Chapter 46
At that moment, breaking the subtle atmosphere, Baek Rak asked,
“What are you going to do?”
“…”
“Yoon Seo Won.”
For some reason, it felt like his name had been called after a very long time. Seo Won slowly took steps toward Baek Rak. Then his arm that had been tensely held dropped downward.
Approaching right up close and checking his gripped wrist, Seo Won immediately looked up at Baek Rak and said,
“I’ll go if you say you’re sorry.”
“…”
“If you say you’re sorry for speaking carelessly, I won’t avoid you either.”
“…”
“What will you do?”
This was his own request for reconciliation. Of course, Baek Rak obviously wouldn’t apologize, but if he could at least hear the words, it seemed like the discomfort he’d felt because of that guy would ease a little.
And he’d gain strength to endure in this place too. Only these two people here knew his situation, and among them, Baek Rak was more deeply connected to him, so even a small change from that guy would provide breathing room.
Now he needed to let Baek Rak know that they were in an equal relationship. He didn’t want to be hurt for such reasons anymore.
So he didn’t avoid Baek Rak’s eyes.
“…”
“…”
The guy also stared intently for a while, then for some reason, chuckled. After that, he slowly lowered his head, then turned his head to the side before their faces could touch.
Baek Rak, who had come close to his ear and stopped, whispered in a voice so small that Han Seong Hyeon couldn’t hear.
Thinking he was finally going to apologize, he was secretly anticipating it.
“I want to kiss you.”
“…What?”
What did he want to do?
Frozen by the unexpected words, his face eventually turned bright red. He unconsciously stepped back, but Baek Rak approached again by the distance that had opened up and grabbed his elbow.
“Let’s go.”
“What? Wa-wait! Hey?”
His body leaned forward, pulled by the dragging force. In the moment he swayed, Baek Rak tightly embraced his waist. He opened his mouth to scold him, asking what he was doing, acting on his own again. But…
“Sorry.”
Suddenly Baek Rak shook his heart without warning.
Too surprised to even close his mouth, he stared at the guy. He heard the sound of a door closing – when had they come out of the storage room? And…
The moment he thought Baek Rak’s breath felt close, he was pushed against the door with a thud and had his lips stolen.
His mind went blank for an instant. The wet tongue that pushed in without hesitation instantly conquered the inside of his mouth.
“…Mmph.”
Baek Rak twisted his head to dig deeper. Only then did Seo Won realize what had happened. A kiss… He had kissed before when swept up in the atmosphere, but just now there had been no such signs at all. He had only asked him to apologize, but he couldn’t fathom why this had happened.
Baek Rak, who had been wetting the inside of his mouth as he pleased and licking thoroughly, soon took Seo Won’s lower lip fully into his mouth. The tender flesh that was sucked into his mouth was bitten without causing pain.
“Ngh! …Baek Rak, you.”
Seo Won tried to pull his face back, but blocked by the door, he couldn’t escape. Before he knew it, even his chin was caught, making it impossible to dodge left or right.
A strange heat rose from his lips being chewed gently.
“Why are you… ngh.”
He knew this shouldn’t happen, but he kept wanting to rub his lips together too. Trying to collect himself, he closed his lips several times as they moved unconsciously. But his lips that were pulled along only rubbed with friction, stimulating Baek Rak instead.
Eventually their lips overlapped once again. Thinking he’d be swayed around again, he squeezed his eyes shut.
But something was strange.
“…?”
A soft warmth carefully settled on his lips. It wasn’t a rough, stimulating kiss that would steal one’s soul. It was an affectionate kiss as if confirming love.
Perhaps because of that, when the tongue that slightly emerged brushed his lips, his body felt ticklish, and every time his lips were gently pressed, his heart dropped with a thud. It felt like he was sharing a playful kiss between lovers with Baek Rak, making his mind hazy.
Opening his eyes, his gaze met with Baek Rak who was looking down at him intently. Unable to hide his dizzy heart as he looked at the guy, Baek Rak lightly rubbed his lips again.
‘…Why on earth is he doing this?’
Unable to handle it at all, he pushed Baek Rak’s shoulders. Even knowing he wouldn’t back down, he just moved instinctively.
But he could feel Baek Rak, who normally would never be pushed back, yielding obediently.
Seo Won hesitated for a moment, but soon applied force to the end. Only after even their touching lips separated did he hastily cover his lips with the back of his hand. Baek Rak was just quietly staring at him.
“…What.”
“What what?”
“Why did you… why the sudden kiss… no, what was that just now…”
Seo Won rambled incoherently, not knowing what to ask first.
He didn’t understand why he had suddenly said he wanted to kiss, and it was confusing that the kiss that had been desperately urgent as if his throat was dry had changed at the end as if it had never been like that.
How long would he have to be swayed by Baek Rak?
When would he be able to become numb to it?
Even without hearing good words, his heart would quickly soften, and when he thought something was unexpected, he’d be hurt again quickly. No matter how many times he steeled his heart and tried not to care, when Baek Rak approached, all those efforts turned to bubbles.
Continuously from when he first saw him until now.
“I just don’t… understand you at all.”
“I agree.”
“…What?”
Baek Rak, who had approached close again, grabbed the hand covering his lips. Startled, when he looked at the guy, unlike before, he was looking at him with a strange heat in his eyes.
“When you look at me with that expression.”
Each time Baek Rak slowly continued speaking, his hand slowly moved down.
“It makes me feel bad.”
“…What!”
Seo Won didn’t even have time to feel offended before he held his breath at Baek Rak’s face that had come close. His eyes were rippling bright blue.
“If you’re going to be wary, you should be wary to the end. Even knowing I deliberately stirred things up, why does your heart crumble so quickly when time passes?”
Hot breath poured onto his face that was now exposed without any barrier. Their lips, precariously facing each other as if they might touch or not, continued to voice questions of unknown origin.
“Aren’t you busy enough just pulling yourself together? You know well that this world isn’t an easy place for you, so why do you act so soft?”
“…”
“Always being scared but not running away either.”
Seo Won was a bit confused. It should definitely be an evaluation of someone he disliked, but strangely it didn’t feel sharp. Was he strange, or was Baek Rak strange?
His caught hand felt hot and he tried to clench it, but Baek Rak pulled it at once. As his body leaned forward, the slightly open space closed without gaps. Even their soft lips.
“You worry me.”
“…”
“So I tried to ignore you.”
Each time Baek Rak spoke, his breath penetrated into his mouth. He didn’t know why the formless small ripples were more stimulating.
“But I can’t.”
Even though he couldn’t properly hear what he was saying, his gaze was speaking.
That you’re shaking me. That I want to ignore you but I can’t.
“So don’t make that face.”
“…What am I doing?”
When he managed to make a sound, Baek Rak frowned and said,
“An innocent face that’s almost stupid.”
He was pushed against the wall again and received a desperate kiss.
Trapped between hot, humid breathing sounds and the other’s body temperature, Seo Won received the kiss while caught in confusion for a long time. Then he had to run toward where hot hands were leading him.
That path he could recognize because he’d been there once before.
It was the path leading to Baek Rak’s house.
As soon as they closed the door and entered the house, white energy began surging and flowing out from Baek Rak’s hands. It was Yu Sol’s healing-type energy.
He had forgotten because they had come here frantically, but they had to proceed with the second awakening from now on.
Seo Won, who belatedly realized reality, visibly stiffened his body.
“…Baek Rak. Wait, just wait. Hold on.”
“Why? Mental preparation?”
Seo Won nodded frantically. While doing so, he slyly stepped backwards. Though he had decided, making up his mind wasn’t easy. Because he knew well what kind of pain was waiting.
But Baek Rak seemed to have no intention of waiting as he approached with big steps.
Backing away inside as if fleeing, something caught his heel and his body swayed. Looking back, the bed where Baek Rak had slept last night was blocking the path.
Seo Won swallowed dry saliva and looked at Baek Rak again.
Unlike usual, he seemed to lack composure as he was continuously emitting white energy. Since he vaguely knew the reason they had walked here almost running, a different kind of tension also rose.
“How long do I have to wait?”
“Well…”
“There’s no time.”
“Why no time?”
“The ability I brought will disappear soon.”
Come to think of it, didn’t Baek Rak say he could only hold another person’s ability for 30 minutes? Seeing that it would disappear soon, it seemed about that much time had passed. More time had flowed than expected.
Seo Won swept back his disheveled hair and steadied his heart. Even if he postponed it, it wasn’t something he could avoid. It was better to finish it quickly instead.
After taking several deep breaths, he slowly extended his hands. Then Baek Rak tightly gripped both his arms with hands wrapped in pure white energy. His teeth automatically clenched.
The energy that had been circling around like before began digging into his skin. As it spread rapidly through blood vessels and muscles, pain followed and spread throughout his entire body.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
