WOEIWHMB – Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The moment the elevator doors opened, Yeon Dong-woo headed straight for the pool. Unlike Kang Mu-hyeok, who did a light stretch, Dong-woo jumped straight into the water.

In water that came up to his waist, he happily swam freestyle when Kang Mu-hyeok passed by his side doing the backstroke.

Why is he so fast?

Staring at Kang Mu-hyeok’s swimming form for a moment, Yeon Dong-woo stretched his arms forward and kicked harder.

When his hand touched the wall first by just an arm’s length, a proud smile spread across his face.

“Don’t overdo it. Just enjoy yourself.”

“When did I overdo anything…”

After ruffling the back of his head once, Kang Mu-hyeok got ready to head back in the opposite direction.

That sparked Dong-woo’s competitive spirit. He took a starting position and dipped his head into the water in sync with him.

As Dong-woo surged forward with splashing breaths, Kang Mu-hyeok swam at an unhurried pace.

Then Kang Mu-hyeok stopped in place and headed toward the stairs about ten steps away. Dong-woo, who had been ahead, stopped as well.

“Ah… my leg.”

Hopping on one foot, Dong-woo stretched out a hand toward Kang Mu-hyeok as he climbed the stairs.

“Mu-hyeok, I’ve got a cramp in my leg…”

He couldn’t finish his sentence.

His eyes caught sight of Kang Mu-hyeok’s swim trunks slipping down slightly as he climbed.

When the cleft of his butt showed, Dong-woo panicked and hopped closer on one foot.

He grabbed the waistband of the swim trunks and tried to yank them up forcefully, but his foot slipped and he went tumbling forward.

“Eughaagh!”

Letting out a strange sound, he smashed his face into Kang Mu-hyeok’s solid thigh just as Mu-hyeok turned around, having been pulling his trunks back up.

Losing his balance, Yeon Dong-woo fell backward into the water.

Still clutching Kang Mu-hyeok’s swim trunks.

The sound of stitching tearing at the waist was completely drowned out by Dong-woo’s scream.

“Ueghk!”

“Hyung! Seriously!”

“Ugh, gurgle…”

The swim trunks Dong-woo was gripping slid straight down, and Kang Mu-hyeok jumped into the water.

He lifted the flailing Dong-woo up and peeled his hand off the ruined waistband.

“Hhuh…”

Held in one of Kang Mu-hyeok’s arms, Dong-woo wiped the water from his eyes. Even then, he spoke in a strangely triumphant tone.

“I had a cramp and still tried to pull your swimsuit up so your butt wouldn’t show!”

When he looked up at Kang Mu-hyeok with a bright expression, Mu-hyeok was staring down at him with a face full of things he clearly wanted to say.

“What? There are so many people here…”

Dong-woo’s confident voice trailed off until he couldn’t finish.

Kang Mu-hyeok let out a shallow sigh, gripping the swim trunks whose waist had been stretched beyond repair.

Dong-woo’s gaze swept over the many people watching them.

Some were covering their mouths, laughing. Others averted their eyes awkwardly.

The color drained from Dong-woo’s face.

“They’re people we’ll never see again. Don’t worry about it.”

“I grabbed it because it slid down.”

“Swimsuits cling tightly to the body. They don’t come off that easily. And I wasn’t going to let it slide down anyway.”

“……”

“I think everyone here could use some eye cleansing time.”

Dong-woo went pale, and even the cramp in his leg seemed to vanish.

“…H how far did it fall?”

“I’m not sure. You flailing in the water was more eye catching.”

As Dong-woo stood there whining with his head bowed, Kang Mu-hyeok folded the waist of the swim trunks up, adjusted them, then lifted Dong-woo with one arm and carried him out of the pool.

He carefully sat him down and loosened the cramp in his leg.

“I’m sorry… I was just trying to help…”

At Dong-woo’s dejected voice, Kang Mu-hyeok silently ruffled his hair once, as if it were nothing.

Dong-woo stole glances at him, then dropped his head.

To put it bluntly, he was too embarrassed to look at him.

With all the fun of swimming completely gone, the two of them left the pool.

All the way back to the room, Dong-woo kept sneaking looks at him, and Kang Mu-hyeok brushed his cheek lightly with the back of his hand as if to say it was fine.

After showering and changing clothes, Dong-woo scrolled through SNS on his phone, staring again and again at photos he didn’t remember taking.

Whenever he asked Kang Mu-hyeok, he did answer, but it only made things feel more confusing. Frustrated, Dong-woo’s mood sank further.

Looking out at the beautiful scenery outside the hotel window only made him feel gloomier.

He wanted to walk around the hotel, but he didn’t want to run into people from the pool earlier.

Staying inside made him restless, his whole body twisting with boredom. Before long, Dong-woo started rolling around on the bed.

“I want to ride a tuk tuk…”

“It’s hot right now.”

“If we take a tuk tuk to Bayon Temple and then go to Ta Prohm, hey, how do I even know this travel route?”

“Because you planned the trip.”

“Right…”

Dong-woo answered weakly and kept staring out the window. The blue sky was completely clear of clouds.

He knew it was hot, but his body itched with the urge to go out.

Ah… what a waste of money.

Airfare. Hotel costs.

Dong-woo wriggled his toes and rolled around on the bed, expressing his desire to go out with his whole body while watching Kang Mu-hyeok’s reaction.

“I’m really fine physically…”

“No.”

“I’m really okay. Can’t we at least look around Angkor Mat? They say the sunrise and sunset are amazing. Let’s at least see the sunset.”

“Angkor Wat. Just in case, rest at the hotel today.”

“Okay…”

As he sat there gloomily looking through the travel schedule and routes he’d found in his phone’s memo app, Kang Mu-hyeok came over.

He lay down beside him and slowly stroked his hair.

Up until now, Dong-woo thought he’d been touching the bump on the back of his head, but maybe not. It seemed like stroking his hair was just a habit.

When he felt Kang Mu-hyeok’s warm body heat behind him, Dong-woo stiffened slightly and grew cautious.

Unlike the morning, he was acutely aware of even Kang Mu-hyeok’s smallest movements.

But Kang Mu-hyeok, as if used to lying together like this, casually wrapped an arm around Dong-woo’s waist and pulled him in lightly.

Soon, warm breath brushed the nape of his neck, followed by the touch of soft lips.

Dong-woo gently pushed his hand away.

“D don’t.”

“I won’t.”

“No, I mean don’t touch me like that.”

Carefully twisting away, Dong-woo slipped out of his arms and headed for the tea table.

A moment of silence followed. Kang Mu-hyeok looked visibly flustered, as if he hadn’t expected this reaction.

“It’s just… you said yourself that you’re conscious of it now…”

Realizing too late, Kang Mu-hyeok’s eyes widened slightly.

Dong-woo had taken a long time even during the flirting stage, and after they started dating, he’d agonized even over progressing to kissing.

So this kind of skinship was a negative factor for Dong-woo.

Only then did Kang Mu-hyeok realize it and sigh inwardly.

Unable to endure even a short silence, Dong-woo awkwardly walked toward the entrance.

“I’m going to take a walk.”

He hurried out and made one round through the beautifully landscaped garden.

As expected, the scenery didn’t register at all. He was just walking along a path laid out like a promenade.

“Hah… I should’ve talked it out properly before leaving. I ran away like I was treating him like some kind of pervert. It was probably just a habitual thing for him…”

Guilt crept in belatedly, but as he was now, Kang Mu-hyeok’s sexual presence kept bothering him, making him uncomfortable.

After all, the first memories to return had been various sex scenes.

“Damn… at least the imprint that he’s a man is crystal clear now.”

After circling the garden under the blazing sun and running out of places to go, Dong-woo headed to the hotel café.

He ordered an iced tea he didn’t even want and sat there. He didn’t have the confidence to go back up to a room where they’d be alone together.

What do I do?

How am I supposed to sleep tonight?

I think the beds were pushed together. I should ask to separate them.

If I do that, won’t it feel like I’m denying three years of love all at once?

On a honeymoon that’s supposed to be the happiest time, hearing that your spouse doesn’t even see you as a man… wouldn’t that crush his pride?

“If it were me, coming on a honeymoon and finding out my partner was thinking about another man, I’d lose my mind.”

A sigh slipped out at his own careless words and actions. Cha Hyun-do kept coming to mind, so he lightly smacked his cheek to snap himself out of it.

“Damn it… why did it have to be right when I was deep in that thing with Cha Hyun-do? It would’ve been so much better if I only remembered that it didn’t work out.”

As guilt started to bloom in his chest, he saw Kang Mu-hyeok entering the café.