* * *
“Okay.”
Easily accepting, Siho walked toward the room.
Multiple footsteps were muffled by the carpet, and as he put the key card against the door they had quickly arrived at, a mechanical sound rang out.
Feeling pressured to open the door, Siho stepped back, and Joohwan, with a look of escorting him, grabbed the doorknob and slowly opened the door.
Bright lights, which weren’t painful to the eyes, and a tiled entryway were revealed.
Since it was his first time in a hotel, he entered with a curious expression and saw European-style tables and sofas.
It was a space where gold and antique elements blended well.
It seemed to be a four-bay structure, but the interior was unimaginably vast.
That was probably natural, given that the room occupied an entire floor.
With wide eyes, he took off his shoes and stepped inside.
“How innocent.”
Moon Dowon headed for the sofa, speaking in a tone that suggested Siho was acting like someone who had just moved to the city for the first time.
The sophisticated living room took on a solemn atmosphere, like an office, just by him sitting there.
Just as Siho thought the overwhelming presence he emitted was incredible, his eyes met Moon Dowon’s.
Moon Dowon’s steady gaze felt sharper than usual.
Siho turned his head in embarrassment and saw drinks and cookies on the marble table.
“Want to eat?”
“No. Dinner is coming soon anyway.”
He politely refused Kang Taeyun, saying he appreciated the thought but was okay, and turned his body to look the other way.
He saw a veranda with floor-to-ceiling windows, and outside was a pool as large as a yard, suggesting it was a private pool villa.
He thought such things only existed abroad, but facing it in person, his mouth wouldn’t close.
“…Wow.”
“Is it pretty?”
“Extremely.”
The lighting was set up so beautifully.
The exterior was as flamboyant as Joohwan.
Not only were there fruits and alcohol in a chilling bag, but four glasses were placed on the side table.
Bathrobes and swimsuits were on a mobile hanger that had been placed there in advance, and neatly folded towels were on a gold-plated table.
The desire to go out was strong, but he didn’t have the confidence to get into that water.
‘I will turn into a beast.’
The problem wasn’t the three men; it was the possibility that he might pounce on them.
His latent desires were simmering, ready to pop out at any moment.
Siho regulated his breathing to calm down when Joohwan approached him.
“What is it? Why are you so excited?”
He came closer and poked Siho’s cheek, saying the difference in his reaction before and after entering the room was too great.
Seeing Siho’s cheek sink in as much as his own, he laughed purely, finding it amusing.
“Should I show you something better?”
“Something better?”
“Yeah. Something pretty.”
He corrected his words, intertwined his fingers with Siho’s, and grasped the ends.
The touch, only grasping the tips of his fingers rather than fully intertwined, was subtly shaky.
Siho bit his dry lip at his ticklish actions.
“You’re going to fall for me all over again.”
Joohwan said confidently, passing through the space with the automatic door and heading toward the glass wall that looked out.
Behind him, Kang Taeyun approached Moon Dowon and was seen exchanging words.
Siho was curious, but watching Joohwan smile brightly like a boy, his gaze naturally shifted away.
“Look outside from here.”
“I have a fear of heights, though.”
“It’s okay. Don’t come too close, just come this far.”
Joohwan gently pulled him by the hand he was holding and smiled affectionately.
His hair, ruffled by the summer breeze, fell over his forehead.
His heart thumped gently, as if it was sinking.
“Come on.”
Seeing Joohwan urge him on, unaware of his feelings, Siho narrowed the distance to where he was, and the dazzling night view of Busan was fully revealed.
The view outside was so beautiful that the stars floating in the pitch-black sky didn’t even catch his eye.
The sea, the bridge, and the neon lights were incomparable to any night view he had ever seen in his life.
Siho smiled brightly, looking at the magnificent view that would be unforgettable for a lifetime.
“It’s truly beautiful. So beautiful that I can’t take my eyes off it.”
“Aren’t you scared?”
“No!”
When he answered with a noticeably brighter voice, Joohwan covered his mouth with a fist and chuckled softly.
His narrowed eyes were filled with joy, and his lips, the reddest of the three, stood out noticeably.
The thought crossed his mind that he wanted to lick the plump lips with his tongue, enough to make him swallow.
At the explicit gaze, Joohwan curved his lips even more alluringly.
“Am I being kissed right now? Should we just do it here?”
“No.”
“Why? Because of Kang Taeyun?”
Joohwan playfully wiggled their intertwined fingers without mentioning Moon Dowon.
The cozy action, like a couple who had just started dating, made his throat feel parched.
“You brought me to a place like this, too. Don’t you have anything you want to say to me?”
“…Thank you? For bringing me here?”
“That’s not the answer I want.”
“What do you want to hear?”
He felt like he could easily give the desired answer if Joohwan would just say what he wanted to hear.
His mood, which had improved after seeing the night view, was soaring with excitement.
“You said you’d keep your body in order, and then you made me feel excited.”
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to get some fresh air for a while.”
“Don’t disappear without a word next time. Unless you were trying to drive me crazy.”
“…Okay.”
“I wasn’t trying to get angry. I said it because I was worried.”
He spoke in a scolding tone, asking if it wasn’t natural to worry when someone disappeared without a word.
But his face was far from stern and was full of kindness.
If Kang Taeyun was full of gentlemanly and affectionate feelings, Joohwan was cheerful like a boy and put people at ease.
Siho thought it would have been nice to have been friends with someone like Joohwan.
“From now on, people will become jealous of you. Those who are jealous might torment you.”
“…Why?”
“Because I plan to go around telling everyone that you are my lover.”
“What if we break up then?”
“Why think about breaking up? I have three lovers.”
Joohwan hit Siho’s forehead with a confident look.
It wasn’t a painful blow with the hand that wasn’t holding his, but such small gestures kept making his heart tremble.
“Even if you get bored with me, we won’t break up.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Why would I not be? My lovers are this magnificent.”
He burst into laughter, saying his charm was overflowing.
He also let slip that they wouldn’t break up because they were in a mutually obsessive relationship.
“Didn’t I tell you? I’m going to make a pendant.”
“…Are you really going to do that?”
“Yes.”
He said he wouldn’t go back on his word, and he fully intertwined their hands and pulled Siho closer sharply.
The sudden movement made his heart pound loudly in his ears.
“I want you to be more obsessed with me, as much as I want to possess you. I feel like I’m losing out because you keep pushing me away.”
“…”
“Is it because you’re a Beta? You stalked me, pretended to stop, and now that I’ve given in, you’re annoyed.”
“…When did I ever act annoyed?”
“You did. You always looked displeased whenever you saw me. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
He seemed to be referring to the past times when Siho hadn’t welcomed him.
Back then, Joohwan’s actions were so out of common sense that Siho had been flustered.
Since he saw their faces, ate meals, and shared every daily routine with them except when he was sleeping, Siho was starting to get used to their behavior now.
‘But I shouldn’t. I can’t handle the three of them…’
Considering their obsession and madness, he would hesitate to accept the relationship even if it were only one person.
“Please be a little greedy, Seo Siho.”
“…”
“You’ll soon find out how charming I am, but I’ll make your life as magnificent as the night view you’re seeing now.”
“Listen, I—”
“Dinner is here.”
Siho was about to say that he had no intention of being the bottom, as they wished.
He was also going to say that if they still agreed, he would seriously consider it.
Just as he was about to say that he would take responsibility for the three men as a man, Moon Dowon suddenly appeared behind him, seemingly out of nowhere.
“You scared me. When did you get here?”
“Just now.”
It was the same as when he was at his house, Moon Dowon always approached without a sign.
Siho thought it was incredible how strong his presence was, yet he managed to suppress his movements.
“I was waiting, so let’s go eat. You can say what you want to say after we eat.”
Moon Dowon’s cold eyes made it seem like he deliberately interrupted the conversation.
He seemed to have cut the mood at the perfect time, perhaps thinking Siho was about to choose Joohwan and confess.
“They easily hold hands, a hand I couldn’t even catch once.”
Moon Dowon expressed his displeasure with a face full of jealousy.
They say that the more shy a person is, the more cautiously they approach people.
Siho wondered if Moon Dowon was like that too.
As if to appease his sulking appearance, Siho gently pushed Joohwan away and grasped Moon Dowon’s pinky finger.
* * *
