However, there was something I had overlooked. Do Jihoon was a guy who, in the strangest places, possessed not even one gram of patience.
“Are you acting cute?”
Nonsense slipped out from between Do Jihoon’s lips. I frowned again and glared at him as I shot back,
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
“Your lips are sticking out like a duck’s. Did you know that’s a habit of yours?”
Do Jihoon pinched my lips between his thumb and index finger.
“Leh go. Are you plahing wih my lips? You’re unbuhlievable.”
“Your face right now is extremely interesting.”
“Whah abou my fahce is so inhresting?”
Just then, while I was glaring at Do Jihoon with my brows knit—
He smiled warmly and suddenly bit down on my lips. Like he was biting into an actual macaron or a piece of bread. Being bitten while someone held your lips like that felt incredibly strange.
Do Jihoon murmured softly, almost to himself.
“Cute.”
“???”
What the hell is he saying?
Before I realized it, my face suddenly heated up. Hearing those words come out of his pretty smiling face and red lips made me feel both pleased and embarrassed at the same time.
For a while, Do Jihoon kept nibbling at my lips. Only after that did he finally let go of my poor lips that had been stuck out and trapped in his grip.
“That hurts……”
“Hurt? That’s a problem.”
“You’re the one who did it. You fake bastard.”
Just when I was feeling relieved after rescuing my precious lips from Do Jihoon’s grasp—
Another problem appeared. He was still lying on top of me and showed no sign of getting off. By now I’d long since gotten used to the pain in my muscles. Still, I was afraid of what might come next—things like unexpected free periods from class or coming down with a fever.
Do Jihoon buried his head against my chest and looked up at me with only his eyes raised. His smooth forehead and the slightly slanted corners of his eyes entered my view.
There was a little over a ten-centimeter height difference between Do Jihoon and me. Because of that, I almost never had the chance to look down at him from above.
Seeing him from this angle like this felt strangely different.
It reminded me of that Puss in Boots meme. It also reminded me of a pitiful abandoned puppy. That huge alpha bastard was starting to look cute!
As always, Do Jihoon was absurdly quick to pick up on things. He instantly noticed the shift in my attitude and smiled prettily at me.
“Yuri. Is it really that hard?”
“……”
“You really can’t do it?”
“…I can’t.”
“Okay then. It can’t be helped.”
Do Jihoon definitely had deep consideration and patience. It suited a guy who had endured three whole months of cold showers, thinking he was helping me cope with trauma.
Maybe he sensed the sincerity in my voice, because with a faint smile, he started to lift himself off me.
Suddenly, guilt washed over me. Do Jihoon was always considerate toward me, and it felt like I was the only one whining like a child.
My lips moved on their own, rejecting the rational judgment of my brain.
“…We can’t go all the way.”
I had practically waved a white flag to the sly behavior of a guy whose body usually acted so bluntly, and ended up giving him half-permission.
The moment I said it, his body froze upright. At the same time, pheromones began to leak out. Through them, I could feel with my whole body just how good Do Jihoon’s mood had suddenly become.
“If it’s hard, we can just rest today like you said.”
“Then stop releasing pheromones and lie properly. You don’t even bother to wet your lips before saying nice things. If you’re this happy, why were you acting like a monk all this time? Honestly, you’re impossible to understand.”
Do Jihoon stayed silent for a moment before speaking.
“…I thought you were uncomfortable with it.”
“Why the hell would you think that? Seriously, Doji. You’re timid about the weirdest things.”
“You could call it consideration, you know?”
Do Jihoon shot back with a crooked smile. If my body had been able to move properly, I would’ve grabbed his face and kissed him right then and there. But every time I lifted my arm even one centimeter, it felt like my muscles were tearing by the same amount, so I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to make a declaration.”
“What?”
I spoke with exaggerated solemnity.
“I like sleeping with you.”
“…You’re the one who’s shameless about the strangest things.”
“I just like everything I do with you. I like sleeping together, I like going out together. I even like just being next to you. I guess I really do love you a lot, Doji.”
A weak laugh slipped out of my mouth and I started giggling. Do Jihoon laughed along with me and pressed kisses all over my face. It tickled so much I couldn’t stop laughing.
“I love you too, Yuri.”
“Yeah, yeah. You should be grateful for the rest of your life that you’re engaged to me. Right?”
“Of course. I’m very grateful, so don’t worry about that.”
“That’s the correct answer. I’m very satisfied.”
“I’m glad you’re satisfied.”
Do Jihoon brushed his lips across different parts of my face before finally turning and kissing my lips.
He sucked on my lips several times in short little pecks. His rough tongue brushed against the nerves on the surface of my lips. A tingling itch spread faintly through my entire body.
“……”
Do Jihoon was definitely the type who kept his promises.
That day, because of the muscle pain sweeping through my entire body, Do Jihoon and I didn’t go all the way.
Didn’t go all the way.
As expected, the next day—
I came down with a fever and spent two days lying in bed, groaning.
On the morning of the day after that, when I finally went into the bathroom to get ready for school and attend my lectures—
I grabbed both my cheeks like The Scream by Munch and screamed loud enough to shake the house when I saw the red marks covering my entire body.
While furiously brushing my teeth, I snapped at Do Jihoon, saying it was obvious that bastard hadn’t fully evolved yet. He just kept replying, “Yeah, yeah,” before tightly hugging me and apologizing as he tried to soothe me.
Anyway, after somehow making it through my morning lecture—
When lunchtime came and I met up with my classmates, I began sorrowfully explaining the disaster that was the Love and Relationships class.
“…You know, right?”
“Know what?”
“Love and Relationships. Professor Kang.”
I let out a sigh at Kwon Jisoo, who asked blankly.
“I mean, I know roughly. But explain what happened in detail. I’m curious.”
I spent a while wondering how to explain this disastrous situation. After organizing my thoughts somewhat, I set down my fork and spoon and looked at them with a distant expression.
“It was last Thursday. I was overflowing with happiness as I held Do Jihoon’s hand and headed to the lecture hall.”
“I seriously don’t give a shit about that, but okay. Go on.”
“But then the professor suddenly says the class format changed this year! Instead of choosing our partners, they’re randomly assigned!”
“Whoa. That’s crazy.”
Even while shoveling food into their mouths, the guys listened attentively.
“So the conclusion is—my date partner is Ki Tae-young sunbae.”
I had already told them that I started dating Do Jihoon, along with the whole story of how we got together. Naturally, that meant Ki Tae-young and Ha Min-young had also come up in conversation. Because of that, all three of them looked like their eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.
“What?!”
A piece of curry rice flew out of Lee Daeju’s mouth. I stared at the rice he’d spat out in disgust before frowning deeply as I answered.
“Yep~ And Do Jihoon’s partner is Ha Min-young.”
“May… the god of probability be with you……”
“Excuse me? Isn’t that prayer a little late? At this speed even Katniss would’ve been eliminated in the first round.”
Even while bickering, they continued worrying about me.
“So what are you going to do?”
“Do Jihoon and I are both just going to take the class.”
“You should drop it.”
“If I drop it I’ll have 13 credits.”
“Take a summer class.”
“Nope. I’m going traveling with Do Jihoon.”
“Unbelievable……”
The sympathy in their eyes gradually turned cold. It was the look of people who were fed up.
“Guys, listen. I have to meet that sunbae and plan a date. The syllabus is basically a disaster route.”
Kwon Jisoo looked at me with deep pity for a moment before her face suddenly hardened.
“But why exactly do we have to listen to the worries of a bastard who already has a boyfriend……?”
“That’s a very reasonable question.”
Shin Gi-hyeok joined in. The atmosphere abruptly shifted.
“Didn’t this bastard give some speech about the beauty of love last time?”
“……”
My mouth shut tight like a clam. Their fierce gazes pierced straight through me. I had a mouth, but nothing to say.
“Besides, their relationship is good anyway. People say married couples’ fights are like cutting water with a knife. So why should we listen to his worries…?”
“No reason. Agreed.”
After exchanging that Q&A among themselves, the guys went back to focusing on their food.
So this is why people say you should behave well normally. Sniffling quietly, I started twirling my spaghetti around my fork again.
