Forbidden Desire | sunsun

2

Sunoo is quiet the next morning.

Sunghoon stares at the ceiling above his bed in the dark, waiting for the sound of the bell beside him to ring. The only sign it's the morning is the sounds of the other servants' feet softly padding across the floor downstairs as they wake to begin their cooking and cleaning. The mattress underneath him is stiff and thin, and his feet brush against the wall when he straightens his legs.

When the bell finally rings, the room has started to swelter with humidity and sweat collects on Sunghoon's collar, slowly suffocating him. His clothes stick to his body when he climbs to his feet, fighting the numbness in his legs from lying still for so long. It feels like it takes him too long to enter Sunoo's room, like an imaginary weight is holding his feet to the ground with each slow step. He finds him still buried beneath his blankets, unmoving. For a moment, it looks like he's dead.

"Would you like me to fetch you your breakfast, young master?" Sunghoon asks quietly, standing at the foot of the bed. Sunoo's face is pale in the streak of watery light that cuts through the curtains. It's the only light that reaches him.

"No," Sunoo says, sitting up slowly. He looks disoriented, like he hasn't quite come out of his dreams. His voice is soft when he speaks. "I'm not hungry."

"You should eat something or you'll feel weak," Sunghoon pushes. He curls his hand around the bedpost, stepping closer. It's cold. Sunoo doesn't look at him.

"I think I'd like to have a bath this morning," he says faintly, looking down at his blankets, pooling around his waist. His hair hangs in front of his eyes, obscuring his expression.

"Would you like me to run you one?"

Sunoo nods, rubbing his palm down his face. He looks impossibly tired, like he'd gone through something awful through the night. Sunghoon doesn't think it's his place to ask if he had a nightmare.

He excuses himself quietly and walks down the hallway to the washroom. At dawn, the house feels subdued, like the usual tension that grips its walls has eased slightly in the dark. The windows aren't covered in this room, so a blue-tinged light shines through the small window on the wall, the wooden frame caked with dust. Sunghoon turns on the tap, dipping his hand in the water as he waits for it to get warm. It's quiet, other than the sounds of the water pouring into the tub and his own breathing, shallow and slow.

Remembering Wonyoung's suggestion to try warming up to Sunoo with candy, he keeps a lollipop in his pocket to give to him when he arrives to take his bath. In a way, Sunghoon thinks it's fitting since he can't help but think of Sunoo as somewhat child-like in his naivety.

It takes Sunoo a while before he enters the bathroom. When he does, his sleep clothes are matted to his chest with sweat, and his hair sticks to his forehead. Sunghoon steps out of his way and prepares to leave.

"Stay," Sunoo orders, beginning to unbutton his shirt. His hands move slowly, like something is weighing them down.

Sunghoon hesitates. "You'd like me to stay while you have a bath?"

Sunoo nods. "Before you, I'd always have one of the female maids tend to me. Stay."

Sunghoon stays. He looks away politely while Sunoo undresses even though Sunoo gave him permission before to look. Sunoo kicks his clothes into a heap on the ground before carefully stepping into the tub, long legs stretching out in front of him. He sinks into the hot water with a sigh, letting his head fall back against the rim of the tub, closing his eyes.

Sunoo is quite beautiful, with delicate, pretty features and smooth skin, flushed rosy on the bridge of his nose and his cheeks. It spreads down to his knuckles and over his knees, and Sunghoon's eyes follow the traces of colour when Sunoo lifts his legs out of the bathwater and rests his feet on the edge of the tub. He must have gotten his looks from his mother, though Sunghoon has never seen any paintings of her hanging up on the walls.