If You Want Me - Episode 15
<Episode 15>
I couldn’t understand at all why he was giving these orders. Although I liked him, honestly, Do-gyeom wasn’t a very affectionate person. He was self-centered and only cared about himself.
Did he feel sympathy because I was sick? Or was he showing consideration for me to recover quickly because I couldn’t relieve my pheromones if I kept taking time off?
As I stared at Do-gyeom quizzically, he opened his mouth with a resolute expression.
“I’ll count to ten, so sit on the couch before I finish counting.”
“What?”
“One, two, three…”
A countdown suddenly began.
For some reason, my heart grew anxious with each descending number. I didn’t know what penalty he’d give if I didn’t sit on the couch by the count of ten.
Especially since the Do-gyeom I knew had an absurd belief of “make the impossible possible”, he might forcibly make me sit. Stammering, I quickly walked toward the living room couch and said,
“Ah, I just need to sit…”
It was unbelievable and worrisome that the noble young master was going to do the dishes, but if he really wanted to do the housework for me, it would be a good thing.
In the end, as soon as I sat on the couch, Do-gyeom said with a satisfied smirk,
“Stay put right there without budging.”
“…”
Stay put without budging at all? That seemed even harder… With nothing to do, just sitting still on the couch felt like torture in its own way.
Fidgeting with my innocent hands, I pretended to look at my phone while sneakily glancing at Do-gyeom.
To be honest, there were disappointing things about Do-gyeom too. He seemed so noble that it was unlikely he had ever washed dishes before, so I was worried he might break the dishes or that I would have to do them again.
Watching him like a child left by the water, his posture was unexpectedly stable.
Considering he was thirty-one years old, it was closer to normal for him to know how to wash dishes, but since it was him, I found myself mesmerized by the sight.
Forgetting I was sneaking glances, I openly stared when suddenly Do-gyeom was already drying his hands.
So quickly? As soon as I realized he had finished the dishes, I quickly walked over to the sink and checked the dishes he had washed one by one.
In my mind, Do-gyeom was someone who had never gotten a single drop of water on his hands. So I was anxious about whether he could wash dishes properly, but perhaps it was needless worry as they were all clean.
I can’t believe it… As I pretended to drink water while inspecting a newly washed cup, Do-gyeom let out an absurd chuckle and said,
“Why are you checking so thoroughly?”
“N-no, I wasn’t checking…”
“You really can’t lie at all.”
At Do-gyeom’s words that seemed to say why I was telling such an obvious lie, I lowered my gaze.
I tended to openly reveal my emotions and wasn’t good at hiding them either.
I had never tried to deliberately lie to him, but even though I was bad at concealing lies in the first place, I got so nervous and shaky in front of him that it showed even more.
Thinking it was already found out and there was no helping it, I let out a small sigh and opened my mouth.
“Honestly… I never thought you would have washed dishes before.”
“Goodness, I lived alone when I studied abroad.”
Do-gyeom answered nonchalantly, but I stiffened at the mention of studying abroad.
That was because Do-gyeom had never talked about his time studying abroad before.
His sudden study abroad wasn’t a good memory for me either, so I didn’t ask on purpose… But also because he seemed unwilling to talk about it, I couldn’t bring myself to ask.
So it was surprising and fascinating that he brought up the study abroad story first. Carefully, I raised my gaze that had been lowered to the floor, stared at Do-gyeom, and cautiously opened my mouth.
“You… didn’t take any staff with you?”
“No. I said I wanted to try living alone without any help. So I did pretty much everything myself back then.”
“…”
“I don’t know why I did that. I guess I had a late puberty in my third year of high school.”
Do-gyeom answered with a slight hollow laugh. It seemed he no longer understood why his heart was so complicated that he suddenly chose to study abroad.
Puberty… Ever since I saw him as a child, he was always extremely prickly and sensitive, so it never seemed like he went through puberty.
But there was one time, just once, when his behavior changed completely.
After that day when we had a light kiss like a joke, Do-gyeom completely changed. He stopped coming to my room, which he used to do almost every day, and only studied without showing himself, as if he had suddenly gained an interest in studying. And he even suddenly left to study abroad.
When Do-gyeom returned from the US, he acted as if that incident had never happened, so I felt a little disappointed, wondering if it was such a trivial accident to him.
But… what if Do-gyeom changed his mind because of that incident and chose to study abroad?
It was still a mystery what Do-gyeom thought that day and why he suddenly changed. However, if I thought it was a big enough event to shake up his life, I felt I could let go of my disappointment a little. Because it seemed like he was also thinking of me.
As I was lost in thought for a moment, Do-gyeom spoke again with a relaxed expression, as if a weight had been lifted.
“But going to the US helped me sort out my thoughts a lot. I’m glad I went.”
“…That’s a relief.”
I was curious about what kind of anxiety made him decide to study abroad during puberty and what kind of resolution he made there. But somehow it felt like Do-gyeom was hurriedly wrapping up the conversation, so I couldn’t ask.
Based on the mood, it seemed like it wasn’t a good memory for him either. Thinking I would have another chance to hear about it later, I felt a tinge of regret when Do-gyeom suddenly said something out of the blue.
“Then let’s go to sleep now. It’s late.”
“What?”
“That was your room over there, right?”
Suddenly taking steps, Do-gyeom tried to enter my room.
Room…? In the blink of an eye, Do-gyeom was already in front of my bedroom door.
At the sight of him, I came to my senses in an instant. He’s suddenly saying he’ll sleep over? At the shocking words, I hurriedly grabbed Do-gyeom’s hand to stop him.
“W-wait a minute…! Y-you’re going to sleep over?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Why, why?”
“It’s late, you know.”
Do-gyeom answered as if it was obvious, without even asking for my permission.
It was true that it was late, but it wasn’t so late that he had to sleep over. He wasn’t taking public transportation, and there was no reason for him to stay here just because the train schedule had ended.
As I hesitated, not knowing how to react, Do-gyeom glanced down at my hand holding his and opened his mouth.
“Why are you so surprised? It’s not like it’s the first or second time we’ve slept together.”
“No…”
I trailed off. I did occasionally stay over at Do-gyeom’s house, but that was only on days when I was too exhausted to move a finger or passed out after we had been intimate.
Then… could it be that he was saying he would sleep over with that intent?
Come to think of it, there was only one reason for him to stay here even after making sure I didn’t run away.
“Then… are you perhaps going to do it?”
“Do what?”
“You know… I mean being intimate.”
I answered with a slightly flushed face. There was no need to be intimate since I took time off… But if he specifically wanted to sleep together at this house, maybe that’s what he wanted.
If the young master said he wanted that… I would have to do it, right? My body still wasn’t fully recovered and I did take time off, but if that’s why he didn’t leave…
“Sigh…”
As I continued my train of thought, Do-gyeom suddenly let out a deep sigh.
Then, with a cold tone but carefully releasing his hand that I was holding, he answered,
“I won’t. I don’t have a taste for holding down a sick person, and I don’t have a hobby of cleaning up corpses either.”
“It’s not that bad…”
“Yoon Seo-won, I’m tired. Stop asking useless things and hurry up and get ready for bed.”
“…I’m sorry. I’ll find you a change of clothes and a toothbrush. Please rest.”
Embarrassed by my misunderstanding, I had him sit on the couch and quickly went into the room to tidy up and prepare clothes for him to sleep in and toiletries.
As I was gathering the items, I suddenly realized I had hastily put him to bed, but I didn’t have the guts to kick him out. Besides, since the apartment was originally under Do-gyeom’s name, it felt a bit strange to kick out the owner.
“Here.”
“I’ll wash up first.”
“…Okay.”
When I handed Do-gyeom the necessary items, he slightly raised the corners of his mouth as if he had never shown a cold reaction.
Do-gyeom went into the bathroom first, and I stood there alone, secretly catching my breath.
I felt embarrassed about why I had that misunderstanding, but at the same time, I thought it was natural to misunderstand since he acted out of character.
It was hard to understand why he was suddenly doing things he didn’t usually do.
* * *
After I washed up and dried my hair, it was truly bedtime.
As I entered the bedroom with Do-gyeom to sleep, something felt awkward. Sleeping in the same bed with him without being intimate. Moreover, sleeping with him in my own bed felt a bit… embarrassing and shy.
I knew I was the only one conscious of it. Still, I couldn’t help feeling that way. Unable to lie down first, I fidgeted, and Do-gyeom claimed a spot as if lying in his own bed and patted the space next to him.
“Yoon Seo-won, come here.”