ACTSV chapter 175

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Startled, Jingyeom quickly grabbed the belt and tightened it, spinning around in embarrassment.

“Hey, you told me to open the door so suddenly!”

“Who’s complaining? I’m liking this welcome.”

Stepping inside, Soohyuk pulled Jingyeom into a hug as the heavy steel door quietly closed behind them.

Jingyeom shivered at the contact, but Soohyuk didn’t let go.

Instead, he buried his face in Jingyeom’s damp hair.

“You smell nice.”

“I just took a shower. Now let me go…”

As Jingyeom tried to squirm free, Soohyuk held him tighter, pressing his cheek to Jingyeom’s.

“How is it so hard to see you when we live in the same city?”

“You were busy.”

“Yeah. Maybe I should quit sooner.”

Finally releasing him, Soohyuk rubbed his cheek against Jingyeom’s and laughed. Freed at last, Jingyeom hurried into his room.

“I’ll get dressed!”

“I like that outfit, though. It’s perfect. I’ll buy you one in every color.”

“No, thanks!”

Jingyeom quickly threw on some clothes.

His hair was still dripping wet, soaking into the fabric, but getting dressed was his immediate priority.

When he caught his reflection in the full-length mirror, his gaze shifted to his chest.

‘…He must’ve seen it, right?’

It wasn’t something to hide, but it wasn’t exactly for show, either.

Hoonil had said it was rare for scars to heal so nicely, but a scar was still a scar.

Jingyeom rubbed it with his fingertips before remembering Soohyuk outside.

He peeked out of the room.

“Isn’t this your work hour?”

“Why do you only talk about work when you see me? Of course, I came to see you. Hoonil didn’t give me his address, so when I heard you’d be here, I rushed over.”

“Can an executive really do that?”

“Executives can. Now, come here.”

Soohyuk had moved inside the house, holding a damp towel.

As Jingyeom hesitated, he approached and placed the towel on his head, gently rubbing his hair dry.

“Haven’t you heard you’ll catch a cold if you don’t dry your hair?”

“You’re the reason it’s still wet.”

“Oh, so it’s my fault. Then I guess I have to take responsibility.”

Jingyeom’s face was still flushed from the hot shower, and he looked relaxed.

Working, moving Hoonil’s things, and then coming to the rooftop room had worn him out.

As Soohyuk dried his hair, Jingyeom’s eyes slowly closed.

“Sleepy?”

“A bit.”

“How could you fall asleep in front of me?”

“You came when I was already tired!”

“Wow, you don’t let anything slide anymore.”

Finding even this side of him endearing, Soohyuk chuckled and kept drying his hair.

When he pushed it back, Jingyeom’s head tilted slightly, following his touch.

Seeing Jingyeom’s still-blushing cheeks stirred a thirst in him once more.

“Cute.”

Moreover, Soohyuk found himself licking his lips at the sight of Jingyeom’s cheeks, plumper than he’d ever seen before, looking so temptingly soft.

If he just bit down on those cheeks right now, Jingyeom would probably flail around in shock, right?

That reaction would be adorable too.

“Would it really be that bad to actually bite him?”

He quickly dismissed the idea, not wanting to spread any germs to someone who’d just come out of the shower.

It was ridiculous that he’d gone so far as to consider himself a germ, but realizing how much he was thinking of Jingyeom made him laugh.

“Hoonil was bragging, you know.”

“About what?”

“That you made him dinner. I’ve never gotten to eat a meal made by you.”

“Well… I wouldn’t really call it cooking….”

Jingyeom trailed off.

He had indeed prepared a meal, but the rice was instant, and all the side dishes were store-bought.

Even the stew was made by mixing pre-packaged seasoning with some vegetables and water, so he felt a little guilty even calling it homemade.

Though Hoonil mostly stayed at the hospital and rarely came home, there were times he dropped by.

Once, he happened to visit around mealtime, and out of gratitude, Jingyeom had hastily prepared dinner for him.

He hadn’t expected the story to reach Soohyuk.

When Soohyuk looked at him with an envious expression, Jingyeom blinked slowly.

“…Would you like to stay for dinner tonight?”

“Really? You’ll cook for me?”

“When Jinwoo was still working, I used to make dinner all the time. It’s not great, but it’s edible.”

Having cooked a few times, he even knew some recipes by heart.

Besides, Soohyuk had done so much for him, so it felt right to treat him to dinner.

“I’d love to, but I don’t want to put a knife in your hand,” Soohyuk said, rubbing Jingyeom’s cheek with his palm.

Then, he glanced around the house.

“If something happened to this place, where would you go?”

“This place was just renovated recently.”

“I know, but you never know what might happen. If it does, come to my house. Don’t worry about anything else. Got it?”

Jingyeom shivered slightly at the ominous tone.

‘He wouldn’t… do something to force me to move into his place, right?’

Feeling uneasy, Jingyeom narrowed his eyes and looked up at Soohyuk.

If it had been anyone else, he would have believed they were just worried.

But coming from Soohyuk, it seemed suspicious.

“You’re not planning something, are you?”

“Come on, it’d be boring if I told you.”

“Seriously, are you planning to do something? To this house? Don’t mess with it! I just got it fixed…!”

Soohyuk shamelessly dodged the question.

“Alright. I’ll leave it alone for now.”

He clicked his tongue in annoyance at the phone vibrating in his pocket.

It must be his secretary calling, given how he’d rushed out.

Despite wanting to stay, Soohyuk bid Jingyeom goodbye with a hint of regret.

“Lock the door and sleep well.”

He planted a quick kiss on Jingyeom’s cheek before leaving, and Jingyeom let out the breath he’d been holding in a sigh of relief.

‘That scared me.’

Pressing a hand to his racing heart, Jingyeom rubbed his chest before collapsing onto his bed, face down.

---

A week into living in the rooftop room, trouble struck.

The old wiring snapped, cutting off the electricity supply.

‘No way… it can’t be.’

The wires were inside the house, so it didn’t seem plausible that Soohyuk could have done anything.

Yet, the conversation from before made him suspicious.

‘Ugh, I’m so tired….’

With everything that had happened lately, he felt he had been far more relaxed back when he was in the hospital.

That evening when he moved into the rooftop room, Wonbeom and Jinwoo came over, and they had a barbecue on the terrace.

Even Yang, the secretary, joined them later.

‘It still feels surreal.’

Seeing Wonbeom, of all people, sitting on the terrace eating pork belly was a bizarre sight.

But with Secretary Yang around, the mood had been lively.

The odd thing was that Soohyuk hadn’t shown up, though a message explained he was stuck working overtime after escaping from his company during the day.

That night, Wonbeom was unusually kind.

He wrapped a lettuce wrap and fed it to him, even lent Jingyeom his coat when he complained of the cold, despite them being right in front of the house.

Of course, he’d carefully folded his expensive suit jacket behind them to keep it clean.

And when hot oil splattered on Jingyeom’s hand, causing him to flinch, Wonbeom had pulled him back protectively.

‘…He’s always been considerate.’

Thinking back, though Wonbeom spoke coldly, his actions were always caring.

“I can’t go on like this.”

Ignoring someone’s feelings when he had no intention of reciprocating felt increasingly wrong.

Then again, wasn’t he also using Soohyuk’s feelings for his own gain?

“…Sigh.”

Sprawled on the terrace, Jingyeom squirmed, kicking his feet and thrashing about.

Just then, the sound of footsteps on the stairs made him sit up.

“Huh?”

Jingyeom’s eyes widened at the unexpected visitor.

“Uncle…?”

Cheongoh, who had briefly paused at the word, now stood in front of him.

“It’s been a while.”

“What brings you here?”

“I’ve come to take you back. Pack your things; just the essentials.”

“Where… are we going?”

“Home, of course. You can’t stay here any longer.”

Frustration spread across Jingyeom’s face.

The power had only gone out an hour ago.

How did Cheongoh know, when he’d only told the landlord and Jinwoo?

Suspicion bloomed.

‘Did Wonbeom tell him?’

Since Cheongoh was one of Wonbeom’s people, it wasn’t a far-fetched theory.

Jingyeom squinted at Cheongoh, who cleared his throat and looked away.

“I’m not going anywhere until I know where I’m going. Whose house is it? And what about Jinwoo—does he have to come too?”

“…Director Sun’s house. Jinwoo will join you after he finishes work.”

Jingyeom sprang to his feet and shouted.

“So it was Soohyuk after all!”

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On the way to Soohyuk’s house, Jingyeom ground his teeth, gripping his bag tightly.

‘I forgot for a moment how twisted Sun Soohyuk’s personality can be. I thought he treated me differently, but clearly not. …I thought things wouldn’t play out like in the novel, but ugh….’

Unlike Gray’s Tak Wonbeom, who acted openly, Sun Soohyuk moved quietly.

But this time, he’d given a warning.

‘This is going to be trouble.’

While he had dismissed concerns before because the real versions of them seemed different, he now felt the need to be on guard.

If he left things as they were, Soohyuk would undoubtedly get what he wanted.

‘That can’t happen.’

He had to separate Jinwoo from Soohyuk first.

‘If I send him to the teacher’s house, which should be renovated by now… would he go?’

Jinwoo would never leave him behind, and the thought made Jingyeom’s head spin.

Maybe falling into Soohyuk’s arms would make life easier.

But he didn’t want to live under anyone’s control.

‘I don’t know what Soohyuk has planned… but I need to be prepared.’

No brilliant ideas came to mind. With his thoughts in a tangle, Jingyeom shut his eyes tight.

‘…Whatever. I’ll figure it out when I get there.’

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