Into the Halo

This is all because of that man.

Si-hyeon came to New York for a trip, only to have his precious wallet, holding all his money, picked clean.

As if that weren’t enough, he somehow ended up saddled with debt.

To make matters worse, he ran into Hae-jun, who accused him of being the thief and demanded he return what was stolen.

Hae-jun paid off the enormous debt Si-hyeon had left, then presented him with a strange contract stating that as long as he stayed by his side, the debt would gradually be deducted.

With no other choice, Si-hyeon signed the contract and agreed to remain with him.

But for some reason, the sweet scent clinging to Hae-jun made his body burn?

****

[Preview]

“Hhk, ngh… f*ck… Why… am I…”

Why do I have to be worrying about something like this?

The words he couldn’t quite force out clung to the tip of his tongue.

Once the tears found their way out, they poured down in pitiful torrents.

“Ugh, ngh…. Seriously…. It’s so cold- so why won’t I stop feeling hot…!”

Curling in on himself even tighter as he choked on quiet sobs, Si-hyeon flinched at the rough pounding on the door.

“Open the door.”

It was Cha Hae-jun.

The moment he heard his voice, an illusion flashed through Sihyeon’s mind.

Long, elegant fingers.

A body temperature just a little cooler than most.

A large palm that easily enveloped Sihyeon’s hand.

He wanted to throw the door open right then, cling to him like a child, and cry while begging him to do something, anything.

The only thing stopping him was the last shred of conscience telling him he shouldn’t cause any more trouble.

“I-I’m in the sh-shower. Hngh… hic. I’ll come out after I finish.”

The water was running hard, and for that he was grateful.

At least it would hide the sound of his crying.

Emphasizing that he was in the middle of a shower, Si-hyeon lowered his head again.

He had to fix this.

Quickly, he had to calm down, fast…

A rattling sound continued without pause.

The solid latch connecting the door to the wall shook violently.

Then, at some point, the noise changed to something heavier and duller.

It was no longer just the latch, the entire door began to shudder.

Just as he was about to shout for him to stop, something broke with a sharp crack, and the door was thrown open roughly.

“Bae Si-hyeon.”

“…”

“Bae Si-hyeon, look at me.”