Chapter 25

I fell asleep in the car, when I opened my eyes slightly, what I saw was completely different. It was a ceiling with a gentle light shining from the nightstand above the soft bed. I couldn’t easily figure out where I was because my eyes, as well as my head, failed to work properly because of the alcohol and lack of sleep.

I was going to die from sleepiness but I couldn’t fall asleep again, it was then that I realized that Ji Geon-hyung was not by my side. Because of my desire to sleep more, I groaned and groped around but I was the only one lying on the spacious bed.

Then, I felt something was missing. When I gently rolled up the blanket, I found that I was naked and had been changed into a bathrobe. Through the gaping gown, I could see the empty bottom without any underwear, I quickly closed my legs and covered myself with the blanket.

Thanks to this, I was able to sober up a bit and looked around.

The room looked like a pretty expensive hotel. Not only the bed but the room was also spacious, and the lit bathroom that was visible from there showed a fairly large square bathtub. I could see the large wall-mounted TV and a long leather sofa placed near the window, that were also obviously more expensive than I could ever imagine, while lying on the bed.

However, there was a faint scent of cigarettes in the luxurious hotel room that seemed to be fragrant. While turning my head, wondering where it was coming from, I heard someone’s voice from the window connected to the balcony. I couldn’t see well while lying down, so when I raised my upper body, I saw hyung on the phone on the balcony. Ji Geon-hyung leaned against the railing with the burning cigarette between his fingers, wearing the same white robe as me.

At first glance, hyung’s expressionless face was infinitely cold. Even the grey smoke that flowed out every time he opened his mouth felt cold.

‘Is it an important call?’

Each time he blinked slowly, his lips twitched. As I was looking [at his lips], I suddenly came to my senses as if cold water had been poured over my head. Without realizing it, I covered my mouth with one hand.

‘Earlier, ki-…’

Unable to complete the words in my head, I remembered what happened with hyung. Then both my face and lips heated up.

“Take it easy. You can do whatever you want against Ji Seok, so you can ask for anything.”

Because of a mixture of impulsivity and alcohol, I demanded for a kiss as much as I could. It was hyung who gave me a kiss as an example, but I was definitely the one who nodded because I liked it.

“It’ll feel good, so open your mouth.”

Ji Geon-hyung’s voice seemed to tickle my ears right next to me. The sound of not being about to scream lingered in my throat. I heard that there were people who completely lose their memories when they get drunk, but why is he fine?

‘How the hell can hyung be so calm like that?’

Even though he drank, he didn’t seem drunk. Rather, he was so fine1, I wondered how he was able to kiss someone he didn’t even like.

I felt so sorry for Ji Geon-hyung. Although the contract itself was the same, I had no intention of using him, but this time I did use him as a substitute for someone else. I don’t know what he would think inside of the day I kissed his younger brother.

With a deep sigh, I covered my head with both hands. There was no headache when I just woke up, but the more I remembered the more my head ached as if I had a hangover.

At that moment, there was the sound of the balcony door opening violently, followed by the sound of urgent footsteps.

“Woo Seo-ya, are you alright?”

I raised my head, surprised by his voice full of concern. Then I met Ji Geon-hyung’s eyes who was approaching right in front of me. Without realizing it, I swallowed empty air and stiffened, the edges of hyung’s eyes wrinkled and he wrapped my shoulders with his hands.

“Do you have a headache? Should I buy you some medicine?”

At hyung’s urgent questions, I could only move my mouth slightly. I couldn’t even speak properly because I didn’t know how to treat him, but hyung put his hand on my forehead without knowing how I felt. The palm that was cold from the wind outside felt pleasantly cool on my forehead.

“You have a fever, but I don’t know if you’re sick or if it’s from the alcohol. Are you feeling sick again?”

Hyung put down his cell phone and covered my cheeks with his hands. The feeling of my hot cheeks cooling down quickly felt quite good.

“I’m fine. It’s just that I’m not fully sober yet.”

Apart from that, I couldn’t make eye contact with him. Ji Geon-hyung carefully removed the hands surrounding my cheeks and rolled his eyes as he stood up. Then my gaze fell on his cell phone. I was confused when I saw ‘AM 03:31’ on the screen.

“Who were you talking to at three-thirty A.M….?”

I spoke without much thought and closed my mouth. Even though I wasn’t qualified to ask or interfere with his private life, I asked about the person on the phone to change the subject.

I was going to apologize but Ji Geon-hyung readily answered me.

“It was an overseas client that we were supposed to have a meeting with tomorrow, but it was urgently postponed to another day due to a problem.”

Even if it was overseas, I was a little dissatisfied with the early morning call that didn’t take hyung into consideration. Even if it’s small, wasn’t that too much for a CEO of an app development company that is recognized by the industry?2 In my heart, I wanted to make a disgruntled sound, but I couldn’t because hyung, who was the person involved, put on a pleasant smile saying that he could rest well over the weekend.

While watching Ji Geon-hyung put his cell phone on the bedside table, I belatedly looked around for my own cell phone.

“Have you seen my cell phone?”

Ji Geon-hyung immediately pointed to the desk far away. There, my cell phone was connected to a long-line charger.

“The battery ran out.”

That was understandable. Even while I was asleep, Kang Ji Seok kept sending messages and calling me.

Then, did hyung take the call from him? Since it couldn’t have been anyone else but Kang Ji Seok’s number, he may have answered the phone instead and explained the situation.

I didn’t answer his call because I purposely wanted to avoid him for a while…

I was thinking about whether to ask or not, then hyung gently stroked my messy bangs and cheeks.

“You kept getting calls from Ji Seok, but I didn’t answer on purpose because I thought you wouldn’t want to answer.”

I unconsciously stared at him.

Ji Geon-hyung was weird sometimes. When I was with him, I had the false impression that I had written what I wanted on my face and stuck it there myself. With just that, hyung easily recognized what I wanted and what I was thinking. With the dull Kang Ji Seok… it was different.

Unwilling to think about Kang Ji Seok, I grabbed the blanket, but hyung climbed into bed and laid me down properly.

“I’m sorry I left you to answer the phone. Let’s go back to sleep.”

He pulled the blanket and carefully covered me up to my neck, then wrapped it around my waist and pulled me into a hug. I was a little surprised, but unexpectedly I didn’t want to be reluctant or push him away.

Honestly, I didn’t know if it was because he was older or because he felt like Kang Ji Seok. I didn’t hate the cozy feeling in my chest along with the tickling sensation.

Hyung, who was lying down facing me, smiled like Kang Ji Seok.

“If it’s uncomfortable, I’ll just hold your hand and sleep.”

When he said that, I had nothing to say. Rather than uncomfortable, it felt so good that I wanted to sleep like that.

“…not uncomfortable.”

“Then how ‘bout this?”

Hyung put more strength into his arm and my body was completely attached to him. Ji Geon-hyung’s and my legs naturally got entangled. When I came to my senses, my head was on hyung’s arm instead of the pillow, and through our touching chests was a rather quick beat that came and went.

“I head that the higher the amount of physical contact, the better the condition after sleeping. Maybe even the hangover will go away.”

Hyung evenly patted my back.

“I heard hangovers are severe when you drink a lot. If there’s a way to soothe it even a little bit, why not try it?”

His words were not wrong, but even so, it might be a bit difficult to sleep so closely. But that was just an idea. My mind was already at ease and I was falling asleep.

Blinking slowly, I asked Ji Geon-hyung.

“Hyung, is it okay to sleep next to you like this?”

“En. I feel pretty good, too. I think I can sleep well.”

After hesitating for a beat, I asked hyung, who answered honestly, another question.

“Then that kiss…were you okay with it?”

I regretted asking. I should have pretended that I forgot about it. Why did I have to bring it up with my own mouth?

Hyung’s hand that was patting my back suddenly stopped. I couldn’t look up at his face so I sneaked away from his gaze.

“And you?”

My shoulders trembled when I was asked back that short question.

“How about you?”

“…”

I couldn’t answer. I didn’t expect to be asked this question by him, so I just kept my eyes down with my mouth shut.

Hyung gently lifted my chin. Naturally, my gaze went up and met his eyes.

“If you don’t know, want to try again?”