TRIPLE 17

“No! I like it here. Ah, the room is really nice. Wow—”

As if to say there was no need to hear more, Siyeon turned his back on him and took off his coat, laying it down. Although it bothered him a little that it was located between Chae Yoonoh’s and Beom Yisu’s rooms, it felt cozy and he liked it. Seeing this, Chae Yoonoh smiled as if the decision had been made.

“Then do you want to shower first? Or would you rather change clothes?”

“…What are you planning to do?”

“Hm? You should rest. You’re not feeling well, either. Get some sleep until Yisu-hyung comes back later.”

When Siyeon sent a look of suspicion, Chae Yoonoh put on a crafty face as if he were aggrieved. If Beom Yisu was the type whose inner thoughts were hard to read due to his lack of expression, Chae Yoonoh was, conversely, the type whose true intentions were hard to gauge because his emotional changes were excessively abundant.

Hadn’t he even said he was an actor? Unlike himself, who was prone to “foot-acting” (bad acting), he would be someone very skilled at hiding his true intentions.

Deciding not to take everything at face value, Siyeon glanced back at Chae Yoonoh. He was leaning against the doorframe, watching Siyeon in a posture that suggested he was about to leave but didn’t.

The moment Siyeon’s shoulders stiffened ever so slightly, Chae Yoonoh scanned him with his eyes as if he were playing a prank.

“I’ll be in the next room, so if you need anything, call me. It’s to the left. The room to your left.”

Chae Yoonoh left the room only after saying several times that his room was on the left. The door closed, and Siyeon stared at it for a long time. Just as he was wondering if it was alright to change clothes since soft loungewear had been prepared, zzzt-zzzt— Siyeon’s phone began to ring. Since there was only one saved contact, it was obvious who the caller was without looking.

[Beom Yisu]

Sure enough, his name was flickering on the screen. Siyeon hesitated for a moment, his finger hovering over the receive button. A cynical thought, ‘Why is he contacting me again?’ crossed his mind, but he eventually swallowed his breath once and answered.

— I received word that you arrived at the house.

A dry, emotionless voice. It was nothing more than a confirmation procedure disguised as checking on his well-being. Even though it was the same voice as last night, Siyeon unnecessarily felt like he was being monitored.

“Yes. I arrived.”

— If any problems arise, report it immediately. That is what I gave you the phone for.

“What kind of problems?”

Is there anything that could go terribly wrong inside the house? He didn’t ask sarcastically but out of genuine curiosity, but a brief silence lingered. Then, Beom Yisu offered an answer that seemed as if he had been deliberating over something.

— You mentioned you were already acquainted with my spouse, did you not?

“…If you mean Mr. Chae Yoonoh, yes. Well.”

— Since I have asked him to show you around the house, you may speak to him if you need anything.

He had already been shown around and assigned a room long ago. However, the things Siyeon needed to discuss with him weren’t trivial matters like disliking the furniture arrangement in the room or needing daily necessities. Siyeon immediately brought up the main point.

“Rather than needing anything… it’s the contract you sent. There are things to modify. And a few additional clauses.”

As soon as Siyeon brought up the contract, Beom Yisu replied as if he had been waiting.

— I will settle the contract matter tonight.

“Tonight?”

— I still have external commitments, so I cannot return immediately. Let us coordinate in person after I return home.

It was essentially a notification. However, since he was not in a position to defy his word, Siyeon did not push back.

— For now, rest until then.

Tsk, he felt uncomfortable, so would he even be able to rest properly? But the call cut off before he could even finish answering. It was just as the screen faded to black.

Knock knock—

“Dear. I’m coming in for a second.”

He had just told him to rest, and now Chae Yoonoh’s voice seeped through the crack in the door. When he reluctantly said he could come in, Chae Yoonoh opened the door and entered with a small tray in his hands. A glass of lukewarm water and pills presumed to be vitamins. And some simple fruit and snacks.

“In case you were low on energy. Your face looked a bit unwell earlier.”

He had filled the tray so meticulously that Siyeon felt sorry for grumbling to himself. As Siyeon hesitantly accepted the tray, Chae Yoonoh followed up with a question.

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but did Hyung just call you? What did he say?”

“…That we should look at the contract together after he gets off work later.”

“Uh-huh. The contract.”

Chae Yoonoh shrugged his shoulders. He had an expression that suggested he was thinking about something.

“Got it. Give me your phone.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think? To save my number, too.”

Chae Yoonoh snatched the phone from Siyeon, entered his own number, and made a call. The phone, which had only contained Beom Yisu, now had a new number saved under the nickname ‘Dear♥’.

Of course, since Chae Yoonoh had entered it himself, it was a display name he planned to change as soon as he left.

“Now really, get some rest. If you need anything, tell me.”

As Siyeon nodded, the door closed. The sound of footsteps walking down the hallway grew more distant.

‘We’re going to write the contract later. I just need to keep my head clear.’

The clauses of the contract he had organized all night long quickly sorted themselves out in his mind. From pheromone partners to clauses regarding pregnancy. There were many things to argue about, but his head was definitely heavy. Perhaps because he hadn’t slept a wink, it felt as if his eyes were closing. He knew he shouldn’t be staying this peaceful, yet even as he thought that, it was difficult to overcome his infinitely heavy eyelids.

∞ ∞ ∞

Thump thump—!

The knocking on the door was boisterous. Siyeon, who opened his eyes to the sound, stared blankly out the window, where dusk had already descended while he was still half-asleep.

“Dear. Come down and have dinner now!”

He had only intended to close his eyes for a moment, but he had fallen into a sound sleep. This is why I can’t do anything; as soon as I relax, I fall straight to sleep. After finishing his brief self-reproach, Siyeon looked at his swollen eyes in the mirror once, then dampened his palms with water. His hair, which he roughly pushed down to tidy up, gave him trouble, but he didn’t really care.

He managed to press down the puffiness and went down to the first floor; Chae Yoonoh, who seemed to have been waiting for him to come down, was leaning against the end of the hallway and caught his eye first.

“Looks like you slept well. Is your body feeling a bit better?”

“Ah, yes….”

To have fallen into such a deep sleep while keeping his guard up, Siyeon felt a bit sheepish and answered hesitantly. At that moment, there was a sound of someone entering from the foyer. Beom Yisu, who seemed to have just arrived, took off his coat, hung it on the sofa, and loosened his necktie. He scanned the stairs with his eyes. From Chae Yoonoh to Siyeon, who was standing above him.

“Come down. We need to draft the contract.”

He had been thinking this constantly, but Beom Yisu’s way of speaking was truly unique. Even though it felt like he was being more polite than Chae Yoonoh, who spoke informally without hesitation, it also made him think, ‘Wait, no? Is he commanding me?’

‘Not that it really matters.’

The moment Siyeon took his hand off the staircase railing and took a step, Chae Yoonoh moved first.

“Wait. Before that, let’s eat first. Our dear must be hungry, right?”

Beom Yisu’s gaze, tinged with fatigue, brushed past them briefly. It was sharp. However, soon….

Grrrr. A sound came from Siyeon’s stomach without a moment to hold it back. As an embarrassingly loud rumble echoed, Siyeon himself was a little startled. Should he have eaten the snacks Chae Yoonoh brought him? As Siyeon bowed his head, pretending to be embarrassed, Beom Yisu’s eyebrows wrinkled subtly.

“You were together, yet you let him starve?”

It was a remark close to a reproach, but Chae Yoonoh brushed it off as if it were nothing.

“Who’s the one who called him over and then came late? You even had the Chief Secretary do the escorting. If it were me, I would have brought him myself.”

“In that loud car of yours? Hardly. You’d just get us photographed by reporters.”

“I have tame cars, too, you know? Do you think I only have one or two?”

“Your wastefulness is still as bad as ever.”

“None of your business, I bought it with money I earned. Have you ever contributed a cent?”

He hadn’t expected to face a marital spat head-on like this. And with himself caught in the middle. Moreover, it was surprisingly childish conversation, which was a bit unexpected. In the book, well… they seemed to act with a bit more of an atmosphere. Siyeon watched them take turns, feeling like he was sitting on a bed of thorns, and then hurriedly cut in.

“No! I was just tired, so I kept sleeping. The, uh, earlier, he gave me snacks, too.”

The words tumbled out urgently. Chae Yoonoh didn’t miss that opening. He leaned his body and attached himself closer to Siyeon’s side.

“Dear, I’m hurt. You saw what Hyung said, right?”

His large fingertips naturally wrapped around Siyeon’s shoulder. Siyeon looked at Beom Yisu with an even more uncomfortable face. Beom Yisu still had an unreadable face, but it was clear that he was in a bad mood.

“…I, I’m hungry! Can’t we eat first?”

“Yes, let’s eat. You said you like Korean food, right?”

To break the awkward atmosphere, Siyeon purposely clutched his stomach in an exaggerated way. Chae Yoonoh, who led Siyeon to the dining table, naturally pulled out a chair and said,

“Sit here.”

It was the seat next to him. But at the same time, Beom Yisu was also lightly tapping the spot next to him with his fingertips. He didn’t say anything in particular, but it was a clear signal to sit beside him.

‘What are both of you trying to do right now?’