He Stayed the Night

Beomwoo, as if intending to unpack his remaining luggage, picked up his bags and went into the study.

Haejin, feeling he might have made a mistake, subtly watched his reaction, but his expression and actions seemed normal as ever; he didn’t appear hurt or upset to the extent Haejin had worried.

Even so, it was a situation where anyone would naturally feel slighted, and Haejin could sense it.

Still, he tried hard not to dwell on it. It wasn’t something to be overly concerned about, and even though Beomwoo suggested cohabitation, he must find this situation just as awkward.

If he thought Haejin was watching him, he’d likely feel uncomfortable too, so it was better to stop paying attention.

Trying to deliberately avoid thinking about it, Haejin attempted to divert his gaze elsewhere, but the more he tried to look away, the more his eyes drifted toward the study as if pulled by a magnet.

He didn’t have the nerve to stare openly, so he sat at the dining table, pretending to do something else while stealing glances.

Through the gap in the door, he saw Beomwoo spreading a blanket on the floor.

“…Huh?”

At the sight, Haejin let out a small sound of surprise.

Why is he laying a blanket on the floor? Is he planning to sleep there?

Come to think of it, they hadn’t discussed where to sleep.

When he was home alone after agreeing to cohabitate with Beomwoo earlier that day, Haejin had briefly wondered, ‘There’s only one bed. What do we do about sleeping?’

Last time, they had shared the bed, but they couldn’t do that again.

However, he had only thought about himself sleeping on the floor or the sofa, never picturing this scene.

Haejin had just resolved not to watch Beomwoo, thinking it would make him uncomfortable, and not to find fault, but he couldn’t hold back his impulse.

He fidgeted in his chair before finally standing up abruptly.

“Uh, uh… Beomwoo. I wasn’t trying to watch, but… are you planning to sleep on the floor?”

“Yes. I brought bedding too.”

“But… that’s not why we agreed to live together…”

Haejin cautiously asked from the study doorway, and Beomwoo gestured toward the blanket he was spreading as if asking something obvious.

He wasn’t asking because he couldn’t see; he asked because the scene was so absurd he couldn’t believe it.

This was Beomwoo, of all people.

As he thought last night, he was someone who had likely slept in premium beds all his life.

So, making him sleep on the floor felt, by Haejin’s standards, akin to making him homeless.

Of course, sleeping on the floor isn’t a disaster, so he could admit he was being overly dramatic.

But the problem was that this wasn’t a normal situation.

Beomwoo had decided to eat and sleep in this house to protect him.

He couldn’t let the person helping him sleep on the floor while he took the bed.

Haejin briefly pondered the many sleeping arrangements he had considered earlier.

While he was thinking, Beomwoo, who had been calmly finishing laying out the blanket as if it were none of his business, turned to look at him and asked.

“If that’s not why we agreed to live together, did you have some other intention for cohabitation?”

“No! That’s not it… It’s just not right for a guest to sleep on the floor.”

“I’m not a guest anymore; I’m a cohabitant.”

“Well, that’s true, but… You gave up your nice house to help me and decided to stay here. I’d rather sleep here or on the sofa, so you should use the bedroom.”

“No.”

“But…”

For Haejin, physical discomfort was preferable to emotional unease.

Besides, when living with his adoptive parents, he had slept fine with just a thin blanket on the floor.

Unlike Beomwoo, who grew up like nobility, he had grown up rough and could sleep just fine even on a warm floor, so switching sleeping spots seemed better.

Thus, Haejin suggested swapping sleeping places, but Beomwoo refused outright.

Seeing his firm attitude, as if it wasn’t even worth considering, Haejin felt flustered.

At that moment, a vague memory from last night surfaced.

His memory from last night, under the influence of alcohol and drugs, wasn’t clear, but he seemed to recall a similar conversation about him wanting to sleep on the floor and them discussing sharing the bed.

Back then, he had persuaded him to share the bed, but that was because he wasn’t in his right mind.

He couldn’t suggest that while sober. He shouldn’t, either.

But if persuasion through words was the only way, he would just be repeating what he said yesterday, and it was clear Beomwoo wouldn’t easily change his mind.

So, he wanted to let it go, thinking, ‘Let’s not waste energy on unnecessary arguments. If he says he’s fine sleeping on the floor, so be it.’

But it wasn’t easy.

Unbeknownst to him, he seemed to be stubborn about such things too.

However, he didn’t know how to persuade him.

Left with no other option, Haejin could only look at him with eyes full of unspoken words.

Beomwoo, watching him, shrugged his shoulders and spoke almost teasingly.

“Well, if you’re so scared you can’t sleep alone and ask to share the bed, that’s a different story.”

“Huh? What are you…”

“Are you scared again?”

“Scared…? No…”

Wondering what nonsense he was spouting, Haejin belatedly realized he was teasing him about last night’s situation.

Because back then, he had grabbed him and asked him not to go in a similar manner…

Yesterday, he had been so kind, agreeing to sleep together, and today he was teasing him.

The change in his attitude overnight was bewildering, and thinking he was making light of his ordeal made him angry.

It was an incident he was even scared to recall, and he was treating it like a joke.

There’s a limit to jokes.

He had always been mindful of Beomwoo’s reactions, and given his current situation of relying entirely on his help, he had never properly gotten angry no matter how absurdly Beomwoo acted.

But this wasn’t a joking matter, so his temper flared instantly.

Flustered and at a loss for words, Haejin soon snapped back.

“I-I was just concerned you’d be uncomfortable sleeping on the floor! I wasn’t scared or thinking anything else! If you say it’s fine, then I won’t ask anymore.”

Having rarely gotten angry at him, Haejin couldn’t properly intimidate him, but he grumbled and then turned his back on Beomwoo, who was still laying out bedding on the floor, returned to the bedroom, and slammed the door shut.

With the closed door behind him, Haejin muttered softly, his anger still not subsiding.

“Seriously, what kind of thing is that to say… He doesn’t even joke around usually.”

If it were someone else, he would have just thought, ‘Oh, he’s the teasing type,’ and sulked alone before moving on.

What felt more absurd to Haejin was that Beomwoo wasn’t that kind of person.

And Beomwoo knew the seriousness of yesterday better than anyone.

Hadn’t he been so worried and sincerely helped him yesterday?

He was the one who even agreed to his ridiculous request to stay.

It was baffling how someone who acted like that last night could behave like this today.

As he cooled down and thought about it, it was strange for such a person to dismiss and mock yesterday’s events.

Was he not teasing? No, then why did he say it in such a mocking tone…?

And with the next thought that followed, Haejin covered his mouth with a gasp.

“Could it be… he said it on purpose, sarcastically?”

To make him retract his kindness by irritating him, as if to say being kind to someone like him was foolish?

Under other circumstances, he wouldn’t have thought this far and would have just considered him a weird person.

But knowing how much Beomwoo worried about him yesterday made him think this behavior might be contradictory or an act.

If his speculation was true, then it was a high-level move, anticipating even his reaction.

But if Haejin didn’t catch his hidden meaning, it could damage his favorability.

Whether Beomwoo genuinely fell in love at first sight, wanted to date, or marry—whatever his goal—such an act would only erode his image and backfire.

If he wasn’t trying to seduce him but genuinely wanted him to sleep comfortably, regardless of his own image, then his behavior made sense, which felt strange.

The Beomwoo he knew wasn’t like this…

He knew he was different in this life, but not to this extent.

Every day, facing unfamiliar sides of Beomwoo as he got to know him felt strange and made his heart flutter.

Swept up by his turbulent emotions, Haejin told himself this was just speculation, perhaps reading too much into things.

Maybe he was simply teasing without any consideration.

He tried to calm his stirring heart by telling himself not to think too highly of Beomwoo.

But perhaps because of all the kindness he had received so far, no matter how he thought about it, the idea that Beomwoo deliberately irritated him to make him take the bed persisted.

Whenever that thought arose, Haejin kicked his blankets in frustration.

The first night of cohabitation, where sleep didn’t come easily, slowly passed.