By Zephyria 
Even the slightest stimulation of the mucous membranes was too much for Woo Tae-hwon now. Tae-hwon asked in an exhausted tone.
“Ah, again… Why. Let’s sleep.”
“I know. This is just a kiss.”
Kwon Rae-i smiled gently, stroked Tae-hwon’s hair, and kissed his lips again.
His tongue easily invaded and occupied the inside of his mouth, which was open as he panted roughly. The sensitive area under his tongue became stickily entangled. The kiss was, of course, long and intense.
“Eum, heueuh.”
“Haa. Honey, kiss.”
“Th, that’s not a kiss. Heuh…”
“Isn’t it? Then again.”
Kwon Rae-i smiled mischievously and kissed him again. Fortunately, it was a leisurely kiss. He carefully kissed him and took Tae-hwon’s hand. He intertwined their fingers and held on tightly as if he didn’t want to let go. Then, Kwon Rae-i pulled Tae-hwon’s hand to his lips.
Now he kissed the back of his hand, kissed his knuckles, thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, pinky. He counted each fingernail and kissed them all. The ticklish affection made him feel like he was suffocating.
Finally, Kwon Rae-i placed his lips on the ring he had given Tae-hwon and kissed it for a long time.
His body, which had been cold at some point, warmed up again, and he felt warm.
“I love you.”
“……”
“I love you. I’ll prepare a more wonderful confession next time. You can look forward to it.”
He whispered softly after taking his lips off the ring. The low voice, like an echo in a cave, resonated in his heart. As if he had encountered a strong wind, his heart beat faster and his breathing became rapid again.
In the midst of the trembling, Tae-hwon replied.
“Your confession… is already wonderful.”
So endless, so constant, so passionate.
Where else in the world could there be such pure love as Kwon Rae-i? Perhaps Woo Tae-hwon would have to follow in his footsteps for a long time to come.
By his side. Walking together.
***
Epilogue.
The morning sunlight warmly filled the room. It’s warm… Kwon Rae-i slowly opened his eyes.
In the pleasant lingering sleepiness, he instinctively checked his arms. In Kwon Rae-i’s arms, his one and only lover was quietly breathing in his sleep.
Looking at Woo Tae-hwon’s face, who was sleeping peacefully, Kwon Rae-i’s eyes softened. He could only make such a melting expression when he looked at Tae-hwon. His own characteristics, which he had heard countless times, such as being ruthless, cold, and unknowable, became powerless in front of Woo Tae-hwon.
Kwon Rae-i’s cold, blue-gray eyes quickly took on a soft look. There was warmth and tenderness in them, as if a glacier was melting.
He breathed quietly so as not to wake Tae-hwon, and slowly swept his gaze from his lover’s forehead to the bridge of his nose to his lips.
The slightly furrowed brow and flushed lips, as if he was still tired from the night before, and each of the red marks he had left on his neck, all felt lovely.
The fingertips that had been holding his waist trembled slightly. He couldn’t suppress the urge. Eventually, Kwon Rae-i slowly raised his hand and gently touched Tae-hwon’s hair. The face that was reflected through the tousled hair felt even more affectionate.
Kwon Rae-i swallowed, slightly raising the corners of his lips. A smile was leaking out.
He was so excessively lovely and so precious that he felt like everything would crumble if he touched anything wrong. He still seemed to be afraid. The two of them were proper lovers, and the past was all in the past, but still.
Kwon Rae-i slowly opened his lips. He was about to say something, but he pressed his lips together and blushed. The overwhelming emotion that welled up from deep within made his face flush. In the end, Kwon Rae-i chose to gently kiss Tae-hwon’s lips instead of confessing.
That way, even after he took his lips away, he felt like his heart would remain on Woo Tae-hwon’s lips.
Smooch, smooch. He kissed him repeatedly, being careful not to wake Tae-hwon, and more carefully pulled his arm to hug him. The sunlight shone even brighter on his lover’s face, and Kwon Rae-i smiled as he looked at that moment for a long time, as if he was holding love itself.
His eyes were filled with deep affection and a dreamlike fantasy.
“Eum.”
Then, Tae-hwon, who was in his arms, tossed and turned.
Kwon Rae-i steadied him, held him, and gently stroked his cheek with his trembling hand. He patted his back and tried to put him back to sleep.
But. At that very moment.
“Uh…?”
He saw fragments of sparkling light.
There was something sparkling on his left hand, which he had given to Woo Tae-hwon to use as a pillow, that is, the left hand that had just patted his back.
Kwon Rae-i held Tae-hwon in his arms and slowly raised his left hand. Every time he moved his hand, a bright light shone on the ring finger of his left hand. The sparkle was even more dazzling in the white morning sunlight.
‘It’s a ring.’
When on earth?
Kwon Rae-i, lost in thought, stared blankly at his left hand.
There was no way he wouldn’t recognize this ring. It was one half of the pair with the ring he’d given Woo Tae-hwon, a ring he’d prepared while waiting for him to wake up. One of only two in the world, a matching pair.
Kwon Rae-i slowly blinked his pale eyelids as he examined the ring. No matter how many times he looked, it was definitely the ring he knew.
So, he’d slipped it on while he was asleep?
No. That’s not it.
Could it be… a dream?
Was he having a sweet dream right now?
Kwon Rae-i froze, staring at the ring as if he were broken. After a long while of just looking, he abruptly got up, threw back the blanket, and examined Tae-hwon’s left hand. Sure enough, the same ring was on his hand as well.
Kwon Rae-i placed their hands side by side and compared them, gazing endlessly.
Just then, Woo Tae-hwon stirred in his arms.
“Ugh, ah…”
Awakening from his sleep, he drowsily lifted his eyes. His languid, soft gaze was so endearing it was maddening. His usually resolute dark eyes were defenseless only when he slept in Kwon Rae-i’s arms.
“Tae-hwon.”
Kwon Rae-i called him, and Tae-hwon blinked a couple of times as if trying to come to his senses. Then, he naturally asked Kwon Rae-i, “…Did you sleep well?”
“Ah, yes…”
“No hangover? You were pretty drunk yesterday.”
Kwon Rae-i felt as if his breath had been cut off in that instant.
His heart pounded in the center of his chest as if it had suddenly sped up. In an instant, he was overwhelmed with all sorts of emotions, and something surged up to his throat.
“How can someone, how can a person be so beautiful?”
As he muttered unconsciously, Tae-hwon flinched in his arms, seemingly flustered.
In that instant, Kwon Rae-i’s ears burned. No matter how hard he tried to suppress it, the passion surging from deep within wouldn’t leave him alone. The thought that this person in front of him, Woo Tae-hwon, who had been sleeping comfortably in his arms, had given him the ring with the same feelings made his heart feel like it would leap out of his chest.
Kwon Rae-i bit his lip.
He was so excited that it was hard to breathe, and a hot emotion swelled up inside him, warming his entire body. His fingertips trembled with the desire to hold his lover tightly in his arms. Even though he was already holding him, he wanted to hold Woo Tae-hwon even more warmly, even more passionately.
In the end, Kwon Rae-i’s emotions leaked out onto his face. His eyes softened endlessly, and the corners of his lips relaxed.
A happy smile naturally formed.
“Tae-hwon, you’re so beautiful.”
“Ah. Um… I guess you saw it.”
“Yes, I saw it.”
The ring. You put it on me.
He had been prepared to wait a long time, but he had returned his feelings in just one day.
Kwon Rae-i couldn’t do anything with this bursting heart as he gently brushed back his hair. His heart beat even faster, and his breath grew hot with the warm temperature of his body felt at his fingertips.
His gaze was already full of love.
He couldn’t do anything with this ticklish, overwhelming, bursting heart.
“I think I’ve fallen for you again, Tae-hwon.”
Even his voice trembled, and in that moment, Kwon Rae-i realized how deeply in love he was.
Tae-hwon, hearing the ardent confession, lowered his head as if a little embarrassed. He was organizing his thoughts while lowering his head, and finally lifted his head in the sunlight.
He whispered very softly, so quietly that one had to listen carefully.
“I won’t make you fret alone anymore. You don’t have to hide or suppress those feelings. You don’t have to wait.”
“Yes.”
“Because I cherish and love you with the same heart.”
“Yes, Tae-hwon.”
“Don’t be tormented, Kwon Rae-i.”
“Tormented? How could I be? When it’s so sweet.”
And so happy.
So tearful!
It was as if a light had burst inside Kwon Rae-i’s chest. It was so full that his chest was tingling and aching. His heart was pounding, his breath was trembling, and the corners of his eyes were getting hot and wet.
The hot emotion that had risen to his throat finally flowed down his eyes.
Love and happiness poured down like a waterfall, soaking his entire body. Everything in front of him shone, and emotions surged to the point where his ears were ringing. Kwon Rae-i took a deep breath in the face of that vast and magnificent emotion. The world was beautiful, and time seemed to have stopped.
He looked at his lover with tearful eyes. The fact that he loved someone, and that that love was here now, was no longer resentful. He couldn’t ask for anything more.
All love and joy were contained within the existence of the two of them.
It was a dazzling feeling.