F31

Seong Junyoung left Yeonho alone, collapsed and asleep after taking sleeping pills. Normally, he didn’t bother Yeonho when he was asleep, there was nothing fun about it.

Over the years, Junyoung had encouraged Yeonho to take sleeping pills and steadily increased the dosage. As a family member, he had stayed by Yeonho’s side for a long time, meticulously observing and analyzing his behavior patterns. Eventually, he figured out the exact dosage that would trigger abnormal behavior as a side effect. Even though he was planning to pursue a career entirely unrelated to his major, he still liked to think of himself as a man of science.

Because Yeonho had been suffering from insomnia for years, getting him addicted to sleeping pills had been no challenge at all. Junyoung could easily get the medication through his friends, and now Yeonho had reached the point of begging for more.

Just around the time Junyoung expected Yeonho to wake up, Yeonho suddenly opened his eyes wide and groggily sat up. Even when he couldn’t remember anything, he had a habit of reaching for his phone first. Junyoung had always found it a hassle how Yeonho, half out of his mind, would obsessively take photos of everything like someone desperate to leave behind evidence. That’s why he always made sure to take the phone away first.

“I have to go now. I’ll be late. He’ll be waiting.”

Muttering to himself, Yeonho tried to leave the room, but Junyoung stopped him and dragged him back inside.

“Where do you think you’re going? Going to jump off the rooftop again? Yeonho-ah, do you know how many times I’ve saved your life?”

It was a bit ironic, since he was the one causing the side effects and also the one saving him. But either way, Junyoung truly had pulled Yeonho back from the brink many times, so he believed he deserved to be called a savior. And whenever he said those words, Yeonho would go calm like magic. At his core, he was such a gentle person.

Junyoung pulled Yeonho close and pressed their lips together. Yeonho wouldn’t remember this moment. He would forget everything.

He couldn’t leave any marks on Yeonho’s body that would give him a clue, but light and thrilling games like a kiss were still fair play. If Junyoung said something like “Repay me for saving your life,” Yeonho, like a fool, would just stand there and let it happen.

This was the only way to touch Joo Yeonho’s body, a body completely closed off to love and sex.

“Good. That’s it. That’s my good little brother.”

***

Siwoo opened the door to Room 315 without hesitation using the master key. The moment their appointment time passed, he had no reason to wait any longer. He’d even given Yeonho an extra twenty minutes out of consideration.

The moment he stepped inside, he saw Yeonho in Seong Junyoung’s arms, his head moving in front of Junyoung’s face. Siwoo had been imagining far worse for the past two hours, but seeing it with his own eyes was on another level entirely.

It took Siwoo less than five seconds to yank Yeonho away from Junyoung and kick Junyoung in the groin. Standing face to face with Yeonho, who blinked up at him blankly, Siwoo raised his hand high into the air. Startled, Yeonho instinctively closed his eyes, cringing in fear, his hands pitifully gathered near his chest.

“Why are you scared? I’m not going to hit you.”

Sighing deeply, Siwoo shifted his body and struck down with his hand. His palm smacked hard against Junyoung’s head just as he was stumbling to his feet, knocking him down again.

Caught in the act, lips still on Yeonho’s, Junyoung panicked. He didn’t even dare raise his voice, terrified that if he shouted or caused a scene, Yeonho might fully regain his senses. All he could do was mutter miserably.

“What the fuck, why the hell are you here?”

“Because I slept with Joo Yeonho, and we were going to sleep together again tonight. We had plans.”

“What?”

Junyoung froze, completely stunned that Yeonho had actually wanted to have sex with someone. But Siwoo didn’t stop talking.

“What? Sharing the same body makes you feel dirty? If you wanted me to endure something disgusting and wait, then you should’ve honored your time with me.”

Siwoo’s expression remained unchanged, his voice calm and even. Junyoung couldn’t do anything. He was too afraid that Yeonho would snap out of it at any moment.

Blinking blankly, Yeonho reached out and slowly grasped Siwoo’s hand without even understanding what he was saying.

“I’m sorry. I’m late, aren’t I?”

“Oh, so you do know you should be sorry? Then why are you doing this here?”

“Let’s talk. All night. I’ve been waiting for that time.”

“Forget it. I guess I was stupid to expect anything from you. I thought maybe your words and actions had at least some sincerity. But all I see is lust.”

“Not one moment in the last two days was insincere.”

“Sorry I ruined your fun. Let’s just say it’s all my fault.”

With a polite bow, Siwoo turned to look at Junyoung, still collapsed from the kick to his groin. He didn’t apologize to him.

“Go to the police if you want. I gave you my card. Call me if you need money for treatment. If you want to press charges, go ahead.”

“You think I’ll let you off? I’m going to ruin your life.”

“Worry about your own. It’ll be a hundred times easier for me to ruin yours.”

Siwoo scoffed. He knew he wasn’t really in a position to blame Junyoung, but he didn’t care. The guy had tried to claim both the roles of Yeonho’s brother and lover. That alone was unforgivable.

Watching Yeonho cling to him in front of Junyoung like it was nothing, Siwoo thought he was unbelievably shallow. He shook off Yeonho’s hand and gave Junyoung a look of pure contempt.

“You’re pathetic too.”

Trailing after Siwoo as he left Room 315, Yeonho said,

“Let’s go together. There’s something I want to say too.”

But the door slammed shut in front of him. Yeonho stood frozen by the entrance for a long time. Then, suddenly, he opened the fridge and started chugging a bottle of water.

Junyoung watched Yeonho’s strange behavior with a familiar eye, waiting for the pain in his groin to subside. Yeonho went into the bathroom, turned on the sink, and stared at himself in the mirror, clawing at his own face with his fingers before collapsing to the floor.

Junyoung dragged him back to the bed and began tidying up the room, muttering to himself.

“Shit, that bastard saw everything. What now?”

If Yeonho regained his senses and Siwoo told him what happened, it would be over. Going to the police was not an option. Maybe he could negotiate with Siwoo. Would money work? He always seemed like some shallow office worker playing rich with expensive clothes. A few bills might shut him up.

And to think, the quiet cat was the first to climb the stove. Junyoung was shocked to discover the Yeonho he cherished and adored had been secretly spreading his legs behind his back. If he’d known Yeonho was that easy, he wouldn’t have held back.

“This is why you can’t trust those who pretend to be innocent.”

Noise started rumbling from above. Sounded like Siwoo was breaking things in the room on the fourth floor.

“That crazy bastard.”

Junyoung began thinking about how to escape the situation without making things worse. One thing was certain, Yeonho and Siwoo could never be allowed to meet again.

He sighed and checked his phone. A reply had come to the DM he sent earlier, and messages were piling up in the group chat he shared with some friends. His expression shifted as he read.

The thunderous noise from the ceiling slowly woke Yeonho. His memory had cut off at the moment he was editing photos on his laptop. He couldn’t recall anything after that.

Even though he had just woken up, his body felt heavy, and his head throbbed like it was about to split open. It was the unmistakable aftermath of a sleeping pill overdose. It felt nothing like waking up refreshed beside Siwoo.

He stared up at the noisy ceiling, then jolted up to check the time on his phone. The time for his promise with Siwoo had long passed. He must have waited, gotten angry. Yeonho had made a huge mistake.

But before rushing off to Siwoo, there was something he had to ask Junyoung.

“Hyung, why does my body feel like I’ve taken sleeping pills?”

“You did take them earlier.”

“I did?”

“Yeah. You said you wanted to cancel all your plans for the night and just sleep.”

Junyoung had always deceived Yeonho this way, and since it had never failed before, he assumed it would work again.

But today, Yeonho couldn’t believe he had made that choice. He had promised to go to Siwoo’s room and had been counting down the minutes to that moment.

Staring straight at Junyoung, Yeonho said calmly,

“There wasn’t a single pill left. So how could I have taken one?”