Earlier, Damian had just come back from the restroom when he heard that Saphen got drenched, and the other staff members were reacting with strangely excited expressions.
Damian hurried into the changing room, but never expected he would end up seeing a beauty — yes, that face was definitely a beauty. Stunning enough to glow, gorgeous enough to be seductive, altogether Damian's type.
Damian's gaze slid over the tattoo on the other man's chest, finally stopping at the belly piercing, until all of it disappeared behind woven fabric.
At that moment, Saphen's familiar voice rang out.
Damian couldn't even gather his thoughts.
Even though he knew it was Saphen — after all, the men's changing room only had the two of them — but… Saphen looked like this? Damian had long suspected Saphen must be very good-looking, but this was far beyond what he had imagined.
Damian stammered, the tips of his ears turning a little red, then he raised his voice: "Sorry!" and rushed out, the door slamming shut behind him.
6677 sneered: [He's really dumb.]
Even with the naked eye, Saphen could sense people's attitudes toward him shifting.
Not that they were bad before, but now they stared openly, sometimes even striking up conversations on their own.
Saphen simply acted normally, not showing any sense of being special.
"No way. You must be some idol about to debut who came here to work just to observe real-life material. Are there cameras around here?!"
A female employee said this.
Another staff member excitedly chimed in: "Then we're going to appear on TV, hahaha!"
Saphen could only smile helplessly.
In the afternoon, carrying his bag of wet clothes, Saphen successfully clocked out — with double pay for the day.
Maybe because the evening wind was chilly, he couldn't help sneezing and rubbed his nose.
"Saphen! Wait a second!"
Just then, Damian's voice sounded from behind. Saphen turned, seeing Damian holding out a cup of something: "Honey ginger tea. You got splashed today, be careful not to catch a cold."
Saphen couldn't help finding it funny: "You gave me a cup at lunch, too."
Damian laughed awkwardly, gaze darting away, one hand scratching the back of his neck.
Saphen accepted the cup — still warm — and spoke gently: "Thanks. Let's add each other on SNS. How much was the drink? I'll pay you."
Damian muttered quietly, "I bought it for you…"
But the thought of adding Saphen as a friend made him brighten instantly. After they exchanged codes, Saphen cycled off. Damian stared excitedly at his phone screen.
Saphen's profile picture was an orange cat with glasses — adorable! Did that mean he owned a cat? What a coincidence, Damian had a dog. A pet spa day would be the perfect excuse for a date!
When Saphen returned to his rented place and opened the door, he found Cain sitting on the sofa in almost the exact same spot as yesterday.
The moment Cain saw him, he immediately stood up to greet him: "You're back…"
6677 was moved: [A perfect scene…]
[Exactly, just like a wife at home waiting for her husband to come back from work. Truly perfect.] Saphen sighed softly.
6677: […Cain is top.]
Saphen: [So?]
6677 fell silent.
Saphen handed the honey ginger tea to Cain and then walked into the kitchen.
Cain held the cup, before he could even be happy, his eyes suddenly fell on a small sticky note attached to it. It wasn't an ingredient list or anything fancy, just a short line of writing:
Your belly button is beautiful. I want to pierce mine too.
"Ha…"
Cain parted his lips, giving a smile whose meaning was unclear. His fingernail had already torn the note apart.
Someone had seen Saphen naked? At the store? Why would Saphen need to show himself like that?
Cain looked at the store name on the cup, his eyes darkening.
Just then, Saphen came back out, sprawled on the sofa opposite Cain, knees propped up on the armrest as usual. He held his phone, gently swinging his legs:
"Not cooking today. We'll order takeout later."
Cain nodded, then casually asked: "Did someone give you this tea?"
Hearing this, Saphen raised his eyes, a little surprised that Cain could tell. He nodded: "Yes? But why are you asking all of a sudden?"
Cain spoke softly: "I just feel like you're not the kind of person who would buy things other than essential food…"
Saphen widened his eyes, his displeasure quickly turning into anger: "So in your eyes, I'm that stingy?"
Cain, seeing Saphen's annoyed expression, panicked slightly: "No…"
But before he could finish, Saphen burst into a cheerful laugh: "You guessed right. I am that stingy, haha."
Cain: "…"
Cain spoke gently: "You're not stingy. That's not what I meant."
Saphen went back to his phone, just smiling: "Silly."
Cain could only remain silent.
6677 wiped its tears: [Master, please stop bullying our honest protagonist, look at him — he's about to cry!]
Saphen just kept playing his game.
Tonight's dinner was even more lavish than usual. Cain couldn't help but feel a little surprised.
Saphen didn't know how male lead would have been when he still had his memories, but right now, Cain was extremely predictable — a bit clumsy, probably because he had been hurt early on.
Saphen smiled and said, "I made a lot of money today, just eat."
Made a lot of money? Because Saphen exposed some skin?
Thinking this made Cain feel slightly uncomfortable. He spoke earnestly: "We need to put in real effort, we can't betray ourselves…"
Then he added firmly, "I'll recover quickly, and then I'll earn money for you."
Hearing the seriousness in Cain's voice, Saphen just found it funny: "Earn money for me? Are you planning to stay with me forever?"
Cain instinctively shook his head, then nodded: "I have to repay you…"
Saphen suddenly propped his chin on his hand, tilting his head to look at Cain. His gaze lingered over him almost imperceptibly. Clearly, Saphen did nothing, but Cain felt as if he had been completely stripped bare, laid out in front of Saphen.
Suddenly, Saphen spoke: "Repay me? I have a faster way."
Cain's heart thumped wildly. What did Saphen mean by that? A faster way? Could it be…
"Ha ha ha, what are you thinking about?"
Saphen's laugh rang out, snapping Cain out of his thoughts. Only then did he realize his face felt hot — blushing. Panic surged, and with nowhere to hide, Cain could only clench his fists and purse his lips.
Cain's reaction was far too funny. Saphen, delighted, teased him: "Tsk tsk tsk, I didn't expect someone so tall and clumsy to have such a dirty mind."
Cain could only groan helplessly: "I'm not clumsy." Then he quickly added: "And my mind isn't dirty."
"Is that so? Then what were you just thinking?" Saphen asked again.
Repaying with his body.
Cain thought to himself, speechless.
Indeed, that's what he had thought, but clearly, Saphen had led him on. Still, Saphen hadn't actually said anything… Cain felt Saphen was deliberately teasing him, though he had no proof.
Saphen looked at Cain's embarrassed, resigned expression and laughed joyfully.
Cain couldn't help but look up at Saphen, flustered and helpless.
Saphen ruffled Cain's hair a little and laughed: "Alright, I'm just joking, ha ha ha, don't cry."
Cain swore his eyes were dehydrated now. Seeing Saphen so happy, he no longer felt like resisting.
6677: [Master, you're so dull. Please stop teasing the male lead! If you want, you can tease me instead!]
6677 felt it should prevent any harmful actions toward the male lead. Looking at Cain's embarrassed face, it was clear that Saphen was definitely a harmful factor!
But Saphen, paying no attention, said: [You're not nearly as cute as the male lead.]
6677's reaction was certainly not as fun as Cain's.
It felt like a bolt of lightning to the system. Its presence was clearly "deadly" to human hearts — just ten seconds facing it and humanity would surely worship it! So why… why did Saphen say it wasn't as cute as a clumsy human?!
Even though Cain was the male lead, this was still hard to accept!