# Chapter 76
“Iyeon-ssi. I’m back.”
“Jaekyung-ssi!”
At that moment, Jaekyung returned to the shop. Iyeon brightened up and jumped to his feet.
“What took you so long? Were you taking a four-hour dump? Constipation, perhaps?”
“Ah, seriously… Don’t say weird things in front of a beautiful person.”
Jaekyung grumbled. Jaekyung, who had first met Hyegang at the hotel, acted uncharacteristically shy whenever they crossed paths. Could a potential stalker be this close? Iyeon’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Since Iyeon-ssi did a good job, you can clock out for the day. I’ll take care of the rest of the time.”
“Really?”
The suspicious gaze immediately returned to normal. Getting off work at just three in the afternoon? Hard work pays off. Jaekyung nodded benevolently.
“Yes. Did you hear about the fireworks tonight? Don’t forget to go watch them with your group.”
“Wow, thanks! What about dinner?”
“Let’s eat separately. I have plans.”
Busy guy. Iyeon tilted his head curiously but didn’t harbor much suspicion. After all, they had come here through Jaekyung’s connections, so there was nothing suspicious about it.
After taking off and putting away his Hawaiian shirt, Iyeon left the counter with Hyegang. His mood quickly lifted with this unexpectedly gained free time.
“Is this how part-time jobs usually work?”
Hyegang asked dubiously as they exited the store. Iyeon shrugged. He had never worked part-time before either, so he didn’t know how shifts typically operated.
“I’m not sure, but if Jaekyung-ssi says it’s okay, then it must be fine, right?”
“I guess so…”
Hyegang still looked skeptical but quickly shook off his doubts since this situation was beneficial for them. Iyeon asked with an excited face:
“Where should we go?”
“How about the pool? Sano-hyung and Mungchi are still there.”
“Sure!”
Unlike Hyegang, who was already in his swimwear having come directly from the pool, Iyeon was dressed in light casual clothes. After sending Hyegang ahead, Iyeon returned to his room with a light step and rummaged through his bag. The thought of having fun made him hum spontaneously.
Thump.
“Huh?”
Iyeon’s head lifted at the muffled thud that faintly resonated through the wall.
He paused his actions and stared blankly at the wall, but the sound didn’t repeat. …Did he mishear? After looking around the room and confirming that everything was quiet again, Iyeon changed into his swimsuit and left.
“Hey, I’m here!”
Entering the pool area, Iyeon ran boisterously toward the sun beds where Hyegang and Sano were lying. Sano, still lying in a similar position as before, reprimanded without even looking.
“Don’t run. Do you want to die?”
Iyeon pouted at the scolding, which sounded like something a parent would say, and slowed down. Though Sano’s voice was cold enough to suggest he might dismember him at any moment, Iyeon, already knowing the truth, wasn’t intimidated at all.
‘Normally, he wouldn’t even say that and would just get rid of me.’
Rather, he could now see the inner self that had been hidden behind the exterior.
Come to think of it, even if Sano had become somewhat friendlier with him, nothing had really changed. After all, Sano would return soon after his business was done and would quickly forget someone like Iyeon. They lived in different worlds. They had to. Even if Sano disappeared without a word, Iyeon would simply accept it.
Despite thinking this way, it was still quite fascinating. Contrary to his own resolution, Iyeon, who was more attentive than anyone else, examined Sano with fresh eyes. Although he had seen him just moments ago, Sano somehow felt like a different person now.
Je Sano, despite not being a physical-type superhuman, possessed an impossibly good physique. His shirtless body looked like a meticulously crafted work of art. The boundaries between protruding bones and deeply carved muscles, and the combination of small, refined muscles that made his thick body appear sleek, were so delicate and beautiful that they even exuded a somewhat sensual atmosphere.
Staring at him made Iyeon feel strangely warmer, so he fanned himself. Only then did Sano’s gaze fall on him, who was standing still one moment and frantically flapping his arms the next.
As soon as Sano saw Iyeon’s state, he raised his upper body.
“You.”
“Yes?”
“Your clothes.”
Someone listening might think he was naked.
“I’m wearing a swimsuit, aren’t I?”
Iyeon pointed down nonchalantly. The tight-fitting short square swimsuit, meant for athletes, was a failed purchase from careless mobile shopping.
There hadn’t been time to buy another one, so he’d brought it along in a hurry. Well, once you’re in the water, it all looks the same anyway. Though this was unnecessarily “handsome guy” thinking, Iyeon firmly believed in the fashion philosophy of not being embarrassed by something once you’ve decided to wear it.
The smooth lines from his calves up to his round knees and thighs were clearly visible on his confidently standing legs. The piece of cloth barely hanging on his hips caught more than one gaze. The corners of Sano’s eyes, hidden behind sunglasses, slightly crumpled.
“Just get in the water.”
With those words, something sprung from the ground and threw Iyeon. Splash! Water sprayed in all directions with a huge sound.
The pool, deeper than the average adult height, gently received his slender body. With bubbling froth, Iyeon stuck just his head out of the water and shouted angrily. Water dripped from his completely soaked hair and cheeks.
“Hey! Is this how you want to play it?”
“You wanted to have fun, so this works out well.”
Sano answered primly and crossed his legs. This guy. Does he think he’s the only one with powers? Iyeon’s eyes filled with fierce vengeance, but if he used his ability directly on Sano, he might immediately be called out with, “You lied.”
The pool already had quite a few people thanks to the presence of two handsome men, and now even more glances were cast toward the scene of someone seemingly being thrown by one of those handsome men. —The physical distance between the onlookers and Sano had definitely increased.— As a second-best option, Iyeon tried to grab and pull Sano down, but he couldn’t even verify the obvious fact that it wouldn’t work by force.
That was because every time Iyeon tried to get out of the pool, Sano would throw him back in.
“You really…”
Iyeon, poking his head out like a roly-poly toy, ground his teeth as he tried to hook one leg over the edge, but the undulating floor defeated him, and he was dunked again. The gurgling sound had become like background noise by now.
“Hyung is really something else.”
Hyegang, who had been quietly watching the two, shook his head. One might have given up by this point, but Iyeon had considerable persistence.
Hyegang got up from the sun bed and took off his t-shirt. He planned to console Iyeon and play in the pool with him when he came up again. As he slightly bent his waist as if doing a light stretch and looked at the pool, it was calm.
“…Hyung?”
He sensed that something was wrong when Iyeon’s head didn’t resurface for longer than expected.
Did he swallow too much water? As Hyegang urgently approached the pool to look into the water, a pair of toned legs stood beside him. Then, with a splash, a man who had been deep in the swimming pool was fished out. The white body, wrapped in metal cables, was slumped as if unconscious. His closed eyes made his face look paler than usual.
“Hyung. Are you okay?”
Hyegang urgently called out to Iyeon, but there was no response. Panicked eyes turned helplessly toward Sano. Sano, who had gently laid Iyeon outside the pool, checked his breathing by holding his neck.
That’s when it happened.
With a sudden movement, slender arms wrapped around Sano’s neck and shoulders.
“Using a trick, I see.”
The smiling face whispered to the handsome man who muttered as if amused.
“This is all out of love.”
Iyeon pulled on Sano’s neck. Despite being thin, he was still a grown man’s weight. The gesture of pushing strongly against the floor with his feet and falling backward while carrying all that weight contained as much strong will as strength.
If one had to express it, it was a determination to make this guy swallow water at all costs.
Splash! With a loud noise, the two entered the water together. When Hyegang peered into the pool, he could see a large flesh-colored mass undulating and moving.
“They’re really playing hard…”
Hyegang, who had been completely splashed by the water, grumbled as he was about to follow them into the pool when suddenly he felt an eerie presence behind him. What is it? Now that he thought about it, it seemed like he was forgetting something… Soon, Sano and Iyeon, who had just emerged from the water, also turned to look at Hyegang with strange expressions.
In the three people’s sight, they saw black fur.
Grrrr…
Mungchi, who had been lying obediently under the sun bed until just now, was crouching low and staring menacingly. It seemed to think Iyeon was being attacked, seeing him repeatedly thrown into the swimming pool.
The amber eyes glaring at Sano gleamed savagely. Our Mungchi, your priorities are so clear… The immature owner, Iyeon, had eyes full of emotion even in the midst of this.
However, it didn’t take long to realize that the situation wasn’t so touching.
