By Zephyria 
It was Song Hyun-soo who felt like he was going to be eaten alive. He was so captivated by the atmosphere and voice Yoon Joo-ho exuded that he couldn’t move or think.
If an actor like Yoon Joo-ho decided to go all out, someone like Yoon Gyeol-ho would have no choice but to be overwhelmed.
No, perhaps it wasn’t a matter of being Yoon Gyeol-ho or not.
When the face of the person you like is this close, who wouldn’t have a racing heart?
He had been strongly fixated on one thought.
The urge to kiss the person in front of him right now.
Should I? Should I just go for it?
As he hesitated, looking at Yoon Joo-ho’s relaxed smile, the latter suddenly relaxed his expression and shoulders, letting out a soft laugh. Then, he lightly tapped Song Hyun-soo’s forehead.
“Slept in the same bed? I slept in the guest room.”
“Ah… did you?”
“Why, are you disappointed?”
Yoon Joo-ho picked up his mug again, looking at Song Hyun-soo.
“Why would I be? You’re the one who’s disappointed, right?”
Yoon Joo-ho just chuckled again.
Today, he feels… softer, somehow.
He’s still bickering like usual, but… the intensity of the spice seems to have lessened.
At any rate, his attitude suggested that nothing had really happened last night. If something had happened, he would have regretted not remembering it. But now that nothing had happened, he felt a sense of regret about that too.
Did he lose physical interest in me, to the point where we didn’t even touch each other when we were both drunk?
He stole glances at Yoon Joo-ho’s profile as he drank his coffee, but he couldn’t read his mind. The way he kept coming onto him suggested he wasn’t entirely uninterested, though…
Yoon Joo-ho checked the digital clock in the kitchen, put down his mug, and said, “You should go home. Will jjampong do for your hangover? Eat that and go.”
“Why? Do you have plans after this, hyung?”
“If you don’t go? Are you going to live at my place?”
“It’s not that… I just feel like you’re rushing me to leave, so I’m curious.”
“Do you really not remember anything else?”
Yoon Joo-ho narrowed his eyes and looked down at Song Hyun-soo, threatening him again.
“If something happened, please just tell me. And give me some clothes. Are my clothes in the guest bathroom?”
“They’re not there.”
Yoon Joo-ho cut him off curtly, paused before taking another sip of coffee, and turned back to Song Hyun-soo.
“You really need to control your drinking. This is an industry where people are crawling all over trying to find your weaknesses. Getting drunk is fine, but drinking until you black out is like self-harm.”
“That’s because I was with you yesterday…”
Sensing Yoon Joo-ho’s serious gaze, Song Hyun-soo changed his words.
“Yes, I’ll be careful from now on. I won’t drink that much again. So, if I made any mistakes, please tell me honestly. I’ll do whatever it takes, even prostrate myself in apology.”
“Can you keep that promise?”
“Prostrate myself in apology?”
Yoon Joo-ho sighed and gently tugged on the lobe of Song Hyun-soo’s left ear.
“The promise not to drink until you black out from now on.”
“Ah, yes. Really. I swear.”
Song Hyun-soo even raised his right hand.
“Want to write a contract?”
“A contract… well, people sometimes… drink a lot without realizing it…”
Song Hyun-soo trailed off, rubbing the edge of the counter with the right hand he had confidently raised.
“What if I make a promise like the one you made yesterday, which you don’t even remember?”
“Surely, even drunk, I wouldn’t do that.”
“What if you did?”
“…What?”
Yoon Joo-ho closed his mouth, sighed, and took off the robe he was wearing, tossing it onto Song Hyun-soo’s shoulder.
“Your shirt is being washed and dried.”
“Ah… you went to that much trouble. Thank you.”
“I’ll order jjampong, so shower before it arrives. Eat that, and then go home.”
After saying that, Yoon Joo-ho walked past Song Hyun-soo towards the bedroom.
The mood was good, but then he just leaves like someone with no lingering feelings.
Fiddling with the robe Yoon Joo-ho had given him, Song Hyun-soo wistfully watched his retreating back.
In the guest bathroom, which he had used once before, new toothbrushes and underwear were prepared. He chuckled at the thought of how unexpectedly meticulous Yoon Joo-ho was, and stepped under the water.
“Want to write a contract?”
When Yoon Joo-ho said that, something clicked.
A nagging feeling that he was forgetting something important.
As he struggled to grasp the fleeting memory, Song Hyun-soo mistakenly turned the lever towards cold water.
“Aargh! Eek! Hot damn, I almost froze to death!”
As if the cold water had jolted him awake, a memory suddenly surfaced.
“I’m thinking of making a contract with you. As an actor.”
“You crazy bastard, you crazy bastard. Even if you blacked out, there are some things you shouldn’t forget.”
He finished showering in a hurry and, without even drying himself completely, rushed out of the bathroom.
Following the food smell, which was rare in this house, he went to the kitchen and found Yoon Joo-ho struggling with the newly arrived jjampong.
“What are you doing, hyung?”
“I’m trying to open the packaging.”
Approaching Yoon Joo-ho, who was wrestling with the plastic wrap for the soup, which was packaged separately from the noodles, Song Hyun-soo pushed him aside.
“You look like you’re fighting with the jjampong, and you’re losing. Come on.”
Song Hyun-soo first put the noodles into the container, then, holding the mouth of the plastic bag to prevent the soup from splashing, slowly poured it into the container.
“They say the jjampong here is really good, right?”
“Where did you hear that?”
“Director Bang.”
They sat down again at the round kitchen table, with two bowls of jjampong, pickled radishes, and onions between them.
“I always wanted to try the hangover cure jjampong here someday. I’m finally getting to try it.”
Song Hyun-soo grinned and slurped up the jjampong, holding the noodles like a pillar. The taste was worthy of being called the best in Korea. The refreshing and spicy broth was clean without any heaviness, and the noodles were chewy and firm. For a moment, he was so lost in the taste of the jjampong that he forgot about the ‘actor contract.’
As Director Bang had said, Yoon Joo-ho seemed to eat only a few noodles from his side dish, mostly just sipping the broth.
Picking up another mouthful of noodles with his chopsticks, Song Hyun-soo casually asked, “Hyung, when am I getting the contract?”
“……”
Song Hyun-soo heard the sound of Yoon Joo-ho putting down his spoon. Song Hyun-soo looked at him too.
“I remembered. That you offered me a contract.”
Yoon Joo-ho pulled out a tissue and dabbed his mouth.
“But why Look Planning?”
“What about it?”
“You said something like, ‘What if hyung can’t find Look Planning anymore,’ yesterday.”
As if he had completely lost interest in eating, Yoon Joo-ho leaned back against the chair and looked at him askance.
“Haven’t you seen the news articles calling me a parricide fighting with my parents over Look Planning?”
“Look Planning is your company, so what could go wrong? Of course, it’s yours.”
“Yes, it’s mine, and it’s my everything. I will never let it be taken away.”
“……”
“That’s why I said ‘what if.’”
His gaze and tone were unusually serious.
Perhaps the only two things that could make the generally shameless, mischievous, and self-willed Yoon Joo-ho serious were acting and Look Planning, the things he had dedicated his life to.
“The paperwork will be ready within a few days. I’ll send you the draft contract by email beforehand. If there are any parts you don’t like, we’ll need to discuss them before the formal contract is drawn up.”
“Yes…”
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy? Yesterday you were practically pledging eternal loyalty to me.”
New actors, as well as established ones, wanted to sign with Look Planning. Moreover, Yoon Joo-ho, the de facto owner and star of the company, had personally offered it. It was no wonder Song Hyun-soo was delighted. Joining Look Planning was practically a guarantee of success as an actor.
Song Hyun-soo poked the bottom of his jjampong bowl with his chopsticks and replied, “Of course, I’m happy. But to be completely happy… the timing of your offer is a bit…”
“What’s wrong with the timing?”
“We’re not exactly in a relationship where we can look up at the sky with a clear conscience, you know.”
“You don’t think I’d do this just because we slept together?”
“……”
“Unfortunately, I’m not that sentimental.”
Yoon Joo-ho declared unequivocally that he wasn’t offering the contract because he had become soft-hearted towards Song Hyun-soo just because they had slept together.
He had offered it because he saw his potential as an actor, so Song Hyun-soo should naturally be happy. And he was happy, but… he felt a strange chill.
It felt like he had heard a sharp declaration that Yoon Joo-ho wasn’t particularly weak towards him.
Song Hyun-soo also seemed to lose his appetite… but the jjampong was innocent.
Having quickly finished the remaining noodles and confirmed that Song Hyun-soo had drunk all the broth, Yoon Joo-ho glanced at his phone to check the time.
“If you’re done eating, get up.”
“Is someone… coming over?”
“Director Bang, perhaps?”
Yoon Joo-ho, who was clearing his plate, having eaten only half of it, looked down at Song Hyun-soo and gave a sly smile.
“That’s none of your business.”
Even while changing and brushing his teeth, he couldn’t shake off the thought.
If it were just Director Bang or Manager Cha coming over, there would be no reason to hide it. Who was really coming?
The fact that he had no right to question Yoon Joo-ho, even if he had invited someone over for the night, frustrated Song Hyun-soo. His own position, where he couldn’t confidently demand that Yoon Joo-ho not sleep with other people, suddenly became a vivid reality.
Right. This is unrequited love.
Having lived a relatively popular life until now, I had forgotten what this felt like.
He spat out the foam in his mouth with a bitter smile. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but the toothpaste felt stronger than usual.
While Song Hyun-soo, finished with his preparations, stood at the entrance putting on his shoes, Yoon Joo-ho leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.
“Thanks to you, senior, I had a good rest.”
“Uh.”
“I’m sorry for making you clean up after a drunk junior.”
“Uh. Reflect on it.”
He straightened his back and looked at him. Trying hard to see if there was any trace of regret about parting.
“I’ll come to practice the script next Monday.”
This time, Yoon Joo-ho merely raised his hand in response without a word.
Failing to find any trace of regret, Song Hyun-soo turned back towards the front door, a bitter smile of self-mockery on his face.
“BB gun.”
“Why…?”
Song Hyun-soo’s words, about to answer “Why?”, were cut short.
The moment he turned around, Yoon Joo-ho lowered his head and pressed his lips against his. As Song Hyun-soo flinched back, he immediately pressed closer.
“Mmph. Mmm.”
Pushing Song Hyun-soo’s back against the wall, he began to kiss him intensely. When Yoon Joo-ho gently gripped and pulled his jaw, the defenseless Song Hyun-soo instinctively opened his mouth, and a slightly cold tongue slid in. The same toothpaste scent wafted from him.
It was such a sudden kiss that he didn’t even think to close his eyes. Just like the kiss on the 81st floor on his birthday.
He slowly lowered his eyelids and met Yoon Joo-ho’s gaze, finding it pleasant. It was several times more intoxicating than just a simple kiss.
Recovering from his surprise, Song Hyun-soo responded earnestly to the kiss. While gently stroking the roof of his mouth with his tongue, Yoon Joo-ho slowly traced down Song Hyun-soo’s shoulder and arm.
Unlike the passionate kiss, the movement of Yoon Joo-ho’s long fingers, weaving between his own, was agonizingly slow, making Song Hyun-soo’s shoulders tense up. It felt like he was being caressed along with the kiss.
“Mmm…”
When he tightly gripped Yoon Joo-ho’s interlaced fingers, the kiss ended.
Even after that, Yoon Joo-ho pressed his lips onto Song Hyun-soo’s upper and lower lips several times. Like lovers savoring the aftertaste of a kiss.
“What… was that, all of a sudden?”
Rubbing his lips with his released hand, Song Hyun-soo looked up at Yoon Joo-ho with a flushed face. Yoon Joo-ho wore a cryptic smile.
“It wasn’t sudden.”
“……”
“If you feel wronged, try to remember this too.”
Then, he stepped back, waved his fingertips, and disappeared down the hallway.