Sweet Sugar Candyman

#19

My lips, which had been twitching, naturally parted. Unsurprisingly, it was due to Saheon’s choice of words, calling me a “punk.” My mind, which had entered a state of emergency upon hearing such a label from the person I loved most in the world, began to spin more tightly than ever.

Had I done something wrong to Saheon? I had already apologized for not answering his call and for falling asleep in his car, but was there something else?

My eyebrows involuntarily furrowed downwards. I tried to avoid showing it by looking down, but I couldn’t hide the slight downturn of my lips.

Unable to bear his kind yet heavy gaze, I fidgeted and pressed my fingers down meaninglessly. A sigh escaped from Saheon once again. I raised my gaze slightly to observe his expression.

He wore a troubled look. He seemed to be deep in thought, and without realizing it, I bit my own soft lip. My vision was near my lips, but it felt like Saheon was looking far beyond that. When our eyes met, he rested his chin on top of my head. The pressure was enough to make my head, which had been slightly raised, drop back down.

Saheon ruffled his hair vigorously, making it all messy. At first, I held back, but he continued to mess with it until it was thoroughly tousled. It was only when my head started to spin from the motion that I had no choice but to grasp his hand that was resting on my head.

“I’m dizzy! Stop!”

But Saheon flashed a playful smile and gently pulled my hand down towards the nape of his neck, drawing me closer to him. It happened so quickly that I had no choice but to follow along.

Saheon emitted a warm scent that enveloped me. It seemed that the strong smell of his cologne had faded, replaced by the scents of shampoo and body wash.

As my body was pulled forward, I instinctively placed my hands down for support. My hands settled near his shoulders. In the blink of an eye, I found myself in Saheon’s embrace, and I took a deep breath. My surprised eyes widened.

“Why are you sulking?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for now?”

“Um….”

My meaningless mumbling of an apology was interrupted midway. I heard Saheon’s low chuckle right next to my ear. It was a deep sound that made even the fine hairs on my body stand on end. My throat clearly moved as I swallowed, and I quickly scrambled to come up with an excuse.

“…I’ll make sure to answer your calls from now on, hyung.”

“Okay.”

His hand, which had been cradling the back of my neck, began to gently stroke up and down. I realized for the first time how sensitive my neck was. Every time Saheon’s large, warm hand moved, a shiver ran down my spine.

The sensation that made every hair on my body stand on end was both dizzying and strangely addictive. I tried to swallow quietly and continued speaking.

“And… I won’t fall asleep in your car again.”

“Mm….”

With a short sound, his hand’s movement paused for a moment but soon resumed its slow caress. It felt like if I made a mistake, Saheon’s lips would brush against my ear at any moment. Each breath he took brushed against my earlobe.

“That’s fine.”

“Yeah….”

So he wasn’t angry about me falling asleep in the car. As I rolled my eyes, trying to find the reason, the answer came to me faster than I expected.

It must have been quite difficult for him to bring me back after I fell asleep in the car. No matter how tall Saheon was, I was slightly taller than average, so whether he carried me or held me, I could tell he must have struggled quite a bit.

Living in the same house, it was only natural that we shared the same scent. However, Saheon’s seemed a bit more special. I timidly leaned my forehead against Saheon’s shoulder.

I leaned in with just enough pressure to be able to pull away at any moment, but even the light contact felt nice. I held back the desire to rub my forehead against him and spoke again, trying to buy some time.

“…Are you angry?”

I heard Saheon’s deep breath echo in my ear. Even though I knew he wasn’t, it sounded as if he was holding back anger. Saheon, who had been stroking my neck, carefully pulled away from me. He returned to his gentle demeanor.

“No. Why would I be angry?”

“But….”

On the surface, Saheon seemed to be gently scolding me, but having watched him for a long time, I couldn’t shake the impression that he was subtly upset. As I trailed off, he gently brushed my disheveled hair back, unlike before.

“Aren’t you hungry? I brought you hangover soup because I was worried you might have a hangover.”

“Yeah. No hangover… no, I’m hungry. I’ll eat!”

I quickly changed my answer as I caught the slight tightening of Saheon’s lips. He removed his hand from my hair without hesitation.

“Right. Our Mungmung drank so much… he shouldn’t even remember. Right? What am I doing taking care of a baby? Right?”

I knew better than to say, “I remember everything,” in front of Saheon, who was smiling lazily and muttering as if he was certain. I kept my mouth shut and avoided answering.

I didn’t have a hangover, nor could I find even a trace of one, but I obediently sat down at the table. Saheon placed a large bowl of hangover soup filled with big bones and greens in front of me.

Having lived on either skipping breakfast or just eating enough to stave off hunger, I was wide-eyed at what felt like a proper meal. I already worried about whether my stomach would be okay after eating like this from the morning. Unconsciously, my gaze turned to Saheon.

“Enjoy your meal. I didn’t make it, though.”

“Yeah… are you not eating, hyung?”

“I already ate.”

Seeing Saheon looking at me as if to say, “Eat,” I had no choice but to pick up my spoon. The hangover soup tasted good, probably because it was from outside. Despite my initial fear of the large bowl, most of it was just bones taking up space.

With each bite I took, I glanced at Saheon. He rested his chin on his hand, watching me eat, but it seemed almost unconscious. I noticed that his brow was slightly furrowed, indicating that he was uncomfortable.

To be precise, it seemed like he was watching the shape of my cheeks or the way my lips moved as I chewed, but I couldn’t be sure. During the meal, Saheon excused himself to the bathroom, saying that the dishes could go in the sink.

After finishing my meal and preparing to go to school, Saheon still hadn’t come out of the bathroom. The sound of the shower running continued from the room where he had gone to steal some of his lotion.

Saheon didn’t come out until I had finished all my preparations and was ready to leave. I wondered if I should just go without disturbing him, but I thought it would be better to at least say goodbye, so I headed to the bedroom.

As I entered the room, the sound of the water, which had been faint, grew louder. I unconsciously strained to listen and could occasionally hear a low, muffled sound mixed in with the water.

Imagining Saheon undressing just behind the door made my cheeks flush in the broad daylight, but getting to school was more important right now. Dressed in a white hoodie, inspired by the freshmen’s fashion I had seen yesterday, I tightly gripped my black bag strap and shouted.

“Hyung!”

I thought my voice wouldn’t carry over the sound of the water, but surprisingly, it seemed to have been heard well. After a brief silence, I heard the sound of the shower being turned off, and the sound of water hitting the floor completely disappeared.

I hadn’t intended to interrupt his shower. I felt a bit guilty for making him stop washing, so I opened my mouth with a hint of apology.

“Were you showering?”

“…Yeah.”

His voice, low and resonant, sounded as if it was echoing from the bathroom. I tightened my grip on the wide bag strap and continued.

“You don’t have to stop… I was just going to say I was going to school.”

“Okay, have a good day.”

“Yeah. Sorry for interrupting! Keep doing what you were doing!”

I thought I heard a long sigh from Saheon through the closed door. After a moment of hesitation, I remembered how Saheon used to do this when we were younger, and I brought my index and middle fingers to my lips, blowing a nearly inaudible kiss towards the door before quickly escaping.