He could tell just from the way Yiyoung glared at him with indifferent eyes asking why he came every time Chahyun visited. Even if he’d succeeded in getting a kiss after much trouble, whether there would be a next step was uncertain. At least not today.
He had no sense for this kind of thing and had almost made a mistake.
It was fortunate he’d read the mood before getting slapped by Yiyoung or handcuffed as a molester. As he was thinking that, Yiyoung pointed to a corner of the anthill and said.
“The bathroom is over there.”
Since they’d been covered in dust outside for a while, he did need to shower before sleeping.
Though he didn’t know why Moon Chahyun had to sleep in a collapsing shack instead of a perfectly good penthouse. Well, some people travel to places like the Amazon to gain diverse experiences.
Chahyun let out a resigned sigh and headed to the bathroom.
The sleepwear Yiyoung gave him was surprisingly a perfect fit.
It was a white long-sleeved cotton t-shirt and shorts that were excessively large for Yiyoung. No matter how he looked at it, they didn’t seem like Yiyoung’s clothes, and were probably what Chahyun wore when he stayed over before. Thinking that he must have stayed at this house a few times made him feel strangely odd.
When he came out of the bathroom with wet hair, he saw Yiyoung, who had been sitting at the kitchen table, stand up holding his own clothes. Yiyoung hesitated and looked back before passing Chahyun to enter the bathroom.
“I’ll take a little time.”
Chahyun blinked blankly at Yiyoung.
‘Is he saying not to wait and go to sleep first?’
That made sense, since bedding for Chahyun was already laid out in the living room.
But it felt too soon to fall asleep like this. Chahyun nodded with the ulterior motive of waiting for Yiyoung and asking for tea to continue talking. Yiyoung entered the bathroom.
Chahyun wandered around the house with his hands clasped behind his back.
It was a shabby house just as it looked from the outside. The small space was barely divided into a kitchen, living room, and two bedrooms, and traces of rain leaks remained on the ceiling wallpaper. Moreover, Chahyun kept letting out complicated sighs at the household items that weren’t one bit decent.
Chahyun stopped abruptly in front of a row of photo frames attached like constellations to the kitchen wall.
The frames hung in chronological order of when the photos were taken, from the kitchen to the living room, led Chahyun’s steps. The protagonist in the photos was, without exception, all Bae Yiyoung. With each step Chahyun took, Yiyoung grew steadily.
Among them were faces crying or getting angry cutely, but mostly they were smiling. Especially when making eye contact with the camera lens, he invariably smiled brightly. It didn’t seem like he was forcing himself to smile for the photo.
Chahyun tilted his head.
‘Is his personality originally bright?’
Come to think of it, even in the photos on Chahyun’s phone, he had a lovely smile overflowing with aegyo from start to finish. The Yiyoung he’d actually met was far from kind, just indifferent and blunt in everything, so he’d briefly forgotten. And he had so many complaints, frequently glaring at Chahyun with a tearful face.
Today was the first time he’d smiled at Chahyun like in the photos. Chahyun frowned and complained.
“When you’re always just angry at me.”
Of course, that was because Chahyun tormented him, but strictly speaking, that was also Yiyoung’s fault.
‘If I don’t do that, he doesn’t even glance at me, so what choice do I have?’
Really, since his pride was worth raising, Chahyun had shown restraint too.
Then he heard the bathroom door burst open. Chahyun brightened his expression and turned his head toward the bathroom.
Yiyoung came out of the bathroom with a flushed face. Seeing white steam rising from the top of his head, he seemed to have completely cooked his body with hot water. Thanks to that, his white skin had good color and he at least looked human. Otherwise, he might have mistaken him for a porcelain doll crafted with soul by an artisan. Chahyun stared fixedly at Yiyoung with an indifferent gaze.
‘He’s really pretty.’
It was an objective evaluation without a bit of personal interest. Yiyoung wasn’t just pretty but had an androgynous face exuding boyish beauty. It wouldn’t be strange to call him a very stylishly pretty man or a quite coolly handsome woman. Perhaps because of that, his small build, which an ordinary man would consider a complex, suited him well.
He had no flaws. It was because all the elements that made up Bae Yiyoung were harmonious. If he were a sculpture artwork custom-made by Chahyun, he would have confirmed without hesitation that there was nothing more to touch.
While immersed in such a satisfying appreciation, Yiyoung said haltingly.
“Should we sleep now? It’s already past one.”
Chahyun unconsciously turned his head to look at the wall clock. Seeing the time of 1:40, the words he was about to say asking for tea completely vanished. It was late, and Yiyoung looked very tired.
Chahyun hid his regretful mood and nodded. As he obediently sat on the bedding, Yiyoung stood in front of the light switch and said.
“I’m turning off the light.”
The light went off, and darkness arrived where he couldn’t see an inch ahead.
In the darkness where it seemed like his eyes were closed even when open, Chahyun covered himself with the blanket and lay down. He heard the sound of Yiyoung’s clothes rustling. Chahyun closed his eyes thinking he would naturally go into the room. But then, unexpectedly, he felt a small, light body wiggling into the blanket.
Chahyun was so surprised he silently inhaled a big breath, going “Huk.”
‘What? Is he sleeping next to me?’
Not only that, Yiyoung lay on his side facing Chahyun and even hugged his waist.
Yiyoung used Chahyun’s shoulder as a pillow and leaned his fist-sized head against it. At that natural gesture, Chahyun also tried to stay calm and wrapped his arm around Yiyoung’s back to match the position. As he carefully held the small but straight and firm Yiyoung, his molars automatically clenched tight.
‘Moon Chahyun. Don’t get hard.’
They were just sleeping. At least that seemed to be Yiyoung’s intention.
It was hard to believe he could calmly fall asleep in this situation. But maybe dating at twenty-eight was originally like this. Not going into heat and pouncing just from lying side by side.
Chahyun asked in a low, cracked voice.
“Did we do this often before?”
Since it was the quiet early dawn, even though he whispered much more quietly than usual, Chahyun’s voice echoed throughout the living room. Yiyoung, who was easily startled by nature, flinched and pressed his body even closer.
Yiyoung answered in a tiny voice no louder than his breathing.
“No. This is the first time.”
“The first time?”
Even as he gradually became dazed, Chahyun was bewildered and tilted his head.
Naturally, this situation was quite unfamiliar and stimulating to Chahyun. But since Yiyoung seemed calm as if familiar with it, he was just trying to go along without making it awkward. But it was his first time too.
For some reason, his heart began to beat heavily. Chahyun asked.
“So, we haven’t yet……”
The question of whether they’d slept together didn’t come out right away, so unusually Chahyun hesitated with his words. Yiyoung made a motion of lifting his head on Chahyun’s shoulder and said in a slightly timid voice.
“Chahyun-ssi didn’t really like skinship.”
Imagining Yiyoung examining his expression wide-eyed made him feel like breaking out in a cold sweat. Chahyun, growing increasingly dizzy, said whatever came to mind.
“That’s true.”
Chahyun generally found contact with others irritating and unpleasant. It was because he detested anyone clinging to him pretending to be close. So when friends from groups he hung out with casually put their arms around his shoulders, he warned them with a blatant glare, and he reacted even more coldly to the subtle skinship of women who approached saying they liked him.
Yiyoung was the only exception. Chahyun gently pulled Yiyoung’s shoulder and buried his nose in his bangs. His head spun at the sweet and clean shampoo scent.
‘Why does it feel so good when we’re just hugging?’
Yiyoung’s whole body was warm and soft. Pleasant shivers arose everywhere touching him.
He wanted to touch a little closer. Furthermore, he wanted to press bare skin against bare skin. Chahyun involuntarily moved the hand that had been holding Yiyoung’s shoulder down toward his lower back.
He gently lifted Yiyoung’s t-shirt and touched his fingertips to the smooth skin. Yiyoung flinched and showed signs of tension but didn’t avoid it. Rather, he burrowed deep into his embrace until his forehead touched Chahyun’s nape and whispered.
“But you don’t dislike it now?”
Dislike it? Chahyun felt like he could die with his heart stopping and have no regrets.
Instead of answering with words, Chahyun turned to lie facing Yiyoung. With his eyes still closed, he fumbled to find Yiyoung’s chin. He pulled the face that fit easily from chin to ear in his two hands and kissed him. Yiyoung opened his lips without any resistance.
