By Zephyria “Vice President.”
“Yes.”
“Can I come over there?”
“……”
As expected, silence came first.
In the shadow of the reading lamp, he opened his eyes, and I saw his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallowed dryly. Only then did he turn his head stiffly, like a robot needing oil, to look at Choi Hong-seo.
“……Why. Is something wrong? Are you… uncomfortable somewhere?”
“No. I just can’t sleep.”
He kicked off the covers and sat up. Stretching his long legs out from the bed, he fumbled for his slippers, babbling.
“Oh, really? That’s a problem. I have tea I prepare for when people can’t sleep…”
Even though I knew what he meant.
Choi Hong-seo watched him walk towards the door as if he were about to bolt from the room, and pulled the covers up to just below his chin.
“If you’re uncomfortable with me coming over there, I’ll just stay here.”
“……”
Hmm… He stopped and let out a short sigh. Then, instead of leaving the room, he approached Choi Hong-seo’s bed. His large hand reached out and lightly ruffled Choi Hong-seo’s hair.
“How could I be uncomfortable?”
His voice had returned to its usual calm tone. He liked his voice, a soft low tone with a slightly raspy edge. Sometimes sexy, sometimes sweet…
Choi Hong-seo, still lying down, looked up at him with only his eyes. His downward gaze no longer avoided Choi Hong-seo’s eyes.
The hand that had been stroking his hair moved to cup his cheek. Choi Hong-seo moved his head, rubbing his cheek against the warm palm. He let out a small laugh.
“Good boy, my Hong-seo.”
The next moment, his eye level suddenly lowered. He bent down and rested his arms on the edge of the bed. Then, he gently stroked Choi Hong-seo’s hair and cheek as he lay on his side.
“The malicious comments.”
“……”
“Should I sue?”
“……What?”
“You said you suddenly wanted to see me today. Wasn’t it because the malicious comments were making things difficult for you?”
“Ah…”
Choi Hong-seo tended to pay a lot of attention to people’s criticism and malicious comments, and it troubled him. — That was, in itself, a somewhat known fact.
But he thought I hadn’t noticed. I hadn’t shown any signs of it while we were together today, and Choi Hong-seo had no intention of confiding in him about it, or the feelings it caused.
Yet, how did he know?
The comfort offered at an unexpected moment was as powerful as an unexpected attack. It didn’t give me time to compose my emotions. Choi Hong-seo had to sit up, raising his upper body, to swallow the hot lump rising in his throat.
Lee Hae-sung also stood up and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Some of them were extremely malicious. Just a quick look at the comment history shows they’re habitual offenders, so it’s definitely grounds for a lawsuit. Shall I talk to CEO Myeong? If UB doesn’t handle it, it’s fine for Mr. Hong-seo to sue individually. I’ll arrange everything, so Mr. Hong-seo doesn’t have to worry about anything…”
“It’s okay.”
Choi Hong-seo grabbed his arm resting on the bed. Lee Hae-sung, who had been pretending not to notice all night in front of Choi Hong-seo, had a suppressed anger in his voice. I could feel how angry he was about those comments. The fact that he was angry was already a profound comfort.
Holding his arm tightly with both hands, I rested my forehead on the end of his broad shoulder.
“I’m okay now, really.”
He stroked the back of Choi Hong-seo’s head with his other hand. His lips pressed down on my crown. Choi Hong-seo slowly lifted his head. He was so close that his chin brushed the end of his shoulder. His lips, which had been kissing Choi Hong-seo’s crown just moments ago, were now only a few centimeters away.
We didn’t avoid each other’s gaze.
Choi Hong-seo initiated it.
I gently placed my lips on his chin and then pulled away. He was still looking down at Choi Hong-seo. His brown eyes under his lowered eyelids were beautiful. I moved a little higher and pressed my lips just below his lower lip. My heart pounded painfully. He had never been this close before.
This time, it was Lee Hae-sung, who had been frozen, who moved.
With a slight tilt of his head, Lee Hae-sung’s lower lip touched Choi Hong-seo’s upper lip.
Over three or four times, we slowly shifted positions, yearningly seeking each other’s lips. When our lips finally met fully, embracing each other, a sigh escaped, a mix of relief, admiration, and trembling.
Both of our lips were dry. We pressed our dry lips against each other’s, slowly savoring their volume, warmth, and fragrance.
“You’re determined to torment me, aren’t you?”
He whispered, his voice thick with emotion, yet tender.
“I’m not, like, just twenty years old…”
“Yes, I know.”
“Even though I’m much younger than you, Vice President, I’m twenty-seven.”
“Can I say that back to you, just switching the order? Even if Hong-seo is twenty-seven, he’s twelve years younger than me. That’s why I have so many thoughts.”
“I’m anxious.”
“……”
At the mention of anxiety, his face showed almost shock. No, should I say it was a fearful face?
As if he’d heard that someone was very ill, he cupped Choi Hong-seo’s cheeks and peered deeply, meticulously, into the face in his hands with surprised eyes.
“What’s wrong, what makes you anxious?”
“I don’t know.”
“……”
“I’m not the type to say things like… ‘I’m anxious’ to others. I become strange when I’m with you, Vice President.”
Persistently following Choi Hong-seo’s gaze as he tried to look away, Lee Hae-sung made him meet his eyes.
“Anxiety, hardship, sadness. You can show me all of it, tell me all of it. Did I do something to make Hong-seo anxious?”
Choi Hong-seo gripped the arms holding his face tightly. Not to pull away, but rather as if clinging.
And he shook his head strongly.
“No. Vice President, you’ve done nothing wrong. I think… it’s probably because this is my first time in a relationship like this.”
His thumb gently rubbed over his cheekbone. The emotions of the two, which had wavered for a moment, slowly subsided.
“Shall we lie down together?”
He nodded at his suggestion.
They lay side-by-side on the super single bed. He wrapped an arm around Choi Hong-seo and pulled him tightly towards his chest. He buried his lips in his hair and kissed him several times. As if soothing a startled child.
“Are you still anxious even when we’re like this?”
“……”
Instead of answering, Choi Hong-seo kissed the nape of his neck. A scent he missed wafted from there. It wasn’t the smell of shower gel or body lotion. He could clearly smell his, Lee Hae-sung’s, natural scent. A scent that evoked fond memories from childhood. A scent so missed it made his chest ache.
Choi Hong-seo, rubbing his dry lips against his neck, was like a child seeking milk. Choi Hong-seo’s hand, resting on his chest, unconsciously clenched his t-shirt tightly.
“We need to sleep now. You said you didn’t like me going to work after not sleeping much. And Hong-seo, you can’t sleep in that late either. Okay?”
Stroking Choi Hong-seo’s head as he clung to him, Lee Hae-sung gently soothed him.
“Do you dislike it when I act like this?”
His light sigh touched his forehead. Perhaps the sweetest thing in the world.
“Do you think I’d dislike it?”
“……”
“Hong-seo.”
“……”
“Choi Hong-seo.”
“……”
“Our Hong-seo, you’re a good boy.”
“Can’t I be not so good just for a little while?”
Unable to meet his eyes, he mumbled, his gaze fixed on his chest.
“I’m afraid that later you might… feel like you were used by me.”
“……”
This time, Choi Hong-seo was shocked. And he abruptly flipped over, kneeling on the bed.
“I will never think that! Never!”
As if earnestly pleading for him to believe him, Choi Hong-seo tightly gripped the bedsheet.
Lee Hae-sung, who had been looking at Choi Hong-seo with lowered eyelids while lying down, sat up. Then he covered Choi Hong-seo’s hand, which was gripping the sheet.
“I know this might not be the only way to prove my feelings, but I want to convey enough that I cherish you, and then sleep together afterwards.”
He released the strength from his hand, which had been gripping the sheet so hard it turned white. His fingers gently opened, and he intertwined them with his own. His touch was like a treatment, drawing out the long-standing poison that sickened his inner self.
“Don’t be anxious. I’m focused on you like this…”
“……”
“When I hear you say you’re anxious, do you know how it makes me feel?”
Choi Hong-seo crawled closer to him on his knees.
He cupped Lee Hae-sung’s cheeks with both hands. Just as he always did. His expression looked so pained that there was no room for hesitation or shyness.
“I’m sorry. I won’t say that again.”
To cup the face of a VVIP. It was something he couldn’t have imagined before. No, even just a few hours ago, he wouldn’t have thought he could do this to him.
He was already learning something from him, one thing after another. How to express, how to convey, and how to love…
“Come here. I didn’t say that to get an apology, I said it because I was upset. Why are you sorry?”
To him, who opened his arms, Choi Hong-seo leaped into his side. They lay down together, sharing the same pillow. His arm embraced him again, and his lips kissed his hair once more.
“If you’re anxious, I’ll try harder.”
“……”
“This is an experience that will become a precious memory for us, so let’s not use it as a means to resolve anxiety. Okay?”