“Coco.”
“Hm?”
Siwoo, who had given his thighs to the cat and his feet to the dog, looked up at Evan standing awkwardly in front of him.
A dog and a cat. And surrounded by one person, Siwoo’s hand was already stroking the soft fur of the cat. The texture of the well-groomed cat’s fur was always pleasant to feel.
“I like you too.”
At Evan’s words, spoken with a slightly troubled expression, Siwoo blinked.
“Rush and Roxy seem to like you, and I like you too.”
What’s going on right now?
It hadn’t even been 24 hours since he woke up, yet too many things were happening.
“Maybe… I like you too?”
A dazed answer came from Siwoo’s mouth, unable to properly grasp the situation.
With his feet given to Rush and his legs given to the cat Roxy, Siwoo remained sitting there while Evan organized his luggage.
After exchanging awkward words, awkward silence filled the space again. Naturally, Siwoo’s hand continued to stroke Roxy, and soon purring began to flow.
“You like this?”
When he asked while stroking Roxy, she answered with a small “meow,” and the corners of Siwoo’s mouth lifted slightly. But immediately when Rush barked with a “woof,” his movements froze.
Rush’s heavy paw lifted, and this time it covered both of Siwoo’s feet.
Then he placed his chin on Siwoo’s knee. At the behavior that seemed to be asking to be petted too, Siwoo awkwardly raised his hand and placed it on Rush’s head.
It was completely different from touching Roxy. A hotter, firmer feeling.
When he slowly stroked, Rush’s eyes gently closed. And his lips twitched as if he were smiling.
“Meow.”
This time a complaint came from Roxy. The creature who had been closing her eyes and purring until now moved. Soon a small white paw cut through the air.
“……”
Not just once, but in an instant, several cotton punches struck Rush’s face hard.
The problem was that even while being beaten like that, Rush didn’t budge at all. Perhaps even more angry at such an indifferent response, Roxy raised both paws and attacked Rush’s face.
“……Roxy. I don’t think there’s any impact at all.”
Speaking sincerely, Siwoo soothed the excited Roxy. Then he raised both hands and placed one on Rush’s head and the other on Roxy’s back.
Is this what I came all the way here to do, receiving animals’ whining?
When he moved both hands to stroke them both, peace returned again. A small sigh naturally flowed from Siwoo’s mouth.
Crack—.
At the sound of something breaking, Siwoo raised his head.
Evan, who had been sitting on the floor organizing luggage, was looking up at him.
“What?”
He asked quietly toward Evan who didn’t move even though their eyes met. Instead of answering, he shook his head and focused on organizing luggage again.
The moment Evan turned his gaze away, Siwoo’s fingertips stroking Rush flinched.
He felt like he should stroke Evan’s head too.
He had never expected that in England, which he was visiting for the first time in his life, he would be in none other than Evan’s room like this with the animals his family raised.
All those worries about whether this situation was a regression, what kind of relationship they had, what about my future—all of that disappeared. As he stroked the completely different quality fur of the two animals and looked at the garden trees swaying in the wind, what came to him was tranquility.
“But Rush is really big.”
It was the first time he’d seen such a large breed.
“It’s a breed called Caucasian Ovcharka, um, he probably weighs more than you do?”
“How heavy is he?”
“Doesn’t he weigh over 70 kilograms? I haven’t lifted him since he grew to a certain size. Since he grew up with Roxy from when he was young, sometimes Rush forgets about his own size and pounces, so you have to be careful.”
Evan, who had finished organizing his luggage, stood up and patted Rush’s back. As if it was their own signal, Rush, who had been enjoying the touch with his eyes closed until now, slowly got up.
“If you’re tired, do you want to rest a bit more?”
Siwoo shook his head and stood up. While doing so, he put an entire biscuit that was beside him into his mouth.
“Just think of it as taking a slow walk.”
Walking side by side with Evan, Siwoo felt like he had time-slipped. The armor standing in the long hallway and the large oil paintings brought that feeling strongly. The carpet laid out long concealed all the sound of their footsteps.
“We could do a photo shoot here. We wouldn’t even need to bother getting medieval European props.”
Looking around while sightseeing, Siwoo muttered to himself. Just taking pictures would make a photo spread.
“Do you like it?”
“What does it matter whether I like it or not. This painting is cool.”
Siwoo, who had been walking while looking at the paintings hung on the walls on both sides rather than looking ahead, stopped walking. Naturally Evan’s footsteps also stopped, and the two stood in front of the painting for a while.
“Evan.”
When he called his name, there was no answer, but Siwoo could tell that he was focused on him.
“We can do well, right?”
“……”
“We have a lot to do from now on. We’ll get busier. We’ll each do individual activities too. Right?”
Looking at the oil painting depicting people leisurely enjoying an outdoor picnic, Siwoo continued speaking slowly. It was something he was saying to him and to himself. Soon, whether he wanted it or not, he would have tea time with Evan’s parents, and then join up with the members.
Since there wouldn’t be time to talk quietly like this just the two of them, he brought up the words that were circulating in his head.
Siwoo was standing facing the painting, but Evan was standing looking at him.
“So?”
“Just let’s get along well. We’re very different, but we’re the same age. So what I want to say is……”
How should I say this? He wanted to end the discord rumors with Evan, who had even invited him to his home like this and was kind to him. Even briefly, while looking at the speculative posts written by fans and the videos they made, his chest had been stuffy the whole time.
And he was also scared that their relationship might have actually been that bad. Since he didn’t know their past relationship, he couldn’t speak carelessly, but right now it seemed like Evan would listen to anything.
“I really like you……”
He couldn’t finish saying “I really like you, so let’s support each other to the end as friends and get along well.” Siwoo, standing defenseless, staggered from a suddenly heavy force that pushed from the side.
“Rush!”
He definitely thought he was going to fall. But the mishap didn’t happen as he bumped into something solid. Instead, it didn’t take much time to realize that what was supporting him now was Evan.
Hearing a voice through the other person’s body was truly strange. His voice sounded lower, and the pronunciation spread slightly, giving a humming feeling.
“Are you okay? That guy doesn’t even control his strength well.”
Siwoo, held in Evan’s arms with his head leaning against his chest, couldn’t say anything. He couldn’t distinguish whether the pounding heartbeat was his or his own. It felt like being completely soaked in a deep scent.
This feeling was…… good, but a mixture of emotions of being embarrassed and not wanting to escape and not wanting to let go was tangled together.
And the words about not controlling strength were words Evan shouldn’t have said. Because of the arm wrapped around his waist, he couldn’t move his body at all, and the wrist caught in his hand tingled. Perhaps it was because he had grabbed Siwoo in a hurry as he was about to fall.
“Rush! You have to handle Siwoo carefully. He’s weaker than you.”
Hearing Evan’s words scolding Rush, Siwoo slightly moved his aching wrist caught in his hand. It was an action to try to escape from his hand, but his hand gripped his wrist even tighter.
“……”
Unable to say it hurt, Siwoo hit Evan’s forearm with his other hand. Let go. Let go, I’m telling you. Do you even know what we’re doing right now in the middle of your house’s hallway?
“You might have touched him as a joke, but Siwoo could get hurt.”
Still, Evan disciplined in a cold voice, and Rush, with his ears drooping down, whimpered and took a gesture acknowledging his mistake.
It’s not Rush, the wrist you’re holding right now hurts more!
Siwoo straightened his head that had been leaning against him and looked up at Evan.
“Evan.”
“Sorry. Rush……”
“Hand.”
“Hm?”
Evan, who had been looking at Rush until now, turned his head and looked down at Siwoo. They were unnecessarily close to each other. They could feel each other’s breath completely.
“Young master. Tea time is ready.”
“……”
He didn’t know where such strength came from, but Siwoo pushed Evan away with all his might. And because the other party was Siwoo, Evan, who couldn’t even defend himself, bumped into the wall.
“……Please come down when you’re ready.”
Following the sound of clearing his throat, watching the butler who finished speaking in a polite voice turn and leave, Siwoo covered his eyes with one hand. What am I even doing? This is just the beginning again, I really want to do well, but it felt like the first button was being strangely tangled from the start.
“Are you okay?”
How many times are you going to say that damn “are you okay”? It was a situation that could be fully misunderstood. So it seems like I should make excuses or explanations, but this is all because of you. It was like that last time too, and this time too it seems to be because of you.
“I guess I can clear up the misunderstanding.”
Siwoo, covering his eyes, muttered quietly as if talking to himself. I almost fell and in the process of being caught, this could totally happen.
When his surprised emotions subsided, only then did Siwoo, whose wrist hurt, cover his wrist with his other hand and gently touched it. It won’t bruise, will it.
“My parents must be waiting. Let’s go down.”
Having confirmed that there was nothing seriously wrong with his wrist, Siwoo headed in the direction the butler had disappeared. Perhaps being alone with Evan might be the most dangerous thing. Since you never know what will happen or where things will go.
