Monroe’s ears twitched, as if he had heard the sound of the passcode being pressed on the door lock.
Immediately identifying the direction of the sound, the little one dashed toward the Entrance.
The Hand of Yoon Jooho, who had been stroking the Cat while drinking Beer after a shower, suddenly felt empty.
He let out a hollow laugh and stood up from the Sofa.
There was a long Hallway between the Entrance and the Living Room, so the sound of the passcode being pressed was barely audible even if one listened carefully.
Nevertheless, Monroe’s reaction speed was always miraculous.
It made sense, as it’s said a cat’s hearing can perceive a frequency range about four times wider than a human’s.
“Monroe! Did you come to meet Daddy?”
Song Hyunsoo’s voice rang out, and a slight smile played on Yoon Jooho’s lips as he crossed the Hallway.
Meow. Meow. Myang.
Monroe, who was likely being showered with kisses while held in Song Hyunsoo’s arms, cried out in a high voice.
It seemed like the little one had a lot to say to Song Hyunsoo after not seeing him for a night.
“I see, my puppy. Did you miss Daddy that much?”
Just as expected, Song Hyunsoo was standing at the Entrance without even taking off his shoes, hugging Monroe and peppering him with kisses.
He didn’t even notice that Yoon Jooho was watching him.
“He’s a Cat, not a puppy. You’ll give him an identity crisis.”
Song Hyunsoo, spotting Yoon Jooho as he looked up, gave a wide grin.
Even though they had only been apart for a night, seeing that smiling face was a relief.
And it was also a bit awkward and shy.
Seeing Song Hyunsoo’s hesitant expression, unable to rush in immediately as usual, it seemed Yoon Jooho wasn’t the only one feeling that way.
While they walked side by side down the Hallway, Song Hyunsoo only looked down at Monroe, whom he held in his arms.
Yoon Jooho placed a Hand on the crown of his head and playfully teased him.
“Are you tired?”
“No. There wasn’t much traffic on the Car ride, so I’m fine.”
“I should have gone to pick you up.”
“Oh, that’s overdoing it. Sunbae just came up yesterday too.”
Song Hyunsoo seemed to take Yoon Jooho’s words as half a joke. But he was sincere.
Because he was sincere, he had sent a Message asking ‘Should I come pick you up?’ as soon as he woke up this morning.
Heading toward the Kitchen, Song Hyunsoo put down his large backpack and the cooler bag he was carrying on his shoulder onto the chairs in front of the Living Room.
“Did Monroe poop today?”
“He did.”
This time, he asked while taking off his Padding.
“What about snacks?”
“I gave him a piece of jerky when I woke up.”
Even though Yoon Jooho was standing right in front of the Living Room table, he didn’t give him a single look.
No, he couldn’t. Song Hyunsoo then turned toward the Refrigerator.
“Did Monroe sleep well last nig—”
Eventually, Yoon Jooho’s patience ran out. Unable to wait any longer, he grabbed his wrist and pulled him close.
He stumbled backward and was pulled into Yoon Jooho’s embrace.
“What… what is it?”
“What about me?”
“What about Sunbae?”
“Aren’t you curious about me? Aren’t you curious about how I felt seeing the empty space beside me when I woke up today, whether I lost my appetite, or if I slept well without you?”
Song Hyunsoo’s gaze remained fixed around Yoon Jooho’s collarbone.
“S-Sunbae is an adult, so… you probably did fine.”
He held his chin and lightly lifted it to make him meet his eyes.
“Are you acting shy just because we were apart for a day?”
“You were acting awkward too, Sunbae.”
“That’s true.”
Yoon Jooho pulled Song Hyunsoo’s waist so that their stomachs were pressed together.
“Even though we were only apart for a day, it feels like it’s been a really long time.”
Song Hyunsoo’s eyes widened.
“Right? It feels like I haven’t seen you in a month. I wonder why.”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure why, but my heart is racing for some reason.”
“Ah, what… after all this time… honestly.”
Song Hyunsoo mumbled, his earlobes turning red.
Holding onto him as he struggled to escape, Yoon Jooho bit down on his earlobe. Laughter kept leaking out.
It was the same for Song Hyunsoo. It seemed the skinship had melted away the awkwardness to some extent.
Song Hyunsoo, who gave up on trying to escape, suddenly buried his nose in Yoon Jooho’s neck and sniffed.
“Did you take a shower?”
“I worked out.”
“Hmm…”
“What?”
“I was thinking we could do it together.”
“We can just do it together then. What’s the problem?”
“You’re going to do it again? Forget it, that’s enough.”
“Then go wash up first. You’re going to end up taking another shower anyway. We can do it together then.”
“……”
Normally, he would have jeered, calling him a pervert or something, or conversely, would have clung to him aggressively and thrown back a dirty joke.
But today, Song Hyunsoo kept his mouth shut and lowered his head, his earlobes even redder than before.
It was adorable to find him acting like a rowdy high school boy in front of him one moment, and then suddenly becoming conscious of him as a man the next.
Yoon Jooho wrapped his arm around his neck and kissed his cheek.
“Hurry up and go wash.”
“I-I’ll… organize that first.”
Song Hyunsoo placed the cooler bag that was on the chair onto the counter.
“What is that?”
“Grandmother packed all sorts of food for me. She said she couldn’t give Sunbae anything when you left yesterday.”
“…Is that so?”
“She nagged me a lot to put it in the Refrigerator as soon as I arrived.”
“I’ll organize it, so go wash.”
“Alright, then. She said I just need to put the Mandu and the meat pancakes in the freezer. The rest goes in the Refrigerator.”
Song Hyunsoo, who was about to leave the Kitchen, came back. As if he had forgotten something.
He then clung to the side of Yoon Jooho, who was opening the zipper of the cooler bag, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
“I missed you… Hyung.”
Laughter leaked out first, regardless of his will. Song Hyunsoo also chuckled while pressing his lips together.
It wasn’t even anything particularly funny, but they smirked at each other like that.
Yoon Jooho, who laughed while following Song Hyunsoo with his eyes as he disappeared toward the Master Zone, opened the rest of the cooler bag.
“……”
An envelope was placed quietly at the top. Yoon Jooho’s Hand paused for a moment.
His lips felt dry. After taking a deep breath, he cautiously picked up the envelope.
The letters filling the single sheet of white paper were neither too crowded nor too sparse.
The somewhat rough but somehow warm handwriting reminded him of her Hand.
Yoon Jooho stood in front of the counter and began to read the letter.
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