* * *

“Mm… ngh…”

As the kiss deepened, Jibeom’s fingers slid out, replaced by his tongue that carried the scent of rosemary.

Saewoo closed his eyes, focusing on the warm, velvety motion inside his mouth.

The sensation of Jibeom’s tongue tracing the roof of his mouth and touching the sensitive inner lining of his cheek felt comforting.

Maybe it was the calming effect of the herbs, but the anxiety that had been gnawing at him earlier seemed to subside a little.

“Mm…”

A sigh escaped before he could stop it.

Hearing the moist sounds so clearly made Saewoo’s face burn with embarrassment, yet he didn’t want to pull away.

Clench.

Saewoo’s hands, which had been gripping Jibeom’s collar, moved up to his firm shoulder and wrapped around his neck.

With a tight squeeze, Jibeom lowered his head in response.

His eyes narrowed as he looked at Saewoo, but instead of going deeper, Jibeom withdrew slightly.

Haa, Jibeom exhaled through his parted lips.

Even as he caught his breath, he tenderly brushed Saewoo’s lips, who still had his eyes tightly shut.

“Look at me.”

Jibeom whispered in a deep voice, and Saewoo cautiously lifted his eyelids.

His long lashes trembled before his eyes closed again.

He couldn’t bear to look at Jibeom after recalling what he’d just done.

On the other hand, Jibeom, with a satisfied smile, lightly touched Saewoo’s flushed lips with his fingertip.

“What should I do, if you love kissing this much, my little Saewoo?”

“…”

Saewoo couldn’t deny it.

The kiss from earlier had felt so good that he had clung to Jibeom’s neck without thinking.

Even though it was obvious, he didn’t want to admit it, so he kept his mouth shut.

“What’s the point of closing your mouth now? After doing all that.”

“I-I did it, so I can close it now…”

Saewoo turned his head away as soon as he opened his eyes.

His face was hot, and the tingling of his lips felt especially fiery.

Was the heater set too high?

Or maybe it was because they were together.

Yes, the room was probably full of carbon dioxide…

“But for me, it’s not over.”

“Huh?”

“We’re just taking a break. Since you said all we can do is kiss… Well, today must be the day. Maybe I’ll do everything—kiss, bite, and more.”

“…”

Saewoo’s thoughts spiraled in confusion.

Should he have not said that a kiss was okay?

Regretting it, he squirmed in Jibeom’s arms.

“T-that’s not what I meant!”

“Not what? Trying to run away again, are we?”

Jibeom grabbed Saewoo’s waist as he tried to wriggle out of his hold.

He didn’t use much force, but Saewoo’s body tipped over, pressing against Jibeom’s solid chest.

“Ah…!”

Saewoo gasped as he felt his lower body brush against Jibeom’s thigh, firm as a tree trunk.

“What… is this?” Jibeom’s eyebrow raised. “It’s… hard down there?”

“Ah! No, wait…! This…!”

Jibeom immediately noticed Saewoo’s body’s reaction, and Saewoo panicked, struggling more frantically.

He pushed at Jibeom’s shoulders, trying to create space, but Jibeom pinned him down on the bed with unyielding strength.

Thud.

“…!”

The sudden shift in perspective left Saewoo momentarily dizzy.

He stopped resisting and clutched Jibeom’s collar.

“You acted like you couldn’t handle one kiss, panting like an inexperienced rookie. But now I see you’re feeling everything… Why the face?”

Jibeom teased Saewoo with a chuckle like a villain in a comic but fell silent when he noticed something off.

“Saewoo? What’s wrong? Are you… out of breath?”

“N-no… I just… feel… dizzy…”

Cough, cough! Saewoo felt his body sink into the bed as a wave of dizziness washed over him, triggering a fit of dry coughs.

He turned his head to the side, coughing so much that Jibeom, worried, fetched a cup of lukewarm herbal tea from the table.

“Drink this for now. Wait… why are you suddenly… Hold on, I’ll get the medicine…”

“My… medicine… Cough…”

With Saewoo’s coughs refusing to stop, Jibeom’s face turned serious, and he stood up abruptly.

“Wait here. You were fine before… Why now…?”

“Yes…”

Unaware that Saewoo’s coughing had stopped, Jibeom rushed into the bedroom, searching for medicine.

Clatter, clatter.

The sounds of drawers being opened echoed through the rooms, making it sound like chaos.

“…”

Click.

Saewoo set the cup down on the table, eyeing Jibeom’s frantic movements.

The sickly, frail appearance he’d shown moments ago had vanished without a trace.

‘Did he really fall for that…?’

In truth, the sudden coughing was an act.

He had felt dizzy when Jibeom pinned him down, but he’d decided a distraction was necessary to stop things from escalating, so he faked a coughing fit.

Rustle.

Meanwhile, Jibeom stormed into the bathroom.

Based on Jibeom’s reaction, Saewoo’s act had worked perfectly, but he couldn’t help thinking Jibeom’s response was a bit excessive.

“Why is he… overreacting so much…?”

Saewoo pulled the blanket up to his shoulders and watched Jibeom as he continued searching, now rummaging through the shoe cabinet near the front door.

“Huh…? Why is he looking there…?”

Even if someone didn’t know where the medicine was, they should at least know it wouldn’t be kept there…

While Saewoo was still bewildered, Jibeom, who seemed to have searched the entire shoe cabinet, now headed for the balcony.

In the brief moment he passed by, his face was drenched in sweat.

He seemed genuinely desperate.

At this point, it felt like he should stop teasing him.

Saewoo awkwardly stood up and called out to Jibeom.

“Um… Jibeom?”

At Saewoo’s soft call, Jibeom stopped what he was doing and rushed over to him.

“What’s wrong? Are you in pain? The medicine… Ha, I can’t find the cough medicine anywhere…”

Jibeom, who spoke with a worried expression, quickly scanned Saewoo’s face. His eyes weren’t ordinary.

Normally, it seemed like he was just itching to devour him, but now, this was on a different level.

Saewoo was caught off guard by this side of Jibeom he had never seen before.

“Jibeom, wait… Calm down. I’m okay now. The coughing has stopped, so I don’t really need the medicine—”

“No.”

“What?”

As Saewoo tried to explain with slight guilt for deceiving him, Jibeom interrupted firmly and scooped him up, blanket and all.

“W-what are you—”

“We’re going to the hospital.”

“What?”

“Isn’t it because there’s something wrong with your body that you’re… aroused?”

“Aro—what, what did you say?!”

With the outrageous words that followed the shocking term, Saewoo’s face flushed bright red.

He struggled, insisting that there was no such condition in the world, but Jibeom wouldn’t budge, solid as a rock.

“Calm down. You’ll start coughing again. And if you’re aroused, then say so. Don’t try to hide it. What’s the big deal about it?”

“No… Stop, please…”

Hearing Jibeom repeat such embarrassing words with utmost seriousness made Saewoo feel dizzy.

“Let’s go to the hospital.”

Click.

When the auxiliary light at the entrance suddenly turned on, the seriousness of the situation hit Saewoo hard.

If they actually went to the hospital like this, it would be humiliating beyond measure.

That couldn’t happen.

“W-wait! No! It’s not that! I was just… just happy, that’s why I got, um, aroused! I’m not sick!”

“…Honey, you don’t have to lie about something like that. Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything to the doctor.”

“Ahh! No! It’s true! I mean it! I got aroused because I like kissing…!”

Peck.

In the midst of Saewoo’s desperate shouting, Jibeom, who had been listening intently, planted a quick kiss on Saewoo’s forehead and put him back down.

“Huh?”

While Saewoo stood there, bewildered and trying to process what had just happened, Jibeom went to the small room, grabbed his coat, and put on his shoes.

Saewoo, still wrapped in the blanket like a roll of kimbap, opened his mouth to speak.

“A-are you going out?”

“Yeah, I think I should. I should give Mr. Sparrow some time to deal with it alone, even if it’s a bit of a shame.”

The panicked and clueless Jibeom from earlier had vanished, and now he spoke with a nonchalant expression as he opened the front door.

“Wait… You knew?”

“No, I was completely fooled.”

Jibeom cast a glance at Saewoo, who stood there looking ridiculous, and gave a warning-like smile.

“If I catch you aroused again next time, I won’t just let it slide. I’ll do everything—biting, sucking, you name it.”

“…”

“Lock the door.”

With those parting words, Jibeom left, and the blanket that had been tightly wrapped around Saewoo slowly slipped to the floor like a dropped sushi roll.

* * *