By Zephyria 
Heavy footsteps echoed through the house as dawn broke. In Min-gyu’s arms, as he headed toward the bedroom, was Yi-ho, limp and lifeless. It was a position that would have horrified the man had he been awake, but the exhausted sleeper showed no sign of stirring.
Min-gyu laid Yi-ho down on his own bed and carefully placed a pillow beneath his head. In truth, he had wanted to let him sleep here ever since they first sought refuge here due to the leak. It had bothered him immensely to see Yi-ho curling his body to sleep on the hard floor, but at the time, he had left him be, knowing that sharing a bed would have been more uncomfortable for Yi-ho. Yi-ho likely didn’t know that Min-gyu had quietly adjusted the air conditioner and turned on the dehumidifier in the middle of the night.
Looking back, Min-gyu had been the one to dictate that he only enter the room after showering and changing into pajamas—it was his own bed, after all—yet Yi-ho was an exception in many ways. He went to the bathroom and soaked several soft towels in warm water. He used the towels to wipe down the sleeping Yi-ho’s body.
While erasing the traces of sex from Yi-ho’s skin, the thought occurred to him belatedly that he could have just washed him in the study before bringing him here. But at the time, his only thought had been the desire to move the sleeping Yi-ho to his own bed.
After cleaning the upper body, he began to check the lower half, which was still drenched in cream. When he carefully lifted Yi-ho’s legs by the knees, he saw that the crease and the surrounding buttocks were flushed red. Not to mention the entrance, which was swollen and plump.
Min-gyu wiped away the clinging cream with a fresh towel. His movements were so understated they were almost polite, but his narrowed eyes twitched occasionally, harboring the remnants of lust.
‘You crazy bastard, what are you thinking about someone who’s passed out asleep?’
Scolding himself internally, he managed to stop at simply cleaning Yi-ho’s body until it was fresh.
Perhaps because he had spent all his willpower on that, he succumbed to the nonsense thought of just warming Yi-ho up himself while looking for clothes for him to wear. Thus, he climbed under the same duvet, still naked. The inside of the blanket was already permeated with Song Yi-ho’s body heat and scent.
The moment he turned toward Yi-ho and lightly touched his cheek, a sense of satisfaction welled up inside him. It was a sensation so powerful that he wondered how he could have remained ignorant of it for so long.
He had to admit it. What he had wanted with Song Yi-ho wasn’t “playing house.”
No wonder you looked so beautiful.
No wonder you…
I always wanted to touch you.
I always wanted to shove you inside me.
The process of looking at Song Yi-ho, paying attention to him, worrying about him, taking care of him, and being wary of those around him.
…Fuck, that’s called dating.
For a relationship that had been too intimate for friends, making the title ambiguous, “dating” was a perfectly fitting name. From the moment of realization, all of Min-gyu’s past actions looked different.
Once he perceived his friend as a sexual partner, the emotions of smiling, getting angry, and obsessing over him—which he had done unconsciously—all found their form. He didn’t just like Song Yi-ho; he wanted to monopolize him, to chew him up and swallow him whole. This was even more true today, having seen a side of him he had never seen as a friend.
Min-gyu recalled the question he had once thrown at Yi-ho. You’d like me, but you’d watch me date someone else? What if I get married and have kids? Could you stand to watch me from the sidelines?
The true intent behind those words was: I don’t think I could stand to see you get married.
But he had been angry because Yi-ho’s answer was the exact opposite. Not knowing what kind of heart had spoken those words.
“Haa…”
Even as Min-gyu rested his hand gently on his cheek, the exhausted Yi-ho did not wake. He simply breathed softly, his face clearer than usual. The mottled skin of his neck and collarbone beneath his jaw pricked Min-gyu’s conscience.
It made sense that the realization came late.
Since his own emotions felt nothing like the beautiful gaze Song Yi-ho gave him, how could he have known?
If he were to label Yi-ho’s emotions as “liking,” he would have to give his own emotions a different name. Because it couldn’t be compared to the way Yi-ho had cherished and watched over him beautifully for so long.
However, because Song Yi-ho was a person who deserved to receive such a beautiful love, Min-gyu decided to do his best to disguise his own love.
The expression Min-gyu was wearing now was likely something Yi-ho had rarely seen. Min-gyu did not prefer showing his true self to people. However, in front of his old friend Yi-ho, it had slipped out occasionally, and now, it was simply too difficult to hide.
When he realized his own feelings, the fact that the other person had already loved him for a long time brought an overwhelming sense of apology, coupled with an ecstatic thrill and gratitude. Ultimately, unable to withstand the rushing emotions, he leaned his upper body toward him.
He could see the face of the straight-lying Yi-ho more clearly. After watching him for a moment, unable to resist the impulse, he kissed his face. From the white cheek, to the tip of the nose, the forehead, the eyelids…
Everywhere he touched felt so good his lips felt like they were melting.
Song Yi-ho, you said kissing between friends felt gross.
Even if I went back to high school, I think I could kiss you, my friend.
As if mourning the long stretch of lost time, Min-gyu continued to kiss Yi-ho, only stopping when the other began to frown and moan. No, actually, he whispered “One last time,” and stole one more kiss from his lips.
∗ ∗ ∗
It was a deep sleep without a single toss or turn. As if he had woken up after completely losing consciousness, Yi-ho blinked his eyes open and was confused for a moment about where he was.
After staring blankly at the wall and ceiling for a long while, Yi-ho realized he had woken up in the master bedroom of Min-gyu’s house.
“Uh…”
Even knowing that, he blinked slowly before pushing himself up. His limbs ached as if he had just snapped awake from an intense dream. Similarly, his head felt foggy.
“Wow, was it a dream?”
So much so that such words murmured out of his mouth.
“Song-i, what’s this about a dream? If you’re awake, come out quickly.”
As if waiting, a person appeared at the doorway. It was Cha Min-gyu, wearing an apron.
As Yi-ho stared at him blankly, Min-gyu took a step closer.
“Did you sleep well, Darling?”
He then drove a wedge in, as if telling him not to even think about escaping by claiming yesterday was a dream. Of course, Yi-ho had no intention of doing that.
“Hey, calling me that is a bit…”
“Darling, why aren’t you getting up? Are you lingering? Are you shy? Then should I carry you out? When I did that yesterday, you rubbed against me in your sleep, and I almost started shaking my cock again right next to you.”
“Hey, stop, just…!”
Only a lump of emotion gathered beneath his chin; not a single word came out. As if knowing Yi-ho’s predicament, Min-gyu snorted.
“That’s why you shouldn’t try to escape reality, making the person you shared a bed with last night feel neglected.”
Even without him spelling it out word for word, Yi-ho knew well enough that a major event had occurred between them yesterday. With a face that looked completely drained of energy, Yi-ho clumsily pulled his feet out from under the duvet. He was stark naked, without even underwear. Well, he must have been in that state when he fell asleep… But why was he in the bedroom? He looked back at Min-gyu at the door, but the other was still just smiling softly. He tried to hold the slipping duvet over his chest but eventually gave up and let it go. They’d already seen everything there was to see yesterday anyway…
On the nightstand next to the bed, the pajamas and underwear Yi-ho had worn the previous day were washed and folded neatly. As he picked up the clothes and stepped into them, his eyes snapped shut.
“…Ugh.”
His waist and buttocks throbbed as if he had overexerted himself exercising. And his hole stung as well.
Having barely managed to get dressed, he tried to move with uncomfortable steps to go outside, but Cha Min-gyu blocked the door again and wouldn’t move.
“What is it? You told me to come out quickly.”
“Song Yi-ho, you said you trust my heart, right?”
“…Yeah. How many times do I have to say it…”
“As I thought, just saying it doesn’t seem to make it feel real.”
“What, you brat?”
Then was rubbing, biting, nipping, sucking, gripping, and shaking yesterday also just a conversation?
The sex hadn’t ended with just one round. After their emotions exploded, they had lunged into each other’s arms without deciding who went first, greedily quenching their desires. However, the aftereffects were inevitably greater for the one who had been penetrated.
Faced with Yi-ho’s reproachful gaze, Min-gyu detestably drooped his eyebrows.
“See. Song-i even calls me ‘you brat.’ How can you believe that we’ve connected both physically and emotionally? I’ll have to work a hundred, a thousand times harder…”
“Ah, whatever… What do you want? Just say it.”
Yi-ho had spent fifteen years figuring out Min-gyu’s trick of talking in circles to make the other person walk on eggshells. Min-gyu beamed a bright smile, puffing out his cheeks. When Yi-ho looked at him wondering what he wanted, Min-gyu tapped his cheek with his index finger. As heat rushed to his face, a throbbing headache followed, and Yi-ho rubbed his face with his hands.
“…Please. Give me some time to adjust…”
“No. I feel like I’m going to die of urgency.”
“……”
Yi-ho felt several times more shy and flustered when hearing expressions of Min-gyu’s heart directed toward him than when he said “I like you” himself; he didn’t know how to react. He realized for the first time that when he was so overwhelmed he couldn’t breathe, he got confused about whether it was a good feeling or a bad one.
On the other hand, a sharp feeling rose within him.
Yi-ho grabbed Min-gyu’s mischievous face tightly with both hands. Then, he pulled him forward abruptly and kissed him. Not the cheek he had offered, but the lips.
“…You’re not the only one who’s excited. I liked you way before you did.”
Min-gyu wasn’t surprised, but he smiled so happily that his whole face crumpled. That reaction alone made Yi-ho feel proud. Immediately, that bright face leaned in. Yi-ho’s waist was pulled into an embrace, and his body tilted backward.
In the moment he gasped, Min-gyu kissed his parted lips. Supporting Yi-ho’s weight with his arms, Min-gyu carried him back into the bedroom. Yi-ho’s back, which had been retreating hesitantly, was lowered onto the bed, and Min-gyu covered him heavily, just like last night. Then, kisses landed on his cheek, nose, and forehead—mwah, mwah, mwah.
Even in the darkness, the position of being covered by his heat had made his heart race tight, but now, since the surroundings were bright, he could see Min-gyu clearly. The way he smiled at him, the careful movement of his hands, and above all, the chest of his shirt heaving with the same heartbeat.
The entire situation was so sweet that Yi-ho, who had no immunity to sweet things, felt like he was flailing.
“You looked uncomfortable when you walked. Does your butt hurt?”
“…Of course it stings.”
“Should I put some ointment on it, Song-i?”
“Forget it. That much is…”
“Then should I go ‘ho’ on the place that hurts?”
“Ah, seriously, stop it. You crazy bastard.”
Yi-ho shuddered and pushed Min-gyu away. Min-gyu didn’t budge, pressing down with his weight, and kissed his lips again before sliding his hand inside Yi-ho’s t-shirt.
“It’s morning…”
“And it’s the weekend.”
“……”
“And we’ve become the kind of relationship where we can do this. Aren’t we?”
“……”
What do you mean ‘aren’t we’? Not a single premise is wrong; it’s completely correct. Yi-ho quickly agreed internally.
Indeed, it was the perfect timing to book those flight tickets to Amsterdam that he had always dismissed as a delusion. He didn’t know why Cha Min-gyu was acting like this, but while the man seemed blinded by love, he would slap on a stamp that couldn’t be bitten off.
The hand of the love-struck Cha Min-gyu stroked Yi-ho’s cheek and neck. …Come to think of it, he felt there was no need to rush. It might have been a complacency born of happiness, but he didn’t feel the slightest bit anxious about his friend’s tender attitude.
Yi-ho tried the method of confirming affection he had just learned on the other person. He turned his head and pointed to his own cheek.
Behind a smooth smile, Min-gyu pressed his lips firmly where Yi-ho pointed, and then instantly invaded his lips and the rest of his face. Yi-ho couldn’t gather his senses from the affection he received in return for what he gave.
“I’m glad I did a rehearsal.”
Chu.
“Ugh, huh?”
“It’s a secret.”
Min-gyu kissed him to his heart’s content a few more times, then joyfully admired Yi-ho, who was flushed entirely red. Yi-ho, who barely managed to open his eyes narrowed as if he had received too much sunlight, met the affectionate gaze and suddenly murmured.
“…Cha Min-gyu, you really do like me.”
“I realized it too late, and you realized it too late.”
Parting his lips slightly, Min-gyu rested his head on Yi-ho’s shoulder and hugged his waist.
“Still, Song-i was a little slower to realize that part.”
“……”
Just as he said, Yi-ho was very slow in realizing things about others. That’s why he could only reach this belated conclusion now.
Emotions suppressed for a very long time, variables that could not be expressed, had finally entered the process.
His unrequited love had come true. A premise he thought he would never experience in his life had been fulfilled. He felt hollow and stunned.
There was no need to doubt or question it. Song Yi-ho does not believe unless numerous prototypes succeed. Therefore, this was a conclusion reached because his mind could no longer deny the countless pieces of evidence.
“Now you really trust me, right?”
“……”
With a heart melted soft by Min-gyu’s tender proof, it was no longer possible to push him away. Furthermore, Yi-ho no longer wanted to keep his distance. The past few days had been incredibly painful and agonizing for him as well.
“…Yeah. I trust you.”
As a reward for the satisfying answer, Min-gyu stole his lips once more.
“Shall we really date now?”
It was the second confession Min-gyu had offered. The situation and atmosphere were completely different from the first. Despite asking with a facade of composure, nervousness was evident in Min-gyu.
Yi-ho answered while gazing slightly away from his eyes.
“…If you’re not going to be my lover… being tender is… forbidden.”