FRWD Ch 6

“You two are banned from entering from now on. The stage too.”

“What? No, sir, wait a minute! Just because we had a little fight!”

“That’s right. And Haseong is also a member of our band, so are you going to fire him?”

Youngjun and Juwon chattered excitedly, but Hyeongseok didn’t respond any further, slamming the shop door shut and going inside. The biggest live club in this area, with a kind-hearted owner who mainly gives opportunities to newcomers. Losing such a stage was extremely fatal to a band that had been around for a little over a year and hadn’t made it big yet.

As the band leader, Woochan should have protested as well, but he moved his feet as if he had no regrets. His blood-stained hands were still trembling. The two, who had been banging on the tightly closed shop door and cursing, followed after him and clung to Woochan.

“Hey, what are we going to do? I know you don’t really like this place, but this is a huge loss.”

“Yeah. And what about Haseong? Why did you beat him to a pulp? He’s going to throw a fit and say he’s quitting now, isn’t he?”

“That’s what I’m saying! Agh…. Why did you have to hit him? You should have just calmed him down and gone to see Kim Jin-ho together.”

“Shut up. You guys get lost too.”

He had created the band for Haseong anyway. These two annoyingly clinging guys were nothing more than freeloaders. They were guys who were all about appearances and only using the band as a way to kill time. Woochan didn’t care at all because he knew they would just complain a bit if he told them the band was disbanding tomorrow.

They had known each other for a long time, but they were relationships he wouldn’t miss at all if they ended. What else would a gathering of trash be but a pile of trash? Woochan’s self-deprecating thoughts mingled with the cigarette smoke and dispersed in the air.

‘Cough! Ugh…, does it always make you cough like this?’

‘Yeah. It always does.’

‘It tastes weird….’

‘It gets tasty once you get used to it.’

He looked down at the hand holding the cigarette filter, and the blood of his younger brother, whom he had personally taught to smoke, was caked between the crevices of his ring. The traces of the fight naturally reminded him of Haseong, who had kicked away the piercing he had given him and disappeared somewhere with Go Yehan.

Woochan took off all his rings as if shaking off his thoughts and threw them away before entering the convenience store. As he picked up a bottle of water and placed it on the counter, the part-time worker flinched, quickly scanning his split lip, the small cuts and scratches from the glass shards, and his blood-stained hands. He seemed to be debating whether or not to call the police.

Woochan snatched the water, quickly left, and washed his hands. But no matter how much he rubbed his wet hands, the dried bloodstains wouldn’t come off easily. He chewed on his lip as he rubbed his skin as if he were peeling it off.

Why did I do that? I didn’t need to hit him that hard….

‘You’re just doing this because you don’t want to see me doing well!’

“Fuck….”

Woochan didn’t know when his cute and pitiful younger brother had transformed into an object of both love and hate. Where was the starting point?

Was it when Haseong, after being discharged from the military, introduced him to a girlfriend he had met somewhere? Was it when Haseong was the only one who received attention even though they stood on the same stage? Or was it when he suddenly played a song he said he wrote one day, which too clearly revealed the difference in talent between him and Haseong?

He wasn’t sure, but he was certain that the reason everything was twisted like this all boiled down to Go Yehan. The annoying alpha bastard who appeared one day had completely captivated Haseong, soaking him with pheromones as if he were his omega, and tempting him with irresistible opportunities.

“Fucking bastard…. That slutty bastard….”

Woochan muttered insults that wouldn’t reach their target like a madman and scratched the back of his hand with his nails as if self-harming.

At the same time, this thought crossed his mind. What if, as Haseong said, Go Yehan had subtly suggested to him alone to meet Kim Jin-ho?

Then.

If that had happened….

No. It was all a pointless hypothesis now. It’s unfair. Woochan desperately suppressed the ugly truth that suddenly surfaced. The dried bloodstains peeled off layer by layer along with the reddened skin. Just then, a notification rang from the cell phone he had put in his pocket. It had to be Haseong.

Woochan grinned like a lunatic after checking the name on the screen. His younger brother, who had been foolishly innocent and especially vulnerable to human affection since childhood, was clumsy at cutting ties first. Even if the other person cut him off first for an absurd reason, he was the type to blame himself rather than resent them.

Haseong always had problems in relationships because he wouldn’t listen. He wouldn’t listen when he told him not to get attached to his stepsister, who they briefly lived with before separating; he wouldn’t listen when he told him to break up with his girlfriend, who obviously only asked him out because of his seemingly impressive appearance as an indie band bassist; and he wouldn’t listen when he told him to cut ties with his pathetic mother.

It was always Haseong who suffered the consequences of being stubborn and not listening. So, it would be the same this time.

He would soon regret not cutting ties with that Go Yehan bastard and berate himself for being stupid. Since it was obvious Go Yehan would dump Haseong first when he got tired of him, all he had to do was wait.

Even if he just apologized for what happened today, that fool would apologize along with him and pretend it never happened. Even after being beaten to a pulp, he would be foolishly forgiving. See, the message he just received is definitely….

[Yoon Haseong: I’m leaving the band]

[Yoon Haseong: Sorry for breaking my promise]

[Yoon Haseong: I hope you all do well]

After checking the messages, Woochan ran to Haseong’s house, forgetting to even breathe. He didn’t get out of breath even as he jumped three steps at a time up the stairs leading to the rooftop apartment. The inside of the house, visible through the opaque window on the iron door, was dark. He grabbed the door and shook it as if to break it, but there was no response.

Woochan, whose rationality had long since flown away, eventually picked the lock with the key he found hidden under the perilla plant pot and went inside. Perhaps he hadn’t returned yet, as only the clothes Haseong had taken off in the morning were lying in the room. He squatted down by the entrance and anxiously kept calling.

However, Haseong never answered, and he didn’t return until dawn.

Rubbing his gritty eyelids, he checked the time, and it was already 10 a.m. He was about to touch the screen to call again when a call from an unknown number filled the screen. Thinking it might be Haseong, he hurriedly accepted the call, and a man chuckled lowly from the other end of the line.

—Woochan?

Even though only his name was called, he knew immediately who it was. It was because of the unpleasant feeling, as if every single nerve was being pricked with a needle. Since there was no longer any need to maintain even the slightest courtesy, there was nothing more to hold back. Woochan growled menacingly.

“Fuck, where’s Yoon Haseong?”

—I’ll get straight to the point. Let’s have a meal together sometime. Also, to apologize for the last incident.

“Fuck off, you fucking bastard. Answer me. Where’s Yoon Haseong!”

—He’s at my house. He’s sleeping right now. But Haseong is cute even when he’s sleeping. He curls up like a shrimp when he sleeps.

Should I wake him up and put him on the phone? Oh, no. Haseong told me he didn’t want to be contacted anymore, right?

Woochan’s ears didn’t register the words that continued cheerfully, as if joking with a friend. The fact that he accurately mentioned Haseong’s sleeping habit of gathering the blankets and curling up with his back rounded, even in midsummer, meant it probably wasn’t a lie that Haseong was at his house.

…On the night he announced he was cutting ties with him, Haseong was at Go Yehan’s house. He must have been staying at Go Yehan’s penthouse, not in this shabby rooftop room, being comforted by those hypocritical whispers. And not answering his calls.

It’s unfair.

He no longer felt the need to control the emotions that suddenly welled up again.

Haseong’s talent was unfair. It was unfair that he was a heterosexual with beta traits. It was unfair that he didn’t even glance at him, who had been with him for fifteen years, but easily fell for Go Yehan and associated with him without hesitation. Thus, the opportunities given to Haseong, and the very existence of the man who gave him those opportunities, Go Yehan, were all unfair.

Why Yoon Haseong.

Why only Yoon Haseong.

Woochan unknowingly started banging his head against the wall. As if receiving a sudden revelation, Yehan’s words flowed into Woochan.

—Come to the restaurant I tell you. You’ll regret it if you don’t.

“…….”

—You never know. I might make a better offer to Woochan than the one I made to Haseong.

The call ended abruptly with a short message saying the appointment time was 12 o’clock and he would send the restaurant address again by text. Woochan stared blankly at the darkened screen for a while before abruptly getting up.

He used Haseong’s bathroom to wash up and put on some of Haseong’s clothes instead of his own blood-soaked ones from the fistfight. The restaurant was a bit far from the subway station, so he had to transfer to a bus and barely made it on time.

“You came?”

Go Yehan was sitting alone, sipping wine.

Haseong was nowhere to be seen in the spacious room. Woochan looked around the room for a while, then sat in the chair the staff pulled out for him, pushing aside the feeling he couldn’t tell was disappointment or relief. He didn’t forget to discreetly move his hand under the table and turn on his phone’s recording function.

“What do you want to eat? The steak here is delicious.”

“…Anything.”

He couldn’t bring himself to use honorifics. Even though he responded in a vaguely short tone, cutting off the ends of his sentences, Go Yehan didn’t seem to mind. He chuckled as he poured wine only into his own glass.

“You’re not looking for Haseong?”

“…….”

“Right. One should be this cunning. Haseong is too….”

Go Yehan swirled his wine glass and slowly lowered his eyes, devoid of any warmth.

Yoon Haseong should have seen that expression just now. If he had, his protests like ‘He’s a kind older brother,’ or ‘Don’t speak ill of him’ would have completely disappeared. A sense of both regret and relief flickered in Woochan’s mind.

The list of Go Yehan’s bed partners, which he had glimpsed sometime ago, clearly reflected his preferences. Men, not omegas. It was information that hadn’t been easily forgotten, as it was an unusual preference for an alpha, and he was also homosexual.

That’s because it was rare to find an alpha who refused omegas, and most preferred heterosexual omegas over homosexual ones.

In other words, Yehan’s preference was an extremely rare case. That extremely rare preference coincidentally overlapped with Woochan’s. That’s why he thought Yehan was just playing with Haseong, but he had been inwardly worried. Could he be serious about Haseong?

But all his doubts were washed away the moment he saw the expression Yehan had just shown. As expected, he intends to play with him and throw him away. Just as he thought. He felt relieved that his prediction had been correct. When it was time to get down to business.

“You see, I think being able to shamelessly seize an opportunity when it’s presented is also an important ability.”

At the serious tone that finally seemed to indicate the start of the main topic, Woochan’s hand tightened around his phone. It’s recording properly, right? He carefully rotated the bottom of his phone, where the microphone was located, towards the outside of the table.

“So, what kind of offer…”

Woochan stopped mid-sentence and corrected the end of his sentence, which he had been about to cut short as usual. It felt strangely humiliating.

“…Are you going to…”

“Before that, let’s clear things up first.”

The annoyingly smug smile in front of him melted away, and at the same time, his vision swirled. He felt nauseous, as if he were dunking his head in a bathtub filled with perfume and holding his breath.

Woochan tumbled out of his chair and started retching, clutching his throbbing stomach.

“Ugh…!”

Yehan’s pheromones, which filled the room, caused a migraine as if his brain was being churned. The pain was on a different level compared to the slight nausea he felt whenever he smelled the pheromones on Haseong.

He tried to cover it with his own pheromones, but it was no use. It was fortunate that he hadn’t eaten anything since last night, so even though he retched, there was nothing to throw up. Woochan gasped, barely managing to vomit only stomach acid.

“It’s a good thing it’s before the meal, right?”

“Ugh! Cough, ugh….”

As his body collapsed, the phone he was holding also fell limply to the floor. The red circular button of the recording app on the screen, which hadn’t turned off, shone brightly. Seeing that, Yehan twisted his lips as if amused and stepped towards Woochan.

“I told you back then.”

Hard dress shoes mercilessly pressed down on the back of his right hand. The force that ground down between the cracked bones had a clear intention. To cripple his right hand. The moment he read that malice, an undigested scream erupted from Woochan’s mouth.

“…Argh!”

“You need to fix your bad habit of raising your hands. Right?”

The more the dress shoes dug in, the more Woochan’s hand gripping the floor trembled. He knew rationally that he had to relax his hand if he didn’t want to become crippled. But his churning stomach, the pain from his crushed hand, and fear instinctively tensed his whole body.

Woochan struggled to look up at the owner of the shoe crushing the back of his hand. The man was smiling with chillingly indifferent eyes.

“It’s troublesome to damage the kid’s face like that…. Why didn’t you listen?”

It was the tone of voice used to scold a five-year-old who spilled a glass of water.

This bastard is crazy. The realization hit Woochan like a ton of bricks, and his forehead became damp with cold sweat. He reached out his trembling left arm and fumbled on the floor for his dropped phone. The recording was still going, so if he called the police….

“Ah, the recording.”

His pathetic attempt ended with his left hand, which was just about to reach the phone, being kicked away by a dress shoe. Yehan bent down and picked up the phone instead, stopped the recording, and played the recorded file from the beginning.

Woochan shuddered as he listened to the vividly recorded conversation, starting with nothing special and ending with his retching and screaming. Yehan’s gentle voice, mixed with his own pained moans, created a chilling dissonance.

“Why didn’t you teach Haseong things like this? What did he see growing up to make him so naive?”

The man laughed after listening to the disharmony. Woochan held his breath and quietly writhed. Regret that he had messed with the wrong person washed over him like a tidal wave.

“I want to hit him when I see his face, but then I get annoyed when I see him acting like that. Has he been like that since he was young?”

With the question, the cell phone screen that fell before him shattered. The notification that the file had been deleted flickered beyond the broken screen, and then the white line across the screen lit up. Woochan was devastated, having lost both the recording file and his phone, which had been his last resort.

“Well, he still has some cuteness…. Right, he’s definitely cute. Even though it wasn’t his first kiss, he was panting blankly….”

“You, bastard…, what does that….”

Woochan’s throat trembled at the words that readily admitted he had already touched Haseong. A scoff, as if in ridicule, was heard above his head.

“You came rushing here to seize the opportunity instead of your brother, but you can’t stand to see who touches him first?”

“…….”

“What can you do, I already did. You shouldn’t have hit him in the first place.”

Perhaps it was because he had been hit right where it hurt. His stomach, which had somewhat adapted to Yehan’s pheromones, churned again. If only he could throw up properly, his stomach would feel better, but only painful dry heaves repeated. Woochan simply curled up, unable to do anything but listen to Yehan’s words.

“I’m doing all this because of Haseong’s face, and thanks to you, that face looks like a completely swollen steamed bun now. How are you going to compensate for this?”

Go Yehan laughed heartily, tapping his cheek as if he was enjoying something.

“Oh, but there’s one thing I’m grateful for. I hated the sight of those piercings, but thanks to you, he took them all out.”

As he said that, he slightly released the pressure from the foot that was crushing the back of his hand as if expressing sincere gratitude. Even that felt insane, and Woochan was even more terrified.

“Thank you. If that idiot hadn’t been beaten up by you, he would have stubbornly insisted he couldn’t quit the band…. Hmm, now that I say it, there are two things I’m grateful for. You know, trash like Woochan can be useful once in a while.”

Only after seeing Woochan sprawled on the floor like a dead fish, with his limbs limp, did Yehan completely remove his foot. He kindly bent his knees, sat down, and extended a hand to Woochan.

Woochan, pale with fear at Yehan’s incomprehensible behavior, avoided the offered hand. The moment he did, his hand, which had just been crushed, was forcibly grabbed by the chin, and his body was half-forced to stand up by a grip that felt like it would break his back.

The pheromones that had filled the room were also gone. Woochan realized then that the story about having difficulty controlling pheromones because he couldn’t take suppressants was a complete lie.

But he had gone through too much to snap back and taunt him like before. He chose to quietly shut up, standing at attention like someone being punished.

“Anyway, that’s why I called you, Woochan.”

“What….”

“You want to be famous, right? You want to make a lot of money too.”

Yehan continued speaking as he wiped the hand he had extended to Woochan with a wet wipe.

“You’d want to do better than your younger brother, whom you’ve known since childhood. Whether it’s to gain a sense of pride or to become a successful older brother so you can continue to monopolize him.”

Woochan clenched his bruised right hand at Yehan’s words, which accurately pinpointed his inner thoughts as if he had used telepathy. A rectangular business card was pushed towards his tightly clasped hands.

“I’ll help you.”

As if urging him to swallow his pride and take it while it was offered, the sharp edge of the business card pricked the back of his hand. Woochan’s eyes widened as he looked at the card he had taken. The neatly printed paper contained the name and personal contact information of the casting director of a renowned idol agency.

The corners of Yehan’s eyes softened as he took in Woochan’s reaction.

“You know they’re planning an idol band here, right?”

Yehan gestured at the business card and then scanned Woochan from head to toe with an appraising look.

“You’ll have to go through trainee life, but…. Hmm, your age is a bit of a problem. Still, I’ll put in a good word for you.”

“So, you’re saying… you’ll get me in? Here?”

Woochan asked back, half in disbelief. He had rushed over at the mere mention of an opportunity, but could he trust this crazy bastard? Just a while ago, his hand was almost crushed, and he almost lost the ability to play guitar again….

“It’s up to you after you get in. I mean, I’ll pave the way for you until then.”

“…Why me?”

When he expressed the natural doubt, an unexpected answer came from Yehan.

“I don’t dislike people like Woochan.”

“…….”

So, he threatened to cripple the hand of someone he didn’t dislike, made him vomit by forcing pheromones on him, and even mocked him by bringing up Haseong?

Is this bastard kidding me? Unlike before, he couldn’t openly express his twisted feelings, but it seemed to show in his reticence. Yehan tilted his head for a moment, and then, as if he had figured it out, he curled his lips into a wide smile.

“I was a little angry earlier because you wouldn’t listen. The thing I hate the most is violent trash. You shouldn’t have raised your hand so vulgarly.”

“…….”

“Don’t take it if you don’t want to. Then I can just make the offer to Haseong.”

Woochan bit his lip at the mention of Haseong’s name.

“Haseong will do well. He’s handsome, he’ll be good to his fans, and above all, he’s talented.”

If he didn’t take it now, this opportunity would go entirely to Haseong. That was too unfair. This was an opportunity he had obtained after being called here and enduring all kinds of humiliation. Woochan wasn’t foolish enough to kick it away just because it hurt his pride.

Knowing that the moment he refused, this opportunity would go to Haseong, who hadn’t paid any price, it was unthinkable to back down now.

Hadn’t he come running like a dog at the mere mention of an offer? Then he had to take at least something. He couldn’t let someone else benefit after enduring such humiliation. Even if that ‘someone else’ was Haseong.

No, especially because it’s Haseong.

Woochan decided to admit it. It was true that he had harbored feelings for his pitiful younger brother, who had believed his world would end if even he abandoned him, that went beyond simple affection. But the burgeoning feelings of inferiority had entwined themselves with love and eventually killed the host. It had been that way for a long time.

Haseong had abandoned him first, and he wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. They were even. There was no turning back.

Yes, there’s no turning back.

“…I guarantee you, he can’t survive the entertainment industry with that personality.”

Yehan slowly nodded at Woochan, who was panting with impatience.

“I think so too. That’s why I’m making the offer to Woochan first.”

“…What are the conditions?”

“I trust you’ll know. You’re smart.”

“…….”

“It’s not like I’m going to eat Haseong up…. Ah, in a way, is that right? Anyway.”

Go Yehan laughed, offering a glass of swirling crimson wine.

“So, what will you do?”

Woochan didn’t refuse it.

Yehan folded the remaining business card he had given Woochan into the shape of an airplane. His head throbbed slightly due to the lack of proper sleep last night.

He had taken Haseong, who insisted he was fine, to the emergency room in the early morning, but they were told that stitching his ear there might leave a scar because it was a different department, so he immediately brought him back out. Meanwhile, that idiot blankly muttered, “I don’t really mind,” making him even more frustrated.

After searching around, he found a 24-hour plastic surgery clinic and had Haseong treated. When he offered to take him home, Haseong refused and headed to an unexpected place.

He adamantly refused even though it was quite a distance from the hospital to his house, so Yehan watched to see where he was going, and Haseong went down to the basement of the building directly opposite. Yehan, who had remained in the car, immediately honked the horn, stopped Haseong, and questioned him.

And the answer he got was even more ridiculous.

‘I’m going to sleep at the sauna tonight. If Woochan sees that I sent a message saying I’m quitting the band, he’ll definitely come to my house….’

‘…Haseong, you’ll get reported to the police if you go to a sauna at this hour looking like that.’

‘If I explain that I got beaten up, it’ll be fine….’

‘Should I report it to the police? Just get in the car, quickly.’

It was 5 a.m. when he forced Haseong into the passenger seat and brought him home. He watched Haseong stubbornly fall asleep on the living room sofa, saying it was too much trouble even though he was told to sleep in the bed. When he checked the time, it was already 6 a.m.

He couldn’t fall asleep, perhaps because he missed his usual sleeping time, or perhaps because he had been so frustrated all day.

He wasn’t disappointed, as he would have to take sleeping pills and sleep until he was sick of it if he couldn’t persuade and wear down Haseong before his rut anyway. If he wanted to, he could find someone to take him instead of Haseong during his rut, but somehow he didn’t feel like it this time.

Ever since he met Haseong, most appearances didn’t satisfy him. If only he had found someone who satisfied him, he would have thrown them away immediately. More than anything, whenever he felt like he was getting tired of someone, Haseong would act so foolishly, as if timed perfectly, that he couldn’t take his eyes off him in many ways.

‘His foolish acts are always unexpected.’

He had anticipated the conflict arising from meeting Kim Jin-ho. That’s why he deliberately dropped the bomb when all the band members were gathered. But he didn’t expect Woochan to have his face beaten to a pulp while he was briefly away.

The feeling he had when he saw Haseong muttering with his bruised face that he shouldn’t come near him because he looked ugly now…. He barely managed to restrain himself from throwing him down and having sex with him right there. He was cute and pitiful enough that Yehan managed to suppress his surging desire with a kiss.

‘I… I don’t know why you’re being so kind to me. It’s hard to understand just because you’re a fan….’

Yes, the reason he had stayed up all night taking Haseong to two different hospitals, being so kind that even that idiot was suspicious, could be explained that way.

Because he felt sorry for him. It was similar to not being able to ignore a dog abandoned in a box on a rainy day. He rationalized it that way, even though he had never actually picked up such a dog or taken any interest in them. The reason he felt annoyed when Haseong asked why he was being so nice to him was probably because he was bothered by the pointless questioning. When he thought about it that way, everything made sense.

Yehan stopped his troublesome thoughts and briefly explained last night’s events to Hyeongseok. After hearing about what happened last night, Hyeongseok muttered after a subtle silence.

“…That kid, he’s either really stubborn or just too nice….”

“He’s stupid.”

“Still, it’s rare to find a kid like that these days. So, you should be nice to him. He’s pitiful….”

“Do I look like I’m not being nice to him?”

He’s telling him to be nicer even after hearing about last night’s show? Yehan scoffed openly. He would have to marry Haseong to be any nicer.

“No. You’re being too nice, it looks like you’re deliberately trying to seduce him. What I’m saying is, when you end it….”

“I haven’t even started yet, what are you talking about ending it.”

He wasn’t innocent enough to consider a mere kiss a start. He had just opened the floodgates. Yehan dismissed Hyeongseok’s hypocritical concern and began, “Ah.”

“I won’t be seeing those band guys anymore.”

“Huh? What did you do again?”

“I got their leader in as a trainee. They’ll probably disband soon.”

“An idol? Well, Woochan, he’s got a decent face, but… why him? You should have made Haseong an idol.”

“Haseong can’t. It’s obvious he’ll be completely devoured, how can I send him to a place like that?”

“What kind of place is it?”

Yehan flicked the business card he had folded into an airplane towards Hyeongseok. The sharp tip poked Hyeongseok in the philtrum before fluttering down. Hyeongseok frowned as he unfolded the card.

“…Isn’t this place famous for bad rumors?”

“That’s right.”

It was a large agency, but it was also notorious in the industry for the large number of trainees who rotted away without debuting. They were also infamous for their malicious practices of dangling false hopes in front of trainees and then putting them in secret drinking parties or cheap web dramas instead of letting them go.

Trainees caught in this trap often missed their chance to return to normal life and ended up in the entertainment industry, clinging to the illusion of being a celebrity before drifting into the sex industry.

Hyeongseok groaned, returning the business card after a lighthearted affirmation.

“…You knew that and still got him in?”

“If he’s talented, he’ll debut, and if not, then so be it. Isn’t that right?”

“It’s not just ‘so be it’….”

“Who cares.”

He had just removed an obstacle. Since he had achieved his goal, there was no value in caring anymore. Yehan replied indifferently and flicked the business card, folded back into an airplane, into the trash can.

💜

Haseong opened his swollen eyes, checked the time on his phone, and bolted upright. 3 p.m. It was the first time he had slept this late. He took a step to rush to the practice room and was surprised again. The feel of the flooring under his feet was different than usual.

Come to think of it, around this time, his rooftop room should be like a blazing furnace, dripping with sweat even if he just lay still. But the indoor temperature was incredibly pleasant. Moreover, the soft feeling against his buttocks was unfamiliar to Haseong, who usually slept on a thin mattress on the floor.

“Ah….”

Only after he opened his eyes slightly and looked around the room did he remember last night. Fighting with Woochan, leaving the band, being half-forced to Go Yehan’s house after the hospital. Haseong pressed his hands against the sofa he was lying on and calmed his racing heart, startled by the thought that he was late.

He didn’t have to go to the practice room anymore. He didn’t have to feel suffocated while watching his busy older brothers enjoying themselves, he didn’t have to be scolded by Woochan, and he didn’t have to split the rent that he felt so bad about paying….

‘It all ended yesterday.’

He let out a deep sigh, whether from relief or regret, he couldn’t tell. But he didn’t regret it. He just felt like what was coming had come. He was even a little afraid that leaving the band might have been a dream.

Fortunately, just looking at Woochan’s name filling up his call log confirmed it wasn’t a dream. There were 23 missed calls, and countless texts and messages until he had switched his phone to automatically block him.

Haseong cleared all his missed notifications and left the group chats on his messenger. He didn’t want to weaken his resolve by seeing them. Knowing his own foolish tendencies, he decided to be firm. While he was at it, he also deleted the messages from his other older brothers.

After deleting all the past conversations, there were hardly any chat rooms left. Except for advertisements and part-time job group chats, they were all gone.

‘I really have no friends….’

He had a few classmates in high school, so how did it end up like this? Was it because he suddenly enlisted in the military while his friends were going to college?

At first, his friends sent him letters and called, but at some point, they gradually stopped contacting him. And by the time he was discharged, his friends had enlisted. As their paths diverged, they naturally lost contact.

It would be nice to have a drink with someone and talk about what had happened, but there was no one to do that with. Haseong felt uneasy as he realized how small his social circle was.

The electronic beep of the door lock unlocking and the sound of the doorknob turning came from outside. Only then did Haseong realize that there had been no sign of the presumed homeowner until now. He caught a glimpse of his reflection in the broken screen and was horrified.

‘…What is this.’

His reflection was indescribably awful. His eyes were so swollen that they were barely open to a third of their normal size, and the bandages wrapped around his ears looked like two round dumplings stuck to them.

Moreover, his eyes and cheekbones were bruised, his lips were swollen as if stung by a bee…. In any case, he didn’t look human. If his lips were okay, he would at least look somewhat presentable, but why were they like this?

Haseong sighed, examining his lips, and then remembered the reason, slapping his forehead.

Come to think of it, he had kissed someone, right? …Go Yehan.

He belatedly remembered the strange homework he had been given to think about why he hadn’t disliked it. And also to think about why Yehan was being so nice to him. He had completely forgotten because he had been to two hospitals in the early morning, had been given anesthesia, had his ear stitched up, taken painkillers, and then fallen asleep as if passing out.

“Haseong, are you awake?”

While Haseong was lost in thought, a familiar voice came from the entrance as the door opened, seemingly without a care in the world. Haseong quickly covered his face and shouted.

“W-wait a minute!”

He couldn’t face Yehan looking like this. He had to at least wash up, but the house was so big that he didn’t even know where the bathroom was.

He remembered vaguely washing up in the bathroom Yehan had kindly shown him in the early morning and changing into the clothes he had been lent. But he had been sleepy and under the influence of medication, so his memory was fragmented. He couldn’t just open doors in someone else’s house…. In fact, he felt too awkward even to step on the floor barefoot and hadn’t been able to get off the sofa.

Should he just keep his face covered? He seriously considered it, looking at the beige blanket that hadn’t been there when he fell asleep but was covering him when he woke up.

“How long have you been awake?”

Even though the distance from the entrance to the living room was considerable, Yehan crossed it in an instant with his long strides. Haseong hurriedly raised the blanket to cover his lower face. Even in his haste, he noticed that Yehan wasn’t in his usual casual clothes but was wearing a suit.

Did he go somewhere nice? Haseong suppressed his idle curiosity and mumbled.

“Just now….”

“Is that so? Good timing. Have some porridge.”

“…Thank you.”

Since he was holding the blanket, he had to take the shopping bag Yehan handed him with one hand. The savory smell of porridge and the salty smell of braised beef wafted from the heavy shopping bag. The smell made his stomach rumble, as he had barely eaten anything all day.

But to eat, he had to show his mouth, and his lips….

“…….”

“What’s wrong?”

He glanced at Yehan, hoping he might leave, but Yehan dashed his hopes by plopping down right next to him on the sofa. Well, it was his house, so it was shameless of Haseong to expect him to leave for his comfort.

“Nothing….”

“Why are you mumbling with your mouth covered by a blanket?”

Yehan asked as he took the shopping bag back and unpacked its contents on the coffee table. Haseong forced his swollen lips to move clearly.

“My face is really swollen.”

“I already saw it in the morning.”

“Ah, uh, wait!”

With a mischievous grin, Yehan suddenly reached out and snatched the blanket away. Haseong desperately clung to the corner of the blanket, but he couldn’t win against Yehan’s strength. He froze for a moment as he tumbled into Yehan’s arms along with the blanket after their pointless tug-of-war.

“Let me see. How swollen is it….”

Yehan also froze as he held Haseong tightly in his arms, preventing him from escaping, and lifted his face.

“…….”

Yehan stared at Haseong’s lips and ran his hand over his chin in disbelief. Embarrassed by the touch, Haseong cleared his throat and broke the silence first.

“…I told you my face is swollen.”

“…That’s strange. It wasn’t this bad when I left.”

“Maybe it got more swollen after I woke up….”

He wasn’t usually prone to swelling unless he ate ramen before bed, but it was the only plausible excuse he could come up with. He couldn’t possibly say, ‘I think it’s completely swollen because I kissed someone with my injured lips yesterday.’

He hadn’t yet figured out the answer Yehan had asked for, and he wasn’t brazen enough to bring up the kiss first. Even when he kissed his ex-girlfriend, he would just awkwardly laugh, often being scolded for not being more passionate. So, how could he be any different after his first kiss with a man?

Why didn’t he dislike it? Why?

Even though he had been swept away by the atmosphere, the reason he hadn’t disliked kissing another man for the first time was…. Haseong forced himself to stop thinking. He was sure something terrible would happen if he admitted it. Not just terrible, but earth-shattering.

Haseong lowered his gaze and began to gather the blanket again. The more he thought about the kiss, the more his bruised eyes and cheekbones throbbed. He finally managed to snatch the blanket back and was about to wriggle out of Yehan’s embrace when his chin was pulled.

“Can you open your mouth?”

“Huh? Why…?”

Is this guy going to do it again?

Yehan had the magical ability to do anything smoothly before the other person could even realize something was strange. Haseong bristled, recalling last night’s kiss that flowed from ear to mouth, then to chin, like water.

When he tightly closed his jaw and showed his wariness, Yehan clicked his tongue as if worried.

“The inside is all torn up. What if it’s infected?”

“Ah.”

“Haseong, you just had a strange thought, didn’t you?”

“…….”

Haseong’s conscience was pricked by the words, as he had treated Yehan like a scoundrel in his delusional thoughts. This kind older brother who remembered and cared about every single injury inside his mouth….

“Did it swell up like this because of the kiss yesterday?”

…What is this person….

He couldn’t help but feel annoyed by the finger poking the center of his lower lip, which was so swollen that it looked like he had gotten fillers. The playful tone of his voice was also annoying.

Haseong stubbornly avoided the finger and lowered his head to hide his lips. Then, the persistent finger that had been pressing on his lips moved stealthily to his cheek, jawline, and nape, and then began to openly caress the border between his jaw and neck.

“If I tease you any longer, your face will explode. I’ll stop.”

He felt his insides burning up, so he wondered if Yehan felt like he was holding a hot pack. Yehan’s chuckling voice seemed to transfer to the skin where his hand touched, so Haseong twisted his body and escaped from his embrace.

Fortunately, Yehan stopped teasing him and readily removed his hand. He opened the plastic lid of the porridge container and stirred the steaming contents with a spoon. Haseong easily guessed that he was cooling the porridge down for him, considering the sores inside his mouth.

Why is he really doing this? Why is he being so nice to me?

“…Hyung, the… answer….”

Yehan’s words, telling him to think about the reason why he hadn’t disliked the kiss and why he thought Yehan was being so kind to him, lingered in his mind. The displeasure that had flashed across Yehan’s perfectly sculpted face as he asked the question also lingered.

That’s why Haseong couldn’t give the answer that had suddenly come to mind, even though he had one. It was because he knew firsthand how unrealistic the answer was. But every time Yehan treated him like he was dipped in honey, he would momentarily forget his place.

That can’t be.

Even just for a brief moment, judging by the expression Yehan had shown last night…. Yes, that can’t be.

Haseong was several times more adept than others at reading people’s displeased or uncomfortable tones and expressions. It wasn’t a skill he cultivated intentionally, but one he had acquired during his adolescence, constantly observing the expressions of his stepfathers, who were never affectionate towards him.

Anyway, if the answer that had come to mind was correct, Yehan would never have made that expression. He was sure of that. Besides, he had to find the answer to why he hadn’t disliked the kiss as well. An answer other than this fluttering feeling in his chest.

He needed time for that. Time to sufficiently understand this person, who seemed impossible to read. Time to find a suitable name for this emotion within a reasonable range that he could understand, without causing any major changes in his daily life.

“Answer? What answer?”

“What you told me to think about yesterday. That kiss…, anyway, when’s the deadline?”

“…Are you asking me when you have to give me the answer?”

“Yes.”

He hoped the deadline was far off. He nodded, expressing that wish, and Yehan’s expression became strange. He covered his mouth with his hand, his eyebrows lowered, as if he was holding back laughter or looking at something incredibly pathetic….

Meanwhile, his fingers, tapping his lips like playing a piano, were long and beautiful. His hands were so large that they covered more than half of his face even though he was just lightly touching his chin. Or was it that his face was small? Haseong stared at Yehan and concluded it was both.

Perhaps sensing his obvious gaze, Yehan lowered his hand and smiled brightly.

“Well. I guess the deadline is when Haseong figures out the answer.”

He gave the vague answer and handed him a disposable spoon after removing the plastic wrap.

“You said it was unfair, but you were thinking about it, weren’t you?”

“You told me to.”

“So, have you figured out the answer?”

“…No.”

“Take your time. I’m not in a hurry.”

Snap. Yehan broke the wooden chopsticks apart and placed some braised beef on the spoon. Haseong ate the cooled porridge and tried to ignore the emotions that were creeping up again.

As long as he didn’t acknowledge it in his mind, the emotions that weren’t given space would drift in his small brain for a while and then be swept away and disappear.

Just like always.

“Ugh….”

He winced at the stinging pain as the antiseptic seeped into his stitched wounds. Haseong clenched his hand holding the tweezers and pressed a cotton ball repeatedly against the wounds. Blood still seeped into the antiseptic-soaked cotton.

After managing to replace the bandages on both ears with lighter gauze, Haseong crumpled up the trash and looked at himself in the mirror.

Thankfully, he no longer looked like he had two dumplings stuck to his ears, now that the bandages were replaced with gauze. Thanks to washing his face with cold water, the swelling had also gone down a bit. His lips were still puffy, but considering he had been spitting out bloody water while brushing and rinsing, they weren’t as swollen as they could have been, given the injury.

Haseong flipped up his upper lip and thickly applied ointment to the inside. The cause of his swollen lips was the tear inside his lip from hitting his front teeth. After treating the inside of his mouth, he applied ointment to his cut lip, eyes, and cheekbones before leaving the bathroom.

“You did it all by yourself?”

“Yes, more or less.”

Yehan asked, stopping flipping through what looked like a script while lying on the sofa. He seemed to have changed into comfortable loungewear while Haseong was washing up. Even though he was lying down in sweatpants and a t-shirt with his face turned away, there wasn’t a single flaw to be found.

Haseong glanced at the top Yehan was wearing and then looked at the neckline of the top he had borrowed. They seemed to be the same clothes in terms of color and design, but while Yehan’s clothes fit him perfectly, accentuating his physique and enhancing his appearance, Haseong looked like he was wearing his dad’s hiking clothes.

“…….”

What was this feeling of injustice? Even though he wasn’t particularly thin, he felt a surge of annoyance. As he stood awkwardly, shrugging his shoulders because the loose fit felt strange, Yehan gestured for him to sit down next to him.

Haseong shuffled over, clutching the waistband of his pants, which kept sliding down. Yehan chuckled, as if finding it amusing.

“I need to feed you better.”

“I’m eating well enough now.”

“Lies. Last time I saw you eat meat, you looked like you’d been starving for three days.”

“That’s… because I like meat.”

Haseong, embarrassed by the memory of the company dinner, nibbled on his cheek and sat at Yehan’s feet. Whether he often lounged on the sofa like this or not, his posture, lying down with the blanket he had used and a cushion as a pillow, seemed natural.

The coffee table was again cluttered with the coffee cup he had put aside while eating porridge, his glasses case, phone, pen and highlighter, book, cigarettes and lighter, ashtray, and so on. The objects, brimming with a sense of daily life, were strangely fascinating.

Unlike his elegant impression, which exuded sophistication, Yehan himself seemed to prefer comfortable clothes. His usual attire, as well as the loose-fitting tracksuit he was wearing now, contrasted with Haseong’s preconception that he would be wearing matching silk pajamas at home. The fact that he had gone out and returned in a suit for a lunch appointment was the unusual sight.

It was also unexpected that he wasn’t reviewing something with a sophisticated posture while sipping coffee at his desk in the study, but was sprawled on the living room sofa, flipping through a script as if rushing through overdue homework.

“Then should we grill some meat for dinner?”

Yehan asked, taking off his glasses after silently skimming through the script for a while. The script he was holding flew onto the coffee table at the same time. Haseong’s eyes, which had followed the thick stack of paper, moved towards the window.

One entire wall was a window, offering a panoramic view of the sky like a landscape painting. The edges of the sun were gradually turning crimson beyond the still-bright sky. In other seasons, it would have been well past sunset.

He checked his watch, feeling a strange sense of time, and realized he had been lounging at Yehan’s house for quite a while after waking up. Haseong waved his hands and jumped to his feet.

“Oh, no. Thank you, but I think I should go home now. You should rest comfortably, hyung. I’m really sorry that you haven’t been able to rest since yesterday because of me….”

“Does Haseong practice rap separately, too?”

“…….”

“So diligent…. Is there anything you can’t do?”

Yehan chuckled and pulled Haseong closer by his wrist. He untied and loosened the knot holding up Haseong’s baggy pants and glanced at him.

“Are you going home in those clothes? I’m not taking you. What if your pants fall down on the way?”

Haseong hesitated, clutching his waistband. Yehan had said his clothes were sent to the cleaners because they were stained with blood, and judging by his teasing tone, he wasn’t going to lend him any other clothes. He had refused because he didn’t want to bother Yehan any further, but he was flustered by his playful behavior.

“Just stay here until your stitches are removed.”

Yehan muttered, neatly tying the ribbon knot again. Haseong was startled by the unexpectedly generous offer.

“Th-thank you for the offer, but…. Wouldn’t it be more comfortable for both of us if I went home?”

“Are you uncomfortable being with me?”

He barely managed to stop himself from nodding vigorously. He always felt a subtle tension and swallowed nervously when he was alone with Yehan, and it was even worse after yesterday’s kiss.

However, if he answered honestly, Yehan would surely put on a hurt expression. That look of his, with long eyelashes lowered and downcast eyes staring quietly at him. Every time Yehan made that face, Haseong felt an indescribable sense of guilt and indebtedness, as if he were the worst kind of trash.

“It’s not that at all, it’s just that, we both have our own homes, and I’ve been indebted to you too much….”

“Why do you keep taking my help as a debt? You have a way of making people feel bad, Haseong.”

Yehan finally made that expression. This time, he even verbally expressed his hurt feelings. His disheartened, gentle voice was directed at the flustered Haseong.

“You said Woochan might come looking for you. I’m worried, so if you act so burdened, I’ll get hurt too.”

Hurt…. That could be true. From the day they first met until now, Yehan had consistently shown him kindness and support. Simply because he had become a fan.

But as the recipient of that kindness, he had always been startled and questioned why Yehan was doing these things for him, so from Yehan’s perspective, his attitude wouldn’t have been very welcome.

It would be better to be a bit shameless and just accept it with a grateful smile. It made sense that Yehan used the word “hurt” because he had accepted everything while showing his discomfort.

And as Yehan worried, if he went home, he would definitely face Woochan again. Woochan wasn’t the type to stay put even if he knew his calls were blocked. It was better to hide for a while until his anger subsided and he found another bassist and completely forgot about Haseong.

Besides, although it was a bit awkward and uncomfortable, he didn’t dislike being with Yehan. A difficult but kind person. This was the consistent impression he received from Go Yehan. In the end, Haseong, whose heart leaned towards Yehan’s suggestion, cautiously asked,

“…Are you really sure it’s okay?”

“Of course. We can stop by your place and get your clothes and necessities on our way to buy meat.”

He focused on Yehan’s face, which had brightened up as if he had never been gloomy, and when he came to his senses, he was in a moving car. Perhaps he had remembered the address from driving him there once, but Yehan parked the car in the alley near his rooftop apartment without even turning on the navigation.

“Should I wait here in the car like last time? You don’t have much luggage, do you?”

“Not that much…. I’ll just grab some clothes and my laptop.”

“Okay. Then pack up and come down.”

The setting sun appeared bigger and bigger as he walked up the alley. Woochan used to complain every time he came, asking why Haseong lived in a place that felt like a hiking trail, but Haseong didn’t dislike this path with its unobstructed view of the sky. However, regardless of that, it was true that this road was difficult to navigate in midsummer and midwinter.

In the summer, even a short walk up and down would make him sweat profusely, and in the winter, the fallen snow would freeze solid, turning into a death sled if he misstepped. The slope was so steep and the road so narrow that large cars like Yehan’s couldn’t even come up.

By the time he reached the top of the hill, enjoying the sunset, beads of sweat had formed on his forehead. Haseong caught his breath, looking at the steep stairs of the three-story building that appeared before him, accessible only after climbing the mountain-like path.

He kicked a dead moth carcass under the railing and climbed the stairs. By the time he reached the rooftop, the sweat that had formed was trickling down his back. A perilla plant pot greeted him welcomingly.

‘I won’t be able to take it with me. It should be fine for about a week.’

Haseong touched the leaves, which seemed a bit bigger than last time, and watered the plant. There were no typhoon warnings for a while, and although the rainy season was over, the erratic weather often brought rain, so it seemed like it would be okay. Having reassured himself, Haseong fumbled under the pot for the key.

“What?”

The key, which should have been under the pot, was nowhere to be found. He searched all around the platform, thinking it might have blown away, but a sense of foreboding washed over him when he couldn’t find it. Haseong grabbed the doorknob with a sinking heart. His hand went limp as the doorknob turned smoothly without any resistance.

“Ha….”

The moment he stepped inside, Haseong’s premonition was confirmed, and he recoiled. Clothes pulled from the closet were scattered messily on the floor, and Woochan’s clothes from yesterday lay in front of the lit bathroom.

Did he pick the lock, break in, steal his clothes, and run away? …Why?

He could guess why Woochan had broken in, but he couldn’t understand why he had taken his clothes after leaving his own. That mystery instilled an even greater fear in him. The goosebumps made the sweat he had just shed feel cold.

“…Hyung, are you there?”

He called out loudly, but there was no answer. Haseong tiptoed towards the lit bathroom, leaving the front door wide open. He flung open the creaking, half-open door as if conducting a surprise inspection.

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, there was nothing there except for the dripping faucet, whose lever hadn’t been completely closed.

‘It’s not like he’s paying the water bill.’

Haseong muttered Woochan’s name under his breath as he firmly closed the lever. Anyway, judging by the running water, he must have used the bathroom… but really, why?

His doubts doubled as he picked up Woochan’s blood-splattered clothes and stuffed them into a plastic bag. Did he break in, steal his clothes, and leave the water running just to spite him because he wasn’t there? If so, he should have taken his own clothes too, it wasn’t like a barter, this was strange.

Haseong was pondering the reason for Woochan’s bizarre behavior when he suddenly came to his senses. This wasn’t the time for this, he had to pack up and leave quickly. Now that he had seen with his own eyes that Woochan had already come to his house once, he couldn’t waste any more time.

He shuddered, remembering that Yehan’s concern about Woochan possibly showing up had become a reality. Haseong frantically stuffed his scattered clothes, underwear, socks, and toothbrush into his bag and packed his laptop separately. He thought about taking his bass and amp as well, but he decided against it because they were too bulky, and he wasn’t going to put on a one-man show at Yehan’s house.

Instead, he carefully put his usual four-string bass and fretless bass into their cases and left them with the landlady who lived downstairs. He was afraid that Woochan, who had barged into his house again, might take his basses. He shamelessly asked her to change the front door lock and water his perilla plant before coming down.

“Gasp….”

Haseong hurried down the alley as if he was being chased. Was it because he hadn’t imagined that Woochan would break into his empty house? Fear and disgust beyond disappointment crept in. Haseong shoved Woochan’s clothes into a clothing donation bin as if destroying evidence and ran to Yehan’s car.

He climbed into the passenger seat, panting, placed his packed bags at his feet, and fastened his seatbelt. Perhaps because he had run down the sloped alley, or perhaps because of the goosebumps, he was sweating even more than when he went up.

Yehan, who had opened the window and was smoking a cigarette, crushed it out before he had even taken a few puffs and turned on the air conditioner. After turning the vents towards the passenger seat, he handed Haseong a wet wipe with a puzzled look.

“What’s wrong?”

“Woochan hyung seems to have come to my house.”

Haseong quietly took the wet wipe and wiped his damp hands. He was still out of breath, but his heaving chest gradually calmed down as the car moved further away from his house.

Even after hearing that Woochan had broken into his empty house, Yehan didn’t seem surprised, instead narrowing his eyes.

“…Is that so? How did you know?”

“The clothes hyung was wearing that day were at my house…. But really, why did he leave them there? It’s unsettling….”

“Ah.”

When Haseong grumbled, unable to understand even after thinking about it several times, Yehan let out a long groan like a sigh.

“I don’t think you need to worry about it. Didn’t you say you blocked his number anyway?”

“Yes. And all the other hyungs too.”

“He’ll give up after a while. If he keeps it up, he’s a psychopath.”

His lighthearted assertion was laced with confidence. However, Haseong was skeptical. Of course, in a normal situation, Yehan’s words would be correct. There would be a limit to how long someone could keep causing trouble at a person’s house when they couldn’t even contact them.

But he had known Woochan longer than Yehan. Woochan wasn’t a psychopath, but he had always been very sensitive when it came to things that might put him at a disadvantage.

This time, it would fall under the category of disadvantage since a hard-to-find bassist had arbitrarily quit, affecting the band’s activities. Moreover, they had a huge fight right before the band was about to break up.

…I hope they find a new bassist soon. Preferably someone who plays better than me….

Since he couldn’t stay at Yehan’s house forever, he had no choice but to pray that Woochan’s anger would subside quickly.

He hoped they would quickly find a bassist who played better than him, wasn’t greedy for songwriting, had a docile personality, and a face good enough to be the visual of the band. Wishing for it felt like cursing them with a hopeless task, but he meant it.

Yehan patted Haseong’s cheek as he wished for the well-being of the band he had left.

“What’s there to worry about? You’ll be staying with me for a while.”

“…….”

“The security at my house is very tight. Don’t worry.”

Yehan smiled brightly. It was a reassuring smile, the kind you would see in a premium apartment complex advertisement. Haseong recalled the apartment lobby he had seen while coming and going and was certain that Yehan’s words weren’t an exaggeration.

First, there were automatic doors at the lobby on the first floor and at the entrance to the parking lot, which only opened with a visitor card or after an intercom call. Security personnel from a professional security company were stationed in the lobby 24/7 to verify the identity of anyone who entered through the intercom, and there were even fences and iron gates separating the complex from the park.

Moreover, Yehan’s house had a private elevator that only stopped on his floor. It was like a hotel. The elevator doors only opened and closed with a card key, and inside, there were only buttons for the top floor, the first floor, and the basement.

Just a few hours ago, when he was leaving the house, he was puzzled because the elevator doors wouldn’t close even after he pressed the floor button and waited, as there was no close button. Yehan chuckled and closed the door with his card key.

Haseong hesitated, fiddling with the card key Yehan had lent him.

“Um, hyung.”

To lend him a card key so he could come and go freely, even though he was practically a freeloader. It clearly showed how much Yehan trusted and cared for him.

But since he had decided to stop asking why Yehan was doing so much for him, Haseong tried to find a way to repay him instead.

“Thank you so much. Is there anything I can do for you in return for staying here?”

“Do you really need to repay me to feel at ease?”

“Yes.”

Anything simple would do. Since he was staying at Yehan’s house, he would feel more comfortable if he could at least do some chores.

Although he couldn’t cook…. He hadn’t really cleaned properly before, since cleaning his tiny room just involved a quick sweep with a mini vacuum cleaner…. As for laundry… he couldn’t even put a handkerchief in the washing machine without tearing it, let alone touch someone else’s clothes.

…Chores were out of the question. He didn’t want to wreck anything in someone else’s perfectly good house. After a quick self-reflection, Haseong nervously focused on Yehan’s lips.

He hoped Yehan would ask him to do something other than chores. He was confident in running errands, as he had done it before. Or maybe carrying rice bags or water bottles while grocery shopping.

Finally, Yehan’s well-shaped lips, which had been tightly closed as if in thought, curved into an elegant smile.

“Then how about just a week’s rent? Haseong, can you look up how much the monthly rent is for my house?”

Rent? It looked expensive at a glance. But if it’s just for a week, would he be able to afford it with this month’s salary? Haseong tilted his head and obediently typed the name of Yehan’s apartment complex into the search bar.

The moment he saw the search results, his eyes nearly popped out, and he blinked frantically. The top floor didn’t even show up in the online listings. He managed to find a monthly rental listing for the 12th floor of the next building, but even that was astronomical.

Forget covering it with a month’s salary, it would take him roughly two years of just breathing to save up enough for one month’s rent. Of course, Yehan had said he would only take a week’s worth, but even if he divided this amount by four weeks….

“S-seven hundred….”

He was even more breathless than when he had just gotten into the car. He didn’t even have two hundred thousand won on hand, let alone seven hundred. Yehan’s following words further darkened Haseong’s already dim outlook.

“Oh, is that all? It’s cheaper than I thought. I’ll make it five weeks’ worth, just for you.”

What kind of wealth allowed someone to call seven hundred cheap? It was more expensive than the deposit for his rooftop room…. And that was just a fraction of the monthly rent.

Even if he took advantage of Yehan’s misunderstanding and offered to pay only 1.4 million won, he didn’t think Yehan would bother checking. But he couldn’t do that in good conscience. Haseong swallowed hard and corrected him.

“The monthly rent is three thousand, so divided by four, it’s roughly seven hundred….”

“Phew….”

Yehan’s hands on the steering wheel trembled. He was hunched over awkwardly, covering his mouth with his left hand, his shoulders shaking as if he was trying to suppress his laughter.

He finally burst into laughter when the traffic light turned red. He had always smiled gently, but it was the first time Haseong had seen him laugh out loud like this.

“Where did the fifty go?”

“…I-it’s an approximation.”

He was teased for dropping the 50 from 750. But he was going to be charged for five weeks anyway… wouldn’t that be 600? Now that he didn’t have band expenses, maybe he could save up that much if he lived frugally for half a year.

“Okay. Roughly seven hundred. No, six hundred. Can you give me that?”

“If you give me half a year, uh!”

Before he could even answer, his left hand was suddenly caught, and a pair of lips pressed against the back of it. As if that wasn’t enough, Yehan nibbled on the skin beneath his neatly trimmed nails and then let go of his hand as if nothing had happened when the traffic light changed.

“I’ll consider this as receiving the rent.”

He grinned as if amused, and it didn’t look bad on him. Rather, Haseong was glad that Yehan was laughing at his words. Even though he realized he was being teased again, it felt different from being teased by Woochan and his other older brothers. Was it because his smile was handsome? …Why should he care about another man’s handsome face?

Ever since the day they kissed, the level of physical contact had increased noticeably, like now, when Yehan kissed him without asking. It was a situation he should have refused…. A warning signal went off in Haseong’s head.

He had a bad feeling that the alarm would get louder and louder, no matter how much he tried to bury it.

Yehan cleaned out the room he used as a study and laid out a futon for him. A large desk and bookshelves occupied most of the space, but the remaining area was still larger than his own room.

After he neatly organized his belongings in the empty spaces on the bookshelves, the room felt quite cozy and comfortable, perhaps because of the dark wallpaper.

However, despite having several such nice rooms, Yehan always lounged on the living room sofa. There were a few things Haseong had learned while staying there for a few days, and one of them was that Yehan was lazier than he appeared.

He didn’t leave the house at all on days without a schedule. Haseong would wake up a little past 9 a.m., heat up the instant rice Yehan had stocked up, eat breakfast, and jog around the park right in front of the house. Only then would Yehan emerge from his room, yawning languidly.

“Did you go jogging? You smell good.”

“It’s sweat.”

“Yes… I like it.”

He would mumble something in his sleepy voice and then go wash up. Of course, that was the only time he showed his disheveled appearance. By the time Haseong finished washing up in a different bathroom, Yehan would be sitting there with a clean face, drinking coffee and reading a book. Sometimes, he would be eating a salad.

All of this took place while he was either sitting or lying on the sofa.

If Haseong heated up a lunchbox and brought it to him, concerned that he was eating too little, Yehan would smile kindly and thank him, but he would still eat it on the coffee table.

It was a lifestyle that Haseong couldn’t understand, wondering how he maintained his physique. There was a room full of exercise equipment, but he hadn’t actually seen Yehan use it yet.

“Come here.”

If Haseong just stared blankly at him with puzzled eyes, Yehan would, without fail, pat the armrest of the sofa and call him over as if calling a puppy. Then, Haseong would wordlessly take his laptop and go sit where he was told. At Yehan’s feet if he was lying down, next to him if he was sitting.

He knew there was something wrong with him obediently going and sitting there. But since Yehan’s large frame took up most of the sofa, there wasn’t really anywhere else to sit, so Haseong had no choice.

He also felt bad about shutting himself up in the study while staying at the same house. Thanks to Hyeongseok’s consideration, telling him not to come to work until he was fully recovered, Haseong didn’t have to go out either.

While he was struggling to compose music with just the mouse and keyboard, not having brought his instruments, Yehan would come close and stroke his hair.

“You’re going to play this for Jin-ho when you see him, right?”

“Yes.”

He had arranged to have dinner with Kim Jin-ho after the stitches in his ear were removed and the bruises had faded. He originally wanted to meet him sooner, but he couldn’t make a first impression with a bruised face.

He was planning to decide on the assistant job after meeting him, but at Kim Jin-ho’s request to hear his work beforehand, Haseong had been busy for the past few days.

Still, it was a comfort that he didn’t have much time to think about the band or Woochan and the other members thanks to being busy. He knew he would have regretted and dwelled on that day, thinking about what he could have done differently, if he had free time, so he was inwardly grateful for Kim Jin-ho’s request.