By Zephyria 
The year-end, a time when everyone is excited, arrived. Today was the final day of a tumultuous eleventh-grade year.
Finally, it was the last gateway of their long school years. Facing his senior year, Jae-min decided to mark the end of the year with something he wouldn’t have dreamed of in the past: spending the night at Seung-pyo’s house before returning home.
It was the long-awaited overnight plan. Thanks to Seung-pyo’s Hyung, who couldn’t let a special day pass by and decided to spend the night out, the two were able to spend the night together.
Having even attempted running away from home, sleeping over at a friend’s house might seem like no big deal, but for Ryu Jae-min, it was quite special. Because he was welcoming the first day of the New Year not with his family, but alone with Seung-pyo. While stopping at the mart to buy food, Jae-min gave a thin, bitter smile.
“I guess I’m a discarded child now.”
“If being allowed to sleep over at a friend’s house makes you a discarded child, then I’m a child who’s already been scrapped.”
Seung-pyo understood what Jae-min meant, but he responded with a joke. Thinking that further talk would only lead to complaining, Jae-min simply laughed it off.
Only half a year had passed since that day during summer break. It was too short a period to fill the deep emotional rift, and perhaps it might never be fully filled.
Honestly, Seung-pyo didn’t care whether the relationship between Ryu Jae-min’s parents and Jae-min improved or not. The only thing that mattered was that his family stopped tormenting his precious boyfriend, and since he would be responsible for Ryu Jae-min’s happiness and joy from now on, it didn’t matter if the family stepped aside.
In that sense, he wanted to eat plenty of delicious and warm food together tonight. In terms of taste, it wouldn’t match the helper lady’s cooking, but still.
“Ryu Jae-min, do you want to try making this? Mille-feuille Nabe.”
“Yeah, sure. That sounds delicious.”
“I need to practice cooking little by little. I’ll have to live on my own in a year.”
“I don’t have to. You said you’d do everything.”
“That’s exactly why I have to practice.”
Perhaps the last day of the year is special for everyone, as even the students preparing for entrance exams—who would be seniors next year—were granted a short break. Thanks to both the school and the academy having shortened classes today, the two were able to wander outside together during the daylight hours.
The two giggled as they pushed a cart filled with food toward the checkout counter. Their steps were playful and light. They often went to convenience stores together, but this was their first time doing a full grocery shop at a mart.
While standing in line together waiting for their turn, Seung-pyo kept feeling a sweet sensation, and a silly smile leaked out. They had simply bought snacks for tonight, but unlike usual, it felt special.
‘Is this how it feels when you get married?’
Oh Seung-pyo was already imagining married life before even graduating high school.
* * *
A cold wind was blowing in the streets, enough to make one’s face sting. It was a year-end cold snap so biting that even boys in their prime, who rarely felt the cold, kept mentioning how freezing it was.
“It’s so cold today.”
“Seriously. It’s not even far from the stop to the house, but my whole body is frozen.”
The house, which had been empty and quiet, became noisy and boisterous as soon as the two entered. As soon as the front door closed, Seung-pyo made Jae-min lean against the door, trapping Jae-min’s head between his arms.
Dropping the bags from the mart carelessly at their feet, Seung-pyo stood firmly in front of Jae-min and kissed him. Jae-min accepted the kiss with a smile.
“As soon as we get here?”
“There’s an entrance fee to get into my house. Didn’t you know?”
“I like that the entrance fee is cheap.”
“Bullshit. If your lips are the entrance fee, it’s fucking expensive.”
They giggled and rubbed their noses together. Just escaping the winter wind began to bring warmth to their bodies, but the two hugged each other tightly as if they wanted to become even warmer. A light peck soon turned into a soft, interlocking kiss, conveying warmth and sensation to one another.
“Mmm….”
Lips that had been rubbing playfully began to overlap more deeply. Without hesitation, both tasted the soft interior of the other’s mouth. There was no actual taste inside, yet their tongues seemed to melt more sweetly than when eating candy, cake, or ice cream. This was why it was hard not to become addicted to kissing.
“Haa, ngh.”
As they caressed each other’s cheeks, their breathing became hurried and rough. They naturally began to grope each other’s bodies, but since they hadn’t even taken off their padded jackets yet, all they could feel was the fluffy volume of the cotton filling.
“It’s hot,” Jae-min whispered.
As the heat rose from the kissing, the thick jackets that had fought the cold instantly turned into obstacles.
Perhaps because they were impatient, the zippers didn’t go down in one go. Normally, the kiss would have deepened further, but they had to pull their lips apart to throw off their jackets.
“I’m sweating.”
“Let’s shower first.”
Taking the opportunity to stop kissing, they finally shoved the bags from the mart into the refrigerator, stripped off their clothes, and went in to wash together.
Under the warm water falling like rain, the two kissed again. Since kissing alone was enough, they didn’t rush to progress further, instead kissing while stroking each other’s shoulders. Looking at Jae-min’s face, which looked even brighter under the water, Seung-pyo whispered contentedly.
“If we live together, we can do this every single day.”
What would it feel like for moments like this—which were currently occasional events—to become a daily routine? It seemed so wonderful that he could hardly imagine it.
Jae-min replied.
“To do that, we have to go to the same university first.”
“We can.”
Starting tomorrow, they would be nineteen. From March, they would be seniors. The time was approaching when they had to clearly decide the things they had left as vague uncertainties. Not just the target university, but the application process, the major, and their future life plans.
After the final school year of the twelfth grade passed, they would be twenty. Their school friends and peers across the country would all become twenty at the same time.
Even if complete independence was impossible for now, at least the life of wearing uniforms according to set rules and commuting to school together was over. Along with the implicit message of “from now on, fend for yourselves,” they were suddenly pushed forward, carrying their respective lives like bundled luggage.
“Want to eat first?”
Seung-pyo asked as he stepped out of the shower. Jae-min shook his head.
“I had a snack not too long ago, so I’m not hungry yet. If you’re okay with it, let’s eat in a bit.”
Jae-min was wearing pajamas that Seung-pyo had bought specifically for Ryu Jae-min to use at his house. Although today was the first time he had actually stayed overnight since those pajamas were purchased.
When Jae-min first saw the pajama set—mint-colored fabric with white trimming—he had widened his eyes and asked why he bought such a bright color, but Seung-pyo was very satisfied. He loved the fact that he could roll around feeling like a candy bar even in the middle of winter.
“Then shall we do what we agreed to first?”
At Seung-pyo’s suggestion, Jae-min smiled and nodded.
The last day of the year spent with the person they were dating, deciding to spend the night alone in a house where no one else was present.
The two entered Seung-pyo’s room and shut the door tight. Since they were alone, it wouldn’t have mattered if they rolled around in the spacious living room or spent time sitting at the kitchen table, but the room was, as expected, the most comfortable.
Their actual private time began only after the door was closed. Jae-min turned on a timer on his phone and placed it between them.
“For the next two hours, we’re just studying. No other distractions.”
Two hours straight? Not even split into one-hour chunks? Isn’t that a bit intense? Seung-pyo thought so, but he nodded readily. It wasn’t something he couldn’t do if he set his mind to it.
“Sure. Let’s do what we agreed to first, then play.”
“If we try to do it after playing, we’ll lose the will to do it, so we can’t.”
Seung-pyo nodded seriously.
Since there was only one desk, the two sat across from each other at a wide floor table. As Jae-min started the timer, only the scratching sound of mechanical pencil leads against paper echoed in the silence.
With the end of the year approaching, many students—regardless of whether they were at school or academies—were restless. Being in a position where there wasn’t much they could actually do despite their excitement, they were completely soaked in the year-end atmosphere, ignoring the urgent tasks at hand.
Seung-pyo and Jae-min couldn’t help but be intoxicated by the Christmas mood either. After all, it was the first Christmas of their first relationship in their lives!
Staying overnight was difficult, but they had eaten at a casual, trendy restaurant that wouldn’t feel awkward for high schoolers, took photos, and spent time huddled together in a cafe until late at night before parting. They had spent just one day immersed in such sweet feelings, but as soon as that day passed, a sudden sense of crisis hit them.
‘Is this the time for us to be like this?’
To a permanent rank-one student, studying is like breathing. Because the exams are over, because it’s vacation, because the grades came out better than usual and I need a reward, because the grades weren’t as expected and I’m in a bad mood, because I achieved a goal…
It wasn’t something to take a day or two off for because of those reasons; rather, it was something that had to be done today despite all those things.
Now, with the third year of high school looming, it was even more so. Reflecting on the two days he had let himself slack, Jae-min vowed to Seung-pyo that from now on, they should not miss their study time no matter what happened.
Today was the same. Even if they played while spending the night together, they would do their work. They vowed never to miss even one or two hours a day. Seung-pyo wasn’t actually that meticulous of a model student, but if his beloved Ryu Jae-min wanted it, this much was nothing.
The goal of reclaiming the top rank in the school was now halfway abandoned, but Oh Seung-pyo now had a different goal: he would never let another guy’s name slide in right below Ryu Jae-min’s.
Since it was a time when everyone competitively increased their study hours ahead of the third year, it wouldn’t be surprising if the current third-place student suddenly snatched his spot if he let his guard down.
On the exam poster that the entire student body would stare at, seeing someone else’s name—not his—clinging right beneath Ryu Jae-min’s…
‘I’d rather die than see that.’
When he thought of that, Seung-pyo could no longer afford to be relaxed. The nonchalant Oh Seung-pyo, who used to play around and only work hard during exams to take first place, had been left behind in middle school long ago. The world was not such an easy place.
Regardless of their inner thoughts, both were honor students, so once they started studying, far from being distracted, they gained momentum. The room, where they competitively flipped pages, was hot with a quiet passion. If he were alone, he might have glanced at his phone or done something else occasionally, but the fact that they were opposite each other actually prevented him from looking away.
‘…He’s really just studying.’
Nevertheless, Seung-pyo’s concentration crumbled faster than Jae-min’s. It couldn’t be helped. Ryu Jae-min, Oh Seung-pyo’s personal candy bar, was sitting right in front of him.
He glanced at the timer. The timer, with seconds ticking away busily, informed him that about 30 minutes of the designated study time remained. Having the candy bar sitting right next to him but not being able to even peel off the wrapper for two whole hours made him feel impatient.
‘If I knew it would be like this, I should have suggested doing it in one-hour intervals.’
Jae-min, absorbed in solving problems without knowing Seung-pyo was staring at him, was spinning the pen in his hand when he accidentally dropped it. The pen fell on the table and rolled right in front of Seung-pyo.
“Oh Seung-pyo, the pen.”
Jae-min reached out his hand. His expression was one of absolute trust that it would be returned.
He was just trusting him implicitly and treating him normally, so why was he so cute? That innocent face triggered Seung-pyo’s mischievous side.
“It crossed the line, so it’s mine.”
Saying something like a grumpy child, Seung-pyo snatched up the pen that had rolled into his territory. Jae-min’s eyes widened, and he soon frowned with a hollow laugh.
“Line? Where is there a line?”
“Roughly from the middle here is the line dividing our spots.”
“Why are you being so childish all of a sudden?”
“If you’re upset, you take mine too.”
“Are you an elementary schooler?”
Though he grumbled, Jae-min didn’t push further; he just gave a small laugh and calmly opened his pen pouch to take out a new pen.
The brief commotion was quickly suppressed by Jae-min’s calm response. In the quiet room once again, only the scratching sounds of paper passed back and forth like whispers.
Seung-pyo, who was working hard on the problems, frowned slightly and picked up an eraser. While erasing a solution he had written, his hand slipped slightly.
“Oh.”
The eraser rolled away, this time into Jae-min’s area. Jae-min, who had been looking at the textbook, picked up the eraser and smirked.
“It crossed the line, so it’s mine.”
There were several pens, but only one eraser. Seung-pyo reached out with a look of dismay.
“I’ll give your pen back, so let’s trade.”
“I don’t need it. I have plenty of other pens.”
“And you called me childish.”
Jae-min nodded.
“I’ll give it back if you study completely naked.”
At the unexpected suggestion, this time it was Seung-pyo’s eyes that widened.
“What? Clothes? Completely naked?”
“Yeah.”
“Even underwear?”
“Isn’t underwear clothing?”
Suddenly asking him to take off his clothes? Seung-pyo narrowed his eyes and looked at Jae-min, wondering if there was another hidden meaning. But Jae-min just looked playful.
“We’ll be taking them off soon anyway once we’re done studying, so just stay naked.”
He felt like he’d heard those words somewhere before; was it just his imagination?
Seung-pyo didn’t think long and nodded.
“Sure, whatever…”
His body wasn’t one to be ashamed of for being naked anywhere. He was just baffled that he ended up taking his clothes off first when the thing he wanted to strip was that candy bar’s wrapper.
Seung-pyo shucked off his T-shirt right where he sat and stood up. Once his pants and underwear were gone and he was completely naked, Jae-min looked at him with a slightly bewildered expression. Why act embarrassed when he was the one who told him to strip? Seung-pyo asked the reason nonchalantly.
“Why?”
“You’re… a bit hard there…”
“It’s because you told me to take my clothes off.”
“I just said take them off. I’m not going to do anything.”
“I didn’t say we should do anything either.”
At Seung-pyo’s blank counter-question, Jae-min waved his hand as if at a loss for words.
“…Alright, just sit down quickly. Don’t stand there dangling.”
“You’re the one who told me to strip.”
“Try acting at least a little bit shy.”
What was there to be shy about now? Seung-pyo just shrugged and sat back down in his spot.
However, studying didn’t come easily. Ryu Jae-min still didn’t seem to realize how instantaneously Oh Seung-pyo reacted to his signals. There had been days when he worried he had become a Pavlovian dog.
The moment Ryu Jae-min told him to take off his clothes, Oh Seung-pyo’s brilliant brain seemed to accept that instruction as the initial signal for the erotic acts to follow; once it stood up, it was fully erect and showed no sign of dying down.
To make him like this and then intend to study alone? In the past, he might have thought this was a cunning scheme of the rank-one student.
Jae-min kept his head down and leisurely looked only at the book, but the act of pretending to be indifferent lasted only a moment. Whether because he felt Seung-pyo’s gaze or because he wanted to admire the boyfriend he had stripped, he glanced up, and the two suddenly locked eyes. Jae-min asked awkwardly,
“Aren’t you studying?”
“My dick is bored.”
Jae-min cleared his throat. He picked up a water cup, took a few gulps to moisten his throat, and spoke like a teacher.
“It’s bored because you’re not concentrating.”
Teacher. I said my cock is bored, not me.
He wanted to retort like that, but Seung-pyo let out a small sigh and began to focus on solving the problems again. He didn’t want to break the will of the rank-one student who was determined to study.
Fortunately, as he focused on the math problems, Oh Seung-pyo’s brain seemed to realize it had misread the situation, and the part that had been stiffly erect began to lose strength little by little.
“Hmm…”
After a long silence, Seung-pyo made a groaning sound as if contemplating. Jae-min looked up at the sound.
“What?”
“Ah, sorry. I can’t seem to solve this. I’ll just check the answer later.”
When Jae-min looked, there was a small star marked on the math problem Seung-pyo was solving.
A problem that Oh Seung-pyo couldn’t solve. It was a rare admission of weakness. As Seung-pyo tried to turn the page nonchalantly, Jae-min spoke up urgently.
“Shall I try solving it?”
“Oh, the rank-one student.”
Seung-pyo didn’t bother refusing and gestured for him to come closer. Normally, Jae-min would have come to his side without a second thought, but now, perhaps mindful of the completely naked Oh Seung-pyo he had stripped, he approached hesitantly on his knees.
If he was going to be like this, he didn’t know why he told him to take his clothes off. Jae-min sat beside Seung-pyo, read the problem, and his eyes widened slightly.
“This isn’t CSAT level; this is competition level difficulty.”
“Yeah, I bought a workbook like that too.”
“Right. Sometimes I feel like solving things like this.”
“Exactly.”
Jae-min, absorbed in solving the problem, realized too late that Seung-pyo had no intention of staying quiet.
“You just keep solving the problem.”
This was because Seung-pyo whispered and pressed his lips against the nape of Jae-min’s slightly bent neck. Jae-min flinched, his shoulders trembling, and looked back.
“You told me to solve it, so why are you distracting me?”
“If it’s Ryu Jae-min, you can overcome this much.”
Was this some kind of game? Hesitating, unable to decide whether he should actually solve the problem or deal with Seung-pyo, Jae-min eventually decided to solve the problem as told.
As he progressed with the solution, he felt he understood why Oh Seung-pyo had been stuck. Among competition problems, there are difficulties mixed in where prior learning is essential, so no matter how good a student is, there are often cases where it’s hard to solve without skipping ahead in the curriculum.
Since Oh Seung-pyo said he hardly took any private tutoring or academies for prior learning, it wasn’t strange for him to hit a snag on a problem like this…
“Hey… how far are you… touching…”
“Keep solving.”
Seung-pyo, who had been sitting beside him, had already hugged him from behind, and moving beyond lightly brushing the back of his neck with his lips, he had already slid both hands inside his clothes.
The hand that had been fiddling with his nipple slowly traveled down his stomach and suddenly entered his pants. After caressing his warm, smooth thighs, it immediately reached the area of his genitals.
Being stimulated unexpectedly made even a light touch feel intense. Since Oh Seung-pyo was already completely naked without a single thread on him, the contour of the body pressing against his back and the body heat were excessively vivid.
As Jae-min’s waist jerked at the feeling of the fine hairs all over his body standing on end, Seung-pyo chuckled mischievously.
“Now you’re hard too.”
“It’s because you’re touching me… ngh…!”
“It’s not my fault. You should put strength in your head and concentrate on the problem.”
But the strength went into Seung-pyo’s hand, not Jae-min’s head. As he gripped the erect penis and slowly stroked it up and down, the mechanical pencil lead that had been holding its ground on the paper slid down, drawing a wobbly, lifeless line unrelated to the solution.
With his other hand, Seung-pyo gently readjusted the grip of the mechanical pencil. He pressed his lips close to the panting Jae-min’s ear and asked,
“Explain this problem to me. I didn’t really get it.”
“Hng, ugh. This… you need to… know some… college math to solve it…”
“Ah, no wonder I couldn’t solve it.”
Seung-pyo grumbled and moved his hand faster. A squelching sound began to leak out from between the palm and the penis, which was now leaking pre-cum.
“Ah, ugh, hng.”
“If it’s that kind of problem, I won’t understand even if you explain it.”
Seung-pyo pulled down the hand of Jae-min, which he was still holding, and led him to the next problem. It was a new problem that even Seung-pyo hadn’t solved yet.
“Then solve this one.”
Jae-min looked down at the new problem. Even in his aroused state, he could tell at a glance that it was a problem he could solve without much difficulty.
As Jae-min readjusted his grip on the pen, Seung-pyo released the penis he had been playing with. Just as he was barely regaining his composure, thinking the prank was over, this time a hand entered a much more unexpected place. The hand that had let go of his penis went behind his pants and was now trying to wedge itself between his buttocks.
“Hey, stop.”
“There is no stop. You crossed over to my spot, so now you’re mine.”
“Ah, ngh, so childish.”
“What’s childish? You played along with the eraser too.”
Despite calling it childish, Jae-min’s waist kept twitching every time a finger brushed between his cheeks. Because he was sitting on the floor, his buttocks were pushed slightly back, leaving him no way to block the hand from reaching.
“Lift your waist a bit.”
Jae-min leaned his upper body against the table and awkwardly lifted his waist in a kneeling position. He no longer grumbled about it being childish or hesitated. He didn’t move even when Seung-pyo pulled his pants down completely, exposing his white buttocks.
The side table was within arm’s reach. Seung-pyo took out the gel and dripped the transparent lubricant directly onto the hole. As the cold gel landed on the hot, ripened skin, Jae-min’s waist trembled.
“Ha, ugh…”
Seung-pyo’s finger rubbed the clump of fallen gel, spreading it like an ointment. As he rubbed the sensitive entrance, Jae-min felt the hole fluttering involuntarily and clamped his lips shut.
“Hey, it seems it wasn’t just my dick that was bored.”
Seung-pyo whispered with a laugh and slid his fiddling finger inside.
The two had already overlapped their bodies several times. It seemed the time for being sensitive over a single finger had passed, but every time a part of Seung-pyo entered his body for the first time, Jae-min still became clumsy.
“Nng, hng.”
The finger that had been slowly thrusting increased to two, and as they entered deep enough to hit the back of the hand, a momentary chill passed and his body soon became hot.
Jae-min let out a slow sigh. Just as Jae-min had become accustomed to Seung-pyo, Seung-pyo had also become accustomed to Jae-min, and he now explored Jae-min’s backside with ease, without fumbling. Because he had applied so much gel, a squelching sound soon emerged.
“The gel has all melted.”
Seung-pyo pointed out something Jae-min could feel without being told. But it was hard for Jae-min to answer. This was because the tips of Seung-pyo’s fingers were already rubbing near Jae-min’s most sensitive spot.
“Ryu Jae-min, have you solved the problem yet?”
“Ah, hng, how can I… solve a problem… like this…”
“Then I’ll give you a break. Hurry up and solve it. This one is easy.”
The fingers that had been pressing and scratching the inside slowly stopped. The corners of Jae-min’s eyes grew redder. This was because the spasms in his backside, which he hadn’t noticed while being swept away by Seung-pyo’s frantic stirring, were now felt too vividly.
Oh Seung-pyo must also feel the inside of him twitching and biting his fingers. Being preoccupied with the situation inside the hole, he couldn’t concentrate on the problem in front of him at all. Jae-min gripped the mechanical pencil tightly and muttered,
“Hey, if you’re just going to stay like this, just pull it out…”
But Seung-pyo answered without hesitation.
“I’ll pull it out once you solve it.”
The front was already standing stiff, leaking transparent fluid. When the hand that had been diligently stirring stopped, the heated inner walls kept twitching and tightening on their own, trying to squeeze out every last drop of pleasure.
He wished he wouldn’t pull out and would do more instead, but Oh Seung-pyo played dumb. Not wanting to give in to the brazen teasing or admit he wanted more, Jae-min actually started solving the problems.
Within the challenging textbook, they were certainly easy problems. Normally, Jae-min might have finished them all. But today was not easy.
It was just two damn fingers inside him, yet his concentration kept wavering. Still, he scribbled formulas and swallowed his ragged breaths, struggling to solve the problems, when Oh Seung-pyo’s fingers, which had been waiting patiently, began to twitch again.
“Hng, ah.”
“You’re actually solving this.”
“You… ngh, told me to…”
Seung-pyo smiled, then suddenly grabbed Jae-min’s head, turned it, and kissed him. Mng, Jae-min let out a moan and opened his lips instantly, seeming to have no intention of resisting.
Usually, they would kiss first and then touch the back. Today, for some reason, it happened in reverse. Perhaps because his entire body was flushed, the inside of Jae-min’s mouth was warmer than usual, and every time Seung-pyo explored with his tongue, the back where his fingers were also twitched, which was cute and erotic. Seung-pyo laughed, breathless.
“The top student in the whole school solving math problems while being done in such a lewd way… That’s fucking stimulating.”
“You bastard…”
Jae-min shot back an insult, but that was all. Only then did Jae-min put down his mechanical pencil and turn his head toward Seung-pyo first to entwine their tongues.
Along with half-stifled moans, the squelching sounds from below grew louder. By the time they pulled their lips apart, Seung-pyo was no longer smiling.
The mint-colored pajama pants were stripped off. Instead of removing the top, Seung-pyo pushed it up and leaned his upper body over Jae-min’s back, panting. Jae-min pressed his body against the table and groaned softly.
“Hng…!”
As the hard glans touched the entrance that had been gently loosened by fingers, Jae-min gasped as if something scorching had touched him.
“Ryu Jae-min…”
Calling his name, Seung-pyo slowly pushed his hips forward. Thanks to the position with his buttocks pushed back, insertion was not difficult.
The glans, bunched like a fist, and the shaft following it slid slowly inside. Ah, ah, ah. Jae-min’s high-pitched moans grew louder bit by bit.
“Haah, haah.”
“Huu…”
Seung-pyo let out a sigh after burying himself to the root. He hadn’t even properly started yet, but he was feverish up to the top of his head.
He began to move his hips slowly. As he pushed deep after pulling out long, he could clearly see Jae-min’s spine shuddering with pleasure.
“Haa… aaah! Hng…!”
As the speed picked up, the sound of their bodies colliding echoed with thuds. The workbook lying under Jae-min’s elbow became crumpled.
However, after two or three thrusts, Seung-pyo had to stop. Because their combined weight caused the relatively light low table to tilt as if it were about to flip over.
Tsk, clicking his tongue, Seung-pyo reached out and pulled the blanket that had been sprawled on the bed. He spread the fluffy blanket on the floor and made Jae-min lie flat on his stomach; Jae-min opened his mouth hesitantly, sounding flustered.
“Augh, we… ah, can just go up to the bed.”
Instead of answering, Seung-pyo pressed his heavy weight down onto the prone Jae-min and entered him. As he repeatedly buried himself to the root, Jae-min was too busy wriggling and moaning to add any more words.
Seung-pyo thrust his hips rapidly in succession. Pressed underneath, Jae-min convulsed as if electricity were running through his entire body. He tightened his buttocks and thighs, gripping the penis inside him tightly.
“Hng…”
At the pressure that felt like he was being squeezed, Seung-pyo grit his teeth and put even more weight into it, pretending not to hear Jae-min’s voice rise in a moan.
“Haah, back then, during summer break.”
Thud, thud, thud. Seung-pyo continued speaking as he hit his hips hard. He wasn’t sure if his words were reaching Jae-min’s ears properly.
“Hng, hng! Haah, aaah!”
“When we went to the beach, at Grandmother’s house, there was no bed, haah, so we did it on the floor on a blanket.”
Instead of answering, Jae-min barely managed to nod. There was no way he could forget that night. Just hearing about it made his fingertips and toes tingle.
Seung-pyo seemed to feel the same, as the penis filling the body seemed to grow harder and twitch. He continued, breathing heavily.
“I think you felt it more back then… Because the floor was hard, this part was pressed more…”
Seung-pyo’s hand moved to the front of Jae-min’s groin and stroked his erect penis. Because he was lying flat, it was being crushed under the weight of both their bodies.
Seung-pyo moved his hips back and forth with a sliding motion. Every time the long, thick penis ground deep inside, Jae-min’s body shook along with it.
“I’m right, aren’t I?”
“Hng, mng, it’s good, it was… ah, ah.”
It was just as Oh Seung-pyo said. Every time he thrust heavily from behind, the front being rubbed simultaneously felt dizzyingly good. Despite his clouded mind, Jae-min felt a bit embarrassed that he had been noticed without realizing it.
A fluffy bed sinks when it takes weight, but the floor was different. It was pressed more tightly, and it felt that much better. A sensation somewhere between a stinging pain and sweet pleasure hit his lower abdomen alternately from front and back, soaring up to the crown of his head. Unconsciously, Jae-min began to shake his hips, sounding like he was on the verge of tears.
“Ah, ah-ngh, hng.”
“Haah, since you, like it, hng, I do it too, but…”
Slap, slap. Smacking the white buttocks with his whole body, Seung-pyo spat out words intermittently between rough breaths.
“Later, huu, I want you to feel this much… just with my cock…”
“Haa, ah-hng… aah, aaah, hng!”
Having finished his sentence, Seung-pyo drove inside with even more force. As Jae-min convulsed once, the crumpled blanket beneath him became drenched and sticky.
Seung-pyo lowered his head deeply and pushed up Jae-min’s cheek with one hand to kiss him. The feverishly hot lips were soft and moist, perfect for sucking.
Beep-beep-beep, beep-beep-beep.
They had been preoccupied with aftercare, but as they calmed down while kissing, the phone timer alarm began to ring. Seung-pyo reached out to check the time. More than 15 minutes had already passed since the set time. Seung-pyo turned off the alarm and whispered into Jae-min’s ear.
“Ryu Jae-min, shall we have dinner now?”
Jae-min nodded with wet eyes. Staring blankly at that face, Seung-pyo thought: Forget dinner, I just want to suck more out of Ryu Jae-min.
But he had to fill Ryu Jae-min’s stomach. Kissing the cheek of the boy who must be exhausted from studying hard and dealing with him, Seung-pyo pushed himself up. Jae-min, who had been panting, also checked the clock and frowned slightly.
“You have to make up for the time we wasted doing this later.”
“Of course I will. Let’s eat, hang out a bit, and then study again.”
“You could have just waited until the time was up, why did you touch me in the middle of it?”
“It’s not my fault. You’re the one who came over to my spot and made it happen. Why did you tell me to take off my clothes in the first place?”
Despite having been clung to each other kissing passionately, the two grumbled as they headed to the bathroom.
* * *
The pot, which had been overflowing, was soon nearly empty. Jae-min sighed and leaned back in his chair.
“I’m so full.”
“You really ate a lot today.”
“It was so delicious that I could eat a lot.”
Seung-pyo wore a satisfied smile. The Mille-feuille Nabe they had bought together at the mart was a meal kit that only required boiling the prepared ingredients. Predicting that it wouldn’t be enough, Seung-pyo had suggested they buy extra vegetables, meat, and even ramen.
Seung-pyo was right. After eating all the prepared portions, the two made beef shabu-shabu in the remaining broth and tasted ramen with two beaten eggs before finally clearing the table. Seung-pyo’s goal of sharing plenty of warm, delicious food had been successfully achieved.
Jae-min, made lazy by the full stomach, muttered.
“Let’s clean up in a bit.”
“You just rest. I’ll finish the dishes quickly and come back.”
“Do it together later.”
“It’ll be fast, though?”
“Still, do it together.”
It was just one pot and two or three bowls, so in Seung-pyo’s eyes, it wasn’t enough work for two people to do together. It was something he could finish in a flash alone. However, Seung-pyo nodded, took Jae-min’s hand, and went to the living room.
People say not to lie down or sit immediately after eating, but that’s for adults. Eighteen-year-old boys, who digest food as soon as they turn around, felt no discomfort even if they ate until they burst and immediately rolled around. Leaving the perfectly good sofa behind, the two lay down on the floor using cushions as pillows.
“Let’s have ice cream and fruit in a little while too.”
“Yeah, sounds good.”
On the TV, which was on as background music, comedians were laughing while talking about things with no apparent context. Watching them blankly, Seung-pyo asked.
“What did you talk about with your homeroom teacher today?”
On the last day of the year, Jae-min had gone into the counseling room with his homeroom teacher to talk. Seung-pyo had waited, thinking he would tell him first, but Jae-min hadn’t mentioned it all day.
Finally, upon Seung-pyo’s question, Jae-min rolled his eyes slightly and answered with a sigh.
“I have to decide on my career path for sure now. We did some counseling because of that.”
“There’s still half a year left before you apply for early admissions.”
“Still.”
Jae-min’s profile still held a trace of worry, as if his concerns hadn’t been resolved. He hadn’t been able to bring it up because he wasn’t sure yet. Seung-pyo, who had been lying down, rolled halfway over to lie on his stomach.
“What are you planning to do?”
“I originally thought about going to law school after graduating from undergrad. As you know, my father… kept hoping for it.”
But would his father’s wishes even matter now? Even without Jae-min adding more, Seung-pyo could understand the omitted words.
“Aren’t there more liberal arts majors among people who go to law school? It doesn’t really fit with your current elective subjects.”
“Yeah, and law school is something you decide after four years of undergrad anyway. I thought a science major would give me a wider range of options even if I went, so I was studying for a science track, but now that I’m facing my senior year, I’m considering liberal arts too. But my teacher said it would be better to apply for early admissions based on my current grades rather than cross-applying.”
Oh Seung-pyo’s thoughts were the same as the homeroom teacher’s. With the grades he had built up over the past two years of high school, why would the top student, Ryu Jae-min, need to cross-apply? Especially because of his parents’ wishes.
“If you don’t cross-apply, where will you apply?”
“The teacher mentioned medical school.”
“Do you want that too?”
“Hmm… probably.”
Doctor Ryu Jae-min. It was an image completely unimaginable while he was wearing a school uniform, but for Ryu Jae-min, it wasn’t a dream—it was a realistic prospect. There was no vagueness of a dreamer in Jae-min’s eyes.
“Studying will be grueling… but realistically, there are many advantages.”
“Don’t you have any sense of vocation?”
“I haven’t really thought about it, so how would it suddenly appear?”
Jae-min gave a bitter smile. But Oh Seung-pyo knew.
If Ryu Jae-min went to law school as originally planned and became a lawyer, he would be an excellent lawyer who did his best. Even while grumbling that he was doing it because he had to, Ryu Jae-min, who never missed a day of his plan and never let go of the top spot in school, would approach any task with the same sincerity.
Even if he became a doctor for realistic reasons, Ryu Jae-min would still be a doctor with more vocation than anyone else. Perhaps later, he might become a famous person who gives interviews to reporters or writes books like Jae-min’s father does now. Then he could splendidly complete the revenge against his parents that he dreamed of.
“Ryu Jae-min.”
Seung-pyo, who had been smiling while dreaming of a wonderful future, suddenly called Jae-min with a serious face. Jae-min blinked in surprise. Frowning, Seung-pyo continued.
“But if you go to med school, you can’t enlist in the army with me.”
“Huh?”
“If you go to med school, you don’t go to the army like others. I heard you go as a public health doctor or a military doctor after graduation. Then I’ll have to be there alone for two years?”
Seung-pyo’s expression became serious and grave. Jae-min let out a small smile. Though he didn’t say such things even as a joke anymore, Oh Seung-pyo was someone who used to tease him by calling him a ‘slut’ at every turn.
“Why? Are you anxious about leaving a slut behind and going to the army alone?”
“Hey! I told you to stop using words like that.”
Seung-pyo suddenly sat up, approached, and hugged the lying Jae-min tightly. Jae-min giggled and hugged Seung-pyo back.
“What’s the point of not saying it? If you don’t truly think of me that way, there’s nothing to be anxious about.”
“Even if you’re well-behaved alone, who knows. Do you know how many real sluts are in the world?”
“Surely I wouldn’t get involved with guys like that?”
Well. Who knows what might happen if he’s left alone and lonely? The real sluts are the ones who don’t reveal they are sluts, and Seung-pyo didn’t think Ryu Jae-min could easily recognize such bad people. Even if Ryu Jae-min had hung out with perverts for a while, it was merely cyber-deviance. His defense in offline reality was close to zero.
“Do you think avoiding them will work? Do you think bad guys walk around with ‘Bad Guy’ written on their foreheads?”
“Hey, that was only on the internet; I’m just ordinary. Has any man approached you in reality asking to sleep with you? I don’t have anyone but you either.”
“You’re not ordinary at all. You’re fucking handsome, sexy, and pretty.”
Jae-min lost his words and laughed out loud. As if the sudden compliment didn’t feel that bad, he smiled and kissed Seung-pyo’s cheek.
“I heard they let you use phones in the army these days. I’ll call you every day and have you check that nothing’s happened. I’ll visit often too.”
“I’ll call too. Make sure you answer.”
There were still several years left before they had to go to the army, but he was already a mountain of anxiety. Jae-min remained silent for a moment before asking.
“What about you?”
At the sudden question, Seung-pyo just blinked his eyes wide. His gaze asked what he meant.
“If you’re that anxious, you can just go to med school with me.”
“Hmm… I think I could make the cut… but you know, right? I can only work hard at things I actually want to do.”
“You don’t even want to do this entrance exam studying right now. Yet you’re doing it hard.”
“That’s because there’s a set deadline. A profession is hard to change for a lifetime once you’ve decided.”
That was true. Even to Jae-min, Oh Seung-pyo in a doctor’s gown felt a bit awkward. Moreover, while Oh Seung-pyo wasn’t afraid of ghosts or spirits at all, he was uncomfortable with real blood or corpses, so his aptitude didn’t fit being a doctor.
In Ryu Jae-min’s head, Oh Seung-pyo was coolest when he played basketball. It wouldn’t have been bad if he became a basketball player, but as the PE teacher often lamented, Oh Seung-pyo happened to be too good at studying as well. Seung-pyo declared ambitiously.
“I’ll make a lot of money doing something else and open a hospital for you when you become a doctor.”
“That sounds good, but I think we’re already too jaded.”
“What do you mean? This is still pure.”
The two honor students, sharing capitalist dreams, sat up. Talking about their future ambitions seemed to have digested their food.
After finishing the postponed dishes, the two took out the ice cream they had carefully kept in the freezer. Since today was a special day, it was an expensive cup ice cream they had bought with great determination.
“Want to finish the rest of the studying while we eat?”
“In a little bit.”
Despite saying he must fill the set study time, this time it was Jae-min who was being lazy. Seung-pyo chuckled and brought the low table into the living room. Sitting in front of the table, the two ate ice cream, chatted, and solved problems. They were distracted at first, but at some point, they focused again and stared into the textbooks in silence.
“Ah!”
After being immersed in their respective studies for a while, Seung-pyo snapped out of it first. He hurriedly checked his phone, sighed in relief, and picked up the remote.
Watching the ‘sheep’ busily flipping through channels, Jae-min also seemed to remember something he had forgotten and gasped softly in admiration.
“Wow, we almost missed it.”
“Seriously. I wanted to watch it together.”
Finally, the channel was fixed. On the screen, crowds of people were gathered, waiting for the New Year’s bell-ringing ceremony. Even the cold weather under a cold wave warning couldn’t dampen the heat of the people waiting for a moment that happens only once a year.
Thinking it would be their own loss to shiver outside and catch a cold as students preparing for exams, they decided to watch it on TV this year, but they planned to go see the ceremony in person next year.
The lights from people’s cell phones and glow sticks twinkled on the ground like scattered stars. It was a scene that could hardly be called purely beautiful, being so noisy and crowded, but there was a poignant human touch to the sight of each light shimmering with the wishes and hopes of an individual.
[The countdown will begin shortly.]
[So many things happened this year. Let us send away all the bad things and hope that the new year is filled only with good and hopeful events.]
As soon as the hosts finished their remarks, large numbers appeared as subtitles across the screen. 10! 9! 8! People shouted the numbers at the top of their lungs. Seung-pyo and Jae-min joined in, shouting along with them.
“5, 4, 3, 2, 1!”
Dong————.
A massive bell toll, swallowing the noisy voices of the crowd in an instant, echoed with a long, lingering resonance.
Despite the massive crowd filling the Bosingak area, the surroundings fell silent the moment the bell began to toll, leaving only the sound of the bell. Seung-pyo and Jae-min also fell silent.
Dong, dong, dong. Only after the bell had tolled about five times did the broadcasters resume their commentary.
[With the first toll at 0 hours, 0 minutes, and 0 seconds, the New Year has begun.]
[Those watching the tolling seem to be welcoming this moment in silence. I wonder what wishes everyone is making?]
Once the silence orchestrated by the broadcast passed, Seung-pyo spoke up again.
“Did you make a wish?”
“Huh? No. I was just listening to the bell.”
“Guess what I was thinking about.”
“What?”
Seung-pyo grinned.
“About that bet we made to see who could hold it in while jerking off during the countdown.”
“Ah, you crazy! Why the hell are you thinking about that while the New Year’s bell is ringing, you pervert.”
“Shouting the countdown numbers just suddenly reminded me of it.”
Even as he scolded him, Jae-min let out a laugh, as if he found the whole thing absurd.
At this moment of turning a year older, naturally, nothing changed just because they had passed midnight. The two continued to tease and giggle with each other as usual, before suddenly embracing and locking lips as if nothing had happened.
“Ryu Jae-min, I’m counting on you for senior year too.”
“Me too.”
It was their first time welcoming the New Year with a kiss. They still had one more year before they became adults recognized by law, but they both felt a bit more grown-up than they had last year.
As of today, they were nineteen.