Taeung’s lips curled into a smirk as he finally broke the silence too, his expression a mix of irony and exasperation. He leaned forward slightly, his eyes glinting with a playful challenge.

“Fifty years ago,” Taeung began, his tone dry but edged with a hint of mockery, “I would’ve been the one to give you this talk, you hedonist.”

Samuel’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. The comment wasn’t exactly funny. If Samuel didn’t know Taeung, he would for sure take offense. Samuel blinked, momentarily taken aback by the unexpected remark. The irony wasn’t lost on him, not entirely.

“We are still so different after all these years, Samuel.”

“I’m telling you that the churches are getting more and more shady.” Samuel’s voice raised, his anger echoed through the four cold walls of their living room. The frowns on his face made any kind of expression on Taeung drop, turning to an impenetrable stone that Samuel has always hated. Of course he meant well, but when Taeung was already agitated the night before, he could only let the guy calm down. 

The brunet watched him carefully, the worry in his chest not quite abated. He wanted to say more, to reach out and bridge the growing distance between them, but he knew Taeung. So, he let the silence linger, hoping that in the quiet, his brother would find the words—or at least the will—to open up on his own.

Neither was ready to break the silence again, but the connection they shared, however strained, was still there.

The peaceful quiet of the living room was abruptly shattered as Hajoon burst through the door, his face contorted in fear and anger. His eyes were wild, darting around as if trying to make sense of the disorienting scene before him. His breathing was rapid and uneven, each inhale coming in sharp gasps that seemed to echo his heightened emotional state.

Samuel and Taeung both shot to their feet, their faces reflecting a mixture of alarm and confusion. Samuel took a cautious step toward Hajoon.

When Samuel first saw Hajoon burst into view, the scene was both striking and unsettling. Hajoon appeared in a frantic rush, his powerful physique starkly outlined against the doorway. His broad chest, usually steady and strong, heaved with each frantic breath, the rise and fall of his torso betraying his attempt to appear calm. The tautness of his muscles, usually relaxed and defined, now appeared in sharp relief, emphasizing the urgency of his movements.

He was clad only in his underwear, the fabric clinging to his strong frame, accentuating the contours of his body. The slight sheen of sweat on his skin caught the morning light, giving him an almost otherworldly glow.

Samuel gulped. His eyes stuck on the curves of Hajoon’s body. 

He was a man. A fine one at that.

Taeung just stared at Samuel with an eye twitched. Assuming the same thing Hajoon probably thought of right now. 

Hajoon’s movements were erratic as he stumbled into the room. His hands were clenched into tight fists at his sides, knuckles white with the strain. He looked at Samuel and Taeung with intensity, his eyes wide and unseeing, as if struggling to understand the reality of what had happened. His body was rigid, his posture tense, and every muscle seemed coiled with an unsettling mix of adrenaline and confusion.

“I—” Hajoon’s voice cracked, and he swallowed hard, trying to force the words out. “I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if… if Samuel—” His voice trailed off, choked by the raw emotion that he was struggling to contain. The uncertainty in his voice was apparent, layered with a deep sense of violation.

He took a couple of unsteady steps forward, his gaze shifting between Samuel and Taeung, seeking answers in their faces. There was a look of panic in his eyes, a desperate need for confirmation or denial of what he feared. His breaths came in ragged bursts, each exhale carrying a hint of trembling fear.

“Hajoon, wait—” Samuel started, but his voice was cut off by Hajoon’s sudden leave.

“Samuel, you went and did the one thing I told you not to.” Taeung covered his face with a palm, leaving Samuel in more of a rush to explain himself.

Samuel’s voice cut through the tense atmosphere with a cold, unfeeling edge. “Your clothes,” he said, his tone detached and emotionless, directing what he was about to say to the frantic man, “they would be in the dryer downstairs if the nanny hadn’t brought those up to the room.”

With no other choice and rather carelessly, Hajoon ran straight into the corner of the wall, a straight indent etched on his forehead temporarily from how fast he turned and ran. 

Did they really fuck or was that just from the older man’s perverted assumption? Both are just as equally embarrassing, and that increased Hajoon’s anxiety by ten folds.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Hajoon bolted from the room. He was dressed only in his underwear, as he dashed down the stairs. His movements were frenzied, allowing no moments paused. Hajoon's vulnerability was stark, with only his underwear clinging to his frame. The air felt sharp against his bare skin, occasionally piercing through his tensed muscles like cold knives. His usual composure was stripped away, leaving him raw and unguarded. Every breath seemed to tremble with the feeling of being exposed, the thin fabric barely concealed the deep, unspoken memory. 

The moment was a silent plea for cover, not just for his body, but for the fragility of his psyche laid bare. 

Hajoon didn’t even have a moment to process anything. Rather, his brain didn’t want to. It just wanted him to jump into the shower and wash the sins off of himself. That was what he was feeling. Though, some part of himself was relieved that was all he wanted to do.

“Great, now we have a panicking middle aged man in our house,” Samuel rolled his eyes. “We did not fuck, Taeung.”

“You were the one who brought him home.” Taeung slumped back down on the couch, somewhat relieved that his older brother didn’t do something stupid for once. “Besides, it would be a funny image… you bringing home a fuck buddy and the first thing they do in the morning is acting like you molested them.”

Samuel pinched his nose bridge as he let out a sharp exhale, thinking of a way to explain himself before the press crowd at his front door about something he would never do. 

“Me personally, I think it might be a kink thing between you two. That sex dungeon of a bedroom you have is like a box of surprises.” Taeung continued, snickering as he stared at his phone without care. 

Normally, Taeung wouldn’t be such a bully to Samuel, but he really didn’t know how to deal with something like this. This was the first time he had to see things spiral out of control over a man.

Samuel, on the other hand, had already left to go after Hajoon.

As Hajoon reached the bottom of the stairs, he collided hard into the nanny, who was standing at the base of the stairs with a basket of clothes. The impact was jarring, causing the basket to tip and spill its contents—a mix of clothes, towels, and linens—onto the floor. The nanny’s eyes flew wide with shock as she tried to steady herself, her expression a mixture of surprise and concern.

Hajoon’s face flushed with a deep, burning embarrassment as he stumbled backward. His eyes darted around, trying to regain his composure while still feeling the sting of Samuel’s earlier comment. His hands flew out to steady the nanny, his movements clumsy and hurried. “I’m so sorry!” he exclaimed, his voice a strained mixture of apologies and flustered confusion. “I didn’t mean to…”

The nanny’s cheeks turned a shade of pink, and she struggled to hold onto the scattered clothes. She looked at Hajoon with a mixture of empathy and bewilderment, trying to process the unexpected situation. “It’s alright,” she said, her voice slightly shaky as she attempted to gather the clothes. “Are you okay?”

Before Hajoon could respond, Samuel appeared at the top of the stairs, a barely contained grin tugging at his lips. The sight of Hajoon in his underwear, the nanny’s disheveled appearance, and the scattered clothes created a chaotic scene that Samuel found difficult to suppress. The amused glint in his eyes and the barely stifled chuckle that escaped him betrayed his attempt to maintain a serious demeanor.

Samuel descended the stairs with deliberate calmness, though his amusement was evident in the slight twitch of his mouth. His eyes followed Hajoon’s disheveled form with residual humor. As he approached, he offered a soft, almost apologetic laugh, trying to balance his own feelings with the awkwardness of the situation.

“Well, it looks like you’ve found your clothes,” Samuel said, his voice laced with a hint of amusement despite his best efforts to remain composed. 

The coldness in Samuel’s voice felt like an ice bucket, dousing Hajoon's already heightened emotions. 

We didn’t do it, Hajoon reminded himself.

Hajoon’s gaze met Samuel’s, his face still flushed with embarrassment. The realization of his exposure, along with the collision with the nanny, left him feeling mortified and off-balance. His attempt to regain composure was evident in the way he tried to steady his breathing and gather the scattered clothes.

We didn’t do it, he reminded again.

Hajoon’s hands shook as he hurriedly pulled on his clothes, his breath coming in uneven gasps. He moved with an urgency, as if he couldn’t escape fast enough. Samuel watched him, his expression hardening. He didn’t move, didn’t say a word, just stood there, arms crossed, eyes narrowed.

There’s no way we could’ve done it.

When Hajoon finally left, slamming the door behind him, Samuel remained rooted in place, a simmering anger stirring within him. He wasn’t about to dwell on what Hajoon thought of him. If this was about his sexuality, Samuel wasn’t going to apologize for it. He’d faced that kind of disgust before, the way people recoiled when they found out. But that wasn’t his burden to carry.

Samuel refused to feel guilty. If Hajoon wanted to run because of that, let him.

But the incident… Samuel smacked himself on the forehead. 

It had been a full day since he got caught, and instead of finding a way out, Samuel had only managed to dig himself deeper. Now he scared off the man he wanted to bribe. 

“Taeung! Pack your stuff, I’m serious about that trip!”