MW 52

“I’ll eat well.”

Although the menu was diverse, it was an ordinary restaurant that could be commonly seen and eaten at anywhere. But why did we have to come all the way here to eat?

With continuing bewilderment, Yijae raised his gaze, but he had no idea what Jaeha, who was smiling faintly, was thinking.

“Why this…”

However, the secret was revealed not long after leaving the restaurant. When Jaeha took a suitcase out of the trunk, Yijae’s heart started pounding with anxiety, as if the happy moment had never existed. He was scared that Jaeha would disappear somewhere at any moment.

Afraid he might not be able to catch him, Yijae hurriedly grabbed his hand, his eyes brimming with moisture as if tears would burst out at the slightest touch.

“Where, where are you going?”

Watching Yijae, who spoke in a voice filled with fear, Jaeha hid his bitter feelings and reached out to pull his head into an embrace.

“Where would I go, leaving you behind?”

Even though he thought he had gotten much better, there were still times when Yijae would think and act as if Jaeha would leave him. Knowing this, Jaeha stroked Yijae’s hair to keep him from being alarmed and continued speaking.

“I’m not going anywhere, leaving you alone.”

“Then this is…”

“We’re going together. We promised to go to Jeju Island after your exams were over.”

“Jeju Island? Ah, don’t tell me…”

As if he finally remembered the conversation he had with Jaeha, Yijae raised his head. He thought he might have talked about this with him before. He had completely forgotten about it while juggling exam preparations and his part-time job.

Besides, since there had been no mention of it since then, he thought it might have been canceled…

“I prepared it as a surprise, but if I’d known you’d be this shocked, I would have told you beforehand.”

“Do I not need a passport to go to Jeju Island?”

He had heard that you needed a passport to get on a plane. Can we go without a passport? Maybe he didn’t know I wouldn’t have something like a passport.

Jaeha wrapped an arm around the shoulders of a quickly disheartened Yijae, held the suitcase in his other hand, and walked in one direction.

“Are we really going to Jeju Island? For real…?”

Yijae’s expression looked a little excited as he followed Jaeha, walking briskly while asking repeatedly. Jaeha could feel his emotions perfectly, and he too felt a sense of excitement, just like Yijae.

“But I have to be back by Friday.”

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were the three days a week he had to go to work at Hidden, so he had to be back before then. Yijae, engraving the fact that today was Tuesday into his mind, folded his fingers one by one to calculate the time he could spend on Jeju Island.

“I made reservations for us to leave after lunch on Friday.”

Jaeha, who squeezed Yijae’s hand as if to say there was nothing to worry about, watched Yijae’s expression as the airport came into view in the distance.

“Wow…”

It really was an airport. It seemed he was really going to Jeju Island with Jaeha. Yijae smiled a bright, sunny smile with a face full of excitement.

“Have you calmed down a bit now?”

“…I’m embarrassed.”

Yijae recalled what had happened a little while ago and blushed. Because of the strange sensation he felt in his stomach and lower body when the plane took off, he had clung to Jaeha. He felt the gazes of the people around them, but he couldn’t help it if he wanted to survive.

Yijae, who had held onto Jaeha for the entire hour, felt a delayed sense of embarrassment when the announcement signaling their landing was heard.

Seeing him not show his face even after they left the airport and arrived at the hotel, Jaeha suppressed a laugh and opened his mouth.

“Let me see your face. Yijae.”

“No, you’re going to laugh…”

Yijae stubbornly shook his head from side to side.

“I’m going to forget your face at this rate. We have to go up now, how long are you going to be like that. Hm?”

At his voice, which pleaded while poking his cheek, Yijae cautiously spoke.

“Then p-promise you won’t laugh.”

“Okay. I won’t laugh.”

“Really?”

After linking pinkies and even sealing it with a stamp, Jaeha resolved not to laugh even if it meant biting his tongue, but his determination crumbled the moment he faced Yijae, who was flushed like a beet.

“Liar! You promised you wouldn’t laugh…”

Yijae, who had discovered the smile smeared all over his lips, was about to lower his head again after glaring at Jaeha with a resentful look. Just then, Yijae’s eyes widened into circles at the soft thing that touched his cheek. Seeing Jaeha’s face, which had come close, move away, it seemed it wasn’t a dream.

“A-are you trying to get away with it like this…”

Peck.

This time, his lips landed on Yijae’s forehead. Starting with that, then his eyelid and the opposite cheek. Jaeha, who had been kissing him in succession, finally aimed for Yijae’s lips.

As if Yijae’s facial color had transferred to him, Jaeha’s face, who had turned his head as if flustered, was also flushed red like a ripe tomato.

[This is the 30th floor.]

What broke the brief silence was the elevator’s announcement. Jaeha, belatedly flustered by what he had done, stepped out of the elevator with creaky footsteps.

In that moment, without even realizing it, he had kissed Yijae because he was so pretty, but a delayed regret washed over him at the thought that he had acted as he pleased without getting Yijae’s permission.

He might still have a wound that couldn’t be washed away, and he had been so inconsiderate. Jaeha, who bit his lip in disappointment with himself, had just opened the door and entered when…

Yijae reached out a long arm and yanked his wrist with all his might. In that instant, he spun Jaeha around, stood on his tiptoes, and kissed him. The fine tremor of how nervous he was was transmitted even to Jaeha.

After a short kiss, Yijae pulled his head back and said shyly, his lips moving wordlessly at first.

“You were the one who kissed me first, so I, I also…”

At Jaeha’s reaction, his eyes wide in surprise, Yijae became so embarrassed that he tried to flee the scene. No, he tried to, but Jaeha caught him first.

“…You’re driving me crazy.”

In Jaeha’s black eyes, there was only Yijae. Ever since he had gotten to know him, his gaze had always been directed only at Yijae, no matter what was in front of him. Jaeha reached out, caressed the soft, white cheek, and asked.

“Can I kiss you?”

Instead of answering, Yijae reached out and wrapped his arms tightly around Jaeha’s waist. At the touch that contained a silent permission, Jaeha lowered his head and kissed him.

“Ngh…”

A faint moan escaped Yijae’s lips, surprised by the tongue that parted them. Jaeha, who carefully cradled his head, cornered Yijae toward the bedroom, entangling his tongue with the tender flesh that tried to flee.