By Zephyria 
Thunk. Lee-eum placed the coffee on the table and stood with his arms crossed, looking down at Choi Won-joon with a displeased expression. He was regretting bringing him here, even though he had only agreed because Won-joon said he would leave quietly after a cup of coffee. Choi Won-joon had taken off his suit jacket and placed it on one side, sitting with his legs crossed, savoring the aroma of the coffee.
“It smells nice.”
“Drink it quickly and leave. I’m tired too.”
Choi Won-joon put the cup back down, and Lee-eum frowned as he checked the cup. It looked like he had brought it to his lips, but the coffee was still untouched.
“Why aren’t you drinking it?”
“Slowly. I was raised delicately and can’t drink hot things well.”
If he could, Lee-eum wanted to grab his chin, force his mouth open, and pour the coffee down his throat. Whenever he saw Choi Won-joon, Lee-eum wondered if he had a hidden sadistic side. He was barely managing to etch the words ‘patience’ into his mind when a phone call came in. It was his Hyung.
Did he see something earlier?
Lee-eum answered the phone with a tense expression and turned away.
“Oh, Hyung.”
Lee-eum glanced at Choi Won-joon and went into the bedroom.
[Are you home?]
“Yeah… why?”
[Father just called and made a fuss before hanging up. I had ribs for dinner and I think I have indigestion. What are you going to do? Huh?]
Lee-eum frowned and went out onto the veranda. He had somewhat expected that his father’s anger would spread to his Hyung. His Noona probably received the same call, but knowing her personality, she would have told him not to interfere with unnecessary things. His father, who was intimidated by his daughter, wouldn’t have argued further and would have vented to his Hyung, who was easier to deal with. But then his Hyung suddenly said something out of the blue.
[Oh, and I saw two young guys making out next to the flower bed earlier.]
“…….”
[Kissing and sucking, it was a real mess.]
Lee-eum held the phone to his ear with a dumbfounded expression. This guy is making things up. They were just hugging, when did they start kissing and sucking? He wanted to argue, but that would be admitting it was him, so he had no choice but to shut his mouth.
[If you see them, warn them. A lot of kids pass by, it’s not a good look, is it?]
“Why are you telling me that? If you didn’t like it, you should have said something yourself.”
[The world is a scary place these days. You might get stabbed if you pick a fight.]
Ha, Lee-eum laughed in disbelief. So, it’s okay if I get stabbed? Unlike his Noona, who cherished him, his Hyung had always been like this since he was young. When he asked him why he hadn’t grown up even in his old age, he chuckled.
Lee-eum was conscious of Choi Won-joon in the living room, so he ended the call quickly and came out. Choi Won-joon was nowhere to be seen. Only the unfinished cup of coffee remained where he had been sitting.
Did he go home? Secretly hoping, he went to the entrance to look for his shoes, but then he heard a noise from the bedroom and the door opened. Lee-eum’s face contorted in a scowl. Choi Won-joon had taken a shower without permission and came out with only a towel precariously wrapped around his waist.
“What is this? Just doing things without permission.”
“I spilled coffee on my clothes. I took a shower and realized there was no gown in the bathroom.”
Won-joon hung the towel he was using to dry his hair around his neck and naturally went to the refrigerator, opened it, and took out a beer. Click, he opened the can and gulped down the beer. Then he wiped his lips and nonchalantly returned to the living room.
Lee-eum was speechless at his natural behavior, as if he were in his own home. He picked up the remote control, and Lee-eum immediately went to the bathroom. Choi Won-joon’s clothes were neatly folded in front of him, and as he said, there was a lot of coffee on his shirt.
He didn’t know if he had really spilled it or done it on purpose, but he was dumbfounded that he had taken a shower without the owner’s permission. He took out new underwear and outerwear from the closet and came out to find Choi Won-joon sitting on the sofa, changing channels with the remote control.
Lee-eum tossed the clothes he had brought next to him.
“Change and leave.”
Choi Won-joon unfolded the clothes and smiled. It was a bear T-shirt he used to wear when he was Young-shik.
“You don’t have to return the clothes. Throw them away or whatever, do as you please.”
Before he could even finish speaking, Choi Won-joon got up and unwrapped the towel. As soon as the towel fell to the floor, Lee-eum frowned and averted his gaze. Ah, shit. You human. Tell me before you take it off.
He heard the rustling of clothes changing behind him, and then Choi Won-joon took the towel and went to the bathroom. Lee-eum shouted at the back of his head.
“Take your clothes in front of the bathroom with you!”
Then he took Choi Won-joon’s beer can. He had already finished it. He crushed it and threw it in the trash, then came back, but Choi Won-joon, who had gone into the bedroom, didn’t appear. He couldn’t wait any longer, so he couldn’t help but open the door and go in, and surprisingly, he was lying on the bed with the blanket pulled up.
Lee-eum clenched his teeth tightly and then released them, calling out to Choi Won-joon.
“Hey, President Choi.”
“…….”
“Choi Won-joon.”
“…….”
“Hey.”
“…….”
This bastard, really…. On the verge of exploding, he snatched the blanket away, but Won-joon turned to his side and curled up like a fetus. With his eyes half-open, he mumbled like he was talking in his sleep.
“I’m sleepy….”
Lee-eum was dumbfounded by his whining tone and let out a hollow laugh. He shook his shoulder to tell him to get up and stop acting, but he only opened his eyes halfway and then closed them again. Lee-eum clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly.
“Are you really going to do this?”
Lee-eum tried to forcibly pull Choi Won-joon out. But he was too big, so he didn’t budge. Lee-eum suppressed his anger and pulled the blanket over his head.
“Yeah, sleep as much as you want. Sleep!”
Then he turned to leave, but he heard a voice behind him.
“Do you know that the need for sleep is the strongest of human desires?”
His sleep-filled voice was languid to the point of being eerily seductive. He was about to tell him to stop talking nonsense and get up and go home, but Choi Won-joon pulled the blanket down and revealed his face.
“I was kidnapped when I was young. I couldn’t sleep for three days and nights. I was afraid I would die if I fell asleep.”
“…….”
“I’m not trying to seduce you, I came to you to save me. If you’re a detective, you shouldn’t turn away someone who came to you to save them.”
He wanted to tell him to go to a sleep clinic if he had severe insomnia, or to get some medicine, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it because he had heard that he had been kidnapped. While Lee-eum was conflicted, Choi Won-joon closed his eyes, and his chest rose and fell evenly, as if he had already fallen asleep.
Lee-eum sighed and leaned his head back as if he was tired. He came out and saw Choi Won-joon’s cell phone lying on the table. What could be inside? Could Choi Won-joon’s secrets be hidden there? After much deliberation, Lee-eum picked up his cell phone.
As expected, it was locked when he touched the screen. He tried to use his fingerprint, but of course, it didn’t work. In the end, he gave up, went to the refrigerator, took out a beer, emptied it in one go, and went into the small room to try to sleep. But all sorts of thoughts flooded in like a tide, making it difficult to fall asleep.
He kept lying down and getting up, and it was well past midnight when he finally fell asleep, and when he opened his eyes, the sun was already coming in through the window. Lee-eum got out of bed and went outside without even fixing his disheveled hair.
He yawned widely, still half asleep, and looked at the bedroom. Is this guy still sleeping? He was worried about running into his Hyung, so he hurried to send him away, but the bedroom was empty. On closer inspection, the bedroom, which had been somewhat messy, was neatly tidied up, starting with the bedding.
Did he go home? He came out to the living room and looked around the house, and saw something on the dining table. He walked over slowly and saw a carefully wrapped lunch box.
[Thanks for letting me sleep well. I asked Director Lee to make breakfast because there was nothing but beer in the fridge. Let’s meet again.]
He stared blankly at the neatly written note before placing it on the table. When he opened the lid, a delicious smell wafted out. Lee-eum left the lunch box as it was and went straight to the bathroom. Unlike usual, he turned on the cold water and slowly soaked his head, feeling his loosened mind tighten up.