PEN Vol 3 Ch. 21

“Yes, sir. The installation is complete. I’ve secured it in the spot you requested so it doesn’t wobble. If you’d like to change its location, please contact customer service. For the mat, if you sweat, just wipe it with a damp cloth for easy maintenance. If there’s any peeling within a year, it’s eligible for free repairs, so please be sure to request warranty service. And a few days later, you’ll receive a text message with a link for an installer service evaluation…”

The installer, with a smile plastered on his face, mumbled on and on. While Cheon Sejoo dealt with him, Sejin peered around the room with a curious expression.

Unlike before, when the two rooms across from the study, to the left of Sejin’s room, were empty, they were now filled with something. One room had thick exercise mats, over 10cm thick, covering the floor, and a shelf for storing simple exercise equipment was installed near the window. 

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Light streamed in through the open window, left open to air out the rubber smell. Sejin stood under the running air conditioner, stepping onto the mat warmed by the hot summer sun before stepping back down.

The other room resembled a gym. This room, filled with a treadmill and other unfamiliar exercise equipment, also had its window wide open. Looking at a black machine loaded with heavy weights, Sejin thought of Cheon Sejoo.

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Cheon Sejoo’s body wasn’t bulky at all. His physique was lean and well-defined, so the idea of him lifting such heavy weights seemed unimaginable. Sejin briefly wondered if he was just showing off before leaving the room.

“Thank you for your hard work. Have a good day.”

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He heard Cheon Sejoo’s voice seeing off the installation technicians in the living room. Sejin stood in the hallway, leaving Cheon Sejoo behind. He could see the four rooms with their doors wide open. The image of the four rooms, their interiors now full, surfaced in his mind.

It hadn’t been like this when he first came to this house. Including the room Sejin stayed in, all the spaces felt empty, making Cheon Sejoo’s house feel devoid of life. But starting with Sejin’s room slowly filling with his belongings, the atmosphere of the entire house had completely changed.

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The space, which had previously felt temporary and desolate as if he would leave at any moment, now had a rather full feeling. The house, imbued with the traces of the daily life of its occupants, now felt like it could be called a home.

What pleased Sejin most was the fact that all these changes had started with him. Cheon Sejoo’s empty house, despite him having lived there for years, had changed so much in less than a year after meeting him. This fact strangely satisfied Sejin.

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“What are you doing here?”

While Sejin was lost in thought, Cheon Sejoo, having seen off the installers, approached and stood beside him. Feeling his large presence, Sejin looked up.

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“Just…”

He answered, meeting Cheon Sejoo’s jet-black eyes right in front of him, causing the handsome man to furrow his brow.

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“Just, what?”

Cheon Sejoo disliked vague answers. It was a somewhat complicated and embarrassing sentiment to explain, so Sejin considered keeping quiet, but not wanting to upset him, he opened his mouth.

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“It feels like a real home now.”

“…….”

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Cheon Sejoo narrowed his eyes at the generalized answer. As if mulling over Sejin’s words, he stood there and turned his head to look at the four open doors. He gazed at the rooms intently and then closed his mouth, his expression subtly stiffening. Soon, his gaze, now heavy, landed on Sejin.

Cheon Sejoo sometimes looked at Sejin with this expression. It was an expression that made it impossible for Sejin to know what he was thinking, but Sejin could still feel it throughout his body. Every time Cheon Sejoo looked at him like his, Sejin felt his breath catch in his throat. His heart would race, and his vision would blur. The words “Don’t look at me like that” would swirl in his mouth, and he’d feel a tightness in his chest.

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Despite this, he didn’t avoid his gaze because meeting Cheon Sejoo’s eyes wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

Whenever Sejin met Cheon Sejoo’s eyes, he felt like he was looking beyond the surface, seeing something deeper. He saw glimpses of Cheon Sejoo Sejoo, with his eyes closed, entrusting his body to Sejin’s hands as he slept. Cheon Sejoo, defenseless and vulnerable, only his shallow breaths audible. Because he kept seeing those images, Sejin didn’t entirely dislike facing him.

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After staring at each other for a while, Cheon Sejoo was the first to look away. He slowly turned his head to stare at the mat-covered room and then suddenly pushed Sejin’s back.

“Go change your clothes and come out.”

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With those words, he headed to his own room to change. Glancing at his retreating figure, Sejin fiddled with his hot earlobes and entered his room at the end of the hallway.

It was a hot day.

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He went to his dressing room, wondering what to wear. He was already wearing a T-shirt and shorts, so telling him to change probably meant changing into something more comfortable.

Sejin thought about it before pulling out a pair of shorts Cheon Sejoo had bought him. He had worn them briefly before he had his growth spurt, but now they were too short, and it had been a while since he’d worn them. Trying them on after a long time, the waist fit very tightly, and the length was so short that they ended above his mid-thigh.

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“…….”

Sejin looked down at his legs with a thoughtful expression. Seeing his long, straight legs exposed like that made him think they were too short, but he also thought that people usually wore clothes like this when exercising.

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Eventually, after much deliberation, Sejin left his room deciding to keep his T-shirt on and only changed his shorts. When he entered the mat-covered room, Cheon Sejoo was standing by the window. He was stretching his neck from side to side and closing the window when he heard Sejin step onto the mat. He turned his head, and his face hardened.

“You…”

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His eyes narrowed, and a fleeting flustered expression appeared and then disappeared on his face. Cheon Sejoo scanned Sejin up and down, then smiled, pulling up one corner of his lips. 

Why is he like that? 

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Sejin thought, his face hardening as he met his gaze. Then Cheon Sejoo asked,

“You’re going to wear that? It looks good, but you might get hurt wearing short shorts.”

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“…….”

Come to think of it, Cheon Sejoo was wearing long pants. Since he had been wearing shorts earlier, it was obvious Sejoo meant for Sejin to change into longer ones. Realizing his mistake, Sejin bit his lip in embarrassment, then released it and said,

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“Then you should have told me to change into long pants.”

“I thought you’d know…”

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Cheon Sejoo shrugged, his gaze drifting on Sejin’s legs. Sejin watched him silently scan him and, blushing, turned around. His heart pounded as he headed back to his room to change into long pants.

As expected of a pervert, the way he looked at my legs was ususual.

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And what does he mean by “it looks good”? Does he really have to be so obvious?

Sejin grumbled inwardly, but he couldn’t help but glance at his legs as he walked briskly.

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Honestly, even he thought it didn’t look bad. The part of his body that he usually didn’t like because it seemed unmanly somehow felt pleasing to him today. Hmph, Sejin snorted softly and went back to his room to change.

When he returned, Cheon Sejoo was now sitting on the mat. He was stretching with his legs spread apart. Seeing Sejin return in long pants, he chuckled and jerked his chin toward the space in front of him.

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“Sit.”

Sejin obediently sat across from him, and Cheon Sejoo got up and approached. Cheon Sejoo knelt behind Sejin and showed him how to stretch. His large hands gripped and pressed Sejin’s shoulders. Sejin’s upper body tilted to one side, bringing him closer to Cheon Sejoo’s embrace. Sejin unconsciously held his breath.

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“Slowly breathe in, breathe out. Don’t just go through the motions. Stretch with the intention of loosening your muscles. Otherwise, you’ll get hurt.”

A gentle voice, unlike his usual tone, seeped into Sejin’s ears. Cheon Sejoo explained, tapping Sejin’s back to help him breathe. As Sejin inhaled slowly as instructed, Cheon Sejoo’s characteristic vanilla scent drifted into his head.

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This moment felt like it was being etched into his memory. Cheon Sejoo’s sweet scent, the plastic smell of the new mat, the warm surface heated by the sunlight, the cool air conditioning, and the quiet voice falling on his ears.

“Self-defense isn’t like regular exercise. You have to know how to use your body.”

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Fingers that usually held a cool touch traced Sejin’s body. The hand that had been pressing firmly on his shoulder moved to his waist, kneading his knee before moving to the inside of his thigh. Each time the rough fingertips touched him, Sejin’s body flinched. Embarrassed, Sejin tensed up, and Cheon Sejoo, who was massaging his leg, laughed as if in disbelief.

“Who’s going to eat you? Relax.”

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His languid voice was full of amusement. It was a gentle tone, like the one he’d used to soothe the man on the bed at that time.

Sejin, biting his lip hard, stopped stretching and buried his face in the mat.

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From behind him, Cheon Sejoo clicked his tongue and asked if he had any more brain cells left to kill, but Sejin didn’t hear him.

“Loosen up.”

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A soft touch grazed Sejin’s ankle. He glanced up, swallowing hard as he realized his feet were resting between Cheon Sejoo’s knees. Sejoo was sitting with his legs stretched out before him, looking down at Sejin’s feet.

Embarrassed, Sejin curled his toes, watching as Sejoo’s careful hands rotated his ankle. Each point of contact felt like a warning siren. Sejoo then tilted his head, extending his other hand to lightly tap the inside of Sejin’s ankle.

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“You have…”

Cheon Sejoo looked up, a playful smile tilting his lips as he squinted one eye. Sejin bit his tongue. His stomach churned, the blood rushing to his face. As soon as he realized what was happening, Sejin bolted upright.

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“An extra bone…. What are you doing?”

Cheon Sejoo looked up in surprise, his handsome face filled with questions. His slightly parted lips curved in confusion. Sejin didn’t answer, turning instead to flee the room.

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“Hey! Where are you going?”

Cheon Sejoo’s furrowed brows deepened as he yelled after Sejin.

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“Bathroom!”

Sejin scrambled to the bathroom in the living room, threw open the door, and turned on the faucet. He bent over the sink, splashed cold water on his face, and cursed under his breath.

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Am I crazy? What am I doing during a training session? 

But he felt slightly wronged blaming only himself.

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Cheon Sejoo’s touch had been too gentle. Usually, Sejoo would be yelling “Hey! Hey!;” so there was no reason for him to be so tender. Shouldn’t physical contact during training be rougher? 

Why is Cheon Sejoo acting like this? Does he act this way with other people?

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The thought sparked a fresh wave of heat, this time in his head, as he remembered Cheon Sejoo being overly kind to Kang Doyoon. The marks Sejoo had come home with after being away for a few days flashed before his eyes. Sejin felt a surge of intense irritation.

Why is time moving so slowly? 

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This had become Sejin’s biggest complaint these days.

Funny enough, Sejin was actually confident. He had an unfounded certainty that Cheon Sejoo couldn’t possibly not like him. Of course, he had his reasons, if you could call them that. Just as he’d been angry when told he wasn’t Cheon Sejoo’s type, Sejin believed it was absurd that Sejoo wouldn’t like someone as handsome, obedient, and young as himself.

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However, despite this conviction, Cheon Sejoo showed no romantic interest in Sejin at all, and Sejin attributed this to his age. He believed that Cheon Sejoo, being more moral than he appeared, was probably holding back because he was still a minor. It was truly an astounding amount of self-confidence.

In any case, Sejin wiped his face with a towel, hoping the remaining two seasons would pass quickly. He felt that once he became an adult, everything would flow smoothly: his confession to Cheon Sejoo, their relationship… everything.

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As Sejin reviewed his plan, built on unfounded confidence, the heat in his head subsided, his complexion returning to its usual paleness. He wiped the water droplets from the sink with the towel.

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