* * *

“Yawn… I’m tired.”

Maybe it was the full stomach, or the unexpected tension earlier, but even after all that sleep, drowsiness washed over Jungin.

Walking the now somewhat familiar path with Beomhyeon, they headed to his room.

Bright moonlight shone down from the high full moon.

How long had it been since Jungin last looked up at the sky like this?

“Hey, Ki Beomhyeon.”

He felt Beomhyeon’s gaze turn toward him, and as Jungin slowly met his eyes, he reached out and held his hand.

“Thank you.”

“……”

“I would’ve had a really hard time without you. I couldn’t properly say it earlier because I was embarrassed, but I’m truly grateful.”

Hoping Beomhyeon would feel his gratitude, Jungin smiled softly, and Beomhyeon’s eyes wavered. At that moment, hearing someone approach from behind, Jungin let go of Beomhyeon’s hand and turned his head.

“Your room is this way, young master. We’ve just received new bedding, so I’ll set it up for you.”

“Mr. Choi.”

“Yes, young master?”

“There’s no bed in the adjacent room, right?”

When Jungin looked down, he saw that Beomhyeon had grabbed his hand tightly.

Jungin had let go, but Beomhyeon was holding onto him, his warmth seeping into his skin.

“He can’t sleep without a bed. He’ll stay in my room tonight.”

“But young master…”

“Once everything’s prepared tomorrow, I’ll let him go.”

At Beomhyeon’s firm words, Mr. Choi clamped his mouth shut before letting out a resigned sigh.

“Will young master Jungin be alright?”

“Me? Why…?”

Jungin could sleep anywhere, even without a bed. But somehow, the idea of staying over at a friend’s house for the first time, like having a pajama party, made him want to sleep in the same room as Beomhyeon tonight.

“Ki Beomhyeon’s bed is big and comfortable. Oh, by the way, do you snore…?”

Looking up at Beomhyeon, Jungin mumbled that he hadn’t had any strange sleeping habits at the hospital, so probably not.

“Anyway, we’ll sleep together tonight. Thank you for taking care of things.”

Jungin sheepishly took the bedding from Mr. Choi and bowed politely.

“Alright, then. I’ll have your bed ready by tomorrow.”

“Yes! It’s late, so you should rest too, Mr. Choi.”

After a small bow, Mr. Choi left, and Jungin, carrying bedding that was nearly his size, stumbled forward, nearly falling over.

With a sigh, Beomhyeon wrapped an arm around his waist and took the bedding from him.

“I could’ve carried it…”

“Just watch where you’re going.”

“Okay…”

For some reason, things felt awkward all of a sudden.

And that awkwardness peaked when they entered Beomhyeon’s room.

Jungin moved stiffly, like a malfunctioning robot, and spoke awkwardly as he looked at the spacious floor.

“I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“No need.”

“I’m an intruder. I can’t take your bed too.”

Shaking his head, Jungin reached out to take the bedding from Beomhyeon, but the other wouldn’t let go.

Tugging on it, he wobbled, nearly losing his balance.

“Ah…!”

With a thud, Jungin was about to fall, but Beomhyeon swiftly caught his waist, and in the process, something warm and soft brushed against his lips before pulling away.

‘Wait… Did… did I just…?’

And to make it worse, from this angle, it looked like he was the one pinning Beomhyeon down.

His face was so close that his heart pounded wildly.

“Oh…!”

Frozen from shock, unable to speak, Jungin stared blankly as Beomhyeon, letting out a small laugh, cupped his cheek.

No way… Was this really happening?

As Beomhyeon’s face drew closer, Jungin squeezed his eyes shut.

“What are you doing?”

Shit.

The voice that came from above snapped Jungin back to reality after what felt like an eternity.

‘Have you lost your mind? What the hell were you expecting, closing your eyes like that? What were you imagining, huh?’

Jungin wanted to scream in frustration but held back.

He stood up quickly, bowing his head and mentally kicking himself, the embarrassment flooding over him.

The rustle of clothes as Beomhyeon shifted on the bed filled the room.

Hearing the soft chuckle, Jungin thought he might die of shame.

‘Just let me die. This is unbearable.’

His whole body burned with humiliation.

What kind of cursed fate had led him here, embarrassing himself like this?

He realized that extreme embarrassment could bring tears.

His eyes prickled, and he rubbed them roughly with his sleeve.

“Just wait a second.”

Wait for what?

His voice trembled, and Jungin bit his lip to hold back any hint of tears.

“I-I’ll just go back to my room.”

He tried to sound nonchalant, but his voice wavered.

Damn it.

Now it sounded like he was crying.

It wasn’t that he was actually crying—he was just mortified.

But staying in the same room with Beomhyeon suddenly felt impossible.

He turned to leave.

“Lee Jungin…?”

Beomhyeon cupped his cheek gently, and Jungin looked up in surprise.

Their eyes met, and Beomhyeon’s gaze flickered with concern.

“Are you… crying?”

“Huh? Me?”

‘I was crying?’

Jungin raised his hand to wipe at his eyes, but before he could, his arm was gently grabbed.

Ki Beomhyeon’s deeply furrowed brow gave away how serious he was.

Jungin glanced at the mirror and saw his eyes, red and swollen—maybe from rubbing too hard.

Oh, but it wasn’t because he’d been crying, honestly.

“I wasn’t crying or anythi—”

Suddenly, he felt something soft against his forehead, followed by a faint “smack” sound.

Uh…? Wait.

What was that that just touched my forehead…?

Jungin blinked blankly and slowly looked up, only to see Ki Beomhyeon rubbing his lips, turning away.

His flushed ears and the way he cleared his throat nervously—it was a side of Ki Beomhyeon Jungin had never seen before.

For some reason, seeing Ki Beomhyeon embarrassed made Jungin feel even more at a loss.

Faced with the ticklish and precarious atmosphere, Jungin was the first to wave the white flag.

“I-I’ll just go back to my room and sleep, then. I mean, I actually snore, you know. So sleeping with someone else is kind of, well…”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

Ki Beomhyeon frowned as if he hadn’t just kissed him and held Jungin back, stopping him from leaving.

Well, it’s not like Jungin could use that excuse when they’d already shared a room for more than just a few days.

There was no way it’d work.

In the end, Jungin was led gently onto the bed.

It sounded weird, but he was truly laid down ever so carefully.

“T-Then! Since the bed is big anyway, how about we sleep together? I mean, because I feel bad…”

“……”

“Uh, hey, Ki Beomhyeon…?”

The air was tense, awkward, and inexplicably nerve-racking.

Jungin’s eyes darted around anxiously, but Ki Beomhyeon finally spoke.

“Alright. So stop overthinking and just sleep.”

“Okay…”

As the lights went out, Jungin felt Ki Beomhyeon quietly slipping in beside him.

Although they were lying a bit apart, Jungin’s heart inexplicably felt at ease.

Lying there, memories of the day played out in his mind like a panorama—running away from home, getting permission from Ki Beomhyeon’s father.

By now, his brothers probably knew he was missing.

They were probably frantically searching for him…

They loved Lee Jungin so much.

* * *