"Oh, you are back?"

When s.h.i.+n entered their group room 502 with his key card, Woojin was sitting on a sofa, resting. s.h.i.+n walked up to him quickly and leaned forward. s.h.i.+n mentioned, "You sound like you're out of breath."

"And whose fault is that?"

s.h.i.+n checked Woojin's forehead. He didn't have a fever but Woojin looked very cold. When s.h.i.+n hugged him, Woojin didn't resist.

s.h.i.+n complained, "If you were sick, you should've told me."

"Are you angry?"

"It's fine. I'm just worried about you. You said you didn't feel well… Let me have a look at you."

s.h.i.+n looked into Woojin's eyes. When Woojin tried to close them, s.h.i.+n held Woojin's cheeks gently, making him purr. When he acted like this, Woojin definitely reminded s.h.i.+n of a kitten. The problem was that Woojin was very fragile. He seemed to get tired very easily, yet he abused his body by overworking himself.

Woojin finally sighed and replied, "It's just indigestion."

"But you didn't even eat much for lunch."

"…"

"Did you feel uncomfortable and awkward during lunch?"

Woojin nodded as s.h.i.+n patted his back. s.h.i.+n asked, "Did you go alone? To the pharmacy?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I didn't want to bother you. Waste your time…"

s.h.i.+n looked at Woojin slowly. Woojin's lips seemed dry. Instead of getting him some water, s.h.i.+n kissed him gently.

Looking at Woojin's eyes widen, s.h.i.+n replied, "It's this stupid sports compet.i.tion that is wasting my time away from you."

When s.h.i.+n smiled, Woojin said to him, "Your expression looks strange."

"Me?"

"Yes."

"It's probably because I was thinking about something dirty. My mind is in the gutter."

"Hmm…"

Woojin's neck turned pink again, like a drop of red paint in a bowl of cream. It was so beautiful that s.h.i.+n couldn't help but kiss Woojin's neck and breathe in deeply. Woojin's scent was like the sunrise. Cool yet warm and sweet. Somewhat a little sad as well.

Woojin murmured, "… It tickles." He then grabbed s.h.i.+n's face and kissed him. Just a moment ago, Woojin seemed so shy, almost embarra.s.sed at s.h.i.+n's touch, but now, Woojin wrapped his arms around s.h.i.+n's neck and kissed him deeply. Woojin laid down on the sofa, bringing s.h.i.+n on top of him. s.h.i.+n was worried that his weight would be too much for Woojin, so s.h.i.+n supported himself with his arms. Woojin moaned lightly, making s.h.i.+n feel almost faint. He bit Woojin's lower lip.

"Ahh…"

"Does it hurt?"

Woojin giggled a little at s.h.i.+n's anxious tone. Woojin whispered, "What if someone comes in?"

"I know…"

s.h.i.+n chuckled as well as he pushed back Woojin's hair gently. s.h.i.+n felt breathless so he tried to get off the sofa, but Woojin wrapped his arms around s.h.i.+n's neck again and made him turn towards him.

s.h.i.+n said to him, "Are you acting childish because you are ill?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm… I like it."

Just then, they heard the door opening. s.h.i.+n fell off the sofa in surprise.

Thankfully, because of the curtains, the room was dim. By the time Minjae walked in, s.h.i.+n was slowly standing up. Minjae said to him, "Oh, s.h.i.+n, you were here?"

s.h.i.+n looked at him as Minjae noticed Woojin on the sofa.

"Oh, a.s.sistant Manager Choi was here too?"

"…"

"Oh, is he sleeping?"

Minjae began to whisper, and when s.h.i.+n turned to look at Woojin, he realized that Woojin indeed had his eyes closed. Was he pretending to be asleep?

Yes, he was. s.h.i.+n turned to Minjae quickly and whispered back, "Yeah, I think so."

"Oh, then we better get out right now."

Minjae walked quietly into his bedroom to grab something and s.h.i.+n grinned secretly. He didn't know Woojin could act this well. s.h.i.+n looked down at him again and saw that his eyes were still closed.

There was no time to waste. As soon as Minjae came out from his bedroom, s.h.i.+n followed him out of their place. After locking the door behind them, Minjae sighed and said to s.h.i.+n, "Phew. I don't know why I feel so awkward around that guy. He looks so fragile to me."

"What?"

s.h.i.+n knew he had an odd look on his face. He tried to control it, but thankfully, it was unnecessary because Minjae wasn't paying attention at all. They walked together to the elevator.

Minjae continued, "I just found a.s.sistant Manger Woojin very strange. He looks like he will break if I just push him."

"You are talking nonsense."

"By the way, you went into the room so you could talk to your girlfriend privately, right? Were you super shocked to find him there sleeping?"

"Huh?"

"Didn't you go in there to talk to your girlfriend on the phone?"

"Oh, yes…Umm, we better get going. The director is probably looking for us."

s.h.i.+n quickly changed the subject. They went into the elevator. Inside, s.h.i.+n found it difficult to breathe as his heart pounded wildly. Just then, his phone beeped. It was a message from Woojin.

-Seeing you made me feel much better. Thank you.

s.h.i.+n's blood turned hot. It felt like all of his blood was rus.h.i.+ng to his heart. He couldn't stop grinning like an idiot.

"… Did you hear what I just said, s.h.i.+n?"

"What?"

"You are such a dumba.s.s. Let's go. Stop making that stupid face by the way, s.h.i.+n."

But it was impossible. s.h.i.+n continued to grin happily.

***

When Woojin opened his eyes, it was very dark inside the living room. He couldn't tell what time it was. It seemed that Woojin had really fallen asleep.

Woojin reached out to check, and as usual, he was alone. It felt cold, but again, that was normal for him as well. He sat up feeling very thirsty.

On the side table, there were a few bottles of water. He opened one and drank from it. He felt a little hungry too. When he checked his phone, he saw that there were three messages.

-Are you sleeping?

-You may have indigestion, but you must also be hungry too… I am about to start the compet.i.tion. I will see you as soon as I'm done here.

-Woojin Choi, why aren't you answering your phone?

The first two were from s.h.i.+n Kim, while the last one was from Jihoon Kang. Woojin walked into his bedroom and grabbed a cardigan. He really wanted to see s.h.i.+n playing sports, so Woojin moved quickly. Thankfully, s.h.i.+n's last message was sent only 5 minutes ago. If he went to the gymnasium right now, he could probably catch s.h.i.+n in action. Woojin held the water bottle and grabbed his key card before leaving the place.

Woojin fixed his hair quickly. As he walked the hallway, Woojin could feel his body feeling much better.

'That's strange.'

Once he got sick, he often suffered for a long time. He always felt tired, so whenever he got ill, it left him feeling heavy and fatigued for a while.

When he went to the pharmacy, he purchased indigestion medication. It usually didn't work on him, but there was no other option. When he took it, he expected his headache to continue and he thought he wouldn't be able to sleep. But apparently, his nap lasted a whole hour. When he woke up, he felt much better. In fact, he was hungry. He was craving something sweet.

's.h.i.+n likes sweets.'

Woojin recently learned that s.h.i.+n was like a big teddy bear. He was rather large, but there was a puppyish side to him. s.h.i.+n wasn't a picky eater, but he especially liked sweets. One time after dinner, s.h.i.+n took out two chocolate bars from his pocket. He unwrapped one to give it to Woojin, and he took the other one. When Woojin looked at him curiously, s.h.i.+n smiled and explained, "I like sweet things."

"…"

"I know I don't look like the type, but I do."

s.h.i.+n looked so shy. Woojin thought he was too cute. He decided to go to the convenience store and get some chocolates to share with him. Just then, someone said to him in the lobby, "You have a strange look on your face."

"…"

It was Eejun Bae.