TPG 22

Before he knew it, the night had grown deep. The amount of documents they needed to review was more than expected, and Lee Si-woo lost track of time working as he learned many things from Han Soo-hyeok.

‘Did I like this kind of thing?’

The sense of achievement he felt from matching complex figures and organizing documents was surprisingly addictive.

It felt like he had found his proper place.

The time was already past 10 o’clock. He was holding his stiff neck and tilting his head this way and that when Han Soo-hyeok spoke.

“Want to go wash up?”

“What?”

What had he just heard?

“You look stiff, so I’m telling you to go relax with some warm water.”

Han Soo-hyeok added, seeing his surprised face. Oh, that was what he meant. Lee Si-woo felt relieved but also slightly embarrassed.

“Um, do I smell?”

He spoke carefully and unconsciously twitched his nose. It was an attempt to smell himself without making it obvious, but it was so clumsy that it actually stood out more.

He looked around awkwardly and smiled sheepishly.

“I washed this morning…”

Just his hair.

That morning he had only washed his hair while Han Soo-hyeok was sleeping. Honestly, he wasn’t brazen enough to wash at someone else’s house, and since he was planning to go home today, he thought he could wash when he got there.

“If you know, then go wash.”

“Is there perhaps a bathhouse or sauna nearby… no, there isn’t.”

He already got his answer from Han Soo-hyeok’s expression.

“Is it uncomfortable?”

“Well…”

He trailed off while glancing at the front of Han Soo-hyeok’s knit sweater. The firm chest line came vaguely to mind.

‘Ah, I’m really going crazy.’

Heat rushed to his face. He hurriedly shook my head and said to Han Soo-hyeok, who was looking at him, wondering why.

“It’s your house, so it’s a bit… you know.”

When Han Soo-hyeok’s eyebrows went up, Si-woo hurriedly waved both hands.

“I have some guilt.”

“I’m not planning to just let it happen, so you don’t need to worry. Go into the bathroom and open the left cabinet, there are clothes to change into.”

“There are clothes to change into?”

Even as he said it, he unconsciously hesitated.

Realizing that his expression had unintentionally hardened, he hastily continued.

“I guess other people come and go frequently.”

Even as Si-woo said it, his chest felt inexplicably tight, so he soothed it with an unnecessary cough.

“That’s not what’s important. The size should fit.”

Soo-hyeok nodded as if it was no big deal and added.

“If you can’t believe it, go check. Then you can wash up.”

“Ah, yes…”

The corners of Lee Si-woo’s lips drooped slightly. He knew in his head that there was no reason for him to be dejected, but he just felt down. At Han Soo-hyeok’s urging, asking what he was doing instead of going quickly, he moved his lips several times.

“The bathroom is over there.”

“…Yes.”

He went to the bathroom as if fleeing to hide his downcast face.

As soon as he closed the door, he leaned against it and let out a long sigh. He was so pathetic that he irritably took off his clothes, then belatedly folded them neatly.

He shouldn’t, but if he couldn’t stop by home tomorrow either, he’d have to wear them again.

He pulled the front of his shirt slightly and brought it to his nose.

“It only smells nice, really…”

He muttered and frowned.

Still, well, he could buy a set of clothes on the way to work. He had enough in his wallet for that. But even if he went wearing new clothes, people wouldn’t look at him differently than yesterday, so he decided to wear them one more day.

He went into the shower booth in the bathroom and picked up the faucet. He got hit by the cold water falling from above without even thinking to avoid it.

* * *

‘Um, do I smell?’

Han Soo-hyeok chewed over the words Si-woo had left behind and swallowed his laughter. In fact, he knew that he had been wearing the same clothes for two days. He guessed that sweat smell might have soaked in because of that.

Seeing how he was concerned about it, Han Soo-hyeok couldn’t bring himself to say no. It did smell a lot. Si-woo’s pheromone scent…

Yesterday as the concentration thickened, he remembered the sweet fragrance. Like pastry layered upon layer, a scent that dug in layer by layer. From Han Soo-hyeok’s position, this smell quite strong, so it was rather troublesome.

Remembering how he had instinctively approached after smelling his pheromones, then belatedly retreated, another laugh escaped.

It was a bit embarrassing, but it wasn’t unpleasant or uncomfortable. Rather, seeing Si-woo like his pheromones made his heart flutter.

“I called him thinking his cycle might occur…”

Strictly speaking, Gayul was an excuse. There was no reason to hold onto something that was already finished. But the reason he used it as an excuse was because of Lee Si-woo’s cycle.

“I’m in danger.”

It seemed like he had dug his own trap.

Feeling his pheromones flowing out, Han Soo-hyeok stood up. Si-woo shouldn’t burrow into his neck again, so he’d better wash once more.

* * *

Standing in front of the mirror, Lee Si-woo wiped the foggy glass. Looking at his face with wet hair clinging to it, he lowered his gaze to look at the clothes. It was a basic white cotton t-shirt without any logo and beige cotton pants.

After washing, he opened the cabinet Han Soo-hyeok had mentioned and found neatly folded clothes. Along with unopened new underwear. As he put them on one by one, what he felt was that the texture against his skin was soft, and they fit his body perfectly.

Han Soo-hyeok lived alone. So that was why he had asked him to come into this house. Moreover, he was taller than Si-woo. But since there were clothes in his size, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was someone who came and went…

‘They weren’t worn.’

Especially the underwear left no room for doubt.

Knowing that they were all new clothes made his heart flutter a little.

Because he had strange thoughts by himself earlier…

It was thrilling that Soo-hyeok had prepared them for him, but it wasn’t entirely pleasant.

“I don’t know what meaning he prepared them with.”

They weren’t even in a relationship where they liked each other, yet Han Soo-hyeok was doing this much for him.

Lee Si-woo’s thoughts couldn’t flow neatly in one direction.

Unlike his unsettled mind, after washing he felt refreshed, and his stiff body had loosened up considerably. He came out of the bathroom and returned to the living room, but nobody was actually there.

“Hyung?”

He wondered if he should look for him, but his feet wouldn’t move readily since this was someone else’s house. Just then, Han Soo-hyeok emerged from the master bedroom. Like him, with wet hair. He had changed out of his knit sweater and was wearing a white t-shirt and cotton pants. Looking at his clothes, Si-woo unconsciously brushed his own t-shirt.

“Don’t tell me, are these couple shirts?”

At his question, Han Soo-hyeok’s gaze fell on the t-shirt.

“If you wear white t-shirts and jeans, are you all couples?”

“Ours are cotton pants though. And these clothes have the same wrinkles. The smell too…”

Should I say they look like clothes just bought and unwrapped from a store?

At Si-woo somewhat confident reaction, Han Soo-hyeok cleared his throat.

“I like the store smell.”

That smell was nothing compared to the scent he felt from Han Soo-hyeok…

“Come this way.”

When Han Soo-hyeok told him to come into the master bedroom, Lee Si-woo briefly wondered if he should follow, then moved his steps. It was a powder room connected to the master bedroom. Han Soo-hyeok held out a hair dryer.

“Dry it.”

“I’m fine. I’ll let it air dry.”

“I’m not fine with it.”

At Han Soo-hyeok’s firm voice, Lee Si-woo reluctantly took the hair dryer. He wondered if his wet hair bothered him that much, but he obediently complied for now. He pressed the hair dryer switch. Warm air came out, and the heat began drying his hair.

While drying his hair and looking in the mirror, his gaze suddenly went to Han Soo-hyeok. Han Soo-hyeok, who kept his eyes on Si-woo’s hair the whole time, also had wet hair just like him.

Si-woo looked completely unconcerned about the water droplets from his hair soaking his shoulders. Had he just roughly toweled it off once or twice and called it done? Even if he didn’t notice his clothes getting wet, it was dripping down his neck too…

“Do you want to dry yours too, hyung?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“It’ll dry on its own.”

Si-woo looked at Han Soo-hyeok with dumbfounded eyes. Then why did he tell him to dry his?

“Hyung, sit here.”

Lee Si-woo personally pulled out the chair that was tucked under the vanity and gestured to Han Soo-hyeok. Not stopping there, he grabbed the sleeve of Han Soo-hyeok, who had no intention of moving, and gently pulled him, and he obediently moved.

When he sat in the chair, Han Soo-hyeok’s eye level definitely lowered. Si-woo turned the hair dryer switch back on. This time he turned the outlet where warm air flowed toward Han Soo-hyeok.

With his right hand he held the hair dryer, and with his left hand he inserted it between Han Soo-hyeok’s wet hair strands, gently lifting them up so the air would hit evenly.

Han Soo-hyeok didn’t move, perhaps having noticed his moisture reflected in the mirror. As Si-woo was drying his hair like this, he could smell a familiar scent. It wasn’t from the shampoo or body wash he had smelled while washing earlier—it was a smell that only came from Han Soo-hyeok.

“Are you drying it because you’re my secretary?”

Lost in the scent, Si-woo belatedly understood what Han Soo-hyeok meant.

“If I were just a secretary, wouldn’t I have pretended not to notice?”

It didn’t seem like something a secretary and CEO would do.

“But about pheromones.”

Han Soo-hyeok’s expression reflected in the mirror changed subtly. It was a face that immediately understood what he was talking about.

“I thought you were going to bury your nose in my neck earlier.”

Even though Si-woo was the one who brought it up first, he was embarrassed when Han Soo-hyeok made a joke.

“It was really strong, is your cycle coming soon?”

Han Soo-hyeok’s lips moved slightly.