TSG 102

“Crazy…”

The words that came out as his eyes flew open were tinged with deep self-loathing.

He covered his face with his hands and rolled around in bed, wondering why he had acted that way.

“I’ve been infected by Shin Tae-oh. I’ve become Shin Tae-oh-ized.”

Every strange thing he blurted out in moments of heightened emotion was because of Shin Tae-oh. Se-hyun had never said anything like that before he started becoming like him. He used to live calmly, without getting excited about anything…

“Ah…”

When he was just observing Shin Tae-oh from afar, there was nothing to get excited about, so it wasn’t difficult to control himself. And before meeting Shin Tae-oh, his life was even more uneventful.

Perhaps because his daily life had been so quiet, this could be a side of himself he didn’t know existed.

If so, it might not necessarily be ‘Shin Tae-oh-ization’.

“But he definitely influenced me.”

Having reached his own conclusion, Se-hyun got up and lowered the blanket. He raised his hand to brush back his hair, then chuckled when he saw the freshly applied bandage.

He’s seriously so meticulous…

“Such a mess.”

The bandages were wrapped so thick that it felt more like a cast, and the bandage lines were all over the place. He wasn’t sure if he should be grateful that it showed how inexperienced the other person was at this, or if he should find it cute.

He had taken care of all of Se-hyun’s wounds, but had Shin Tae-oh changed his own wet bandage?

After Shin Tae-oh’s second climax, Se-hyun passed out and had no idea if Shin Tae-oh had come again. He couldn’t even say what state the other’s bandages were in. If he were still lying next to him, Se-hyun could have checked, but all that was left were signs that Shin Tae-oh had been there.

Wondering if he had already gotten up, Se-hyun looked at the clock to see it was still early dawn. He wasn’t sure exactly when he had fallen asleep, but it didn’t seem like much time had passed.

It was fortunate he had woken up just now by chance.

Because…

“The safe is going to stink.”

He had caught Shin Tae-oh in the act of putting his underwear in the safe.

“Luckily, your wounds haven’t reopened.”

As the doctor examined the cuts on Se-hyun’s palm and wrist, Se-hyun remained quiet, feeling embarrassed. After the chaos of having sex with Shin Tae-oh right after being discharged, the bandages had gotten wet and come loose, but at least the wounds hadn’t opened.

Even the fact that Shin Tae-oh had clumsily but meticulously wrapped the bandage while he was briefly asleep showed that he was being considerate.

“But how did this happen?”

“I was swatting a mosquito.”

It wasn’t hard for Se-hyun to nonchalantly brush off the doctor’s bewildered gaze. After all, he’d spent enough time as Shin Tae-oh’s secretary that something like this didn’t even seem serious.

The real issue was the “mosquito” he’d caught, who was now sitting there, coughing awkwardly and drawing all kinds of attention to himself.

Shin Tae-oh had promised to stay quiet when he came along, but it was pointless. His large build was already attracting attention, and now he couldn’t even keep still.

“Winter mosquitoes are quite vicious. Surviving this long proves how tough they are.”

Se-hyun shook his head slightly after Shin Tae-oh said something that would deepen the suspicion further. He had lied because he couldn’t tell the doctor the truth, so why add an unnecessary explanation? And of all things, using that same pathetic excuse he used to lean on in the past.

Then Shin Tae-oh looked at him like he’d done a great job, and Se-hyun was left speechless.

Se-hyun should have just been honest. He could have said Shin Tae-oh got caught trying to put his fluid-stained underwear into the safe. That he was horrified when he saw it and tried to take the underwear away from him, and that’s why he ended up hitting the back of the man who was protecting it with his large body.

“…Still, be careful.”

“Yes.”

Once the doctor wrapped things up, Se-hyun stood up, feeling refreshed with his new bandages. Then he turned to look at Shin Tae-oh, who wasn’t following, seemingly wanting to say something to the doctor.

“Let’s go, Mosquito.”

Despite their agreement to laugh it off in the end, Se-hyun couldn’t shake his annoyance.

That damn stubborn mosquito who actually managed to hide his underwear in the safe.

⍣⍣⍣

“His wound is healing slowly.”

The furrow between Se-hyun’s brows deepened every time Shin Tae-oh’s gaze flickered to his own hand.

“You shouldn’t think everyone has the same recovery ability as you, Sir.”

The doctor muttered, shaking his head as he rebandaged Shin Tae-oh. He couldn’t believe the man had been discharged just yesterday and didn’t even look like someone who’d undergone surgery.

Even Se-hyun had to admit that Shin Tae-oh’s recovery was almost inhuman. Well, he was extraordinary from the moment he first opened his eyes. The more Se-hyun thought about it, the more jealous he felt of how much better off Shin Tae-oh seemed, so he added sarcastically,

“Maybe it’s because there are many areas that need to heal.”

It wasn’t just his hands. There were all those bruises scattered across his body, and then there was… the place that had been stretched wide yesterday while trying to accommodate Shin Tae-oh, which needed time to go back to normal…

“…Does it hurt a lot?”

Se-hyun quickly turned his head, pretending to look at the traffic light. If Shin Tae-oh saw him smile, he would surely make a fuss. He’d probably say, “How can you smile when I’m worried about you?”

“Not enough to worry about.”

Se-hyun answered honestly. It was the truth. For something that was his first time, there were no lasting injuries, and while there was some discomfort, it wasn’t unbearable.

Feeling relaxed, Se-hyun even thought about stopping by a drive-thru to get some coffee.

“I’ll just get one coffee. “I’ll just grab a coffee. Would you like some tea, sir?”

Since Shin Tae-oh had already had one cup early in the morning and another right before they left, Se-hyun suggested tea. Shin Tae-oh had already reached his coffee limit for the day, unlike Se-hyun, who constantly craved it.

As soon as they entered the drive-thru, Se-hyun eased the car forward, following closely behind the car in front.

– May I take your order?

“One Americano and… What would you like, Sir?”

“……”

“Sir?”

The worker on the other end waited patiently, but Shin Tae-oh remained silent. When Se-hyun finally turned to look, Shin Tae-oh wore a slightly irritated expression before muttering something about coffee.

“Don’t you like tea? I suggested it because you already had two cups of coffee. Would you prefer something else instead?”

Se-hyun was about to ask the screen to display the decaffeinated options when Shin Tae-oh spoke up.

“The ‘CEO’ only drinks two cups. Shin Tae-oh doesn’t care about such things.”

He sounded full of displeasure at referring to himself in the third person as “CEO” and “Shin Tae-oh.”

More problematic was that Se-hyun found Shin Tae-oh cute in a situation where he should have been getting goosebumps.

They placed the order for two coffees, and Shin Tae-oh remained quiet until they slowly drove forward to pick them up.

After getting the coffees and placing them in the console box, Se-hyun pulled onto the road looking for a place to park. Their conversation could take an unknown amount of time, so driving while talking wasn’t ideal.

But there wasn’t an ideal place to stop. They had already bought coffee so going to a cafe seemed odd, and perhaps due to the overcast day blocking the sun, everywhere seemed packed with cars.

In the end, Se-hyun chose a paid parking lot.

“There wasn’t anywhere else suitable to go.”

Belatedly wondering if they should have gone to the Han River, Se-hyun felt even more regretful about his choice.

“It’s nice and quiet here,” Shin Tae-oh said as he picked up his coffee, his words seeming to perfectly match Se-hyun’s thoughts. Se-hyun smiled faintly as he picked up his own coffee.

“Are you really okay to drink more?”

“Drinking coffee makes me thirsty.”

Shin Tae-oh’s calm voice gently enveloped the car’s interior.

“One cup is fine, but with two cups I start getting thirsty. And with the third cup…”

Shin Tae-oh took another sip of coffee. Se-hyun watched his Adam’s apple move, wondering if it was okay to keep staring like that.

“I suffer from a thirst that can’t be quenched even with water.”

Se-hyun, who used to drink coffee like water, didn’t really understand the thirst Shin Tae-oh was talking about. When he got thirsty, he just drank coffee.

“Then why are you drinking it now?”

“I feel like I can handle it today.”

“But you said even water can’t solve it.”

Looking around to see if there was a convenience store nearby, Se-hyun couldn’t spot one due to all the cars blocking the view.

“Maybe it’s to break free from the rigid habit I created because of that thirst.”

Se-hyun could somewhat understand what Shin Tae-oh was trying to say. It sounded like he was trying to break free from a routine he’d formed around that sensation of thirst.

Se-hyun looked down at his own coffee, which he had been using as a hand warmer. If Shin Tae-oh wanted to do this, there was no particular reason to stop him. However, he wanted to ask:

“Why are you trying to break free?”

Keeping the habit didn’t seem to cause any major problems in daily life. If anything, it might be more helpful in regulating his condition.

“If I’m bound by that, I can’t do other things. For example, because of my habit, I might miss out on moments like this – raindrops falling one by one, the rich aroma of coffee filling the car.”

As the sound of rain tapping on the hood and windows created quite an atmospheric mood, Se-hyun smiled, feeling as if something had been resolved.

It wasn’t just breaking free from the original work that was remarkable. Shin Tae-oh’s small choice to order coffee for this moment together was also admirable.

The fact that it was for his sake made Se-hyun’s heart feel even warmer.

“If it’s about the coffee aroma, mine should be enough.”

He wanted to express his appreciation, but feeling a bit shy to say it directly, so he deflected slightly. Maybe this habit of deflection was something he needed to break.

“…Two is better than one.”

Seeing Shin Tae-oh take his words seriously, Se-hyun silently drank his coffee. It had cooled down, maybe because the warmth had all transferred to his hands, but it wasn’t bad.

The coffee had served well as both an aromatic boost and a hand warmer.

“When are we going back to work?”

“Are you just going to keep ruining the mood with questions like that?”