By Zephyria 
Ki Jae-eon muttered an insincere apology with a subtle expression, “…I’m sorry.”
But the sulking of a younger man was not easy.
“Why? It’s not something to apologize for.”
Ki Jae-eon doubted his intelligence for a moment.
‘What is it? Is my understanding lacking, or…’
He was confused and couldn’t find any more ways, so he was just biting his lip when Ahn Seo-myeong, who had been looking at the wall, suddenly rolled over and stared at Ki Jae-eon. His face looked particularly round. Every time Ahn Seo-myeong moved, his hair, which had risen with static electricity, fluttered like dandelion seeds. From there, Ahn Seo-myeong’s unique sweet smell wafted out.
“But still. I’ll give you negotiation rights.”
“……Huh?”
“Negotiation rights.”
Is he saying that he’s going to give me a way out when there’s a clear sky?
“Should I give it to you?”
“……”
“I’m okay. It seems like hyung is uncomfortable…”
When Ahn Seo-myeong made a frail expression, Ki Jae-eon hurriedly nodded.
“Uh-huh, give it to me.”
“It doesn’t seem like you want it very much.”
“…Give it to me!”
“I can’t help it. Then let’s go out together this weekend. Just the two of us.”
Ahn Seo-myeong got up slowly. He had a face that said he was really okay, but he was giving it to him because Ki Jae-eon felt sorry for him. That guy was really shameless.
In the meantime, his cheeks, which had been heated by the hot heated floor and the thick blanket, were a healthy pink color. They were so shiny that they looked like well-ripened glutinous rice cakes. Cheeks that looked like they would taste soft and sweet if you bit them in one bite. Ki Jae-eon smiled quietly, curving his eyes.
‘Is all the cold gone? That’s a relief.’
But even though he had finished talking, Ahn Seo-myeong showed no signs of leaving. Rather, he moved his hips to the side and created a new space.
“Hyung, you can use the pillow. I’m okay.”
He said something obvious and then lay down on the blanket again and even used his arm as a pillow.
“Are you go, going to sleep the, there?”
“Yes? It’s still early morning. You have to sleep to grow taller.”
Ahn Seo-myeong glared at him with sharp eyes, as if he had forgotten that he was growing, so Ki Jae-eon couldn’t protest anymore. Instead, he closed his mouth and lay down next to him. He was half in a let-it-be attitude.
Whether Ahn Seo-myeong knew Ki Jae-eon was like that or not, he just seemed satisfied. He hummed, hmm- and then called Ki Jae-eon in a clear voice.
“Hyung, hyung. Are you sleeping?”
“……No.”
Ki Jae-eon answered slowly. He looked more tired than usual. No, he actually was.
It felt like he had aged rapidly in an instant.
Ki Jae-eon unconsciously rubbed his ear. It felt like his eardrum was ringing.
‘He seems to be talking a lot today…’
Ki Jae-eon swallowed his unspoken thoughts along with a sigh.
Who would see this side of Ahn Seo-myeong and call him taciturn?
If they did, they must be terrible at reading people.
“Hyung, hyung.”
“…Yeah.”
Ki Jae-eon, unaware that Ahn Seo-myeong was only like this with him, yawned, succumbing to the drowsiness washing over him. Having something small and warm next to him made him sleepy.
“I’m being careful, but could I ask you for a favor? It’s not that difficult.”
Whether the person next to him yawned or not, Ahn Seo-myeong chattered on without stopping.
“…Ugh, yeah. What is it?”
“No, it’s okay. You look really bothered, hyung. Even though I stayed up all night waiting for you…”
“W-what do you, want me to do?”
“You’ll do it for me?”
“S-say it.”
“Yes, then… Could you pat me a little? My stomach needs to be warm to fall asleep. My grandma used to do it for me all the time, saying I was her baby.”
Ahn Seo-myeong immediately sat up straight.
The absurd request chased away his sleep. Ki Jae-eon paused, making sure he had understood correctly, and stared at Ahn Seo-myeong.
Pat him? Yes.
The two men’s eyes exchanged a silent conversation.
Still not getting the desired output, Ahn Seo-myeong called out to him, “Hyung—,” as if urging him on. It was a rebuke for not patting him and being lazy.
Ki Jae-eon pursed his lips into a straight line and awkwardly started patting his stomach. It was a clumsy gesture, as if he wasn’t sure he was doing it right.
Not pat-pat, but pa-thump, pa-thump.
Sure enough, nagging soon followed.
“Could you maybe double the speed? And add a little rhythm?”
He was demanding despite making a request.
Ki Jae-eon, who unintentionally found himself doing childcare that was not in his plans, moved his hand as instructed, once again realizing, ‘Ahn Seo-myeong must have been very spoiled as a child.’
It was an image he could never imagine in the future.
“Let’s have fun this weekend.”
“D-do what?”
“Just because? Anything.”
Ahn Seo-myeong said it as if he were making a resolution to himself.
“Yes, anything. I will.”
His eyes curved into pretty crescent moons.
“I’ll do everything I can.”
As if trying to appeal to him.
“Hyung.”
“…Yeah?”
“Why are you getting slower with your replies? Am I bothering you? Should I just leave? I will if you want me to. Even though the dawn wind is cold and I might catch a cold—.”
“Just go to sleep, sleep.”
“Yes,” Ahn Seo-myeong said, raising the corners of his lips and closing his eyes.
Seeing that, Ki Jae-eon finally let out a soft chuckle.
Pat, pat. The gentle movements continued for quite a while afterward.
‘He’s asleep.’
Ki Jae-eon is sleeping.
Ahn Seo-myeong carefully reached out and gently lifted a lock of his wavy hair. Ugh, he twisted his head slightly, as if bothered by the touch. Even his resistance was just like him. Weak and clueless.
‘Cute.’
He found it funny even as he thought it. He never thought he would find someone older than him, and of the same gender, so cute. But there was no regret or disappointment. What did it matter if the first love he encountered was a man? As long as he was a flower in his eyes, that was enough. He only hoped for one stroke of luck: that the red thread tied to his pinky finger would also be connected to that finger.
Ahn Seo-myeong gently stroked Ki Jae-eon’s hair.
‘You’re sleeping too soundly without any wariness of me, aren’t you?’
—He wanted to say that line.
But it was true that he was sleeping soundly.
‘From Jae-eon’s perspective, I’m probably a total loser…’
It would be stranger if he were wary.
Ahn Seo-myeong was shorter than Ki Jae-eon, smaller, less capable, and had no money.
‘What do I even have?’
He couldn’t say youth, since the other was also in the prime of his life…
‘Hmm, but—.’
Shouldn’t a younger man be a bit of a loser to be cute? Ahn Seo-myeong puffed out his cheeks with a refreshed expression as his thought process conveniently turned in his favor. He wasn’t the owner of the main office’s steel mentality for nothing.
‘So, I’m fulfilling my duty as the younger man without fault.’
In summary: [Turning worthlessness into charm] operation.
‘Rather than agonizing over what I don’t have, I’ll appeal to what I do have as much as possible.’
Could there be a better tactic than this!
Ahn Seo-myeong nodded with his signature dead-fish eyes.
In truth, it was just a fancy way of saying he would gloss over the unfavorable parts.
Anyway, after such a perfect mental victory, he was continuing his secret pranks little by little.
“Haa—.”
Perhaps the room was too warm, as Ki Jae-eon suddenly kicked off the blanket.
Then, he groaned and tossed and turned a few times before throwing off his top. It seemed to be an unconscious action.
He revealed his skinny, bony body and resumed his peaceful sleep. Soft, even breaths filled the air. If the other kids had witnessed this situation, they would have made fanboy comments like, ‘Jae-eon hyung sleeps naked too? That’s unexpected!’ Unfortunately, the other person was a younger man in the throes of unrequited love.
His pupils widened as he froze in place.
Because it was too stimulating!
His fervent gaze went to the cherry blossom on his chest.
Was it because he was secretly looking?
It was completely different from seeing it in the bathhouse. His heart pounded for no reason.
No, are all older men like this? Ahn Seo-myeong swallowed hard and kept glancing at Ki Jae-eon’s bare upper body, pretending not to look. He even held his breath in the room with only the two of them.
Then, he covered his face with a rough hand.
“Donghae water and Mount Baekdu wear away and wither—.”
He felt a stinging pain and began to sing the national anthem.
“May the nation be preserved—.”
But the effect was minimal.
Wow, I’m going crazy.
He felt like waking Ki Jae-eon up and asking, “Hyung, are you trying to stimulate me?”
Ahn Seo-myeong blew air at his bangs, making them flutter. His pale cheeks were flushed red like strawberries.
Ahn Seo-myeong groaned, squeezed his eyes shut, and put his hands together in prayer.
“Do not be consumed by personal desires and stray from order. You must control your desires to reach true nirvana. Awaken enlightenment in the realm of emptiness.”
In the end, he resorted to the last remaining method: enlightenment.
Fortunately, it seemed to have some effect, as his agitated heart calmed down a bit.
‘I didn’t walk the path of a believer for this. But I guess it’s true that everything you learn has its use.’
Ahn Seo-myeong slowly opened his eyes and looked at Ki Jae-eon.
“Umm…”
Okay. Now he wasn’t afraid of anything.
He could overcome any temptation!
—Or so he boasted, but not even a minute later.
“Uuuuum—.”
Ki Jae-eon tossed and turned, turning his face toward him.
Smooch!
He had kissed him.
“…!!”
Ah, I am a heartless beast! Ahn Seo-myeong quickly rolled over and slammed his forehead against the cold wall.
“Huck…”
His uncontrolled breathing was very rough. Not only that, but his tense shoulders were raised high, and his face was contorted with a muffled sound. Ahn Seo-myeong muttered with a face redder than his reddened forehead.
“…Beast.”
A dirty beast who had succumbed to desire!
Who cared about his throbbing forehead?
As of today, he was a beast who had secretly kissed his sleeping hyung.
Ahn Seo-myeong bit his lip tightly at the pangs of conscience that came over him.
Thump-thump-thump.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump.
Thump-thump-thump.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump.
His toes curled up, and his once-healthy heart showed abnormal symptoms.
‘How do the other hyungs and noonas do this?’
Ahn Seo-myeong was genuinely curious. It was a rare moment of curiosity about others.
That was how overwhelming and exhilarating the first kiss he had ever experienced was for a virgin!