But isn’t the charm of watching the sunrise seeing the sky and sea dye into various colors before the sun rises? If we accidentally fall asleep again and miss the time…
“It’s fine, you can wake up at seven. I set the alarm. Don’t worry and sleep.”
Jukyung mumbled sleepily while tying me up tightly with his long limbs.
“……”
Jukyung then quickly fell back asleep. The strength gradually drained from the arms and legs that had been wrapped around me. Would it really be okay? I glanced at the gap in the thick curtain covering the large window. It still seemed quite dark. But if I washed up and did this and that, time would pass quickly.
Ah, I don’t know. If push comes to shove, I could just splash water on my face, throw on a padded jacket over my tracksuit, and run out. Though this house was at a somewhat high elevation, the sea wasn’t that far. He said it would take 5 minutes by car, so whatever.
I shrank my body and crawled back into the blanket. Since I didn’t like stuffy air, I’d weakened the heating, so the room was a bit chilly. Thanks to that, the warmth inside the blanket was just right. But sleep didn’t come. I’d slept enough, and I’d developed the habit of waking up early from giving dawn lectures. I just fidgeted with my eyes open in the darkness.
I thought I’d just briefly closed and opened my eyes, but it seemed I’d fallen asleep in the meantime. Jukyung had gone somewhere, and I was alone lying on the bed. I bolted upright and looked around, when through the gap in the curtain covering the window, it seemed like dim dawn light was shining in.
“What is this? Didn’t the sun rise? Where did that bastard Kwon Jukyung go?”
I rolled off the bed and searched for my phone to check the time. It was just past seven o’clock.
“Huh? I was about to wake you, but you happened to get up?”
Jukyung spoke from behind. Coming from somewhere, he was just now opening the bedroom door and entering.
“Hey, what time is it now? We’re late. It’s already starting to get bright!”
I said as if stamping my feet. While washing up and getting dressed and going to the beach, the color of the sky would change moment by moment. It was a waste to miss it all.
“The preparations took a bit more time than expected. Come here.”
Jukyung beckoned with his hand as if calling a puppy again.
Preparations? What preparations? I was dumbfounded and scanned Jukyung up and down. All he had was disheveled just-woke-up hair and a shower gown over his underwear.
“What preparations did you make looking like that?”
I grumbled and approached him. Jukyung smiled as if he had some scheme, then pulled my arm. I thought we’d go to the dressing room next door or downstairs, but instead he dragged me upstairs.
“Huh? We’re late, where are we going?”
“The place with the best view here.”
Jukyung dragged me to the top of the three-story building.
“Waiting for the sun to rise on the beach while cold and with aching legs is no good. Let’s watch while leisurely taking an outdoor bath here.”
The place Jukyung guided me to was an attic room with a somewhat lower ceiling than other places, but about half the space was separated by glass doors and decorated as a large bathroom. In the centrally positioned fairly large bathtub, hot spring water dyed green rippled while emitting steam, and various plants and landscape stones decorating the edges created an atmosphere like an open-air bath.
“Wow…”
I was mesmerized not by the bathroom decorated like an open-air bath, but by the scenery beyond the window facing outside. The pitch-black space where nothing could be seen except the noisy sound of waves when we arrived yesterday was now filled completely with an infinite sea and sky. The deep blue sea and the sky above were spewing out all sorts of mysterious colors, showing off the sign of the sun just about to rise.
“Take off your clothes and get in. I’ll bring coffee.”
Jukyung lightly pushed me toward the bathroom. Inside the attic was a small kitchen to enable simple cooking, and naturally a small refrigerator and table and such were all equipped.
I glanced at Jukyung’s side and glanced at the bathroom side, then hesitated a bit. There were no nearby buildings on the windowed side, and given the structure that was recessed inward, there seemed to be no possibility of someone peeping this way, but with the entire front made of glass, I couldn’t help feeling completely exposed.
“Not getting in? You said we’re late?”
From behind, Jukyung urged teasingly. The color of the sky was changing moment by moment. Whatever, I don’t care. I flung off the clothes I was wearing as pajamas and opened the glass door naked and entered the bathroom.
“Whooa.”
Through the open window in front, the winter dawn air rushed in freezingly. It wasn’t just that it looked like an open-air bath—it was a real open-air bath. As the cold air surrounded my bare body, goosebumps instantly rose all over. I quickly dipped my feet into the bathtub.
“Ugh.”
This time I shuddered at the heat. What is this? Is this a trap Kwon Jukyung made to torment me?
I curled my toes and twisted my waist making a fuss, then turned my body to go back in, but Kwon Jukyung was smiling slyly with the glass door firmly shut. Don’t tell me I’m being left outside naked alone? Was that his plan from the beginning?
I grabbed the glass door and tried to open it, but it was already locked. Jukyung was already walking back toward the kitchen with his back showing from far away. I cursed and called Kwon Jukyung, then could no longer stand the cold and shivering, gradually pushed my body back into the bathtub. As the stinging warmth wrapped around my body, a sigh flowed out without me knowing.
After enduring the brief pain, my body also began to adapt to the heat of the hot spring water. As I gradually straightened my body that had been curled up at first and could lean back leisurely, only then did I fix my gaze outside the window.
A reddish energy that seemed like orange or like gold covered right above the horizon. Above that, things like grayish blue and purple and violet and crimson were dyed mixing together like wrongly spilled paint.
“It’s art.”
I poured out an exclamation without knowing.
“It’s fortunate the weather is clear. The colors are vivid, which is nice.”
Before I knew it, Jukyung had come in and picked up my words while immersing his body in the bath. Hot water surged and struck my cooled shoulders.
“Here, your latte.”
Jukyung handed me a latte packed with ice. When I raised my hand wet with hot water and received the cup, the coldness felt twice as strong. An iced latte in the middle of winter. When I put it in my mouth and rolled a sip, the cold and smooth taste instantly cooled my insides that had heated up and went down.
In that state, we each enjoyed our drinks and watched the wide-open sea and sky. The sky that had been dyed navy blue and deep pink and purple gradually became dyed in intense orange, and now it was entirely a feast of yellow and orange and red. As those red colors mingled with the clouds scattered like stains here and there, it formed a spectacular view as if on fire.
Then suddenly, without warning, the sun rose. My eyes stung at the burning intensity.
“Maybe I should have brought sunglasses.”
When I muttered without knowing, Jukyung made a laughing sound beside me.
“What, is that your wish?”
“Hm?”
“You make a wish while watching the sunrise. Didn’t you make one?”
Ah, a wish. There was such a thing, right. I’d lost such ticklish purity long ago.
“……”
But somehow not doing it felt a bit unsettling too. There’d be no loss from doing it. I closed my eyes and briefly rummaged through my heart.
Though I don’t love them tremendously, I still hope my father and hyung live healthily and well. I hope Jukyung and I, and my friends are also healthy and happy. I hope this year I earn a lot of money, pay back the debt I owe Jukyung, and can go around spending money freely. It would be even better if I became a star instructor and could generously buy luxury goods that Kwon Jukyung likes. Please let me become a star instructor earning billions of won a year, Mr. Sun. And also Jukyung and I… Jukyung and I…
What? Jukyung and I what? What should happen?
At the suddenly blocked thought, I opened my eyes wide. And I was startled that Jukyung’s face was closer than expected.
“Aack. Wh-what? You.”
“You had an expression like you had no intention of making a wish, but why so long? What did you wish for?”
“Huh? Just that I earn a lot of money and can pay back the debt.”
Jukyung’s eyes narrowed.
“That’s all?”
“Yeah. What could be better for you than me paying back money quickly?”
I grumbled and pushed Jukyung’s face. Grabbing that wrist, Jukyung pulled it down.
“Well, I’m not sure. But I know for certain what’s better right now. Watching the sunrise is over with this, right?”
“Well, yeah. Now I’m gradually getting hung… mmph.”
Jukyung’s lips firmly pressed against my lips. He bit my lips as if reproaching, sucked lightly making a smacking sound, then pulled away.
“Eat slowly. Let me handle what I’ve been urgent about since yesterday first.”
His lips slid down along my neck. I grabbed Jukyung’s head in confusion.
“W-wait a minute. Here?”
“No one’s watching. Can’t be seen from outside. Fresh and nice, isn’t it?”
“Hey, even so, too…”
Jukyung clicked his tongue slightly, then took out a small remote from the drawer of the low table beside the bathtub. When he pressed it, a thin water-colored screen smoothly descended and began to cover the window. I thought it would go all the way down, but it stopped halfway.
“Let’s compromise with this much. There’s a certain charm to doing it in broad daylight while looking at the sky and sea.”
Such a perverted bastard. I glared at him in disbelief, and he made eye contact and grinned. Only at times like this is his smile generous. He’s really an annoying bastard. Since smiling faces seem to work well on me, he’s definitely using them calculatedly. As lips came pressing again, I just let the strength out of my body.
