#137

“That is exactly where the problem lies.”

“What?”

“I, Shin Ho-jae, don’t want to live tied down to anything anymore.”

“…….”

“The same goes for my mother, Myeong-jeong, and you. That’s why I came here alone. I want to build everything up one by one with my own strength. To me, that is a great challenge and a mission of sorts.”

Ho-jae could only stare at him, speechless. The way he spoke was still incomprehensible.

If you like someone, isn’t it natural to want to be with them? The look in his eyes hadn’t changed one bit. He clearly loved me.

“I wasn’t going to go this far, but I’ll be honest with you.”

As if reading his gaze, Jung-hyun provided a further explanation.

“I’m scared because when I’m next to you, Shin Ho-jae, I feel like I stop being myself. Sometimes, I don’t feel like a thirty-one-year-old man, but like a newborn baby. Of course, I know that’s because of your kindness, Ho-jae.”

“…….”

“But I was born rotten, so when someone is that good to me, I start wanting to suck them dry to the very marrow.”

“I—”

“I know. You’ll probably say you don’t mind. But I do.”

Jung-hyun looked Ho-jae straight in the eye and spoke.

“I never want to become that kind of person. That is my conclusion.”

“…….”

His voice was calm, as if he had been thinking this for a long time.

For Shin Ho-jae, who had sensed nothing but a happy ending, it was a shock as if he had been struck in the head.

He must have been staring at Jung-hyun with a foolish, blank expression. Meeting his eyes, Jung-hyun frowned slightly, as if troubled. He averted his gaze and touched his forehead a few times with his hand. At first, Ho-jae didn’t know what that meant.

“Don’t get hurt for nothing. I already gave you the answer to your feelings a while ago.”

Only after hearing his voice, which had softened considerably compared to the cold tone from before, did Ho-jae realize that Jung-hyun’s heart had softened upon seeing his face. Did he know that this only clawed deeper at his insides? Why did he keep pushing him away while making a face like that? Even after hearing the reason, he couldn’t accept it immediately.

An awkward silence flowed as neither spoke. Jung-hyun let out a long sigh and brushed back the soft hair covering his forehead. Ho-jae’s gaze drifted blankly toward that spot.

“I know it’s a selfish request after saying all this, but if it’s okay, would you lend me your pheromones while I’m in the States?”

It was Jung-hyun again who cleared Ho-jae’s foggy mind.

“Hearing the doctor’s words, I’ve grown greedy to be a father too.”

Jung-hyun had mentioned that because he became pregnant shortly after his manifestation, his uterus was in an incomplete state. Because of this, the baby was scheduled to enter an incubator next month.

The doctor had explained that if the mother and baby could maintain a stable condition by being exposed to the biological father’s pheromones for a long time, the baby could hold out in the womb longer.

“I will. I would have done it even if you hadn’t asked.”

Jung-hyun thanked him and tried to say his goodbyes. Shin Ho-jae called him back.

“Let me ask you one thing.”

Jung-hyun turned around and waited for him to speak.

“Is anyone else okay? If it’s not me, can someone else be by your side, CEO?”

Jung-hyun was silent for a moment. The answer came surprisingly quickly, as if he had been thinking about this as well.

“No.”

“…How can you be so sure about the future? As time passes, a man far more attractive and better than me might appear before you.”

Jung-hyun laughed at those words. It was a hollow laugh, as if he found it absurd.

“How many years do you think I’ve known the person called Shin Ho-jae? Now that the year has changed, it’s been eight years. No other man has caught my eye for eight years, so why would the rest of my life be any different?”

“…….”

The area beneath Ho-jae’s cheeks burned hot. He knew it wasn’t meant in that way, but there was no way to stop his words from sounding like the confession of a lifetime. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

“If we’re done talking, you should head inside now. Thank you for accompanying me to the hospital today. I’ll be indebted to you a bit more for a while—”

Jung-hyun’s words couldn’t reach the end. It was because Shin Ho-jae cupped his face with both hands and pressed his lips against his.

Slightly rough and cold lips touched. It was the same sensation as the first time their lips had met. There was no time to leisurely savor the rushing memories.

Ho-jae parted his teeth with his tongue and swept through the hot, wet mucous membrane. Jung-hyun put strength into his arms to push him away. However, Shin Ho-jae had no intention of being pushed. In the first place, he could never lose in a contest of strength.

Without budging an inch, he pulled him deeper into his embrace. Chest pressed against chest, and a thumping heartbeat, unknown whose it was, echoed. Feeling Jung-hyun relax his body as if giving up, Ho-jae gently took his lips into his mouth. As he sucked on his tongue and mixed their saliva, a shiver ran down to the end of his spine. His lower half was already swollen enough to be noticeable.

Instead of pulling away, he pressed his lower body firmly against Jung-hyun’s as if to show him. He felt the back he was holding stiffen slightly. Only when Jung-hyun tried to push him away once more did Ho-jae break the kiss and step back.

His damp, flushed eyes looked confused, but inside them, a sexual agitation was sparking like fireworks. Ho-jae gripped his arm tightly and whispered.

“You talk as if you know me very well, CEO, but I think you’re missing the most important fact.”

“……What?”

“That I am Shin Ho-jae.”

Even when two key assets of the team were missing, even with an injury so severe he couldn’t lift his arm, even in short-handed situations, it was he who had led the team to victory.

Jung-hyun probably didn’t know. He probably thought he had pushed him away successfully. Conversely, perhaps his own heart was too heavy to meet lightly. Ho-jae could be certain of this because he remembered Jung-hyun proposing a sponsorship in an infinitely light tone.

The weight of the feelings they both held. He probably didn’t have the confidence to handle that weight. Right there, Shin Ho-jae saw a very thin path shining in gold.

Ho-jae stepped far away from him. Then, he grinned.

“I’ve never given up once.”

* * *

A week had passed since Shin Ho-jae’s declaration.

A week. To some, it might feel like a short time, but not to Jung-hyun. No, to be more precise, he thought it would be that way for Shin Ho-jae. Since he had declared he wouldn’t give up, Jung-hyun had tossed and turned in his sleep for the first time in a while, worrying that he might show up starting that very night.

However, Shin Ho-jae did not come that day. Then one day passed, two days passed, and a week flowed by to reach today. Jung-hyun had spent the week somewhat distractedly. Thanks to that, his usually relaxed daily routine became a mess.

The reason was clear. He had forgotten.

The connection on social media where he first touched Shin Ho-jae, whom he had always watched from afar, and the memories in Binghamton where they had their first real conversation.

What had happened to him over a tiny connection that wasn’t even a child’s prank? Hadn’t his heart grown uncontrollably because he wanted to reach him somehow?

His confidence that he could live well alone without Shin Ho-jae was only possible when there was no Shin Ho-jae wanting him.

He had found out that Shin Ho-jae still wanted him. The senses he had tried so hard to block were all awakened by a single kiss.

He felt as if he had opened Pandora’s box that should never have been opened. At times, he even felt resentful toward Shin Ho-jae. Of course, he knew he was in no position to think such things. To feel resentment after coldly rejecting Shin Ho-jae, who wanted him so much and wanted to be with him, several times.

Knowing it was useless, Jung-hyun gulped down a cup of warm chamomile tea. His cluttered mind still didn’t settle.

His decision was a purely rational judgment. He was an adult; he couldn’t just flip his decision like the palm of his hand just because his instincts rejected it.

There was only one thing he wanted from him. To receive pheromones so that Ho-ppang could stay in his belly a little longer. Yes, he had to think only of that.

To drive out thoughts of Shin Ho-jae, Jung-hyun sat cross-legged on the rug, using the sofa as a backrest. He opened his laptop for the first time in a while.

There had been no contact from Prosecutor Kyung Moon-young since then. Even though he had given her his new phone number just in case it was needed.

It was time to check if there was any new news regarding Myeong-jeong. Thinking so, he accessed a portal site. However, what caught Jung-hyun’s eye was a small advertisement banner shown by the algorithm.

“…….”

Jung-hyun blinked slowly.

It was Shin Ho-jae. He was swinging a stick on a dark rink and then took off his helmet. With the helmet tucked under his arm, he used his teeth to pull off his gloves.

Whether it was staged or not, the tips of his hair were damp. In the video, Shin Ho-jae lifted the hem of his uniform to wipe a drop of sweat flowing down his chin. Because the uniform was lifted high up to his chest, his densely knit abdominal muscles were revealed. Perhaps thanks to the proper lighting, his six-pack was much more vivid than usual.

Soon, a sports nutritional supplement appeared over his abs. It seemed to be an advertisement for a supplement.

“When did he do something like this….”

Out of embarrassment, Jung-hyun muttered an excuse to himself. Even so, he lightly licked his dry lips with his tongue.

Unconsciously, he moved the mouse and clicked the banner. Then, the video popped up again, filling the window. Seeing it larger, Shin Ho-jae’s face was clearly visible. Perhaps he had even worn a bit of makeup, as the angles of his already strikingly handsome face were sharp.

It was clearly based on a video that had been famous as a Short, but it couldn’t be helped that the movements were a bit awkward compared to the original Short. This is usually how it goes when you ask an athlete to act. However, because of the face and body that broke through that awkwardness, he felt as if the supplement was suddenly trustworthy.

Jung-hyun watched the video repeatedly with a serious face, and only after he had practically memorized it did he scroll down to look at the supplement. It was a comprehensive supplement that seemed to have everything that was good for the body, from calcium to potassium.

Then, wouldn’t it naturally be good for a pregnant person’s body too? Since international shipping was available, there was no reason to hesitate further.

138 – PUCK DROP