# Chapter 178
Knock knock.
It was then that a sound broke through his thoughts.
At the knocking, Lee Hwan suddenly opened his half-closed eyes and turned his head. It seemed Taesung was standing outside the door.
Usually after finishing discussions like this, he would always go out to the living room, but today he was sprawled out exhausted, so Taesung must have come looking to see if something was wrong.
After all, at the end of the meeting, he had made a threatening comment about seeing him later. After lying still and thinking for a moment, Lee Hwan just opened his mouth to call Taesung.
“Come in.”
Click. Taesung, who entered while muffling the door sound, had a dissatisfied face as expected. Lee Hwan stared at him blankly and then patted the space beside him on the bed.
Even though he was tired, he wasn’t so exhausted that he couldn’t go out to the living room, but he just wanted to stay like this. It might also be because he’d been running around like a runaway train handling all sorts of matters lately.
When he half-closed his eyes again, concern appeared on Taesung’s face. As he came over and sat on the bed, Lee Hwan felt the mattress depress elastically.
“I’m sorry. He’s the kind of person who can’t be controlled unless I return fire immediately.”
Taesung always apologized first. He didn’t seem to do that before. He used to be someone who knew how to persuade Lee Hwan skillfully.
What was he so sorry about? Thinking about it, Lee Hwan recalled conflicts from memories he’d experienced with Taesung, but for him, they felt half like distant dreams.
It was fortunate that they had all been experienced and passed through. Thinking about the past when they had grown distant made his heart ache more these days.
“…I know. But do it in moderation.”
As Lee Hwan rolled over to lie facing Taesung, he nodded while slightly bending down to check Lee Hwan’s complexion.
“Are you sick somewhere?”
“No, I’m just a bit tired.”
Since that day when Taesung had kissed his forehead, Lee Hwan had stopped going to his room. Though he hesitated every day about whether to go or not, in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to visit Taesung’s room.
He just slept alone. When memories that hadn’t fully returned came as dreams, he would frequently wake up startled even in the middle of the night. After weeks of this, even an Awakened person would feel fatigue.
He barely managed to fill in his lack of sleep with naps during the day, but even that became difficult this week as he had to frequently communicate with Jade.
Still, he didn’t want to show signs of his struggle to Taesung. He was always worried about him anyway.
“You don’t have a fever.”
The hand that came to his forehead felt pleasantly warm. As the weather was getting increasingly sultry, Lee Hwan still liked Taesung’s warm body. So much so that he was grateful that as an Awakened person, he didn’t feel the heat much.
It had always been that way. That’s why, even while excessively maintaining the line of just being friends before the regression, he enjoyed lounging with his head on Taesung’s lap.
Knowing this, Taesung naturally approached and placed his hand on him like this.
“Do you dislike me making contact with Praxis?”
“…Because it’s dangerous.”
“I can’t just stay waiting like a folding screen forever.”
As he spoke, the hand resting on his forehead came down slightly and gently stroked his cheek. Lee Hwan raised the corners of his mouth in satisfaction and leaned his face further into Taesung’s hand.
…He knew this wasn’t right. That’s why he had tried to distance himself a bit from Taesung. Because his constantly fluttering heart couldn’t be contained. Even though he could clearly see what emotion was in Taesung’s eyes, he didn’t dare to answer it.
But once he came to his senses, he was always close to Taesung like this. When Taesung’s hand touched him, he felt like his depleting mental energy was gradually replenishing. It felt like an irresistible force. That’s how Lee Hwan felt.
Moreover, when Taesung occasionally returned from fieldwork and held his head, Lee Hwan couldn’t bear to stay away from him. Seeing his fingertips tremble made his heart sink.
At such times, even Lee Hwan could no longer pretend not to notice and pulled him into an embrace. He curved his back to envelop at least part of Taesung’s disproportionately large body. When he felt the tickling breath on his skin, Lee Hwan sensed that both he and Taesung were still alive in reality.
“Kang Dongying… is the kind of guy who will continue to interfere anyway, even if you don’t meet him.”
“I know. But he has strong pride, so Kang Dongha needs to bow down first to lessen the retaliation.”
Unable to refute this truth, the hand that had been caressing his face moved to his ear. The sensation of his fallen hair being tucked behind his ear felt ticklish and gave him goosebumps.
Lee Hwan suppressed his body that was about to flinch and fully felt the touch of his hand.
“Nothing unusual will happen. It’s just meeting him once or twice. There’s no reason for him to attack me.”
Even if he did attack, Lee Hwan wasn’t someone who couldn’t defend himself. Although Kang Dongying was an A-class Awakened person, he had no combat experience, making him practically useless except for his power. This meant it wasn’t nearly as dangerous as Taesung was uncomfortable with.
But Taesung still wasn’t reassured. After staying quiet for a while as if choosing his words, he firmly pressed his thumb against Lee Hwan’s forehead.
When that small warmth touched him, for a moment, the soft sensation of something pressing on his forehead flashed in his mind, making Lee Hwan’s heart thud.
“It’s not about him attacking. Just…”
As he trailed off, his fingertips rubbed and slid down above Lee Hwan’s eyebrows. Did Taesung know that every time he touched him like this, Lee Hwan felt a heat he couldn’t understand?
The emotions he hid because he couldn’t handle them didn’t disappear but merely piled up layer by layer like fossils.
“I think Kang Dongying’s interest isn’t simply because of your ability.”
His eyes were sharp as he spoke. Just like when Lee Hwan went to Tamitree Bar to meet Kang Dongha.
‘Could it be, he’s worried about that…’
As soon as he realized what Taesung might be thinking, his face, which had been well-controlled until then, reddened like spreading paint. With his cheeks burning, Lee Hwan couldn’t turn his head or close his eyes and just stared blankly at Taesung.
While Kang Dongha was the type to frequent bars and hook up with people whenever he had the chance, Lee Hwan hadn’t expected him to have such worries about Kang Dongying.
He had never heard of that mature man dating or marrying anyone until the world was about to end.
Since he was the legitimate eldest son of the third generation of the Kang family and an A-class Awakened person, the prevailing opinion was that he was very selective about his partners.
“Because no one has ended well when that pervert showed interest.”
But hearing him speak, it seemed there were stories circulating only beneath the surface.
A pervert? The image of him being arrogant, confident, and outwardly quite gentlemanly flashed through Lee Hwan’s mind. Indeed, one can’t judge a person by their appearance alone.
“That… you don’t have to worry about that.”
Quickly answering before his face became even more flushed, Lee Hwan took a deep breath.
He had never relied on anyone other than Taesung. Separate from enjoying receiving attention, he often set boundaries and drew lines to keep others at a distance.
Having been so dependent on him lately, if Taesung was misunderstanding something, it felt like he wouldn’t be able to sleep from the injustice unless he corrected it.
“I… I’m only like this because it’s you.”
After blurting that out, he felt a flush spread all the way to the tips of his hair. Lee Hwan anxiously rolled his eyes left and right.
He hadn’t realized it until he spoke, but hearing those words with his own ears, it felt very strange.
Sure enough, Taesung’s eyes widened slightly too. At first, he shook his head slightly as if he hadn’t intended to scold Lee Hwan, but then, as if he too had realized the meaning of those words, his eyes filled with a peculiar heat.
Immediately, thump. Thump. Thump. The heart sound, whose it was unclear, gradually accelerated. Due to their ability to keenly notice each other’s changes while their bodies were close, the atmosphere that had been just comfortable began to creak.
“Just, with others… haa.”
Lee Hwan tried to say something again but gulped it down. Even if he explained that he meant he didn’t do such things with others, how would it differ from what he’d just said?
Mentally cursing, Lee Hwan looked at Taesung again with an awkward expression. Until just a moment ago, he had been sitting upright and fidgeting with his hair, but somehow, he had now leaned over and was half on top of Lee Hwan.
‘…Ah.’
Only after seeing the suddenly closer face did he realize that something serious had happened.
Still cupping his cheek, Taesung’s fingertips slid along Lee Hwan’s jawline. Startled by the stimulation, Lee Hwan burst out the breath he had been holding and quickly placed his hand over Taesung’s.
Originally, he had intended to grab Taesung’s hand and remove it. Then either roll over a couple of times, or pull his upper body to the side to get up from the bed.
But whatever meaning Taesung took from this, his eyes and ear tips, which had been calm until then, turned red with heat. The hand cupping his face was gradually getting hotter.
…Something had gone wrong. Realizing that Taesung’s black eyes had become somewhat strange, Lee Hwan bit his lip nervously.
After Lee Hwan noticed his feelings, they always awkwardly touched like this, piled up stacks, and awkwardly separated. He suddenly realized that it had rippled all the way up to his neck, bringing them to this point.
Perhaps because he hadn’t been sleeping at all, he felt dizzy just from this realization. In fact, whenever this atmosphere surrounded them, he had long been unable to look at Taesung directly. After much deliberation, Lee Hwan ended up closing his eyes for a long time. Because he didn’t have the courage to face him directly.
“…”
Then the hand touching his face slowly stopped. The fingertips that had been touching him hesitantly curled and withdrew, and it felt like a cold breeze passed over his face.
A moment of suffocating silence.
Then, suddenly, something heavy rested on Lee Hwan’s chest. The sound of breathing drawing closer. The atmosphere settling heavily with silence. When Taesung rested his head near Lee Hwan’s heart, his hair gently tickled his neck.
Lee Hwan could tell that his breathing gradually settled to the rhythm of Lee Hwan’s heartbeat. Just like when they fell asleep embracing, slowly. Very slowly.
‘This is…’
Strange. This time, rather than thinking he had avoided an awkward situation, a fluttery feeling filled his lungs. With each breath, it felt as if there was a vacant space inside, making him feel empty.
If he ambiguously left now, and they faced each other again later when their hearts had calmed, would they again have an ordinary conversation with composed faces as if nothing had happened?
Just as they had always been, unable to either approach or separate.
Several minutes passed, and finally even the warmth pressing on his chest withdrew. Through slightly opened eyes, Lee Hwan saw Taesung looking down at him with the ends of his eyebrows slightly lowered.
Lips tightly closed as if suppressing disappointment. But even that was brief; after taking a deep breath, he showed a faint smile.
“You’re tired.”
As if telling him to rest, Taesung got up. Lee Hwan tried to stand up with him but ended up sitting dumbly on the bed.
Taesung left as silently as he had entered.
