MORE 15

Tap, tap. At the sound of raindrops hitting the window, Siyul’s eyes twitched. Inside his thin eyelids, his round eyeballs rolled this way and that until a slit appeared in his eyes. His pupils looked down, then busily moved right, left, up, and down.

He lifted his head, rubbing his eyes with his palms. Seeing as his head was throbbing and his stomach felt nauseous, it seemed he had a hangover. “Thirsty, water…” he muttered, surveying his surroundings.

He was in the back seat of a car. Raindrops were falling pitter-patter against the front windshield, and beads of water were clinging to the transparent sunroof in front. He had been sleeping so deeply he hadn’t even known it was raining.

Siyul turned his head to the side while looking for water. Woo Hyunse was sitting with his arms crossed, his head resting against the headrest, eyes closed. His breathing was soft and steady, as if he were asleep. For some reason, Siyul held his breath for a moment and peered at his face. The dim light of a streetlamp leaking in illuminated his sleek profile.

He really was handsome. His appearance was surprising no matter how many times he looked at him. They said that if someone was too handsome, they didn’t feel human, but that wasn’t the case here. The slightly curved bridge of his nose, the way his eyes naturally crinkled when he smiled, and the mole on his earlobe that looked like a piercing mark were enough to make him seem like a real person.

Still, it didn’t change the fact that he was a beauty rarely seen in the neighborhood. If he had been born with a face like this, he should have just lived comfortably as a celebrity and entertained countless people—he didn’t know why he had to run clubs and bars to tempt him with trouble.

He was just thinking that he might seriously suggest he try his hand at the entertainment industry, as it wasn’t too late yet, when—

“You’re going to burn a hole in my face.”

At the words Woo Hyunse dropped, Siyul clutched his surprised chest with a gasp. He hadn’t noticed at all that he was awake because his breathing was so steady.

“Why are you pretending to sleep!”

Siyul protested, feeling wronged. If he was awake, he should have said he was awake; why tell him so late and make him feel embarrassed?

“I never did. I just didn’t speak.”

“That’s the same thing.”

Woo Hyunse crinkled his eyes and grinned. Siyul rubbed his face hard with both hands, writhing in embarrassment inside. When he coughed because his throat felt choked, the other handed him a bottle of water left on the armrest. Since he unscrewed the cap to give it to him, Siyul bowed his head in thanks and gulped it down. Half the bottle disappeared past Siyul’s throat in an instant.

“Where is this?”

Woo Hyunse took back the water and put his mouth to the opening as if nothing had happened. He drank just one sip and placed it back in its original spot.

“The place you told me, Mr. Kwon Siyul.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. You said your house was around here.”

Siyul pressed his face against the window, his nose almost touching the glass, to check outside. Oh-sung Inn, Cultural Human Resources, Eunhye Beauty Salon. It was his neighborhood. He wondered if he had parked it next to the main road because the alleyway was too narrow for the car to enter.

Siyul hurriedly took out his phone to check the time. 2:46 AM. He had slept mindlessly in the car for almost two hours.

“You should have just woken me up.”

“You were sleeping too soundly.”

“Still. CEO has to go home, too.”

His shoulders and neck felt stiff, likely from staying in one position for so long. Siyul thumped and kneaded his shoulders with his fists. Seeing that reflection in the window, Woo Hyunse spoke inadvertently.

“Should I have gone to a hotel?”

“No!”

Siyul exclaimed reflexively. The word “hotel” could not have been more suggestive. Even though nothing would happen if two men—and an Alpha and a Beta at that—went to a hotel, Siyul’s perception of hotels in his head was just like that. His complexion turned bright red in an instant. It was bright enough to be seen even in the dim car.

“Do you hate sleeping comfortably?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“What were you thinking about to make your face so red?”

His voice was full of laughter. It seemed Woo Hyunse had immediately grasped what a hotel meant to him. Siyul bent his waist and buried his face in both hands. It was as hot as boiling water.

“It’s because I’m not fully sober yet.”

“You’re still young, so what will you do if your alcohol tolerance is this low?”

It was a concerned tone, but if you dug into it, it was teasing. Siyul pressed his flushed cheeks against the windowpane, where raindrops were streaking down. His lips puffed out because his cheek was pressed, but it was better than staying red and heated.

“Did you drive, CEO?”

There was no one in the driver’s seat. To realize that only now… Siyul straightened his upper body and looked at Woo Hyunse.

“I called a designated driver. I sent them away early because it looked like Mr. Kwon Siyul would sleep for a long time. I’ll call them again when you go, so stop with the unnecessary worrying.”

“Ah…”

“Did you die after being hit by a drunk driver in a past life? You’re extremely thorough.”

“Of course you shouldn’t do it. You must absolutely never drive drunk.”

“But it’s okay to sell drugs?”

Siyul shut his mouth. As Woo Hyunse said, it was a contradiction. Both were illegal, but one was absolutely forbidden, while he was doing the other with his own hands. Saying he was just a delivery person was no excuse.

“I’ll get going now.”

Running away was the answer in a situation where he couldn’t reply, so Siyul grabbed the door handle. It wasn’t far from here to the inn anyway. If it rained, he could just run through it a little.

“Go when the rain stops.”

Woo Hyunse didn’t physically stop Siyul. He just dropped the words. Yet, as if caught in a noose, Siyul hesitated. His hand on the handle was filled with indecision.

“It’s fine if you sleep a little longer before you go.”

Woo Hyunse buried his back in the seat as if he were going to resume his sleep. He closed his eyes, his head resting against the headrest just as before. His hands were tucked comfortably into his pants pockets. He looked very languid, as if he would fall asleep at any moment.

“It’s a waste to miss the sound of the rain.”

It was a scene that made even the observer feel sleepy. The sound of pitter-pattering raindrops, the quiet breathing, and the orange color shimmering like a nightlight felt cozy, like being inside a thick blanket. Siyul hesitated and then let go of the handle. He leaned his back against the seatback as comfortably as Woo Hyunse, but he didn’t close his eyes. He stole a glance to the side, then quickly stared straight ahead.

“Then I’ll stay a little longer… just until the rain stops.”

No answer returned. Only his handsome lips curved loosely like a small boat.

■ ■ ■

It did not rain today. It had been sunny from the morning until now, late at night. Even though it was a pitch-black night sky, there was not a single speck of dust or cloud, so even the stars and the moon were visible and bright.

On this night, with the perfect temperature and humidity for walking, Siyul was sitting blankly at the convenience store’s outdoor table. The drink he had grabbed as his hand reached it, feeling sorry to be empty-handed, was already more than half empty.

He should get up now, but for some reason, his feet felt sticky and stuck to the ground. He felt like if he waited just 1 minute, 5 minutes, or 10 minutes more, someone would suddenly appear and greet him with a “Hello.”

Yet, he had never made an appointment with anyone. He was just sitting there. Holding a wild hope that if he waited, the other might come and at least say a word to him.

Siyul sipped his drink and looked at his phone. He usually put his phone in his locker while working and checked it all at once when he finished, but everything that had come in was just advertisement texts.

He swiped down the screen with his finger. The chat he had with Woo Hyunse had been pushed far down. He had been the last to send a message, but the number next to it hadn’t disappeared.

Was it from the day after they drank? Contact from Woo Hyunse had become sparse. It was fine the first day, but from the next day on, even if he sent a text, the reply arrived very slowly. When he calculated the time, it took a whopping ten hours or so for a reply. It went without saying that he hadn’t even set foot in the bar.

Even if it were just a regular customer, it would be bothersome if they stopped coming, and it wasn’t just anyone, it was Woo Hyunse. He was someone he had eaten a meal with, had a drink with, and even slept in a car with on a rainy day, so he couldn’t help but be curious.

The atmosphere in the car had definitely been fine.

It wasn’t even a week, and even if a week had passed, he wouldn’t be able to say anything, but it had only been four days, and it felt unpleasant that the first person in his life, other than Kwon Yuwon, to have such a high frequency of contact was pulling something like ghosting.

Siyul went into the chat window and scanned the texts they had exchanged with his eyes. He shook his legs and traced back through them, wondering if he had inadvertently offended Woo Hyunse.

“You seem very busy.”

This was the last text he had sent. He still hadn’t checked it. It wasn’t that the contact had been completely cut off. Siyul swiped the screen with his finger. The conversation they had the day before yesterday caught his eye.

“I haven’t bought you a meal yet.”

“When shall we buy it?”

“Next time. There’s no rush.”

When he told him to pay back the dry-cleaning bill, he had even looked into a job for him himself, saying he might run away. But when he actually tried to pay him back, his attitude was very lukewarm.

“Then I haven’t paid back all the interest and installments.”

“You should buy what Mr. Kwon Siyul wants with your first paycheck.”

Thanks to Woo Hyunse’s consideration, Siyul had eaten meat with Kwon Yuwon for the first time in a while. How happy he had been. Remembering that time, Siyul smacked his lips.

Someday, he wanted to go eat pork belly with Woo Hyunse, too. He didn’t know if he would like it, but since he was someone who drank alcohol comfortably even at a street stall, he thought he would at least be able to eat pork belly without much trouble.