By Zephyria 
“It’s all his own karma, anyway.”
Even while continuing the call, Min-ho kept his eyes on him. Despite having the undivided attention, the childish emotion continued to bubble up, making him burst into a hollow laugh.
“Ha, ha.”
I’m actually feeling all sorts of emotions because of Cha Min-ho. This isn’t something like jealousy; it’s just that it’s bothering me. Because he keeps calling and visiting, tiring Hyung out. How could anyone see this as jealousy?
Mu-gyeong looked at him with a puzzled expression as he suddenly laughed like a madman, but he couldn’t stop.
“……I don’t know. It’s not like this is the first or second time he’s been like that.”
This time, it was undoubtedly a comment about him, but he didn’t bother to correct it. It was while Gyu-oh was letting out long, white breaths of air, laughing hollowly.
“It’s fine because I’m being discharged tomorrow. You worked hard because of me.”
At that moment, the tone of concern for Mu-gyeong struck his ears. Simultaneously, the simmering emotion exploded. The smile lingering on his lips vanished coldly. He almost snatched the phone away in a fit of rage, but he barely managed to restrain himself by clenching his fists.
“…….”
Actually, it is jealousy. What do I mean ‘no’? There’s no way this isn’t jealousy.
No more conversation passed between them, and Min-ho, having ended the call, slid the phone into his padding pocket. Meanwhile, Gyu-oh sat there expressionless, like someone who had never smiled a day in his life.
“Since Son Pro isn’t here, the Executive Director must be having a field day.”
“…….”
“Still, since he says he’s keeping his distance from the guys he met through Son Pro, I think things have become a bit more favorable for our side.”
Despite the flat tone of his voice, his mind was a mess. He wondered when he had become so childish, and he felt upset that Hyung had just taken the call, leaving him—especially when they were on the verge of rubbing lips. All sorts of thoughts followed one another. Suddenly, a stifling heat surged, and he yanked down his zip-up zipper.
“Ha.”
He had draped the padding he wore over Min-ho’s shoulders and was wearing only a thin piece of outerwear usually used for exercising, but that didn’t matter. He slid the outerwear off his shoulders and placed his hands on his hips. Even though the cold wind pierced through his collar, he fluttered his front open like someone who couldn’t stand the heat.
“What’s wrong with him again?”
“Take responsibility.”
Even at the reckless outburst, Min-ho just blinked indifferently. As if he were used to such sudden developments.
“For what.”
“You’re the one who made me like this, so take responsibility.”
“……Here we go again.”
At the indifferent voice, Gyu-oh squeezed his eyes shut. Why was he so gentle and affectionate when answering Mu-gyeong, but like this with me? In that moment, he was so blinded by jealousy that he even developed a headache.
In reality, Min-ho’s voice had been a consistently flat tone, but in Gyu-oh’s head, it was already imprinted as a soft whisper reserved only for others. Jealousy seemed to have the power to make one hallucinate situations as they pleased.
“Take responsibility. Seriously, Cha Min-ho, your responsibility is fucking huge!”
He even stomped his foot like a throwing-a-tantrum child. Since it was fueled by emotion, it might have felt quite threatening, but Min-ho just looked up at him blankly. Of course, there were still question marks floating in his eyes.
“Why. You want to just lie down and throw a fit?”
“Yeah, I will!”
Contrary to his stubborn answer, Gyu-oh reached out and grabbed Min-ho’s cheek. At first, he intended to pinch it slightly, but as soon as skin touched skin, he unconsciously opened his palm. He had spent a long time rubbing it earlier to transfer warmth, but it had already cooled down, which was upsetting.
“…….”
Separate from the jealousy, this was simply sharing body temperature because he was worried Hyung would be cold. As Gyu-oh leaned down to overlap their lips, he heard a faint presence near his ear.
While still bent over, he lifted his gaze. Through the gaps in the walking path hidden by trees, he saw shimmering figures. There were more than one or two, as loud laughter echoed. Between the lips that couldn’t quite meet, a white breath, belonging to someone unknown, drifted.
“Ha.”
“……Move. We’re going to be reported for public indecency.”
The hand that gripped his wrist and gently shook it was quite tender. Considering the time when Min-ho had been pushing him away, he thought he would have been kicked away or brushed off like a swarm of bugs. Now, he was gently soothing him. Of course, the voice was blunt and not much different from before.
“……Follow me.”
Straightening his upper body, Gyu-oh quickly pulled Min-ho up. Since he couldn’t do it earlier, he felt he had to do it twice as much to be satisfied. As he led the way with large, brisk strides, Min-ho, following behind, pulled on the arm that was being held.
“Hey, slow down.”
“I’m in a hurry.”
“If you slip, you’ll crack your skull. Do you have a spare head?”
As if he were some manga character. The nagging that he couldn’t just swap out a cracked head followed incessantly. Unlike his own urgency, Min-ho’s leisurely and relaxed attitude made Gyu-oh’s eyes flash again.
“Yeah, yeah. Keep talking. Please, keep talking, Hyung-nim.”
Gyu-oh whipped around, bent his waist, and suddenly hugged Min-ho’s thighs. Then, he lifted him up in one go.
“Ah! What are you doing, you crazy bastard!”
It would have been more comfortable to carry him over his shoulder. It was just a shame that he happened to have gauze on his side.
Min-ho, who had been struggling awkwardly while half-carried, went quiet when a group of walkers appeared. He seemed to hide his face by burying it deep into the padding.
The noisy group suddenly fell silent. Then, as they passed by, they even stole glances at them. Unlike Min-ho, whose face was almost buried in the padding, Gyu-oh had to absorb all their piercing stares.
After the group, who had maintained a suffocating silence, had moved far away, the sound of loud chatter returned. They were probably talking about a gangster-like man who had carried a grown adult male through a secluded walking path.
“Wow, Cha Min-ho. Is it enough just to cover your face?”
“……You deserve to have your face exposed.”
Since there was nowhere suitable to hold on, Min-ho had been wrapping his arms around Gyu-oh’s shoulders the whole time. He had been resisting by applying strength to avoid touching, but by the time they were halfway down the path, his guard had completely dropped.
They headed straight for the parking lot. Since he was being discharged tomorrow, he had brought the car instead of the motorcycle. After seating Min-ho in the back seat of the SUV, he hurriedly climbed into the seat next to him.
Slam! A hurried sound echoed in the quiet underground parking lot.
“Ah, hey. Wai— mgh…!”
Before the short word ‘wait’ could even be finished, he pushed his lips in. He pushed his tongue between the parted lips, sucked the lower lip, and wrapped, sucked, and scraped with his moist tongue. He pushed forward urgently, like a madman who had been starved of affection.
“Mgh, mmph.”
Even though he knew Min-ho was pressed almost flat against the seat, he held him firmly, cupping the back of his head. After binding him so he couldn’t escape, he gripped his cheeks tightly. The jaw opened powerlessly, and the parted lips overlapped in the gap. He swallowed the lips greedily, as if nothing should leak from the point where they locked.
“Ngh.”
A short moan escaped. It was slightly different from the aroused sounds he had heard a few times. Gyu-oh quickly pulled his lips away and rapidly lowered his gaze.
Luckily, he witnessed the process of saliva stretching out and wetting the corners of the mouth, and Min-ho’s tongue, which had been half-protruding, retreating. The saliva wetting that red tongue must be his. The spit that had permeated there is now in my mouth.
Whether it was breath or saliva, they were sharing things that couldn’t be easily shared even between close friends.
Suddenly overwhelmed by emotion again, Gyu-oh swallowed dryly without even blinking. Beneath the moist, redly swollen thin skin, it throbbed as if a heart were beating.
“……What’s with that look. Ah, I thought my side was going to burst again.”
He fiddled with his waist and squinted one eye. It seemed the posture, tilted almost as if lying down, had been uncomfortable. After quickly helping Min-ho sit up, he met his eyes.
“From now on, answer my calls on the first ring too.”
“Suddenly, what’s with the calls?”
“Talk to me ten times a day.”
Since they spent most of their time together anyway, it didn’t have much meaning. Regardless, he simply wanted to become a more familiar presence to Min-ho.
“You said no additional conditions. You’re adding one every day.”
“This isn’t a condition; it’s just a basic. A basic requirement.”
“Basic?”
He only let out a soft, airy laugh, but Gyu-oh’s left chest felt ticklish. Cha Min-ho had a sensitive side, and when he smiled brightly, the temperature of the person truly changed. Having been by his side for ten years, he felt he hadn’t seen it that often. That felt somewhat pitiful, but at the same time, it gave him a sense of mission.
“Won Gyu-oh, you answer my calls within ten seconds. If you don’t, you’re dead.”
“Yup yup, of course.”
I will make sure you only smile, Cha Min-ho. Not an unstable relationship, but I’ll nurture you with steady affection by your side. Even if I’m younger, I think I’m more of a ‘Hyung’ in that regard.
After bickering like children, a brief silence fell. The playful atmosphere shifted in an instant. It was a silence that had been occurring frequently between the two lately.
“…….”
“…….”
Their gazes entwined silently. Min-ho, perhaps noticing the strangely changed air, had a somewhat tense face. Gyu-oh didn’t act like a madman as he had before, but slowly tilted his head. A shadow fell over Min-ho’s face, which had regained quite a bit of vitality during his stay at the hospital. Once wet, their lips met without a gap.
Since they had been kissing whenever their eyes met lately, their rhythm was becoming quite synchronized. When he scraped the inside of the upper teeth with the tip of his tongue, Min-ho’s fingertips would twitch, and when he pressed firmly under the tongue, Min-ho would straighten his back, putting strength into his waist. For someone who had rolled his body to the point of calling himself a slut, his kissing had been terribly clumsy. Now, the movement of sucking lips and rubbing tongues seemed quite familiar.
Kissing while rubbing and scraping the spots that felt good, Gyu-oh pulled down the padding zipper. Simultaneously, he stimulated him by gently scraping the inside of the upper teeth. Taking advantage of the moment Min-ho was distracted by the slight tremors of his body, he slid his hand under the patient gown top.
The injured area, which had been tightly wrapped in bandages, now only had gauze. Soon it would heal completely and become bare skin. A scar would remain, but at least blood no longer flowed. Swallowing a sense of relief, he toyed with the area where the gauze was attached. For a long time, only the sound of saliva wetly intertwining echoed.
The hand lingering around the waist unconsciously dug deep into the lower back and twitched as if to grab the chest, passing through the side. He hurriedly clenched his fist, suppressing the urge to touch. Then, he slowly withdrew his hand and lips. It was a movement full of lingering regret.
He whispered at a distance where the tips of their noses and the creases of their lips almost blurred together.
“But Hyung.”
“Yeah.”
“We can’t do it, right?”
“……This little shit.”
As if to say ‘Do you think we can?’, a voice that sounded as if the previous excitement had completely vanished hit his ears. Gyu-oh let his eyes droop and buried his head in Min-ho’s shoulder. He hugged the waist tightly, his body crumpled uncomfortably. Min-ho’s embrace was filled with warm heat.
“Ah, I wish you’d be discharged soon.”
“I can’t breathe. It feels like the apartment is crushing me.”
“Don’t break the mood and just bear with it.”
Claiming a mood that didn’t even exist, he stubbornly rested his head on Min-ho’s shoulder. Since Min-ho’s frame was smaller than his, it was a bit burdensome. But clinging to that fairly solid body gave him a strange sense of stability.
“You’re always so selfish.”
Muttering that and sighing, Min-ho lightly patted his shoulder.
“…….”
No matter what accident he caused, what mistake he made, or how he disappointed him, it was a hand that always comforted him consistently.
Good brothers, colleagues with great chemistry, friends as close as family. Now, not satisfied with that, he wanted to bind Cha Min-ho as a lover, living skin-to-skin. He didn’t have a grand resolution, but he knew Hyung must have been very exhausted, and he felt confident that he could embrace such a Hyung.
I want to date, I want Hyung to like me more. I want him to consider only me special. I want us to be lovers.
The words lingering in his mouth had been brought up so often that he held them back this time, fearing they would become a burden. Even so, the gentle hand comforting Gyu-oh did not subside.