#79
“Ugh.”
Eunhong berated himself as a beast cub and splashed cold water on his heated face. After a while, Jaeha entered, naked. Eunhong looked up, startled, and let out a shrill cry.
“Put some clothes on!”
“You took them, didn’t you?”
Jaeha stood behind Eunhong, gripping the sink with both hands. He buried his nose in Eunhong’s nape and sniffed. He stayed close throughout brushing teeth and even until leaving the bathroom after drying off. Exasperated, Eunhong threw his robe at Jaeha and put on his own clothes.
“Are you upset because I played around?”
“…”
“I thought it was cute how unexpectedly skilled you were.”
“…”
“I’d be fine even if I were your 99th lover, so why are you embarrassed? Our Bunhong is being hypocritical.”
Amused by Eunhong’s embarrassment, Jaeha followed him around chattering. The nonsense continued while making coffee and toasting bread. Tearing his piece of bread, Eunhong gritted his teeth.
“When you see someone’s embarrassed, you’re supposed to pretend not to notice and let it go. Don’t keep pushing it.”
“So, how many have there been before me?”
“…Why does that matter?”
The words “You’re the first. There’s only you. My dick is pure.” rose to Eunhong’s throat but sank back down. Firstly, it somehow hurt his male pride, and secondly, he felt wronged, thinking he wasn’t in a position to be interrogated by Jaeha.
Weren’t you the one rutting like a stag in heat?
At this point, he suddenly remembered to get even. He was suspiciously good at it. Eunhong’s anger suddenly flared. The mood of the ticklish first night was gone, replaced by a sudden urge to be stubborn.
“I don’t know how many you are.”
“You don’t know?”
“Who keeps count of that?”
“Hmm.”
Jaeha’s eyes narrowed, causing an inexplicable unease to rise in Eunhong, but he pretended not to notice. Eunhong drank his coffee, avoiding the persistent gaze. Just as he was starting to worry about what Jaeha might be thinking, Jaeha smiled and spoke.
“It doesn’t matter how many there were.”
“You seem to care.”
“Whoever came before me, I’ll just overshadow them all. To the point you won’t remember.”
Eunhong lost his words and stood up. As he turned to clear away his cup, Jaeha blocked his path. Suddenly, lips came down and planted a firm kiss on his cheek before withdrawing. The contact of their bodies made him so tense he almost dropped the cup he was holding.
“Have you done it on the dining table?”
“What? Done what?”
He asked, despite knowing.
“How about on the sofa?”
He started it, but now it seemed a switch had been flipped. Eunhong frowned, feeling dizzy.
“I haven’t. What are you talking about?”
“Really?”
The hint of joy in his questioning tone was almost frightening. Eunhong had a feeling he should choose his answers carefully.
He had avoided answering because he didn’t want to say he had used Jaeha as fantasy material in his dreams, or that he had superimposed Jaeha over bad memories for masturbation. But the conversation was spiraling in an uncontrollable direction.
Jaeha turned to Eunhong with a broad smile.
“Shall we do it once in every room of my house? And on each piece of furniture…”
The ominous premonition was not wrong.
“You crazy bastard. What are you, conquering territories?”
“That’s great.”
Jaeha smiled brightly.
“I have a lot of cars too.”
He’s lost it… Eunhong smiled wryly, trying to suppress his feelings of guilt. He was starting to worry about the future, a little, no, a lot.
***
Jaeha wasn’t the type to make empty promises. Eunhong redefined his friend, no, now his lover Lee Jaeha after 25 years. Lee Jaeha was a horny dog… no, a puppy.
“I didn’t know you had this side to you.”
“It’s about getting to know each other better. It’d be boring if we were always the same.”
“…Alright, now back off a bit. Don’t you have work to do?”
It was dizzying how he had confessed first, then kept his distance out of fear when Eunhong finally agreed to date, but as soon as they had sex, he was all over Eunhong like an unbridled colt. The change was more extreme than a rollercoaster.
It’s almost as if… he’s never dated before…
No, that’s not it. Eunhong shook his head. That might be true for himself, but Jaeha was surely different. For one, there was definite information that he had already been on blind dates at his age. He was just naturally like a stallion. Eunhong had only now discovered his true nature.
All weekend, Jaeha stuck close to Eunhong like a puppy staring at its food bowl.
If told to wait, he’d stop and wag his tail, fiddling with Eunhong to the point of annoyance, but the moment Eunhong let his guard down and accidentally said “go ahead,” he’d pounce ferociously.
Haah… Eunhong let out a deep sigh.
Jaeha was sitting on Eunhong’s left side, leaning against the desk – in a terribly uncomfortable position – watching him draw. Although the desk itself was long and wide enough not to hinder work, the intense gaze was so piercing that Eunhong’s left cheek felt like it might develop a dimple.
Thanks to this, he had made almost no progress on the freelance work he had planned to do over the weekend. At this rate, forget about moving out to the Busan house; deadlines would pile up, leading to a collapse, ruin, and despair of his career – a predictable outcome without even watching the video.
Eunhong put his foot on the chair Jaeha was sitting on and pushed him away. The wheeled chair rolled away, carrying the alpha as big as a house.
“You’ve been bothering me all morning. Can you leave me alone for a while? I’m really busy.”
“…Bothering you?”
Jaeha muttered with a hurt expression.
“You’re lucky, Eunhong. You can be so detached. You’re too stimulating for me, I can’t control myself…”
Eunhong’s face puffed up with dissatisfaction. But soon it deflated like a punctured balloon. He was about to argue but restrained himself, seeing the many files waiting for his attention. Eunhong waved his hand as if shooing away a fly, keeping his eyes fixed on the monitor. He deliberately avoided looking at Jaeha, finding it hard to resist any longer.
“It’s harsh, but there’s no help for it. I’m the super underdog after all.”
Even as he said this, he knew Jaeha would soon be back with snacks. Eunhong glanced briefly at the sound of the door closing, then let out a small sigh and threw himself into his work.
After spending the weekend like that, Monday morning arrived again.
Eunhong woke up naked in bed. It took four alarms to get him up. His body, lacking both sleep and stamina, clung to the bed like chewing gum, refusing to detach. After squirming under the covers for a while, Eunhong suddenly sat up, feeling a sense of emptiness.
He had definitely gone to bed clothed after working until dawn, but when he opened his eyes in the morning, he was completely naked. Moreover, he had closed his eyes in the bed attached to his workroom, but mysteriously found himself in Jaeha’s room. It was clear that this puppy had been fondling him all night again.
Struggling to shake off drowsiness, he washed up and left the room, only to be greeted by the familiar, savory smell of stew. Like a fish hooked on a line, Eunhong was drawn by the smell and sat down at the dining table. Jaeha, dressed casually and moving between the kitchen and table preparing breakfast, greeted Eunhong with a bright smile. Eunhong glared at Jaeha with tired eyes before asking:
“Why stew so early in the morning? Did Mrs. Ham come by at dawn?”
“No, I made it. You’re tired, so I wanted to give you something warm for breakfast.”
A bubbling soybean paste stew was in front of him. Eunhong couldn’t help but look touched. Sure, over the weekend this horny puppy had chewed and sucked on him like a dog treat, but how could he not forgive such a sweet gesture? What else could he do? Eunhong watched the large hands ladling the broth with loving eyes.
While Eunhong was busy getting ready for work, putting on clothes in the dressing room, Jaeha made no move to prepare. He stood behind Eunhong with his arms crossed, wearing a loose-knit top. The wide neckline fully exposed his collarbones. Eunhong kept getting distracted by Jaeha in the mirror while trying to get ready. Finally, he couldn’t resist commenting.
“Are you going to work dressed like that?”
“Well… I’m thinking about it.”
“You really are running a business as a hobby.”
As Eunhong turned around with a smirk, Jaeha stepped closer. He came right up to Eunhong’s face and examined his outfit. Though he claimed to be looking at the clothes, his gaze only traced over the fair skin. He brushed his eyebrow with his thumb, and their gazes intertwined in mid-air. A moment of silence passed.
Jaeha’s gaze as he looked down at Eunhong was full of implications. Their relationship, which had run on parallel tracks for so long, had completely changed course after one night of passion. Or perhaps Jaeha had been slowly tilting towards Eunhong’s side all that time. Maybe that’s why they finally met.
Eunhong quietly looked at him, mentally calculating the time. There was still about an hour left before he had to leave for work. Eunhong unconsciously licked his dry lips. Perhaps taking this as a signal, Jaeha lowered his shoulders and kissed him. A faint sigh escaped between their lips, and as if by agreement, they opened their mouths to explore each other.
Stumbling steps half-leaned on each other as they greedily stole each other’s saliva and scent. Reason gradually blurred, and the thought that nothing mattered except tasting the body right in front of them began to take over.
