“……”
Seungun’s fingers, which had been scratching the blanket aimlessly, stopped at once.
“A-are you saying that seriously?”
Gi Siyoung blinked his eyes. There was no method simpler or more convenient than sex. Seungun froze like a stone the moment the word ‘sex’ came out of Siyoung’s mouth.
Because he had woken up sweating, his hair was stuck to the nape of his neck. Gi Siyoung reached out and removed the strands of hair stuck to his nape one by one. Everywhere his touch landed, the fine hairs stood on end.
Gi Siyoung had proposed sex. Looking into his eyes, it was clear he wasn’t lying to tease him. The movement of his hand fiddling with his Adam’s apple had a clear purpose.
It was actually more comforting to think that all of Gi Siyoung’s incomprehensible actions were for the sake of sex. Even now, incomprehensible things were probably happening all over the world.
He lowered his hand from Seungun’s nape and lifted the collar near his collarbone.
“If Im Seungun-ssi says okay, I’m going to take off these clothes right away.”
“……”
Gi Siyoung began to speak softly in an elegant, low voice. The more he spoke, the more it felt like his clothes were being peeled off layer by layer before his eyes. The throbbing of his carotid artery pounded all the way to his eardrums.
Gi Siyoung flopped down on the mattress as if urging an answer. The distance narrowed. The two men’s shadows drew closer. The hand that reached out while sitting cross-legged was as insolent as a street thug’s, but his counterpart was Gi Siyoung.
That Gi Siyoung was asking him to sleep with him. Perhaps because of the situation, he couldn’t satisfy his desires elsewhere and was approaching him like this. He tried his best to view the situation rationally, but Seungun couldn’t react as calmly as usual, as if he were possessed by something.
Gi Siyoung wore a subtle smile as he looked at the flustered face so unlike him, the hesitating lips, and the twitching ears. He seemed to be bewildered by the sudden proposal of sex. However, his proposal was sincere.
Im Seungun wouldn’t be bad as a one-night partner. Didn’t they already have a history of kissing? The sensation of their intertwining tongues and the body that had pressed against him weren’t so bad. Perhaps someone like him could spend the night cleanly without any aftermath. Im Seungun seemed quite serious about his manager work, after all.
“……”
It was when Gi Siyoung wrapped his hand around Seungun’s nape and narrowed the distance a bit more. Just when Seungun’s body had become stiff enough to repel even a stone, a clear bell sound rang in the very quiet room. Gi Siyoung narrowed the space between his eyebrows and turned his head.
He hadn’t ordered room service, and there was no one who would visit here at this hour. If it had been Myeongwoo, he would have contacted them in advance. Perhaps it was someone who had found the wrong room. However, Im Seungun’s thoughts seemed different.
“I’ll go check.”
Gi Siyoung looked down desolately at his arms that had suddenly become empty. Seungun, who had escaped from the bed in an instant, headed toward the entrance. He didn’t even have the presence of mind to ask who it was and grabbed the doorknob right away. When the door was about half open, an extraordinary person stuck their head through the widening gap in the door.
“Huh?”
It was a brightly smiling face.
“Patrick?”
Seungun muttered.
“Ding dong dang! I came to return the pen to its owner!”
Patrick smiled broadly and dangled the pen Seungun had given him in the air. Seungun whispered with an awkward expression.
“Ah… You didn’t have to return that pen.”
“Hey. You even put a name tag on it. Isn’t that like a resolution not to lose it?”
“Who is it?”
Gi Siyoung approached from behind with long strides. As soon as Patrick confirmed it was Gi Siyoung, he shut his lips with a sound. He was a very honest friend in expressing his emotions. Just from his fidgeting behavior in front of Patrick, Seungun could tell how much he liked Gi Siyoung. Seungun stepped aside so the two could see each other properly.
“Hello, sunbae-nim! We meet again!”
“What brings you here?”
Gi Siyoung asked in a somewhat reproachful tone. However, Patrick didn’t care at all. He just seemed overwhelmed that his role model was talking to him.
“I was eating at the restaurant downstairs. All of sunbae-nim’s company people were there, but only sunbae-nim and Manager Seungun weren’t visible. Since I also had something to return to Manager Seungun, I took the liberty of coming to find you!”
“Something to return?”
Gi Siyoung looked back and forth between the two with an expression that demanded an explanation. Seungun silently rattled the pen.
“Yes. Last time, Manager Seungun lent me a pen.”
“……”
How could one curse at a face with brown permed hair smiling like a puppy? Gi Siyoung sighed and waved his hand. It was a signal to leave now that his business was done, but Patrick seemed to take it differently and said “Thank you, sunbae-nim!” before opening the door wide and entering. Seungun didn’t even have time to stop him.
“Ah, wait!”
“Wow. As expected… the room sunbae-nim stays in is different.”
“……”
“If I come to Bali again next time, I must stay in this room. Did you know fans call that a pilgrimage to a holy site?”
Patrick looked around various parts of the accommodation while continuously exclaiming in admiration. Seungun shoved the pen into his pocket and looked at Gi Siyoung. However, Gi Siyoung was weak against those who declared themselves his fans. Since Patrick said he was a long-time fan, Seungun judged that he wouldn’t be able to coldly turn him away at the door and shrugged his shoulders before firmly closing the door.
And Patrick didn’t return to his room until 1 AM. Patrick was indeed very warm, befitting a member of the currently most popular idol group. However, his warmth didn’t seem to reach Gi Siyoung.
When Patrick returned to his room, the area under Gi Siyoung’s eyes had darkened slightly. And in a space thickly covered with perfume smell that could pierce Patrick’s nose, he had not the slightest desire to have sex with Im Seungun.
TAKE 8
Bali’s midday was dazzling. The sunlight made his skin sting. They said it would rain, but it only drizzled a bit in the morning, and the cleared sky was even bluer. The water surface reflected by the sunlight shone like a jewel.
Seungun, walking along the waves, was troubled by what had happened last night.
‘Let’s try having sex with Im Seungun-ssi.’
What on earth was Gi Siyoung thinking when he said such a thing to him? Even after the frantic Patrick left, he had to stay up all night with his eyes wide open.
“Haah.”
Perhaps he shouldn’t have entered those arms when Gi Siyoung spread them open under the pretext of comfort. He should have looked away when he placed him on his body and brought his handsome face close. There’s a saying, ‘The beauty of the north, with one glance topples a city, with two glances topples a nation.’ If Gi Siyoung had lived in that era, he would have toppled a nation with just one glance, no need for a second.
“Become the heart of a tree, the heart of a tree. Unwavering and steadfast.”
Seungun alone recalled the wise words Myeongwoo had said. No matter how much Gi Siyoung shook him from the side, he had to maintain his center.
Thud thud thud. A beach volleyball rolled to the feet of Seungun, who was walking heavily. On the beach sand, there were many foreigners exercising shirtless or in swimsuits.
He picked up the ball and looked around to see where to throw it, when someone waved their hand in the distance. At first, he couldn’t recognize who it was because of the sunlight. So he was just about to throw the ball randomly, but after that person asked those around him for understanding, he ran toward Seungun.
“Manager-nim!”
The approaching figure was Patrick. Only when the distance grew closer could he recognize his face. Lifting his jet-black sunglasses up to the top of his head and grinning, he exuded a healthy charm.
His slightly tanned body, moderately built muscles, and five-part swim trunks—he kicked off his flip-flops and ran barefoot across the sand. A necklace with colorful beads meticulously woven stitch by stitch jingled on his smooth nape.
“Taking a walk?”
“Yes, I just finished lunch. Here’s the ball.”
“Thank you.”
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Want to play a game together?”
“No.”
Seungun refused flatly.
“Wait a moment.”
“……”
After Patrick threw the ball to his colleagues, he followed behind Seungun, who was walking along the beach.
“Does Siyoung sunbae-nim have no schedule today? Why are you alone?”
Under the blazing sun, Patrick’s healthy teeth gleamed as he smiled brightly. Perhaps because he was young, he had many questions. Yesterday, Gi Siyoung had been trapped in Patrick’s question hell. No wonder he got dark circles.
“He’s over there. By the way, don’t people recognize you? Is it okay to walk around like this without even a mask?”
“Half of them are foreigners, so.”
“That’s true.”
“Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“I kept playing ball and got hot and tired. I thought I’d keep you company talking until we get to where Siyoung sunbae-nim is.”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Don’t say that, let’s go.”
If he brought Patrick along, there was no way he’d hear kind words from Gi Siyoung.
“Actually, yesterday when I came to your room with the pen excuse. I used Manager-nim as a shield. You knew that, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
“But sunbae-nim didn’t say anything… Totally an angel.”
“……”
So that’s what it means to have blinders on. Patrick’s fan devotion toward Gi Siyoung was remarkable once again.
“I’ll need Manager-nim’s help this time too. That’s okay, right?”
“Yes.”
Patrick put his arm around Seungun’s shoulders. His skin, covered in sweat and stuck with sand, was hot. But it wasn’t humid, so it was fine.
“What did you have for lunch? Oh, the breakfast here is delicious, isn’t it?”
“I overslept.”
“How can you oversleep when the day is this short!”
Patrick was like a cheerful younger brother. Seungun answered his questions briefly as he walked along. His energy was so bright that during the short distance, he began to be assimilated by him. He couldn’t help but laugh at Patrick’s unique jokes thrown in here and there. He could understand why he was the most popular in his group. He was sure to be good to his fans too.
The sociable Patrick had a talent for quickly breaking down the walls of strangers. They say successful people have their reasons, and Patrick was one of those types. Patrick, whose face had no shadows, seemed like he wouldn’t cast a shadow even standing with his back to the sun.
Soon, a familiar parasol pattern began to appear. Gi Siyoung, whom Patrick so desired, was lying on a sunbed.
