#102
His consciousness flickered like a broken fluorescent light.
After being held by Choi Hanseo on the runway, he blacked out. When he opened his eyes, he was in a helicopter. Then he opened them again to find himself in an ambulance, and once more to find himself in Choi Hanseo’s arms. Each time he closed and opened his eyes, the scenery changed completely, but Choi Hanseo was always by his side.
Drip. Drip.
The sound of water droplets penetrated his momentarily hazy consciousness. As he lifted his eyelids, this time he found his body submerged in a white bathtub.
“Are you awake?” Choi Hanseo asked. This time, instead of being in his line of sight, he was embracing Eunseok from behind. What he could see were Choi Hanseo’s arms and muscular legs intertwined with his own. He was holding a shower towel in his hand. Judging by the foam visible on his body, it seemed he was in the middle of washing him.
“I’ll finish washing your body and then wash your hair right away,” Choi Hanseo whispered from behind, starting to rub his body with the shower towel again. It was a delicate and straightforward touch, without a hint of sexual feeling. When he tried to put strength into his fingers, his fist clenched very slowly. But that was all he could manage. It would take more time for the effects of the drug to wear off. In the end, Eunseok gave up trying to move on his own and surrendered his body to Choi Hanseo.
He meticulously washed every corner of his body with the shower towel, not missing a spot. He scrubbed thoroughly, not to the point of pain but enough to feel refreshing, gradually replacing the lingering discomfort with a sense of cleanliness. When washing areas with bruises, his touch became as careful as if he were cleaning a glass.
After finishing the upper body, his arms moved lower. The shower towel that had cleaned his feet, calves, and thighs now moved towards the center. That area, which had been abused by Park Sunwoo for ten days, was actually the part he wanted to scrub the most vigorously. However, Choi Hanseo hesitated as the shower towel approached that area and eventually set it aside.
“It’s red,” Choi Hanseo whispered from behind, squeezing body wash into his hand and working up a lather.
“The skin is all peeled off too. It would hurt if I rubbed it.”
Even without looking back, Eunseok could tell that Choi Hanseo was looking at his genitals. As he said, the genitals that Park Sunwoo had constantly sucked, licked, and jerked were pitifully red and had peeling skin in various places.
“But we still need to clean it, so bear with it a little,” Choi Hanseo said soothingly and put his foam-covered hand under the bathwater. Then he began to gently wash the genitals and scrotum. Despite his delicate and careful touch, the pain in the sensitive and raw genitals was unavoidable. He tried to endure it, but his muscles tensed up involuntarily, protesting the pain.
Choi Hanseo stopped his hand. Then he started to plant soft kisses on Eunseok’s nape. All of Eunseok’s attention focused on the sensation of those gentle kisses on his nape. Choi Hanseo gently bit Eunseok’s nape, stimulating him, while thoroughly cleaning his genitals and scrotum in the meantime.
“After we finish washing, let’s go to the treatment room for healing. Then the bruises will disappear completely,” Choi Hanseo said as he rinsed Eunseok’s body with water.
“Isn’t the order reversed?” Eunseok, feeling a bit embarrassed about being washed by a grown man, blurted out whatever came to mind.
“I don’t want others to see you like this,” Choi Hanseo said quietly.
“…”
Eunseok couldn’t find words to respond. Indeed, at this point, everyone knew he had been kidnapped by Park Sunwoo. If he received treatment with his body practically covered in Park Sunwoo’s semen, it was obvious what everyone would imagine.
“And I can’t stand you being covered in that bastard’s scent,” Choi Hanseo said, biting Eunseok’s nape once more. His overly soft and gentle voice was tinged with viscous anger.
“I’m sorry,” Eunseok apologized softly, causing Choi Hanseo’s hands to stop.
“You got kidnapped again and caused trouble by acting recklessly, even though Choi Hanseo warned you to be careful several times. Things got worse because of me.”
Eunseok sincerely blamed himself.
Choi Hanseo had warned him several times about the dangers of espers and hunters. Yet Eunseok had overestimated his own strength and abilities and ignored those warnings. Blinded by a now-meaningless desire for revenge, he had recklessly separated from Choi Hanseo. This was despite having been kidnapped once before. If he had stayed close to Choi Hanseo, this incident wouldn’t have happened.
“Lee Eunseok,” Choi Hanseo called with a stern face. Then he lifted Eunseok’s chin with his foam-covered hand.
“It’s true that an S-class guide should be careful around other espers and hunters. I clearly warned you about that. But that doesn’t mean anyone can force you to live your entire life clinging to my side and being overly cautious. They shouldn’t force that. You’re not someone who can live like that, and you shouldn’t live like that.”
“…I thought so too. But the result…”
“You’re the victim, Lee Eunseok. Can we say that the numerous acts of violence and murders in the world could have been prevented if only the victims had been more careful?”
“…”
“No victim should blame themselves for not being careful enough. So don’t think unnecessary thoughts.”
Choi Hanseo finished speaking in a firm voice and silently began washing Eunseok again.
“I have no intention of caging you because it’s dangerous. So fly as much as you want. I will protect you.”
Eunseok couldn’t say anything more.
After meticulously and carefully washing Eunseok, Choi Hanseo thoroughly dried his body and hair with a towel. The experience of being washed and dried while naked in his arms was unfamiliar. And it was embarrassing and awkward. But because Choi Hanseo maintained a straightforward touch throughout, there was no sense of shame.
“You’ve lost too much weight. I’ll have to feed you well to fatten you up again,” Choi Hanseo muttered as he dressed Eunseok. After putting on clean underwear, top, and bottom, Choi Hanseo kissed Eunseok’s forehead as if praising him for enduring well.
“Now let’s go to the treatment room for healing,” Choi Hanseo said, slipping his hands under Eunseok’s back and knees to lift him. Eunseok moved his hand, still sluggish from the drug’s effects, to grab Choi Hanseo’s arm.
“What’s wrong? Are you in pain?” Choi Hanseo asked worriedly. Choi Hanseo, who had roughly washed himself while washing Eunseok, also had injuries all over his body and face. Especially the deep bruises on his sides, chest, and arms suggested that even his bones were likely injured. Yet he showed no signs of pain.
“Can’t we just call them here for treatment?” Eunseok said with some difficulty.
It was true that going to the treatment room was the right thing to do for healing. But the thought of being carried there by Choi Hanseo, unable to walk on his own, and facing everyone’s gazes made him feel dizzy again.
“…Right. I didn’t think of that. Then I’ll call them here,” Choi Hanseo said slowly. He then took out his phone.
A moment later, a few people came up to the penthouse.
It was a familiar healing hunter and a nurse in a white gown.
The healing hunter placed his hands over Eunseok’s clothes and began the healing. Since the injuries were mostly just bruises and peeled skin, the healing was quickly completed.
“The drug’s effects will wear off with time. Drinking as much water as possible while on an IV drip will help speed up the process somewhat,” the doctor said after asking Eunseok a few questions. At the doctor’s nod, the nurse found a vein and inserted the IV needle. Meanwhile, the healing hunter healed Choi Hanseo. The hunter kept his hands on Choi Hanseo for quite a while. Seeing this, Eunseok’s guess that Choi Hanseo’s bones had been damaged turned into certainty.
“Please contact us when the IV fluid is about to run out. We’ll come up to replace it with a new one,” the nurse said, adjusting the drip rate of the IV fluid. Eunseok noticed that the healing hunter, the doctor, and the nurse were all trying hard to maintain professionally expressionless faces.
After the three left, Choi Hanseo sat on the edge of the bed, stroking Eunseok’s hair, and asked, “Are you okay?”
“What wouldn’t be okay after receiving treatment?” Eunseok’s pronunciation was relatively accurate, indicating that some of the drug’s effects had worn off. He slowly raised his still sluggish hand to grab Choi Hanseo’s wrist.
“Show me the numbers,” Eunseok demanded. A look of difficulty appeared on Choi Hanseo’s face at Eunseok’s request. Eunseok weakly pulled on his wrist. Choi Hanseo hesitated for a moment before obediently offering his wrist.
“…Looks like you need guiding,” Eunseok said, looking at the watch displaying high red numbers. Honestly, he thought the numbers would have gone down quite a bit after showering together and being in close physical contact for a while. But the fact that it was still red enough to spike meant otherwise.
“Do you still have the presence of mind to worry about guiding in this situation? Don’t think about that and rest,” Choi Hanseo said, gently pulling his wrist away.
Eunseok understood Choi Hanseo’s thoughts. He was worried about the aftereffects of the sexual exploitation and forced guiding by Park Sunwoo. Eunseok couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Then take off your clothes and come lie down with me. Let’s take a nap together,” Eunseok suggested. Choi Hanseo hesitated uncharacteristically at Eunseok’s proposal. It was quite cute.
“Come on,” Eunseok urged. Finally, Choi Hanseo slowly took off his shirt. However, he stubbornly refused to take off his pants.
