NOVEL NEXT Episode 32
Episode 32
Startled Seung-hyun tried to take a step back, but he couldn’t because of the hand firmly supporting his waist.
‘…From what point?’
Honestly, he did get a bit excited at the mention of a vacation home with a swimming pool. So he did get a bit closer to Jae-young, but if he reacted every time just because he got a little closer, wouldn’t he have to stay in this state all day?
So there must be a reason why this man’s gaze changed, but Seung-hyun had no idea what that reason was.
Since he had said something, he was a bit hesitant to abruptly push him away. Seung-hyun just looked at Jae-young with startled eyes.
Unlike Seung-hyun who didn’t know the reason, Jae-young had quite a clear motivation. A motivation that was trivial enough for Seung-hyun not to notice, but from the perspective of the person seeing, it was etched in his mind.
He was a person who didn’t laugh much and had a face that seemed to not care how life went unless there was a special occasion.
But the sight of him coming one step closer with sparkling eyes and meeting gazes at just the mention of a vacation home with a swimming pool looked a bit unfamiliar but very cute.
It was interesting that a person who had the financial means to get whatever he wanted as much as he wanted was making an excited face at just such a trivial thing like a child filled with anticipation.
His gaze was captivated by those eyes, and even after looking down at his hair instead of his eyes, he couldn’t take his eyes off for a long time. When the startled eyes looked at him again, it was another unique stimulus.
‘Sleeping together is something that means nothing to me. But if I get a lover, I would have to put meaning even into that trivial act. I hate that.’
He didn’t think he said that because he really thought sleeping together was nothing, but it didn’t matter anyway.
At least he knew that if he approached using those words as an excuse, he wouldn’t be able to back out because he wasn’t a person who would feign ignorance about what he said or did.
“For example… something like this.”
Jae-young’s head lowered a bit. Since the height difference between the two wasn’t that big, just by slightly lowering his head, their faces got close enough to almost touch.
Faces that got close enough to feel each other’s breath. Seung-hyun, with a surprised heart, couldn’t turn his head or take his eyes off Jae-young and just froze still.
‘We agreed to do whatever we want. We agreed to do anything except dating, so the reason I went to the bar that day in the first place was to find a partner, anyone…’
If he thought like that, it should definitely be nothing, but the closer the handsome face got, the more he felt his heart racing.
Was there a moment they kissed in that night he sparsely remembered? Seung-hyun traced back his incomplete memory.
The breath from slightly parted lips tickled Seung-hyun’s lips. Thump, thump. The sound of his heart that had grown loud enough to not be ignored was dizzily ringing in his head.
‘What’s the big deal about lips touching once. If I just close my eyes once…’
He felt heat rising to his face. Even though the weather had gotten a bit chilly and the interior without heating was quite cool.
The moment all his senses were focused on Jae-young who had lowered his head.
Click-!
“Wa-wait a minute!”
Startled by the sound, Seung-hyun pushed Jae-young away with all his might. Jae-young, who was pushed back a few steps, barely managed to not fall by putting strength in his legs.
“Fortunately, he wasn’t sleeping yet so I was able to talk to him. He said he’ll call the company right away to clean up the house. He said it will be done within 3 days, and since the company will clean too, you can move in within a week at the latest… Oh my, did you step on something wrong?”
The agent, who had finished the call and returned, alternately looked at the staggering Jae-young and the red-faced Seung-hyun, worrying about the two.
“……”
“……”
The agent, who was looking at the two who didn’t answer for a moment, belatedly noticed the strange atmosphere and slightly covered her mouth.
“Oh my. I…”
“No. Nothing happened. Don’t worry about it.”
Seung-hyun quietly grabbed the agent who was trying to go out again. He seemed to know what she was thinking.
“Oh my. No, I’m not that narrow-minded.”
“No. Nothing happened. Then will you contact me as soon as the house is cleaned up?”
Seung-hyun changed the subject, ignoring Jae-young. The agent, who glanced at Jae-young giggling behind her, turned her gaze back to Seung-hyun.
Judging that it was right to follow Seung-hyun’s words anyway since he was the contractor, the agent returned to the point as if nothing had happened.
“The homeowner said he’ll contact the company, and they said they can probably come right away tomorrow or the day after. But just in case, I’ll contact you again once the schedule is set for sure.”
“Yes. Then the contract…”
“The owner’s family has already received the power of attorney and all necessary documents in advance, so you can come and sign the contract. That person also lives in this neighborhood, oh my. They just contacted me now.”
The agent turned on her cell phone screen to check the message.
“If we set it quickly, he said the time is good tomorrow afternoon at 2 or four days later at 10 in the morning, but tomorrow is probably too tight for you, right? Four days later…”
“No. The sooner the better. Tomorrow is fine too.”
“Oh my. Young people are so refreshing.”
“That’s right. He’s a good person because he’s refreshing.”
Jae-young, who was watching the conversation between Seung-hyun and the agent, chimed in from behind. The agent, who noticed that the two had an ambiguous relationship, laughed hoho and said,
“Oh my. That’s right. You must be happy.”
“……”
“Then I’ll tell him that. Ah, you can look around more, should I give you some space?”
“No, even if we look around, there’s no need for you to go out of your way…”
“I’ll be outside, so call me when you come out. Hohoho.”
The agent, whose thoughts were obvious, went down the stairs. The sound of the door opening and closing was heard again. In the awkward atmosphere, Seung-hyun glanced behind him.
‘I should have just come alone. But… I didn’t want to seem like I was being swayed.’
If he had known this would happen, it seemed like it would have been better to come alone. But what can be done about what already happened?
“Is it funny?”
“I didn’t say lover.”
“You didn’t deny it either.”
Jae-young raised both hands to appeal his innocence, but he just looked hateful. Seung-hyun let out a small sigh.
‘Forget it. He’s someone I’ll only see a few times and never see again anyway. Whatever he thinks… As long as I do well.’
“Well, to Han Seung-hyun, for whom sex is nothing, this kind of thing would also be nothing, wouldn’t it?”
“Ah, yes. Yes. That’s right.”
But even if he had no lingering feelings, the momentary shame didn’t disappear. Seung-hyun made a slightly displeased face.
“Now that the place to move has been decided in a day, I’ll be free for a few more days. The move will be taken care of by the company anyway.”
“I won’t be very free.”
Seung-hyun answered, glancing at the sofa placed in the living room below the stairs. If he wanted to get rid of most of the black and white furniture and bring in things to his taste, he would have to diligently pick out items from now on.
“The one who’s free is Ju Jae-young, not me, right?”
“I’m free, but what’s good about having a nice friend?”
If someone sees this, they’ll think I’m a person who doesn’t know what a friend is at all. Seung-hyun chuckled.
It’s not that he didn’t have friends, but he was always busy due to his not so affluent life. Thanks to that, rather than friends he could spend a lot of time with and open up to, he just had many people he could call friends to a moderate degree.
But that didn’t mean he didn’t know the definition of a friend or what a typical friendship was like.
“Right?”
But it should be okay to pretend not to know this much. Seung-hyun turned his head without answering Jae-young’s words.
‘If I just keep an appropriate distance like this, his interest will quickly fade away. 1 year. No, now it’ll be less than 1 year at most…’
The man in front of his eyes didn’t seem to have that much patience. Even in the novel, he had no interest in people other than Seon-hu and was very whimsical.
‘Well, even if that kind of interest cools… He’ll really be friends with me then.’
“That’s right. Having a friend is nice.”
Seung-hyun, who thought for a moment, nodded his head. Jae-young, who heard a satisfactory answer, smiled brightly.
“As a friend, can I ask you a favor?”
“What is it?”
“When you go to a bar like last time, take me with you.”
“…Why?”
Come to think of it, contrary to his determined vow to have sex even if he died, he had completely forgotten about his initial goal since that night.
At Seung-hyun’s question, Jae-young shrugged his shoulders.
“You seem to have no vigilance at all. As a friend, I don’t feel reassured.”
“As a friend, I’ll think about it.”
It was certainly a bit reckless, but people originally come for similar purposes anyway, so what’s the big deal? Seung-hyun gave an ambiguous answer and pushed Jae-young’s back.
“Let’s go out before the agent lady gets any strange ideas.”
“I didn’t even do anything, this is unfair.”
Jae-young pretended to cry, but Seung-hyun didn’t even pretend to see it and just pushed Jae-young’s back. As they came down to the first floor, Jae-young’s cell phone rang in his pocket. Checking the contact, he abruptly stopped in place.
“Something urgent came up, so I think I’ll have to go now.”
“Well, we’re done with everything anyway… Go as you please.”
Was it his imagination that his face seemed to frown for a moment after looking at the cell phone screen? Seung-hyun waved his hand nonchalantly, telling him to hurry and go.
Seeing the face that didn’t even properly look at him, Jae-young showed an expression of slight displeasure. Jae-young, who was about to leave with his hand on the doorknob, made a face as if he remembered something and turned back to Seung-hyun.
“Do you have something to sa…”
Seung-hyun, who looked up at Jae-young, blinked his eyes in surprise at the warmth that lightly settled and left his cheek in an instant. Jae-young left a word to the dazed-faced Seung-hyun and opened the door.
“Bisous between friends wouldn’t be a big deal at all to Seung-hyun, right?”
Leaving a light remark, Jae-young slipped out the open door before Seung-hyun could come to his senses. Left alone, Seung-hyun stared at the door where only cold wind was coming in for a long time.