The Black Rose [The Devil Judge]

Something going on with Gaon

Yohan knew something was amiss. It had been a while since Gaon had looked at him that way. Hell, Yohan thought they'd come to an understanding but that theory was out the window because, suddenly, Kim Gaon was watching Yohan like a hawk again, sneaking glances at him out of curiosity and horror. If it wasn't for the fact that Yohan felt a little betrayed, he might have thought it was funny.

After all this time, Gaon was regressing to how he used to behave when they first met... when Gaon didn't trust a word that came out of Yohan's mouth.

"We have work to do," Yohan said one evening, as he sat at his desk at home. Gaon was on the couch, his laptop beside him as he did his research for a new case. "What is the problem?"

"What problem?" Gaon asked, eyes dropping down to his work.

"You've been looking at me funny. Do you have something to ask me?"

"No."

"Do you suspect me of something?"

"No!"

Now, that was a lie.

"You have something on your mind, Gaon. Go ahead and say it."

Gaon looked up at Yohan, biting his lips deep in thought as he fought with himself. He obviously had something on his mind. Yohan couldn't understand why he wouldn't just spit it out.

"It's nothing."

"If I was a guessing man, I'd say you suspected me of murder again," Yohan said. "Either that, or you've developed a crush on me."

He chuckled as he made his last statement, but Gaon didn't get the joke. Instead he gasped a little, looking down at his laptop as his ears turned completely red.

"What?" Yohan asked, perplexed.

"What?" Gaon echoed, suddenly tapping away at his keyboard with forceful purpose.

"I didn't see that coming."

"Didn't see what coming?"

"That's entirely inappropriate, Gaon."

Gaon stopped typing and Yohan waited. The conversation had gone from... sternly light to awkward in a second. If Gaon had suspected him of murder, it would have been a lot better than this. Defending himself against murder allegations was easy. Trying to dissuade your live-in co-worker from over-friendly thoughts was an area well beyond Yohan's expertise.

"I am not admitting to anything, Chief, but wouldn't you say that we're way past appropriate."

"Gaon," Yohan chided.

"I'm living in your house. You enter my room without knocking. You walk around the place without clothes. I know more about your private life than I did most of my colleagues from Law school. One would have thought there were no boundaries between us."

"There were no boundaries because I didn't think this was an issue."

Gaon sat up.

"How is this an issue? I'm just asking. I'm not admitting to anything."

Yohan examined his hands as he searched for an easy way to end the conversation.

"Let's say it's alright, it still doesn't change the fact that nothing can ever happen between us."

"I didn't say I wanted anything to happen. I was just curious."

"About what?"

Gaon's lips clamped shut as he sat back on the couch, staring at Yohan.

"So there is something you do want to ask me."

"That's irrelevant now, isn't it?"

"Is it?" Yohan asked, unable to curb his curiosity. Because now, he'd pay good money to know what Gaon wanted to know.

"Yes," Gaon stated firmly. "It's fine. And for the record, I don't think you killed anyone."

Without saying another word, he pulled his computer into his lap and went back to work. Leaving Yohan to reel at the many possible things that were floating around in Kim Gaon's head.

♧♧♧♧♧

Yohan had steel cabinets in his head. Each with a limitless number of drawers that all had labels on them. He liked to file people into certain cabinets so as to figure out how to interact with them. Yohan had learned, from a young age, that freestyle conversations never bode well for him.

So he filed people away. Put them in drawers that were easy to contain, easy to label. Once in a while, he'd take those names out of the cabinets and imagine conversations and play them out in various scenarios so that he wouldn't be caught unawares in real life.

Which was alright. Except for the fact that Gaon was slowly pushing his way out of his cabinet. Bull-headed and unwilling to stay in his place. Stubborn as ever.

And it wasn't as if Gaon was actively doing anything different. Yohan was sure the actual problem was that stupid conversation about crushes. Because now, Gaon was no longer just Yohan's work colleague/housemate. He was also the beguiling man who called to Yohan in his sleep. Who said nice things to Yohan when he was awake. Who touched Yohan with ease, in a way that Yohan never found threatening. Who played with Yohan's niece and made her laugh. Who made Yohan stare at him for hours and hours instead of working.

He was now, for lack of a better word, beautiful.

And Yohan hated him for it.

Hated how close he stood. Hated how good he smelled. Hated how nice he looked at work or at home, in one of his many, soft sweaters. Hated how easy it was to get lost in simple interactions like sharing his desk or any other mundane thing that they'd fifty times before.

Nothing was simple anymore. Every time Gaon got in Yohan's space, Yohan was finding it harder and harder to concentrate. It was ridiculous because Gaon was the one with a crush. Not Yohan.

"Chief," Gaon said, bursting into his office, at work, his coat flowing in his trail and his hair out of place because he was moving too quickly. Gaon moved too gracefully for it to be unpracticed. And yet, it was seamlessly natural to watch him move.

"What is it?"

Gaon turned to Yohan's side, turned on Yohan's laptop and started fiddling around with it to show Yohan something. But Yohan just couldn't look away. This close, nothing else mattered, except the sheen line of sweat developing at Gaon's hairline. If he was allowed, Yohan might want to lick it. Not all of it. Just a bit. Just a little.

"Chief," Gaon said turning to him as their eyes met.

Yohan couldn't move. He could barely breathe as he started into Gaon's, beautiful eyes. They'd never ben this close. Never when looking directly at each other. And Maybe Yohan could have looked away or broken the moment. But then Gaon's eyes dipped to Yohan's lips.

"I'm sorry," Gaon said, trying to move away.

But Yohan grabbed him by the chin and kissed him before either of them could even think about what was happening.