By Zephyria A low, subdued voice came from above his head.
“No.”
Kang Robin-nim’s reply came from a distance.
“I didn’t say anything.”
Ha… really. Se-han muttered to himself and hugged Tae-kyung’s back even tighter.
“Lee Tae-kyung, can’t I be angry at you for even a few hours?”
The low voice, speaking calmly, was tinged with affection. Because of that, something welled up inside him again.
“You can be angry!”
He raised his head and looked up at Se-han, but his vision was blurry, and he couldn’t see properly.
“But, you have to be angry in front of me. Don’t go anywhere else… don’t turn your back on me…!”
“Then, Lee Tae-kyung.”
Se-han pressed his sleeve against Tae-kyung’s cheek again.
“Don’t ever say again that I make you uncomfortable.”
He forced his eyes open wide. He didn’t miss the exhausted expression that flitted across Se-han’s face as it became clearer.
“Because I can’t stand it when you say things like that.”
“I won’t.”
Now that he knew what words had hurt Se-han, they would never come out of his mouth again.
“I’ll never say anything like that again.”
“Then that’s enough.”
A large hand cupped the back of his head and pulled him closer. Tae-kyung pressed his cheek tightly against the broad chest and closed his eyes.
“Everything else is okay.”
Tae-kyung just nodded in response to Se-han’s permission. Tears streamed down his face again.
*
“Keep this on your eyes.”
Tae-kyung was so grateful and sorry that Kang Robin-nim had personally made an ice pack for him that he jumped up from the table.
“Thank you!”
He bowed ninety degrees and accepted the ice pack, and Kang Robin-nim clicked his tongue.
“You two, even your arguments are on a grand scale.”
“I’m sorry…”
He felt truly mortified that he had caused Kang Robin-nim so much concern.
“Hyung, don’t say anything to Tae-kyung. He’s still intimidated by you.”
Se-han, who had finished cooking, distributed large plates to Tae-kyung and Kang Robin-nim.
The truffle cream pasta that Se-han had made tasted amazing, but Kang Robin-nim still looked somehow displeased.
“Se-han, you know I don’t really like pasta.”
“I’ll make you something you like tomorrow, Hyung.”
Se-han took out a bottle of sparkling water and sat down to Tae-kyung’s left.
Se-han had taken off his tracksuit top and was wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt. Tae-kyung couldn’t concentrate on the pasta because his slender, muscular arms kept distracting him.
“Eat first.”
Se-han took the ice pack away after Tae-kyung covered his eyes with it.
“Okay.”
Tae-kyung picked up his fork after seeing Kang Robin-nim taste the pasta.
“Is Lee Tae-kyung still intimidated by me?”
Kang Robin-nim asked as he twirled the pasta around his fork. Tae-kyung pondered how to answer, then spoke honestly.
“You’re such a senior Sunbae, and also Se-han’s father, so I can’t help but…”
“Don’t worry about complicated things. Just call me Hyung from now on.”
Cough! Tae-kyung choked on the pasta and coughed, and Se-han handed him a glass of water. Kang Robin-nim, who had been watching them with narrowed eyes, leaned back in his chair.
“I decided to be friends with Se-han. So, make yourself comfortable too.”
Tae-kyung swallowed the water he had been drinking and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Then… I’ll call you Sunbae-nim.”
No matter how much he was told to be comfortable, he couldn’t call Kang Robin-nim Hyung.
“What does the title matter?”
Se-han’s hand brushed past Tae-kyung’s cheek.
“Call me whatever you want, Tae-kyung. I just mean you don’t need to be too intimidated by Hyung.”
Okay, I understand. After replying, Tae-kyung turned his head to the left. As expected, Se-han was there, gazing at him.
Se-han was resting his chin on his left hand and now stroking Tae-kyung’s cheek with his fingers.
His clear eyes and refreshing smile were wearing a pleasant smile. As if he knew how excited Tae-kyung was right now.
“The scar here is all healed.”
He must have been constantly worried about the scar on his cheek. Tae-kyung couldn’t hide the smile that naturally arose.
“I told you it would heal quickly.”
Even though he felt at peace, his heart was pounding, making it very difficult. What could he call this feeling?
“Guys.”
Tae-kyung snapped back to reality at Kang Robin Sunbae-nim’s call.
“Yes, Sunbae-nim.”
He quickly straightened his posture and prepared to listen attentively. He had been too engrossed in staring at Se-han. His face flushed as he realized that.
“You two.”
Kang Robin Sunbae-nim, who had already emptied his plate, was looking back and forth between them. Tae-kyung’s shoulders tensed slightly under Sunbae-nim’s sharp gaze.
“I’m glad you two are getting along, but I hope you have a healthy romantic relationship… Ah, not romantic.”
Cough. Tae-kyung felt like he was going to cough again, so he quickly drank some water.
“So, what I mean is, I hope you two don’t fight and… maintain a healthy relationship…”
Kang Robin Sunbae-nim, who had been speaking incoherently, sighed and roughly swept back his hair.
“Ah, what am I doing right now.”
“Hyung.”
Se-han, who had let out a chuckle, handed over his sparkling water. Sunbae-nim took it and gulped it down, then burst into a fit of coughing.
Kang Robin Sunbae-nim had always been confident and sometimes arrogant, which had earned him criticism.
Seeing him flustered in front of his son stirred up an indescribable emotion in Tae-kyung’s heart.
“I’ll make sure you don’t have anything to worry about, Hyung.”
Se-han’s low voice was affectionate and trustworthy enough to reassure his father.
“You can make me worry.”
Kang Robin Sunbae-nim, who had finished drinking all the sparkling water, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“You can cause trouble and go wild. I’ll take responsibility for everything. You can do whatever you want.”
“Why are so many people pushing me to cause trouble?”
Se-han crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. Tae-kyung was pretending to eat pasta, but suddenly his mind became complicated.
If Se-han caused trouble, things would really blow up, so how would he handle the aftermath…?
“But, Tae-kyung would hate it.”
Tae-kyung swallowed the pasta in his mouth and looked at Se-han. Se-han, who had his arm over the back of Tae-kyung’s chair, leaned toward him. His mischievous smile made Tae-kyung feel uneasy.
“We’ll only cause trouble together. Right?”
Huh? Tae-kyung tilted his head for a moment, then grimaced as a shock went through his head.
“You crazy…!”
He managed to regain his senses just before grabbing Se-han by the collar and quietly ground his teeth.
“Se-han, please don’t embarrass people when Sunbae-nim is here.”
“Okay, I understand.”
The head that had been heated with anger in an instant quickly cooled down at the touch that stroked his hair as if to soothe him. Seeing the guy who kept chuckling at whatever was so funny, he felt like it didn’t matter if he was embarrassed.
“I’m going to go to bed now.”
Kang Robin Sunbae-nim pushed back his chair and stood up.
“Tae-kyung’s going to sleep here too, right?”
“Tae-kyung has to go home.”
Se-han answered before Tae-kyung could even open his mouth.
“His Mom will be waiting for him, so before it gets too late…”
Tae-kyung’s eyes met Se-han’s as he was getting up from his chair. The guy looked at him for a moment and raised one corner of his mouth.
“Tae-kyung, were you perhaps planning on spending the night with me?”
“No.”
He quickly lowered his gaze to hide his embarrassment.
Actually, he had naturally assumed that he would be with Se-han, but now that he thought about it, Mom and Tae-min might feel left out.
“I should go home. I only have three days of vacation, so I should spend some time with my family during that time.”
He put down his fork and stood up from the table, but a deflated sound came out.
“Thanks for the pasta. It was really good.”
He wanted to be with him a little longer today. He wanted to talk while looking at his face until dawn…
“Tae-kyung.”
Se-han turned Tae-kyung around by the shoulder.
Tae-kyung’s shoulders flinched at the force with which Se-han grabbed his face with both hands.
“You should have said something sooner. I just assumed you were going back.”
He wanted to be honest and match his mood as much as possible, but seeing him with his eyes wide and sparkling like that, he felt like he shouldn’t.
“Se-han, we’ve been seeing each other often…”
His pronunciation was slurred because his cheeks were being squeezed tightly.
“Mom will be upset if I don’t go home when I got a vacation after a long time.”
I pried off Sung Se-han’s hand that was holding my face and smiled naturally. Well, this much should be enough for him to understand without feeling too upset.
“Cute.”
What? Cute? The moment I glared, a large hand covered my cheek again. Before I could even think, something soft pressed firmly against my lips.
Huh? I couldn’t grasp what was happening and widened my eyes. All that filled my vision were Sung Se-han’s lush eyelashes, his eyes closed.
My mind went blank, and I only came to my senses when a moist tongue licked my lips.
“You crazy bastard!”
It’s not my fault I grabbed Sung Se-han by the collar. He was the one who crushed my solid reason.
“What the hell are you doing, you psycho!”
I was the one who felt like I was going crazy.
Even as I shook him by the collar with both hands, I couldn’t lift my head in embarrassment. Kang Robin Sunbae is right in front of us, and this crazy bastard…!
“Lee Tae-kyung, I’m okay.”
I squeezed my eyes shut at Kang Robin Sunbae’s gentle voice.