MW 31

His body swayed, and he felt as if he were flying through the sky on a cloud of cotton candy. Not wanting to show himself in such a state to others, Yijae shook his head from side to side.

It seemed like someone said something after that, but he couldn’t hear it clearly. Turning around and leaving the pub, Yijae let out a long breath, pooh, in the cool air.

“Ice creaaam…….”

As the cold wind sobered him up a little, he found himself craving the ice cream that had been mentioned earlier. Yijae took a step forward to find a convenience store and momentarily lost his balance.

His body tilted forward, and he had a feeling he was about to collide helplessly with the approaching asphalt.

“Heuu.”

Yijae squeezed his eyes shut, anticipating the pain that would soon follow, but was caught by a pair of firm arms that felt both hard like the ground and different. He slowly lifted his head.

“Seo Yijae.”

“…….”

In that moment, Yijae truly realized he was drunk. Because otherwise, there was no way Jaeha would appear in front of him.

But it was fine even if the Jaeha before him was an illusion. No, it was good that he was an illusion. Yijae reached out, wrapped his arms around his waist, and buried his face in Jaeha’s chest.

“I like you…….”

His nose filled with Jaeha’s scent, and Yijae tightened his arms, hugging him close. For a moment, Jaeha was engulfed in a sensation as if everything in the world had evaporated. His eyes could only see Yijae. Looking down at the small head buried in his chest, whispering, Jaeha reached out and grasped his shoulder.

“Eung…….”

Yijae felt a little sad at the touch that was pushing him away. Even though it was a fantasy he had created, why was it pushing him away? He felt a surge of emotion and bit his lip to hold back tears.

“Seo Yijae.”

Yijae lifted his head at the voice calling him. It’s not a fantasy? But it didn’t hurt when he bit his lip. Then it must be a dream.

Yijae smiled brightly, his eyes crinkling, at Jaeha who was looking down at him with wide eyes. Since it was a dream, he’d be able to see him for longer.

But he kept feeling dizzy. Maybe it was because he drank too much, but his body felt like it was floating, and his head was dizzy as if it had broken down. In that moment…….

Thud.

Swaying, unable to control his own body, Yijae finally collapsed forward. This time, Jaeha, who caught Yijae’s waist with a firmer grip, carefully held him in his arms, completely drunk and passed out.

Jaeha wondered if what he had just said was drunken rambling, or if he had recognized him and revealed his true feelings.

But looking at him, who was already breathing softly, saegeun saegeun, as if deep asleep, Jaeha let out a sigh.

‘Those bastards, how much did they make the kid drink.’

His stomach burned at the thought that if he hadn’t arrived just in time, others would have seen Yijae like this.

“Hoo……. Why is his body so cold again.”

He must have been outside for quite a while; unlike his cheeks, flushed with the heat of the alcohol, his body, clad in only a thin shirt, was too cool.

Taking off his own coat and covering Yijae with it, Jaeha then unwrapped his scarf and wound it around his neck. As he thought, it looked better on Yijae than on himself.

“Eung…….”

As if cold, Yijae squirmed and burrowed into his chest. Jaeha lightly lifted him up and changed direction, heading back towards the pub.

Worried that Yijae might wake up from the music and people’s conversations, he glanced down, confirmed that Yijae was sleeping without a stir, and then started walking again.

“Huh? Kang Jaeha sunbae-nim?”

Someone who recognized Jaeha rubbed their eyes as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. He wasn’t one to participate much in department activities either, but Jaeha recognized the junior he had run into a few times and spoke with a blank face.

“His bag.”

“Pardon?”

“Give me Seo Yijae’s bag.”

“Ah, ah, yes yes.”

Startled by Jaeha’s words, the junior hurriedly handed over Yijae’s bag and asked.

“Ah, but sunbae-nim, how do you know Yijae……”

“We’re friends.”

“Excuse me?”

“He seems really drunk, so I’ll take him.”

Jaeha stared at the junior with disapproving eyes, and without answering his repeated questions, he turned and left the pub. He could hear murmuring from behind, but Jaeha ignored them and didn’t stop walking.

Heading to his car parked near the pub, Jaeha carefully placed Yijae in the passenger seat and got into the driver’s seat. Jaeha immediately turned the heater on full blast and switched on the seat warmer.

“Hoo.”

He had managed to get Yijae in the car, but he was contemplating over where to take him. If it was Yijae’s house, he’d said he was living with Gu Dohae, so it wouldn’t be hard to find the address. But for some reason, he just didn’t want to send Yijae there…….

Clenching his teeth, Jaeha quietly gazed at Yijae. How long had it been since he’d seen him like this. Jaeha’s gaze was meticulous as he slowly scanned from his forehead down to his neck, checking if there were any injuries, any new wounds.

After watching the sleeping Yijae’s face for a long while, as midnight approached, Jaeha picked up his phone and contacted Secretary Choi. Soon, a message with an address arrived, and Jaeha slowly drove the car there.

Driving on the open road, Jaeha entered a quiet neighborhood and stopped in front of a large mansion.

“Yijae. You have to wake up.”

“Woong…….”

“We’re home. Go inside and sleep.”

He woke him with a gentle touch, but Jaeha didn’t want to let him go. Still, knowing he had to send Yijae off before it got any later, he squeezed his hand with more force and woke him again.

“……Ugh.”

Like a butterfly shedding its cocoon and taking its first flight, Yijae opened his eyes with a fragile movement. Still under the influence of alcohol, his face was dazed, and he didn’t seem to be able to tell where he was.

“Yijae, are you conscious?”

“…….”

“Hoo.”

Jaeha sighed and was about to get out of the car, having no other choice, when it happened.

“No. Don’t go…….”

“…….”

“I’m scared…….”

Jaeha’s mouth clamped shut as he saw the face with tears streaming down, tightly gripping his sleeve. Yijae was crying sorrowfully, holding onto him with a faintly trembling hand, so afraid of something.

“……Then do you want to stay with me tonight?”

Jaeha, who had been watching him quietly, took the deathly pale hand in his and reached out with his other hand to wipe Yijae’s soaked eyes.

“Yes…… together……. I want to stay with you…….”

“Alright.”

Jaeha looked at Yijae leaning his head on his shoulder and readjusted his grip on the steering wheel. The car that had slowly entered the alley sped out of it, and just like that, Jaeha headed to his own officetel with Yijae.

⁺₊❆₊⋆

With six steady beeps, ttirik, the sound of the door unlocking was heard.

Jaeha, who had carried Yijae, who had fallen asleep again during the car ride to the officetel, into his home, hesitated for a moment at the messier-than-expected state of the room.

“If I’d known this would happen, I would have cleaned up beforehand.”

He had heard that Yijae was suddenly attending the general assembly and had rushed out of the house, so he hadn’t had the time to tidy up. Should he consider it a relief that he wasn’t awake yet? Biting his lip, Jaeha carefully laid Yijae down on the sofa and gathered the clothes scattered on the floor.

After roughly putting the laundry in the washing machine and clearing the empty liquor bottles, he poked the cheek of Yijae, who looked like he wouldn’t wake up even if someone carried him away.

“Eung.”

At the movement, which could mean it hurt or it tickled, Jaeha swallowed the laugh that was about to escape.

“Wash up and sleep comfortably.”

“Nooo……. Eung, it’s hot…….”

Jaeha lifted the small body still buried in his coat and took it out. Whether it was because of the high temperature in the car and the house, his face was red with heat, like a steamed potato. Jaeha, who had been kneading the soft cheek, also untied the scarf around Yijae’s neck and then brought the water he had prepared beforehand to Yijae’s lips.

“Let’s drink some water.”

“Yes…….”

Gulp, gulp.

As Yijae was drinking the water, he suddenly clamped his lips shut, and the liquid trickled down his neckline.

“Ugh, cold.”

As if he had finally come to his senses, Yijae, revealing clear eyes, looked down at his damp shirt.

“I wanna take it off…….”

“Wa-wait a minute.”