By Zephyria 
Han Na-young shook Lee A-gon.
“A-gon. A-gon? What should I do, Director? I think I hit him too hard. He can’t get up.”
The staff members rushed to Lee A-gon. Hae-jun, who had been watching the situation, also ran to him. His heart was pounding. Seeing Lee A-gon collapsed and unable to open his eyes, the trauma he had forgotten overlapped.
Lee A-gon’s appearance, collapsed and unable to open his eyes due to a fever. The thermometer that kept rising past 42 degrees. Hae-jun’s face turned pale white.
“Lee A-gon.”
Hae-jun reached out and touched Lee A-gon’s face. At that moment, assistance energy flowed out. Lee A-gon received energy from Hae-jun like a parched sponge absorbing water, and soon opened his eyes.
The staff members, who had been buzzing about whether they should call 119, asked. Are you okay? Do you want to go to the hospital? Where does it hurt? Lee A-gon frowned deeply and raised his hand, gesturing for them to be quiet.
“Is this actor okay?”
Kim Jun-haeng asked. Lee A-gon nodded roughly and then stared silently at Hae-jun, who was standing behind the staff members.
“Can you continue?”
“No.”
He had expected him to answer that he could, of course, but Lee A-gon answered no, slurred but definitely. Kim Jun-haeng, who was about to turn around, asked back with a dumbfounded expression.
“You really can’t do it?”
“No, I need to go to the hospital…”
Lee A-gon nodded his head a beat late.
“I’m sorry.”
“Haa, shibal.”
Kim Jun-haeng swore and turned around. But he judged that he couldn’t push an actor who had fainted and woken up to go to the hospital, so in the end, permission was granted for him to stop for today.
“Instead, you must come back tomorrow in perfect condition. Then we’ll film all of the mother’s scenes today and adjust Nam Hyun-woo’s to tomorrow…”
The director and assistant director stuck together and reorganized the schedule. Every day was money. There was no time to waste.
Hae-jun quickly supported Lee A-gon and came out. Lee A-gon made a rough clicking sound with his tongue. It was an attempt to come to his senses somehow.
“Should we go to the hospital?”
Yang Road asked as he got into the car.
“No. Home.”
“But Actor. You even collapsed.”
“Home.”
And Lee A-gon closed his eyes. His rough breathing flowed out harshly. Hae-jun quietly said to Yang Road as well.
“Let’s go home.”
There was no other choice. Yang Road drove the car to Lee A-gon’s house.
He took Lee A-gon, who was panting roughly, and went up to his house. When he opened the front door, he entered the password incorrectly several times, causing the alarm to go off.
Hae-jun almost dragged Lee A-gon to the bed and laid him down. Lee A-gon dropped his large body with a thud and exhaled hot breaths.
Hae-jun, who had brought a towel soaked in cold water, cooled Lee A-gon’s forehead. He knew it was useless, but he couldn’t just do nothing.
“Should I call a house call doctor?”
When Hae-jun asked, Lee A-gon opened his eyes thinly and looked at him. Then, in a feverish voice, he said slowly.
“It’s no use. You know that.”
What Lee A-gon needed now was not a doctor but an Assistant. Both Hae-jun and Lee A-gon knew that, but neither of them said it out loud.
“You think it’s good that I’m like this, right?”
Lee A-gon said then. Hae-jun shook his head.
“There’s no way I’d think that when you’re sick. However.”
He hesitated for a moment before asking the question.
“I’m curious. The other night… you didn’t receive assistance from that man?”
“…….”
For a while, only the rough and hot breathing that Lee A-gon was exhaling floated around the room. Hae-jun waited calmly. He wanted to hear the answer. Whether he had received assistance. If he had, he wanted to know why he was like this.
“I failed.”
“Ah…….”
Finally, an answer came back. Hae-jun lowered his head and bit his lip deeply. The torment of the past four days seemed to wash away with that one word.
Lee A-gon had not received assistance from that man. He had not kissed or had sex with that man.
No, maybe he had kissed him. But he definitely hadn’t had sex.
It was as if a film had been removed from his eyes, and his vision cleared. He had tormented himself with all sorts of imaginings for the past four days, and now it felt as if a comforting rain was falling on his hot, desert-like heart.
“I just couldn’t do it. I thought I could if I used a condom. But even that failed.”
So that was it. Now he understood why he needed a condom. He had thought it was strange. The more intimate the area of contact, the larger the contact area, the greater the effect of the assistance. So, if it was for the sake of assistance, there was no reason to use a condom.
Lee A-gon had tried to have sex even with a condom, but he failed. He did not tolerate others. He, too, only wanted himself. Hae-jun’s heart swelled with joy.
“Lee A-gon.”
Hae-jun gently took Lee A-gon’s hand and injected assistance energy. Lee A-gon groaned softly and his hand trembled. He seemed to want to shake off Hae-jun, but he was in too much pain to do so.
“I hate you, hyung.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want to hold your hand.”
“I was wrong. Forgive me.”
“But if I don’t have you, I won’t even be treated like a human being.”
Lee A-gon closed his eyes and his Adam’s apple bobbed. He looked as if he was enduring something deeply.
“Let’s make a deal. Be my Assistant. In return, I’ll grant you whatever you want.”
“What I want is your heart.”
“Don’t lie. You’re just trying to manipulate my heart again with those words. I won’t be fooled this time.”
Lee A-gon’s voice was sharp. His betrayal was as deep as his love had been. To avoid being hurt again, he bolted his heart shut. He couldn’t trust Hae-jun.
Hae-jun smiled bitterly. He couldn’t persuade Lee A-gon now.
“…Okay. I’ll tell you next time.”
So Hae-jun pretended to accept Lee A-gon’s offer, as if he wanted something else. Only then did Lee A-gon’s face relax a little.
If he framed it as a transaction rather than an exchange of hearts, his heart was safe.
“Can I kiss you?”
Hae-jun asked cautiously. Lee A-gon frowned, but he couldn’t say no. His physical condition was terrible, and if he endured any longer, he would return to his former stupid self.
Shit. Lee A-gon muttered. Hae-jun grabbed Lee A-gon’s face as he cursed and lowered his own. The two grew closer. At that moment, Lee A-gon tried to turn his head away.
Hae-jun tightened his grip on the face to prevent him from escaping. Soon, a gasp was heard, and their lips met.
He shuddered.
“Ah!”
Hae-jun exclaimed as he thrust his tongue between his lips. He hated it. He knew he hated it, but he trembled with pleasure at the touch.
He grabbed Lee A-gon’s hands, which were trying to push him away, pinned them to the floor, and continued to kiss him. Their tongues touched. They intertwined smoothly. They rubbed, pressed, and chafed intensely. It felt so good.
Lee A-gon, his wrists held, writhed as if in convulsions. His fingers groped awkwardly in the air, as if not knowing what to do.
Hae-jun pressed down on his chest and inserted his tongue even more forcefully, rubbing it. He raised the tip of his tongue and touched the roof of his mouth. Lee A-gon liked it here. As expected, he trembled and liked it.
The long, long kiss ended. Hae-jun licked his lips and raised his head with satisfaction.
A moment later, Hae-jun opened his eyes and was greatly surprised. Although he had hated it at first, he thought that Lee A-gon had clearly enjoyed the kiss as much as he had from the middle.
The face of Lee A-gon, who opened his eyes and looked at him, was filled with an expression of enduring humiliation. His eyes, staring at the empty air, felt frustrated, and the anger of blaming himself was visible in his white teeth biting his lip.
Only then did Hae-jun realize for sure that getting Lee A-gon’s heart back would be a really difficult task.
It would take thousands of times more effort than before to make him love him again. Hae-jun felt it keenly at this moment.
“Hyung, are you crying?”
Lee A-gon suddenly asked. Hae-jun touched his cheek. As Lee A-gon said, tears were flowing.
Lee A-gon smiled when he saw it. He smiled and said.
“I hope you cry because of me. I hope you get hurt.”
I hope you hurt as much as I did.
He heard the unspoken words. The desire for a lover who hurt his heart to hurt as much as he did. Hatred as great as love. Love and hate stuck together on both sides.
“Then will you forgive me?”
“We’ll see.”
Lee A-gon, who had regained his arrogance, grabbed the back of Hae-jun’s head and pressed down. They kissed again. Lee A-gon aggressively put his tongue into Hae-jun’s lips and rubbed Hae-jun’s tongue.
Drip, the tears that ran down Hae-jun’s cheek seeped between their lips. Hae-jun continued to kiss, tasting his own tears.
His tongue tasted bitter, sweet, and painful.