BOT Chapter 06

Chapter 06

I simply turned off my phone. My face was burning. It’s just the heat, just the heat. Already overwhelmed enough, Carmen’s texts only made things worse. I kicked at my blanket in frustration.

“Hyle.”

At some point, the sound of running water had stopped, replaced by a voice calling me through the cotton of my blanket. I pulled the blanket down slightly and peeked out—there stood Evan, still damp from his shower. His pale skin seemed to gleam faintly through the thin pajamas. Droplets of water fell from his tousled hair, tracing the contours of his body. I didn’t know where to look.

“Can you dry my hair?”

Evan often asked me for things like this. I’d wondered before why he didn’t just do it himself. But in the end, I always nodded, wanting to see him leaning against me, rubbing his head like a spoiled cat.

I grabbed the towel he handed me. Evan nestled comfortably in my arms, fitting snugly between my legs as he leaned against me. The scent of the body wash mixed with his natural scent, creating an intoxicating fragrance.

This was something I’d done plenty of times before, but today, my hands were trembling. Why did he have to say such things? That Evan and I were dating. Is that how others see us?

With my eyes squeezed shut, I focused only on the sensation of my hands running through his jet-black hair. But with my vision blocked, my other senses only grew sharper. The soft skin brushing my fingertips, the lean body pressing against mine, the fresh, alluring scent—I couldn’t take it anymore. I opened my eyes.

Evan was tilting his head back, staring at me. His eyes moved slowly, languidly, like a satisfied cat.

“E-Evan, is there something you want to say…?”

“If it makes you this nervous, you could refuse.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing. You’re just cute.”

Evan turned his body to face me completely, his gaze boring into me. It felt like an electric current running from my toes upward. What’s with today? Why is Evan acting like this lately? I forced myself to stay calm.

“Saying I’m cute and things like that…”

“What else should I call something cute but cute?”

My cheeks burned. Though handsome, objectively speaking, my face was far from cute. Evan was just saying that to tease me, obviously. But when he said it with such a serious face, I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

“Do you hate being called cute?”

“It’s not that I hate it, it just… it doesn’t suit me.”

“I think it suits you perfectly.”

Even objectively speaking, that can’t be right. ‘Cute’ is a word that suits you, not me. I muttered internally but didn’t voice my thoughts. Evan was the one who spoke first.

“Pretty.”

“Huh?”

“Hyle, you’re really pretty.”

What is he saying? My hand, which had been drying his hair, froze. The damp towel slipped from my fingers, landing on my lap and soaking into my pants.

“W-what are you…”

“You didn’t like being called cute, so I called you pretty. Do you hate that too?”

What else would you prefer? Evan murmured to himself, lost in thought. His slightly damp hair clung to his pale skin, making his features stand out even more.

His red lips spilled out one heart-fluttering word after another. Elegant, beautiful, sexy… All words that didn’t suit me in the slightest. I listened in a daze before suddenly snapping back to reality.

“S-Stop! Let’s just finish drying your hair!”

I couldn’t hear any more of this. Grabbing the towel again, I roughly tousled Evan’s hair. My hands moved with extra force, determined to dry every last drop of water. By the time I was finished, not a trace of moisture remained in his dark locks. Exhausted, I held the white towel and slumped back as I caught my breath.

I absentmindedly rubbed the dry strands between my fingers. How can someone look so beautiful when wet and equally beautiful when dry and fluffy? While lost in these wandering thoughts, still fiddling with the towel, Evan pressed his body even closer to mine. The refreshing scent that refused to fade made me hold my breath and stammer.

“Y-Your hair is dry now!”

“Mm. That’s a shame.”

“…A shame?”

“I like being close to you like this.”

So warm. His soft voice filled the quiet dorm room. His small frame leaning against me radiated heat. I felt myself warming up along with him. My heart pounded furiously.

“Can we stay like this a little longer?” 

“O-Okay.”

A gentle weight settled on my shoulder. I could feel his gaze burning into me from just below my chin, but I didn’t dare look back.

Still, the persistent stare forced me to break the silence.

“Is there something you want to say?”

“No.”

Silence followed. Even without words, his gaze never wavered. Cold sweat trickled down my back. My heartbeat grew louder.

“T-then, do I have something on my face?”

I twisted the question around, barely managing to get it out. Evan tilted his head slightly before a faint smile spread across his lips. He stood up, the weight on my shoulder lifting. His delicate fingers reached toward me.

“Yeah. It’s still there.”

“Still? Where?”

“Here.”

With an embarrassing sound, something soft brushed against my cheek. What just happened? My mind went completely blank. The weight of Evan clinging to my neck naturally made my head tilt down. As he hugged me, I found myself looking straight at his face.

“It’s clean now.”

With a perfectly composed expression, Evan smiled brightly. Whether or not something had actually been there no longer mattered. The sensation on my cheek, that strange sound. It was…

“A k-kiss…”

As I stammered with a stiff expression, Evan poked my cheek and laughed.

“That wasn’t a kiss.”

“But your lips just…!”

“A real kiss is like this.”

“Wha—”

I didn’t even get to finish my sentence. The hand that roughly grabbed the back of my head made me lose my balance. Thankfully, I didn’t fall due to the hand firmly supporting my waist, but I could feel Evan’s breath right in front of my nose. His tongue, pushing between my parted lips, was hot. Even when I tried to pull away, my head was held firmly in place.

“Mmph…”

A strange sound escaped as the invader that traced the membrane of my mouth began to delve deeper. Evan’s tongue intertwined and tangled with mine. Transparent fluid—whose saliva, I couldn’t tell—dripped from my barely closed lips.

His lips devoured me, making it hard to breathe. I twisted my head desperately, but he only pushed in deeper. My legs weakened. Wet, sucking sounds echoed in the air, thick with humidity. My head spun.

“Nngh… nhnn…”

I couldn’t breathe—it felt like I was drowning, pulled under into the deep sea. Evan kissed so well it was suffocating. Instinctively, I bit his lip to catch my breath. My mind was hazy. The tangy taste of blood spread in my mouth. Only then did our lips part.

Evan panted heavily, the corners of his eyes tinged red. I sat down in shock, staring blankly at him. Then he smiled again—brightly. His lips, slick with saliva, were now smeared with red.

Without thinking, I reached out and touched them. His bloodstained lips looked fuller, redder than usual. My fingers trembled. The image of those swollen lips lingered in my mind, stirring an inexplicable thought—a desire to do it again.

“S-sorry!”

“…Hyle?”

I couldn’t face Evan. Not only had I bitten him while kissing, but I had also… desired him. After promising to keep my distance, after telling myself it was shameless to stay so close to him—I had done this. I was the worst.

I bolted out of the room. The sound of my footsteps echoing down the hallway, the door slamming shut—none of it could drown out the pounding of my own heart.

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The heat that had filled the room just moments ago cooled instantly. Evan sat on the floor, his damp body slumped. The habitual smile that had been on his face vanished. With a blank expression, he touched his lips, now stained with red.

“What went wrong?”

He murmured softly. His voice, once clear and beautiful, was now chillingly cold.

“I’m not good at smiling, but you said you liked it, so I practiced.”

He lifted the corners of his lips again. A brilliant smile, as dazzling as the sun, appeared—only to fade away like a mirage. The change was so swift, so unnatural, that it didn’t seem human.

He thought that if he smiled like this, Hyle would accept him. But what he got in return was a drop of blood, aching lips, and Hyle’s lingering scent—nothing else.

“Sorry, huh?”

Digging his fingers into his bleeding lips, he smeared the red even further. It didn’t hurt. A wound like this wasn’t even worth considering.

Even so, he felt terrible. The blood felt like proof of Hyle’s rejection. The fact that their kiss had turned into a mess, the fact that Hyle had run away—it all irritated him. But what bothered him most was that single, muttered word: sorry. A clear rejection.

“Love is difficult.”

Evan Pristine’s pitch-black eyes twisted into something eerie.

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