Harmonious Love

Yang Qi Thief (9)

Confused whether to cover his face or body, Mo Yeon floundered for a while. First, he raised his hands to cover his face. Then, a moment later, he quickly turned his back to the door.

“W-why, what’s the matter?”

“…”

Though it nearly caused him to have a seizure, Tae Young-won’s expression remained as calm as usual. Mo Yeon trembled, pressed against the wall, covered in soap bubbles.

A brief silence followed.

“Sorry, I didn’t think you’d be this startled.”

“…”

Unaware of Mo Yeon’s feelings, Tae Young-won spoke in an excessively casual voice after a short pause. It might have been his imagination, but Mo Yeon thought he heard a hint of laughter in his voice. Probably just a misconception…

“It’s nothing important, but I just realized it’s Friday. We can go to the elective class together later, but do you have any other classes in the morning?”

Why is he barging in while I’m showering to ask something so trivial? Does this person lose all sense of boundaries the moment he forms an academic connection with someone?

Hoping Tae Young-won would leave quickly, Mo Yeon answered with his forehead pressed against the wall.

“Uh, no…”

“Mo Yeon, you’re really surprised, aren’t you?”

His voice seemed to contain a hint of laughter, beyond mere calmness.

Wouldn’t you be surprised?

It was absurd, but Mo Yeon couldn’t turn around and simply pressed himself closer to the wall as he answered quietly. Tae Young-won showed no signs of leaving.

“A-a little…”

Tae Young-won spoke in a cheerful voice to Mo Yeon’s back, which looked like it would never turn around.

“Anyway, it’s good that you don’t have classes. I’ll take the clothes you left out and put them in the washing machine.”

“What? Ah…!”

With that, the door closed.

When Mo Yeon came out after showering for a long time and drying his hair, still bewildered, two bowls of hangover soup were neatly placed, apparently pre-ordered for delivery.

The clothes he borrowed to wear while his were being washed were all too big for Mo Yeon, both top and bottom.

I was just going to go home… I could get there in a minute if I just took the elevator to my place. But I can’t say that.

“Eat quickly. It’ll get cold.”

Mo Yeon, looking gloomy, buried his head and took a spoonful of rice mixed into the soup. He glanced up, and Tae Young-won smiled as if urging him to eat.

Is this really the same person? Once again, he thought how different this was from the person he had encountered at the officetel. Even when feeling upset about what happened earlier, he couldn’t get angry due to this unfamiliar kindness. Every time Tae Young-won smiled, Mo Yeon’s head sank lower, almost as if it would disappear into the bowl.

“You’ll end up in the bowl.”

Sure enough, Tae Young-won finally burst out laughing at the sight. He frowned for a moment, seeming to consider something, then muttered playfully.

“…Is it because of earlier?”

“…”

By “earlier,” surely he doesn’t mean…

For a moment, Mo Yeon flared up and glanced at Tae Young-won’s face. It was the smile he often showed when surrounded by people at school. A playful, and thus charming, smile.

“When guys drink all night together, it’s normal to see each other naked the next day, so I guess I was too careless.”

“…”

The awkward situation from earlier stemmed from differences in their usual lifestyles.

Naturally, it would be unfamiliar to Mo Yeon.

He had never spent all night drinking with friends, let alone gone on MT trips. Mo Yeon wasn’t a fool who would voluntarily go to mountain valleys where all sorts of ancient ghosts roamed.

“Thinking about it now, I realize it must have been shocking if you’re not used to it. I’ll be more careful next time.”

He was apologizing now. What was normal and unremarkable for him and his circle of friends was something to apologize for to someone like Mo Yeon, who didn’t mingle with others.

For some reason, it hurt his pride a little.

“It’s okay. You can be comfortable.”

“Really?”

“…Yes.”

Smiling brightly, Tae Young-won stared at Mo Yeon for a moment, then slightly furrowed his brow.

“There’s something on your mouth. Just a second.”

He reached for the handkerchief neatly placed on a small plate on the table. Mo Yeon’s eyes narrowed as his gaze naturally followed the handkerchief.

It was because of a strange sense of déjà vu. Mo Yeon tilted his head.

Strange. This handkerchief looks very familiar…

“!”

The moment he realized the identity of the handkerchief, Mo Yeon felt his hair stand on end.

Simultaneously, he recalled the worst moment he wanted to forget.

“It stopped bleeding too, you bastard.”

Why was the handkerchief that had disappeared after he impulsively pressed his lips against Tae Young-won’s now in Tae Young-won’s house?

Until now, he had simply thought he had lost the handkerchief, never imagining he would see it again in this house.

The fact that it was neatly placed on the table was also one of the very disturbing reasons.

Surely he hadn’t placed that handkerchief in the most visible spot and vowed revenge every day, or something like that? Even after what happened, who would be that persistent in searching for someone?

Fortunately, his startled, frozen face was not very visible, hidden by his glasses and his hair, which had grown slightly longer due to being not fully dried.

Unaware of Mo Yeon’s inner turmoil, Tae Young-won picked up the handkerchief and reached out to Mo Yeon with a kind smile.

Mo Yeon, pale-faced, stared at the handkerchief touching his face.

Tap tap. Tae Young-won’s face was as gentle and beautiful as his touch as he wiped Mo Yeon’s mouth with the neatly folded handkerchief. This made it even more chilling.

‘I thought he might have forgotten, but he hasn’t forgotten at all.’

At the same time, the pristine white handkerchief, washed clean without a trace of blood, exuded Tae Young-won’s scent. It was the clean scent that came from the towel and change of clothes he had provided. Mo Yeon tried to steady his breathing, which felt like it might tremble, without showing it.

The careful wiping continued for a long time afterward. When Mo Yeon glanced at Tae Young-won, he smiled brightly, like someone completely oblivious to another’s inner turmoil.

“Strange. Why does your expression seem to be getting worse… Mo Yeon, are you okay?”

Noticing something odd as Mo Yeon remained frozen, Tae Young-won’s hand paused.

Tae Young-won’s attitude hadn’t changed. However, somehow Mo Yeon’s behavior was much stiffer than before. If this continued, it could certainly raise suspicion.

“…I’m…grateful.”

“Grateful? But your expression looks so bad?”

“I’m so grateful. For providing breakfast too. Thank you, sunbae.”

“It’s nothing, really.”

Don’t forget. This is a tiger’s den. So he greeted him more politely than usual.

It seemed better to just endure today and then try not to catch his eye again. Now that his name and face were known, it would be harder to secretly steal yang energy than before, but he couldn’t continue like this or his heart might fall out.

“If you’re grateful, give me your number before you go. We’ll be taking the elective together from now on.”

Before withdrawing the handkerchief, Tae Young-won lightly touched Mo Yeon’s cheek with his finger. The brief warm touch felt as if it had stuck to his cheek.

Smiling slightly, Tae Young-won neatly folded the handkerchief again, put it down, and casually continued eating.

Right. The group project.

“Do you still need time to think about it?”

As Mo Yeon blankly opened his mouth, Tae Young-won’s brow furrowed. It was an expression he hadn’t shown before.

Should I just say I don’t remember and play dumb?

“Or… do you not remember?”

And Mo Yeon’s eyes, hidden behind his glasses, shook violently.

Tae Young-won had shown kindness to Mo Yeon, an outsider, simply because he was his junior, and had readily proposed doing the group project together despite the bad rumors. If his identity wasn’t discovered, wouldn’t this continue at least for this semester while they took the same class?

Mo Yeon suddenly looked around the spacious living room, which had a similar layout to his own apartment.

Although the apartments were similarly designed, there was nothing gloomy in this house except for himself, who was just visiting briefly. Nevertheless, when Tae Young-won had entered the bathroom and when he saw the handkerchief earlier, he had only wanted to run back to his own home, and he wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do…

Now, he felt like accepting his offer and pretending not to know.

Looking at it now, the sense of stability emanating from the entire house came directly from him. Tae Young-won’s yang energy was too much of a temptation for Mo Yeon. Just from him touching his cheek, he wanted to do anything, ignoring any warnings of danger. It even made him wish that the brief touch would never end.

His shrunken heart was once again helplessly swayed by a very small temptation. Although he shouldn’t rashly harbor hope or expectations, it felt like a seedling had already sprouted in the momentary sunlight.

It seemed he had gained an incomparable amount of yang energy overnight compared to when he used to secretly snatch it whenever they met at school. Just from a finger touching his cheek once…

“I remember. Let’s do the project together, sunbae.”

At Mo Yeon’s answer, the corners of Tae Young-won’s mouth turned up again.