By Zephyria 
Even if it was just a week-long relationship, he couldn’t show his face with sleep in his eyes in front of his boyfriend.
“I’ll just wash my face and be right back. Please watch the eggs for me.”
“Are the eggs going to run away?”
Haon grinned at the bluntly returned remark and headed to the bathroom.
He splashed his face with cold water and looked in the mirror. He could see his cheeks were slightly flushed. He couldn’t tell if it was because the alcohol was still lingering or because of the scene he had just witnessed in the kitchen.
“Ha, seriously.”
After letting out a laugh that sounded like a sigh, Haon dried his face with a towel.
Senior’s house, where he cooks meals. The fact that he was now in that house really sank in.
When he came back to the kitchen, Cha Jeong-won gestured with his chin. Haon carefully sat down facing Cha Jeong-won.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“Nothing special. Eat moderately.”
When a reply came to his habitual greeting, his heart felt pricked once again.
“But you cook yourself, Senior?”
“Who else would?”
“No, I just……”
Haon looked around the house. It was spacious. Nice. So he thought maybe he had separate help. Cha Jeong-won snorted.
“Who would I let in?”
“Ah……”
So when distrust of people reaches its peak, you have to cook for yourself too.
Finishing with an awkward smile, Haon scooped a spoonful of dried pollack soup and put it in his mouth. Then he glanced at Cha Jeong-won and took another bite. It was just the right taste—not too salty, not too bland.
“Why is it so delicious? Did you really make this, Senior?”
“You woke up smelling it, but you didn’t hear me beating the pollack, huh.”
He was phrasing the fact that he made it in a rather harsh way.
“Try the side dishes too.”
“Did you make all of these too?”
At Haon’s words as he picked up some seasoned zucchini with his chopsticks, Cha Jeong-won said calmly.
“I bought them.”
He should probably just take that at face value.
Haon nodded while eating scrambled eggs over a bowl of rice. It was an excellent breakfast.
“It’s more than just edible. It’s at least three times tastier than the school cafeteria food. No, four times?”
Even as he kept raising the number, laughter escaped, so Haon scooped another spoonful of soup.
“At this rate, I might just settle down here. Even if just for the food.”
“You didn’t make a one-week boyfriend contract just to get free meals, did you?”
The tone was light, but the tips of Haon’s ears grew slightly warm. Since that wasn’t wrong, he had nothing more to say.
“Then should I make breakfast tomorrow?”
“You didn’t make a one-week boyfriend contract to cook meals either, right?”
“Can’t boyfriends even feed each other once? I’m eating like this too.”
Since he was rejecting everything, Haon retorted sullenly.
Even amidst this, the food was delicious.
Cha Jeong-won spoke annoyingly, but the meal was so tasty it wasn’t annoying at all.
“Um, I’ll do the dishes.”
If he couldn’t cook, he felt he should at least do something else.
“For the week, you cook and I’ll do the dishes, so it’s fair.”
Cha Jeong-won put down his spoon and looked at him.
“Fair?”
“Or we could take turns cooking. Either way is fine.”
Haon acted as if he was okay with cooking, but Cha Jeong-won didn’t accept it.
“I’m not someone who prepares meals that elaborately. I just do the bare minimum.”
“Then what about now?”
“A warm-up level.”
At the casually added remark, Haon burst out laughing for no reason.
This person was serious even when joking.
Haon did the dishes as promised.
While washing the dishes, Haon tried hard not to be conscious of the gaze he felt from behind. He knew Cha Jeong-won was looking at his phone at the dining table, but strangely, that gaze seemed to brush past him occasionally.
“Senior.”
As he placed a dried plate on the drying rack, Haon called Cha Jeong-won. Cha Jeong-won immediately raised his head as if he had been waiting to be called.
“What are we doing today?”
“Why, now that we’re boyfriends, are you going to check my schedule too?”
“Of course. We have to plan our dates.”
For today at least, they were definitely going to be together. So he would pile on the luck very thickly!
“Then when do I get to be alone?”
At Cha Jeong-won’s joke, Haon cut him off very coldly and decisively.
“During the relationship, there is absolutely no alone time.”
It’s only a week. He had to make the most of it somehow!
That determination rose plainly on Haon’s face. Seeing Haon like that, Cha Jeong-won made a thoughtful expression for a moment.
“Then to what extent should we be together?”
He seemed to be taking it seriously. It was an unexpected reaction.
Haon subtly looked for a timing to change the subject. He had said it as a joke, but what if he seriously suggested they keep hanging out together?
“Should we go to school?”
“You said let’s hang out, and now you suggest school?”
That didn’t make sense. As he waved his hand dismissively, something suddenly occurred to him.
“…You won’t tell people at school that we’re dating, right?”
Cha Jeong-won crossed his arms and looked at Haon. He somehow seemed displeased.
“It’s a relationship with a set deadline. But if rumors spread that we’re dating, it’ll be inconvenient for both you and me.”
“Then we wouldn’t be able to hang out together.”
“It’s not… like you have to be dating to hang out. Look at me and Hyun-gyu.”
He thought they could just get along like close sunbae and hoobae, but Cha Jeong-won didn’t seem convinced at all. Haon frantically winked.
“Wouldn’t it be better if we exchanged signals just between the two of us like this?”
“……”
Cha Jeong-won was silent.
However, he was making an expression that seemed more understanding than before. Haon felt like he was about to laugh.
He always thought he was just stiff and prickly, but somehow, the more he looked, the more he felt he could understand what he was thinking… That felt even more attractive.
Plus, he seemed kind of cute too…
“If you’re done, let’s go. I have something to show you.”
“What is it?”
“My studio.”
At that answer, his heart raced.
It was originally one of Haon’s goals for entering this house.
A space that might contain ominous objects. At the same time, hearing that Cha Jeong-won, unlike other students, already had his own studio made him both very envious and curious.
Haon roughly wiped his wet hands on his clothes and moved busily.
“What do I need to bring to the studio? First, my phone, and should I bring gloves too? If I’m confident my fingerprints won’t be left, can I touch things?”
At Haon’s fuss, Cha Jeong-won let out a weak sigh and then took Haon’s hand.
“Just you being here is enough.”
Why does this person talk like it’s a drama line! Is it because he’s a novel protagonist?
At the words that were almost like a confession, Haon covered his mouth with his other hand.
Otherwise, he felt like he might even hiccup. But perhaps he didn’t cover it completely, a groaning sound leaked out.
“It’s dangerous… Senior, it’s really dangerous.”
He couldn’t let his guard down for even a moment.
Because of that, he belatedly realized what Cha Jeong-won meant by ‘just you being here is enough.’
＊ ＊ ＊
When the studio door opened, the air changed.
The unique scent of solid wood mingled with the smell of stain applied to lumber.
The musty paper smell from old blueprints and the fresh paper smell from a printer that had just printed, and on top of that, Cha Jeong-won’s pheromones all seeped in at once.
On one side of the spacious room was a long workbench. On it, worn blueprints were spread out in layers, and beside it, material samples for models, a scale ruler, and a cutting mat were neatly arranged.
Shifting his gaze to the other end, sanding blocks, a nail box, an electric drill, and various tools were organized on shelves. It was clear at a glance that Cha Jeong-won did his assignments here and made furniture in his spare time.
Against the wall, cut plywood and solid wood pieces of different thicknesses were stood up in order of size, and between them, small chairs and tables made as scale models were placed. It was like a small world.
“Wow……”
Haon let out an admiring sigh without realizing it.
It felt like being invited to a precious hideout that had been nurtured for a long time without letting anyone in. It was a feeling similar to taking the first step on fresh snow.
Haon carefully stepped inside, watching his feet. Was it just his mood? He felt like he heard a faint crunch sound with each step somewhere.
There seemed to be things he shouldn’t step on scattered here and there, but a path had already formed on the floor following the worker’s movement lines.
“Senior, this place is really cool.”
“I haven’t cleaned up. Let your guard down and you’ll get hurt.”
It was true that there were some wood shavings scattered a bit and blueprints piled up. But to Haon’s eyes, it still looked plenty cool.
No, that aspect made it even cooler.
“This much is artistic chaos. Certified design student.”
It was an absurd thing to say, but he meant it sincerely.
Jeong-won took something out of a drawer next to the workbench and held it out to Haon.
“Gloves.”
Haon quickly took them with both hands and opened his eyes wide as if surprised.
“Does this mean I can touch things if I wear these?”
“No, you have to make furniture.”