2.2 – Vino da Tavola

Paelli in mid-May was the period when it gradually entered the peak season. As the maximum temperature exceeded 20 degrees, one could enjoy swimming for two to three hours in the middle of the day, and as soon as the temperature became suitable for entering the water, people began to flock to resorts across Europe.

It was a season where heaven-like weather, neither too hot nor too chilly, continued every day.

At the time, Ji-in was working in the main restaurant hall of ‘Mio Palazzo’. After graduation, he had considered paths majoring in business administration or the tourism industry, but ultimately chose to start practical work as soon as possible.

The main restaurant, which also served breakfast to guests, was the only one among the three restaurants operated by ‘Mio Palazzo’ that had no break time between lunch and dinner. Guests or outside visitors could enjoy simple dishes at any time during business hours. However, it was natural that general meal times were busier.

Generally, it tended to become quiet after 2 o’clock. That day, too, only a young couple with a child remained until Silvio, who had returned to the hotel after spending time at the private beach, appeared.

“Wow… the weather was really great today. It felt almost like early summer. Once I got in the sea, I didn’t want to come out. I think I overdid it. I’m starving to death.”

As soon as Silvio spotted me, he poured out words rapidly and took a seat at a terrace table where the sunlight poured in.

Silvio’s parents were long-time customers of ‘Mio Palazzo’. Since their family owned two or three villas in famous resorts across Europe, they only stopped by ‘Mio Palazzo’ once every two to three years, but that alone gave Ji-in and Silvio a sense of familiarity, as if they had shared some of each other’s growth process.

Silvio, who had just passed his twenty-ninth birthday, was in a state of having quit his job after his transfer to an advertising agency in Paris was decided. Like the children of the wealthy customers who visited ‘Mio Palazzo’, he was a case of succeeding at an earlier age than most people.

Life in Paris, with the best treatment guaranteed including an apartment, a car, and a housekeeper to look after the housework, was starting in September. Before enjoying a full-scale vacation in July and August, he was staying at ‘Mio Palazzo’ for a week to have some time to himself.

“You said you’re starving. I have to go back to the counter and hand over the order sheet for them to start cooking.”

Silvio, who had been chatting for a long time while showing a diving video filmed from stolen [stolen content]contenta beach rock, finally laughed brightly and let Ji-in go.

When he turned around, a new guest had taken a seat in the meantime. It was a terrace seat, but a shaded spot that didn’t receive direct sunlight.

Asian travelers, including Koreans, were rare in Paelli. That tendency was even stronger back then than it is now. Since it was extremely rare for a young Asian man to visit alone rather than as part of a family, the new guest was quite conspicuous.

The young man was glancing this way with a stiff expression and posture. When passing in front of his table, Ji-in gave a smile as kindly as possible. It was to make him feel even a little more comfortable. The young man nodded back in greeting, but his expression didn’t seem to soften much.

After delivering Silvio’s order to the counter, Ji-in decided to attend to the new guest personally. He couldn’t be certain of the man’s nationality, but he thought the guest would feel more comfortable if he, a fellow Asian, attended to him.

The antique terrace with stone railings was full of white sunlight and a soft breeze, as if freshly laundered. If it weren’t for work, it was the kind of weather where one would want to grab a book and go down to the beach.

“Hello. If you haven’t decided on your order, shall I make a recommendation?”

“……Pardon?”

“I just wondered if you needed any help.”

“Ah… yes. I…”

The young man, who had been looking up at Ji-in blankly, flipped through the pages of the menu book. Perhaps because he enjoyed outdoor activities, the firm neck and ears revealed beneath his short-cut hair were nicely tanned, and his long neck, as well as his earlobes, were burned red.

Twenty-one or twenty-two at the most?

Although he might look mature at a glance due to his solid build, his expression and gaze, which directly revealed his inner unauthorized copythoughts, were still closer to those of an immature boy.

“Did you come to Paelli for travel purposes?”

Ji-in attempted a more friendly conversation. He nodded solemnly and answered.

“I… arrived here on Sunday.”

Sunday was three days ago.

“Where did you come from?”

“I’m Korean… but school was in the US…”

“Ah, it’s about time for the vacation season over there, right?”

He nodded moderately, tightening his lips. They were handsome lips, drawn straight as a line, conveying a hint of stubbornness. The exceptionally red color of his lips created a mysterious clash with the other strong lines that composed his face, creating his own unique impression.

“Traveling alone… that’s impressive. I’ve only ever gone on solo trips for about one night nearby…”

At the compliment, he bit his lower lip softly, his neck and earlobes flushing red once again.

Dressed in a piqué shirt that fit his well-toned physique, clean jeans, and sneakers, he was adhering appropriately to the restaurant’s ‘smart casual’ dress code. Based on the keen eye he had developed from observing customers visiting ‘Mio Palazzo’ over the years, he didn’t give off the vibe of a backpacker who had braved a trip to Europe using part-time wages saved diligently over a semester.

He had a healthy complexion and glowing skin. His hair was neatly trimmed, but rather than [visit our site]the rough cut commonly seen in boys his age, it was a fairly mature style. Furthermore, he wore an expensive wristwatch that would be difficult for someone that age to own unless their parents were stolen contentincredibly wealthy. He exuded an aura similar to the teenage boys who stayed at ‘Mio Palazzo’ with their parents.

If that were the case, he was likely accustomed to luxury hotels in resort areas or restaurants like this. Yet, Ji-in found it puzzling that he seemed so visibly nervous.

“If you’d like, shall I give you a Paelli travel brochure? It’s a guide made by the local youth, so it contains information that’s hard to find in general travel books or on the internet. It’s quite useful.”

“Yes… please.”

He raised a fist to cover his mouth and cleared his throat as if coughing. Then, he picked up the water glass provided with the menu and moistened his lips. His gaze avoided Ji-in, directed instead toward somewhere on the table.

Even so, whenever there was a gap, he stole glances at Ji-in with a curious gaze. Once at the face, once at the shoulders, once at the waist, once at the hands. In that manner, he examined Ji-in’s body as if breaking it into several pieces.

Having grown slightly interested, unlike at first, Ji-in impulsively tried using Korean.

“Actually, I’m Korean too.”

“……”

As the distance between them closed instantly, the boy forgot that he had been skillfully avoiding eye contact and abruptly looked up at Ji-in’s face. Then, perhaps blinded by the sunlight, he immediately furrowed his brow. In the meantime, the sunlight had expanded its territory, creeping close to Ji-in’s heels.

“Oh…”

A voice that murmured almost inaudibly. On the table, he tightly interlaced his long, well-shaped fingers.

Ji-in felt a bit deflated by the reaction, which was flatter than expected. He thought the boy would [unauthorized copy]copy -->style="display:none;" aria-label="visit our site">visit our sitebe more delighted, or perhaps look surprised.

“This isn’t such a famous tourist spot, so you might be lacking information. If there’s anything you’re curious about, feel free to ask. I’ll tell you as much as I know.”

“……”

“Ah, the hotel you’re staying at would probably take care of you. Was I overstepping?”

“No.”

Unlike his passive attitude until then, he answered firmly and immediately. The reaction was so distinct that it surprised Ji-in. And this time, he looked straight up at Ji-in. Although he was frowning due to the strong sunlight, and although it seemed he found the act of staring back burdensome, he did not avoid his eyes and added:

“Really, it’s not… thank you for your kindness.”

Saying he had finished breakfast late, he ordered a salad, bread, and a glass of wine produced in the Paelli region, following Ji-in’s recommendation.

Afterward, Ji-in was caught again by Silvio. After processing a car rental reservation for a drive to Pompeii the next day and delivering it to the concierge, he worked with other staff to tidy up the settings of each table. During that time, the boy continued to cast glances at Ji-in.

Among the male guests at ‘Mio Palazzo,’ there had been quite a few who tried to seduce Ji-in. There were times when he received blatant looks from travelers while at the beach or walking around town. Of course, there were cases where the other person was a woman.

Among them were ambiguous gazes. However, when someone revealed their intent directly without trying to hide it, the meaning could be clearly conveyed even without words. No matter if it was between the same sex, that point was not much different from when it was between opposite sexes.

While he couldn’t be certain in what sense the boy’s clumsily hidden gaze was looking at him, it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling. Whenever their eyes happened to meet, Ji-in would smile, and the boy would look flustered at having been caught.

Cute. Ji-in chuckled to himself as he placed a crystal holder with a candle on each table.

To pay for the meal, the boy did not call a staff member to his seat but stopped by the counter himself on his way out. Ji-in took the promised brochure and handed it to him over the counter.

“This is the brochure I mentioned earlier. The design is cute, right? There are many interesting themes, and it introduces delicious restaurants and scenic spots that tourists don’t usually know about.”

“Thank you. If I could donate the cost of the book…”

“Ah, this was made for regional promotion, so you can just take it.”

Even after finishing the payment, he stood there, flipping through the pages of the book. He didn’t seem to be particularly examining the content. Since he kept moistening his lower lip and glancing around as if he had something to say, Ji-in waited without rushing him.

The time of the strongest sun had just passed.

The young couple and even Silvio had returned to their rooms, so the surroundings were quiet. Only the sounds of the kitchen wrapping up lunch time drifted in lazily like white noise. Inside the restaurant, where all the windows on both sides were wide open, a cool shade fell, creating a strange contrast with the unrealistically bright outdoors.

“Um… if, if it’s really not an imposition… tomorrow evening, I’m thinking of visiting one of the restaurants listed here. Could you… possibly come with me?”

“……”

He hadn’t expected a proposal of that magnitude.

The boy was twisting the brochure into a roll in his hands, looking at Ji-in with an expression that looked almost agonized.

“I’m grateful that you gave me the brochure. And… meeting a Korean person Read on Read BL Novelsaria-label="stolen content">stolen contenthere… was a pleasure…”

Ji-in could tell immediately that this proposal had required immense courage. His nape, earlobes, cheeks, and even his forehead were completely ablaze. Ji-in wasn’t cold-hearted enough to reject such a proposal.

And above all, he was moved by the way the boy didn’t avoid his eyes in this specific moment, despite being unbearably shy.

“Shall we?”

“……”

As if he hadn’t expected a positive answer despite being the one to ask, he froze in surprise.

Looking closely, his eyes were very beautiful. The space between his eyebrows and eyes was narrow, and his gaze was deep, giving him a certain atmosphere. Even so, he was a man far from Ji-in’s taste at the time. A man? No, he didn’t even look like a man. Younger guys were outside his interest.

“In exchange, let’s each pay for our own meal. Is that okay?”

“Since I invited you, I should…”

“It wouldn’t make me feel very comfortable letting a younger traveler buy me dinner. I’d feel burdened if we didn’t split it.”

“……”

Perhaps fearing that Ji-in might cancel his acceptance of the invitation, he didn’t insist further, though he looked reluctant.

“But I think I’ll only be free around 10 o’clock. Dinner might be difficult, so, um, shall we [unauthorized copystyle="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">unauthorized copy]style="font-size:0;color:transparent;display:inline;">stolen contenthave a simple glass of wine?”

“As long as I’m not bothering you at a late hour… I’m fine with that.”

“Then, find a place you want to go from that brochure.”

Not as a hotel employee, but as a peer, he had hung out with travelers quite often before.

Even if the boy had ‘that kind’ of interest in him, he didn’t seem like the type of man who would try to do something after getting him drunk on wine. He seemed like someone who couldn’t even bring himself to say he had a crush.

At most, he’d feel some fluttering or nervousness… and he’d remain as ‘that Korean Hyung I met at my travel destination.’

Ji-in thought it would be fine to play along with that level of sentiment.

Because he was a traveler. Because he was someone who would completely leave this region, this country, in a few days anyway. It was just a matter of responding lightly to a light favor and making one or two cute memories.

■

Around the square as the sun set, quite a few people had gathered to enjoy the early summer night. Most tourists would have flocked to the sophisticated restaurants and cafes by the beach, and the seats of the old restaurants surrounding the square were filled mostly by locals.

It wasn’t difficult to find him lingering around the fountain in the center of the square. It wasn’t just because he was the only East Asian.

The place he had chosen from the brochure was the oldest pizzeria in Paelli, located on the edge of the square.

The two, seated in the outdoor section, ordered a Margherita con Bufala pizza visit [Read on Read BL Novels]our siteon Read BL Novels" style="display:none;" aria-label="Read on Read BL Novels">Read on Read BL Novelsbaked in a 100-year-old oven and some wine.

As Ji-in expected, the boy barely touched the pizza and kept emptying his wine glass. Since Ji-in hadn’t come out specifically to fill his stomach either, the pizza they had each taken a few bites of was cooling on their respective plates.

After a brief conversation about what he had done and where he had been since arriving in Paelli, Ji-in leaned his upper body forward, resting his arm on the table.

“This isn’t a region that’s particularly popular with Koreans. It’s not a mandatory stop on an Italy trip. How did you end up coming to Paelli?”

In contrast, the boy subtly shifted his upper body backward.

He pulls away when I get close? Are we the same poles of a magnet? Ji-in smiled slightly so the boy wouldn’t notice and brought the wine glass to his lips.

“When I was young… I spent a summer vacation in this region.”

“Really? With your family?”

He also reached for his wine glass and nodded slowly.

Did he stay at ‘Mio Palazzo’ back then? Is that why he visited a place of family memories yesterday? The thought occurred to him, but there was no need to confirm it.

“If you came back alone, you must have had very good memories of that time.”

To put his glass down, Ji-in looked down at the table for a moment. He felt the boy’s gaze, which had been subtly avoiding his face and looking somewhere at the back seats, finally land on his face.

He pulls back when I lean in. He can’t meet my [visit our site]eyes when I’m looking, [Read on Read BL Novels]and only looks this way when I look elsewhere. Ji-in felt like a laugh was about to escape, so he remained still with his head lowered for a moment.

He felt a gaze looking down at his face from an angle. The boy spoke in a voice so small it was barely audible.

“Yes. It was very… impressive, and very wonderful.”

Ji-in, who had been resting his arm on the table, raised his head to hear better, and the boy, pretending he hadn’t been looking, hurriedly avoided his eyes as usual. Now, it was beyond cute; it was almost disappointing.

“Why didn’t you come during the peak season? Then the beach clubs would be open, and there would have been many girls your age.”

“No, I… that kind of thing… not really…”

Biting his lower lip and trailing off, he sought the wine again as if his throat were parched. As if the pale green alcohol were a sanctuary.

Was that too mischievous a question?

Ji-in found this playfulness or light spite of his somewhat unexpected. It was a comment he had thrown out on purpose, guessing that the boy’s interest wasn’t in the opposite sex.

The boy’s heart, which had been unclear at the hotel the previous day, was becoming more than 90% certain on this table for two.

“Still, it’s more fun to make friends your age and build new memories. I’m twenty-four in Korean age; how old are you? Oh? Come to think of it, we haven’t even exchanged names.”

To realize they hadn’t introduced themselves after talking this much. Ji-in burst out laughing, while the boy only gave a slight smile, watching Ji-in laugh.

“I’m twenty now…”

Just as he was about to introduce himself, someone suddenly hugged Ji-in’s shoulder from outside the fence that separated the outdoor seating from the street.

“Oppa!”

The girl with brown eyes that Ji-in called chocolate pudding and luscious brown curly hair was Ji-in’s younger sister, Yui. Without appearing particularly surprised, Ji-in gave a light greeting kiss to the cheek of the girl who was practically hanging off his neck.

“What’s gotten into my Oppa that he’s actually going out?”

“I go out occasionally.”

“My friends even call you the Rapunzel of ‘Mio Palazzo.’ They ask if you’re locked up and can’t come out.”

Her friends were waving toward them from a spot five or six steps away. They were faces Ji-in knew well, having seen them since they were young. Ji-in raised a hand briefly to return the greeting.

Meanwhile, Yui’s curious eyes turned toward the stranger opposite them. She whispered in Ji-in’s ear.

“Who is this?”

“Uh… let me introduce you. He’s a traveler. This is my sister. Yui, this is… well…”

“Hello. I’m Yi-han.”

Still seated, he reached out his arm to offer a handshake to Yui.

“Wow, you’re Korean. Hello. I’m Jung Yui. Your name is similar to my twin’s.”

Hearing Yui’s words, it was true. Yi-han, Ian. The sounds were certainly similar.

“Though you’re much cooler than Jeong Ian.”

Adding that, Yui looked around happily, as if worried that Ian might be listening somewhere.

“But why haven’t you eaten any of this? Can I have a slice? Is that okay?”

Asking for permission while looking back and forth between Ji-in and the boy, Yui tore off a slice of pizza and took a large bite. Ji-in tucked Yui’s hair behind her ear.

“Isn’t it too late to be outside?”

“I’ll be home before 11… later… the kids will walk me to the front of the house. Don’t worry.”

Answering half-heartedly while chewing her food, Yui kissed Ji-in’s cheek and returned to her friends.

Ji-in watched her back and waved to her group as they headed toward the beach.

“I’m sorry. Was it noisy?”

“No. Not at all. Please don’t worry about it.”

Unlike Ji-in, the person introduced as his sister had distinct mixed-race features that anyone could see, but he didn’t seem to have any crude curiosity about it. Perhaps because he sensed it would be an uncomfortable topic, he didn’t even bring up the sister’s appearance.

Ji-in knew from experience that there were plenty of people who would abruptly ask sensitive questions without a second thought. He was at least not that kind of person.

“I guess your name is a single syllable. I’m Jeong Ji-in. It’s really a bit awkward to be exchanging names now.”

Ji-in continued speaking with a smile.

“My younger siblings are fraternal twins. Just now with Yui, and with Ian, the twin… they get restless and wander around like that when summer begins. Well, they’re all grown up now, so as long as they keep their curfew, I can’t really say anything.”

“You seem to be on good terms with your siblings.”

“Since there’s quite an age gap… they’re still cute in my eyes.”

There was a seven-year difference between Ji-in and the twins. He had essentially watched the two of them grow from the time they were in their mother’s womb.

He felt belatedly embarrassed for showing affection for siblings who were nearly adults. This time, Ji-in subtly lowered his gaze and looked for his wine glass.

“You look like your sister.”

Putting the glass back down before bringing it to his lips, Ji-in looked at him.

“……We do?”

He, who hadn’t been able to maintain eye contact for more than three seconds since sitting here, was looking this way with a calm gaze this time.

He had heard countless times that the siblings got along well, but this was the first time he’d been told he looked like his sister.

A mixed-race child and a non-mixed-race child.

To say they looked alike despite that obvious difference would be a deception. People probably thought that. Ji-in had accepted it as their own way of being considerate, trying not to touch his wounds.

But it was also something he had wanted to hear at least once.

“I can’t explain it well, but the atmosphere or image? Those things are similar. Like, ‘Ah, they’re siblings’… I have a sister and a brother too, but we’re completely different, so I’m a bit… envious of that.”

He was choosing his words carefully. He didn’t seem to be teasing. He was simply speaking honestly about what he felt.

Ji-in leaned his arm on the table and rested his chin on one hand, covering the lower part of his face. Ah… what is this kid?

He had been exposing himself so carelessly, thinking that the naive younger man wouldn’t dare lay a finger on him even if he walked around naked right in front of him; yet, it felt as if that very same naive youth had quietly approached and wrapped him in a cozy blanket.

“I can call you Hyung, right?”

At the cautious voice, Ji-in released the arm he had been using to prop up his chin and nodded. He felt that if they locked eyes, his emotional turmoil would be exposed. He refilled his glass, which still had a third of the wine left, and cleared his throat, though it wasn’t actually blocked.

“Sure. I am technically the older one, after all.”

“Tomorrow is Friday… Hyung, what do you do after work?”

The man picked up the Paelli guidebook he had set down on the edge of the table. He then slid a page with a folded corner toward Ji-in.

“I heard the night view from this bar is beautiful… If you’re okay with it… I really want to treat you tomorrow.”

Looking down at the page, it introduced a bar situated atop a hill about a fifteen-minute drive from the center of town. It was a villa that had once been a nobleman’s vacation home, and while not sophisticated, it boasted a romantic and classic atmosphere. As was typical for bars of that sort, it was a place primarily sought out by couples for dates.

Setting the wine bottle back on the table, Ji-in gripped the neck of the bottle and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Ah… what should I do? I’d love to, but I don’t think tomorrow will work. I have business in Naples every Friday.”

Just as he had openly shown his shyness with a reddening face, he couldn’t hide his disappointment either. He looked as disappointed as someone who had been rejected after a proposal prepared for months by a long-term partner.

“It’s a shame… but if you have a schedule, it can’t be helped.”

Trying to hide his disappointment somehow, he stroked his eyebrows and asked for understanding to go to the restroom, briefly leaving his seat.

Ji-in didn’t feel great. He lowered his head and massaged the back of his neck further, then inadvertently looked down at the booklet on the table. Several pages were folded, and there were scattered underlines on the open page.

Was he searching for places to take me…

Ji-in had realized his sexual orientation around the age of fourteen or fifteen. However, he had no experience with actual dating. While he recognized the instinct to seek men as Read visit our siteon Read BL Novelsobjects of love and desire, a partner he specifically wanted to realize that with rarely appeared.

Still, he knew his general preference. The people who caught his eye until then were all similar to him in age, height, and build. Even in personality.

He preferred comfort over thrill. Because he didn’t feel confident in enduring intense emotional exhaustion, he preferred older people or those his own age over younger ones—especially those his own age.

The man was, of course, a handsome beauty, and his physique was impressive enough that he wouldn’t feel intimidated even among young Italian men who worked hard on their bodies. But he was clearly far from Ji-in’s preference.

And yet, it didn’t feel right to disappoint someone who wanted to spend time with him. Someone who couldn’t even be a boyfriend, or even a candidate for one—someone who would be leaving soon.

“……”

Ji-in propped his chin up and looked down at the booklet once more. Among the few underlines, one sentence particularly caught his eye.

【We especially recommend the corner seat at the end of the terrace!】

Ji-in read through the sentence following it, which was not underlined.

【Is there a cold person who is making you anxious? Confess your feelings while looking down at the night view of Paelli, which looks like a village from a fairy tale. We guarantee a 100% success rate.】

It was the kind of phrase an Italian teenager with an active approach to romance and romantic fantasies would write. A 100% success rate. While he was chuckling at the phrase that was both irresponsible and tinged with innocence, the man returned.

As soon as he sat down, he picked up the wine bottle and poured the remaining amount—about one glass—into Ji-in’s glass.

Lost in thought while watching the [unauthorized copy]unauthorized copystyle="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[unauthorized copy]long, firm arm pouring the wine, Ji-in kept his chin propped and lifted only his eyes to look at him.

“By any chance, are you good at things like sawing, cutting with scissors, or painting?”

“…What?”

“If you don’t mind it not being for sightseeing, do you want to go to Naples with me tomorrow?”

“I’ll go!”

Ji-in burst into laughter at the rapid answer, as if he had been waiting for the offer.

“You don’t even ask where we’re going? What if I drag you somewhere strange?”

His eyes, which had been hovering around Ji-in’s face the whole time except for when they talked about him resembling Ji-in’s brother, slowly focused on Ji-in’s eyes. It was a heavy gaze, as if he were leaning his weight into it, as if he were entrusting a part of himself to the other person.

Ji-in wasn’t such a novice, nor was he so young, that he wouldn’t recognize the meaning of such a look.

Just as he was about to turn his gaze away, pretending not to notice, the man’s lips moved.

“You know.”

“……”

“That I wouldn’t refuse, no matter where you asked me to go.”

The surrounding noise, excited by the early summer night, faded into the distance.

In the next moment, his eyes slid down toward Ji-in’s chest. His fingers, stroking the curve of the empty bottle, were long, straight, and clean.

Knowing that a long silence was awkward, Ji-in still couldn’t easily react. It wasn’t because the feelings the man was sending were burdensome or uncomfortable. Rather, he was flustered by the fact that he didn’t feel such repulsion, and he was overwhelmed just trying to manage that.

His eyes, which had been looking down at the cold pizza on the table, glanced back at Ji-in.

“If I’m alone, all I do is walk along the beach… and get pestered by the local old men at the cafe.”

“Ah, that’s true. The old men here are quite curious and blunt.”

Ji-in quickly laughed and agreed with the added comment. He was grateful to the man for creating an escape route. Feeling his throat go dry, he drained half of the white wine the man had poured in one gulp.

Perhaps because rain was forecast for the next day, the land breeze blowing toward the sea clung to the skin more heavily than it had in the early evening. However, it was different from an unpleasant stickiness. The wind that swept down from the orange groves on the hill was full of the scent of summer.

Stroking his arm revealed beneath his short sleeves, Ji-in pointed to the man’s empty glass and said,

“Shall we order another bottle of wine?”

By the time they parted after midnight, the man had become able to maintain eye contact with Ji-in for more than five seconds.

■

One of the three most beautiful ports in the world. The birthplace of pizza. The city of the Mafia.

For most outsiders, Naples probably had that kind of image. However, Naples was also a city with a deep history of performance culture.

The history of the Teatro San Carlo, which the French novelist Stendhal praised by saying ‘no theater in all of Europe can compare to this theater,’ was about 300 years. Besides that, dozens of performance venues and even more theater companies were actively operating throughout the city. Naples was a city that loved performing arts to the extent that an international theater festival was held every June.

Ji-in’s connection with the theater company ‘Passione,’ led by playwright and director Anna, began when Ji-in was in high school. Passione was the theater company linked to the after-school program operated by the international school he attended.

Anna and the other members had hoped Ji-in would join the company and pursue a path as an actor after graduation, but Ji-in’s decision was different. He decided to remain in a position like an associate member, providing modest help to the company’s operations. Neither an outsider nor an insider… a peripheral person with an ambiguous affiliation.

The first performance of a new work was a week away, and since the stage background was still unfinished, helping hands were precious. In that situation, he couldn’t cancel his promise to the company, and it didn’t feel right to see the man’s discouraged face.

That was why he had impulsively suggested he come along, and the man was more useful than expected.

The only problem was that the members showed such immense interest in him that he ended up getting held back.

“We can’t just work an outsider this much and send them back without treating them to a meal. What would people think of Italians?”

“Yeah, that wouldn’t be the right thing to do!”

When Ji-in said he probably couldn’t attend the dinner, the members reacted strongly.

After a chaotic regular rehearsal where dress rehearsals were conducted with an incomplete background on one side while stage equipment [visit [unauthorized copy]our site]was being finalized on the other, they had been arguing for over ten minutes about whether to attend the dinner.

“What do you mean ‘the right thing’? You just want to drink. And if we drink? Then how are we supposed to get back to Paelli?”

“When we drank, we used to sleep over at Matteo’s or Anna’s house. Why not today?”

“Anna is living with someone now, and honestly, Matteo’s house is too… small. How can three people sleep there?”

“You were about to say it’s dirty, weren’t you? I’m never letting you sleep over again!”

The young man called Matteo snapped and stepped forward, and someone pulled his shoulder, asking if it wasn’t a fact that his house was truly messy.

“There are plenty of cheap and clean hotels nearby. We’ve slept in places like that many times.”

“I’m fine, but this guy…”

The man, who had been standing beside Ji-in just listening to the conversation, shrugged.

“I’m fine too. For just one night, it doesn’t matter where I sleep…”

“……”

Why are you being like this too?

Another fact learned that day: he could speak Italian to some extent. He wasn’t extremely fluent, but he wasn’t a beginner either. Since he could hold unauthorized copystolen content -->END: unauthorized copy -->a conversation to some degree, the members’ curiosity about the foreigner grew even more.

“Or, if you’re worried about work tomorrow… I’ll drive without drinking. Hyung, please drink comfortably.”

“That… might not go as planned.”

Ji-in sighed. He scratched his cheek with his index finger and rolled his eyes.

Even if they were of one mind, it would be difficult to escape this ordeal. Since the man seemed to want to stay, Ji-in couldn’t keep refusing by using him as an excuse. He thought it might be a special memory for him as a traveler.

Tapping the stone wall with the tip of the umbrella he had brought from the car trunk, Ji-in declared to the members as if warning them.

“We’re only having dinner and then leaving. I have to go to work tomorrow.”

But of course, there was no way the man—the sacrificial lamb of the day, or rather, the protagonist—could leave the gathering without drinking. The members must have been determined from the moment they suggested the dinner.

The culture of encouraging drinking didn’t exist only in Korea. Italians, who were full of excitement and loved socializing, always offered wine in abundance.

The Passione crew, who had created a space by pushing three or four tables together at a bar they frequented, showered him with questions as soon as they sat down.

Ji-in, who occasionally acted as a translator between him and the members, stood up to follow Anna, who was going out to smoke.

“Where are you going?”

“……”

The man, who must have already emptied at least one bottle of wine, grabbed Ji-in’s wrist and looked up. Looking down at the eyes that had become moist from the alcohol, Ji-in gently pulled his wrist away.

“I’m going to talk to Anna for a moment.”

As he left the seat as if avoiding him, he felt the gaze following his back, but he didn’t look back.

Was it because he didn’t need to keep facing him? Or was it because of the alcohol?

Having sat side-by-side today, he had felt throughout the drinking session that the man’s behavior had become bolder than yesterday. But he hadn’t expected him to touch his body.

Even though it was a routine skinship that could happen between anyone, his mind was noisy as if he had been hit by a surprise kiss. When he hurried out the door and the cool outside air touched his skin, he realized that he, too, had been heated by the intoxication of the wine.

Despite the news of rain, the sky that had remained dry all day was finally sprinkling a drizzle. Ji-in got a cigarette from Anna, who was smoking under the eaves.

Handing a lighter to Ji-in as he put the cigarette in his mouth, Anna gestured with her chin toward the inside of the window.

“Thanks to him, it looks like the background will be finished by the weekend. That guy was really a big help.”

Ji-in didn’t particularly answer, nor did he look in the direction Anna was pointing, as he lit the cigarette.

“You said he’s a traveler? What a waste. Did he say he has no intention of settling here? If a guy like that helped the stage production team and acted here, we’d attract some audience.”

“You know plenty of strong, handsome guys.”

“The problem is that none of those guys want to live the theater company life.”

“You try persuading him, Noona. Tell him to quit his Ivy League college and do plays here with us.”

“Ivy League? Wow, the world is so unfair.”

Casting a glance toward the back of the man who was still being pestered by the members, Anna shook her head. Then, with a mischievous smile, she nudged Ji-in’s arm.

“Why can’t you use your handsome-man tactics?”

“What are you talking about.”

“Wasn’t he a naive traveler who fell for you and followed you all the way here?”

Ji-in laughed weakly, exhaling smoke toward the night street that sparkled, wet with moisture.

The members knew Ji-in’s sexual orientation. He hadn’t made a grand declaration. He had simply revealed it naturally when such topics happened to come up. There were some who found it uncomfortable, but because the overall atmosphere of Passione was open, no one openly attacked Ji-in.

“Look at that. Even now, he’s looking only at you with longing. He’s appealing with his whole body for you to notice him; isn’t it cute?”

Anna nudged Ji-in again and pointed inside the shop. Ji-in only looked at a grocery store across the diagonal that remained lit late into the night.

“He’s someone who’s leaving soon. What if he’s cute, and what unauthorized [Read on Read BL Novels]copyif he’s sexy?”

“Ho… I never said he was sexy. I guess you did think he was sexy?”

He felt a prick of guilt internally, but he was confident he wouldn’t let it show. Ji-in took a short, sharp puff of the cigarette and countered nonchalantly.

“Wouldn’t anyone with eyes think so?”

“If he didn’t follow you, does that mean I have a chance too? Should I ask him to sleep at my house tonight?”

Anna was not the type of person to be unfaithful to her partner. She was simply teasing Ji-in, having noticed his wavering heart.

“Noona, you’re just enjoying this right now, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I am.”

When he returned to the bar with Anna, the topic had changed in the meantime. The members were divided into those defending and those criticizing the attitude of an actor who had missed today’s regular rehearsal, engaging in a heated discussion typical of Italians.

Someone asked for his opinion as well, but for him as an outsider, it was only a difficult question. As Ji-in sat down, he subtly shifted the direction of the question toward Anna. Anna, noticing Ji-in’s intention, gave him a short, amused glare.

“……”

The moment Ji-in reached out to drink water instead of wine, the large body next to him leaned in. And his forehead plopped down onto the edge of Ji-in’s shoulder.

“Where did you go… I came here… because of Hyung.”

Ji-in looked around the table and spoke in a harsh voice.

“How much did you all make him drink?”

Rubbing his forehead against the shoulder, the man muttered while shaking his head.

“No. I’m not drunk.”

Not drunk, my foot. Yeah, seeing as a kid who couldn’t even make eye contact is now grabbing my wrist and leaning on my shoulder, he’s ‘not drunk’ at all. It’s scarier if he’s doing this while sober.

It was nearly midnight when the two finally parted from the members. Since it was Friday night, if they lingered any longer, they might not be able to find a room in a decent hotel. There were quite a few stayable hotels among the 3-star or 2-star ones, and naturally, such hotels were popular.

The two began to walk, each under an umbrella. They were umbrellas Ji-in had prepared in the trunk.

Since it was an area where tourists rarely visited, the street, where most shops had closed, was dark. Ji-in led the way through the stone paths that wound like a maze between old buildings. To buy necessary items for staying overnight before entering the hotel, they had to stop by a convenience store first, but there weren’t many convenience stores in this neighborhood.

After being exposed to the rainy outside air, he seemed to have regained some clarity. Following a step or two behind, he muttered in a discouraged voice.

“I’m sorry… after I said I’d drive.”

Ji-in lifted the umbrella he had been resting on his shoulder and looked back at him.

Instead of streetlights, the reflected glow of golden lights installed on the exterior walls of the buildings shattered blurrily visit our siteatop his visit our siteumbrella. Because he stood with the light behind him, his face was not clearly visible.

“It’s okay. How could you not drink in a place like that? Honestly, I knew it would end up like this from the start. As long as you had fun, that’s all that matters.”

“Because of me, you’ve ended up spending the night out… I should have booked a better hotel…”

Ji-in shook his head.

“What’s there to waste? It’s just two men crashing for a night; there’s no need for a fancy hotel. Or are you the type who’s picky about where you sleep?”

A relationship with no reason to insist on luxury. A single night where it was enough to simply lay one’s body down and close one’s eyes for a few hours.

Ji-in was intentionally emphasizing those points, but that in itself was evidence that he was conscious of the fact that they had to spend the night together.

In the darkness, it seemed as though the other man’s gaze dropped toward Ji-in’s feet.

“No, it’s not that, but…”

“Then let’s go. There’s nothing to worry about. It’s a hotel that caters to locals, so while it’s old and cramped, it’s clean. When else would you get to stay in a place like this?”

Passing by a few cafes and bars that were still open, they finally arrived at the convenience store closest to the hotel. Even calling it a convenience store was a stretch; it wasn’t a polished outlet operated by a global chain. Amidst Italians chatting boisterously while drunk and searching for various items, the two picked out drinks, razors, toothbrushes, and underwear.

He followed Ji-in, navigating the narrow paths between the shelves. When Ji-in took a drink from the refrigerator, he followed suit and picked one. When Ji-in chose a toothbrush, he picked one right next to it. As for the underwear… among the fairly diverse range of sizes, they picked up two different sizes.

“……”

Condoms were displayed next to the underwear. He might have been different, but Ji-in, who was just about to leave after picking the underwear, hesitated instinctively.

No, it was an item he absolutely did not need. He couldn’t understand why he had hesitated there.

“Um, since things turned out this way, do you want to drink a bit more?”

Turning abruptly toward the man standing right behind him, Ji-in bumped his face against the other’s chin. He hadn’t realized the man was standing so close.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Sorry. It’s cramped, and I wasn’t being careful.”

It felt as though the man’s lips had brushed against the tip of his nose. Slipping away from the hand that gripped his arm with a worried expression, Ji-in fiddled with the tip of his nose, pretending it hurt from the collision.

Younger men really aren’t my type. A relationship where they comfortably share their daily lives without digging too deep into each other’s private affairs—that should be his ideal.

Despite knowing the risk of causing an accidental mishap, he couldn’t help but seek alcohol. Because in this half-drunk state, he felt as though he wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink.

The hotel, which he had stayed at a couple of times upon the recommendation of his theater troupe colleagues, maintained a clean yellow paint job, unlike the surrounding buildings filled with graffiti and scribbles. The young man at the counter glanced at the two Asian men with a look full of curiosity, but that was all.

Friday nights anywhere in the world were overflowing with lovers intending to spend the night together. The double rooms, where two people had to share one bed, were fully booked, but fortunately, a twin-bed room was available.

“How is it? Not bad, right?”

Entering the narrow room of about 40 square meters, Ji-in spoke up in a cheerful tone. Following him in, the man leaned his umbrella against the entrance wall and looked into the inner space with a cautious gaze. Thinking that this was probably the man’s first time in such a place, Ji-in felt a slight, childish sense of superiority as the elder.

On the desk-cum-table, the only piece of furniture other than the bed, Ji-in set down the things they bought at the convenience store. Then, he pulled open the flimsy wooden sliding doors.

“It’s small, but there’s a balcony.”

Along with the sound of rain, the view of the alley unfolding before them was quite atmospheric. Even if it was just the same mundane daily life to some, in the eyes of a traveler, it became romance and a memory.

“……”

Before he knew it, the man had stepped close beside him. Looking out at the night street over the arm of Ji-in, who was holding the door, he nodded.

“You’re right. The atmosphere is nice. We can drink here.”

With that, he turned back to the table, took out the wine, and gathered the glasses provided in the meager minibar.

What exactly is he trying to do by making the atmosphere nice? Ji-in blamed himself, but it was a realization that came too late.

They positioned the table and chairs from the balcony so they straddled the boundary between the room and the balcony, sitting side by side. They could enjoy the rainy night street without being touched by the rainwater splashing off the railing. It also helped cool down the humid heat of the room, which lacked air conditioning.

“You’re someone who has nothing to do with the troupe, but I worked you too hard today, didn’t I? Every day must be precious for a traveler… I’m sorry.”

“No. It was much more enjoyable than staying by myself. I got to see… Hyung acting, too.”

“……”

Ji-in had to stand on stage in place of an actor who had missed rehearsal without notice. Since Ji-in was the only member who had memorized every line of every role, there was no other alternative.

It happened occasionally. While standing on stage in that way was fluttering and exciting, he had never felt shy… perhaps it was because someone who wasn’t a member was watching. Because he was conscious of the man’s gaze, he had struggled more than usual to concentrate on his acting that day. That was why he hoped the matter wouldn’t be brought up.

Ji-in cleared his throat, which wasn’t even blocked, and looked for a cigarette. Watching Ji-in’s profile as he smoked, the man, who had been silently drinking wine, suddenly spoke in a dreamy voice.

“Cigarettes… since when did you smoke?”

“Hmm, probably… around the time my parents divorced. It’s not a habit; I just smoke one or two occasionally when I think of it.”

Flicking the ash into the ashtray, Ji-in glanced at him. Although his eyes were slightly bloodshot, he maintained a calm gaze and a neat posture. He didn’t look like the kind of person who would easily lose his reason under the excuse of alcohol and push his crotch forward.

The rain, which had been a drizzle while they walked to the hotel, had now grown quite heavy, pattering atop the bronze balcony railing.

Escaping his gaze, Ji-in exhaled a long plume of smoke into the rainy void. Then, following an impulse, he began to speak.

“Yesterday, you saw my younger sibling for a moment, right?”

“……”

“Unlike me, they’re mixed race.”

“……”

“Actually, I’m an adopted child. My siblings were born after that.”

There was no change in his expression. He didn’t seem surprised by the content of the words, nor did he show the sense of failure or embarrassment that comes from not knowing how to react to a sensitive story. He simply waited quietly for the story to continue.

“My adoptive father was American. When I was about eighteen, the two of them divorced and he returned to the US… Since then, it’s been the four of us: my siblings, me, and my mother.”

“Ah…”

While he had been unresponsive to the news of the adoption, he nodded and let out a groan-like exclamation at the mention of the adoptive parents’ divorce.

“My siblings have clear goals for what they want to do. As for me… I like theater, but… it’s not more important than staying by my mother’s side… so I’m preparing to take over the family business.”

Stubbing out the shortened butt in the ashtray, Ji-in swallowed several gulps of wine.

The fact that he was adopted wasn’t particularly a secret. He couldn’t hide it anyway due to his appearance, which was starkly different from his twin siblings. Some people speculated that the marriage to the American adoptive father was his mother’s remarriage and that Ji-in was a child from a previous husband. However, the family had no intention of disguising the facts with lies, and the people of Paelli soon all came to know that the eldest son of ‘Mio Palazzo’ did not share the blood of his parents.

Flicking the ash again, though it hadn’t grown long, Ji-in added as lightly as possible, with a snort.

“Seeing as I’m satisfied with just lingering around the theater scene, maybe I’m not that desperate for it.”

“I don’t think someone who isn’t desperate… would memorize [Read on Read BL Novels]style="font-size:0;position:absolute;left:-9999px;">[stolen content]on Read BL Novels">Read on Read BL Novelsevery single line like that.”

“……”

Stopping the hand that was flicking the ash, he looked up at him. The man avoided his gaze and anxiously fiddled with the glass in his hand. Then, he covered his lower face with his large hand and rubbed his skin roughly, as if crushing it.

“I’m sorry. I spoke out of turn.”

“……”

“It’s just… Hyung, on stage, you were shining. You looked like the protagonist.”

“That’s because in your eyes… uh…”

Ji-in paused, cutting himself off and closing his lips. Instead, he let the wine flow into his mouth.

That’s because I’m the only one you can see right now.

He had almost let out a forbidden thought.

He had hoped that as the alcohol took hold, he would pass out before he could make a mistake. But there was no sign of sleep coming.

While Ji-in stubbed out the cigarette, the man refilled Ji-in’s glass and spoke.

“I hope you don’t find it unpleasant.”

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand for no reason, Ji-in shook his head.

“Why would it be unpleasant? You said I looked like a protagonist; that’s a compliment. Though my acting wasn’t that great today.”

He pulled both legs up onto the metal chair, kneeling, and rested the glass the man had filled on his knee. He could clearly feel the man’s gaze on his cheek. It was as vivid and ticklish as if he were being stroked by a hand, so he scratched his cheek with the hand not holding the glass.

“Actually, I’m… not the kind of person who boldly pushes forward with what I want to do, either.”

He turned his head to look at him. Frowning while looking down at the glass in his hand, the man seemed to be choosing his words carefully.

“I… empathize more with the feelings Hyung has toward family. That sense of duty… that one must perform their given role well. In my case, unlike Hyung, it’s different from a sacrifice based on warm familial love, but…”

Continuing his words slowly and calmly, he suddenly emptied his glass in one gulp. Just as the man had done for him, Ji-in filled his glass while waiting for the next part of the story.

“The person my father remarried raised me, and I grew up knowing her as my mother. Around the fourth grade of elementary school, I found out that wasn’t the case…”

Having said that much, he let out a deep sigh slowly to catch his breath. Then, shaking his head, he made his tone a bit lighter.

“There’s a more complicated story, but putting all that aside… anyway, my relationship with the mother who raised me isn’t bad. I didn’t want to disappoint either my father or my mother, and I didn’t want to be told by anyone in the family that I lacked the qualifications… I think I’ve been desperate until now.”

There were aspects similar to his own position, and aspects that were different. Although they weren’t discussing specific situations and complex emotions, that alone was enough to draw empathy.

“Rather than a commendable filial piety wanting to make them happy, it was more like a struggle to keep my place… so I wouldn’t be cast out. I kept pressuring myself that I couldn’t afford to fail even at this… and regardless of roles or duties, [visit our site[Read on Read BL Novels]eft:-9999px;">]I didn’t even try to look back at what I, as an individual, liked or wanted.”

Stopping the hand that was stroking the glass, he looked this way. Under the dim orange light of the room, the bridge of his nose cast a shadow over his lips.

“When I saw Hyung on stage earlier, in that moment… you looked as if you were… breathing… solely by your own strength.”

He had to admit that his inner self had been seen through by a traveler he had met only three times. Receiving his gaze felt as taxing as being exposed naked. However, Ji-in did not avoid it. He swallowed hard and slowly opened his lips.

“If you think about it, you probably have a breathing hole like that too. You might just not have noticed it yourself.”

“Yes, that’s right. I do.”

He nodded with a faint smile on his lips. His face was peaceful, as if he were held in the arms of heaven. It was likely a heaven that existed only within him, one that no one could invade or destroy.

He was someone he would part with after spending only a few days together. Because the man was not someone integrated into his life, perhaps that was why he could reveal his weaknesses more boldly.

“……”

“……”

For a time much longer than five or ten seconds, he did not avert his eyes. The moment they looked into each other’s eyes in silence was unnervingly comfortable. It felt as though leaning toward the other for a kiss was the only natural act that could follow.

However, Ji-in did not follow the natural progression.

Stretching and checking his wristwatch, he escaped the atmosphere by raising style="opacity:0;font-size:0;">stolen content-->visit our sitehis voice in mock surprise.

“It’s already 2 AM. Shall we sleep? I have to go to work by 11 tomorrow, so I think I need to wake up and move by 9. Do you want to wash up first?”

The man did not forcibly demand that Ji-in look at him. He showed no sign of resentment or disappointment.

While he washed, Ji-in remained seated and drank a bit more. No, the alcohol barely decreased. He was simply sitting blankly, listening to the sound of the rain under the pretext of drinking. The sound of rain? No, he was listening to the sound of water leaking from the bathroom through the thin walls.

Coming out with his upper body bare and wearing only jeans after the shower, his body looked more solid than when he was clothed. He had a slightly lean feel, but his basic frame and torso were thick. His well-trained, sleek muscles were smooth without feeling exaggerated.

Unable to find a place to look, Ji-in’s gaze wandered in the air for a moment. As he stood up to clear the table, the man strode closer and stopped his hand.

“I’ll clean up while Hyung washes. Just leave it.”

From his bare body and wet hair, a scent of soap and a cool dampness were felt.

Having fled to the bathroom, Ji-in stood for a long time under the lukewarm stream of water with his eyes closed.

It wasn’t that he had no experience with dating or love, but it wasn’t as if he’d had encounters that led to a good atmosphere. He had experience expressing mutual interest, spending time getting to know the other person, dating… kissing, or quasi-sexual acts like stimulating with hands. However, he had never developed a serious romantic relationship.

There were several reasons for this. One reason was that he couldn’t be completely honest about his sexual preferences.

He dreamed of sex in a primal state where reason was cast aside.

He didn’t dislike soft kisses, warm hugs, or considerate foreplay… but he couldn’t help himself from wanting kisses Read on Read BL Novelsthat felt [unauthorized copy]unauthorized copy -->like biting the lips, two arms tightening as if binding or pressing him, and beast-like penetration that felt like it was striking his entire body. However, he didn’t have the confidence to demand that kind of sexual relationship from a partner. Knowing it conflicted with his outward appearance of being moderate and calm, he could reveal that side of himself even less.

The moment he saw the man’s bare upper body, he sensed that he possessed the strength to realize his desires. Just by lying flat atop his body, the man would be able to completely conquer him.

“Hmm…”

Ji-in closed his eyes and lifted his chin. He swept back his hair while taking the stream of water directly to his face.

While scrubbing away the sticky sweat from his entire body with foam, his genitals became hard. Even though he had abnormal sexual desires, his drive itself wasn’t particularly strong for his age. To get an erection just from seeing a man’s bare upper body.

Closing his lips tight so that no sound would leak out and breathing only through his nose, he gripped his hot penis and rubbed it quickly. Because he was suppressing his voice and breath, his chest throbbed more violently than usual. He hurried his ejaculation by caressing the flesh of his own chest, lower abdomen, and buttocks.

The sensation of climax came easily. As heat rushed to his head and he felt a rising sensation as if his body were being lifted, his toes instinctively dug into the floor. He bit his lower lip hard enough to turn it white.

“Haa… hng… hu…”

Looking down at the semen being washed away by the stream of water, Ji-in leaned his shoulder against the cold tile wall. His strength vanished, and his eyelids and hands trembled. For a while, he had to lean against the wall like that to regulate his breathing and compose himself.

Since I’ve ejaculated once, I should at least be able to prevent the disgrace of getting an erection while lying in bed.

When he returned to the room, the man who had claimed the bed closer to the door was lying on his side, facing the wall. A thin sheet was precariously draped over his waist, making him look naked at a glance, but the legs extending beneath the sheet were clad in jeans.

Everything was as tidy as it had been when they first entered the room. The balcony door was closed, but the dense shutters of the blinds were open downward. Through those gaps, the wet light of the street and the pitter-patter of the rain leaked in.

After turning off the lights, Ji-in approached the bed with muffled footsteps and lay down. Despite his utmost unauthorized visit our sitecopycaution, the old mattress and frame let out a sharp, creaking moan.

“……”

The alcohol was of no help. His entire focus was centered on the man beside him. He could feel clearly, without needing to ask or answer, that the other felt the same. He was merely pretending to sleep; there was no way he had actually fallen asleep.

All he had to do was get up and stand before the man’s bed. No words would be necessary. If he carefully crawled over and lay down beside him, the man would quietly turn toward him, and then he would only need to meet his eyes.

He wouldn’t refuse. He would turn toward him, and in the darkness, those piercing eyes would look straight at him. Without shyness or hesitation.

Dry lips would part and touch, sparking an electric current. Perhaps just carefully tasting each other’s lips would be enough to make his member harden. He might pull his hips back to hide it.

If he slid his hand inside those jeans, gripped that hot, hard swelling, and aroused him further…

“Hmm…”

Ji-in let out a sigh and propped his interlaced hands beneath his head.

It would be such a simple thing, but he would not do it.

Not for the other man’s sake, but to protect himself.

It was enough that they had exposed their respective weaknesses and shared a special empathy. If he were to learn the sensation of lips pressing against lips, the heat of wet tongues rubbing together, the shiver caused by large hands roaming over bare skin, and the feeling of reaching a peak of pleasure through their most intimate parts… it might not end as a cute and heartwarming memory. He didn’t want to suffer from longing. It was better not to know him as a vividly living entity.

In the meantime, his eyes had fully adjusted to the darkness.

After staring up at the unknown patterns engraved on the ceiling for a long while, Ji-in shifted his position. He decided to set aside his ruminations and truly try to sleep. He folded his arm over the pillow, rested his cheek upon it, and lay on his side.

“……”

“……”

In the meager, dim light, the man’s eyes were clearly directed toward him. It felt suffocating, as if all his imaginations had been read.

“Hyung.”

“……”

“When is your day off?”

The languid low voice, like a whispered secret, sounded like a voice calling out from a dream. As if there were someone else in the room besides the two of them, as if he didn’t want to reveal this conversation to anyone.

“It’s every Monday, but…”

“Then, could you hang out with me next Monday?”

As he faced the man’s calm voice and gaze, the frantic beating of his heart quickly subsided. Ji-in readjusted his pillow and offered a joke with a slight smile.

“Are you planning to ask me to go to that bar again?”

The man’s lips seemed to curve faintly.

“Why? Is Hyung scared of that bar?”

“……A little?”

Why was he trying to take him to a place known as a 100% success rate for confessions? What would happen if they sat in the corner seat at the end of the terrace? Honestly, he didn’t have the courage to face those things. Memories with someone who was going to leave had to remain light. Because he was the one who would be left behind in the place where those memories resided.

The conversation, with objects intentionally omitted, felt like a code. What they were afraid of, what they desired. Both knew, yet both were reluctant to speak it openly.

“Then we don’t have to go there. Just… doing the things Hyung usually does on his day off would be nice too.”

“……”

“Just spend one day with me.”

From the man’s perspective, Ji-in was someone he had met by chance at a travel destination. Someone with absolutely no possibility of developing into a proper partner, no matter how attracted he was.

In such cases, most people tended to seek physical closeness. A matter of a few days. An insurmountable spatial distance. In the end, that was the only kind of relationship possible within such limited conditions.

Yet, while conveying his affection more and more clearly, he said that simply spending time together was enough. Looking at the man’s face, softly illuminated by the light seeping through the shutters, Ji-in thought.

If I approach him, he won’t refuse. That much is certain. And yet, he never tries to do anything [Read on Read BL Novels]data-wm="visit our site" style="display:none;" aria-label="visit our site">visit our sitefirst. What on earth does this time mean to him? What does he want from me?

Hunching his broad shoulders to lie facing him, the man blinked slowly in the darkness and spoke.

“One day out of a year isn’t that long. Anyway, I’ll… be going back in a week…”

“Alright.”

“……”

“But only for that one Monday. Anything more than that…”

The man nodded slowly with a faint smile.

That’s enough. That’s plenty. With a whisper like a promise, Ji-in turned his back to him.

■

The daytime high temperature soared to 27 degrees.

People from the outskirts of Paelli flocked in, and despite it being Monday, the beach was quite crowded. Because the weather had warmed up early, a nearby beach club that had hurried its opening last weekend was attracting young people with fast, heavy-beat music.

Lying under a parasol of alternating orange and white, Ji-in was thinking about the movie Before Sunrise.

About the experience of accepting a stranger’s proposal on a train to a destination, changing plans, and deviating from the path. It was certainly the power Read on Read BL NovelsEND: Read on Read BL Novels -->of travel that enabled impulsive choices one would likely never make in an everyday setting.

There were countless other movies about falling in love with a stranger while traveling. Before Sunrise alone had two sequels. Such themes would likely continue to be explored as long as humanity existed.

In fact, it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence in Paelli.

During middle and high school, friends at the international school used to brag about their flings with tourists. They themselves were closer to being outsiders, yet they did it.

Among the townspeople, there were often cases of marrying tourists. Most of them moved to the partner’s place of residence—Italy or other cities in Europe—after marriage.

【Let’s meet again here in six months.】

The two people in Before Sunrise make such a promise as they part at the train station after spending a ‘surreal’ and romantic day together. Let’s meet again here in six months…

If there was a difference between the movie and reality, it was that he had neither the courage to propose such a promise nor the courage to agree to one. That two youths being attracted to each other at an early summer resort was, in truth, a perfectly common occurrence, neither romantic nor special.

Ji-in lifted his gaze and looked out at the sea through his sunglasses.

Leaving Ji-in behind, who said he would stay under the parasol and read a book, the man had walked into the sea alone. He had looked away for only a moment, but now he couldn’t tell which of the many figures floating in the water was him.

Only light, fluffy clouds like small balls of wool drifted faintly in the distance; the sky was clear, almost white. The sparkling of the sea, breaking and shaking the sunlight, was more brilliant than any jewel.

It was a day where time seemed to flow slowly and generously.

As promised, Ji-in was spending his day off with him. [visit our site]style="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[stolen [Read on Read BL Novels]content]They had met at the square at 11:00 and come down to the beach together.

He paid 20 euros for three hours to rent two beach chairs under a parasol. Since both were wearing t-shirts over their swimwear, they didn’t need a changing room.

Even when they first met at ‘Mio Palazzo’ on Wednesday, he had been tanned up to the back of his ears. But while his skin tone then had been merely dark, it was now close to the color of chocolate. Perhaps he had spent a lot of time at the beach even while they weren’t meeting; the upper arms hidden by his clothes, his chest, stomach, and back were all evenly and attractively tanned.

It would be a lie to say he felt nothing seeing that. But that was all.

Sighing, Ji-in scanned the sea further to find him.

“……”

A man swimming toward the shore stood up at the point where the water became too shallow to swim. After sweeping his short hair back and wiping the water from his face, the man was him, wearing dark blue swimwear.

Pretending to read the book resting on his stomach, Ji-in admired the sight of him walking out of the sea. His entire body was well-developed, with no lacking parts. While not a bulky, muscular torso, he had a well-balanced, sleek physique that was pleasing to look at.

Explicit gazes were stretching out from here and there, clinging to his wet body. Whether male or female, most Italians were not ashamed to show their attraction to the opposite sex. Rather, they considered it a compliment acknowledging the other’s charm.

As he flopped down into the beach chair beside him, Ji-in could smell the cool scent of the sea. He grabbed a towel, roughly wiped the water from his face, and spoke in a slightly breathless voice.

“I went all the way to the buoy. Did you see me?”

“Ah, I was reading… You went all the way to the buoy and back? You’re a good swimmer.”

Despite having followed him with his eyes the entire time, [Read visit our siteon Read BL Novels]except for the brief moment he’d lost sight of him. Ji-in answered as if he hadn’t even noticed his return because he was so focused on the book.

“I generally like all kinds of sports.”

“It seems so.”

Glancing at his toned body, Ji-in said this as he sat up further and closed the book.

“Aren’t you going in the water, Hyung?”

“I prefer sunbathing.”

“Let’s swim together. Or shall we race?”

“What’s with the racing… like children…”

“How about the loser buys lunch? A one-way trip to the buoy.”

His eyes sparkled as he made the proposal. His face was full of mischief and laughter, making him look younger than usual.

He was scheduled to leave on Sunday, and according to their promise, this meeting was their third and final one.

Ji-in took off his sunglasses and stood up from the beach chair.

“Fine. But no holding back; go all out. You might have the advantage in terms Read on Read BL Novelsvisit our site -->visit our siteof physical condition, but I’m someone who’s been swimming in this sea since I was learning to walk.”

“I don’t know why you think I wouldn’t go all out, but I’m quite competitive. I have persistence, too. I’m definitely going to eat the meal Hyung buys me.”

As he stood up behind him, Ji-in’s elbow brushed against his abdomen. Just as he was about to step toward the sea, Ji-in suddenly looked back.

“If you win.”

“……”

“I’ll buy lunch, and I’ll grant you one wish.”

After a brief hesitation, the man’s lips stretched into a smile. It was an expression that looked slightly bittersweet. Sweeping back the water from his hair, he squinted against the sunlight.

“You’re certain I’ll lose, aren’t you? That there’ll be no need to grant a wish.”

“……”

“Hyung is… kind of mean.”

The waves were calm, as if it were a lake rather than a sea. Ji-in swam with all his might through the clear water. As he had said, he was certain he would win, and indeed, he reached the buoy a few seconds before him.

But there was something the other didn’t know.

Leaning his body against the large buoy, Ji-in gazed at the distant sea for a moment, at the unrealistic shimmering of light. Only the sound of the two of them catching their Read on Read BL Novelsbreath roughly filled his ears. Floating on the [stolen content]gentle, swaying waves, his body felt light, as if it were completely free from the force of gravity in that moment.

The man seemed to have taken it as Ji-in underestimating him and acting recklessly because he thought he couldn’t win, but that was a mistake.

The two protagonists of Before Sunrise promise to meet again in the same spot at the train station six months later. However, the movie ends without showing whether their promise is fulfilled. One can confirm the conclusion in the sequels, but Ji-in had not watched the two sequels.

Because he didn’t have the courage to see how the memories of the two, which had been as beautiful as a dream, had changed over time.

He had said he was competitive and persistent. Ji-in was not that kind of person. He wanted to avoid problems that felt overwhelming, and while he seemed to prioritize peace and stability, he was actually afraid of change. He was also afraid of being swept away by intense emotions.

If the man had defied expectations and won this race, he thought perhaps he could give in to impulse just once, using the tacky excuse of granting a wish. He had simply made… his own kind of gamble.

Staring blankly at the light on the water’s surface, which sparkled enough to make his eyes ache, Ji-in murmured.

“You were wrong.”

“…About what?”

“I wanted you to win. It’s just that I had no intention of losing on purpose.”

“……”

“Let’s go. Buy me food.”

Ji-in flipped his body and dove back into the water.

■

It was the same pizzeria as last time, at the same table. Since it was past 2:00 PM, an awkward time for lunch, there were plenty of empty seats.

Unlike last time, which had been practically a drinking session, the two each chose a pizza, like any other Italians. A glass of red house wine and a cool drink were served before the pizza.

The lemonade made from lemons grown in Paelli was Ji-in’s recommendation. The man leaned forward, curving his waist without using his hands, and drank through the straw. Ji-in burst into laughter at the sight of his broad shoulders hunched over.

Without stopping his sipping, he looked up at Ji-in from behind his sunglasses. By this time, he no longer found it as difficult to make eye contact with Ji-in as before.

Having emptied half the lemonade in one go, he patted his swimwear with his hand and spoke.

“My swimwear is almost dry already.”

“It is. It’s definitely gotten hot earlier than usual. Does your hotel have air conditioning?”

“Yes, fortunately. But I haven’t turned it on yet. It’s cool enough just opening the windows at night.”

On Friday, on the way to Naples, Ji-in had gone to pick him up in front of his hotel, and on the way back, he had dropped him off at the same spot. Unexpectedly, he wasn’t staying at a luxury hotel similar to ‘Mio Palazzo,’ but at an ordinary 3-star hotel. It was a clean place with good reviews overall, but there were many accommodations around here that lacked air conditioning even if they were 3-star.

Having caught his breath from the heat after drinking the lemonade, he leaned back against the chair. Then he reached out and stroked the base of the wine glass. Ji-in gazed down at his long fingers, which were neatly trimmed.

Suddenly, the hand vanished from his sight. When Ji-in lifted his gaze, the man unauthorized copyhad taken off his sunglasses and was showing his [Read on Read BL Novels]bare face. As if he had something important to say that required eye contact, his eyes carefully turned toward Ji-in.

“After I graduate, I’m planning to aim for work in Europe.”

“Really?”

He nodded. Then he smiled faintly. He seemed shy about suddenly bringing up his future.

“It’ll be difficult right away, and it’ll take a few years to get the qualifications… I’ve thought about it vaguely for a long time, but through this trip, I was able to make up my mind for sure. I think… I did a really good thing coming here for a trip.”

His voice became filled with a soft certainty toward the end.

He had no intention of denying that he felt attraction and was drawn to the man. However, Ji-in wasn’t optimistic enough to pin his hopes on the news that the man wanted to work in Europe in a few years. Nor was he the type of person to chase romance to that extent.

But he envied the man’s confidence in speaking of a future a few years away as if it were a tomorrow within reach. It wasn’t just because of the age of twenty. Because four years ago, at twenty, Ji-in had given up on theater.

Ji-in stirred the lemonade, which he had barely touched, with the straw. The sound of the ice clinking together was cheerful.

“Is that… the ‘breathing hole’ you mentioned before?”

He let go of the lemonade he had no interest in and picked up the wine glass. Just as he was about to bring the glass to his lips, someone roughly grabbed his shoulder from behind.

“Vino da Tavola!”

Red wine overflowed across the table and onto Ji-in’s leg. Reflexively grabbing a napkin to wipe away the wine, Ji-in looked to his side. He recognized [unauthorized copy]style="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[visit our site]the rough hands and voice immediately, but this time, it wasn’t Yui.

“Long time no see. The Prince is hard to find these days. What brings you down to the slums where the commoners live today?”

The owner of the sneering, smirking face was Luca. He seemed to have absolutely no intention of apologizing for spilling the wine.

Ji-in and Luca were the same age. Though they hadn’t attended the same school, both had essentially grown up in this neighborhood since they were very young, so they were well aware of each other.

In their childhood, they used to get along and play together during village events and festivals. However, as they hit puberty, Luca became one of the leading figures who grew hostile toward Ji-in—an outsider, an Asian, and an adoptee.

Luca possessed a masculine and handsome appearance that seemed to embody the world’s prejudices and fantasies about Italian men. But the beauty ended with his looks. Having spent his school years engaging in delinquency, he showed no sign of changing even as he approached his mid-twenties.

“What’s this? A boyfriend?”

Leaning over to rest his arm on the fence, Luca looked at the man opposite him with interest. Then, with a sly grin, he nudged Ji-in’s shoulder with his elbow.

“Ah… maybe a sex partner? Did you pick one up from the tourists?”

“Shut up and get lost. Aren’t you embarrassed at your age?”

At Ji-in’s stiff voice, Luca snorted and smirked.

“I don’t want to hear a lecture about embarrassment from you of all people. If you were someone who actually knew shame and gratitude, you wouldn’t have smeared your adoptive parents’ faces by running around the whole neighborhood shouting that you’re a homo.”

Picking up the ade glass from the table without permission, visit our sitesite -->Luca added as he sipped the drink through the straw.

“Well, I guess that’s just the level of people who don’t even know their own roots.”

Ji-in’s tongue itched to retort, asking if Luca didn’t feel sorry for his own hardworking parents, but experience had taught him that engaging in that manner would only prolong the situation. If he were alone, it might be different, but right now, the best course of action was to send him away quickly.

“So stop poking your nose into the business of someone who doesn’t know his roots. Just keep walking.”

Perhaps losing interest because Ji-in’s reaction was lukewarm, Luca set down the ade glass—which he had drained to the bottom—and straightened up from the fence.

Then, instead of Ji-in, he grabbed the shoulder of the man opposite him, kneaded it a couple of times, and grinned.

“Since you’ve come to Italy, you should drink high-end wine. This stuff might look fancy on the outside, but he just happened to be lucky enough to find rich adoptive parents. If you drink cheap swill with an unknown origin thinking it’s good, you’ll suffer a filthy hangover the next day. Be careful.”

He likely babbled this assuming the man couldn’t understand Italian. Unfortunately, his Italian skills were sufficient to understand Luca’s childish provocations.

The man stared blankly down at Luca’s hand kneading his shoulder. Then, in the next moment, he looked at Luca’s profile as he rejoined his companions, cackling.

“I’m sorry. That was unpleasant, right? I can’t really call him a friend… we’re the same age and grew up in this neighborhood together, but his hobby is picking fights whenever he sees me…”

He must have understood everything—the comments about the boyfriend and the sex partner. Ji-in felt embarrassed that he had made him listen to such filthy talk.

The man’s face turned back toward him.

“I’m sorry you had to hear such strange things.”

“I knew… that your romantic interest was men… from hearing the extremists talk. I’m sorry.”

“Ah… um… there’s nothing to be sorry for. Being an adoptee and my sexual identity aren’t exactly secrets. Though I didn’t go around shouting it to the whole neighborhood like that jerk said.”

He cast another glance toward the backs of Luca and his group as they strolled across the plaza toward the fountain.

He figured it would be better to divert the man’s attention back to him.

“You don’t have to look so serious. When we were kids… I’d get flared up and get into arguments or fistfights… but he never changed, no matter what. It’s not my fault; that’s just the level he’s at. I don’t care anymore. Though he is a nuisance.”

“What did that man mean by what he said earlier?”

“……”

The long explanation didn’t seem to have much effect. As if he hadn’t been listening to Ji-in at all, he abruptly asked a question that deviated from the flow of conversation.

“What do you mean?”

“What he called you. Table wine?”

Ji-in hesitated for a moment, moistening his lips with the remaining wine. Even if he didn’t know exactly what Vino da Tavola referred to, the man might have guessed based on Luca’s final comments about high-end versus cheap wine.

To make it sound as trivial as possible, Ji-in leaned his arm on the table [[Read on Read BL Novels]class="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">visit unauthorized copyour site]and rested his chin on his hand.

“That… it’s about wine grades… it’s been a nickname since I was a kid. Kids can be cruel, you know.”

“……”

“In Italy, wine grades are divided into five levels, and… the lowest grade is Vino da Tavola. It’s when the origin or producer is… un… known…”

It happened in an instant.

The man suddenly stood up and leaped over the fence, drawing the attention of everyone around them. As Ji-in grabbed the rattling table and looked in the direction he had run, the man had already nearly caught up to Luca’s group.

Sensing an ominous energy, Luca looked back, and while the man gave him enough time to take a defensive stance, he gave him no opening to attack first.

Even at a close range of only a couple of steps, the front kick that struck the abdomen—specifically the position of the liver—was heavy. With a destructive force like a concrete pillar being driven in, Luca’s large body was slammed into the fountain as if by magic.

Without hesitation, the man jumped into the fountain and grabbed Luca by the collar, hauling him up. People instantly crowded around the fountain.

“Stop it! Stop it!”

Ji-in, arriving shortly after, splashed into the fountain.

In those eyes flowing with madness, it seemed that only Luca existed in that moment. Ji-in grabbed both of his cheeks and forced him to look at him. Despite the blow being to the abdomen, Luca, limp in his grip, was bleeding from the nose. If he let him take even one more hit, things would certainly escalate.

Ji-in shook his head, stroking the man’s cheeks.

“It’s okay. I’m okay! So let’s stop. Okay? Stop… I’m really okay!”

“……”

The focus in his eyes slowly returned to Ji-in. His eyes, which had been filled with murderous intent until a moment ago, grew blurred as if he were about to burst into tears. In a voice only he could hear, Ji-in spoke once more.

“I’m really okay.”

“……”

“Everything is okay now.”

Ji-in realized. When there is someone who feels anger on your behalf, the words “I’m okay” can finally be sincere.

■

The room he was staying in was the end room on the third floor. It was a bit wider and had better facilities than the room they had shared in Naples. As he had said, an all-in-one outdoor unit air conditioner was installed in the window.

To stabilize him, Ji-in thought it best to isolate him from the outside as much as possible. Ji-in closed the window and the shutters and set the air conditioner to a low setting.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he had been silent for over ten minutes.

Looking down at his own hands loosely interlaced, he seemed lost in deep thought. It was evident that his entire body was still in a state stolen contentstolen contentof tension. An excitement like a blue flame still lingered around him.

Ji-in leaned his back against the wardrobe opposite him and crossed his arms.

“He won’t make a bigger deal out of this, if only because he’ll be embarrassed that he got beaten. He’s probably the one who wants this to pass quietly more than anyone.”

“……”

He slowly raised his head. The glistening madness that had knocked a man down was gone, and pitiful eyes, like those of a frightened young animal, looked at Ji-in as if pleading.

His face showed that he didn’t care at all whether Luca sued him or not; rather, he was more afraid of the words Ji-in might throw at him.

“I think you learned martial arts.”

“A few things… for self-defense…”

“That earlier wasn’t self-defense; it was an attack.”

“……”

His head dropped again. Looking down at the hunched, broad shoulders, Ji-in went over and plopped down beside him. The elasticity of the hard, cheap mattress caused their bodies to bounce lightly up and down.

With the lights off and the shutters closed, the interior was moderately dark. Even with only the thin streaks of light seeping through the shutter slats, everything in the room was distinguishable.

Almost touching, there was only a gap of about a finger’s visit our site<Read on Read BL Novels/span>width between his knee and Ji-in’s.

“I’m sorry.”

“……”

“I feel like I’ve put you in a difficult position…”

Sigh… Ji-in tilted his head back and let out a deep sigh. Ji-in was also finding it hard for the excitement and tension to fade. However, he didn’t want him to apologize. He wasn’t angry, nor did he think he was in a difficult position. Rather, I…

With his chin still raised, he turned his head to the side.

“What… made you so angry?”

“……”

He didn’t answer. Keeping his lips—which had looked stubborn from the start—firmly set, he turned his gaze toward the wall. It was clear he didn’t regret hitting Luca in the slightest.

Ji-in reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. The stiff muscles of the shoulder twitched.

He stroked along the drenched shoulder line and then kneaded the tanned nape of his neck. He brushed the neatly trimmed hair at the back upward a few times. It was prickly yet ticklish.

Then, he lightly gripped the tip of his chin. He pulled gently to make him look this way.

As if Ji-in’s hand held a powerful force that was impossible to Read on Read BL Novelsstyle="opacity:0;font-size:0;">Read [stolen content]on Read BL Novelsresist, he entrusted himself to Ji-in’s hand without resistance.

Touching him, stroking him, sitting right beside him and looking into his eyes. This was the contact he had been trying to avoid, yet it was frustratingly natural. As if he had always touched him this way.

It was simply that what had to happen, happened.

He, too, had eyes as fearful as Ji-in’s. That, in turn, reassured Ji-in.

Moving the hand that had been holding his chin, Ji-in cupped his left cheek. Tilting his head slightly to lean his cheek into Ji-in’s palm, he was like a docile beast.

Ji-in leaned his upper body toward him, who remained stiffly frozen, unable to even lean further in this direction. He blinked his eyelids slowly and lowered his gaze. As if permitting everything.

His lips were dry. And hot. From top to bottom, bottom to top. To ensure he wasn’t startled, they moved slowly, only the surfaces of their lips brushing against each other.

Screech. Then, bracing himself against the mattress, Ji-in leaned his body completely toward him. The edge of the man’s shoulder touched Ji-in’s collarbone. Applying weight, he pressed his lips firmly against the other’s lower lip. The man didn’t even breathe, his two hands tightly interlaced on his thighs.

When they pulled their lips apart, his eyelids were trembling. Yet, as if witnessing a truly amazing sight, he couldn’t take his eyes off Ji-in. Ji-in’s forehead rested softly on his shoulder as he let out a thin, held breath.

Ji-in stroked his thick chest. Both were soaking wet from the spray of the fountain.

“Take it off.”

“……”

“You’re wet.”

After hesitating for a moment, he soon pulled up the hem of his t-shirt. Beside him as he struggled to remove the clothes clinging to his skin, Ji-in also took off his top.

The heavy laundry fell one by one onto the wooden floor with a thud.

Ji-in’s fingertips tickled their way up his long arm. He stroked the edge of the shoulder in a circle and kissed the bare skin. Chu, chu… As Ji-in pressed his lips onto the tanned skin, he suddenly let out a soft laugh and buried his forehead in the shoulder before him.

Why is he laughing? Did I do something wrong? Thinking he might be worrying about that, Ji-in cleared his throat and raised his head. As expected, he was looking at Ji-in with an anxious expression.

“No… we went swimming. I can taste the salt.”

“……”

His face looked as if he didn’t understand what was funny about that. He was so tense it was almost pitiful. Was it his first time? With looks like that, he could have had his first experience plenty of times before becoming an adult.

Gently pulling his arm, Ji-in tapped his own shoulder.

“I’m probably salty too.”

It was an invitation to check for himself.

As if reluctant, his body leaned in hesitantly under Ji-in’s pull. As he lowered his head over the shoulder, the scent of the sea wafted faintly from his wet hair.

Looking down at his face as he pressed his lips to his shoulder, Ji-in felt a strange sensation. He was cute enough to bring a smile, yet his overly cautious attitude made Ji-in impatient. [[Read on Read BL Novels]class="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">visit our site]He wanted him to do more than just press his lips—he wanted him to taste him in various ways.

When Ji-in raised his hand to stroke his hair, the man pulled his lips away and shook his head slightly.

“I… don’t really know.”

“Then try licking it with your tongue.”

“……”

As if he had heard an incredibly bold and obscene proposal, he widened his eyes and stared at Ji-in. Realizing they were too close, he quickly lowered his gaze, but he didn’t seem to dislike the suggestion to lick.

His lips had been dry, but the tongue he extended was red and wet. As if tasting the very top of a soft-serve ice cream, he extended his tongue and licked the skin. It was only a couple of times. Yet, like someone who had exhausted all their energy completing a monumental mission, he rested his head deeply on Ji-in’s shoulder. The trembling breath leaking from his lips touched Ji-in’s bare chest directly.

Stroking his rounded back, Ji-in spread his legs. He erased the gap that had remained between his knee and the other’s.

“How is it?”

“Just…”

“……”

“I feel like I’m just going to die.”

Ji-in nudged his thigh with his touching knee. He Read on Read BL Novelsaria-label="unauthorized copy">unauthorized copyhooked his right leg over the man’s left thigh. With his hand, he traced each of the delicately undulating muscles across the broad back.

Lifting his head from Ji-in’s shoulder, he looked like someone who had just woken from a deep sleep or was suffering from a severe hangover. His eyes were bloodshot and his focus was blurred. But this time, he did not avoid Ji-in’s face, which was right in front of him.

As if waiting for a kiss, he slowly lowered his eyelids.

Ji-in put strength into the leg hooked over his thigh and sat closer. Shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm, they were pressed tightly together.

Ji-in wrapped his arm around the man’s nape. Pulling him so his face was tilted slightly downward, he overlapped their lips deeply. It was different from the kiss before. Repeating the action of opening and closing his lips, he took the flesh into his mouth, and by tilting his jaw, he took the back of the lips—the softer mucosa—into his mouth. With the leg hooked over the thigh, he rubbed the back of the man’s calf.

Though he didn’t know what to do with the caresses coming from multiple directions, he was gradually heating up. His arms, which had been maintained in an awkward attention posture, cautiously wrapped around Ji-in’s back. His lips, which had been passively following Ji-in’s lead, began to move with their own will.

Chu, chu. Perhaps finding the sound of wet lips interlocking and parting fascinating, he intentionally made the sound several times as if testing it. In the process, he became gradually bolder, leaning his head deeper and digging into Ji-in.

“Ugh, mm. Mm…”

The hand that had been lightly resting on the side of the waist now hugged it strongly. Relying on that arm for support, Ji-in slid his hand toward the inside of the man’s thigh.

He was already rock hard, to the point where the front of his swimwear was pulled taut and pointing upward. While pushing his tongue into the mouth of the man who could only rub, bite, and suck without using his own tongue… Ji-in felt the firm thigh.

He slid his hand inside the edge of the swimwear. Of course, he wasn’t wearing underwear. There was a mesh inside the swimwear to keep the genitals in place.

The moment he slid his fingertips into that mesh, the man shuddered and pulled Ji-in’s wrist outward. His completely flushed face looked like that of someone feeling a stinging pain.

At that moment, Ji-in was almost certain that this was his first experience.

Ji-in, at twenty-four, had also never had direct sex involving penetration. So, it wasn’t impossible for the twenty-year-old to be inexperienced.

Even though he showed such blatant interest in him, he had never tried any tricks to get physical. He might just be the cautious type when it comes to these things.

As if apologizing for his previous behavior, he gently stroked Ji-in’s leg, which was resting on his thigh. He was stroking that hardened part… It didn’t seem like he had any desire not to use it.

Ji-in glanced at the bag he had set down in the hallway leading to the door. It was a mesh bag containing the things they had taken to the beach.

“The lubricant… let’s just use tanning oil instead, but I don’t have any condoms…”

“……”

“By any chance, do you have any… diseases? You don’t, right?”

He stared blankly at Ji-in for a moment, wondering what he meant, before letting out an “Ah…” and shaking his head. His entire ear was burning a deep crimson.

“I don’t… have any diseases.”

Since this was likely his first experience altogether, there was no way he’d have an STD. Same for Ji-in.

“I’m healthy too. Then, you agree to do it without a condom, right?”

“……Phew.”

Unable to bring himself to answer, he only let out a deep sigh. Ji-in found it cute that he was so shy yet never once said he wouldn’t do it, and a smile escaped him, though he didn’t laugh out loud this time.

Ji-in gave a loud smack of a kiss to the cheek of the man stroking his leg, then stood up and walked toward the bag. When he lifted the handle, the spot where the bag had been was damp.

Rummaging through the inside to find the oil, Ji-in spoke with his back turned to him. Ji-in wasn’t experienced enough to say these things while looking someone in the face. He was simply able to act a bit more brazenly than the other man.

“Um… I don’t know if you know, but it takes a bit of time to make it soft. I’ll go loosen things up in the bathroom… so, sorry, but just… a moment…”

The wooden floor creaked quite a bit, yet he had approached silently at some point. He had come right up beside him and gripped his wrist tightly. Without straightening his back, Ji-in looked up at him.

“Can’t I… do that?”

“……”

This time, Ji-in was the one lost for words. With his brow furrowed and a focused glint in his eyes, the man’s face looked beyond serious—it looked solemn.

He wanted to touch a man’s anus when they weren’t even lovers? Moreover, without any experience? Ji-in subtly slipped his wrist from his grip and continued rummaging through the bag. He had already spotted where the tanning oil was, but he didn’t stop his hand.

“You’ll find it repulsive.”

“It’s because of me, so I… I don’t want Hyung to have to do it yourself.”

“It’s not because of anyone; sex is something I do for my own pleasure too. I’d prefer it if you didn’t [[unauthorized copy]class="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">visit our site]content">stolen contentfeel some strange sense of responsibility.”

Ji-in grabbed the oil and set the bag down. Turning back, he saw the man looking flustered. Covering the lower half of his face with his large, clean hand, he rolled his eyes frantically, searching for the right words.

“It’s not that. I’m just not good at expressing myself… we’re… going to sleep together, so for Hyung to have to handle it alone inside… that’s just too…”

Was he trying to say that such a thing would be too empty and lonely?

It seemed he had a delicate philosophy regarding sex.

“I appreciate the thought, but this isn’t something that can be handled with manners—”

He suddenly turned Ji-in around. The hands gripping his shoulders were firm. The eyes meeting his were serious, earnest, and transparent.

“It’s not because of manners.”

“……”

“I want to do it together. Whatever it is. From start to finish.”

The first day he came to ‘Mio Palazzo.’ Every time their eyes met, he would blush, yet he had brought up wanting to buy him a meal. He treated Ji-in with caution and care, but he wasn’t timid. When there was something he wanted, he wasn’t the type to rush in blindly; rather, he was the type to achieve it with persistence.

Ji-in should have noticed when he saw him meticulously scouting date spots, underlining things in a travel guidebook. That in bed, as much as he was cautious, he was a man who didn’t do anything halfway.

After pondering for a moment while brushing back his damp hair, Ji-in looked up at him askew.

“You know it’ll be even more rude if you say you can’t do it halfway through, right?”

“That will absolutely never happen.”

Exactly. I wonder what you’re so confident about when you have zero experience, Mr. Virgin.

With a sigh, Ji-in finally made up his mind. He grabbed the wrist of the hand gripping his shoulder and led him to the bed. He tossed the oil onto the sheet and, conscious of the man standing behind him, pulled down his swimwear. Now completely naked, he climbed onto the mattress.

He gathered the pillows to prop himself up and leaned back against them. With his right knee raised to cleverly hide his genitals, he looked up at him.

Hazy eyes, as if waking from a deep sleep, looked down at Ji-in’s naked body. His front was still pushing up the swimwear in a sharp protrusion.

Perhaps because the other was so nervous, Ji-in found himself able to be bolder than usual. With a slide, he lowered his raised knee outward, revealing himself.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“……”

Biting his lower lip hard, he pushed his swimwear down. His member, caught in the band, bent downward, and he held it by the base to prevent it from snapping back as he completely removed the swimwear.

Compared to Ji-in’s still-soft member, he seemed embarrassed by his own, which stood stiffly erect. He tried to cover his erect penis, but no matter how large his hand was, it wasn’t a size that could be hidden.

Squeak. He climbed onto the mattress on his knees. Ji-in reached out and pulled him. His large body, bracing against the sheets, [Read on Read BL Novelsclass="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">unauthorized copy]style="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[unauthorized copy]hesitated before crawling between Ji-in’s legs.

They watched each other within the familiar, whitish darkness.

He took a slow, deep breath in and out. Ji-in stroked his contoured arm, rubbing his broad shoulders and wrapping his hands around his neck and cheek. The way he parted his lips before kissing was so cute that Ji-in ended up laughing silently.

Before he could notice Ji-in’s laughter, their lips overlapped. It was incomparable to the kiss from before. Their lips locked densely. They took turns opening their mouths to take the other’s lip between their own. When they tightened their lips, it felt as if sweet nectar was leaking from the soft flesh.

The muscles in his arms and shoulders, which were pressing into the sheets with fists rather than palms, stood out in sharp relief. Ji-in incessantly stroked that bulging, hard flesh and the sharply carved grooves. Then, he moved his hand to the broad chest, feeling the volume of the gentle muscles.

“Ugh.”

When Ji-in lightly pinched the nipples, where only brown areolas remained like vestigial traces, he flinched and pulled his lips away.

Ji-in wrapped his arms around his neck. He wrapped his calves around the waist of the man kneeling awkwardly between his legs. He clung to him, entwining his limbs and pulling him close.

He was desperate to keep his erect penis from touching Ji-in.

Kissing his lips and cheeks, Ji-in moved toward his ear. The tanned earlobe, which smelled like the warm sun, felt cool and soft, which was pleasant. While Ji-in touched the earlobe with his tongue and blew hot breath into the complex curves of the ear, the shoulders he was hugging began to heave more strongly.

“Didn’t you want to put that inside me? Why are you being so cautious?”

He buried his face in the shoulder of Ji-in, who was hugging his neck. Then he kissed the skin. His lips were still trembling. His entire body was still as hard as a rock.

“Anyway, it’ll be too [Read on Read BL Novels]style="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[Read on Read BL Novels]big in that state… it’ll be hard to put in. Should we ejaculate once?”

“……”

Without a word, obediently, he nodded a couple of times.

Loosening the arms around his neck, Ji-in looked down. Protruding from between his dark groin, his member stood erect at an unbelievable angle. It was as if a core had been inserted inside. Ji-in himself was only twenty-four, but youth was truly amazing.

However, thickness and length weren’t matters of youth. Even while sporting a penis that an average man—no, a man like Luca—would be dying to brag about, he kept shrinking back.

“Can you… close your legs?”

The question escaped him unconsciously. Even Ji-in was a bit surprised.

He thought he was the type who generally didn’t care about a partner’s size, and he had never felt that so-called ‘well-endowed’ men were sexier.

But why?

It was a penis that looked like it belonged to a porn star who knew nothing but that act, as if flaunting reproductive power and sexual superiority… It really wasn’t his type. Yet, just looking at it caused a dull tingling sensation to rise around his waist and buttocks.

It was the first time he had stared so intently at a partner’s erect penis, and the first time he had licked his lips and swallowed hard as if craving it.

He placed the penis on his palm and supported it. He had guessed as much by sight, but the length far exceeded Ji-in’s hand, reaching up past his wrist. He flicked it lightly a couple of times as if gauging the weight. The sensation of it bouncing back heavily against his palm made Ji-in moan.

“Mmm…”

Letting out a low moan with closed lips, Ji-in gently stroked the vein-bulging shaft.

“This must hurt.”

From the twitching urethral opening, clear fluid welled up and flowed. As the liquid, which evoked an erotic feeling, ran down the shaft, the penis twitched like a living creature.

Ji-in thrust his hand deeper between his legs. He felt the large testicles, tight with excitement, against his fingertips.

“Is there anywhere you want to rub against my body?”

He pushed his hand further in, stroking in large motions from deep in the groin up to the glans. Stimulated, the man wrapped his arms around Ji-in’s back and gripped his shoulders tightly. His hands, clutching the area where the neck met the shoulders, were unable to control their strength.

“I… actually, I’ve felt a bit strange for a while.”

“……”

“I mean… if you stimulate me too much…”

“We’re together right now so that we can get strange. It’s okay, so do whatever you want.”

Ji-in took the man’s other hand and led it to his own groin. Gripping Ji-in’s penis, the man could barely breathe. All over his face, as if encouraging him, Ji-in’s lips continued to draw sweet trajectories.

The sound of lips kissing skin. The increasingly ragged breathing of the two.

Amidst that, the wet friction of stimulating the genitals seeped in viscously.

Like someone afraid he might crush Ji-in’s member, his movements, which had been tentative and gentle, gradually became more intense. Whenever Ji-in’s lips passed his cheeks and the bridge of his nose to reach his lips, he would suck on them as if he had been waiting.

“Ugh, mm…”

His hand, which had only been skimming the shaft, touched the testicles and carefully began to fiddle with the tender flesh deeper inside than the testicles.

A trembling moan burst from Ji-in’s lips.

“Hng… ah!”

Simultaneously, he overlapped their lips deeply and pushed his body forward. Sinking deep into the pile of pillows propped behind his back, Ji-in lost his grip on the man’s penis.

The man who had said not to stimulate him because he’d get strange—perhaps stimulated by Ji-in’s moan, or perhaps by the sensation of the tender flesh between the thighs he had touched for the first time—was extremely aroused. It felt as if he had torn through the barrier he had placed around himself to maintain restraint.

He covered Ji-in’s entire body, and Ji-in hugged his neck. To rub his own member against the other’s, Ji-in thrashed his hips. To ensure the man couldn’t regain his senses, to make him even stranger, Ji-in seduced his tongue.

Inside Ji-in’s mouth, full of wet, soft mucous membranes, his tongue poked everywhere, rubbed everywhere, and scraped everything. The red interior, as secret as the narrow gap between the buttocks, was being completely ransacked by his tongue.

“Mmm… ngh…”

His tongue slid out, scraping the roof of the mouth, and the strong suction on the lower lip made [stolen content[visit our site]style="font-size:0;position:absolute;left:-9999px;">]visit our sitestolen content -->the thin skin sting. That sweet pain excited Ji-in. The man’s glistening eyes were sharply observing every one of Ji-in’s reactions right in front of him. He was no longer docile.

Ji-in slid his hand between their pressed bellies. Placing his own penis and the other’s against each other up and down, he wrapped both hands around them so they wouldn’t slip. Then, nibbling on the man’s chin, he whispered in a cracked voice.

“Shake your hips.”

Bracing his elbows on either side of Ji-in’s chest, he slid his hips back. Then he slowly pushed forward. The direct sensation of penis rubbing against penis was unbearable. Ji-in rubbed the insides of his thighs against the man’s flanks.

“Yes, like… that… mmm… hng.”

He moved slowly, yet without missing a single clear point.

The feeling of the distinct rim of the glans scraping the shaft as he pulled back was terrifyingly vivid. A considerable amount of pre-cum, from whom it flowed unknown, made the friction even more dense.

“Hng, hng… phew…”

Ji-in suppressed his breathing while continuing to maintain eye contact. Lying atop Ji-in’s body, the man was breathing heavily through his nose, teeth clenched tight. Because of that, his thick shoulders heaved, making Ji-in feel as if he were being pinned down by a male bison.

Every muscle decorating his physique was expanded to the limit, as if about to explode.

I want him to press me down completely with a body like this. I want him to pour an uncontrollable, line-crossing desire onto my body.

As the excitement began to heat his head, a twisted desire inevitably reared its head. Ji-in closed his eyes and shook his head.

The man, who had been just watching despite being right in front of him, kissed Ji-in’s closed eyelids. Ji-in pressed his stolen contentstyle="font-size:0;color:transparent;display:inline;">unauthorized copylips to the man’s lower jaw and nibbled the skin. Using that as a signal, they began [stolen content]to shower each other’s faces with frantic kisses as if competing. Then, without anyone being first, their tongues entwined.

“Mmm. Mm…”

He spread his thighs wide and pressed his lower half even closer. Their groins adhered without a single inch of gap. The movement of him pulling his hips back and then entering deeply gradually increased in speed.

His body was slowly erasing thought and following instinct. This could be guessed by the movement of his tongue, which explored the inside of the mouth as if to choke the breath out of him.

He now moved away from the horizontal push-and-pull, shaking his hips rapidly as if thrusting up into Ji-in’s crotch. Every time those powerful pelvises slammed deep under the buttocks, it felt as if the inside and outside of his body were vibrating.

The slapping sound of flesh hitting flesh in the lower body, the slippery friction of the genitals, the unevenly heaving moans. It already felt like sex.

Squeak, creak. Creak. The springs of the old mattress let out high-pitched moans. Even that sounded like someone’s suppressed cries of pleasure. Ji-in pressed the man’s lower back with his heels, crossing his ankles. He could feel the thick waist, dipping above the dizzyingly raised buttocks, writhing flexibly.

“Hng, mm. Hng… mm.”

From the fingertips, the toes, and the tip of the penis, the sensation just before climax raced through his veins. It was the first time he had been consumed by this level of excitement before ejaculation. It felt as if a sticky desire was oozing out, forcing its way through the heavy lid he believed he had safely sealed.

Ji-in let go of the hands that had been holding their genitals together. With those hands, he hugged the man’s back tightly and pulled him in. He was squeezing the man’s waist with both legs, but he wasn’t conscious of it. He thrashed his own hips to increase the friction and pressure. His chest felt like it would burst. He blindly took the man’s ear between his lips and nibbled it.

“More… shake me more. Rub your cock… harder… hng!”

He wanted to spout vulgar words, and he wanted to hear them from the man. He couldn’t be satisfied with gentle and mild sex.

He had claimed he didn’t want his daily life threatened and had sought meetings [unauthorized visit our sitecopy]with static people… but that was a lie. It was an act of deceiving himself. It became clear in this moment.

“Press down hard. I want to rub more… against yours… hah, ngh!”

“Ugh.”

Exhaling through his teeth, the man pressed his chest completely against Ji-in’s. At the sensation of being crushed by a heavy weight, Ji-in scratched and gripped the man’s back, tilting his chin up. He was short of breath.

“Just like that, shake… hng, hng!”

The man’s arm dug under the back and hooked around Ji-in’s shoulder. He fixed him firmly so that no matter how much Ji-in thrust his hips, his body wouldn’t be pushed upward. From the crotch to the lower belly and chest. In a state of complete adhesion, he rapidly thrashed his hips. Because he was being rubbed strongly against a firm lower belly with distinct contours, his penis was almost to the point of soreness.

Heavy, suffocating, as if he were being swallowed by the mattress… and it felt maddeningly good. He had never experienced pleasure like this before.

It wasn’t just the mattress; even the metal bed frame joined in, shaking the old wooden floor. He didn’t care if anyone heard.

“Mmm, mm! Mmph! Hng..!”

The moment the other man’s tongue filled his mouth, he reached climax. But the other man was not finished. His waist, pulsing with tireless energy, continued to drive Ji-in backward.

“Mm! Mmm!”

The stimulation from the friction immediately following ejaculation was unbearable. He shook his head to push the tongue out and tried to push the shoulders away, but any resistance was futile against a man pushed to the brink of his own release.

The pulsing tongue flickered inside his mouth, stabbing alternately at his tongue and the roof of his mouth. It was a kiss that felt like a violation of his oral cavity. The moment the tongue slid out and he could finally breathe, [unauthorized [stolen content]wm: stolen content -->copy]another burst of hot liquid sprayed between his lower abdomen.

Yet, even after ejaculating, the man showed no sign of cooling down. If anything, it felt as though things were only just beginning. He showered kisses along the jawline and neck, nipped at the collarbone, and moved down to take a nipple into his mouth.

“Hng! Ah..”

His member, still twitching from the afterglow of climax, pressed against Ji-in’s chest. Ji-in shifted his hips, rubbing his penis against the man’s chest. Even his mind felt electric.

The nipples, drenched in saliva, felt more swollen than usual. The man sharpened his tongue and pressed firmly into the center of the nipple. He meticulously licked upward from the bottom, circling the convex areola several times. With his hands, he stroked Ji-in’s two arms, which lay limp on the sheets.

Looking down, Ji-in saw the handsome face focused on the nipple, lips pursed. He wanted to wrap his arms around the man’s head out of a ticklish urge, but he lacked the strength to shake off the hands pinning his arms down.

“Ugh, hng.. hng.”

While Ji-in rubbed his toes and heels against the sheets, the man moved further down. The nipples were freed, but his entire body was already hypersensitive.

The man kissed his stomach, which was glistening with mixed semen, and rubbed his lips against the sleek, glossy pubic hair. Licking the fluids that dampened the still-semi-erect penis, he slid down, further down.

“Mmm..”

Ji-in didn’t need to ask where the destination was.

Ji-in didn’t try to control him. Instead, amidst the rising excitement, he watched the man’s every move. His hips kept arching upward in lewd anticipation.

In the hazy darkness, a wet tongue glistened. It rubbed horizontally across the base of the penis.

“Ah. Mm. Hng..”

Matching the movement of the tongue, Ji-in slowly swayed his hips from side to side. Every now and then, his waist would jerk. The man looked up, meticulously observing Ji-in’s face and reactions.

Looking down at the bloodshot eyes—the result of suppressing too much excitement—Ji-in reached down between his legs.

“Being down there… makes you look even more handsome.”

It was a joke he barely managed to utter, hoping to create a bit of breathing room, but the man didn’t laugh at all, as if he had heard a foreign language he couldn’t understand.

Left with no choice, Ji-in gave a weak, solitary laugh and stroked the man’s sweat-soaked hair.

“That’s… enough now.. oil..”

At the command that fell from Ji-in’s lips, the man sat up in the darkness. He raised one arm to roughly wipe the sweat from his face, then searched for the oil and opened the cap.

Ji-in thought he would spray the oil directly on his groin. Instead, the man dampened his fingers and felt deep into Ji-in’s lower body. Like someone who didn’t trust himself, fearing he might make a mistake and hurt Ji-in, he kept glancing down.

“……”

Ji-in hooked his arms behind his thighs, which were bent at the knees, and pulled his legs upward. He flipped his lower body until his knees almost touched his shoulders. The man stopped moving at the sight of the lewd posture, which emphasized and exposed the most intimate parts of the body—the buttocks and genitals. His wide eyes blinked slowly, unable to tear his gaze away from the fully exposed private area.

He had never shown himself like this to anyone. But in front of this man—who, even while rock hard, did nothing visit our siteRead on Read BL Novelspan>but suppress himself for Ji-in’s sake—he felt it was okay.

For the man who had been so furious on his behalf.

Moreover, Ji-in’s instincts were finding a subtle pleasure in this shameful posture. Only his reason, not yet fully liberated, was interfering; in truth, he wanted to do things even more extreme than this.

“Hurry..”

At Ji-in’s sigh-like voice, the man repositioned himself. Slippery fingers circled the clearly visible opening. Then, pressing down as if pulling one side downward, he slowly attempted entry.

“Mm..”

The fingers pushing through the tightly closed, narrow gap were cautious. Perhaps because he had just ejaculated, his relaxed body accepted him with less resistance than expected. Every time the man increased the number of fingers, he generously poured more of the brown oil.

By the time three fingers were swallowed, the oil leaked and squelched from inside the hole whenever he pressed down vertically.

As the insertion quickened, the strength drained from Ji-in’s waist. The arms hugging his thighs kept slipping. Noticing this, the man used his left hand to push up Ji-in’s right thigh. Then, he draped Ji-in’s left leg over his own shoulder.

The hole widening to swallow the fingers, the penis hardening again from the pleasure of the sensitive area being rubbed, and the movement of the fingers sliding in and out—everything was exposed to him.

His whole body tingled, and a chill ran down his spine. His mind felt liquefied and mushy. He couldn’t perceive anything properly. The muscles of his buttocks twitched involuntarily, tightening around the fingers in irregular cycles of contraction and relaxation.

Stimulated by Ji-in’s reaction, the man curled his fingers and scraped the inner walls as if digging something out. It was a movement that used the strength of his entire arm, not just his wrist, to thrust deep inside.

A tingling itch, a frantic sensation akin to the urge to urinate—different from the feeling [stolen content]style="position:relative;display:inline;">[stolen [Read on Read BL Novels]content]of ejaculation—sent shivers through Ji-in’s entire body.

“No, don’t.. hng! Ahh!”

It seemed the man couldn’t hear Ji-in’s voice.

Ji-in bit his lower lip hard. But that sensation immediately caused his body to convulse once more.

Waving his arms toward the unreachable man, he kicked his calves wildly against the unmoving shoulders.

“Haa, ha! Stop, st-stop.. I said no! I don’t li.. hng, hng!”

The fingers that had been stirring him as if to split his body in two suddenly slid out in an instant. That was another new sensation. It made him realize more vividly where the man had been inside him than the feeling of being filled.

“……”

He carefully lowered Ji-in’s lower body back onto the sheets. Then, breathing heavily and unable to calm down, he hesitantly stepped back.

Frightened eyes looked down at the completely limp Ji-in. Swallowing hard, he raised his arm and haphazardly wiped the sweat from his face.

For a moment, Ji-in couldn’t process the situation. Why so suddenly..?

The man’s chest, swollen and heaving, and the muscles wrapping his abdomen like scales or armor were all glistening with sweat. His powerful physique was filled to the brim with strength that hadn’t been fully released.

“Ah..”

Only then did Ji-in think he understood the reason for this sudden lull. He barely managed to pull himself together and sit up. His lower half, which had been intensely stimulated until a moment ago, tingled, making it difficult to support his body.

The man reached out as if to help Ji-in up, but thinking he would be rejected, he quickly withdrew his hand.

Because I said I hated it.. because he thought that was the truth..

“I’m sorry.. I’m, I’m strange.. for acting my own way..”

Kneeling with his head bowed low, the man kept rubbing his face roughly. Between his slightly parted thighs, his member was still erect.

Ji-in, sitting with his knees up to roughly cover between his legs, brushed back his disheveled hair and asked cautiously.

“When you said it was strange earlier.. did you mean that?”

The man nodded. Then, he shook his head vigorously. The latter was an act of self-denial.

I’m sorry.. The barely audible voice murmured repeatedly. Ji-in felt he understood the self-loathing the man was feeling better than anyone.

“I don’t know how this will sound.. but, uh, I liked it.”

“……”

“Saying I hated it, I mean.. that wasn’t sincere..”

Though he had raised his head halfway to look, he seemed unable to believe Ji-in’s words.

Ji-in was at a loss for how to explain. The heat they had felt while poking… that place in a state of extreme mutual arousal hadn’t disappeared; it was still pooling on the bed.

Licking his lips and repeatedly brushing back his hair, Ji-in adjusted his posture. He grabbed a pillow with a white cover to shield his front and handed one to the man.

“For now.. shall we cover up a bit and talk?”

“……”

Whether he was completely unaware of his erect member or not, the man’s earlobes turned red as he took the pillow.

The two sat facing each other diagonally on the bed. Ji-in, sitting cross-legged, was at a distance where his right toes almost touched the man’s left knee.

“The words just came out that way, but I really didn’t hate it. So, for now, you don’t have to be sorry about that part.”

“I.. I didn’t hear Hyung’s words.”

“……”

“No.. I heard the words saying no, and I saw the gestures of refusal.. but I couldn’t control myself.”

Meaning that those words and actions of refusal weren’t sincere.

Ji-in leaned his arm on the pillow resting on his lap. The man’s face, which he couldn’t see, still looked confused.

The comment about feeling like he would become “strange.”

Ji-in had guessed it simply referred to a state of sexual arousal, but the thought that it might be something else began to carry more weight. The suspicion that perhaps the man had similar struggles to his own..

If that were the case, it was easier to understand the request not to stimulate him too much, and the excessive caution in suppressing himself. He probably wanted to prevent his dark instincts from breaking free.

Just as Ji-in had always done.

After rubbing his mouth and pondering for a moment, Ji-in let out a short sigh.

“I’ve never said this to anyone..”

Even as he started, Ji-in couldn’t believe he was saying this. To think he was pouring out his innermost thoughts—things he hadn’t even told Tae-yoon, who identified as a BDSM practitioner—to a traveler who would be leaving in a few days.

“I like it when a partner handles me roughly and is a bit coercive.”

“……”

“Some people see it as strange, and I’m not particularly proud of it myself.. but anyway, that’s my preference.. so I didn’t hate it a moment ago. So don’t feel any self-loathing.”

“……”

“Sounds like a pervert, right?”

At the last remark added with a chuckle, the man shook his head very firmly. Then, he spoke in a stern voice.

“The guy who wants to pin his partner down so they can’t move.. and wants to make them accept his desires to the end.. that guy is the pervert. Hyung.. is not.”

“Have you ever forced someone who truly hated it?”

“……”

His face finally turned toward Ji-in.

“You haven’t, right? Even a moment ago, you stopped the second I said I hated it.”

“That’s..”

“If the one who wants to overpower and pour out their desires with force is a pervert, then the one who wants to be the object of that is just as much of a pervert. I think most people would see it that way.”

Ji-in lightly placed his hand on the back of the man’s hand, which was loosely clenched on the pillow.

Was it because he was someone who would soon leave? Because they were in a relationship that would leave no responsibility for either? Or was it because their desires, though different in direction, were the same color? Words that he had been unable to utter until now flowed out with strange ease.

Fiddling with the man’s fingers, Ji-in whispered.

“It’s not strange.”

“……”

“If the two of us want it, agree to it, and are satisfied.. who can call that strange? We aren’t hurting anyone.”

Tae-yoon’s paradox about BDSM, which he had previously let go in one ear and out the other, proved helpful. But these weren’t excuses; they were sincere. They were words for the man, and simultaneously, words for himself.

Starting from the back of the man’s hand, Ji-in tapped the skin with his fingers like playing a piano, moving up the arm. Then, he sat closer and buried his forehead against the edge of the man’s shoulder.

“I don’t mean.. that I want to hurt you or use violence.”

“Me neither. If someone truly tried to rape me by force, how could I enjoy that? I mean I want a kind of roleplay, in a state where we’ve both agreed.”

“You’re not.. just playing along because you think I’m worrying too much, right?”

He lifted his head to look at him. Traces of confusion remained, but it was better than before. Emerging from his self-loathing, the man was slowly regaining heat toward the Ji-in before him.

Ji-in playfully pressed the man’s shoulder with the tip of his chin.

“Do I seem like that kind of pushover to you?”

After staring silently for a long stolen [stolen content]contentvisit our sitecontent -->time, the man lowered his head deeply and kissed Ji-in’s lips first.

“I hope it wasn’t that.”

A whisper followed in a voice so small it was almost pitiful.

For some reason, Ji-in’s body suddenly grew hot at that voice. Gently biting his lower lip, he slid his hand down from the man’s shoulder this time. Then, he lightly interlaced his fingers over the wide, tanned back of the man’s hand.

“Let’s set a safe word. That’ll solve it.”

“……”

Though he seemed to grasp the vague meaning, he didn’t appear to know exactly how a safe word was used in this situation.

“Hmm.. if I say ‘Darling,’ you stop everything immediately. Do you understand what that means?”

“Ah..”

The decision was based on Tae-yoon’s advice that a safe word should be a word not normally used, or something that would never be said during sex. However, he didn’t want to shout words like ‘police,’ ‘broom,’ or ‘traffic light,’ as Tae-yoon had suggested.

Even if it was a safe word to stop sex and break the flow, he felt that such words would shatter all the preceding excitement and afterglow.

“Conversely, until I say that word.. it means that no matter how much I resist, I don’t actually hate it.”

“……”

Instead of answering, the man firmly gripped Ji-in’s fingers, which were interlaced with his own.

Ji-in led that hand between his legs. He pressed his lips against the bulging biceps of the extended arm and nibbled the skin. He pushed the man’s hand, which he had pulled under the pillow, between the sheets and his buttocks.

“I think… it’s open now.”

He hugged the man’s head as he leaned his upper body toward Ji-in’s chest. Licking the complex cartilage of the ear with his tongue, he whispered.

“Can you feel it leaking?”

“……”

He didn’t answer, but the hand that had burrowed in was fiddling around the hole beneath the buttocks. The oil that had been leaking bit by bit while they talked oozed out whenever he pressed the flesh.

While sitting, Ji-in rotated his waist to stimulate the hand he was sitting on. The breath exhaled from the face he was hugging was growing rougher.

“Earlier.. it was really good.. the position was good, and I liked how you thrust strongly inside.. I was almost about to go.”

As if he couldn’t hold back any longer, the man gripped the area firmly using his entire palm. Ji-in hugged his neck tighter and buried his lips completely against the hot ear.

“……You’re good at it.”

As if charging in, the man pushed Ji-in’s body down onto the bed. Overpowering him in an instant and pinning Ji-in’s stolen contentstyle="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[unauthorized copy]stolen contenttwo wrists to the sheets, his shoulders heaved. There was still hesitation in his eyes.

Ji-in kicked away the pillow that was awkwardly draped over his lower body. Then, bending his knees, he rubbed his feet over the man’s thighs. While maintaining direct eye contact, he tapped those thighs lightly.

“Don’t.”

“……”

The man lowered his body, breathing heavily. He buried his lips where Ji-in’s neck met the collarbone and sucked strongly enough to leave a mark. Despite wrapping his legs around the man’s waist at the stinging pleasure, Ji-in feigned an indifferent voice.

“Stop it.”

“……”

He lowered his body completely and pressed his member between Ji-in’s legs. Whether it had been like this throughout their conversation or if the thrilling contact from a moment ago had reignited the fire, he was rock hard. As the excited organ rubbed against his crotch, Ji-in’s lower half instantly grew hot as well.

Releasing Ji-in’s wrists, he gripped the base of his member to prepare for insertion. The slick, thick glans repeatedly touched and retreated from the softened entrance, as if kissing it.

“I told you I don’t want to.”

Hiding the dry-mouthed, burning impatience, Ji-in deliberately shook his head with exaggerated force. He pushed the other man’s shoulder away with a voice laced with amusement.

“No. I don’t want to. Don’t put it in. You animal.”

Looking down to align himself, the man looked up at Ji-in with a face flushed deep red.

“You’re teasing me, aren’t you?”

At the grumpy, blunt tone, Ji-in laughed and pulled him by the shoulder.

“As if.”

The glans was pressing firmly against the entrance, as if it were about to plunge inside at any second.

“I’m just… trying to help… you get used to… saying no… ngh, ah…”

Ji-in thought he had relaxed somewhat thanks to the foreplay before the conversation, but the inner walls from just inside the entrance were gripping tightly. Just as it seemed to swallow a tiny bit, it abruptly bounced back the hot, slick intruder.

However, he persisted, lunging again and again. He soaked his member further, as if dipping it in oil, and pushed through, ignoring the internal resistance.

“Ugh.”

Feeling a pressure that felt as if he might be severed, the man’s brow and the bridge of his nose furrowed deeply.

“Ha. Ha-eu, hng… hugh.”

Now, Ji-in no longer had the luxury to joke. Once he broke through the most elastic muscles near the entrance, the path became slightly easier. But it was literally just a little.

The sensation of being forcibly pried open was too vivid. It was incomparable to fingers or sex toys. While it was true that he had a [visit our site]copy">unauthorized copymagnificently swollen glans, it felt as if something far thicker than reality was forcing its way between his legs. Anxious that he wouldn’t be able to take it unless he spread his legs as wide as possible, Ji-in unconsciously kept opening his thighs further.

Once he had entered enough that the glans wouldn’t slip out, he let go of his member and collapsed on top of Ji-in’s body again. In that short interval, his entire body glistened with sweat.

“Is it hard?”

With beads of sweat clinging to the bridge of his nose, he asked Ji-in with a worried expression. Wrapping his hand around the other’s moist, smooth neck to pull him closer, Ji-in rubbed his lips against the tip of his chin.

“It’s true that… I thought you were sexy when I looked at you. But now, I think… it would have been okay… if it were… a bit smaller…”

The saltiness lingering on the tip of his tongue made the moment feel even more vivid. Propping his elbows beneath Ji-in’s armpits, he pressed their chests together. With only the glans barely inserted, his lower body remained still.

He was as careful as possible so as not to stimulate the area further. Like someone worried that Ji-in’s body might break if he went even a little deeper.

Ji-in wiped the sweat hanging from the tip of his nose with the back of his hand. As he pulled the neck closer to kiss, their dry lips stuck together viscously. While his entire body glistened with sweat, only his lips were parched. Ji-in’s mouth was the same.

With their foreheads pressed together, he murmured.

“I don’t want to hurt you. I hope… Hyung isn’t in pain.”

Because he had inserted himself while Ji-in was kneeling with his thighs spread, Ji-in’s two legs were splayed on either side of the man’s torso. With his lower back slightly lifted off the surface, Ji-in narrowed the gap between his knees to squeeze the man’s sides.

Then, he playfully rubbed their touching foreheads from side to side.

“You’re probably… in quite a bit of pain right now too, aren’t you?”

“This is… far better than that. For me…”

Despite saying he wanted to push his desires while keeping the other immobile, Ji-in felt a sense of pity for this twenty-year-old who was fighting against the pleasure of inserting his member into another person’s body for the first time.

He wrapped his arms around the man’s back and pulled him in. Not just the member inside him, but the man’s entire body against him felt like a ball of fire. Rubbing his nose and lips against the scorching ear, he whispered.

“I feel the same. There’s a… stinging sensation, but that’s not all.”

“……”

“So… try moving… slowly…”

His slick body, composed of various large and small curves, began to move slowly, like a gentle ripple in the water.

“Yes, while moving, little by little… ha-eu, hng… a, a little more… come in…”

He pushed in shallowly, retreated even further, and in the next moment, entered slightly deeper than before. He never rushed. As he had said, he was incredibly persistent.

The oil pooled inside Ji-in and the oil applied to his member pushed against each other, coating the dry inner walls with viscosity. The motion of sliding out and shallowly stabbing gradually became smoother.

“Ha-eut, hng… hugh.”

Every time the swollen glans, expanded as if it would burst, brushed against a certain spot, Ji-in tilted his chin up with a breath that sounded [stolen content][stolen content]like he was gasping for air. He clawed at the man’s back with his left hand and covered his face with his right.

“Hyung, does it hurt? Is it because it hurts?”

He pulled away the hand covering the face. Yet, this time, he did not stop the movement below.

Pulling his firm buttocks back and creating a flexible flow through his waist and back as he entered… he looked quite like a man who knew how to have sex. Every time his waist lowered and his buttocks tightened, the wave created by that physique surged into Ji-in’s interior, and the vibration created a tremor. It was the first time Ji-in had ever had someone’s member inside him and been shaken by the other’s strength.

“Uuu, hng… ha-eu. Hng.”

Ji-in’s eyes, drenched and unfocused, sought out the man’s lips and licked them with his tongue.

“No… hurry… there, rub there more… it’s agonizing… hugh.”

His member suddenly plunged deep.

It was a bold force, like ripping through tight stitching with a loud tear.

Yet, he hadn’t entered completely. His scrotum wasn’t hitting between the buttocks, nor could he feel the pubic hair around the point of contact. There was still a way to go.

It wasn’t an overwhelming force. He was simply shaking his hips rapidly back and forth; since the base of the penis remained outside the anus, it wasn’t the kind of insertion where the pelvis slammed hard against the groin.

But it was enough to scrape that maddening spot.

“Ha-eugh, hng! Stop… s-stop it…”

Whether it was the frustration of being teased just before the edge, or the sprint toward the climax, it was equally agonizing.

He felt he couldn’t handle it. He felt he was going crazy. That’s why he wanted to stop, and yet he hoped the man would ignore his attempt to stop and push him to the very end. Just as promised.

The groaning of the mattress, which had been creaking in time with the man’s panting thrusts, suddenly fell silent. Swallowing a heavily disordered breath, he swept Ji-in’s hair back.

“Hyung. You’re erect right now.”

“Heeuuu, hugh. Hng…”

Ji-in looked down, letting out a breath that sounded like a sob. Making a mockery of his plea to stop, his member was indeed turgidly erect, hovering slightly above his lower abdomen, just as the man said. It was expanded nearly to its limit.

“I’ll lift you up.”

Hands slid beneath his back. Two arms wrapped firmly around Ji-in and pulled him up sharply.

“Ha-eut!”

The moment the position changed and he sat atop the man’s thighs, the remaining base of the penis was driven deep inside by Ji-in’s weight.

“A-euuu, eu…”

The pain of being forcibly pried open was swallowed by the heat that had been racing toward a climax until a moment ago. He tried to grip the man’s shoulders to Read on Read BL Novels -->Read on Read BL Novelssupport himself, but the man firmly grabbed Ji-in’s hands and pulled them down. Then, he wrapped his arms tightly around Ji-in’s entire torso, including his arms.

He didn’t thrust upward violently. However, the mere movement of shaking him as if coaxing and soothing made his entire body ring. Whenever the man heaved with excitement and pushed up with his knees, Ji-in’s body was pulled up with him. It didn’t seem to be a difficult task for him.

His lips took a large mouthful around the areola. He sucked the entire area until it made a squelching sound, then bit only the plumply swollen nipple with his lips and squeezed hard.

“Haaaa, ha… ha-eu! Hng!”

Ji-in threw his head back as far as possible, shaking it wildly as he ejaculated.

He wanted to writhe and release the pleasure of ejaculation, but he couldn’t because of the two arms hugging him tightly.

“You’re crazy… I’m telling you, I’m going crazy! Inside… hng, inside keeps…”

No matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t escape. He had no choice but to accept this pleasure head-on.

That this was not frustration, but rather a sense of relief—Ji-in had to admit it after actually experiencing it.

“I know. It’s twitching incredibly. I feel like… I’m being strangled by Hyung.”

Clenching his teeth, he continued to speak with difficulty, spitting out each word through the gaps in his teeth. Without showing mercy to Ji-in, who was struggling with the sensitivity immediately following ejaculation, he continued to thrust shallowly and rapidly, as if carving into the depths.

“I-I can’t… do this! There, stop pressing there, ugh… hng! Hugh!”

“Just a little… just a little more… I’m sorry, Hyung… you don’t really [Read on Read BL Novels]Read on Read BL Novelswm: Read on Read BL Novels -->hate it, right? Hyung… I’m sorry… Jeong Ji-in…”

Jeong Ji-in, Jeong Ji-in…

His final voice before ejaculating didn’t sound like he was calling Ji-in to seek an answer, but rather like a mantra to ensure he didn’t forget the name.

The semen he felt through the delicate mucosa of the inner walls was as hot as the tears that had just flowed from the corners of his eyes. It was a vividness that characterized the moment, much like the saltiness of his sweat.

Bound tightly by the upper body, Ji-in looked down. Conversely, the man looked up, and they entwined and sucked each other’s tongues frantically like beasts.

Heat was still boiling on his face. The member filling his body was still hot. When he lifted Ji-in’s waist slightly to create a gap between the penis and the anal entrance, the traces of their lovemaking—a mixture of oil and semen—leaked down from the groin. It was an unbearably erotic sensation.

This was sex. The real sex that his instincts had craved and his reason had ignored.

He felt as if he had left something behind and been pushed forward. He felt relieved, yet also sorrowful. Instead of delving into those thoughts, Ji-in slid his tongue into the man’s mouth. A soft, yet gradually intensifying suction drew everything in. In the most fragile depths, the man’s member was becoming hard again.

■

When Ji-in opened his eyes while lying face down, a dark blue dawn was breaking through the gaps in the shutters.

“……”

The spot beside him, which entered his field of vision immediately, was empty. Before he could fully register the absence, a languid heaviness washed over his back, waist, and lower body. It was the remnant of the intense sex that had continued until just a few hours ago.

“You must be tired… why are you awake already?”

At the raspy, low voice, he rolled over to look.

The man was sitting on a chair in front of a small table next to the wardrobe. Leaning his back against the wall and looking this way, there was no trace of sleepiness on his face. He didn’t know how long he had been awake.

Ji-in pushed himself up with his upper body, bracing against the sheets.

“I should get going.”

Ji-in’s voice was also tightly locked and cracked.

“I have to prepare for work… and I didn’t contact anyone to say I was staying out.”

Even though the man hadn’t held onto him telling him to stay longer, Ji-in added a long excuse as he pushed back the sheets and stood up.

For the first few minutes, it was difficult to put proper strength into his lower body. Just standing there made his pelvic area throb as if his insides were falling out. He tried his best to pretend he was fine because he didn’t want to look pathetic, but he couldn’t completely hide the discomfort. He had pushed himself too hard for a first experience.

While preparing to leave with the help of the man, who watched him with pitying eyes, the two barely spoke.

When the man had said he wanted to spend the holiday together, Ji-in had promised exactly one day. No more than that.

It was unexpected that such things had happened yesterday, the only day they had. However, just because they had become a couple who had sex didn’t mean he intended to change the promise.

Nothing had changed. He was still a person who would leave Paelli in a few days.

After using the bathroom and coming out, he found the man waiting in front of the door. Ji-in let out a small chuckle, thinking he was like a puppy following him around.

Just as he was about to move toward his bag, the man’s gaze slowly scanned Ji-in’s upper body, now clad in a t-shirt.

“I left… too many marks, didn’t I?”

“Ah…”

Ji-in was aware of the situation because he had checked in the mirror in the bathroom. Marks from being sucked and bitten were scattered around the nipples of his chest, around the pubic area, and around his collarbones. However, whether it was a calculated result or not, they were fortunately in positions that weren’t visible while clothed.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s the same for both of us.”

Ji-in replied lightly, lightly pressing the man’s chest with his fingertips. Because he had scratched, clawed, and bitten in an attempt to control his maddening excitement, the man’s chest, shoulders, and back were also mottled.

“Still, you’re saved because those areas are cleanly covered when you wear your uniform. I think you have a talent for this.”

Saying this with a hint of playfulness, Ji-in pressed the man’s shoulder firmly once and left the bathroom area.

When he slung the bag he had left on the floor over his shoulder and turned around, the man was heading toward the entrance as if preparing to go out.

“Where are you going?”

“I should go with you. I’ll at least go nearby.”

His apologetic gaze dropped from Ji-in’s eyes to further down. He was likely saying he would take him because his body was uncomfortable, but Ji-in didn’t want to add any more memories.

Walking toward the entrance, Ji-in deliberately teased him.

“Where are you looking? So slyly.”

Unconsciously looking at the center of the body where Ji-in was currently feeling discomfort, the man’s face quickly flushed red again. How could a person like this… last night…

Catching up to him in the narrow hallway in front of the entrance, Ji-in removed the man’s hand from the doorknob.

“I told you not to have a strange sense of responsibility.”

“It’s not responsibility…”

“I don’t want to be the kind of guy who can’t even go home alone just because we had some sex.”

“……”

Only then did he sigh as if resigning and lean his back against the wall. He had likely gauged Ji-in’s heart, which continued to decline.

“If Luca happens to come to the hotel or contacts you… tell me. It’ll be easier if I step in to resolve it. It’s something unauthorized copy<[visit our [Read on Read BL Novels]site]!-- END: unauthorized copy -->I’m partly responsible for too.”

He nodded. He didn’t seem to be listening seriously regarding Luca’s matter.

He had a face that looked as if he might shed tears and beg him not to go at any moment. Feeling like a heartless parent leaving a child behind, Ji-in found it difficult to walk away. Such emotions confused him.

“Finish the rest of your trip well. And I hope… you achieve the goal you mentioned yesterday.”

When he finally offered his farewell in a dry voice, the man silently reached out his hand. Ji-in thought he was asking for a handshake, but he was holding a small piece of paper at his fingertips.

“It’s my email address. If you feel like it, please write to me.”

I’ll be waiting. Please make sure to write. He didn’t add such words.

Ji-in was the same. He took it without any promise like I’ll definitely write.

Had he prepared it in advance to give it when they parted after being dropped off? Contrary to appearances, he really was a man with a delicate side. With that thought, Ji-in simply smiled faintly and silently.

Fiddling with the neatly folded piece of paper in his hand, Ji-in spoke impulsively without looking at him.

“Yesterday… it was good, right?”

“……”

“I liked it too.”

To the point where he would never be satisfied with the previous methods again.

He swallowed those words.

“Since we both liked it, that’s all that matters. No one was hurt, and no one suffered. Ah, I wonder if the people downstairs or in the next room found it a bit… noisy?”

When he looked up with a chuckle, the man was looking at Ji-in with a face that looked better than before.

While thinking that any more words, any more time for people who must part was excessive… he wanted to give him something. To tell him not to struggle. That you, I, and this desire are not immoral or unpleasant. Not to deny yourself according to other people’s standards. No, let’s not deny it.

“Anyway, don’t blame yourself too much for your desires. At least to me, you’re not a pervert. In a way, you just… prefer a more intense method. And… if you ever feel disgusted because you think you’re a pervert, think of me.”

“……”

“If someone who wants to overpower and push others is a pervert, then someone who wants to be overpowered and pushed must be one too. It feels a bit better if you think you’re not alone, right?”

Ji-in smiled, trying to lighten the mood somehow, but the other man couldn’t even manage a look that resembled a smile.

He didn’t pour his emotions onto Ji-in. He didn’t say he didn’t want to break up, that he liked him, or perhaps going a step further, that he loved him… He didn’t act recklessly with the impulsive emotions that were common for someone his age.

Maturely, and kindly. He was silently enduring the regret and sense of loss.

Ji-in stopped trying to force a laugh out of him. It felt stolen [[visit our site]class="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">Read on Read BL Novels]contentlike doing so would only torment him more.

“If you’re really conflicted, try looking into BDSM. It might help.”

“…I will.”

As he nodded and answered, his voice was thick with emotion.

Was it because he was still young? Or was it because his nature was pure, even considering his age?

No matter how strong the attraction was, no matter how they had communed by revealing their deepest parts to each other for a short time, or that they had shared their first physical experience… it had only been a few days. Yet, he seemed to be struggling quite a bit.

That was why Ji-in couldn’t hug him. He couldn’t nonchalantly suggest one last kiss. He felt that such a touch would crumble the effort the boy was making.

“I’m leaving. Get some more sleep.”

Ji-in said as he pulled the door, and the boy nodded.

Even after stepping out and closing the door completely behind him, Ji-in couldn’t move his feet for a while. His stomach churned with the feeling that he had done something very bad, something he would surely regret.

He thought that would be the end, but there was one more opportunity on Friday.

Friday afternoon.

After receiving word from the theater company that the actor who had missed [stolen content]rehearsals had completely vanished, stolen contentJi-in first visited the hotel room where the boy was staying on his way to Naples.

He didn’t care that they had already exchanged farewells, nor that he was the one who had insisted that this meeting was a one-time thing.

The person who noticed his desperation for the play, the person who told him that he was the protagonist when he was on stage.

He couldn’t imagine anyone else as the partner to share this pure joy with.

The boy sincerely congratulated Ji-in for seizing the chance to stand on stage and was just as excited as Ji-in—perhaps even more so. The two of them, both highly elated, headed toward Naples in Ji-in’s car.

However, they did not spend that night together. The kiss they shared in front of the theater’s back door was the last.

Ji-in, attending the after-party, drank until he was unconscious, and when he opened his eyes the next day, he was at Matteo’s house, which was in even worse shape than usual. He had such a terrible hangover that he couldn’t even return home.

By the time he recovered and returned to Paelli, it was Sunday, and the boy had already left. Perhaps he had unconsciously gotten drunk to make it so. To prevent himself from going to find him.

By the time May had passed and the calendar turned to June, Ji-in’s long-standing taste had changed.

He no longer cast his gaze toward gentle people with a similar height, build, and aura as himself.

A sturdy build with lean, attractive muscles and a face with bold lines. From then on, Ji-in’s taste remained consistent.

Vacationers were flocking from all over Europe, and the summer of Paelli was just about to begin in earnest. However, to Ji-in, it felt as if the fiercest midsummer had already passed.

The summer of that year, after he left, was exceptionally long, tedious, and blurred. As if its vividness had been stolen by something more [visit [unauthorized copy]our site]intense that had passed through before.