Lee Young-jin forgot to answer and closed his mouth.
He looked at Seo Seung-hyun with skeptical eyes for a moment, then turned his gaze away.
Rather than reacting to the teasing, he chose to steer the conversation back.
“Do you not want to do it?”
“Yes.”
“Is it because I’m not good enough?”
Suddenly, a concern popped into Lee Young-jin’s mind, and he cautiously asked.
If his performance in bed wasn’t up to par, then all the playful banter and ambiguous contract of exchanging intimacy and warmth would be meaningless. At this moment, the desire not to be alone in this vast bed in the desolate wasteland-like house outweighed the tension and cleverness he felt when signing the contract without a specified scope of work.
“I’ll do my best…”
But the response was a long laughter, “Ahahaha.”
“Do my best? You?”
Then Seo Seung-hyun laughed softly again.
“Don’t think about unnecessary things and go to sleep.”
As he said that, he gently stroked Lee Young-jin’s back from top to bottom, then patted his shoulder blades again.
The steady rhythm was so unfamiliar that Lee Young-jin had to squirm his body several times.
What is this? What is happening?
Seo Seung-hyun let out a brief yawn.
He reached for his own tie and quickly loosened it, then tossed it under the bed. There was a soft sound as the silk tie hit something.
“Go to sleep quickly. I’ll sleep here too.”
Lee Young-jin stayed still, rigid with his limbs, unable to even blink.
For a very long time.
About five minutes… maybe ten.
His eyelids felt heavier than usual. He half-closed his eyes, then opened them again, repeating this motion before finally fully closing his eyelids. His eyelashes brushed against Seo Seung-hyun’s shirt buttons and fluttered. Leaning his forehead against Seo Seung-hyun’s shoulder, he turned his face away.
It was the first time he had lain in bed with someone without having sex.
Although Ji Jung-hoon would occasionally sit by the bedside and wait for him to fall asleep, they had never shared a bed like this before.
Thump, thump, thump, thump. The sound of Seo Seung-hyun’s large palm patting his back continued. With each pat, the impact reverberated fiercely inside his ribcage. Please stop, Lee Young-jin silently implored, unable to even flinch as he remained frozen. Thud, thud, thud, thud. Stop, I said. It’s strange. It’s frightening. Perhaps he wanted to say those words.
Unfinished missions, belongings, Ji Jung-hoon, Park Eun-young, Interpol, fake passports, Toronto, Bogotá.
Teacher who willingly shouldered his debt of 2.34 billion won.
Magnolia Island too.
His late grandfather.
All the worries and anxieties converged into a tidal wave, fiercely crashing, until finally, the moment of tranquility arrived.
Lee Young-jin slipped into a deep slumber, devoid of any worries or cares.
Leave a Reply