By Zephyria Ryu Jeong groggily opened his eyes, feeling as if his stomach was sticking to his back from hunger. He blinked his swollen eyes a few times, and as the sleepiness faded, his blurry vision gradually cleared. The first thing he saw was a pure white ceiling.
Ryu Jeong stared blankly at the empty canvas-like ceiling, slowly closing and opening his eyes before suddenly gasping. He had never seen such a clean ceiling in his life.
Even the texture of the floor beneath his back felt unfamiliar. His old, thin blanket couldn’t block the cold rising from the hard floor, but the floor he was lying on now was warm and even cozy. Above all, the scent was different. The musty, moldy smell that he could never hide no matter how much he cleaned was nowhere to be found, and a refreshing, wind-like scent tickled his nose.
“…….”
A familiar yet unfamiliar scent. Only one person came to mind.
Ryu Jeong, barely managing to sit up with his weak body, stared down at the empty space beside him with a dazed look. He carefully placed his hand on the spot where someone had been lying, the only trace remaining. Only a soft texture permeated his palm, with no warmth left.
Where did he go? Ryu Jeong stared silently at the pillow with a deep indentation in the middle, then looked around the room with anxious eyes. Sunlight streaming through the opaque curtains illuminated the spacious room. Only then could Ryu Jeong take in the space he hadn’t seen the night before.
The room was large, but the only furniture was a bed. There was twice as much empty space as there was used space. Ryu Jeong thought that he would have to fold this room in thirds to get a size roughly similar to his own home, then fixed his gaze on the tightly closed door. He listened intently, but there was no sound coming from beyond the door.
I should go out and see. Ryu Jeong threw off the blanket and got out of bed, only to collapse back down from the dull pain that shot up his back. If he hadn’t reflexively grabbed the blanket, he might have fallen to the floor.
“Ah…….”
Ryu Jeong frowned deeply without realizing it, then briefly sighed, as if enduring the pain. Looking down with narrowed eyes, he saw that his bare body, without a single thread of clothing, was covered in marks as if he had been beaten. If he didn’t know the circumstances, he might have thought he had been involved in a fairly large fight; it was difficult to find any undamaged skin.
Ryu Jeong rolled his eyes, his face full of embarrassment. He couldn’t even touch the vivid bite marks scattered here and there, and just tore at the blanket. They were irregularly patterned, but as he stared at them, he vaguely remembered where and how the soft lips had moved. The handsome face, trying to capture every small reaction, flickered before his eyes like a mirage. Ryu Jeong bit his lip, feeling ashamed.
But that didn’t mean he could stop his thoughts. With his mind clear and refreshed from sleep, the memories of the previous day slowly flooded back.
It was a night as if he had been possessed by something. The careful touches, as if handling something precious, and the rough breaths that contrasted with them, the memories of the night when pleasure that made his toes tingle continued to rage like a storm, swept over him like a wave. The unbearable sensations seemed to linger, and Ryu Jeong curled his toes.
He doubted if it was really him who had moaned embarrassedly and snuggled into Lee Do-hyeon’s arms. But even more unbelievable was the words that had flowed from Lee Do-hyeon’s mouth. The voice that had whispered “I love you” repeatedly struck his heart, not his ears. Ryu Jeong gently rubbed his chest, which was pounding as if waiting for it, as the memories resurfaced.
“My clothes…….”
By the way, where did my clothes go? Ryu Jeong belatedly covered his body with the blanket and looked down at the floor. The floor, which didn’t seem to have a single speck of dust, had no clothes, not even a single sock. He had shown his naked body a few times, but not enough to walk around naked in the bright morning sun. Ryu Jeong, not knowing what to do, eventually wrapped the blanket around his body and staggered to his feet.
He carefully took a step, gathering the blanket that was dragging on the floor even after covering his entire body. Every time he put weight on his foot, his buttocks throbbed. The embarrassment was greater than the pain. Ryu Jeong bit his lip and opened the door.
“President…?”
A silence that made him feel strangely self-conscious filled the entire house. Ryu Jeong carefully came out of the room and called out to Lee Do-hyeon in a voice that cracked. He didn’t feel any sign of anyone. It was as if he didn’t exist at all, rather than being in another room. Ryu Jeong, feeling somewhat disappointed, stood blankly in the middle of the living room and turned his head. His gaze naturally went to the window where he had stood briefly the day before.
The river, the same color as the clear sky, rippled, and the sunlit waves sparkled. The cold sky seemed close enough to touch if he just reached out his hand. Ryu Jeong unconsciously put his hand on the window, then quickly took it off, thinking that he would leave fingerprints. He was relieved that the window was no different than before he touched it. Beep beep, the mechanical sound he had heard when pressing the keypad broke the silence.
“Oh, you’re awake?”
His physical condition wasn’t good, and he was wearing a heavy blanket like clothes, so he couldn’t speed up his steps towards the entrance. He hadn’t even crossed the living room with his staggering steps when Lee Do-hyeon, who had already entered the house, found Ryu Jeong and smiled brightly.
The lingering shyness melted away helplessly at that affectionate smile. Ryu Jeong smiled back brightly and approached him. A hand, full of the cold air from outside, wrapped tightly around Ryu Jeong’s shoulder.
“When did you wake up? I didn’t wake you up so you could sleep well, but did you have to wait long?”
Lee Do-hyeon, holding the delicate body tightly in his arms, leaned back slightly and examined Ryu Jeong’s face closely. Looking at Ryu Jeong wrapped in the pure white blanket, he couldn’t help but smile. It was the most natural smile he had ever worn in his life. Without even realizing it, Lee Do-hyeon stroked Ryu Jeong’s soft cheek with his fingertips as if tapping it.
“A little while ago. I suddenly woke up…….”
“Is that so? Were you thirsty?”
Is that so. Ryu Jeong pondered the affectionate question and nodded. Now that Lee Do-hyeon said it, his throat did feel a little sore.
“Don’t stand there, sit down. I’ll get you water.”
“Okay…….”
Ryu Jeong entrusted himself to the hand that naturally led him to the sofa and carefully sat down. He followed Lee Do-hyeon’s back as he quickly headed to the kitchen with his eyes, following every step of the process of taking out a cup and pouring water. He couldn’t take his eyes off even the most trivial, everyday actions. He could tell that he had been away for a few days. Ryu Jeong averted his dazed gaze only when Lee Do-hyeon returned with a cup of water.
Ryu Jeong barely managed to take his hand out of the blanket and received the cup, avoiding Lee Do-hyeon’s gaze as he stared intently at him and quenched his thirst. His cheeks tingled as he slowly drank the lukewarm water as if chewing and swallowing it.
Why does he keep staring at me……? Ryu Jeong couldn’t bear the gaze that was not only tingling but even stinging, and cautiously glanced at Lee Do-hyeon. As if he had been waiting for it, Lee Do-hyeon smiled brightly as soon as he met Ryu Jeong’s clear eyes. Ryu Jeong flinched at that and lowered his head. His exposed nape quickly turned red.
“Um… but where are you coming from?”
Ryu Jeong quickly changed the subject, fiddling with the smooth surface of the cup. At the sudden question, Lee Do-hyeon’s smile faltered slightly. The corners of his lips, which had been raised, slowly lowered before quickly returning to their place as if nothing had happened. Of course, Ryu Jeong, who had lowered his head in embarrassment, didn’t see anything.
“Oh, the gym. I went to work out.”
“Ah…….”
Come to think of it, Lee Do-hyeon was wearing comfortable clothes instead of his usual suit. Ryu Jeong, lifting his slightly nervous gaze, looked at the hair covering his forehead with a curious expression. It felt quite different from his usual neat, swept-back style.
Anyway, working out. Isn’t he tired? As he thought that, his face flushed for no reason. It was because the memories of the previous night naturally came to mind.
It wasn’t like it was a heat cycle like before, and it wasn’t like Lee Do-hyeon was in rut. Both of them were completely sober, with no connection to their heat, and they had been entangled in that act all night long. They had acted as if they were thirsty for each other, and he didn’t even have time to know how many times his vision had flipped.
His mouth felt parched even though he had drunk water. Ryu Jeong looked at Lee Do-hyeon as he drank the remaining water. His complexion looked as normal as if nothing had happened the night before.
“President, aren’t you, um, tired?”
With that short reaction, the perceptive Lee Do-hyeon saw through Ryu Jeong’s thoughts. Lee Do-hyeon chuckled, pretending not to know, and shrugged as if it was nothing.
“Um, not really. I’ve always been working out regularly, so I’m fine.”
“Then… do you work out every morning?”
“Not morning.”
“…Huh?”
Ryu Jeong’s eyes widened as if he had naturally assumed it was morning. As if he didn’t understand what he was saying at all, he looked up at the sky outside the window and then looked back at Lee Do-hyeon.
“It’s afternoon now. It’s past 1 o’clock.”
When he pointed to the wall clock, his clear eyes followed his fingertip. He stared at the positions of the hour and minute hands for a long time as if he couldn’t believe it, then his slightly parted lips closed tightly, and the redness that had been lingering on his nape spread to his face. It was obvious what he was thinking. Rather than being embarrassed for sleeping in so late, it must have been the night that made him so tired that he couldn’t come to his senses until this late hour.
“Your face is red.”