“Why am I the exception to all that kindness?”
When Hyedam was too flustered to answer immediately, Leo continued. Why am I the exception to that kindness? Because you’re truly an exceptional person. It was like that from the beginning, it’s like that now, and it will be like that in the future.
They had locked eyes, kissed, and even shared their bodies—how could he be treated the same as everyone else? When he looked at Leo, rather than thinking what a handsome bastard he was, he wanted to touch him. When he saw his slightly disheveled hair or clothing, his hands wanted to reach out first, and he had hesitated more than once or twice. Only after thinking about whether he should or shouldn’t do something could he finally touch his collar.
He had also stared blankly at those large hands as they absently used a tablet, held a pen to sign, or even used chopsticks.
Hyedam’s hand moved as he gazed blankly at Leo’s face looking down at him with slightly furrowed brows, narrowed eyes, and an expression full of displeasure. He slowly raised his drooping hand, past his own face to somewhere higher. His fingertips touched Leo’s cheek, which held warmth even on the cold street.
His eyebrows shifted slightly on his face still full of doubt and displeasure. When Hyedam, who had cautiously placed his fingertips on his cheek, moved a little more, Leo’s warm heat was soon transmitted through his entire palm.
“Treat me the same?”
If that’s what you really want, I’ll try thinking of you like everyone else. After meeting again, he had struggled with all his might to treat him like a stranger, like someone he’d just met, like a boss and subordinate connected only through work. It was overwhelming because it wasn’t going as he wanted, yet to think Leo also felt he was being discriminated against—it felt like all his efforts until now had gone to waste.
“If that’s what you want, as if it were nothing…”
Contrary to his words about treating him as just a workplace superior as impartially as he wanted, Hyedam’s thumb moved on its own. He liked this moment—touching Leo’s face and looking into his eyes that were a dark teal color. When you go from a warm restaurant out onto the cold street, the alcohol usually wears off, but instead of his head clearing, it only became dizzier.
He wanted to drink coffee that was warm and fragrant enough to bring him to his senses. And Hyedam knew how he could taste that coffee. If he rose on his heels to gain height here, if Leo would just lower his head a little more, he could press his lips to Leo’s.
If he touched the tip of his tongue to those hot, soft, pliant lips, if their lips overlapped and their tongues intertwined, the coffee scent would fill his entire body. It was more delicious, richer, and warmer than anything in the world—no, it was hot.
“…Fuck. Who told you to say something like that with that kind of expression?”
Hyedam couldn’t finish saying he would try to treat him as just a workplace superior. His thumb, which had been tracing Leo’s face and touching the corner of his mouth, stopped. Warmth seeped into the back of Hyedam’s hand as he had been blankly lost in fantasy. As he pondered the meaning of Leo’s words, spoken through gritted teeth and muttered like a growl, Hyedam tried to hesitate and step backward.
“Do you know how difficult this really is?”
His defenseless hand was caught, and as Leo pressed his face to his wrist and spoke, his breath tickled Hyedam’s wrist. He couldn’t carelessly open his mouth under that gaze watching him.
“When I try to approach, you run away and put up walls. So when I try to give you space and watch over you, you provoke me like this. Should I just do whatever I want? Can I do that?”
It wasn’t asking for his opinion. It was like a command, a notification. That from now on, he would do as he pleased… Even in the hazy drunkenness and the drowsiness slowly creeping in, he could clearly grasp that meaning. The cold wind continuously brushing past his body should have sobered him up, but perhaps it was his undoing that he had downed about half a cup of soju in one go, saying it would be a waste to leave it—as time passed, Hyedam couldn’t control his body or heart as he wished.
“Um… Team Leader-nim. Taxi…”
Captivated by the eyes that had bewitched him, Hyedam mumbled without even knowing what he was saying.
“See. You’re only thinking about escaping again, aren’t you?”
Leo’s lips curved up slightly and his narrowed eyes softened gently. His tone was fierce, but his face was smiling more beautifully than ever.
“Who told you to be so ugly? If you weren’t like this, maybe I wouldn’t be doing this. Hyedam-ah, you who drive people crazy, do you want to go home?”
The coffee scent he had craved so much wrapped languidly around his body from head to toe. And when the tone that had seemed to be scolding him just moments ago softened as if it had swallowed spring breeze and wound gently around his ears, Hyedam slowly blinked. And he answered with a small “Mm.”
He wanted to go home. He wanted to fall asleep under warm blankets.
“With me?”
This time, the word “No” came from Hyedam’s mouth.
“Play with me however you want. Whether like this or like that, I’m just a toy in our fool’s hands, so what can I do. I don’t care how you play with me, just don’t throw me away anywhere. I think I’d really get angry then.”
When he gently pulled Hyedam, who was blinking his half-closed eyes as if sleepy, his body came easily. Subtly releasing more pheromones toward him and wrapping one arm around him, he could feel him breathing deeply in and out while obediently nestled in his embrace.
“Let’s go home. I’ll take you.”
Saying words he didn’t mean, Leo accommodated Hyedam’s mood. He was usually blunt and curt, but in bed, it was right to hold him tight as he sweetly wound himself around Leo on his own. But Leo couldn’t act rashly according to his own desires and wants. What if Hyedam ended up hating him? Not being able to see those dimples that appeared so deeply—he couldn’t even imagine it.
When he was young, he couldn’t understand Daddy and Komom at all.
They were lovers and a married couple, and they had even imprinted—making them eternal companions. They were on equal footing, but in many aspects such as trait differences and physical differences, Daddy had the upper hand. That’s why he thought Daddy was the one leading the relationship. But in reality, everything was done according to Komom’s wishes. Sometimes Komom would say “No,” “Don’t,” “I don’t want to,” and he couldn’t understand how Daddy would do exactly as Komom wanted without a single word of protest.
But now he felt he could understand their relationship.
Hearing Hyedam mumble “Taxi…” while obediently standing in his arms, Leo told the lie, “I got a taxi.”
After putting the drooping Hyedam in the back seat of his car, which had been driven by another driver instead of Robert, and sitting next to him, Leo asked quietly.
“Are you sleeping?”
“…Mm.”
At the answer that came from Hyedam’s mouth while he sighed deeply, leaned toward the window, and kept his eyes tightly shut, Leo’s lips curved upward. Just earlier, when he had been talking comfortably without formality with Luna, whom he had just met today, his chest had felt tight.
The moment he saw the large-built friend who had suddenly appeared, he immediately knew he was the owner of the clothes he had worn at his house. He felt an inexplicable anger rising at them casually exchanging words mixed with profanity, thinking he couldn’t hear.
Luna was just someone he met through work, and the large friend must be someone he had been close with since childhood. That’s why they could talk comfortably and laugh together. Even though he understood all of that in his head, he couldn’t help being angry at Hyedam for not looking only at him.
He also didn’t like how Hyedam tried to take responsibility and wrap things up to the end even while stumbling drunk with slurred speech. He could just lean on him, just leave it to him. If he was sleepy he could sleep, if he wanted to rest he could rest, but Hyedam desperately tried to do everything himself.
Only after checking that the taxi number Luna got into matched the car number sent when the call was made did Hyedam let out a long sigh and run his fingers through his hair—and Leo ended up throwing an absurd tantrum.
That incredulous expression… Unlike the words of denial, Hyedam’s gaze and his scent of plain bread had instantly become lewd. He wasn’t asking for the same kindness as others. He wanted to become an absolute relationship, deeper and richer than that.
Until they arrived at Hyedam’s house, what filled the car was the subtle scent of bread and the coffee aroma that would complement it nicely. Carrying the deeply sleeping Hyedam in his arms, using his fingerprint to open the front door and entering, Leo kindly laid him down properly on his bed.
“Sleep well.”
After tidying his disheveled hair and kissing his forehead, Leo gazed at his sleeping face illuminated by moonlight for a long time. He had fed him delicious food, and though Hyedam probably didn’t realize it, he had bought a lot of things he wanted to give him.
He had said goodbye, and now all that was left was to leave this house, but Leo, unable to take his eyes off his sleeping face, slowly moved his body. He took off the jacket he was wearing and lifted the blanket he had carefully tucked up to his shoulders in case he got cold.
When he squeezed his large body onto the small bed and barely managed to lie on his side, Hyedam was in his arms. There was a small mumbling sound as if he was uncomfortable, but soon his breathing became peaceful, so Leo also closed his eyes and savored to his heart’s content the pheromones flowing from him.
