#46

At Yuk Du-min’s insistence to give it a try, Shin Ho-jae chewed on a corner of a cucumber sandwich.

The soft bread touched his lips first, and the cream cheese, slightly melted at room temperature, wrapped around his tongue with a lush texture. The crisp, peppery cucumber was the last flavor to emerge.

He recalled the chest he had wrapped his tongue around last night.

The skin that had felt as soft as this cream cheese, and the small nub that felt like a sharp prick of pepper. Just as Kwon Jung-hyun had done to him, he had pressed his teeth against that smooth little mound and pressed his tongue against the small nub as if to crush it.

Unlike himself, who was pale white, Jung-hyun’s skin was like coffee with a lot of milk.

The firm muscles, positioned just right to be aesthetically pleasing, were clearly those of a man’s body, yet Shin Ho-jae found it hard to take his eyes off everything that composed his physique.

“Ho-jae, Ho-jae. There’s something I need to apologize to you for.”

For some reason, Du-min looked at Shin Ho-jae hesitantly, like a puppy that really needed to go pee.

“To be precise, I’m also sorry to Yeon-jae.”

“…Yeon-jae?”

Ho-jae’s eyes widened slightly. Du-min gave a small nod.

“I’ve been acting like I was interested in Yeon-jae all this time. I thought if I did that, no one would know if I liked men… That’s why I did it.”

“Ah….”

“Of course I like Yeon-jae. She’s a goddess. But it wasn’t a romantic kind of liking. More like an ideal version of who I want to be…. Anyway, I also trusted you. I knew you’d never try to set me up with a pretty younger sister.”

“That’s true. Considering how consistently Ho Jae-shin ignored her. Du-min-ssi, you really played your cards well.”

“…….”

“Anyway, I’m sorry to both you and Yeon-jae.”

Shin Ho-jae let out a short laugh. Honestly, it was something he hadn’t even thought about until Yuk Du-min brought it up.

“If you’re sorry, buy me dinner.”

“I will, I will! Pick whatever you want to eat! Ah, but let’s go to the pool first!”

“When were you planning to eat that?”

Just then, Ji Min-chul cut in and picked a bread crumb off the corner of Yuk Du-min’s mouth, popping it into his own. Du-min froze for a split second before slapping Min-chul on the back.

“What’s this? If you suddenly act like this, I might actually get fluttery.”

“Then get fluttery.”

At those words, Yuk Du-min jumped up from his seat and glanced at Ho-jae.

“Wha—what is this, seriously? You’ve gone crazy! Why are you acting like this between us!”

Then he hurried away as if escaping, along with a nag that he’d leave them behind if they didn’t change into their swimwear quickly.

Shin Ho-jae looked at Ji Min-chul with an expressionless face. Min-chul cleared his throat once and slid up from the sofa.

“Didn’t you hear? He said he’s leaving us if we don’t put on our swimsuits.”

Contrary to Du-min’s expectations, the three of them ended up going to the beach instead of the pool.

The pool was more crowded than expected. Before Du-min could say anything, Ji Min-chul stepped forward and changed their direction. Only then did Shin Ho-jae notice that Du-min’s face had stiffened slightly. It was because there might be people who recognized Du-min’s face in crowded places.

Because the resort’s pool facilities were so excellent, no one was using the beach right in front of it. Upon seeing the ocean, Du-min screamed and ran in, and Min-chul and Ho-jae followed after taking off their t-shirts.

After playing for a long while, Ho-jae went back to rest under the parasol first, complaining that his sun-burnt shoulders were stinging. Shortly after, Ji Min-chul also walked out onto the sandy beach. Du-min, floating in the sea, shouted toward Min-chul.

“What?! Where is everyone going!”

“My mouth tastes too salty. I’m going to get some water.”

“Hey! Come back quickly!”

Sitting in the shade, Shin Ho-jae saw Ji Min-chul walking slowly toward him and handed him a water bottle.

“Thanks.”

Sea water dripped from Ji Min-chul’s long swim pants, wetting the sand in droplets. It was July, but perhaps because it was the seaside, the breeze touching his face was quite cool and pleasant. It was just as he opened another bottle to drink himself.

“I kissed Yuk Du-min yesterday.”

“Pfft!”

“Ah, how disgusting.”

“…What are you talking about, all of a sudden?”

As he looked up at Ji Min-chul with a bewildered face, Min-chul shrugged as if it were no big deal.

“Yesterday, after you went inside, while I was with Du-min.”

That would have been when Shin Ho-jae visited Kwon Jung-hyun’s room. Ho-jae narrowed his eyes and looked at Min-chul.

“Did you know? When Yuk Du-min cries, his lips swell up like a goldfish’s.”

“…I don’t.”

“Really? Why don’t you? I’ve seen it often since middle school. Anyway, seeing that suddenly made me want to kiss him, so I did. We were both a bit drunk, too.”

“…….”

“But it just felt simply good. Regardless of Alpha and Alpha, man and man, or being friends.”

After saying that, Ji Min-chul looked back at Shin Ho-jae.

“Is it gross?”

At that question, Shin Ho-jae raised his head and met Min-chul’s eyes.

Min-chul was asking the same question Du-min had asked the previous night. It seemed the fellow had remembered what Shin Ho-jae hadn’t been able to answer. Shin Ho-jae turned his gaze toward the beach.

“…It’s not gross.”

“Really? I thought you’d find it gross. Since you absolutely refused to say those words yesterday.”

“You really hold onto things.”

“Then act in a way that doesn’t leave me holding onto things.”

“…….”

“You could have told Du-min yesterday.”

Ho-jae dropped his gaze. He could see Yuk Du-min’s neon yellow snorkeling gear floating on the sea.

Min-chul was right. Because he was buried in his own thoughts, he couldn’t manage to say those few words. Only then did it occur to him that Du-min might be secretly bothered by it, even if he didn’t say so.

“I’ll talk to Du-min properly on my own.”

“Do it today if possible.”

“I know.”

Min-chul said as he set down the empty water bottle.

“I don’t want Yuk Du-min to keep hiding things, deceiving people, and crying alone anymore.”

“…….”

“So I’m going to make sure he doesn’t.”

“Jackpot! There’s a fish here! Let’s catch this and make spicy fish stew today!”

Just then, Yuk Du-min, popping only his face out of the water, shouted loudly. Min-chul waved his hand vigorously in response.

“…Is it actually edible?”

“We can just make it edible.”

Saying so, Ji Min-chul put on the goggles around his neck and walked toward the sea as if running. Shin Ho-jae sat under the parasol and watched the two of them playing in the ocean for a long time.

‘It just felt simply good.’

“…….”

He recalled the few kisses he had shared with Kwon Jung-hyun.

Because of the contract with him, because the future of the club was at stake, to resolve Du-min’s situation. He had been hiding the dissonance with these words, but was that really true?

The fact that he couldn’t take his eyes off Kwon Jung-hyun’s naked body, the fact that his center had become fully erect while watching him masturbate, the fact that he wanted to kiss him upon seeing that feverish face moaning right in front of him.

Was it really an unavoidable thing he did because of a request?

Could he really say that he didn’t feel good at that time?

The empty water bottle in Ho-jae’s hand crumpled with a loud noise.

If the partner had been someone else and not Kwon Jung-hyun, would he have been able to honestly say it felt good, like Ji Min-chul?

None of it was an easy thing for Shin Ho-jae to answer.

＊＊＊

The door will be open, so just open it and come in.

Shin Ho-jae took a small deep breath and pulled the handle of the front door.

As per his message, the front door was open. A crease unconsciously formed between his brows.

Since it was a house with a separate main gate, it might not matter, but does he usually leave the door open like this? It felt like someone could easily climb over this fence if they put their mind to it.

Shin Ho-jae closed the door, pressed the button to engage the door lock, and only after fastening the chain did he take off his sneakers.

After that day, the contractual meetings between Jung-hyun and Ho-jae resumed. Unlike before, Kwon Jung-hyun always called Shin Ho-jae to his house.

The inside of the house was unusually dark. They weren’t the kind of relationship where they greeted or saw each other out, but since this had never happened before, Ho-jae was slightly flustered.

He had checked several times before coming, so there was no way he had the date or time wrong. Shin Ho-jae passed through the quiet entrance hallway and reached the living room.

“…….”

There, Ho-jae found Kwon Jung-hyun fast asleep, lying stretched out on the living room sofa. He was still in his shirt and suit pants, as if he hadn’t been home long after going out.

In the living room with the curtains closed, the only light was a small indirect lamp near the sofa. Under the yellow light, Jung-hyun was breathing evenly, making soft snoring sounds.

For some reason, Ho-jae’s lips felt dry, so he lightly moistened them with his tongue. Wondering whether he should wake him or wait for him to wake up, he approached him.

Since Jung-hyun was lying with one arm covering his forehead, from where Ho-jae stood, only the thin shadow cast by his eyelashes, the prominent bridge of his nose, and his slightly parted lips were visible.

His lips were slightly dry on the surface. He suddenly thought that even these lips—neither too thick nor too thin, nor drooping up or down—were very typical of Kwon Jung-hyun. The third-generation chaebol who looked like a perfect club owner.

However, Shin Ho-jae knew how hot the tongue inside those lips was. And the sensitive nipples beneath the buttons closed up to the throat.

Shin Ho-jae quietly swallowed a curse.

Lately, memories of that time surfaced at any given moment. Especially when his body was heated up after a practice match, just a short imagination would make his lower half feel tight simultaneously.

Since getting an erection after a match wasn’t that uncommon, everyone else considered it trivial, but he himself found it quite distressing.

To distract himself, Ho-jae looked away from him. On the table were some half-drunk water and medicine packaging. Flipping over the packaging, he saw the label for Tylenol.

As he placed it back on the table, he sensed a small presence beside him. Turning his head, he saw Jung-hyun looking at him, opening his eyes languidly.

“…When did you get here?”

“Just… now.”

His voice was deeply husky. Jung-hyun braced himself with his hand on the sofa and slowly pushed himself up. Ho-jae’s gaze lingered on the messy hair at the back of his head before slowly dropping.

As if trying to wake up, Jung-hyun sat blankly for a moment and then swept his disheveled bangs back from his forehead to the back of his head. Then, as if his hand touched the sticking-up hair, he was seen smoothing it down slightly.

“I meant to lie down for a moment, but I must have fallen asleep. It always happens on the days I visit the hospital.”

47 – Puck Drop