“Ahem. Ha Tae-heon-ssi.”
Anyway, this wasn’t important. I got a cell phone and ran for an hour, so I brought up the story I was originally going to talk about.
“That’s the offer you made on the phone last time.”
“Did you mean to tell me to come to Roheon?”
“Yes.”
How to say this. I couldn’t speak easily and my lips were moist. Ha Tae-heon just looked at me quietly and waited without urging me.
“First of all, thank you so much for telling me you’ll help. Really. If the situation is right, I’d like to rely on Ha Tae-heon-ssi, even if I had no shame. That… I still had something I n? to do at Requiem.”
To be precise, it wasn’t the Requiem but Cheon Sa-yeon, but I didn’t want to mention Cheon Sa-yeon’s name in front of Ha Tae-heon, so I turned to Requiem and said it.
Ha Tae-heon, who listened to my words with calm eyes, opened his mouth with a not very unpleasant look.
“I expected it. You will refuse.”
“…is that so?”
“I heard that Requiem gave you a mental bodyguard.”
Ah. You already knew. Embarrassed, I touched the nape of my neck.
“Because I’ve caused a lot of inconvenience to my surrounding. So I accepted it.”
“I don’t know about the inconvenience, but it wasn’t a bad decision if I thought about safety. If it were me, I would have attached a bodyguard on you.”
“But how did you know about the guard?”
“There was an article.”
Article? What kind of article was that popping up?
I tilted my head because I couldn’t understand, but Ha Tae-heon looked at me with a complicated expression.
“Han Yi-gyeol. Then…”
“Yes.”
“…no.”
“……?”
What. Why did you stop talking. Ha Tae-heon turned away from me in embarrassment and got up from his seat.
“If you’re done, I’ll take you home, wait.”
With an empty mug in hand, Ha Tae-heon entered the kitchen. Being left alone, I leaned against the back of the sofa and breathed a sigh of relief. I was glad that the story ended well so that Ha Tae-heon didn’t feel bad. As soon as my mind was relieved, the sleepiness I had felt before began to come in earnest.
Ha Tae-heon, who left with his mug and thought he would come right away, was washing the dishes, and the sound of the dishes hitting each other could be heard all the way here.
Listening to the quiet rustling sound, I closed my eyes, unable to overcome the heavy eyelids. I couldn’t stop the spirit that kept on stretching.
‘Just a little bit…’
Let’s stay like this until Ha Tae-heon came out to the living room. He would wake me up.
It was all because I drank milk. I needlessly blamed Ha Tae-heon as I left my body to the surge of drowsiness that flooded me.
* * *
How long had it been? At one point, I felt the cool air on the back of my neck.
I shrugged my shoulders in the cold air, and instinctively moved my body in search of a warm place. As I dug into the warm energy that touched my forehead, something touched my body flinched.
“Cold…”
As I mumbled unknowingly, a soft cloth rubbed the nape of my neck and something hot and heavy wrapped around my waist. The cold disappeared without a hitch, and warmth enveloped my body.
“Um…”
There was a smile of satisfaction. I didn’t refuse to accept the coming sleepiness again.
* * *
Chirp. Chirp chirp.
A bright light shone through the tightly closed eyelids with the sound of a bird chirping.
“Uh…”
It was still too cramped and hot to sleep. Kkeueung. I tried to toss and turn, but my body didn’t move as if I was tied to something.
‘What?’
After struggling for a while, I finally opened my eyes. What spread wide in front of you was the bright morning sun.
“…ong?”
It was a big chest. I opened my mouth wide at the flesh-coloured feast I had encountered since morning. What the hell was this?
It was then that the memories of the past that I fell asleep in Ha Tae-heon’s house came to mind. I thought he would wake me up, but did you put me to sleep? Until the morning?
“Ah, I’m going crazy…”
What time was it? I thought I would be able to grasp the situation once my hazy mind was awakened.
As I was about to get up, I noticed a strong arm wrapped around my waist. How could I get out of here? I gently lifted my head and looked at Ha Tae-heon’s face with his eyes closed. Were you sleeping?
It was difficult to face Ha Tae-heon’s bare chest in front of me any longer. Looking at Ha Tae-heon, who was sleeping peacefully, I turned my body little by little. When I wondered why it was so hot, Ha Tae-heon’s skin was incredibly hot when I touched it with my palm.
‘He said he had a lot of heat.’
So that was why were you sleeping naked? Having struggled to turn my body in the opposite direction, I breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that the colour of flesh that filled my eyes had disappeared. It was great, but it was too burdensome to face up close.
Now I had to get out of bed, but the arms around my waist were too heavy. I struggled to get out of his arms without waking Ha Tae-heon somehow.
At the moment when I barely came out of it after a lot of hard work, his arm muscles twitched and my waist was pulled back in an instant.
“Gasp…!”
“Where are you going?”
Ha Tae-heon's face wasn’t seen because I was dragged with my back turned. Feeling the heat on my back, I said awkwardly.
“Are you awake because of me?”
“No.”
No? So you had been awake since earlier?
“I asked where you were going.”
I just roll my head at the vague answer, but Ha Tae-heon asked me once again. Twisting my tight waist, I answered.
“I have to get up. I need to check what time it is…”
As I was talking, I suddenly stiffened at the hard feel that stabbed the inside of my thigh. What was this?
‘I hope this feeling can’t be…’
A shiver crept down my spine and my heart started beating fast. I called Ha Tae-heon carefully, just in case.
“Ha Tae-heon-ssi?”
“Say it.”
“That, what’s touching… my leg?”
When I answered as calmly as possible, Ha Tae-heon spoke in a low voice.
“I know.”
“……”
That was all? Any further explanations? Was it a mistake, a misunderstanding, or a bottle of water in fact, or something like that?
‘Maybe is that what… I think?’
Ssaaa, it felt like blood was escaping and a cold sweat was flowing. I, who had been reflexively stiff, began to struggle in haste to get out of Ha Tae-heon’s arms.
All healthy men did this in the morning, but shouldn’t you be careful not to touch the person lying next to you!
“Pfft.”
Ha Tae-heon, who ruffled his neck and laughed briefly, let go of my waist as if I was quite funny. Seeing me crawling out of the bed, Ha Tae-heon raised his upper body.
“It’s only seven o’clock, so it’s time for breakfast.”
Ha Tae-heon said as he ruffled his handsome hair that didn’t look like someone who just woke up. His strong upper body muscles blazed menacingly with every move he made.
Looking at Ha Tae-heon’s body with envy, I belatedly woke up and shook my head in a hurry.
“No, no. It’s fine. I just…”
“I’ll prepare something simple, so eat then go.”
As if he couldn’t hear the words of rejection, Ha Tae-heon also removed the blanket and lowered his legs under the bed. Only then did I realize that Ha Tae-heon wasn’t wearing anything other than his underwear, so I turned my head in surprise.
Sleeping naked, it wasn’t a surprise… Maybe it was because I just went through a situation I couldn’t laugh at, so it was difficult to face Ha Tae-heon’s naked body. It was even more difficult to know where to put my eyes because the place I saw was so huge.
While I was looking elsewhere, Ha Tae-heon, wearing a navy blue sweatshirt, opened the bedroom door while I was standing still awkwardly.
“Come out. I will show you to the bathroom.”
“Yeah…”
After answering awkwardly, I later checked my clothes. A T-shirt with sleeves large enough to reach the back of the hand and training pants that cover the feet. It wasn’t the clothes I wore when I met Ha Tae-heon.
“Is this Ha Tae-heon-ssi’s clothes?”
“Yeah.”
…did you change my clothes while I was sleeping? I thought something like this happened last time. I couldn’t say anything to the person who changed me and put me to bed because I was afraid it would be uncomfortable. I only sighed and folded my sleeves.
“The clothes you were wearing were washed and I hung them out. It should be dry by now, so leave it in front of the bathroom. Go wash up.”
Ha Tae-heon forced me into the bathroom and closed the door. Han Yi-gyeol’s stupid face was reflected in the sink mirror.
“Haa.”
It seemed that sleeping itself was the problem. I had been overdoing it lately, but I wasn’t even a 10-year-old kid and fell asleep in someone else’s house.
After looking in the mirror and criticizing myself for a while, I took off my clothes with the thought of going back quickly. After a quick shower, I dried my hair with the dryer provided in the bathroom and went out into the living room wearing the clothes Ha Tae-heon had prepared for me.
“Ha Tae-heon-ssi?”
“I’m here.”
As I went to the kitchen, I caught a glimpse of Ha Tae-heon’s back, holding a frying pan and cooking with a fragrant smell. He said turning off the induction light.
“Sit down.”
On the table, there was a plate with already finished toast and fried eggs. As I sat down, Ha Tae-heon gave me a cup of orange juice.
Ha Tae-heon frowned as I stared at the toast, wasn’t able to grasp the situation. You were telling me to eat it, right? I looked into the air and carefully picked up the fork.
“Um, thank you for the food.”
The fried egg on the toast was as pretty as a picture. Even though it was simple, seeing how quickly he cooked it, he seemed to be the type of person who usually cooked himself.
‘Even in Abyss, it was said that he knew how to cook to some extent.’
As I quietly started eating toast, Ha Tae-heon sat across from me and started eating. His cup had black coffee instead of orange juice. Why was I juice?
When I saw Ha Tae-heon, who gave me milk and juice, I started to wonder if he was seeing me as a child. No, what. It was delicious. It was a bit unfair because I could drink black coffee too.
Of course, it was impossible to judge this or that in a situation where I was getting the service, so I just thought about it and concentrated on eating the toast. I pushed sweet toast sprinkled with sugar into my mouth and murmured, while Ha Tae-heon, who was drinking coffee from the other side, put down his cup and opened his mouth.
“Han Yi-gyeol. You…”
Uuung—
However, even before Ha Tae-heon could say anything, a vibrating sound came from the living room. It was a call from Ha Tae-heon’s cell phone that was placed on the living room table. Ha Tae-heon, who looked at me for a moment with only blinking eyes, sighed and got up.
Ha Tae-heon, who checked the caller on the screen of his cell phone, answered the call immediately.
“Yes. …no. It’s fine.”
Seeing the respectful remarks, it seemed that the other person was Lee Joo-ha. What was going on since early morning?
“…I understand. I will leave now.”
Ha Tae-heon, who had listened to the other person for a while, ended the call and returned. I put down my fork and asked.
“Do you have to go right away?”
“It’s okay. I’m still eating. I will wash up and go out. I’ll take you nearby.”
Before I could even refuse, Ha Tae-heon turned his back and went into the bathroom.
Being left alone, I checked the time on the cell phone Ha Tae-heon bought. 7:40 am. Fortunately, it wasn’t the right time for anyone to come to the room, so I could go back a little leisurely, but…
‘Even if you have to take me.’
I thought as I ate the leftover fried eggs. Maybe it was because there were guys who were aiming at me, right? It seemed like I was only being indebted to Ha Tae-heon.
Ha Tae-heon, who came out of the shower, quickly finished preparing for work. In the meantime, I was going to clean the table and do the dishes, but Ha Tae-heon with his suit jacket on his arm stopped me.
“Leave it alone. When I go to work, a separate employee comes here.”
I see. I nodded and looked up at Ha Tae-heon, who was standing close.
“Ha Tae-heon-ssi?”
“…tomorrow, I have an overseas schedule.”
Overseas schedule? I was puzzled by the sudden words for a moment, but soon realized what Ha Tae-heon was trying to say.
“Are you in China?”
“Yeah.”
“……”
I remembered the contract I had with Ha Tae-heon. Yeah. It had already been 3 months.
“I’m going through a gate with an anomaly risk, so it will take two weeks.”
Two weeks. I couldn’t find a proper answer as I lowered my head, Ha Tae-heon continued with his eyes that couldn’t be read.
“When I come back, I’m planning to officially announce the SS-class coat.”
“Um, I see.”
“Han Yi-gyeol. Don’t look away and look at me.”
Ha Tae-heon’s low voice, heard in front of me, was very calm compared to three months ago when he asked me if I was a prophet.
“Do you have anything to say to me?”
I had something to say. There was always something to say. After hesitating for a while, I smiled bitterly at Ha Tae-heon.
“Take care of yourself, Ha Tae-heon-ssi.”
“……”
Ha Tae-heon gave a very brief, disappointed expression to my answer. I recognized the feeling, but I turned away, pretending not to know.
“Let’s go. I can’t be late either.”
Ha Tae-heon’s sigh was heard behind my back. I couldn’t help it though. If I couldn’t tell him everything, I had rather keep my mouth shut.
‘I just thought our relationship was getting a little better.’
In the end, it was a step back. I felt bitter about the reality that couldn’t be easily changed.
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