PAO 33

Seowon stopped struggling, anxious as he saw the seawater creeping up to Junghoo’s ankles. The moment the strength in his hands gave out, his body would immediately plummet.

“When was I ever so shameless?”

“To be precise, there was probably never a time you weren’t.”

Not liking Junghoo’s slurred tone, Seowon said with his legs tensed up. It was his own strategy of sorts, to plant his feet on the ground first if Junghoo dropped him because he didn’t like what he’d just said.

“Seowon must have a lot of grievances against me.”

However, the moment the hand that was wrapped around his waist actually moved, Seowon let out an anxious sound. His teeth ground together at the thought of really falling into the seawater.

Once I’m in, I’ll pay him back just the same. He braced every one of his toes, which were curling up inside his sneakers, preparing for the moment of the fall. The incoming tide wet Junghoo’s calves, went out, and then came back in, reaching up to his knees. And… feeling that the next wave rushing in was unusual, Seowon was certain he would fall soon.

Straining his eyes, Seowon, who had pinpointed the moment the water would come in, tensed his body. Until the cool sound of the wave, which seemed to strike even his ears, quieted down, Seowon was still held in Junghoo’s arms. The water had already receded. It would come back in again, but Seowon looked up not at the water, but at Junghoo.

“…”

Since when was it. Since when had he been looking at him. And with such a gentle gaze, at that.

“How could I ever drop you?”

“You…”

Seowon couldn’t take his eyes off Junghoo.

“What you are to me.”

Even with the sound of the waves crashing again, his voice came through clearly.

Seowon did nothing. He just stayed still. So Junghoo walked out of the sea on his own and set Seowon down.

“What was that.”

He couldn’t complain about the sand getting into his sneakers. He could just shake it out, but Junghoo had sand stuck thickly to his wet sneakers and pants. It was because only one person had gone into the sea, so Seowon’s words came out gruffly.

“What is our Seowon unhappy about this time.”

“You said you don’t know when you might collapse. And you think it’s okay to dip your feet in the seawater after that?”

Seowon pointed at Junghoo’s pants with his index finger, then unfolded his fingers and waved his hand dismissively. Dipping his feet was no big deal, but it was absurd that he had to worry. He could see Junghoo’s eyes curve beyond his hand.

“Did I do it knowing you’d worry about me?”

“…”

He didn’t want to talk anymore since he mentioned his own illness so casually. So it was when Seowon turned his body away from Junghoo. Sung Hangyeol, who had been in the cafe, came out. He glanced once at Junghoo’s wet feet and then pointed to the car.

“Let’s go.”

At Sung Hangyeol’s suggestion, Seowon silently changed his direction toward the car. As Seowon got into the car first, Sung Hangyeol grabbed the arm of Junghoo who was following behind.

Even while being held, Junghoo only looked at Seowon. At Junghoo’s desperate gaze, Sung Hangyeol laughed as if it were ridiculous.

“You really seem to think you’re here to play.”

“Let go.”

Junghoo tried to pull his arm out of Sung Hangyeol’s grasp. However, Sung Hangyeol applied force and did not let go.

“Should I let you go obediently and then go tell that kid where you were trying to take him?”

At Sung Hangyeol’s threat, the expression disappeared from Junghoo’s face. He looked at Sung Hangyeol with sunken eyes.

“Right, that’s the Yoo Junghoo I know. I’ll make sure your friend can’t go anywhere, so you’re going to get your examination quietly and come back. You can do that, right?”

Sung Hangyeol said it with a smile, but they both knew it wasn’t to calm Junghoo down. Sung Hangyeol, who had judged that Junghoo’s symptoms of causing harm to his surroundings with his pheromones could not be cured in a short period, had moved him to Hanbit Hospital in the province and had followed him there as his attending physician.

Within him coexisted resentment toward Junghoo for almost ruining his younger brother and a sense of responsibility as his attending physician. In addition, Sung Hangyeol was in the most pivotal position regarding the development of a new drug, for which progress was only possible with Yoo Junghoo.

“If you don’t get the examination today, you won’t see that kid tomorrow.”

Junghoo glared at Sung Hangyeol.

“Why do you think I brought that kid here. So you’d better just do as I say quietly.”

“It would be quite a sight if the new drug doesn’t come out even after all this.”

Junghoo said through tightly clenched teeth. Sung Hangyeol, who was studying Junghoo’s face feature by feature, let out a smirk.

“That’s my part to take responsibility for.”

Seowon, who had gone to the car first, turned to look at Sung Hangyeol when the door wouldn’t open. And he saw Sung Hangyeol holding Junghoo’s arm and talking to him.

“What is their relationship.”

He had said he was an older brother he knew, but the atmosphere between the two was strange. Junghoo pretended he wasn’t, but he was wary of Sung Hangyeol, and Sung Hangyeol provoked Junghoo even knowing that.

“Is it just his personality.”

If he was the type of older brother who enjoyed tormenting his younger brother, it was somewhat understandable…

As he waited quietly, Junghoo turned his body toward Sung Hangyeol, making his face impossible to see. However, just because Junghoo’s expression wasn’t visible didn’t mean Sung Hangyeol wasn’t visible either.

Sung Hangyeol would occasionally gesture toward him with his eyes and give a deep smile. In the strange atmosphere between the two, Seowon waited with an uneasy feeling.

“Let’s stay at a hotel today and leave tomorrow. I was planning a day trip, but I’m not feeling too well.”

At Sung Hangyeol’s words as he entered the hotel parking lot, Seowon turned to look at Junghoo. It seemed the plan to stay for a day had been discussed in advance.

“Shall I drive then?”

Driving wasn’t difficult since he had gotten his license as soon as he graduated high school and drove occasionally.

“Would you?”

At Sung Hangyeol’s extremely welcoming tone, Seowon nodded his head in a daze.

“As it is, this car doesn’t fit my hands at all, so it’s been uncomfortable. I bought it because they said it was good, but it’s not worth the money.”

At Sung Hangyeol’s complaint, Seowon looked at the logo embedded in the center of the steering wheel. It was a car that cost a fortune by any rough estimate. And since it was a car model he had wanted to drive, he knew the price even more accurately.

“I don’t care if you get in an accident, so you do it, Seowon.”

Unlike before, he didn’t offer to drive. Seowon looked around. He said they were staying here, right?

“Where might the entrance be around here?”

He implied his intention to stay at the hotel. A laugh was heard from behind, but there was no way of knowing if it was Sung Hangyeol or Junghoo.

It was after the payment had already been made that Seowon, who was being guided next to Sung Hangyeol who was checking in, realized something was strange.

“Why are you only getting two rooms?”

He asked, looking at Sung Hangyeol coming over with the room keys. He asked because he wondered if it meant that he would use one room by himself and that he and Junghoo should use one together.

“Junghoo and I will use one room, and Seowon, this is yours.”

As if that wasn’t the case, Sung Hangyeol corrected Junghoo’s lodging arrangement.

“Hangyeol hyung and Junghoo?”

“It’s nice to hear you call me hyung.”

He looked at Junghoo instead of Sung Hangyeol, who was giving an irrelevant answer. Of course, he was the one who would be uncomfortable staying in a room with Junghoo. Still, because his pheromones spiked up so much at night, he had been concerned about sleeping separately. But the moment he saw Junghoo’s gaze, he knew he had made a mistake.

“So Seowon wanted to sleep with me.”

“It’s not that…”

“I’ll go if you give me a lap pillow.”

Unable to get a normal answer, Seowon decided to just ignore him. It’s good to use a room by myself.

“Leave your luggage in the room, come down, and let’s eat…”

At Sung Hangyeol’s words, Seowon held up his empty hands, and Junghoo put his hands in his pockets. They had nothing to begin with, so there was no luggage to leave behind.

“Let’s go eat. Since we came to the sea, should we have raw fish? No, that’s too classic, so it’s better to grill some meat. Hmm… are king crabs caught in the sea?”

As Sung Hangyeol pointed outside and went out first, Seowon snatched Junghoo’s arm.

“Why?”

Ignoring Junghoo’s gentle voice, he gestured toward Sung Hangyeol with his chin.

“Will you be able to sleep together?”

Seowon, who knew better than anyone what happened to Junghoo every night, couldn’t help but feel uneasy and brought it up. He didn’t know if Junghoo would understand what he meant, but he thought it was better to at least say it.

Junghoo looked back at Sung Hangyeol and then shrugged his shoulders.

“It’ll work out somehow.”

Junghoo, having said that much, started walking slowly, telling Seowon to go. Seowon, left alone one way or another, belatedly nodded his head.

Right, it’ll work out somehow.

Seowon, who ended up eating Korean food that hadn’t been mentioned at all, looked at the two men sitting across from him as he ate his pumpkin porridge.

For what reason did the two of them come to see the sea? If Junghoo hadn’t impulsively asked him to come along, he would have been alone with Sung Hangyeol.

‘It’s not like they’re dating.’

Just by looking at Junghoo’s gaze, which consistently didn’t leave him, he could tell he wasn’t in that kind of relationship with Sung Hangyeol. Before, too, when Sung Hangyeol had hugged Junghoo, his expression hadn’t been good, so it was clear they hadn’t come just to get some fresh air.

But it wasn’t as if he had any guesses either. As Seowon was eating a large spoonful of pumpkin porridge to relieve his frustration, Junghoo extended his hand. When his hand was moved away, Seowon saw the pumpkin porridge and lifted his head.

“Eat mine too.”

“It’s okay. This one is enough.”

“It doesn’t seem like enough.”

He knew he was saying it because he saw him eating well, but Seowon really had no appetite. He wasn’t hungry, and the gaze that seemed to be observing him was also uncomfortable.

“No matter how I look at you, you’re familiar. Have we met somewhere before?”

Sung Hangyeol examined Seowon persistently, as if observing him. It seemed he was doing so while searching his memory to see if he had met him in the past, but it didn’t seem like he was referring to their meeting at the cafe before.

“It’s because I have a common-looking face.”

Since he still couldn’t take his eyes off his face, Seowon made a vague excuse.

“Seowon.”

Junghoo’s reaction was faster.

“How can you have a common-looking face. Then am I a face you see once every 3 seconds walking down the street?”

Junghoo waved his hand as if it were ridiculous, and the example he gave was really…

“Is it that easy for you to say you’re handsome?”

“Hmm? I didn’t say I was handsome. So you usually think of me that way.”

As Junghoo smiled as if he had found out something good, Seowon shut his mouth and glared at an innocent person. The reason this conversation had happened in the first place was all because of Sung Hangyeol.