In the end, his mouth opened before he could even choose his words.
He could overlook Seonha’s excessive behavior as if he’d been struck by lightning from a clear sky, but his buttery words and actions—as if he’d melted hundreds of butter sticks into them—were too much to endure any longer.
The precious Young Master had drawn a bath for this insignificant commoner. And his way of speaking was so sickeningly sweet that goosebumps rose all the way to the crown of Hongdan’s head.
Seonha himself just kept grinning. It seemed like he’d even anticipated this reaction from Hongdan.
Doesn’t he realize that makes him look even more insane? Goosebumps seemed to rise all over Hongdan’s body.
Whether the person in question was disgusted or not, Seonha bent his waist slightly and met his eyes with an even more leisurely gaze.
“I’ll set out your change of clothes. It’s not good to stay in hot water too long, so don’t go over an hour.”
Having dropped that affection like a bombing raid, he went off to the kitchen where a subtly savory smell was drifting from. Left behind, Hongdan could only let out an empty laugh.
“Ha.”
Could that really be called affection? What the hell was that bastard thinking, holed up in his room all weekend?
The atmosphere had seemed oddly different since this morning, but he never dreamed it would come to this.
He’d stopped whining like a child and was behaving docilely, so Hongdan had thought he’d been hurt by what he’d said and given up on his feelings. But looking at what he was doing, it seemed he’d clearly revised his strategy. Appealing to him with a more mature demeanor.
How many times does he need to be told before he at least pretends to understand?
Hongdan strode forward to remind Seonha once again of the firm line he’d drawn. However, before he could even take five steps, Seonha’s face suddenly popped out from behind the wall. Startled, Hongdan involuntarily swallowed his breath.
“Hic-!”
Damn it.
His breathing ended up disrupted in that instant and he got the hiccups. Even a script for a typical comedy sketch would be called forced and childish if written this way.
Naturally, Seonha’s cheekbones rose pleasantly.
“Kup…”
“Don’t laugh, hic. You, bas-, hic. tard.”
“Okay, sorry. You were just too cute.”
“Don’t say, hic. that kind of, hic… God, damn, hic. it.”
“Kuhup.”
Would it have been better if he’d punched that annoying mouth instead?
Hongdan glared intently at Seonha’s shoulders, which were shaking violently as he tried to hold back his laughter. But even in the midst of this, the damn hiccups wouldn’t subside and his chest kept heaving up and down. He just looked even more ridiculous. Unable to yell at the top of his lungs as his temper dictated, Hongdan could only grind his lips.
Having somewhat composed his laughter, Seonha brought water to Hongdan, who was still busy fuming. After gulping down more than half of it, Hongdan’s breathing gradually began to find its rhythm again. Seonha stood there quietly until Hongdan’s hiccups completely stopped. Like a secretary.
Having emptied everything that remained, Hongdan wiped his clearly moistened lips roughly with his forearm. Seonha naturally tried to take the empty cup from his hand. But Hongdan immediately tightened his grip on it with his right hand.
“I’ll do it.”
And with that he passed by Seonha and headed to the kitchen. Seonha followed behind him at a leisurely pace without a word.
Just as he nearly reached the sink, Hongdan whirled around to properly deliver the warning he’d decided on earlier. But Seonha’s mouth was faster.
“Don’t be scared for no reason, Hongdan.”
“What?”
It was an ambiguous statement.
The glass slipped from Hongdan’s hand for a moment. Fortunately, Seonha immediately cupped his palm underneath to support it. Then he tilted his head to lower his gaze and said gently,
“I’m not trying to seduce you right now, I’m just doting on you.”
“…”
“Just enjoy it.”
What the…
His mind truly went blank like a lie. Hongdan couldn’t come up with a response because no words came to mind. He wondered if it was just a simple tremor from the cringey expression, but his heartbeat was rather calm.
Right. Hongdan was quietly confused.
Alone and calm within Seonha’s disaster-like affection.
In the meantime, Seonha crinkled his eyes once more.
“I’d be even more grateful if you took it for granted.”
Thud-
The moment Seonha’s words ended, the strength finally completely left Hongdan’s hand too. Thanks to having his hand ready underneath, the glass didn’t break, but if Seonha hadn’t prepared for it, Hongdan’s foot would surely have gotten scratched.
Realizing this, Hongdan unconsciously cast his gaze down to check the floor. Seonha seized this opportunity to immediately grab his shoulder and turn him toward the living room.
“Go wash up. The water I drew must have gotten cold already.”
“Huh? Hey, wait. I still have something to say…”
Hongdan struggled, but he couldn’t match Seonha who was determined to push through. Seonha pushed Hongdan’s back with even stronger force.
“I said I’m not trying to seduce you. I’m telling you I’m not asking you to like me.”
“No, so that’s exactly…!”
“If you say that one more time, I’ll leave this house even if you tell me not to. So don’t worry.”
“…”
At those words, Hongdan lost any meaning to resist. He could only stand in front of the bathroom as Seonha led him.
When he glanced back before opening the door, Seonha had already hidden back in the kitchen. Only the occasional clinking sound of dishes bumping against each other could be heard from behind the wall. Hongdan took off his upper garment, feeling a strange sense of incongruity.
Thanks to opening the door right away, warm steam enveloped Hongdan before he could feel the chill. It was quite a nice warmth. Hongdan didn’t hesitate any longer and fully immersed his body in the rippling bathtub. Then the awkwardness that had settled in a corner of his heart was quickly washed away too.
***
Hongdan faithfully followed Seonha’s words to just enjoy it. Honestly, he couldn’t deny that his body was comfortable. Even now, he was leaning at an angle against the sofa while Seonha was crouched at his feet with both knees up. The so-called master and servant structure. He even felt a faint sense of satisfaction from it.
“Hongdan, hand.”
The tangerine Seonha had carefully peeled came up onto Hongdan’s hand. He must have been fiddling with it for a while to arrange it nicely for eating. The bare surface even gave off a strange impression. Hongdan looked down at Seonha, who was already fiddling with the second tangerine, and muttered.
“…Your hands are going to turn yellow.”
It was a voice so small it was practically a mutter to himself, but Seonha didn’t miss it. He immediately raised his head and his eyes sparkled.
“It’s okay. Is it good?”
He seemed ready to go get a refund right away if it wasn’t good. Honestly, the taste wasn’t that special. But he didn’t particularly want to trouble the fruit shop owner, and it definitely exceeded the range of sweetness he liked, so Hongdan nodded for now.
“Yeah, well. It’s not too sour.”
“That’s a relief. You don’t like sour things, Hongdan.”
“You remember all sorts of things after throwing away ten years.”
Pulling off pieces one by one didn’t suit Hongdan’s temperament at all, so he stuffed the half-remaining tangerine into his mouth all at once. Then fresh juice burst throughout his mouth, making his mood lift for no reason. Hongdan unconsciously bobbed his ankle. Seonha didn’t let this pass either. He smiled silently and sped up his peeling even more.
“There’s a lot. Eat lots.”
“Just peel up to that one. Don’t overdo it again for no reason.”
Hongdan lightly tapped Seonha’s side with the top of his foot. It would be a disaster if he returned a mountain of tangerines just because he showed he liked them a bit. However, Seonha didn’t even pretend to be pushed away and prattled on while peeling the skin with his neat nails.
“You know I got a goal? Besides finding my memory within 3 months.”
“Mm, getting hit 100 times by me?”
“No, why would a person set that kind of thing as a goal.”
He then rolled his eyes at Hongdan’s mischievous joke. Even so, he didn’t stop the work of turning the tangerine into a smooth orange sphere.
Is he still the same in this way too?
Seonha used to stubbornly persist at rather useless things. Hongdan let out a chuckle at that sight.
“The you I know was originally the kind of guy who’d set that kind of thing as a goal.”
“…I was probably a bit cooler than that.”
Seonha’s lips jutted out. Then he finally placed the cleanly trimmed tangerine in Hongdan’s hand.
Hongdan split the fruit that had care put into it into quarters and put one chunk into his mouth. He wiped the juice that leaked between the corners of his mouth with his pinky finger and looked down at the remaining three chunks.
It suddenly occurred to him that Seonha probably hadn’t even tasted it himself since he’d been peeling fruit for him right after finishing the dishes. Should I put one in his mouth, he briefly considered, but soon changed his mind.
“Not at all. You’re better now, rather.”
