SDM 66

Seong-woon finished another bowl of rice with a much more relaxed expression than before. When asked if he wanted more, this time he shook his head. Baek Sang-hyun felt deeply content seeing how comfortable and informal he looked.

“Would you like some grapes?”

“…Yeah.”

Sitting side by side on the sofa with a bunch of freshly washed grapes in front of them, Seong-woon stared into space for a moment before uttering a sentence that sounded like the beginning of a fantasy novel.

“Um… When I opened my eyes, I found myself in this body.”

“I see.”

“It’s funny for me to ask this now, but… do you really believe it?”

“I believe you.”

“…”

“I told you it doesn’t matter even if it’s not true.”

“…Right, didn’t we say we’d live together as the crazy ones?”

Seong-woon chuckled as he nodded and continued speaking. His reddening ears suggested he felt a bit embarrassed by his own words.

“…Suddenly, something strange appeared before my eyes. Like a hologram.”

“You must have been surprised.”

“…You don’t think I’m crazy?”

“Of course not.”

“You think I’m crazy?”

“No. The opposite.”

Seong-woon burst out laughing at Baek Sang-hyun’s firm response. In that laughter, Baek Sang-hyun detected a slight relief. Perhaps Seong-woon had been anxious all this time.

“Suddenly, I was told to complete a quest. Even a media appearance! I thought it was absurd, but Ryu Chae-yoon’s aunt is the president of RBS…”

That was the background for his sudden appearance on “Human Justice.” Baek Sang-hyun exhaled a long breath, recalling his attitude towards Ryu Chae-yoon at that time. He moved close enough for their knees to touch and brought a grape to Seong-woon’s lips.

Seong-woon paused and looked at Baek Sang-hyun quietly, tilting his head as if wondering what it meant. When Baek Sang-hyun gently pushed the grape between his slightly parted lips, he reflexively chewed and swallowed it.

“In case you get thirsty.”

“…I barely said anything.”

Seong-woon chewed and swallowed another grape that Baek Sang-hyun fed him before continuing.

“Then I even started hearing a voice in my head. Calling itself C1012, saying it was my handler from the Reincarnation Management Committee. Telling me to grant Ryu Chae-yoon’s wish…”

Despite the heating being turned up quite high, Seong-woon seemed cold and unconsciously started clinging to warm places. Their knees touched, shoulders met, arms overlapped.

“Are you cold?”

“Huh?”

Realizing how close he had gotten, Seong-woon blushed deeply and pulled back. But Baek Sang-hyun didn’t let it go. He pulled Seong-woon onto his lap and looked up at him quietly.

“Continue. So you auditioned because of the quest, too?”

“Uh, yeah… So…”

“Should we lie down instead? Would that be more comfortable?”

“Huh?”

Baek Sang-hyun lay down on his side on the sofa, holding Seong-woon. He made a pillow with one arm and wrapped the other around Seong-woon’s waist, pulling him close until their bodies fit perfectly together.

“You want me to keep talking like this?”

“Yes.”

“Um…”

Seong-woon looked up, craning his neck, then let out a sigh. He shifted as if trying to escape, moving backwards.

“You’ll fall off.”

“It’s just the sofa…”

“You could get hurt, you know?”

“I won’t.”

But seeming to understand the genuine concern, Seong-woon’s attempts to escape ceased instantly. As if resigned, he fully rested his weight on Baek Sang-hyun’s arm.

The chattering voice was truly a cure-all for Baek Sang-hyun. Deeply immersed in its sweetness, Baek Sang-hyun realized how selfishly he had acted from Seong-woon’s story.

What had he done to Seong-woon, who must have been confused about everything, even suffering from illness?

“You didn’t know.”

“No, I almost…”

In fact, he was certain, and thought it didn’t matter even if it wasn’t true. If Jin Seong-woon no longer existed in this world, Baek Sang-hyun would have lost all reason to live.

“Back then, it was hard because I had to keep meeting you for the quest, but now I think it’s fortunate.”

Once again, Baek Sang-hyun received salvation from Jin Seong-woon. His smiling face looked so relieved and beautiful that Baek Sang-hyun couldn’t help but kiss him.

When he lightly kissed his lips, Seong-woon’s eyes widened in surprise, but he welcomed even that gladly. Beautiful eyes, but the light shining from the soul within them is even more beautiful.

“So the information I received after completing the first filming quest for ‘Orbit Collision’ was…”

Seong-woon hesitated for a long time before uttering a sentence that was hard to believe.

“My life was ‘a product of sin and mistakes,’ they said.”

“…What?”

“So…”

“No, don’t say things like that.”

Unable to show his face right now, Baek Sang-hyun hugged Seong-woon tightly. Anger surged to the point where his body trembled. How dare they say such things about someone’s life…!

“Are you angry?”

His voice might tremble too, so he couldn’t even answer. Baek Sang-hyun looked down at the top of Seong-woon’s head, nestled quietly in his arms, and barely, just barely, managed to calm his anger. But the heat that had risen in his body didn’t subside easily.

“Well, it wasn’t my sin and mistake…”

Seong-woon’s voice sounded muffled as his face was buried in Baek Sang-hyun’s chest. His warm breath tickled Baek Sang-hyun’s skin through the thin t-shirt.

The Reincarnation Management Committee’s Soul Adjustment Project, originally one soul fused with Ryu Chae-yoon, since Jin Seong-woon’s body shouldn’t have been born. After finishing the whole story, Seong-woon removed Baek Sang-hyun’s hand pressing on his head and looked up.

“…Why are you crying?”

Cold fingers wiped away the wet cheeks,  tears he hadn’t even been aware of. Baek Sang-hyun quickly sat up.

Straddling Baek Sang-hyun’s thighs, Seong-woon hugged Baek Sang-hyun’s head tightly, just like that time when he had suddenly fainted and woken up.

“I used to think my life… I mean, my life as ‘Jin Seong-woon’ was meaningless…”

The moisture mixed in Seong-woon’s voice was so sorrowful that Baek Sang-hyun hugged his back tightly. He didn’t want to regret, but the feeling of regret kept welling up, making him feel like he might go crazy.

If he had ignored his words pushing him away, would there have been a different outcome? …He didn’t know. If ‘Jin Seong-woon’ was a life that shouldn’t have existed, maybe this was a better result. But in any situation, he shouldn’t have been pushed away then.

He didn’t want to be like this, but he felt so pathetic for only receiving comfort from Seong-woon again. Baek Sang-hyun tried his hardest to stop his tears and looked up. The warm brown eyes with a hint of green showed no trace of sadness or misery.

“But if you found comfort in my acting, then it was worthwhile.”

“…”

“If I had been born as Ryu Chae-yoon, as I was supposed to be originally, you might not have become an actor.”

Baek Sang-hyun’s life might have ended much earlier if it weren’t for Seong-woon’s acting.

The fingertips gently touching his heated eyes had become slightly warm. That kindness choked him up. Baek Sang-hyun gathered Seong-woon’s fingers and kissed their tips. When he lightly bit the soft fingertips, Seong-woon’s shoulders hunched a little.

“Then what should I call you?”

“Huh?”

“If it was the same soul and fully merged with the originally assigned body…”

“I’m not sure either.”

Seong-woon shook his head as he answered. His face looked genuinely confused.

“Since both Ryu Chae-yoon and Jin Seong-woon are me, I’m now aware that they’re both me. But since Jin Seong-woon’s body is dead anyway, rather than Jin Seong-woon…”

But Seong-woon seemed pained when he spoke about his own death. Like someone bleeding profusely but feeling no pain due to anesthesia. It was a painful life, but one he couldn’t let go of, nonetheless.

“I lived thanks to you, sunbae-nim.”

Seong-woon’s gaze brushed over the scar on his left hand. If Seong-woon had rejected his previous life and wanted to live as Ryu Chae-yoon, Baek Sang-hyun would have accepted it as is. But if there was even a hint of lingering attachment…

“When it’s just the two of us… can I treat you as my sunbae-nim?”

“You’re already doing that.”

“Yes, but I know for sure that you are indeed my senoir.”

Seong-woon’s expression crumbled a little. As if unsure what to do, he nodded with slightly reddened eyes.

* * *

Opening his eyes, he saw an unfamiliar ceiling… or rather, the now somewhat familiar ceiling of Baek Sang-hyun’s house. Blinking and exhaling lightly, Seong-woon was startled by the weight of an arm across his chest and tried to get up, but realizing whose it was, he relaxed again.

As he sank into the warm, fluffy blanket, the arm naturally wrapped around his waist pulled him close. It seemed he was awake… Seong-woon looked at Baek Sang-hyun’s face, still with closed eyes, for a moment before resting his head on the firm arm, relaxing his neck.

He’s definitely handsome. It’s a face rarely seen even in this industry. There’s quite a big gap between when he smiles and when he doesn’t, and his aura changes a lot too… His sleeping face looks a little cold.

Carefully raising his hand, he gently poked the slightly swollen eyelids. For someone with such a cold face to cry over my story… It would be strange not to be moved.

Thump thump, his heartbeat sounded loudly as if his heart was attached to his temple. Seong-woon, knowing that heart problems would rarely occur now, reflexively pressed his hand against his solar plexus, slightly to the left. As expected, it was just a feeling, and his heart was beating at a regular pace.

“Wake up now. We have to go to the awards ceremony today.”

“Mmm…”

“When is your manager coming?”

“10 o’clock…”

“It’s already past 9.”

Baek Sang-hyun opened his eyes slightly and laughed out loud. He hugged Seong-woon, who had half risen, pulling him close and mumbling while nuzzling his neck.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah. …How about you?”

“If you slept well… I’m not sure…”

“Why? Do I have bad sleeping habits?”

It seemed fine last time when they were at home together. Of course, Baek Sang-hyun was so busy then that they rarely even lay in this bed together.

And Seong-woon didn’t know much about his own sleeping habits since he had always slept alone as far as he could remember. But since the bedding wasn’t messed up when he woke up, it didn’t seem like he tossed and turned much.

“Should I say it’s bad, or that it’s a problem because you’re sensitive to cold…”

“Huh?”

“You burrowed in too much, probably because you were cold.”

“…Me?”

“Yes.”

“That can’t be right.”

“I’m telling you, you did.”

Of course, he was almost cuddled up when he opened his eyes… But that was me snuggling up, not Baek Sang-hyun doing it? As Seong-woon opened his mouth in disbelief, Baek Sang-hyun grinned and stroked his cheek.

“So it was a bit difficult… but it’s okay.”

“Difficult? What was?”

“Well…”

Baek Sang-hyun couldn’t hide his embarrassment and chose his words carefully for a while. Then he subtly pointed to his lower body covered by the blanket.

“That…”

“Yes, a bit…”

So, does he mean…? Is he erect now…?

Seong-woon wasn’t that naive. How could he be innocent after nearly 30 years in the entertainment industry, regardless of experience? This industry is where everything happens, from personal issues like affairs, cheating, and same-sex relationships to illegal activities like sexual bribery and drugs.

How many more whispered conversations were there that didn’t reach Seong-woon’s ears, when even he, who had almost no personal relationships with people, like a Galapagos island, had heard more than a few stories?

“Um, I’m asking this just in case…”

“Yes.”

“Do you… want to do it with me?”

“…”

Baek Sang-hyun silently stared at Seong-woon. Seong-woon hadn’t thought that deeply about it, to be honest. He’d never properly dated anyone, so kissing and sex…

“I don’t really have any dating experience… so I’m not sure.”

“I don’t either.”

“So you… What?”

“I don’t have any either. Dating experience. I told you last time, remember?”

Baek Sang-hyun frowned slightly and tilted his head in a somehow cute way. How is it cute when someone that big does that? Seong-woon swallowed dryly and stupidly asked back.

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why?”

“Why don’t you have any?”

How could someone with that face, that body, and that personality not have dating experience?

“Because I’ve been in one-sided love for over 10 years. I think I said this before too…”

“I thought that was…”

Just something you say to flirt… Unable to handle his gradually burning face, Seong-woon suddenly got up and left the bed.

“F-first… calm down and come out. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Quickly entering the bathroom and splashing water on his face to extinguish the fire, Seong-woon briefly contemplated the word ‘dating’.

For Seong-woon, dating was… something that only existed in dramas or movies. Of course, he hadn’t had much experience playing the lead role, mostly playing roles like the pathetic sub-male who gets dumped, the ex-boyfriend who gives way to the rich male lead, or the younger guy who hopelessly pines away only to lose to the male lead without even getting a chance…

So he didn’t know what actual mutual dating involved. Of course, even if he had played the male lead role there, it probably wouldn’t have helped at all… How do people in this world learn to date like that when everyone seems to do it so naturally?

“sunbae-nim, are you going back to your place today?”

Baek Sang-hyun came out to the living room, brushing back his wet bangs as if he had washed up in the bedroom bathroom. Seong-woon, who had been standing in the middle of the living room, clutching his head, quickly lowered his hand as if he hadn’t been doing anything and cleared his throat before answering.

“…I guess I should, right?”

“You should spend the end of the year with your family…”

“You’re going to the awards ceremony anyway.”

“Move in quickly.”

“I agreed to celebrate the holiday and then move out. There’s some interior work and equipment to install…”

“Then you can just stay here.”

“My parents were feeling quite hurt… so I’m trying to spend more time with them.”

“…That can’t be helped then.”

“Yeah…”

Baek Sang-hyun prepared a quite impressive breakfast with what was in the refrigerator. A fragrant aroma wafted from the toast that popped up from the toaster.

“What should we do about your puffy eyes?”

“I tend to de-puff quickly, so it’s fine.”

“There were those eye masks.”

“Ah, those…”

Could they possibly be someone else’s? Whose?

“My manager bought them and left them here, but I’ve never used them since I don’t need them. I opened the package for the first time when I gave it to you.”

The excitement that had suddenly flared up instantly fizzled out. It seemed unbelievable, no matter how many times he heard it, that this was Baek Sang-hyun’s first relationship, too.

Seong-woon quickly finished the healthy meal of toast, yogurt, and salad while drinking the barley tea Baek Sang-hyun had brewed. As he was about to leave, gathering his clothes to put on, Baek Sang-hyun’s phone started ringing.

“Already here?”

It seemed to be a call from the manager saying he had arrived. Since it’s an awards ceremony, they’d probably go to the shop to get cleaned up and polished. Though he already looked spotless and shiny.