#80
I was the only one embarrassed by the direct words. The hand that had been slowly creeping down my neck suddenly grabbed my flat chest playfully. I flinched my shoulders to avoid letting out a high-pitched “eek” sound.
“Don’t they teach you these things at school?” Saheon hyung whispered mischievously. As he lowered his head and slowly approached, something warm and soft touched my lips.
A tongue that slipped between my slightly parted lips gently enveloped mine. The sweet, urgent sensation threatened to let out a strange moan. The tongue that rubbed only the pleasurable spots and the hand that lightly fondled around my chest like foreplay made the euphoria even more intense.
Saheon hyung, who had freely explored my mouth, carefully pulled away. The sound of wet mucous membranes touching and separating was explicit. I felt a hot gaze. The pressure on my chest, which had been gripped as if scratching, disappeared.
“Aren’t you curious about the preview after the date?” Saheon hyung asked teasingly. As I bit my lip, feeling a tingling sensation, I suddenly realized what I could understand from hyung’s words and sharpened my gaze.
“Then. Does that mean you’ve had sex after dates until now?”
“…Baby.”
“You’re promiscuous. Pervert.”
My gaze involuntarily went to Saheon hyung’s lower body. The area around his left thigh was slightly swollen. I glared at him even more intently and snapped,
“You didn’t even go on dates with me.”
Saheon hyung narrowed his eyes slightly as if troubled. It seemed I had hit the nail on the head. Jealousy towards hyung’s ex-lovers, which I had momentarily forgotten, began to flare up again. I grumbled discontentedly,
“If we’re supposed to have sex after dates like you said, should I do it with Choi Hyun-oh too?”
“No way.”
“Why not? I’ll, I’ll, I’ll do it.”
“No! Ah, I said no. Cheongmyeong. Ahhh.”
Despite the ridiculous ambition that I had no intention of carrying out, Saheon hyung suddenly hugged me tightly, making a whining sound as if being coy. Surprisingly, the behavior of this full-grown adult, older than me, seemed cute.
An indescribable, strange sense of fulfillment filled my chest. I had to turn my face to hide the corners of my mouth that were trying to curl up.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Hyung, who was whining while hugging me tightly to the point of crushing me, showered my jawline with smacking kisses as if finishing his tantrum. I had to hold back my laughter, tilting my head back with my lips tightly closed. Saheon hyung mumbled with his eyebrows lowered pitifully,
“Give me a quick kiss.”
Although it was clearly a joke, my heart melted at his pitiful appearance like a large, rain-soaked dog. Trying to maintain a prim face, I stole a quick kiss on hyung’s lips.
But once our lips met, hyung persistently followed and kissed me again. Our noses touched playfully. I could feel hyung’s lips curving into a smile as he rubbed our noses together. When hyung let out a small laugh, I felt his warm breath.
“Should I take back what I said earlier?” Saheon hyung asked subtly. His gentle voice tickled my ear. With my cheeks flushed from laughing lightly, I looked at hyung with wide eyes.
“The part about thinking about marriage later because you’re too young.”
At the sight of hyung muttering as if he regretted it, I could feel a flutter in one corner of my chest. Saheon hyung grumbled, regretting his own words,
“Ah, I want to just stamp a seal or something. Then no one else could touch you.”
A sulky gaze landed on me. Surprisingly, his pouting lips full of complaints were incredibly cute. Hyung, who was still hugging me, squeezed tightly once more before carefully loosening his grip and letting me go.
“But… I shouldn’t be too greedy.”
The words ‘I’m fine with it…’ rose to the tip of my tongue. But Saheon hyung ruffled my hair and then changed the subject,
“Still, no matter how I think about it, 10 years seems too long. Want to go on a honeymoon in advance? Let’s at least go on a trip together with hyung.”
I could easily imagine relaxing with Saheon hyung in a warm southern country. White sand, blue sea, salty smell of water, exotic atmosphere. I quickly nodded at the thought of doing something that “real” couples would do.
“Yes. I’d love to.”
“Okay. Then I’ll look into flights. Should we go when your summer vacation starts? I’ll match it with my days off.”
“Sounds good.”
Even to my own ears, my voice sounded incredibly bright. Excitement swelled up. Traveling with Saheon hyung. Just the two of us traveling. Flying on a plane. Going to the airport together, eating delicious food, buying duty-free items, renting a car and driving after arriving at the destination. Like other couples do, ordinary and fun…
My thoughts, which had been flowing one after another, suddenly stopped at one point. I made an “uh” sound and trailed off. Saheon hyung’s puzzled gaze followed. My lips, which had been constantly saying how good it sounded, were now tightly closed.
“What’s wrong?”
Saheon hyung asked, seemingly finding it strange that I wasn’t giving my enthusiastic approval, my lips forming a straight line. I slowly opened my mouth with an uncertain expression.
“Um… But hyung. I haven’t gone to the military yet, so I might need to apply for something to go abroad…?”
“What?”
I was startled by Saheon hyung’s voice, which sounded almost like a shout. Despite my body flinching, Saheon hyung grabbed both my shoulders painfully. Hyung, who had lost all of his usual composure, seemed genuinely flustered.
“You haven’t gone to the military yet? You, how old, ah, you said you were twenty. What year were you born?”
“00 year…”
I stammered but diligently answered. A gap formed between Saheon hyung’s lips. His open mouth seemed to show how bewildered he was.
“What? A child was born then too? Weren’t you born yesterday? No, no. You… Don’t tell me your resident registration number starts with 3…?”
I felt even more embarrassed at his face, which was somewhere between shock and bewilderment. I looked at hyung with my lips tightly closed, but Saheon hyung seemed to realize that this was an affirmation.
Saheon hyung looked like someone who had suddenly been doused with cold water. Not just cold water, but ice-cold water full of ice cubes, judging by his expression.
“You, that… Ha…”
Saheon hyung, who had been opening and closing his mouth unable to continue speaking, finally bowed his head deeply. He couldn’t raise his head for a long time.
Silence fell. The firm hands gripping my shoulders showed no signs of loosening. I felt sorry seeing Saheon hyung suddenly despairing in front of me. After a long time of not being able to open his mouth, hyung asked in frustration,
“…Ha… What about alternative service or something…?”
“I was classified as Grade 1…”
Saheon hyung let out another deep sigh. Being a physically healthy Korean man, I now really had nothing more to say. Saheon hyung, sinking into self-loathing, let out a deep sigh and then asked as if wanting to deny reality,
“One of your parents isn’t a foreign national… right? I know best. You haven’t received your draft notice yet, have you? Right?”
I quietly affirmed his almost desperate appearance. Saheon hyung, with his brows deeply furrowed, looked like he was about to cry.
“Any independence activists among your ancestors…”
Saheon hyung, conducting a thorough background check, seemed to be looking for even the slightest possibility. I, who had been thinking about KATUSA or ROTC as well, pressed my lips tightly.
Saheon hyung clearly read the answer from my expression. Once again, a deep sigh mixed with lamentation burst out. Saheon hyung bowed his head deeply once more.
Another chilling silence fell. It was almost scary. With a despairing lover in front of me, I couldn’t easily offer words of comfort. I could understand Saheon hyung’s feelings, having just officially started dating yesterday and immediately facing the topic of military service.
“…It’s okay.”
Suddenly, Saheon hyung blurted out. As he slowly raised his head, his eyes, backlit, made him look a bit crazy. Just as I thought something might go wrong, Saheon hyung spoke urgently,
“It’s okay. Take it off. Quickly.”
“Huh?”
“Hurry!”
There was an undeniable charisma in hyung’s words that sounded like commands. Although bewildered by the sudden request to undress, I followed Saheon hyung’s words and put my hand on the band part under my top, but then suddenly came to my senses.
I didn’t understand the flow of suddenly being told to undress in the kitchen. Feeling like this made no sense, I grumpily asked back,
“Why so suddenly?”
“You don’t have to go to the military if you have three children. Let’s quickly have a baby.”
“What?”
“We can have triplets at once.”
Hyung, who was muttering seriously, really seemed like a crazy person.