By Zephyria After my traits changed, I never thought I’d wake up with someone. I thought I’d have to live with it as a secret for the rest of my life… Maybe that’s why I feel strange every time I wake up and see Choi Won-joon’s face.
Lee-eum stared at the motionless Choi Won-joon for a while before getting out of bed. He went to the bathroom to wash up and then came out to the living room, but his mind was hazy. Should he have slept more? Every time he moved, his muscles ached, and he couldn’t help but groan. The muscles used for sex were definitely different from the muscles used to catch criminals.
After sitting on the sofa to clear his head, he got up and headed to the kitchen. He must have a hangover from drinking so much last night, so what should he make? He missed Director Lee, who came every morning, especially today.
By the way, why couldn’t he reach Director Lee? Did he really run away? Knowing Choi Won-joon’s personality, he wouldn’t let it go easily. If he was fleeing overseas, it would be difficult to find him.
Lee-eum opened the refrigerator to check, but gave up on making anything and took out his phone to turn on the delivery app. He was looking for hangover soup to order when the doorbell rang. Kim Mid-eum’s face appeared on the intercom screen. He usually entered the password and came in like it was his own home, so what was going on?
He went to the front door and opened it to find Kim Mid-eum standing there in his workout clothes.
“Did I wake you up?”
“I was already up. What’s wrong?”
When he told him to come in, Kim Mid-eum shook his head.
“Won-joon slept here last night, right?”
Did I hear wrong? What did he just say? Won-joon? Won-joon?
“I brought hangover soup and side dishes. Eat it together when Won-joon wakes up.”
Kim Mid-eum held out a shopping bag, and Lee-eum made a dumbfounded expression. He never cared even if Lee-eum drank a lot. Seeing his displeased expression, Kim Mid-eum grumbled for him to take it quickly because his arm was hurting. He reluctantly took it, and then the elevator dinged, and this time Kim Malk-eum’s voice was heard.
“Kim Mid-eum. What’s going on from this early in the morning?”
“What about you, Noona?”
“I came to give you this.”
“Don’t tell me it’s hangover soup?”
“Yeah. Your Hyung-in-law made it.”
They were talking in front of the door, so he told them not to and to come in, but they both waved their hands, saying they were fine.
“You shouldn’t barge into a newlywed home.”
“Right. We know our manners.”
“Feed President Choi this when he wakes up. You know your Hyung-in-law’s skills with codfish soup. It’ll cure his hangover.”
“No thanks. For a hangover, it’s still dried pollack soup. Make sure you tell Won-joon that I brought it.”
These people, really… They bickered and then went down, and Lee-eum, left alone in front of the door, let out a hollow laugh as he looked at the hangover soup brought by his Hyungs.
“What’s so pretty about that guy…”
He sighed and brought it to the table, taking it out to find side dishes and freshly cooked warm rice. He took a small spoonful of the soup and tasted it, and it was refreshing. Thank goodness. It’s much better than what I would have made. As he was boiling the soup again and making coffee, he heard a noise from the bedroom. Before he could turn around, Choi Won-joon came up to him with only his pants on and hugged him tightly.
“I was surprised because you weren’t next to me.”
Lee-eum pulled off his arms that were clinging to his waist.
“Go wash up. Let’s eat.”
“Let’s go back in and sleep more.”
“My back hurts, so I can’t sleep.”
“Why does your back hurt? We only did it once yesterday.”
It hurts because you were on top of me and slept! He was about to argue that he had no conscience, but he stopped and pushed him on the back to go wash up. He put the clothes and underwear to change into in front of the door and came back, and then a message about work arrived from Nam-soo. While they were having a long conversation, Choi Won-joon came out after showering.
Instead of sitting at the table, he came behind Lee-eum, who was standing to scoop the soup, and hugged him.
“Why are you being so clingy from the morning?”
“Just 30 minutes inside.”
“I have to go to work.”
“I know you have a day off today.”
Since when did this guy know my days off? He kept his mouth shut, and Choi Won-joon took him into the bedroom. He laid Lee-eum on the bed and clung to him, wrapping his arms and legs around him like vines.
Lee-eum reached up and turned on the air conditioner. It was already hot because this guy had a lot of body heat and kept sticking to him. In the meantime, Choi Won-joon put his hand under Lee-eum’s shirt and groped his stomach.
“My dick came all the way in here.”
He pressed down on the area below his navel with his hand, and the scene from last night came to his mind. He felt strange and tried to remove his hand, telling him not to, but he stubbornly kept touching him. He gave up and lay on his back, looking at the ceiling, and surprisingly, he started to fall asleep.
“Sleep more. Let’s go on a date after sleeping.”
“Aren’t you going to work?”
“I’m going to play with you.”
“I’m going to the mountain.”
He pretended not to hear him when he suggested going fishing instead. Choi Won-joon explained in detail why the mountain was dangerous. There were many snakes, there was a risk of falling, and in this summer, you could get exhausted and collapse while climbing.
The gentle voice was like a lullaby. Was Choi Won-joon’s voice always this good? His eyelids became heavy, and when he closed them for a moment, he stopped talking and patted his chest.
❖ ❖ ❖
“Wait, stop. Why are you going this way?”
“You said I could do whatever I wanted today.”
“No, but not here. Turn the car around, quickly.”
As the car entered the village entrance, a familiar blue roof gradually began to appear in the distance. Lee-eum tightly closed his eyes. No wonder he suddenly bought flowers. As the car stopped in front of the gate, his mother, who was in the yard, ran out with a surprised expression.
“Oh my, you came without even calling?”
Lee-eum forced a smile.
“I know. I came without even calling.”
Choi Won-joon greeted her politely from the side, and his mother smiled brightly.
“You came together. How have you been?”
“Yes, I’ve been well thanks to your concern, Mother.”
Choi Won-joon took the bouquet of flowers from the back seat and handed it to his mother. Seeing her face light up, Lee-eum realized anew that his mother liked flowers, and on the other hand, he felt sorry for being so insensitive when she had three children.
“It’s so pretty. How did you pick only the flowers I like?”
“Mother is more beautiful than the flowers.”
“Oh my, listen to him talk.”
Watching his mother smile like a girl, Lee-eum felt grateful to Choi Won-joon. Neither his Noona nor his Hyung, nor Lee-eum himself, had an affectionate personality. In that respect, Choi Won-joon was a really good son to his parents. When the crazy switch was turned on, he made people sick of him, but when he was normal, he was a pretty decent person.
“Why were you in the yard?”
“Oh. I was going to the field with Dad.”
Soon after, his father came out, and Lee-eum tensed up slightly. He frowned as soon as he saw Choi Won-joon, but he didn’t get as angry as before. He still looked displeased, but as his Hyung said, it felt like he had softened a bit.
“Why did you come again?”
Choi Won-joon approached his father and whispered in his ear. He vaguely heard that it was resolved well, don’t worry and rest assured, no one knows, but he couldn’t figure out what he had resolved.
While he was looking puzzled, his mother grabbed Lee-eum’s arm.
“There’s watermelon in the refrigerator. I sliced it and put it in a container, so eat it and play until we come back. Or do you know the valley in the back? You can cool your feet there.”
Valley? I wonder if there are any fish. Where did I put the fish trap I used before? Was it in the storage? As he was contemplating whether to go to the storage to check, Choi Won-joon intervened and took his mother’s basket.
“Mother, we’ll go. You and Father can rest comfortably.”
His mother was surprised and shook her head.
“No. It’s okay. Picking peppers is so hard. The field is small, so your father and I can finish it quickly.”
“I’m good at picking peppers. Right, Lee-eum?”
Choi Won-joon smiled at Lee-eum. Why are you looking at me, saying you’re good at picking peppers? When he frowned and glared, Choi Won-joon quickly took his mother’s hat and put it on himself.
His mother burst out laughing at the sight.
“Oh my goodness. He’s so handsome that he looks good even wearing this.”
“Is that so? Lee-eum. How do I look?”
He was smiling brightly while wearing a floral hat, and he barely managed to resist the urge to take it off. Then he took his father’s hat and handed it to Lee-eum. As soon as he put on the hat, his father headed home as if he had been waiting for it.
“That’s good. It’s better for two young and strong guys to do it.”
“Honey. Something bad will happen to the kids. It’s hot.”
“Leave them alone. They said they’d do it.”
His father didn’t even pretend to listen, and in the meantime, Won-joon dragged Lee-eum to the pepper field. Choi Won-joon, wearing a suit pants and a white shirt, holding a basket, and wearing a floral hat, was more and more absurd to look at. At the pepper field, where he was dragged, Choi Won-joon suddenly pulled out a pepper tree by the roots, and Lee-eum was horrified and stopped him.
“What are you doing!”
“You said to pick peppers.”
“You have to pick them like this, how can you pull out the roots?”
When he showed him one by one, Choi Won-joon said ah, and then picked the peppers. Meanwhile, Lee-eum quickly planted the tree that Choi Won-joon had pulled out back in its place. As his mother said, the field wasn’t big, but they were both tall and had to bend over, so his back was getting more and more sore.
He straightened his bent back and was patting it when Choi Won-joon, who was in front, came over and wiped his face with the towel around his neck.
“Are you hot? You’re sweating.”
“I know. Why did I say I’d pick peppers…”
“It’s nice. When else would you and I do something like this?”
“Wear your hat properly. Your face will get burned.”
“You’re worried about me?”
Never mind. As he carelessly adjusted his hat, Choi Won-joon took out a large pepper from the basket.
“Look. It’s fucking big, right?”
It was obviously a big pepper, so Lee-eum admired it and nodded.
“It’s big…”
“Am I good at picking peppers?”
“Yeah, well…”
“Should I pick Darling’s pepper tonight too?”
“……”
Then he brought the pepper to Lee-eum’s crotch. Is it about this size? Lee-eum gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. It’s not funny, stop it… Choi Won-joon didn’t stop there and took out a slightly smaller pepper, and Lee-eum finally couldn’t stand it and swung his fist.