By Zephyria 
Не had a long drеаm. Woo-уeon wаs sitting in аn еmрtу сlassroоm, сlutсhing a brokеn phone. Тhe dеsks werе litterеd with trash, уеt nоt a single studеnt—the vеry peоple who must hаve made suсh a mеss—wаs to be seen.
Thе locatiоn shiftеd quiсklу. Тhe chаlkboаrd аnd podium vаnishеd, and his blurred vision transfоrmed intо thе interior оf а tахi. Тhe drivеr’s sеat wаs empty, but the steering whеel turned оn its own. Thе taxi cаme tо a smoоth stоp, droрping Woо-yеоn off in frоnt оf a tоwеring wall.
Вlink. Нis visiоn flippеd. Тhis time, Wоо-уеon was sitting on a living room sofa. Everything was pitch black and silent; there was no sign of anyone else in the house. Even the kitchen, where an employee should have been, was vacant, without so much as a single strand of hair.
‘There’s no one here.’
Yes, there was no one. Not at school, not in the taxi, and not at home. No trace of a human being was visible anywhere. With even his phone—his only means of communication—broken, Woo-yeon was no different from a parrot in a cage, severed from the world.
‘There really is no one.’
It was at that moment that the doorbell rang. Woo-yeon rushed to the front door like a thirsty man. He didn’t check the intercom, nor did he verify who the visitor was. With a click, the door swung open, and he saw something slowly approaching through the gap.
‘…….’
It was a snow-white rabbit. Having hopped across the vast garden to reach Woo-yeon, the rabbit flicked its ears and stood up on two legs. Its body stretched upward until it was nearly as tall as Woo-yeon.
“……Did you ring the doorbell?”
The rabbit remained silent, but Woo-yeon felt as though it had answered. Those pitch-black pupils were clearly a look of affirmation.
“Did you come because I’m all alone?”
Woo-yeon cautiously reached out and hugged the ball of white fur. Whether the other was a rabbit or a human, he hated being alone anyway, so it didn’t matter. This was far better than being lonely.
“But……”
Then, suddenly feeling a sense of incongruity, Woo-yeon spoke. The broken phone, the inability to contact anyone, and the employee who had left work early today.
“How did you know I was alone?”
Again, the rabbit did not answer. Woo-yeon buried his face in the fluffy fur and thought. For some reason, the still rabbit looked terribly troubled.
* * *
Flash. His mind cleared. The surroundings crumbled away, and the sensation against his cheek shifted to something soft. As if someone were pulling him, Woo-yeon opened his eyes with a feeling of being sucked back into reality.
“…….”
And his eyes met. With a fluffy, soft, snow-white rabbit. Its wide, large ears and round eyes gave off a strong impression of cuteness.
‘A rabbit……’
Only after blinking for a long time did Woo-yeon realize the rabbit was a doll. It was clearly a plushie to anyone, but his sleep-fogged mind was too slow to recognize it immediately.
A rabbit when his eyes were closed, and a rabbit when his eyes were open. He couldn’t tell which was reality and which was the dream.
‘Why is this here?’
The scenes from the dream began to fade and blur. The classroom where he was left alone, the taxi, and the living room. The rabbit that crossed the garden and the words he had spoken to it. He couldn’t remember the details, but the strange feeling from that moment remained vivid.
‘Just a weird dream.’
Having finally reached that conclusion, Woo-yeon recalled the origin of the rabbit doll. Scenes flashed like a panorama, echoing in his head along with a familiar voice.
‘Want me to get this for you?’
He couldn’t remember the exact location, but it was one of the claw machine arcades near a bar. It was filled with cheap-looking dolls, and Woo-yeon had responded bluntly while peering through the glass.
‘That one is ugly.’
‘Ugly?’
He remembered Do-hyun stifling a laugh and moving to the machine next to it. And how he pointed to one of the dolls piled high.
‘That one looks like you.’
The result of that was the object currently before his eyes. A rabbit that was snow-white, except for its cheeks and the inside of its ears, which were pale pink. Perhaps some small details had been considered, as the pads of its paws were also sewn in pink.
Woo-yeon slowly reached out and grabbed the rabbit’s front paw. The soft, fluffy texture wasn’t bad. Just as he was about to touch the ears, someone suddenly spoke to him.
“Are you shaking hands with it?”
“…….”
Woo-yeon flinched and stopped moving. Even though he knew it was impossible, he had thought for a split second that the doll had spoken. As Woo-yeon hesitantly turned his head, a gentle voice reached him.
“Did you sleep well?”
It was Do-hyun. He approached Woo-yeon and sat on the edge of the bed. With his hair slightly damp and a towel draped around his neck, it looked as though he had just come out of the shower.
“You slept for a long time.”
“Oh……”
Woo-yeon stared blankly at the smooth upper body. Since he was wearing only pants, the finely defined muscles were exposed. He had seen them recently and again last night, but this was the first time he was seeing them so clearly, which made him feel strange for some reason.
‘Wow, his body is really great.’
Woo-yeon admired him inwardly, his cheeks flushing red. The broad shoulders, the forearms, and the tattoo etched near the shoulder blade. It was an overtly blatant gaze, but Do-hyun pretended not to notice and smiled kindly.
“Can you get up?”
“Ah……”
Woo-yeon shifted his body sluggishly and slowly pushed himself up. He was about to ask if Seonbae had slept well too, but at that moment, a dull pain struck his entire body.
“Gah!”
Woo-yeon collapsed back onto the bed. Seeing Woo-yeon sprawled out, Do-hyun asked worriedly.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
“Ugh……”
He couldn’t bring himself to say he was okay. Woo-yeon let out a low groan, his face contorting. His whole body felt stiff and sore, as if he had been beaten all night. Even the tingling pain radiating from his tailbone was a new kind of sensation he had never experienced before.
“It hurts……”
After trying to lift himself up a few more times, Woo-yeon spoke in a sullen voice. At that, Do-hyun gave an awkward, apologetic smile.
“Well…… it makes sense.”
He turned and placed his hand on Woo-yeon’s waist. The moment the large hand touched him, Woo-yeon flinched and shrank back. It seemed Do-hyun had put his t-shirt back on him after he fell asleep, but the touch brushing through the thin cotton tee was excessively ticklish.
“Relax and lie face down. I’ll massage it for you.”
Woo-yeon squirmed and straightened his body from its slanted position. As he buried his face in the pillow and lay flat, the large hand lightly swept down his lower back.
“Tell me if it hurts.”
While the situation could have been embarrassing, the heavy muscle pain was more serious. Not only his waist, but his thighs and shoulders hurt so much that he felt it would be difficult to even walk properly.
“Ngh……”
Woo-yeon let out a thin moan and grit his teeth. Every time Do-hyun’s hand touched him, he felt a tingling sensation. It felt like pain, yet it also felt refreshing; at the very least, it didn’t feel bad.
“Ah, right there……”
“Here?”
The careful touch loosened his stiff body into a state of languor. Pressing firmly, the fingers traveled up along his spine, rubbed the inside of his shoulder blades, and then descended again. It wasn’t his first time receiving a massage, but he had never felt such a subtle emotion.
“Hng, ugh, mm-hmm……”
“…….”
“Ugh…… ahh.”
As the massage continued, the surroundings became strangely quiet. Aside from the sound of fabric rubbing and the moans Woo-yeon let out, there was no other sound to be heard. Even Do-hyun, who was giving the massage, had fallen silent at some point.
“Ah, hng……”
“…….”
“There, higher up……”
It was then that he heard a soft chuckle. Do-hyun, who had been giving the massage obediently, suddenly moved his hand downward. His fingers, which had been grazing the waist precariously, leisurely slid inside the t-shirt.
“Yeon-ah.”
“…….”
Fingers touched bare skin. Woo-yeon instantly felt a sense of crisis and shut his mouth. After stroking the smooth back, Do-hyun leaned over Woo-yeon.
“What are you doing, making such erotic sounds on the bed?”
Without putting his full weight on him, Do-hyun rubbed his nose against the nape of Woo-yeon’s neck. Pheromones that had leaked out since when made the surrounding air suggestive. Woo-yeon shrunk his neck back as far as possible and countered in a defiant voice.
“I didn’t do— hiek!”
A truly strange sound escaped him. It was because Do-hyun had blown air into Woo-yeon’s ear. Easily overpowering the startled Woo-yeon, he licked the outer rim of his ear with his tongue.
“Seonbae, stop…… it tickles, ah, it tickles!”
Ignoring Woo-yeon’s words, Do-hyun toyed with the small ear to his heart’s content. He nibbled on the rim, rubbed the lobe with his lips, and made kissing sounds against the back of the ear.
“Stop, ah, stop it……”
With a bright red face, Woo-yeon struggled to escape his embrace. They had engaged in shameful acts all night, but being clung to in broad daylight felt different. Moreover, every spot Do-hyun’s lips touched became sensitive, as if it had become an erogenous zone.
“Ah, Seonbae!”
“Hyung.”
With a sudden grab, Do-hyun hugged Woo-yeon and rolled to the side. After wrapping his arm around his waist and providing an arm-pillow, he curled his body around him like a cocoon. Suddenly tucked in tight, Woo-yeon covered his ears with his palms.
“Seriously……”
“Not Seonbae, but Hyung.”
“…….”
“Try it. ‘Do-hyun Hyung.’ Hmm?”
Woo-yeon kept his mouth shut and shook his head. The sensation of the lips against his ear was still vivid and clear. Furthermore, a part of him that couldn’t be mentioned by name began to stir.
“Are you going to keep calling me Seonbae?”
“……I don’t know.”
“You called me that just fine yesterday.”
Do-hyun kissed the nape of his neck as if disappointed. Along with a suggestive mwah sound, words even more embarrassing followed.
“You were the one who did it, Woo-yeon. Whining, ‘Hyung, Do-hyun Hyung’……”
“That was because Teacher……”
Flustered and indignant, Woo-yeon whipped his head around. At that, Do-hyun, who had been watching him, let his eyes curve into a smile. The gentle arc of his eyes was more beautiful than ever.
“Yes, Teacher did?”
“…….”
He felt as if he had been caught in a mousetrap. His body was captured, and he could never win against Do-hyun with words. The more he tried to escape, the deeper he would sink into the swamp.
“……That.”
Barely managing to part his lips, Woo-yeon rolled his eyes. Do-hyun was smiling leisurely, as if telling him to go ahead and speak. After swallowing hard, an awkward voice popped out.
“The tattoo…… on your back.”
It was a sudden change of subject, but Do-hyun played along. The way he chuckled made it seem as though he found Woo-yeon cute. Relieved, Woo-yeon fidgeted and snuggled into Do-hyun.
“It didn’t look like English…… what does it mean?”