* * *
I was just going to take a long soak at the bathhouse, but this has gotten way bigger than I expected.
“Here? You want me to change here?”
“What, you want to stay in those filthy clothes?”
“No, it’s not that…”
Jungin suddenly felt embarrassed for having doubted Beomhyeon.
He awkwardly lowered his arms from where they had been crossed over his chest and cleared his throat.
“I’ll, um… change in the bathroom.”
“Suit yourself.”
Beomhyeon, who didn’t seem all that interested, gave a casual nod.
It didn’t seem to matter to him where Jungin changed. Was all of this just to let me wash up…?
Truthfully, Jungin had been unable to stand the smell on himself any longer.
Hurrying into the bathroom, he stripped off his clothes and turned on the shower.
Since it was a nice hotel, warm water immediately flowed over his head.
As he scrubbed his body with the incredibly fragrant shampoo and body wash, he finally began to feel a little better.
“Phew… this feels amazing. In Lee Jungin’s body, I can enjoy luxuries like this…”
As he murmured to himself with his eyes closed, he suddenly remembered the people waiting for him outside.
Snapping out of his reverie, Jungin quickly stepped out of the shower and grabbed a huge towel to dry off.
“Wait. I don’t have any clothes to change into…”
Thinking of Beomhyeon, Jungin considered just walking out with only the towel since they were both guys, but then remembered the unfamiliar woman who had come with Mr. Yoon and shook his head.
At that moment, he noticed a bathrobe hanging by the towel rack, the kind he had only ever seen in movies.
He recalled how the main characters always walked out of the shower in something like this.
“They told me to wash up, so they won’t mind if I wear this, right?”
Jungin grabbed the robe. The soft texture made him blush slightly as he pulled it on.
“Ugh, it’s slipping off.”
The bathrobe was too large for Jungin’s small frame, and he frowned as it kept slipping.
But after tightening the belt around his waist, it fit well enough. Jungin gathered his dirty clothes and carefully stepped out of the bathroom.
“I’ll take those from you.”
“Oh, thank you…”
Feeling embarrassed, Jungin scratched his red cheeks as he handed over the clothes.
Beomhyeon, who had been sitting on the sofa looking at a tablet, finally turned his gaze to him.
“That didn’t take as long as I thought.”
“But I washed thoroughly…”
“Who said anything?”
He smirked, a slanted smile playing on his lips, and said something to Mr. Yoon sitting across from him.
Just then, a drop of water slid down his hair and into his ear, making it hard to hear.
However, Yoon stood up at Beomhyeon’s words, gave a small nod, and left the room.
“Uh, excuse me? Mr. Yoon? Where are you going?”
He’s not really leaving me alone with ‘him’, is he?
I thought it would be fine with everyone together, but now I’m stuck in this dangerous situation again!
Jungin scurried to the door, clutching Mr. Yoon’s sleeve, looking up at him as if begging him not to leave his alone.
Beomhyeon’s expression suddenly hardened as he watched him.
Rising from his seat, he pried Jungin’s hand off Yoon’s arm, speaking in a low, threatening voice.
“With that sorry look of yours, where do you think you’re going? Really.”
“Ah! Why are you hitting me?”
“Stay still unless you want me to hit you again.”
Jungin winced and shouted as Beomhyeon’s large hand smacked his forehead.
His fist was almost the size of his face—what was he thinking, hitting his like that?
His older brother always told him not to let anyone hit him.
He said he’d take care of everything. Why was that advice popping into his head now?
Fueled by a sudden surge of vengeance, Jungin clenched his fist and swung it at Beomhyeon.
“Well, look at you.”
“Hey! Why did you dodge?”
Jungin glared at his smug face and that taunting voice saying, “Should I have just stood there and taken it?”
He really wanted to punch him for real this time. He tiptoed and tried to hit his forehead, but he was too tall for his to reach.
Determined, he braced himself and jumped, but suddenly his body felt cool.
A breeze?
…Wait, why does it feel like there’s a draft…?
A cold shiver ran down his spine, and Jungin looked down in horror.
“…What the….”
“I never told you to take it off again.”
“Ah… Ah, no!!”
The robe that was supposed to be covering his was now around his ankles.
Even though it wasn’t technically his own body, the mere fact that he was in this embarrassing situation with someone else made his want to die of shame.
Jungin crouched down, covering himself with the robe as he screamed.
“What on earth is going on?!”
The door swung open, and urgent footsteps echoed in the room.
With a sigh, Beomhyeon picked up the robe and draped it over him, muttering, “For god’s sake, look away.”
Thankfully, the footsteps stopped at his command, and no one else entered the room.
Jungin sniffled, tears leaking out without his realizing it.
This was too humiliating… mortifying… he wished he could just disappear.
As he continued to sob, staring at the floor, Beomhyeon let out a long sigh.
“It’s fine… For someone like you.”
“’Sniff’, are you seriously trying to comfort me? You should’ve just said you didn’t see anything!”
“…I didn’t see anything.”
“What, do you take me for an idiot?”
Still upset, Jungin shouted, but as time passed, his rationality slowly returned.
Beomhyeon had turned his head away, as if trying to give his some privacy.
As he finished adjusting his robe, he noticed this and pouted.
“Are you done crying?”
“I wasn’t crying! It’s just my dust allergy acting up!”
Jungin sniffled, wiping his eyes with his sleeve before standing up.
He was starving now, especially after all the energy he had wasted.
“Ugh… I’m so hungry…”
He had already been hungry, but now his stomach growled even louder.
He was so thin already, and skipping meals wasn’t helping. If his brothers knew, they would never let his live it down.
“Already? Digestion all done?”
“Well, I ate breakfast, so yeah. Oh, and I couldn’t eat lunch because of some… circumstances.”
“What?”
Of course, it was because he had been locked in a bathroom, so he had skipped lunch.
Jungin glanced at Beomhyeon’s cold expression, confused about what was bothering him.
Just as he was about to explain, he pointed to the clothes rack and spoke first.
“Pick something to wear.”
“Excuse me?”
“We’re going to eat. Put something on.”
The clothes on the rack were all his size.
Looking bewildered but complying with Beomhyeon’s instruction, Jungin picked out the easiest choice—a pair of jeans and a hoodie.
Not even sure where they were headed, Jungin followed him, and once inside the elevator, he pressed the button for the top floor.
“Are we really going to eat now? At the hotel?”
“What’s the problem? I think it’s better to eat at the restaurant than order room service. Or do you want to eat in the room?”
“No, it’s just that… this is a hotel. It’s going to be expensive…”
Jungin mumbled softly, and Beomhyeon gave his a crooked grin.
“Are you really the same Jungin I know?”
“Cough, why?”
“You seem different from the Jungin I used to know.”
“Even if you’re rich, shouldn’t you still save money? They say ‘gather dust to make a mountain,’ after all.”
As the old saying went, the guilty party was the one to raise their voice.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Jungin found himself snapping at Beomhyeon in defense.
* * *
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