Destruction — Chapter 26

He’d only said that to scare him a little, usually because the kid threw himself around carelessly. He hadn’t expected Saejin to tremble this much. He just wanted him to fix that reckless habit.

“Count before you pull them out, please.”

“If you say one more stupid thing, I’ll rip them out with my fingers.”

“How could you say something so cruel!”

Looked like he wasn’t getting his countdown. Sweat from his palms spread to his eyelids as he kept his eyes tightly closed. Trying to steady his breathing, he bit the inside of his cheek to brace himself for the pain. A cold object touched his skin. The scissor-shaped remover had finally reached his stomach.

When Woobeom squeezed the handle, the staple bent smoothly between the metal prongs. Instead of pain, Saejin felt a strangely refreshing release. Slowly opening his eyes, he looked down to see the tiny staple in Woobeom’s hand.

“What… did you just take one out?”

The removal didn’t even sting. He stared at the two tiny holes left in his skin, as if he needed visual proof.

“I told you it wouldn’t hurt.”

“It didn’t even sting.”

“Guess you heal well.”

Unable to admit he had exaggerated the pain earlier, Woobeom just told him to stay still and continued removing the rest. Soon, every staple was out, and the skin that had healed in a raised ridge between them was exposed. Since it hadn’t been treated at a hospital, it looked like a scar had formed. When Saejin reached out to press the new pink skin, Woobeom immediately stopped him.

“I can’t touch it yet?”

“Preferably not. You still need to disinfect for a few more days.”

He felt a sharp tingle as the gauze with antiseptic rubbed over the spots where the staples had been. But that was all. The faint sensation disappeared as soon as the gauze lifted. When he’d first been stabbed, he’d honestly thought he might die, yet now the wound had healed. All of it was thanks to Woobeom’s steady aftercare. Realizing that, Saejin quietly promised himself he’d remember every bit of first aid he’d received.

When Woobeom finished applying ointment and placing a bandage over the area, the removal was complete. As he pressed down carefully to make sure the bandage wouldn’t peel off, his gaze lingered on Saejin’s stomach. Maybe his body just didn’t put on weight, but even after days of eating instant food and lounging around, his belly had no fat at all.

Why is a guy’s skin this soft. The pale skin had no blemishes, no marks. He couldn’t look away from the sensitive surface that seemed like it would bruise under the faintest pressure. Without thinking, he pressed gently, and a tiny gasp slipped out from above.

“What, what are you doing.”

“…Nothing.”

Hearing the startled voice, Woobeom jerked his hand back and stepped away. Watching him with wide eyes, Saejin tugged down the shirt that had ridden up to his chest and slowly sat up. As he watched Woobeom leave the room, he noticed the back of the man’s neck was slightly red.

What the hell…

He was the one who had been flustered by that lingering touch, yet somehow Woobeom was the one more rattled. To cool his suddenly heated face, Saejin rubbed his warm cheeks over and over. Trying to shake off the embarrassment, he fanned himself nervously. Only once Woobeom’s silhouette disappeared completely did he finally release the breath he had been holding.

…I was seriously shocked.

The touch had felt nothing like treatment. If someone asked him to explain it, he wouldn’t know how, but it had been far too lingering and strangely intense.

* * *

After calming himself down, Saejin stepped into the living room and came face to face with a shirtless Woobeom. A towel hung around his neck, and he seemed to be warming up, probably about to start a workout.

“What are you planning to do?”

“Exercise.”

Of course. Nodding lightly, pretending not to stare, Saejin let his eyes wander over the muscles anyway. Then, gathering a bit more courage, he openly took a seat. His gaze stayed fixed on Woobeom’s bare torso.

“Why are you sitting here getting in the way instead of rolling around over there.”

Woobeom jerked his chin toward the sofa where Saejin spent five hours of every day lying down.

“I seriously know nothing about working out. Thought I’d take this chance to learn by watching. I’m supposed to start training in three weeks anyway.”

He tapped his own scrawny arm as if to emphasize the point. Then he sat comfortably, hugging his knees, fully intending to just spectate. After spending days lying on soft beds and sofas, sitting on the marble floor made his butt ache, but he only squirmed a little, afraid of being told to move.

Hearing him, Woobeom shook his head and finished stretching before getting into position for push-ups. He wasn’t a zoo animal, and he didn’t like being watched, but he figured the kid was probably bored out of his mind, so he let it go.

When he placed his hands shoulder-width apart, the years of trained motion showed in the way he moved. As he went from one push-up to two, then more, Saejin’s bright eyes followed him the entire time. What he thought would be casual watching turned into full spectator mode, mouth slightly open. At around forty steady reps, veins began rising over the pumped chest muscles. Maintaining perfect form should’ve been tiring, but the speed of his motions didn’t slow at all.

Does he not get tired?

Even without workout knowledge, Saejin knew that an average person’s arms would be shaking by now. But Woobeom didn’t look strained at all, wearing the same calm expression. When Woobeom lowered himself, Saejin’s head lowered too. When his arms straightened, Saejin’s head lifted. After watching for a long while, mischief sparked in Saejin’s eyes.

“What are you doing.”

Timing it perfectly as Woobeom pushed himself up, Saejin slid underneath him. Since he leaned in face-first, the first thing he saw when he looked straight up was Woobeom’s chest.

“How many can you do?”

It was clearly a loaded question. Woobeom tried to ignore him, but the persistent “Hmm? Hmm? How many can you do?” kept coming. Not answering would cause its own headache.

“Right now, eighty per set. Five sets.”

“So four hundred total? Well then…”

He recalled the physical fitness tests from high school. The average student could do around forty push-ups. The athletic ones went up to sixty. So maybe eighty wasn’t insane on its own, but in sets, it was a whole different story. Snickering, Saejin crawled a bit higher up, and from this new angle, he no longer saw the man’s chest but his throat.

Five sets is ridiculous.

How was anyone supposed to do four hundred of those. Saejin already knew Woobeom had unusual stamina, but this was hard to believe. His body weight alone was heavy enough that it should require even more strength, and it wasn’t like he’d spent all day resting. He had gone outside and caught fish. Push-ups after that? Four hundred? The number was hard to accept.

“Can you even do a hundred in one go?”

“…Ha.”

“Ah, never mind. You might hurt yourself.”

Pretending not to be provoking him, Saejin tried to wriggle out of the way, and Woobeom’s lips pulled up crookedly.

Look at this brat.

Woobeom lifted one hand from the floor and pressed it firmly against Saejin’s forehead. Flattened back onto the ground by that strength, Saejin cheered inwardly. He had to clench his teeth to stop himself from laughing.

“You’re really going to try? Go on then, show me.”

Saejin widened his eyes, determined to watch every moment.

“But if it gets hard, you have to say so, okay? Don’t crush me.”

Settled under Woobeom, he joked, saying that if the man fell on him, he might not be able to breathe. Woobeom was so dumbfounded by the kid’s bold attitude that he almost dropped the idea altogether, but that cheerful, smug grin poked at his pride. Even knowing it meant walking right into the provocation, he couldn’t ignore it.

Why am I even doing this.

Even though he agreed, he couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that he was being played by a kid.

“Do you really have to be right under me.”

“This is the best seat in the house.”

“…Fine.”

If he lowered his eyes just a little, he had a perfect view of those sharply defined chest muscles. Who would give up such a prime spot. Eyes bright and wide open, Saejin motioned for him to start.

Watching him like this made Saejin resemble an annoying cat getting in the way on purpose. Seeing how amused the kid was, Woobeom decided to humor him for once.

With each bend of his arms, the man’s chest moved up and down right in front of Saejin’s face. At first he watched with an “Oh… oh…” kind of awe, then suddenly felt like some pervert harassing someone who was just trying to work out, so he shut his mouth.

…Wait, is he seriously going to hit a hundred?

Saejin didn’t know, but doing a hundred push-ups was child’s play for Woobeom. During his active years, he’d done several times that. Eighty per set for five sets was nothing more than a warm-up. A light stretch, really.

There weren’t even any stakes to this little challenge, but sensing danger, Saejin started plotting ways to sabotage him. Watching for the moment when Woobeom’s arms straightened, he wriggled his way up again.

Now!

He had only planned to get his face close and fluster him. But in his rush to act before Woobeom noticed, he mistimed it and slid upward just as Woobeom bent his arms. The man’s face twisted in surprise. Because Saejin moved at the wrong moment, Woobeom had to twist his posture to avoid a collision.

“…Shit.”

He almost lost his balance and crushed the kid. He caught himself with his hands, but because his stance was half collapsed, he couldn’t stop their faces from nearly touching. Their noses brushed, breaths mixing. A bit lower and their lips would have met.

It was the kind of stunt that could’ve gotten them both hurt. He meant to scold him so something like this never happened again, but when he saw Saejin staring up at him, eyes wide like a startled rabbit, face bright red, all the words died in his throat.

“Hiccup.”

And then Saejin hiccuped.

“You’re seriously unbelievable…”

Pulling himself upright, Woobeom pushed his bangs back and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the towel.

Why the hell did he have to blush at that exact moment!

He could still feel the heat radiating from his own face. And seeing Woobeom’s furrowed brow made Saejin shrink a little. At this rate, things were definitely going to get awkward.

“Aigoya! I’m drunk, so drunk!”

In the end, Saejin let out a loud squeak, shot upright, and pretended to stumble. Keeping up his wobbly steps, he hurried into the room to hide, and a faint sigh followed behind him. His buzz had already worn off long ago, but he had no proper excuse to cover up what happened, so all he showed was embarrassment. Locking the door completely, he slid down and covered his face with both hands. He tried to breathe slowly and calm down, but it wasn’t working. Waving his arms frantically to erase the messy thoughts floating in his head only made the heat return.

Am I insane? Why did I blush right then…

There was no undoing it. Even though he knew that, he couldn’t settle his racing heart. Gripping his hair and groaning, he finally dove into the bed and kicked his feet under the blanket. He flailed like a fish for a long while before stopping only when the muscles in his abdomen throbbed.

“I can’t… I don’t know…”

Burying his face deep into the pillow, he whined pitifully. This was all Jung Woobeom’s fault.

Ugh… why’d he shove that handsome face so close to mine?

The fact that their lips had almost touched was what really drove him crazy. They had been so close that he could feel the hot breath, heated from exercise, spill onto his face. The sharp bridge of his nose and the slightly dry lips that filled his vision refused to fade from memory. He felt like his heart might actually burst. Trying to calm down, he exhaled slowly and knocked his fist lightly against his own head.

Do I… like him?

It didn’t make sense no matter how he thought about it. They’d only known each other for about a week, and the man was thirty-two and an ex-gangster. Not to mention, he was a man. A man he’d even seen stark naked, ridiculous size included, and now just thinking of him made his heart pound. The realization only confused him more. Sure, Woobeom had helped him through danger and stayed by his side, dependable and steady, but feelings like this weren’t easy to justify.

“No, no.”

Then a convincing idea popped into his head, and Saejin sat up suddenly, patting his chest as if relieved.

“God… that was close.”