Divorce and Desire: Love with My Boss

Noah calmly watched as Shawn threw himself into his arms, his face buried in Noah's chest, his hands clutching the fabric of Noah's shirt tightly.

"Alright, I'll go turn on the light," Noah said as he picked up the remote and paused the projector. He tried to get up, but after struggling for a moment, he realized that the person on top of him wasn't moving at all.

So, Noah imitated the way his mother used to comfort him. He gently rubbed Shawn's soft hair and lightly patted his back. "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'm here."

He waited for the muscles of the person in his arms to relax before finally turning on the light. Then, he went to the kitchen and boiled some water.

"How are you feeling now?"

Shawn instinctively looked at the white wall, where the projection had been.

He felt guilty and looked at Noah. "Sorry, I interrupted your movie."

Noah was nonchalant. "It's fine. I was just passing time anyway."

He hadn't expected Shawn to be so timid, yet so keen on watching.

Squatting down, Noah rummaged through the cabinet and finally pulled out a tin of jasmine tea that they hadn't finished the last time.

The hot water soon released the fragrance of the tea leaves, the delicate scent of jasmine filling his nostrils.

"It's not strong tea, don't worry."

Noah handed the cup to Shawn. "I hope you have a good sleep tonight."

Shawn stared at the jasmine flowers floating in the cup, which slowly sank to the bottom.

"That's nice."

It was unclear whether he was referring to the tea or something else.

The next day, Noah was woken by the sound of water rushing. He glanced at his phone and saw that it was just about time, according to his biological clock.

The snow that hadn't fallen earlier finally came down, just as people had hoped.

"The osmanthus smells so nice—" When Shawn came out, his hair was still dripping wet, water running down his cheeks and into the soft bathrobe.

"Mm, change into some clothes and come eat," Noah said, stirring the soup in the pot. "Did you bring a hairdryer?"

"I did."

He subconsciously chose the scent they both had once favored.

Noah wouldn't resist the memories related to Oliver because they were part of him too.

It was only by truly accepting them that he could consider himself to have let go.

Noah had prepared two portions for breakfast. The other portion was the pizza he had made for Shawn yesterday.

He turned off the stove, served the food into two soup bowls, and set two sets of chopsticks and bowls on the table. Then he sat on a chair nearby and waited.

The sound of the hairdryer stopped suddenly.

With his windblown hairstyle, Shawn's face lit up with a smile, and the dimples on his cheeks made him even more adorable.

"Noah, you're really good at this. Anyone who's with you must be so lucky."

"Eat, you can choose either one."

Shawn gave a cheeky smile. "Well then, I won't be polite, Noah."

He wasn't joking when he said that, as he quickly devoured everything Noah had prepared, despite Noah having made plenty.

"Are you… full?"

"Full. Thanks for the hospitality, Noah."

Soon after, there was a knock on the door, rhythmic and regular.

"Noah, is that your takeout?" Shawn's gaze was fixed on the door.

"You go check," Noah said, still holding his bowl and drinking the remaining soup.

As the saying goes, "If you eat from someone's plate, you can't turn down their kindness." Now that Shawn had eaten well, he eagerly got up to open the door.

But the person standing there didn't seem to have anything to do with a delivery.

"Hello, is Noah not home?"

Shawn looked back at Noah, who was calmly drinking his soup. "He's a bit occupied right now. If it's urgent, I can pass along a message for him."

"Alright, please give this to him then."

After finishing his last sip, Noah stood up to clear the dishes, but Shawn quickly took them from him. "No one who eats for free should be doing the dishes. Don't try to take them away from me."

"Fine, you do it."

Shawn started washing the dishes. "You don't know this, but I almost froze to death out there with the way your admirer was staring at me by the door."

Noah smirked at Shawn's choice of words. "It wasn't that scary. And he's not my admirer."

"Not your admirer? But he brought you a New Year's gift this morning? I don't believe anyone has that much time on their hands."

Noah glanced at the red gift box. "Well, I guess so."

"Pretty nice, though the guy's got a cold face. Noah, you really don't want to think about it?"

There was a teasing tone in Shawn's voice, so Noah responded with a question of his own. "Do you want this blessing instead?"

"Haha, no thanks. I'm not the kind of person who enjoys this kind of luck." Shawn grabbed a couple of paper towels that had been prepared by the sink and wiped his hands.

The gift was a set of tableware. Noah didn't even bother to unpack it and just placed the box in the cupboard.

"Want to go out for a walk? Staying at home all day is so boring."

"It's too cold." Noah shook his head, rejecting the idea. On days like this, when it's so cold that you can see your breath, nothing beats the warmth and comfort of indoor heating—especially when you don't have to work.

Noticing Shawn looking bored, Noah suggested, "How about we watch a movie?"

Shawn gave him a look of surprise and confusion, so Noah quickly added, "It's not a horror movie."

"Okay, let's watch."

An hour later, Shawn was once again curled up in Noah's arms.

Noah sighed helplessly. "How come you're scared even watching a crime drama…"

This time, Noah comforted him just like last time but couldn't help but let his thoughts wander.

He had been scared too when he was younger, but he couldn't resist staying with his mom.

His mom loved crime dramas and zombie films, occasionally indulging in sci-fi movies about souls.

She enjoyed movies so much that she would watch one or two each week.

Whenever young Noah got scared and cried, his mom would do exactly what he was doing now—pull him into a warm embrace.

She would comfort him over and over again, never tired of it.

Now that he was grown up, maybe it was because he had been scared so much as a child that he had developed an immunity to it.

Perhaps it was because he realized that sometimes, the human heart is scarier than any ghost.

Even when watching some of the most highly-ranked horror movies online, Noah rarely showed signs of being scared.

Now, it was him who had become the one comforting others.

"I really… I don't think I can watch a movie with you again next time…"

Noah heard the defeated words, with a hint of a sob in his voice, and couldn't help but laugh softly. "Next time, I'll pick the movie, and I'll watch it with you."

"Don't laugh at me." Shawn blushed with embarrassment, pulling away from Noah's embrace.

Noah pressed a hand to his lips, adopting a serious and solemn expression. "Ahem, I promise I won't laugh at you again."

He gazed out the window, watching the snowflakes fall, one after another.

They decorated the evergreen leaves, adorned the rooftops of the low houses, and added a touch of beauty to every passerby.

After the New Year, spring should not be too far away.