Click.
The sound of the door locking could be heard. At the same time, Haesung grabbed Dohyeong and pushed him against the shoe cabinet.
“Hyung, wait a moment.”
A flustered Dohyeong pushed Haesung away, but Haesung wasn’t one to be pushed away so easily.
With one hand on his waist and the other holding his face, he urgently pressed their lips together.
He didn’t want to give him even a moment to breathe. He only wished for him to be filled with his own breath and heat.
As he lunged at him as if to devour him, Dohyeong struggled to grab Haesung’s waist.
That’s enough, he muttered inwardly, but there was no way those words would reach Haesung.
When he barely managed to twist his head away, a very slight gap formed. Dohyeong, gasping for air, barely managed to speak.
“Hyung, I, let me breathe. Breathe, a little.”
“Where’s the time for that.”
Though he was breathing just as heavily, Haesung seemed intent on not giving Dohyeong even a moment’s respite.
He grabbed Dohyeong’s face again and turned it toward himself. Then their lips, which had been separated for a moment, touched once more.
The dizzyingly intertwined sounds of breathing circled around the shoe cabinet. The sensor turned on and off repeatedly, illuminating their movements.
‘Can’t… breathe.’
Unable to endure any longer, Dohyeong clenched his fist and tapped Haesung’s shoulder, pushing him away.
But there was no movement. As if that much wouldn’t budge him at all, he only continued to push himself forward.
‘Really, I can’t breathe!’
He felt like tears would come from the frustration. This time, when he hit his shoulder hard with both hands, Haesung finally pulled his face away.
Reddened eyes, rough breathing. And…
“Are you really a beast? Hyung, your eyes, right now, you know they’re completely turned over, right?”
Those pupils, glistening purely with desire, were nakedly revealed.
But Haesung, without showing the slightest wavering, shrugged his shoulders.
“Yeah. I already told you twice.”
“When did you do that? You never said the word ‘beast.'”
“One. I asked you to put a muzzle on me. Because I felt like I’d really become a dog.”
At his mischievous expression as he folded his fingers, Dohyeong could only stare at him blankly, unable to say anything.
“Two. I said I was going crazy because of you, so let’s see when we get home. At this point, shouldn’t you have noticed?”
His face turned bright red. He quickly turned his head to hide the rising heat.
It would be a lie to say he didn’t know. He had already noticed but just didn’t want to show it.
“Kim Dohyeong.”
Even at Haesung’s call, he couldn’t turn his head.
Perhaps he didn’t have the courage to meet his eyes.
“Dohyeong-ah.”
No, absolutely not.
Dohyeong squeezed his eyes shut instead.
“If you keep your eyes closed, it’ll be harder on you.”
He seemed to be smiling as he spoke. Ah, really. I’m going crazy.
Dohyeong let out a groan and slowly opened one eye.
And the moment he met Haesung’s eyes, he felt his breath catch.
“…This is bad.”
Because Haesung’s gaze was filled with even more desire than before.
“Why, why?”
“I can’t hold back.”
“Hyung, after we wash—”
Just as Dohyeong was about to throw out a word, Haesung lifted him up in one swift motion and slung him over his shoulder.
Then he quickly kicked off his shoes and strode into the room.
Dohyeong was flustered by the situation that unfolded so suddenly. He tried struggling, tapping Haesung’s back, but…
“Hyung, wait. Wait a minute! I want to wash up. I was on the plane for so long! Hyung!”
Haesung didn’t even pretend to listen.
A moment later, a soft feeling touched his back. It seemed to sink deeply but then supported him stably.
“Jung Haesung… ssi?”
“Yeah. Keep calling me.”
At the firm voice, his mouth snapped shut.
After a moment, warmth spread through his entire body again. Though it wasn’t unbearable, the tickling around his neck made him tilt his head back.
Hyung, the end of his short call trembled.
Haesung called hyung once more, but all that returned was shallow breathing.
Jung Haesung-ssi, at the end of the continuing call, a short answer was heard.
“A little more, call me.”
His head spun at the pleading voice.
With his outstretched hand, he carefully ran his fingers through Haesung’s hair.
He felt himself sinking into the bed.
Please don’t let it end as a dream, may it remain by his side forever under the name of reality.
He found himself desperately wishing.
***
“So while we were shooting at that café, I met a Korean resident there.”
“They recognized you?”
“Yeah. They said they loved Yehyun so much in the last season. After that, they searched a lot to see where else I appeared, but were disappointed because I wasn’t in anything.”
“You must have been happy.”
“…Very, very much so. It was touching too.”
Dohyeong, who had been chatting under the covers, glanced up to look at Haesung.
Haesung, who had been listening while holding Dohyeong’s shoulder, also looked back at him.
“What, you feel like crying? Should I hold you?”
“…I am grateful to that person, but I don’t think that’s why.”
At Dohyeong’s following words, Haesung seemed a bit flustered.
He hugged his shoulder a bit tighter, then turned his body slightly to look at Dohyeong.
“Did I say something wrong? Or… I said I was listening carefully, but did it seem like I was. Thinking about something else? I was listening to you well, Dohyeong. Really.”
At the sight of Haesung rambling in confusion, Dohyeong didn’t know what expression to make.
He felt like tears would come any moment, or he wanted to smile broadly from happiness.
He also wanted to laugh, teasing him that it was stupid.
Various emotions crossed. So instead of crying or laughing, he ended up with a ridiculous expression.
“Dohyeong-ah.”
“I’m so, happy.”
At the one sentence that burst out while swallowing tears, Haesung stopped moving.
“Right now, I’m so… so happy. Really.”
Though he had wished and wished countless times.
He couldn’t imagine such a day would come.
What he shared with him was always one-sided conversation, and he only waited for echoes that never returned.
There was always a wall in front of him, and that wall was always Haesung.
He was certain that the repetition of such days would continue.
“…Have I changed a lot?”
He could feel the change from the way Haesung asked cautiously.
He listened attentively to his stories and asked questions.
He responded and answered, and threw questions as if opening channels for other conversations.
Like someone who wanted to know everything about him.
How touching it was that the flow of conversation, which should have been natural, finally seemed to match.
“Yeah, a lot.”
When Dohyeong nodded, Haesung smiled faintly and hugged him tightly.
The bare skin touching his palm was soft. He patted and stroked his back, then left deep kisses on his hair.
Smooch, smooch. At the sounds left so clearly, Dohyeong also squeezed his eyes shut and opened them, then closed and opened them again.
“No matter how much I think about it, I really am a bastard.”
“…To be honest, you’re right. Hyung is. A bastard.”
At Dohyeong echoing the direct words as is, Haesung laughed out loud.
But he didn’t grumble. Because he deserved to be called a bastard by Dohyeong thousands of times.
“After you left for location shooting, that thought got even stronger.”
“What thought? That hyung is a bastard?”
“You’re doing that on purpose.”
Dohyeong smiled and shook his head, and Haesung lightly bit Dohyeong’s shoulder.
He, who had been letting out gentle laughter, soon took a deep breath and slowly began his story.
“Ah, I’ve become a person who can’t live if Kim Dohyeong isn’t visible before my eyes.”
Did Haesung know that those words pierced deeply into his heart?
“I… just, hadn’t realized it until now.”
They say when you’re too happy and good, your heart aches.
That was exactly how he felt right now. He could feel the wounds that had become scars healing one by one with the attention and affection he was pouring out now.
“The time I spent with Kim Dohyeong was stability and happiness for me… but back then, I was too immersed in myself.”
“You’re still doing that now.”
“You, if you keep doing that, I won’t talk.”
“If you don’t talk, I’ll go home too.”
“Your home is here, from now on.”
“That house over there is still our home.”
At Dohyeong answering with pursed lips, Haesung burst out laughing.
And once again, slowly stroking his soft hair, he moved his lips.
“Anyway. So I think I didn’t even have time to notice. There was no need or situation to realize it.”
“So what’s the conclusion?”
“That my signpost is now Kim Dohyeong.”
Signpost.
What a wonderful word this was.
The fact that he too was finding in him the solidity he felt from him came to him like fate.
But on the other hand, it was also a worrying statement.
If the signposts pointing toward each other collapsed.
If they rotted away and even their form couldn’t be found.
“Don’t worry. You just, do as you want. Just flow however you want.”
“…But.”
“You don’t need to be an accomplished Kim Dohyeong. You don’t have to be an amazing person, and there’s no reason you must be helpful to me. Dohyeong-ah.”
Dohyeong slowly pulled away. His eyes looking at Haesung were bloodshot as if he’d cry any moment.
“I’m strong enough.”
He bit his lips tightly. Nodding his head, he took in Haesung’s face one by one with both eyes.
“I’m more solid than you think, than you know.”
“Yeah.”
“So… you don’t need to hold onto me.”
“Then?”
“I’ll hold onto you. From now on.”
Saying this, Haesung carefully wrapped Dohyeong’s hands.
The warmth conveyed by his solid palms, the reassurance felt from that warmth.
It seemed to announce to Dohyeong the beginning of another world.
Now finally, it was a phrase that came to mind once again.
“You know, right? When taking a shot, clapping the slate. Like this.”
Haesung let go of Dohyeong’s hand and clapped both palms together.
Clap! The dull sound awakened Dohyeong.
“Yeah, of course I know.”
“We’re going to clap the slate here. Up to the moment we’re having this conversation.”
“From where?”
“…From the day we got married.”
His heart stung.
But he nodded resolutely.
“Let’s store the past scenes deep away. We’re still people who need to grow to erase them. It hurts too much to embrace them.”
“Yeah.”
“And again.”
Haesung once more clapped his palms together as if hitting a slate.
Clap! The sound heard again rang in Dohyeong’s ears.
“From here on, a new story.”
“A new story?”
Haesung leaned toward the nightstand and opened the drawer.
Then he took out a small box and held it out toward Dohyeong.
Through the slightly open box, a pair of sparkling diamond rings was revealed.
“…Hyung. This.”
“There won’t be a third time.”
“……”
“It’s the second time, so I’ll do better. The Jung Haesung from before won’t exist anymore. To be the person you hoped for… I can’t transform perfectly but.”
Haesung, who couldn’t continue speaking for a moment and swallowed, smiled faintly.
His eyes facing Dohyeong were sparkling and shining.
“I’ll become someone who can give you happiness. Dohyeong-ah.”
Could there be a more sincere heart than this?
Because it was Jung Haesung, he could tell that the words spilling out in succession weren’t an illusion.
Dohyeong nodded while firmly swallowing his tears.
“I’ll give you the ring first, and the proposal will be after this project ends. After that. Is that okay?”
There was no reason for it not to be okay.
From one to ten, there was no reason to refuse.
Dohyeong nodded and answered.
“Yeah. So, very much. Extremely.”
In the end, the tears he’d been holding back burst out and Haesung hugged such a Dohyeong tightly.
“I’m sorry I came back after going so far away.”
Let’s not go away anymore.
Let’s stop looking at each other standing far apart and feeling regretful.
At Haesung’s words whispered softly, Dohyeong nodded again and again.
Let’s be together, it was the moment when the promise that couldn’t be kept from years ago sprouted again in both their hearts.
