8 – Friends With Benefits

Without anyone starting first, they opened their mouths and entwined their tongues. Reason had already been thrown to the floor. At the first kiss in a long time, Je-rim gasped for air, yet he ruffled Aaron’s hair and pressed the back of his head firmly. The sweet saliva flowing down his throat tasted of the wine they had just drunk. Aaron was likely tasting the same scent.

While hugging Aaron’s neck, Je-rim swallowed everything that entered his mouth like a thirsty man. The soft, hot tongue, the breath subtly tinged with alcohol, and the sweet saliva—everything. When he reached his limit and turned his head to breathe, Aaron grabbed Je-rim’s chin, turned him back, and pressed their lips together without a gap.

“Ngh, ha….”

They clung to each other so desperately that their teeth clashed. Their lips were occasionally nipped by each other’s canines. But there was no time to feel pain. Je-rim wrapped his tongue around the one that had invaded his mouth and ruthlessly ravaged the interior, returning the favor exactly. Though he couldn’t see with his eyes closed, judging by the sound of Aaron’s panting in his ear, the man seemed just as aroused as he was.

To make a man who usually finishes a full-time match without a hint of exhaustion, only wiping away sweat, pant from a mere kiss was a tremendous achievement. Feeling even more turned on for some reason, Je-rim lifted his legs and wrapped them around Aaron’s waist. Aaron, as if accustomed to this, slid his hands under Je-rim’s thighs to support him and stood up completely.

Je-rim’s buttocks, which had been precariously perched on the table, were lifted. Je-rim wrapped his arms and legs even more tightly around Aaron’s neck and waist, kissing him without pause.

The rolled-up shirt slid back down, and the fully erect cock, trapped in the underwear that hadn’t been removed, was repeatedly rubbed and pressed against Aaron and Je-rim’s abdomens. It was incredibly uncomfortable, but they didn’t even notice, panting like dogs and playing with their tongues all the way to the bedroom.

A sliver of reason finally returned after his back hit the soft bed. Aaron, who stripped off Je-rim’s pants and underwear in one go, hurriedly threw off his own top and unbuckled his pants while leaning down to pepper Je-rim’s face with kisses.

Je-rim also wanted to get rid of his cumbersome top, so he turned his body to avoid Aaron’s lips. Aaron couldn’t stand that brief moment and bit his nape. Having successfully managed to take off his top while dodging the barrage of angry kisses, Je-rim shrugged his bitten nape and blocked Aaron’s biting.

“Hey, wait, kgh! Condom….”

As soon as he asked, glancing at the nightstand next to the bed, Aaron mumbled, nibbling on the palm that was blocking his mouth.

“I don’t have any condoms at home….”

“You’re a grown man and you don’t keep condoms at home?”

Don’t people usually keep them near the bed? When he asked back in bewilderment, Aaron’s eyes sharpened, and his biting became more intense.

“I guess you’ve had frequent occasions where you had to have condoms stocked at home, huh?”

“No, I mean… Ah! Don’t bite!”

There wasn’t even much flesh to bite on the palm, yet he kept sinking his teeth in. As if that wasn’t enough, he even put Je-rim’s fingers in his mouth and sucked them, forcing Je-rim to surrender his hand in horror for a while.

After sucking his fingers to his heart’s content, Aaron rubbed his cheek against Je-rim’s palm and exhaled a hot breath. Contrary to the sharp slant of his eyes, his gaze was moist, creating a strange sense of urgency.

“Haa…. Is there anyone nearby who can run a condom errand for me?”

“Do you have anyone? Ridiculous….”

Who on earth would he ask for such an errand? Should he ask Chang-sik, his agent in Korea? Reman, who lived nearby? Or William, his close friend? Since this was Aaron’s house and not Je-rim’s, it was right to exclude Reman from the list. No, as a human being with a clear concept of shame, such a list shouldn’t even exist.

Still, a condom… he needed one…. But stopping now to go buy one was too urgent…. And since this guy’s size was such that standard condoms from a supermarket couldn’t cover it, he wondered if going out to buy one was even meaningful. He had already experienced that standard-sized condoms got stuck at the glans and the rolled body wouldn’t even fully unfurl.

Above all, he hated the idea that the cold wind would bring his reason back completely. He finally wanted to go all the way….

Je-rim gradually succumbed to the desire to experience firsthand what sex would be like, given that even a long-overdue kiss felt this good.

I mean, they were both men, it wasn’t like they’d never done this sort of thing, and it wasn’t like something terrible would happen if he came inside…. As long as there was nothing left and the cleanup was done well, there would be no stomachaches. Moreover, the vacation continued for two more days, and the match was a week away. It meant there was plenty of time to recover his physical strength.

Having finished these various calculations, Je-rim raised his arm to cover his eyes. Even if his sexual desire was boiling and his reason was half-gone, it was a request too embarrassing to make while sober. If he had known he’d end up saying this, he should have drunk all of that wine earlier. He lamented the reality that he couldn’t even benefit from the alcohol.

“…Fine. Just do it.”

Aaron, skillfully catching Je-rim’s whispered mumble, asked quietly. His tone was solemn, like an executive awaiting the final approval of a major project.

“…Really?”

“If you ask one more time, I’m just going to le— ngh!”

Before Je-rim could finish his sentence, he groaned, his waist arching involuntarily. Even if the situation of preparing to mate with Aaron like animals in heat was far beyond his expectations, it was because Aaron had buried his face in a place he truly never expected even in his dreams.

Aaron’s dark brown hair fluttered between Je-rim’s wide-open legs. It was a problem that the bangs poked the sensitive skin of the scrotum and perineum, but the bigger problem was the tongue licking the hole. He had called him a son of a bitch and a dog-like bastard so much that maybe he had actually become a dog. Je-rim grabbed Aaron’s hair, his thighs trembling.

“Ah, crazy, ngh…! What, ugh!”

Even when he tried to force the head away, Aaron held his ground. As if protesting, he even pointed his tongue and poked deep into the entrance of the hole, causing the strength in Je-rim’s grip to fade. No matter how much he had washed before coming here, this was….

The sensation he was experiencing for the first time in his life made his head spin. Inside his eyelids, shame, arousal, and pleasure mixed together like smudged paint. Every time the hot breath warmed the hole, he felt a burning sensation all the way to his lower abdomen, and the inner walls relaxed, the opening fluttering. It was enough to make his spine tingle.

Je-rim simply held onto Aaron’s hair, spreading his legs and moaning. Aaron carefully licked the entrance of the hole, which had begun to twitch slightly, making the inside moist, and mumbled while keeping his face buried between Je-rim’s legs.

“We don’t have lube either… wait. You’re basically in a ‘first-time’ state too, aren’t you?”

“No, I— kgh, hauh!”

“…No? You said I was the first and last man.”

The moment he reflexively denied it, the tender skin of the perineum, exposed along with the hole, was bitten. Je-rim let out a short scream and tried to close his legs, but that action only served to tighten around Aaron’s head, which was wedged between his thighs. It was as if he were begging for the hole to be sucked more.

Realizing that closing his legs was impossible, he instead lifted his feet and pushed randomly at Aaron’s shoulders and back. Judging by the thumping sounds, it must have been quite painful, yet Aaron didn’t care and buried his snout even deeper between Je-rim’s legs.

Aaron, who succeeded in making the perineum flush a mottled red by sinking his teeth into the plump, white flesh, let out a languid laugh of satisfaction. Then, he grabbed both of Je-rim’s ankles—which had been hitting his back—and obsessively pressed his lips only to the right foot, his dominant foot.

Je-rim’s toes twitched as the soft lips touching his ankle felt ticklish. It was an area full of scars from being kicked and targeted by tackles, so he had no idea why Aaron was so crazy about it. As Je-rim slowly bent his knees, Aaron adjusted his position, gripped the back of the knees, and spread Je-rim’s legs even wider. His upturned eyes emitted a dangerous light.

As his legs were spread to their limit, the hole that had been twitching minutely began to throb enough to reveal the red inner flesh, and the skin of the perineum grew plump and flushed. Aaron extended his tongue and gave a long, sweeping lick to that short stretch of skin, barely an inch from the scrotum to the hole. At that, the scrotum, which had been pulled taut along with the rock-hard cock, trembled violently, and the shaft jerked on its own.

Unable to even steady his panting breath, Je-rim instinctively gripped and shook his cock, muttering like someone who had lost their mind.

“It’s not like that, ngh! Ugh! Ah, even so, a place like that….”

“As long as I’m okay with licking it, isn’t that enough?”

“Kgh…!”

Now that he thought about it, that made sense…. His brain, so consumed by pleasure that he could only think such vacant thoughts, had already ceased to function properly. Je-rim, rubbing his cock—which was a tight fit for one hand—he wrapped his legs, filled with lean muscle, around Aaron’s shoulders and neck.

As if that were the trigger, Aaron buried his nose into the hole in earnest and began to suck the inner flesh obscenely. He sucked each tiny wrinkle with meticulous care, and soon the perimeter of the hole swelled plumply, opening and closing. The hole, which had begun to tighten on its own, swallowed the saliva pooled at the entrance.

The dry, red inner flesh soon became moist and began to writhe. Aaron’s tongue thrust into the hole, carving deep into the inner walls and coating them with saliva. In a trance, Je-rim shook his cock rapidly, his hips bucking.

Chasing a pleasure he had experienced once before, the hole repeated a cycle of slow contraction and relaxation, softly squeezing Aaron’s tongue. In response, Aaron spread Je-rim’s firm butt cheeks wide to the sides and drove his tongue in so deep that the bridge of his nose was buried in the perineum.

As the sharp bridge of his nose poked the sensitive, tender flesh, Je-rim’s pelvis, hole, and entire perineum convulsed. Yet, Aaron continued to rub his lips and chin in a frenzy against the trembling flesh.

If it had been two years since Je-rim’s last time, it had been ten for Aaron. Naturally, the latter was more out of his mind. He felt an agonizing ache in his cock, which was erect to its limit, but inhaling Je-rim’s scent took priority. As did feeling the firm, muscular butt cheeks fill both his hands.

“Huu….”

Hating to even part his lips for a moment to breathe, he simply inhaled through his nose and exhaled hot breaths directly into Je-rim’s hole. As if driven mad by the ticklish sensation of it all, Je-rim curled his toes and tightened his calves, gripping Aaron’s shoulders firmly.

Rubbing his hair against the inner thighs—which were so toned that the definition of the muscles was visible to the naked eye—Aaron sucked the inside deeper and rougher, just as Je-rim wanted. In contrast to his cool, handsome white face, Je-rim’s cock, which was somewhat monstrously large, was flushed red, as if the glans were about to burst.

He had a huge cock, a handsome face, and a body that was the textbook definition of a soccer player. He had a basic frame but only the necessary muscle on his upper body to remain agile, while his lower body was built like a horse’s legs for kicking and running; in short, it was a body that would make anyone salivate regardless of gender. Narrow pelvis, firm thighs, and long, elastic calves…. No wonder he had been so popular. He still was.

Thinking about how much he might have teased that pretty cock over the years made Aaron’s insides twist, and a temperament like a pubescent boy—as Je-rim had put it—surfaced. Feeling an irrational spite toward the former lover who couldn’t even remember their promise, Aaron blocked the urethral opening of Je-rim’s cock, which was pulsing heavily and leaking cowper’s fluid. Perhaps because he was on the verge of ejaculating, Je-rim struggled, his legs flailing.

“Why, are you, ngh, doing that there!”

“Let’s cum together later. After I’ve fucked you.”

“You crazy, bastard…! Kgh, let go! Let go!”

“It’s too unfair….”

While Aaron had lived under suspicion of being impotent because he couldn’t get hard for anyone else, the man who had made him a wreck had been enjoying himself just fine. The only small consolation was that he hadn’t done it with men. That meant the inside of Je-rim’s belly had remained a corner known only to him.

Regardless of whether Je-rim tore at his hair or kicked his shoulders, Aaron stubbornly crushed the urethral opening with his fingernail while licking the hole wide. Whether it was the acute pain of not being able to cum on time, Je-rim’s neck veins bulged as his hole throbbed frantically.

It wasn’t an exaggeration; he felt like he was truly going insane. His lower abdomen tightened as if someone were squeezing his organs by hand, and an indescribable sensation followed from the inner walls to the perimeter of the hole. It felt as if a weak electric current were constantly flowing through the inner flesh. He didn’t know if the pain of not being able to ejaculate had been converted into that kind of stimulation, or if the hole, having been sucked so much, had simply gone limp and lost its mind.

While Je-rim struggled, pushing against the sheets with his whole body, fingers began to probe in alongside the tongue. The hole, which had easily swallowed two fingers—much longer and thicker than those of an average man—tightened stubbornly like a living creature, as if a third finger were now too much.

Whenever the deep inner flesh refused further entry, Aaron used the fingers already inside to press firmly against the bumpy protrusions and smooth walls, while carefully licking the plumped-up perimeter of the hole. Then, at some point, the hole would open slightly again, and Aaron would not miss the chance to slide in another finger.

“Ah-eut! Hah, kgh, hng….”

The inner walls, which finally accepted all four fingers except the thumb, writhed as if they were about to burst. Je-rim caught his breath, stroking the area around his lower abdomen, which felt stiff in a way he couldn’t quite pinpoint. With every ragged breath, his thick ribcage heaved incessantly. His nipples had stood erect at some point, revealing small, sharp pink peaks.

He wanted to cum, but the exit was still blocked, Aaron’s other hand was completely filling his hole, and meanwhile, the remaining thumb was rubbing the center of his swollen perineum as if massaging it, causing his brain to melt into a gooey mess. Je-rim spread his creaking hip joints wide and let out a plea filled with hot breath.

“Ha, fuck…. Then hurry, hng, hurry….”

Since Aaron seemed determined not to let him cum unless it was while being fucked, this was the only way to ejaculate quickly. Processing this driving urge to cum, which was making him lose his mind, was more urgent than preserving his pride. Panting and spreading his legs, Je-rim wrapped his arms around Aaron’s waist and pulled him closer. He pulled on his shoulders as well.

At that, Aaron hurriedly pulled out his cock, which had been standing stiffly, half-exposed above his partially removed pants. Seeing the sight, Je-rim unconsciously swallowed hard and froze. He was large enough to be called a ‘horse cock’ quite often, but he was no match for Aaron’s size.

If it was going to be that monstrously large, it could have at least been shaped prettily…. The shaft, slightly curved upward, boasted an ignorant thickness that couldn’t be fully encircled by one hand. Furthermore, matching his dark skin tone, the surface of the cock was also a deep hue, and the glans was a dark red from the rush of blood. The head of the glans, incomparably thicker and wider than the shaft, protruded like a mushroom cap, which was almost grotesque.

Most grotesque of all was the fact that several veins, sprouting from below the navel, connected delicately along the root and shaft of the cock. Perhaps because the cock was so large, the veins and tendons were thicker and more distinct than those of other people. Whenever Aaron stroked his erect cock, the veins twitched and throbbed in sync with the jerking shaft.

If there had been pubic hair, that grotesqueness might have been slightly hidden, but Aaron was the type to maintain full-body grooming below the neck, so his cock was completely bare. Thus, one could clearly see the veins bulging from the center of the pelvis below the navel all the way to the erect cock.

‘…Will it even fit?’

Even with experience, it was a cock of such hideous size that the thought crossed his mind. To begin with, it had been so long since he had been in the position of receiving something underneath that he lacked confidence. Back when he liked Aaron, he had endured it by closing his eyes tight, but that wasn’t the case now…. Of course, a tiny bit of something resembling affection seemed to have returned, but not enough to endure that size.

However, after having his hole sucked like that, it felt awkward to stop now. The inside of his belly, knowing the magnitude of pleasure that would follow a moment of pain, tightened stiffly, and the wide-open hole throbbed and gaped as if waiting for something to plunge in, adding to the emptiness. All these physical reactions goaded Je-rim.

Since he was desperate either way, Je-rim took a deep breath. Aaron, who had rubbed his own glans to spread cowper’s fluid across the entire shaft, brought the tip of his cock to Je-rim’s hole. Aaron’s thick chest also repeatedly swelled and deflated like a balloon being filled and emptied of air.

The moment Je-rim saw Aaron put strength into his lower body—enough to cast a shadow over the contours of his abs—he squeezed his eyes shut. Immediately after, a pained, stifled groan vibrated in Je-rim’s throat and escaped through his teeth. He let out a moan, clutching the sheets in pain that felt as if his bottom were about to burst from the tightness. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead and dripped down his distorted brow and eyes.

“Uuuut…. Ah-ugh! Hah…!”

Unconsciously, Je-rim raised his knees and pushed the sheets with his toes, curling them tightly. It was an action his body took instinctively to try and alleviate the pain. Aaron also frowned deeply as if in pain, letting out fragmented breaths.

“Ugh…. Je-rim, relax. You said to hurry up.”

“Ah, fuck…. Try being fucked by your own thing! See if it goes as you want!”

Since he was in agonizing pain and still had to deal with comments, Je-rim couldn’t contain his temper and snapped. But as he did, he put strength into his abdomen, causing the bottom to tighten even further, and he immediately regretted it. A pain that felt as if his body were being split in half washed over him. Even when he had a knee injury that required two months of rest, it hadn’t been this painful.

“Kgh! Ha, ah, fuck… it hurts so fucking much…. Hah!”

Clutching his lower abdomen, Je-rim’s limbs trembled violently. His flushed face turned pale, and his erect cock went half-limp. Watching this, Aaron clicked his tongue and tried to pull his hips back.

“…This won’t work. I’ll go buy some lube and condoms.”

“What the, kgh, fuck are you… Don’t pull out.”

Je-rim grabbed Aaron’s arm and shook his head. He had managed to swallow the glans, and now he was supposed to try again later? Not only would it ruin the mood, but he couldn’t stand the thought of the pain he had endured going to waste.

“You said it hurts. I feel like the skin of my cock is going to peel off, so I can’t….”

Ugh, this clueless bastard. The childish thought that ‘even if it hurts, I’m hurting more, are you hurting more?’ rose to the tip of his tongue, but he barely suppressed it, fearing Aaron would actually leave. Instead, Je-rim grabbed Aaron’s cheeks, fixing his gaze directly in front of him, and licked his dry lips.

“Forget it. …Aaron, get in so I can see your face clearly.”

He was in agonizing pain too, but Aaron’s face, distorted by pleasure and pain, was very… appetizing. The only reason his cock hadn’t gone completely limp despite this pain was purely thanks to that face.

When Je-rim met his eyes, Aaron looked alternately at Je-rim’s genitalia, which lay dead on his belly but gave a small jerk, and his reddening cheeks, then let out a scoff of disbelief.

“…You’re really something. Do you like my face that much?”

Didn’t you know that perfectly well, which is why you’ve been using that face to play your games? Je-rim brushed Aaron’s sweat-soaked bangs back from his forehead. As expected, he looked best when his forehead was fully revealed, highlighting his handsome eyebrows and neat hairline. Je-rim tickled the well-shaped eyebrow with the tip of his index finger and asked.

“Hng…! What about you?”

“Me….”

“Ah-ugh!”

Aaron trailed off and slowly drove his cock in. The inner walls, which had been gripping the surface of the glans as if to peel it off, screamed in pain and struggled to return to their original state. But Aaron ignored all resistance, biting his lip as he violently shoved his cock in. He focused all his attention on widening the narrow path inside the inner walls to fit the thickness of his cock.

Since Je-rim wasn’t completely inexperienced, if he just pushed a bit further to the spot Je-rim felt, Je-rim would soon be losing it again. Provided that spot was deep enough. Honestly, Aaron also felt a sense of relief feeling how tight the inside of the hole was. It confirmed that he really hadn’t met other men…. Not that he liked the fact that he only met women, but still.

Aaron lifted Je-rim’s two hands and placed them on his cheeks, putting on the gentle expression that Je-rim loved so much. He even narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Why even ask. I’m crazy about you.”

He had fallen in love at first sight upon seeing that smiling face; how could he not be crazy about him? He had never seen anyone more handsome, fun, and better at soccer than Je-rim, who could smile so brightly it made his chest tickle, neither at fifteen when they first met nor now, approaching twenty-eight.

And fortunately… although Je-rim’s feelings might have cooled, this face still seemed to be his type, for which Aaron thanked God. Je-rim was a guy who had listed Gabriella—who had the opposite gender and appearance—as his ideal type, and after they broke up, he said he only met women, so Aaron had worried that he might not react to men at all anymore. It turned out to be a useless worry.

He was glad that Je-rim’s body remained healthy, then and now. The fact that he was weak to visual stimulation, that he would find it cute when Aaron pretended to be weak even though he knew it was a trick, and that he easily succumbed to pleasure. Aaron, harboring thoughts that would make Je-rim snap and slap his lips if he knew, gradually increased the speed of his hip movements.

“Ah! Ugh, ugh…!”

“It was, kgh, around here….”

Aaron thrust into Je-rim, twisting his hips to poke various spots with the glans. Each time, Je-rim writhed in pain, digging his nails into the area around Aaron’s temples. If he were sane, he would never have done something to scratch that face, but being penetrated to the point where his stomach was bulging was enough to make sanity impossible.

Every time Aaron’s cock changed direction, the area around his navel bulged and receded, delivering mental shock along with physical pain. The burning inner walls only contracted tightly, gripping the cock inside as if chewing it.

‘Fuck, I’m definitely using lube next time.’

Unaware that he had unconsciously promised a ‘next time,’ Je-rim opened his mouth wide and let out suppressed moans. He felt as if he would suffocate if he didn’t make a sound. The monstrously large cock poking deep into his organs created a pressure that completely blocked his airway. It felt as if a giant weight had been placed on his chest. Though, in reality, a giant was indeed on top of him.

Still, he liked the fact that the position allowed him to see Aaron’s face clearly. He was panting, staring endlessly at that erotic face that he loved no matter how much he looked at it. The moment the glans, round like a clenched fist, tapped somewhere inside his belly, a sobbing moan escaped Je-rim’s open mouth.

“Hng, ngh!”

A pleasure incomparable to when his hole was being sucked surged through him. His tailbone tingled, his vision flashed white, and then a kaleidoscope of illusions exploded before his sight slowly returned. The inner organs, which had been merely tight, gradually relaxed and began to mouth the cock. Beyond his trembling toes, the wallpaper seemed to warp and ripple.

“Hic, ah, right there!”

“Yeah, I know.”

Aaron gripped Je-rim’s pelvis firmly and began to drive his hips like a stud. He was on the verge of losing his mind due to the sensation of the inner flesh finally beginning to suck his cock with the right amount of intensity. He had completely forgotten that it had been painful enough to feel like his skin was being chafed.

Every time the slapping sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed, Je-rim let out a wail, staring blankly at Aaron’s face with unfocused eyes. Beads of sweat rolled down his furrowed brow and temples, where fingernail marks remained, as he felt the pleasure of his cock being chewed and kneaded. The transparent droplets fell along the bridge of his sharp nose and his firmly set jawline, which was indescribably sexy.

Before his eyes was a face that was the embodiment of his taste, drenched in excitement and expressing his emotions without filter, while below the waist, his cock continued to ram in, churning his insides. Every time Aaron thrust, the long shape of the cock protruded prominently against the skin of his abdomen, where the muscles were clearly defined. Then, when Aaron shifted his hips in small, grinding motions with his knees bent, only the rounded shape of the glans would sporadically bulge, as if it were about to pierce through his stomach.

“Uuuugh, ng, hah, ha-euk! Ha, there, it feels…!”

Especially when Aaron pounded hard against the area just above the navel, slightly to the right, it felt as if the neural circuits in his brain were snapping one by one. Je-rim pulled Aaron’s waist to push him even deeper inside and carefully observed his own abdomen. It was to check if the desired spot was bulging again.

Following Je-rim’s lead, Aaron asked while driving his cock in at a diagonal angle.

“Here? Here?”

“A-euk! Yes, yes, h-euuu, ah!”

Judging by the way the inner walls were sloppily and tightly chewing on the cock, it seemed he was hitting the right direction. Unlike before, when it had only tightened harshly, Je-rim’s interior had loosened into a thick, soft state, repeatedly wrapping around and releasing Aaron’s cock with a sticky tenacity. Although it still felt somewhat stiff due to the lack of gel, it felt like shoving a cock into warm pudding and stirring it.

Aaron thrust so violently that his scrotum, shaking in time with his hip movements, slapped against Je-rim’s buttocks, and he blurted out whatever came to mind. He was in a state where higher functions, such as focusing his glazed eyes or choosing his words, were impossible. He simply enjoyed the sensation of the hot inner walls as he pounded Je-rim’s stomach as if crushing it, greedily exploring the inside while rubbing his cock against the walls of flesh.

“Ha, fuck… this feels too good. I think I’m going crazy…”

“K-eut, u, u-ung! Ah, Aaron! Harder…”

“Wrap your legs around me.”

Je-rim was just as greedy. Because it had been so long since he last had sex, every sensation felt maximized. Even though the cock—which he had once thought was hideous—was pounding and hammering inside him, it still wasn’t enough. He was thrusting so powerfully that when Aaron pulled his cock out from deep within his organs, Je-rim could feel the red inner flesh being dragged out with a squelching sound.

Despite that, wanting him to drive in even harder, Je-rim wrapped both legs around Aaron’s waist and twitched his hips. As he moved his waist in small motions, the hole where the dark red cock was sliding in and out wiggled along with his white buttocks, sucking in the contents. Aaron let out a groan like a growling beast and leaned down to kiss Je-rim.

“Mmph…! Haah, h-euk…”

Je-rim accepted the kisses frantically for a while before pulling away, breathless. As he panted like a dog with his head turned to the side and his tongue slightly out, Aaron grabbed Je-rim’s chin, turned it back, and urgently swallowed his tongue. After sucking on Je-rim’s tongue for a while as if it were a piece of candy, he released the saliva-drenched tongue and pleaded in a searing tone, his lips still pressed against the other’s.

“Je-rim, don’t turn your face away. Keep showing me your face.”

Je-rim immediately pressed the back of Aaron’s head down as he wanted. As their lips locked tightly and their bodies overlapped, the penetration naturally deepened. Je-rim’s spine stiffened as his prostate was hit in a straight line. Even though he tried to keep his eyes open, the membranes burned and stars exploded in his vision, making it impossible to stay still.

Je-rim’s cock, which had received no stimulation other than when Aaron sucked his hole, throbbed violently against Aaron’s stomach. The hole at the center of the glans opened slightly, and as if releasing a long-held grudge just before ejaculation, it poured out thick, white liquid. Je-rim didn’t even think to touch his twitching cock; he arched his back and lifted the legs he had wrapped around Aaron’s waist into the air.

“A-uuung, ng, h-eut!”

“K-uk…!”

As an aftereffect of ejaculation, the inner walls contracted narrowly, squeezing the cock they were holding. Immediately after Aaron let out a short, sharp groan, something hot was splashed deep inside Je-rim’s stomach. Despite having lost his mind from his own ejaculation, Je-rim patted Aaron’s slightly trembling shoulder while receiving the semen filling his belly.

Whether it was because Aaron’s cock was too large or because the inner flesh wrapped around it too tightly, Je-rim could feel every detail, from the cock trembling inside him to it gradually coming to a stop. By the time Aaron’s ejaculation had mostly finished, Je-rim clicked his tongue as he wiped away his own semen, which had not only dirtied his abdomen and chest but had also splattered onto his face. He must have enjoyed himself quite a bit; the color was deeper and the consistency thicker than usual.

Still, after coming once, his reason seemed to be slowly returning. Aaron should be satisfied by now… He didn’t intend to nag him to pull out immediately, as he wanted to enjoy the afterglow, but he wanted to wrap things up and wash his body soon. Je-rim squirmed his pinned body, signaling to Aaron that it was time to stop.

However, Aaron completely ignored the signal, stared down at Je-rim, and abruptly continued thrusting. Je-rim gasped in surprise at the penetration, which was even deeper than before.

“H-eu… uk!”

“Just a little. Just a little more…”

“Wait… I just, ah!”

Since it was immediately after ejaculation, both his cock and his insides were sensitized and flushed. Aaron must have known that, yet he hugged Je-rim as if he were going to crush his shoulders and rapidly drove his hips in. Thanks to the semen filling the inside acting as a lubricant, the thrusting became much easier. That is, except for the fact that every time Aaron slammed in—feeling as if he were hitting Je-rim’s solar plexus—the semen flowed back, causing a feeling of nausea.

Je-rim unconsciously covered his churning stomach with one palm while pushing Aaron’s shoulder with the other. But Aaron didn’t budge, continuing to thrust in a trance. The moment he saw Aaron’s eyes, Je-rim had an intuition that trying to push him away would be useless, so he shifted his hips, trying his best to calm Aaron down.

“A-euk, eut, u-uuung! Wait, wait, wait! Slo-slowly!”

As if he had mistaken ‘slowly’ for ‘fast,’ Aaron pulled his glans out in one go. White semen was haphazardly clung to the plump head and shaft of the cock. White semen also leaked from the gap of the hole, which had been stretched to the thickness of the cock. Before Je-rim could be horrified by the sight, Aaron rammed it back in all the way to the root.

“He-euk!”

In an instant, Je-rim’s eyes rolled back. Because Aaron continued the excessive penetration against the already sensitized inner walls, physiological tears began to flow, wetting the corners of his eyes. It was maddening that while the owner was on the verge of death, the hole found it delicious and chewed on the cock as soon as it entered.

Squelch, squelch. The sound of the inner walls and the cock sticking together echoed with an embarrassing loudness. Je-rim twisted his body and slapped Aaron’s cheek.

“Gently… Aaron, hey!”

“Je-rim, just once. Just a moment…”

He had slapped him to make him snap out of it, but it seemed he had pressed some strange switch, as Aaron’s hip movements became even more violent. Aaron deeply licked the palm of the hand that had slapped his cheek and hammered his cock in from top to bottom like a pump.

Pinned underneath, Je-rim could only watch as the dark red cock, as thick as a forearm, split his body open, then pulled out long, taking the red inner flesh entwined with white semen with it. He was afraid his inner flesh might be turned inside out, but separate from the fear, pleasure surged.

As the massive cock forced its way through the inner walls that were trembling from the aftereffects of ejaculation, spreading the damp semen between the tight folds of flesh and striking the prostate like a chisel, a brain-melting pleasure naturally followed. Je-rim didn’t even think to swallow the drool running down his chin; at some point, his cock had become erect again, and he struggled, shaking it.

“A bit, gently, ha… h-eut! Ah, what is this… hic!”

It was then that a warm liquid poured into his stomach. Feeling a sensation distinctly different from semen, Je-rim stared blankly down at his lower body with glazed eyes.

Something… something was strange. First, the amount was too much, it was hot, and it was sloshing around inside his stomach… Unless Aaron was actually a stud horse, it was impossible to ejaculate this much semen.

Above all, Aaron had been releasing that mysterious liquid for quite a while, gritting his teeth as if in agony. Veins popped up above the temple where Je-rim had left fingernail marks. He had bitten his lip so hard that blood was slowly seeping out.

“Hah! Uk, k-euk…”

“W-what is this… my stomach, the inside, uk…!”

Je-rim resisted by weakly pushing Aaron’s chest, but then he suddenly thought of a certain deduction and covered his mouth. The only other liquid that could come out of a cock besides semen was…

“No. Phew… it’s not that. Sorry.”

As Je-rim’s eyes filled with horror, Aaron finally seemed to regain his senses, murmuring as he cupped Je-rim’s cheek. But it was an excuse devoid of any persuasiveness. An angry Je-rim tried to punch Aaron’s shoulder, but realizing his whole body was limp and exhausted, he grabbed Aaron’s neck instead.

“Then what is it!”

“I’m sorry… I’ll take care of it for you.”

“What? Hey, wai—!”

Before he could scream for him to tell him what he had released inside, his body was lifted up. Out of a reflexive fear of falling, he wrapped his arms around Aaron’s neck and waist, and the cock, now positioned as if thrusting from bottom to top, twitched and expanded in volume.

Following the semen and the mysterious liquid filling his organs, the cock swelled even further, making him feel as if his stomach were actually going to burst. His lower abdomen, which was well-muscled, looked slightly bloated, perhaps due to the sensation. In reality, it was protruding because of the outline of the cock embedded inside, but it wasn’t just that… it felt swollen because it was filled with sloshing liquid.

“Ugh, k-uk, u-uuut! Pull it out!”

Now everything was disgusting. Je-rim threw a tantrum, even gagging, but since he was impaled by Aaron’s cock and held tightly in his arms, it was merely a meaningless resistance. Rather, the more he twisted his body, the more the liquid inside sloshed and the cock rammed here and there, making it only more uncomfortable.

Aaron adjusted his hold on Je-rim’s buttocks and strode forward, blabbing something frustrating.

“If I pull it out, it’ll leak everywhere and become a mess.”

Even though the cock was filling the hole completely, the liquid inside Je-rim’s stomach was already trickling out through the narrow gaps. Every time Aaron took a step, water leaked from Je-rim’s hole and splashed down. Seeing this with his own eyes, Aaron continued to mutter nonchalantly, prompting Je-rim to ask in a voice full of horror.

“Did you… did you really just piss inside me?”

“I told you I didn’t. Go check for yourself.”

“Where… h-eu! U, ng! A-euk!”

Fuck. Every time Aaron took a step, the cock changed direction and poked around inside, causing moans to escape involuntarily. Embarrassed, Je-rim shut his mouth and bit Aaron’s shoulder in retaliation. The fact that he didn’t bite his neck was the final courtesy he could extend as a captain. This bastard would have to wear his uniform, after all.

While Je-rim kept his teeth sunk into Aaron’s shoulder—leaving not just neat bite marks but mottled bruises—Aaron arrived at his destination and set Je-rim down. Thanks to the cold, hard sensation against his buttocks and the tiles covering everything, Je-rim quickly realized he was in the bathroom. And that he had been sat upon a toilet.

Whether that crazy bastard felt the need to keep his hideous cock shoved in his stomach, Je-rim, sat on the toilet, had no choice but to remain in an unsightly position with his legs still raised and spread wide. The junction where he held Aaron’s cock was exposed blatantly between his legs.

Just as Je-rim tried to subtly slide his body back due to the stimulating shame of the position, Aaron gestured with his chin toward the space between Je-rim’s legs.

“Look.”

Saying so, Aaron pulled out the cock that had been shoved in the hole the entire time. Je-rim’s eyes narrowed at the sudden, chilling pleasure. Then, seeing the color of the liquid leaking from the gap of the hole, he let out a breath of relief.

“Ah…”

The liquid that trickled out of the slightly open hole was generally transparent, except for the whitish tint from the mixed semen. Regardless of how filthy and embarrassing the posture and situation were, he was relieved that it was clearly not urine.

“It’s semen… and water.”

“Fuck, h-eut, I know… k-uk, even if you don’t tell me.”

Je-rim lowered his head, pressing his abdomen to quickly expel the liquid inside. As he pressed down on his lower belly, the whitish liquid that had been sloshing inside poured out. If this wasn’t urine, could this bastard have actually squirted? …Crazy bastard.

Even if he was going to release it, why the hell did he do it inside someone else’s stomach? He really has no professional ethics. Je-rim chewed through all sorts of curses in his head, his earlobes flushing red. Although he wasn’t the one excreting it himself, showing the sight of water leaking from his back hole was enough to make anyone feel shame unless they had serious emotional problems.

And logically, the bastard watching this scene with him should also feel some level of embarrassment… Je-rim glanced at the amber eyes that seemed to have regained reason, yet hadn’t. Since they looked darker and more sunken than usual, it seemed he wasn’t quite sane yet—or perhaps, since he was always a crazy bastard, this was just his normal state.

Anyway, once the cleanup was done, this would truly be the end. Unless he intended to make the captain of his own team incapacitated, it was right to end it here. Since Aaron was sharp when it came to football, Je-rim assumed he wouldn’t push things further and was just about to adjust his posture.

“I don’t think you quite understand.”

“Ah, k-uk!”

“I’ll make sure you understand too.”

As if he had been waiting for the stream of water to stop, Aaron stood Je-rim up and made him lean against the glass wall of the shower booth. Before Je-rim could even get a proper grip, a blunt, hot piece of flesh rubbed against the cleft of his buttocks. He didn’t even need to look back to know what it was, so Je-rim stiffened his upper body and groaned in disgust.

“Fuck, h-eu, you… eut, bastard… again?”

“Yeah. Again.”

Did this bastard really starve for ten years? How could he be more desperate than me, who hasn’t had sex in two years? Je-rim pushed the glass wall in irritation and stomped his foot, only to slam his forehead against the glass as the cock rammed into the entrance without warning.

It was exhausting and annoying that Aaron clung to him without tiring, but the more they did it, the better it felt. To the point where he worried his brain might break. He struggled, rubbing his feverish forehead against the cold glass, and even slipped. However, thanks to Aaron holding his waist firmly, he barely managed to avoid falling.

“H-eung, u-uu, ah! Too, deep, h-euuuuk!”

Did he think there was no need to be careful now that the semen he’d left inside was acting as gel? Aaron thrust that massive cock in all the way to the root in one go and pounded only the spots Je-rim liked. Since his weak points were being crushed repeatedly, it was naturally an agonizingly pleasurable experience for Je-rim.

Blocked by glass in front and Aaron in the back, he had nowhere to run, but Je-rim flailed his arms and trembled his legs. The obscene sound of the moist inner flesh sticking and chewing on the cock echoed along the tiled walls.

“A-hik! Hah, ah, stop! Stop!”

“Just a little more…”

“Fuck, k-eut! What the hell is ‘just a little’… h-euk! Until, until when…!”

He should at least give a definite answer. At this rate, it felt like something was bound to happen—either his stomach would be crushed and cause a problem, the hole wouldn’t close and cause a problem, or his cock, which remained erect but unable to ejaculate, would swell and cause a problem.

And as expected, a problem occurred. From the cock that had been painfully erect the whole time, throbbing as if it were also being rammed into something every time Aaron shoved his cock into the hole.

“A-huuuuk!”

A tingling, stinging pain seemed to slice through the entire shaft via the urethral opening, and before he could do anything, the small hole fluttered open and shot out a stream of transparent liquid. Moreover, the eruption didn’t end with a single burst.

The stream of liquid that burst forth, similar to urinating, sprayed violently for several seconds—enough to make his cock shake uncontrollably—before tapering off into a trickle, like a faucet left slightly open. Je-rim’s lips trembled as he watched the transparent glass wall blocking his path become smeared with the fluid he had just released.

“Uh, uhhh….”

“Now you get it, right?”

Aaron gripped Je-rim’s cock in his place, stroking it firmly to ensure every last drop was drained. Je-rim, whose entire body—not just his earlobes, neck, and cheeks—was flushed a deep red, rubbed his eyes, trying his best to ignore the puddle gathering at his feet. He truly could not endure this any longer while sane.

“…Stop, please, ha, kh! Stop….”

Every time he tried to step away to escape, the splashing sound of water hit his ears. He couldn’t even run because Aaron was holding his waist and keeping his cock buried inside him; every futile effort only served as a reminder of what he had just let out.

As he struggled against the slippery floor, Aaron buried his lips in the back of Je-rim’s head, mumbling the same words over and over like a madman.

“Yeah, yeah….”

“It’s not ‘yeah,’ hey! Please, I can’t anymore… Ah!”

Because of the pounding from behind, his cock, curved slightly upward, poked repeatedly near his spine. A series of dizzying, electric sensations shot up his back. As a different area, one that hadn’t been stimulated until now, was crushed, his fingertips curled and the veins in his neck stood out.

As Je-rim tilted his head back, watching stars pop like popcorn in his vision, Aaron kissed the strained veins of his neck, rhythmically thrusting upward against his waist.

“Yeah, I get it….”

“Hng, ha, ah, I, please, please! Kh, ugh, ahng!”

Please, please just stop. He whimpered, pouring out pleas he would normally never utter, until he was finally forced through a second ejaculation, and Je-rim’s eyes drifted shut. Along with his darkening vision, his sense of touch and hearing gradually grew dull.

The problem was that even until those hazy sensations were completely severed, Aaron continued to spam that damn answer, “Yeah,” while driving his cock in like a stallion in heat.

However, Je-rim’s consciousness was soon cut off as if by a knife, leaving him no room to complain.

✲✲✲

Should I die, or should I kill him?

This was the dilemma that dominated Je-rim’s mind from the moment he opened his eyes. Quite some time had passed since he woke up, but since he had no sensation from the waist down, he was forced to just lie there. Out of boredom, he focused even more on the problem.

First… whose fault is it more? He was the one who got hard first, but then again, I got hard watching him…. He was the one who started the games, but I was the one who lunged at him in excitement. In the middle of it, I babbled nonsense about wanting him to put it in quickly or saying that spot felt good, and I even stopped him when he said he was going out to buy lube….

‘Let’s just die cleanly.’

Crazy bastard. Je-rim pulled a fluffy pillow toward him and pounded it with his fists, wriggling his upper body—the only part he could move—like a snake. Meanwhile, he felt a mix of admiration and resentment toward his own penis, which had risen along with its owner despite having been so overworked.

All because of this uselessly healthy lower half…. Even if I’ve been starving for over two years, to fall for those cheap tricks and end up with an ex…. Not only did this violate Je-rim’s conviction of never restarting a finished relationship, but everything about this was just a disaster.

First of all, fuck, what am I supposed to do now…?

He wasn’t just an ex; he was a teammate. A teammate he had to share joys and sorrows with for several more years. If he were just an ordinary ex he didn’t have to see normally, he could have written it off as a one-night mistake and never contacted him again, but with Aaron, even that was impossible.

Then again, to put on a brave face and suggest, ‘We just drank too much as colleagues and made a mistake! Let’s pretend it never happened!’ was difficult because, first of all, they both came way too much last night. And in several different types of fluids, alternating and thoroughly….

And honestly, they hadn’t even drunk that much. Aaron’s dick probably drank more than the amount of wine the two of them consumed. Je-rim, who usually blacks out after three cans of beer, was perfectly fine, so Aaron must have been even more sober.

So, in a case where two people who broke up ten years ago, while completely sober and eating a meal, suddenly caught fire and fucked like crazy from evening until dawn—assuming they are in a relationship where ghosting each other is impossible—what happens to their relationship moving forward?

Sex partners? Or are they dating again? Ah, I hate both….

“Ugh…!”

As he struggled, finding no answer the more he thought, a pain like his spine was snapping followed, and he trembled while clutching the blanket. Perhaps thanks to the pain, his clueless lower half finally quieted down. His memory was spotty because he had repeatedly fallen asleep and woken up halfway through; was something actually broken? Je-rim swallowed hard, tentatively feeling his own backside.

He had fallen into a dead sleep due to pleasure exceeding his threshold and a lack of stamina, but whenever he woke up to the feeling of his insides being crushed, Aaron was invariably clung to him, diligently shoving that monstrosity into his hole. Even when he begged him to stop, the bastard just kept pounding like a lunatic, saying “Yeah, yeah,” so from a certain point, Je-rim half-gave up and just quietly kicked his legs.

‘Come to think of it, where did that crazy bastard go?’

He had been so preoccupied with how to define their future relationship that he only belatedly realized the homeowner was absent. Now that his erection had subsided, Je-rim looked around and noticed that the room he woke up in was not Aaron’s bedroom, where they had rolled around like animals last night.

Did he move me while I was passed out? Why bother? …Wow, this bastard, surely.

“Ha!”

So he’s saying we can have sex in his room, but he can’t let me sleep there. He was so appalled that a hollow laugh escaped him. Right, so he thinks he made a mistake in the heat of the moment too? Fuck, he lunged at me like he’d lost his mind, and now that he’s had his fill, he draws the line like this?

I really have to kill him.

Je-rim completely forgot the worries he had a moment ago and trembled with rage. The calculation that things would go more smoothly if Aaron also viewed it as a one-night mistake did not exist in this moment. He was just pissed that he felt like he’d been used and dumped, his pride was filthy, and he felt… hurt….

‘Hurt…?’

Slap! Je-rim reflexively slapped both of his own cheeks. He thought only his lower body was gone, but it seemed his head had gone as well. Well, after having sex that exceeded the limits of human stamina all night long, it was only natural for his brain to be fried by dopamine.

Regardless, while it wasn’t something to feel “hurt” over, it was certainly something to be pissed about, so Je-rim gnashed his teeth. Since the man had left him in this state and even shoved him into a back room (though the interior was too luxurious to be called a back room), he picked up his phone to vent his anger and demand that he at least bring some food immediately.

“You’re awake? You woke up faster than I thought.”

As he was typing a message so intensely that the tapping sound on the screen echoed, the door swung open and the bastard in question walked in. Perhaps he had just returned from going out, as he was wearing a ball cap and a light jacket, with bags full in both hands. As soon as Je-rim realized the man was in a state where he couldn’t resist, he hurled the pillow.

“Die, you son of a bitch.”

The white pillow hit Aaron square in the face, knocking his ball cap off. Because of the bags in his hands, Aaron couldn’t catch the pillow and staggered. After placing the bags on the single-person sofa by the window, he swept back his bangs, which had become a mess when the cap flew off.

“My, what a noisy way to say good morning. Truly befitting of my Captain.”

“Morning? Moo-ning? Does it look like morning to your eyes? You crazy bastard, you make a person wake up at this hour?”

“Sorry. But I let you sleep peacefully until after 6.”

Is he calling that an apology? Je-rim struggled desperately not to throw the phone in his hand as well.

“Ha, I bet you did. Shoving me into this freezing guest room, while you, fuck-.”

Actually, it wasn’t that cold. In fact, even though he was half-naked, he felt slightly hot. But he exaggerated on purpose, hoping Aaron would feel a shred of guilt.

If you torture someone until dawn, you should at least let them sleep in the best bed out of conscience. Instead of that, you bother to move a sleeping person to the guest room? As Je-rim chewed on his curses, Aaron widened his eyes as if wondering what he was talking about and asked back urgently.

“Were you cold? You kept kicking off the blanket while you slept, so I thought you were hot and turned down the heating.”

“…….”

“I’ll turn it back on. Ah, some contractors came by a while ago to take the mattress; did you wake up because of that noise? If so, you can sleep more.”

“…Why the mattress?”

“Why else? We had sex there all night; do you think it’d be fine?”

The more he heard, the more his earlobes burned again. It was because he felt ashamed of how he had been huffing and puffing based on his own misunderstanding. And the words that followed set fire to Je-rim’s already embarrassed interior.

“It was too soaked to use. I have to buy a new one.”

…I see. Well, it must have been drenched in bodily fluids. Because that bastard poured strange fluids into someone else’s belly…. And since he had also ejaculated and released fluid several times on the bed after being forced to do so in the bathroom…. By the end, there was nothing left to come out, and he was practically exhausted….

Every time a short memory of last night surfaced, it only clarified how much he had been writhing, and Je-rim’s desire to die intensified. Unable to overcome the embarrassment, he burrowed deeper into the blanket and asked cautiously for a final confirmation.

“…Did you sleep here too?”

At that, Aaron seemed to interpret the question as a complaint about why they had slept in the same bed, as his eyebrows twitched with displeasure.

“What, are we playing hard to get after we’ve already had sex? Was I supposed to shiver on the living room sofa in my own house? Honestly, you lack a bit more conscience than other people.”

“Whose mouth is this bullshit about conscience coming out of…?”

The desire to explain that the question wasn’t asked in that sense evaporated, fueled by the anger at the mention of conscience. The man who had kept his team captain’s legs spread all day until his hip joints creaked, pounding his cock in so hard that he couldn’t even move, dares to talk about conscience in front of him?

As Je-rim’s gaze turned menacing, Aaron stepped back slightly, as if preparing for another object to fly his way. Normally, he wouldn’t have backed down and would have sneered back, but seeing him just avoid the physical attack, it seemed he was aware he had done something wrong. The problem was that this awareness seemed smaller than a speck of dust.

“If you’re not going to sleep more, let’s eat. I brought some takeout… can you sit up?”

As if trying to win favor, Aaron lifted the bags he had placed on the sofa and shook them. Every time the bags shook, a very familiar, savory scent wafted into Je-rim’s nose.

Smelling that scent made his stomach stick to his back again, but no matter how he tried to lift his upper body, the strength drained from his arms and he just slid back. The little strength he had left had been consumed by combatively writing the message to Aaron and throwing the pillow.

Sliding across the sheets, Je-rim flailed his limbs like a water strider floating on water. Seeing that sight, Aaron let out a deep sigh and approached as if to help him up. Terrified, Je-rim desperately tried to prop himself up on his elbows again and shook his head rapidly.

“Wait. Don’t touch my body, just stay still.”

“I’m trying to help, don’t be so hurt. You’re treating me like some wild beast.”

“Oh, were you a person? In my eyes, I only see one conscience-less animal.”

“Then did you commit bestiality?”

“You psycho bastard!”

Finally, Je-rim’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he shouted. Driven by spite, Je-rim passionately lectured the disagreeable teammate who always scratched at people’s nerves, while struggling to sit up on his own. Fortunately, since he had the body of an active athlete, although he creaked a bit at first, he gradually regained his muscle strength and began to move according to his will.

Finally succeeding in sitting up, Je-rim leaned heavily against the headboard. As he did, the blanket slid down, leaving his naked upper body completely exposed. Usually, he only wore underwear to sleep, so it wasn’t something to be ashamed of, but with a lunatic in front of him, he couldn’t feel safe.

But to lift the blanket again and modestly cover his chest felt like filming some third-rate porn set in the Joseon Dynasty, so he didn’t know what to do. Being quick-witted only at times like this, Aaron took off the zip-up he was wearing and handed it over before bustling about to set the table. Je-rim quietly zipped the jacket up to his chin and waited for the meal Aaron was preparing.

“Seeing you curse so vigorously, I figured you’d recover quickly, so that’s a relief. Here, chopsticks.”

The smell of the food was familiar, but chopsticks too? Je-rim, who took the chopsticks reflexively, looked bewildered.

“What is it? What did you buy?”

“What was it called… the name was hard to pronounce….”

Taking the tray from the tilting Aaron, Je-rim opened the plastic lid. And as soon as he saw the food in the white container, his jaw dropped in disbelief. It was a familiar food, and one he liked, but it wasn’t a menu item one would eat a whole bowl of for their first meal without rice or other side dishes.

Above all, where did he buy a whole bowl of just this…? Even a Korean side-dish shop wouldn’t sell this much at once. At the pungent smell of perilla oil, Je-rim unconsciously gripped the wooden chopsticks tight and muttered.

“…It’s Japchae.”

Perhaps it had been packed immediately after being cooked at a nearby Korean restaurant, as the noodles of the Japchae were very springy. The glass noodles, soaked in perilla oil, glistened, and it was richly filled with thinly sliced meat and vegetables.

If there had been rice or kimchi, he would have immediately licked his lips and picked up the chopsticks, but Je-rim was currently exhausted from immense calorie consumption. For other reasons, his stomach didn’t feel great either. The smell was delicious, but….

Knowing how greasy it would be to eat on an empty stomach, he didn’t taste it right away and first opened the lid of another container. It was smaller than the Japchae container, so he hoped it might be a different side dish, but as soon as he opened it, the savory smell of oil wafted out again. It was Yukjeon (pan-fried beef).

“Ah, right. Japchae! And this is Yu, Yuk….”

“Yukjeon.”

I wonder how this bastard pronounced the menu when ordering. It’s quite a talent to pick only foods that are hard to pronounce and greasy.

As the smell of oil filled the room, his stomach began to feel nauseous. Still, since Aaron had put in the effort to buy them, Je-rim desperately managed his expression, and Aaron nodded seriously toward him.

“Yeah, I think that was the name.”

“It’s not ‘that was the name,’ that is the name. Where did you go, a Korean restaurant?”

“Yeah. Since I was out, I bought other necessary things too.”

“Aha….”

“I am aware that I put you through a lot. It’s an apology and a wish for you to recover your strength.”

Since they were bought for such a commendable reason, he couldn’t refuse. The memory of Aaron buying Tteokbokki the moment he said he wanted some—a side of him that had been so cute it kept him awake at night back then—surfaced, making him feel strangely sentimental.

Je-rim had no choice but to pick up a strand of glass noodle and chew it. He also tore off a crispy edge of the Yukjeon and ate it together. He diligently picked out the spinach and meat in the Japchae. When the amount of remaining food didn’t seem to decrease, Aaron suddenly poked his head in.

“Why are you picking at it? Not to your taste?”

“It’s not that….”

He truly couldn’t eat any more on an empty stomach. Intending to ask for a salad, Je-rim put down the chopsticks and continued his explanation in a cautious voice.

“I’m grateful you bought this, but Korean people don’t usually eat such greasy food for their first meal…. Japchae is like a side dish, so we don’t eat a whole bowl of it like pasta….”

What did the restaurant owner think, seeing a guy who clearly had no connection to Korea buying whole bowls of only Japchae and Yukjeon? They should have asked if he was holding a feast or something. Then Aaron would have sensed the strangeness and adjusted the quantity.

And that question was answered immediately. It was thanks to Aaron, who muttered in a hollow tone with eyes tinged with a sense of betrayal.

“…The restaurant owner said they are auspicious foods eaten on celebratory days. He said there isn’t a single Korean who dislikes these foods.”

So he was recommended that way. Maybe they soaked too many glass noodles during prep…. Anyway, since everything he said was technically correct, Je-rim readily agreed.

“That’s true, we usually eat a lot of them after performing ancestral rites on holidays. I would have enjoyed it too if my stomach wasn’t empty.”

“What are ancestral rites?”

“A necromancy ritual where you call forth the souls of dead ancestors and feed them.”

“…I’m going to leave a Google review saying they recommended strange food.”

Looking completely defeated, Aaron pulled out his phone, fuming with rage. Since there was only one Korean restaurant in the area and it was a place Je-rim frequented, Je-rim quickly stepped in to stop Aaron, playing on the restaurant’s familiarity with its regulars.

“It’s not some weird food. It’s just a bit too greasy to eat a lot of. If you make something to go with it, I can finish it all.”

Fortunately, though Aaron grumbled, he got up without leaving a review. After Aaron left for the kitchen, Je-rim sat still for a while, and once the pain in his waist subsided slightly, he slowly tried placing his feet on the floor.

For the first few steps, his joints throbbed intensely, but it soon became bearable. Feeling a blow to his pride that he was the only one exhausted despite them rolling around together, Je-rim forced himself to walk bravely. Besides, staying sprawled out on the bed where he had fallen asleep with Aaron felt strange.

Seeing Je-rim walk out on his own, Aaron clicked his tongue as if he were hopeless, but when Je-rim picked up a knife, offering to help with the cooking, Aaron didn’t say anything further.

With a few simple ingredients, Aaron quickly whipped up several dishes to cut through the greasiness. They were mostly refreshing or sour appetizers. With those on the side, the japchae and yukjeon certainly became more palatable, and only then did Je-rim clear his plate. Aaron also ate the japchae quite skillfully with his chopsticks.

‘He couldn’t even pick up tteokbokki cakes properly back then.’

Staring blankly at him, Je-rim suddenly scratched his head at the thought. This wasn’t the time for such idle thoughts; it was time to worry about how to handle his relationship with Aaron moving forward. Because he had mistaken Aaron’s move to the guest room as a way of drawing a line, murderous intent had flared up, causing him to forget his most important concern.

This was bad. Truly, only bad omens were appearing in succession. He found himself unconsciously looking for how Aaron was in the past and what the differences were compared to now; he tried to discover the serious side or true feelings hidden beneath the sly words and actions; trivial things suddenly seemed cute; he felt hurt over things that weren’t even worth being upset about…

Since these were things he had already experienced once in the past, he recognized them all too well. For now, he could dismiss it as mere fondness and ignore it, but if he slipped up any further, it would be the end. If he slipped, the tactic of liking someone moderately and quitting at the right time—like he had with others—probably wouldn’t work.

Since he had defined restarting a relationship that had already ended as something impossible in his life, the moment he broke his own rule, there would be no turning back. In fact, the reason he had engraved beliefs like ‘don’t fall too deep’ and ‘don’t try to glue back a broken relationship’ was none other than Aaron.

‘I don’t want to build more of a dark history at this age.’

A guy under twenty ruining his career and having a mental breakdown over love, acting pathetic—that might seem romantic and cute. But a guy on the verge of thirty doing that is just an eyesore. Compared to back then, his weekly wage had increased more than fivefold, so he had to carry a corresponding level of responsibility. Moreover, he now knew that while their bodies matched perfectly, their personalities were perfectly mismatched…

Trying to start something again with a guy like that would be retarded, just retarded. Je-rim steadied his heart.

As he originally planned, he should make it as if it never happened. And from now on, he should minimize contact with Aaron. In the first place, as colleagues, they only needed to see each other on training and match days; they had been meeting privately far too often. Since they already knew each other inside out, the excessive contact had made them too comfortable, leading to this situation.

Having identified the cause of the problem, Je-rim agonized over a solution. Usually, he preferred to reach a crisp conclusion and dispose of headache-inducing problems, but because things with Aaron caused headaches so frequently, it was now time to consider it seriously.

First, how could he naturally brush it off as a one-night mistake? Would it be better to just let it pass quietly without mentioning the relationship, or would it be better to ask outright? Like last time, Aaron might step up and treat it as a mere happening.

‘What on earth is that guy thinking…’

Je-rim glanced at Aaron’s face, which seemed exceptionally glowing today. While one person looked like a walking corpse, the other showed no signs of sleep deprivation and looked plump. Setting aside the fact that it was somewhat annoying, he felt another wave of skepticism, thinking that Aaron’s visual was truly a collection of everything he liked.

He was the one who fell for it every time he was seduced, but seeing how that guy used his face as a weapon to play tricks tirelessly, he wondered if there were other feelings besides sexual desire… Yet, for that, he seemed to know how to push and pull strangely well.

Even right now, if he were a guy with other feelings, he should have brought up the relationship using the sex as a pretext, but Aaron didn’t. To Je-rim, who knew exactly how Aaron showed his feelings to someone he liked, it was simply puzzling.

He was a guy who, after a single kiss, would pester someone, asking if they were dating now. Even before dating, he would get jealous of everything, and it was obvious he’d lose his mind if Je-rim so much as smiled brightly.

After they started dating, not only did he shower him with direct expressions of affection—saying he loved him, that he was handsome, pretty, and cute every day—but at that young age, he even seriously mentioned wanting to get married.

In other words, Aaron was the type who couldn’t hide his emotions once he started liking someone. Combined with the passionate and honest way of expressing affection and the decisiveness characteristic of Spaniards, he was the type to make the other person feel a surge of emotion, thinking, ‘Ah, I am truly loved.’

Well, even if he had changed because he got older and more skillful… Seeing him casually roll japchae with his chopsticks without any serious conversation, mentioning last night’s sex as if it were nothing, it was clear that Aaron was less anxious than Je-rim.

‘Anyway, he’s eating the yukjeon well. I guess it suits his taste.’

He had only eaten a few tteokbokki cakes and chugged a liter of water. Even so, his lips were swollen red, and Je-rim had to tense his stomach to keep from bursting into laughter while they were being punished together. Eventually, Je-rim had retorted primly that Aaron should laugh if he wanted to, leading to a bout of laughter about whether he’d been stung by a bee, which only extended their punishment time.

“…Your chopstick skills have improved a lot.”

Je-rim, who had been racking his brain for a while, blurted it out. He had no clue whether to let it pass quietly or bring it up, and since his brain kept popping up old memories whenever he relaxed, he decided to say anything. The problem was that even that ‘anything’ was related to old memories.

Ah, I really must keep my distance. The moment he made that resolution, Aaron set his chopsticks down with a clack and twisted the corner of his mouth.

“I guess your stamina is returning? I can hear your brain working from here, Je-rim.”

“W-what did I do!”

“It’s not common for you to be reading my mood.”

Having been hit where it hurt, Je-rim’s gaze dropped. Aaron continued, lightly tapping his temple as if it were obvious. On his smooth temple, the nail marks Je-rim had left remained as red lines.

“No doubt you’re plotting some trashy plan. Like, ‘Ah, I slept with him in the heat of the moment, how do I make it as if it never happened?’ Something like that.”

“…….”

Did this bastard receive a divine revelation during his Korea tour? Je-rim had nothing to say and simply interlaced his fingers in silence. Seeing this, Aaron snorted and issued a warning.

“Let me tell you in advance, I have absolutely no intention of making it as if it never happened. We’ve already crossed the line; how can that become nothing?”

Does he really want to date me again? Flustered, Je-rim hurriedly babbled.

“Then what do you want to do with me? Let me tell you in advance too, I don’t have a shred of desire to try anything with you again.”

“You think I do?”

“What, you bastard?”

Je-rim, who had been sitting modestly just a moment ago because his conscience and the truth had been pierced, snapped his head up and raised his voice. He didn’t know why he suddenly got so worked up. He didn’t know the reason, but his pride was fucking hurt.

Deep down, he had thought Aaron might have other feelings, and perhaps it was because that assumption was directly denied…? But if Aaron didn’t have other feelings either, wasn’t that a good thing? He wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of rejecting him, and they could cleanly treat it as a happening by mutual agreement, like last time…

While Je-rim was confused, spitting out curses as they came, Aaron immediately pointed out the question he was feeling.

“You say you don’t have a shred of desire, so why are you getting angry at those words? You should be glad. Given your trashy mindset.”

That’s what I’m saying. But being called ‘trash’ repeatedly didn’t make the trash in question feel particularly pleasant. In fact, defamation laws didn’t exist for nothing. Raising his index finger, Je-rim pointed at Aaron and sneered back.

“And you’re not trash? I told you repeatedly not to cross the line, but you completely ignored that and blinded by sexual desire, you made things this way. You’re trash too, you punk!”

“Fine, then we can both just be trash. Happy?”

“Fine, whatever! Just fold my clothes neatly and have them ready! This trash is going to wash up and get out of here!”

He bolted from his seat and threw the zip-up Aaron had lent him. He wanted to throw away the pajama pants, which were clearly put on him by Aaron, but he refrained because that would leave him naked.

As Je-rim strode toward the bathroom, Aaron’s sarcasm followed him, asking since when he had started stripping and washing. Je-rim quietly gave him the middle finger and went up to the second floor. There were probably other bathrooms, but that was the only one whose location he knew exactly, so it was an inevitable choice.

The problem was that they had done all sorts of things in that bathroom, which was also connected to Aaron’s bedroom, last night. While under the stream of hot water, Je-rim suddenly saw the glass wall of the shower booth and slammed his forehead against it. Then, as the closed toilet lid came into view through the hazy steam, he wanted to die.

Part of it was because the memory of the chaos in the bathroom was vivid, but more so because when he recalled the specific acts, his lower half started to stir…

“Wow, I’m going crazy.”

It was just as Je-rim, having swept back every single strand of his wet bangs, buried his entire face in his palms and sighed. Along with a knock, Aaron’s heavy voice echoed, saying he had something to give him. Je-rim quickly wrapped a towel around his waist and opened the door.

“What is it.”

As soon as he opened the door a crack, Aaron squeezed through the narrow gap and pushed Je-rim against the wall. Je-rim’s wet feet slipped, and his body slid back. In the moment he lost his balance and gasped, Aaron firmly gripped Je-rim’s bare waist and pressed his body tightly against him.

Trapped between the wall and Aaron, Je-rim could only watch as the water on his body dampened Aaron’s clothes. He was already in a dangerous state. He bit his lip and tried to push Aaron’s chest away, but the man stood his ground, immovable, and whispered low in his ear.

“You asked what I want to do with you. I should hear the answer before I go.”

“Do I really have to answer that while I’m washing?”

“Yes. Because I’ve suddenly wanted to do it now.”

“Ugh!”

Je-rim shuddered as his earlobe was bitten. He couldn’t tell if Aaron meant he wanted to ‘do’ talking or ‘do’ something else.

First of all, Je-rim did want to do something else. Feeling pathetic that his sexual desire was surging even after agonizing so seriously and being thoroughly handled last night, he suppressed that absurd urge with the last of his reason. Is his brain really made of dick…

But the moment Aaron pulled a small container of gel from his pocket and shook it, narrowing his eyes, a crisis arrived.

“I went out earlier and bought gel and condoms.”

Seeing the scar he had left stretching over those eyes that already looked erotic, Je-rim felt a tingle in his stomach. He wondered if he had developed a truly strange taste, just as Aaron had mocked. As Je-rim desperately looked away, his chest heaving, hot breath mingled amidst the steam.

“So what.”

“I wondered why a grown man doesn’t keep such things at home. From now on, keep them stocked so we can use them often.”

“Uh, sure. Use them often with someone else. I’m leaving…”

Using the fact that his body was wet, Je-rim managed to escape by rubbing his back against the tiles. Quickly realizing that fleeing into the shower booth would only make him a rat in a trap, he tried to bolt out of the bathroom entirely, but his entire back was suddenly covered by something heavy.

Hugging Je-rim from behind, Aaron meticulously wrapped both arms around his neck to ensure the prey in his arms couldn’t escape. Then, resting his chin on Je-rim’s shoulder, he gently shook Je-rim’s chin with one hand.

“Je-rim, don’t overthink it. I know escaping cleverly is your specialty, but we’re both athletes, aren’t we? Let’s use our bodies instead of our heads.”

“So what. Are you suggesting we be sex partners?”

He had said he had no intention of meeting again, yet the seduction continued; there was only one possible answer. In a sense, it was the easiest answer to understand. Since Je-rim had been horny even before he had anything resembling fondness for Aaron, everything made sense if he assumed Aaron was the same.

It was quite common for people to remain sex partners because they couldn’t forget each other’s bodies even after breaking up. Je-rim had originally loathed such relationships, but after he himself had caused things to happen several times blinded by lust, he could no longer criticize them indiscriminately.

Wouldn’t everyone feel a post-nut clarity? Rather, the bigger problem was that he found the other person fucking hot whenever he saw him…

As he personally came to understand the agony of a type of person he thought he’d never understand in his life, he felt as if the ground beneath him was collapsing. More accurately, a sense of self-loathing hit him, thinking, ‘I’ve really hit rock bottom,’ and a feeling of helplessness washed over him, as if there was no place left to stand.

As if to support Je-rim’s body, Aaron tightened his grip on his neck and whispered. The voice heating his eardrums melted his brain, and a second crisis arrived.

“That sounds too vulgar. Let’s start with

FWB

for now.”

“Benefit my ass, I have nothing to gain from doing it with you.”

“Nothing?”

Aaron shook Je-rim again, who had barely endured the second crisis. As a hand crept up like a snake and brushed the part protruding slightly above the white towel, Je-rim’s heel slipped with a splash.

“Honestly, you get hard every time you see my face. I’m the same.”

“…Still, something like sex partners is…”

“The moment you think complexly, things start to get tangled. Let’s think about later, later. Didn’t you teach me that long ago?”

“…….”

“Even when playing a match, there are times when moving instinctively is more important than rational judgment.”

That was true. If one thought about every single moment—‘I’ll run here, escape there, and pass to him in this way’—they would inevitably be left behind in the fast tempo of modern football. While it’s right that the head must be working tirelessly throughout the game, the most decisive big chances or scoring often come from a foot that strikes instinctively.

Since only correct words were coming out of Aaron’s mouth, Je-rim’s judgment began to blur.

Since neither of them was seeing anyone, and while he didn’t want to date, he felt he needed to have sex soon; their faces and bodies matched their tastes perfectly; since they were teammates, it wouldn’t look strange if they visited each other’s homes or hung out often; and since their schedules mostly overlapped, they could do it whenever they wanted without needing separate adjustments…

Above all.

“Just simply… since we’re both horny, let’s roll around like the trash we are.”

Yes, simply. Simply… he was fucking horny, so what was he supposed to do? Shouldn’t he put out the urgent fire first and think about later, later?

He had just resolved to keep his distance from Aaron and ended up like this; whether he had sex once or twice, it was all the same. No, in terms of frequency, they had already done it more than twice just last night. Since there were at least three clear memories of penetration, considering the pseudo-sexual acts and the penetrations that occurred while he was out of it, he probably couldn’t count them on one hand.

Besides, including what they did in the past… his body was already ruined.

Once his thoughts leaned that way, Je-rim let out a sigh that could have sunk the earth.

“…Ha, fuck. I really don’t know anything anymore…”

Since we’ve already gone this far, I might as well see it through. Not a total end, though… I don’t know, whatever happens, happens. Turning his body, Je-rim this time pushed Aaron against the wall.

Allowing himself to be pushed, Aaron hit the wall hard with his back, yet he smiled brightly and pulled out the gel he had bragged about earlier. Then, burying his lips into Je-rim’s chest, which had dried somewhat, he merely blinked his eyelids. His thick eyelashes fluttered finely, matching the movements of his master, who was acting like a coquettish animal.

“As you ordered, I folded your clothes neatly and left them in front, so please praise me.”

“Good job. Well, I don’t think you’ll be wearing them for a while.”

He always felt this, but the more erotic the atmosphere became, the more Aaron’s aegyo increased. On the bed, and now. Praising his loyal teammate, Je-rim let the towel hanging from his waist drop to the floor.

✲✲✲

“Dammit, I got some rest yesterday, but my back…”

As soon as he bent over to change his clothes, a throbbing pain crept up along his lower back again. It was only natural, since they had spent three whole days repeating the cycle of eating, fighting, and having sex, but Je-rim felt somewhat wronged. Even though he had exercised what remained of his reason to hold back a bit starting from the last day of the holiday, the fact that his back was wrecked…

Grumbling, Je-rim roughly stripped off his civilian top. His current attire was exactly the same as what he had worn three days ago when he was invited to Aaron’s dinner. He had intended to stop by his house to change before heading to work, but because the atmosphere had taken a strange turn again while showering in the morning, time had slipped away, and he didn’t have the luxury.

Out of conscience, he didn’t go all the way and just let Aaron suck him quietly. After Aaron’s mouth relieved his morning erection, they both emerged from the bathroom panting, and it was immediately time to leave. The funny thing was, because he sped to avoid being late, he arrived at the training center much earlier than usual.

Thanks to that, the two of them were able to share secret conversations without hesitation in the empty dressing room, not even realizing they were both reeking of the same shampoo.

“Take it easy with training today. There are still a few days left until the match anyway.”

“I think it’ll loosen up if I stretch hard… Hey, seriously, let’s tone it down next time.”

“If only it were as easy as saying it.”

Meaning as long as you don’t lose your mind, Je-rim forcibly pushed down Aaron’s eyelids. As he brought his hand to the corner of the eye, the thick eyelashes tickled his palm.

The sensation wasn’t unpleasant, so he gently brushed Aaron’s eyelashes as if pressing the tip of a brush. At the playful touch, Aaron just sat still and giggled. Since he was also shirtless, the way his shoulders and chest heaved whenever he laughed was much more visible.

Je-rim scanned Aaron’s bare body—which he had seen enough of over the past few days to be etched into his brain—without getting tired of it, and suddenly touched a mark that caught his eye. It was a bite mark he had left. When he made it, he had been so shocked by the experience that he hadn’t noticed, and for the past few days, he had been too preoccupied with other things to see it, but looking now, the mark was quite vivid.

“I wonder when this mark will disappear.”

“Who knows. It’s just itchy now, not painful. Why, does it bother you?”

“Hmm. Rather than bothering me, if other guys see it…”

Since it was clearly a human bite mark, it was obvious that the other teammates would go wild if they saw it. Especially since, except for a tiny few, they were all experienced bastards. They would probably realize what happened to Aaron over the holiday and swarm him like a pack of excited monkeys, showering him with questions…

Normally, Je-rim would have been part of that monkey pack, but since he was the culprit behind that bite mark this time, he wanted to prevent such a situation as much as possible. Licking his lips, Je-rim was about to send Aaron out to get a bandage from the infirmary.

“Ah, Jerry! …and Reyes.”

Before he could even get Aaron to stand up, the dressing room door swung open and Reman walked in. Until he called out “Jerry!”, his blonde hair had been sparkling under the fluorescent lights, but the moment he uttered the name “…Reyes,” it lost its luster and slumped. Aaron felt the need to point that out.

“When you call me like an afterthought, even I feel a bit sad.”

That’s why the kind Reman dislikes you, because you always add useless comments. Je-rim stood in front of Aaron, as if shielding him, and messily ruffled Reman’s hair.

“Long time no see—well, maybe not that long. Anyway, did you rest well?”

While shaking off his disheveled hair, Reman blinked his blue eyes gently, without a hint of complaint.

“Yeah. How about you, Jerry? Were you busy?”

“Me? Why would I be busy?”

“Because you weren’t home…”

Even though it was a question born of pure curiosity without any other intention, Je-rim momentarily froze in shock. It was true that he had been away from home throughout the holiday, and the reason was none other than “hooking up with Aaron,” so he couldn’t help but be startled.

Seeing the captain turn into a statue, Reman hurriedly added, thinking something.

“Ah! No, it’s not like I was observing you or anything! I always pass by your house when I go jogging in the evening. But since the lights were off for several days, I just thought you were busy…”

Since he lived a ten-minute walk from Reman, it was natural for them to see each other’s houses coming and going. In the first place, Je-rim was so shocked that someone had realized he was away from home all holiday that he didn’t even wonder how they found out. He was simply pondering which excuse would be the most plausible.

After his brain worked at full speed for a brief moment, Je-rim let out the most believable excuse.

“That… yeah, yeah! Right! I went to Newum! To meet some old colleagues after a long time…”

“Ah, I see. Isn’t it really far? You must be tired.”

“Y-yeah! I’m a bit tired right now. Haha, my back is stiff from driving so long…”

“You drove all the way to Newum? Without taking a plane or a train?”

“Huh? Ah, uh-huh! The tickets were all sold out! Oh, my back.”

As he laughed exaggeratedly and patted his lower back, the innocent youngest member fell hook, line, and sinker for the captain’s acting, only sending him a concerned look. He couldn’t possibly tell the kid, ‘Actually, my back hurts not because I drove a long time, but because I was pinned under Aaron for a long time.’

And the culprit who wrecked Je-rim’s back murmured nonchalantly in Spanish.

[When did I transfer to Newum? I hate it there.]

[Shut up.]

Je-rim had wondered why he was staying quiet without his usual annoying mouth. Je-rim slapped Aaron’s back. Although it wasn’t a hard hit, because it was skin-on-skin, it made a sound like a flogging. Enough to make Reman, who wasn’t even hit, widen his eyes in surprise.

Aaron, for his part, let out a weak laugh as if it tickled.

“I can’t say anything because the Captain is so scary.”

For someone who called him scary, his movement as he stood up was quite energetic. Je-rim watched with disapproval as Aaron, with his training top draped over his bare shoulder, took out his cleats, and then belatedly comforted Reman. Reman looked quite bewildered, as a conversation in a language only he couldn’t understand had suddenly occurred, followed by an act of violence.

“It’s just nonsense, as always. Don’t mind it.”

“Ah, okay…”

Aaron sat back down on the chair, tightening the laces of his cleats, and tirelessly teased Reman.

“Why don’t you ask how I’m doing for a word or two? We’re quite close, aren’t we?”

“…It’s just that you look like you’ve been doing well even without me asking. Your face…”

“Face? What about my face?”

“He means you look smug. Just take a hint, will you?”

Je-rim spoke on behalf of Reman, saying what was clearly Reman’s inner thought. At that, Reman seemed to jump, but then agreed in an ambiguous tone and looked closely at Aaron’s face.

“No! I mean, it’s not that… rather, your complexion has really improved…”

Stopping mid-sentence, Reman suddenly wrinkled the bridge of his nose. His face, which always exuded a gentle atmosphere due to the slight droop of his eyes, began to take on a confused look. Je-rim tilted his head at the youngest’s unusual behavior.

“What’s wrong?”

“…You two have the same scen—”

Just as the answer was about to come after a long silence, the firmly closed door opened again, and this time, other teammates entered the dressing room in a stream.

“Yahoo! Three guys are already here! Did you have a good vacation?”

“Oh, for once you two aren’t fighting and are sticking together? And Reman too. Who got here first?”

“The late fee starts today, right? Frederic, you lazy bastard, you’re about to lose money as soon as your vacation ends!”

“Who wants to see my second child say ‘Papa!’ for the first time?”

“Aaaah, I fucking hate going to work… Looking for someone to put on my cleats for me.”

The quiet space filled up with 6-foot giants, and loud voices boomed throughout. The other teammates had swarmed in about five minutes before the time they agreed to collect the late fees.

“…No. I must have been mistaken.”

Seeing them, Reman parted his lips, then turned around and went to his cabinet.

Leaving a sentence hanging like that is the most frustrating thing in the world. When Je-rim sent Aaron a puzzled look, Aaron just shrugged and silently put on his cleats. Since even the guy who had been cut off didn’t seem to care much, Je-rim had no choice but to shake off the frustration and stand before the other teammates.

“You all look refreshed. Did you play well?”

“Of course. But Jerry, you look like you’ve lost some weight? Just how wildly did you play?”

“…Just, well, yeah.”

William, who had appeared with skin tanned dark after saying he was going on a vacation to Italy with his family, made a sharp observation. Je-rim bowed his head like a ripened stalk of rice. William, looking at him with a strange expression, then gaped at Aaron.

“Aaron, did you… get some procedure on your face? What is it? Why are you so glowing?”

“Really? I didn’t do anything in particular.”

“Liar!”

The teammates exclaimed in admiration, touching Aaron’s face, wondering what had improved so much. Edson, who was particularly interested in grooming himself like a male peacock, reacted most enthusiastically.

“What is it, what is it. If it’s something good, let’s do it together. Tell me too… Huh?”

It was just as Aaron heartlessly brushed off the hands rubbing his cheek and tried to put on the top draped over his shoulder. Edson, who ghost-like discovered the bite mark on the momentarily exposed bare shoulder, transformed from a peacock into a starving hyena and continued a fierce interrogation.

“What’s wrong with your shoulder? Who bit you? Now that I look, there’s a mark near your temple too? This… this is exactly the kind of scar you get from a fingernail scratch… What did you really do over the holiday?”

Je-rim stealthily slipped into the corner and grit his teeth. Finding this desperate situation somehow funny, Aaron kept smirking and asked back in a sly tone.

“You know your stuff. Then what do you think the answer is?”

“…Oh, I’ll count that as having heard the answer. You had a fantastic holiday.”

Edson raised both hands and whistled. His face was completely flushed. Starting with Edson’s banter, cheers erupted here and there like celebratory fireworks, and the dressing room atmosphere instantly became chaotic.

The way they buzzed with excitement—calling them a monkey pack was too cute… they were exactly like a pack of gorillas. The gorillas were especially anxious to know who the partner Aaron had met was.

“Who is it? A model? An actor? A singer? Or just a civilian? Gasp, could it be a club staff member?”

Should he be glad that ‘teammate’ wasn’t among those numerous occupational categories? Even for those experienced bastards, the hypothesis that he had done that with a male colleague—and the team captain, no less—must have been a difficult one to conceive.

Aaron beckoned the guys surrounding him to come closer with his index finger. These immature fools happily clung to Aaron, holding their breath and listening intently. Je-rim also held his breath, feeling as if his name would be shouted out from the middle of that gorilla pack at any moment.

“Secret.”

Aaron narrowed his eyes and poured cold water on the overheated atmosphere. The gathered guys showed clear signs of disappointment and showered him with boos. Of course, Aaron ignored them. Then, oddly enough, the direction of the questions shifted to Je-rim.

“Ugh, that guy is surprisingly strict about these things, unlike how he looks. Jerry, do you know who it is?”

“…How would I know that.”

Je-rim replied in an irritated voice while shoving his feet into his cleats. I need to get out of here quickly; if I stay any longer, my heart is going to climb up my esophagus. Leaving behind Je-rim, who was hurrying his preparations with a face full of anxiety, the teammates continued to chatter.

“Seeing as even Jerry doesn’t know, he’ll never tell us.”

“Still, you’ll invite us all to the wedding, right?”

“You’re getting too far ahead, Robin.”

“I’m just bored because there haven’t been any events lately. Ah, anyone will do, just tell me some interesting love stories like the old days. Everyone used to play around so much when we were young…”

Robin, who married his childhood friend as soon as he turned twenty, seemed to harbor a grudge about not having experienced diverse romances, so he enjoyed listening to others’ love stories. Among them, he was absolutely obsessed with romances that failed miserably. He claimed it was fascinating because he had never fought with his wife, either before or after marriage.

Anyway, whether they were all incredibly bored or were plotting to stay in the warm dressing room for one more second, the teammates quickly found a new target to match Robin’s lament.

“We have the youngest guy here. Ask him if anything interesting happened. I’ve never heard about Reman’s love life, so I’m curious.”

“That’s right, Reman! Anything? Someone you’re seeing or someone you like?”

“Yeah, yeah, tell us. You’re so handsome and popular, but you’re so devoid of anything that it’s actually suspicious.”

“…There’s really nothing, like that…”

As someone for whom such topics were poison, Reman answered haltingly, even avoiding eye contact. They knew he was very shy and a huge homebody except when exercising, and thus had little interest in romance, but they teased him because it was cute.

“Looking at the reaction, I think there is something?”

“Hmm, strange… Why is he trying so hard to hide it?”

“Could it be someone among us?”

“N-no! That can’t be. That, that’s absolutely…”

When Reman’s face finally became flushed as if it were about to explode, the teasers seemed to back off, deciding to leave it at that. Since they were guys who knew where to draw the line, Je-rim felt at ease as there was no need to stop them.

It was the moment when the blood had receded from Reman’s face and the topic was about to shift to something else. Cutting through the short silence that usually follows before a new topic begins, a mischievous voice rang out.

“Really?”

The speaker was none other than Aaron. The guy who had been quietly smiling stepped forward the moment the teammates showed signs of backing off, reigniting the conversation with the topic that made Reman uncomfortable.

“Really nothing? Hand on your heart?”

“……”

“How about telling us your ideal type? If there’s someone who fits, I could introduce you.”

Aaron’s attitude, volunteering to be a matchmaker for once, was surprising, but Reman’s reaction was also quite interesting. He didn’t look surprised that Aaron was offering a favor, nor did he look pleased by the suggestion of being introduced to someone who fit his ideal type.

His blue eyes wavered like the sea on a stormy day. If one were to describe the emotion held in that gaze with the closest word, perhaps it would be defiance. As Je-rim guessed, Reman shot back in a flared voice.

“Someone I can respect. What about you?”

“Me? I…”

Perhaps because the standard for an ideal type was too noble for a boy of his age, Aaron’s face also momentarily went blank. However, he quickly regained his composure and glanced at Je-rim with a smile that was close to a sneer.

As their eyes met in the air—Aaron’s amber eyes brimming with playfulness—an inexplicable anxiety washed over Je-rim. And that anxiety immediately became reality. From between Aaron’s curving lips, vulgar words poured out.

“Pale skin, long legs, a great body, and especially sexy ankles. A cold impression, but I’d like a slight dimple when they smile… and above all, they have to be pretty in my eyes. Oh, and in bed, I prefer someone who’s proactive rather than passive.”

Crazy bastard. Je-rim pretended to look for something and buried his head inside the dark, narrow cabinet, trembling violently. No matter how perfectly they were each other’s physical type, there was no need to describe it so specifically in front of the other teammates…!

Moreover, didn’t he have any human decency? A colleague much younger than him had cited someone he could respect as his ideal type, yet right in front of him, he was talking about beds and whatnot… As it happened, William voiced the exact same sentiment Je-rim was harboring.

“The contrast with Reman’s answer is insane. He sounds like trash…”

“What do you mean? It’s an ideal type, an ideal type.”

“Seeing how specific it is, I don’t think it’s just an ideal type; it sounds like someone he’s actually seeing right now. Isn’t that the owner of those bite marks?”

Edson once again showcased a sharp deduction that could put a great detective to shame. Why the hell did that bastard’s brain work so well in these areas when he spent every waking moment thinking of ways to slack off? Feeling that he couldn’t listen to this any longer, Je-rim urged his colleagues.

“Stop talking nonsense and go change. The manager will be looking for us soon.”

However, the captain’s irritated urging didn’t work one bit. Robin, instead, seemed excited as if he’d found a perfect target and began to cling to Je-rim.

“Jerry! Why aren’t you seeing anyone lately? Aren’t you bored?”

“No, I’m not.”

As Je-rim replied coldly, Liam and Marshall chimed in.

“If you ask me, he still hasn’t gotten over his ex.”

“Or maybe getting slapped became a trauma.”

“Shut up…”

It was incredibly irritating to see them crossing their arms with solemn expressions as if they were Rodin’s statues, while spouting absolute nonsense. To make matters worse, Aaron fell for the low-credibility tabloid gossip they provided as if on cue.

“Slapped? Je-rim-ssi? What does that mean?”

“You didn’t know? Jerry got slapped and dumped by his ex. For a while, his cheek was all swollen; it was fucking hilarious. His lip was split too, right?”

Rarely did Je-rim feel such a strong impulse to ruthlessly clip the wings of the team’s stars as he did today. Since Edson and Liam were saying nothing but things that grated on his nerves, Je-rim’s insides were boiling. In the midst of this, Marshall, oblivious to the mood, approached brightly and poured oil on the fire.

“Jerry, it’s about time you told us. Just what did you do wrong to get hit like that?”

If I knew what I did wrong, would I have been hit? At the question that perfectly stoked his anger, Je-rim’s gaze became murderous.

These bastards seem to think they’re the only ones who know about my failed love life, but I remember all the major incidents too. Finally exploding, Je-rim snapped coldly at Marshall.

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll remember if you tell the story of how you wailed and cried while jaywalking across an eight-lane road just to win back your ex.”

“Hey, that was…!”

Whether it was the shame of remembering it or not, Marshall’s eyes grew red. Because a passerby had secretly filmed that desperate sight and uploaded it to social media, Marshall’s name had been the synonym for a miserably dumped man for a while; it was certainly a dark history enough to make one want to cry.

Ignoring Marshall, who looked ready to dig a hole and hide in it, Je-rim continued the war of exposure.

“You too, Liam. You once dated five people at the same time and got caught, leading to a six-way confrontation. Didn’t you get hit then?”

“……”

“For him, it wasn’t a matter of whether he got hit or not, but whether he’d be murdered or not. A few of them actually brought knives.”

William answered in place of Liam, who was now practicing the art of silence after having chatted so excitedly. Of course, this was also a fact Je-rim knew. After nearly getting his dick cut off on that historic day of the six-way confrontation, Liam had developed erectile dysfunction and a phobia of the tip.

“Every single one of you has a trashy love life, so what makes you so great that you keep chirping… Just get your asses to the training ground, now!”

When he shouted with his core tightened, the colleagues finally began to sneak away one by one, glancing at Je-rim’s expression. Those who ran straight into the coach—who had come to call them because they were taking too long—couldn’t utter a word and were dragged away.

Perhaps because they had rested for a few days, the training focused on warm-ups and light games to regain their Gam. This was a relief for Je-rim. After sufficiently loosening the tight muscles in his waist in the warm indoor gym, he went out to the outdoor ground and immediately did some running and a few mini-games to keep his body from cooling down.

Afterwards, while kicking the ball diligently according to instructions, Je-rim looked down at his toes and clicked his tongue.

‘My Gam is a bit…’

Now that his waist was fine, something else was the problem. Whenever he rested for a few days, his passing sense inevitably dulled, and perhaps because he had started training in an irritated state today, that point felt particularly pronounced.

Even after the morning training ended, Je-rim hesitated to leave the training ground, where his colleagues were departing one by one, because he wasn’t satisfied with the feel of the ball at his feet. He didn’t want to go home feeling this unsettled. Especially since he already felt guilty for spending his last holiday like total trash…

However, this wasn’t a big enough deal to tell the manager or coach, and it would be cruel to hold back his other colleagues just to train until his senses returned to a satisfactory level. Regular training hours had already ended.

After a brief deliberation, Je-rim called out to Aaron.

“Aaron, stay behind and help me practice passing.”

“I thought your waist was hurting?”

“It’s fine now. More importantly, my Gam is fucking terrible, so I can’t go home like this.”

“Isn’t that obvious since you’ve been resting? I told you to just take it easy today. You really don’t listen, do you?”

The reason he chose Aaron specifically among many colleagues was simple. First, he was the person he could ask most comfortably…

“How do you want me to help? Like we used to?”

Because he knew that despite the words, Aaron would be his practice partner. He could simply ignore the accompanying nagging.

After all the other colleagues had gone inside, the two stayed outdoors with the manager’s permission to continue passing practice. Aaron ran here and there, receiving the ball according to Je-rim’s requirements. It was a request he could make knowing that Aaron was a guy overflowing with stamina.

Je-rim also chatted away while sending passes in various ways following Aaron’s movements. Since just kicking the ball in silence felt like some kind of endurance training, he intentionally added small talk to his requests, keeping the conversation flowing.

“Widen the gap to the right! And stop bullying Reman.”

“Who’s bullying him? Can’t you tell I actually find him cute?”

“If you ‘find him cute’ two more times, the kid’s going to cry.”

“No, he doesn’t have that kind of personality. He’s surprisingly tenacious.”

“Reman? He has a total glass mental.”

Fast ground passes flew back and forth along with the conversation. Aaron replied while skillfully receiving the ball that rolled toward him.

“That’s just because he lacks confidence. Confidence comes naturally once you build skill and experience. In my view, he has enough talent.”

“I agree on that part… So is that why you help him with individual training even though he makes it obvious he hates you? Because you see the talent?”

“It would be a waste to let it rot. And the reason Reman hates me isn’t because of football. If he were just some brat whining because he lost a Starting Lineup spot without knowing his place, I wouldn’t deal with him either.”

“What does that mean? Then why does he hate you?”

“…He’s a bit pitiful. Not that I’m in a position to worry about others.”

Because they were quite far apart and Aaron mumbled as if talking to himself, the words scattered into the air. When Je-rim stopped and narrowed his eyes, having not heard the final answer properly, Aaron started again with a clearer voice, saying, “Anyway.”

“I like his attitude of humbly accepting that he was pushed out by me because his skills were lacking and his willingness to put in the effort. That’s why I help him.”

“Hey, it’s fucking awkward when you suddenly act like a good Sunbae.”

“I’m actually quite generous to my Hubaes. Honestly, I can’t stay at the top forever, right? It’s only fun for me if people push their way up from below. A life without change is boring.”

He seemed to have not a shred of doubt about the fact that he currently stood at the top. As always, Aaron boasted a talent for expressing even the correct things in an incredibly obnoxious way. Normally, Je-rim would have thrown back a playful rebuke. If only those last words, which he couldn’t empathize with at all, hadn’t been attached.

“…Then eventually, your spot will be taken by someone pushing up from below.”

“Isn’t that the natural order? Everyone ages equally.”

That may be true, but…

For Je-rim, no matter how much he thought about it, it wasn’t a problem he could brush off as calmly as Aaron. When the time comes that he can no longer showcase his skills due to physical aging, someone else will replace his position… In the first place, he had insisted on an early retirement because he hated the idea of showing that entire process to the public.

Is there anything more useless than an athlete whose prime has passed? Basically, sports exist to bring euphoria to the public. They stimulate the primal pleasure of Competitive Spirit by breaking records or competing in matches, providing vicarious satisfaction.

In Europe, football players weren’t compared to warriors for nothing. War and sports certainly share commonalities. Especially the fact that defeat is unacceptable, the way they awaken the peripheral nerves with fights that are almost violently rough, and the need to push the body to its limit to produce results.

And the fact that veterans are merely a hindrance.

It was natural, since it was a job that required utilizing a healthy, young body. Aging is an unavoidable fate as long as one is born human, and falling into a useless existence in that process was a future that must be faced one day if one chose the profession of an athlete. He and Aaron were the same in that regard.

Forgetting to even instruct Aaron to kick the ball back to him, Je-rim stood still and asked.

“Aren’t you scared? That such a future is predestined.”

“Why should I be scared? It’s a future that everyone, not just me, experiences. Just because I’m pushed out doesn’t mean what I’ve achieved so far disappears.”

He felt like they had had a similar conversation once. Quite a few times. And always with Aaron… Even when they fought at the beach in front of the hotel a day before the Besina match, they had a similar conversation. Though back then, the fight had escalated to include issues with their parents.

Regardless, whether then or now, talking to Aaron about this topic made his heart flutter. Not because he was excited or happy, but because it felt uncomfortable, irritating, and bleak. Every time this happened, he realized that his fundamental way of thinking was different from Aaron’s.

Thinking that continuing the conversation on this topic would only result in endless parallel lines, Je-rim replied bluntly on purpose.

“Yeah, you’re great. Just send the ball back.”

Fortunately, Aaron didn’t continue the conversation on the same topic and resumed practice. While sending a pass as Je-rim instructed, he suddenly asked casually, as if he’d just remembered.

“Come to think of it, why did your ex slap you?”

“She said she wanted to break up, I said okay, and then she hit me.”

“That sounds about right.”

“Why? Did you want to slap me when we broke up too?”

Flustered by the answer that it ‘sounded about right,’ Je-rim asked back in a sarcastic tone. At that, Aaron let out a hollow laugh as if it were absurd and shook his head lightly.

“No. Did we even face each other when we broke up in the first place? I just woke up and realized it was over.”

“What do you mean? You dumped me! You said we should take some time to think!”

Since the topic was what it was, Je-rim stepped closer to Aaron and jumped in frustration. Regardless of his tone, his voice was small, almost a whisper. Even though the only people around the wide outdoor ground were the faint silhouettes passing behind the large glass windows of the building, all his nerves were on edge as he remained cautious.

As Je-rim remembered, he had made an irreversible slip of the tongue during a huge fight, and Aaron had forcibly ended the fight by saying they should take some time to think. Then, after transferring and not contacting each other for several weeks, Aaron’s scandal broke. Naturally, Je-rim had wondered if the words ‘take some time to think’ had been a notice of breakup.

After getting older and experiencing a few more relationships, he realized those words were indeed a notice of breakup. Moreover, it was a phrase used when the partner was truly shitty, but there were too many things complicating a direct breakup. In short, when the partner was like a ‘chicken rib’—too good to throw away, but not good enough to keep.

Around the time he first realized this fact, Je-rim had felt a renewed anger toward Aaron, who was no longer his lover but someone he had broken up with years ago. And the man who had treated Je-rim like a chicken rib ten years ago, and who still made him tremble with rage years later, denied the past itself in a nonchalant manner.

“How is that dumping you? It was just a literal expression. At that time, both of us were… changing in many ways. We both needed time to adjust, right? And I didn’t want to keep fighting with you.”

“In Korea, that’s a synonym for ‘this is shitty, so let’s end it.’”

“It’s not in Spain.”

“No, it’s the same in Spain. I know because I heard the same thing and got dumped by someone of the same nationality as you after that.”

“…You dated other Spanish people besides me… Ha, forget it. Just what kind of dating life have you been leading all this time?”

Aaron swept back his sweat-soaked bangs haphazardly and asked with a hollow laugh of disbelief.

Since it felt like his pride was being wounded and the situation was becoming strange to tell his first lover—the one who had essentially opened the floodgates of his tumultuous love life—everything in detail, Je-rim glossed over it. Aaron probably didn’t want to hear every single specific anecdote anyway.

“What else. Just common… predictable relationships. Like, ‘I think there’s something between me and this person,’ so it starts, and then it ends when the time comes. …But now, that ‘time’ was always within six months…”

Wouldn’t almost every relationship in the world start for such common reasons and end futilely? If there were something more special, that’s when people ended up marrying at a young age, like Robin or William. Honestly, Je-rim found it hard to empathize because he had never felt that ‘specialness.’

‘No.’

When he dated Aaron… did he feel it a little? Because too much time had passed, both the emotions and memories had faded, but since it was his first relationship, it felt like something sparkling had existed. He had even had the absurd worry that he didn’t know he could like someone other than family this much, so there must have been something.

The problem was that so much time had passed that he didn’t even know what that ‘something’ actually was. What was it? As Je-rim pondered, Aaron’s voice drifted in.

“Then did we also just end because the time came? Like the natural order?”

“…I don’t know, you idiot. You’re the one who dumped me, so you’d know.”

“I told you I didn’t dump you. Anyway, if we say it ended because it was time to end, like you said…”

Aaron, who had been facing the sun, suddenly slumped his shoulders. Like a person who had just set down a heavy burden. As if he had been pondering something deeply just like Je-rim, he trailed off for a moment and then murmured in a drained tone.

“That’s a relief.”

“What?”

“It means it didn’t end because one of us did something wrong.”

At those words, Je-rim went blank, as if he had been hit in the head with a blunt object.

Since it was revealed that Aaron’s scandal was a misunderstanding, those events could be set aside, but I did do something wrong to you… The image of that man, whose pride and self-love pierced the sky, unable to do anything but shed tears that burst out, was still vivid…

Aaron smiled with a face devoid of any shadow, as if all those things had never happened.

“That’s enough. Are you going to practice more? Let’s not overdo it today and go in. I’m hungry.”

Saying so, Aaron kicked the ball at Je-rim’s feet away without even waiting for his answer. The ball flew, curved strangely in mid-air, and dropped as if sucked into the mobile cart where the balls were collected.

Aaron whistled lightly as if celebrating his success, then approached Je-rim and pulled his arm, telling him to hurry to the cafeteria. Despite the footwork being almost at the level of a circus act, Je-rim didn’t even show surprise, as he was chewing over Aaron’s words, and answered a beat late.

“…Stretch before you eat, you pig.”

Ah, why does it feel like my vocabulary and behavior become so childish whenever I’m with this guy?

His stomach felt ticklish, as if he had swallowed a handful of dandelion seeds, and he felt like he was going crazy. It was a different trajectory from the sensation he felt when discussing uncomfortable topics. It was a relief that he and Aaron were standing side by side with the sun behind them. Because he was probably making a very strange expression right now…

“First a chick, and now a pig… These are all things I’m hearing from you for the first time since I was born.”

“Please, just delete ‘chick’ from your memory! I want to die every time I think of it!”

“You say that, but you won’t actually die, Bunny.”

“Fuck! Don’t call me by that nickname! Do you think I ever imagined in my life that I’d be called a rabbit?”

Even without a mirror to see my expression, I knew my skin must be flushing red again from the heat boiling up inside me. I’ll just tell them it’s because I overdid it with the extra training, or because I’m annoyed by Aaron’s teasing… I just hope it looks that way.

No, I hope that’s actually why.

Je-rim scanned his own face blankly and slowly exhaled a breath full of warmth. He hoped his heart would be like this warm breath, mixing into the chilly air of England as it entered full autumn and vanishing without a trace.