Sweet Sugar Candyman

#09

Saheon’s mouth slightly opened. With his still damp skin and dazed expression combined, he looked like a model from a photoshoot. How could he look so handsome even in that state? I couldn’t help but admire him once more.

Even under the hazy, pouring light of early evening without curtains, I thought his body resembled a sculpture. Perhaps it was because he was just turning his head to look back, but his back and shoulders seemed even more pronounced.

His solid body completely turned towards me. Saheon, who was about six steps away from me, slowly crossed his arms while backlit.

“Hmm.”

Hyung let out a short, drawn-out sound of admiration, his expression slightly troubled. Before I could even realize what it was, my heart sank. The process of finding the reason soon followed.

I had seen that face before. It was the expression Hyung made when he had to answer but didn’t want to. Given that Saheon and I had known each other for 20 years, I had seen that expression many times, but the problem was that the last time I saw that face was when he rejected my confession.

‘I like you, Hyung.’

Even though I was inside the house, it felt as if the cold winter wind was brushing against my cheeks. More precisely, it was the cold wind from that day. I carefully rubbed the back of my hand, as if I were holding onto that chilly memory.

Even pressing down hard enough to turn my hand pale, I felt nothing in my palm. It was purely a matter of feeling. I was able to return to reality by watching Saheon’s Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. Unlike the chilly memory of that day, Saheon’s house felt warm.

This time, I had only asked about the laundry, so there was no reason to feel anxious, but it seemed to stem from the association with past memories. I tried to take a slow, deep breath and looked directly at Saheon. The corners of his mouth curved up pleasantly as he looked at me.

“Hey, Mungmung, stand at attention.”

His voice was playful, like a military instructor, but there was a solid charisma that came with being an authority figure. Without realizing it, I straightened my posture, then wondered what I was doing. Still, I didn’t break the stance I had taken and let out a sulky remark.

“Why?”

My tone was grumpy, but my eyes were freely scanning Hyung, who was only wearing a pair of black boxers and crossing his arms. His well-defined, angular body seemed to indicate why he looked best in uniform.

“Mr. Lee Cheongmyeong, could you explain what you said earlier again?”

Saheon’s voice carried a businesslike tone. Perhaps he would give such instructions while flying with the title of co-pilot. The professional, stiff voice ending in a polite form was unfamiliar yet thrilling.

“…Do I have to do it by hand?”

“What?”

Hyung, who had narrowed his eyes, laughed heartily as if he found it absurd. The pleasantly ringing low laughter tickled my ears. Suddenly, I felt that my response sounded too childish compared to the way he spoke. I tried to mimic his tone with a slightly more mature voice.

“Hyung just got out of the shower, so I was going to take the clothes to wash. My parents told me to help out with housework, you see.”

The latter part was a shield I built to hide my true intention of wanting to see Hyung’s bare body once more.

“Is that so? I was curious how you would wash that little thing.”

Saheon’s gaze brushed past my lips and leisurely traveled downwards. I clenched my fists. Being taller than average, my hands and feet were also quite large.

Did Hyung see me as forever young, no matter how much I grew? Feeling a bit unfair, I poured my bottled-up emotions into my words. My voice had naturally turned blunt.

“I can do it well.”

“Oh….”

Saheon, who had let out an admiring sound as if teasing me, chuckled softly. If he were sitting, he might have rested his chin on his hand, looking at me with interest, as was his habit.

“Is that so? How will you wash mine?”

Hyung’s usual mischievous demeanor was charming, but his stiff tone was also attractive. Truly handsome. I thought about how if I could be captivated by his voice, Saheon might be the only one. Slowly, I continued speaking.

“I’ll put in detergent and fabric softener… and make it smell nice. Swirl it around.”

Unlike Saheon, I felt a bit foolish as I spoke, but this was the only direction I could answer. Glancing at Hyung, I saw him smirking.

“I’ll iron it neatly and straight….”

My words couldn’t finish. Thanks to Saheon bursting into laughter in the middle. The sight of him, wearing only his underwear with a towel on his head, reminded me of something I had seen on my father or Chaehun, but Hyung made it look like a scene from a movie.

I was the one who was bewildered by Hyung’s laughter, which bent him over at the waist. After laughing heartily for a while, Hyung wiped the tears from his eyes with his fingers, gasping for breath intermittently.

“Not bad, Lee Cheongmyeong. You’ve grown a lot.”

Amidst his breathless murmurs, Hyung flashed a grin that I knew well. The words that followed were filled with stiff and dry instructions.

“The washing machine is on the balcony. I’ve put the drying rack there too. The detergent and fabric softener are all next to it, so you can find and use them.”

I nodded slightly. Hyung roughly rubbed the white towel he had on his head. Distracted by the way he shook off the water, I hurriedly gathered the clothes on the bed, fearing our eyes would meet.

Suit pants, shirt, jacket, tie. I draped one piece of clothing over my left arm at a time and checked their condition with my fingertips. Since I couldn’t wash the suit pants and jacket at home, I would have to take them to the dry cleaner, but they didn’t seem to need washing. Having said something to Hyung, I decided to wash only the shirt and lifted my head.

“Is it okay if I don’t hand wash the shirt?”

“Just do it. Hyung prefers that over hand washing.”

With a playful smile, Hyung removed the towel he had been pressing down on. I nodded in agreement.

As planned, when Hyung opened the wardrobe where he had put the hat, I saw empty hangers. After hanging the jacket and pants on the hangers, I rolled up the tie and placed it underneath, holding only the shirt in my hand. Hyung was quietly observing my actions.

“Mungmung.”

Hyung called me lazily. Standing near the door after finishing everything, I opened my eyes wide to show I was listening.

“That thing on your shoulder… it can be detached, so take it off.”

Saheon tapped his broad shoulders, letting me know. Even such a trivial action made my cheeks flush. I fiddled with the sleeve of the dress shirt.

“Got it.”

“Lee Cheongmyeong.”

As Saheon traced a line with his lips, he stretched his arm forward. The white towel he was holding dropped slightly and swayed.

Having previously mentioned I was here to get the laundry, I quickly approached Hyung. But Hyung relaxed his grip and let the towel fall. A soft sound echoed as something gentle touched the floor.

“You need to take this too.”

A chillingly low voice lingered in my ears. I felt a slight dissatisfaction rise, wondering why he had to drop it on the floor when he could just hand it to me, but I knelt silently in front of Saheon.

The warmth radiating from Hyung’s body was comforting. It seemed even more so since he had just showered. I slowly inhaled the refreshing scent of body wash that filled the air as I picked up the towel.

“There’s a basket for laundry in the bathroom.”

Saheon’s languid voice came from above me. I looked up, startled. I realized how close we were, but I didn’t show it and naturally looked up at Hyung. The heat emanating from him was contagious, warming my cheeks.

Hyung pointed to the bathroom with his chin. I straightened my knees and stood up, looking up at his sharp jawline.

As Saheon said, there was a basket for laundry in the bathroom. Still holding the shirt tightly in my hand, I placed only the towel into the basket.

With the dress shirt in one hand and the basket in the other, I glanced at Saheon, who was watching me, and managed to mumble a simple greeting.

“Good night.”

“Yeah.”

Hyung’s gaze followed me until I left the room. I closed the door silently and let out a small sigh. The cool outside air made the heat in my cheeks feel even more pronounced. I pressed my fingers against my tired eyes.

Even after leaving Saheon’s room, the lingering image of what I had just seen seemed to dance before my eyes. I let out a gloomy sound, then quickly shut my mouth, wondering if Hyung had heard me.

Thanks to the backlight reflecting off the boxers I had seen up close, I could roughly guess their size. The more I thought about it, the more exaggerated the size seemed to expand in my mind.

I shook my head as if to shake off the thoughts and brought Hyung’s shirt to my nose. It still held the scent of his perfume and a faint trace of his body odor. I took a deep breath, as if trapping Hyung’s scent in my lungs, hiding my flushed face between the white shirt.

Hyung is big there too. Just like when he’s aroused…

Incredible. As expected, Hyung was a man who had it all.