By Zephyria 
===
In that split second, several thoughts flashed through his mind.
…Did I come to the Executive Director’s bedroom instead of my own?
Did I not just look at the closed door, but unconsciously walk into the Executive Director’s room…?
…I must be crazy, seriously…. I thought I was just looking….
Though no answer came, Eun-won, momentarily dazed by the racing thoughts, stared at Cha Se-jin while gripping the doorknob tightly.
“…I’m sorry. I thought it was my room….”
“It is your room, Darling.”
“…What?”
“You came to the right place.”
“……What? Uh…. Then why… here….”
“Don’t just stand there like a stranger, come inside first.”
“Ah….”
Only then did Eun-won snap out of it and awkwardly enter the room and close the door. Looking again, it was indeed his bedroom. His bag was there, his books were there—it was clearly his room, yet he had instantly concluded it couldn’t be his just because Cha Se-jin was in it. A faint, sigh-like laugh escaped him at the absurdity of it.
“What are you doing? Get up here.”
When Eun-won hesitated near the bed, Cha Se-jin started to nod toward the bed but instead raised his hand and patted the empty spot beside him. Eun-won climbed onto the high bed and sat down, covering himself with the blanket Cha Se-jin lifted for him.
“We’re newlyweds, but aren’t you neglecting me too much?”
“…Ah…. I didn’t know you were here. I thought you were sleeping….”
“Were you planning on using separate rooms?”
It was Cha Se-jin, not him, who had arranged for two bedrooms. Yet, Cha Se-jin spoke as if he were the one who wanted separate rooms. If nothing else, that felt a bit unfair. He had been feeling upset about that ever since he was shown the two bedrooms, right up until a moment ago.
“…Since there wasn’t one bedroom but two… I thought you would sleep in your own bedroom, Executive Director. Since we use separate rooms… there was no reason for you to be waiting for me….”
Watching Eun-won speak at length for the first time in a while, Cha Se-jin set aside the tablet PC he was holding. The way Eun-won poured out his thoughts while keeping his gaze lowered, without even looking at his face… it looked and sounded as if he were disappointed that there were two bedrooms.
“Did you hate that my bedroom and your bedroom were separate?”
To begin with, Cha Se-jin didn’t know how to beat around the bush. And looking at Eun-won right now, anyone would want to pierce the heart of the matter just to make him more flustered. Who could withstand that disappointed face, venting the unfairness of having two bedrooms created for separate sleeping only to have the blame shifted onto him?
“…I-it’s not that I hated it, but….”
“If you didn’t hate it, why are you so disappointed?”
As Cha Se-jin acted blatantly shameless, Eun-won’s gaze met his, now carrying a firmer resolve and a deeper sense of disappointment. It was similar to the look he had given him at the convenience store when Cha Se-jin had asked those random personal questions. That gaze, showing that he wasn’t just purely weak, turned a perfectly sane man into someone who—to put it nicely—was abnormal, and to put it honestly, a fucking bastard. Though he seemed completely unaware of it himself.
“…I know this is the right way, but we kept sleeping together at the hotel… so I guess I naturally thought it would be the same here.”
“Yeah. That’s right. It’s only natural to have two bedrooms. This isn’t a marriage based on love, so what’s the point of sleeping in one bed? It would only be uncomfortable.”
“…….”
“That’s exactly why I told them to make two. There’s no need to act like a happy couple even in my own space.”
“…….”
“But I’m just going to get rid of that.”
Eun-won looked up as a sudden, unexpected conclusion arrived, just as the reminders of reality had become almost too hard to bear.
“Sleeping together was actually okay. I found it easier to fall asleep by your side. You don’t have any bad sleeping habits, and I like how your pheromones waft out when you’re asleep.”
“…….”
“Waking up with someone wasn’t bad either. To be honest, I don’t know if I’ll keep liking it. Since I’ve never done it before, I might just find it interesting. I’m just being honest.”
“Then… until you start hating it… are we sleeping together every day?”
…Wow, shit. Look at this. He says things like that so damn nonchalantly.
Had it been Kang Seo-hoo or Do Hae-jun? No, was it Gi Jae-hyeok? He remembered hearing that the truly erotic thing isn’t someone who is worn out by experience, but the flirting of a truly innocent, naive child who says bold things precisely because they know nothing.
At the time, he had wondered what kind of bullshit that was, thinking that nothing is as boring as someone who knows nothing. Now, he felt he understood what that meant. And that he was the one who had been talking bullshit.
“Yeah, let’s sleep together. If you suddenly think it’ll be uncomfortable, tell me now. Of course, nothing will change even if you do.”
Seeing Cha Se-jin speak so shamelessly, a laugh leaked through Eun-won’s lips. Clearly, until a moment ago, he had felt wronged, upset by the overly realistic talk, and thought it was too much, but not anymore. Seeing that smirk, his heart just melted away.
Eun-won’s laughter-laced breath softly tickled the headboard. Cha Se-jin stared at Eun-won, who had looked as if he were about to pour out all his disappointment and sadness, yet had become fine and was smiling brightly again at a single word. He used his fingertip to press down on the corner of Eun-won’s mouth, which was curved upward in a soft smile. Then, he took in the flushed cheeks and ears in turn.
Perhaps because his heart had softened, a sweet scent of milk wafted from Eun-won. It didn’t seem like he was releasing pheromones on purpose, but it appeared he couldn’t control them well. While that would be troublesome outside, it was a good thing when he was with him. Cha Se-jin laid down the sleepy-looking Eun-won and covered him with the blanket. Every time the blanket moved, the soft scent dyed the surroundings.
Ah, I can’t stand it.
Lowering his face over the lying Eun-won, Cha Se-jin touched the tip of his tongue to the white neck and licked upward along the neckline. He felt like a dog, but that didn’t really matter. He felt as if his mind would break if he didn’t taste him right now. He felt he had no choice, as if he would end up being even more forceful if he didn’t release this tension somehow.
“Ah… Ex-Executive Director…. Ngh….”
After licking Eun-won’s neck a few more times as if it were delicious, Cha Se-jin pulled the clothes aside to expose the shoulder and buried his lips into the fair skin. Then, he bit the shoulder—not hard enough to cause great pain—and sucked deeply. A sensation that was a mix of pain and something strange spread. Cha Se-jin pulled his lips away and looked down at the red mark he had left.
“Did it hurt?”
“…A little…. But I didn’t… hate it.”
“After the exams, here.”
Cha Se-jin traced the suction mark with his fingertip, then moved his hand down to rest on Eun-won’s chest. It was a precarious position where the nipple would be touched with the slightest movement. Eun-won’s waist tensed up.
“Here.”
The fingertip that had been on his chest slid under the blanket and touched his waist. Then it moved further inside, pressing against the thigh before slipping between his legs. Startled, Eun-won closed his legs, trapping the finger between his thighs. Since it was under the blanket, he couldn’t see it, but the sensation was vivid. Eun-won bit his lip as the finger dug deeper into the inside of his closed thighs. He was too embarrassed by Cha Se-jin’s gaze looking down at him, but he couldn’t avoid it.
“I’m going to leave a mark here, too.”
Rubbing the inner thigh, Cha Se-jin pushed his finger in a bit deeper and then pulled it out, removing his hand from under the blanket.
“I’ll only teach you this much today. If I teach you more and you only think about this during your exams, what then?”
With a smirk, Cha Se-jin pulled the slipped blanket up to Eun-won’s chest, picked up the small remote, and turned off all the lights except for one very dim nightlight on the wall leading to the bathroom.
Eun-won, thinking it was a relief that the sudden darkness hid his embarrassment, pulled the rustling blanket up even further, covering himself up to just below his nose.
“Sleep well.”
“……Goodnight….”
“When you greet me like that, it makes me sound too much like an adult. I’m not that old. Let’s just say ‘goodnight’.”
“…Goodnight….”
The sound of laughter echoed in the darkness. At that sound, a ticklish sensation spread through the inner thighs that were still pressed tightly together. Eun-won curled his body up within the unfolding blackness. He could feel his heart beating rapidly. It seemed he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep for a long time.
* * *
After successfully finishing his exams, Eun-won stayed at school to work on an assignment with a looming deadline before heading home in the car sent to pick him up. Eun-won smiled as he re-read the message from Cha Se-jin, saying he had tried to sneak out but was caught by his Hyung and ended up going to a group blind date. It felt as if he could hear the voice through the message.
He could have gone home alone without a car, but it seemed Cha Se-jin had been worried. Though he was younger than Cha Se-jin, he was still a fully grown adult, and it felt a bit embarrassing to be constantly overprotected. However, that didn’t mean he hated it. Ultimately, that too came from interest. Perhaps overprotection is just the result of over-interest? Thinking that way, everything suddenly felt fine.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. I’ll take your bag, Young Master.”
“Ah, no. It’s okay, I’ll carry it.”
Bowing his head in gratitude for the kindness, Eun-won entered the house. As he went up the stairs and entered his room, the empty bed was the first thing he saw. Eun-won recalled Cha Se-jin, whom he had encountered when he opened this door yesterday.
“…….”
His thoughts quickly reached the most vivid scene that he couldn’t forget. Recalling Cha Se-jin pulling back his clothes and burying his face in his shoulder, a hot breath escaped through his parted lips. Eun-won quickly shook his head, went inside, set down his bag, and took a deep breath. But neither his body nor his mind calmed down easily.