DOGC Ch 21

“…Should I just go to Jeju Island or something.”

It was an overreaction. He knew that if he just waited and then talked with Ryu Yeonho, a conclusion would be reached quickly, and his body would be more comfortable. But what could he do when his anger was boiling over like this.

For some reason, Ryu Yeonho was annoying and hateful. He resented him for making him feel such poor and pathetic emotions. He knew the problem was with himself, but he had already hated Baek Seorim so much that there was no more of himself left to chip away.

So he wanted to make Ryu Yeonho upset. He wanted to make him anxious and torment him. Seorim did not know what kind of petty emotion this was.

It was similar to throwing a huge tantrum. He felt ashamed of himself and ashamed for the baby. Still, what could he do. If he did not do something like this, he felt like his insides would be burned black. Emotions are not sorted as neatly as reason.

He casually searched for a flight. He clicked on a time and price that caught his eye without even looking at them. A flight for that very evening at eight o’clock was booked.

Inside his mind, he kept repeating rationalizations.

Mr. Ryu Yeonho, you tormented me too. It’s okay for me to torment you a little bit, too. I can just leave to get some fresh air for the baby in my belly and to rest by myself. It’s okay for me to take a flight like this, now that I’ve become a person.

He did the same with the lodging, picking and booking any place that looked decent. As for the money, well, if the baby’s father is a chaebol, he could spend a little, couldn’t he.

After finishing his preparations to leave for Jeju Island, Seorim gripped the duvet tightly once. He felt a surge of emotion, and also a sense of relief. It was an unfamiliar feeling.

He raised his heavy body and carefully moved his feet toward the dressing room. The tips of his toes were heavy, making his slippers drag.

When he opened the dressing room door, the clothes that Ryu Yeonho had neatly organized came into view. His own things were crammed into a small corner on one side. Seorim stared at the sight for a moment, then took a deep breath and stepped inside.

He had never been given a travel bag of his own. He took out a moderately sized suitcase from among Ryu Yeonho’s things and pointlessly patted it once with his palm.

There was not much hesitation when choosing clothes to wear either. He folded two or three of his most comfortable t-shirts, a stretchy knit, a thin cardigan, and an outer garment to protect his body temperature into the bag.

Having entered the second trimester of his pregnancy, his belly had grown quite a bit, so just in case, he also packed a pair of pants with a generous waist.

His belongings were also simple. A wallet, a mobile phone, and a charger. There was no hesitation whatsoever in the fingertips that filled the suitcase, one section at a time. It was because he was afraid that if he thought about it a little more, he might unpack everything.

Seorim finally closed the lid of the suitcase and zipped it all the way up. After finishing his preparations, he stood still for a long while.

Wanting to catch his breath for a moment, and leaving, were all things he had decided for himself. But in a corner of his heart, the urge to hold onto something he was leaving behind kept rising.

In fact, to be more honest, it was closer to a wish to be held back. Although what could a person who was abroad possibly do.

He suppressed the complicated emotions and swallowed them down. Now, all that was left was to board the evening flight.

🦅

When it was late afternoon, Seorim left the house, pulling the suitcase he had prepared. The moment the door closed, it felt as if the warmth that had remained inside the house was seeping out through the crack in the door.

He bowed his head and got into the taxi he had called in advance. He looked out the window while listening to the low sound of the radio.

The gray cityscape was quickly pushed back. Luckily, the taxi driver did not strike up any conversation. He was thankful, as he was not in the mood to listen to any kind of story right now.

When he arrived at the airport, the sun had already tilted far to the west.

Seorim paid the taxi fare and entered the airport with his suitcase. The terminal was bustling with people about to depart for somewhere.

He took out his mobile phone and opened the flight confirmation text message. A flight to Jeju departing from Gimpo, this evening.

It was the first time he had been on an airplane since the day he went on a school trip during his high school days. Joining the long line for check-in, Seorim blankly looked around at his surroundings.

The floor echoed persistently with the noise from the wheels of the suitcases, and the groups of people gathered here and there scattered like disheveled bouquets.

— We have an announcement for passengers on flight KE925 to Yeosu. The boarding gate has been changed. Please proceed to gate B17.

When the announcement rang out, a group of people began to move in a hurry.

A child in a yellow jumper shook off his mom’s hand and ran ahead, then fell. The mother, with a large bag slung over her shoulder, rushed over and helped the child up.

The area in front of the baggage carousel was another scene entirely. Heavy bags were dropping onto the rotating belt with thuds. A dark-colored travel trunk, a backpack covered in fluorescent stickers, a suitcase that seemed to be half-open, its contents about to be revealed. People frantically scanned with their eyes, looking for their own luggage with anxious expressions.

The entire airport was stirred by the movements of those heading somewhere. The liveliness created by departures and waiting, by busyness and boredom, was mixed in the air.

In that landscape, Seorim was all alone, standing blankly.

Amidst the people who were smiling brightly and taking pictures, or sharing jokes with the person next to them, he felt as if he had become transparent like a ghost.

Suddenly, he thought of Ryu Yeonho. It would have been nice if they had come together, he thought.

He was stunned when he realized he was having such a thought. The nerve of him, running away because he could not even stand the sight of him. On a journey to sort out his emotions alone, why on earth was he looking for Ryu Yeonho. He was not a child, but his body and mind were moving separately in a truly pathetic way.

Still, what could he do now.

The ticket was already booked, and the luggage was all packed. Now, he really had no choice but to go. Seorim lightly tucked his chin and grabbed the handle of the suitcase again.

The check-in process went faster than he expected. The series of procedures, confirming the boarding pass and presenting his ID, was over in an instant.

Finally, after passing through the security checkpoint and entering the lounge, it felt like a space where a different kind of air flowed.

The space visible inside the large glass doors was definitely less crowded. The murmuring sounds of people flowed gently. There was still some time left before the plane took off.

He saw a plush sofa placed in a less crowded area by the window. Seorim let out a shallow sigh and started walking.

Being where crowds gather drains his energy and makes him tired early. He wanted to be alone and quiet. So that he could let his heart rest a little.

But.

Thud—.

A familiar weight suddenly settled on his shoulder.

For a moment, his entire body froze. He wanted to check who had touched him, but at the same time, he did not want to see. Seorim, whose eyes had been fixed on the sofa the whole time, blinked a couple of times.

It was as if he could hear the sound of saliva going down his throat. His head, his gaze, turned very slowly.

“Ugh.”

Ryu Yeonho was standing in front of him. He thought his breath had stopped. His lips moved, but no words came out.

“You……”

Before the words could finish, Seorim instinctively twisted his body to get away. He could not understand why he was acting this way, but his legs moved on their own.

“Hey.”

Thud, rumble—.

He ran hard, holding onto his suitcase tightly, but unfortunately, he could not overcome the inherent difference in stride with Ryu Yeonho.

Before the distance could widen further, Yeonho stretched out his arm. Without getting very far, Seorim was caught like a fish caught by a fisherman.

Running away like that must have been unexpected, as Yeonho, breathing slightly heavily, held Seorim’s arm firmly.

“Ha, what the. This is ridiculous.”

Seorim was also out of breath and could not answer. He pulled at his captured arm futilely but could not make it budge even a little. Yeonho looked Seorim up and down, then let out a scoff as if he found it absurd.

“You run away the moment you see me?”

He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the suitcase Seorim was holding in his hand.

“If you wanted to go on a trip together, you should have just said so.”

“Hah, I wasn’t trying to go with you.”

He tried to sound harsh, but because he was out of breath, it was not very effective.

“Then you should have said so. You think it’s okay to just pack your bags and leave without a word?”

“You didn’t say anything either, you bastard. That you were going on a business trip. When you were leaving and when you were coming back.”

Overcome with emotion, a curse word slipped out unintentionally. Startled by his own way of speaking, Seorim flinched. But the irritation that was boiling up like water in a pot was still there, so his voice did not soften or anything.

“After being so indifferent, why did you come looking for me here? Stop following me around.”

“That was because something came up so urgently at work, I was only thinking of finishing it quickly and coming back….”

“A guy who says he’ll finish quickly has a clandestine meeting?”

He could feel someone nearby turning their head to look, but he could not shut his mouth.

“You even care about things like that?”

“Do you think I’m some kind of fool?”

“Then you should also know that it’s not true.”

“I know that you wouldn’t have done that, Mr. Ryu Yeonho! It’s just, I, it’s just.”

Seorim, who had been snapping at him, trailed off. Yeonho waited for him in silence.

“All day long, I was just waiting for you, Mr. Ryu Yeonho, wondering when on earth you would come. If you were eating well. Like a fool, just.”

The end of Seorim’s words cracked slightly.

“I know it too. That that person is much more suited for you than I am, and that I’m not grasping my place right now. That you might not be sincere with me, Mr. Ryu Yeonho. And that all of that is as it should be.”

To say out loud with his own mouth that his own value was low made him so miserable that his throat choked up. He strained his eyes to keep from crying. It hurt his pride that his voice was trembling and his pronunciation kept getting inaccurate.

“But, damn it, what am I supposed to do when I’ve developed strange feelings for you, Mr. Ryu Yeonho. I’m angry and resentful, and it’s just hard to accept.”

Don’t cry, don’t cry.

Repeating it to himself inwardly, he whipped his head away and rubbed his eyes roughly with his sleeve. Fortunately, the tears had only welled up in his eyes instead of bursting out, so they quickly vanished.

“My mind is a mess. Because I’m a person too.”

Yeonho raised his hand, then stopped it around Seorim’s shoulder. Like someone who did not know how he should touch him. In the end, he lowered the hand that had been hanging in the air and instead covered his own face.

He swiped his palm down his face, from his forehead to his chin, as if washing his face without water, and said.

“Then you should have gotten angry and asked me. Not run away like this. Why are you getting caught up in trashy tabloids like this and pissing me off. Why are you making me anxious.”

“What right do I have to be angry.”

Just as Yeonho was about to open his mouth again, an announcement rang from the airport speakers.

— We would like to inform passengers on flight LJ921 to Jeju, departing at 20:05. Boarding has begun, so passengers, please proceed to gate 3.

After the clear announcement ended, Yeonho continued.

“You’re throwing a tantrum instead of being angry right now. Blatantly booking a plane ticket with the card I gave you, protesting for me to notice because you’re upset.”

He felt like his petty and narrow-minded intentions had all been exposed. Seorim lifted his head and started pulling his suitcase toward gate 3. Naturally, Yeonho also matched his stride and followed Seorim.

“I’ll apologize for making you upset, and I’ll answer the things you’re curious about, so let’s talk.”

“There’s nothing like that. Just go away. I have to get on the plane.”

“I’m going to get on too, so where would I go?”

The two of them stood at the end of the line formed for boarding, keeping a certain distance. While preparing to board the plane, their tongues and lips continued to move, creating conversation.

“Why are you getting on a plane, Mr. Ryu Yeonho?”

“I booked a ticket too, so I shouldn’t get on?”

“Aren’t you going to the company tomorrow?”

“Who goes to the company the day after an overseas business trip.”

The boarding line moved forward one spot, and it became Yeonho’s turn. With one hand, he took out his mobile phone and showed the boarding pass screen to the staff.

Seorim pretended to be indifferent and turned his head, but he still snuck a glance at the screen. The seat number printed on the ticket screen immediately caught his eye.

“5C?”

His eyebrow twitched up. Seorim’s seat was 5B.

“Seriously, how did you get the seat right next to mine?”

“You paid with my card, didn’t you.”

“Can’t I spend a little when you have so much money?”

“Who’s saying anything about you spending money? I wouldn’t care even if you booked a first-class seat.”

Is this the moment I’m supposed to be touched?

Walking down the narrow aisle, the two found their seats placed side by side. Yeonho naturally placed Seorim’s suitcase into the open overhead compartment.

“Then you should have upgraded me to first class.”

As Seorim fastened his seatbelt and snapped at him, Yeonho, with his arm on the armrest, replied as if it were obvious.

“If you had just suggested we go together in the first place, we wouldn’t have had to book economy.”

“I told you I had no plans to go with you. Why on earth are you following me.”

“How can I let you go alone when I’m so anxious. You go out for a walk whenever you get a chance and don’t come back.”

What do you mean, a walk, I’m not a dog. Just as Seorim parted his lips to reply, a flight attendant cautiously approached.

“Excuse me, sirs, but we are preparing for takeoff, so could you please be a little quieter?”

In the end, due to the intervention of a third party, the two of them had to shut their mouths.

🦅

The night breeze on Jeju Island was a little cooler and more biting compared to Seoul.

Seorim dragged his suitcase and entered the hotel lobby. By the time he checked in at the front desk and received the room key, it was already past nine-thirty.

He needed to eat dinner and properly enjoy freedom amidst plenty, but there was no time. And most of all, the uninvited guest tagging along beside him was an eyesore.

“I’m going to eat.”

“Go ahead.”

“Aren’t you going to eat, Mr. Ryu Yeonho?”

Yeonho nonchalantly entered the room Seorim had opened first and took off his outer coat.

“But why are you so distant, calling me Mr. Ryu Yeonho.”

“Then what should I call you. Your name is Ryu Yeonho.”

“You could call me Yeonho-ssi. Or darling, or honey. There are many options.”

Darling, honey, he’s got to be kidding. Seorim entered the room without hiding his fed-up expression.

The lodging was modest but had a clean atmosphere. Through the large picture window in the living room, the sea, shimmering in the moonlight, was visible. In the small room, there was one double-sized bed. A relaxing lavender scent rose from the diffuser placed in the corner.

After pushing the suitcase roughly against the wall, Seorim took off his slippers and flopped onto the bed.

“Don’t disturb me. I’m going to do what I want.”

Ryu Yeonho, still with a nonchalant expression, followed him in and sat down beside him.

“You do what you want. I’ll just watch.”

“Why would you watch.”

“Am I not allowed to?”

“Do as you please.”

He is a really strange person. Judging by his usual conduct, he probably does not act this way with just anyone, so could this be his true nature? Seorim, frowning and lost in thought, buried his face in the pillow.

He had come with the purpose of organizing his thoughts and resting, but since the trip to Jeju had been decided purely on impulse, he had no specific plans.

It was too late to go looking for famous restaurants or tourist spots now. Even to get a meal, the only places open at this hour would be convenience stores at best.

After holding out for a long time with his face buried in the pillow like a pheasant, Seorim let out a sigh and sat up abruptly.

“I’m hungry.”

“You look like it.”

“I have to go to the convenience store.”

As he started to leave the room, Yeonho also got up to follow. Seorim glared at him and stopped him.

“I’ll go alone. I’ll be right back.”

“How can I trust you.”

“Come on, if I was going to run away, I would have done it long ago.”

At those words, Yeonho sat down on the living room sofa as if he understood. Seorim grabbed his outer coat and left the room.

The convenience store near the hotel was small and quiet. With no customers, only the fluorescent lights casting a weak white glow, it even felt a bit dreary.

Seorim opened the door with a dubious expression and went inside. After lunch, the only thing he had put in his mouth was the tomato juice they gave him on the plane, so he was hungry.

First, he went around the snack aisle and put a few bags in his basket, and also grabbed some triangle gimbap and cup ramen. He also picked up a couple of hot bars. Ice cream was also a must, so he grabbed a few.

And finally, Seorim stood in front of the refrigerator, looking back and forth between real beer and non-alcoholic beer, before grabbing a can with ‘0.00%’ clearly printed on it.

After paying, he held the heavy plastic bag with both hands. Because he had bought two of everything thinking of Ryu Yeonho, the volume was considerable.

Struggling, he got on the elevator and rang the doorbell of the hotel room. The door opened shortly after. Ryu Yeonho, seeing the items in his hands, took the bags from him with a slightly surprised look.

“Why did you buy so much.”

“Because I’m hungry.”

Yeonho, who had placed the bag on the table, began to take out the contents one by one.

“Snacks, triangle gimbap, ramen, why did you buy beer. You can’t even drink it.”

“It’s non-alcoholic.”

“I’d rather drink sparkling water than buy non-alcoholic beer.”

Seorim popped open the non-alcoholic beer with a click and poured it into a cup until it was full.

“Do you like alcohol?”

“No.”

“Then why are you drinking it.”

“To get in the mood. Because it’s freedom.”

In fact, apart from having tried various types of alcohol, Seorim could barely handle any. Even when he worked in the omega red-light district, he would get scolded for not being able to play along with the customers. He disliked the awkward sensation of his face flushing and his head spinning after just a few sips.

But today was different.

Seorim downed the glass full of beer in one go. The fizz of the carbonation went down his throat, and a small sense of liberation spread through his body. In reality, it was not beer and not even alcohol, but for some reason, he felt his mood lift.

“Phew.”

“Is it good?”

“I think it might be.”

Seorim, who had set the glass down with a thud, threw himself onto the sofa. As he spoke, he really felt heat spreading across his face. Strangely, his body relaxed, and his muscles felt limp.

Yeonho watched Seorim silently for a while, then asked.

“Are you going to drink more?”

“Yes.”

“What a scene. Getting all giddy after drinking something that doesn’t even have alcohol in it.”

Whatever he said, Seorim tore open a bag of snacks and stuffed a handful into his mouth. Then he filled a new glass with beer. There was no way he was drunk, but he kept feeling a sense of euphoria, which was strange.

After that, Seorim drank three or four more glasses in a row, and his body gradually became heavy. He could not tell if it was because he had drunk a lot of liquid, or if he was really drunk from beer that did not even have any alcohol content.

“Mr. Ryu Yeonho.”

It felt as if a sudden wave of emotion from within was pushing him, saying, ‘It has to be now or never.’

“Yes.”

“Did you cheat on me?”

So he threw it out there without holding back. Because he wanted to be honest, just for once. He was by no means asking because he thought it was real, but it was his way of asking him to understand how sorrowful his heart had been.

“Cheat on what.”

“That congressman’s daughter, is she pretty?”

“Ah, her.”

Yeonho replied with an expression of little interest.

“She was just average.”

“Then why did you have a clandestine meeting?”

“It wasn’t a clandestine meeting, there were a lot of people. It was a gathering I had to attend because of a contract.”

He did not change his expression once while he spoke. His tone was plain, like someone simply relaying an obvious fact. There was no sign of feeling wronged, nor any sign of trying to refute it.

“That program you saw, it’s a show that originally spreads rumors with baseless gossip. No one even believes it.”

Yeonho stated it definitively, but at those words, Seorim became needlessly dispirited.

“But you looked good together. Better than with me.”

After saying that, Seorim subtly averted his gaze. As expected, there was nothing between them. He knew that too, but the scene that lingered in his mind was still of the two people who looked so good together, stuck on the screen.

“You were thinking that?”

“……”

“Who decides what looks good together and what doesn’t. Is that important?”

After finishing his words, Yeonho silently rose to his feet. He walked over to Seorim, who was perched on the edge of the sofa, and knelt down to meet his eye level.

Their gazes met head-on.

“When I don’t develop feelings for anyone but you.”

Yeonho quietly reached out his hand and lightly covered the back of Seorim’s hand. Seorim did not squeeze his hand, nor did he forcefully pull it into an embrace. He simply looked at it intently, for a long enough time.

“Your taste is really peculiar.”

“I told you, I’m like my father. The old man had a good eye.”

Seorim seemed to let out a small laugh before dropping his gaze. The tips of his long eyelashes trembled ever so slightly. Yeonho, not missing a single subtle movement, slowly leaned his body closer to Seorim.

“Uhm……”

A shallow breath escaped his lips. Yeonho’s lips descended upon Seorim’s. Seorim instinctively closed his eyes and accepted the warmth.

He bit the lower lip to part it, and a smooth tongue delved into the gap. It tapped against the teeth and caressed the flesh before gently slipping out.

“Were you upset because I was alone and didn’t even contact you?”

“Yeees.”

“I’m sorry.”

This time, his lips traced over the nape of his neck. Because it was their first contact in a long time, Seorim flinched his shoulders with one eye closed.

“I was planning to finish up as quickly as possible and go. You don’t know what I did after watching you sleep.”

“What, what did you do?”

“I borrowed Seorim’s hand. Like this.”

Yeonho guided Seorim’s hand, which he had been patting, and brought it to his own groin. The bulging lump of flesh was strongly asserting its presence even over the pants.

“You’re a crazy bastard.”

“Thanks to you.”

Seorim’s body tilted back. Yeonho, who climbed on top of him, buried his head in the nape of his neck again. The stimulation of his lips tightening on the soft skin, and his teeth biting sharply, was applied.

“Hht, ahh.”

Yeonho’s hand went inside the knit sweater Seorim was wearing. He easily peeled off the loose-fitting knit. Because the window was open, the air was cool, giving him goosebumps.

“Your belly has gotten a lot bigger.”

“Uuht, ung. The baby, is growing.”

Yeonho gently rolled Seorim’s nipple with his finger. The sensitive area reacted immediately, its tip hardening firmly.

“Haenam will like it. That his parents get along so well.”

After scratching the nipple with his nail, Yeonho bent his waist. The pink-tinted tip was sucked into his mouth. He tormented Seorim by squeezing the nipple with his lips and biting it with his teeth.

“Hht, eugh, aah.”

“Soon, milk will come out from here too, right.”

“Aht, huuh, ung, yeees.”

“The water that comes from you has always been sweet. The milk will taste sweet too.”

He sucks on the nipple like a child, making a smacking sound. Not paternal love, but a wicked lust washed over him.

Seorim could not keep his pelvis still and fidgeted. Yeonho’s fingers traced up along the pubic bone and gently gripped the hairless genitals. He stroked the shaft up and down while caressing the nipple.

“Heut, ah! Aheung.”

“Does it feel good?”

“Uhm, ung.”

“Soon we won’t be able to do it, what should we do. It’ll hurt and be difficult when your belly gets much bigger.”

His mind went hazy, and hearing those words, he genuinely felt a sense of disappointment. Seorim wrapped his fingers around the back of Yeonho’s head and said.

“Ah, heuu, no, uht, I want to, keep doing it.”

“Haenam will be surprised. That he has to come out soon but his daddies keep on fucking.”

“Uuhng, eugh.”

“I’ll suck your nipples every day.”

The nipple was bitten, and a brief, sharp pain spread for a moment. But compared to the rushing pleasure, it was a pain that was truly nothing. Soon, his tongue rolled over the nub as if to soothe it.

The completely removed pants fell limply below the sofa. The lips that left the nipple moved to the solar plexus, then to the navel below it, and then went even further down to take the genitals into his mouth.

“Heek, ah!”

Ryu Yeonho was performing oral sex. He had the impression of someone who would always just shove his groin into others’ mouths, but he was also terribly skilled at sucking. Because his glans and shaft were stimulated at once, Seorim’s thighs trembled violently.

It seemed he was determined to melt his entire body. Yeonho greedily licked up the precum and then kissed the glans. And then he went a little lower.

“Ah, euk, heuu, ah, there, it’s dirty, euung!”

The high bridge of his nose pressed firmly between his buttocks. The tongue that came out gently licked up the wrinkles.

He was so ashamed he wanted to die. And yet, pleasure incomparable to anything else rushed over him to the point of being painful.

From his already thoroughly wet buttocks, love juices continued to flow out. The sensation of the tongue that had been licking the wrinkles digging into the hole was distinct. He sharpened its tip and began to taste the sensitive inner walls in detail.

“Hah, eugh, aah! Ryu, Yeonho, ssii.”

Without realizing it, Seorim lifted his legs and wrapped them around Yeonho’s head. Yeonho grabbed his thighs and thrust his tongue in even deeper. The wet sound of him sucking and drinking the love juices spread through the living room.

His head was so hot it felt like it would explode. Seorim, with a flushed face, let out a moan that resembled a sob. Teardrops that had formed rolled down his beautifully colored cheeks.

The lips that enveloped the hole, the tongue that rummaged inside, the hands that held his thighs tightly, everything was good. Because of Ryu Yeonho’s pheromones spreading at the same time as the pleasure, he could not breathe properly.

“Quickly, heuk, ah, euuht.”

If this thirst was because of the pheromones, he was already carrying his seed, so why was he so desperate. It seemed it was not the omega, but Baek Seorim who wanted a deeper union.

“Quickly, you want me to scratch you inside?”

“Uuhng, uht, haah, ung, please.”

“You’re so lewd, Seorim-ah. Haenam is watching everything.”

He was showing a shameful sight to his child. But it did not matter. When Yeonho lifted his head, Seorim spread his legs, which were trembling in anticipation.

Yeonho let out a breath like an animal scratching its throat. As if trying to suppress his excitement, he bit his lip and unfastened his pants buckle. Following his hand, his threateningly swollen genitals popped out with a bounce.

“Relax. I’m going in right away.”

Facing the genitals, his heart pounded with anticipation. While Seorim panted with shallow breaths, the glans touched the entrance. And soon, a completely different level of pressure pressed down hard on his body.

“Heu, eugh, ah……!”

In one go, the genitals pushed into the deepest part. He felt like a fish speared by a harpoon. Seorim, with his eyes and lips wide open, tensed his buttocks tightly.

After burying his glans all the way to the end of the inner wall, Yeonho slowly pulled his hips back. The thick shaft scraped past every single wrinkle without leaving any gap.

With just one thrust, Seorim’s glans spurted out white fluid. Yeonho licked the semen that splattered on his face and said.

“Right here now, Haenam must be sleeping.”

“Huuh, mm, uht, euung.”

“It’s so tight, what to do. Daddy’s cock is trying to go all the way to the uterus.”

As soon as the words were finished, the thrusting began again. It was not too rough, so it brought a rather sticky pleasure. The force of a single thrust was so strong it felt like he was being hit hard in the stomach.

“Heuah, ah!”

His toes curled up on their own. Pushing against Seorim slowly but forcefully, Yeonho reached out his hand. His long fingers tickled the erect nipple.

“You like it when I do it together, don’t you.”

“Eup, heu, uht, aah.”

“So greedy.”

He twists and pinches the nipple as if punishing him. At the same time, he presses the bulging part of the inner wall at an angle with his glans.

“The baby is watching but you’re trying to bite my cock off. And your nipples are standing straight up. Where in the world is there such a shameless parent.”

That’s not it, really, that’s not it.

Words that could not form a sentence pointlessly swirled in his mouth. The speed of the penetration inside him gradually increased. Afraid that the baby would be startled, Seorim wrapped his hands around his own stomach.

“You like it this much, so why do you keep trying to run away.”

“Heuu, uht, ung, because, you upset me.”

“I, upset you?”

Lowering his posture, Yeonho squeezed the goosebumped nape of his neck with his lips. Seorim unconsciously tilted his head back and whimpered.

“Look at me prettily, Seorim-ah.”

“Euk, heu, aht, huuh.”

“Huh? You know how much I cherish you.”

His fingers rub the nipple, his tongue presses the nape, when he breathes in, strong pheromones rush in, and his genitals pound the inner walls harshly.

Overwhelmed by the simultaneously bursting pleasure, his sober mind drifted far away.

“Let’s make more babies. I want to keep your belly full every day. By shooting my cum inside.”

“Heuah, ah, n, no, I’m tired.”

“The pheromones, really.”

With his nose buried in the nape of his neck, Yeonho took a deep breath.

“I want to stay like this. I think I would be happy even if I kept my head buried here all day long.”

His lips moved up from the nape to his face. Pounding his genitals in short, sharp thrusts that made a slapping sound, Yeonho swallowed Seorim’s lips.

Swallowing the saliva pooled under the root of his tongue, Yeonho greedily sucked on Seorim’s tongue. In the midst of going crazy from the pressure, he could not even breathe freely, so Seorim pushed Yeonho away.

Of course, he did not push away easily. The speed of his thrusts into the inner walls increased while their tongues were intertwined. Seorim’s body was pushed upwards little by little, knocking over a sofa cushion.

“Heuu, eup, ung, uht, euung……!”

It was agonizing. A strong urge to urinate rushed to his genitals. He instinctively knew that something other than semen was about to come out.

He wanted to say, let’s go a little slower, let’s take a break, but he could not move his lips and tongue.

As he neared his climax, Ryu Yeonho’s breath against his lips grew increasingly rough. The moment the tautly swollen glans poked the entrance of the uterus, the strength in his urethra gave way.

“Heu, eugh!”

Seorim squeezed his eyes shut. As the teardrops that had pooled in his bloodshot eyes flowed down, his genitals spurted a stream of clear fluid.

Yeonho also came inside Seorim. From between the tightly spread hole, white liquid trickled and overflowed. As if wanting to feed him every last drop of his seed, he thrusted his hips several times, completely emptying his semen onto the inner walls.

Only after both of their climaxes had cleanly ended did their lips part. Seorim greedily gasped for the insufficient air.

“Heuah, ah.”

“Huu……”

Yeonho let out a low sigh and carefully pulled Seorim into an embrace. In his firm arms, Seorim closed his eyes from the feeling of exhaustion.

The sound of the two of them catching their breath floated softly in the air of the living room.

From the beer placed on the table, air bubbles bubbled up. As if in a last-ditch effort before all the carbonation escaped.

His body was turned to the side by Yeonho, and Seorim looked at the liquid in the glass.

“Heut, ung.”

It seemed highly unlikely that he would be drinking the beer again before the carbonation disappeared.

🦅

After making love, Seorim sat on Yeonho’s lap and looked out the window. He rested his forehead on the broad shoulder and took in the sea visible beyond the living room’s picture window.

The night sea before him was pressed down by darkness, breathing quietly. The moonlight spread long across the water’s surface, and from afar, the very faint sound of waves crashing could be heard.

“I have something to give you.”

Yeonho, who had been silently wrapping his arms around Seorim’s waist, casually opened his mouth.

“What is it?”

After carefully placing Seorim down on the sofa, Yeonho got up from his seat and went into the room. Watching his back, he thought that even a robe looked incredibly good on him. With such a well-built body, could there be any clothes in the world that would not suit him.

Not long after, Yeonho returned with something in his hand. He placed Seorim back on his lap as if returning an object to its original place.

Lowering his gaze, Seorim looked at the object on Yeonho’s palm and muttered.

“A necklace……”

“I’ve had it the whole time. I felt like the woodcutter holding onto the heavenly maiden’s winged robes, so I was wondering when to return it, but I think now is the time.”

He had searched for it so earnestly, and wanted it back so badly, but at some point, he had forgotten its very existence. Seorim gently caressed the necklace that sparkled in the moonlight. The cool temperature of the metal felt familiar against his skin.

“What will you do if I take it and fly away.”

“Well.”

While replying shortly, Yeonho casually stroked the back of Seorim’s hand once with his finger. His fingertips moved up smoothly and came to rest on the nape of Seorim’s neck.

“I’ll have to hold on to you. What about the baby, what about your art, what about school. And what about me who’s left behind, I’ll have to cling to you making all sorts of excuses.”

Saying so, Yeonho lightly kissed Seorim’s forehead. It was a relaxed movement, but a quiet sincerity was embedded in every word and action.

“I want to see you for a longer time. I’m also curious how the child in your belly, a fifty-fifty mix of you and me, will grow up.”

Even after the sentence ended, the resonance lingered long in Seorim’s chest.

He could not answer readily. His throat felt raw and his insides felt like they were turning over, making it hard to say anything.

As if he had been waiting for that overwhelming silence, Yeonho paused for a moment before opening his mouth.

“So show me more of yourself for a longer time.”

“……”

“In return, I’ll give you half of my life.”

The moment the words crossed the distance between the two, Seorim heard the sound of something finely cracking somewhere inside him.

A crack spread without a sound on the wall he had built up so firmly. Quietly, before he could even perceive it, it spread irresistibly.

The collapse was not loud like a sob, nor did it sparkle like a confession, but it certainly brought Baek Seorim down.

“You’re smart, so you know how to weigh the pros and cons. At this rate, it’s not a deal where you’d be at a loss.”

A very Ryu Yeonho-like remark followed. Seorim opened and closed his dry lips. He tried to speak, but emotions got tangled up somewhere around his throat.

“……It doesn’t make sense.”

“What does.”

“You and I, Mr. Ryu Yeonho, are fundamentally different people. The worlds we live in are poles apart, so how.”

In truth, he had wanted to lean on him for a while now. He wanted to give him his whole heart and trust him. But he was afraid of how presumptuous that would sound, and what a foolish choice it would be.

So Seorim pleaded inwardly. Tell me I’m wrong. Resolutely deny my words and love me sincerely.

“What roots do bastards with no parents have.”

At Yeonho’s answer, Seorim momentarily lost his tension and let out a small laugh. It was vulgar, but it suited him. Even though he was such a distinguished person.

“I don’t have any, and you don’t have any, so we met well.”

“I have a dad.”

“Good for you, having a dad.”

The light tone, rather, made Seorim feel the lump that had built up in layers around his chest loosen. A story he had kept tightly hidden in a corner, which he felt he could only tell now, came to mind. His lips moved on their own, tracing the sentences.

“You know.”

“Yes.”

“Your father, I didn’t kill him.”

Just saying it out loud felt like a long-held stone was being lifted.

“I wanted to say it with my own mouth. To you, Mr. Ryu Yeonho, at least. Even though it’s too late.”

The belated confession could not change anything, but at least in front of this person, he did not want to hide. He wanted him to know that he was not, in fact, a murderer. That Baek Seorim’s hands were not stained with blood. That even if he was not entirely without sin, he was not the worst of all villains.

“I know too.”

Seorim’s head snapped up in an instant. His gaze, filled with both surprise and confusion, held Yeonho’s steadily.

“I knew from the beginning, that it wasn’t you. Though it wouldn’t have mattered even if it was.”

The end of his sentence was slow and definitive. It was not the words of someone trying to offer false comfort, but a response that seemed to have been thought out long ago by himself.

A beat later, bewilderment seeped onto his face. The more he thought about his own state of mind, crushed by guilt all this time, breaking down and falling apart, the more absurd this conversation felt. Seorim could not suppress the tremor in his voice, which was trembling with emotion.

“Then why, why did you do that when you knew?”

“Because if you just stayed by my side, I would do everything you wanted.”

He wondered what this meant. Towards the wide-eyed Seorim, Yeonho added in a low voice.

“If you want to talk, talk. If you don’t want to, don’t. Do as you please, whatever direction that may be.”

“Still, how could you…! When you knew I was so anxious because of it!”

“I’m sorry.”

Yeonho’s apology left him speechless.

The confession that came too late, the misunderstanding that had been left to fester for so long, and the casual “I knew” on top of it all. He was angry and even let out a hollow laugh at the indifference that seemed to dismiss the time he had spent agonizing against a wall with a single phrase.

What is this. If he had not been biting his lips tightly, he might have blurted out just anything. His stomach twisted, he was dumbfounded, and he was angry.

And yet, strangely, warmth welled up from somewhere below his chest. It was because he had faintly realized that that indifference was perhaps Ryu Yeonho’s own way of being considerate. At that, a sense of relief washed over him before anger. It felt as if something that had been tightly wound up was slowly unraveling, even though no one had touched it.

It felt like he could now let go of all the emotions he had been forcibly holding back and hiding. The guilt that had been weighing down his chest had, from the very beginning, not even been a burden to this person. The things he had hesitated and wavered over so much were accepted without any conditions in front of Ryu Yeonho.

Ryu Yeonho had been hoping for him to stay alive, in any way possible. Rather, even if he did nothing, or only moved as he pleased, he would not blame him. That gave him a strange sense of relief.

“Will it really be okay with just me? I’m, very lacking. Dirty, too.”

“Dirty, you say.”

Reaching out his hand, Yeonho tenderly caressed Seorim’s bare foot.

“I feel like I could even eat your toes, so I don’t know what part of you is dirty.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“That’s the only meaning I know. And I have no interest in any other meaning.”

Seorim needlessly pouted his lips and turned his gaze away, and Yeonho pulled the corners of his mouth into a subtle smile before quickly becoming quiet.

A brief silence, as if catching his breath, flowed between them. Yeonho’s eyes had, at some point, changed to be calm and without any playfulness.

His fingertips lightly brushed Seorim’s cheek once.

“Let’s live together, Seorim-ah. For good.”

Like an ocean current slowly pushing in beneath a calm surface. Deeply, so that once noticed, it could not be turned back.

A single word, a single glance, even a trivial sigh that settled lightly, washed over him like a wave and covered his heart. Ryu Yeonho was that kind of person.

In Seorim’s jet-black eyes, the sea holding the moonlight was reflected. A small smile bloomed, mixed with a little relief, a little fear, and a heart that was inevitably drawn to him.

He had cowered, not wanting to get hurt, but the emotion was already too late.

“……If you upset me, I’ll run away.”

“Do as you please. I’ll find you.”

Seorim reached out his arms very carefully. He wrapped them around his shoulders, hooking his elbows over them, and leaned his body against him.

Ryu Yeonho’s breath and body heat were transmitted. The throb of his beating heart was clearly felt. He remained there, without a word.

Someone once said that love is always pretty and warm. But to Baek Seorim, love was survival. It was a fake emotion that did not actually exist.

In the pit he was dragged into, in a relationship where he could only survive by unconditionally losing, Seorim endured the world with submission disguised as love.

So he resented the heavens. Why it was so cruel only to him, why it would not let him live as a person.

Ryu Yeonho was a dog who coveted his own father’s concubine. Seorim was disgusted by that hand. Because this person would be the same as all the others. He would hurt him and take him lightly, and inflict wounds on the little soft flesh he had left.

So annoyingly, that hand never let go of Seorim in the end. Between hatred and contempt, fear and shame, he was, one by one, turning his heart back around.

Ryu Yeonho had, by all means, returned Baek Seorim’s name to him. Not as a concubine, but as a person, not as a shadow, but by his side.

For the first time, he told him that it was okay to imagine any future.

At long last, Baek Seorim decided to believe in Ryu Yeonho, the mad dog who saved the sullied concubine.

He wanted to draw it together.

Not the story of a dog and a concubine, but the story of you and me.