“….”
“Don’t overthink it too much. When we were friends, we were friends because we liked being friends. And now, we want to be together because we want to be together. In reality, our friendship ended the moment you realized you liked me. It doesn’t make sense to like a friend with the intention of kissing them. We were already more than friends.”
Hyun Gyujin’s words were right. When Yuwon was friends with Hyun Gyujin, he never once thought about wanting to do something that couples do. The possibility of such thoughts didn’t even exist. Why? Because it was natural.
Of course, there were many times when Yuwon thought Hyun Gyujin was handsome and genuinely kind. A one-of-a-kind friend. Hyun Gyujin was truly a ‘good friend’.
But within that natural time of friendship, where it was so natural that he didn’t even need to explicitly define it as friendship, when the way Yuwon looked at Hyun Gyujin suddenly changed and his thoughts changed through that gaze, the name ‘friend’ began to waver.
While incidents of dreaming about kissing a friend could happen, indulging in those dreams could not. And from the moment he realized he couldn’t simply brush off such incidents as mere happenstance, the previously solid ‘natural friendship’ ceased to be so natural.
Yet, it wasn’t that Yuwon disliked or felt sad about it. A new name had emerged instead of ‘friendship’. But if, by some chance, this new relationship were to end? Could they go back to being friends again?
“….”
No, it wouldn’t be possible to revert. They had already done things that friends don’t do, things they couldn’t do. Of course, sometimes statements like “we’ll remain good colleagues, good friends” could be seen in the aftermath of breakups, but they seemed like packaged words meant to convey a simple parting.
“What’s the matter? Don’t think about it alone; let me know too.”
“Well, it’s just… I like it.”
“Me?”
“….”
“Yeah.”
“Is your lip hurting from swelling?”
“No, it doesn’t hurt. I want to do it again…”
With the sensation of the blanket and Hyun Gyujin’s upper body rising, Yuwon leaned back onto his own body and closed his eyes. Soon, the warm tenderness without any worries flowed into his lips once again.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
***
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“Uh, Mom. When did you come?”
“Just now. But why is Gyujin sleeping like this here, all hunched over? The guest room bed is big enough.”
“Ah… that’s…”
He didn’t know what to say. Showing up and sleeping so closely in one bed, he wondered if this could be explained away.
“But you two are so cute.”
“….”
“You’ve just grown in size. But how are you still like kids? When you were young, you always insisted on sleeping together like this.”
“….We were talking until we fell asleep last night…”
“Should I change the bed? I’ll buy a bigger one to fit Gyujin’s height. Then you can lie down and talk comfortably. I never thought of that before. It’s strange that you’re suddenly sleeping in the guest room after playing together.”
At that moment, Hyun Gyujin, who had been deeply asleep, also stirred and sat up. Yuwon slipped his hand under the blanket, grasping Hyun Gyujin’s fingers and gently shaking them. It was a signal to wake up quickly. He couldn’t even imagine what would happen if Hyun Gyujin hugged him or tried to kiss him without knowing the situation.
“Oh, Auntie…”
“It’s been a long time since I saw our Gyujin sleeping. Oh my, so cute. How did you two grow up like this? The bed must have been small and uncomfortable. I’ll change it to a bigger one.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to do that because of me.”
“Anyway, I was planning to change this bed. Yuwon got it when he was in middle school. If we change it to a bigger one, it’ll be more comfortable for Gyujin when he comes over. You two can watch something together, and if you fall asleep, you can sleep comfortably. Isn’t that nice?”
Now fully awake, Hyun Gyujin grasped the situation and smiled as usual.
“Then I’d be very happy. After all, I’m like your son.”
“You’re so pretty. Gyujin, let’s go have brunch together. Sohee and Youngjun have lunch plans today, and you shouldn’t eat alone. Or do you have plans too?”
“No, I don’t. I’d love to go with you if you take me.”
“Taking you is a given. Of course, we’ll go together.”
With a smile, Hyun Gyujin got off the bed and flipped the hoodie he had worn yesterday. Then, he looked at Yuwon, who still seemed bewildered by the situation. Perhaps his parents would have been very surprised to see that he was sleeping in the same bed. Hyun Gyujin wanted to reassure him, but it wasn’t easy to do so in front of Yuwon’s parents.
“Well then, I’ll go home and get ready. What time should I come?”
“It’s about a 30-minute drive, so it would be good to leave around 10:30.”
“Okay.”
As Yuwon’s parents left the room, Hyun Gyujin turned to Yuwon one last time.
“See you later.”
“Yeah… Bye.”
Yuwon breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the door close. From the moment he heard his mom’s voice and saw how close he was to Hyun Gyujin, his heart had been racing so fast he couldn’t calm down.
It wasn’t like he was caught in the act. After all, Hyun Gyujin hadn’t done anything wrong. And thankfully, or rather fortunately, it seemed he wasn’t thinking in the direction he was worried about. Yuwon pulled the blanket over his face and lay back down, trying to steady his labored breath.
He knew his parents were coming in the morning, and yet he had forgotten everything, staying up until two in the morning talking and kissing with Hyun Gyujin. Completely forgotten.
He was losing it, really. After finally exhaling a deep breath, Yuwon turned back towards where Hyun Gyujin had been lying in the faint darkness under the covers.
Amidst blaming themselves for being completely engulfed in the warm emotions he shared with Hyun Gyujin and not thinking of anything else, Yuwon wanted to see Hyun Gyujin.
“… ”
Yuwon shifted slightly towards the pillow where Hyun Gyujin had been lying, pressing his face into it. From the pillow, Hyun Gyujin’s scent lingered. The warm, comforting scent that I had been breathing in all night.
As he half-buried his face in the pillow and took a deep breath, his fingertips tingle, and his lower abdomen felt ticklish. Yuwon curled up, covering his lower abdomen with both arms and closing his eyes.
It was truly an embarrassing morning.
***
Yuwon, sitting in the passenger seat with his mom in the back and Hyun Gyujin beside them, turned his head to look out the window. Under normal circumstances, this combination might not have felt awkward and would have felt very natural, but not now.
Ignoring the fact that there had been a heart-stopping moment in the morning, Yuwon and Hyun Gyujin were not in a friendly relationship at the moment. However, his parents still thought of them as irreplaceable friends. Maybe because he had never kept such a big secret from his parents, this situation kept feeling uncomfortable.
“I watched Gyujin being born, but when did he grow up like this? How tall is he?”
“I measured 188.6cm the other day.”
“How did he grow up so much? He’s so handsome, too. Gyujin, have you ever thought about becoming an actor? Auntie has been in this business for a long time, so I can tell just by looking at someone’s face, and Gyujin, you have a face that would really shine on camera.”
“I also feel like I should become a celebrity when I think about my face, but I don’t know why I’m not interested in that field.”
Laughter filled the car at Hyun Gyujin’s words. Yuwon, silently observing Hyun Gyujin maintaining the cheerful atmosphere as before despite experiencing the same situation, was startled by the sensation of something touching the tip of his finger and lowered his gaze.
“The entertainment industry has lost a great talent.”
“Yeah, but even if I wanted to, my mom would probably oppose it.”
“Why?”
While conversation flowed casually from the front seats, fingers on the armrest above, invisible unless one actively paid attention, were leisurely entwined. Yuwon managed to free his finger from the entanglement, but Hyun Gyujin, as if unwilling to let go, intertwined his fingers deeply once again.
Thanks for the chapter!! Also the ch 45 and 46 is just the same
thank you for letting me know, will fix this.