An Incongruous Temperature

Dark scenery passed by outside the car window. Twilight had long since settled over the land. Had they gone to the after-party, they wouldn’t have returned until dawn.

Several staff members had pleaded with Gye-won to join them, but he politely declined. Surprisingly, Gye-won said he couldn’t handle his alcohol.

“Wouldn’t it be better if I drove, after all?”

The person currently in the driver’s seat was not Yi-seo, but Cha Gye-won. As soon as they reached the parking lot, he had shoved Yi-seo into the passenger seat and claimed the wheel for himself.

“Do you not trust my driving?”

As soon as he spoke, the car smoothly rounded a corner. Hard as it was to admit, Cha Gye-won was even good at driving. It made Yi-seo think, once again, that God was truly unfair.

“I just thought you might be tired….”

He was supposed to play the role of manager for the day, yet here he was, letting the actor drive him. Moreover, judging by the direction, they were heading toward Yi-seo’s house.

“Are you by any chance going to my house right now?” Yi-seo asked, half-doubting.

“Yes. Do you hate going home?”

“Let’s go to your place first. I’ll take the car back to the company tomorrow morning when I go to work.”

“Forget it.”

Gye-won nonchalantly pressed the accelerator. As the speed increased, Yi-seo gripped the seatbelt across his chest. Despite acting otherwise, Baek Yi-seo was actually quite a coward. Finding that amusing, Gye-won pressed his foot down even harder.

“It’s because I don’t feel comfortable with this.”

“…….”

“If you turn left there….”

A fork in the road appeared. If they went left, it would be a bit of a detour, but they could stop at Cha Gye-won’s house first.

“If I go to my house first, I’m taking the CEO inside with me. Is that okay?”

The car stopped at the intersection.

Yi-seo looked at Gye-won’s expression, wondering what on earth he was talking about, but it didn’t look like he was joking.

“No, why….”

Yi-seo’s house was small, but it was a perfectly fine home. He couldn’t understand why Gye-won kept trying to make him sleep at his place.

Gye-won ignored the green light and kept the car stationary. His fingers tapped the steering wheel, urging Yi-seo to answer quickly. The car behind them began to honk.

“I’ll drop you off and then I’ll go to my—”

“If you’re okay with it, we’re going to my house.”

Cha Gye-won simply never listened to what Yi-seo said. It was as if he had a special filter in his ears.

“……Do I absolutely have to choose between the two?”

This time, Yi-seo grabbed the belt with both hands. He suddenly remembered the night at Gye-won’s house when he had surrendered the nape of his neck—and how Gye-won had insisted on making him sleep in his own bed out of all those rooms.

“I told you. Decide. Quickly.”

The low voice pressured him for an answer once more. The honking from behind intensified. Unfazed, Gye-won raised an eyebrow, rushing him. Yi-seo let out a deep sigh. He had no choice anyway.

“Please… take me to my house.”

“Good.”

Gye-won ruffled Baek Yi-seo’s hair as if he had done a good job. A faint scent of soap wafted from the soft strands.

“What were you talking about?”

“Talking about?”

“With that man earlier.”

Cha Gye-won asked with a soft smile. He didn’t take his hand off Yi-seo’s hair, seemingly comfortable driving with only one hand. He was clearly referring to the assistant photographer. A “conversation” that was really nothing more than the man picking a fight.

“We just… said hello. I told him to get home safe.”

“That’s not what your face looked like,” Gye-won murmured softly.

Baek Yi-seo was a man of few words in front of him, but his emotions showed plainly on his face. It wasn’t that his expressions were particularly varied or his gestures large; it was just the way the corners of his eyes would droop or his cheeks would subtly hollow out.

Earlier, Baek Yi-seo’s face had been full of displeasure.

“……That really was all.”

“Don’t act like you know him if you run into him again. I’ve seen him a few times, and he’s unpleasant.”

“Okay….”

Yi-seo had no intention of acknowledging him anyway. He didn’t even know the man’s name.

At the quiet response, the hand stroking his hair slowed down. The round, warm head was perfect for petting.

“And don’t go handing out coffee, either.”

Looking at him, Baek Yi-seo seemed to be the type to go out of his way to suffer. Just looking at how he struggled to carry all those drinks when he could have just bought his own was proof enough.

“Tsk.”

“Uh… wouldn’t it be better to stay on their good side?”

It was common knowledge that bringing a coffee truck or a catering car to a set generated a positive response.

“Those people should be trying to stay on my good side.”

Cha Gye-won’s tone was arrogant, but it was impossible to deny. Even earlier, everyone from the director to the lowliest staff member was anxious to please him. Even when they talked amongst themselves, it was obvious they were constantly conscious of him.

The hand that had been stroking Yi-seo’s hair for a while suddenly slid deep into the collar of his well-pressed shirt.

“Ah.”

The temperature of the fingers against the nape of his neck felt cool compared to the warmth of the car. Even though he knew Gye-won’s body temperature was slightly lower than average, the sudden contact made him jump.

“Did you get close with Lee Jin-kang?”

“Uh… not particularly….”

So Gye-won had been watching when their eyes met earlier.

However, Yi-seo’s entire focus was on his neck. Cha Gye-won was lightly scratching near his throat with the back of his hand. He could clearly feel the thick knuckles of his fingers.

“You two seemed to be chatting quite comfortably earlier.”

“We just… exchanged greetings.”

“It must be nice to have so many people to greet.”

It was hard to tell if he was being sarcastic or genuinely impressed. Cha Gye-won was driving while looking straight ahead, and Yi-seo didn’t have the mental capacity to check Gye-won’s face because of the sensation of skin against skin.

“…….”

“He’s handsome, isn’t he?”

“Gye-won… ssi?”

Yi-seo looked at Gye-won with an expression that asked why he was stating the obvious. A hollow laugh escaped Gye-won’s lips at how foolish Yi-seo looked, shrinking his shoulders while making that face. Yi-seo didn’t even seem to realize his body was pressing against the car window in an attempt to avoid Gye-won’s hand.

“Not me. Lee Jin-kang.”

“Yes. Well. Ah… I suppose. Could you please… your hand….”

The hand that had been hovering near the light blue collar moved further inside, following the vertebrae. Seeing Yi-seo struggle to escape, Gye-won was even less inclined to pull away. His fingers toyed with the space between the neck bones.

“Is that so?”

“He’s an actor, after all.”

“Is everyone who’s an actor handsome?”

Isn’t that why they become actors? It was only natural for their looks to be superior to the average person. To Yi-seo’s eyes, almost all actors looked radiant and cool. But he felt that if he said that, the hand on his neck would tighten and choke him.

“Of course not….”

“Then is Lee Jin-kang your style? You said that other guy wasn’t your style last time.”

Cha Gye-won had asked something similar back then. It was easy to guess that “the other guy” referred to Hwi-jun.

“Why do you keep asking things like that…?”

“I’m asking because I’m curious. I don’t know how a gay man’s mind works.”

A surge of anger rose within Yi-seo. The word “gay” was a sort of trauma for him, yet Cha Gye-won brought it up so easily. Moreover, he didn’t like the attitude Gye-won had—acting as if he weren’t gay himself, despite having slept with him.

“…….”

“Not going to answer?”

“Ugh.”

Cha Gye-won scratched his vertebrae with his fingernail. The nape of the neck was one of Yi-seo’s most sensitive spots.

“If I… had to choose, he’s not my style.”

“Why? You said he was handsome.”

“Because he feels like someone… far removed from me.”

“You’re picky.”

Cha Gye-won finally pulled his hand out. The shirt collar was already completely wrinkled. Just as Yi-seo was letting out a sigh of relief, the long fingers touched his earlobe this time. The sensation of him lightly brushing over the bandage was ticklish.

“You put a bandage on.”

It was the spot he had covered to hide the mark. Because it was near his ear, the sound of the fingers brushing against the bandage felt loud.

“Yes….”

Rip.

“Don’t wear these.”

Cha Gye-won tore off the carefully applied bandage in one go. On the pale earlobe, there were the tooth marks that had now faded slightly, with new nail marks scratched over them.

“It looks a bit… unseemly….”

Yi-seo subtly pushed Gye-won’s hand away and covered his earlobe with his own hand. Because the bandage had been ripped off so suddenly, the skin around the adhesive area stung slightly.

“CEO.”

Yi-seo had only covered his own earlobe, but Cha Gye-won’s voice dropped to a flat, low tone.

“Yes…?”

Yi-seo looked up at him. Gye-won was looking at him, not at the road.

“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t try to cross me?”

In contrast to the heavy, echoing voice, the curve of his eyes was jarring. Come to think of it, Cha Gye-won smiled often, but those smiles almost never felt genuine. If anything, they felt chilling. Terrified by that, Yi-seo shook his head.

“I, I won’t wear them.”

“…….”

Gye-won smoothly brought the car to a halt. Before he knew it, they had arrived at the yard of Yi-seo’s house. He had been so distracted he hadn’t even realized they’d arrived.

Just as Yi-seo was about to get out, unable to hide his relief at being home, his body was yanked back toward Cha Gye-won by a brutal force. Gye-won had grabbed his forearm and pulled.