Different Dreams in the Same Bed (18)
When they came down to the hotel parking lot, Jaehyuk was waiting. He scrunched up his face and gave Dogyeom, who was leaning on Sejin, a harsh rebuke.
“Idiot. Great job.”
Dogyeom, who had committed a sin, silently glared at Jaehyuk. Jaehyuk scoffed.
“What are you looking at? You think you did well just now? You probably went running after him all happy because he’s a celebrity.”
“Fuck.”
“Serves you right. Really.”
Dogyeom opened his mouth as if to argue back, then closed it again. His stomach churned as if it would turn inside out.
“A viper’s spawn has got a mouth on him!!”
In the end, Sejin hurriedly calmed down the shouting Dogyeom.
“Hyung-nim was really worried. Even now he came out to pick you up on purpose. Calm down.”
Jaehyuk whirled around, climbed into the driver’s seat, and shut the door with a thud. Dogyeom was momentarily at a loss for words. Of course he was grateful and relieved, but somehow he felt wronged. Sejin patted the shoulder of Dogyeom, who was making a complicated expression.
“Get in for now.”
Dogyeom nodded and got in the back seat. Unlike before, all the tension in his body had released. His face heated up on its own as he thought about what a stupid thing he had done. He banged his head against the window.
“Keep it secret from Jeongbae hyung.”
“Like it’s something good to blab about everywhere.”
He felt a surge of emotion at the sarcastic remark, but Dogyeom kept his mouth firmly shut. Still, he was relieved that they would keep the secret. He wanted to avoid upsetting Jeongbae hyung at all costs.
In the awkward atmosphere, neither the driving Jaehyuk nor the quietly sitting Sejin spoke. They had passed through a congested section and were crossing a Han River bridge when Dogyeom, who had been quiet as a mouse, opened his mouth.
“It’s dirty. It’s unpleasant.”
After rubbing his mouth against his sleeve several times, he suddenly said something out of the blue.
“Why do people even have sex?”
Both the driving Jaehyuk and Sejin sitting in the passenger seat froze simultaneously. Their eyes met at the same time with expressions saying ‘what is he talking about right now?’ Sejin’s hands trembled.
“What, why are you suddenly acting like an inexperienced virgin?”
Jaehyuk scoffed and answered nonchalantly with an expression that said it couldn’t be.
“I only lost my virgin tag a few months ago, though?”
“……”
Instantly, the inside of the car froze. Both Jaehyuk and Sejin, who were looking at each other, had the same expression.
What the… Lee Dogyeom has no experience? With that face, that way of speaking, that behavior… constantly cursing and making dirty jokes, always acting like a slut, they’d secretly thought he’d steamed and eaten about a hundred alphas.
“…Don’t tell me you’re a virgin?”
Jaehyuk asked in disbelief.
“Did you think I was trash like you?”
Silence.
Not even breathing could be heard inside the car. Jaehyuk and Sejin froze like stones.
“…Then that co… condom.”
The great Yoon Jaehyuk stuttered. It couldn’t be. On that night when Jeongbae had been forced into heat, Lee Dogyeom had definitely handed over a condom…
“Jeongbae hyung gave me that. He said omegas should always carry them.”
“……”
“So you went today without any experience and without any fear?!”
Jaehyuk’s mouth fell open in shock and he shouted. And Sejin also had a fierce expression as if he would kill someone. Only Dogyeom, unable to read the atmosphere, acted casual as usual.
“Oh right, that condom, I gave it to you, viper. I didn’t even open the packaging to see what it looked like—”
“Don’t say another word.”
At Jaehyuk’s words, Dogyeom blinked.
“Why? What? Is it weird?”
There was no answer. Jaehyuk’s hand quietly patted Sejin’s back in the seat next to him.
“I’m going up first.”
After that, in suffocating silence, the car arrived at Pyeonghwa Apartments where Jeongbae lived. Jaehyuk pressed his forehead hard with his hand as if tired, then waved his hand and went up first. Dogyeom was about to follow casually when Sejin’s hand roughly grabbed him and pushed him toward the wall.
“Why… why are you doing this? Suddenly.”
This wasn’t the usual gentle and kind Kim Sejin. A cool expressionless face and the heavy gaze of an alpha. It was exactly like he was about to explode. Dogyeom instinctively stepped back.
“Let go of this… it hurts.”
When Dogyeom struggled, Sejin’s eyebrows twitched. The strength loosened a bit momentarily, but he absolutely wouldn’t let go of his wrist.
“Lee Dogyeom.”
It was a low, heavy voice.
“From now on, tell me honestly.”
“What?”
A shadow fell across Sejin’s face as he tilted his head. Honestly, it was a bit scary. Dogyeom was completely intimidated but pretended to be tough. When he replied indifferently, that same expression came right up into his face.
“Are you really… that… inexperienced?”
Dogyeom’s eyes widened.
“You’re making this whole atmosphere just to ask that pathetic thing…”
“Answer.”
His tone was firm as if it would break. Dogyeom blinked in confusion.
“I said it earlier. Why do you keep asking? Why is that important…”
“That’s enough.”
Sejin cut him off. And he bent closer. A distance where their lips could touch. Dogyeom drew in a breath.
“Then was the kiss your first time too? With me…”
Sejin’s eyes… were different from just before. Confusion, jealousy, anger, worry—several emotions were mixed together and wavering. Dogyeom stammered.
“Why would I do something as disgusting as smearing spit—”
The strength of Sejin gripping his wrist became a bit stronger… then slowly, very slowly, released. Dogyeom swallowed.
Sejin said very slowly.
“From now on… don’t say things like that to anyone but me.”
Dogyeom looked up at Sejin blankly. Is this… something to get this angry about? Before Dogyeom could answer anything, Sejin whirled around and walked through the dim complex. Dogyeom couldn’t move from that spot for a long time. The inside of his chest felt strangely stuffy.
Dogyeom stood still for a long time. When he looked at his wrist, the red marks left behind burned hot.
“…What the hell, really.”
He grumbled with his mouth, but one side of his chest tightened. Uncomfortable, stuffy… and a little, scary too. And an even stranger emotion slowly, very slowly raised its head.
‘Don’t say it to anyone but me.’
An unfamiliar tone.
Wavering eyes.
Hot hands.
Dogyeom’s ears grew hot and he whirled his head around.
“Shit… who the hell is he to get so angry and make a fuss…”
Sarcasm was mixed in, but his voice trembled very slightly. Dogyeom clasped his wrist. Warm-like, painful-like, strangely tingling.
When he entered the house, Jeongbae with a cast on his arm came running in one step to greet Dogyeom.
“Did you eat? Why are you so late today?”
At the kind worry, one corner of Dogyeom’s heart throbbed.
‘Sorry, hyung. If I had just endured today, I could have made you suffer less…’
Words he couldn’t bring himself to say. His eyes moistened without him knowing. Not even taking off his shoes, just biting his lips tightly, warm body temperature came and hugged him tightly.
“Did something hard happen at work? Our Dogyeom.”
In the warm embrace, Dogyeom stood still for a while, even stopping his breath. Jeongbae’s heartbeat slowly reached his ear. Regular, stable pulsing.
‘It’s okay now.’
The moment he tried to think that, the texture of the shower gown he’d felt in the hotel room earlier suddenly came to mind. Dogyeom squeezed his eyes shut. The sticky hands that had roughly and persistently groped his body.
‘Let’s not think about it.’
“Dogyeom?”
When his name was called, Dogyeom buried his head a little deeper. Strength entered the fingertips gripping Jeongbae’s clothes, then soon released. Dogyeom didn’t say anything. Instead, in Jeongbae’s embrace, he inhaled a little more deeply. He somehow got through today well, but turning Han Siheon into an enemy was clearly a mistake. But.
‘…Let’s think about it later.’
Warm air. Familiar body temperature. The certainty that this person at least wouldn’t see him as dirty made Dogyeom’s chest ache strangely.
‘For now, let’s just not think about anything.’
Dogyeom steadied himself that way.
***
“I have plans today, so I’ll go out and come back.”
“Mm, okay.”
“Take out the side dishes in the fridge and eat, and since your arm is inconvenient, tell Lee Dogyeom to set up and clear the table.”
Yoon Jaehyuk having dinner plans was a first since they’d started living together. That’s how much Jaehyuk didn’t want to be apart from Jeongbae for even a moment. It wasn’t strange for a full-grown adult, and a college student in his prime at that, to meet people, but Jeongbae’s mood was peculiar.
‘Who is the appointment with?’
He tried to suppress his curious feelings. He wasn’t yet certain whether he had the right to ask such things. A relationship where both know they like each other but don’t acknowledge it. That was exactly the relationship between Jaehyuk and Jeongbae.
Jeongbae unconsciously clenched and unclenched his palm. If he asked such things persistently, it felt like making a ‘lover’ declaration, so his mouth wouldn’t open.
“I’ll be back.”
“Mm.”
Jeongbae couldn’t say any of the things he actually wanted to ask and stood blankly at the entrance to see him off. Jaehyuk, who was putting on his shoes, paused and pressed his lips to his cheek with a smack.
“Don’t wait up, sleep first. I might be a bit late.”
“Mm.”
The door closed and Jeongbae carefully stroked the place where the lips had touched with his palm. Even with this level of skinship, his heart pounded as if it would burst. Strangely, the cramped house felt empty.
Dinner without Jaehyuk. Dogyeom, whose expression had been bad since earlier, was particularly quiet today. Usually it was noisy with the sound of him and Jaehyuk chattering together… Jeongbae put filleted croaker meat on Dogyeom’s rice bowl, which he was eating half-heartedly.
“It’s okay. Hyung, you eat. I’ll do it. Your arm still isn’t healed…”
“My right arm is fine. Hurry up and eat.”
After filleting the meat several times and checking his own rice bowl, it hadn’t decreased at all. For some reason, he had no appetite.
‘I should have at least asked where he was going, what time he’d be back.’
Idly, he checked his phone several times, which he usually didn’t look at much. As expected, there was no contact from Jaehyuk. It had only been about an hour since he left, so it wasn’t strange, but…
The fact that he was waiting for contact while not even being able to send a text himself felt frustrating.
Jeongbae poured barley tea into the rice bowl that had barely decreased. The barley tea slowly seeped between the grains of rice. He picked up the spoon and stirred it once, then put it down. He didn’t feel like eating anymore.
