Seongyeom had quite a struggle since his arm had no strength, but he succeeded in covering Siwon with the blanket.
“Ah, that was exhausting.”
Seongyeom, who flopped down beside Siwon, turned his head to admire the face of the man sleeping soundly. The space between those two eyes was always wrinkled, but his sleeping face was just taut without a single crease. His skin was good too.
“Totally baby skin, what the heck. Hehe.”
Before he knew it, Seongyeom was lying on his injured shoulder side again. It was to see Siwon’s sleeping face. A handsome man really is the greatest work of art bestowed by God. Even though he was already looking from right up close, he leaned forward with the greed to appreciate him a little closer. In doing so, he ended up pressing on the stitched area.
“Ack!”
Seongyeom, who curled up his body, hurriedly turned toward the ceiling. Though Seongyeom lay facing away from Siwon with a tearful expression, laughter still leaked out from the corners of his mouth. Thinking it had been a truly satisfying viewing time, he was stroking and stroking his aching shoulder again and again when—
Siwon’s large palm seized Seongyeom’s thin waist and pulled him in. Trapped in Siwon’s embrace without a chance to react, Seongyeom looked up flustered.
“Wha, what?! You weren’t asleep?!”
“I was.”
“Hng!”
At the gesture of trying to break free, Siwon put strength in his arm once more and added.
“Until someone touched me.”
The more he tried to escape, the stronger the arm strength became. Eventually, Seongyeom, leaning against that firm chest with his neck drooping, felt strength returning to Siwon’s voice. In contrast, he had just exhausted all the stamina he’d prepared for today making all sorts of a fuss admiring his appearance.
“I got it, so… could you please let this go?”
It feels like my waist is going to break.
He must have hugged too hard—blood wasn’t flowing. It felt like oxygen was gradually disappearing from his head. Seongyeom asked Siwon with his consciousness growing hazy. His vision was flickering.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
The answer that came back was shockingly a refusal.
No, President. Does this seem like a joke to you? I really feel like I’m going to lose consciousness.
For a moment, the urge to protest welled up in Seongyeom, but he held it back and asked once more. It absolutely wasn’t because he was overwhelmed and surrendered to Siwon’s superior strength.
“Ugh… why…? Why would that be…?”
“Because I heard very moving words.”
“What…?”
“That you’d stay by my side. Is that sincere?”
The low, sunken voice was unfamiliar. At the suddenly heavy atmosphere, Seongyeom raised his head to look at Siwon. He thought he’d be wearing that troublesome look as usual.
“That was…”
The black eyes he looked up at were showing an uncharacteristically anxious light. Seongyeom hesitated, unable to get his bearings at this unfamiliar appearance of Siwon.
“Answer. I asked if those words were sincere.”
“That’s…”
Only Seongyeom’s face floated in Siwon’s wavering eyes. Watching that, Seongyeom recalled a dream he’d had in the past.
The dream of swimming in an ocean with no one there. A black ocean whose depth couldn’t be gauged. Happy to be alone, I was eventually overtaken by a giant wave.
Seongyeom felt that if he answered honestly here and now to the President’s question, something irreversible would happen. Hired to teach kids but they won’t listen for the life of them, turned out to be mentally ill on top of that, and even likes the same sex. What if he’s planning to bury me in the mountains, saying I dared to make a scene with a gangster…?
Wow, fuck. That honey trap is no joke. I almost answered honestly for a moment.
Seongyeom, who had almost fallen into a sweet dream for a moment, restrained by Siwon’s firm arm, slapped his own cheeks repeatedly.
“What are you doing?”
At Seongyeom’s sudden self-abuse, Siwon released the arm that had been wrapped around his waist. To Siwon, who sat up halfway and held his hands, Seongyeom said with a grinning laugh.
“Of course I like you! I totally love the President! You pay me so much money, why would I dislike you?”
“…Huh?”
At Seongyeom’s extremely frivolous tone, Siwon’s eyes wavered greatly. Siwon, who slowly sat up, swept back his disheveled hair and ruminated on the words he’d heard in his sleep.
“That’s not what it felt like.”
“Aw, it was totally that kind of feeling. Want to see how big my heart is? Should I take it out for you?”
Seongyeom deliberately made hearts with his fingers even more exaggeratedly while shooting winks. At that sight, Siwon let out a hollow breath and pressed hard on his brow.
“Hey…”
At Siwon’s ominously sunken voice, Seongyeom abruptly stopped the action of shooting finger hearts in all directions.
“…Yes?”
Seongyeom answered, summoning a dying goat again. Siwon lowered the hand that had been rubbing his eyes. His eyes had a chill cold enough to freeze even the air in the room. Seongyeom, who quickly straightened his posture, smiled innocently.
“Lower the corners of your mouth.”
“Yep.”
Cold sweat was pouring out from under the wrapped bandages. Despite sweating so much, Seongyeom suddenly felt the urge to urinate.
“Sit up straight.”
“Yep.”
Before he knew it, Seongyeom, who had ended up being scolded in a very different sense on the bed, sat loosely kneeling. Because of his injured ankle, he ended up in a posture like a frail heroine.
“What was it I heard earlier…?”
Siwon, who had been pacing in front of the bed, muttered as if to himself. In front of him, Seongyeom, who had been only watching Siwon’s mood, fidgeted while pulling his bottom back as much as possible and tensing his thighs. It feels like my bladder is going to burst…
“…Not answering.”
At the voice slightly more menacing than usual, Seongyeom bit his lower lip.
Fuck! I thought he was sleeping but he was listening to everything from the start?!
“Listening to everything… Even when I’m asleep, my ears are always open.”
Now he’s even using mind-reading! Mom…!
Seongyeom smiled broadly out of habit to avoid being caught with his startled feelings exposed, then immediately lowered the corners of his mouth at Siwon’s gaze, which looked colder than a water ghost encountered at 3 AM. Instead, he wore a subtle smile and bobbed his head.
“Ah… I see.”
“What are you nodding at?”
Because if I pretend to empathize appropriately, my story will be easier to swallow too…
“I… ahem. Well, you see.”
Only after running through a simulation once in his mind did Seongyeom open his mouth that he’d been keeping shut. Siwon, who had been pacing in front of the bed with gentlemanly steps, also propped one foot up on the bed.
“Tell me.”
“Wi-with just my mouth?”
“Hm?”
Siwon raised one eyebrow as if asking what he meant.
“I-it’s paid to hear it again…”
It was too embarrassing to say it again. How much will I look like someone who’s greedy for money? Seongyeom felt embarrassed even after saying it with his own mouth and hung his head.
“…Ha. What should I do about this?”
Even in the midst of this, Siwon sweeping his temple with his hand was still like a single cut from a photo shoot. Just looking down at me makes me want to be conquered by those eyes. It’s severe. Very severe, Lee Seongyeom.
Seongyeom placed his hand on his trembling chest. A man as superior as that will choose not me but another man—no, a much prettier and better woman. When the future was obvious, he couldn’t give everything away. Earlier, briefly immersed in sentiment, he’d said he’d stay by his side even if it meant cutting his salary or whatever, but he knew the reality was an extremely losing deal.
Yeah, I have to earn every penny I can. If it’s obvious he won’t become my man, I have to at least pick the pocket of someone who’ll become someone else’s man. Seongyeom thought himself admirable for meticulously looking out for his own future and continued watching Siwon’s mood.
“Haha… President, really. Save your money. You know I’m expensive.”
“Ha…! Hahaha!”
“Hahaha…”
At Seongyeom slipping away like a loach, Siwon burst into laughter. Though Seongyeom didn’t know why either, he recalled a phrase from some psychology guidebook that said the best reaction is empathy, and awkwardly laughed along with Siwon.
“Ah… you’re a complete piece of work. Lee Seongyeom.”
“Me? Yes, a bit… haha…”
Though he was still smiling along with Siwon, Seongyeom gradually felt something was going wrong somewhere.
Didn’t he just call me a bastard…? Didn’t the President just call me a bastard…?
Siwon scanned Seongyeom’s entire body sitting with his two legs stuck together like a tragic heroine. His white ankle wrapped in bandages like his shoulder came into view.
“Now that I look, only your mouth is alive…”
“M-me? Aw, what would I…”
“You do. Your mouth is totally flapping. Enough to lift and drop a person’s heart.”
“……”
Is it just my imagination that his words seem to have thorns? Seongyeom watched with tense eyes as Siwon caressed his injured ankle. Siwon sat down beside Seongyeom and said.
“Money. It’s important. Because it opens and closes your heart too. Isn’t that right?”
“……”
Siwon looked at Seongyeom with a calm smile. However, Seongyeom couldn’t smile back. Because that smile looked painful, like I’d seen once before. There was also the fear that Siwon might suddenly turn and grab his aching ankle. But the biggest reason he couldn’t smile back was…
Fuck…
His bladder was about to burst.
