#hehehe ...

he didn't need this . didn't need him to do this . while yejun isn't quite sure what's caused such subtle and elegant way of tenderness , a way of giving up his possibility of winning the game in chess . the salesman's long fingers pick up his horse , and moves it toward the end of the frontman's clan ; he plays with black and yejun plays with white . another act of politeness , letting the salesman start the game - and finish it . their eyes meet and yejun raises a brow , yet nothing malicious hides beneath his stare . as a man who's lost his nails trying to claw his way out of misery , had masked his fears with laughter and indifference .. being handed a small victory so easily like this - it made him feel weak .

and it made him feel weak in a good way , as if he didn't even need his claws anymore . they work at the same place , he didn't even know what the man looked like under that mask and maybe this simple gesture wasn't too dramatic . should he read into it , between the lines ? yejun didn't even know if the man was looking at him right now , half waiting for him to get up and leave . but he stays , and the salesman finds his breath leave him in a soft chuckle . ‘ have i proved to be irritating when i lose a game ? ‘ he brings one leg over the other , feeling some sort of betraying warmth pool in his stomach . ‘ even an oblivious fool would know that you are not naive enough to make such a simple mistake . ‘ no , despite wearing a mask and behaving like a sour robot , the frontman proved to be a clever man . that much the salesman knew , this meant something else . reaching forward , he snatches the frontman's king , rests it on his curled knee and stares at it with an odd tenderness . speaks without looking up at the black mask that stares at him ; ‘ have i squeezed myself in your , god forbid , heart , sir ? ‘ while he can already guess the answer , the salesman asks it . knows something either mocking or a dangerous was coming up ; they had wrapped up the games and the salesman was asked to stay for a couple of days more to check the paperwork and go over the possible candidates for the next game - the vips didn't seem to like the idea but he was glad he saved himself from the awkward conversation that was going to happen in the boat . or in the helicopter .

"i'm  not,"  simple  as  that.  the  way  that  she  holds  rick's  hand  in  her  own  is  tender  and  careful  as  a  dove  -  eliza's  fingertips  graze  the  skin  around  the  wound  on  his  palm,  carefully  examining  it  before  reaching  for  the  bottle  of  whiskey  set  out  on  the  table  beside  them.

she  opens  the  bottle,  taking  his  arm  by  the  wrist  and  holding  it  over  the  floor  -  her  thumb  gives  a  quick  squeeze  to  his  skin  to  warn  him  before  pouring  a  gentle  stream  of  the  alcohol  over  the  marred  gash.  "i'd  ask  you  to  try  an'  not  get  into  as  much  trouble,  but  ...  i  dunno  what  i'd  do  for  fun  anymore."  the  smile  she  offers  is  not  heavy  in  weight,  but  it's  honest;  small,  flushed  &  kind.  she  blows  on  the  cleaned  wound  before  beginning  to  fold  spare  fabric  over  it,  gentle  in  motion.  “that  hurt?”

pre established relationship with akina.