* * *

He took a step back—and slipped. Bracing for impact, Jungin shut his eyes.

Instead of pain, strong arms encircled his waist, stopping his fall.

Opening his eyes, Jungin looked up, trembling as Beomhyeon’s scent, a mix of sweat and something inherently his, filled the air.

“Who told you to come out like that?” Beomhyeon’s low voice rumbled.

“W-what…?”

Following Beomhyeon’s gaze, Jungin looked down.

His towel had slipped slightly, exposing a glimpse of his chest.

Flustered, Jungin quickly clutched it tighter. “What are you looking at?!”

In his panic, he shoved at Beomhyeon, trying to pull the towel around himself properly.

His frantic movements made him unstable on the wet floor.

Sensing the precarious situation, Beomhyeon clicked his tongue and scooped Jungin up effortlessly.

“P-put me down!”

“Stay still,” Beomhyeon commanded, voice firm.

Jungin’s struggling only made him more aware of the sweet, musky scent clinging to Beomhyeon, and he felt like he might lose his mind.

Face red, he clung to Beomhyeon’s neck as tightly as he could.

When a voice called out from down the hall, Jungin tensed.

Beomhyeon’s subordinate, Mr. Yoon, appeared but immediately averted his eyes, clearly startled to see Jungin wrapped in a towel in Beomhyeon’s arms.

Jungin buried his face into Beomhyeon’s shoulder, trying to disappear.

“Hold on tight,” Beomhyeon whispered, his tone tinged with amusement. Jungin could feel his smirk.

Beomhyeon waved Mr. Yoon off and carried Jungin back to his room.

The door clicked shut behind them, and Beomhyeon set Jungin on the bed. Jungin wasted no time, diving under the blankets.

“How long are you going to stay like that?” Beomhyeon teased.

“Not until you leave!” Jungin shot back, face burning.

With a chuckle, Beomhyeon left the room, giving Jungin some privacy.

But as Jungin moved to get dressed, another realization hit him.

I still don’t have clothes to wear.

“…Beomhyeon!” he called out reluctantly.

Beomhyeon paused at the door. “What now?”

Still hiding under the covers, Jungin bit his lip and muttered, “Can you… lend me some clothes?”

Beomhyeon sighed, scanning the empty closet. “Fine. Hold on to the blanket.”

“Huh? Wait—!” Jungin yelped as Beomhyeon picked him up again, carrying him to his own room this time.

The space was clean, and it smelled like him—woodsy and fresh.

Setting Jungin down, Beomhyeon gestured to his wardrobe.

“Pick whatever you want.”

“Really?” Jungin’s eyes lit up but quickly dimmed.

“I don’t want to pick something too expensive…”

He grabbed a plain T-shirt after some deliberation.

Beomhyeon chuckled. “It’ll probably be too big.”

“Like I have a choice. Everything here is oversized on me!” Jungin muttered, glaring at him.

After Jungin dressed, he shuffled out in the oversized clothes, holding up the waistband of the loose-fitting pants.

Beomhyeon, seated on the bed, burst into laughter at the sight.

“Don’t laugh!” Jungin pouted. “You’re just huge—I’m perfectly normal.”

“Sure, sure.” Beomhyeon’s laughter softened as he gazed at Jungin, a warm glint in his eyes.

He gently ran his hand through Jungin’s hair and told him to wait for a moment before quickly returning with a belt.

“Hey. You really don’t have to go this far…”

Jungin spoke with an apologetic tone as he looked at the man kneeling in front of him.

It felt a little strange for someone to kneel for such a trivial reason, so he gently pushed Bomhyeon’s shoulder away.

But the man grabbed Jungin’s wrist and silently lifted his gaze.

“…”

“…”

Caught in the subtle tension, Jungin couldn’t help but fidget with his earlobe and turned his head, trying to avoid the awkwardness.

As Bomhyeon reached around Jungin’s waist, Jungin, still feeling the sensation from earlier, couldn’t help but take a quiet breath, gazing at the thin waist before him.

At this point, putting on a belt seemed pointless.

In the end, the man brought the belt and made a small hole in the very center.

“Isn’t that expensive?”

“Not really.”

The quality of the leather looked so fine that it seemed like it must’ve been expensive.

Jungin, noticing Bomhyeon watching him, knew he would downplay everything and always took care of him, so he spoke sincerely.

“Thank you.”

“Yeah.”

That was the kind of answer Jungin expected.

Without realizing it, a smile escaped his lips as he giggled, the corners of his mouth stretching into a wide grin as he chuckled over Bomhyeon’s head.

Bomhyeon silently observed him and then stood up, placing a kiss on his round forehead.

Chuk.

The sound of Jungin’s heart fluttering spread as he felt the soft pressure of Bomhyeon’s lips.

His eyes opened wide in surprise.

“If you’re really that thankful, think of it as payment for the clothes.”

“You, you…”

Jungin’s face turned bright red, almost as if it might burst.

After kissing his cheek again, Bomhyeon stood and, with a small laugh, left the room.

Alone in Bomhyeon’s room, Jungin silently stamped his feet, letting out a silent scream.

A kiss? What the hell?

A kiss with Ki Bomhyeon?!

Ever since coming to this house, the atmosphere had been off at times, but he never imagined Bomhyeon would kiss him.

Then… does Bomhyeon… like me?

He had heard that Bomhyeon and Jungin were not on good terms before, so could it be that his feelings had changed because he liked him?

A mix of excitement and confusion settled in Jungin’s chest as he looked at his reflection in the mirror, his heart growing heavier.

“No… No, Jungin.”

Shaking his head, Jungin held his chest as he tried to clear his mind.

His feelings were deepening, and he had no idea what to do with them.

In a growing sense of confusion, he bit his lip and looked around the room, which was filled with the scent of Bomhyeon, before quickly leaving the room.

As he walked, Jungin felt his phone in his hand vibrate softly.

His heart skipped a beat, and when he looked down, he saw a message from an unknown number—not from himself.

“Uh…?”

Jungin’s eyes widened in surprise as he read the message, which told him he had been accepted for the part-time job he had applied for.

“Ah, I did it!”

He shouted in joy.

He hadn’t expected such a quick response, and it felt even more exciting knowing how important money was to him right now.

“Starting this week?”

It seemed the fast response wasn’t a coincidence.

The message asking if he could start immediately this week made him pause for a moment before he quickly typed a reply.

[Yes! I can start. I’ll see you this weekend. Thank you so much for hiring me! I’ll work hard! (ง •̀_•́)ง]

As a senior in high school, it would be tough to keep a long-term part-time job, but he couldn’t let this opportunity slip by, especially since it was only 4 hours a day.

Jungin quickly sent the message, his face brighter than before as he resumed walking.

“Here’s your allowance.”

“Huh? You’re giving me more?”

Lately, shrimp had been appearing often at meals.

After carefully removing the shrimp heads and peeling the shells cleanly, Jungin placed them on Chairman Ki’s plate.

He blinked in surprise at his father’s words.

“Yeah. You probably want a lot of things, right? I want to give you as much as I can.”

His father was really the best…

* * *