# Chapter 87
As soon as he opened his eyes, Mo Eunje saw a handsome face right in front of him. The harmonious profile centered around the tall, prominent bridge of the nose was breathtaking. The eyes, with their evenly settled eyelashes, were peacefully closed. It was a shame he couldn’t see the mysterious colored irises that were Tae Igyeol’s most attractive feature. Even though it was just his sleeping profile, to see his face this close…
“…”
Amid his defenselessly flowing consciousness, he sensed something strange. Mo Eunje couldn’t understand why he was lying on his side using Tae Igyeol’s arm as a pillow. Moreover, his own arm was wrapped around Tae Igyeol’s chest as if embracing him, and one of his legs was resting on Tae Igyeol’s thigh.
What the hell…!
As soon as he realized what position he’d woken up in, he was startled and quickly scrambled off the bed. Despite having slept in the same bed countless times, this kind of intimate skinship that crossed the line was a first.
“…”
But he couldn’t be certain if it truly was the first time. Since Tae Igyeol always woke up first, it was possible that this had always happened, but Tae Igyeol had separated their close bodies when he got up. And maybe he hadn’t mentioned it to avoid embarrassing Mo Eunje. A reasonable suspicion arose that perhaps Mo Eunje just didn’t know that he had such terrible sleeping habits.
Should I sleep on the sofa from now on…
If he knew Mo Eunje had such atrocious sleeping habits, he should have said something earlier, but Tae Igyeol was just sleeping soundly. But it was also a bit strange. About a month and a half ago, Tae Igyeol had been so drunk that he’d overslept, causing Mo Eunje to wake up first, but they hadn’t been in this position then. Besides, Mo Eunje always felt most comfortable sleeping straight on his back, so he wondered why he suddenly had developed sleeping habits that even lovers might find uncomfortable.
Anyway, he was glad he’d woken up before Tae Igyeol opened his eyes. If they’d awakened facing each other in that position from earlier, it was obvious they would have both been embarrassed and things would have been awkward for a while, best friends or not. Because they were closer than anyone else, even a small action that crossed the line was all the more embarrassing.
Mo Eunje gathered his underwear and went to the bathroom in the living room, trying not to disturb Tae Igyeol’s sleep. Seeing how he hadn’t gotten up by noon despite usually waking at dawn, it seemed like fatigue had accumulated as he cared for Mo Eunje, whether knowingly or not. On top of that, yesterday he had made gumbo and then had drinks in the evening, so it was no wonder he was knocked out. Thinking that he should let Tae Igyeol sleep until he woke up on his own, Mo Eunje took a shower.
After showering, he headed to the powder room to apply skin lotion, and noticed that the bedding had been neatly arranged. The sound of the shower running came from the bathroom attached to the bedroom. It seemed Tae Igyeol had woken up already, though he could have slept longer. While listening to the regular sound of the water, Mo Eunje moisturized his face and put on sweatpant shorts from the inner dressing room. He was putting his head through a t-shirt as he was passing by the bathroom door when—
“Haa, nngh…”
The moment a husky breath was heard from beyond the bathroom door, Mo Eunje froze in place. It was a rough exhalation filled with desire, leaving no room for other interpretations to anyone who might hear it. If he were washing, the shower water would be falling irregularly, but he now realized that the sound was steady, as if the water had just been left running.
This was something that could easily happen to a healthy young man in his prime—no, something that should naturally happen—but Mo Eunje was so flustered that he instinctively fled to the living room as if escaping. Scenes he shouldn’t recall automatically played in his subconscious mind. It was something he didn’t want to know—no, something he shouldn’t know.
“You crazy…”
Muttering to himself, he paced around the living room, unable to even sit on the sofa. He tried hard to take deep breaths and think pleasant thoughts to find his composure. Then he felt ridiculous for getting so worked up over something as natural as releasing desire. Once he rationally and objectively grasped reality, his mind gradually calmed down.
“Why are you standing there with your t-shirt half on?”
“Huh?”
Only when Tae Igyeol, having finished his shower, came out wearing a robe and asked with puzzled eyes did Mo Eunje realize that he only had his head through the t-shirt.
“Ah…”
Mo Eunje awkwardly fumbled to put his arms through the sleeves.
“I’m not particularly hungry right now, what about you?”
Though he was accustomed to feeling hungry as soon as he woke up, today he had a feeling that anything he ate would just sit heavy in his stomach. And such intuitions were rarely wrong.
“Then let’s eat later.”
Tae Igyeol, having made the decision, sat on the sofa and picked up the remote control.
Mo Eunje hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should also sit down, but instead went to the powder room to thoroughly dry his hair with a hair dryer. Since Tae Igyeol had only shaken the water from his hair, Mo Eunje thoughtlessly grabbed the hair dryer to dry it for him, but then stopped as if entranced.
Previously, he would have done it without a second thought, joking that he was returning the favor since Tae Igyeol had dried his hair when he was sick. But now, his intuition told him he shouldn’t. Having fairly good intuition, he couldn’t ignore this feeling. So he returned the hair dryer, which he had carried to the bedroom door, back to its place and went to the living room with only his phone.
He climbed onto the sofa and was habitually about to lie down with his head on Tae Igyeol’s thigh when he froze mid-action. The actions he had performed unconsciously and casually as a habit now made him self-conscious and nervous, wondering if it was appropriate. Having stopped awkwardly in a half-lying position, he neither got up nor lay down, supporting himself on his elbow while frantically thinking.
Honestly, he didn’t dislike doing this with Tae Igyeol. It was just that his intuition was telling him it wasn’t right anymore.
“First you stop halfway through putting on your clothes, now you stop halfway through lying down.”
Muttering this, Tae Igyeol pressed down on Mo Eunje’s shoulder, forcing him to lie down. The thigh supporting his head felt comfortable, but at the same time, his nerves were on edge for no reason, creating a tense atmosphere that felt like something could happen at any moment. Tae Igyeol had merely offered his thigh out of habit, yet Mo Eunje couldn’t understand why he was acting this way. Looking down with his gaze lowered as he lay on his side, Mo Eunje spoke.
“Hey, I think I’m getting stressed about my new work again.”
“Why?”
“My nerves are too sensitive. And I don’t know what to write.”
Tae Igyeol’s large hand approached and began to gently stroke his hair. The slow, affectionate touch felt pleasant yet strangely irritating. It was because in all the years he had rested his head on Tae Igyeol’s thigh, he had never once done such a ticklish act. Just as Mo Eunje was considering whether to playfully point this out without making Tae Igyeol feel bad, a deep voice was heard.
“Just write what you’re good at.”
“What I’m good at?”
“Writing convincingly about each character’s narrative within natural ordinariness, without relying on special events—that’s your talent and the strength of your writing.”
“Wow, that sounds like a literary critique. You just sounded really formal. What’s this, why are you being so awkward?”
Having received unexpected high praise, Mo Eunje subtly raised himself to escape from Tae Igyeol’s touch. Since it was the first time Tae Igyeol had praised his writing, he couldn’t hide the corners of his mouth rising involuntarily.
“Anything else? Tell me in very specific detail. Don’t leave out even the smallest thing, be extremely thorough.”
He turned his body completely toward Tae Igyeol and sat cross-legged. Tae Igyeol, who had been choosing which movie to watch, put down the remote, crossed his legs, and met Mo Eunje’s eyes with a slight tilt of his head.
“You said it sounded like a literary critique. And that I was being awkward, I believe.”
“…Fine, forget it. I was wondering why you were suddenly giving me all these compliments.”
Mo Eunje, having easily given up, flopped back down, and right on cue, Tae Igyeol uncrossed his legs and straightened them. It was only when his head touched Tae Igyeol’s thigh that he realized with an “oops” how frightening ingrained habits could be. And how difficult it was to break away from familiarity.
Having just gotten up and lain back down, it seemed excessive to get up again. So he lay straight to prevent Tae Igyeol from stroking his hair and turned on his phone screen. Tae Igyeol must have chosen a movie, as a cheerful intro music began to play. Mo Eunje bent one knee and placed the opposite foot on it, tapping along to the rhythm as he logged into his SNS. He discovered that an unexpected person had left a comment on the photo he had posted yesterday with Gye Minho from the lamb skewer restaurant.
“Huh? Actress Shin left a comment.”
“Why would Shin Dael?”
“We’re SNS friends. I found out she was following me, so I recently followed her back. But Actress Shin oh…”
Mo Eunje, who had been rambling according to his stream of consciousness, became aware of the piercing gaze and unconsciously closed his mouth. He couldn’t bring himself to ask why Tae Igyeol had tried to block their relationship when he knew she had a longtime boyfriend and when Mo Eunje wasn’t even interested in her. He was afraid of what answer might come from Tae Igyeol’s mouth.
“First you stop halfway through putting on clothes, then lying down, and now you stop halfway through speaking. Why are you buffering so much today?”
“Actress Shin seems to want to eat lamb skewers today. She asked where it was because it looked delicious, so I told her. Maybe it’s because of the stress from my new work. I keep zoning out for some reason…”
After offering what he thought was a reasonable excuse, Mo Eunje glanced at Tae Igyeol discreetly. Tae Igyeol checked his phone, paused the movie that had just started, and tapped the screen with his thumb as if sending a message. Then he lifted Mo Eunje’s head, put a cushion under it, and stood up.
“I need to go out for a bit.”
“Where to?”
“My father’s company.”
“Is Uncle calling you now? Should I come along? Should we get lunch there?”
“I’m not going to see my father.”
“Then?”
Mo Eunje, still lying down, looked up at the standing Tae Igyeol with round eyes. Tae Igyeol rubbed his chin as if it was difficult to answer, then reluctantly opened his mouth.
“…Cha Hyunwoo is coming to the company now, so I’m going to see him briefly.”
“Ah, oh, okay, sure. Have a good trip.”
Having heard a name he hadn’t expected, Mo Eunje waved his hand with an embarrassed smile. He tried to make his creakily moving arm appear as natural as possible as he picked up the remote. He fixed his eyes on the TV as he resumed the paused screen.
He thought he had crossed a line, but fortunately, it seemed that Tae Igyeol had returned to the safe zone.
