F4

The man who had rushed out of the bathroom hastily threw on the bathrobe that had been tossed on the floor. When Yeonho had first entered the bathroom, the man didn’t seem to care about hiding his nakedness, but ever since Yeonho had buried his face into his shoulder, he acted as though he suddenly had a reason to conceal himself.

Yeonho, always one to overthink, decided not to dwell on the reason. He had a feeling his thoughts would spiral into absurd fantasies.

While the man adjusted his robe in front of the fogged-up mirror, Yeonho slowly rose to his feet. He caught his own reflection in the glass, though the steam made it too blurry to see clearly. Still, it was obvious enough that his face looked far more twisted and ugly compared to the man’s.

A flush of shame burned his ears. Last night, he had mistaken the man for a fantasy come to cradle him in his dreams, bringing his face so close their lips nearly touched. He had even buried his face against the man’s bare skin and breathed in his scent. No wonder the man had been repulsed enough to grab his chin and shove him away. That was a perfectly normal reaction to such behavior.

As if his face wasn’t bad enough already, there was now a red scratch below his lip. It hadn’t been there when he’d washed up and applied lotion before heading to Room 415. It had appeared like magic, just like the events that followed, so maybe this entire situation wasn’t just a dream after all.

“…I wish it were all just a dream.”

He let out a short sigh and slowly walked out of the bathroom, mentally organizing what he needed to do next. First, he’d apologize. He had mistaken the man for a spirit sent to satisfy his sleep and libido and ended up molesting him. He was genuinely sorry.

After owning up to his sin, he’d offer to accept whatever punishment was deemed appropriate. Then, he would deal with the man, who was clearly trespassing and using the resort facilities without permission, according to the law.

Trying to appear as dignified as possible, Yeonho stood before the man. At 181cm, Yeonho rarely looked up at anyone, but this man was one of the few exceptions. He guessed the man was close to 190cm. (6’2)

His damp hair was neatly smoothed down, and his well-maintained body – clearly shaped by regular exercise– emitted the same scent Yeonho had smelled earlier, only much stronger now. It seemed he had just applied a cologne that matched the body products he used. The familiar brand’s bottle lay uncapped and askew on the vanity.

To be fixing his hair and adjusting his scent before speaking to the man he had just been molested by… Yeonho didn’t think he was ordinary. Still, he forced himself not to speculate about the reason. He didn’t want to fall into the delusion that the man might be conscious of him.

As planned, he began with an apology.

“I’m sorry. I made a mistake. I sincerely apologize.”

He stood straight and looked the man in the eye as he spoke. Though his apology was sincere, he didn’t bow his head or put on a guilty expression, after all, the other man had done something wrong too. The man replied, his eyes fixed not on Yeonho’s gaze, but on his chin.

“Tell me who you are, how you got into my room, and why you acted this way.”

Yeonho nodded. But before he could explain, he needed to confirm whether he was mentally stable right now. He tilted his head slightly and scanned the man’s neck and below with his eyes. The man mirrored him, tilting his own head and carefully following Yeonho’s gaze as though inspecting him in turn.

Yeonho asked, “The robe you’re wearing, is it gray? Not light blue?”

“Yes. It’s gray.”

Maybe because he’d finally had a proper night’s sleep, his visual perception seemed fine today. Gazing out at the bright blue sky beyond the window, Yeonho asked again, “What’s the weather like today? The sky is blue, not gray, right?”

“…Are you feeling alright?” the man asked, unable to hide his frustration.

His tone was probably meant to mock or belittle, but it hit Yeonho square in the heart. Because from start to finish, this entire disaster had happened because something was wrong with him.

“Yes. I’ve been sleep-deprived, and I made a mistake. I keep seeing things that aren’t there.”

The man gave him a concerned look. “First, tell me who you are. That’s the right place to start.”

It was clear he didn’t mean the kind of personal info shared on a blind date like name, age, or job. Yeonho understood that he needed to explain why he was staying at a yet-to-be-opened resort and how he had access to the man’s room.

He calmly explained, “This resort was built by my family. We’ve been using it privately, even before the remodeling. I’m staying here for a while because I have business in the area. I know the room keys and the password to the office that holds the master key, so that’s how I got in. I, on the other hand, have no idea how you ended up staying here. So, could you tell me who you are?”

The man seemed to follow Yeonho’s explanation. And Yeonho had ways of verifying his identity if needed. Then the man gave an unexpected response.

“I’m here because this is also a resort my family built. The meaning’s a bit different, but it’s the same.”

“…I didn’t know I had family like that.”

Yeonho’s inner monologue kicked into high gear. After his mother’s remarriage, a bunch of relatives had been added to his life, most of whom he didn’t know. It was possible this man was Junyoung’s cousin, and therefore, his own cousin.

If he had just admired a relative’s genitals and buried his nose into the man’s bare skin to sniff him… he might have to just end it all to wrap things up neatly.

Nothing had been confirmed yet, but for now, he abandoned his plan to report the man to the police. He figured it was better to hear the full story first.

Just as he was thinking this, the man reached out toward empty space, and Yeonho, lost in thought, snapped back to reality as the man once again grabbed his chin. But unlike before, this time the grip was gentle, not threatening.

“Did I do this? You’ve got a scratch,” the man said, concern in his eyes as he looked at the red mark on Yeonho’s chin.

Yeonho didn’t know exactly how he had ended up with it either, but if he had to name a suspect, it could only be this man.

“Your touch was so rough earlier. I’ve never been handled that roughly before.”

At Yeonho’s whining, the man looked down at his own right hand. Though his nails were neatly trimmed, there was a small split in his thumbnail. He looked apologetic as he began to explain.

“Sorry. I cracked my nail yesterday while pulling luggage out of the trunk. I must’ve scratched you. I’ll go buy some ointment and bandages. Let’s treat that first and then talk.”

“You don’t have to worry about it. What’s one more scratch on an already cracked surface?”

The man seemed puzzled by Yeonho’s self-deprecating response but didn’t press it.

“I hurt you. Of course I’m going to worry. I’ll head into town for medicine. Wait on the third floor. I’ll come to you and we can talk calmly. If there’s a misunderstanding, let’s clear it up.”

“Alright. I’ll wait in my room. My name is Joo Yeonho.”

“I’m Kim Siwoo.”

Kim Siwoo. Kim Siwoo. With his memory not what it used to be, Yeonho repeated the man’s name several times to remember it.

As he walked slowly down the hallway after leaving Siwoo’s room, he mumbled sleepily to himself.

“…How’d he know which room is mine? I never told him.”

Siwoo, now ready to go out, descended to the underground parking lot via the right-side stairwell. A cold smirk lingered on his lips.

Yesterday afternoon, after moving the sofa in his room, he had used the left-side stairwell to head downstairs and spotted a room with its door wide open on the third-floor hallway. As he approached, he crossed paths in the hallway with a courier coming up the opposite stairwell.

Naturally, Siwoo had accepted the bouquet and a small pharmacy bag from the courier. If Yeonho hadn’t seen him at the time, it was likely because they had used different stairwells.

Siwoo placed the delivery inside Room 315 without hesitation, then opened the card in the bouquet to read the message and sender’s name.

Take care of yourself . If you miss me too much, I’ll come to you. I Love you.

Sender: Seong Junyoung.

Given the contents and the sender, Seong Junyoung was clearly Yeonho’s lover.

Remembering that, Siwoo descended to the basement parking lot of Building A and stared at Yeonho’s car with a simmering glare. The CCTV hadn’t been installed yet. Apart from Yeonho’s car and his own, parked five spots away, there were no other vehicles.

From his pocket, Siwoo pulled out the car key, marked with the same logo as Yeonho’s car. He had swiped it from Yeonho’s room yesterday. With it, he unlocked the door and reached for the black box.