TS 045

“Uht…”

Yoon Taehwa let out a low groan, as if in pain. His body felt strangely heavy. Frowning, he roughly swept the bangs scattered on his forehead aside and lifted his eyelids.

“..…”

What is this? He had been wondering why his body, which had no reason to be heavy, felt so heavy, and it turned out there was a person lying right on top of him. On top of that, with their face resting on his chest.

As his black pupils rolled downwards, the whites of his eyes that had been visible through the gap were covered. Yoon Taehwa slowly stared back and forth between his bedroom door and the man sleeping on top of his body. The bedroom door was, of course, closed. He hadn’t locked it before sleeping, which meant that Han Suryeon had opened the door himself and crawled into the bed.

How did I not notice until now? Yoon Taehwa grabbed the rustling hair in his hand and pulled.

“…It hurts.”

The eyelids that had been peacefully closed opened, and the space between his eyebrows furrowed. For someone who said it hurt, his eyes were full of sleepiness. His lips were slack, like cotton candy dissolved in water.

“Our little Suryeon has thrown all his manners to the dogs…”

His voice, lower than usual as he had just woken up, came out.

“It’s not enough that you came into someone else’s bedroom, you even climbed on top of my body.”

“It’s because you’re so heartless, Team Leader. We even kissed, and yet you just left me to sleep in the living room…”

“Ah, so when Han Suryeon kisses, he goes straight to bed.”

“To do the next thing after a kiss, you have to come to bed.”

He could have forced him to get off, but even that was a bother. Yoon Taehwa gave a short command.

“Get off.”

He suspected he hadn’t noticed his presence because of the wine he had drunk yesterday. It was one thing for someone to enter his bedroom, but he should have woken up the moment they touched his body, so seeing as he only opened his eyes when it was time to get up, there was no other answer but the alcohol.

‘…This isn’t good.’

It meant that his instincts were not classifying Han Suryeon as a dangerous target. He was even sensitive to presences at the Center, yet he hadn’t expected to be so unguarded in a space where they were left alone together.

‘Well. The Center is an environment where you can’t help but be sensitive. The pager goes off at the drop of a hat.’

As if he had no intention of resisting further, Han Suryeon, while pouting, slowly raised his torso. A smooth hand fumbled, touching Yoon Taehwa’s thigh.

“You’re hard?”

The subject, who couldn’t even fully open his eyes like a person drunk on sleep, even laughed. His face, as bright as the morning sun, was fresh.

“It’s normal to be hard in the morning.”

Yoon Taehwa answered dryly. Because he was sprawled on the bed, Han Suryeon’s lower body was in plain view. The sweatpants were taut along his right thigh. Seeing the unseemly sight, Yoon Taehwa frowned in annoyance.

“Don’t get a boner.”

“It’s because it’s morning… You’re hard too, Team Leader.”

“I don’t think you’re hard because of a physiological phenomenon.”

“A man can’t help it. You’re even harder, Team Leader?”

“It’s probably because you’re fondling it. Are you not going to get off?”

“Shall I get you off?”

The hand fondling his thigh began to grow more and more suggestive. Yoon Taehwa twisted his lips as he looked at the innocent face that was about to start spouting obscenities first thing in the morning.

“Get yourself off.”

“Can I masturbate while looking at your face, Team Leader?”

A snort escaped him on its own.

“Are you confident you can handle the aftermath?”

“Mmm, I’ll try.”

“If you don’t get off now, I’ll make it so you can’t get hard anymore.”

It was the moment when the meaningless bickering was about to become more bothersome than flipping his body over. Han Suryeon got off the bed. It seemed it wasn’t because he was scared of the threat that wasn’t even a threat, but because of the sound of the doorbell ringing.

“They’re here already. What a shame…”

Yoon Taehwa stared at the back of him as he muttered incomprehensible words and slipped out of the bedroom. The light seeping through the gaps in the blackout curtains tickled the corners of his eyes. It was the first time he had ever greeted the morning with someone in his bedroom.

When he went out to the living room, Han Suryeon was standing there holding a plastic bag. The savory smell of bread and the subtle aroma of coffee beans wafted over. When he looked at him with a ‘what is this’ meaning, Han Suryeon answered as he headed to the kitchen.

“There was only water and salad in the refrigerator. I have to make sure our Team Leader gets his breakfast.”

His steps were natural, as if it were his own house.

“If a man wants to be doted on, he has to be a good homemaker.”

“He’d be doted on if he didn’t go around fondling other people’s dicks.”

“Mmm, isn’t that a bit difficult? How can you do it without fondling dicks?”

Yoon Taehwa ignored the saccharine question and sat down on a dining chair. When he stayed at home before going to the Center, he usually just had a light salad. He didn’t have enough time to cook, and more importantly, he didn’t have the passion to eat a proper meal.

“I don’t know how he found out about something like this.”

He had clearly ordered delivery. Han Suryeon took out a croissant and a warm Americano in succession and put on a shy expression.

“To live in Korea and be a good homemaker for you, Team Leader, I have to know this much.”

“You probably learned from Kim Su-an and Kang Jaemin.”

He thought that for someone who was going back to Russia soon, he was quite the smooth talker. Instead of refusing, Yoon Taehwa drank the coffee first. He had slept soundly for the first time in a while without waking up, and the sunshine was nice, so his mood was not too bad.

“Why is the refrigerator empty?”

“Because I hardly eat at home.”

He was planning to check the expiration date of the salad before leaving. He thought the vegetables would be all withered by now.

“True. There’s a cafeteria at the Center, too.”

“How is your guild?”

Yoon Taehwa asked as he tore a croissant. The warm bread, as if just made, tore apart along its layers.

“Do you know you’ve been asking me a lot of personal questions lately, Team Leader?”

Han Suryeon, who had been resting his chin on his hand, tilted his head with his eyes crinkling. He seemed somewhat satisfied.

“I don’t think asking about the guild is a personal question.”

“Anything other than work talk is a personal question.”

Is that so? Yoon Taehwa retraced his memory. As they spent more time together, various conversations did come and go.

“Our guild is similar to the Center. One entire floor of the building is a cafeteria.”

Han Suryeon took the remaining takeout cup and brought it to his lips. That seems to be coffee too. He had only seen him drink sweet-looking beverages every day; he had never seen him drink coffee until now.

“It’s bitter.”

Sure enough, Han Suryeon put down the takeout cup, saying it was bitter and wrinkled his nose.

“It seems Han Suryeon wasn’t the one who ordered the delivery.”

Yoon Taehwa chuckled and drank the moderately cooled coffee. He didn’t like coffee beans with a sour taste, so the savory aroma was quite to his liking.

“There weren’t many drinks available to order in the morning.”

“You could have had milk.”

“I don’t really like milk. If it were a different kind of milk, I might consider…”

Thinking that a conversation that would kill his appetite was about to follow, Yoon Taehwa kicked the other’s knee under the table.

“That hurts.”

“I hit you to make it hurt.”

Because of the structure attached to the kitchen, the living room was clearly visible over Han Suryeon’s shoulder. The blanket he had thrown on the sofa last night for him to sleep on was neatly folded.

‘He even folded the blanket before crawling in.’

He didn’t know when he had crawled into the bedroom, but to have ordered breakfast, it meant he had woken up at least an hour before he did.

“When did you come into my bedroom?”

“I went in because I thought I was going to freeze to death while sleeping…”

There was no way a house that didn’t have to worry about heating bills would be cold enough to freeze to death in. When he just stared at him silently, Han Suryeon hunched his body, pretending to be weak, and confessed.

“I think I tossed and turned for about an hour before going in…?”

“You were awake before I woke up.”

“I wasn’t… I made the Team Leader’s breakfast and then went back to sleep.”

He raised his eyebrows askew, but Han Suryeon had an innocent face, as if proclaiming his innocence.

It was amazing that he had slept without waking up once, even though someone had come into his bedroom and touched his body for so long.

‘Something is strange.’

Yoon Taehwa recalled the moment he opened his eyes. The moment he saw Han Suryeon lying on top of him, he thought he might have felt a subtle sense of déjà vu.

As soon as he opened the garage door, Han Suryeon trotted over to the passenger seat. The series of actions, from opening the door to taking the seat, was as natural as flowing water. Yoon Taehwa snorted and sat in the driver’s seat.

“Why?”

“It’s funny how you just naturally go to the passenger seat.”

“I’m not a good driver…”

That was pure bullshit. There was no way Yoon Taehwa, the team leader of the Center, hadn’t checked the video of the chase that had occurred on the road on the day of Han Suryeon’s arrival. Besides, in the first photo he had received, the person sitting in the driver’s seat was Han Suryeon.

“Who was it that was driving on the day you came to Korea?”

“…The cars were following me, so I just avoided them. I sped because I’m not a good driver.”

At the obvious lie, Yoon Taehwa slowly pulled his lips and started the engine. It was the moment the garage door opened and he checked behind to reverse.

“Team Leader.”

“What.”

Yoon Taehwa answered dryly and reversed the car. It had a rear camera, but since he had never made a habit of looking at the camera in the first place, it was a useless object. In the field, machines often broke down, and since you never knew what car you would end up in during an emergency, it was better not to pick up useless habits.

“You’re sexy when you drive.”

At the sudden comment, Yoon Taehwa furrowed his brows. The car, having smoothly exited the garage, found its place and began to drive.

“You got in the passenger seat just to say that, didn’t you?”

He finally understood the scheme. When he looked at him in disbelief, Han Suryeon rested his head on the headrest and crinkled the corners of his eyes with a bashful smile. His head was turned toward the driver’s seat.

“Ah, you found out…”

His face didn’t look the least bit embarrassed.

The car took a different route than usual. It was because he had stopped by the university due to Yoon Taein’s words about leaving his report behind. Time was a bit tight, but Yoon Taehwa leisurely turned the steering wheel. He knew the geography of Seoul even without a navigation system.

“Your younger brother-in-law doesn’t resemble you, Team Leader?”

“Who’s younger brother-in-law?”

The continued use of the “younger brother-in-law” title, without getting tired of it, was becoming familiar.

“The Team Leader’s younger brother?”

“It’s because he resembles my mother. I resemble my father’s side.”

Knowing full well that even if he told him to stop, he would only pretend to listen, Yoon Taehwa only gave Han Suryeon the answer he wanted.

The bridge on the way to work turned the cars into turtles. It was the moment the road cleared and he was about to gradually pick up speed.

“…!”

Yoon Taehwa reflexively extended his arm, blocking Han Suryeon as if to protect him. It was the moment a gaze, landing lightly on his arm, reached him. From a place not too far away, the sound of rough waves began to be heard.