By Zephyria 
‘That bastard is sulking….’
Yi-ho had come to realize that fact as well.
Song Yi-ho was generally slow to perceive the states of others. And Cha Min-gyu was extremely skilled at controlling the emotions he displayed outwardly.
Despite that, the reason Yi-ho could notice Min-gyu’s psychological state instantly was simple.
It was because he had taken over someone else’s sofa and was lying turned away, showing his broad back.
“Cha Min-gyu.”
“…….”
“Get up….”
Yi-ho touched his shoulder, but Min-gyu brusquely shrugged it off.
“You told me to go away, so I’m shoved in the corner. Why are you doing this now?”
“Ah, come on.”
‘You’re thirty-three, you brat….’
Wait, no. Since he was an early birthday, technically they were the same age. Regardless, this was not how a man in his thirties should behave.
Even when he curled his body up, his shins poked out past the edge of the sofa, making his frame look as massive as a front door. Just as Yi-ho began to feel sorry for him, he returned to his original thought.
‘You’re practically 190 centimeters if you round up, you brat….’
Anyway, it was an undeniable fact that he had made Min-gyu feel hurt, so Yi-ho plopped down on the floor below the sofa. If he was upset because I told him to go away, then I should just stay close to him now.
Yi-ho tilted his head back and leaned the back of his head against him. He rubbed his hair against the nape of Min-gyu’s neck, burrowing into the hollow of his shoulder.
Min-gyu glanced back at Yi-ho and pushed his head away firmly, as if that wouldn’t work. Then, he bolted up from the sofa. He headed toward the kitchen—which was within Yi-ho’s sight but the furthest point from his current position. There, he lay his body down under the corner of the sink.
Yi-ho muttered toward the back that was protesting that his hurt feelings would never be resolved with just that much.
“Hey…, it’s been a while since that spot was cleaned.”
The stubborn back, which looked as if it would never move from that spot, suddenly bolted upright. He dusted off his arm with exaggerated emotion, walked to the dining table, and started to sit… before standing up again. Then, he washed a dishcloth at the sink, scrubbed the table clean, and only then slumped down.
Throughout this series of actions, Min-gyu’s expression was utterly savage, like a superior officer tearing into a subordinate who had made a mistake.
“…I’m sorry. For having a dirty lover.”
Yi-ho approached him and apologized sincerely.
“I’ve never once told my lover to go away just because they were dirty.”
“I guess you really do think I’m dirty, even in this situation….”
The chair opposite the sulker was carefully pulled out, and Yi-ho planted his backside on it. He suddenly became a bit bothered by an unidentified stain on the table that looked like it would never be erased.
“Cha Min-gyu, are you going to keep sulking?”
“Hmph….”
“Alright. What do I have to do to make it up to you?”
“The way Song-songi spoke, like he was clearing away a piece of luggage, was hurtful.”
“I request the termination of the ‘Cha Min-gyu Sulking’ prompt and a debugging of the process conflict error.”
“I’m going to drown in the sorrowful tears pouring onto my pillowcase tonight.”
The machine language was powerless against the dazzling metaphors crafted in beautiful Korean. As Yi-ho lost his words, Min-gyu spoke in a crooked voice without lifting his head.
“You had people you dated in the past. How did you make it up to them?”
“When exactly was my last relationship…, and they were all older than me, so you’re my first younger partner.”
“Why am I the younger one?”
It seemed that calling him ‘Hyung’ was reserved only for when he wanted to tease him. He was as fickle as a true younger man.
“I know you’re more mature, but numerically….”
To add to that, the way he was whining right now.
“Anyway, I’m sorry for unilaterally expecting your understanding. But I really can’t work in an environment like earlier. I’m already stressed because the team members are struggling to adjust… and the project isn’t progressing well, so….”
“…….”
Min-gyu lifted his head with a long sigh. Uh, Yi-ho, whose eyes met his, let out a short groan.
“…What. Are you actually angry?”
Min-gyu looked as if he had heard something unexpected.
“How did you know?”
It was because his eyes weren’t smiling. Normally, even when Min-gyu pretended to be expressionless, there was a slight hint of a smile in his eyes when he looked at Yi-ho. But right now, they were subtly rigid. He wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t seen Min-gyu truly angry before.
Min-gyu rested his chin on his hand for a moment, organizing his thoughts, then gazed steadily at the other.
“I understand that seeing the team members like that is upsetting. Then, how do you think I feel seeing my lover suffer instead of the team members?”
“…Ah….”
So that was the reason for the temper tantrum. Yi-ho hesitated before offering a small defense.
“…But I’m the Team leader.”
“How did you feel seeing me sitting right in front of Department Head Gye during the company dinner? I can drink better than you, and I’m better at navigating those social situations.”
“No, I’ve just had a bit more experience in professional life….”
He understood Min-gyu’s point through an explanation that left no room for rebuttal, but unfortunately, Song Yi-ho was incapable of empty flattery. Thus, he couldn’t bring himself to say that this wouldn’t happen again.
Min-gyu placed his hand over Yi-ho’s hand on the table.
“Is my worry excessive?”
As if declaring surrender, Yi-ho covered his face with his other hand and let out a long sigh.
“…It’s not excessive.”
Then, like a child who had been severely scolded, he asked without making eye contact.
“Then what do you want me to do? Tell me.”
Min-gyu straightened his back, which had been leaning toward Yi-ho. Then, with a smug expression, he patted his own thigh.
The non-verbal expression, which even a dog would understand, was immediately transmitted to Song Yi-ho’s input system. It was even easier to deduce between lovers.
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah.”
“Will your leg be okay? I’m heavy.”
“You’re only as heavy as a pine mushroom. You worry about the strangest things.”
“…Fine.”
Yi-ho stood up. He had made Min-gyu feel hurt because of various constraints at the company; what reason was there not to grant this request in a house where they were alone?
Coming close to him after walking around the table, Yi-ho checked with his eyes one last time. Really okay? Min-gyu opened his arms ostentatiously.
Yi-ho carefully placed his backside on Min-gyu’s thigh. Since he kept his weight on his feet as if he were being punished, Min-gyu wrapped his arms around Yi-ho’s waist and pulled him in tight. Eventually, he ended up sitting with his full weight on Min-gyu’s legs.
Their gazes met at a distance of less than a span.
“Of course, just because I’m your lover doesn’t mean I have the right to interfere in everything. But you are more important to me than all the people in the company combined. That’s why I hate seeing you wear yourself down for the sake of company work or the responsibilities of a Team leader.”
“Yeah….”
“If you need advice on how to handle things tactfully, just tell me immediately.”
“…Alright.”
Min-gyu lightly bumped his forehead against Yi-ho’s. Yi-ho blinked.
“Is that all?”
“I’m not without my own reflections during our cold war, Darling.”
The distance was so close that their breath touched. Even though only their foreheads were touching, he felt a sense of exhilaration similar to the afterglow of sex. That feeling of filling one’s desire with body heat and savoring affection while taking each other in with their eyes.
He had become somewhat accustomed to the tension and trembling that he had been bewildered by until recently. It was from the moment he became certain that the other person felt the same way.
“Cha Min-gyu, can I kiss you?”
“Why are you asking that?”
“Because you were sulking.”
“The more I’m sulking, the more passionately you should express your affection to resolve it.”
“Where do I have passion? I don’t even have the energy to use for work….”
“Why, the scariest memory I have after turning thirty was created because of Song-i.”
“Because of me? When?”
“At the boxing gym. When you told me you liked me.”
“…….”
“I was scared because you had a look on your face as if you had truly given up on me. It woke me up instantly, back then.”
“That was….”
Min-gyu grabbed the back of Yi-ho’s head, whose expression had clouded with awkwardness, and pulled him closer. As if being friends were a thing of the distant past, they now knew the exact angle for their lips to overlap.
Yi-ho reached out and wrapped his arms around Min-gyu’s neck. Their lips locked, and as if that weren’t enough, they embraced each other deeply to eliminate any gap. The house, where the air conditioner was running strong, heated up in an instant.
As the kiss continued, Min-gyu made Yi-ho lean even more against him as his body grew tense. Saliva flowed down to Min-gyu, who occasionally covered Yi-ho’s mouth deeply, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
A low nasal sound was heard every time a tongue swept deep inside the other’s mouth. The two moved obsessively, as if trying to dig out voices they had never let their friends hear. Until their breath grew short and they reached their limit.
Chu, Min-gyu finished the kiss by nipping the upper lip as if wiping away the wetness. Yi-ho, catching his breath, wiped the glistening substance from Min-gyu’s lips with his hand and spoke.
“…You know. Most of what I said then wasn’t sincere.”
“I mean thank you for waking up the idiot who almost spent his whole life not knowing.”
“…….”
“I liked Song Yi-ho for 15 years, too.”
Yi-ho suddenly felt overwhelmed. It wasn’t that anything grand had happened; they had bickered, sat in kitchen chairs, and shared a kiss while Cha Min-gyu was still in his suit.
There are days that are exceptionally pleasant, perhaps once or twice a year. Since meeting Min-gyu, every day had become such a day due to the affection he poured out. Whenever he worried that his threshold for happiness was becoming too high, Min-gyu naturally made him feel even more, and then even more than that.
No matter how long a one-sided love is fulfilled, he was not at an age to forget that dating is reality. Nevertheless, Min-gyu kept him immersed in a dream.
Yi-ho held that long-held dream with both hands and took it in with his eyes. As expected, his own feelings of liking him swelled even more than before. But it was an emotion he could grow as much as he wanted, without needing to worry that it would burst like before.
Min-gyu, who had been frozen for a moment, captivated by the look in Yi-ho’s eyes, let the smile fade from his lips. His expression, which looked a bit dazed, seemed to have been caught from Yi-ho.
“…Ha.”
Soon, he pulled Yi-ho’s hand. With it, he hit his own face.
It was a bit harder than a joke, hitting the facial bone, and it made a sound that startled Yi-ho.
“What are you doing!”
“Since I took a hit, I’m asking you to overlook it if I say something nonsensical one more time.”
Then, Min-gyu pulled Yi-ho into a tight hug.
“I’m going crazy with regret over those 15 years, Yi-ho.”
“Why go as far as regret….”
“Yeah, even if it wasn’t immediately after we met, just a little, a bit earlier.”
Min-gyu buried the tip of his nose in the gap between Yi-ho’s collar and bare skin and inhaled.
“It would have been nice if I had started first.”
“I can’t really imagine that. You having feelings for me, and me not knowing….”
Yi-ho tried to search his meager imagination before giving up, but there was one thing he could say clearly.
“It would have been good. I just liked you even while you were the only one in a one-sided love.”
“…….”
Soon, Min-gyu hugged Yi-ho so tightly that he felt he couldn’t breathe.
“It hurts!”
“Ah, no matter how I look at it, this can’t be our Song-i Song-i. Did a Song-i clone doll disguise itself? There’s no way a development Team leader who speaks so touchingly exists in this world.”
“Ah, stop it….”
“How can such a person exist in this world….”