DMH Ch6

“As expected, even the lights are different in rich people’s houses.”

He walked to the bed, which was isolated like an island in the middle of the wide room. It was large enough for three people to stretch out on. Wan, who was lingering around as if he had something to do near the bed, looked outside. He didn’t feel anyone’s presence. He sat on the bed without hesitation. The texture of the blanket was cool.

Wan had never slept under a blanket like this before. Spotlessly white and perfect for the season. The blanket Wan currently used was a single layer. Calling it a blanket was generous; it was more like a thin sheet to cover the mattress. In the summer, he used just that one, and in the winter, he layered several to endure the cold mornings. For Wan, who had only ever used such blankets, the blanket used by the owner of this room was a whole new world.

“They probably wash their blankets every day here.”

He couldn’t hide his envy. He stroked the white blanket, as pristine as a freshly fallen snowfield, with his palm and unknowingly revealed his true feelings.

“I’d have no regrets if I could just sleep here for one night. I wouldn’t wake up with aches and pains.”

Wan quickly got out of bed to clean up and go home. His pouting lips widened into an exclamation.

“Whoa.”

His rear, which had risen halfway, returned to the mattress. The sensation of sitting down and getting up from the bed was unfamiliar. For him, whose only experience with beds had been the ones in the school infirmary, he bounced his seated bottom. It reminded him of the trampoline park where he could play and sweat for 1,000 won an hour. The feeling of soaring upwards without resistance when he jumped. That memory vividly resurfaced as soon as he lifted his bottom from the bed.

Reluctantly, Wan moved his feet and headed to the bathroom inside. There was moisture on the bathroom floor. He put down the shoes he was carrying, took off his socks, stuffed them into his shoes, and entered barefoot. As the employee had said, there was a large, curved bathtub sitting alone in the bathroom. A shower booth was installed against the wall, and unusually, the adjacent wall had a full-length mirror instead of tiles. Next to the showerhead were razors, shaving cream, and bath products. The towel rack attached to the door shone as if it had never held a towel.

He first looked for a dry towel. He opened the drawer under the sink, and it was filled with neatly folded, crisp towels in a square shape. Wan buried his face in the pile of towels and inhaled. Ah, wonderful. The towels smelled of fragrant fabric softener. Wan’s house always had a musty smell, so he couldn’t even remember the last time he had dried himself with such fluffy and pleasant-smelling towels.

Wan took a dry towel from the pile. Then, to clean, he rolled up his school uniform pants to his knees. When watering the garden, the fabric that got splashed with water and went up his pants felt a little stiff. He forced his uniform pants up and squatted next to the bathtub. Each time he moved, the moisture pooled on the floor splashed onto his calves.

“What’s this? Is the bathtub defective?”

Wan noticed a strange pattern while cleaning the inside of the bathtub. There was a round circle carved right below the bathtub handle. Not only that, but there were regularly spaced circles of the same size, like cupping marks, on the bottom as well. He pressed the evenly spaced round holes with his finger. They were in a strange location for a drain. Wan was muttering and exploring the bathtub when.

“Curious?”

A strange man was leaning against the doorway. Wan was startled by the sudden appearance of the man and fell on his rear. His bottom immediately became damp. The man, who had his arms crossed, took a step into the bathroom and opened his mouth.

“It’s a spa bathtub. Bubbles come out of there.”

“…”

The way he spoke to him was so natural that Wan wondered if he knew him. The strange man was wearing clean sneakers. Wan glanced at his own old sneakers near the man’s shoes. His dirty socks were peeking out halfway. Wan didn’t respond to the man’s words and quietly closed his mouth. Had he heard everything he said to himself? Embarrassment crept in.

“There’s a spa I sometimes go to in Mexico. Want to go?”

“Huh? Mexico?”

It was out of the blue. Wan couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh at the man’s suggestion. Mexico, of all places. The country of Mexico had never been relevant or related to his life. He suppressed his laughter and shook his head. The man stared down at Wan with a face that showed no hint of a smile. The hand holding the dry towel was endlessly rubbing the already dry spot.

“Why suddenly Mexi-, Mexico. No, I’m okay.”

You shouldn’t accept favors without expecting something in return.

“I just said it because you seemed curious about the bathtub.”

“…”

Were favors not favors for these people? Wan scratched his chin and met the man’s eyes. They were inscrutable. Mu Jeonghoo slowly scanned Wan’s bare legs as he squatted below him. The protruding red anklebone was so red, like a peach pit, that it looked like it would burst and wet his tongue if he chewed it like a piece of peach in his mouth. The heel, slightly raised to maintain balance while cleaning the bathtub, looked as smooth as a peeled egg. Like someone who had never stepped barefoot on the floor.

Wan, belatedly noticing the man’s gaze, awkwardly stood up. Now there wasn’t a single drop of water left in the bathtub. Should he ask, “Who are you?” But the man who had entered the bathroom blended in so well, like a part of the room, that it felt strange to ask. Jeonghoo followed Wan’s ankle with his gaze as he stood up.

“Your ankles are really thin.”

“Yes?”

“I’m amazed you can walk.”

He couldn’t take his eyes off the prominent red anklebone. He wanted to chew on it, like a seed with the color of the fruit still on it, and leave a bruise.

Ah. Untainted things are definitely my taste.

Wan grabbed the hem of his pants that had been rolled up to his knees. It was to avoid the man’s gaze. The man in front of him was the first person he had ever met who looked at his ankles and made such comments.

It was dangerous. The man’s undisguised, sinister gaze and the humid atmosphere of the bathroom were both dangerous. Wan struggled to pull down the hem of his pants, which had become tangled like hair on his thigh. But the wet pants were as stiff as when he had rolled them up.

Wan bent over and fussed with pulling down his pants. Meanwhile, the man took another step closer. The man’s shadow grew darker in his vision. A chill ran down Wan’s spine as he bent over.

“Want me to help?”

“…”

Wan grabbed the hem of his pants that had been rolled up to his thigh and looked up at the man.

“Don’t just stand there with your mouth open like an idiot.”

“…”

“I’m offering to help.”

Jeonghoo closed Wan’s gaping mouth with his thumb, almost stroking it. Wan unconsciously put his lower lip, where the man’s finger had touched, into his mouth and sucked on it. Did his eyes, looking at him blankly, seem to be begging for help? The man lowered one knee and touched the hem of Wan’s pants. Wan felt the man’s palm touch his bare skin but couldn’t do anything.

His lips were burning. Wan scratched his lower lip with his front teeth and looked down at the top of the man’s head. What was this man doing? The man brought his face to his thigh more than necessary. If he moved his leg forward even a little, the man’s nose would be buried in the flesh of his thigh.

“Looking at it up close, it’s even hotter.”

Wan doubted the words that had just come out of the man’s mouth. Jeonghoo, who had been quietly muttering, suddenly buried his nose in the spot right above his knee, where his thigh began. His sharp nose was buried in the pale flesh. The transparent downy hair and clean skin, like the scales of a mermaid luring a fisherman, shimmered in the bathroom lights.

“U-um, excuse me!”

Jeonghoo ignored Wan’s voice from above and deeply rubbed his nose against the inner thigh. The thigh was plumper than he had thought. He buried his face in the soft thigh and inhaled deeply. It was a faint but cozy smell. It wasn’t an overwhelming smell like the cheap cotton candy sold on the streets, nor was it a chaotic smell that made him nauseous. If he hadn’t noticed the subtle scent coming from his thigh, he might have missed it, but once he smelled it, he wanted to keep smelling it. Mu Jeonghoo wanted to soak the pillow he slept on every night with the scent he was smelling now.

“Excuse me!”

Mu Jeonghoo’s scent appreciation session was abruptly cut short. As the fair skin moved away from his nose, his brow twitched. Jeonghoo only raised his eyes to look at Wan. His pale face was floating in the air.

“What are you doing…”

Wan couldn’t afford to relax. First of all, the enclosed space of the bathroom was suffocating, and ever since the man had entered, he had felt like he couldn’t breathe. He quickly moved his thigh, thinking of escaping the bathroom. The leg that the man’s nose had touched moved back, and the moment he took a step with his freed foot, his foot slipped.

“Ugh!”

Jeonghoo grabbed Wan’s wrist as he fell backward. Then, he sat him securely on his raised knee. Even though he was shorter than him, and even though he was a man, he held Wan’s body lightly, as if he were holding a feather in his hand and shaking it. Wan felt the palm of his hand covering the back of his head and opened his tightly closed eyes. The man’s face in front of him was even paler.

“T-thank, thank you.”

He was dazed. He had to thank him for saving him from cracking his head open. He grabbed Jeonghoo’s arm and struggled to stand up. Before the man could put his nose on him again and whisper ticklish breaths, he hurriedly pulled down his pants.

Mu Jeonghoo’s gaze lingered on the navy blue uniform pants. With a regretful look, he recalled the downy hair that had bristled every time he inhaled. The memory was short. He became greedy. He wanted to see the other things on Wan’s body that he was hastily tidying up. For example, the soft pink of the nipples he had seen before, or the hole that he wondered what shape it would take if he were to tightly insert his cock.