Yoon Joo-ho, leaning forward with his elbows on his thighs, looked at him askance. When he acted like that, he looked like a gangster who had come to collect, growling and snapping. Except, he was a beautifully handsome gangster.
From experience, Song Hyun-soo knew he couldn’t win a stubborn argument with Yoon Joo-ho. He sighed and returned to the sofa, ‘limping strangely.’ Yoon Joo-ho moved over and patted the seat next to him. Song Hyun-soo no longer felt like resisting and did as he was told, sitting there.
“My right little toe is a bit rubbed. But that’s all.”
“Shoes are so sensitive that even a single grain of sand can drive you crazy.”
It was true, but the strange feeling he had when changing socks at Yoon Joo-ho’s house lingered, making him hesitant to show his bare feet.
With Yoon Joo-ho, even the most ordinary moments could become strangely charged. If Yoon Joo-ho set his mind to it, he could make peeling garlic or chopping onions seem sexy. Dangerously, he had that kind of talent.
“What are you doing. Take them off.”
“…”
“Or should I take them off for you?”
See, see. Even though it wasn’t a lewd situation or lewd words, it sounded suggestive.
Song Hyun-soo glanced at Yoon Joo-ho. Come to think of it, his appearance itself seemed somewhat suggestive…
If he delayed any longer, Yoon Joo-ho would probably try to take them off himself. Hesitantly, he bent down, untied his shoelaces, and took off his shoes. The socks were very long, so he had to reach deep inside his pants to pull them down. It felt somewhat surreal, like taking off pantyhose. Trying not to be conscious of it, he deliberately took off the socks casually.
As expected, the outside of his little toe was red and chafed, and the skin surface, pressed by the shoe, was swollen. Fortunately, it hadn’t blistered yet. Yoon Joo-ho frowned slightly upon confirming this.
Even buying him good shoes was a problem. Or, if he was in pain, why endure it so foolishly instead of saying something?
He braced himself for such sharp words, but unexpectedly, Yoon Joo-ho didn’t scold Song Hyun-soo.
“It doesn’t seem that severe.”
“I told you. It’s just slightly bothersome. Once they’re broken in, it won’t bother me at all. Are we done now? Can I put them back on?”
Yoon Joo-ho grabbed Song Hyun-soo’s arm as he reached for his socks again.
“Done with what. Stay put.”
He stood up from the sofa and walked towards where his and his staff’s belongings, as well as Song Hyun-soo’s luggage, were gathered. He rummaged through the stylist’s makeup box and returned with something in his hand. It was a disposable bandage.
“Oh, thank you. That will help… Ugh! Aaaargh!”
“What was that scream?”
Yoon Joo-ho, who had been sitting next to him and reaching for Song Hyun-soo’s foot, frowned.
Song Hyun-soo was the one who wanted to frown. He pulled his bare foot away from Yoon Joo-ho and looked at him with an expression of horror.
“Wh-what are you doing? That’s disgusting.”
“You’re making a fuss even when I’m trying to put it on.”
I was afraid you would give that answer.
Song Hyun-soo snatched the bandage from Yoon Joo-ho’s hand.
“It’s fine. I’ll do it myself. Senior, you’re crazy!!”
Turning his body to sit with his back to Yoon Joo-ho, he hastily peeled open the bandage. Yoon Joo-ho, sitting next to him, grumbled as he picked up his champagne glass.
“What’s with the ‘Aaaargh,’ anyway?”
“It’s because you were trying to touch my foot, Senior.”
“So unsexy.”
Song Hyun-soo retorted, looking back at him over his shoulder.
“Unsexy… Excuse me, Senior, but I’m very sexy, you just don’t see it.”
“Oh, really?”
“I might be second to you, but I was quite popular back in my hometown.”
“Ho ho, is that so?”
Yoon Joo-ho showed interest. And he poked Song Hyun-soo’s nape, who was sitting with his back to him and wrapping a bandage around his toe.
“That amazing sexiness, why don’t you show it to me?”
“…”
Song Hyun-soo licked his lower lip as he pressed down the edges of the bandage wrapped around his toe. Then, he said in a tone that suggested it was no big deal.
“What good would it do me to show it to you, Senior?”
Yoon Joo-ho chuckled right behind him. As if he knew his inner thoughts. More precisely, as if he knew his inner thoughts that he himself didn’t even know.
Just then, a hand reached over his shoulder and pressed something onto Song Hyun-soo’s cheek.
“Ms. Sexy Dynamite, have another one of these.”
What fluttered down from his cheek was a peeled bandage.
Surprise. I thought he was going to kiss me.
The sensation of lips and a bandage couldn’t be the same, but why did he suddenly have that illusion? It was all because of that man’s useless sexiness. He had been mindlessly swiping his lips around earlier, hadn’t he? That’s why his delicate sensibilities were on guard.
Blaming Yoon Joo-ho for his racing heart, Song Hyun-soo picked up the bandage that had fallen onto his thigh.
After applying it a second time, he put on his socks and shoes and stood up to walk.
It felt much better. The pad of the band-aid acted as a cushion, completely preventing chafing.
“Wow, I should have put it on sooner.”
Yoon Joo-ho, who had stood up and was pouring more champagne from the ice bucket, let out a short laugh.
Watching that laugh, Song Hyun-soo rubbed the back of his neck and turned away with a hint of bitterness. Did Yoon Joo-ho really intend to put a bandage on his bare foot? Even though he hadn’t just washed it?
He had jumped up and refused, but it wasn’t because he disliked it.
He didn’t know how to accept such feelings himself, or how to explain them to Yoon Joo-ho. So he turned away.
With a gait that no longer limped, he headed towards the window. As the night deepened and the sky grew darker, the stars on the ground sparkled more dazzlingly.
When would he have another chance to look down at the world from the 81st floor? It was a night view he wanted to capture in his eyes and take photos of. But it didn’t quite register.
Because the outside was dark, the indoor scene was reflected more clearly on the window. Yoon Joo-ho, perched on the back of the sofa, was watching him while drinking champagne. His reflection, superimposed over the night view sparkling like a diamond tiara, caught his eye more than the view itself.
“Oh, I saw Jin Seo-yeon Senior there earlier too. Wow… She was incredibly beautiful on screen, but even more so in person.”
Humph. Yoon Joo-ho snorted from behind and drank his champagne.
“You seemed very close with Senior.”
“Were you bothered?”
“What?”
“You must have been busy making cocktails, so when did you even see that?”
“It’s not that, it’s just… it caught my eye by chance? You were acting all gentlemanly, Senior, even taking Jin Seo-yeon Senior’s coat…”
Song Hyun-soo muttered, touching the floor-to-ceiling window in front of him and looking down. As if he wasn’t particularly interested, but just mentioning it because it came to mind. However, his gaze was still fixed on Yoon Joo-ho reflected in the window.
Yoon Joo-ho, letting his hand holding the glass drop, tilted his head askance.
“Are you curious if we slept together?”
He was struck by a 160km/h straight fastball, momentarily breathless.
Song Hyun-soo scratched the floor-to-ceiling window with his fingernail.
“No, well. It’s not that I’m curious… but last time you said you only slept with top stars, and Jin Seo-yeon Senior is an enormous top star… it all seemed to add up…”
He didn’t realize he was talking too much.
Tap. Yoon Joo-ho stood up and placed his glass on the side table. His slow steps, dragging his feet on the floor, were perfectly reflected in the window. With every step he took closer, Song Hyun-soo felt his breath tighten.
Like a motherless baby whale, aware of a great white shark approaching but unable to prepare any defense, Song Hyun-soo was helpless.
Yoon Joo-ho stopped right behind him. The tips of his shoes almost touched the heels of Song Hyun-soo’s shoes. Without turning around, he could meet Yoon Joo-ho’s eyes in the darkness reflected before him.
Yoon Joo-ho, reflected in the window, tilted his head and whispered into Song Hyun-soo’s left ear. His gaze remained fixed on Song Hyun-soo in the window.
“So. Which one of us were you jealous of?”
“Jealous?”
“Me, who might have slept with Jin Seo-yeon?”
As Yoon Joo-ho leaned in, as if to envelop him, Song Hyun-soo felt his left hand being pressed down by Yoon Joo-ho’s left hand, which was resting on the window.
“Or Jin Seo-yeon, who might have slept with me?”
Song Hyun-soo quickly turned around. His eyes, looking up at Yoon Joo-ho, were filled with surprise and confusion. It was because hearing Yoon Joo-ho’s question made him realize his own feelings. Why had the intimate sight of Yoon Joo-ho and Jin Seo-yeon bothered him so much?
His lips felt dry, and his mouth burned. Yoon Joo-ho’s scent made him feel dizzy.
“I, I…”
Yoon Joo-ho’s head tilted further, and he felt a shadow fall over his face. And the next moment, his lips were already touching Song Hyun-soo’s lips. Touching? No, the sensation of his lips being rubbed so intensely, as if trying to swallow him whole, made Song Hyun-soo gasp and freeze. He couldn’t quite grasp what was happening.