NCBF Ch 44

Hearing his words, Yuwon softly shook his hand, looking excessively cute. Hyun Gyujin let out a quiet groaning sound, tilting his head to rest it on top of Yuwon’s head, softly rubbing against it.

An unexpected hurdle—ramen—had been added before he could hug Yuwon, but perhaps it was for the best. After eating a hearty, delicious meal, one’s mind grew broader and one’s mood improved, after all. He might even accept him without pushing him away while going ugh…

Alright, first I’ll boil the ramen deliciously and fill up our Yuwon’s stomach. Hyun Gyujin’s eyes shone with resolve.

The ramen was truly delicious. The noodles were firm yet chewy, and the broth was neither too salty nor too bland, making it delicious down to the very last bite.

Normally, he could eat three bags of ramen by himself, but since it was night and he had to manage his appearance and physical shape, Hyun Gyujin cooked a total of only three bags—two as his share and one as Yuwon’s share—and completely emptied his bowl before standing at the sink.

Naturally, Yuwon came over saying he would do the dishes, but Hyun Gyujin stubbornly insisted until the end and took over the sink. Just as he had done until now, he had no intention of leaving the dishes to Yuwon in the future either. He just wanted it that way.

“…”

And right now, that wasn’t the main problem. Because the ramen had gotten in the way in the middle, the whole process of having taken a shower and even spraying perfume was right on the brink of going to waste. Though a good scent still wafted from him, the smell of ramen had definitely clung to him as well.

In a state like this, would hugging Yuwon truly be the right choice? He came to realize while doing the dishes that the atmosphere he had envisioned wasn’t like this. Hyun Gyujin let out a sigh without realizing it. It seemed better to postpone hugging Yuwon until next time.

“I should go now. You won’t be scared alone?”

“If you’re scared, are you gonna sleep over?”

Pressing a hand firmly against the back of Hyun Gyujin—who was looking at him with eyes completely filled with expectation—and gently pushing him toward the entryway, Yuwon smiled.

“What’s this, my hopes were raised for nothing.”

“Do you like sleeping at my house?”

“It’s not that I like sleeping at your house, it’s that I like sleeping with you.”

“Are those different?”

“Of course they’re different. It means it doesn’t have to be here.”

“Why do you like that?”

Stepping out into the entryway and putting his feet into his sneakers, Hyun Gyujin turned back to look at Yuwon, who followed him out as he stepped through the front door.

“Because my mind feels at ease.”

“…”

“Now that we’re grown up I can drop by whenever I want, but when we were little, I had to get my mom’s permission just to go to your place. When you were so sick you couldn’t go to school, I was worried, but Mom wouldn’t let me go fearing I’d bother you…. It was seriously frustrating. But if we’re together, I can see it directly with my own eyes.”

At the answer, which was far more serious than expected, he was rendered speechless. Feelings of gratitude, touching emotion, and apology mixed together, tapping on the inside of his lips. Yuwon subtly pulled on the hem of the loose hoodie Hyun Gyujin was wearing.

“…What do I do?”

“Why?”

“…I came to like you even more.”

At Yuwon’s sudden, out-of-nowhere confession, Hyun Gyujin likewise lost his words. He had heard so many words from Yuwon over time, but hearing words like this was a first. He felt his heart churn wildly and heat surge up to his face.

Jeong Yuwon when in a good mood, Jeong Yuwon when in a bad mood, Jeong Yuwon when sick, and even Jeong Yuwon when neither happy nor sad but gradually growing happy from eating delicious food—he thought he knew every detailed side of him in his own way, but… seeing this kind of side—that is, the sight of Jeong Yuwon dating—was a first.

On top of that… confronting the sight of Jeong Yuwon dating him right now, he couldn’t breathe well. How did one breathe again? Is this right? Is it right to consciously inhale and exhale like this? He really felt like he was going to go crazy.

“Hey…. If you do that all of a sudden…”

“…”

“…What about me, seriously?”

“…”

“…I’m fucking nervous.”

Plans or whatever, everything that had been piled up in his heart and in his head crumbled completely and disappeared. Yuwon, who had come out wearing slippers to see him off, Yuwon, who said he came to like him even more—when he was this cute and pretty, what did a plan matter?

Carrying a trembling that prevented proper thought, Hyun Gyujin took a large step toward Yuwon. And trapping Yuwon inside his two arms, he gathered him tightly into a full hug.

Ah, I did it. The moment he felt a full measure of warmth fill his embrace, a light flashed on inside his mind, which was melting like butter dissolved in heat. Only now had his sanity returned a little.

“…”

What if he pushes me away? What if he says he hates it while going ugh…? Should I let go even now and pretend it’s a joke? No, if I call something like this a joke, would he even believe me? It’s not like I’m a pervert, who in the first place does something like this as a joke…

Afraid of being rejected by Yuwon, his mind, which was spinning wildly toward the negative side, ground to a halt once more.

“…”

“…”

Yuwon’s two arms slid softly and wrapped around Hyun Gyujin’s waist. Just as he was holding Yuwon, Yuwon was also holding him. Without being pushed back, he was pulled further forward, their embraces interlocking tight. His heart… felt like it was about to burst.

He wanted to say something cool, but nothing came to mind. He simply… loved Yuwon, who was holding him back in return. That was all that came to mind. That he loved Jeong Yuwon.

Quiet and feeling a bit cool in front of the door, in a space where only the sound of the elevator slowly rising and falling to unknown floors echoed once in a while, Yuwon, touching against him, was truly warm. Buried in the cozy scent wafting from his hair, the rim of his ear, and the nape of his neck, he felt so good he wanted to fall asleep.

Hyun Gyujin bent his body down a bit more and buried his face in the nape of Yuwon’s neck. Though Yuwon flinched, Hyun Gyujin applied a little more force to his arms and held Yuwon even tighter in his embrace. His heart was beating so fast it was troublesome.

“…”

“…”

Their bodies, which had been touching for a long while, parted slightly only when an unknown amount of time had passed. With the feeling of all warmth draining from his body, Hyun Gyujin watched Yuwon’s face part regretfully, his gaze landing on the tip of a cute ear turned bright red.

“…I’m going now.”

“Mm-hmm…. Bye….”

Looking at Yuwon awkwardly raising his hand to wave goodbye, Hyun Gyujin thought that he wanted to kiss him. He had wondered and worried in his own way whether there was a time one wanted to kiss, how one could know that, and what would happen if he passed the timing by alone without knowing, but he realized that all of it was useless thoughts.

How could anyone not know that? When he was so pretty he thought he could die. When he didn’t know how to step back and only wanted to keep stepping closer.

“…Uh, I’ll text you.”

However, he felt he shouldn’t startle Yuwon any further today. No matter how much he had become a crazy bastard whose plans and intellect had all collapsed, he could still judge that he should stop at this point today at least. Hyun Gyujin barely turned his regret-filled feet, got onto the elevator, and went up to the 12th floor.

“…”

Wow, seriously crazy. So liking someone as a friend can suddenly like them in such a completely different direction like this. No, did I originally like Jeong Yuwon? Short of that, could I come to like him like a crazy bastard like this?

Entering the house without being able to offer any answer to the questions washing over him in succession, he heard his mom and dad’s voices. It seemed they had returned while he went to pick up Yuwon and even had ramen.

“Did you come back after being with Yuwon?”

“Yeah.”

“Why is your face so red?”

“Huh? Don’t know…? Is it because it’s hot?”

“It was chilly outside, though. Aren’t you coming from outside?”

“Ah…. He said he was hungry so I ate ramen and came back.”

“Don’t keep feeding Yuwon that kind of stuff. Even though he’s gotten much healthier than when he was young, Yuwon still shouldn’t eat that kind of instant food. You cut back a bit too.”

Nagging again. Knowing that talking back would only make it longer, Hyun Gyujin gave a roughly dutiful answer of okay and went into his room.

“…”

Closing the door and leaning his back against the closed door, Yuwon, who had filled his embrace just a moment ago, came to mind. His chin touching right around his shoulder, literally, truly… sinking… sinking softly into his embrace—really, the feeling of that moment was something he couldn’t describe in words.