GMC 148

“I’m sorry for just going to sleep yesterday without helping clean up.”

“It’s alright. Besides, most of it was handled by the resort staff, so it didn’t take much effort.”

Yeon-rok bowed his head slightly, staring blankly at the pool water, before gathering the courage to reach out, emboldened by the man’s gentle demeanor.

“…….”

He felt shy as he lightly placed his fingers atop Yeom Cheon-ho’s hand. While he waited anxiously, heart hammering, the other man flipped his hand over to clasp his. As their eyes met, Yeom Cheon-ho slowly tilted his head. He lightly sucked on Yeon-rok’s lips, which had been slightly parted from tension, making a soft popping sound. Yeon-rok’s eyes widened.

“……W-would you like me to cook some ramen?”

In his nervousness, such a line had blurted out of Yeon-rok’s mouth unconsciously. Because he had completely shattered the romantic atmosphere, Yeon-rok felt like slapping himself. Yeom Cheon-ho, still hovering at a distance where their lips almost touched, burst into laughter. Yeon-rok closed his eyes tightly for a moment and then opened them. It was strange. He felt as if he had seen that expression—one that seemed to find his own laughter unfamiliar—somewhere before.

“Yes. I like ramen.”

“That’s… a relief.”

Yeom Cheon-ho kissed him again with a light, pecking motion. It made Yeon-rok’s chest tingle. Just as he began to lean toward the man instinctively, he snapped back to his senses upon hearing someone approaching. It was the sound of Moon Gyeon-woo opening the door, having just woken up.

“Unfortunately, the number of mouths wanting ramen has increased.”

With a beaming smile, Yeom Cheon-ho stood up first and took Yeon-rok’s hand to pull him up. After rinsing [unauthorized copystyle="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">unauthorized copy]their feet at the shower facility near the pool, the two headed inside. Moon Gyeon-woo’s eyes flickered slightly as he watched Yeom Cheon-ho enter harmoniously with Yeon-rok. However, quickly hiding that agitation, he spoke to Yeon-rok.

“Yeon-rok-ah, did you sleep well? Any hangover? You looked tired yesterday.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Hyung, you drank a lot yesterday, right? Hold on. I’ll quickly cook some delicious hangover ramen for you.”

As Yeon-rok hurriedly took out the ramen and began rustling the packaging, a thought suddenly occurred to him.

‘But for some reason, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the three of them have any physical contact…….’

“Oh, something smells good.”

The owner of the half-conscious voice was Choi Hwan. While worrying about the hangover of the man who had crawled out with nearly closed eyes upon smelling the ramen, Yeon-rok searched his memories carefully.

The more he thought about it, the stranger it felt. From the hospital room where he first woke up to this summer vacation, he felt as though he had never once seen the three of them engage in intimate contact with one another. Did they only do it where he couldn’t see? While Yeon-rok tilted his head in confusion, the ramen was soon cooked to a perfect, chewy consistency. He quickly forgot the question.

“Everyone, please eat!”

Yeon-rok served the ramen into individual bowls, adding a soft-boiled egg to each. Eating it with well-ripened kimchi, it couldn’t have been a better cure for a hangover. He recalled hearing that they managed their diets, but Choi Hwan ate the most enthusiastically. It was a relief that he had cooked six packs just in case. He had thought the same during yesterday’s barbecue, but not only Choi Hwan, Yeom Cheon-ho’s appetite was also quite impressive.

“You really cooked this deliciously.”

Moon Gyeon-woo, who usually didn’t have much of an appetite, praised the food while eating heartily. Choi Hwan was already slurping down rice mixed into the ramen broth. Seeing Yeom Cheon-ho eating well too made Yeon-rok feel very pleased.

“I’m so glad that everyone seems to get along [Read on Read BL Novels]BL Novels stolen content-->well, even though there are three name partners. Let’s keep getting along like this in the future.”

When Yeon-rok honestly shared his happiness, Choi Hwan, who had been eating well, suddenly choked and started coughing. Moon Gyeon-woo silently handed him a glass of water. It was a rare act of kindness toward Choi Hwan. Yeom Cheon-ho gazed at the two of them and spoke.

“It’s about time everyone learned the methods and attitudes for coexistence. After all, we are all in a position where we must live in one house for a long time.”

Yeon-rok tilted his head at the words, which sounded somewhat meaningful. However, before he could ask anything more, Choi Hwan, who had gulped down the cold water, sprang up from his seat and dashed out toward the pool. He seemed to have been dying to play in the water.

“I’ll do the dishes, so you two go out and play as well.”

Yeom Cheon-ho naturally took over the cleanup and ushered the other two outside. As Yeon-rok hurried to change into his swimwear and leave, Moon Gyeon-woo stopped him.

“The sun is strong today, so put on some sunscreen. I’ll apply it to your back.”

Grateful, Yeon-rok lay down on a sunbed. As Moon Gyeon-woo meticulously applied the sunscreen from the nape of his neck down to his back, he said:

“I’ve mentioned this before, but I knew from the first time I saw you. I knew for sure that you would come to like Yeon-rok very much.”

The voice speaking those words sounded not just affectionate, but quite romantic. The touch applying the sunscreen with such care was also brimming with affection. Yeon-rok replied with a sense of regret.

“I’m so sad that I lost my memories of you, Hyung. I’m sure they were good memories.”

“……I’m really sad too.”

Moon Gyeon-woo’s voice sounded strange, making Yeon-rok curious about his expression. Also, for some reason, it felt like he stolen contenthad [Read stolen contenton Read BL Novels]been applying sunscreen to the same spot for a while now. Just as Yeon-rok was about to say he would do it himself from here—Choi Hwan, who had stripped off his t-shirt and was now in just shorts because changing into swimwear was a hassle, approached with a look of realization.

“I forgot to put on sunscreen. I almost got nagged by Manager Hyung.”

Then, as he plopped down beside them, a brief flash of mischief crossed his face. Leaning against Yeon-rok’s sunbed, he said slyly:

“Gyeon-woo Hyung, please put some sunscreen on Hwan-ie toooo.”

What? Did I hear that wrong? I think I just heard the sound of someone gagging. When there was no answer for a while, Yeon-rok lifted his head, thinking Moon Gyeon-woo might be annoyed.

“If it’s okay, I can apply it for—”

“Sure! You lie down here too. I’ll do yours after Yeon-rok.”

Before Yeon-rok could finish his sentence, Moon Gyeon-woo smiled brightly as if he had never been silent and gestured toward the sunbed next to them. Despite being the one to ask first, Choi Hwan lay down on the sunbed slowly with a somewhat disgruntled expression. Yeon-rok quickly stood up to be considerate of the two.

“I can do the front myself, so you don’t have to do any more. Please hurry and put some on Hwan. He’s an actor, so he can’t get tanned.”

“Our Yeon-rok is so kind.”

Moon Gyeon-woo gave a sweet compliment that made Yeon-rok’s ears tingle, and then kindly sprayed sunscreen onto Yeon-rok’s body. While Yeon-rok was busy rubbing it in, Moon Gyeon-woo took a deep breath and squeezed a large amount of sunscreen into his hand. After rubbing it for a while, he slapped Choi Hwan’s back with a loud smack. A white handprint remained on Choi Hwan’s back.

“Ah, fuck, that hurts!”

“Stop overreacting.”

Yeon-rok laughed, as the two bickering looked like they were on very good terms. Having finished applying his sunscreen, he put on a tube and plunged into the pool. After diving and playing for a few minutes with goggles on, he surfaced to see Choi Hwan walking toward the pool, huffing with a bright red face. Moon Gyeon-woo was scrubbing his hands vigorously at the tap, as if he had touched something filthy.

“The sun really is strong today.”

Grumbling, Choi Hwan did a few warm-up exercises and dove into the pool. Then, he praised Yeon-rok, who was merely kicking his legs while clinging to a tube.

“I feel this every time I see you, but you’re really good with your body.”

When Yeon-rok felt embarrassed by the excessive praise, Choi Hwan grinned and offered to teach him how to swim. With Choi Hwan’s help, Yeon-rok clumsily swam back and forth across the pool. After praising his athletic nerves profusely, Choi Hwan said:

“As expected, we have a lot in common. We’re both good with our bodies, good at swimming, and it’s fun to hang out together. Come to think of it, we’ve hit it off from the very start.”

“Really?”

“Of course. It’s such a shame you lost your memories. We had so much fun. We were the best of friends, unlike anyone else in the world.”

The more he heard about his lost memories from the three of them, the more regretful Yeon-rok became. Wasn’t there any way to recover his memories? Then, something suddenly occurred to him.

‘Come to think of it, didn’t I keep a diary?’

However, he couldn’t find a diary anywhere in his room. He certainly wouldn’t have thrown it away……. Could it be? Was it inside that safe in the corner? Just in case, Yeon-rok asked Choi Hwan.

“Hwan-ah, do you know the password for the safe in my room?”

He hadn’t expected much, but surprisingly, Choi Hwan knew the password. While placing his hand under Yeon-rok’s lower back to help him float comfortably, he said:

“Ah, the safe password? Of course I know. It’s 123123.”

Yeon-rok’s face lit up. Setting aside the fact that the password was incredibly flimsy, he was surprised that Choi Hwan knew it, and as he widened his eyes, Choi Hwan said boastfully:

“You told me specifically to keep it a secret. Because I was the most trustworthy person.”

Since they had been like best friends, it seemed they had shared passwords. Above all, the fact that he had used such a lax password at home was evidence that the past Yeon-rok had lived quite comfortably. Yeon-rok vowed to open the safe as soon as this vacation ended.