LM 15

The pitter-patter of raindrops hitting the window startled Siyul’s eyes. Behind his thin eyelids, his round eyeballs rolled this way and that until a gap formed in his eyes. His pupils lowered, then busily moved right, left, up and down.

He rubbed his eyes with his palms and lifted his head. The throbbing at the back of his head and his stomach churned queasily—a clear sign of a hangover. Thirsty, he murmured for water and looked around.

He was in the back seat of a car. Raindrops were falling on the windshield, and beads of water dotted the transparent sunroof in front. He had been in such a deep sleep, he hadn’t even noticed it was raining.

Siyul turned his head to the side while searching for water. Woo Hyunse was sitting with his arms crossed, head leaned back on the headrest, eyes closed. His breathing was soft, as if he had fallen asleep. For some reason, Siyul held his breath for a moment and studied that face. The dim light from the street lamps illuminated his smooth profile.

So handsome. His looks were always surprising. They say when someone is too good-looking, they don’t seem human, but that wasn’t the case here. The subtle curve of Woo Hyunse’s slightly sloped nose, the fine lines at the corners of his eyes when he smiled, and even the faint mole marking his earlobe from a long-gone piercing—all these features made him seem like a real person.

Still, he remained uncommonly handsome. With a face like that, why not become a celebrity and make countless people happy, instead of running clubs and bars that constantly tempted and challenged him? It was an odd choice.

Just as Siyul was seriously considering suggesting he try his hand at entertainment even now, Woo Hyunse suddenly spoke:

“You’ll bore holes in my face if you keep staring.”

Siyul clutched his startled chest with a gasp. He hadn’t noticed at all that the man’s breathing had evened out and he was awake.

“Why did you pretend to be asleep?” Siyul protested, feeling wronged. If he was awake, he should have said so, not embarrass him by revealing it so late.

“I didn’t pretend. I just didn’t say anything.”

“That’s the same thing.”

Woo Hyunse narrowed his eyes and grinned. Siyul inwardly writhed with embarrassment, rubbing his face vigorously with both hands. When he choked and coughed, the man handed him a bottle of water from the armrest. He opened the cap and offered it, so Siyul bowed his head in thanks and gulped it down. Half the bottle disappeared down his throat in an instant.

“Where are we?” 

Woo Hyunse took back the water bottle and casually put his lips to the opening. He took just one sip before setting it back in its original place.

“The place Kwon Siyul told me about.”

“I did?”

“Yeah. You said your home was around here.”

Siyul pressed his face against the window, his nose nearly flattened, as he peered outside. Oseong Inn, Munhwa Manpower, Eunhye Beauty Salon. It was indeed his neighborhood. The car must be parked by the main road since the alley was too narrow to enter.

Siyul hurriedly took out his phone to check the time. 2:46 AM. He had slept soundly in the car for nearly two hours.

“You should have just woken me up.”

“You were sleeping so peacefully.”

“Still. You need to get home too, Director.”

His shoulders and neck were stiff from staying in one position for so long. Siyul pounded and massaged his shoulders with his fists. Seeing his reflection in the window, Woo Hyunse spoke without thinking:

“Maybe we should have gone to a hotel.”

“No!” 

Siyul shouted reflexively. The word ‘hotel’ couldn’t have sounded more suggestive. Logically, two men—a Beta and an Alpha—staying at a hotel wouldn’t lead to anything unusual, but in Siyul’s mind, that’s what hotels implied. His face instantly turned bright red. Red enough to be clearly visible even in the dim car interior.

“You don’t like sleeping comfortably?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“What were you thinking to make your face so red?”

There was laughter in his voice. Woo Hyunse seemed to have quickly grasped what ‘hotel’ meant in Siyul’s mind. Siyul bent over, burying his face in his hands. It felt as hot as boiling water.

“It’s because I’m not fully sober yet.”

“You’re still so young, how can you be such a lightweight?”

Though he sounded concerned, it was clearly teasing. Siyul pressed his burning cheek against the rain-streaked window. His lips protruded as his cheek was squished, but it was better than staying flushed.

“Did you drive, Director?”

There was no one in the driver’s seat. Only now did he notice. Siyul sat up straight and looked at Woo Hyunse.

“I called a driver. I sent him away earlier since it looked like you’d sleep for a while. I’ll call another when I leave, so don’t worry unnecessarily.”

“Ah…”

“Were you k1lled by a drunk driver in a past life? You’re so thorough about this.”

“Of course you shouldn’t do it. Drunk driving is absolutely unacceptable.”

“But selling drugs is okay?”

Siyul shut his mouth. As Woo Hyunse pointed out, it was contradictory. Both were illegal, yet he insisted one was absolutely forbidden while doing the other with his own hands. Saying he was just a delivery boy was nothing more than an excuse.

“I should get going now.”

In situations like this where he was at a loss for words, running away seemed the best answer, so Siyul grabbed the door handle. It wasn’t far from here to the inn anyway. A little rain wouldn’t hurt if he ran.

“Leave when the rain stops.”

Woo Hyunse didn’t physically stop Siyul. He just tossed out those words. Yet Siyul hesitated as if caught in a snare. His hand on the handle wavered.

“You can sleep a bit more if you’d like.”

As if about to fall back asleep, Woo Hyunse sank into his seat. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back on the headrest like before. His hands were casually tucked in his pockets. He looked so languid, as if he might drift off at any moment.

“It’d be a shame to miss the sound of the rain.”

It was a scene that made even an onlooker feel drowsy. The pitter-patter of raindrops, the quiet breathing, the shimmering reddish glow like a surface of water – it was as cozy as being wrapped in a thick blanket. After hesitating, Siyul took his hand off the handle. He leaned back comfortably like Woo Hyunse, but didn’t close his eyes. He stole a quick glance to the side before hastily fixing his gaze forward.

“Then I’ll stay just a little longer. …Until the rain stops.”

There was no reply. Only those handsome lips curved slightly, slack as a small boat.

* * *

Today, it didn’t rain. From morning till evening and late into the night now, it had been bright and clear. Even in the dark night sky, with no fine dust or clouds, the stars and moon shone brilliantly.

On this night perfect for walking, with ideal temperature and humidity, Siyul sat blankly at an outdoor table of a convenience store. The drink he’d grabbed just to have something in hand was already more than half empty.

He should have gotten up and left, but his feet felt stuck to the ground. If he waited just one more minute, five more minutes, ten more minutes, it felt like someone might suddenly appear and say hello.

Not that he had plans to meet anyone. He was just sitting there. Holding onto the vain hope that if he waited, someone might come and strike up a conversation.

Siyul sipped his drink and looked at his phone. He’d kept it in a locker while working and checked it all at once after finishing, but there was nothing but spam messages.

His finger scrolled down the screen. His chat with Woo Hyunse had been pushed far down. The last message was from Siyul, with the number beside it still not cleared.

It was after that night of drinking that Woo Hyunse started becoming distant. At first, it was fine. But from the second day onward, his replies grew slower—taking nearly ten hours to respond. And he hadn’t shown up at the bar since.

Even a regular customer disappearing would raise questions, and this was Woo Hyunse. They had eaten together, drank together, and even slept in the same car on a rainy night. How could he not be curious?

The atmosphere in the car had seemed fine…

It hadn’t even been a week – though he couldn’t complain even if it had been a week—it had barely been four days. And yet, someone who had been more responsive than anyone else besides Kwon Yuwon was now practically ghosting him. It bothered him, subtly but surely.

Siyul entered the chat and skimmed over their exchanged messages. He jiggled his leg nervously, wondering if he might have inadvertently offended Woo Hyunse somehow.

[You must be very busy]

This was the most recent message he’d sent. It was still unread. It’s not that contact had been completely cut off. Siyul scrolled the screen with his finger. A conversation from a couple days ago caught his eye.

[I haven’t been able to buy food yet]

[When should I buy it?]

[Next time. No rush]

When it came to repaying the laundry money, Woo Hyunse had said Siyul might run away and even found him a job directly. But now that Siyul was trying to repay, his attitude was rather lukewarm.

[But then I won’t have paid back the interest and installments]

[Kwon Siyul should buy what he wants with his first paycheck]

Thanks to Woo Hyunse’s consideration, Siyul had eaten meat with Kwon Yuwon after a long time. How happy he had been. Recalling that moment, Siyul smacked his lips.

He wanted to go eat grilled pork belly with Woo Hyunse sometime too. Though he wasn’t sure if Woo Hyunse would like it. However, for someone who could drink comfortably at a food stall would probably be fine with grilled pork belly.