Chapter 121: A Morning That Finally Felt Like Rest

Because of the frightening and painful memories, he naturally drifted away from something called sleep, and eventually, over time, it settled in under the name insomnia.

In the first place, even when he went abroad and drank excessively, it was partly because he was suffering from not being able to sleep, and also because he was trying to force sleep to come, even if it wouldn’t.

After debuting, things did get a little better, but that was all.

Even so, he still couldn’t have a sleep he could describe as “I slept well,” so Jitae had decided that in this life, he would have to give up on sleep.

No, to be exact, he had decided that.

Until this morning, before opening his eyes in Wooju’s bed.

“……”

Jitae quietly looked down at Wooju, who was holding him tightly.

As if proving that habits don’t go anywhere, Wooju had his arm wrapped around Jitae’s waist and one leg thrown over his body, breathing softly as he slept.

The bed was large enough for two adult men to lie down comfortably.

If he had to guess, Wooju probably knew that he tossed and turned a lot in his sleep and had deliberately gotten a big bed.

Even on that bed, Wooju’s scent lingered.

The faint sunlight leaking through the drawn curtains, the traces of Wooju’s body scent scattered everywhere, but above all, what calmed his heart the most was the owner of the house, quietly sleeping in his arms.

For the first time in a very long while, Jitae had slept refreshingly.

He couldn’t even begin to remember when he had last felt this sensation—waking up in the morning not irritated or unpleasant, but clear and refreshed.

Jitae gently kissed Wooju’s exposed forehead, his hair sticking out in all directions.

Then he blushed to himself before pulling Wooju tightly into his arms.

Wooju had said he’d never been in a relationship before, but the same was true for Jitae.

The only person he had ever liked since birth was Wooju, and because of that, he had firmly rejected everyone who approached him with interest.

Just as Wooju had accurately seen yesterday, Jitae had a separate image he showed publicly in order to continue his activities smoothly.

Naturally, as a successful actor who was known to be diligent and thoughtful, it was inevitable that people of the opposite s*x would feel curiosity and interest.

Even Baek Yeon-ah, who he had filmed with last time, somehow got his number and contacted him personally, but Jitae rejected her outright.

His manager had advised him to try dating while he was young, but it didn’t resonate with him at all.

Even if he were to grow old and die alone, he had no intention of giving up his feelings for Wooju.

But dating.

To have his feelings reciprocated by someone he had loved alone for over ten years.

He had even prepared himself to grow old alone, yet it felt as though the heavens had given him an unexpected gift in recognition of all his hardship.

“…Hey.”

While Jitae was lost in his own happiness, a hoarse voice suddenly came from within his arms.

“What are you doing by yourself?”

“Uh… you’re awake?”

“With you fidgeting like that, how could I not wake up?”

Wooju slipped out of Jitae’s arms with a yawn, looking a bit annoyed.

Jitae stared at the now-empty space with regret before burrowing into Wooju’s arms instead.

“What are you doing.”

Even though Wooju scolded him, he didn’t push him away.

He groped around near the pillow and naturally checked the time on his phone.

“What the— it’s already past 11?”

Wooju shouted in disbelief as he stared at the time on the screen.

“Huh? Why? Do you have something today?”

“No, it’s not that……”

It was Saturday anyway, so there was no training schedule.

That’s why he had called Suhyeok and Hyunjin over last night and comfortably had dinner late.

Of course, the unexpected situation of Jitae showing up had happened.

“I haven’t woken up this late since I was twenty.”

Even on holidays, Wooju always woke up at the same time to start his day.

If anything, he sometimes woke up earlier, but never later—not even once.

That’s why these days he sometimes didn’t even set an alarm anymore.

That too was a habit born from a kind of obsession.

He believed that he had to be more diligent than others, do more in a day, in order to rise higher and succeed.

So ever since he was abroad, he had created and followed his own routine.

It had become so ingrained in his body that even if he didn’t want to, he would naturally wake up at a similar time.

But 11 o’clock.

The fact that he had opened his eyes at a time close to lunch was so absurd that Wooju lightly knocked Jitae’s head.

“Hey, why’d you hit me?”

“Just because.”

“It’s the weekend anyway, and you said you’ve got nothing to do. There’s no one who’d scold you for sleeping in, so why are you like this?”

Jitae poked Wooju’s cheek repeatedly.

“…That’s true.”

In the past, he had pushed his body to the limit for success and growth, but now there was no real need for that.

Wooju knew that logically, but it was still difficult to change habits built over years.

The moment he saw the number ‘11,’ his heart had dropped without him realizing it.

He had been so startled he almost fell over backward, but with just a word and a gesture from Jitae, his body naturally relaxed.

“If you think about it, it’s your fault.”

Wooju ruffled Jitae’s hair roughly.

“Isn’t it because I slept with you? Your arms were comfortable……”

Wooju, who had been about to say he slept without knowing the world, trailed off, biting his lip.

But Jitae seemed to have heard it perfectly, his eyes widening as he stared at Wooju.

“My arms were that comfortable?”

“…When did I say that?”

“You just did.”

Wooju turned his head away, pretending otherwise to avoid the burdened gaze.

He was the type who could sleep anywhere as long as he lay his head down, so sleeping well wasn’t unusual.

But the fact that he had stayed asleep without even realizing he had passed his usual waking time was definitely largely Jitae’s fault.

Still, saying that out loud made him unbearably embarrassed.

“Kang Wooju, you liked sleeping with me that much?”

“Hey, that sounds weird.”

“Hurry up and say it.”

Once Jitae got fixated on something, he wasn’t the type to back down easily.

Even now, determined to hear an answer, he held Wooju’s cheeks to keep him from turning away.

“Hurry……”

As he pressed further, the cheek in his palm felt strangely warm.

Looking closely, Wooju’s cheeks were gradually turning red where Jitae’s hand touched.

The moment he saw that, Jitae unconsciously tensed his lower abdomen.

Then he slowly lowered his head and softly kissed Wooju’s forehead again.

As his lips touched and left that neat forehead, Wooju tightly shut his eyes.

Jitae lingered for a moment, as if savoring something precious, then tilted his head—this time aiming not for the forehead, but for the lips.

Ding-dong—.

The loud doorbell echoing through the house was enough to disrupt the strange atmosphere forming between them.

“……”

“……”

Jitae and Wooju’s eyes met sharply in midair.

When the bell rang again, Wooju awkwardly moved his lips.

“M-move.”

Ha. Jitae let out an annoyed sigh out of habit.

Just like last time—why were there always so many interruptions?

Biting his lips, he watched Wooju leave the room with a sulky expression.

He wasn’t sure who had come, but next time, if they were going to spend time together, he figured it would be better to bring Wooju to his own place instead.

After all, he didn’t have friends, and the only people who might come were Sunhyeok or his manager.

They could’ve done it if they had just a little more time.

As Jitae swallowed his regret, Wooju’s flustered voice came from outside the wide-open door.

Startled, he rushed out and saw Wooju’s back at the intercom, clearly panicked.

“What? Who is it?”

“…My younger sibling.”

“Huh?”

“Kang Saetbyeol is here.”

Wooju blankly turned to Jitae, pointing at the intercom.

On the screen, a woman with her hair tied up stood there, looking bored as she used her phone.

“Really? Wh-what do we do?”

At the mention of Wooju’s family, Jitae began to panic.

Just moments ago, he thought it was a peaceful morning, but now events were exploding one after another.

“Hm, why are you so flustered? It’s not like we got caught doing anything weird.”

“That’s true, but……”

Strictly speaking, they hadn’t done anything—just about to.

Wooju calmed Jitae down and told him to wash up first, pushing him toward the bathroom.

Only after the sound of running water echoed did Wooju open the main entrance.

And not long after Jitae came out of the bathroom, the unexpected visitor began banging loudly on the door.

With a deep sigh, Wooju grabbed the handle and opened it.

“You’re going to break the door. Take it easy.”

“Then open it faster. It’s hot as hell—what are you even doing?”

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