Yeonwoo was so startled he stammered, his body flailing. Noyoung, who had been looking down checking Yeonwoo's injury, also jumped up in concern.

"Yeonwoo, are you okay?"

But even before Noyoung could finish his sentence, Inhyeok asked Yeonwoo.

"Do you have time right now?"

Yeonwoo clutched his racing heart and barely managed to answer. He felt like his ears were going to pop out at any moment. No, he even thought they might have already, so he fumbled at his head. Fortunately, it seemed neither his ears nor his tail had come out.

"N... now?"

"Yes. It looks like you have plenty of time."

The grip on Inhyeok's hand holding Yeonwoo's shoulder tightened. Yeonwoo hunched his shoulders slightly and opened his mouth. But Noyoung had no intention of letting this slide.

"What's the matter? If there's something inconvenient, you can tell me."

He tried to pull Inhyeok's hand away, but Yeonwoo stopped him and lightly pulled Inhyeok toward him. He was afraid unnecessary words would be exchanged.

"Sun Inhyeok! I was actually going to look for you!"

Not only Yeonwoo's voice but also his expression was awkward to anyone watching. It was overwhelming enough just holding back his legs that wanted to run away this instant. Yeonwoo looked at Inhyeok, whose gaze looked like it could kill someone, and kept telling himself.

He's probably not a bad person. Even if he is a weird one.

Though his eyes seemed a bit crazed, his words were harsh, and he even acted like a pervert, he was the person who helped Yeonwoo when he was in a crisis and even lent him clothes. It was also true that Yeonwoo had done wrong first.

As if recognizing that effort, Inhyeok's gaze didn't leave him. Contrary to Yeonwoo's worry, it was as if Noyoung was an invisible person.

"Is that so?"

Inhyeok replied affectionately with a smile he'd never shown before, as if responding to Yeonwoo's words. It was professional acting on a completely different level from Yeonwoo's.

Yeonwoo was also flustered by the sweet appearance he had never seen before. The face of Inhyeok, smiling with the corners of his eyes softening, held immense power.

"It seems our hearts were in sync."

Inhyeok, who had stepped closer in the meantime, whispered low into his ear, just enough for Yeonwoo to hear.

"We have quite a lot to talk about, don't we?"

Then he pressed a piece of paper into Yeonwoo's hand.

"On second thought, it seems there are too many eyes watching to talk here. Contact me here."

Yeonwoo's face, which had been captivated by his smile, was instantly colored with tension. The tiny piece of paper held in his hand felt heavy.

"Any time is fine, but preferably before I lose my patience and go find that director who's acting like your spokesperson, Hong Yeonwoo."

As he spoke, Inhyeok's gaze shifted past Yeonwoo's shoulder for the first time. The frozen Yeonwoo didn't notice, but Noyoung subtly frowned at Inhyeok's fierce gaze.

"I enjoyed the meal."

As if he had never smiled warmly, Inhyeok left the tent with his usual expressionless face. Until his figure disappeared beyond the tent, Yeonwoo couldn't say a word. He couldn't even say he'd return the clothes.

As soon as Inhyeok left, Noyoung checked on Yeonwoo's condition.

"Yeonwoo. Are you okay?"

Yeonwoo nodded as he tucked the paper deep into his pocket.

"......Pardon? Oh, of course!"

Noyoung asked several more times if he was really okay, but Yeonwoo only repeated that he was fine. Rather, at the thought that a spark might fly even toward the innocent Noyoung, he couldn't lift his head.

"I'm sorry."

"For what? Why are you apologizing like you did something wrong?"

"Just... in many ways."

If being involved with Inhyeok was his misfortune, Noyoung was essentially suffering by being caught up in it. Patting Yeonwoo's shoulder as he swallowed a sigh, Noyoung laughed heartily.

"It's okay. Don't be so discouraged. When you work in this field, all sorts of things happen."

Noyoung looked back and added as he turned to leave.

"What I said about tutoring you on-set was serious. If you hear what kind of things I've seen on set, you'll be able to brush these things off as nothing."

Before he knew it, lunch had arrived, and he could hear the sound of the staff entering the tent along with Mancheol. Yeonwoo immediately said goodbye to Noyoung and rushed to the serving counter.

Work piled up hectically that day. Because of that, the thought of having to contact Inhyeok naturally got pushed to the back of his mind.

***

Inhyeok looked down at Yeonwoo, who was letting out panting breaths beneath him. The gaze looking up at him, with the corners of the eyes stained red, was filled with excitement.

Facing this, Inhyeok rubbed his lips against Yeonwoo's neck, which was dappled with the marks he had left.

"Ngh."

Yeonwoo's shoulders were trembling, but Inhyeok instead bared his teeth and bit down on the white skin.

A fresh set of tooth marks etched itself over the densely scattered bruises. To Yeonwoo, whose body was already in an extremely sensitive state, even that tiny flare of pain had long since transformed into pleasure.

Wrapping his arms tight around Inhyuk's neck, he twisted his waist slightly.

"Hurry... ah!"

At the shrill voice urging him on, Inhyuk added another finger, inserting it into Yeonwoo's lower half, which he had been teasing for a while.

"Do you know how many have gone in?"

As the squelching sound reached his ears, Yeonwoo's white skin flushed red.

Every time Inhyeok pressed against the inner walls, Yeonwoo's body shuddered and his legs curled inward.

While Inhyeok hushed and soothed Yeonwoo, who was clinging to his shoulders, his fingers did not stop fumbling below.

I think it's loosened up enough now.

Inhyeok's self-control was also at its limit.

As he withdrew the fingers that had been thrusting, Yeonwoo's head tilted back and his legs curled up.

"Hah, ngh."

Unable to hold back at the sharp moan, Inhyeok grabbed Yeonwoo's legs and pulled them wide apart. Yeonwoo's twitching hole was laid bare, and Inhyeok rubbed his tip smoothly against the very spot that had been nibbling and clinging to his fingers just moments ago.

"Ngh, mmm."

Rubbing his cheek against the back of Inhyeok's hand, Yeonwoo urged him on with half-lidded eyes. Inhyeok thrust his member into Yeonwoo all at once.

"Ugh."

.

.

And then he snapped his eyes open and stared at the familiar ceiling.

"Damn it."

Muttering a curse, Inhyeok kicked off the blanket and checked himself. Sure enough, he had woken up right before insertion again, and he was still erect without having been able to ejaculate properly.

"Haa."

Exhaling a deep sigh, he ran a hand through his hair irritably. Leaning against the bed, Inhyeok couldn't get up until his arousal subsided.

Grasping the bedsheets tight, Inhyeok recalled the image of Yeonwoo's face.

***

"I should contact him..."

Returning home only after midnight, Yeonwoo stared endlessly at his phone and the memo while vigorously brushing his tail fur.

He wanted to contact Inhyeok, but he didn't have a moment to step away today because customers kept coming in one after another. Still, he couldn't keep dragging his feet and postponing the contact either.

"Is this that big manager's number?"

There was no way he would have given out his personal phone number so easily. If this number belonged to Gwanghyun, how much should he write in a text? After putting down the brush, Yeonwoo repeated the process of writing and deleting the text.

Hello, Manager. Dino Food Truck...

Was it right to specifically mention the Dino Food Truck? He was worried it would only tarnish its image.

Hello, Manager. I'm the person you ran into at the trash area a few days ago...

After agonizing for a long time, Yeonwoo finally sent the message only when it was well into the early morning.

Belatedly checking the time, Yeonwoo was startled to realize it was already past 2:00 AM.

"I should have sent it in the morning..."

Although he was often involved in various incidents due to his bad luck, Yeonwoo was not the clumsy type. However, he let out a sigh, feeling as if he had been making nothing but mistakes every day since becoming involved with Inhyeok.

​Having tossed and turned for days, Yeonwoo rubbed his face against the blanket. It wasn't as if he was sick anywhere specific, but his condition was strangely off.

"I'm tired."

Yes, like right now.

This was probably because his heart remained uncomfortable due to guilt.

"Let's resolve this quickly and get it over with."

Yeonwoo checked the meager balance of his living expenses account on his phone.

"Since they said they'd pay the food truck wages weekly for now..."

Working at the food truck had significantly reduced his food expenses, so it seemed he could somehow cover his immediate living costs, but he couldn't even guess how much compensation Inhyeok would demand.

Yeonwoo thought of another bankbook he had and opened the wardrobe. Then, with his shoulders slumped, he muttered.

"If you think about it, Sun Inhyeok was the one who bit my whole body that day."

However, he soon became solemn upon discovering Inhyeok's torn pants inside the wardrobe.

"No, the cause was me first tearing a total stranger's pants and... pouncing on him... Haa."

Trying his best to ignore the torn pants, he reached deep into the wardrobe.

A short while later, the lights in the rooftop room went out, and Yeonwoo tried to sleep with his tail drooping. Even though there was no way a reply would come at this hour, his eyes kept drifting toward his phone.

"Let's just sleep for now."

His only schedule for tomorrow was going to Mancheol's shop late in the afternoon to prepare ingredients, but Yeonwoo turned his phone face down so he couldn't see the screen and forced his eyes shut.

However, perhaps because it was weighing on his mind so much, Yeonwoo's eyes snapped open early in the morning.

As soon as he woke up, he checked his phone first. He first clicked on the message from Hyunmin wishing him a happy birthday.

"Ah, today was my birthday."

After sending a thank-you reply to Hyunmin, Yeonwoo swallowed hard when he saw the notification next to the number saved as 'Manager'. He hadn't checked the content yet, but his heart felt squeezed by the reality he could no longer avoid.

After a few deep breaths, the screen he checked showed a message that didn't match anything he had expected.

A text with nothing but an address, without a greeting or an explanation of the situation. There was only one way to interpret the intent of that text.

"He wants me to come, right?"

He didn't know if there was a connection, but bad things especially tended to happen on his birthday. He wanted to stay home as much as possible, but he couldn't ignore the message in this situation.

***

Arriving at the place written in the text, Yeonwoo looked around, wondering if he had come to the wrong place.

"Is this right?"

Yeonwoo, who was carrying a load of bags in both hands, took out his phone and sent a message to the number that gave him the address, saying he had arrived. The 'unread' mark disappeared immediately, but no reply came back.

"Maybe he didn't want me to come?"

Just as he was contemplating whether he should call, someone came out of the building and walked straight toward him.

"You're Hong Yeonwoo, right?"

"Pardon?"

It was definitely someone he was seeing for the first time, but the voice recognizing him was full of certainty.

"Sun Inhyeok is currently filming. Please wear this around your neck and follow me."

Yeonwoo, who had been tense, felt the tension leave his shoulders slightly as soon as he heard Inhyeok's name. Fortunately, it seemed he wouldn't be turned away at the door.

Yeonwoo received the temporary pass the staff member handed him and struggled to hang it around his neck. Then, he followed closely behind her into the building, fearing she might leave him behind.

It was called a filming set, but it was completely different from the set in Gangwon Province. While the Gangwon Province set had streets and buildings built realistically, this was just the interior of an ordinary building, except for the lack of windows.

"Shall I help you with your bags?"

The staff offered with a bright smile, but Yeonwoo quietly shook his head.

"No, it's okay."

"Why do you have so much luggage?"

"Ah, I just have some things to give..."

Since he saw last time that Inhyeok didn't seem to be eating properly, these were side dishes he had hurriedly made all morning.

"Ah, it's filming from here on, so you have to be quiet. There's a dressing room that doubles as a waiting room inside, so would you like to wait there?”

The view that unfolded as a heavy-looking door opened made it impossible for Yeonwoo to take his eyes away. Whether it was for a commercial or a photoshoot, Inhyeok was under the lights with his shirt half-unbuttoned and his eyes closed.

"Come this way."

Yeonwoo, who was blankly admiring him without realizing it, hurriedly followed the staff at her whisper and entered the waiting room inside.

"The guest is here."

He thought it would be empty, but as soon as he entered the waiting room, several pairs of eyes turned toward Yeonwoo. Yeonwoo hesitated at the unexpectedly large group, but the door had already closed behind him, leaving him nowhere to go.

"Hello!"

Perhaps they already knew he was coming, as they naturally made room for him. However, they couldn't hide their curious gazes as they stared at him.

The moment overlapped with when he was called a 'unicorn' by the people at Blue Rim Media not long ago. He felt dizzy, wondering what Inhyeok or Gwanghyun might have told them.

Pervert, stalker?

The only words that came to mind were such provocative ones.