RB 65

When his shoulder was shaken again, Eunho’s eyelids opened slowly. His face, soft like rice cake, still looked intoxicated with sleep.

“What are you doing here? Go inside and sleep.”

“…Yes.”

At least he answered quickly. Eunho leaned on the sofa and stood, but he dazed for a long time before barely moving his feet in sluggish steps.

He had taken sleeping pills, so he was not in his right mind. He couldn’t walk straight, and his staggering steps looked dangerously unstable. From behind, he looked no different from a drunkard.

Eunho reached the bedroom and turned the knob. He stumbled inside and picked up the bed runner laid across the bed. Then he went to the wall’s side and lay down.

He used the soft carpet as a bed and the bed runner, meant only as decoration, as a blanket, which made him look exactly like a guest to someone else’s house. And as if this was not his first uncomfortable night, Eunho curled up with practiced ease and took a position that seemed comfortable to him.

Yeorok, who was leaning against the doorframe, witnessed the whole process and let out a baffled laugh.

“Why are you doing this?”

He stepped ahead slowly. Standing at Eunho’s feet, he gazed for a long while at the sleeping face.

Eunho’s white insteps peeked out from under the soft blanket-runner. His toes twitched constantly as if he was cold, and to Yeorok’s eyes that sight felt irritating.

“Sim Eunho.”

With his slippered foot, he tapped Eunho’s hunched back. Eunho curled his spine tighter like a mimosa that shrinks when touched.

“…Mmm.”

“Why are you sleeping here when the bed is right there?”

Eunho cracked his eyes slowly. His gaze, still clouded with drowsiness, was unfocused.

“The Chairman’s bed…”

“What about the bed?”

“I feel sorry to use it.”

Leaving that answer, Eunho rubbed his cheek against the arm he had been using as a pillow. Then he shut his eyelids, too lazy to reply further.

“Sorry for what?”

Yeorok furrowed his brow and asked again, but no reply came. Only the sound of soft breathing filled the air as if he had fallen deep asleep.

Yeorok let out a hollow sigh and pressed the furrow between his brows with his ring finger. He could not understand why Eunho, who had slept well in a good room at the annex, acted so self-conscious here.

Wasn’t this making him look like someone who locked Sim Eunho in a house to torment him? It felt no different from forcing sexual exploitation while not even providing food and shelter properly. Even though it was Eunho himself who refused despite being offered everything, the distraught feeling fell on Yeorok.

“……”

Sleeping curled up on the floor, leaving his luggage nested in a corner without even using a hanger, all of it irked Yeorok’s nerves.

Yeorok blew air from his lips hard enough to scatter his bangs and turned away. He went out, as he had intended, to drink water. While swallowing lukewarm water, he fell into thought.

Could this be some kind of protest? Yeorok narrowed his eyes and stared into the air. Then he slammed the empty cup down on the marble counter.

As if he had just made a decision, Yeorok went back into the bedroom.

‎

‎

When bright sunlight poured in, Eunho’s brow twitched. After sleeping soundly for the first time in a while, his whole body felt relaxed and languid. The warmth of the blanket felt so pleasant, and the heat wrapped around him gently.

Unaware, Eunho burrowed closer toward the warmth. Instead of soft bedding, however, his hand met a firm body.

What is this… he thought, his mind clouded by sleep. As his hand fumbled, Eunho felt something wrong and snapped his eyes open.

Right before him was the line of someone’s jaw. With his eyes blinking rapidly, the sight of a straight neck and throat filled his vision. Eunho knew a body with such shape. This was not a dream but reality.

“Huh!”

At his shout, Yeorok shifted his body. With his forearm covering his eyes, he mumbled.

“…Noisy.”

His bangs were tousled softly. He wore a plain white T-shirt and long pants. Anyone could see from his appearance that he had shared the bed, and Eunho’s shock did not subside.

“Wh-why is the Chairman… why?”

Too stunned to speak, he only muttered nonsense. Then he caught himself and stifled his breath.

Eunho tried to escape the bed no matter how. He moved sluggishly like a sloth so as not to cause the slightest stir, afraid Yeorok might wake.

“…Sim Eunho.”

Eunho froze. Only his eyes moved. Yeorok still lay there unmoving, covering his eyes.

“What time is it now?”

“Se… seven forty, sir.”

“Ha, not even two hours of sleep.”

Yeorok rubbed his face, then sat up slowly. Even as he sat, he pressed his forehead with his hands, it seemed shaking off sleep was hard.

It was the first time Eunho saw him in such state. He stared at Choi Yeorok as if he was seeing a rare sight. One leg dangled off the bed in an unfinished pose.

“So why did you scream in the morning?”

Yeorok tilted his head and asked. His gaze, piercing even as he looked at Eunho clearly ready to flee, was lax, and his voice remained thick with sleep.

“…I was startled because you were beside me.”

“Isn’t it natural to sleep in the bed?”

That was true… but Eunho wondered if he had presumptuously taken Yeorok’s bed. He had never done so before, but since he had been under the influence of pills, perhaps it was possible.

“Someone here seems not to know that obvious fact, don’t you think?”

Eunho, who had been scanning the bedroom restlessly, turned his head at the words thrown at him. By now Yeorok’s face showed no trace of sleep. Eunho swallowed hard.

“…Me?”

“Who else but you, Sim Eunho?”

Not knowing what to answer, Eunho rolled his head side to side. His eyes rolled along and collided with Yeorok’s. The gaze fixed on him was so fierce that he could not retort a word.

“…Well.”

Eunho shrank further and slid down until he sat beneath the bed. Like he was peeking over a wall, only his eyes stuck out.

Yeorok, dumbfounded, glared at the crown of Eunho’s head poking out.

“The floor feels comfortable.”

“……”

“The carpet is soft too, so it works fine.”

Eunho mumbled excuse after excuse. Yeorok leaned back, propping himself with one arm, and listened to see how far he would go.

“And the bed is where the Chairman sleeps, so I feel presumptuous lying there…”

“We share bodies, but you think we can’t share one bed?”

Eunho’s face flushed. His whole body crouched under the bed must have squirmed even more, and Yeorok didn’t need to see it to know. Deciding that further words were meaningless, Yeorok stood up.

“Suit yourself. I will wash first.”

Yeorok stepped into the en suite. When the door shut, Eunho finally lifted his knees.

While the sound of water came from inside, he hastily straightened the messy bed. Each time the blanket flapped, warmth and scent wafted into the air.

To think they had slept together, and in each other’s arms at that… Eunho pressed his heated face with his hands after dropping the blanket. His ears, left uncovered, burned red.

“…A waste.”

Sleeping was good, but because he had slept too deeper, he missed the rare experience. When would he ever sleep beside Choi Yeorok again? The regret was unspeakable.

It was nearing nine in the morning, but Yeorok still hadn’t left and stayed at home.

Fresh from the shower, Eunho stayed near him. Though his mouth stayed shut, he made it plain that he wanted to speak.

“Why do you act like a puppy that needs to relieve itself?”

Without turning his gaze, Yeorok spoke. Eunho edged closer and stood before the dining table.

“Chairman, are you not going to work?”

“I have leisure in the morning. I will go later.”

“Then what about breakfast?”

“Perhaps I will ask Secretary Hong.”

“May I prepare it for you?”

Yeorok’s eyes shifted sideways. His hands, set on the laptop keys, stopped as well.

“You know how to cook?”

“I have lunch boxes.”

“You mean to share them?”

Eunho nodded. His determined look made Yeorok let out a faint laugh.

“Then prepare it as you would for yourself. And coffee too, hot if you can.”

With that order, Eunho immediately turned toward the kitchen. His hurried steps clattered busily.

Meanwhile, Yeorok closed the laptop altogether and turned to the side. Resting his head on his hand, he observed Eunho’s every move.

Whether surveillance or mere watching, the constant gaze stuck to him, and Eunho soon became conscious of it, making each motion stiff. Though he opened the fridge, all his nerves were pulled backward.

The lunch box was only a single portion, too little for two men. The others he had stored for days might be spoiled, so he dared not serve them to Yeorok.

After thinking, Eunho took out the one meant for today’s breakfast and three eggs. He searched the cupboards for a clean plate, and from below the sink he dug out a frying pan and olive oil, setting them on the induction stove.

Preparations were complete, but at the start of cooking he faltered before the induction. It was a foreign make, with dozens of buttons. Operation looked overly complex.

Biting his lip in frustration, Eunho regretted not asking Seo Taehwa about it before. His time living here seemed wasted, for he knew too little about the household’s appliances.

He finally pushed the eggs aside and sought coffee. He found the capsules, but again he faltered, ignorant of the machine’s use.

While he stood still, a presence moved behind him.

“You don’t know how to brew coffee, and you don’t know how to turn on the induction. What have you been doing here?”

“…If I learn, I do well.”

“You only talk back well.”

Yeorok pressed the button on the coffee machine himself. While it heated, he lifted the cover and slid a capsule inside.

Eunho stood close and studied each of his motions. Like a model student, he absorbed every step.

“Fill the teapot with water.”

At times Yeorok ordered him. Quick and deft, Eunho carried out each task well. After one trial cup, Yeorok made him brew the second himself. With pale hands, awkward and careful, Eunho repeated the actions he had seen.

“Do you know how to use a toaster?”

“…No.”

So he had always eaten cold bread. Yeorok pressed his lips tight with words unsaid. Faced with such ignorance, he had no strength to scold.

He too was no cook, but he at least knew how to use his own household’s devices. Together they plated fruit and toasted bread, and set out a bit of butter and cream cheese. It was small in amount but it made a fair breakfast.

“Does coffee still not suit you?”

“No, it is fine now.”

Eunho deliberately drank a mouthful of black coffee. It was bitter but with practice he came to enjoy it. His palate seemed to be changing little by little.

“From now on, make it yourself.”

“…What if I break it?”

“It costs little. Even if you smash it, just use it.”