This crazy bastard!
“Are you crazy? Let go—”
“Of course that won’t happen, but I’ll add it since you’re anxious. But who would I meet? When I have you.”
“You can meet someone. If you suddenly change your mind and want to get married, I can pretend to break it off and you can have your happy ending. Just discuss it with me first.”
“Hyung.”
Jiho laughed softly near Yeomin’s ear. Yeomin felt a chill run down his nape.
“Don’t expect such an easy ending. Not a chance.”
Only then did Jiho release his grip and let Yeomin go.
His voice was noticeably excited in tone. Like a child excited about receiving a desired gift.
“But hyung, you’re so cute. Did you really imagine all that? Me finding someone else?”
“I just considered various possibilities.”
“Want to add more conditions? Like that I’ll only love you until I die, or that I’ll marry you, or that we’ll have about three children—”
“Please shut up.”
There’s really no talking sense with this crazy guy.
* * *
After soaking in the bathtub for a while, his whole body felt limp.
Yeomin, wearing a robe, was about to prepare to sleep on the sofa when he hesitated.
‘We must share the same room.’
It’s not like anyone’s watching on CCTV, so why do they need to share a room even at home?
But from the beginning, none of this made sense. If it did, he shouldn’t have set foot in this house again. Nor should he have made this absurd dating contract…
Yeomin knew this well himself.
His luggage bag had already been taken in by Jiho, it seemed.
“That meticulous bastard.”
Yeomin gave up and went to the bedroom. It was where Jiho always slept.
Like the protagonist in a horror movie approaching a forbidden place. Feeling tense, he carefully opened the door and immediately muttered:
“…What is this.”
Jiho was curled up asleep on one side of the bed. Almost at the edge of the bed, in a precarious position like he might fall off at any moment.
And here Yeomin thought he’d say weird things and tease him again.
‘Well, he did come to Taeyang’s house two hours early to wait, then went to the restaurant, and then drove all the way back here… He did drive for a long time.’
Yeomin thought about changing into pajamas, but got lazy and gave up. In his robe, he sat on the opposite side of the bed from Jiho.
Although he wondered how on earth he was going to sleep in the same room with this guy… come to think of it, they had slept just fine together in his own rented room, which was less than a third of the size of this one.
“When have I ever been picky about cold rice or hot rice?”
Yeomin bravely, and very manly, lay down on the bed.
“…”
Damn it. It was so bothersome that he couldn’t fall asleep. It was because of Jiho, who was lying anxiously as if he would fall off at any moment.
‘Why on earth is he sleeping like that?’
“Hey, Seol Jiho.”
“…”
“Sleep properly.”
Seeing that there was no answer even when he called, it seemed Jiho really was asleep. Ah, whatever. I don’t care. And just as he was about to turn his back:
Jiho, who was tossing and turning with a “hmm,” leaned to the side as if about to fall off the bed.
Of course, Yeomin knew that one wouldn’t die just from falling off a bed, but he couldn’t help his quick reflexes.
“Seol Jiho!”
Yeomin quickly pulled Jiho’s arm to prevent him from falling. No, he was sure that he had done the pulling, but when he came to his senses, he was the one being pulled.
…He had forgotten. That Jiho was much bigger and heavier than him.
Before he could even be surprised, Yeomin was dragged by Jiho and fell off the bed. He imagined his head hitting the floor with a thud, but for some reason, he didn’t feel any pain.
“…Seol Jiho?”
When he came to his senses, what he saw were dreamy eyes. And then what he saw next was Jiho’s warm body enveloping him completely.
“…I thought it was a dream.”
Jiho murmured languidly. Yeah, I wish it was a dream too… Yeomin grumbled internally.
On the floor, the two exchanged glances in silence. Despite the awkwardness, Yeomin sensed something was off.
“…Are you sick?”
“I don’t know. I feel a bit dizzy.”
Yeomin touched Jiho’s forehead. It wasn’t seriously hot, but it couldn’t be considered a normal temperature either. Compared to his own lukewarm forehead, it felt like a warm heat pack.
No wonder he was talking a lot and whining strangely since coming home. Yeomin scolded Jiho:
“If you’re sick, you should say so. Are you stupid?”
“Hyung… I’m sleepy.”
Jiho hugged Yeomin tightly and acted spoiled. Though startled by the hot cheek against his neck, Yeomin couldn’t bring himself to push away someone who was sick.
“…”
Yeomin said sternly:
“Seol Jiho, you can’t just sleep like this. Take medicine first.”
“…It’s bothersome.”
“Don’t you have any emergency medicine at home?”
“Haa, I don’t know where it is…”
What do you know? Living in such a nice house and not even knowing where the medicine is. He only knows how to stock up on game consoles, a guy who doesn’t know what he actually needs.
When Jiho clung to him even more, Yeomin pushed him away with all his might, and this time Jiho was pushed back without much resistance.
He must really not be feeling well. He’s not the type to be pushed away so easily.
Jiho grabbed Yeomin as he tried to get up.
“Where are you going without me?”
“I think I saw some medicine before. I’ll find it and be right back.”
“Hyung…”
Yeomin ignored Jiho’s desperate call and quickly left the room.
“Phew…”
Besides the medicine, somehow he felt like he couldn’t stay there even a second longer. As if the fever was contagious, Yeomin’s cheeks were flushed red even after leaving the room.
