Jukyung sighed deeply enough to sink the ground. He gripped his bangs as if to tear them out, then swept them back. Then he got up from the fence and started pacing around.
“So you really don’t remember clearly.”
Jukyung suddenly stopped and muttered to himself. Since he had his back turned, the sound was muffled, but I understood what he said.
“Huh? No. I remember everything. Except when I briefly dozed off in the middle…”
“No, I mean what I’m saying is…”
Jukyung turned around to say something, but stopped when he saw my face.
“Never mind. Forget that. So… it wasn’t that you hated it?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
“And you don’t feel bad either?”
“No… I don’t.”
“……”
“……”
Jukyung stared at me intently with an expression deep in thought. That gaze somehow felt uncomfortable, so I restlessly scattered my gaze everywhere. After what felt like quite a long time to me, Jukyung opened his mouth again.
“Let’s go back. Do you want to stay longer?”
I briefly looked around, then slowly shook my head.
The arboretum was nice, but there were too many people, and it seemed like we’d roughly seen all the places to see. My tired body also wanted to rest somewhere comfortable now.
“Then let’s go.”
Jukyung walked over while brushing off his clothes, then grabbed my hand firmly. My body reflexively flinched. Jukyung’s eyes narrowed as he looked back.
“Why? You said you didn’t hate it.”
“Th-that’s true, but. I’m not used to this kind of thing. Won’t people look at us strangely?”
“They’ll think we’re an alpha-omega couple. Or gay. What does it matter if they look at us strangely?”
Jukyung interlaced our fingers completely and went back down the forest path. Following down in a dazed state, I didn’t really understand why saying last night wasn’t bad led to being okay with holding hands in broad daylight. But since Kwon Jukyung had finally calmed down, I just stayed quiet because I felt burdened by the prospect of the atmosphere becoming awkward again by nitpicking.
“……”
The body heat and sensation wrapping around my hand wasn’t bad either. I think I somewhat understood why Kwon Jukyung liked interlacing fingers.
***
The car ride back to Seoul was quiet. There was no more particular conversation about last night’s events. After exercising all night and walking for a long time in the afternoon, my body spread languidly into the plush seat.
“Sleep a bit. I’ll wake you when we arrive.”
Jukyung said, apparently seeing my sleepy eyes slowly closing and opening.
“Yeah… no. Aren’t you tired too? If you’re tired, tell me. I’ll drive.”
Though only if he’d be okay handing over the wheel of that precious car to me.
Perhaps realizing it was a token offer, one corner of Jukyung’s mouth lifted pointedly.
“I saw your eyes almost completely closing, what driving? Are you going to die young in an accident? Just sleep comfortably. It’s not that far anyway.”
“……”
I wanted to pretend to lose and sleep, but I felt sorry about sleeping next to the driver, and on the other hand, my pride was hurt by the feeling of being inferior in stamina even though we slept similarly, so I forced my eyes wide open while suppressing my drowsiness.
But when I came to my senses again, the car was already parked in front of some restaurant in downtown Seoul, and Jukyung was about to wake me up saying let’s eat dinner before going in.
After leisurely finishing our meal and returning home, it was quite late. Just sleeping briefly in the car had relieved my fatigue to some extent, so I was in fairly good condition. Jukyung opening the front door next to me had his usual expressionless face, with his lips looking slightly stiff. Well, after causing all that chaos last night, walking continuously at the arboretum, and even driving, he must be quite tired.
If Jukyung goes to bed early, should I enjoy some alone time at dawn for the first time in a while? Tomorrow is Sunday, so it would be fine to take it easy until late. My phone’s photo folder had tons of newly taken pictures. Most were of grass and flowers taken at the arboretum, but there were also photos of Jukyung I’d secretly snapped.
I should transfer them to my sketchbook. But the moment I thought that, the first image that came to mind wasn’t a photo saved in my phone’s album, but Jukyung’s smiling face in my head. A very lewd face looking down at me from above with slightly flushed eye corners.
You’ve gone crazy, Kang Doyun.
Heat surged up in an instant.
What am I even thinking? Hasn’t the heat from heat cooled down yet?
“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming in?”
I heard Jukyung’s voice from beside me. With the front door open, he was looking at me with eyes saying this was strange.
“Huh? I-I should go in.”
I hurriedly moved my body through the open door while covering my reddened face with my hand as if to hide it. I was thinking I should take off my shoes and quickly go into the dressing room.
Tsk.
My arm was suddenly grabbed.
“Why… eek?”
A strange sound burst from my mouth in surprise.
Because Jukyung, who had been following in, suddenly grabbed me and pushed me against the wall. Before I could say anything, his lips attached to mine.
“Mmph, mm?”
It was absolutely absurd. I mean, if there had been some kind of atmosphere forming or signs of it, maybe. Hadn’t he been looking at me like I was crazy just moments ago when I was blushing?
Jukyung desperately clung to my lips, stuck his tongue in, and pulled my waist. When our lower bodies stuck close together, hot heat pressed heavily against me. Wait, when did this happen? Until he opened the door, his face had been calm to the point of being cold, so it didn’t match his current lower body situation at all.
“Mm… wait, wait. Aren’t you going to wash?”
I pushed away Jukyung’s shoulders as he pressed against me below while rubbing and tried to undress me first, speaking urgently.
“Mm… in a little bit.”
I don’t know where the person went who would wash first before doing anything as soon as arriving home. While the hand that stripped off my outer clothes unhesitatingly unbuttoned and opened my shirt, the other hand went down behind and grabbed my buttocks.
“Wait, Kwon Jukyung, wait.”
“Why?”
Jukyung buried his lips in my nape while breathing hot breath. I was distracted by the feeling of burning everywhere as if catching fire, but no matter how I thought about it, being swept away like this didn’t seem right.
“Let’s talk a bit… Ah!”
Jukyung, who had been tracing down my collarbone, lightly bit my nipple. My toes curled and my body shrank.
“L-let’s talk!”
Jukyung licked my chest with his tongue while just glancing up at me.
“What talk?”
“I mean…”
About our relationship? But our relationship. Trying to say it like that made my body twist uncomfortably.
Jukyung pulled my hand down below.
“If you were me, could you talk in this state?”
My face burned at the heat pressing overwhelmingly into my hand. So why did this suddenly happen!
“And aren’t we done talking? Didn’t you say you liked it? What more do we need to talk about?”
I definitely remember saying I didn’t hate it. But when did I ever say I liked it? And even if I said I liked it, connecting it like this is a bit too much…
“It’s a bit funny to say this now… but yesterday was also the alcohol…”
“Don’t give me that alcohol nonsense.”
Jukyung cut off my words and suddenly pulled away. The temperature disappearing from my body that was pushed away cooled as coldly as Jukyung’s face.
“Make a proper excuse. It’s not like I don’t know your alcohol tolerance, what blame on alcohol? You said you didn’t hate it, but. It’s not enough to sleep together again?”
“Why are you being so sarcastic? Aren’t you bothered at all that we became this kind of relationship overnight? It’s strange. Sleeping together when we’re not even dating…”
“Then let’s date.”
My face crumpled harshly.
“Are you joking? Can you say that so easily? Besides, you…”
I hesitated for a moment. But it was something I had to address. My stomach strangely burned to say it.
“You said you have someone you like.”
Jukyung shut his mouth tight. He glared at me with a face strangely heated. It seems I touched a part I shouldn’t have. He wants to sleep with me, but doesn’t like me bringing up the person he likes—is that the psychology? What trash, that bastard.
“That has nothing to do with you.”
Jukyung retorted in a low voice. This time I flared up.
“If it has nothing to do with me, then don’t say let’s date, you bastard.”
“What do you expect from me? That I came to like you, so I want to say let’s date? Don’t tell me…”
