VSP 140

Seo Sejun.

Whenever that subject looked at him while harboring emotions that closely resembled disgust, the memory of that gaze and voice, which had always burned hot, surfaced in his mind. Sejun consciously tried to stop himself from thinking about that presence.

Using the sound of Ruya happily flipping through Two Piece from volume one as a lullaby, Sejun tried to coax sleep that wouldn’t come.

That attempt failed spectacularly.

•••

Sejun had avoided Cha Dogyeong for several days because he genuinely needed time to sort through his thoughts.

Time to organize the tangled memories in his head and figure out what he needed to do next.

But what felt like a short time to Sejun must have been unbearably long for Cha Dogyeong.

Sejun hadn’t anticipated that Dogyeong, unable to endure his deliberate absence, would show up at his house unannounced.

Unable to, or even thinking to, turn him away, Sejun pressed the door-open button the moment he saw Dogyeong’s reflection on the intercom.

“I missed you.”

Along with those words came a large bouquet of flowers.

“……”

Sejun couldn’t decide which was more surprising: Cha Dogyeong appearing at his doorstep, or the dazzling bouquet in his hands.

The man looked quite handsome in his deep brown coat, perfectly suited for the crisp evening chill.

But that sight made Sejun’s insides churn.

“Thank yoy.”

Sejun accepted the bouquet, clearly meant for him. The flowers seemed to have gold dust sprinkled on them; the vibrant blooms shimmered with gold, making it a rather extravagant bouquet. A shallow thought surfaced: he must have spent a fortune.

“That’s very player like.”

The words slipped out even as he enjoyed the scent of the flowers.  It probably wasn’t something the Sejun he knew would have said.

The overly cynical tone wasn’t like Sejun, and the content of the words seemed to irritate Dogyeong, who frowned.

“This is the first time I’ve ever given a bouquet to someone. It’s also the first time I’ve gone to a flower shop to pick out flowers.”

That part was quite unexpected, and Sejun’s eyes widened.

“Can’t you just be happy about it?”

“Sorry.”

Sejun admitted his mistake and apologized quickly. Yet, as the awkwardness lingered, Sejun swallowed dryly and spoke honestly.

“It’s just… I’ve never received flowers before either, so I got flustered. Don’t be mad.”

Sejun quietly set the bouquet down beside him and wrapped his arms around Dogyeong’s waist. He could feel the tension in his already firm abdomen, which was kind of cute. This must be why people date younger partners.

“Huh? Dogyeong.”

“……”

“Babe.”

Only after spamming his ultimate move, “Babe,” did Dogyeong’s expression finally soften. Sejun, holding the bouquet in one hand and Dogyeong’s hand in the other, pulled him inside his house.

Ruya had already sensed the situation and disappeared. He was a quick-witted summoned beast.

“What were you doing?”

“Just… watching Two Piece.”

Sejun said as he roughly tidied up the pile of manga he’d stacked. After seating Dogyeong on the sofa, Sejun searched for a suitably tall vase to place the bouquet in. His breath hitched when a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind.

“I’ve been worried because I haven’t been able to reach you lately.”

“……”

Moist lips lightly touched his neck and pulled away. The tickling sensation, like a butterfly landing, made Sejun flinch and stop moving.

The thought crossed his mind: So Cha Dogyeong could be this ticklish too. Nothing in this world was impossible.

“Did something happen in the dungeon? You’ve been a bit off since that day.”

Dogyeong didn’t beat around the bush. His direct question made Sejun’s body tense up briefly, but he relaxed as if nothing was wrong.

“No.”

His reply was equally firm.

“Nothing happened.”

“Really?”

His neck still tingled from those lingering lips. The touch was tingling, and their bodies pressed together were hot, yet the warmth between the two men conversing had cooled to a chill.

“I… I think you’ve been a little…”

Dogyeong couldn’t finish his sentence for a moment. His lips, which had lingered on Sejun’s neck as if searching for an answer, finally pulled away.

“…Never mind. Forget I said that.”

The words trailed off. Though he told him to forget it, both knew neither could. Words spoken are like spilled water. Dogyeong was saying Sejun seemed strange now.

It would be troublesome if he noticed too soon.

Sejun smiled awkwardly.

He thought he’d replied to the message and handled calls as much like Seo Sejun as possible, as Sejun would have done. But perhaps because they were the same person living entirely different lives, it seemed unconvincing to Cha Dogyeong’s eyes.

He’d thought that with distance, he wouldn’t sense any unfamiliarity or strangeness. He thought he’d managed his tone well. Yet Cha Dogyeong had inevitably sensed something amiss

Even though he thought it wouldn’t matter if he was found out, the worry that it would just complicate things made Sejun hesitate for a moment before he made up his mind.

He knew what kind of temporary fix worked at times like this.

“Dogyeong.”

Sejun called out Dogyeong’s name and turned around.

He saw that handsome face looking at him with a subdued expression.

Sejun reached out his hand and stroked Dogyeong’s face. Bastard, he was disgustingly handsome no matter how many times he saw him.

-Seo Sejun.

The you I remember never looked at me like this before.

-I hate you so much.

Unless you were looking at something disgusting, you never looked at me that way.

At this point, doesn’t it feel like the genre got switched?

When his eyes met Cha Dogyeong’s complex expression, a pang of conscience pricked him. But Sejun didn’t hesitate. He reached out, grabbed the handsome man’s cheeks, and pulled him toward himself.

The man, who wouldn’t budge an inch if he didn’t want to, collapsed helplessly into Sejun’s arms.

•••

Why does Seo Sejun only get hurt when I’m not around?

That’s what he thought at first.

Why does this kind of thing only happen to Seo Sejun?

The incident in Busan, the Taesong Department Store incident, getting trapped in the dungeon.

He shrugged off the Busan incident. It could happen. Just bad luck.

But the Taesong Department Store incident was too sudden. Of all things, Sejun got caught up in that? Of all the floors, the boss was on the one Sejun went down?

Why him?

Then, when he heard Sejun was trapped in a dungeon again, Dogyeong started wondering if this was just coincidence.

Maybe he’s just incredibly unlucky. That could be it.

But Dogyeong’s instincts sounded an alarm. This wasn’t mere coincidence.

Something ominous was happening around Seo Sejun.

Yet, that suspicion vanished instantly the moment he saw Sejun emerge from the dungeon.

Who is that?

At first, he caught himself thinking that, and he had to shake his head several times.

Dogyeong wasn’t such a fool that he couldn’t recognize the person he liked, the person he loved. If Sejun had changed, there was no way he wouldn’t notice.

The person standing before him was Sejun.

He had been anxious for days because Sejun wouldn’t meet him, claiming he wasn’t feeling well. But if it was an aftereffect of being ‘trapped’ in the dungeon, he could understand. So Dogyeong waited.

His replies were in Sejun’s usual tone, so nothing felt strange.

But why did that uneasy feeling grow stronger as time passed? Why did the urge to see him in person intensify, even while receiving replies that seemed perfectly normal?

He ended up buying flowers he’d never bought before, came to see Sejun, and was certain the person before him was Sejun… Yet, even so, why did that thought persist?

It was Seo Sejun. It really was Seo Sejun.

…But it didn’t feel like Seo Sejun.

“Dogyeong.”

His lips met his, almost scolding him for being distracted. Even when his unusually proactive body climbed onto him and began undressing him, Dogyeong could easily clear his mind.

No matter how complicated his thoughts, they hadn’t even been dating that long. Just the touch of skin, just a single kiss, instantly emptied his mind.

Yes, this is Seo Sejun.

This warm feeling of lips, this familiar scent, the mole on his shoulder, the person whose mere touch made his heart race.

It could only be Seo Sejun.

But regardless of those thoughts, as his clothes fell away like shed skin and his hot body pressed against his without a single gap, Dogyeong couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Seo Sejun felt skilled. It felt like this wasn’t his first or second time.

He couldn’t be sure he was using some amazing technique, but the way he positioned himself on top of him… it felt like something he had done more than once.

That couldn’t be right. Knowing that everything about Sejun had been a first with him made the thought hard to accept, Dogyeong dismissed the thought as his imagination.

But unlike his mind, which had struggled to find the right answer, his body seemed to have yet to find the answer.

“Why isn’t this getting hard?”

When Sejun said that with a flustered smile, Dogyeong realized his mind and body were operating independently.

Even though just being near Sejun, just imagining Seo Sejun, would normally make Cha Dogyeong’s lower half spring to attention, it remained completely still, despite Seo Sejun being half-naked and straddling his lower body.