* * *
“Knew it. So it was a lie. Serves you right.”
But Elgran narrowed his eyes, smugly crossed his arms, and grinned like he had the upper hand.
“Well, now there’s no reason not to teach me! Come on, spill it already!”
“Could you please stop talking nonsense?!”
“Playing hard to get, huh? Wait a sec—”
That delicate face looked like it belonged on a coy maiden, but the way he talked was pure back-alley thug.
Just as Ben was about to shoot up from the couch in frustration, Elgran—who’d been yapping nonstop—suddenly froze.
“What now?”
“Shush.”
Elgran cut Ben off, glancing around like something serious was happening.
His expression was so intense that Ben instinctively scanned the room too.
But with his ordinary human senses, there was no way he could detect whatever Elgran was picking up.
The best thing Ben could do now was stay quiet and not get in the way.
“Lus is approaching—within a 50-meter radius. No more dumb talk from now on.”
“Don’t tell me that’s what all this fuss was about.”
“Detecting Lus’s presence is the most important thing in the world to me. What else could be more important?”
Yes, yes. Clearly the world is ending.
Elgran’s deadpan expression was so calm it looked like even a knife wouldn’t draw blood.
Ben, visibly unimpressed, rested his chin in one hand and threw out a dry remark.
“You do realize I could just go blab all of this to Mr. Lus, right?”
“Wow, you’re really that disloyal?”
“And you’re calling me disloyal after you screwed me over that badly?”
“That was karma.”
“Then I guess this would be karma too.”
“Hey, you’re starting to sound like Haimar! Always has to get the last word, doesn’t shut up for a second.”
Ben couldn’t believe the kind of insults he was hearing these days.
Objectively, looking like Haimar was only a good thing because of the guy’s ridiculous beauty, but if his words were starting to sound like Haimar’s… was that a compliment or an insult?
Ben was about to retort when Elgran jumped up from the sofa and cut him off definitively.
“Save it! Lus is within 30 meters. Time for you to go.”
“And how exactly is Lus arriving here connected to me leaving?”
Elgran shot him a sharp glare.
But Ben had been planning to rest here until the event started anyway—this spot was even closer to the venue than the third floor where Haimar was. It was the most logical place to be.
No way was he going to let Elgran kick him out of a perfectly normal break room.
Ben adjusted his posture, settling even deeper into the sofa.
Elgran, clearly displeased, threw a sharp glance at him, then dramatically unwrapped his scarf and tossed it onto the end of the couch.
The scarf landed in a graceful arc like it was marking territory.
Ben, following the motion with his eyes, turned back to Elgran with suspicion just as the man threw off his coat and answered with crisp clarity:
“Because I’m planning to have sex with Lus right here.”
“…What?”
Ben’s reflexes fired before the thought could even fully register.
‘Excuse me, what the hell kind of logic is that?’
Any sane person would have reacted just like he did—with disbelief and horror.
Elgran, however, didn’t bother to repeat himself.
Instead, he tilted his head, tousled his vividly colored hair with one hand, and asked mockingly:
“What, watching’s your kink or something?”
“Excuse me?!”
Did he really just say sex? In the break room?
“Get out! He’s within 15 meters now!”
“I should be saying that to you! Go rent a hotel or something!”
“Nope! I do it where and when I want!”
There’s free-spirited, and then there’s just insane!
Sure, maybe this lounge was technically for Integra-level personnel, but what part of this place screams “perfect for sex”?
Even if sexual desire is a basic human instinct, this was too much.
Was Elgran a literal animal?
“Have some decency! This isn’t a damn jungle!”
“Oh? Still not leaving? Fine. I’m stripping now. STRIPPING.”
An animal… No, this man is an animal.
A heat-crazed tomcat in human skin!
As he yelled, Elgran yanked off his knit sweater, baring his smooth, pale skin under the break room lights.
Objectively speaking, it was a lean, flawless body—but that didn’t mean Ben wanted to see it.
Especially not if it wasn’t even meant for him!
Ben quickly turned his head away, his face twisted in disbelief.
In his new line of sight was the now filthily draped sofa, clothes scattered over it like it was a love hotel bed.
If turning a normal break room into a sleazy motel was a skill, Elgran had mastered it.
Through the fingers pressed to his forehead in exasperation, Ben peeked back at him—only to see Elgran casually unfastening his belt.
If Ben swore right now, he was pretty sure no one would blame him.
Ben, who rarely cursed, seriously considered doing it for the first time.
If he were someone with a rough mouth or a violent nature, he could’ve already thrown a punch or two, and no one would bet against it.
Of course, considering the fact that the other person was [Integra], maybe not—but even then, he probably would’ve at least cursed once.
But instead, Ben let out a deep sigh that seemed to blow away all such turmoil.
For a brief moment, he considered how to seriously persuade Elgran… only to immediately give up.
After all, if Elgran were the type to back down from something he’d already made up his mind about, he wouldn’t even be doing this in the first place.
Meaning, no matter how rational Lus might be, in the end, he’d get worn down by that damn stubbornness.
“I’m leaving! Let’s go!”
Unable to bear watching Elgran’s impromptu strip show any longer, Ben stormed out of the lounge without even making eye contact with the half-undressed man.
They say ignorance is courage, and if your opponent is someone who charges ahead without a plan, then sadly, peaceful solutions don’t seem to exist.
What made it worse was that peaceful solutions were all Ben knew.
Either way, with an awkward amount of time left before the event started, Ben eventually found himself arriving at the private room on the third floor—where Haimar was.
He had told him he’d come after the event ended, so showing up before it even started made Ben feel more than a little guilty.
But he hadn’t had much choice.
He couldn’t just wander aimlessly around the hallway, and he had a very good reason not to go back to the lounge.
“So, you got kicked out?”
“I hate to admit it, but yeah, basically. Still think it makes no sense, though.”
“Why?”
Sinking into a sofa that was several times softer than the worn-out one in the lounge, Ben looked at Haimar, seated across from him.
Unlike Ben, who was in a comfy outfit—thick sweater with a jumper thrown over—Haimar wore a crisp white dress shirt, a tightly knotted tie, and a perfectly tailored vest and jacket, all in sleek black.
Just sitting there, he sparkled.
If he added the long duffle coat—currently hanging on the coat rack—that matched his suit, the aura would be dazzling. It was hard to even imagine.
Haimar always had a strong presence, but dressed like this, it was practically blinding.
If Haimar were a lavish golden rose, then Ben might, at best, be the baby’s breath on the side.
Lost for a moment in admiration of Haimar’s outfit, Ben snapped back to the conversation.
Haimar’s face was bright with a gentle, clear smile, looking genuinely curious—but beneath that innocent expression, Ben could clearly read the unspoken thought: “What’s wrong with having sex in the lounge?”
Just like they say even a dog at a Confucian school learns to recite proverbs after three years, Ben realized he had become exactly like that.
“It’s not a private space.”
“Hmm.”
At Ben’s answer, Haimar let out a low sound and brought a hand thoughtfully to his chin.
But no matter how you looked at it, he didn’t seem convinced.
If he turned out to think like Elgran, Ben was in serious trouble.
Elgran might be someone else’s business, but Haimar was… definitely not.
In the dimly lit private room, Ben stole glances at Haimar, slightly uneasy.
Come to think of it, ever since their first night a few weeks ago, they’d only engaged in light petting, but not much else.
He’d thought maybe it was time to go further, but somehow things kept getting sidetracked, and here they were.
In any case, even if they did, it definitely wouldn’t be here.
“I would never do anything in a public space. Don’t even dream about it.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Still. Just so you know.”
Feeling oddly awkward, Ben rubbed his palms together.
Technically, this was called a “private room,” but looking at the bigger picture, it was still part of a public facility.
He didn’t want to make a big deal out of it though, so he stayed quiet—until he suddenly remembered something and reached across the table toward Haimar.
He’d gotten so wrapped up in the event prep that morning, he’d forgotten to do his usual daily check on Haimar’s condition.
* * *
