Something That Felt Like Home

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Ah, no! I haven’t been waiting long.”

When Beomwoo finished his work and returned, night had fully fallen.

Since he came later than expected, Haejin had been alone for quite a while.

He had said he would rest because he was tired, but the whole time he was alone, he had been looking up places to go on his day off.

For some reason, it was strangely fun, and he hadn’t even realized so much time had passed.

He wasn’t bored, and nothing had happened as he feared, so there was no reason to apologize.

After all, he had followed on this business trip, so waiting was natural.

And having experienced this countless times in his past life, he was used to it.

When Haejin waved his hands, saying it was fine and no apology was needed, Beomwoo looked at him and let out a small sigh.

He stared at Haejin, lips pressed tightly together, then seemed to decide there was no need to say more on the topic and changed the subject.

“We should have dinner. Shall we order room service? Is that okay?”

“Should we? I don’t have anything particular in mind…”

“It would be good to think of something you’d like to eat.”

Come to think of it, it was dinnertime.

He was getting a bit hungry too.

Haejin wasn’t particularly picky about food, and compared to Beomwoo, his tastes weren’t that finicky, so room service seemed fine.

When it came to food, Beomwoo was far more particular than him, so if he said it was okay, it probably was.

But then Beomwoo suddenly said something else, as if telling him to think of something he wanted to eat.

What kind of remark was that, out of the blue?

Haejin looked at Beomwoo, wondering what he meant, but Beomwoo didn’t answer his gaze.

Instead, he turned and skillfully placed a room service order using the phone in the room.

When he asked, “Is this menu okay?” Haejin nodded without thinking.

Beomwoo finished the order, hung up the phone, and spoke to Haejin as if making a request.

“I’m going to shower and change. Can you receive the room service when it arrives? My assistant is still outside, so no suspicious person should come.”

“Ah, okay…”

Beomwoo seemed to want to wind down after finishing his work.

Haejin wanted to ask why he had said it would be good to think of something he wanted to eat, but he missed his chance and just nodded.

It wasn’t a particularly significant statement anyway.

He might have just meant that since Beomwoo would probably buy him whatever he wanted, he should think about what to eat.

It could have been a casual remark without much meaning.

As Haejin decided not to overthink it, Beomwoo gathered a towel and robe and went into the bathroom.

Shortly after, the sound of splashing water came from the bathroom.

It wasn’t a hotel with poor soundproofing, but since it was only one room, the sound was faintly audible.

It was a sound you wouldn’t hear unless you listened carefully, but Haejin sat on the edge of the bed, tightly clutching the hem of his clothes.

He thought about doing something else to distract himself, but there was nothing to do and nothing within reach.

He had felt this before—when Beomwoo got soaked in the rain and showered at his house, and during the past few days of cohabitation when he finished his work and went to shower.

Hearing someone else shower felt strange.

Objectively, it wasn’t the first time; he had experienced it many times as a married couple in his past life.

But back then, since they were married, it wasn’t a problem if he came out of the shower and did something to him, and also… back then, even if Haejin expected something, Beomwoo was indifferent to him.

He would ask permission to be intimate only to fulfill the contractual marital duty; otherwise, there were no spontaneous moments where the mood escalated and they came together.

So, even in this life, there might be no spontaneous situations, and he wasn’t the type to force anything.

It was just him alone feeling this way.

It definitely wasn’t because he expected anything…

Knock, knock—

Lost in thought for a moment, he was startled by the light knocking on the door.

Haejin’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s as he looked at the door.

From outside, he heard the voice of the assistant Beomwoo had brought along.

“Room service is here.”

“Ah, yes…! Just a moment!”

Haejin quickly stood up and almost ran to the door.

If he had stayed still, he might have started having strange thoughts; it was a relief.

Opening the door, the assistant helped bring in the room service order.

After placing the food on the table and the assistant leaving, the bathroom door opened shortly after.

“Has the food arrived?”

“Yes, it just came…”

Haejin turned to answer Beomwoo but couldn’t finish his sentence, inhaling sharply instead.

Beomwoo had come out of the shower wearing only a black robe.

His damp hair, the robe tied firmly at the waist but not fully covering his sturdy chest, slightly parted, created an oddly sensual atmosphere.

He had heard the term “visual appeal” somewhere before.

Beomwoo had never intended to use that on him, nor would he have thought of it… but Haejin had once been halfway swayed by that face.

Yet, today’s Beomwoo felt less like someone using visual appeal and more like someone pushing forward with physical presence.

Of course, Beomwoo likely didn’t come out like this with that intention; he probably just showered and came out… but knowing what his body looked like underneath was the problem, as his imagination kept running wild.

Why does this keep happening lately…?

Was he sexually frustrated?

They say men can have s*x as long as they can hold a spoon, but Haejin was so indifferent to sexual desire that he couldn’t even understand that saying, and he rarely even masturbated.

Since regressing, he had been too preoccupied to even try it once, and he didn’t want to become a s*ave to sexual urges like some heat cycle, so he even deliberately took suppressants… Could that be the issue now? Had he not released it for so long that he was having these perverted thoughts, unlike himself…?

As Haejin stared at him, mesmerized like a pervert without realizing it, Beomwoo seemed to sense something strange and furrowed one eyebrow.

“What is it? Do you have something to say?”

“Ah, no. I, I didn’t expect you to come out in a robe… I was surprised…”

Haejin finally realized he had been staring too intently and flusteredly explained.

Though he had been looking for a different reason, it wasn’t entirely a lie—he was surprised.

As Haejin blushed slightly and lowered his gaze, Beomwoo glanced down at what he was wearing and let out a faint, wry smile.

“Ah. I didn’t bring comfortable loungewear to change into. If it makes you uncomfortable, Haejin, I can ask my assistant to buy some clothes to change into.”

“That’s… n-not uncomfortable, but…”

“Then let’s eat.”

Haejin was about to say that even if it wasn’t uncomfortable, he didn’t know where to look, but before he could finish, Beomwoo acted as if it was settled and sat down to eat the room service.

Ah… Should he have said it was uncomfortable? But now it felt like he had missed the right moment.

Besides, he wasn’t sitting there naked, and even if he asked the assistant to bring comfortable clothes to change into, it would take at least ten minutes.

Telling him to change would let the room service food get cold, so it was better to let it go.

Haejin swallowed his words and sat down to start the meal.

As they ate, Beomwoo naturally asked.

“So, have you decided where you want to go in Busan?”

“Ah.”

He had spent the whole time alone thinking about where to go in Busan.

So Haejin was about to answer immediately when he suddenly remembered why Beomwoo had told him earlier to think about what to eat.

Come to think of it, did he mean that on the day they went to the place he wanted to visit for a change of pace, it would be good to even decide what to eat in advance?

Since it was his first time planning to go somewhere with someone, he hadn’t considered that he needed to choose where and what to eat as well.

I see… So I need to think that far ahead and make reservations like Beomwoo does.

Haejin had an epiphany as if struck, then belatedly noticed Beomwoo watching him intently, waiting for an answer, and hastily spoke.

“The, the sea.”

“The sea? Which sea?”

“Just… the sea…”

“……”

“It’s the most famous… and I want to see it…”

At the bewildered reaction, Haejin’s voice grew progressively quieter.

He felt embarrassed, as if he were being asked if that was all he had looked up.

During the hours Beomwoo was away, Haejin had diligently searched and researched Busan’s famous spots, but the only place that made him want to go was the utterly common sea.

Not a specific beach, just the open sea.

He didn’t want to swim or do anything there; he just wanted to relax while looking at the sea.

He had said it with that expectation, but seeing Beomwoo’s reaction now dampened his spirits.

Well, you can see the sea outside Busan too, and it wasn’t like it was his first time seeing it.

Even if Beomwoo had told him to look into it, he probably hadn’t expected this answer.

He had been hopeful, but… thinking he should look into other places, Haejin spoke dejectedly.

“…It’s too mundane, isn’t it?”

“No, let’s go.”

“If you’re just forcing yourself to agree, it’s okay. There are plenty of other places…”

“No. I really want to go too. It would be nice to see the sea after a long time. I like the sea.”

“……”

There are many other tourist spots.

He didn’t necessarily need to see the sea, and if they went to other famous places, they could see the sea along the way too.

Haejin was about to say he should look into it again when Beomwoo suddenly shifted his stance.

Earlier, he had seemed disappointed, as if wondering why they came all this way just to go to any old sea.

Now, he praised it enthusiastically, as if he were a ghost with a grudge from not being able to go to the sea.

It felt so forced that Haejin felt drained, but since he had already said where he wanted to go, changing it now would obviously not be believed.

So he gave up on changing and continued eating.