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A brief, tense silence passed through the room. But soon, Yu-young’s mother responded with a smile.

“Ah, that’s true, isn’t it? I got a little ahead of myself… Aha, seeing how happily you two are living together has me so excited…”

Though she said this, her expression was slightly awkward. Yu-young tightly grasped his mother’s hand and, trying to sound upbeat.

“Don’t worry, Mom. We’re still living happily together.”

“That’s right.”

Do-won’s soft gaze turned toward Yu-young’s mother.

“Oh my… Yes, yes, I trust you.”

The momentary awkwardness was quickly lifted by Do-won and Yu-young’s kind words, and the atmosphere regained its warmth. In contrast, Do-won’s mother looked as if her face was slowly souring. Yu-young, glancing over, was about to change the subject when Yu-young’s mother suddenly asked in a bright voice.

“By the way, Yu-young, are you still calling hum ‘Team Leader’ or ‘Do-won’? Isn’t that a bit too formal?”

“Right. Aren’t you being a bit too polite with each other? Haha.”

“Try calling each other in a more affectionate way. How about using a different title?”

Now, even the fathers joined in, looking at the two with eager eyes. No matter how grown-up Do-won and Yu-young were, to their parents, they still looked adorably sweet, and seeing them sitting together like that made everyone’s hearts swell.

“Ah, uh, suddenly changing titles… Haha.”

Yu-young blushed, waving his hands as if to dismiss the idea. It seemed like his parents thought using names was a bit stiff. After all, Yu-young had accidentally called him “Team Leader” several times, so it was understandable that the parents were bringing it up.

But still, being suddenly asked to change how they addressed each other was a bit much. Just as Yu-young was about to refuse again, covering his flushed face with both hands, Do-won gently took his hand and raised an eyebrow.

“Right. Shall we change how we call each other, darling?”

Do-won’s playful and sweet voice made everyone burst into laughter once more.

“Well, Do-won has such a good-natured spirit. And his voice—how does it sound so perfect? Like a movie star. Don’t you think, in-laws?”

“Ah, yes. I agree.”

Despite Do-won’s mother’s lackluster response, the atmosphere remained light and cheerful. Yu-young, now completely embarrassed, didn’t know what to do and nervously fidgeted with his fingers.

‘Why is he so casually throwing out that embarrassing words like it’s nothing…?’

The more he thought about it, the more embarrassed he became, feeling like he wanted to escape. “Darling”… Do-won had never called him that, even jokingly.

While Do-won probably hadn’t thought much of it, Yu-young felt like running out of the room the moment he heard it.

But the fun didn’t end there.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Huh? What now…?”

“If Do-won called you so affectionately, you should respond the same way!”

Now all eyes were on Yu-young. Yu-young gave Do-won a pleading look, but he just smiled mischievously, showing no sign of helping.

‘Come on, help me out…!’

Yu-young silently begged again, but Do-won continued to ignore his signals. Normally, he was so sensitive to Yu-young’s every expression. There was no way he didn’t notice. He was clearly doing this on purpose to tease him.

With no other option, Yu-young shot Do-won a frustrated glare and, his face still burning, hesitantly opened his mouth.

“D… da… darling.”

“Well, what’s this? You can’t even say it clearly?”

“Yeah, wasn’t Han Yu-young the one full of confidence? Why are you acting like this?”

Yu-young’s parents immediately jumped in with teasing comments. He had tried to say it loudly, but it came out so softly that even he could barely hear it, so their reaction wasn’t surprising.

Finally, Yu-young squeezed his eyes shut and practically shouted.

“Dar… darling!”

This time, the loud exclamation made everyone burst into laughter, including Do-won. Unable to meet his eyes, Yu-young looked at his ear and neck instead, raising a hand to cover his now crimson face.

“Haha, look at how embarrassed he is. Why so formal? You two are a couple!”

“Yeah, why are you so shy?”

Though Yu-young glared at Do-won for teasing him, his heart was still pounding uncontrollably. He couldn’t calm his racing pulse and was repeatedly fanning himself when Do-won slyly slid his hand under the table and squeezed his. Leaning in, he whispered softly in his ear.

“How about I get you some cold water?”

“…I don’t know.”

With his playful teasing, Yu-young couldn’t help but resent him for his sweet attentiveness. As Do-won poured him a glass of cold water, Yu-young let out a sigh, though the water felt incredibly refreshing and sweet.

The housewarming was a success. With the mood still pleasantly warm, the parents kept smiling and chatting, sharing drinks. After seeing them off, with their faces flushed from the alcohol, Do-won and Yu-young took the elevator back up to their home.

The moment they entered the house, Yu-young collapsed onto the couch.

“Ugh, I’m so tired…”

“You worked really hard today.”

Do-won naturally knelt down beside Yu-young on one knee and gently brushed his forehead with his large, soft hand.

Startled, Yu-young quickly considered sitting up but instead let his body relax and lay flat. He didn’t want to admit it, but Do-won’s touch was too pleasant to resist. After a while, Do-won continued to stroke his head and forehead, much like petting a dog, and then softly said,

“Get up, take a bath, and rest.”

“Ah, we should clean up first…”

“I’ll take care of that, so you can take your time with the bath.”

“Wh-what? How can you manage all that by yourself?”

Yu-young sat up in surprise, only to feel something lightly touch his forehead. It wasn’t a hand—it was his own forehead. Before Yu-young could even open his eyes fully, Do-won flashed a playful smile.

“I’m speaking as your spouse, not your boss, so feel free to take it easy. I can handle that much. The water’s already running, and it should be just the right temperature by now.”

“Wow…”

He truly was thoughtful. From what he had said in the past and his actions over the last few days, it was clear that he remembered Yu-young used baths as a way to relieve stress. The subtle thoughtfulness behind his actions to help him unwind and relax after dealing with his parents filled Yu-young with admiration.

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

Yu-young nodded, and Do-won smiled warmly, clearly pleased with the answer. He turned and headed toward the kitchen. Yu-young was sure that Do-won would clean up enough to get by until tomorrow, when the housekeeper would arrive. The sound of water running soon reached his ears.

‘Well, he said he already set the water, so I’ll just go ahead and bathe first.’

Yu-young turned toward his bedroom, but then a sudden thought made him smile. He wanted to share the joy of a bath with Do-won, to let him enjoy it too.

He rushed into his room, turned off the water, and rummaged through his basket until he found a bath bomb he thought would suit him. Carefully, he crept out of his room, making sure to muffle his footsteps, and headed for Do-won’s room.

As he glanced toward the kitchen, he saw Do-won was facing the other way, tidying up, so he could move freely into his space. Normally, they didn’t cross into each other’s areas too much, so stepping into Do-won’s room felt unfamiliar.

But as Yu-young stepped into the bedroom, his legs almost gave out, and he nearly collapsed.

‘Ugh, right… the pheromones…’

The seductive scent filled the room, thick and intoxicating. The scent coming from the bed made him want to dive in and bury himself in it.

‘Focus… I can’t let myself fall apart like this.’

Though he had visited Do-won’s house several times and they now lived together, it was the first time the pheromones hit him so strongly just by entering a space. Of course, it made sense in the bedroom, as it was the place where Do-won would unwind and release the pheromones he had held in all day.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Yu-young slowly walked toward the bathroom, forcing himself to focus. He opened the door to find it neatly organized, and, just as he had done before, he turned on the bath water. He adjusted the flow of water to a gentle stream, calculating the time it would take for it to get ready.

He placed the bath bomb beside the tub, then quickly left the bathroom, taking deep breaths. When he finally returned to his room, he couldn’t help but smile.

‘That’s right, for every action, there’s a reaction.’

Yu-young sank into the hot water. He added his own bath bomb, and colorful bubbles began to rise in a spectacular display. The fragrant bath water made him smile happily.

‘Should we change how we address each other, darling?’

But as he soaked, what kept popping into his head was the teasing, sweet voice calling him darling. Yu-young pressed his palm to his face, embarrassed.

‘Darling…’

The word almost slipped out like a scream. He remembered Do-won laughing loudly at his shy exclamation.

“Ugh… seriously!”

Yu-young couldn’t contain the awkwardness that hit him, and he started thrashing around in the water. Splashing sounds filled the bathroom. Life with Do-won, though filled with some unease at first, wasn’t as awkward as he had feared. But the constant fluttering and restlessness in his chest was becoming a frequent occurrence.