Work Text:
For three days, Soleum has been ridiculously busy. Between speedrunning a handful of Darknesses to poring over paperwork until eleven at night, the workload has been brutal, and it shows in the darker-than-usual shadows under Soleum's eyes. It probably makes him look more menacing than usual, considering how his teammates keep sending him these glances when they think he isn't looking, and how the other employees keep giving him a wide berth in the hallways and elevator.
As it happens, this works in his favour, since socialising isn't really high on his list of priorities after spending over 12 hours at work.
By the fourth day, he is just about ready to melt into a stressed, overworked puddle. His shoulders are killing him after spending all those hours hunched over a messy desk. His neck hurts, his head aches, and every joint is stiff. His legs feel like jello, and his body feels as heavy as soaked cotton.
The second he sets foot inside the dorm, he lets his briefcase fall to his feet with a thud as he slumps against the door. He doesn't even bother picking it up. That's a problem for future Kim Soleum.
His eyelids feel like they're glued onto his eyes. After a moment, Soleum manages to peel his eyes open, and his shaky gaze falls on Saheon, who'd been sitting on the couch with his phone. "Baek Saheon."
"Yes, sir?"
A pause. "You know how to massage?"
Saheon shortcircuits.
Saheon had been playing a random puzzle game, something he'd downloaded on a whim. It had been rather boring lately, with a low workload at the company and nothing to do at home.
Soleum had been arriving home later and later, looking visibly irritated each time. Saheon mostly stayed out of the living room to avoid encountering him, but some part of him had been yearning to just.. rot on the couch doing nothing. He ended up giving in, and settled into one corner of the sofa with a blanket and pillows. It was hardly 10:30, and Soleum would probably come home after midnight anyway.
"…"
He'd jinxed it, hadn't he? Why else would that psycho show up within fifteen fucking minutes of Saheon settling in???
It takes several seconds before his mouth starts working again.
"…What?"
Soleum lets out a long-suffering sigh. "Do you? It isn't that difficult, you know."
The blanket crumples with how tightly Saheon grips it. "…I can. Somewhat."
"Perfect. Don't go anywhere, I'll be back after a shower."
Saheon watches Soleum head for the shower with a baffled expression. The situation doesn't fully settle in until a few minutes later.
It had to be a trap, right? There's… no actual way he wants Saheon to touch him, massage him. Maybe he's trying to use this as blackmail? 'Haha, Saheon, you actually believed me?'
Is it perhaps a new sort of intimidation tactic? Or— Or maybe—
Saheon remains rooted to the spot, his mind racing as he tries to rationalize Soleum's actions.
Soleum heads straight for the couch the second he's out of the shower. Steam curls around his body and the shoulders of his T-shirt darken as water drips from the ends. He sits down beside Saheon without a sliver of hesitation, face completely neutral. As if he hadn't just thrown Saheon's thoughts into disarray.
And then he proceeds to lay down.
"Ah… sir, where am I supposed to sit? I can't massage while standing, the couch is too low…"
"Hm? Just sit on my thighs."
Saheon blinks. Surely he'd misheard. There could be no way Kim Soleum just told him to sit on—
"Baek Saheon, what exactly are you waiting for? My back hurts."
"…"
Gritting his teeth, Saheon reluctantly climbs onto him. He doesn't fully settle in at first, the proximity dizzying. Instead, he hovers, his stomach tightening with the strain. Almost immediately, a dull ache spreads down his lower back.
It is a miserable position.
After a moment, he yields, sitting down properly. Even through the thick layers of fabric, the heat radiating from Soleum's thighs feels impossible to ignore. Every time Saheon leans forward to reach Soleum's shoulders, his chest just shy of brushing against Soleum's back, that unfamiliar heat crawls up his body.
After a few minutes, Soleum groans in frustration. "This isn't working, the T-shirt is chafing against my skin. Hold on." And then he proceeds to lift his torso up just enough to pull his shirt off. "There, that'll be better. And go less rough."
Oh. Oh god.
Saheon goes back to massaging, hands trembling, trying to ignore how his ears burn. His traitorous gaze wanders over Soleum's exposed back, the pale, unblemished skin damp from his shower.
"Mhm… a little higher…" Soleum's little murmurs do absolutely nothing to help Saheon regain his composure. And yet, he complies easily, his thumbs rubbing circles into Soleum's shoulder blade. Soleum's breathing slowly evens out, though the occasional sigh and quiet instruction indicate that he's still awake.
Slowly, Saheon's thumbs inch towards Soleum's spine, rubbing the knots out. "Fuck… oh— yes, yes, yes, right there—" Soleum's voice comes out breathy as he all but mewls.
Saheon forgets how to breathe.
"…"
"…"
"…What exactly are you waiting for? Keep massaging, Baek Saheon."
Is this man even capable of embarrassment?
Soleum is, however, clearly restraining his noises now. A certain restlessness rises within Saheon. The apartment feels strangely quiet. The sudden silence sits wrong in Saheon's chest. Why'd he stop making noise?
"…"
And so, Saheon returns to kneading the knots along Soleum's back with a vengeance. His fingers press a tad deeper into the knots he knows make Soleum squirm. His fingers occasionally ghost over the sensitive portion of Soleum's nape. Soleum inhales sharply.
Good. He deserved that.
Saheon tries not to think about how his fingers linger at those spots.
At some point, Soleum seems to give up on biting back the sounds, and lets them all escape, voice growing increasingly uneven with each wavering gasp. Something tightens low in Saheon's stomach. He pointedly ignores it.
Eventually, Saheon's fingers tire. So he pauses to give his fingers a rest. He does not expect Soleum to whine. "Saheon-ah… keep going… feels s'good—"
Air goes down the wrong pipe and Saheon breaks out into a coughing fit. Soleum's syllables slur with drowsiness. He doesn't seem to retain enough mental strength to even process what slips past his lips.
By the time Saheon composes himself, Soleum's breathing has evened out. Saheon shifts slightly, and then climbs off, careful not to rouse him. After a moment of hesitation, Saheon drapes the blanket over Soleum, trying to convince himself that it would be troublesome if he caught a cold and then asked Saheon to nurse him or something.
It takes Saheon a long time to fall asleep that night.