94

About 20 minutes later, Yu-young stood up from the bathtub. Even though Do-won had told him to relax and enjoy the bath, it felt a bit awkward to take a full hour like usual. He imagined Do-won must be struggling alone outside.

‘I should go help him.’

Quickly drying off and changing into loungewear, Yu-young rushed out to the kitchen. He couldn’t help but stare in surprise when he approached Do-won, who was standing at the sink wiping dishes.

“Team Leader, you’re already done? How are you so fast?”

“There’s a dishwasher, so I just needed to wipe off the grease before putting them in.”

“Still… I was going to hurry out and help you…”

“Why are you in such a rush? I told you to relax and enjoy your bath.”

Wiping the last plate, Do-won turned off the water and wiped his hands on the towel hanging nearby. Not missing the moment, Yu-young urgently spoke up.

“Team Leader, you should go take a bath too.”

“I’m fine.”

As expected. But he’d already prepared the bath water, so Yu-young wasn’t about to let it slide. Approaching Do-won, who was about to turn down the offer, Yu-young gently grabbed his arm.

“Please. I already turned the water on for you.”

“…You did?”

“Yes. I set it up so you can go right after finishing. I went to your room earlier.”

Do-won looked surprised for a moment, then smiled.

“Alright. Since you’ve gone through the trouble, I’ll go.”

“Great. Don’t usually baths, do you?”

“No, just showers. I don’t see the point in sitting around in the water when I could quickly get out and work.”

That was so typical of Do-won. Yu-young couldn’t help but feel a little exasperated by him. Staring up at him with a slightly stunned expression, Do-won said in a soft tone.

“Still, since you prepared it for me, I’ll enjoy it this time.”

“Good. I left a bath bomb for you, so add that to the water first. Don’t think about work today, just take at least 20 minutes. Got it?”

Do-won smiled again as Yu-young explained. Watching him head toward the bathroom, Yu-young relaxed on the couch in the living room.

Now, what should he do? He just needed to rest. Looking out the window at the faint afternoon sunlight, Yu-young enjoyed the quiet time without turning on the TV or music. His

‘Oh, right, Team Leader’s business trip starts tomorrow.’

It was only a two-day trip, but it felt like it would drag on. He’d be alone again. Would it feel lonely? Thinking about it, Yu-young smiled softly.

In the past, with that annoying team leader, this would have been unimaginable. If that guy went on a business trip for two days, Yu-young would have been celebrating. Work would slow down, and having no boss around would give him some peace of mind. But now, strangely, he didn’t feel that way at all.

And wasn’t he someone who lived alone in the first place? Yet, after just a few days of living with Do-won, the thought of tomorrow without him already made him feel a bit lonely. It was honestly surprising.

As Yu-young lazily sprawled on the couch, lost in his thoughts, he suddenly heard a voice, almost like an echo.

-Han Yu-young.

He sprang up from the couch. Was that for him? But why would he call him while he was in the bath? Standing in front of the couch, blinking in confusion, Do-won’s voice called out again.

-Sorry, but could you come over here for a second?

It wasn’t a mistake. Yu-young quickly ran toward his bedroom. Not wanting to barge in, he leaned close to the door and shouted through the crack.

“Team Leader! Did you call for me?”

-Han Yu-young, sorry, could you bring me a towel or bathrobe?

The embarrassed voice drifted out from the door.

“Ah, yes! I’ll get it for you!”

Yu-young answered politely and entered the dressing room. The bedroom and dressing room were separate.

Maybe the housekeeper forgot to stock the towels. She was lovely, but a bit absent-minded. Well, it was her first time, so she probably just needed some time to adjust.

Yu-young rummaged through the dressing room and found a bathrobe, then made his way back to Do-won’s bedroom. He quietly opened the door and pushed the robe onto the floor.

“Team Leader, I’ve left it for you.”

-Thank you.

Hearing his thanks, Yu-young closed the door and walked back to his room. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of warmth. Seeing someone who used to be so focused on work, now enjoying a bath because of his suggestion, was heartwarming.

Should he introduce the joy of aromatherapy too? Yu-young rummaged through his drawer and found his favorite body lotion. It had a soft, woody scent that he thought would suit Do-won. Just as he was about to leave his room with the lotion, his eyes landed on a bathrobe hanging in the corner.

‘Huh? Why does it look so big?’

Earlier, when he got out of the bath, he hadn’t used a bathrobe, so he hadn’t noticed, but now, for some reason, the robe looked unusually large. Blinking in surprise, Yu-young quickly realized the answer.

‘So it’s been swapped with the team leader’s.’

They bought the same one in a different size, so it was easy to get confused. He’s small and slender for a man, while Do-won has a large build, so the size difference was pretty noticeable. So now he must be…

‘Don’t imagine it. That’s a bad thought. Ugh, bad, just bad.’

Do-won in the smaller-sized bathrobe. No matter how much he tried not to imagine it, he couldn’t stop himself from giggling. Trying not to laugh, he bit his lip and quickly grabbed the bathrobe and lotion, rushing back to Do-won’s room. I knocked and carefully called out to him.

“Team leader, I think the bathrobe got swapped, so I brought it back…”

Originally, he had planned to just drop the bathrobe and lotion on the floor like last time, but as he slightly pushed open the already ajar door, he unexpectedly tripped and bumped into the door.

“Ah!”

He instinctively grabbed the doorknob to steady himself. But instead, the door swung open wider, and as he looked up from his bent-over position, he locked eyes with Do-won, who was standing in the room.

And… what he saw was Do-won completely naked.

He must have just come out of the bath. His body was still wet. The bathrobe he was holding was still neatly folded, so it seemed like he was about to unfold it.

His hair was messy from the water, and droplets were dripping from his toned muscles, which were glistening. His broad shoulders, well-defined upper body, and long, beautifully shaped legs stood out.

And then… something terrifying between his legs that made Yu-young doubt his own eyes.

“……”

“……”

An agonizingly long silence passed.

‘C-C-Crazy… What am I looking at right now?!’

He should apologize and run away, but for some reason, his feet felt stuck to the floor as if melted wax had sealed them in place. He should at least look away from what he shouldn’t be seeing, but why couldn’t he tear his eyes away from Do-won’s body?

Staring with his mouth agape, You-young was snapped out of his stupor by Do-won’s gruff voice.

“How much longer are you going to stand there gawking at my body?”

“Ah, aah! I-I’m sorry!”

Shocked, he dropped the lotion and bathrobe and spun around to flee. His face was burning with embarrassment, and his mind was completely blank—he felt like he might die from shame. He ran to his room, slammed the door shut, and threw myself onto the bed.

‘You’re razy. Han Yu-young, you’re insane… why did I make such a stupid mistake?!’

Burying his face in the pillow, he screamed and kicked his legs. The more he thought about the ridiculous mistake he’d just made, the more he couldn’t stand it. But the most ridiculous part was that, even now, Do-won body kept flashing before his eyes.

Even with his eyes closed the image of Do-won’s body remained as clear as ever. Even with his face buried in the pillow, he couldn’t escape the image.

‘Am I really some kind of pervert?!’

He doubted his mental state, but honestly, Do-won was partly at fault too.

I mean, how could a guy have a body like that, like some Greek god? What was I supposed to do? Blaming him for being so ridiculously attractive, Yu-young tried to push away the memory.

Sure, everything about him had been great. His face, which looked and that body, which was sexy to the point of leaving his mouth agape… it was all good. But the one thing that needed to be erased from hid mind—the lingering image—kept coming back stronger and clearer.

‘Why, why did I have to see that…’

It was something he had too, but when they eyes met, he was completely stunned by the sheer size of it. It was almost like it belonged to some third, different gender.

And what about Do-won? How embarrassed must he have been? Of course, Yu-young was the only one standing there with his mouth wide open, and his face didn’t show much emotion, but inside, he had to have been pretty shocked, right?

That thought him me suddenly worry.

‘What does Do-won think of me now…?’

Their first meeting was already filled with misunderstandings. Although things were different now, at first, Do-won had treated him like he was just some Omega trying to seduce an Alpha. The way things had been going, it kind of seemed like that was what was happening.

They’d gotten a little closer now, but what if he misunderstood him again? The more he thought about it, the more anxious and heavy his heart felt.

‘Ah, I don’t know… I’ve already seen it. I’ll just have to explain it later so he doesn’t misunderstand.’

It was too awkward to try to explain right now. Maybe if some time passed, he’d be able to talk about it more calmly. Buried under the blanket, he fell into a light sleep, still turning over all these thoughts in his head.