NCBF Ch 9

However, there was actually a valid reason for Hyun Gyujin’s worry. As he teased him earlier, Yuwon had suddenly gotten too scared a few times and asked Hyun Gyujin to come over, and the day after arguing with Hyun Gyujin, he caught a severe body ache cold, and despite being scared to be alone and very sick, he endured it silently before becoming bedridden and unable to go to school for half a month. After that day, Hyun Gyujin worried extremely about him being home alone and was always attentive.

i’m fine now i’m gonna sleep

i’m so sleepy

When he sent a squirrel sleeping emote, a little while later, a similar bear sleeping emote came back. Because it was a cute emote that really didn’t suit the large Hyun Gyujin, a smile spread across his lips.

Right, Hyun Gyujin was such a presence. A friend who was comfortable, dependable, and made him feel good whenever he thought of him. A friend whom he had relied on and been together with as much as his parents, or perhaps sometimes even more, over the 18 years he had lived.

So the pounding, flutter, and trembling he experienced today were completely absurd. Because those were words that didn’t suit and shouldn’t be attached to the name ‘friend’.

It must have been because he was grateful to Hyun Gyujin, who stepped up and got angry before he did whenever he suffered something unpleasant, and even in the midst of that, hid him behind his back to protect him in case he got hurt. It was something he always experienced, but today, he was unusually more grateful. Right, so that gratitude must have stayed in his heart the whole time as things like trembling and pounding.

Right, that’s it. Yuwon, who lowered the stand’s light weakly, laid down the body he had been leaning against the bed. And he chuckled looking at the sleeping bear emote sent by Hyun Gyujin.

When he woke up after sleeping, all these things would pass as a single happening. It had to be that way. Yuwon set his phone on the side table and pulled the blanket up to his neck. When he actually tried to sleep alone, ghost stories he had heard at some point suddenly rushed into his mind, but he squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to sleep. Looking forward to tomorrow morning when everything would return to normal after a sound sleep.

∞ ∞ ∞

Footsteps were heard from the hallway side leading to the room. Yuwon, tightly gripping the blanket, squeezed his eyes shut tighter at the footsteps stopping in front of the room. Did his parents return? Or a burglar?

Click, the door turned down with the sound of the handle going down and opened. Yuwon slightly opened his shut eyes and looked at the silhouette approaching him. Even though it was dark, Yuwon could tell that the person approaching him was Hyun Gyujin just by looking at that shimmering figure.

‘Jeong Yuwon, are you sleeping?’

He was about to say he told him he didn’t need to come, so why did he come, and that he was startled, but Hyun Gyujin’s voice flowed out faster. Yuwon, secretly watching Hyun Gyujin who approached close and climbed onto the bed, squeezed his eyes shut pretending to sleep.

Hyun Gyujin, who knelt on one knee and climbed onto the bed, spread his legs and knelt his other knee down on the opposite side of Yuwon’s body.

‘I came because I wanted to touch you more.’

His voice dropped straight down. Yuwon opened his eyes and looked at Hyun Gyujin, who had been kneeling with his upper body upright straddling his body, coming down toward him. And at that moment, he also realized that this was a dream. Because there was no way the Hyun Gyujin in reality would be like this.

He had to stop him, but his body wouldn’t move. And naturally, no words came out either. He just watched Hyun Gyujin coming down over him as if pouring over him and pressing his body close.

What do I do, why am I having a dream like this…. I have to wake up, if I leave it more, even more, it feels like I shouldn’t…. Even while sleeping, he thought that this was wrong. But on the other hand, honestly, a heart that was slightly, just a tiny bit curious about what Hyun Gyujin would do next definitely existed.

‘It’s okay. There’s no one at home.’

There was no correlation between no one being at home and this current situation, but whether because it was a dream, he felt relieved at those words alone.

‘Why were you staying still earlier?’

A finger rubbed his cheek and went down. Yuwon still couldn’t say any words. It was as if he had never spoken a word before.

‘Was it good?’

How was it earlier. How did he feel when Hyun Gyujin’s hand touched here and there…. Honestly, he couldn’t remember well. Because he was so nervous and tense, he only remembered facing that situation blankly.

The hand that was touching his ear was now going inside toward the side with the pillow and touching the back of his neck. Yuwon felt the touch digging into his clothes along the back of his neck. Even though he knew it was a dream, a chill ran down his spine and strength entered his whole body.

The fingertip that went inside his T-shirt went further down toward his back and moved to touch his shoulder. Because his hand was so hot, every time it touched his body, his legs curled in and his waist flinched up.

‘Ha….’

‘Wait a minute….’

The words he barely let out were ambiguous words, neither telling him not to do it nor saying it was good. Yuwon looked up at Hyun Gyujin, who didn’t even seem to hear his words, and pondered. How could he wake up from the dream.

‘Why.’

Why? In a normal situation, would someone answer ‘Why?’ Ah, it was not a normal situation, so were random words just coming out without filter. Hyun Gyujin’s hand, which was shamelessly putting his hand inside his clothes and touching his shoulder or the back of his neck, pulled out and this time dug underneath. Yuwon, startled by the feeling of his waist being grabbed, twisted his body greatly. At that moment, his eyes snapped open.

“…”

The dim ceiling was visible. Yuwon quickly turned his head and scanned the room. Only after confirming that Hyun Gyujin was nowhere to be found did the strength that had entered his body drain away.

How could he have such a dream targeting Hyun Gyujin…. Wow, I must really be crazy. Yuwon, who let out a breath that felt somewhat ragged even though it wasn’t something that actually happened, bit down hard on the inside of his lip at the feeling in his fluttering lower abdomen. Having a dirty dream featuring his childhood friend of 18 years, and getting excited from that dream, he felt so embarrassed he wanted to die.

He felt half an erection rising from the heat, but Yuwon pretended not to notice, turned his body, and lay facing the wall. He pulled the blanket up well again as if nothing happened and forced his eyes shut. A desire to put his hand there arose, but he intended to never… absolutely never touch it. Because even if dreams were beyond his control, masturbation was something he could refrain from doing through his own willpower. He couldn’t do such a thing targeting Hyun Gyujin, of all people. Absolutely not.

Nothing happened. Everything up to here is a dream. There’s no way I would be like this targeting Hyun Gyujin. Yuwon squeezed his eyes shut tighter, trying hard to ignore the uneasy heart that felt like he had committed a bad deed. He only earnestly hoped that when morning came, all this guilt-ridden time would be erased from his head like a dream.

Yuwon, who prepared to go to school with a tired face, scooped up a spoonful of cereal and put it in his mouth. In the end, he tossed and turned all night through dawn. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he tossed and turned out of tension, fearing he would have such a dream again, and just as he was about to fall asleep, he tried to keep his mind sharp just in case, and morning came.

Waking up before the alarm even rang and washing up, Yuwon was slowly preparing to go to school with a mind that had been dazed with sleepiness since earlier.

“…”

Being sleepy was being sleepy, but actually, the scariest thing right now was that he had to see Hyun Gyujin’s face in a little while. Having such a dream featuring his childhood friend and having to see his face right after…. This was really too much.

Feeling his head throbbing from lack of sleep, Yuwon scooped another spoonful of soggy cereal into his mouth and collapsed face down onto the dining table. Even the chocolate ring-shaped cereal he loved so much didn’t taste good today. That was how very, very serious Yuwon was.

However, just because Yuwon was serious didn’t mean time stopped for him. The time to leave returned without fail, and Yuwon left the house with his backpack slung over both shoulders. He saw the elevator passing the 10th floor and coming down. Yuwon, who was about to press the button, just stood quietly looking at the numbers dropping one by one. The reason was that he knew it would naturally stop on the 6th floor even if he didn’t press it.

It’s the 6th floor.

Just as Yuwon expected, the elevator stopped on the 6th floor. And inside the opening door, Hyun Gyujin was naturally there. Yuwon, who left the house resolving over and over that he had to act as naturally as possible as if nothing had happened, flinched the moment he saw Hyun Gyujin.

“You’re not getting on?”

“Huh? Ah, I should get on.”