Arriving in front of his house and getting out of the car, Hyedam stared blankly at Leo who was following him out. When he stepped back a few steps to create distance between them, at his appearance following again, Hyedam had no choice but to ask, “Why are you following me?”
“I’m going to watch you go inside the house.”
“We’re in front of the house.”
“I know.”
The look in Hyedam’s eyes watching him who insisted on following when he just needed to go up a few stairs and take the elevator wasn’t very kind.
“The driver is waiting for you. You must be tired, go home quickly.”
“If we go up to the house together during this back-and-forth, we could save my time. Don’t you think so?”
At Leo’s actions sneaking closer, Hyedam shook his head and entered the building. I’d rather die than be sick. Hyedam, who had no means to overcome it when Leo insisted on strange things, stood in front of his front door and turned his gaze to him again.
We came all the way to the front of the house. Go.
Though he didn’t open his mouth, Hyedam conveyed his meaning by rolling his large eyes around, and at Leo’s chin gesture indicating he should hurry up and open the door, he quickly pressed the password.
Beep beep beep.
After pressing the six-digit number, an incomprehensible warning sound came from the door that should have opened with a ding.
Ha.
Hyedam, who let out a short sigh, pressed the familiar numbers again.
Beep beep beep.
Hyedam’s touch pressing the numbers again became slower than the first time. He pressed each one clearly and pulled the handle, but only a warning sound returned from the door that should have opened smoothly.
“What is this?”
With a muttering sound, Hyedam’s fingertips moved again but the firmly closed door wouldn’t open. Recalling how he’d struggled this morning when the door wouldn’t lock, Hyedam raised his hand and rubbed his forehead. Was it not just the locking that was broken, but the opening too?
While he hesitated for a moment, Leo’s hand moved, and whether he’d memorized the house number in between, Leo pressed the password accurately, but the broken door only made the same warning sound.
The door won’t open? Then. Let’s at least try calling Hera. Since it’s a system that manages the entire house, wouldn’t it know a way?
Bang!
“Hera.”
Hyedam, who kicked the door, called Hera while stuck right to the door.
— Yes.
“Hera, open the door!”
When Hera’s voice was heard faintly beyond the door, Hyedam tapped the door lightly with his fingertips and spoke.
— Due to an unknown problem, the door currently cannot be opened.
“What? Hey! Fix it. That’s why I pay you a subscription.”
— This is beyond my capabilities.
“What can you even do?”
— Shall I contact a door lock repair company?
“Open the door!”
— The door lock is broken due to an unknown problem.
Stuck to the door, Hyedam, who had been having a repetitive conversation with Hera, slowly turned around at the small sound of laughter heard from behind.
“Don’t laugh.”
“Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“My house.”
“Me?”
“Yes, Hyedam-ssi. Let’s go.”
Standing crookedly with his arms crossed and touching his chin, Leo’s face held a faint smile. If he hadn’t directly confirmed the malfunction this morning, it was a situation where he could sufficiently misunderstand that this guy had done something.
But that can’t be.
“It’s okay. I can go to Junseok’s house.”
There was no answer to Hyedam’s words as he leaned against the front door and tapped it lightly with his fingertips. Leo still touched his chin and expressed all his intentions by slightly raising his eyebrows.
“There are suitable accommodations nearby where I can spend a night.”
This time Leo’s head moved up and down slightly.
“Will you go if I promise not to touch even a finger?”
“You should at least wet your lips before saying such things.”
“Ah, you caught me.”
Watching Leo speak naturally as if truly regretful, Hyedam straightened his body that had been leaning against the door and bowed his head.
“Since the situation is like this, I’ll impose on you for just one night.”
“A lifetime is fine too.”
His head was too complicated to examine each and every one of his feelings about how his heart was or how his mood was. Though he hadn’t really done anything, recalling the comfortable rest his endlessly sinking body craved, Hyedam pressed the elevator button firmly without responding to his words.
“Are you tired?”
“I’m okay.”
“Come here. I’ll hold you.”
As soon as they got on the elevator, at Leo’s actions of speaking on his own and pulling him into an embrace, a hollow laugh came from Hyedam’s mouth. Since Christmas that day, though they met for the first time today, his strangeness seemed to have amplified by about twice.
His appearance of acting as if he had feelings for him while maintaining a certain courtesy or distance had disappeared completely, and he was in a dazed state from the bombardment of words directed at him all day. It was true that he was tired and exhausted. He was just curious about all of it—how he could so eerily recognize his condition and act accordingly.
But if he brought up this matter, it seemed like he’d hear unbearable words again, so what Hyedam chose was silence.
When Leo, who hugged him tightly as if holding a stuffed doll, patted his back, the strength drained from his slightly stiffened body. Though he knew he shouldn’t get used to this touch, this body temperature, this feeling, whenever he was just by his side, all the firmly established defense mechanisms helplessly deactivated.
Now even the reason why he was trying to push him away had become ambiguous. He recalled Leo’s face turning away with a cold expression, as if he were a person he was seeing for the first time, as if their eyes had accidentally met with a complete stranger, even though their gazes had clearly met.
When they met again, the unfamiliar gaze looking at him and the eyes full of curiosity felt distant.
“How did you know I was tired?”
“Do you think I wouldn’t know that?”
“It’s stranger that you know.”
“Hyedam-ssi knows too. How my mood is, what state I’m in.”
As soon as the elevator door opened and he felt the strength in the arms embracing him release, Hyedam pushed him with both hands to create distance between them.
He kept doing confusing things—though he’d been ambiguous until now, today he seemed particularly active, but there was no way to know Leo’s inner thoughts.
“How would I know that?”
Hyedam, who walked ahead, opened the back seat door and waited for him to get in the car.
“Stop this cute act and get in the car quickly.”
The hand of Leo, who followed from a couple steps behind, grasped Hyedam’s hand that was holding the car door and pushed him inside the car. Having inadvertently received his escort and gotten into the car, Hyedam turned his back on him who got in the seat next to him and leaned back comfortably in the chair.
“Want to move?”
On the way from his house to Leo’s house. At the words spoken by Leo who had been quiet the entire time, Hyedam made a small sound and closed his eyes. There had been the fun of seeing the streets glamorous with lights, but what he chose was to pretend not to hear, to pretend to sleep.
Though he recognized in his head that he shouldn’t act this way in front of him or show gaps, his body didn’t listen especially today. This was also part of why he tried to distance himself from him more. The boundary between work and private life had been completely crushed.
Until now, he’d been able to somehow block him from intruding in the middle of work, but as time passed, he was swaying to his tune.
But now, out of the blue, move? A car, clothes, and now a house too? Well, recalling what was said earlier about high wages with no labor, Hyedam closed his eyes even tighter.
“Or want to live together?”
Say whatever you want. I’m currently getting a good night’s sleep right now. And I already made an appointment with a real estate agent to look at houses this weekend. Whatever you say, my life is rolling along just fine in its own way.
“There are many empty rooms in the house, and it’s convenient for work when we move together.”
Don’t talk nonsense to a sleeping person, you rest too. And how very convenient it would be to move together. Sticking together 24 hours so I can’t even breathe properly?
“Nothing gets an easy answer.”
Yeah. You’re talking to a wall right now. So you can’t get an answer. Because it seemed like he ended the conversation as if exhausted by talking alone, Hyedam slightly opened the eyes he’d been keeping tightly closed. Since they were driving fast, the lights outside looked blurred.
“I’ll understand it as moving.”
“Team Leader.”
Afraid that if he left it like this, he’d encounter a situation where he suddenly went home one day and all his belongings had disappeared, Hyedam bolted upright and looked at him.
“Leo.”
“Yes, Leo Lewis.”
You want to correct the title in this situation? Hyedam called his full name.
“Yes.”
When their gazes met with Leo readily giving a comfortable answer with light in his eyes like a puppy who’d been waiting to be called, strength entered Hyedam’s jaw. If he’d let his guard down even a little, he would have almost smiled along with him.
“Want to get hit?”
Hyedam, who quickly controlled both his expression and emotions, spoke in a serious voice.
“They said it’s okay to beat someone up if they don’t listen, and right now I really want to do that.”
“You want to hit me? You can, but it’ll hurt. Where do you want to hit? How should I be hit so Hyedam-ssi hurts less?”
Leo’s voice was no different than usual as he made a momentarily surprised expression, then calmly grabbed his hand and made him form a fist.
Watching him try his clenched fist hand against various parts of his body, Hyedam first flicked away his hand that was holding his wrist with his other hand.
“I’m not moving. Never. Got it?”
“Ah, why! I’ll let you hit me as much as you want, so can’t you move?”
Hyedam let out a long sigh looking at the large frame three years younger than him throwing an unreasonable tantrum. Something had gone wrong, but from where exactly and how had it gone wrong? So where and how should he fix it—he had absolutely no idea.
