By Zephyria 
“……!”
As Seo Yi-kyung turned around, his shoulders stiffened. Han Seung-jae was staring intently down at the baby crib. Shadows clung to the dress shirt draped over his broad shoulders. He didn’t exude the same chill as when he wore a full suit, but he wasn’t dressed casually enough to make it easy to approach him. Because of that, the seriousness in Han Seung-jae’s gaze was all the more prominent.
Seo Yi-kyung felt the words he had been about to use to ask Han Seung-jae if he wanted some tea slide back down his throat. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard.
Suddenly, sensing the gaze, Han Seung-jae turned his head. He looked at Seo Yi-kyung’s face and then his stomach. It seemed he was referring to both Seo Yi-kyung and the child inside him.
Seo Yi-kyung slowly pressed his slightly parted lips together. As if to hide his flushing cheeks from a reckless misunderstanding, he brushed his palm down his face and took a step forward. He had thought Han Seung-jae was referring to himself and the child.
Staring at the baby crib Han Seung-jae had been looking into, Seo Yi-kyung murmured.
“If that’s the case, then there are three of us.”
Step. Seo Yi-kyung stopped as he reached the side of the crib.
“……Ah, three, I suppose.”
Han Seung-jae spoke after an uncharacteristic pause. It was as if he had just come to a realization.
“But it seems too small for you to lie in, Seung-jae.”
The wooden baby crib, adorned with a white veil and a mobile, was cramped even if Seo Yi-kyung were to curl himself inside; imagining Han Seung-jae lying in it seemed simply impossible.
Han Seung-jae silently gazed at Seo Yi-kyung’s face. Seo Yi-kyung felt his cheeks sting under the gaze felt right beside him. He slowly turned his head to look up at Han Seung-jae and asked, as if to change the subject.
“Shall I ask Butler Do to bring some fresh tea?”
On the table beside Han Seung-jae sat the teapot and the plate of refreshments Seo Yi-kyung had been drinking from until a moment ago. Coincidentally, however, there was only one teacup—Seo Yi-kyung’s. Since he didn’t know when Han Seung-jae would get off work, he couldn’t have prepared it in advance.
“…….”
Silence settled between the two. Seo Yi-kyung was conscious of Han Seung-jae’s expression, but he still couldn’t read his thoughts. Even in the original novel, his inner thoughts were never revealed.
The suggestion to drink tea was something Seo Yi-kyung had chewed over several times last night. He had even imagined what kind of answer Han Seung-jae might give. But in none of those imagined responses had there been a silence this long.
“If you’re busy, I’ll just ask him to bring it to the study.”
Because of the silence, Seo Yi-kyung added, as if stepping back a pace. He had left his phone in the bedroom, so he had intended to go down to the first floor personally to tell him. Just as he was about to walk away.
Han Seung-jae reached out a long arm, lightly wrapped it around Seo Yi-kyung’s waist, and sat him down on the table.
Caught off guard, Seo Yi-kyung found himself perched on the table and looked up with startled eyes.
Clink. Han Seung-jae used the back of his hand to push aside the teacup that hadn’t yet lost its heat. Then, his palm touched Seo Yi-kyung, as if enveloping his buttocks.
“Somehow, you seem a bit different.”
Seo Yi-kyung felt Han Seung-jae’s handsome features drawing closer as he spoke. Indeed, Han Seung-jae was bending his firm upper body to bring himself to Seo Yi-kyung’s eye level.
His sharp gaze looked solely at Seo Yi-kyung. It was as if he were searching for the identity of the dissonance he felt. Seo Yi-kyung’s pale complexion, his lips slightly parted in embarrassment, his frightened gestures as if he might flee at any moment—everything was no different from usual. Yet, the atmosphere Seo Yi-kyung exuded was strangely pronounced. It couldn’t be just because of the cute baby supplies filling the display cases and shelves.
Seo Yi-kyung became conscious of the open door visible over Han Seung-jae’s shoulder as he lowered his body. Fearing someone might overhear, his voice instinctively came out as a whisper.
“I just… wanted to have tea with you, Seung-jae.”
No matter how small Seo Yi-kyung’s voice was, there was no way Han Seung-jae, who was right in front of him, couldn’t hear it. They were so close that if the bridge of his high nose tilted just a bit, their lips would touch.
“You wanted to have tea with me?”
Seo Yi-kyung gave a barely perceptible nod. He truly meant it in that sense. Since Han Seung-jae seemed busy, he intended to ask Butler Do to bring tea to the study and head there himself.
“You said it was fine to have tea in the study.”
“Is that all?”
“……?”
What else could there be? As Seo Yi-kyung looked at him with questioning eyes, Han Seung-jae pulled out his phone. He instructed Butler Do to bring tea to the second floor and then unilaterally ended the call. Han Seung-jae placed the phone on the table with a thud, his gaze remaining below.
Seo Yi-kyung’s pupils trembled at the posture Han Seung-jae continued to maintain. He was currently perched on the table, trapped between Han Seung-jae’s arms, and the bedroom door was open.
“Seung-jae, Butler Do will be here soon.”
This implied that if he stepped back a bit, he would get down from the table, but Han Seung-jae showed no sign of retreating.
Did he not understand? Seo Yi-kyung added tentatively, glancing around.
“In this state, it’s a bit difficult to drink tea……”
Han Seung-jae wouldn’t be affected whether others saw or not, but Seo Yi-kyung was different. The posture alone was enough to cause a misunderstanding. Seo Yi-kyung gently tried to push Han Seung-jae away with one hand.
Han Seung-jae’s collar brushed against Seo Yi-kyung’s palm. Simultaneously, Seo Yi-kyung felt Han Seung-jae’s lips, touching his own lower lip, were cold. The words that followed were the same.
“Once he assesses the situation, he’ll behave accordingly.”
The fingers Seo Yi-kyung had extended to create distance from Han Seung-jae curled and clenched. A sharp wrinkle formed in Han Seung-jae’s shirt where he gripped it tightly.
Seo Yi-kyung licked his lower lip and accepted the tongue that pushed in to fill the gap of his parted lips. Han Seung-jae pressed against the tender membranes of the mouth and entwined their tongues, moving the hand that had been bracing the table to caress Seo Yi-kyung’s back. His palm slid up the slender spine to the nape of the neck. It was far beyond Seo Yi-kyung’s will to pull his lips away.
“Mngh……”
When Han Seung-jae finally pulled his lips away, Seo Yi-kyung gasped for air. Just then, Butler Do seemed to intentionally make noise with his footsteps before knocking on the door.
“I have brought the tea you requested.”
Han Seung-jae slowly turned around. Consequently, the figure of Butler Do walking in with his head half-bowed came clearly into Seo Yi-kyung’s view. He felt his face, already flushed from the kiss, grow even hotter.
The thought that Butler Do might have seen everything made him feel dizzy. Soon, Seo Yi-kyung regained his composure and climbed down from the table. However, his legs gave out, and he flopped down into a chair.
“I am sorry.”
Butler Do was likely apologizing for interrupting. Seeing as he apologized, Han Seung-jae must have known Butler Do was standing at the door.
And yet, he hadn’t stopped sucking Seo Yi-kyung’s lips, entwining their tongues, and gathering his saliva. He wouldn’t have pulled away if he hadn’t felt Seo Yi-kyung’s breathing becoming increasingly labored.
Butler Do set down the new teapot and two teacups, then placed the things Seo Yi-kyung had been using on a tray.
Butler Do turned around and walked away quickly. He did not do anything as foolish as looking back. Seeing that Butler Do hadn’t even thought to fill the cups, it was evident that he was currently flustered.
In contrast, Han Seung-jae, whose expression remained unchanged, picked up the teapot and filled the cups. His gaze landed on Seo Yi-kyung’s reddened lips, glistening with saliva. This brought back the memories of what had happened the previous night.
The night before, while stroking the lips of the sleeping Seo Yi-kyung with his finger, he had felt a surge of thirst. However, Seo Yi-kyung might have woken up. No, perhaps that wouldn’t be so bad. As if hoping for that, he had bent his upper body to swallow Seo Yi-kyung’s lips, but then stopped. He feared the wounds on Seo Yi-kyung’s body might worsen.
“I’ll take it.”
Seo Yi-kyung pulled a teacup toward himself with one hand. Han Seung-jae watched closely as he lifted the cup, blew on the tea to cool it, and drank slowly. Han Seung-jae sat opposite him at the table and lifted his own cup.
The feeling of enduring for about a day before finally indulging was strange, making it difficult to define the emotion.
Actually, he had never suppressed something like that in the first place, so he had nothing to compare it to.