LS Ch 24

Yiwon took another step closer. Jewoo instinctively backed up, but his leg caught on the suitcase, causing him to lose balance.

“Ugh!”

More than falling, he didn’t want to be naked in front of Yiwon, so he grabbed tightly at the towel around his waist.

“Be careful.”

Just as he felt an arm around his waist, his tilting body stopped. Yiwon had caught him by wrapping an arm around his waist. The relief of not falling was brief; the arm around his waist felt too real.

“Thanks. But could you let go of your arm?”

Even though he wanted to get away, Yiwon’s arm held him so firmly that he couldn’t move. Twisting his body didn’t help.

“Kang Yiwon, your arm…”

He looked up to ask him to loosen his grip, but his words trailed off. Kang Yiwon was staring at his face with an intensity as if he could devour him. It wasn’t the first time Yiwon had looked at him so blatantly, and he thought he was used to it by now, but the intense gaze from up close was something else.

He really feels like he’s going to eat me.

This thought made him even more tense. No, that’s impossible, he was just too conscious at the moment, he tried to calm himself.

“Could you let go of your arm?”

He asked with a forced smile, but Yiwon didn’t budge.

“What if I don’t want to?”

Yiwon’s lips seemed to curl up slightly.

“Why would you not want to, aah!”

He was about to scold him for playing such a prank when his body was suddenly turned, making him gasp. His vision spun, and in a flash, he was lying on the sofa. The arm around his waist was released, but now Kang Yiwon was straddling him.

How did we end up like this? What’s going on here?

His mind couldn’t process the confusion. It was too serious to dismiss as mere playfulness, and he couldn’t understand what Yiwon was thinking or what he wanted by putting them in this position.

Or maybe he knew. Even though he hadn’t had much dating experience in a long time, Han Jewoo was still a grown man of twenty-seven. He wasn’t so foolish as to not recognize the atmosphere.

But he couldn’t accept it. He didn’t think Yiwon would really try anything with him. And they weren’t even acting now.

“Yiwon.”

Feeling uncomfortable under his intense gaze, Jewoo spoke first. He called his name and smiled as if soothing a child.

“Could you move? You’re heavy.”

“I don’t want to.”

Yiwon also smiled brightly in response. Why was he so opposed to everything today? Jewoo slightly furrowed his brows, and Yiwon’s smile widened even more. Only then did he realize Yiwon was playing around.

“You’re really heavy.”

He sighed and pushed against Yiwon’s chest with his forearm.

“Like this?”

The weight pressing on his waist finally lifted. Glancing down, he saw that Yiwon had lifted himself on his knees, still hovering over him. It was still burdensome to have him directly above him.

“Wouldn’t it be better if you moved completely?”

Even though their bodies were now apart, he was still anxious about the towel slipping. He should have at least put on pants if he knew this would happen.

If Yiwon said no again, he considered hitting him, but Yiwon said nothing. Rolling his eyes to look at his face, Yiwon’s gaze was still fixed on him, unwavering.

“Did you put honey on my face? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Feeling the pressure, he spoke up, and Yiwon chuckled.

“I wonder. My eyes keep going there.”

His tone was light, but he still showed no sign of moving away.

“Can’t I get dressed?”

Even as he asked, he wondered why he was seeking permission from this guy, and a sigh was about to escape. But regardless, he needed Yiwon to move for him to get dressed or do anything else.

“You said you don’t care. You walked around like this in front of your manager too.”

“That’s…! Ah, forget it. What am I saying to you?”

He didn’t want to rehash what he had already explained once.

“I’m doing this because I don’t care either.”

“…I forgot to bring clothes to change into.”

“Hmm…”

At Jewoo’s response, Yiwon narrowed his eyes and made a long humming sound.

“So, could you move a bit? So I can get dressed.”

“Am I different from your manager?”

What was he talking about now?

“I don’t mind, even like this.”

His eyes seemed to move downward, stopping at Jewoo’s chest. Even though they were both men, why was he so tense under that gaze?

“I mind. It’s cold.”

He tried to push him away with a ridiculous excuse. However, Kang Yiwon didn’t budge at all. Was there really such a significant difference in strength between them? Or had he not been exercising enough lately? His male pride was starting to feel wounded.

“Why are you so strong?”

Complaining out of frustration, he saw Yiwon smile.

“I’m stronger than I look.”

Maybe it wasn’t that he was weak, but Kang Yiwon was particularly strong. His claim of being strong didn’t seem like boasting.

“Okay, okay, just move.”

The towel around his waist seemed to be loosening more by the second. Since he was struggling on the sofa, the knot he’d casually tied was definitely reaching its limit.

“Aren’t you curious?”

Instead of moving, Yiwon responded with an unrelated answer.

“About what?”

“About more than just kissing.”

At the concise response, Jewoo blinked in confusion. He couldn’t immediately understand what Kang Yiwon was talking about. Yiwon’s gaze, which had been meeting his, slowly moved downward, stopping at his lips. Jewoo bit his lips without thinking and then realized his mistake, but Yiwon’s lips had already curled into a slight smile.

Ah, I must look so tense. It’s like I’m advertising how much I’m aware of him.

His mind was in disarray. If he had known the atmosphere would get like this as soon as they shared a room, he would have found any excuse to refuse, investor’s demand or not.

While he was pondering, Yiwon’s eyes moved even lower. Watching them go past his abdomen and further down, his nerves were all on edge.

“Hey!”

He cried out in surprise when Yiwon pressed his knee into the inside of Jewoo’s thigh.

“It’s not up.”

Jewoo was taken aback by the blunt comment and just gaped.

“I was hoping, just in case.”

“What hope are you talking about! Would you be up in this situation?”

Now, the towel slipping was the least of his concerns. He used all his strength to twist his body and push Yiwon away. This time, Yiwon willingly moved back. Sitting up, he saw the towel was half-undone. Quickly grabbing the towel, he glared at Yiwon, who raised his hands in surrender with a smile.

“When you cover up so desperately, it makes me want to see more.”

“Kang Yiwon!”

He shouted his name, but no more words came out. Why would you want to see? What difference would it make if you did? Would something appear that isn’t there? Many retorts were on the tip of his tongue, but he was cautious about how they might come back to him. It seemed better to keep quiet than to throw out an uncertain bomb.

More importantly, how was he going to defuse this situation? Could he just brush it off as a joke?

“I need to go wash up.”

Fortunately, Yiwon spoke first, sparing him further thought. Indeed, he hadn’t showered yet.

“When I come back out, can we continue?”

His playful tone made Jewoo gasp again.

“Continue what!”

Yiwon just smiled broadly at Jewoo’s outburst. People always said his smile was enchanting, but now he needed to steel himself not to fall for it.

“Calm down. I won’t do anything.”

“Hey…”

He didn’t even have the energy to be angry anymore. He was being led around because he couldn’t tell where the line between jest and seriousness lay. Seeing Yiwon raise his hands and smile, it did seem like a game, but why did he take this game so seriously sometimes? It was chilling.

He waved his hand, urging him to go wash up. Yiwon, with a childlike, playful expression, quietly turned around.

“Jewoo hyung.”

Just before entering the bathroom, Yiwon turned back and called out.

“What would you do if I really wanted to hug you?”

Though his face was still playful, his eyes were serious.

“Would you run away?”

Jewoo couldn’t look away from his earnest gaze.

Hug me, does that mean what I think it means? Does he really want to hug me? For real?

He moved his lips, but his mind was chaotic. He wanted to tell him to stop joking, that it wasn’t funny, but for some reason, the words wouldn’t come out.

“Will you have already run away by the time I come out?”

Yiwon asked with a smile. Why was his smiling face so beautiful? Feeling his chastity at risk, the fact that he was thinking about how pretty Yiwon was made him think there might be something wrong with his brain.

He bit his molars, then threw a cushion from the sofa at Yiwon. Yiwon dodged slightly, and the cushion fell to the floor.

“Stop talking nonsense and just go wash up.”

At his scolding, Yiwon chuckled and went into the bathroom. Left alone, Jewoo took deep breaths and ran a hand over his chest. At this rate, that guy was going to cut his lifespan in half.