PHUW 83

‘Don’t tell me he fainted while eating the dosirak, or… worse, died?’

Was this the same fear parents of toddlers close in age felt when the house was suddenly too quiet? Even as he urged the already hard-pressing chauffeur to go faster, Jeong Mok contacted the resident security team. He ordered the guard who answered the call to go up at once. Before he hung up, the car had already pulled into the underground parking lot. Sensing his urgency, the sharp chauffeur parked and ran like a bullet, tapping his card key on the glass elevator room door.

“Are you going up right now?”

–Yes. I’m taking the stairs straight up.

The penthouse-only express elevator had already descended to the parking lot by the time the automatic glass door opened. As soon as Jeong Mok stepped inside, the chauffeur only bowed his head slightly and ran back to get the car ready. In the ten-odd seconds while the floor numbers changed rapidly, he heard through his phone the sound of the security team at the entrance using the emergency card key to get in.

–Mr. Ahn Haeri! We’re here on the Vice Chairman’s orders! Where are you?

The moment the guard shouted, Jeong Mok’s elevator arrived. He ran out, and another guard spotted him and held the front door open. He rushed inside without even taking his shoes off properly.

“Uagh!”

Someone screamed. Jeong Mok’s heart dropped. His vision turned white as he charged toward the living room. Why had that lunatic Choi Sangeon given them such a big place that you could even run indoors. Damn it.

“Haeri!”

Woof! Woof!

In the living room, he saw a security guard rolling on the floor near the sofa set. Above him loomed a massive beast, baring fearsome teeth and barking ferociously. It was Gom-i.

“Argh! V-Vice Chairman!”

The guard signaled to Jeong Mok for help. But the rescue came from the opposite direction.

“Gom-i! Sit!”

The master’s angry voice rang out.

“Gom-i! I said sit!”

When Haeri shouted again, Gom-i slowly backed away. But even then, standing on all fours, he still glared at the guard like he was about to kill him. Using Gom-i’s head as support, Ahn Haeri awkwardly pushed himself up.

“What on earth is all this noise so late at night? I was watching a thriller, and I thought it was a burglar. You scared me.”

He was the one who hadn’t answered and made him worry, yet now he had the gall to sound offended.

“You weren’t asleep, so why didn’t you answer the phone?”

“Phone?”

Ahn Haeri looked around quickly. Then he found his phone dropped by the sofa.

“Oh, you did call.”

“Yeah. You didn’t notice?”

“No. Until just now, Gom-i was lying here. That’s why.”

So the phone had been under the dog. Jeong Mok was speechless. Forcing his pounding heart to calm down with two deep breaths, he glanced at the two guards still watching him.

“Seems nothing’s wrong. You can leave.”

“Yes, sir.”

After the guards left, Jeong Mok started taking off his jacket and realized he was still wearing shoes. While he carried them to the entrance, Haeri resumed the paused movie. Seeing him focus on the TV as if nothing had happened left Jeong Mok at a loss.

“Is it that fun?”

“Not really. There’s just nothing else to watch.”

“Did you eat?”

“Yes.”

As he said, the empty dosirak containers were scattered messily on the table. Whether he was full of complaints or just tired, Jeong Mok couldn’t tell. The half-hearted send-off earlier, too, was it some kind of protest? Cleaning up wasn’t the issue. What bothered him was that this wasn’t like him.

“How do you feel?”

“I took the medicine, so I’m fine.”

“Good. Do you need anything else?”

“Yes.”

At last, Ahn Haeri turned his gaze to Jeong Mok. As expected, there was something he wanted.

“What is it?”

“I need to wash my hair.”

“What?”

“I washed it last night at the hospital and haven’t since.”

“Then wash it.”

“With this foot, how?”

He pointed precisely at the foot wrapped thick in bandages. At the hospital, he relied on a temporary caregiver or his nurse for bathing. Unlike before, physical contact had to be avoided now.

“I’ll call a hair designer for you tomorrow morning.”

“I want to wash it now. It smells and itches. I’ve been staying awake just because of my hair.”

With his short hair, missing one day wouldn’t normally be that uncomfortable, yet Ahn Haeri insisted he had to do it now. There was no choice but for Jeong Mok to help.

“Now, then.”

Ahn Haeri even stretched out both arms toward Jeong Mok. He said he didn’t want to walk, so he should carry him. So Jeong Mok tried to put him in the wheelchair.

“What’s the point of using the wheelchair when the bathroom’s so close. You can’t even use it inside anyway.”

“……”

Stopping midway, he carried him straight into the bathroom.

The common bathroom had never been used, so they had to use the one attached to the main bedroom. Past the vanity area, which doubled as a dressing room, was the bathroom. It was designed as a couple’s bathroom, with a large triangular bathtub and plenty of space. The tiles were slip-resistant, and the tub had a step inside for half-body bathing, making it good for sitting. When he set Ahn Haeri down inside, Haeri looked around.

“This is nice. I should use this from now on.”

“Yeah.”

Leaving his shirt, vest, and tie in the dressing room, Jeong Mok rolled up his sleeves and stepped in. By then, Haeri, sitting in the tub, was already completely naked.

“……Why did you take everything off?”

“Why, should I keep my clothes on while washing my hair?”

“But just taking off your shirt would’ve been enough. There’s no reason to take off your underwear.”

He couldn’t hide his bewilderment at the briefs lying outside the tub. Inside, Haeri’s thighs were laid open neatly, his smooth stomach and chest stretched out above them. The only saving grace was that his arms rested across his waist, covering the more private part.

“What if it gets wet? It’s uncomfortable if underwear gets soaked.”

The reply was cheerful as ever. It seemed Jeong Mok was the only one conscious of the nudity. He hadn’t been like this before. What on earth had happened while they were living apart? Or was this his true self? It was confusing.

“I’m sleepy. Hurry up and wash me so I can go to bed.”

Ahn Haeri leaned back against the step in the tub, the same posture as a shampoo chair at a hair salon.

His attitude made it clear he had no intention of lifting a finger. Something felt off. He seemed to be doing this deliberately, but Jeong Mok couldn’t figure out why.

Picking up the shower head, Jeong Mok knelt by the tub and wetted Haeri’s curly hair with warm water. His suit pants quickly soaked through, but he had no thought of taking them off. More than that, he struggled to ignore the bare skin before his eyes.

“Mmm.”

As his fingertips combed through the hair, letting water seep into the scalp, Ahn Haeri let out a low nasal sound.

Jeong Mok flinched. A forbidden impulse stretched awake inside him, sending a tingling echo through his whole body. His clenched jaw tightened even harder. He forced himself to ignore the stiffness growing between his legs and gently lathered shampoo into the soft hair.

The hair was so fine and smooth that bubbles foamed up easily, denser than what came from his own head, like touching cotton candy. As his ten fingers rubbed the scalp carefully, the one being shampooed looked pleased.

“Haa.”

With the bathroom filling with steam, a languid sigh slipped out, sounding indecent. Static jolted faintly at his fingertips working through the bubbles.

“Mm, it feels nice.”

Ahn Haeri spoke in a tone fit for an adult video. Then he nudged the inside of the tub with his good leg, lifted his arms from his lap, and rested them on the tub’s edge. At the same time, he lifted his back slightly and leaned further against the step. His throat bent in a reverse C-shape, the small Adam’s apple jutting out. His slightly parted lips lined up perfectly with Jeong Mok’s as he bent down focused on the shampoo.

It gave him a strange feeling. He lifted his head, and this time the view of Haeri’s relaxed chest entered his eyes, a pair of flesh also catching his gaze.

Because of his light complexion, the nipples were a deep pink, standing taut as if dissatisfied about something. Droplets clung to them like dewdrops on cherries. The sweet and sour stimulation made the root of his tongue tingle and saliva pool in his mouth.

‘Fuck.’

He cursed inwardly, then scratched the scalp too hard without meaning to.

“Ah!”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“If you don’t want to wash my hair, you could’ve just said so.”

Haeri looked up at him upside down, lips pouting.

“It’s not that. It was a mistake.”

“Really? I thought…”

“Rinsing now.”

Casting a glance at those chattering lips, he rinsed out the bubbles. After finishing with conditioner and reaching for a towel, Ahn Haeri grumbled.

“My back’s wet after all. It feels slippery, I need to rinse it.”

“You want the shower head?”

“Wait.”

Haeri shifted position and propped his bandaged leg on the edge of the tub. The movement spread his thighs apart, exposing his groin completely.

Jeong Mok quickly turned his head away. But reaching for a towel from the mirrored cabinet meant he had to straighten his tall frame, leaving the tub in full view from that angle. He twisted his neck, but still failed to avoid seeing it. The aroused organ, flushed a dark pink just like his nipples, was impossible to ignore.

‘Is there any part of him that isn’t indecent? What man looks like that…’

But it wasn’t the time to blame Haeri. Before becoming aware of it, Jeong Mok had touched the inside of his thighs without a second thought. His current discomfort was entirely because his own heart had changed.

“Towel.”

Jeong Mok handed the towel over with his body still turned away. But instead of taking it, Ahn Haeri pulled on his wrist.

“What?”

He forced his tone low and calm, pretending composure.

“Wash me.”

Haeri said it casually, as if he was asking for a glass of water.