While Iseo was opening and closing his lips like a fish, Taeju walked through the water again. He still bobbed his head while looking at Taeju’s crown.
It was strange. He had hesitated, not knowing what to say, but it seemed like Taeju had already heard those words and brushed them aside.
When the water came up to his waist, Taeju put Iseo down. Fortunately, he didn’t throw him. He’d been tensing up to his hair tips in case he did that, but Taeju took a big breath and sank into the water.
“If you relax, you’ll float in the water.”
Iseo looked at him doubtfully. Then Taeju demonstrated first, looking up at the sky and floating in the water. He looked very comfortable. His body swaying with the waves was like a current itself.
“Easier said than done.”
Iseo splashed water at his face. Taeju stood up on both feet, rubbing his eyes.
“I’ll hold your waist. You came all the way out here, are you going to go back without even floating once?”
He said while raising his eyebrow peaks. Iseo glared at Taeju once then stuck close to him and leaned on Taeju, who wrapped his arms around his waist.
“You can’t let go. Got it?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t fool around.”
“I got it.”
“Really. I hate swallowing water.”
“If you say it one more time, I’ll take it as you wanting to be dunked in the water.”
Iseo hit Taeju’s side once with his elbow then wrapped his arm around his shoulder, pretending nothing happened.
“I won’t do that, so just relax.”
He leaned his back on Taeju’s arm and lay his body on the water’s surface. A light chill ran through him at the feeling of the back of his head getting soaked.
“Your legs too.”
He could see Taeju’s chin. He was holding his upper body and looking at his legs. It was awkward. His legs seemed to be floating and also not floating. What was certain was that the moment Taeju’s hands disappeared, he’d be plunged into the water.
“Why are you tensing your butt so hard?”
Suddenly Yeon Taeju’s hand firmly gripped his buttocks. I knew it, he thought, and at the same time his body stiffened completely.
His entire face was submerged in water then pulled up. Because of the water flowing back up through his nose, Iseo coughed several times.
“Ah, that’s why I asked why you were tensing up.”
Taeju giggled while blaming Iseo. Even while watching Iseo cough until his face turned red, he calmly supported the back of his neck.
“K-cough! Pr-ahem! I told you to hold me properly!”
“Oh, hyung, you’re floating now.”
“What?”
“Ah, don’t tense up. Try doing it like before.”
He could feel the hand supporting his upper body gradually disappearing. According to the undulation of the water surface, his arms, legs, torso, and head swayed. He could feel his soaked hair swaying like seaweed on the water. He was floating on water.
“You’re doing well.”
The sky was directly in front. The sky, transparent as if diluted with water, felt both distantly far and close. The sun rising in the very center shone down on his entire body.
“Is it bright?”
Taeju put his own sunglasses on Iseo. With the black film added, it became much easier to see the sky.
“Amazing.”
Taeju laughed. Iseo only rolled his eyes to look at him. He held his hand and floated his own body on the water too. Their bodies that floated up like rafts were tightly connected by their clasped hands.
“What is?”
“That you taught me.”
He gave a small snort. The waves were calm. It felt like he’d become a balloon floating on the water’s surface. It felt like his body would float up into the air and swell up and burst.
His heart lost its rhythm, repeatedly slowing down and speeding up. He was unbearably happy right now, yet suddenly his throat choked up.
Iseo looked at Taeju rather than the sky. The line from his forehead to his nose bridge was firm, and the line from his philtrum to his lips had curves.
“Taeju-ya.”
He turned his head to look at him. He wouldn’t be able to see his eyes. That gave him some courage. Taeju was looking at him with a slightly smiling face. Seeing that face, his mouth naturally opened.
“I…”
“Let’s stay a little longer before going out.”
Taeju whispered, cutting off Iseo’s words. His face was still smiling. Brightly, like before. Just looking at it was dazzling and his heart pounded as if it would shatter. Iseo stared intently at Taeju’s face, almost obsessively.
Taeju looked at him too. The two looked at each other like that for a long while. According to the swaying water surface, Iseo’s body bobbed. His heart bobbed even more greatly.
***
It was quite a while later when Iseo came in wrapped all around in a beach towel. Taeju had bundled up Iseo’s body tightly, but he himself had no intention of covering his bottom, squeezed into a small swimsuit.
Seok Iseo likes him. While being hit by the water falling from the showerhead, Taeju thought of Iseo. His cool face and white body, the way he’d narrowed his shoulders shyly wearing a swimsuit.
Pretending to be in love while having sex wasn’t difficult. He just had to have slightly more refined sex than before. But Iseo asked him to treat him like he was the only one in the world.
Honestly, he wasn’t confident. He tried to do only as much as he could. But as he acted like that, it wasn’t as difficult as he thought. He’d never devoted so much time so kindly to any of the women he’d dated, but it wasn’t really difficult. He was surprised at himself. Was I this decent of a person?
He washed off the salt and rubbed foam on his stiffened skin. Taeju thoughtlessly wiped his body while thinking entirely of Seok Iseo. Even though they’d been together just moments ago, and he was someone he’d see as soon as he finished washing.
The reason it wasn’t difficult to treat him affectionately, to act like there was only Seok Iseo for him, was precisely because of that. He was truly chasing him as if he were his lover. When he turned around, he was looking at him.
When their eyes met, he was embarrassed and awkward yet couldn’t hide his happiness. Even pretending otherwise was part of his shyness.
Honestly, it was amazing he hadn’t noticed before. When his inner thoughts were so transparently visible.
Just moments ago too, he’d whispered to him with his eyes several times. That he liked him. That he was so happy to be by his side. His skin felt like it would peel off from that ticklish, hot gaze. In both good and bad ways.
“Teach me again next time.”
It was when he finished showering and left the room to drink water. Iseo had been sitting on the sofa in the second-floor hallway and approached when he saw him.
Taeju smiled as if slightly frowning. These obvious actions were both irritating and ticklish. This was Seok Iseo who’d made even Yeon Seongju curse. What had he said was displeasing—he couldn’t quite remember what was said. That same person was now waiting in front of his room door like a dog guarding the house.
“Sure.”
Taeju answered without even looking at Iseo. His strides toward the stairs were wide. The sound of following came a beat slower. He felt like he knew what he was thinking. Why won’t he speak more affectionately? Why won’t he look at me?
“Yeon Taeju.”
When he went down the stairs, Seok Iseo’s footsteps echoed behind his own. Taeju only raised the corners of his mouth.
“Yeah.”
“Going forward. Not just floating.”
“Got it.”
This time too, Taeju replied briefly without looking at Iseo. On the first floor, an ahjussi he hadn’t seen in a while was on the living room side. When he saw Taeju and Iseo, he bowed his head in greeting.
“Director Park called.”
Taeju raised his chin and only lowered his eyes to look at Iseo behind him. As if noticing his gaze, the eyes that had been looking at the ahjussi quickly came and stuck to him.
“I see. Thank you.”
“Director Park? That rude bastard?”
Iseo opened his mouth slightly. Rather than being flustered, his hollow laugh burst out more. He looked up at him with an incredulous face.
“No matter what, you…”
Taeju just shrugged his shoulders. He moved his stopped steps again. Iseo followed, grumbling.
“Is hyung Director Park’s owner?”
“Owner what, is this the Joseon era?”
Taeju laughed.
“The more people you can boss around, the better. It’s sexy.”
He was curious what expression he’d be making at his words. He didn’t turn around. Even when he poured water into a cup and drank the entire cup, Iseo was next to Taeju.
He poured water into the completely empty glass once more. Iseo just silently watched what Taeju was doing.
“Drink.”
“Hm?”
