Swallow Hunting - Chapter 32.2
Lee Kang-ju stared at Hae-jun for a moment before closing the curtains again. Once the lightning vanished from his sight, his anxiety settled down considerably. A sigh of relief escaped his lips.
“Then shall I rest for a bit before I go? Since the weather is so poor.”
Lee Kang-ju, who had seemed ready to leave immediately, changed his mind. The color returned to Hae-jun’s cheeks. The joy was plain on his face. He turned his head away, but he couldn’t hide his budding, rounded cheeks.
“Then please sleep in the bed. I will sleep on the sofa.”
He pointed to the guest bed located right beneath the window. Although the bed in the room was spacious, he wanted to be in the same space as Lee Kang-ju if possible.
“It’s fine. I’ll be leaving soon.”
“Still. Your back won’t ache if you lie down on a bed.”
After settling Lee Kang-ju onto the bed, Hae-jun quickly claimed the sofa. He turned off the lamp and intentionally offered a greeting of “Good night,” and after a long while, he heard the rustling sound of Lee Kang-ju lying down.
Hae-jun kept his eyes tightly shut before slowly peeking them open. Through his vision, which had adapted to the darkness, he could faintly make out the profile of Lee Kang-ju lying straight toward the ceiling.
“…”
Hae-jun leaned his head against his elbow and gazed at Lee Kang-ju. He trusted that the darkness would hide his thieving gaze.
Even though dark clouds covered the sky, the dim light of dawn found a gap somehow and seeped into the room. Thanks to that, Lee Kang-ju’s prominent bridge of the nose, his philtrum, his lips that looked like small hills, and his sharply defined jaw were clearly visible.
Hae-jun fidgeted his fingers and traced those lines. In the empty air, his index finger climbed the uphill path along Lee Kang-ju’s nose, met a cliff, crossed a hill, and descended along the jawline.
It was then that the eyelids that had been resting quietly lifted. Their gazes met exactly. Hae-jun was more startled than when he had heard the thunder, and his shoulders flinched momentarily.
“Can’t you sleep?”
It would be ridiculous to close his eyes and pretend to sleep now. Hae-jun rubbed his reddened face and nodded his head.
“A little.”
“Should I sing you a lullaby?”
He realized late that it was Lee Kang-ju’s version of a joke. A lullaby from a man who was always nothing but serious; Hae-jun giggled like a child. At that sound, the subtly rigid air relaxed.
“I’d be grateful for that.”
“I’ll sing it for you next time.”
When Lee Kang-ju actually backed out, it felt like a shame. Since he had such a nice voice, Hae-jun thought he would probably be a good singer.
“That’s a promise.”
He hadn’t felt sleepy until just a moment ago, but after exchanging a few words with him, drowsiness came rushing in. It felt as if his head was being sucked deep into the cushion. He struggled to keep his flickering eyes open, but isn’t it said that even the strongest man in the world cannot hold up his own eyelids?
“…There is a business location in…”
Thus, he only heard the latter half of Lee Kang-ju’s voice. He couldn’t open his eyes. Only his ears were alive. He made a motion of nodding to show he was listening.
“There were some guys who embezzled from there and fled into the country. I was late because I was dealing with them.”
It was the answer to the question that had been cut off so sharply earlier. Hae-jun grinned even in his sleepy state. He was an unusually kind man.
“Did you wait long?”
It seemed he had turned toward him. A rustling sound echoed near his ear. Nevertheless, his closed eyes wouldn’t open, so he couldn’t see Lee Kang-ju. He was very curious about what kind of expression the man was wearing.
Had he waited for Lee Kang-ju?
The answer came easily. Hae-jun’s lips parted slightly. Only a sound like a distant whistle escaped.
All through the night, the lightning and thunder tirelessly beat against the window glass. But perhaps because he was with someone else, or perhaps because that someone was Lee Kang-ju, he was no longer afraid.
The rumbling thunder was as sweet as a lullaby. His consciousness, which had been as weary as if he were soaking in warm water, soon sank into the darkness.
It was a comfortable sleep.
***
After tossing and turning, he opened his eyes naturally. The sound of the rain, which had been falling so boisterously until he fell asleep, had stopped abruptly.
When he opened the curtains, bright sunlight poured into the room from a blue sky. At the sudden beam of light, Hae-jun frowned and raised his hand before slowly lowering it.
It was the first time in his life he had slept so well while it was thundering and lightning. Even when he lived with Yohan, if the outside flashed and the sky roared, he would toss and turn all night and only barely catch some sleep after the rain stopped.
He wondered if it was because the soundproofing was good, but he tilted his head as he recalled the thunder that had seemed to pierce through the glass.
“Huh?”
Come to think of it, something was strange. Only then did Hae-jun notice and look down at his head.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
