By Zephyria Yoon Joo-ho, who had been standing there, fiddling with the knuckle of his left pinky finger, let out a short laugh.
Did I stare too much, drooling… Song Hyun-soo, feeling embarrassed belatedly, rubbed the back of his neck and averted his gaze.
Yoon Joo-ho walked into the room with a smirking face. It was an ominous smile, as if he were plotting a mischievous scheme.
“Now that I see, you’re a repeat offender.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Staring at people with your eyes.”
“W-wha-what! No, you’re saying something really serious, Senior?”
As if someone in this room might be eavesdropping, Song Hyun-soo quickly looked around. Whether it was because of the terrifying thing he heard or because he heard such a dangerous remark from Yoon Joo-ho’s mouth, his heart pounded violently.
“You’re reacting strongly because you’re guilty.”
“Why would I be guilty?”
Song Hyun-soo jumped up and denied it. It was a case where strong affirmation manifested as strong denial.
Even after making someone blush furiously, Yoon Joo-ho’s actions were casual.
He stopped in front of the rack, picked out one of the hangers, and re-hung it on the front row. Then, while removing the cover bag, he continued speaking without raising his voice or speeding up his words, calmly responding.
“You stared at a person’s body, covered only by a towel, from head to toe. You can’t deny it. Especially your backside, I could almost feel the texture?”
“Don’t say ridiculous things!”
“Ah… I was so scared you might pounce on me.”
“Yes. You must have been so scared, Senior. I’m the fool for even responding to every word.”
Song Hyun-soo wanted to rub his face to hide the intense blush, but he couldn’t because of the makeup. With all the makeup carriers gone, he idly spun the stool left alone in front of the mirror and casually changed the subject.
“Where did the directors go?”
“They left.”
“Oh? You should have told me. I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”
“They’ll be coming to the party later.”
“Ah… But why did you ask me to come to your house? The birthday party is in Jamsil.”
I had received the call from Director Bang two days ago, asking me to stop by Yoon Joo-ho’s residence first instead of going straight to the party venue.
“You probably don’t have any decent clothes anyway…”
Turning his back to the rack, Yoon Joo-ho looked anew at Song Hyun-soo, who was in a shirt with his jacket off. The pearlescent suit, though a bit flashy in white, was sufficiently luxurious.
“Where did you get that?”
“I have a nice suit too, you know.”
With a confident expression, Song Hyun-soo lifted his chin and even spun around once in front of Yoon Joo-ho.
“What do you think? Looks good, right? This is Louis Vuitton. The brand you’re an ambassador for.”
“It’s an old season product, so you couldn’t have bought it recently. You said you were broke. Did you borrow it?”
“An acquaintance gave it to me, something Hyung received before, and Hyung gave it to me…”
For a moment, Yoon Joo-ho’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Take it off.”
“…What?”
“Take that off.”
Yoon Joo-ho, gripping the neck of the hanger from which the clothes had just been removed, strode over and thrust a suit into Song Hyun-soo’s chest.
“Change into it.”
Pushed back a step by the force, Song Hyun-soo first draped the suit on the hanger over the stool. Then he looked down at his own attire.
“Why? This one is good too. Don’t I look cool?”
“…Cool, my foot.”
“The taxi driver thought I was a celebrity.”
Since I was dressed more flamboyantly than usual, I had called a taxi today. Even Song Hyun-soo thought it wasn’t suitable attire for a bus. The driver, who kept glancing at the rearview mirror, started a conversation around the Hannam Bridge.
‘You have a handsome face, sir. You could be an actor. I’ve driven many celebrities, and they have a certain aura. I can tell you have that kind of physiognomy.’
Thanks to the driver, I had regained some confidence after a long time. What would it hurt to get a compliment?
Yoon Joo-ho clicked his tongue in disbelief.
“You thought I was a celebrity? You are a celebrity.”
Then he suddenly came right up close. Song Hyun-soo wondered if he was going to grab him by the collar, but Yoon Joo-ho unhesitatingly reached for the buttons on Song Hyun-soo’s shirt. For a moment, it felt like being burned.
“Where are you putting your hands? You’re a dangerous senior, this senior!”
Without thinking, Song Hyun-soo crossed his arms in an X in front of his chest and recoiled.
Yoon Joo-ho paused for a moment, his hand still suspended in the air, and squinted.
“That’s a fresh reaction.”
“W-what is?”
“You don’t like it when I try to take off your clothes.”
“G-get… Ah, get away from me!”
As Song Hyun-soo tried to turn away from Yoon Joo-ho completely, he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror and his eyes widened. The first button of his shirt was already undone.
“What is this? When did you unbutton one button? You’re a real pro, this guy!”
“You flatter me.”
Hmph, Yoon Joo-ho chuckled through his nose and walked towards the sofa. Song Hyun-soo felt a cold sweat trickle down his spine. Yoon Joo-ho’s gait, with one hand shoved into his pants pocket, was languid and full of ease. Annoyingly so.
Song Hyun-soo huffed at his retreating back.
“Wasn’t that a compliment? And besides, your size doesn’t even fit me…”
“It’s your size.”
“…What?”
Yoon Joo-ho picked up the cigarette pack on the coffee table, took out a cigarette, and put it to his lips, muttering dismissively.
“It’s your size, so stop babbling and just wear it.”
He then flicked the flint of his lighter and lit the cigarette.
Seeing him dressed so impeccably like that, it felt like a scene from a movie, for the first time in a while. Was it because the harmony of his body proportions was beautiful, making every movement graceful? Even the sliver of winter afternoon sunlight streaming through the large window seemed like a backlight device to accentuate Yoon Joo-ho’s silhouette. At least, that’s how it felt to Song Hyun-soo.
Yoon Joo-ho tilted his sharp jaw, exhaled a long stream of smoke, and bent down to pick something up.
Then he turned back and offered a shopping bag to Song Hyun-soo.
“Shoes.”
“What is all this? What are you trying to do? Am I supposed to wear this for a day and return it to you?”
The shoes were in a shopping bag from the same brand as the suit. Song Hyun-soo was starting to feel utterly bewildered.
Bringing the cigarette back to his lips, Yoon Joo-ho shook the shopping bag as if urging him to take it quickly.
“Like you said, it’s not my size, so what am I supposed to do if you return it to me?”
Song Hyun-soo took the shopping bag and walked past Yoon Joo-ho, placing it on the sofa.
“I can’t accept the suit or the shoes.”
“But you accepted the padding.”
“I accepted the padding, so I definitely can’t accept something like this.”
“I’m not trying to woo you with gifts. You can accept them without any trouble. It’s a uniform for the bartender.”
“Don’t say ridiculous things.”
“If that’s not the reason, then why would I buy you these things?”
“…”
Yoon Joo-ho pointed at Song Hyun-soo’s chest with his cigarette-holding hand.
“You’re my party bartender. Are you really going to wear clothes that are so out of season?”
My point exactly. I’m the bartender at your party, but I’m not attending as your partner. He wanted to retort, but he knew he wouldn’t get a good response.
Yoon Joo-ho took a deep drag of his cigarette, his cheeks hollowing, and growled and snapped with his expression.
“Are you really going to embarrass me?”
“…”
A bartender wearing an out-of-season suit and discount brand shoes to work at a birthday party bar. — Perhaps Yoon Joo-ho genuinely found that embarrassing. But to Song Hyun-soo, it seemed like a ploy to get him to accept the shoes and suit. Or maybe, as Jung-ho had said, he was just thinking too highly of Yoon Joo-ho…
In any case, he couldn’t argue further when his employer claimed to be embarrassed. Sighing, Song Hyun-soo reluctantly began to unbutton his shirt. First the button Yoon Joo-ho had undone, then the second, third… Yoon Joo-ho didn’t leave the room even as he reached for the fourth button.
Far from leaving, he sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, smoking, and openly watching him.
“Are you going to stay there?”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
Yoon Joo-ho deliberately jutted his chin up and added, exhaling smoke.
“We’re both men.”
It was true. He was like that during their dorm days, and even in front of Jung-ho. He’d wander around in just his underwear after showering. But when the other person was Yoon Joo-ho, it was a different story.
Perhaps it was because Yoon Joo-ho’s face was too beautiful, or perhaps it was the subtle, suggestive nuance in his tone when he said there was no problem. Song Hyun-soo felt like trouble was brewing.
As he continued to unbutton his shirt, Song Hyun-soo retorted indifferently.
“It feels like I’m being voyeuristically watched.”
Yoon Joo-ho’s snort was audible.
“That’s your specialty, junior.”
“…”
“I’m not into the ‘popular kitten’ type, so don’t worry.”
Why does he have to specify ‘not my type’ when we’re both men? Women taller than me and better built than me aren’t my type either.
He unbuttoned his shirt completely, then opened the hook and zipper of his pants. His hands hesitated for a moment as he was about to pull his pants down, but he let them drop downwards. The moment he bent down to pull his feet out of his pants, Yoon Joo-ho exhaled smoke with a sigh. Hmm. It sounded like a low groan from deep within his throat, a rather sexy sound.
It made Song Hyun-soo’s stomach churn, and he stumbled twice as he tried to put his legs into the new pants. This time, Yoon Joo-ho pressed his temple with his cigarette-holding hand and shook his head. A headache…?
After changing into the new pants, Song Hyun-soo took off his shirt. He was quite confident in his physique, yet for some reason, he kept turning his back to Yoon Joo-ho. Whether it was his imagination or not, he felt like he shouldn’t let him see his nipples.