NHL 59

Just then, a resident leaving the condo held the door for him and asked as Joeon approached. They had been waiting for him.

“Oh, thanks. I’m going in. Much appreciated.”

Joeon set aside his hesitation and hurried inside. It didn’t take long to ride the elevator up to Dylan’s floor and knock on his door.

“Hi, Dylan. I didn’t want to come empty-handed, so on the way here I… mph!”

As soon as the door opened, a fierce kiss greeted Joeon instead of a greeting. Joeon froze, holding his arm in the air to ensure he didn’t drop the cake. The deep, intense kiss, which felt like it was teasing the root of his tongue, continued for a while. Feeling a tingle in his lower abdomen, Joeon pushed Dylan away by the shoulders. Only then did Dylan create some space and pull back.

“Haa. I missed you, Joeon. You have no idea how much I wanted to do that.”

Even as Dylan muttered, he left tiny, rapid kisses all over Joeon’s lips. Then, his lips slowly traveled down to his chin. As Dylan’s hands pushed aside the thick, bulky black padded jacket, the smooth, pale skin of Joeon’s neck was laid bare. Dylan’s lips immediately descended, sucking on the skin that radiated a sweet, natural scent. Joeon swallowed hard, his eyes fluttering shut. It was such a sudden and sharp attack that it was hard to keep his wits about him.

“Mm, ah, okay. But before that, maybe we should put this down first…”

Joeon waved his arm while still holding the cake box, but Dylan, barely listening, pulled him into a hug. Rubbing his cheek against Joeon’s hair, he whined.

“Damn, two weeks. We haven’t seen each other for two whole weeks. You know that? This is torture. You don’t know how happy I was to see you outside earlier. I was going crazy trying to act like it was nothing. I wanted to see you yesterday too, but I was so exhausted I just passed out all day. I was tired from seeing my parents, too. But to run into you by chance… If we hadn’t been right in front of your office, I might have just kidnapped you to my place. I seriously wanted to.”

His hands, having finished unzipping and removing the winter coat, now slipped inside to pull out Joeon’s shirt and invade the space beneath. Smooth, hot skin twitched under his palms.

“I was so starved for you, Joeon.”

“Wait, th— ah, okay, I get it, but let me put this down first.”

“What is it?”

Dylan finally seemed to notice the cake in Joeon’s hands and took it from him instead.

“Is this a gift for me? What kind of cake is it?”

“Just strawberry cream.”

Finding Joeon’s obedient answer cute, Dylan asked again.

“I was asking if today is some special day I don’t know about.”

“Ah! You made the first line, didn’t you?”

“Is that why you bought it? I’m touched.”

Dylan’s eyes, which were picturesque to begin with, became misty, shining even more beautifully.

“Yeah. I don’t know much about it… but I heard it’s a big deal. From Tyler.”

At that moment, Dylan’s face hardened.

“Ah, Tyler.”

“Yes. Congratulations on making the first line.”

Dylan’s eyes, which had turned cold for a second, curved softly again.

“Thank you so much. Then, let’s spend the night celebrating together.”

Tonight, all night…. Joeon muttered with a stiff expression, then tried his best to nod. He was already worried about work tomorrow.

As Joeon put down his bag and coat, he pulled his phone from his pocket and placed it on the counter.

“Hey, can we eat the cake first? Honestly, it looked so good on the way here I couldn’t help myself. My lunch was pretty light.”

“Sure. Should I get some sparkling wine?”

“That sounds good.”

As Joeon headed toward the wine cellar, Dylan caught him by the shoulder and turned him toward the living room.

“I’ll take care of it, you go sit down.”

“No, it’s fine…”

“I don’t intend to make you do anything. You came all this way. Go on.”

Pushed out of the kitchen by Dylan, Joeon went and sat quietly on the living room sofa. For a while, Dylan was so captivated by the sight of Joeon’s profile that he was distracted, glancing at him repeatedly while fetching the wine and cake.

He wished this would be the first sight he’d see every time he returned from an away game. He felt he couldn’t be happier than if Joeon were waiting for him in his home.

When day broke, they could have breakfast together, live their own lives during the day, and then return home in the evening to welcome each other, tired from a long day, in a cozy bedroom. If that place happened to be a bathtub, that would be nice, too.

On his days off, he could sleep in while holding him, walk through the spring sunshine when spring came, enjoy festivals together in the summer, stroll along paths dyed with beautiful autumn leaves, and when winter came, fall asleep in his arms after finishing a game.

Falling asleep like that while feeling the other’s body heat and whispering words of love—he couldn’t imagine a greater comfort than that. Forgetting the hard times in each other’s embrace and celebrating the good times together—that was how they would spend each day.

Though he wasn’t sure what Joeon would think.

Dylan, well aware that the pace of his emotions was sprinting uncontrollably fast, didn’t want to rush Joeon, who didn’t seem ready to take the relationship further, so he bitterly snapped out of his imaginary daily life.

It seemed better not to voice these fantasies for the time being. He didn’t want to be a burden.

Giving himself a mental pep talk, Dylan took the cake out of the box and pushed aside the phone occupying a corner of the counter. It was Joeon’s phone. Just then, an unsaved number popped up on the screen.

“Joeon. Looks like you have a call. It might be a scam, though.”

At those words, Joeon, who had been staring blankly out the window, ran over to check his phone. Hesitating, he answered it, saying, “Just in case…”

Dylan nodded, recalling Joeon mentioning he was preparing to switch jobs. He shouldn’t miss an important call by assuming it was a scam.

Then, suddenly, he tilted his head with a strange expression.

“Hello.”

When the voice on the other end reached him, Joeon’s expression suddenly brightened.

“Yes, hello. Have you been well? I’m doing fine.”

Joeon became engrossed in the call and wandered toward the window in the living room. Dylan, who was gathering the cutlery, watched him intently. Leaning against a pillar and staring out the window, Joeon kept a smile on his lips the whole time, repeating, “Yes, that soon? Yes.” Whatever it was, it seemed to be a call that brought him good news.

After a long time, Joeon finished the call and turned back with a bright face.

“What was the call about? You look happy.”

“…I have something to celebrate, too.”

“Yeah?”

“I got a job offer from the company I interviewed at a while ago! They even offered a salary that’s 30% higher than what I make now!”

Joeon expressed his joy candidly, as if unleashing a secret he’d been hiding. When he was searching for his first job, he had been discouraged countless times by rejection notices, but this time, he had received an offer much more easily than expected. He still had other announcements pending so he hadn’t made a final decision, but he felt like he was floating on air.

However, for some reason, Dylan—whom he had trusted to be happier for him than anyone—was just watching him with a faint, soft smile, unlike his usual self. Sensing the strange atmosphere, Joeon asked.

“What’s wrong?”

“No… first off, congratulations. But I have one question.”

Joeon narrowed his brows at the word “first.” Meanwhile, Dylan was rubbing the edge of his eyebrow with his fingertip, hesitating.

“I caught a glimpse of the area code earlier, and it was 403. Does the interviewer live far away?”

403 was the area code for a different region.