By Zephyria 
It wаs sоmething he had bееn curious аbout without еvеn rеаlizing it. Тhе lettering tаttоо near thе shoulder bladе. Thе tattоo, whiсh didn’t seеm tо suit his nеat aрpеarancе, stood out vividlу whenever hе movеd his shоulders.
“It doesn’t mean muсh. It’s just Latin.”
“Latin?”
Woо-уеоn shiftеd his body with а loоk full оf curiositу. Тhen, he lookеd straight аt Dо-hyun and mаdе а rеquеst.
“I want tо sеe it сlosely.”
“…….”
Surprisingly, Do-hуun couldn’t аnswer immediаtely. Thе slight crеase nеаr his eyеs suggested sоme hеsitаtion. Gеntlу stroking Wоо-yеоn’s hаir, he askеd tеntativеlу.
“Dо уou know Latin?”
He might know English, but he didn’t have the talent for Latin. When Woo-yeon shook his head, a look of relief flashed across Do-hyun’s face. He gave a small nod and turned his shoulder aside.
“Look.”
Quickly sitting up, Woo-yeon leaned his upper body toward Do-hyun. His waist hurt, but not to the point where he couldn’t move like before. As he leaned down, bracing one hand on the bed, the first thing he saw were scratch marks from fingernails.
“…….”
His broad back was covered in scratches. It didn’t look like they were bleeding, but the problem was that they were all marks left by Woo-yeon. The traces of him clinging, crying, and pleading brought back memories of last night in vivid waves.
“……Does this hurt?”
Woo-yeon traced the area around the scratches with his finger. Since they were nail scratches, it seemed likely they would leave scars. Hearing Woo-yeon’s words, Do-hyun replied nonchalantly.
“It doesn’t hurt.”
It was definitely a lie. He wasn’t devoid of sensation, so there was no way such wounds wouldn’t hurt. As if noticing Woo-yeon’s thoughts, Do-hyun’s eyes curved into a gentle smile.
“I probably left more marks on you.”
Do-hyun’s hand moved up onto Woo-yeon’s leg. His fingers moved slyly, slowly caressing the inside of his thigh. As Woo-yeon started, a tender voice spoke.
“I’m really okay, so don’t worry about it. You said you wanted to see the tattoo.”
Woo-yeon cleared his throat, his face flushing with embarrassment. Do-hyun’s ticklish laugh made the back of his neck feel hot.
“……Is this the Latin?”
Trying to change the subject, Woo-yeon looked closely at the tattoo. The phrase engraved long from the shoulder to the shoulder blade was, as expected, indecipherable. Since it was in the alphabet, he could at least read it aloud.
“Mentula?”
“…….”
Do-hyun’s shoulder flinched. He glanced at Woo-yeon and shut his mouth. Woo-yeon rubbed the tattoo again and asked.
“What does it mean?”
“Just, well……”
Woo-yeon instinctively realized that he wouldn’t tell him. Although he seemed to hesitate for a moment, the chance of getting a proper answer was slim if he trailed off like that.
“Why, is it a bad word?”
“Something like that.”
He had tried to fish for an answer, but as expected, it wasn’t a proper one. Woo-yeon didn’t ask further and repeated the phrase in his head several times. Do-hyun then pulled Woo-yeon into his arms.
“If you’re done looking, come here.”
Collapsing helplessly, Woo-yeon peeked up. He hadn’t been that curious, but the fact that it was being hidden actually piqued his interest. Something like a bad word—could it really be a swear word?
“When did you get the tattoo?”
“A long time ago.”
“How long ago is ‘a long time ago’?”
At the following question, Do-hyun let out a soft laugh. He caressed Woo-yeon’s cheek and pressed his lips to his rounded forehead.
“Are you that curious about the tattoo?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“I’m curious about Teacher.”
The Teacher Woo-yeon knew didn’t seem like the type of person to engrave something on his body. Yet, he had condoms at home, and he had a tattoo on his body. His face was as straight as a model student’s, but looking at his actions, he didn’t seem to live that uprightly.
“You were a delinquent when you were in school, weren’t you, Seonbae?”
“…….”
Do-hyun looked unusually flustered. He raised one eyebrow sharply before quickly regaining his composure. Then, he let out a scoff as if it were absurd.
“Last time you called me a playboy…… and now I’m a delinquent?”
“……A playboy?”
Woo-yeon asked back with wide eyes. He had thought he was a playboy, but he didn’t remember saying it out loud. He had only suspected it himself after seeing the single eyelid on one side.
“No…… but it’s not exactly wrong.”
Responding sullenly, Woo-yeon buried his face in Do-hyun’s chest. Perhaps because his breath touched bare skin, the firm chest flinched. When he intentionally rubbed his nose against him, Do-hyun’s pheromones grew thicker.
“You said you don’t block those who come and don’t hold onto those who leave.”
“……Right, that was Mungaram.”
As if he knew exactly what Woo-yeon was referring to, Do-hyun sighed. He rubbed his cheek against Woo-yeon’s hair and spoke softly.
“I was a model student.”
“…….”
“I’m not a playboy either.”
It wasn’t a particularly trustworthy claim. If it had been while he was taking tutoring, he would have believed it without a second thought, but it was now difficult to look at him with pure eyes. Even if he wasn’t a playboy, it was likely a fact that he had plenty of experience.
“If you study well and don’t cause trouble, you’re a model student. The teachers adored me.”
Do-hyun, gently messing with his hair, added playfully. Well, looking at his current college life, he probably wasn’t much different in high school. Since he said he attended a foreign language high school, he must have been good at studying.
“Do you have any photos of you in your school uniform?”
“Do you want to see them?”
Woo-yeon nodded vigorously. He wanted to see Teacher in a school uniform by any means necessary. As if anticipating this, Do-hyun spoke confidently.
“If you call me Hyung, I’ll show you.”
“Hyung.”
“…….”
Do-hyun pushed Woo-yeon away from his embrace in bewilderment. His face, colored with absurdity, stared intently at Woo-yeon. With sparkling eyes, Woo-yeon spoke once more.
“Do-hyun Hyung.”
“Ha……”
Do-hyun let out a hollow laugh. Pulling Woo-yeon back into his arms, he made a wheezing sound. ‘It was this easy……’ The voice muttering this sounded a bit aggrieved.
“You’re sly, very sly.”
“That’s not for Seonbae to say.”
“Back to Seonbae again?”
“You didn’t show me the photo.”
Woo-yeon protested grumpily, wrapping his arms around Do-hyun’s waist. He had gone as far as calling him Hyung, but instead of showing the photo, he was just hugging him.
“I’ll show you the graduation album later.”
Woo-yeon nodded and sank into deep thought. Then, he suddenly asked in a blunt voice.
“……Were you popular in high school?”
Even though he knew he shouldn’t, his insides kept bubbling. In his mind, he imagined Do-hyun in a school uniform dating someone else. It was all in the past, so what was the point of worrying about it now?
“You must have…… dated a lot.”
Instead of answering, Do-hyun hugged Woo-yeon tightly. He could feel the thumping heartbeat within the warm body heat. Woo-yeon inhaled the leaking pheromones and blinked slowly.
“Yeon-ah.”
“…….”
“Are you anxious?”
It was the correct answer without a doubt. Unable to bring himself to admit it, Woo-yeon curled his body. Do-hyun gently stroked his thin back.
“What makes you so anxious?”
“……Just.”
Starting with a small voice, Woo-yeon slowly caught his breath. The calmly permeating pheromones weren’t a huge comfort.
“A lot of things……”
Sometimes, there are moments like that. A moment when a sudden sense of reality rushes in, as if waking from a dream. A moment when everything is so peaceful and stable that a fear arises—like walking on still water—of not knowing when he might sink.
“……I don’t know why you like me.”
“…….”
“And I don’t know how long you’ll keep liking me……”
Having given everything, all that remained was anxiety. Because there was nothing left to give, he was thirsty with nervousness. Moreover, because of these unsightly emotions, he felt like a trivial person.
“Since there are probably plenty of people who would like you even if it wasn’t me……”
Do-hyun stroked Woo-yeon in silence. He messed with his hair, stroked the nape of his neck, and then hugged his small back. Soon, Do-hyun spoke in his usual soft tone.
“You’re the only one I like.”
It was a sweet phrase no matter when he heard it. Whether it was just an empty word or something said out of politeness, his heart raced at the words ‘I like you.’
“I have those thoughts too.”
“…….”
“I’m anxious too, Yeon-ah.”
Ridiculously, he felt relieved the moment he heard those words. Even without knowing what Do-hyun was anxious about, the fact that he wasn’t entirely composed was a comfort.
“……What are you so anxious about, Teacher?”
Woo-yeon asked just as Do-hyun had. The answer came back more calmly than ever.
“That you might be disappointed in me.”
“…….”
“So…… that you might say you don’t like me anymore.”
For a moment, he was lost for words. He should have said he wouldn’t be disappointed, but the words simply wouldn’t come out. The tone was excessively nonchalant, but that made it seem more like the truth.
“……I,”
It was then that a vibration sound was heard. Woo-yeon shut his mouth, unable to finish his sentence. Buzz, buzz—the repeated vibration was a call, not a message.
“…….”
“…….”
Neither of them moved readily. Woo-yeon didn’t want to leave the embrace, and Do-hyun seemed to feel the same. It’ll probably just hang up. Just as he thought that, the vibration that had stopped began to ring again.
“……Haa.”
Do-hyun was the first to react. With a short sigh, Do-hyun hugged Woo-yeon tightly before letting him go. Rising with movements dripping with regret, he reached for the nightstand.
“Who is it?”
From Woo-yeon’s perspective, the caller’s identity was vaguely hidden. However, he could see Do-hyun’s face crumpling in irritation. Nervously brushing back his hair, he brought the phone to his ear.
“Hello.”
—Kim Do-hyun!
A voice Woo-yeon knew well came through the phone. It was Ga-ram’s clear and piercing voice. Reflexively pushing the phone away, Do-hyun messed up his half-dry hair.
“What.”
—Did you see the real-time search trends? If not, look quickly. Now.
“Search trends?”
Do-hyun frowned but immediately opened a portal site. Fortunately, the cracked screen of the phone caused no difficulty in operation. Woo-yeon also sat up and peeked at Do-hyun’s phone.
—Did you see it?
“I’m opening it.”
—Your phone is damn slow.
After a slight delay, the green search bar appeared. Do-hyun pressed the arrow next to the search bar to check the ‘Real-time Search Terms.’ The search terms listed from 1st to 10th scrolled up.
“…….”
—Did it pop up?
A chilling silence settled between the two. Do-hyun stopped moving, unable to say a word. The same went for Woo-yeon, who was beside him.
—That’s Woo-yeon, right?
Again, no one answered. Woo-yeon stared blankly at the phone and inhaled sharply. The word that had risen to the 1st place in the search terms was ‘Ji Su-hyang’s son.’