PUPPY 69

“So now, are we da…, ting?”

“Yeah, today is our day one.”

Juwon nodded at Seowoo’s question. Then he spoke to Seowoo in a serious voice, all traces of playfulness gone. As if relieved by Juwon’s answer, the strength suddenly drained from Seowoo’s body. Juwon firmly caught the staggering Seowoo in an embrace. Then, the already close distance between them became even closer.

“Ah….”

“…Can I?”

Even without him saying it, there was no mistaking what Juwon was asking if he could do. It was because Juwon’s gaze was so blatantly fixed on his lips. When he licked his lower lip because of the dry feeling, sparks seemed to fly from Juwon’s eyes.

“Do you think you’re going to change again?”

“No.”

Juwon answered Seowoo’s question immediately, without a hint of hesitation.

“Then?”

“I just want to kiss you.”

“Ah….”

A small sigh escaped Seowoo’s lips at Juwon’s words, which bluntly revealed his true feelings. Juwon, who had been staring at Seowoo’s lips with a continuously hot gaze, frowned. Then he corrected what he had just said.

“Sorry, I misspoke. What I want to do with you right now isn’t a peck.”

“Then, what is it…?”

“A kiss.”

Seowoo let out a long, thin breath at Juwon’s words. The fluttering breath became a breeze that reached Juwon. Seowoo, as if he had made up his mind, said to Juwon.

“…Then, do it.”

Watching Seowoo’s long eyelashes flutter down, Juwon tilted his head. Was it because they were a couple now? The moment their lips touched, he felt a thrilling sensation, as if static electricity was surging through him.

From their touching lips to the very ends of every nerve.

Haah—. The sound of a sharp intake of breath was followed by the wet sound of their moist lips pressing against each other.

“I’m out of breath….”

At Seowoo’s words, Juwon reluctantly pulled his lips away. As their tightly pressed lips separated, a deep breath, as if drawn up from the depths of his lungs, burst out of Juwon.

‘Juwon was nervous too….’

Seowoo’s mouth opened slightly with the realization. Juwon, who had lowered his head, pressed his forehead against Seowoo’s this time, instead of his lips. They could feel each other’s breath completely. As they moved their faces, their noses lightly bumped.

“That tickles.”

“I was just kidding.”

At Seowoo’s light complaint, Juwon this time playfully bumped the tip of his nose against his.

“That hurts….”

“Should I kiss it better?”

When Seowoo whined once more in a complaining tone, showing his own brand of cuteness, Juwon asked with a smile.

“Do what you want.”

“I’ll just bite it.”

With Seowoo’s permission, Juwon made a playful face and lightly bit the bridge of Seowoo’s nose.

“Ah….”

A short moan escaped Seowoo’s lips. It was also mixed with a deep realization. He remembered what Juwon had said in a similar situation before.

‘It’s just, a joke between friends.’

What Juwon had said was not true. This was not a joke that could be played between friends. At least, not with that kind of gaze and expression.

“Should we do a little more?”

“…Yeah.”

“You’re not out of breath?”

Seowoo quietly shook his head at Juwon’s question. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was nervous or if kissing was just like that, but a moment ago he had felt his vision go completely white. He had never felt so disappointed in his own pathetic lung capacity.

🦴

The D-Day counter that had been announcing the college entrance exam disappeared from Seowoo’s plain default phone wallpaper, and a huge “+7 Days” was etched in its place. It was the moment his secret relationship with Juwon had begun.

The relationship was smooth sailing. But a new worry had arisen for Seowoo.

“What if someone comes out?”

“We’ll never get caught, you know how agile I am.”

It was the fact that he and Juwon were kissing whenever he let his guard down.

“Still….”

“We really won’t get caught. I can hear the sound of a door opening right away.”

“We can’t…. Mmm.”

Unable to resist Juwon’s persuasion, Seowoo closed his eyes. Then, Juwon’s soft and moderately warm lips touched his. The place where the two were sharing a passionate kiss was a corner of the staircase leading down from the reading room. Just as Seowoo was about to start gasping for breath, completely engrossed in the kiss, he suddenly heard a familiar voice from nearby.

“So, yesterday during the raid, that bastard. Huh…?”

“Eh…?”

“Ah….”

For some reason, his friends were coming up the stairs. Kim Dongwon, Oh Dongjae, and Yang Juhyeon, who had witnessed Juwon and Seowoo, reacted with short sounds of surprise.

“What.”

Juwon raised his hand to wipe Seowoo’s mouth and spoke to the three of them in a tone that was not only casual but also seemed to contain a bit of dissatisfaction.

Although they had seen it with their own eyes, his friends stood there blankly, their brains unable to process the meaning of the scene they had just witnessed. Just then, Yang Juhyeon grabbed the face of Kim Dongwon, who was standing next to him.

“What.”

At Kim Dongwon’s question, Yang Juhyeon made a solemn face. Taking a deep breath, Yang Juhyeon planted a firm kiss on Kim Dongwon’s cheek.

“Aargh! Yang Juhyeon, you’re crazy!”

Kim Dongwon leaped high into the air like a grasshopper and began to frantically rub the cheek that Yang Juhyeon’s lips had just touched.

“Haha, what’s wrong with friends sharing a little kiss? Right, Seowoo?”

Yang Juhyeon, who had left a firm kiss on Kim Dongwon’s cheek, asked Seowoo as if he were somehow broken.

Ah….

Only then did Seowoo realize that Yang Juhyeon had sacrificed his own lips to keep his and Juwon’s relationship a secret. Nodding, Seowoo passed the baton to Juwon this time.

“Right, what’s wrong with it between friends. Right, Juwon?”

“…Yeah.”

At Seowoo’s question, Juwon let out a short sigh and nodded.

🦴

The firmly closed main gate of Seowoo’s house opened, and Juwon, with a friendly smile all over his face, entered the yard. Today, it was Seowoo’s grandmother who had opened the gate for him.

“Hello.”

“Yes, you come often.”

“Yes. I used to come in secret before, but now I want to greet Seowoo’s grandmother and grandfather too.”

The grandmother smiled awkwardly at Juwon’s words.

“Your parents must worry if you’re out late at night….”

“My parents? It’s okay. I got their permission.”

“I see…. You came to see Seowoo, right?”

“Yes.”

“It’s hot, so play with the door open…. Seowoo’s room is stuffy because it doesn’t have a window.”

Although she didn’t mention the embarrassing topic directly, the meaning the grandmother wanted to convey was clear. But Juwon, who was selectively oblivious, stared blankly at Seowoo’s grandmother with an innocent expression.

Just then, Seowoo appeared with the sound of a door opening.

“Juwon… Grandma, you weren’t asleep?”

“Ah, were you about to go to sleep? I’m sorry.”

Juwon, who had greeted her with a smile, strode up the stairs with his long legs and headed for Seowoo’s room.

“Grandma, we’ll just hang out for a little while.”

—Click.

The sound of the room door closing as he pulled Juwon inside sounded particularly loud to the grandmother.

“As long as our Seowoo is healthy…. That’s right.”

The grandmother, who was looking up at the closed door, muttered to herself as if in self-hypnosis. The tile-roofed house with a yard as large as a sports field was famous for its exorbitant price. She had heard that he had bought such a house without any loans. It was such an amazing family that they sometimes appeared on television….

“Should Seowoo be the one to prepare the wedding gifts….”

Or since they’re both men, should they each bring a house…. It was an unusual situation, but a very realistic worry filled the grandmother’s mind.

🦴

As soon as the door closed, Juwon kissed Seowoo’s forehead and cheeks as if stamping them, as if he had been waiting. Seowoo hunched his shoulders and smiled, his eyes crinkling.

“That tickles. But…, why are you here?”

“To hang out with you.”

A simple and clear answer flowed from Juwon. On the other hand, Seowoo looked around restlessly and answered in an awkward voice. Perhaps because they were now in a special relationship, even very daily and ordinary things were now consciously different from before. But in fact, it was the same for Juwon as it was for Seowoo.

“Ah, yeah, but there’s not much in my room. I moved all my stuff to another room.”

“It’s okay to play without toys.”

“But…, with you here like this, my room feels really small.”

Seowoo looked around for a place to sit, but it didn’t look promising. Usually, Juwon came transformed into a small puppy, so he had never felt it was small at all.

“Do you want to sit in the chair? I’ll sit on the bed.”

“I want to sit with you.”

“Will that be okay?”

Instead of answering Seowoo’s question, Juwon perched on one side of the bed. They ended up sitting side by side on the edge of the bed, facing forward. Perhaps because they were sitting close together in an enclosed space, the atmosphere changed in an instant.

“From now on, I’ll just go to your house to hang….”

Before Seowoo could finish his sentence, Juwon’s soft lips touched his. The sensation of his tongue and lips pressing together was vivid. When he pulled his lips away slightly because Seowoo was finding it hard to breathe, a silvery thread connected them.

“Mmm….”

“Ah…, Seowoo.”

Last time, Seowoo had drawn a clear line and put a firm stop to his skinship with Juwon. Because of that, their progress hadn’t gone any further, but it also hadn’t reversed the progress that had already been made. Sometimes, their lips met faster than their eyes did. Just like now.

“Ah. That hurts….”

“Sorry.”

“Be gentle….”

“Okay. Gently.”

Juwon’s canines were quite sharp, so if he accidentally bit his lip or tongue, it would sting enough to bring tears to his eyes. Juwon, who slowly repeated Seowoo’s words, gave him a gentle kiss as requested. Unlike his sharp teeth, Juwon’s tongue was surprisingly soft.

“…No.”

“Whyy.”

“Stop…, it.”

Seowoo stopped Juwon’s hand, which was fiddling with his bare waist. At that, Juwon drew out the end of his word and asked Seowoo in a childishly pleading manner. Huh? Huh? His coaxing tone continued.

“I think my lips will be swollen again tomorrow….”

Juwon was a kiss fiend. The moment they met in the morning, he would sling an arm around his shoulder and kiss his cheek with loud ‘smack-smack-smack’ sounds, to the point that his grandfather, who saw it through a crack in the door, was startled. Moreover, because they had been hiding in alleys and on the stairs of the reading room arcade and kissing almost every day recently, Seowoo’s lips were red and swollen.

“It’s okay.”

“If my family sees again….”

“We’ll just say, what’s wrong with friends sharing a little kiss.”

Juwon mimicked what Yang Juhyeon had said earlier that day. Seowoo snorted in disbelief at the answer. But to call it a kiss, the air filling the room, the look in their eyes, and their moist lips all looked suspicious.

“Who would believe that….”

“Kim Dongwon, Oh Dongjae, Yang Juhyeon, Seowoo’s grandmother, grandfather, and your sister-in-law.”

“No…, stop.”

Juwon’s hot hand started to creep up his back again, tickling him. Seowoo grabbed Juwon’s hand. Lifting his gaze, which had been cast down, Seowoo looked at Juwon and spoke.

“Next time, should I just go to your house to hang out?”

“My house?”

“Yeah…. I know I said it wasn’t true, but I think my grandma and grandpa still misunderstand.”

“I already explained it to your grandfather.”

Seowoo made a puzzled face. He had heard nothing about it from his grandfather.

“What did you say…?”

“That I’ll play with my clothes on with you now.”

A slow sigh escaped Seowoo’s lips at Juwon’s answer.

“…If you say it like that, it sounds like we were playing with our clothes off before.”

Seowoo logically sorted out Juwon’s words, which left room for imagination. What Juwon had done was not an explanation, but a confirmation of the misunderstanding that had arisen before. Hearing Seowoo’s words, Juwon smirked, lifting one corner of his mouth. Then he spoke in a playful tone.

“Then should we take our clothes off and play right now?”

But the look in Juwon’s eyes as he said the playful words was more serious than he had ever seen before.