Love Me More

Episode 15



Chapter 15

The sound of raindrops hitting the window, tok-tok, made Si-yul’s eyes twitch. His round eyeballs rolled this way and that behind his thin eyelids before a gap appeared in his eye line. His pupils lowered, then moved busily up, down, left, and right.

He rubbed his eyes with his palm and lifted his head. The throbbing at the back of his head and the nauseous feeling indicated a hangover. Feeling thirsty, he mumbled “Water…” while looking around.

He was in the back seat of a car. Raindrops were falling on the windshield, and water droplets covered the transparent sunroof above. He had fallen into a deep sleep, unaware that it was raining.

Si-yul turned his head to the side while searching for water. Woo Hyun-se was sitting with his arms crossed, head resting on the headrest, eyes closed. His breathing was soft, as if he had fallen asleep. For some reason, Si-yul held his breath and looked at that face. The dim light from the street lamps illuminated his smooth profile.

He was so handsome. His appearance was always striking. They say that when someone is too handsome, they don’t seem human, but that wasn’t the case here. The slight curve in the middle of his nose bridge, the natural creases around his eyes when he smiled, and the mole on his earlobe that looked like a piercing mark made him seem like a real person.

Still, he remained an exceptionally handsome man not commonly seen. With a face like that, why didn’t he just become a celebrity and make many people happy, instead of running clubs and bars and putting Si-yul through trials? It was perplexing.

Just as Si-yul was considering seriously recommending that he try entering the entertainment industry, even now it wasn’t too late—

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

Woo Hyun-se’s sudden words made Si-yul clutch his startled chest with a gasp. He hadn’t noticed at all that the other’s breathing had evened out and he was awake.

“Why did you pretend to be asleep!”

Si-yul 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 Hyun-se narrowed his eyes and grinned. Si-yul, writhing inwardly from embarrassment, rubbed his face vigorously with both hands. When he choked and coughed, the other handed him a water bottle from the armrest. He had already opened the cap, so Si-yul bowed his head in thanks and gulped it down. Half the bottle disappeared down Si-yul’s throat in an instant.

“Where are we?”

Woo Hyun-se took the water bottle back and casually put his mouth on the opening. He took just one sip and put it back in its original place.

“The place Kwon Si-yul told me about.”

“Me?”

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

Si-yul pressed his face against the window, almost squashing his nose, to look outside. Oseong Inn, Munhwa Manpower, Eunhye Beauty Salon. It was indeed his neighborhood. The car seemed to be parked next to the main road, as the alley was too narrow for cars to enter.

Si-yul 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 soundly.”

“Still, you need to go home too, CEO.”

His shoulders and neck were stiff, probably from staying in one position for too long. Si-yul tapped and massaged his shoulders with his fists. Seeing this reflection in the window, Woo Hyun-se spoke without thinking.

“Maybe we should have gone to a hotel.”

“No!”

Si-yul shouted reflexively. The word ‘hotel’ couldn’t have sounded more suggestive. Though nothing would likely happen between two men, an alpha and a beta, at a hotel, that was Si-yul’s perception of hotels. His face instantly turned bright red, visible even in the dark car interior.

“Don’t you like sleeping comfortably?”

“No, it’s not that.”

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

His voice was tinged with amusement. Woo Hyun-se seemed to have quickly grasped what ‘hotel’ meant in Si-yul’s mind. Si-yul 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 young, how can you be so weak with alcohol?”

Though his tone was concerned, it was clearly teasing. Si-yul pressed his heated cheek against the window where raindrops were trickling down. His lips protruded as his cheek was pressed, but it was better than staying flushed.

“Did you drive, CEO?”

There was no one in the driver’s seat. He had only just noticed this now. Si-yul straightened up and looked at Woo Hyun-se.

“I called a designated driver. I sent him away earlier because it looked like you’d sleep for a long time. I’ll call another one when I leave, so stop worrying unnecessarily.”

“Ah…”

“Were you hit by a drunk driver in your past life? You’re extremely thorough about this.”

“Of course, it shouldn’t be done. Drunk driving should never be allowed.”

“But selling drugs is okay?”

Si-yul closed his mouth. As Woo Hyun-se pointed out, it was indeed contradictory. Both were illegal, yet he absolutely refused one while doing the other with his own hands. Saying he was just a delivery person was nothing more than an excuse.

“I’ll be going now.”

Thinking that escaping was the answer in such an awkward situation, Si-yul grabbed the door handle. It wasn’t far from here to the inn anyway. He could just run a bit in the rain.

“Go when the rain stops.”

Woo Hyun-se didn’t physically stop Si-yul. He just threw out those words. Yet, as if caught in a snare, Si-yul hesitated. His hand on the handle wavered.

“You can sleep a bit more if you want.”

As if ready to fall back asleep, Woo Hyun-se sank into his seat. He closed his eyes, resting his head on the headrest like before. His hands were comfortably tucked into his pants pockets. He looked very languid, as if about to fall asleep at any moment.

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

It was a scene that made even the observer feel sleepy. The pitter-patter of raindrops, the quiet breathing, the rippling crimson light like the surface of a lake – it was as cozy as being under a thick blanket. Si-yul hesitated, then removed his hand from the handle. He leaned back comfortably against the backrest like Woo Hyun-se but didn’t close his eyes. He glanced to the side quickly, then quickly focused straight ahead.

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

There was no response. Only his handsome lips curved slightly, like a small boat.

* * *

Today, it wasn’t raining. From morning to evening and late into the night, it had been sunny. Even though it was dark now, the sky was clear of fine dust and clouds, allowing the stars and moon to shine brightly.

On this night with perfect temperature and humidity for walking, Si-yul sat absent-mindedly at an outdoor table of a convenience store. The drink he had grabbed out of courtesy was already more than half empty.

He should get up now, but somehow his feet seemed sticky, glued to the ground. He felt that if he waited just one more minute, five more minutes, ten more minutes, someone might suddenly appear and say hello.

But he hadn’t made plans with anyone. He was just sitting there. Holding onto a vain hope that if he waited, someone might come and speak to him.

Si-yul sipped his drink and looked at his phone. He usually kept his phone in a locker while working and checked it all at once after finishing, but all he had received were advertisement messages.

He scrolled down the screen with his finger. His chat with Woo Hyun-se had been pushed far down. The last message was from Si-yul, and the number beside it hadn’t disappeared.

It was since the day after they drank together. Contact from Woo Hyun-se had become infrequent. The first day was fine, but from the next day on, replies to his messages came very slowly. Calculating the time, it took nearly ten hours for a reply. Of course, he hadn’t visited the bar either.

Even regular customers were missed when they stopped coming, let alone someone like Woo Hyun-se. After sharing a meal, drinks, and even sleeping together in a car on a rainy day, how could he not be curious?

The atmosphere in the car had seemed fine.

It hadn’t even been a week – even if it had been a week, he couldn’t say anything – but it had only been four days. Yet, for the first time in his life apart from Kwon Yuwon, someone he had been in frequent contact with had almost disappeared. It didn’t feel good.

Si-yul entered the chat room and scanned through their messages. He nervously retraced his steps, wondering if he had inadvertently offended Woo Hyun-se.

[You must be very busy]

This was his most recent message. It was still unread. It wasn’t that contact had completely ceased. Si-yul scrolled through the screen. A conversation from a couple of days ago caught his eye.

[I haven’t treated you to a meal yet]

[When should I do it?]

[Next time. There’s no rush]

When it came to repaying the laundry fee, Woo Hyun-se had said Si-yul might run away and even found him a job directly. But now that Si-yul wanted to repay, his attitude was lukewarm.

[Then I haven’t fully repaid the interest and installments]

[You should spend your first paycheck on something you want, Kwon Si-yul]

Thanks to Woo Hyun-se’s consideration, Si-yul had eaten meat with Kwon Yuwon after a long time. How happy they had been. Recalling that moment, Si-yul smacked his lips.

Someday, he wanted to go eat pork belly with Woo Hyun-se too. He wasn’t sure if Woo Hyun-se would like it, but since he had comfortably drunk at a food stall, surely he would eat pork belly without issue.


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