Chapter 83: Dissolve: His Last Choice

“Uuuuugh…”

After waking up, Song Hyunsoo lay facedown with his pillow pressed over his head for a while. His body was awake, but his brain still refused to function.

“How much did I even drink yest—… Shit, what the hell. Where am I?”

As he tossed the pillow aside and turned over, Song Hyunsoo froze.

The bubble wrap insulation that usually covered his window was nowhere to be seen, nor did he feel the draft that should have brushed across his bare skin once the blanket was off.

Even the scent that lingered in the air was different from his own home.

Relying on the faint light peeking through the blackout curtains, he looked around and, whether it was fortunate or not, realized this was Yoon Jooho’s bedroom.

At least it wasn’t somewhere unfamiliar.

Song Hyunsoo shot up and sat on the bed.

How did I end up here?

He felt like the protagonist of some ridiculous movie, waking up to find himself thrown into another dimension. He was so shocked, his hangover was nearly gone.

Remember. Remember, Song Hyunsoo.

Script Reading. Right, after the Script Reading, they went out for dinner and drinks.

The place, of course, was ‘Gukine’… The Staff had brought out Yoon Jooho’s Birthday Cake…

Myung Dohoon.

Myung Dohoon was dead.

Even just recalling it made his chest tighten.

He’d gone outside the restaurant, chatted with Aunt Kurin and the little snot, and then… Yoon Jooho!

『“Wanna go for round two?”』

Once he remembered that, the fog in his mind seemed to clear a little. He remembered following Yoon Jooho to a members-only bar, and talking about Choi Hongseo while clinging to him there.

Clothes. Almost unconsciously, Song Hyunsoo checked what he was wearing.

He was shirtless, but had pants on. He pulled at the waistband of the unfamiliar pajama pants.

Okay, at least the underwear is mine.

Doesn’t look like we had sex. Not that I can guarantee it.

He listened intently, but didn’t hear any signs of movement. After rubbing his face a couple of times with his palm, he got out of bed.

His clothes were nowhere in sight.

『“He suddenly asked me for a drink before leaving the country. He’s not the type to say that kind of thing, ever.”』

After he’d cried telling that story, his memory was completely blank. He had no idea when or how he ended up at Yoon Jooho’s place.

A total blackout. This is nuts. I hardly ever lose track like this. Why today, of all days, and why in front of Yoon Jooho?

As he searched for his clothes, Song Hyunsoo’s gaze landed somewhere.

He forgot his anxiety for a moment and slowly walked to the table by the window.

“……”

The book he’d gifted, the Cat Notebook, and the Ballpoint Pen Set were laid out on the table, just like last time.

The only difference was that the corners of the book and notebook looked even more worn. Proof they’d been used often.

So, he’s been copying things down regularly.

Standing there, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked down at the notebook’s cover, Song Hyunsoo smiled softly and turned away.

He quietly slipped out of the bedroom and carefully opened the door to the Master Zone. His back instinctively hunched, shoulders drawing in.

“What are you sneaking around for, are you a cat?”

Yoon Jooho, sitting on the living room sofa, glanced over with just his eyes.

Song Hyunsoo, peeking his face through the barely opened door while gripping the knob, scratched the back of his head and stepped into the living room.

“Good… morning.”

“Looks like you slept very well too, junior.”

Yoon Jooho, legs crossed, glanced at the top of Song Hyunsoo’s head. When he reached up, his hair was a mess, sticking up everywhere.

He didn’t notice the usual unpleasant smell of booze from the day after drinking, so he must have showered last night despite everything. That explained the hair disaster.

Wait. If I showered… did something actually happen last night?

He tried to read Yoon Jooho’s expression for a hint, but he looked the same as always.

Switching his gaze to the Script in his hand, Yoon Jooho spoke in a casual tone.

“There’s tomato juice in the fridge. Have some.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Even as he walked to the kitchen, Song Hyunsoo kept glancing back at Yoon Jooho, smoothing down his hair now and then.

Maybe nothing happened yesterday after all? If I’d done something stupid, there’s no way he’d be sitting there so calmly.

Feeling slightly relieved, he opened the fridge and spotted a transparent jug filled with red liquid.

No way… Did he make this himself?

Song Hyunsoo looked back. Far off on the sofa, Yoon Jooho sat unmoving, reading the Script.

Even at home, in smart casual with a robe over his shoulders, he looked every bit the Prince— someone who’d never so much as gotten his hands wet.

A guy like that, making juice himself? I’m letting my imagination run wild. Someone must’ve made it ahead of time, or left it for him.

He took a glass from the cabinet and poured it full of juice.

Parched from last night’s drinking, he gulped down the juice. Wow, this is good. The way it goes down, it must be freshly squeezed.

“You move around my kitchen like you own the place.”

Are you the Cat here? I didn’t even hear your slippers, when did you get here?

Startled by the sudden voice behind him, Song Hyunsoo flinched.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then turned around, shrinking back and taking a couple of steps away without realizing it.

“I’ve made fried rice here before, remember.”

Yoon Jooho walked past him, heading deeper into the kitchen and fiddling with the Capsule Machine.

“What about you, sunbae? Did you have some juice?”

“I did.”

The Stainless Steel Coffee Machine looked more like an Espresso Machine than a Capsule Machine. Even his appliances were all so pretty.

Well, he did say he prefers beautiful things.

He put a capsule in the machine, took a Mug from the cabinet, and pressed the button. It was just a simple, everyday motion, but somehow, Yoon Jooho made it look good.

He’d been an actor since birth, practically.

Maybe moving as if a camera was always rolling had become second nature. Must be an occupational hazard.

“But, sunbae, um, where are my clothes?”

Yoon Jooho, working the coffee machine, turned to look at him, a satisfied smile on his lips.

“Suddenly being all polite, huh.”

Well, since I don’t remember anything… I just feel like I’m at a disadvantage here.

Pretending to brush off his arms, Song Hyunsoo awkwardly covered his chest. That was because Yoon Jooho’s gaze was aimed right at his nipples.

Leaning against the counter with his arms firmly crossed, Yoon Jooho asked,

“How much do you remember from last night?”

“I remember going to that bar with you.”

Yoon Jooho immediately frowned.

“That’s it?”

“I remember talking about Hongseo…”

“Serial dine-and-dasher, aren’t you.”

“Getting blackout drunk has nothing to do with skipping out on the bill… I think…”

The less he remembered, the less confident he sounded, and his voice naturally grew smaller.

“Bet you’re dying of anxiety since you can’t remember, huh?”

Regardless of how nervous I feel, you look like you’re having the time of your life, sunbae.

“Did I… do something stupid last night?”

“……”

Yoon Jooho’s silent, unwavering gaze made the back of Song Hyunsoo’s neck go cold.

What if I drunkenly blurted out that I liked him or something… Please, Song Hyunsoo. Please tell me yesterday’s me didn’t do something that cruel to today’s me.

“Wh-whatever I said, it was all nonsense… You don’t have to take any of it seriously…”

“‘I’d never betray you, sunbae.’ That’s what you said, bawling your eyes out. Was that nonsense too?”

“I said that?”

“You wouldn’t let me go to the bathroom, kept clinging on and wouldn’t let go. Got tears and snot all over my sweater, too. God, you were so clingy.”

“Don’t lie!”

He threw up his arms to hide his face, which had turned red in an instant, and all but shouted his denial. It was possible, but he couldn’t rule out that Yoon Jooho was just teasing him.

“What do I even gain from lying to you? You always say I’m lying.”

“Well, you never know. Maybe you’re just teasing me for fun.”

“I’ve got plenty to tease you with, don’t need to make up stories.”

“……”

When the machine stopped, Yoon Jooho turned around and picked up the Mug.

With the steam rising from the coffee and the robe draped over his shoulders, he looked like he’d stepped straight out of a coffee commercial.

The scent of coffee spread through the kitchen as he moved.

Closing the distance between them, Yoon Jooho leaned against the island counter, sipping his coffee. He said,

“Do you remember saying you didn’t want to go home? That you wanted to follow me?”

“That’s definitely a lie. It is, right?”

“Then why do you think I brought you here?”

“……”

I don’t know. Because you didn’t want to be apart from me?

“You wouldn’t give me your address, and I couldn’t just drop off someone that drunk anywhere.”

“…I’m sorry.”

At this point, it didn’t seem like Yoon Jooho was lying or exaggerating. Song Hyunsoo bowed his head, rubbing the back of his neck, and apologized in a small voice.

He had been drinking way too fast. Myung Dohoon had died, and there was no way he could avoid thinking about Hongseo. The moment he heard the news, all the emotions he’d been holding back just spilled over.

Even if Lee Seokyung and Myung Dohoon died, Choi Hongseo could never return… So, hearing about Myung Dohoon’s death left him feeling both relieved and empty.

『“I’m the victim, so why would I despise you? For what reason?”』

One by one, Yoon Jooho’s unique words of comfort came to mind.

The way he could make complicated problems seem so simple.

Setting down the empty glass, Song Hyunsoo leaned against the counter next to him.

“So… did anything else happen last night?”

“What do you mean, anything else.”

“You know, like…”

“What, like what?”

His profile, sipping coffee with long fingers wrapped around the mug handle, was calm as ever. In the end, it was Song Hyunsoo who broke the silence first.

“I mean, we already slept in the same bed, and we’ve… um, already done, you know, some… stuff that’s almost like sex, so…”

Pfft. Yoon Jooho let out a deflating laugh and set his mug down on the counter. So he knew exactly what he meant and was just playing dumb.

Then he turned and leaned toward Song Hyunsoo, his face filling the space just a hand’s breadth away.

With the kind of expression you’d only see in a photo shoot, Yoon Jooho looked at him— a face that seemed to exist in its own slow-moving world.

“A drunk BB pellet, you were on fire last night. So sexy I couldn’t think straight.”

“……”

“I thought I was gonna get eaten alive.”