“I want to eat you. Lick away the traces I left, slowly,” Yi-beom whispered.
“E-eat it? M-me?”
“I’m a carnivore.”
As if the tiger from his dream had rubbed its nose against him, Yi-beom pressed his face to the pale thigh and nuzzled it. If Eunho hadn’t been lying face-down with his legs spread while still wearing an apron, it might have looked almost pitiful.
“Right here… I want to bury it until mine drips down…”
“……”
“I want to bite into you until you bruise.”
When his hot breath touched him, a soft moan slipped out of Eunho without him realizing. This wasn’t okay right now… it shouldn’t be… yet it didn’t take long for it shouldn’t to turn into maybe it could. Instead of answering, Eunho tightened his thighs around Yi-beom’s head. Losing his patience, Yi-beom lifted the apron.
“Hah…!”
The moment Yi-beom sank his teeth into his thigh, Eunho grabbed his shoulders. It wasn’t so much from excitement as it was an attempt to push him away.
“W-wait a second…!”
Lifting the apron, Eunho whispered,
“I don’t think this is right…”
“What?”
Yi-beom pulled his mouth away from the luscious thigh. His jaw had hardened stiffly. Annoyance flared at the fact that Eunho had rejected him, but as always, Yi-beom forced it down. Watching his mood, Eunho hurriedly straightened his apron.
It wasn’t only Yi-beom whose body felt worn thin. Eunho also wanted to cling to his solid frame and be shaken senseless. Sneaking glances at Yi-beom’s body with hungry eyes, Eunho steadied his heart.
Still… it might not be good for the baby.
He hadn’t even had a proper checkup yet. Thinking about the animal from his dream—neither quite a tiger nor a rabbit—made it impossible for him to face Yi-beom head-on. Turning his head away, Eunho muttered,
“Doing this with a kidnapper isn’t right. I read in a book… This is called the Copenhagen syndrome.”
“……Stockholm.”
“Just let that part slide…”
Anyway, they both had four syllables. Clearing his throat, Eunho mumbled,
“Anyway, I can’t be doing this with a kidnapper, I mean, I can’t…”
Seeing Yi-beom glaring at him with a frightening look, his words trailed off on their own. Just from that gaze, it felt like he was some heinous swindler.
A kidnapper was worse than a con artist. Suddenly on the receiving end of a kidnapper’s glare, Eunho pouted.
“So you’re saying you can’t stick together with me right now?”
“……I mean, if Ahjussi hadn’t locked me up in the first place, this wouldn’t even be an issue.”
Yi-beom let out an incredulous laugh.
“So it’s all my fault?”
Eunho rolled his eyes. It wasn’t wrong. The one who had put a baby in his belly—and the one who had confined him—was Yi-beom, after all.
Watching Eunho look like he truly believed that, Yi-beom raked a hand roughly through his hair. Hoo… a long sigh slipped between his lips.
“Who was it that hid in the rabbit cage first?”
“That’s because Ahjussi came running at me so scarily.”
“Then if I’d approached you gently, you wouldn’t have hidden?”
“……You’ve never been gentle.”
Kwon Yi-beom was a man who didn’t suit the word gentle at all. Just looking at the way his pants strained made that obvious. The silhouette below his waist looked less gentle and more downright viciously large.
Climbing off the bed, Eunho quickly pulled on a T-shirt that had been lying around. Wearing an apron underneath made him look ridiculous, but it was still better than standing completely bare in front of an already aroused Yi-beom.
Watching Yi-beom’s forehead vein bulge, Eunho muttered,
“Anyway, I didn’t report you, so Ahjussi should make at least one concession.”
“Hah.”
Resting his chin on his hand, Yi-beom stared at Eunho, who was boldly demanding that a kidnapper compromise. Probably no one but Eunho would ever dare to push Kwon Yi-beom to yield.
There had never been compromise in Yi-beom’s life. He had never needed it, nor been given the chance.
Ridiculous.
He was almost past the point of anger now. Still propped on one elbow, Yi-beom crooked a finger at Eunho, who had already pulled on shorts.
“Come here.”
“……”
“If you just behave quietly, I’ll match whatever you call it—Copenhagen or Stockholm.”
Lingering near the wardrobe, Eunho slowly walked toward him. After some hesitation, he carefully placed his hand on top of Yi-beom’s outstretched palm.
Yi-beom wrapped an arm around Eunho’s waist as he came close.
“Holding you.”
Resting his head against Eunho’s, Yi-beom murmured,
“Does holding count as Stockholm syndrome?”
“……I think it’s okay.”
Arbitrarily defining the syndrome to his own liking, Eunho leaned into him. He wasn’t the only one feeling regret.
Maybe I should’ve said that sucking was still allowed…
Eunho chewed on his lip. Yi-beom’s body heat against his back felt unusually hot.
No.
Hugging his stomach, Eunho shook his head. If he relaxed, he’d fall right back into Yi-beom’s arms in no time. For the baby’s sake—and for the sake of their relationship—they needed to get a checkup soon. Thinking back to the exam room where he had been diagnosed with pregnancy, Eunho carefully laid out a plan.
First, I need to make Ahjussi lower his guard.
Avoiding or dodging Yi-beom like before wouldn’t work. If anything, it only provoked him more.
It might be better to stay obedient for a while instead.
If he just acted as usual, an opportunity would come. Organizing his thoughts, Eunho drifted off to sleep. Behind him, Yi-beom’s eyes gleamed like a beast lying in wait.
***
It was the weekend.
For once, both Yi-beom and Eunho were spending a peaceful day. A brief ceasefire.
After finishing a breakfast of carrot fried rice and carrot juice, Eunho lay sprawled on the sofa. In his hands was the photo book Younguk had managed to get for him.
When he tilted the photo book downward, the terrace came into view behind it. There, Yi-beom was smoking.
“I thought you’d quit.”
Without even noticing the book slip from his hands, Eunho stared at him. Even in simple gray training pants and a white T-shirt, Yi-beom looked like he’d stepped out of a magazine spread.
Leaning languidly against the wall, Yi-beom raised the cigarette holder. Soon, smoke drifted from his lips like a sigh.
“He looks cool… my boyfriend.”
Everyone said it was a waste for him to be with someone ten years older, but Eunho thought differently. The one who had really been snared that day was someone else.
Pushing himself up, Eunho carefully walked toward the terrace. Tap tap—he knocked on the glass window connecting it to the living room, and Yi-beom turned around.
“You can’t go out.”
Misunderstanding the crouching Eunho by the window, Yi-beom’s brows drew together.
“I wasn’t trying to go out…”
“Hands off the window first.”
At the low, sunken voice, Eunho pouted. Couldn’t he at least say it more gently?
Well… after causing all kinds of trouble for days—snatching phones, shouting toward the terrace—he didn’t exactly have the right to complain. Feeling Yi-beom’s persistent gaze, Eunho pulled his hand away from the glass.
He blew a breath onto it, fogging the surface, then traced with his finger.
♡
Since he felt a little sulky, he decided not to fill it in.
Watching closely in case Eunho suddenly bolted outside, Yi-beom saw the heart and let out a soft scoff.
“You came over just to draw that?”
Crouching, Eunho nodded.
“Not trying to go out?”
“……I told you. I won’t.”
“Why?”
The terrace door slid open. Now nothing separated inside from outside. Swallowing hard as he looked at the yard behind Yi-beom, Eunho felt his gaze on him—like a test. Yi-beom stepped aside from the entrance, his lips moving heavily.
“Why aren’t you going out?”
“Because I promised.”
With effort, Eunho tore his eyes away from the yard and looked up at Yi-beom.
“I promised you, Ahjussi. That I wouldn’t leave.”
Their gazes met. As if trying to read his true intentions, Yi-beom stared at him silently, suspicion evident in his eyes.
“That’s strange.”
“……”
“Jung Eunho doesn’t keep promises very well.”
Eunho’s shoulders trembled involuntarily. Every time their eyes locked like this, it felt as though his thoughts were laid bare. Yi-beom had commanded people since he was young; he was exceptionally skilled at reading hearts.
Pretending nothing was wrong, Eunho stood up and grabbed Yi-beom’s hand, pulling him inside.
“Excuse me, I’m someone who could live just fine without laws, you know?”
Yi-beom stepped into the living room easily. Seizing the chance, Eunho snatched the cigarette from his hand and tossed it into the ashtray outside.
The yard lingered at the edge of his vision… but it still wasn’t time. Firmly, Eunho closed the terrace door. Then he pushed his head forward toward Yi-beom.
“Hurry up and pat me.”
“……”
“I did something good! Hurry!”
After even locking the latch himself, Eunho waited obediently for his touch. Yi-beom stared down at him.
Sunlight filtered into the terrace, making Eunho’s clear face glow even brighter. Yi-beom reached out to brush the strands of hair fluttering over his forehead. A strange thrill rose within him. The fact that Eunho had stepped into this space of his own accord—that those round eyes were filled with nothing but him—felt deeply satisfying.
“You’ve really turned into a pervert.”
“You didn’t know?”
Eunho’s eyes curved into a soft smile.
“I’ve never seen anyone as much of a pervert as you, Ahjussi.”
