NTH 110

Sihun
I think your boyfriend would like it more

Sihun
if you tried hard too

Jin ignored Tak Sihun’s last message and went to Namhae with Jeha.

Come to think of it, he remembered Jin asking at the private pool villa, ‘Jeha, do you like it better when I study hard on the weekends, or when I play like this with you?’ Jeha had, of course, answered the latter, and the thought that Jin had been worried because of that bastard made his blood boil.

However, aside from the fact that he contacted him too randomly and quite frequently, it was difficult to see Tak Sihun as greatly overstepping his boundaries as a teacher.

If anything, it was Jin who was crossing the line, speaking informally. Without considering Jin and Jeha’s special circumstances, anyone would think Tak Sihun was right. He couldn’t just label him as an foreign substance and tell Jin to block him, and it was awkward for Jeha, the ‘boyfriend’ in question, to reveal himself and warn him not to say strange things to his Jin.

Perhaps this was the beginning. Jin, freed from the shackles of the parasitic spirit, would shine brighter and brighter. Whether he went to college, or after he got the job he wanted, second and third Tak Sihuns would appear and try to win Jin’s favor. Would he tremble with anger and do background checks every single time?

…Perhaps he would. Jeha knew his own petty and ugly nature well. When it came to matters concerning Jin, he would do it over and over again.

The saving grace in this misfortune was that Jin wasn’t giving Tak Sihun an ounce of his heart. Jin’s attitude was similar to the way Jeha treated people who showed him personal interest. The Jeha side was just a bit colder, using politeness as a shield, but putting up a wall was the same.

Therefore, it was right to trust Jin and take no action. This was Jin’s private life. Just as Jeha had to interact with numerous people whether he wanted to or not, it was natural for Jin to live in society like that from now on. Jeha had to be understanding a hundred times over.

Still… what he hated, he hated. How wonderful it would be if he could lock him away forever so that only he could see him.

Holding Jin tightly, Jeha greeted the dawn with his eyes open in anguish.

One Saturday morning, Jin woke up earlier than usual. Students who failed to score over 50 on the monthly evaluation had to go to the academy for supplementary lessons, and Jin’s math score was 38.

Jeha, watching Jin eat breakfast with a pout, also had a sour expression. From Friday night through the whole weekend, it wasn’t enough to hold Jin ceaselessly, but because he had to wake up early for supplementary lessons, they couldn’t go all out, leaving Jeha in a state of frustration. It wasn’t sexual desire that was unfulfilled, but his possessiveness.

Jeha, telling Chief Jeong, who offered to act as a chauffeur, to rest, drove Jin himself and parked the car on the shoulder in front of the building.

“When do the supplementary lessons end?”

“One o’clock.”

“I’ll come pick you up. I’ll buy you a delicious lunch, so think about what you want to eat.”

“Okay. I’ll be back.”

As Jeha stared at him, Jin automatically kissed his lips. Watching Jin get out of the car and enter the building, Jeha had a displeased expression, unhappy that their precious weekend was being taken away by something like supplementary lessons.

Jeha stopped by a nearby bookstore and bought two books. After reading in a cafe, he went back towards the academy to pick up Jin as it approached one o’clock. There was no good place to park, so he stopped a little ways off, and he saw Jin standing with someone in front of the academy building. Jeha pushed his eyesight and hearing to their maximum.

“Everyone’s going to eat together, are you saying you’re the only one not coming? The others are disappointed.”

“I can’t help it. I have a prior engagement.”

“We already said in the group chat that we’re going to eat and then go to karaoke after the supplementary lessons.”

“I didn’t read it. And I can’t sing.”

“Jin. You’ve never once attended a get-together. Don’t be like that, let’s go together today, okay?”

“I’m sorry. It’s an important appointment, so I really can’t. I’ll go next time.”

Jin had a troubled expression at the continued persuasion. Jeha recognized the person talking to him at a glance. It was the person from the photo Chief Jeong had sent, that bastard ‘Sihun.’ As Jeha was grinding his teeth from a distance, Tak Sihun grabbed Jin’s arm as he was about to turn away.

“When is next time?”

Jin glanced at the hand holding his arm for a moment and then looked up at him blankly.

“How should I know? I’m saying I’ll go when the next get-together is decided.”

“You’re just going to say you can’t go because of your boyfriend again then too.”

“What?”

“Aren’t you going to meet your boyfriend right now? And your boyfriend is the one who won’t let you meet with people other than him.”

Jin looked at him with cold, sunken eyes. Tak Sihun, interpreting his silence as an affirmation, lowered his voice as if to lecture him.

“I told you that’s gaslighting. The basis of gaslighting is preventing someone from interacting with anyone other than oneself. Because if they talk to other people, they’ll realize something is wrong.”

Enraged, Jeha lost his reason and almost flew out of the car. But Jin was faster.

“I don’t care.”

“What did you say?”

Jin yanked his arm away, shaking off Tak Sihun’s hand.

“I don’t care if it’s gaslighting or whatever. Because I love him so much that I can’t live without him. No matter what some guy who suddenly appeared says, I’ve been in love with him for an incredibly long time.”

“Ha… You’ve really, truly been brainwashed, haven’t you?”

“I know him better than anyone. There’s no one in this world who cherishes me as much as he does.”

“Jin. It’s originally difficult to think rationally when you’re being gaslighted. So listen to me and…”

Jin laughed out loud. Tak Sihun’s face contorted at his attitude, which seemed to say he found it so funny he couldn’t stand it, even seeming to mock him.

Finally stopping his laughter, Jin said indifferently.

“Stop it now. If you were worried because I’m a student, then thank you, but that person lives his life worrying about me about ten thousand times more than you do. So don’t ever act like you know anything about us again. If you do that again, I’m really going to quit the academy.”

“…”

“I’ll try to participate in the next get-together. I’m leaving first.”

Breaking free from Tak Sihun, Jin looked around for Jeha’s car. As he got closer, Jeha’s heart pounded wildly.

Jin, my lovely Jin, my wonderful Jin, my one and only lover of a thousand years, for whom I would not regret tearing out my heart. Today, I fell for you once again. How could I endure not loving you?

Jin would probably never know the reason why Jeha, who was several times more turned on than usual that day, never pulled his cock out of his body even after he had fallen asleep exhausted.

For a while after that, Jeha did not secretly peek at Jin’s phone. It would be too apologetic to Jin to doubt and not trust him after witnessing with his own eyes how he put up a wall against Tak Sihun. It wasn’t that he wasn’t anxious at all, but it was much more bearable than before.

Then one day, Jin started knitting. After accidentally watching a knitting video on YouTube, he immediately ordered yarn and straight needles and finished a scarf in a jiffy. Not long after, he completed a navy V-neck vest that could have been believed to be store-bought and gifted it to Jeha. As had been the case since his past lives, his dexterity was extraordinary.

“I think running a knitting supply shop would be a really cool thing to do.”

One evening, Jin said while sitting on the living room sofa, drinking lemon tea. Jeha, who was hugging him from behind, kissed his earlobe.

“What kind of thing is that?”

“It’s a shop that sells yarn and supplies. They also hold classes to teach beginners how to knit, and they make and sell finished products.”

Hearing the explanation, Jeha imagined British grandmothers sitting in armchairs, knitting with gentle smiles, but the scenery of the knitting shops Jin showed him on Instagram was not just refreshing, but even hip. There were also places that had been introduced in various media as hot spots for the MZ generation.

“If you want to open a shop, I’ll set one up for you.”

It was said even more nonchalantly than saying he would buy him a hamburger if he wanted one. Surprised, Jin turned his head halfway back.

“Really? What if it goes completely bankrupt?”

“It doesn’t matter. We can analyze the cause of the failure and try again. If you don’t like it, you can do something else.”

Money was the ultimate weapon that made it possible to try and experience anything without worrying about failure. Since Jeha’s family had a firm grip on foreign trade, he could also get help when importing goods.

If Jin wanted, Jeha was ready to take over a yarn factory right away, but it was Jin who was the cautious one.

“I’ll think about it slowly in the future. For now, I enjoy it as a hobby. This is surprisingly addictive. It makes me want to do just this all day long.”

“Is it that bad? To me, it looks almost like labor. I don’t even know in what order you have to thread the yarn to get that shape. Doesn’t your arm hurt?”

“My shoulders and back hurt more than my arm. And my right index finger, too.”

“I don’t like anything that puts a strain on your body. Lie down here.”

Jeha took the cup of lemon tea from Jin’s hand and placed it on the table, then made him lie down on his stomach on the sofa.

Even though he made sure he didn’t skip meals and even had him take restorative medicine, Jin had a constitution that didn’t gain weight easily, so his collarbones and shoulder blades were still prominent and his waist was thin. As Jeha gently massaged his knotted muscles here and there with his large hands, Jin muttered with a languid face.

“That feels good. I like it so much.”

“Should I do it a little harder?”

“Yes.”

The memory of the catastrophic hardships Jin had to endure to reach these peaceful days came to Jeha’s mind like a habit, making his heart ache. It would not be enough to live all of the coming thousand years of life just for Jin. At the very least, he hoped that in the very next life, Jin would be born as a royalty or the son of a chaebol family in some country, and he would be his butler or secretary, serving him for his entire life.

As always, no one knew if there would definitely be a next life after this one ended. Now that the thousand-year cycle was over, there was no guarantee that he and Jin would be reincarnated in the same era and the same place. It was even questionable whether they would be able to recognize each other upon being reborn.

It was a bit of a stretch to compare, but thinking in that respect, it seemed that the parasitic spirit was more strongly connected to Jin. At least that bastard was guaranteed to be born around Jin, following him.

In any case, for that reason, Jeha cherished his current life to the point of tears. Every moment he could touch, hold, and kiss Jin and build memories with him was priceless, something he couldn’t trade for anything. Jeha sometimes wished his house was inside the mouth of a Geogugoe. So that he could control the speed at which time flowed and spend a month with Jin in this house, and even if he went outside, only a few hours would have passed.

“Jeha, uhm…, there, I don’t think that needs a massage…”

When he came to his senses, he was elaborately stroking Jin’s soft buttocks. In the name of kneading the area leading to his thighs, his touch had reached his groin, and the unnecessary stimulation had made Jin’s breath a little sultry.

Now, prayers were a secondary concern. Jeha wanted to eat the sacrificial meal right away.

“This is an important massage, too.”

“What, hngh, kind of massage…?”

Jeha’s hand, which had easily pulled down his loose pajama pants, delved between Jin’s legs. And he gently gripped Jin’s front.

“Prostate massage.”

Through a thin layer of cloth, Jin’s member slowly hardened. As he lowered his upper body and licked the nape of his neck while continuously fondling him with his palm, the front of his underwear became slightly damp.

“Hngh, Jeha, I have to do my homework, too…”

Jin squirmed as if in pain.