* * *
“Are you even supposed to say that to someone’s face?”
“Getting shy now?” Soohyuk lifted his brows, feigning innocence. “Should I?”
“Do you think you should?” Jingyeom replied sharply, though his face flushed deeper.
‘He reacts way too fast,’ Soohyuk thought, watching Jingyeom’s cheeks bloom red against his pale skin, the color lingering even as he tried to look away.
Jingyeom’s ears blushed crimson as Soohyuk kept staring, whispering in a voice soft and coaxing, “Let’s save these moments for just us, yeah?”
His voice rang louder than the movie’s action sounds, sending an oddly thrilling shiver through Jingyeom, who rubbed his ears as if to shake off the sensation.
‘Don’t get swept away!’
But as Soohyuk’s face moved closer, his soothing tone and presence stirred something in Jingyeom.
For a moment, he felt an overwhelming urge to just wrap his arms around Soohyuk.
‘Are you out of your mind, Baek Jingyeom?’
Startled, Jingyeom finally came to his senses, pushing at Soohyuk’s shoulders—but instead, Soohyuk caught his wrist, holding it tenderly.
Jingyeom swallowed hard, a fleeting thought crossing his mind.
‘Maybe just this once…’
Recalling the kiss they’d shared at Soohyuk’s house—still vivid in his memory—he let out a shaky breath, the idea both terrifying and tempting.
He’d never experienced feelings like this before, never felt this pull.
Soohyuk caught Jingyeom’s hesitation, sensing that he might not resist further if he just pushed a little.
Seizing the moment, he kissed Jingyeom’s wrist, guiding his arm around his own neck as he leaned down, close enough for their noses to touch.
“You said you didn’t mind my lips,” Soohyuk murmured, gently caressing Jingyeom’s cheek.
“I’ll make sure you feel good.”
Watching Jingyeom pause, then draw nearer, Soohyuk easily interpreted it as agreement.
He kissed Jingyeom gently, slowly, this time softening his approach to make sure he didn’t startle him.
‘This is… insane,’ Soohyuk thought, stifling a chuckle at how satisfied he felt from just this closeness, though his longing still simmered.
Finally, Soohyuk pulled back slightly, voice laced with a smile, “I like you looking at me, but focus. Close your eyes.”
Jingyeom’s eyes fluttered shut as Soohyuk’s lips traced down from his eyelids to his cheek, nose, and finally his mouth.
Watching Jingyeom so still and receptive stirred an even stronger desire within Soohyuk.
He wanted to press further, but instead held him carefully, supporting his back and waist as he pulled him close.
In response, Jingyeom’s arms tightened around Soohyuk’s neck, unwilling to let go.
They were both absorbed in each other as TV explosions and city destruction played in the background, every sound tuned out as they focused solely on one another.
As Soohyuk finally released his lips, he realized that if he didn’t stop here, he’d be tempted to push further, so he gently withdrew, leaving a light kiss on Jingyeom’s forehead.
“You’re beautiful.”
“…” Jingyeom was speechless.
“I like you, Jingyeom.”
Soohyuk’s smile was warm as he looked into Jingyeom’s eyes, causing Jingyeom to impulsively lean in and kiss him again.
This time, his movements were more assured.
Surprised, Soohyuk let out an amazed breath. “Wow…”
“Why?”
“You’re making my heart pound so hard, I might just explode.”
Taking Jingyeom’s hand, Soohyuk pressed it to his own chest, letting him feel the rapid, intense heartbeat under his thin sweater.
Blushing, Jingyeom closed his eyes, burying his face in Soohyuk’s shoulder.
“If I could die from this, I’d have already died a thousand times by now.”
Just then, Jingyeom’s smartwatch gave a warning beep, breaking the moment with its chime.
Jinwoo had heard today that Soohyuk had taken the day off, and he responded by angrily pounding away on his keyboard.
The sound was intense, as if testing whether the keyboard would break or his fingers would give out first.
It was Secretary Yang who had informed him of Soohyuk’s leave.
“Oh, I should’ve kept my mouth shut,” he muttered, lightly tapping his own lips as he glanced around, regretting having said anything—especially since he knew Jinwoo had been restless all night.
The atmosphere in the car on the way home the previous evening had been just as tense, like walking on eggshells.
Jinwoo’s face was stiff, and Wonbeom’s constant, brief sighs of disapproval whenever Jinwoo clicked his tongue only made Secretary Yang’s discomfort worse on their ride back.
“Take a break outside.”
“…Sorry.”
“What for? As long as it doesn’t interfere with work, you’re fine.”
Jinwoo had been forcefully hitting the keyboard, yet he was still working diligently, so Secretary Yang didn’t comment further.
And he understood Jinwoo couldn’t help but worry about Jingyeom.
With a soft sigh, Jinwoo stood up.
“Want a coffee?”
“Yes, that sounds nice.”
Jinwoo stepped outside, hoping a coffee and some fresh air would calm him down, but the overly bright weather only made him frown.
The sun was glaring down, warm and intense.
Now that he was back at work, the only time he had with Jingyeom was on weekends. But this weekend, he’d be alone.
Being apart from Jingyeom, even for one night, felt strange after so long.
And the fact that Jingyeom would be spending the next three days with Soohyuk drove him crazy.
He’d have liked to barge in at dawn, but he knew Soohyuk wouldn’t open the door so easily.
Even if he did, he’d probably do everything he could to stay close to Jingyeom, just to annoy Jinwoo.
Frustrated, Jinwoo took the iced americano and drank it in big gulps, hoping the chill would cool his temper.
But even chewing on ice didn’t calm him.
“Ugh.”
He promised himself that the moment the construction work was done, he’d bring Jingyeom back, no matter what, and then headed back to the office.
At the same time, Jinwoo wasn’t the only one feeling frustrated.
Wonbeom, who had been reading a document, set it aside and closed his eyes, pressing his fingers against his forehead.
“I should have just brought him along.”
Although he usually slept soundly, he had tossed and turned last night, leaving him tired.
It was odd to feel this worn out after just one night, but the reason was clear.
“…Debt.”
A while back, Soohyuk had shown up unannounced and demanded that Jinwoo’s debt be transferred to him.
Wonbeom had laughed it off, scoffing.
It was obvious Soohyuk intended to use the debt to tie down Jinwoo or keep Jingyeom close.
But one thing Soohyuk had said made him consider.
Three percent ownership.
Although he was already President and didn’t need more shares, three percent in the hands of someone else could be a threat.
He knew Soohyuk wouldn’t betray him.
Above all, he recalled that Soohyuk had never asked him for anything before.
That was likely why he’d agreed to transfer the debt.
Even though he knew it was too late to regret it, he still felt a bit bitter.
Regret and bitterness weren’t feelings he was used to.
“Learning to feel emotions isn’t always pleasant.”
Life had been simpler when he only kept what was necessary and discarded the rest.
Back then, there was no need to worry like this.
But from the way Jingyeom had acted, it seemed he would start opening up to Soohyuk while they were together.
The way Jingyeom looked at him was different from how he looked at Soohyuk, and the number of times they’d touched was different, too.
Opening his eyes slowly, Wonbeom smirked at the lingering image of Jingyeom in his mind.
“I’m really not cut out for dragging things out.”
He checked the calendar and, seeing that tomorrow was Saturday, grabbed his phone.
Me: I’ll come get you tomorrow. Let’s meet. (11:19 AM)
He wondered if his message was too curt, but it was already sent, so there was no taking it back.
The reply came around lunchtime.
A faint twitch in his brow indicated his reaction. It was obvious this wasn’t Jingyeom’s tone.
“I guess it’s better to just go in person.”
He put his phone down, knowing that if he kept messaging, Soohyuk would just keep replying.
“Hey! Give it back!”
Jingyeom was bouncing up and down, trying to reach his phone from Soohyuk’s hand.
But no matter how much he jumped, he couldn’t reach it.
“Hey, that’s dangerous. Hold still.”
Soohyuk pulled Jingyeom close, securing him with an arm around his waist as he typed with one hand.
He checked to make sure his message had been read, then waited for the reply.
“What did you text him? I can’t see!”
“I told him not to come.”
“That’s not true! I saw how short the message was!”
Jingyeom squinted, trying to read the screen, but Soohyuk kept moving it out of his line of sight, making it impossible to see.
Once he confirmed there was no reply, Soohyuk smiled with satisfaction and handed the phone back to Jingyeom.
“You deleted it!”
He had erased the message in that brief moment before handing back the phone.
Jingyeom tried to contact Wonbeom to see what Soohyuk had sent, but a large hand covered his screen.
“Aren’t you hungry? Let’s get something to eat. What do you feel like?”
“I’m not hungry, I just had a snack. Move your hand!”
No matter how much he wriggled, he couldn’t get past Soohyuk’s blocking hand.
It was as though Soohyuk surrounded him.
“Ah, so I’m the only one you mess with, huh?”
“You’re the hardest one to deal with! I never know what’s going on in that head of yours.”
At Jingyeom’s grumpy response, Soohyuk laughed, hugging him tightly from behind, still keeping the phone out of reach.
Then, swaying slightly, he pressed a quick kiss to Jingyeom’s cheek.
“Oh, not again!”
“You should get used to it.”
“I’m not going to!”
He rarely raised his voice like this with anyone else, but somehow, with Soohyuk, he just couldn’t help it.
Even as Jingyeom struggled to understand himself, Soohyuk’s sly ways made his reactions seem almost natural.
Finally, he managed to retrieve his phone and got away from Soohyuk.
The message left for Wonbeom read…
Me: Get lost. (11:20 AM)
* * *
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