Formless Chapter 54

It’s all because the group leader was bullying me.

“Again.”

Fiddling with the area near his ear, Gangwoo spoke.

“Huh?”

“Who else bullied you?”

The slightly cracked voice spoke gently.

His gaze was also extremely affectionate. It felt as if time had stopped as their eyes met. Soon, tears streamed down Heewoon’s red-rimmed eyes. Unaware of it, Heewoon just looked at Gangwoo’s face. His slightly swollen lips parted slightly. A whisper escaped.

“There are so many people who bully me.”

Another teardrop flowed past the bridge of his nose. Gangwoo gently wiped the bridge of his nose with his finger and said.

“But why didn’t you tell me.”

“Because there are so many…”

The whisper was thoroughly soaked. Gangwoo gently stroked Heewoon’s hair and said in a low voice.

“Even if there are too many, tell me.”

“…Okay.”

Heewoon answered faintly. And he quickly fell asleep.

While sleeping, Heewoon groaned and suffered. His head hurt as if it would break, and his stomach was churning. His mouth was parched.

Heewoon, who eventually opened his eyes in the dark dawn, glanced at the sleeping Gangwoo for a moment before quietly getting out of bed. Perhaps because he was still drunk, he was dizzy and had to walk while holding onto the wall.

He went to the kitchen and drank two glasses of water in a row. His mouth still smelled of alcohol. He didn’t have his toothbrush in the first-floor bathroom, so he went up to the second floor to brush his teeth. On his way down, he also grabbed his cell phone that was on the desk.

Then he went to the kitchen, filled another cup with water, and went to the living room. He saw his clothes scattered around. Heewoon looked around for his underwear, then realized it was upstairs and put on only his pants without underwear. After putting on his shirt, he sat on the sofa, and something hard poked his butt. It was his cell phone. When he unlocked it, the KakaoTalk screen appeared right away.

[He was drinking in a hurry yesterday, Woo Heewoon might have a hangover.]

Glaring at Jihwan’s message, Heewoon lay down on the sofa as if collapsing. Looking at the small text made his head hurt again. So he closed his eyes and tried to sleep. His stomach felt bad and his head hurt, so he tossed and turned, but at some point, he seemed to have fallen asleep.

“Why are you sleeping here.”

When he opened his eyes at the sound of a voice, his surroundings were bright. There was the smell of food, and he could feel someone’s presence in the kitchen. As he rubbed his eyes and lifted his head, he saw Gangwoo standing with a slight frown. Gangwoo was wearing comfortable pants on the bottom and nothing on top. Heewoon hesitantly got up and said cautiously.

“I was worried I’d be loud…”

But Seo Gangwoo was looking at him with a somewhat displeased expression. Heewoon noticed that Gangwoo’s gaze was on the cell phone he was holding. He seemed lost in thought, then finally opened his mouth.

“Yesterday, too. You really like your cell phone.”

“Huh?”

“Do you have a lot of people to contact?”

“Uh, yesterday I was just trying to turn off the alarm…”

Heewoon’s heart pounded, thud, thud, anxiously. He couldn’t understand his drunk self who had clung to Gangwoo’s arms even after what happened yesterday.

“Should I… should I delete all the numbers?”

Gangwoo’s head tilted to the side.

“Without a cell phone, I can’t c-contact you. So if I delete everyone else’s number…”

Seeing Heewoon speaking hesitantly while watching his reaction, Gangwoo raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

“If you want to, go ahead.”

“…Okay.”

Heewoon stared blankly for a moment, then deleted all the saved numbers. He had already changed his number once and cleaned up his contacts after the debt collectors started showing up, so there weren’t many saved numbers to begin with.

“I deleted them all. Gangwoo.”

Heewoon held out his cell phone to Gangwoo. After glancing at the contact list where only [Seo Gangwoo] remained, Gangwoo nodded. Not knowing if this was the right thing to do, Heewoon watched his reaction.

But suddenly, Gangwoo let out a laugh.

“Sunbae.”

“Huh?”

Gangwoo reached out his hand to the face of Heewoon, who had hunched his shoulders. He gently cupped the bruised cheek with his palm and said, as if to himself.

“I thought you were less scared since you were acting cute in my arms.”

“…”

“But I guess that’s not it?”

Gangwoo’s eyes curved softly.

“Y-yes.”

“That’s good.”

Gangwoo kissed his cheek. It was a light press, but it hurt, making Heewoon flinch in surprise. He pulled his head back a little to get away from Gangwoo, but when their eyes met, he awkwardly returned to his original position.

Gangwoo, who had smirked, stroked his head.

“Why are you all bundled up. Aren’t you hot?”

Gangwoo pulled at his hoodie and fiddled with the T-shirt underneath. As it was, he was already breaking out in a sweat.

“I’m hot.”

Gangwoo gently brushed back his damp, sweaty hair. Wash up. Gangwoo held out his hand. Heewoon took Gangwoo’s hand and went up to the second floor.

While he took off the layered clothes one by one, Gangwoo kept staring, so he moved a little hurriedly. He took off all his shirts and turned around slightly to pull down his pants, but Gangwoo, who had been standing still, approached. A large hand touched one of his buttocks, which was fully exposed because he wasn’t wearing underwear.

“…”

Heewoon rolled his eyes as he pulled off his pants from his other foot. Surely he’s not trying to have sex first thing in the morning. I feel so sick right now.

“Only one side is bruised.”

Gangwoo muttered. He rubbed the purple bruise on the white buttock, then let his gaze travel down the well-formed leg. There was also a mark on the back of his ankle where he had bitten and sucked it.

Gangwoo’s gaze was so sticky that Heewoon awkwardly turned his body to avoid it. However, Gangwoo followed him into the bathroom after he had undressed, and he ended up engaging in some light petting. Gangwoo squeezed his buttocks hard the entire time, and only after he had bruised the other buttock as well did he leave the bathroom, seemingly satisfied.

Coming downstairs, Heewoon staggered a few times. It was because he had exerted himself first thing in the morning while still not fully sober.

He went to the kitchen and sat on a dining table chair, and only then did he feel like he could live. His butt throbbed a little, but it wasn’t unbearable.

The dining table was, as usual, a magnificent feast. With the delicious-looking food in front of him, he didn’t feel hungry but rather stuffy. Heewoon barely swallowed the sigh that was about to escape.

Heewoon cautiously ate a few spoonfuls while watching Gangwoo. Still, the clear soup was palatable. He kept scooping up just the broth while glancing at Gangwoo. Gangwoo, neatly dressed in a shirt, looked more or less like an office worker, though his looks made him stand out a bit. He didn’t look like someone who could drag a person down to the very bottom.

In front of such a Seo Gangwoo, he often goes down to the very bottom. Yesterday, and on many other days he couldn’t remember precisely.

Feeling like he couldn’t eat anymore, Heewoon put down his spoon. Gangwoo’s gaze landed on it.

“You’re not eating more?”

“…Should I?”

As Heewoon stealthily picked up his spoon, Gangwoo smiled a little. When Heewoon looked at him, bewildered, Gangwoo said with a lingering smile on his face.

“Sunbae is like a loser, but you don’t piss me off.”

“Ah…”

At the words that could be either an insult or a compliment, Heewoon awkwardly nodded.

“That’s a very difficult thing to achieve.”

“I see.”

At Gangwoo’s added comment, which seemed to be telling him to be pleased, Heewoon nodded again.

“If you’re done eating, let’s go out together.”

Gangwoo stood up. His rice bowl was also less than half empty. Is he short on time for work? Heewoon thought. Watching Gangwoo go up to the second floor, Heewoon looked at the clock on the wall. It was a little after 7 o’clock. His company probably wasn’t far, but the thought occurred to him that he might be leaving early to give him a ride.

Heewoon’s gaze fell on the rice bowl he had barely touched. I should have eaten it all slowly. He felt regretful.

While they were in the car together, Heewoon felt sick, so he pressed his forehead against the window and tried to sleep. He really thought Seo Gangwoo was beyond what an ordinary person could think. How could he force him to drink that strong alcohol. It could have been really dangerous.

Hoping that Gangwoo would regret it, Heewoon pretended to be in a little more pain with his forehead against the window, but Gangwoo paid no attention at all.

Gangwoo, who had stopped the car in an alley, gazed at Heewoon as he groggily lifted his head. Heewoon, wondering if his act had been caught, cleared his throat and fiddled with his hair.

“What are you doing today?”

“Washing up, and the academy… ah. I think I’ll be at home.”

Heewoon recalled what Gangwoo had said yesterday and corrected himself. Your memory seems to be intact. Muttering, Gangwoo nodded.

“Even if you throw a drunken tantrum, you can’t forget what I said.”

Heewoon nodded slightly. While thinking that it was a bit of a contradiction, coming from someone who had forced him to drink.

“Answer properly.”

“Ah, okay. Okay.”

Heewoon nodded his head, startled. Then get going. Gangwoo gestured with his chin, so Heewoon, flustered, bowed his head slightly as if saying goodbye and got out.

After closing the car door, he realized what he had done and felt a little embarrassed, but he had done worse things yesterday. Crying, begging…

‘Why aren’t you hugging me?’

Many other things he had said came to mind. Heewoon bit his lip hard. As he opened the main gate and went inside, he heard the sound of the car starting smoothly.

Heewoon stopped in his tracks and covered his eyes. He really wasn’t in his right mind yesterday. How could he ask Seo Gangwoo to hug him.

“Haa.”

A sigh escaped.

And from now on, it seemed he had to get permission whenever he met someone. He had also ended up deleting all his contacts.

Heewoon unconsciously loosened his scarf, then was startled and pulled it back up. To hide the bruised cheek, he had to be careful with his actions. Heewoon quietly opened the front door and entered, checking the room. Fortunately, his mom was still asleep. Even if he were to make an excuse later that he fell, it was best to hide it for as long as possible. He quickly went to the bathroom, changed his clothes, and burrowed into his blankets.

As he lay still, he kept thinking about what happened yesterday. Compared to the beginning or when he had tried to pull out his teeth, Seo Gangwoo had gone easy on him, but it was still scary. It might have been because he had grown accustomed to him treating him quite affectionately.

Still, it was really unexpected.

‘Who else bullied you?’

‘Even if there are too many, tell me.’

The gentle voice came back to him vividly. And the expression that had accepted all his drunken antics without any annoyance.

Thinking about this and that, Heewoon fell asleep after a long while.