* * *
“There’s still a lot to do after you get off the plane. It’s your first time, so you’ll probably be a bit disoriented. And there’s the time difference. It’s daytime there, but it’s dawn here. I figured you were asleep, so I didn’t contact you.”
“……”
“If anything happened, someone would’ve contacted me. I assigned someone.”
“……You assigned someone?”
Jingyeom, who had his face buried in Soohyuk’s chest, lifted his head.
Soohyuk met his gaze directly.
“Yeah. You were so anxious — what else could I do? Of course I had to assign someone.”
Jingyeom stared at him in disbelief.
How could he say something like that so casually?
It’s really hard to understand him with an ordinary person’s mindset.
“Wait, don’t tell me… even now…?”
“Of course.”
“Wow. You’re seriously shameless!”
Jingyeom scowled and pushed Soohyuk away, sitting up.
But almost instantly, Soohyuk pulled him back into his embrace.
“Yeah, I’m shameless. But I can’t always be by your side. My boyfriend’s too attractive — if I leave you alone, someone might snatch you away. What if you get kidnapped?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. This is South Korea, you know? Who’s going to kidnap me?”
“A stalker who’s fallen for you?”
“There’s no such person!”
Well, there might have been in the past, but not anymore.
There were no creepy people around lately.
He’d even changed his number, so no one from his past who knew
Baek Jingyeom could contact him.
Now, he was truly living his own life.
But as he confidently said this, Jingyeom’s gaze wavered slightly.
“……Was there someone? Is that why?”
“Let’s not think about that.”
“See how you’re avoiding it! So there was someone, wasn’t there?”
Jingyeom struggled against the hand pressing down on the back of his head but eventually gave up and hugged Soohyuk’s waist, relaxing into him.
‘So there was someone after all.’
There had been a few persistent people who approached, but nothing serious had happened.
Once, a man who used to know Baek Jingyeom tried to threaten him, but thankfully, Wonbeom had been there, and it didn’t escalate.
Still, it made him realize he needed to stay careful.
“Stop thinking and just sleep.”
As Soohyuk gently stroked his head, drowsiness washed over Jingyeom, and he let out a big yawn.
“We’ll go see Secretary Baek later.”
“……Okay.”
Wrapped warmly in Soohyuk’s arms and being softly patted, Jingyeom soon fell asleep, his breathing growing calm.
“……Ha.”
But Soohyuk couldn’t fall asleep easily.
His lower half was tingling and tense, making it impossible to sleep.
Instinctively, his hips wanted to move, but he barely managed to pull back.
This was instinct.
Who wouldn’t react when their beloved is lying in their arms?
‘Maybe I should give him some proper sex education or something.’
If this kept up, he might actually end up with blue balls.
Jingyeom’s move happened in the blink of an eye.
He had planned to take his time since there was no rush, but Soohyuk called in people right away, and by the next morning — after spending the night together at the rooftop room — they had moved.
Half-asleep, Jingyeom was bundled into the car and brought to Soohyuk’s place.
After sleepily eating breakfast, he dozed off on the living room sofa.
They say you shouldn’t sleep right after eating, but he was too tired to resist.
They separated what needed to go into Jingyeom’s room and what would be kept in storage.
Jingyeom insisted on unpacking himself, so the boxes were simply stacked in one corner of the room.
Thus began their cohabitation.
They no longer had to feel the sadness of parting after each meeting, though there was still a bit of awkwardness when they went to separate rooms.
Actually, Soohyuk had wanted to share a room from the start, but Jingyeom hadn’t allowed it.
Since they hadn’t been dating long, he said it was good to keep a bit of tension.
‘I can’t exactly cut him off from the internet either…’
It was obvious where inexperienced-in-love Jingyeom had picked up these ideas.
But Soohyuk couldn’t very well forbid him from using the internet or watching YouTube.
At least their physical affection had become more natural.
Now, Jingyeom didn’t get overly flustered or push him away when Soohyuk nuzzled his neck or kissed him.
Of course, his embarrassed reactions had been cute to watch, but this was definitely better.
As usual, they were sitting on the sofa, with Jingyeom perched on Soohyuk’s thigh while they looked at their phones together.
“Darling, have you thought about studying again?”
“Studying?”
Jingyeom lowered the hand holding his phone.
‘Studying…’
He used to want to, but now it didn’t appeal to him at all.
After struggling with certification exams, he realized he wasn’t cut out for studying, and ever since, the desire had disappeared.
The only reason he’d wanted to study before was to get a job — to make money.
But he was already earning now, so he didn’t see the point.
Soohyuk, reading Jingyeom’s expression, tossed his phone onto the table and shifted Jingyeom’s position.
Suddenly, Jingyeom found himself straddling Soohyuk, facing him.
But he was used to this now, so he naturally wrapped his arms around Soohyuk’s neck.
“Do you want me to study?”
“No, I was just wondering if you secretly wanted to but couldn’t. But it doesn’t seem like that.”
“You’ve seen me try to study for those certificates. I’m terrible at it.”
Soohyuk nodded lightly.
“Darling. Can you grant me one wish today?”
“A wish? All of a sudden?”
The confusion on Jingyeom’s face made it clear he had no idea.
Of course, Soohyuk hadn’t told him, so it was only natural.
With a sweet smile, Soohyuk’s lips curled mischievously.
Sensing something strange, Jingyeom tried to slide off his lap, but froze at the words that followed.
“It’s my birthday.”
“……Huh? ……What? Birthday?”
“Yeah. Birthday.”
The way Soohyuk said it with such a fresh smile almost made Jingyeom nod along like, ‘Ah, it’s your birthday.’
Come to think of it, when he’d asked before when Soohyuk’s birthday was, Soohyuk had said he’d tell him when the time came.
Jingyeom had patiently waited, but then got so caught up with Jinwoo’s study abroad preparations that he completely forgot.
Jingyeom’s mouth slowly dropped open.
This was their first birthday together since becoming a couple, and he was only finding out now — past 9 PM.
He was so dumbfounded that a hollow laugh escaped him.
“Hah!”
As if expecting this reaction, Soohyuk kept smiling as his hand slowly caressed Jingyeom’s waist, sliding down from his soft thighs to his calves and slender ankles.
Jingyeom shivered slightly from the ticklish sensation and frowned, but the important thing right now wasn’t Soohyuk’s hand — it was the birthday.
He firmly grasped Soohyuk’s large hand resting on his leg to stop him from moving any further.
“Wait, your birthday. Seriously. Unbelievable. Why are you telling me this only now?!”
“I’m too old for birthday fusses. I was worried you’d feel burdened, so I told you now.”
Come to think of it, they did have seaweed soup for breakfast today.
He thought it was just a regular meal, since they had it from time to time, but it was actually birthday seaweed soup.
‘I knew his birthday was in February, but I still forgot…’
Jingyeom couldn’t bring himself to scold any further.
After all, he was the one who forgot.
Even if Soohyuk hadn’t said anything, he could’ve easily found out on his own.
He carefully glanced at Soohyuk, wondering if he felt hurt.
Though Soohyuk kept smiling, Jingyeom still worried.
Come to think of it, though Soohyuk shared many things, he rarely talked about himself.
When asked, he would answer, but he never brought things up first…
“There’s really nothing? Ah, but this isn’t urgent right now.”
Jingyeom let go of Soohyuk’s hand and lightly bumped his forehead against him so it wouldn’t hurt.
As their noses touched, he shook his head slightly, teasing him with little taps.
Soohyuk’s eyes curved even more gently in response.
“Happy birthday. So, what’s your wish?”
“Will you grant it?”
“If it’s something I can do.”
“Anything?”
The nuance in his voice sounded suspicious, but Soohyuk had never made any unreasonable demands before.
And even if he did, they could always talk it through.
He never forced his way, so Jingyeom nodded, trusting it would be the same this time.
But the moment he felt a hand squeezing his butt, he straightened his back in surprise and grabbed Soohyuk’s arm tightly.
“What’s with this hand?”
“What do you think? It’s my instinct.”
Blatantly fondling his butt, Soohyuk then slid his hand up Jingyeom’s back and pulled him closer.
As Jingyeom squirmed, his mouth fell open at the firm pressure he felt below.
Soohyuk subtly shifted his leg and rubbed against him, winking.
“I’ve been waiting for this… for so long.”
The intensity in Soohyuk’s gaze made Jingyeom slowly close his parted lips.
His throat felt dry, so he swallowed hard and wetted his lips.
All his nerves were focused on the hand still on his butt and the hardness beneath him.
As Soohyuk’s fingers brushed along his waist, he unconsciously tensed and straightened his back.
They were both fully clothed — why did it feel like bare skin?
Unable to bear the ticklish sensation, Jingyeom twisted his body, causing Soohyuk’s grin to grow even more mischievous.
“Didn’t I ask for your birthday so I could give you a present?”
“…That’s true.”
“Right? Jingyeom.”
Soohyuk called his name in a voice thick with excitement, his eyes filled with desire as he stared at Jingyeom, who nervously darted his eyes around, unsure what to do.
Jingyeom had always known a day like this would come.
Soohyuk’s subtle seductions appeared anytime, anywhere, without warning.
Though he never pushed too far, his feelings were always apparent.
But even knowing Soohyuk’s heart, Jingyeom had always avoided crossing this line, worried for different reasons.
He was sure Soohyuk had noticed that too.
‘…Will it be okay?’
* * *
