The Next Morning
Click-clack, clatter-clatter…
The sound of frantic typing carried all the way into the bedroom, where one figure still lay fast asleep despite the late hour.
R stirred first, dark lashes fluttering before his eyes finally opened. His body felt drained, pale and heavy as if every drop of strength had been wrung out of him. The detective pushed himself up to sit, shaking his head groggily.
His legs felt numb, moving stiffly like a wind-up toy on crooked joints, thighs refusing to close properly. He didn' t need to wonder why—he already knew.
Dragging himself out of bed, still barefaced and disheveled, R stepped into the living room. Even in his exhausted state, his natural handsomeness refused to be hidden. One pale hand skimmed the wall for balance until he sank onto the sofa, directly behind Reya, who sat cross-legged on the floor in nothing but briefs, a game controller in hand.
"Reya…" R' s voice was low, tinged with fatigue.
"Yes, love?" Reya grinned without looking away from the screen.
"What are you doing up so early?"
"It' s not early, love. It' s noon." Reya' s tone was casual, but there was a smirk tugging at his lips.
R pressed his temples, groaning softly. "Headache…"
At that, Reya paused the game and turned, his sharp eyes softening at the rare sight of R in such a vulnerable, unpolished state. "Hungover? Want me to get you something? I' ll run to 7-Eleven."
"…Lipo and soft-boiled eggs. I still have work to do."
"Got it!" Reya bounced to his feet, snatched a shirt and pants, and dashed out with the kind of enthusiasm only he could carry.
Left behind, R sank deeper into the sofa, exhaling softly. Despite his exhaustion, there was an undeniable fondness in his gaze as he watched the boy' s retreating back.
"…He didn' t even nag me about working on a day off today. Just… acting like a normal kid for once."
Moments later, the door burst open. Thud!
"I' m back, love!" Reya beamed, rushing in with a plastic bag.
R chuckled, his hand rising to ruffle Reya' s hair affectionately. The boy settled cross-legged at his feet again, tilting his face up with the eagerness of a dog awaiting praise.
"Love~" Reya' s tone was drawn-out, playful.
"Hm?" R murmured around the rim of his energy drink bottle.
"Anything I can do to help?"
"Strange. Usually you don' t ask unless I order you around." R' s tired eyes narrowed knowingly.
Reya grinned, but his words carried a trace of memory. "You came home drunk… just like that night. Our first time. You were such a mess."
"…Had a lot on my mind," R muttered, swirling the bottle in his hand.
"What kind of mind?"
"Government secret."
"New case?"
"No. Same one."
"Oh… So that' s why you spent half the night with that lieutenant."
The faint narrowing of Reya' s eyes made R sigh. If he didn' t explain, the boy would sulk endlessly.
"Not like that." He leaned back against the sofa, rubbing at his temple.
"…Next time I won' t spam messages. But turning off your phone hurt, you know. Felt like being shut out…" Reya' s voice lilted with mock playfulness, but his eyes flashed with something sharper.
"Sorry. I had to talk with Lieutenant Udom."
"The one you asked to investigate the finances?"
R nodded. "We' re on the same team, but… his approach is very different. Makes it hard to align."
Reya raised a brow, chuckling. "So last night was a drinking-to-bond thing?"
"Something like that."
Reya' s frown deepened. He could feel the unease in R' s tone. He pressed further, taking advantage of the detective' s hangover-slowed mind.
"…Do you think he' s a good guy?"
R gave a thin smile. "At first, he looked like a villain from a drama—handsome, sharp, rude. But after talking… I realized that' s just the surface. He' s actually not so bad."
"…Does he like you, love?" Reya teased, but when R stayed silent, not denying, the boy' s grin slowly faded.
"…No. It' s not like that. We just have to work together. But his goals and mine… are very different."
"Different how?"
R exhaled softly, shoulders slumping. "He seems to care a lot about money. Too much. And me…"
Reya bit his lip, frustration prickling under his skin. If R only cared about money, then maybe he could buy his way closer. But R wasn' t like that. That' s what made it so hard.
"Then why work with someone like him?"
R finally looked at him, gaze warm but firm. "Do you think you can escape people who love money, Reya?"
The sudden heaviness in his tone silenced the boy.
"…Everything in this world runs on money. Even if I don' t care for it, I still need it every month—for food, fuel, paper… even toilet rolls."
"Money turns good men into devils," R added with a weary smile, ruffling Reya' s hair as if speaking to a child asking too many questions.
Reya scowled. "Then what? We just let the devils win?"
"…No. You become their master. A devil only bows to someone with more power—or more money—than themselves."
Reya blinked, the meaning sinking slowly. "So… you' re saying to beat them at their own game."
R smirked faintly and rose to his feet. "Exactly."
"Love… are you even sober yet?" Reya called after him, half-joking, half-serious.
"Not quite." R chuckled lowly. "I' ll go shower. What are you doing, laundry?"
"Changing the sheets," Reya answered quickly. "Didn' t want them to smell… thought you wouldn' t sleep well."
"…Thanks." R gave a soft smile before slipping into the bathroom.
Left alone, Reya' s grin returned, darker this time. Just for a fleeting second, the corners of his lips curled with possessive satisfaction.
"…In the end, only the dead are truly innocent of wanting anything."
The reflection in the bathroom mirror met R' s tired but gentle smile—one that hid more than it revealed.