By Zephyria 
“Rest a bit first, and then I’ll give you a bath. Okay?”
Lee Hae-sung, having covered Choi Hong-seo’s center with a towel, sat beside him and began massaging his legs. Lying there, Hong-seo looked up at him resentfully.
He thought that during their time living together, they had tried all sorts of things. He believed his body had practically become that of a married man. But he had been mistaken. That wasn’t the end of it.
To be honest, Hae-sung’s hands felt good as he gently stretched Hong-seo’s toes while rubbing the muscles of his thighs. Despite that, for some unknown reason, Hong-seo felt a sense of annoyance, and his gaze upward was likely not very kind. Looking down at Choi Hong-seo’s face, Lee Hae-sung let out a small chuckle and spoke.
“Please don’t look at your boyfriend with those eyes.”
“What eyes?”
“The eyes you’d use for a molester who brushed the back of their hand against your crotch on the subway.”
Choi Hong-seo immediately frowned.
“What is that? I’m not thinking that.”
At Hong-seo’s vehement denial, Lee Hae-sung chuckled softly and this time gripped the tips of his toes, rotating them in circles.
“Why were you like that today? Let me be clear: Hong-seo, you were the one who provoked me first.”
“That was… because I was drunk…”
“You said earlier you weren’t drunk.”
“I don’t know… Earlier, when you were angry at me…”
“Did that make you feel sad?”
Before answering, Choi Hong-seo scrambled to sit up. Lee Hae-sung’s hands, which had been loosening the calf muscles, were withdrawn. He, who had also loosely covered his lower half with a towel like Hong-seo, shifted his position to prepare to listen.
Even after sitting up, Hong-seo fidgeted restlessly for a moment, glancing up at Lee Hae-sung, who waited patiently. Seeing the expression that suggested he wouldn’t back down and was determined to hear the story, Hong-seo steeled his resolve.
“You were sexy.”
“…What?”
Lee Hae-sung, who had been resting his chin on his hand with his elbows on his knees while sitting cross-legged, straightened his back. He looked surprised.
“Because you don’t actually get angry at me. If you really were angry, I would have felt sad… but usually, you’re just always so kind.”
“Ah… I see. So Hong-seo thought I lacked charm because I was too kind.”
“That’s not it!”
When Hong-seo snapped his head up to look, Hae-sung’s face was full of smiles. Only after seeing the smile that leaked out despite his attempt to hold it back did Hong-seo realize he had been tricked. Slumping his shoulders, Hong-seo spoke resignedly.
“If you want to laugh, just laugh.”
“Why are you speaking so grumpily?”
“I struggled to be honest, and then you…”
“Sorry. I’m sorry. I just didn’t expect to hear that, and Hong-seo looked so cute that I couldn’t help it.”
The touch of his hand as he reached out to brush back Hong-seo’s hair was so gentle it was almost cautious. It was hard to believe he was the same person who, until moments ago in that bathroom, had dragged him down to his lowest point with such animalistic sex.
He couldn’t help but feel his heart soften helplessly under that touch and gaze.
“I feel like I’m becoming too spoiled lately.”
“What on earth does that mean?”
“Like just now. I act too clingy with you.”
“Is acting clingy with your partner a problem?”
“……”
“I want Choi Hong-seo to be a bit more clingy, throw tantrums, and even lie down and roll around on the floor demanding to buy something. Can’t you live like that?”
Sometimes, a person’s face can be so excessively handsome or beautiful that it possesses a kind of authority—a unique aura that makes them feel unapproachable—and Hong-seo believed Lee Hae-sung had exactly that kind of face.
Because he was aesthetically perfect without a single flaw, he exuded a certain dignity. Moreover, he was a man who had spent his entire life in a position where he could not afford to appear light or frivolous to others or the public.
Whenever Lee Hae-sung spoke such words with a face so handsome it bordered on dignified, Hong-seo felt a strange sense of injustice.
It felt like being a child who was unfairly accused of something they clearly saw happen, but no one believed.
“That’s why.”
“Hmm?”
“Because you’re so perfectly handsome, I feel a sense of distance from the start. And on top of that, you’re Lee Hae-sung of ARA, so you can’t exactly be laid-back. Your clothes are always formal, too.”
Lee Hae-sung tilted his head, his expression showing that he understood less and less of what was being said. A small crease formed between his brows.
“People can’t see what you’re like when you’re with me. That’s why they don’t agree that you look incredibly young for your age.”
“Ah… so that’s how the conversation flowed to reach that conclusion?”
“So, I’m not going to call you ‘Ajusshi’ anymore.”
The expression Lee Hae-sung wore as he looked at Choi Hong-seo became even softer. Gently gripping the tip of Hong-seo’s pouting chin, he leaned in. He kissed the corner of his mouth rather than the lips, rubbing his lips against the spot, and asked pleasantly.
“Did you hate it that much when Kim Jae-won called me ‘Ajusshi’?”
A nod.
“It’s okay when I do it, but when other people do… I really hate it.”
A joyful smile spread across Lee Hae-sung’s eyes and lips.
“I’m not an ‘Ajusshi’ though…”
His murmuring lips looked genuinely aggrieved. Hong-seo couldn’t help but kiss him.
“Then does that mean I can hear ‘Hae-sung Hyung’ every day now?”
Pulling on the tip of Choi Hong-seo’s chin, Lee Hae-sung leaned in further. They enjoyed a kiss for a while, savoring each other, pressing their lips together without using their tongues.
Because the aftereffects of the intense sex had not yet faded, Choi Hong-seo’s body throbbed even from a kiss like this. His flesh hurt as if he had a fever. Fearing the kiss would deepen, he gently pushed Lee Hae-sung’s chest away with both hands.
“In exchange, you can’t call me ‘Baby’ anymore either.”
“Hmm… why is the conversation going in that direction?”
“That way it’s fair. No Ajusshi, no Baby.”
“No Ajusshi? No Baby?”
Choi Hong-seo’s expression as he nodded was solemn.
Though he had reached the age of thirty in his previous life, to Lee Hae-sung, he was still a partner twelve years his junior. That was a fixed truth that would never change.
Thus, no matter how solemn he felt, that very solemnity only looked adorable in Hae-sung’s eyes. Still, Lee Hae-sung tightened his facial muscles to suppress his laughter.
To date, live with, and love someone twelve years younger, one had to know how to distinguish between moments to be indulgent and moments to join in the seriousness. And Lee Hae-sung had become well-adjusted to his younger partner enough to instinctively realize this was the latter.
“That makes sense.”
Lee Hae-sung nodded in agreement with a serious face.
“And let’s decide on a penalty, too.”
“A penalty as well?”
“If we don’t set a penalty, Ajus… Hyung will definitely just do whatever you want again.”
“Was I someone so untrustworthy to Hong-seo?”
“Whenever I call you ‘Ajusshi,’ or whenever Hyung calls me ‘Baby,’ we get a penalty.”
Lee Hae-sung’s eyes, which at first didn’t seem to welcome the idea of a penalty, suddenly narrowed mischievously.
He was supporting himself by leaning his shoulder, pressing one hand firmly onto the sheet. With his two legs stretched out long beside Choi Hong-seo, who was leaning against the headboard, and his ankles crossed, he didn’t look as straight, exemplary, or cold as he did in news photos.
In this moment, Lee Hae-sung was simply a man loosened up, spending an intensely private time on a bed with his lover. A man in his sexual prime. With his eyelids lowered, he slowly scanned his lover’s naked body with his eyes.
“A penalty… that sounds fun.”
“Hyung, you’re thinking of something erotic right now, aren’t you?”
“It’s a penalty between lovers; surely we aren’t going to eat lemons or flick each other’s foreheads?”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s not sexy.”
Lee Hae-sung wrinkled his nose and shook his head.
An erotic penalty. Hong-seo hadn’t even thought of that. The violent sex that had occurred in the bathroom moments ago naturally came to mind, and without realizing it, Hong-seo tugged the towel to cover himself more.
“I don’t really… want things like that. Those kinds of penalties only benefit Hyung.”
“Hong-seo, you wanted something today too.”
“……”
“To be handled violently by a version of me that isn’t kind.”
Lee Hae-sung enjoyed anticipating Hong-seo’s reaction. He expected him to deny it vehemently, his neck, ears, and cheeks turning completely red.
However, the reaction his lover showed was unexpected.
“I obviously hate it when other people treat me like that. But, it’s you, Hyung. Because I know all too well that you’re someone who truly cares for and loves me.”
“……”
“It’s not that you want to satisfy a desire by doing those things with anyone, but because the partner is me, those dark desires arise for me. That’s why it’s okay.”
As if he had received an unexpected confession from someone he had long loved one-sidedly, Lee Hae-sung was momentarily speechless. His lover understood and considered even the fact that this love did not only have bright and brilliant sides.
He felt he had to acknowledge that while he was twelve years younger, Hong-seo was no longer just a child.
No, had Choi Hong-seo ever even had an immature phase?
This boy had been steadfast from the moment they first met until now. That steadfast love had opened Lee Hae-sung’s eyes to something new. Eyes that could see through faith and sincerity, even if the object was a conceptual, invisible entity.
“Whose lover is this, and why are they so smart? Hmm?”
He cupped Hong-seo’s cheek and pulled him close, pressing their foreheads together.
“Sometimes, you’re so cool that I fall for you all over again.”
He tried to mix in some playfulness to hide the tremor of emotion in his voice, but it wasn’t easy. His heart felt as if it would burst from the loveliness of his partner.
“Hyung.”
“Yes, Prince.”
“You don’t have to treat me so cautiously anymore.”
“……”
“I’ve become very strong thanks to the love you gave me.”
As his hand moved from cupping the cheek to stroking the nape and shoulder, Lee Hae-sung maintained eye contact and listened intently.
“Let’s spend our time like other couples. Getting angry at each other like today, fighting over trivial things, and… having some passionate… make-up sex… Let’s do that.”