Vol 6 Chapter 35

Without any pangs of conscience, Kapros first pushed away the face that had come close with his palm, then grabbed the arm that was wrapped around his waist under his rolled-up shirt and threw it aside with effort. After kicking away the foot that was crushing one of his legs, he got off the bed, and his whole body tingled with muscle pain.

"Ugh..."

After suffering for a moment, he got up and turned around, thinking he might cover the still-sleeping guy with a blanket, but was startled to find Je-hwan lying exactly where he had been thrown, silently staring with wide-open eyes.

"You're awake."

Ah, his voice was properly hoarse.

"...Yeah."

Kapros was about to tell him he could sleep more if he wanted, but Je-hwan sat up immediately after answering. His hair, which appeared distinctly blue in the brightened light, was somewhat disheveled.

Though he was wearing clothes that should have looked ridiculous, his slightly dazed expression as he sat there made him look like a magnificent leopard or jaguar lying in wait, which made Kapros smile faintly.

When Je-hwan's expression changed slightly oddly upon meeting Kapros's eyes, by the time Kapros thought he was getting up from his seat, his nape was already gently caught by the approaching hand and his lips were pressed.

"..."

So the problem was that Je-hwan moved too suddenly, without giving Kapros time to prepare.

After their tongues untangled after a while, Kapros quietly opened his mouth while looking at Je-hwan, who was staring at him with an expression that seemed to want something.

"Come to think of it, I forgot to say this yesterday, but if you force any more actions on me without permission even once, yesterday's proposal will be considered void."

Je-hwan's eyebrows twitched with displeasure, but when Kapros glared at him silently with a frown, he turned away, avoiding Kapros's gaze.

Looking at him carefully, this guy seemed quite willful, but he also excelled at the technique of making others lower their guard by pretending to listen well. Since a situation like yesterday shouldn't happen twice, it would be better to make things clear in advance.

"Answer clearly."

"...Yeah."

Only after hearing the answer did Kapros turn around and head toward the kitchen. It was to select a menu from the computer where cooking recipes were stored. While Kapros was choosing any convenient menu and taking a breather, Je-hwan, who had changed back into his original clothes, appeared from the room and quietly wrapped his arms around him from behind.

"You'll eat before you go, right? I've already ordered, so eat even if you're not hungry."

"But this is okay, I see."

"Hm?"

Kapros had spoken half-jokingly without particularly thinking about it, but the response was incomprehensible. Unable to understand what Je-hwan meant was okay, Kapros turned around with wide eyes to find Je-hwan wearing a somewhat subdued expression.

"What do you mean?"

"This."

As he spoke, what made its presence known by applying pressure was the arm that was wrapped largely around Kapros's shoulders, reaching his neck.

What was this supposed to mean? Kapros looked at the arm puzzledly before turning his gaze to Je-hwan's face. And at that moment, he realized why Je-hwan had said such a thing and his eyes widened.

'Ah...'

I see. This too was a form of the physical intimacy Kapros had proposed. What had felt like nothing before realizing it suddenly made the arm wrapped around his neck feel hot after the realization.

"You're right. If I didn't even notice it, I guess it's fine."

Je-hwan nodded seriously and then released his wrapped arm while taking a small breath. Only then did Kapros realize that what he had thought was a stiff expression had actually been due to tension.

"Friends do this kind of thing a lot, why get tense about it?"

"If I force actions without permission..."

The proposal would be void, right? Though Je-hwan didn't finish speaking, Kapros had the illusion of hearing the rest clearly. Although it was still difficult to read his expression changes, Kapros thought he could definitely recognize this expression. This guy was sulking right now. At twenty-two years old...

"Are you a child? I'm going to wash up until the food's ready, so look around if there's anything you want to see. Though there's probably nothing much to see... The computer turns on with voice recognition, just so you know."

Though it was funny, Kapros didn't want to play along, so he pretended to answer coldly, and Je-hwan's eyebrows twitched before he sharply turned his head away. That was definitely out of embarrassment.

Thinking this, Kapros headed to the bathroom.

When he came out after washing up, Je-hwan wasn't in the living room. Looking for where he was this time, Kapros found him in the room where his MIST access capsule was located. He was about to ask what Je-hwan was doing, but seeing him examining various parts of the capsule with unexpected seriousness, Kapros stood watching from the doorway for a moment.

Usually, people would just look at the capsule's exterior, but Je-hwan was even opening the internal lid to look inside - was it because Kapros's was a special capsule? Seeing him so absorbed that someone might think he was a thief examining a safe gave Kapros an unfamiliar feeling.

As Je-hwan felt around the holes between the cushions where wires came out and suddenly turned his body this way and that as if about to lie down inside, it looked funny at first glance, but his careful handling and his slightly furrowed brow as he concentrated, seemingly trying to read the code names written on the power cable as thick as an arm plugged into the external power terminal, were all extremely cautious.

Kapros didn't know much since he had never seen other MIST access capsules besides his own, but seeing Je-hwan, who would be using a normal access capsule, examining it so intently suggested that it might look quite different compared to other capsules.

After thinking that far, when Kapros casually glanced toward the kitchen, he saw the computer's signal message that the food was ready, and he straightened up from where he had been leaning against the doorframe.

"That's enough, the food's ready so come out."

Je-hwan, who had stiffened his back momentarily as if startled by the unexpected voice behind him, slowly relaxed his muscles while sharply glaring back.

"Tell me when you come out."

This guy, getting startled. Kapros chuckled while drying his hair with the towel that had been around his neck.

"I was going to, but you were examining the capsule so intently. Anyway, come out quickly."