About an hour later, they get to the artist’s home. Song Mino lightly pats his arm signaling their arrival.

He opens the door, turns on the lights and calls out to his princess. A fluffy ginger cat sprints to him right away. The artist holds the cat into his chest and baby talks to it.

“Aww.. my pwincess misses daddy? Daddy miss you too pwincess, soo muchy muchy!”And the cat meows back as if they are having a legit conversation.

Seungyoon suppresses a smile by biting the inside of his cheek. “No. This is not cute!”He reminds inwardly.

Only after their father-daughter reunion session, Mino seems to remember Seungyoon is there standing right behind him. He lets go of the cat quickly and urges him to go sit on the couch.

“I’m such an idiot. Please have a seat. I’ll prepare something for you to eat. You haven’t had anything right?”

Without waiting for his response, the guy disappears into some room at the back of the house and leaves him there in the living room. He sits down and yawns. It’s like his earlier napping during the ride makes him even sleepier. He knows he should be more careful and alert when in a stranger’s house outskirts of town. But weird enough, he feels comfy and safe here.

He feels sleepy again.

…………………………

He jolts wake when he senses something touching his neck. He opens his eyes to see Song Mino’s hand on his tie. His face is so close to him he can almost feel his breath. The said artist removes his hand quickly.

“Did I wake you up? I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Seungyoon chest tingles at the careful attention. The guy seems genuinely sorry to wake him up and he can see that in his soft brown eyes. Whenever that guy is around, there’s this sincerity and something else Seungyoon couldn’t quite grasp that is warming his heart.

“What are you doing?”He sits up straight and questions.

“Your necktie seems so tight. I want to make it loose in case it’s suffocating you. I’m sorry. Did I scare you?”

Mino gently speaks and casually puts his palm on Seungyoon’s chest where his heart lies underneath as if it’s a habit. And strangely, his heart rate that went high earlier due to abrupt getting up, calms in an instant. It is as if both his mind and body go into relaxed and tranquil mode. Seungyoon can feel his heart beating in a slow, steady rhythm.

“I’m fine. Stop apologizing.”He gives him a small smile which makes Mino’s lips turn upward promptly.

“Let’s eat dinner yeah? Then we’ll get to work.”

They have dinner in silence and quite quickly. Mino cooked pasta for dinnerand it’s so delicious he can’t help but digging in. The guy is such a great cook. He wonders how many more talents he has. He is lost in his thoughts and fails to notice Mino’s fond gazes on him as he devours the delightful meal.

After dinner, Mino leads him to his studio. It was rather messy with all the painting tools, paints and stuff scattered around. Some of his works hang on the wall and some unfinished works on canvases. Though Seungyoon majored in management, he can still see how brilliant his works are.

He raises his brows to question when Mino hands him a set of clothing and smiles at him cheekily.

“You said no to . So, I can ask you to put on more clothes, right? That’s like the opposite of it?”

He looks down at the clothing. It was a white cotton shirt and a denim overall. It does look comfy but so not his style.

“O..kay!” He hesitantly takes it.

Mino leaves the room so that he can change. He calls him when he’s done changing and Mino comes back inside. The artist walks to him and raises a hand, as if to ruffle his hair. His hand is only a few inches away when he seems to realize what he’s about to do.

Mino looks stunned for a second, then changes his hand direction to the shirt collar and adjusts it. He smiles shyly and mutters_

“You look great.”

Seungyoon just snorts at that. He’s grown out of overall ages ago. He’s in his mid 20s and taking executive position at a renown art gallery. Armani and high-end brands are his usual go-to clothing. He doesn’t know if the guy’s joking or being serious.

Mino clears his throat and points toward the cushion near the wall.

“You can sit there. Just sit there in your most comfortable position. Ok?”

As told, he sits on the cushion. He’s never modelled for an artist before and it’s quite awkward. Mino walks to him and kneels on the cushion.

“You’re stiff. Relax Seungyoon-ssi.”

Mino puts a hand on his shoulder and squeezes it tenderly. He feels warm and tingly at the gentle touch. He’s feeling things he’s not supposed to. He doesn’t like this version of himself. He’s a professional and he’s here to make the exhibit work, not to feel shy and nervous like a goddamn teenager. Still, he can’t help the flutter he feels in his heart.

Mino tilts his head to look him in the eyes.

“Are you Ok? How about you lean back on the wall? Would you feel more relaxed?”

As he speaks, the artist holds his shoulders and pushes lightly so that his back touches the wall. With his one hand still on his shoulder, Mino picks up a few pillows and arranging them nearby so that he can sit more comfortably.

“I’ll do an outline sketch first. If it’s still hard for you, I’ll just take a reference photo. It won’t take long. I promise.”

Mino’s smoothening the wrinkled sheet beside Seungyoon while talking and doesn’t realize how close their faces are.

Seungyoon forgets to breathe at the close proximity. When he’s not replying anything, Mino turns to him.

“So.. umm..”

Only then he seems to notice that their faces are dangerously close. His hands stop midway like someone presses his invisible pause button.

Their eyes locked.

As if mesmerized, no one makes a move but just silently stare at each other. Seungyoon’s soft amber eyes are searching for something in his, shooting soundless questions.

Mino looks away first and tries to get up but can’t as Seungyoon grabs his wrist and pulls him back.

Seungyoon speaks, his tone hesitant and confused.

“Why am I feeling like this Song Mino-ssi? Like we’ve known each other for a long time? Why?”

Seungyoon sounds so lost that Mino’s heart aches with throbbing pain. He has to clasp the bed sheet so that his hands don’t go up to cup Seungyoon’s face and do something he’s been desperate to since the day they meet each other again.

“You don’t really remember me, do you?”Mino mutters, more as a statement than a question, his voice heavy with sadness and a hint of disappointment.

Seungyoon feels frustrated and sorry toward the guy. He’s supposed to be a stranger to him. Because that’s what they are, strangers who just met each other.

Nonetheless, there is this inexplicable pull in this guy that draws him in. The way he speaks so tenderly to him and treats him as though he’s so fragile and vulnerable. He would find it annoying and downgrading even, if someone else does this to him but he finds in himself not able to hate the attention he’s getting from the guy. He just can’t bring himself to hate anything about him.

There is something familiar about this guy, something so intimate and enthralling.

“Then make me. Make me remember.”

He responds, sounding challenging but hopeful at the same time.