Precious Thing

Tae Woowon ended his long story in just a few sentences. Baek Hyeyun, eyes wide in surprise, stared blankly at him before shaking her head to snap out of it.“So the item you need to get back from your father is that box?”“Yeah. It was mine to begin with.”“I heard Jo Seonggil’s wife died about 15 years ago….”Seokgyeong bit his lip and glanced at Tae Woowon, who exhaled cigarette smoke with a disinterested expression.“Yeah. She’s my mother.”Seokgyeong, hesitant to speak, leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice.“There are five people Jo Seonggil is desperately searching for. Recently, there’s been talk that they found one of them. I haven’t looked into it since I wasn’t interested, but… should I check if it’s your father?”If Seokgyeong put his skills to it, he’d find out in a matter of days whether it was Tae Hyunjae or not. But now wasn’t the time to focus on Tae Hyunjae.“No. You focus on the infiltration route for Chairman Lee’s vault. The security’s tight.”“…Understood.”Seokgyeong pouted as he slumped onto the sofa. Baek Hyeyun glanced at him, casting an unreadable look, and quickly turned her head towards Tae Woowon.“What.”“No, not you. Kyung, tell him what you found about it.”“Oh, right!”Seokgyeong, who had been looking downcast, suddenly jumped up and rushed into the room, only to return quickly and sit beside Tae Woowon. Frowning, Tae Woowon stubbed out his cigarette, while Seokgyeong smiled and placed a thin laptop on his lap.“Ahem, ahem, President Woo, reporting. The name is… Kwon Heechan!”He looked like an immature kid. Baek Hyeyun, who wore a proud expression while watching him, also seemed ridiculous, but Tae Woowon decided to hold off on questioning her and focused on the laptop as Seokgyeong cheerfully pointed out the important parts.“He was abandoned by his parents at age 3 and grew up in an orphanage. He got expelled and later earned his high school diploma through the GED. On the surface, it seems normal, but he’s got dangerous friends—drug dealers, human traffickers, gangsters, illegal surgeons, and gambling den operators.”When Tae Woowon had asked Kwon Heechan where he got the sleeping pills from, he had said it was through his older brother. But it wasn’t a biological sibling. Even so, Kwon Heechan’s behavior had always been upright, so labeling him as a bad person because of his connections seemed excessive.“He got into trouble in high school, but he’s been clean since. No embarrassing moments from social media either. But there’s something more. He started hanging out with Lee Yesin when he was 18. They prepped for college together and went to the same university.”Tae Woowon had assumed they were just college friends. His frown deepened, and Seokgyeong nodded in agreement.“At the time, Lee Yesin was 20, still struggling after Go Hangyeol’s death. What’s strange is how they met. They had no prior connection, so I’m looking into how they became close.”In addition, Tae Woowon wondered why Kwon Heechan was acting coy around Lee Yesin. Cracking Go Hangyeol’s side of things had been relatively easy, but Kwon Heechan was proving to be a tougher nut to crack.“Call me as soon as you find something.”“…Got it.”Seokgyeong blinked and nodded, while Baek Hyeyun, who had been listening quietly, tapped Tae Woowon on the thigh.“Hey, give him some credit. This kid’s working hard for free, you know.”“I paid him. And don’t expect to play house while working with me.”“It’s not playing house; it’s a team effort like in the movies. Team Woo and his gang.”Seokgyeong mumbled softly, lips pouting. Tae Woowon glanced at him in disbelief, amused.“You’ve got no friends, huh?”“None.”“……”“So I’m really enjoying this.”Tae Woowon sighed, pushing Seokgyeong’s face away. Seokgyeong, unfazed, giggled and escaped Tae Woowon’s grip. Closing the laptop, Tae Woowon placed it on the table and got up. The movie Lee Yesin had gone to see wasn’t over yet, and he had mentioned grabbing food afterward, so there was still some time left. Tae Woowon began snacking on some biscuits at the bar and casually flipped through the room service menu. Then, remembering something he had almost forgotten, he glanced over at Baek Hyeyun and Seokgyeong, who were still chatting and laughing on the sofa.“Look into one more thing. Someone’s out to screw over Lee Yesin.”“Huh? Who?”Baek Hyeyun, who had snatched Seokgyeong’s coffee, asked.“The one who set him up to drink and drive and ordered those sex pictures. Or whoever’s behind them. I’ll pass along info on the person who took the photos and their phone, so find out who gave the orders. They drugged him during the drunk-driving setup too.”“That sounds pretty serious, doesn’t it?”Tae Woowon, still focused on the menu, nodded. He was planning to crush them to pieces once he found out who they were.٠ ࣪⭑“Are you nervous about getting caught by Ji Geonwoo?”As the numbers on the screen gradually increased, Kwon Heechan asked. Lee Yesin shook his head, trying to keep his face neutral.Lee Yesin and Kwon Heechan hadn’t watched a movie. After confirming that Tae Woowon’s car was gone, they handed Lee Yesin’s phone, which had an active GPS, to a phone store on the first floor. After slipping them some cash for a quick charge, the employees nodded without any complaints. Having shaken off Tae Woowon, they slipped out the back of the building and entered the adjacent one. The person Kwon Heechan was introducing had arranged to meet at a DVD room on the 7th floor. Lee Yesin hadn’t expected the meeting to happen so soon. With a tense face, he glanced at his wristwatch.“You didn’t ask too many questions when we hung out last time, did you?”“Nope.”“Then this time should be fine, as long as we time it right.”Lee Yesin forced a smile and nodded, though he felt increasingly uneasy. He should be grateful to Kwon Heechan, but the DVD room as the meeting place only made him more suspicious. As he bit his lips, the elevator arrived at the 7th floor. Lee Yesin and Kwon Heechan stepped out together and walked toward the DVD room at the end of the hallway. Just as Lee Yesin was about to push the door open, Kwon Heechan grabbed his wrist.“They asked for you to come to room 11 alone. I’ll wait here. If anything happens, call me… Oh, right, you don’t have your phone.”What should they do? Kwon Heechan furrowed his brows in concern. Lee Yesin patted his shoulder, assuring him that it would be fine.“But yesterday, you said something felt off about what this guy was asking for. What did you mean?”“Ah… I should’ve told you sooner. Hyung, if you don’t feel like going after what I say, then don’t go. If you walk away now, you won’t get another chance to get out through this guy, but if you’re uncomfortable, it’s better to leave. Got it?”Kwon Heechan spoke with a strained intensity in his eyes. His over-the-top worry made Lee Yesin smile as he asked, “What is it?”“He wants… uh, he wants you to give him a… a blow job.”“…”“Yeah… I know. I kept trying to convince him by offering more money, double, triple even. But he said he has plenty of money, and that it wasn’t about that. He said he just thinks you’re pretty and handsome… and if you blow him once, he’ll let you go. I’m sorry, Hyung…”Lee Yesin’s mouth felt dry. He lowered his gaze, blinking, before forcing a smile.“It’s fine. A blowjob is nothing. You know how I roll.”“Hyung, don’t talk like that…”“It’s fine, Heechan. I’ll go.”“Hyung…”Lee Yesin gently pried Kwon Heechan’s hand off his wrist and pushed open the door. He asked the person at the counter where room 11 was, and they kindly directed him. Despite the calm expression he’d carefully maintained, his heart began to race faster and faster. What he told Kwon Heechan was true. A blowjob was nothing. Being with nameless men was a part of Lee Yesin’s everyday life. So, this would be no different.“Oh, hey there.”But this felt like prostitution.Click. The door closed behind him.“You look… better than the picture. How should I put this? Hot.”The man, reclining lazily on a low mat, was younger than Lee Yesin had expected. He had assumed it would be some old guy, considering the man’s underground reputation for smuggling. But his youth was of no comfort.“Take your pants off.”Without even taking off his shoes, Lee Yesin climbed onto the mat and crawled between the man’s legs. The man chuckled softly, loosening his belt and unzipping his jeans. He had tattoos on his knuckles, which Lee Yesin read as he waited for the man to pull down his underwear. His right hand read “FUCK,” and his left hand read “YOU.” What a dumb idiot. And here Lee Yesin was, about to suck this moron’s dick.“You must really want out, huh? Or is it that you just love cock? Either way, I guess it’s no big deal for you. Hey, do you really drink alcohol through your ass?”It was the first time Lee Yesin had ever heard such a comment. He looked up at the man with disbelief. The man grinned and grabbed the back of Lee Yesin’s head, shoving his crotch into Lee Yesin’s face. His soft penis brushed against Lee Yesin’s lips. It reeked like crap.“I showered last night and just pissed before you came in. Start by drinking up the piss left inside.”Ah, shit. Lee Yesin almost cursed out loud, but the man forced his penis into his mouth the moment he opened it. For a split second, he considered biting down, but he swallowed his anger and sucked obediently. As the man’s penis gradually hardened with a few sucks, an odd taste spread in Lee Yesin’s mouth.“Suck the balls too.”Scowling, Lee Yesin spat out the man’s penis, turned his head, and licked the cold, clammy balls. He licked them thoroughly before rolling them around in his mouth. The man stroked Lee Yesin’s buttocks, but Lee Yesin swatted his hand away and returned to sucking the man’s now-erect penis. He needed to make him finish as quickly as possible. He took the length into his mouth and began moving his head quickly, back and forth, when the man grabbed Lee Yesin’s head firmly and wrapped his legs around him. His back pressed against the mat, trapping him. Though Lee Yesin had the man’s most vulnerable part in his mouth, it felt as if he was the one captured.“Fuck, you’re really good. You’ve got some suction power.”The man tousled Lee Yesin’s hair, his fingers trailing down the back of his neck and slipping under his shirt. He fondled the skin near Lee Yesin’s shoulder blades.“Your skin’s so soft—wait, stop.”The man suddenly yanked on Lee Yesin’s hair, pulling his head back. Startled, Lee Yesin spat out the man’s penis, causing pre-cum to drip from his mouth.“Oh, what a sight.”Panting, the man gathered the string of pre-cum with his hand and shoved it into Lee Yesin’s mouth, covering it with his palm. With his other hand, he pinched Lee Yesin’s nose.“Swallow it.”Furious, Lee Yesin stared him down as he reluctantly swallowed the sticky fluid. His throat churned in disgust.“Now, again.”The man grasped his shaft and slowly pushed it back into Lee Yesin’s mouth. When Lee Yesin didn’t tighten his lips, the man pulled out and slapped his face with it.“…Are you out of your mind?”“Do it properly, unless you’d rather get hit with something else.”“…”“You know, you’ve got a face that just makes me want to make you cry.”The man smirked as he spoke, causing Lee Yesin’s jaw to clench. The man relished the anger simmering in Lee Yesin’s eyes as he thrust his penis back into his mouth. Holding his head still, the man began to pump his hips.“Ugh, hmph, ugh!”“Fuck… yeah…”The man’s glans repeatedly hit the back of Lee Yesin’s throat. He fought against the urge to gag as his eyes started to water. Lee Yesin forced himself to endure. The man’s shaft was swelling, ready to explode. It was clear he was going to finish inside. Lee Yesin braced himself, knowing what was coming. Any second now…“Haah, wait… let’s take a break.”The man, who had just held back his climax, roughly grabbed Lee Yesin’s hair again, pulling out his member. Thick saliva and precum dripped from Lee Yesin’s mouth, and the man, laughing, shoved it back inside. He closed Lee Yesin’s jaw and pinched his nose. Lee Yesin had no choice but to swallow the disgusting secretion. The man, satisfied, released his hold, letting Lee Yesin’s face rest against his hairy crotch.“Huff, huff…”“You’ve got plenty of money, so why are you trying to escape? There’s no place better for the wealthy than this country.”Because there are bastards like you everywhere. Lee Yesin silently responded as he tried to catch his breath. The man, seemingly unconcerned with Lee Yesin’s lack of response, nonchalantly reached for a cigarette and lit it. Lee Yesin grabbed the man’s softening member and began licking it, eager to finish this ordeal as quickly as possible.“Ah, you’re seriously lewd.”The man looked down at Lee Yesin, exhaling cigarette smoke. Lee Yesin briefly considered biting down on the man’s member, but his legs were tightly pinned, making any form of movement impossible. The only defiance Lee Yesin could muster was to bite down and swallow.“Look at those eyes. You look like you’re ready to chop it off.”The man grinned while running his fingers through Lee Yesin’s hair.“Do you want my cum that badly?”Without responding, Lee Yesin took the man’s member deep into his mouth. He had always been good at playing along with dirty talk, indulging in whatever fantasies his partners wanted during sex. But this was different. Now, he was giving a forced blowjob, doing something he didn’t want to, all to get what he needed. The sinking feeling of disgust only grew deeper.“Suck harder. Hngh.”The man began moving his hips again, thrusting forcefully into Lee Yesin’s throat. His grip on Lee Yesin’s head tightened as his hips bucked violently. The man’s member, now swollen and hard, hit the back of Lee Yesin’s throat repeatedly. Lee Yesin clung to the man’s thighs, sucking with all his strength, hoping for a quick end.“Haa, fuck!”With a vulgar curse, the man came in Lee Yesin’s mouth. Unable to let go, Lee Yesin had no choice but to take it all. Even after he had finished, the man held Lee Yesin’s face close, ensuring he swallowed every last drop. The man, catching his breath, then grabbed Lee Yesin’s nose.“You cried.”The man laughed, gripping Lee Yesin’s chin as he slowly withdrew his softening member. Before Lee Yesin could close his mouth, the man shut it for him, forcing him to hold in the cum.“If you spit it out, we start from the beginning.”What? That’s ridiculous! Lee Yesin wanted to scream, but the man wouldn’t release his grip, leaving him breathless.“If you swallow it, we start over, too.”The man finally let go of his nose. The bitter, fishy taste filled Lee Yesin’s mouth, and he could feel hot tears streaming down his face. The man unwrapped his legs from Lee Yesin’s body.“Hold it in for a moment.”Rising to his knees, the man reached for Lee Yesin’s waist. Panicked, Lee Yesin grabbed the man’s arm to stop him. Even as he followed the man’s instructions to keep the cum in his mouth, he couldn’t bear the idea of what was coming next.“What’s with the reaction? We’re just getting started. One blowjob, then one raw fuck.”Lee Yesin quickly shook his head. This wasn’t what he had agreed to. Kwon Heechan hadn’t mentioned anything like this.“What, you thought a blowjob was enough? Does that even make sense? Do you know how risky and expensive it is to forge an ID and sneak into another country? Quit being annoying and move your hands.”Lee Yesin tightened his grip on the man’s arm and shook his head again. The man let out a long sigh.“You’re nothing but a whore who sucks any dick. Just pretend we met at a club and came to a DVD room.”His heart sank. Lee Yesin’s face hardened as he recalled the past few years. The slimy cum still in his mouth reminded him of exactly where he stood.‘Get a grip. You’re garbage right now.’Tae Woowon’s voice echoed in his ears from a distant memory.“When your ass is all stretched out, I’ll let you swallow the rest. By then, it’ll smell even worse. Swallow it and say, ‘It’s delicious, oppa!’ alright?”Zzip. The man yanked down Lee Yesin’s jeans, followed by his underwear. He grabbed Lee Yesin’s bare hips and gave them a shake.“Wow, do you take care of your ass? It’s so smooth, not a hair on it. Even your hole looks nice.”Lee Yesin heard something inside him shatter, something he hadn’t even known was still there. He closed his eyes.٠ ࣪⭑When Lee Yesin finally emerged from the DVD room, Kwon Heechan was pacing nervously. As soon as their eyes met, Kwon Heechan rushed over to him, grabbing him tightly.“Hyung… are you okay?”Lee Yesin was fine. He had been through rougher encounters than this. He wasn’t trembling or weak-kneed from this alone. But the stench clung to him. The semen inside him disgusted him. He glanced at Kwon Heechan and then went into the bathroom, sitting on the toilet. Semen dripped out from between his thighs.“Go get me some water… no, something with a strong taste, anything.”“Okay! But it’s late…”“…What time is it?”“It’s after two.”Lee Yesin had been trapped in that room for over two hours. The man with the foul-smelling dick had yanked himself out and calmed down just before climaxing, only to push himself back inside when his excitement faded. He had done it five times. No one knocked on the door during those hours. Lee Yesin imagined Kwon Heechan outside, waiting. After five years of knowing him, Lee Yesin could easily picture his worried, teary-eyed expression. Biting his lip, Lee Yesin stifled the doubts that began creeping in. It was all over now, anyway.“Buy a drink at the convenience store downstairs, and get my phone back from the repair shop. I’ll catch up with you soon.”“Okay!”Kwon Heechan’s footsteps faded away. Lee Yesin took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Tears welled up and began spilling out. He focused on breathing steadily, trying to prevent any sobs from escaping his lips. As he expelled the man’s cum, he just kept breathing, concentrating on nothing else.After leaving the building with the DVD room, Lee Yesin entered a nearby cinema. He turned a corner on his way to the phone repair shop but stopped abruptly. There, standing with his hands in his pockets and an emotionless expression, was Tae Woowon. Kwon Heechan was in front of him, smiling and chatting. Lee Yesin hadn’t expected this. He should have prepared better, coordinated their stories. Forcing down the tension, Lee Yesin approached them. Tae Woowon’s dark eyes slowly turned toward him.“Hey, hyung! You’re here! They said the phone’s all fixed.”“Get lost.”Tae Woowon took the phone from Kwon Heechan’s hand. Kwon Heechan opened his mouth as if to speak, but Tae Woowon grabbed Lee Yesin by the wrist and began walking quickly. He led him out of the building and into a car parked by the roadside. After buckling Lee Yesin’s seatbelt and slamming the door, Tae Woowon got into the driver’s seat, released the handbrake, and hit the gas pedal. The car roared to life and sped off.“I dropped my phone.”“Kwon Heechan said you dropped it in water.”“…”“If you’re going to lie, at least make an effort.”“…”The light ahead turned from yellow to red. Tae Woowon stepped on the brake and rolled down all four windows. Lee Yesin frowned and raised the passenger window, only for Tae Woowon to lower it again.“What are you doing?”Lee Yesin turned to look at him. Tae Woowon leaned his elbow on the window frame, tilting his eyes down to glance at Lee Yesin.“You smell. Like semen.”“…”His eyes seemed to say You really can’t help yourself, and that gaze made Lee Yesin clench his fists.“Did you get caught in the rain while watching a movie or something?”“Mind your own business.”Tae Woowon ran his hand through his hair, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. After exhaling smoke, he tossed the lighter and cigarette pack onto the armrest and started driving again when the light turned green. Lee Yesin briefly considered denying everything but decided against it. What difference would the truth or any excuses make? Either way, Lee Yesin would be leaving soon. Until then, he couldn’t afford to let his guard down. No matter how many times Tae Woowon had sided with him, he was still Chairman Lee’s man.“Don’t even think about leaving the house from now on.”“What?”Startled by the sudden and excessive command, Lee Yesin snapped back.“What did I say when I installed that app on your phone?”“…”He had said that if Lee Yesin wasn’t where the app showed or if the GPS was turned off, he wouldn’t be able to leave the house again. Lee Yesin remembered it clearly but stayed silent. Tae Woowon easily found his answer in the silence.“Don’t think about leaving.”The truth was, he didn’t really need to leave. That man had ejaculated inside Lee Yesin and handed him a note to meet again the next Friday. Just five days or so. Staying cooped up in the house wasn’t an issue. But Lee Yesin didn’t want to give in to Tae Woowon. What did I do so wrong? Is selling my body to survive really that terrible? What did I ever do to you to make you look at me like that?“I showed up soon enough, didn’t I? I was still in the building.”“I told you, if you’re going to lie, at least put some effort into it. I said that not even ten minutes ago.”“When did I ever lie?”“An hour. I spent an hour searching that building for you. You didn’t even watch a movie.”Shit. The curse almost slipped out.“Fine. I was wrong not to tell you I was leaving. But is that really something to get mad about? Or are you just upset I didn’t let you see me fucking a guy?”As soon as the words left his mouth, Tae Woowon stubbed out his cigarette. Ssshhht. The sound of the dying cigarette echoed as it was crushed in his fist. Startled, Lee Yesin stared at him, forgetting all about his anger. Tae Woowon flicked the ashes out the window.“Stop getting on my nerves and shut your mouth.”“…”What kind of person hurts themselves to shut someone else up? Lee Yesin wanted to ask, but he never found the words.٠ ࣪⭑Back at home, the first thing Lee Yesin did was shower. He scrubbed every inch of his body clean, paying extra attention to the areas that had been touched by that man. He even switched the showerhead and gave himself a shallow enema, flushing out the remaining semen. He kept probing the hole with his fingers until nothing more came out. What should have been a 15-minute shower stretched over an hour. After wrapping himself in a bathrobe, he sat numbly on the couch.I should pack my things soon since I’ll be leaving. I can’t take much, but I should grab some cash and any valuable jewelry. His mind neatly listed all the things he needed to do, but his body didn’t move.The peaceful days of the past week seemed like a dream. After receiving Kwon Heechan’s message, Lee Yesin had closed his eyes while in Tae Woowon’s arms, hoping to wrap up his life here smoothly. He would have to deceive Tae Woowon and slip away before boarding the boat, but until then, he wanted to spend quiet days with him. Maybe that was too much to ask. As he sat there, tangled in thoughts that refused to settle, he heard the front door open and close beyond his room. Lee Yesin hesitated, then got up and stepped out into the living room.“What?”Tae Woowon, walking across the living room, asked. Every time Lee Yesin silently watched him, he would ask why. Sometimes it meant Do you need something?; other times it meant What do you want to say? Lee Yesin could usually tell the difference, but not this time.“…I heard the door.”“I sent a delivery. Go back in.”Tae Woowon, now sitting on the living room couch, opened his laptop. Lee Yesin looked at him for a moment before going back into his room to rummage through the drawers. He’d been applying a lot of ointment lately, so the disinfectant and cream were in his drawer rather than the first aid kit. Grabbing what he needed, he sat beside Tae Woowon on the couch. He gently took Tae Woowon’s left hand, placing it palm-up on his lap. The skin had completely peeled off. The wound looked worse than he had expected, and Lee Yesin held his breath as he opened the disinfectant. Tae Woowon’s gaze bore into him, but he pretended not to notice, carefully dropping the liquid onto the wound and softly blowing on it. He probably needed burn ointment as well. Did they have any?“Wait here.”Tae Woowon set his hand down on the couch and entered the storage room. Surprisingly, he didn’t stop Lee Yesin from what he was doing. Finding this a little curious, Lee Yesin retrieved burn ointment and gauze from the first-aid kit. Approaching Tae Woowon, who was leaning back against the sofa, Lee Yesin took his hand again. He squeezed some ointment onto the wound, wrapped it with gauze, and secured it with fabric tape. It seemed like overkill for the size of the wound, but it was on a part of the body that moved frequently, so there wasn’t much choice. Frowning slightly, Lee Yesin examined his work, then placed Tae Woowon’s hand back on the laptop keyboard like before. As Lee Yesin gathered the scattered supplies to leave, Tae Woowon pulled him back by the arm.“Don’t use your hands!”Since Tae Woowon grabbed him with his gauze-wrapped left hand, Lee Yesin couldn’t shake it off. After dropping the first-aid supplies to the floor, Lee Yesin sat back down and pried his hand off to check it.“Why? Does it feel uncomfortable?”“What are you doing?”“…What?”“What is this?”Tae Woowon tilted his hand slightly. Lee Yesin, holding his wrist, stared down at Tae Woowon’s palm in silence.There were many times Lee Yesin was angry with him. He sometimes hated him, wishing he would disappear as soon as possible. But on the other hand, he didn’t completely dislike him. There were moments when he was grateful to him and even felt comforted by him. His good and bad memories of him were tangled together. If possible, Lee Yesin wanted to remember him in a positive light. Just as at the villa, he wanted to spend the remaining time without fighting.“…Should I wash your hair?”Tae Woowon looked at Lee Yesin with an expressionless face. Lee Yesin smiled at him, his eyes curving. Knowing Tae Woowon, he would likely refuse. So, without asking again, Lee Yesin forced him up and dragged him into the bathroom. While he was considerate of others, he couldn’t stand being taken care of. In his own way, he was a selfish man.“Is it uncomfortable?”Having forced Tae Woowon to sit in the bathtub, Lee Yesin placed a towel over the edge of the tub the way Tae Woowon had done before and rested his head on it. With one leg bent and his arms dangling, Tae Woowon quietly looked up at Lee Yesin. Now he understood why Tae Woowon always told him to close his eyes when he washed his hair.“I’m going to wet it.”Since Tae Woowon didn’t respond, Lee Yesin made the announcement and turned on the water. Starting from the tips of his hair, he gradually moved the showerhead closer to his scalp. As Tae Woowon’s gaze lingered on him, Lee Yesin could feel his face heating up.“…Close your eyes.”“No.”The immediate answer came without hesitation, and Lee Yesin frowned, turning off the shower and squeezing out some shampoo. He rubbed his hands together to make foam, then applied it to Tae Woowon’s hair. However, he seemed to lack the skill for it. Even though he applied the foam to the scalp, it somehow spread all over Tae Woowon’s smooth forehead and eyebrows. Lee Yesin, with a furrowed brow, wiped it away with his wrist. In doing so, he accidentally got some in the corners of Tae Woowon’s eyes. Tae Woowon finally closed his eyes. It didn’t seem to have gotten in his eyes; instead of wincing, he calmly closed his eyes as if he were asleep. Surprisingly, his eyelashes were long. His foam-covered eyebrows were neat, and his nose and lips, which had been splashed with water, looked sharp and defined.“Stop staring.”Tae Woowon spoke in a low voice, and Lee Yesin felt a chill down his spine. Snapping back to his senses, he blinked quickly and resumed his movements. Fortunately, Tae Woowon didn’t open his eyes after that, and although it was a bit clumsy, Lee Yesin managed to wash his hair thoroughly.However, when he lifted Tae Woowon up after wiping the water from his hair, he noticed something had gone wrong. Despite his careful efforts, the back of Tae Woowon’s shirt was completely soaked. Lee Yesin froze, staring at it in dismay, while Tae Woowon silently took off the shirt and walked out of the bathroom.Forcing his body to move, Lee Yesin followed him out. He grabbed Tae Woowon’s arm as he was about to leave the hallway, pulling him to the vanity. He took out a hairdryer and plugged it in. Standing face-to-face with him, Lee Yesin raised the dryer but couldn’t get into a comfortable position.“…Bend down a bit.”“No.”Responding slowly, Tae Woowon lowered his head slightly, as if afflicted with a “no” reflex. Frowning, Lee Yesin switched on the dryer. Rising on tiptoe, he began drying Tae Woowon’s hair. His body wobbled due to the unsteady stance, and his arms soon started aching. Just as he was debating whether to switch hands, Tae Woowon slid back and sat on the edge of the vanity. The loud hum of the dryer blew air in the wrong direction, and Tae Woowon gestured with his chin for Lee Yesin to come closer. After taking a step forward, Lee Yesin cautiously approached him. Swallowing his nervousness discreetly, he brought the dryer to Tae Woowon’s hair. While he quietly sat there letting his hair dry, Tae Woowon glanced at Lee Yesin, then closed his eyes. Lee Yesin didn’t stop until Tae Woowon’s hair was thoroughly dry and warm.Fighting with him had always been easy. Harsh words, a little sarcasm, and it would start. Though calling it a fight was a bit of an exaggeration—early on, there had been fights, but now it was just a rise in emotions. Regardless, things often flared up over trivial matters. But making peace wasn’t so simple. He had to suppress his pride, which probably meant nothing in the grand scheme of things, and invest time and effort. Yet, the peace that followed was sweet—peaceful, warm, and conducive to sleep.Lee Yesin shifted, placing his face on Tae Woowon’s shoulder. Wrapping an arm around his waist, he half-climbed on top of him and closed his eyes. Tae Woowon slowly stroked his waist. The sleep that had been rising to his throat gently lapped at the surface.After Lee Yesin turned off the dryer, Tae Woowon silently left his room. Worried that he might never return, Lee Yesin spent the next while idling in front of the TV. But soon enough, Tae Woowon returned to Lee Yesin’s room. The sky outside had already darkened, and the clock’s hands stood tall. When Lee Yesin saw Tae Woowon, he walked to the bed first. He could hear Tae Woowon’s footsteps behind him. As he climbed into bed, he stole glances at Tae Woowon. His face as indifferent as ever, Tae Woowon casually lifted the blanket and lay down beside him. Then, he slid his arm under Lee Yesin’s neck. And now, here they were.Sharing a bed with him was a routine for Lee Yesin. But tonight, something felt different. Perhaps it was because Tae Woowon had quietly accepted Lee Yesin’s touch. From the smallest gestures to larger ones, Tae Woowon always took care of things by himself, never relying on Lee Yesin. But this time, he let Lee Yesin in. It made him feel happy yet sad. If only they hadn’t met this way. If only they had met as Lee Yesin and Ji Geonwoo. How wonderful that would have been. Quietly, Lee Yesin buried his face in Tae Woowon’s chest, thinking.He was a little curious how Tae Woowon would react when he found out Lee Yesin was gone. No doubt he’d be annoyed at Lee Yesin for ruining his daily routine. Perhaps he’d look at him with disdain, thinking, What a mess. After getting chewed out by Chairman Lee for losing him, he’d probably find another job and care for his next client with the same tenderness as before.“…Are you asleep?”He already missed him.“Why?”