LS Ch 26

It was almost midnight when he finally went into the bedroom. Time had flown by while watching TV, much faster than he’d expected. Fortunately, tomorrow’s filming would start a bit later than usual, so he could sleep an extra hour. Or maybe he could wake up early and do some exercise for the first time in a while.

He was about to turn off the light to sleep when there was a knock on the door.

“Can I come in?”

Hearing Yiwon’s voice, he propped himself up on one elbow.

“Come in.”

They had already said goodnight to each other, so he wondered what this was about.

“I can’t sleep…”

Yiwon, standing by the door, mumbled while frowning. His voice was so low that Jewoo tilted his head in confusion, and then Yiwon sighed heavily.

“It’s because of what we watched earlier.”

“What?”

He blinked a couple of times before realizing he was talking about the horror movie.

“When I try to sleep, I keep seeing things.”

Jewoo barely suppressed a laugh. Was Kang Yiwon afraid of ghosts and couldn’t sleep alone? He looked so serious that Jewoo couldn’t even tease him. Unsure how to react, he hesitated as Yiwon took a step into the room, looking like a large dog with drooping ears.

“Can we sleep together?”

“What?”

His voice shot up in surprise.

“I’m really weak when it comes to this. I know there are no ghosts, but after watching stuff like that, I can’t sleep because I keep seeing things. What if I can’t sleep at all tonight and it affects tomorrow’s filming? Wouldn’t that be troublesome for you too?”

Was Kang Yiwon the type to ramble on like this? Staring at him in disbelief, Yiwon gave a bashful smile. Where did he learn to smile so goofily? No one would imagine him like this.

“Hyoong.”

He even dragged out the word, pleading with Jewoo. Was this really the Kang Yiwon standing in front of him? He was so different from when they first met that Jewoo felt dizzy.

“I really beg you. Okay?”

He was even showing aegyo, which he never did. Seeing how desperate he was, Jewoo couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

I’m really weak to him. He had thought this when Yiwon asked if he preferred him or Kim Arin while watching TV. When Yiwon looked dejected, he couldn’t just brush it off as nonsense. Objectively, aside from the fact that they were both men, wasn’t Kang Yiwon better? That’s why he had given him the answer he wanted.

It was similar now. With him looking at him with that puppy-dog expression after being out in the rain, he couldn’t say anything like “stop talking nonsense and leave.” That look, that pleading, was truly unfair. Sigh. He exhaled deeply enough to make his chest heave and finally told him to do as he pleased.

No sooner had he given his permission than Yiwon quickly got into bed beside him. Fortunately, the bed was king-sized, so there was plenty of room even with two men.

“You don’t have a bad sleeping habit, do you?”

“Not at all.”

“Okay then. Sleep, quickly.”

He immediately lay down, pulling the blanket up to his chest and closing his eyes. Even if it wasn’t Kang Yiwon, sharing a room with colleagues wasn’t uncommon. Although it was less now, when he was in his early twenties, they used to drink together and end up sleeping wherever in someone’s house.

So, sharing a bed with Yiwon wasn’t really a big deal if you think about it. If you considered him as a cute younger brother who couldn’t sleep alone just because he watched a horror movie, despite his tough exterior…

“…!”

He flinched when Yiwon’s foot brushed against his. Quickly turning his head, he saw Yiwon lying on his side facing him, eyes closed. He wasn’t asleep yet but seemed to be trying to.

Did he just accidentally brush against him while moving? Why was he so close when the bed was so wide…? Should he tell him to move further away? He furrowed his brows, deciding not to make a fuss about it.

Ignoring it, he moved back a bit to create some distance. But less than a minute later, he opened his eyes again to look at Yiwon. His foot had followed Jewoo’s movement and touched him again.

“You’re not sleeping?”

He asked with certainty, and Yiwon’s eyelids slowly lifted. When their eyes met, he saw a slight smile on Yiwon’s lips. He had definitely done it on purpose.

“I’m scared. I need to feel someone’s warmth to feel safe.”

He said this with a sweet smile, making it hard to believe. Narrowing his eyes, Jewoo looked at him, and Yiwon emphasized that it was true.

“When I debuted and lived in a dorm, on days we watched horror movies, I always slept close to other members. I was even more scared back then.”

That made sense since he was younger. Surprisingly, many men were scared of horror movies. Jewoo knew a few friends who could handle anything but not ghost stories.

Still, for a grown man of twenty-four to need to sleep close to someone every time he watched a horror movie, that seemed a bit much. Believing Yiwon’s words straight up felt somewhat off.

“What did you do when you had a room to yourself?”

“I wouldn’t watch ghost movies when I’m alone.”

That was true. Today, it wasn’t Yiwon who put on the horror movie but himself, although he didn’t know it was a horror movie at the time. Thinking like that, he realized he was the cause of this situation.

“Just let it slide.”

Yiwon pleaded with a pretty smile, moving closer to Jewoo. If he moved back any further, he’d fall off the bed.

“You look like you’re about to ask to be hugged while sleeping.”

“Is that okay?”

His eyes sparkled like he’d been waiting for that, making Jewoo flinch. Could it be that he came into the bedroom with that intention from the start? It was a reasonable suspicion.

“You’re teasing.”

Pushing his forehead away, he saw Yiwon immediately look dejected again.

This is driving me crazy. Why does he keep making my heart soften? If this was all acting, Yiwon definitely had a natural talent for it. Jewoo had acted all his life, but right now, he couldn’t tell if Yiwon was acting or genuinely scared.

“Then how about just the legs? Can’t you just keep your legs close?”

Yiwon begged again. He wanted to just put his legs over Jewoo’s, which left Jewoo speechless. That was unacceptable too. If it had been someone else, like Sihyeon or Yejun, he would have pushed them out of bed, telling them not to talk nonsense.

The problem was that it was Kang Yiwon. For some time now, he hadn’t been able to maintain a proper distance with this guy.

“Hyooong…”

Despite his larger size, he looked like a kid at times like this.

“…Do what you want.”

Again, he couldn’t be firm. Okay, it’s not like the world will end if he just puts his legs over mine, and it’s just for tonight. He couldn’t find a reason to go through the inconvenience, but the real problem was that he didn’t feel like refusing.

Telling him to do as he pleased, Jewoo lay back down, staring at the ceiling with his eyes closed. Not looking at Yiwon’s face seemed like the only way to calm his tumultuous feelings.

With permission granted, Yiwon placed his legs over Jewoo’s thighs. The weight was heavy, making him frown, but it wasn’t as uncomfortable as he thought. If he could think of it as placing a large cushion on top, he could sleep. Yiwon didn’t make any other movements.

As time passed, sleep gradually overtook him. In a half-asleep state, he felt something moving on his thigh. Assuming it was just Yiwon shifting his legs, he tried to ignore it and continue sleeping. The weight had become less noticeable due to the numbness from being pressed for so long. He was on the verge of sleep.

“…Asleep?”

Yiwon’s voice came through, muffled. It was so hazy he couldn’t tell if it was real or part of a dream. He thought he heard rustling beside him, but even that he didn’t want to mind.

He was on the brink of losing consciousness when he was startled by a sensation of something caressing the inside of his thigh. Opening his eyes wide, he saw Kang Yiwon’s face right in front of him.

“What are you… agh!”

The sensation of pressure in his lower body made the rest of his words choke up. Yiwon, leaning over him, had pressed his knee there.

“Kang Yiwon!”

He called out his name and tried to push his shoulder with one hand, but Yiwon didn’t budge. Knowing from earlier that he couldn’t win in a strength contest, he glared at him with a scowl.

“Get off.”

He told him to move away, but Yiwon, silent, just looked down at Jewoo. The night light was on, so Yiwon’s face was clearly visible. He couldn’t tell him not to play around. There was no trace of mischief in his eyes, which were intently focused on Jewoo’s face.

“I want to.”

At his low voice, Jewoo couldn’t even blink. He doubted his own ears, wondering if he had heard correctly. He couldn’t look away or move his head, locked in his gaze. Time passed quietly, with Yiwon not moving. A second felt like an eternity.

“I want to do it with you.”

Perhaps thinking Jewoo hadn’t understood, Yiwon repeated each word clearly.