TWYW C14
by soapa—Where are you?
“……In front of the café.”
“Lee Gyeoul.”
Hearing Yuhyeon’s voice not from the phone but right in front of him, Gyeoul lifted his head to see him parked on the side of the road, looking at him through the open passenger-side window.
“Get in, quick.”
With Yuhyeon urging him to get in the car, Gyeoul just stood there staring at him, his feet feeling glued to the ground.
“Lee Gyeoul, let’s get in when I’m asking nicely. If I get out of the car, you won’t be getting in so easily.”
At Yuhyeon’s chilling voice, Gyeoul finally took a reluctant step and got into the passenger seat of his car.
“Do you need me to buckle your seatbelt for you too?”
Snapping to his senses at Yuhyeon’s words, Gyeoul pulled the seatbelt and buckled it, and the car started moving down the road.
“You’re obviously going to say you’re not going to the hospital.”
“……I’m not going.”
Gyeoul, who had thought Yuhyeon was just taking him home, glanced at him a few times as he drove in silence for a while, only to realize they had already passed by his neighborhood.
“……Where are we going?”
Yuhyeon didn’t answer Gyeoul’s question, simply staring ahead and steering the car. Before long, his car stopped in front of a luxury apartment complex. When Yuhyeon got out of the driver’s seat, Gyeoul naturally followed him. Gyeoul trailed behind Yuhyeon, who headed for the apartment entrance without a single glance back, and soon found himself standing in front of an elevator.
“Where is this?”
“Home.”
“Whose home?”
“Who else would it be but mine?”
As far as Gyeoul knew, Yuhyeon’s home was the large mansion where he went for tutoring.
“The house you go to for tutoring is my family’s main house. I live on my own.”
“Ah……”
Gyeoul nodded, got on the elevator with Yuhyeon naturally, and soon found himself standing behind him as he opened the door to his apartment. Intimidated by Yuhyeon’s colder-than-usual demeanor, Gyeoul couldn’t say a word and, at his nod to grab the doorknob and come inside, took a heavy step into the apartment. When he followed him into the living room, a wide view of the city skyline spread out through a large window. Gyeoul, who was momentarily captivated by the view, snapped out of it and looked back at Yuhyeon.
“Sunbae, why am I here?”
“I can’t ask you to take your clothes off outside, can I?”
“What?”
“What are you doing? Take it off.”
Gyeoul’s body tensed up in bewilderment at Yuhyeon, who was significantly taller, standing in front of him and looking down. Yuhyeon’s emotionless eyes were fixed on Gyeoul, as if he wouldn’t back down easily.
“Lee Gyeoul, how long are you going to just stand there?”
“……”
“Want me to take your clothes off for you?”
“W-why would I take my clothes off?”
Gyeoul couldn’t hide his reddened face at Yuhyeon’s bewildering request and ended up stuttering. At that, Yuhyeon let out a smirk.
“What are you thinking? You have to apply medicine, don’t you?”
When Gyeoul looked down, he saw a familiar tube of ointment in Yuhyeon’s hand.
“Don’t worry about……”
“The phrase ‘don’t worry about it’ is banned.”
Yuhyeon cut him off before Gyeoul could finish his sentence.
“However, if you’re planning on not seeing me again, you can go ahead and say it.”
“……”
Yuhyeon’s firm tone emphasized that he wasn’t joking. It felt like if he really gave that answer, he wouldn’t be able to see him again, just as Yuhyeon said.
“……I’ll apply the medicine myself.”
“How are you going to apply it to your back?”
Gyeoul’s back was also covered in wounds, but he hadn’t been able to apply medicine because his arms couldn’t reach those parts by himself.
“You do the front. I’ll just apply it to your back.”
“……”
“Sit.”
Yuhyeon gestured with his eyes toward the sofa in the living room. As Gyeoul awkwardly sat on the edge of the sofa, Yuhyeon sat down right next to him. When Gyeoul cautiously turned to show his back, he felt Yuhyeon’s hands lifting his T-shirt.
“How about you take off your T-shirt?”
“W-why?”
“You’ll get medicine all over it.”
“It’s fine……”
“You really don’t listen, do you?”
Yuhyeon chided as he started applying the ointment on Gyeoul’s back. Showing him the mottled bruises was embarrassing, and at the same time, the touch of his hand on his bare skin made Gyeoul’s heart pound as if it would explode. He had been so tense while Yuhyeon was applying the medicine that his shoulders felt stiff.
“There, now you apply it.”
Gyeoul took the ointment Yuhyeon handed him and stood up from the sofa. Just then, Yuhyeon grabbed Gyeoul’s wrist, stopping him.
“Where are you going?”
“……To apply the medicine.”
“You can do it here.”
“It’s easier to apply with a mirror……”
“Just be honest and say you’re embarrassed.”
Yuhyeon, with a smile on his lips, opened the bathroom door next to the living room for him. Gyeoul quickly went inside and closed the door. In the large mirror that filled one wall of the bathroom, he saw his own reflection with a beet-red face.
Fuck, how embarrassing.
Muttering a small curse, Gyeoul took off his T-shirt and started applying the medicine. Yuhyeon must have had questions after seeing the bruises. But as if he knew Gyeoul wouldn’t talk about it easily, Yuhyeon didn’t ask anything. He just hoped Yuhyeon would let it go without saying anything.
When Gyeoul came out of the bathroom after finishing applying the medicine, he saw the back of Yuhyeon cooking something at the stove in the kitchen.
“Sit.”
Yuhyeon, having heard Gyeoul’s presence, pointed to the dining table. Gyeoul approached the table and perched on a chair. Then, Yuhyeon placed a bowl of fried rice in front of him.