HEAL 12

His limbs shook regardless of his will. His mind felt indescribably distant. Sang-kyung’s head dropped with a thud against someone’s shoulder. Along with the sensation of soft hair brushing against his cheek, a cool scent penetrated his nostrils. He felt as if the heat of the alcohol in his head was clearing.

I think this is the shampoo Yeon-su uses. Sang-kyung buried his nose deep into the hair. The body heat radiating from the chest and the cool scent of mint wafting from the hair formed a strange contrast. The shoulder of the person carrying him flinched.

“Are you awake?”

Sang-kyung didn’t answer. It was because he found this state comfortable. Yeon-su didn’t press further and readjusted his grip on the alcohol-soaked body.

Oh… he’s surprisingly strong, unlike how he looks…

Sang-kyung thought with a hazy mind. His body swayed the moment Yeon-su pulled something out of his pocket. Realizing that Sang-kyung was unstable, Yeon-su bent his waist slightly to pull Sang-kyung’s lower body higher up over his pelvis. Soon, the sound of phone buttons being pressed followed.

“Assistant Manager, please give me your address. I’ll call a taxi for you.”

A taxi, my foot. Once he goes home, Yeon-su returns to that piece of trash. He couldn’t let his footsteps lead there.

“Seriously, this is making things difficult for me.”

The flustered voice was pitiful, yet Sang-kyung wanted to keep hearing it. Sang-kyung played dumb. If Yeon-su had spat out a single curse at a nuisance like him, he would have snapped awake, but the good-natured Hubae was excessively gentle.

“You are conscious, right…?”

It was unclear whether it was a confirmation or a suspicion. Sang-kyung leaned his head weakly against his shoulder.

“If you keep not answering, I’ll have no choice but to go to a hotel.”

A hotel? That sounds even better. Sang-kyung let out a moan, “Mmm,” and let his body go even limp.

“You know my tendencies…”

The last words were almost a plea. Does he not know that this makes me want to tease him more? Sang-kyung curled the corners of his lips while keeping his head down.

Suddenly, Yeon-su’s phone rang. Yeon-su’s shoulders stiffened as he checked the screen to see who it was. After letting it ring for a moment, once the call cut off and the second ring started, he tilted his neck and wedged the phone between his shoulder and ear.

“Yeah.”

It must be someone close. The voice that had been flustered and soothing him until a moment ago vanished completely, replaced by a dry tone.

“I’m not going home today.”

Sang-kyung felt relieved inwardly. Yes, don’t go. Don’t go back to that piece of trash. Sang-kyung tightened his arms around Yeon-su. An agitated reprimand leaked through the phone.

“I can spend a night out too.”

Yeon-su let out a weary sigh. Sang-kyung became further convinced that Yeon-su was thoroughly the subordinate in the relationship with the person on the other end. A good, obedient boy who had never once deviated from the path.

“And it’s okay to make me wander into strange places looking for you, Hyung? If it were me, I wouldn’t even let you get close for fear you’d be corrupted.”

Hearing this, the identity of the other person became even clearer. It was likely a call from the man Sang-kyung had been wary of.

No, he’s the one rubbing bodies and playing around with this person and that person, yet he’s the one controlling Yeon-su? A feeling of suffocation rose within him—anger toward the selfish human and pity for Yeon-su, who couldn’t let go of the relationship despite being treated that way.

“Do you think I’m the same kind of person as you, Hyung?”

It was the first time Sang-kyung had seen Yeon-su get that angry. He thought he was just being pushed around by a trashy lover, but it seemed his pride hadn’t died. Right, a man shouldn’t just be pushed around like that!

“I’ll handle it.”

Yeon-su unilaterally hung up the phone. Perhaps it was the relief provided by the decisive action? His eyelids suddenly grew heavy. Sang-kyung’s consciousness sank back into the deep darkness.

✿✿

Consciousness slowly surfaced along with a throbbing headache. His stomach churned. The chilly air made his skin shiver. When he opened his eyes, he saw a white ceiling. Where am I?

The moment he forced himself up to assess the situation, someone sleeping beside him rustled and moved.

In his blurred vision, the silhouette revealed beneath the blanket was unfamiliar. Instead of round, soft lines, there were broad shoulders with a clear skeletal structure. He tried to withdraw the arm he had instinctively reached out, but he held his breath at the sensation of firm back muscles brushing against his fingertips.

It’s a man.

Rather than someone to be held in one’s arms, a hard body that could instead be overwhelming was showing its back, draped in a robe.

…A robe?

Sang-kyung belatedly realized the cool sensation of the blanket against his bare skin. Looking down, he found himself wearing only a robe over a pair of drawers. His entire body froze.

“Wait, what the fuck?”

Even if he had thought about wanting to try it with a man, this wasn’t it, right? Shouldn’t there be a memory of whether it was disgusting or good? No, if the partner didn’t meet his standards, would it be better to have no memory? The thought of having done it with some pot-bellied middle-aged man made him want to vomit.

Sang-kyung hurriedly felt the area above the crack of his buttocks over his underwear. He felt no foreign object at all. Even when using an Aneros, there was usually a lingering, uncomfortable feeling, which meant either that man’s cock was incredibly small or the feared event hadn’t happened.

The sound of breathing beside him was steady. He seemed to still be fast asleep. Now was the only chance. He had to escape this absurd situation before that person woke up.

Sang-kyung tried to get off the bed silently. However, as if someone were playing a prank, an alarm went off right at that timing. Sang-kyung quickly turned off his phone alarm, which had been plugged into the charger on the nightstand.

That man didn’t wake up even when I cursed loudly earlier, right? He might keep sleeping. Just then, the figure beside him rustled.

Sang-kyung froze, holding his breath. The person became still again.

Come to think of it, who is it? It would be better if it were Yeon-su. Shit… what if it’s Garam? Sang-kyung carefully lowered his head to check the other person’s face. Was this how Psyche felt when checking Eros’s face?

Even in the dim darkness, a sharp nose and neat lip line were clearly visible. It was Yeon-su.

Was it a relief that he didn’t panic and blindly run away? He had a past of fleeing from his own lover. He didn’t want to look like an irresponsible Sunbae who ran away twice.

The other person must have tossed and turned quite a bit in his sleep, as the front of his robe was almost entirely open. Even though he was just keeping his eyes open, he felt like he was sexually harassing him, so he reached out to close the robe.

The closed eyelids trembled and opened. A surprised face was reflected in the hazy eyes drenched in sleep. Sang-kyung quickly withdrew his hand.

“Ah, no, I wasn’t trying to do anything weird.”

At Sang-kyung’s desperate excuse, Yeon-su blinked a few times with unfocused eyes. He looked down at Sang-kyung’s flustered face and then at his own open robe.

Without any agitation, Yeon-su calmly sat up and tidied his disheveled attire. He looked remarkably composed. Has this guy played around quite a bit too?

“I know. If we were to do it, I’d be the one doing it. You like women, Assistant Manager.”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing!”

Yeon-su waved his hands urgently.

Through the short conversation, he realized. As expected, this bastard is the top. He couldn’t easily imagine a guy who seemed so passive moving so proactively. Is it because he’s a company Sunbae that he can’t talk back?

I’m curious… Sang-kyung swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth.

“Where did my clothes go?”

“You threw up, so I sent them to the laundry. I tried to book twin beds, but since it’s Friday, there were no rooms left, so I had no choice but to book a double. Nothing happened between us. I don’t know your address, and I don’t live alone, so I couldn’t take you to my place. We had to come to a hotel.”

He hadn’t intended to press him, but Yeon-su rattled off explanations as if he had prepared them in advance. Since he was curious, Sang-kyung nodded in agreement. There’s really no nuisance greater than this.

But why does he feel so disappointed?

Sang-kyung couldn’t understand his own heart. It was natural to be relieved. He didn’t want to get entangled with someone from work. He especially didn’t want to cross the line with a man who had a lover. Yet, a corner of his chest felt empty.

Would something have changed if Garam had answered that he might do something like that if he had a one-night mistake while drunk?

“…Did nothing really happen?”

Considering Yeon-su’s size, if something had happened, he would have realized it immediately. Nevertheless, he ended up asking a foolish question.

“What do you take me for?”

“I might have mistaken something and done something.”

He said he wouldn’t cause an accident while drinking, but it’s a different story if he blacked out. He never imagined he’d drink this much in front of a coworker and a stranger.

When did he lose his memory at the bar? Asking if he made a mistake felt redundant. He was here as a result of a mistake.

“I wasn’t as drunk as you, Assistant Manager, so I could have stopped you if you tried something.”

“T-that’s true.”

Come to think of it, does the fact that he doesn’t work for men apply to Yeon-su as well? However, since this guy had made the bold suggestion of how about a mutual affair, he had no idea what was going through his head.

“They said they’d bring the laundry by 9 o’clock. Please bear with it a little longer.”

It’s the weekend, but since it’s not yet 9, he woke up early. Sang-kyung nodded.

Silence flowed. Yeon-su was still fidgeting with his hands, glancing at Sang-kyung. Eventually, Sang-kyung couldn’t help but say something.

“I’m the one who messed up and you’re the one who helped me, so why are you acting like you’re the one who did something wrong?”

“I just wondered if it would have been better to go back. You and I are different… I don’t think we should have slept in the same room. I stayed because I thought you’d be flustered if you woke up alone. Thinking about it again, wouldn’t it have been better if you slept alone? I could have just left a message via KakaoTalk explaining the situation.”

Sang-kyung tried to understand Yeon-su’s logic. It would be easiest to substitute that guy as a man and himself as a woman. It certainly was a strange situation. But…

“Yeon-su, you’ve been to the military, right?”

“Huh? Yes…”

“Let’s not overthink it. It’s not like they had separate sections for gays back then anyway. Why make it so complicated? We’ll have to share a room when we go on business trips anyway.”

Even if it wasn’t a business trip, there were workshops. As expected, since they were the same gender, it was impossible to substitute one as a woman.

“I guess that’s true.”

To break the awkward atmosphere, Sang-kyung asked playfully.

“Do you have some treasure hidden at home?”

“Treasure? If anything, it’s more like something I’m sick of…”

The mood he had forced up sank instantly. Come to think of it, that bastard must be holding out at home. He said he’d been following him since he became an adult? Luring in a child who knew nothing…

From Sang-kyung’s perspective, the relationship between the two seemed to continue out of inertia. If they loved each other, there was no way he would wander outside while having a lover.

A strong impulse surged.

He didn’t want to send Yeon-su home.