By Zephyria 
Click. The door closed. Having settled into his seat, Jae-min looked out the car window with a bored expression. The clock on his phone already indicated it was past 11 PM. He was tired, but perhaps because he had been racking his brain until the moment he got into the car, he wasn’t sleepy.
“Aren’t you sleepy? Close your eyes for a bit.”
The pickup driver asked as he started the engine. Upon entering the 12th grade, Jae-min decided to stop commuting by bus, which he had maintained for a semester, and return to using a private pickup service. Jae-min, who had been leaning his head against the window, shook his head.
“I’m not sleepy.”
“I think you’re studying too late. If you use your brain until late at night, you can’t fall asleep right away even when you lie in bed.”
“That is kind of true.”
It was true that he had developed mild insomnia lately. Spring of the first semester of senior year. The world was buzzing with cherry blossom viewing and festivals, but for high school seniors, it was someone else’s business.
Since most students were aiming for college admission through early decision tracks, the first semester of senior year was the final hurdle of the entrance exam process. In fact, the students facing their final midterms were enduring a spring so grueling and dry that the beautiful flowering trees almost seemed resentful.
Jae-min’s schedule had become significantly tighter starting this year. His days had always started early and ended late, but with increased tutoring and self-study hours, these days he was usually too exhausted to do anything but collapse into bed the moment he got home. It wasn’t just because of his parents’ demands; it was a choice Jae-min had made himself.
More than anyone, Ryu Jae-min himself wanted to achieve the goal of getting into Hankuk University’s medical school. If his will weakened now or if he became lax because it was hard, all the effort and endurance of the past few years would go to waste. He absolutely did not want to ruin the plan of going to the same school as Oh Seung-pyo.
‘I miss him.’
Jae-min thought of Seung-pyo while gazing at the scenery outside the window. He had seen him at school today, but he wanted to see him again.
Oh Seung-pyo was equally busy putting in the final spurt for the entrance exams, and due to the difference in their study methods, the time they spent alone together had decreased significantly lately. It felt like only yesterday they were enjoying dates and welcoming the New Year together in the year-end spirit.
As they reached the main road, the cherry blossoms in full bloom were showing off their final scenery outside the window. It might be difficult this year, but next year, they would be able to stroll through the spring together. At the thought of Seung-pyo, Jae-min’s frayed nerves finally relaxed, and he closed his eyes.
Bzzz.
However, his closed eyes didn’t stay that way for long. Jae-min opened them soon after his phone vibrated in his hand.
“Hello.”
It was a welcome call, as if the caller had sensed he was thinking of him. Despite Jae-min’s tired voice, his happiness leaked through honestly.
—Is tutoring over?
“Yeah. I just got in the car to go home.”
—Already? You finished a bit earlier than usual.
“Yeah. By about 10 minutes. We moved through the material faster than expected.”
Seung-pyo’s tone became slightly awkward.
—If I’d known you’d finish early, I would have called sooner. I’m in the neighborhood where you get tutored right now.
“What?”
Jae-min quickly turned his head toward the driver’s seat.
“Hyung, wait a second. Please pull over for a moment.”
“What? There’s nowhere to stop here.”
“Then I’ll just get out now. You can go ahead today.”
“Then I’ll get in trouble with your parents. You’re trying to meet a friend, right? Ask where they are. You can just ride together.”
Jae-min hurriedly focused back on the call.
“Where are you?”
—You know that convenience store right in front of where you get tutored? There.
“Then stay there for a second. I’ll come back.”
The car turned around and headed back the way it came. The pickup driver joked with a smile.
“You two are really close. Someone might think you’re dating.”
“Now that I’m a senior and things are busy, meeting friends is the only fun I have left.”
“True. For me, the kids I suffered with in senior year are the ones I remember most among my high school friends.”
Fortunately, since they hadn’t gone far, it didn’t take long to return. Seeing a familiar silhouette standing in front of the convenience store, Jae-min happily rolled down the window.
“Oh Seung-pyo!”
Seung-pyo immediately walked toward the car. Before getting in, he first bowed politely toward the driver’s window.
“I’ve made things troublesome by visiting without notice. Hello, Hyung.”
“Long time no see. You’re struggling these days too, right?”
“Not as much as Ryu Jae-min.”
The back door swung open and Seung-pyo climbed in. At the sudden appearance of the boyfriend he had missed, Jae-min couldn’t hide the wide smile as he welcomed him.
“Since when have you been here?”
“Today is your latest finishing day. I thought you’d be tired, so I just wanted to see your face for a moment before you went home.”
“You’re tired too.”
“I mean, it’s not like I attend that many academies.”
The two whispered in voices low enough that the driver couldn’t hear. Their longing gazes met. They wanted to kiss right then and there, but they couldn’t. The pickup driver, unaware of the situation, asked casually while turning the steering wheel.
“Should I take you straight home? Or did you meet up because you had plans?”
Seung-pyo quickly stepped in to answer instead of Jae-min.
“No. I just stopped by since I was in the area.”
“You were waiting to get a ride, weren’t you?”
“Yeah, you caught me.”
Since the pickup driver had become accustomed to Seung-pyo’s easygoing nature after meeting him a few times, the two shared a few jokes, giggling like close brothers.
Seung-pyo and Jae-min drove in silence for a while, fidgeting with each other’s hands on the seat. From the tutoring academy to home, it was a familiar route Jae-min traveled every day. The cherry blossom petals fluttering outside the window made the road he saw daily look like a special place.
“This road isn’t usually congested, but it’s backed up today. Maybe there was an accident.”
Traffic began to stall at a certain point, and the cars didn’t move even after the light turned green. Jae-min stared blankly at the line of cars with their lights on, then suddenly spoke.
“Hyung, we’ll get out here.”
“Now?”
“It won’t take long to walk from here. I think it’s better to walk than to keep standing on the road.”
“We’re almost there, so let’s do that then.”
This time, the pickup driver agreed. Jae-min and Seung-pyo hurried out of the car. After passing the line of vehicles and stepping onto the sidewalk, they gave a light bow to the driver who had dropped them off and began to walk.
Cherry blossom petals, on the verge of falling, fluttered in the wind and danced above their heads. The flowers seen under the streetlights had a quiet beauty different from those under the sunlight. Jae-min couldn’t hide his happiness as he looked back at Seung-pyo.
“I was just thinking that I wanted to see the cherry blossoms with you.”
“Me too. I thought they’d all be gone, so I came to try and catch the last of them.”
“Of all days, today is my latest finishing day… how long have you been waiting?”
“About an hour?”
“You should have contacted me before coming.”
“I wanted to give you a surprise event after tutoring, but I didn’t know the timing would be off.”
Late at night, there wasn’t much two high school students burning with passion for entrance exam studies could do. The only thing possible was walking together until they reached Jae-min’s house, which wasn’t far.
“How’s the midterm prep going?”
“Same as always.”
“Do you think you can take first place this time?”
“Don’t let your guard down. I can take it anytime.”
Talk of exam rankings had become like an old joke between them. Neither felt offended, and they both giggled. Jae-min looked quietly at Seung-pyo standing beside him and whispered.
“I think you grew taller again. You hit 190 last time.”
“Really? I’ll have to measure myself when I get home.”
Perhaps because it was spring, there were quite a few people enjoying the night along the roadside where petals fell white like snow. Under the brightly lit convenience store signs, at the outdoor seats of cafes or bars that stayed open late, and even in front of shops with their shutters down. People gathered in small groups here and there, enjoying the beautiful scenery and the warm weather.
As they passed through the crowds, the two became noticeably quieter. They passed through the falling petals in silence, unable to even hold hands properly, but once they entered the quiet road leading to Jae-min’s house, they cautiously tried to hold hands. Although there were a few open shops here and there, the crowds from the main road had vanished as if by magic. Seung-pyo marveled at the scenery before him.
“There are more flowering trees here than I thought.”
“They continue all the way to the entrance.”
“I guess it’s because it’s an expensive neighborhood; even the road is fancy.”
While exchanging trivial chatter, Jae-min’s house drew closer. This meant the time to part was approaching.
Walking with slow, plodding steps, the two stopped for a moment and changed direction. The beautiful spring night was bright and noisy everywhere, but the two had long since learned how to hide from people’s eyes.
Hiding in the dim shadow of the blossoms with their hands entwined, they clearly felt each other’s longing even in the darkness. For some reason, they couldn’t bring themselves to kiss easily today and simply gazed at each other.
“Oh.”
Seung-pyo, who had been silent, let out a small gasp involuntarily. Jae-min realized the reason for his admiration a beat later. A petal that had fluttered from somewhere had landed on Jae-min’s lips.
As if that were a signal, Seung-pyo tilted his face. Their lips met silently, then made secret, wet sounds—chu, chu. The small, thin petal was crushed between their lips before sliding away and disappearing.
The petal fell fleetingly, but their kiss was not over. Their lips, soft as tender leaves, overlapped several times anew, and their supple tongues endlessly explored each other’s inner flesh. The fact that the time to part was approaching only made them unable to let go of each other.
Seung-pyo, tickling the wet membranes, overlapped deeply as if to swallow Jae-min’s lips, and his tongue pushed deep into the back of his mouth. It was a kiss that made the area near the throat tingle. Jae-min, who had been holding back his moans, let out a low, small voice involuntarily.
“Hng…!”
Startled by his own sound, Jae-min tightened his arms around Seung-pyo. In the dark night, there were no eyes nearby that would discover the two hiding in the shadows, but Seung-pyo pressed his body even closer.
Still, the kiss did not stop. The tongue that had entered deeply pulled out slightly and then thrust back into the mouth. The same action was repeated over and over. Rather than a kiss, it was an explicit caress that recalled insertion in a secret place, making Jae-min’s shoulders and waist twitch. Ugh, ugh, ugh. The moans he tried so hard to suppress barely reached only their ears.
“Haa…”
When Seung-pyo finally lifted his head, Jae-min couldn’t even think of opening his eyes immediately and was quietly catching his breath.
Seung-pyo slowly pulled Jae-min into his arms.
“Your lips taste like cherry blossoms.”
“Since when do cherry blossoms have a taste?”
Jae-min grumbled but hugged Seung-pyo back. They would see each other at school tomorrow anyway, but his heart ached with the desire to not part right now.
Shaking off the melancholy feeling, Seung-pyo whispered first.
“I should go in now.”
“You should have been gentler. How am I supposed to go home after this…?”
“What can I do if I’m sad to part?”
Jae-min let out a heated sigh and buried his face in Seung-pyo’s shoulder.
“I thought I was going to be eaten alive.”
“How did you know? I almost ate you just now but held back.”
Seung-pyo grinned and whispered in his ear.
“I don’t have to take first place in the midterms, but I really want to eat the top student of our school.”
In their voices exchanging lewd jokes while pretending to be playful, and in their wet breaths, there was no time for the heat to cool. Dating as a senior is a constant battle with oneself. The top student, who had become the prey, didn’t feel afraid of the threat to be eaten; instead, he grinned.
“Eat as much as you want after the exams.”
“Yeah, look forward to it. I’m going to devour you completely.”
Under the dark shadow of the flowering trees, playful and low laughter was secretly exchanged. It was a short cherry blossom viewing for just the two of them in the spring of the first semester of senior year.
4.10 Epilogue 4. The Honor Student’s Drift
On a winter afternoon, the customers settled in a quiet cafe were all different. Someone chatting happily with a companion, someone immersed in work with headphones on, someone enjoying leisure while reading a book alone.
Only Seung-pyo and Jae-min, mixed among them, exuded a somewhat different atmosphere. Sitting opposite each other at a sunny window seat with their phones in hand, their expressions were filled only with tension, far from leisure or enjoyment.
Whew. After taking a deep breath, Seung-pyo spoke.
“Let’s log in at the same time on the count of three.”
“Yeah.”
Finally, the day of the final acceptance announcement for Hankuk University’s early decision had arrived.
Both had confirmed several times that they were safely above the expected cutoff, but they couldn’t help the trembling of their hearts. The fact that receiving an acceptance here meant the long, long journey of entrance exam preparation was truly over was also a bit overwhelming.
Simply calculated, it could be summed up as three years of high school, but it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that most students going through the entrance exam process had run for over ten years for this moment. For Jae-min, who had faced severe pressure regarding studies since childhood, it would be even more special.
Despite agreeing to count to three, both Seung-pyo and Jae-min remained silent for a moment. The past year was flashing through their minds like a kaleidoscope.
The first semester of senior year was truly, incredibly busy. The final semester before applying for early decision. Everyone was trying to pull up their GPA one last time and organizing the records and portfolios needed for their intended majors, so even the break times were quiet.
The number of kids who went out to run and play during lunch decreased drastically. Because they lived such hectic and busy lives every day, they were exhausted and had no strength left. To exaggerate, every day was like a zombie apocalypse.
It was no different for Oh Seung-pyo and Ryu Jae-min; compared to their second year, it became very difficult to share sweet moments alone. The moments they managed to steal for a kiss amidst the busyness were that much more special.
“…If I couldn’t even kiss you, it would have been really hard.”
Seung-pyo murmured, bringing the stage of his long reminiscence to a close by recalling the sweet kiss times he shared with Ryu Jae-min. Jae-min agreed only with his lips, mouthing, Me too.
Seung-pyo readjusted his grip on his phone.
“One, two, three!”
The two accessed the acceptance announcement page simultaneously. The hands entering the examinee numbers and pressing the confirm button were trembling for both of them.
Having checked the acceptance announcement while tense, the two stared intently at the screen without a word, then looked at each other with expressionless faces.
“Let’s go.”
Without a single word about the results or whether they had passed, Seung-pyo spoke with a grim expression. Jae-min simply nodded along.
Seung-pyo wasn’t the only one silent. Jae-min was quiet as well. Leaving the cafe, the two walked side by side until they arrived in front of the game center that had now become their regular haunt.
Though neither suggested it first, as if they had already decided on their destination, they hurried into the game center and searched for a coin karaoke booth. After pressing the remote at random to play a song they didn’t even know, the first thing Seung-pyo did was take off his school blazer.
“Hng…”
The discarded blazer covered Jae-min’s head, and immediately after, Seung-pyo crawled inside and kissed him feverishly.
The sensation of lips they had grown so accustomed to felt exceptionally electric. Rather than calming down, their racing heartbeats grew wilder, and their kiss became increasingly urgent. They kissed frantically until their lips felt numb, and only when it felt as though their moans of excitement could no longer be fully masked by the music did they emerge from under the blazer.
It was hot. Panting as if they had just finished a race, they looked at each other, and Seung-pyo spoke first.
“I passed.”
“Yeah.”
“Both of us.”
“Right.”
Waaaaah!
This time, a shout far louder than the music accompaniment shook the narrow karaoke booth. Even so, in the noisy game center, no one paid them any attention.
It felt as if they had finally finished a long, grueling marathon. Although they knew this was merely another beginning, for now, it felt as if they owned the world.
After their heated kiss, they picked up the microphones. Jae-min now had a few songs he could actually sing at karaoke. They sang together, left the booth, and this time stood before the shooting game they had played the very first time, capturing several monsters that plagued humanity.
“Let’s go!”
This time, Jae-min shouted. Following the cafe, they bolted out of the game center as well. They simply weren’t in the mood to stay still anywhere.
They had no set destination. The weather was unusually warm for winter and the sky was clear, so they couldn’t stop smiling just by walking. It felt as if every passerby was congratulating them. Even the “Student Discount” signs occasionally seen on commercial buildings felt like messages meant only for them.
“What else should we do?”
“The weather’s nice, want to go to the Han River and ride bikes?”
“Let’s definitely stay up all night today. No matter what we do today, there’s no one to tell us off.”
Laughing as they tossed around ideas of what to do, they suddenly slowed their pace.
They stopped before a shop they usually never glanced at. They stared blankly at the flyers plastered all over the glass window. It was a real estate office filled with advertisements for monthly and jeonse rentals. Jae-min asked.
“You’re going to move out and live on your own as soon as you go to college, right?”
“No.”
“Then?”
Seung-pyo had lived his life saying he would gain independence the moment he entered college. He had told Jae-min so many times that it was practically engraved in his ears that Jae-min would naturally live with him once he left home, so cohabitation had naturally been included in their future plans after college acceptance.
Jae-min became a bit puzzled. For a brief moment, he wondered what he should do if Seung-pyo didn’t leave home. He had already received a promise that he would be allowed to live independently once he went to college, but he had preferred preparing for it with Seung-pyo rather than doing it alone.
“I think I’ll leave home before enrollment.”
Seung-pyo’s answer defied Jae-min’s expectations. Jae-min’s eyes widened as he asked back.
“Starting when?”
“It’s not set in stone, but soon. I told you my dad said he’s done sailing.”
Jae-min nodded, remembering the story about his father he had heard before.
Seung-pyo’s father, who had spent his life sailing the distant seas, had decided to change his position to an office job at the headquarters. He had apparently felt he had aged significantly now that both his sons were college-age. He said that instead of leaving things to his sons, he felt he should be the one guarding the home.
“My dad is one thing, but my youngest aunt got divorced, so she and my cousin are moving into our house to live together for a while.”
“Oh, really?”
This was the first Jae-min had heard of the aunt’s news. Seung-pyo added nonchalantly.
“I only found out yesterday, so I couldn’t tell you yet. As for me, I’m close with both my aunt and cousin, so I don’t mind living together. But since Dad already planned for me to be independent, he asked why I wouldn’t just leave as soon as I passed. I’m grateful if he prepares it for me quickly.”
“Then when do you start living alone?”
“I didn’t know, but he said there’s an apartment he’s been renting out near the school, and he wants me to live there. He said it’s a bit of an old building.”
“Really? You already have a place?”
Jae-min’s eyes sparkled involuntarily. He had thought it would take a long time to find a place even if they started preparing immediately, but to think the living arrangements were already settled.
As if seeing right through those inner thoughts, Seung-pyo grinned.
“Curious, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.”
He was so curious about what kind of house it would be. Although they hadn’t discussed it specifically yet, there was a high probability it would be the house he would live in as well.
“I haven’t seen it myself, so I’m thinking of going tomorrow. Let’s go together.”
“Is no one living there now?”
“Yeah, there was a tenant, but they moved out recently, so it’s empty. Dad says it’s a small apartment with two rooms. Wouldn’t a two-bedroom apartment be more than enough for the two of us?”
“I didn’t know he already prepared a house.”
“Neither did I. Dad said he bought it a long time ago because he thought at least one of me or Hyung would go to Hankuk University. Is my dad secretly rich? I’ll have to bleed him dry later.”
It was a day filled with good news. Not only had they passed college, but their future home had been decided in one fell swoop.
As they resumed walking without a destination, Seung-pyo suddenly spoke.
“The days of wandering around because we have nowhere to go are over.”
At those rather solemn words, Jae-min gave a smile of agreement. Their dates had always been a battle of time and place. Even if they wanted to go to one person’s house, they had to keenly time it for when other family members weren’t around, and if they spent time outside, it was uncomfortable and anxious trying to avoid other people’s eyes.
It was no wonder they had rushed into a coin karaoke booth at the game center just to be alone. The world was vast, yet it wasn’t easy for two boys to find a place where they could whisper their love with peace of mind.
From now on, they would have a space of their own, undisturbed by anyone. Since they were still students without financial means, it was a nest provided with the help of parents, but they were still happy.
“Come to think of it, if it’s empty anyway, there’s no need to push it to tomorrow, right? Want to go now?”
After being lost in thought for a moment, Seung-pyo looked back at Jae-min. Jae-min had no reason to refuse.
“If we can go, of course I want to. Can we go right now?”
“Hold on. I’ll ask my dad.”
While Seung-pyo stopped in his tracks to call his father, Jae-min waited for the answer with a fluttering heart.
“Yeah, Dad. It’s me. Can I go see that apartment you mentioned yesterday now? With Ryu Jae-min. Oh, the results? Yeah, I passed. That’s why I’m saying I’ll go see it. Both me and Ryu Jae-min. Yeah, something like that.”
They were a father and son who exchanged the news of passing Hankuk University—something others would be overjoyed about—with complete nonchalance. Jae-min suppressed a laugh, seeing how Seung-pyo had been so nervous when checking the results with him just a moment ago, only to act as if it were nothing in front of his father.
Whether the conclusion was reached quickly, Seung-pyo finished the call and turned around with a smile.
“He says we can go now. I got the door password too.”
“Then we can go there, look at the house, and hang out.”
“There’s nothing to look at. It’s an empty house.”
“It’s fine if there’s nothing.”
As long as Oh Seung-pyo was there, nothing else mattered. Understanding the implied meaning, Seung-pyo smirked.
“There isn’t even a bed yet.”
“Who asked?”
It took about an hour by bus from the neighborhood where they lived to get to Hankuk University. For high school seniors who had received final acceptance notifications from their dream universities, time was overflowing. The two hurried their pace, giggling.
* * *
The apartment Oh Seung-pyo’s father had designated as their future sanctuary was located about ten minutes by bus from the school they would be attending. If they were to live near the school, a place within walking distance would have been better, but it was a luxury to complain about accessibility when they were allowed to live for free in a house their parents had provided.
From the outside, the building certainly showed its age, but it was clean, and the commercial units attached to it included a convenience store and a small cafe. The two decided to hold a modest party to celebrate their acceptance. Although they couldn’t drink alcohol yet, they bought plenty of their favorite snacks and treats, and entered the building excitedly with coffees in their hands.
“What floor did he say?”
“10th.”
It was a moderately high floor. Unable to hide their excitement, the two bolted out as soon as the elevator stopped and walked quickly to the front of the door of the house they would soon inhabit.
“Here it is.”
The two swallowed hard and slowly entered the door password as if performing a sacred ritual.
Beep-beep-beep. The sound of the door lock unlocking followed.
“Hello.”
Even though he knew it was an empty house, Seung-pyo greeted it cautiously as he opened the door.
“Wow…”
Entering inside, Jae-min let out an involuntary exclamation of admiration.
Sunlight, streaming in through the living room windows that weren’t blocked by curtains or blinds, poured onto the smooth wooden floor. There were no particularly noticeable scratches on the walls or floor, and overall, it was bright and clean.
Jae-min, who was about to step into the living room, paused, straightened his posture, and asked Seung-pyo.
“Do I have to take off my shoes to go in?”
“Yeah. Dad said he called a move-in cleaning company to clean it once.”
Following Jae-min, Seung-pyo entered and expressed a similar sentiment.
“It’s really empty.”
“It looks huge.”
Sharing similar yet different impressions, the two looked around the house. As Seung-pyo’s father had described, it was a perfectly ordinary apartment, but considering it was the place where they would first leave home and become independent, it was a clean and wonderful house—almost too good.
“The water runs well.”
“Oh, hot water comes out too?”
They explored every corner of the bathroom and the two rooms together. Compared to the houses they currently lived in, the square footage was much smaller, but their eyes sparkled as if they were looking at rare treasures for the first time in their lives.
More than anything, Jae-min found the completely empty house fascinating. A living room with no TV, no sofa, and no table. Regardless of the actual size, it looked incredibly spacious.
He had moved a few times as a child, but back then, he would spend time at a relative’s house or an academy, and only enter the house after the movers and adults had roughly finished organizing. He had never seen a house this empty.
A ‘new house’ in the literal sense. It felt real—that this was a space the two of them had to decorate. His heart fluttered sweetly. Jae-min hurried to express his thoughts.
“Since there’s nothing, it looks clean and nice. Let’s not buy too much furniture.”
“Are you one of those? A minimalist? Do whatever you want. If there’s not much furniture, it’ll be easier to clean, so that’s fine.”
Since both of them tended to watch videos on laptops or phones, they didn’t even need a TV. The games Oh Seung-pyo liked could simply be played by connecting them to a computer monitor.
They could put one small sofa in the living room, and since the kitchen wasn’t very large, it seemed like a good idea to put a single shelf there. Since they both liked coffee, they could put equipment for brewing capsule coffee on the living room shelf.
Referring to things he had seen here and there, Jae-min was vaguely painting a picture of their future scenery in his head.
“Ryu Jae-min, stand in front of that window.”
“Huh? Here?”
Jae-min, who had been lost in thought about how to decorate the living room, finally snapped out of it and turned his head. Seung-pyo had already taken out his phone.
Jae-min smiled broadly in front of the window. Seung-pyo pressed the shutter several times before approaching him.
“Let’s leave a few commemorative photos before we properly decorate the house.”
The two took selfies together, and Jae-min also took a few solo shots of Seung-pyo. They opened their respective college acceptance screens and took certification shots to commemorate their success.
After wandering around the living room and rooms taking photos, the two eventually ended up sprawling flat on the floor. If adults saw them, they would tell them to get up, saying the place needed to be cleaned once more, but for two high school students who had received college acceptance notifications, there was nothing to hold them back. They felt as if they could lie down right on the street where people were walking.
“Your eyes are closed here.”
“You should have timed the shot better.”
Looking at the photos they had just taken, the two giggled incessantly. They were just photos of them standing blankly, and they hadn’t even made funny faces or poses, but now, everything they looked at made them laugh.
While admiring the photos, they continued to scroll back through the album, as if traveling backward in time. The photos they took together had increased significantly around the summer break of their second year, filling the album.
“Now that graduation is over, we won’t have any more reason to take photos in school uniforms.”
“It feels a bit strange.”
As they continued to go back in time, the proportion of Jae-min in Seung-pyo’s photo album—which had been full of photos of each other and photos taken together—gradually decreased, until eventually, he didn’t appear at all.
Jae-min snatched Seung-pyo’s phone and asked.
“Can I look at other photos too?”
“Yeah, whatever.”
As they could no longer look back on their shared memories, Seung-pyo quickly lost interest in looking at the photos. Instead, Jae-min held the phone alone and continued browsing the album while lying on his stomach. While they occasionally reviewed photos taken together like this, he had never properly looked through the album from before they started dating.
Seung-pyo tended to enjoy taking photos, so there were many solo selfies and quite a few photos of landscapes or food. There were also many game screen captures, likely kept as a sort of commemorative record, and many humorous photos taken with close friends.
‘I wish we had become close a bit sooner.’
Jae-min swallowed a regret. Despite knowing each other since the first semester of their first year, they had spent over a year ignoring, opposing, and fighting each other, letting the time slip away without leaving a single proper photo. Looking back, there were many things among the events of that time that could have been cherished as memories, but except for their own recollections, no traces remained.
If there was anything left, it was perhaps the masturbation video of Oh Seung-pyo that he had demanded be filmed? People would laugh if he said a masturbation video was poignant, but to Jae-min, that too was a precious record. Plenty of joyful things awaited them in the future, but the regret over lost time was a separate emotion from the anticipation of the future.
“Huh?”
Jae-min, who had been browsing through Oh Seung-pyo’s photos, raised his voice in surprise. Seung-pyo, who was spending time on the internet with his own phone, turned his head.
“What?”
Jae-min thrust the phone forward.
“…When was this taken?”
Seung-pyo stared at the screen Jae-min held out with a bewildered expression. Blinking as if this was news to him as well, his face soon flushed red, and he reached out swiftly to snatch the phone away.
However, Jae-min was quicker, rolling his body to escape Seung-pyo’s grasp. Seung-pyo, who had been lying back leisurely, bolted upright.
“Ah, give it back!”
“When is this? When was this taken! What, this is from first year?”
The sight of two high schoolers, both well over 180 centimeters, running in circles like a game of tag in a living room that wasn’t particularly large was quite a spectacle.
But Jae-min couldn’t beat Seung-pyo in speed. Eventually caught, Jae-min ended up trapped in Seung-pyo’s arms with his back against the wall.
They were both panting heavily from running with all their might in such a small house. It would be a miracle if the neighbors from the floor below didn’t come up to complain about the noise.
Among the two who were glaring at each other for the first time in a while, Jae-min began to laugh lowly first.
“So when was it taken? Why take it away after I’ve already seen it?”
Even while panting, Jae-min asked once more. Seung-pyo frowned sullenly for a moment before blurting out an answer.
“First year.”
“When in first year? You’re wearing the winter uniform, so it’s winter.”
“You might not remember. When I dropped my pen while going down the stairs and you picked it up for me.”
“Ah.”
Jae-min’s eyes widened slightly at the returning memory.
It wasn’t a big deal, but it was a day that was hard to forget. Because it was the day Seung-pyo and Jae-min had spoken to each other for the first time.
The greeting exchanged while picking up and receiving the pen was all there was—a level of content that was awkward to even call a conversation—but Jae-min also remembered the words they shared that day exactly. A short, brief conversation where the only proper words were “Here” and “I’m going.”
At that time, Jae-min had been talking to a teacher, but in the photo, he was alone. Which meant…
“You took this after he picked up your pen?”
“I did.”
“Why?”
Seung-pyo avoided his gaze sheepishly as he answered.
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
“It was back then.”
Since the photo was taken just before the winter break of their first year, it was already over two years old. He could have just said he forgot, but Seung-pyo didn’t try to cover it up with a lie.
“When I was studying during the break… I thought seeing the face of the top student in the whole school would motivate me.”
Jae-min, whose heart had been pounding in anticipation of the answer, burst into laughter as if the tension had snapped. He looked at Seung-pyo, giggling.
“What is that even supposed to be?”
“That’s how it was back then.”
“Don’t lie.”
Without losing the smile, Jae-min looked at Seung-pyo and asked playfully.
“You were interested in me since then, weren’t you?”
“No.”
“What do you mean ‘no’? You even secretly took a photo like this before you even knew I was acting like a whore.”
“Stop it. We agreed not to use the word ‘whore’.”
“Weren’t you teasing and bullying me because you liked me?”
No. Back then, I think I only wanted to win. Seung-pyo tried to deny it once more, but soon fell silent.
Could it really have been that? Was it true that while the existence of the top student—who was always etched at the very top of the rank poster and seemed impossible to surpass—was hateful and annoying, he was also drawn to that aloof appearance and the leisurely attitude of someone who didn’t give a damn about a perpetual second-place like him?
Was that why he secretly took a photo like this, and why he felt a surge of excitement to the top of his head when he discovered another side of Ryu Jae-min, whom he had thought was merely haughty and indifferent?
Perhaps. It felt as if Ryu Jae-min wanted him to say yes. Seung-pyo remained silent for a moment before answering.
“No.”
“No?”
“I didn’t bully you because I liked you. I did it because I was mean and childish.”
Seung-pyo answered, sounding somewhat sullen. Caught off guard by the reaction, Jae-min blinked blankly for a moment and then scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
“Why are you suddenly getting so serious?”
“No is no. I don’t want to bully people I like. If I like someone, I want to be good to them.”
Despite Jae-min’s reaction, which seemed slightly disappointed, Seung-pyo remained firm.
“I might have liked you since then, but I didn’t bully you because I liked you.”
Jae-min, who had lowered his head slightly, looked forward again.
Jae-min’s playful expression had also turned serious. Jae-min wrapped his arm around Seung-pyo’s neck first, and the two shared a deep, serious kiss.
“Hngh…”
As their lips overlapped thickly and Seung-pyo’s hand stroked his waist, Jae-min’s body soon trembled thinly. Seung-pyo smiled faintly and slid his hand further down.
He had once self-deprecatingly thought of himself as a Pavlovian dog who wavered at a single word from Ryu Jae-min, but now Ryu Jae-min’s reflexes had become just as sensitive.
“Ah, nngh, no.”
As Seung-pyo’s lips traveled down his neck, Jae-min shook his head weakly. Seung-pyo rubbed his lips against the smooth skin and asked back.
“You’re the one who started the kiss, so why?”
“It’s a bit… too much to do this here yet.”
“It’s going to be our house anyway, right?”
“It’s still your father’s house.”
“If you put it that way, our current house is my dad’s too. And we’ve done all sorts of things there.”
“That’s true, but, haa, the feeling is…”
Even while breathing heavily, Jae-min refused to take it one step further until the end.
Yet, he didn’t loosen his arms wrapped around Seung-pyo. The sticky kissing continued. Jae-min slid down the wall he had been leaning against and sat on the floor, and Seung-pyo lowered his body slowly to match the pace. Eyes slightly moist with excitement, they gazed intently at each other.
Swallowing his frustration, Seung-pyo whispered lowly.
“I need to finish the moving preparations quickly and move in.”
“Yeah…”
It was ambiguous whether Jae-min’s voice was an answer or a moan. This was because Seung-pyo’s hand had slowly slid inside his pants.
With one hand digging into the waistband, the other undid the fly of his pants. As the shape of the swollen penis beneath the underwear was revealed, Seung-pyo reached inside without hesitation. At the touch stroking his private area, Jae-min soon became dazed and moaned.
“Ah…”
“Come to think of it, haven’t we stopped at just a handjob lately?”
“Ha, nngh.”
“In the past, I felt like I’d go crazy even with just your hand.”
He wanted to embrace him and become one right this instant, but they were far too unprepared. Not a bed, not even a single blanket. It wasn’t that they couldn’t do it, but it felt like a waste to have their monumental first union in their own private space on a bare floor with nothing.
“I liked it when it was just with hands, too.”
“Hngh, ugh, me too.”
“Right? We started with hands at first.”
Jae-min’s member, hidden inside his pants, stood stiff with a few strokes. The same was true for Seung-pyo’s, which Jae-min’s hand hadn’t even touched yet.
The shaft was hard, but warm thanks to the high body temperature, and the surface was soft. Thinking that the cock was just like the man himself, Seung-pyo slowly rubbed Jae-min’s member up and down.
“Ah, haa, ah.”
At the sudden start of the handplay and the unexpected wave of pleasure, Jae-min was helpless. While sitting facing each other, he surrendered his body to the hand that unhesitatingly caressed his lower half, and then he reached out his own hand.
“Mmm, I want to touch you too…”
“You too?”
Jae-min reached out and fumbled with Seung-pyo’s lower half. Seung-pyo didn’t bother refusing; he undid his own fly, letting Jae-min touch him freely.
“Huu…”
As Jae-min’s hand gripped him urgently, Seung-pyo immediately let out a moan. The two pressed their bodies closer together, breathing raggedly. The sound leaking from their grips became increasingly wet due to the flowing pre-cum.
“Ah, what do I do…”
As the pleasure and heat rose to the top of his head, Jae-min unconsciously let out a sigh mixed with a whimper. He was the one who had refused, saying they couldn’t do it here, yet he was also the one whose waist trembled with the impulse to do something more.
He felt like he was collapsing faster and faster under Oh Seung-pyo’s touch. He felt that if he just ejaculated, he would calm down quickly, but the act in an unfamiliar place subconsciously suppressed the instinct to release. Irregular and desperate moans mixed with his heavy breathing.
“Ryu Jae-min, come here.”
Seung-pyo’s voice was also full of heat. He pulled Jae-min into an embrace as if sticking him to his own body and then lay flat on his back on the floor. It became a position where Seung-pyo was underneath and Jae-min was lying on top of him, their bodies pressed tightly together.
Jae-min’s pants, which had been hanging around his hips, were pulled down and completely removed. His underwear went with them. All that remained of what Jae-min was wearing was a loosely hanging tie and a single shirt.
What is he trying to do? Before Jae-min could voice his curiosity, Seung-pyo gave the next instruction.
“Lift yourself up and sit.”
“…Sit? On top of you?”
“On top of my cock.”
Jae-min swallowed hard, but he didn’t ask anything further. Being quick to understand, he immediately grasped Seung-pyo’s instructions.
Blushing slightly, he awkwardly lifted his body and sat his butt crack right on top of Seung-pyo’s thick penis, which was standing erect toward his stomach. As he sat obediently in the position and looked down at the guy lying there, Seung-pyo grinned and gave a third instruction.
“Now grab yours and jerk off.”
It was an unexpected request. Jae-min bit his lip and asked back.
“By myself?”
“Yeah.”
Showing himself masturbating was something they had done even before they started dating, so there was nothing to be shy about, but perhaps because of the location, Jae-min felt particularly embarrassed today. The empty house somehow felt like it made everything more explicit.
“I’ll watch. You like showing off, don’t you?”
If he couldn’t do it, he could have stopped immediately, but Jae-min sat there hesitating. His hand, which had been lingering near his erect member, finally wrapped around it.
The hand movements, which started slowly as if he were shy, soon picked up speed. Rubbing his own member, Jae-min heated up without reservation right before Seung-pyo’s eyes.
“Mmm, hngh, haa.”
Watching this, Seung-pyo also began to slowly rock his hips while lying down. Jae-min momentarily forgot to move his hand and trembled. This was because Seung-pyo’s penis, tucked under his buttocks, began to slowly rub against the entrance where they were pressed together.
The closed hole twitched and gasped, reacting to Seung-pyo’s play. Suddenly heating up all over, Jae-min breathed even more heavily. Looking explicitly at Jae-min, who was looking down at him with a flushed face, Seung-pyo spoke.
“Ryu Jae-min, don’t stop your hand.”
“Ugh, okay…”
Jae-min, who had been entranced by the new pleasure, started moving his hand again only after Seung-pyo’s reminder. The reddened member grew harder and harder in his hand. The hole being rubbed by Seung-pyo’s bumpy member was also becoming hotter.
Jae-min opened his mouth wide. No sound came out, but his entire body shuddered briefly. A cloudy liquid was streaming down from the tip of the penis trapped in his grip.
“Haa…”
A weak climax from masturbation didn’t completely resolve the heat inside his body. Still, letting out a sigh that was more comfortable than before the release, Jae-min leaned his back.
Even then, the hole in contact with Seung-pyo’s angry member was diligently wriggling. As the pleasure his body felt grew, Jae-min could feel the inside of his empty lower abdomen tightening.
Panting, he looked at Seung-pyo lying beneath him. Seung-pyo was also looking up at Jae-min. Even though the ejaculation was over, the lingering air of regret between them did not disappear.
Seung-pyo, who had been quiet as if hesitating, spoke first.
“Shall we try putting it in for a bit?”
Jae-min nodded as if he had been waiting.
The discarded bag was not far away. Seung-pyo reached out and pulled a condom and a gel film from the inner pocket. Jae-min sometimes nagged him, asking why he carried such things in his bag in case someone saw, but Seung-pyo always brought them, saying what did it matter and that a person should always be prepared.
Since they were actually using them unexpectedly, he wouldn’t be able to nag him anymore. Seung-pyo smeared gel all over his penis, which now had a condom on it. Jae-min murmured.
“I prefer it without a condom.”
“If I cum inside here, it’ll be hard to clean up.”
Seung-pyo smirked, looking up at Jae-min.
“Once the move is finished, I’ll fuck you with my bare cock all night long.”
“Who asked you to go that far?”
His words were blunt, but Jae-min’s face looked as if he had heard something heart-fluttering.
Following the guidance of Seung-pyo’s hands holding his pelvis, Jae-min lifted his waist slightly and then slowly lowered his buttocks again. Seung-pyo’s member, as angry as could be, had become a pillar as hard as a stake.
The hole, which had been gasping as if asking to be filled to the end immediately, contracted strongly and tightened just by swallowing the glans as the insertion began. Seung-pyo frowned slightly and asked.
“It’s a bit tight… does it hurt?”
Perhaps because he hadn’t touched him with his fingers first, the hole hadn’t loosened up as it usually did, even though it had become scorching hot from the sticky friction.
“No, it’s okay…”
The tightly stretched hole stung a bit, but Jae-min shook his head. Then, leaning his body forward slightly, he whispered.
“Wait, just stay still for a second.”
He felt that if he forced it in, it would really hurt. If he acted too hastily and got injured, the aftermath would be a mountain of trouble. Instead of rushing, Jae-min just lightly gripped the tip of the thick member and slowly rocked his waist up and down.
“Ah!”
Seung-pyo raised his voice unconsciously. The feeling of the tightly constricted entrance sucking in and releasing only the sensitive glans was intense. Ugh, Seung-pyo clenched his teeth and swallowed a moan, then sighed toward Jae-min, who was preoccupied with taming the hole himself.
“Ah, fuck, you’re so erotic… are you determined to kill me?”
“Look who’s talking…”
Jae-min also panted and muttered. Oh Seung-pyo, moaning and feeling pleasure at his clumsy hip movements, was equally erotic.
As the excitement soared, he wanted to properly become one quickly. He felt every part of his body, which had been stiff, loosening much more softly.
Seung-pyo lightly gripped Jae-min’s pelvis. As he slowly rotated his hips while lying below, Jae-min, who was sitting on top, immediately burst into a moan.
“Ah, hngh…! I told you, stay… still…”
“Try sitting down more slowly. I think it’ll be okay now.”
“Ah, ah, ah…”
Jae-min surrendered himself to Seung-pyo’s touch and completely sat down, lowering his buttocks which had been slightly hovering in the air. As the protruding member filled his stomach, he momentarily lost his breath.
Jae-min gasped, unable to even moan properly. Come to think of it, he had rarely experienced insertion while sitting on top of Seung-pyo. He had often tried to mimic it, only to be quickly flipped over and pinned underneath.
With his weight applied, the flesh club, which already felt like a weapon, entered deeply as if pressing up to his solar plexus. Feeling literally pierced, he couldn’t even move his waist, let alone shift; as he just tried to catch his breath, Seung-pyo also steadied his ragged breathing and spoke.
“I take back half of what I said earlier.”
“What… words.”
“When we have sex, I really want to bully you.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Seung-pyo began to thrust his hips upward from below. Before he could get used to the unfamiliar position, his body began to sway, and a flustered Jae-min placed his hands on Seung-pyo’s chest and leaned his upper body forward.
“Ah, wait a second…”
Seung-pyo silently reached out both hands. Without being told, Jae-min grabbed those hands to support his weight and posture.
Jae-min also tried to move in sync with Seung-pyo’s hip movements, but it was harder than he thought. His lower body continued to clash almost out of rhythm. However, it was more than enough to feel each other and share pleasure. Their movements became increasingly busy and sticky.
“Haa, hngh.”
“Aaaah, aa, uuuugh.”
Jae-min moaned low, as if sobbing. Tears welled up in his eyes at the feeling of the member, buried suffocatingly deep, recklessly poking and scouring the most sensitive and tender parts of his body.
As he was tossed around by the force of Seung-pyo thrusting him upward while he was mounted on top, he felt like a doll with its strings cut. It was a sweet helplessness. The member that had finished ejaculating stood up again like the first time, bobbing along with his swaying body.
“Hngh, ugh, ah, ah!”
Unable to endure the unfamiliar stimulation any longer, Jae-min’s entire body convulsed, and he threw his head back toward the ceiling. While he hurriedly gasped for air, his member, shaking as it met its second climax, let fluid stream down once more.
Seung-pyo’s eyes widened. He had seen Jae-min ejaculate countless times, but this was the first time he had seen him like this. From the red, round glans, ripe like a fruit, transparent water—not cloudy semen—was flowing down.
“Ah, ah, ah.”
Even though a surprised Seung-pyo stopped his hip movements, Jae-min continued to tremble and moan on his own. Every time Jae-min’s body convulsed, droplets of water splashed from the tip of his erect member, wetting Seung-pyo’s stomach. Seung-pyo called Jae-min’s name softly.
“Ryu Jae-min.”
Jae-min seemed not to hear him, keeping his eyes closed for a while, lost in a daze. “Ryu Jae-min.” Only after the second call did he look down at Seung-pyo.
“Look at how much you came.”
Only then did Jae-min drop his gaze downward. Even then, clear water continued to spurt and stop from his member, like a broken water fountain.
“Eh…?”
Jae-min’s eyes widened. As if snapping out of the haze of repeated climaxes, he stared at his lower half and then met Seung-pyo’s surprised gaze.
Seung-pyo smiled and thrust his hips upward even more powerfully.
“I guess, nngh, this is what they call squirting. We, haa, saw it together before.”
“Haa, wait, hngh, wait.”
“It’s pretty. Haa, it’s like a tiny fountain.”
The two honor students had researched and studied gay sex quite diligently. As a result, they were very well-versed in theory. Their knowledge had grown rapidly, but there were many things they had only read about and never experienced, and many things they hadn’t tried.
“This is driving me crazy, seriously. Haa, you’re, hngh, squirting right now because you’re feeling it while being fucked by me.”
Seung-pyo couldn’t stop laughing, as if something was incredibly pleasing. While his face was giggling with excitement, his eyes were as fierce as if he were about to devour the person mounted on top of him, making Jae-min feel momentarily frightened.
“Ah! Ah! Haaa, aa…!”
“Fuck, ah…”
Both Jae-min, who released transparent fluid from the pleasure vibrating through his entire body, and Seung-pyo, who watched it, were excited to the top of their heads. Muttering words mixed with curses, Seung-pyo hammered into Jae-min’s rear so that the slapping sounds echoed through the empty room. Jae-min lost even the leisure to tell him to stop or wait and began to sob out loud.
Every time their flesh collided violently, the shaking penis continued to leak transparent fluid, and at the sight of that unfamiliar display, Seung-pyo’s thrusts grew endlessly long. Only after Jae-min began to cry, his entire body shuddering, did Seung-pyo finally reach the climax he had been waiting for.
Jae-min, who had maintained his seated position even while twisting his body, finally collapsed completely and slumped onto Seung-pyo’s chest. Their thumping heartbeats and ragged breaths intertwined so chaotically that it was impossible to tell whose was whose. Throughout the ejaculation, Seung-pyo’s length pulsed and twitched inside Jae-min.
As they held each other in silence, catching their breath in the aftermath of the pleasure, it was Seung-pyo’s giggling that broke the silence.
“You were like a puppy again today.”
“Don’t… hng… even bring up Benny…”
“Look at you, marking your territory as soon as you get to a new house.”
“Shut up.”
“From the outside, it looked exactly like pee. Except it came out in spurts.”
“I told you not to explain it.”
As soon as the flared-up Jae-min finished speaking, he immediately covered Seung-pyo’s lips with his own. Silenced by the kiss, Seung-pyo didn’t insist on arguing. He licked the warm, soft lips and swallowed the supple tongue, rolling it around inside his mouth. Though Jae-min had boldly shut Seung-pyo up, he couldn’t overcome the heightened sensitivity following the climax.
Seung-pyo soothed his remaining longing by stroking Jae-min’s hips and lower back as Jae-min trembled and moaned. The more he touched him, the more he wanted to keep tormenting Ryu Jae-min, who melted under his touch. He wanted to overlap their bodies again and again. In his heart, he wanted to lay him down right now and come one more time, but…
“I’m deciding today is an anniversary. Ryu Jae-min’s Squirting Anniversary.”
“I told you to stop talking about it.”
“Let’s wash up. It’s not like you’re staying the night here.”
“Yeah…”
This was an atrocity made possible only because hot water was available. Having effectively marked their territory before even bringing in a bed or other furniture, the two struggled to push themselves up.
While preparing to wash, Seung-pyo noticed something different and gasped in surprise.
“Your knees are red!”
“Huh? Ah. I guess it’s because I was sitting with my knees on the floor.”
“Doesn’t it hurt? I didn’t think about that.”
“It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt.”
Regardless of Seung-pyo’s worry, Jae-min’s face flushed slightly. While he was busy swallowing Seung-pyo’s member and slamming his hips down, far from being in pain, he hadn’t even felt his knees rubbing against the floor.
Thinking he had made a mistake, Seung-pyo looked pained and rubbed his lips against Jae-min’s forehead.
“Sorry. I’ll clean up quickly first and go buy some towels. Take your time washing.”
“Let’s just dry off roughly. Why go out of your way to buy some?”
“No. You’ll catch a cold.”
Although it was an empty house, the insulation seemed good enough that they wouldn’t catch a cold even while rolling around naked. However, Seung-pyo truly washed off the bodily fluids and cleaned himself below, dried himself roughly, threw on some clothes, and zipped out the door.
Since it had come to this, Jae-min stood under the hot water, meticulously washing away what was on his skin and warming his body for a long time. In the meantime, Seung-pyo returned, having actually bought new towels. The two stood under the showerhead, scrubbing each other and kissing their fill before finally leaving the bathroom. Jae-min stretched languidly.
“I showered for too long, now I’m hot.”
“Stay undressed for a bit.”
“It’s still a bit awkward to do that…”
“You’re really shy with the house, aren’t you?”
Giggling, Seung-pyo looked around the house as if seeing it anew, then looked back at Jae-min. After locking eyes in silence for a moment, Seung-pyo spoke warmly.
“From now on, this is your and my home.”
“Yeah.”
“Let’s rely on this place until we can get a real new house with our own strength.”
“Yeah.”
The two flopped onto the floor and stared up at the ceiling.
Seung-pyo recalled the faint sense of bleakness he had felt throughout his upbringing among his family. He had been free and unburdened, with nothing to lack and no one to interfere, but in exchange, there were moments when he felt like he was wandering lost in a vast ocean.
The days of being a baby dolphin drifting through the sea without a compass were over. Now, Oh Seung-pyo had a base called Ryu Jae-min, and he would begin a new journey sailing on the same boat. It was only a boat borrowed from his father for now, but since a baby dolphin cannot become independent all at once, it couldn’t be helped. Later, he wanted to become a captain who steered a ship larger and sturdier than anyone else’s.
As he painted a rosy future, Seung-pyo suddenly seemed to realize something; he furrowed his brows and hurriedly called out to Jae-min lying beside him.
“Hey, Ryu Jae-min.”
“What.”
“I just realized something amazing.”
“What is it.”
“If you take just the surnames from our names and combine them, it becomes ‘Oryu’ (Error).”
Jae-min frowned along with him.
“What kind of cringey thing are you trying to say now?”
“If you connect the last character of my name and your surname, it becomes ‘Pyoryu’ (Drifting).”
“…Have you been thinking about that this whole time?”
“What’s wrong with this thought? It’s amazing that two words are created by combining our names.”
Jae-min didn’t hide his disbelief and snorted openly. Pouting, Seung-pyo asked:
“Then what are you thinking about?”
Having his grand discovery ignored, Seung-pyo asked. Jae-min stared silently at the ceiling before answering.
“This and that.”
“What do you mean, this and that?”
“Um… the thought that my mind is at peace.”
“Your mind is at peace?”
“You said earlier that your wandering was over. It really is. I feel like I’ve found a place to settle down.”
Seung-pyo sat up. The fact that Jae-min, who had mocked the word ‘drifting,’ was ultimately thinking something similar made him feel even better.
Wanting to discuss how they would live from now on, he pointed alternately at the two rooms.
“The room sizes are similar, so let’s make one a bedroom and put the wardrobe and desk in the other. That way it’ll look neat.”
At Seung-pyo’s words, Jae-min blinked without answering, then looked at Seung-pyo with a flustered expression.
“I want us to use separate rooms…”
“Huh? Why?”
At the unexpected answer, Seung-pyo’s eyes widened. They were living together because they didn’t want to be apart, so was there any reason to use separate rooms?
“Um… I’ve never shared a room with another person. If it were a studio, it would be different, but since there are two rooms…”
“We can just buy a big bed and sleep together. Why sleep separately when we live together? And I want to keep my clothes and knick-knacks tucked away so they’re only visible when needed.”
“You use a room by yourself at home, too.”
“Are you and Oh Seung-yeon the same? We’ll be apart most of the time during the day anyway… If we live together, isn’t it natural to sleep together?”
The plan to buy the largest bed possible within their budget and spend joyful time together every day was already shaking. Seung-pyo launched a determined persuasion campaign.
“They say a big bed is comfortable even for two. They said you don’t feel it even if the person next to you tosses and turns.”
“No, that’s not the issue.”
“Then I’ll tell my dad I’m not living here and I’ll get a studio instead.”
“…Then I think we should reconsider living together.”
Seung-pyo gaped, his mouth hanging open. Ryu Jae-min was more of a fortress than he thought. They had already seen everything there was to see; why on earth would they need separate rooms now? While living together? To reconsider living together? After they had excitedly finished marking their territory?
He had a lot to say, but Seung-pyo tucked his tail for now. Ryu Jae-min was a guy with strong convictions, so pushing him blindly would only lead to failure. As if to push away the awkward silence, Seung-pyo changed the subject.
“That photo you had as your profile picture back when you used SNS. Where was that?”
It was a photo that didn’t fit the nature of an account that posted lewd pictures he took of himself. A scene of a cozy room with a night view reflected through a floor-to-ceiling window. At first, he had looked closely to see if it was Ryu Jae-min’s room, but he quickly lost interest because it didn’t seem to be in Korea.
“I just picked it up while surfing the internet, so I don’t know where it is. I just liked it, so I set it as my profile.”
Seung-pyo nodded at Jae-min’s answer. The fact that he set it because he liked it likely meant there was a wish to live in a house like that once he became independent. He had asked thinking it might be a reference for their current situation, but he still wasn’t sure.
“…I do have my own room at home, but my father and mother would rummage through my things whenever I wasn’t there, so it didn’t really feel like my own space.”
As Seung-pyo sat sulking in the face of the shocking reality that they might use separate rooms, Jae-min suddenly spoke.
Caught off guard by the sudden story, Seung-pyo was dazed for a moment before asking back.
“What? Your father rummaged through your things?”
“Yeah, that’s why my father found your phone back then. I had hidden it well in my desk drawer, but he rummaged through the room while I was gone.”
“Is your father an onion? Every time you peel a layer, something else comes out.”
As Seung-pyo looked distressed as if he were fed up, Jae-min looked back at him with a bitter smile.
“That’s why I really wanted my own room when I left home. Not just a room in name, but a room where other people can’t just enter if I say I don’t want them to. I really want to live with you… but can’t we use separate rooms at first? I think as we go along, I might want to use the same room. But at first, I want to have my own room.”
Ugh. Seung-pyo swallowed a groan and grit his teeth. If Jae-min had insisted that the same room was absolutely impossible or had gotten angry, he might have fought back, but there was no way his heart wouldn’t waver when asked so softly and calmly.
He really is smart. He’s making a proposal in a way that Oh Seung-pyo cannot refuse. Feeling like he was being played, Seung-pyo nonetheless found himself grinning and hugging Jae-min.
“Then let’s go on a trip.”
“A trip?”
“We’re adults now, so we can book accommodations without our parents’ permission. I’ve wanted to go to a nice hotel or a pension with you. Let’s find a place with two rooms, try using the same room and separate rooms, and then decide.”
Even though he seemed to give in immediately, Seung-pyo didn’t give up the deal entirely. Jae-min let out a small, airy laugh.
“How are we going to know what’s better just by staying for a day or two?”
“Let’s just go anyway.”
“Just say you want to go on a trip.”
“You’ll go, right?”
“Of course.”
The two locked eyes closely. This trip would be the first trip for the two of them now that they were twenty. Seung-pyo firmly vowed to himself that he would make it the most enjoyable, wonderful, and erotic trip ever. He picked up his phone.
“While we’re at it, let’s decide where to go right now.”
“Okay.”
The two focused their gaze on a single phone screen. Since there was plenty of time until the entrance ceremony, they could go anywhere they wanted.
It was not for the purpose of escaping, nor was it a process of wandering; it was their first true trip together.