NHL 41

Everyone cheered at the head coach’s decision. Dylan went straight into the training room to loosen up his muscles. It was not a task that required concentration, nor was it something he usually spent a lot of time on, given the routine he had been repeating for a long time.

As such, Dylan’s eyes were unfocused, like someone whose soul had left his body, and he looked as withered as a dried-up plant.

“Hey.”

When he turned his head at the touch hitting his shoulder, Jackson asked with a strange expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“What?”

“You look like you’ve lost your mind.”

When Dylan just shrugged without reacting, Jackson tossed something over.

“That’s your phone, right? It was lying on the floor, and I almost stepped on it.”

As soon as he saw it, Dylan stopped what he was doing and checked his phone immediately.

“Just so you know, I only picked it up because it was already on the ground, so if there are any scratches, that’s not my fault…”

Jackson, who had been rambling, looked to the side and exclaimed in surprise.

“Where did that guy go already?”

His line mate had already disappeared.

The car, having driven a short distance at high speed, entered the parking lot and stopped familiarly in its designated spot. One could see the driver’s mindset in the way the car sat crookedly in the parking space—he had not wanted to waste time on precise parking. The man in a shirt who got out of the car pressed the button to go straight up to the lobby in the elevator.

The glamorous and bright lighting on the high ceiling illuminated the interior like the middle of the day. As he scanned the lobby, the brightest spot among them immediately caught his eye. Although he was wearing a black coat and had black hair, for some reason, the seat where he was sitting looked dazzling, as if a spotlight were shining only on him. Dylan hurried toward that familiar back.

Because he was afraid of making him wait for a long time, he had showered in a hurry and come out so fast that he didn’t even have time to put on cologne. He regretted that fact belatedly.

“Hello, Joeon.”

The man who had been sitting quietly in an upright posture on the lobby sofa turned his head slowly. Every minor movement passed by like slow motion. Dylan saw the neat face welcoming him with a smile and curled up the corners of his lips. The eyes that had been empty just moments ago were now filled with warm emotions.

“Hello, Dylan. Sorry for showing up unannounced.”

“Not at all. Shall we go up first?”

Dylan guided Joeon to the elevator, avoiding the eyes of the concierge staff who were very interested in the residents’ private lives. He only opened his mouth once they were alone.

“It’s been a while.”

“It has. Have you been well?”

“Of course. How about you?”

“I’ve been a bit busy with work. I’m sorry I couldn’t come to watch your game. Oh, and congratulations on the win.”

“Thank you. Did you watch the game?”

“Yes, just the end of it.”

They had only not met for a little over ten days, but once the conversation stopped, awkwardness suddenly filled the space between them. Joeon scratched his reddened cheek with his finger and stared at his own shadow reflected on the opaque elevator wall. Though he considered himself of average height, standing next to Dylan’s large frame, which was outside the category of an ordinary person, made him feel like a child.

More than that, he was concerned about Dylan, who was strangely quiet today. When he snuck a glance at him, he saw that the corners of his lips, which usually held a gentle angle, had sunken down calmly.

He was watching the electronic display inside the elevator, desperately waiting for the red numbers to change to PH. His gaze also occasionally scanned the security camera in the corner of the elevator ceiling.

Even while doing that, he was quick enough to notice the gaze directed at him, and he even showed the composure to smile at Joeon.

“Should I ask for permission in advance today?”

“For what?”

“May I kiss you?”

“…”

Beep, beep—the signal sound the elevator made every time the floor changed sounded as if it were counting down the seconds that were slipping away. However, because they arrived at their destination before it could repeat ten times, the two passed through the hallway and stopped in front of the door to Dylan’s house. Dylan, who was taking the key out of his pocket, said “Hm,” and then turned to look at Joeon while holding the key in one hand.

“Why?”

Then, without any explanation, he pulled Joeon’s waist and swallowed his lips. Both of their breathing stopped for a moment. The human presence that filled the hallway changed into wet contact sounds.

“I tried to hold back, but I can’t. It’s time over.”

Every time Dylan changed the angle, Joeon gasped for breath and whispered in a voice small enough only for him to hear.

“Wait, look, um, we’re still in the hallway.”

“There’s no one here.”

“Still, we should at least go inside…”

“Damn it.”

Dylan, while holding Joeon, turned halfway around, pushed him against the door, and looked for the keyhole. However, because he was focused on the wrong thing, there was no way the key would go in properly. After scraping uselessly and unpleasantly around the keyhole, he eventually tried to force the key in, and Joeon lightly stopped him.

“You’re going to break the key like that. Calm down.”

“I can’t.”

“Move aside.”

Joeon pushed Dylan away, took the key, and opened the door for him instead. As soon as Dylan closed and locked the door, he tore off his clothes before even changing his shoes, rushing at him even more hotly. The bag rolled on the floor, and Joeon’s coat covered it like a molt. Dylan’s hands were already pulling the shirt out of his pants to explore his bare waist, and his lips sucked on the thin skin of his neck as if to bite and devour it.

“S-slowly. Ah, don’t bite.”

“I can’t do that either.”

“Dylan, wait a minute. Why are you like this today…”

“You…”

Only then did the hot voice of Dylan, having pulled his lips away, fall onto the shoulders exposed in the darkness.

“You’re the one who made me like this.”

“What did I, what did I do.”

“You avoided me like you were never going to see me again.”

“Pardon?”

“Was that not it?”

“…That’s not it. I was really busy. Because of the year-end closing… The work I do is especially busy during this period.”

“…”

Dylan, who had been leaning over with his forehead against Joeon’s shoulder, let out a deep sigh and pulled the other’s waist tight. Joeon leaned his body and was held gently by him.

“…I thought you were regretting that night.”

This was a story Joeon had not expected at all. He had thought that someone as confident and sociable as Dylan wouldn’t have any worries regarding human relationships. It was both fascinating and funny that the person he had believed to be like that was harboring such absurd worries about him.

To hide his ears, which must have turned red because he couldn’t control them, Joeon didn’t push Dylan away but buried his face in his collarbone. The arms that had invaded his clothes and wrapped around his lower back tightened, narrowing the distance so there was no space left between them. The frozen body melted away into a warm, igniting embrace instead of a kiss that resembled an explosion.

“I missed you.”

Dylan pressed his lips firmly against the soft hair and stared at the distant window with deepened pupils. In the darkness, his face looked as vacant as it did before, but he was definitely conscious now. If anything, his brain was busier than at any other time today.

He was busy contemplating how to make the other person entirely his own, since he hadn’t given him the denial that he didn’t regret it until the end.

“…I don’t smell the perfume Dylan wears every day today.”

Joeon’s whisper broke the silence filled only with ragged breathing. Dylan replied as he slowly stepped back.

“I’m sorry. I was in such a rush that I couldn’t even shower properly before coming here. Does it smell?”

He was a person who often showered to cool off during intermissions, but today, he added a slight lie to hint at just how impatient he had been. Since he had only washed the sweat off with soap after the game ended, it was partially the truth.

“Is that so?”