PAO 9

“Hey.”

How long is he going to sleep here?

Seowon, who had finally decided to wake him up, kicked the sofa with his foot. Perhaps because he put quite a bit of force into it, the vibration was strong, and Junghoo’s eyelids fluttered.

“Mm… Seowon.”

“I’m starting to get used to you sleeping here now.”

“What time is it?”

“Nine o’clock.”

Junghoo sat up on the sofa and pressed his temples. Seowon, looking at his face as he grimaced with his eyes closed, clicked his tongue and walked to the kitchen.

“It’s because you slept in an uncomfortable position. What are you doing when you have a perfectly good bed?”

“I must have fallen asleep at some point. How could you not come out even once? You should have woken me up and told me to go sleep in the bed.”

“That’s why I’m waking you up now. Want some cereal?”

“Yeah.”

Junghoo got up from the sofa and staggered over.

“Almond?”

“Classic.”

Seowon, holding the box of cereal without almonds, pushed it in front of Junghoo. He gave Junghoo his choice and then poured milk into a bowl to have some himself. His eyes asked if he should pour some in his bowl too, and Junghoo shook his head.

“I’ll eat later.”

“Suit yourself.”

As Seowon was pouring cereal into his milk, Junghoo sat down across from him. He wasn’t even eating with him, but he was sitting there, so Seowon’s eyes, which had just taken a spoonful, turned to him.

“Why are you sitting down?”

“To watch you eat.”

Junghoo picked up a cup, poured some water, and looked at Seowon’s cereal bowl.

“How did you know there was cereal at home?”

Junghoo asked, remembering that he hadn’t even rummaged through the kitchen when he arrived yesterday.

“I figured you would have prepared it.”

Seowon said it as if it were no big deal. He knew that he often ate cereal in the morning, so he had expected him to stock up.

“As expected, Seowon knows me well.”

“It’s more that you know me.”

Junghoo, who had indeed told the staff to prepare cereal just as Seowon had thought, let out a deflated laugh. Hearing his hoarse voice, Seowon looked at him, and Junghoo drank some water. Then, when he made an “ah, ah” sound, his voice was no longer hoarse like before.

Once Seowon lost interest, Junghoo propped his elbows on the table and began to watch Seowon in earnest. His gaze was one that said, “My baby is eating well,” and at the same time, it was the stare of someone thinking, “I should fatten him up and then eat him.”

“I don’t care what kind of look you’re giving me, but shouldn’t you go get some more sleep right now?”

“I want to see Seowon.”

“Your eyeballs say they’re in pain.”

“Then kiss it better.”

“I’m afraid you’ll get dry eye.”

At the simple joke, Junghoo grinned and rubbed his eyes. The bloodshot, red eyes were a problem, but the area around his eyes also became red, perhaps due to the friction. At that sight, Seowon, with the spoon still in his mouth, grabbed Junghoo’s hand and pulled it down.

“Don’t rub it. It’s getting redder.”

“My eyes hurt.”

“You have a lot of ailments, old man. From now on, please sleep in your bed.”

He said it as a joke, but Junghoo’s condition was really different from usual, and it kept bothering him. Seowon quickly finished his cereal, then rummaged through a cabinet, took out what looked like nutritional supplements, and placed them in front of Junghoo with a clatter clatter clatter.

“Take these and go to school.”

“Seowon.”

At the low, deep voice, Seowon, who was slinging his bag over his shoulder, turned around.

“What?”

“Hug me just once.”

“There’s a limit to your antics.”

“Really, just hug me once.”

There was no strength in his low-pitched voice. He had been listless since last night, and now he was so precariously fragile it was unsettling. At the sight of Junghoo, who was truly poking at his weak heart, Seowon moved the bag he had slung over his head to his back.

“Turn around.”

As Junghoo turned around with a smile, Seowon wrapped his arms around his head. It was similar to when he had sat him down on the sofa yesterday and sat next to him. At least because it was a chair, Junghoo’s high nose was squashed against his chest. Even though he was hugged fiercely, Junghoo took a deep breath as if it was nothing.

“It smells like Seowon.”

“It’s sweat.”

“It’s sour.”

“That’s what sweat smells like.”

“But it’s sweet.”

“Your nose must be crazy.”

As if to tell him to stop joking, Seowon patted Junghoo’s head a few times and then moved his hand down to massage his neck. He did it because he remembered hearing somewhere that massaging the neck when you have a headache helps.

“That feels good.”

With Junghoo’s languid sigh, his hand slyly slipped under his shirt and touched his skin, making his waist flinch. How dare he put his hand under someone else’s clothes without permission? Seowon, as if in revenge, squeezed his neck hard and then let go. Then, he indifferently massaged Junghoo’s neck, shoulders, and back, wherever his hands went.

Seowon looked at the crown of Junghoo’s head, then lowered his gaze to his broad shoulders. He hadn’t looked down on Junghoo, who was always bigger than him, very often, so it felt strange.

“Were you always this physically weak?”

He thought he would spend all his time guarding against his advances when they started living together, but he was faced with an unexpected situation.

‘Is he really sick somewhere?’ 

Seowon, who had inadvertently lowered his gaze, widened his eyes.

The front of Junghoo’s pants was bulging so obviously it was noticeable.

“This bastard…”

He got hard without saying a word.

As soon as Seowon noticed, that excited thing throbbed even more.

“This is an unavoidable force majeure.”

Junghoo acted as if it wasn’t his fault, but Seowon snorted.

“Do you want to die on your own, or shall I graciously kill you?”

“This isn’t something you can just kill at will, though.”

“It’ll die if you hit it.”

Seowon spat out calmly and then wrapped his arm around Junghoo’s neck and squeezed.

“Ugh.”

“I’ll acknowledge it if you still get excited in the face of death.”

“Acknowledge what, my love?”

“No. Your instincts.”

As Seowon squeezed even harder, Junghoo struggled to get out of his embrace. However, since Seowon was also a man of above-average height, it wasn’t easy to break free with just a half-hearted attempt. On top of that, Seowon was smacking the back of his neck, and Junghoo whined that his head was ringing.

“Keuk, you’re really trying to kill me.”

“To be precise, I’m killing your instincts.”

Seowon snorted at Junghoo’s stifled voice but didn’t loosen his arm. The suddenly started power struggle between the two men took a strange turn when Junghoo grabbed Seowon’s side.

“Eung.”

Junghoo had simply gathered his fingers and grabbed his shirt, as if scratching, to push him away, but a strange sound flowed from Seowon’s throat. While Junghoo froze in surprise, Seowon’s arm, which had been choking him, slowly loosened.

“…”

“…”

The scuffle between the two ended anticlimactically as Seowon took a step back. Junghoo massaged his own neck, and Seowon needlessly looked around. An awkward silence fell as they both got lost in thought about what had just happened.

“…I’m leaving.”

Seowon brushed off his clothes as if nothing had happened, went into his room, slung his bag around his neck, and quickly left. Junghoo, who was suddenly left alone, tried to deduce Seowon’s reaction just now with a strangely cool nape and a cleared head.

“Was he ticklish?”