Yeo Jun was not prepared for this attack and screamed loudly, "Ahhhhh!"
Yeo Jun suddenly opened his eyes, but when he saw Joon Hyunk leaning over him, his voice became trapped in his throat. His neck was bent backward, Joon Hyunk's hand gripping it tightly, and Yeo Jun's head was pressed against the sofa. Joon Hyunk leaned in even closer, and now, with him being so near, Yeo Jun's whole body writhed in discomfort.Yeo Jun had his beautiful eyes wide open, staring at him, tears of fear filling them. He felt as if his heart would burst out of his chest, and he could not breathe. Then, in his deep voice, Joon Hyunk said, "This should never happen again."Tears spilled from Yeo Jun's eyes and were absorbed into the sofa. He tried to moisten his dry lips with his tongue. Suddenly, Joon Hyunk's gaze fell on his lips. Realizing his mistake instantly, Yeo Jun pressed his lips tightly together inside his mouth.Joon Hyunk leaned in even closer toward him, but then stopped at a slight distance. If either of them moved even a little, their lips would have touched. In Yeo Jun's lovely eyes, Joon Hyunk could clearly see both his reflection and the fear meant only for him. He wanted to touch the marks on his face with great intensity. He wanted to kiss his lips.
But for that, he had to wait, because today, after what he had done, Yeo Jun had become far more afraid of him. That's when Joon Hyunk spoke again, "Remember my words, because Joon Hyunk never gives anyone a second chance."
Saying this, Joon Hyunk released his grip on Yeo Jun's neck and suddenly moved away from him. Yeo Jun quickly got up and ran away from there at great speed. Only after reaching his room did he finally take a breath.
Joon Hyunk's eyes were spinning in front of his vision. That night, Yeo Jun stayed awake for a long time, his mind filled only with thoughts of Joon Hyunk. Sleep was miles away from him. No one knows at what hour of the night he finally fell asleep, but even in his sleep, he was aware that Joon Hyunk was somewhere close to him.
When, in the middle of the night, his eyes opened slightly, he saw, in the darkness that filled his room, Joon Hyunk sitting on the sofa in the corner. He looked at him through his half-open eyes, and then closed them again.
At 5 a.m., Yeo Jun woke up and went to take a shower. When he came out, he heard some sounds coming from the garden. He went to the window and looked outside toward the garden, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from.
He saw Joon Hyunk working in the garden. He noticed that Joon Hyunk was taking soil out of a sack and putting it into the flower beds. Yeo Jun began wondering when this man even sleeps, since he wakes up so early in the morning.
For quite a while, he stood there watching all of his work. Now Joon Hyunk was planting a rose bush there.
Yeo Jun saw that in Joon Hyunk's hand there was a dark red rose, which looked very different from any rose he had ever seen before. That rose was very beautiful. Yeo Jun wanted to see it up close, so he left his room, went through the hall, and stood near the garden gate. The sun's rays were beginning to break through the sky, and the other birds living in the garden—cute little sparrows—were all chirping away. It felt as if these birds were humming a song to tell everyone about the beauty of the morning.
Joon Hyunk carefully planted the rose bush into the flower bed and then began trimming the other plants with clippers. There was dirt here and there on Joon Hyunk's shirt, and he was wearing gloves on his hands. Yeo Jun was watching all of this while hiding on one side of the door, thinking that Joon Hyunk wouldn't be able to see him. But this was Joon Hyunk—someone who could easily tell what was going on in another person's mind—so how could it be possible that Yeo Jun would be nearby and he wouldn't sense his presence?
While still working, Joon Hyunk said to him, "You don't need to watch me like this in hiding."
Hearing his voice, Yeo Jun gripped the door tightly with his hands and began talking to himself: Oh God, no! How did he know I was here? Yeo Jun, why did you even come here? Now this beast won't leave me alone. He remembered last night's events very clearly. On being caught, these words slipped out of his mouth unintentionally, and then he quickly covered his mouth with both hands. He didn't know what he was saying anymore.
Joon Hyunk walked over to him and stood right in front of him, on the other side of the same door, and said, "Because of me, you don't need to stand here. This place is for you."
Hearing this, Yeo Jun was very surprised and kept looking at him in astonishment. "You can come inside and see all these flowers and plants up close," Joon Hyunk told him, inviting him in before going back to his work.
Yeo Jun slowly walked toward the rose bushes and stood beside them. When he had first come here, there hadn't been this many plants.
And earlier, there hadn't even been any birds there, but now there were small wooden houses—like little nests—where birds lived. And during the day, many butterflies would be flying over the flowers, giving the place a completely fairy-tale-like feeling. Yeo Jun felt as if there was some kind of magic in that garden. It was so peaceful there that anyone could spend hours in that place.
"Have you ever done gardening?" Yeo Jun turned toward Joon Hyunk when he heard his voice.
"N... no," he replied.
"Do you want to learn?" Joon Hyunk asked.
Yeo Jun thought about his question. He really liked that place, and besides, he was free the whole day anyway. But learning from Joon Hyunk?—that was out of the question. Still, he couldn't bring himself to say no, and instead, he nodded his head in agreement.
"I'll be back early tomorrow, and you can help me. There's quite a lot of work here," Joon Hyunk said.
Yeo Jun thought maybe he should have refused, but now the chance had slipped away from his hands. Before he could say anything to Joon Hyunk, Joon Hyunk placed the clippers he was holding down, removed his gloves, gathered up all his things, and began to leave.
"One more thing, Yeo Jun—use the MacBook I gave you only for the purpose it was meant for," Joon Hyunk said before quickly climbing the stairs and disappearing from his sight.
Yeo Jun felt very calm in that place, so he stayed there in the garden until breakfast time. After some time, he headed toward the dining room.
This time, Yeo Jun made sure to chew his breakfast slowly and eat calmly. While eating, Joon Hyunk asked Yeo Jun, "What do you like to eat?"
"M-m-me…"
At this stupid question from Yeo Jun, Joon Hyunk looked at him in surprise, as if to say, "Is there anyone else here besides the two of us that I could be asking?"
"U-uhhhmmm, I-I l-like e-eating s-s-spicy d-dishes a-a-lot."
"Spicy dishes…?" Joon Hyunk hadn't expected this answer from Yeo Jun at all. First horror movies, and now spicy food — that boy was nothing like he looked. Yeo Jun had always liked spicy dishes, but only the ones cooked by his stepmother's hands. When he was little, sometimes his stepmother, Soojin Park, would make spicy dishes for him, but over time, that tradition had faded away. Yeo Jun sometimes missed all those things very much. He wished he could have all his relationships back and that everything could go back to the way it used to be.
Lost in his thoughts, he didn't even notice when Joon Hyunk got up from his chair, came over to sit beside him, and very gently placed his hand in Yeo Jun's hair, stroking it. Joon Hyunk found Yeo Jun's hair incredibly soft and silky. There was always a sweet perfume scent coming from Yeo Jun that inevitably pulled Joon Hyunk toward him. Often, the beast was driven wild by Yeo Jun's scent, making Joon Hyunk want to lose control and move closer to him — or maybe it was simply because that scent belonged to Yeo Jun.
When Joon Hyunk suddenly stroked his hair, Yeo Jun was pulled out of his thoughts. The way Joon Hyunk was learning Yeo Jun's limits and slowly weakening them was something Yeo Jun hadn't even realized yet. Joon Hyunk always touched him, but not in a way that would burn him — rather, he always touched him in a way that broke down the walls of fear built around him.