“I can’t say.”

“…Pardon?”

“Because if I tell you, I think you’ll get scared and run away.”

“…Should I just go then?”

“No.”

“Then why say that?”

“So you won’t be afraid of me.”

“What kind of talk is that?”

“Don’t be afraid of me.”

“…I’m not afraid.”

No matter how fiercely he spoke, he looked so dejected like an abandoned puppy that he wasn’t scary at all.

“Have you eaten?”

“…What?”

“Food. I’m asking if you’ve eaten.”

Ju-eon couldn’t follow the man’s flow of conversation. Feeling he should answer anyway, he shook his head slightly, and the man started leading him by the arm, walking unsteadily. The world seemed to be spinning.

“W-wait a moment!”

By the time he finally gathered his wits and shook him off, they had already reached their destination.

“Let’s go here.”

“…Suddenly?”

The place the man had reached was a hamburger shop. Not a franchise, but a burger shop in a small alley. Looking at the shop with its cute smiling logo, he thought.

‘What an ill-matching combination.’

After a brief moment of surprise, the man went inside, and the order was placed instantly. Unlike its shabby exterior, the inside of the shop was clean.

“This is what we used to eat together.”

The man rested his chin on his hand and smirked. It felt like seeing a scene he shouldn’t have. Ju-eon unnecessarily lowered his gaze.

‘Yun-jae wouldn’t like this…’

Yun-jae didn’t like eating out. He said it was better to eat at home as much as possible since his digestive system had weakened after getting artificial organs. His words made plenty of sense. Simple drinks were fine, but having never gone against what Yun-jae wanted, he hesitated for a moment.

“I don’t see another hamburger.”

“I only ordered yours.”

“…What about you?”

“I’m full.”

“What? I’m not particularly… hungry either…”

Why did he bring me here anyway? Ju-eon was about to say he wasn’t very hungry either, but was captivated by the fragrant smell of the hamburger.

“You like this, don’t you.”

Ju-eon squeezed his eyes shut and stuffed the hamburger into his mouth as the man watched him while hugging his arms and leaning on the table.

“It’s good, right?”

“…Mm? Mm.”

With his cheeks full of food, he could only nod without properly speaking. It was much better than expected. Rather than the quality being particularly good, the burger ingredients suited Ju-eon’s taste. As if his only purpose had been to feed him, the man rested his chin on his hand and watched until Ju-eon took his last bite.

“…You have a strange drinking habit.”

“What is?”

“Well… this is where we ended up after that conversation.”

“You were hungry.”

The moment I bit into the hamburger, I realized I had been hungry, but how did he know?

‘Must have been a lucky guess.’

Because I’m not the person he’s looking for.

With that thought, his appetite suddenly disappeared. Feeling glances from around them, he looked at the man anew. He was much more handsome than when seen in the darkness. He had thought the darkness made him look more handsome, but it was the opposite. Under proper lighting, he was much more handsome than the blurry view in the darkness.

A straight forehead, slightly thick eyebrows, a straight nose, an ascetic-looking firm jaw.

“Drink the cola.”

When he swallowed dryly as his throat felt parched, the other quickly handed him the cola. He couldn’t say his throat was blocked from looking at him, so he took a long drink of cola and sighed.

“Whew…”

What am I doing with a drunk person? It was more than enough time to come to his senses. Perhaps because his stomach was full, the effects of alcohol had almost completely worn off.

“Let’s go out. Now.”

He must have really gone crazy for a moment in his drunkenness.

Ding. When they went back outside, it felt much colder than before because of how warm it had been inside. This was the end of the deviation. Though nothing major had happened, he felt somewhat refreshed.

“Huh…?”

The man naturally took his hand. Thick-knuckled fingers settled between his fingers.

“Hey!”

At his familiar action, Ju-eon stopped walking alongside him.

“I… need to go now.”

“Where to?”

“I have somewhere I need to go…”

Looking at the time, it was close to midnight. When did time pass so quickly?

He needed to go quickly. No matter how much he tried to run from reality, eventually he would have to face it again. There was no eternal paradise. Though he wanted to forget for a moment, that oblivion would only make him feel the bigger wall of reality, so now was the right time to wake up.

“No.”

The low voice ensnared Ju-eon. Emotions that hadn’t yet taken shape flowed in through the shadows.

“You promised to let me do what I want.”

His now clear focus was distinctly fixed on Ju-eon. He pulled Ju-eon into the adjacent alley.

“No, that was satisfied with the meal just now…ah!”

It was hot and moist. The lips touching his ear bit his earlobe. His legs nearly gave out without him realizing. The man supported Ju-eon who had completely leaned his body against him.

“That’s why you can’t leave.”

“…What?”

“This is just the beginning.”

How naive it had been to judge that he was just a herbivore that looked like a predator. The alcohol he thought had worn off started circulating through his veins again. His pulse gradually increased.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Though he knew he couldn’t use being drunk as an excuse, he couldn’t push away the man’s hands. Ju-eon now realized that this man acting so sweet was like a swamp you couldn’t escape once you fell in. As if no more words were needed, the man led Ju-eon.

What appeared at the other end of the alley was an apartment building. Though not particularly stylish in appearance, it was a well-maintained apartment.

“…This is strange.”

It was definitely an apartment he was seeing for the first time. But he had a strange sense of déjà vu. A strange feeling like he knew this place well.

“Let’s go in.”

The man urged Ju-eon. This is truly crazy. Going into a stranger’s apartment. He should stop here. If he goes in like this, it’s over.

The man had even warned that Ju-eon would be scared of what he wanted to do to him.

“Okay.”

But this violently surging emotion he had never felt with Yun-jae swallowed up all logical thoughts at once.

The moment they entered the house, his hair stood on end at the characteristic quality of the air stagnating in the home. His instincts whispered to him incessantly. That things wouldn’t be the same after stepping foot in here.

“Ah.”

There had been countless chances to run away. The man before him could be a very bad person. He felt like he was going crazy. His thoughts struggled to be rational, but all his senses were craving this man. To the point of having the pathetic and impulsive thought that he wouldn’t mind drowning like this. Cruelly enough, his mind was too clear to even use drunkenness as an excuse.

The moment the door closed, the man embraced Ju-eon with all his strength.

“Mmh…”

Clearly feeling each desperate finger tracing his back, he wrapped his arms around the man’s neck. The man lightly lifted Ju-eon’s thighs. Ju-eon wrapped his legs around the man’s waist.

Hah. Haah. Hah.

Hot breaths touched his neck. A languid and persistent trail was drawn over his throbbing pulse. His skin burned as if being branded. His outer clothes quickly tumbled to the floor, and when he came to his senses, he felt the leather sofa against his back.

“Haa.”

Rough breaths of unknown origin were exhaled. He held the cheek of the man who pounced like a starving beast. The man looked solely at him. As if only the two of them remained in the world.

He moved his hand to stroke the man’s cheek with his palm. The man grabbed Ju-eon’s wrist, pressing lips wet with unknown saliva against his palm.

‘What makes him cling to me so desperately?’

He was someone anyone would desire. Then why was this man wandering like a beast abandoned in the night?

‘It’s not me.’

He was projecting someone else through Ju-eon.

What kind of person would make a man like this wait?

“Do you usually let just anyone into your home?”

Though he asked, no answer came. Hands burrowed between clothes.

“How could you be just anyone?”

Until just earlier he thought this man had sobered up too, but he was wrong. The man gently whispered while tidying Ju-eon’s disheveled hair.

“That’s mean.”

“Yeah. It was all my fault.”

“Ha… tomorrow I won’t even have an excuse to regret this.”

Ju-eon whispered in a resentful voice. The man was still in a state where he could claim the excuse of making a mistake while drunk. Though it bothered him, he wanted to go along with what this man wanted, just for one day.

Since even he found himself unfamiliar right now, wouldn’t it be okay to be someone else?

“Call out… a name.”

Not my name. The person you’re projecting onto me.

He whispered while pressing his lips firmly against the man’s. His chest grew tight with each breath mixed with the air inside this house.

What were the odds? The chances of meeting a man in Earth 1 and feeling sensations he couldn’t feel with his lover for years. His legs were spread apart, and the man settled between them.

“I love you.”

And what were the odds of that person mistaking him for someone else?

“Ju-eon.”

And what were the odds of that mistaken person having the exact same name as him?

The name called out in a moistened voice rang out. He thought his heart would stop as if it had been struck by lightning. The impact of hearing his name at such an unexpected moment was substantial.

Just how high could those odds be?