* * *
Yoo Joohwan frowned and strode closer.
He pulled the blanket away, made me sit up, and then pushed me into the bathroom.
I shot a look at Kang Taeyun for help, but he just placed a pair of pants and a shirt on the chair, as if telling me to just go wash.
“Put a towel on first.”
“I’ll do it myself.”
“Shh! Just stay still.”
He spoke with a firm voice and steered me to the sink.
Carefully, he adjusted the water temperature, wet my face, and meticulously washed it.
I wasn’t a child, yet he washed me thoroughly, pressing his body close behind my hips.
Every time I moved, his lower body brushed against mine, and each time, it grew in size.
“I guess I’m just too healthy, huh?”
Yoo Joohwan chuckled playfully and wiped the water from my face.
The sheer size, like a heavy stone, made me recall the cone ice cream he’d brought.
‘Seriously… is it really that big? For a human?’
I wanted to deny it, to say it was impossible, but at the same time, I was curious.
Unable to resist, I turned around and pretended to move, lightly bumping his center.
The size, reaching almost to my wrist, was less like a human’s and more like a beast’s, and Siho couldn’t hide his surprise.
“Why is it so big?”
Yoo Joohwan let out a small burst of laughter at my involuntary honest remark.
The playful expression he’d worn while washing my face had completely vanished.
“If you’re going to check, you should do it properly.”
Yoo Joohwan grabbed my wrist and brought my hand to his center.
He pressed down firmly and moved, making Siho’s face flush red.
Just the touch made me feel like kneeling before him, stripping off his pants.
I knew I should stop, but my hand wouldn’t cease.
At my fumbling touch, Yoo Joohwan’s lips twisted into a crooked smile.
“What are you doing now?”
“…I don’t know. But it’s really big. It’s so big, it’s astonishing…”
Yoo Joohwan let out a sharp, empty breath, seemingly dumbfounded.
Seeing Siho’s dazed, hazy gaze, Yoo Joohwan cornered me against the wall.
“You’re the one who provoked me.”
Just as he tilted his head to kiss me, the bathroom door opened.
The timing was exquisite—it felt intentional, like an effort to deliberately break the mood.
“The soup is getting cold.”
I turned my head and saw Moon Dowon holding a rice paddle, and Kang Taeyun standing behind him with his hands in his pockets.
Yoo Joohwan sighed deeply, looking deflated, and slowly ran a hand through his hair.
“Moments like this make me dislike being together.”
“Shall we go for solo play then?”
“Even if I wanted to, I’m not sure.”
Yoo Joohwan wore a regretful expression but quickly returned to his usual self, sporting a disarmingly innocent smile.
He said we should apply lotion and took a bottle from the shelf, squeezing a line onto his palm.
Like applying rouge and powder, he dabbed it on different areas of my face and gently spread it.
“I was the one who suggested the three of us, but I keep getting greedy.”
“…”
“That means you’re charming. Despite being a Beta.”
Calling me a temptress, he stretched my cheek like a pancake.
Siho frowned at his cheek being pulled so long.
Yoo Joohwan released my cheek and poked the furrow between my brows.
“Next time, let’s see each other alone.”
I knew exactly what that meant, even without him having to explain it.
Yoo Joohwan tossed the towel into the basket and stepped over the threshold, leading the way out.
Massaging my throbbing cheek, I followed behind him, and just as I was about to take off my shoes, Kang Taeyun smoothly approached.
“Siho.”
“Huh?”
“I told you to hold out well. That’s how you become more solid and plump.”
“…”
“Aren’t you being too easy? It’s no fun if it’s too easy. Did I misjudge you?”
He smiled beautifully and whispered softly.
His eyes were cold as ice, a stark contrast to his warm smile.
Seeing my face freeze, Kang Taeyun gently offered his hand.
“Let’s go. Your stomach must be hurting.”
At his gentle tone, Siho nodded with a bewildered expression.
Following him to the dining table and sitting down, even as the spoon was placed in my hand, what Kang Taeyun had said lingered in my mind.
‘What is it? What am I missing right now?’
Clearly, he felt no emotion toward me other than curiosity and interest.
Even when I unzipped my pants, he just silently watched and did nothing.
He had acted completely uninterested in whatever I did, so hearing those words now felt strange.
Because anyone could tell it was a warning.
A warning not to treat my body carelessly.
Siho felt like his mouth was gritty, as if he’d swallowed sand.
He subtly rolled his eyes toward Kang Taeyun sitting next to him, but he was calmly and silently eating his meal.
“Where is the key?”
In the quiet atmosphere, Yoo Joohwan set down his water glass and asked Siho.
Siho put down his spoon and tilted his head.
“Why do you ask for that?”
“To get a copy made.”
“…The key?”
“Then what should I copy? A couple ring?”
Yoo Joohwan joked, then seriously considered, ‘Should I really get one made?’
But the joke didn’t register in Siho’s ear.
Instead, the comment about copying the key bothered him so much that Siho asked openly.
“This is my house. Why do you guys need a key?”
“We’ll be staying here continuously, so of course we need one.”
“The four of us?”
“Yeah. Is there a problem?”
“Of course there is. This is my house.”
It was the only space where I could escape them and breathe.
Siho licked his parched lips and quickly blinked his round eyes.
“Yes, it is your house. And it’s also my lover’s house.”
“If you’re worried about the rent, you don’t have to be. I’ll buy this entire building today if I have to.”
“That sounds good, too.”
Moon Dowon replied indifferently to Yoo Joohwan’s words.
At that, Yoo Joohwan’s face brightened, and he seemed delighted.
It seemed I should leave this neighborhood soon.
“If you buy it, we won’t need to copy the key.”
“If it comes down to it, we can just break the lock. Or tear the door off.”
Moon Dowon answered dismissively, asking why a door was even necessary in the first place.
It seemed that laws were simply irrelevant to them.
Siho sighed inwardly at their calm faces.
Just when he thought it would be better to simply let them copy the key, Kang Taeyun, who had been quietly eating, took a sip of water and replied elegantly.
“No need for that. I’m currently looking for an officetel.”
“As expected of Kang Taeyun. This place is a bit cramped, isn’t it?”
“It’s also insufficient for placing the custom-made bed.”
Yoo Joohwan responded to Kang Taeyun’s comment, and Moon Dowon immediately added to the conversation, as if he’d been waiting for a chance.
My opinion, it seemed, was irrelevant from the start.
They debated among themselves, reached a conclusion, and decided everything.
Once the decision was made to move to an officetel, Siho hurriedly got up from his seat and retrieved the key.
“Here’s the key.”
He sat back down and offered the key to Yoo Joohwan.
From now on, it seemed better not to escalate things and just comply with their wishes.
“You can come over whenever you want. But moving out is a no-go. I like this place.”
“You like it even though it’s cramped?”
“Yeah. Because it’s my home.”
More accurately, I felt that if I was dragged to an officetel, it would turn into a form of confinement.
I thought everything would end if I just hung out with them for a bit and then broke it off.
But having experienced them, I realized I had taken it too lightly.
Escape was the best answer, but the probability of failure was high, so Siho thought the first thing to do was to put them at ease.
After much difficulty, the three people finally returned to their respective homes.
They must have had schedules, but after seeing them off, my mind felt incredibly peaceful.
It had only been one day. Yet it felt like a week had passed together.
“If I get this exhausted, what am I going to do in the future…”
I pressed my fingers against the frown line between my eyes due to the fatigue washing over me.
I wanted to rest fully without doing anything, but thinking of the three people who might burst in at any moment, I took out my phone.
I had received messages from Kim Seunghyun and a few classmates.
I quickly checked them, then took out my laptop and wrote up a leave of absence application.
“Wait a minute… If I take a leave of absence, won’t it follow the original story exactly?”
That thought suddenly occurred to me, but I dismissed it as unnecessary worry and submitted it to the administration office using an online fax service.
After doing so, I felt a great sense of relief, as if a major task had been completed.
“Then all that’s left is to meet Kim Seunghyun.”
Siho took out his phone and contacted him.
He must have had a break between classes because the reply came immediately, and I set up a time to meet him.
Every minute was precious, so I quickly got up and went to the closet to get clothes.
As always, I was about to undress, but the memory of yesterday’s events made me turn my attention to the window above the sink.
Only after confirming no one was there did I change my clothes.
“I still feel uncomfortable, though. Should I just grab my bag and run away right now?”
I wondered if I could just run like crazy, catch a taxi, go to the terminal, and take the fastest bus to get away.
“No. Be calm.”
First, I had to meet Kim Seunghyun. I could take action after meeting him.
Kim Seunghyun was the only person who could save me from the three men.
I had to think of him as a kind of insurance.
* * *
