Actually, It’s a Messy Melodrama Chapter 84

“What the heck, you were in the living room?”

Only after it had gotten later than expected did Taejun finish his work, come out to the living room, and ask in surprise upon seeing Haeshin sitting on the sofa with the TV on. Haeshin, who quickly turned off the TV, sprang up from his seat and approached Taejun.

“You finished work?”

“Yeah, yeah, I finished, but…….”

“You worked really late. Must have been tough.”

Haeshin mumbled while drooping his eyebrows pathetically even though he wasn’t the one who had worked. To someone who barely slept three or four hours a day, such concern felt a bit embarrassing, so Taejun changed the subject.

“By the way, why aren’t you sleeping at this hour? Were you watching something fun??”

“Me? Ah…….”

“You don’t have to mind me. You can keep watching whatever it was.”

Taejun spoke while recalling how Haeshin had hurriedly turned off the TV the moment he appeared. If it had been a movie, he was going to tell him there was a separate cinema room and suggest watching it there.

And while he was at it, maybe casually suggest watching together. In that short moment, Taejun’s mind began spinning complicatedly. Just imagining saying “Let’s watch a movie together” made him so nervous that tension filled his body.

But Haeshin, who had briefly looked at the now-dark TV, shook his head.

“No. I wasn’t really watching anything in particular…….”

“Ah…… really?”

A faint look of disappointment crossed Taejun’s face. Even though he knew it was an irrational feeling, he somehow felt like he had been stood up after making plans to watch a movie together. He had no idea why he became so foolish, not just awkward, but downright stupid, only in front of Cha Haeshin.

“Then why were you staying up and sitting here until now?”

Taejun desperately tried to act nonchalant to hide his pathetic self and asked. Haeshin shrugged his shoulders and answered.

“No, well, it’s just…… I couldn’t fall asleep either…….”

At that moment, Taejun sensed something odd. The way Haeshin was rolling his eyes around and letting his words trail off felt very suspicious. It seemed like he was hiding something.

“What’s wrong? Do you have something to say?”

“Huh?”

“You can’t even look me in the eye. Tell me what it is.”

Taejun slightly bent his waist to meet Haeshin’s eye level. However, unlike usual, Haeshin didn’t easily meet Taejun’s gaze. Just as Taejun was starting to seriously worry whether there was some grave problem, Haeshin finally spoke.

“Um, so, just…….”

It was such a small voice that one could miss it if not listening carefully. Taejun brought his ear even closer to Haeshin’s mouth.

“I just wanted to say good night to Mr. President before going to bed.”

“Ah…….”

“Since I’m freeloading here, going straight to my room and sleeping without even saying good night would be rude…….”

As if it were some big deal, Haeshin continued mumbling in a still tiny voice. His nape and earlobes were already bright red.

Haeshin himself knew it was an extremely ordinary thing to say. It wasn’t something to be this shy about. Taken purely as words, that was true. The problem was that the heart of the person saying it, Cha Haeshin, was not ordinary at all.

Just saying that he waited because he felt he should say good night before bed made his stomach strangely tickle. He was making excuses about manners and such, but the fact that he wasn’t truly treating Taejun as an employer out of propriety was something Cha Haeshin himself knew best.

The good night Haeshin wanted to give Taejun carried far more personal and intimate feelings. It wasn’t the solemnity of comrades-in-arms, nor the casualness of friends.

Because the emotion was difficult to define easily and felt awkward, Haeshin continued speaking brightly as if it were no big deal.

“Anyway, I just waited because I wanted to see your face in person and say good night before sleeping.”

With that, Haeshin turned his averted gaze back and looked straight at Taejun. He did it to avoid arousing even greater suspicion. But the moment their eyes met, Haeshin regretted it. His heart thudded heavily into his stomach at those endlessly gentle-colored eyes.

“You could’ve just come in and said it. Why wait all this time? You must be tired.”

Taejun’s voice as he spoke carried a familiar tone. There was a strange intimacy in Taejun’s eyes and voice that couldn’t be explained by the relationship of employer and employee, nor friends, nor comrades-in-arms.

The moment he realized this, Haeshin unconsciously held his breath. Did Han Taejun perhaps know how best to define this feeling?

Feeling ambivalent, wanting to know the answer yet also not wanting to, Haeshin replied.

“I didn’t want to disturb you while you were working.”

“It’s not a disturbance, so from now on feel free to come in and call me anytime. And you.”

“Yes?”

“Can you stop saying things like ‘freeloading’ or ‘I’m your employer’?”

As if he had never been gentle just now, Taejun’s eyebrows crooked upward. Haeshin clenched his teeth to hold back laughter and put on an innocent expression as if he understood nothing.

“Why? I was just stating facts?”

“Facts or whatever, I don’t want to hear it.”

“Really? Why? I was just saying it as it is.”

“Ah, just stop if I tell you to stop.”

“Are you ordering me as my employer? Then I’ll gladly obey.”

“This guy, seriously!”

Taejun raised his voice fiercely at Haeshin’s blatant teasing retort. The problem, if it could be called a problem, was that even so, it didn’t look scary at all in Haeshin’s eyes.

Haeshin burst into loud laughter at Taejun’s reaction and felt his previously complicated emotions gradually settling. Anyway, there were already mountains of problems in Haeshin’s life right now that needed worrying about. There was no need to create more problems to carry.

The subtle feeling that sometimes arose between Han Taejun and himself would probably become clearer with time. He didn’t want to worry unnecessarily and end up making things awkward with Taejun.

“Mr. President should rest soon too. You worked hard.”

“Yeah, I’ll shower and go straight to bed. You rest soon too.”

“Yes. I will.”

Haeshin answered obediently while watching Taejun turn away. And for some reason, at the moment he felt Taejun’s movements were a little awkward, Taejun suddenly spun around, looked at Haeshin again, and, with a clearly awkward face, opened his mouth.

“By any chance, by any chance.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“If you’re scared you might have another nightmare…….”

Haeshin’s expression became similarly awkward. Neither of them seemed to dislike this moment at all. Taejun lightly rubbed the bridge of his nose with the tips of his long, thick-knuckled fingers and continued.

“How about sleeping together again today.”

In that instant, the entire living room filled with ‘awkward’ air.

☂️

“I’m going crazy.”

After finishing his shower, Taejun stood in front of the bathroom mirror, looking at his somewhat dazed face, and muttered. Honestly, he barely remembered showering in what state of mind.

‘How about sleeping together again today.’

“Am I not completely insane, seriously.”

Recalling the words he had just blurted out to Haeshin, embarrassment automatically made curses spill out.

It was an impulsive remark, but to Taejun himself it felt irresponsible and even somewhat perverted in how thoughtless it was, so he regretted it deeply. If he had known it would be like this, it would have been better to plan ahead and rehearse at least.

The truth was that he himself wanted to sleep with Cha Haeshin, and because the memory of sleeping in the same bed with Cha Haeshin was so good, because the moment that kid trusted him completely, nestled in his arms, and fell deeply asleep was so happy, he wanted to experience it once more, yet cowardly, he pushed the choice onto Haeshin.

He might have looked stupid and naive, but if he had just asked straight out “Want to sleep with me again today?” he wouldn’t feel this pathetic about himself right now.

But ‘how about sleeping together’ of all things. It was so obvious he was pretending not to care that it was embarrassing, and it even made him look like a coward. No, he really was a coward.

Desperate as he was, he was so scared of being rejected that he created an escape route and pulled his butt back.

The bigger problem was that Cha Haeshin had actually accepted this pathetic proposal from Han Taejun. With a startled face, unable to answer right away and hesitating for a long time, Cha Haeshin finally spoke in a voice so quiet it was barely audible.

‘Wouldn’t it be uncomfortable for you, Mr. President?’

Taejun felt as if he had been hit on the head. Even though he had impulsively said it and was already regretting possibly making Haeshin uncomfortable, an unexpectedly positive reply came back, so it was no wonder Taejun was shocked.

‘If you’re okay with it, I’m not uncomfortable at all, not even a little.’

Taejun stepped one step closer to Haeshin and answered in a voice so anxious anyone could tell. Honestly, Taejun felt he had been a bit of an idiot at that moment. Even his voice showed it. It was a feeling he had never experienced in his life.

But even so, instead of mocking or looking down on Taejun, Cha Haeshin seriously considered it and eventually said that in that case he would take him up on the offer and even thanked him.

He had thought Cha Haeshin was smart and capable, but maybe he was actually someone who could be persuaded easily, Taejun seriously pondered this for a moment.

“At this point, Cha Haeshin probably doesn’t hate me, right?”

Taejun muttered while slowly examining his reflection in the mirror.

This much, he wasn’t an ugly face anywhere he went. He had money, honor; if there was a downside, it was being an ‘infinite sudden regressor’, but at least to Cha Haeshin, that might be an advantage rather than a disadvantage.