FETCH 3

— Honey!

The voice answering the phone, as if he had been waiting for it, was full of delight. Asking when he was coming, saying his neck was stretching out from waiting. The childish, pestering words were a bonus.

Even though he had piled up so many messages and missed calls, there wasn’t a single complaint about Jaechan not replying to a single one. It seemed he knew all too well that Jaechan couldn’t be reached while working his part-time job, so he just let it slide.

He liked that, too. When Han Kang, who rarely showed any tolerance toward others, showed a different side only to him, Jaechan would feel a sense of pride for no reason. It was even more so on a day like today when they’d had a conflict.

Instead of a needless scolding, Jaechan gave a low laugh and soothed Han Kang.

“I’m going now. It’ll take about ten minutes.”

— Take a taxi, I’ll pay for it.

“Hey, am I a beggar? Now that he’s a national representative, he’s showing off his money to me.”

— No, who said that? I’m just saying that because I want to see you quickly.

“If I take a taxi, it’s just the base fare, so they won’t even give me a ride. I’ll be there soon.”

— Okay, come quickly! I’ll be in front of the dormitory.

“Okay.”

Sure enough, once he actually spoke to Han Kang on the phone, his mood, which had been fluctuating all day, improved as if it had been washed clean. He knew it would be like this. No matter how much he ignored the contact earlier, the thought of meeting him inevitably made him feel better.

Loving someone is a sin, a total sin.

Letting out a shallow sigh, Jaechan put a bit more strength into his slow steps. Even if the distance to the Center wasn’t that far, it wasn’t exactly close either, yet the way to Han Kang was always so urgent.

In front of the Center where he arrived before long, Jaechan came to a dead halt, ending the steps that had been bouncing with excitement.

Just as he said, Han Kang was in front of the Center. His attire while recording his exit was incredibly comfortable. Dressed in highly functional training gear with a small bag slung over his back, the watch on his wrist was reflecting the fluorescent lights with a sparkle.

That part was fine, but.

“Honey!”

Beside Han Kang, who was calling him with a bright smile, a person he had seen a few times before was stuck like glue. That person wasn’t just holding Han Kang’s hands tightly with both of theirs; they were groping his arm and eventually, right in front of him, even slid a hand inside his clothes.

Han Kang twisted his body, showing his displeasure. It felt quite different from what he had seen on the screen earlier, making Jaechan twitch an eyebrow. Based only on what he saw now, it really looked like he hated Guiding.

‘Isn’t he just acting shy because he’s in front of me?’

The partner Guide must have felt the same, as they finally pulled both hands away. A look of dissatisfaction was visible, but he didn’t care.

“Honey, you’re here?”

Han Kang, who called him “honey” as if it were natural, never got tired of it. At first, his heart would leap and run wild, but now it had become a title so natural it was familiar.

That was the result of a long, unrequited love. The fact that he could calmly play along with his mischievous pet name was because resignation had seeped into his heart due to Han Kang’s ever-light attitude.

But that didn’t mean the feelings he cherished were fading away. Seeing Han Kang refuse Guiding in front of him, Jaechan felt a strange trick of emotion.

His chest felt tight for no reason. When Jaechan turned his feet away without a word, urgent voices of “Uh, uh-oh!” were heard from over there.

“Honey, honey. You have to sign this for me to go out?”

“Whether you come out or not.”

“Didn’t you come to see me?”

At the voice calling him “honey” again, he eventually came to a dead stop. Thinking to himself that he was showing useless stubbornness over something he couldn’t win anyway.

Jaechan shot a glance at the team Guide standing there in plain sight, then skillfully took the watch, put it on, and signed the documents stating he was taking custody of Han Kang.

Afterward, he turned back to Han Kang, who had already moved close to his side. He didn’t know why Han Kang bothered to bring the Guide out to grate on his nerves when he didn’t even like Guiding that much.

Jaechan looked at the Guide standing next to Han Kang and spoke.

“Is it okay to do Guiding like that in public? No matter how exposed Han Kang’s body is, I don’t think stripping him so openly is quite right.”

“Exactly. They keep doing it even when I say I hate it.”

Han Kang hurriedly swatted the Guide’s hand away and pulled Jaechan into an embrace by the shoulders. At that, the Guide just tilted one corner of their mouth and let out a pfft of a laugh.

The gaze, which seemed to subtly look down on him, was never pleasant no matter when he felt it. If it were his usual personality, he would have charged at them immediately, but he held back because he was in front of Han Kang.

His glare must have been quite sharp, but the other person didn’t care. As if to say, “So what if you’re annoyed?” For a moment, a surge of emotion rose again.

“Ah, let’s just go. It’s annoying.”

Jaechan decided to take his frustration out on Han Kang instead. Coming to the front of the Center was a mistake. His stomach, which he had barely managed to soothe, became noisy again.

He had seen a Guiding scene he didn’t need to see, he was ignored by the Guide, and Han Kang, unaware of his feelings, made a mindless comment: “Right, Guiding is always fucking awful.”

Even in the midst of that, he couldn’t push away Han Kang’s hand that was holding him tightly. He only counted the hard chest muscles touching his back and the faint throb of the heartbeat. The strange thing was, as he became conscious of the steady pulse, his mood slowly began to lift.

Still, showing that he was completely over it was a bit embarrassing, so he was intentionally scowling when it happened.

“Ah, hey!”

Jaechan turned around, startled. Flustered, Jaechan covered the back of his neck with his hand and glared at Han Kang.

Han Kang had suddenly kissed the back of Jaechan’s neck. The soft sensation was so vivid it felt like it would give him goosebumps. Jaechan repeatedly stroked the back of his neck.

Han Kang, who had actually done the kissing, looked at Jaechan with an expression that asked “What’s the big deal?” Holding him tightly by the waist, he eventually pressed his lips along the neckline, even making cute smack, smack sounds.

“Hey, hey. Don’t, don’t do that.”

Jaechan flusteredly stopped Han Kang. He unintentionally swallowed hard. It wasn’t the first time he had groped his body and fiddled with his lips like this, but perhaps it was because they were in front of the Center. He became conscious of all his actions, making his breath constantly ragged.

His fine hairs stood on end for no reason. And he felt a little sorrowful.

People nearby who recognized Han Kang were glancing at them. Some were tilting their heads, seemingly puzzled at seeing Jaechan, who was not a Guide.

“Is the person next to him a Guide?”

“Would they be acting like that if he wasn’t a Guide?”

They must have been whispering among themselves, but because they were mumbling right next to him, it was all audible.

Jaechan forcibly pushed Han Kang away and separated him from himself.

“Stop it, seriously.”

He had already been upset about this sort of thing earlier today, but Han Kang’s attitude of engaging in skinship because he was glad to see him made his heart race and his stomach ache with a surge of emotion.

“Why?”

On the contrary, he asked as if he had no idea, leaving Jaechan so dumbfounded he couldn’t even speak.

“Stop doing this all the time.”

“Why? What’s wrong with a kiss between us?”

What’s wrong? It felt like his heart was fluttering and the world was turning upside down.

Even if it was just a fleeting touch of lips, for him, it was an act that carried great meaning, making his breath grow increasingly short.

“Just, this kind of thing.”

“This kind of thing?”

He should have said, “Really, don’t do it,” but he couldn’t bring himself to let the words out.

When Jaechan swallowed his words and bit his lip hard, Han Kang let out a chuckle and tapped his cheek.

“Doing it with you doesn’t feel bad. It’s different from Guiding.”

Han Kang’s hand, which had been holding his shoulder tightly, had now slithered down to firmly grasp Jaechan’s hand. Aside from his pounding heart, Han Kang’s attitude of distinguishing between Guiding and the acts he did with him was frustrating.

Jaechan let out a trembling breath, hooo.

“How is it different? …It’s all the same.”

Perhaps in his heart, he was wishing for him to think that way.

“You’re Jeon Jaechan, and a Guide is just… fuck, it’s just touching bodies.”

But Han Kang drew a line again, even going as far as to use a curse word. So there was no need to ask what was different. It meant that even if he did everything with a Guide, even if it was just Guiding, he wouldn’t cross that line with him.

The line he couldn’t cross because he wasn’t a Guide—as he became conscious of that line, his heart felt heavy.

“So, did training go well today?”

When Jaechan asked with a forced smile, Han Kang nodded his head, “Yeah.” His expression was so excited that he could almost see a hallucination of a long tail wagging swish, swish behind his large frame.

.✦ ݁˖

The destination Han Kang chose, after pining so much for staying out overnight, was none other than Jaechan’s house. House.

It wasn’t that he wanted to go see a movie, or go to the sea. Han Kang said he wanted to go to the house Jaechan returned to every day after finishing his routine.

As soon as they entered the house, Han Kang wrapped his arms around Jaechan’s waist and showered his entire face with smack, smack kisses. He had no idea what had suddenly gotten into him to make him pounce like this. There was no time to figure out his intention. In the face of the kisses pouring down in earnest as soon as they entered the house, Jaechan was helplessly surrendering his face.

“Ah, hey. Let, let me breathe.”

“Mmm, Jaechan. I wanted to do this with you.”

Jaechan couldn’t bring himself to shake off Han Kang, who was clinging to him like a puppy meeting its owner after a long time. The two, who couldn’t even make it into the house and collapsed together at the entrance while holding each other, were finally even rubbing their crotches together.

“Haaa.”

Hot breath burst out through parted lips.

He could feel something hard beneath the tight pants. Even though it wasn’t a direct touch, the sensation of rubbing was so vivid.

Along with the feeling of his mind going blank, sparks flew before his eyes. Jaechan let out a groan, hng-t, and searched for Han Kang’s face.

I want to kiss him.

He just wanted to press their lips together any which way and entwine their tongues. Following his instinct, he grabbed the back of his neck and turned his head to face him, and just as he was about to kiss him.