#Side Story 2 – 13
Suddenly, my shirt was lifted up to my chest. I instinctively gasped, but Saheon hyung, who had anticipated my reaction, covered my mouth, and the sound of water blurred everything.
I thought my skin might have turned a little red, and the now plumper nipples bore clear traces of the previous night. The look in Saheon hyung hyung’s eyes, as he gazed at the vivid redness and bite marks under the fluorescent light, seemed to carry a hint of madness.
It must be an illusion, right? Noticing my anxious gaze, Saheon hyung raised one corner of his mouth in a smirk. Then, he bent down and silently took my nipple into his mouth.
“…Suck!”
It was more akin to a baby suckling than a caress meant to heighten arousal. A sharp pain shot through the nipple that had been overworked the night before. As I squeezed my eyes shut and trembled, Saheon hyung playfully licked it with his tongue.
Setting aside the visual stimulation, I couldn’t comprehend what I was doing in someone else’s house. Especially in a house with Saheon hyung hyung Chaehun, his wife, and a baby present. As I fiercely resisted with my eyes, Saheon hyung tilted his head with a mischievous smile.
“Was it the other side?”
“Ugh, ugh…!”
A tingling warmth seemed to spread through my veins. Finally, after both of my nipples had been sucked by Saheon hyung, the sound of water from the sink ceased. The damp fabric of my sweatshirt brushed against the intensely sucked nipples, sending jolts of sensation through me. When the hand that had been covering my mouth fell away, I timidly scolded him.
“That’s what a baby does.”
“Since it’s a baby, it ends here. If it were an adult, that kid would be dead.”
“Why do you say that…?”
“Then.”
Saheon hyung suddenly leaned in closer. As I instinctively pulled my chin back from his sudden approach, he murmured lazily in a voice that sounded somewhat scolding.
“Am I just supposed to watch while you’re nursing?”
A gentle kiss unexpectedly landed on my lips, which had just inhaled in shock. Saheon hyung’s lips briefly touched mine before pulling away, and one side of his mouth slowly curled up. The sudden lewdness made my ears tingle. Rubbing my flushed earlobes, I felt Saheon hyung shrug and poke my cheek with his index finger.
“Take good care of it.”
After finishing his ambiguous words, Saheon hyung opened the bathroom door with a strange smile. My cheeks flushed, I followed him out, pouting as I covered the spot where he had poked me.
***
Thanks to the baby falling asleep after eating, dinner time passed peacefully. Chaehun’s cooking skills were quite good. Thinking back, I remembered that when we were young, Chaehun often made sandwiches or rice balls for us.
After finishing the neat meal, Chaehun brought out fruits and tea. Although I was already full, I couldn’t resist reaching for the fresh fruit.
Chaehun skillfully peeled an apple and placed it in front of me and his wife. Saheon took mine for himself. After peeling two apples and a pear for everyone, Chaehun suddenly spoke up as if he just remembered something.
“Oh, Saheon. Mom asked me to tell you something. She had your hanbok dry-cleaned, but it seems the length has shrunk a bit.”
“Really?”
With my mouth full of apple, I stared blankly at Saheon, who was waiting with his mouth open like a baby bird. As Saheon tilted his head towards me with his mouth open wider, I put an apple in his mouth. Chaehun said,
“At your age, you should stop bothering Mungmung.”
“I’m not bothering him. I’m just showing affection.”
Saheon looked satisfied after achieving his goal. He even put his arm around my shoulder, but I wriggled to remove it, wishing he wouldn’t show such affection in front of others. Chaehun shook his head.
“…Anyway. Mom wants you to try it on before the holiday to see if the length is okay.”
“It doesn’t really matter if it’s shorter. I often can’t make it home for holidays due to flights anyway… I can just wear a suit if it doesn’t fit.”
“It’s Mom’s orders! Mom! She asked me to handle this because you rarely come home and we don’t know when your schedule will allow before Chuseok!”
“Alright! I’ll wear it!”
The conversation between the mid-thirties and late-thirties brothers was childish regardless of their age. Their sister-in-law seemed to feel the same way, muttering with a smile, “You’re both kids.” I agreed.
Although grumbling, Saheon followed Chaehun into the main bedroom. His sister-in-law shook her head slightly with a faint smile. I felt a strange sense of camaraderie.
Even after entering the bedroom, the two could be heard bickering. I picked up another piece of apple and said to myself,
“They’ll wake the baby.”
“They’ve probably forgotten about the baby. I don’t understand why those two always bicker like children when they meet.”
“I know…”
While they were squabbling, they must have managed to dress Saheon, as the bedroom door opened. I reflexively looked towards the door, having been focused on my conversation with my sister-in-law.
“…Oh…”
Saheon walked out wearing a navy blue durumagi, looking displeased. I found myself distracted without realizing it. Saheon, who had been sulking just moments ago, had a subtle expression upon seeing me.
Perhaps because of the hanbok, even that expression made him look like a young master with a sly personality. Chaehun, who had positioned Saheon in front of us, tilted his head to the side to look him over, then asked for our opinions.
“How does it look? Mom said the hem length has shrunk, but now that he’s wearing it, I can’t really tell.”
“I think it looks fine.”
His sister-in-law answered first, with the typical friendly reaction of a flight attendant. As I heard her exaggeratedly praising him with both thumbs up, I continued to stare blankly at Saheon.
Was it because I had never seen Saheon in hanbok before? It looked unfamiliar but suited him well. Moreover, he looked handsome. Like a young nobleman from the Joseon Dynasty. My heart fluttered with a feeling similar to when I first saw him in uniform.
“What do you think, Cheongmyeong?”
“He… He looks handsome!”
After staring at Saheon for a long time, I awkwardly blurted out in response to Chaehun’s question. Chaehun chuckled. Realizing belatedly that I had complimented his appearance rather than the hanbok, I stammered to add more.
“It… It doesn’t look short. It’s fine… It suits him…”
Saheon lazily raised the corners of his mouth at my added praise. That smile fit so well with his current appearance as a young nobleman that I felt distracted once again.
“Come closer and check for me, Cheongmyeong. I think it’s a bit short.”
Saheon said, slightly lifting the hem of his robe. I approached him as if enchanted. Saheon pointed out the parts that felt short to him in a voice even gentler than usual.
“Here, and don’t you think the sleeves are a bit short?”
“Not really…”
Even looking at the parts Saheon pointed out, I couldn’t feel any awkwardness. I tried to stop my gaze from constantly drifting to Saheon’s face, but my eyes kept glancing at him. The corners of Saheon’s mouth lifted slightly.
“If Cheongmyeong thinks it’s fine, then it must be fine.”
“Alright. Go change back.”
Saheon smiled mysteriously as he noticed me continuing to glance at him while pretending not to. He tilted his head slightly as if inviting me to come along, and raised one eyebrow. I, who had been momentarily dazed, suddenly felt indignant.
I felt jealous of the relatives and cousins who must have seen Saheon looking this handsome every holiday. I was surprised at my own feelings of jealousy over something so trivial, but I couldn’t help it.
“Cheongmyeong, where are you going?”
I had been following Saheon as he went to change clothes without even realizing it, until Chaehun stopped me. I hadn’t even been conscious of when I started following him. My face burned with embarrassment, feeling as if I had been bewitched by a nine-tailed fox.
The sound of Chaehun and his wife laughing made me even more embarrassed. To have been so entranced by Saheon’s face and smile in different clothes…
As I, feeling both ashamed and frustrated at being so affected despite being in a relationship for several years, took a step back, Saheon’s index finger touched my forehead. I froze in place.
“Tonight.”
Suddenly speaking in a historical drama tone, Saheon smiled mischievously as usual.
“I shall come to you. So do not be too impatient.”
After delivering his line, Saheon removed his finger. Leaving me standing like a statue, he swept into the room with his robe fluttering. Chaehun and his wife burst into laughter, saying, “What was that cheesy performance?”
While I shared a similar opinion with them, as Saheon’s partner of four years, there was a different way to interpret it. Suppressing the excitement that no one else would understand, I returned to sit opposite Chaehun and his wife, nervously chewing on an innocent apple and swallowing hard.
So it’s hanbok tonight. Suddenly, I didn’t feel frustrated at all anymore.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
