◆◇◆
When Jiheon said he wanted to increase the suppressant’s dosage, the doctor briefly sighed, as if to say, “It comes to this in the end.”
“How much more dosage would you like to increase?”
“As much as possible.”
Jiheon responded without hesitation.
“Please increase it as much as you can. I think that’s the safest way.”
The doctor stopped typing on his keyboard and tilted his head in thought.
“The safest way is not to increase the dosage. Or perhaps, judging from your physical condition, we should set it to a minimum and then increase the dosage little by little.”
“I can’t afford to keep coming to the hospital to do a checkup, doctor.”
The doctor frowned, finally realizing that Jiheon’s ‘safest way’ did not mean that his own self was safe, but rather his partner was safe. The doctor didn’t say anything but his facial expression clearly conveyed that he thought, “That’s really foolish. Your partner is being selfish.”
Had the doctor said it out loud, Jiheon would have made an excuse and said it wasn’t like that, but since the doctor only spoke with his facial expressions, Jiheon had no choice but to protest internally.: “I may be making a foolish decision, but my partner is not selfish, doctor. This is my choice.”
By the time he stopped by the pharmacy and took the prescribed medicine, it was well past ten in the morning. He called Minwoo to confirm that the morning training was still ongoing and then made his way to the gym.
Upon his arrival, he found out that Jaekyung was performing a 600m freestyle, the last menu of today’s training.
“He just started.”
After hearing Oliver’s words, Jiheon went straight up to the third floor.
The third floor of the gym had a balcony space designed like an observatory, offering a clear view of the entire swimming pool below. Thanks to this, he could clearly see Jaekyung leisurely swimming through the 50-meter pool, creating white foam.
Wanting a closer view, Jiheon walked up to the balcony railing. But when he rested his arm on the railing, he inadvertently pressed against the incision on the inside of his forearm and quickly released it. Luckily, the sutures weren’t damaged, but the pain shot through him as if he had just touched the wound.
Jiheon gently pressed the area where his bandage covered the wound. The sharp pain made him reflexively frown.
Yet, his gaze remained locked on Jaekyung. He leaned against the railing, clutching his arm. He wanted to see Jaekyung’s swimming in more detail. He didn’t want to miss a thing, including the clean and powerful flip turn, the long underwater run, and the almost perfect streamline position [1].
Yesterday, Jiheon had actually thought about asking Jaekyung to stop. He had planned to say, “Since the situation is like this, let’s keep some distance, at least until the Olympics are over. I didn’t want this to happen either, but I hope you can understand my position. For now, this is the best for both of us.”
However, when he actually saw Jaekyung, those words remained unsaid. He simply couldn’t bring himself to utter them.
His heart seemed to break when Jaekyung said that he would be lonely and miserable without Jiheon. But that wasn’t the only reason. Even if Jaekyung did say that, he would eventually overcome it. He would go to the Olympics and win gold medals. He was an athlete who had learned to overcome such loneliness over the past decade. In the remaining nine months, he could have prepared himself to endure it somehow.
It was rather Jiheon who couldn’t endure it. He just couldn’t bear the thought. He couldn’t shake these imaginations while talking to Jaekyung—that if he couldn’t see him, he would feel lonely, miserable, and wanted to die.
Jaekyung was right. When he’d asked, “Is it a threat to you that you might never see me again? Do you hate not being able to see me? Are you scared?” everything he had said as a joke was absolutely right.
Jiheon was scared when he thought he might never see him again. He hated it, and he was scared of it. He couldn’t endure the next few months until the Olympics, so how would he be able to endure the months after that? Just thinking about that already made him feel like his heart was breaking apart.
Even yesterday, while they briefly sat apart, his hand continually twitched, longing to touch and caress Jaekyung. When Jaekyung said he was lonely at the swimming pool alone, he wanted to hug him. He wanted to say, “Okay, then I’ll always be with you. I won’t let you feel lonely.”
But he was so cowardly and had no courage to say that until the very end. All he could manage was to laugh and say, “Should we just date?” as if it were a joke.
“Last leg!”
Oliver’s loud shout echoed through the pool area. Jaekyung executed a stronger turn than ever, knowing that only half a lap remained. As soon as he touched the wall after swiftly crossing the 50-meter pool, he lifted himself out of the water, removing his swimming cap. He pulled down his goggles and raised his head, instinctively looking up toward the observatory, as if he knew Jiheon was there.
‘How the hell did he know?’
Jiheon was astounded by how quickly Jaekyung had spotted him without even saying a word, so he waved his hand hard without realizing it. Jaekyung looked embarrassed for a moment, probably not expecting that Jiheon was going to wave at him, and then he started waving his hand too.
Before he knew it, that guy’s face was filled with a bright smile.
That smile was so beautiful, and the sight of Jaekyung standing in the glistening blue water, looking up at him and waving his hand, was so dazzling that it made Jiheon’s heart hurt. For the first time in his life, he realized that someone’s presence could be so good, so lovely, that it could make his heart ache and pound so much.
If Jiheon were truly selfless, he would have expressed these feelings to Jaekyung. If he were truly a person who knew how to help others as Jaekyung had told him, he would have said something to make Jaekyung happy, like “Maybe I like you more than you do.”
However, he was selfish and even cowardly, so he couldn’t bring himself to utter those words.
He knew he would have to leave a corner to run away, so that he would be less miserable later.
Instead, he wanted to say everything except that one word. He wanted to say a lot of things that would make Jaekyung happy. He wanted to make Jaekyung happy with his words. He wanted to cherish him as much as he could and give him everything he wanted. He wanted to see Jaekyung happy and having fun because of Jiheon, not anyone else.
‘So, can’t you just let this cowardice slide? Can you please forgive me for not being able to speak honestly? In return, I will do everything. I will take all the pain and side effects that will follow.’
Before he realized it, he was clenching his arm again. His grip tightened, and he felt pain where he had inserted the new chip.
Rather than letting go, he squeezed it even harder, as if punishing himself for being a coward.
About ten minutes after Minwoo left with Oliver and Dr. Gleason, Jaekyung exited the gym and got into the passenger seat of the car. Jiheon, who had been waiting, spoke as soon as Jaekyung settled in.
“I heard Oliver is thinking about increasing the stroke count by two per section.”
Jaekyung glanced at Jiheon, then closed the passenger door firmly.
“I won’t increase it.”
“Is that so? Why not?”
“The touch becomes unclear. I tried it earlier, but right before the last touch, there was a point where I hesitated whether to stroke one more time or not. If I hold on with a glide[2], it will be too slow, but the distance is too short for another stroke. I’ll just stick with my current approach.”
Jaekyung tossed his bag into the backseat and fastened his seatbelt.
“It’s not like I’m physically weak or anything right now, but for some reason, my tension is so high that my body’s rhythm is a little messed up.”
When Jaekyung said that he would be fine if he trained hard for a few days, Jiheon nodded his head.
“I think it would be better to go with the flow.”
If the heightened tension was indeed due to the pheromones, Jaekyung’s lactate levels should return to normal by Monday after the weekend. Then, things like his stroke count and speed should naturally recover without the need for excessive exertion.
“It should get better soon enough.”
Jiheon remarked while starting the car. Jaekyung looked at him quizzically, then propped his arm on the window frame and spoke crookedly.
“But why is our conversation like this?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s like nothing has changed since we started dating.”
Jiheon chuckled at Jaekyung’s open grumbling.
“Hey, I already told you so. I’ve told you several times that it wouldn’t be any different if we started dating because we’re already doing everything we can. And it was you who said you wanted us to date.”
At that, Jaekyung said in a disapproving tone.
“Well, I mean, that’s true. It’s really the same as before we started dating.”
Jaekyung seemed a bit disappointed, perhaps because he thought he would at least get a kiss for his hard work in the car. However, his anticipation turned to frustration when Jiheon immediately started talking about training.
“It’s no different from before.”
“No, it’s gonna be very different.”
Jiheon said as the car left the gym’s parking lot.
“What’s going to be different?”
“Well…, you’ll know once you see it yourself, right?”
He wasn’t making any kind of election pledge or stuff like that, but he was just vaguely saying that he would do many sorts of things. However, that seemed to have caused some misunderstanding.
“Did you just…… is it about something lewd?”
Jaekyung asked with a hint of embarrassment, but anyone could tell that he was looking forward to it.
“How did you even connect that……? Is that really all you’re thinking about when you see me?”
At that, Jaekyung lowered his gaze, as if reflecting on himself for a moment, but then he got upset and said:
“I can’t help it. That’s all I’ve ever done with you so far.”
‘Well, he’s got a point. Then, should we go in a healthier direction from now on?’
Jiheon contemplated seriously.
‘Since we’ve done nothing but touching until now, should we…… start dating in a healthy and decent manner from now on? Why? For whom? Kwon Jaekyung probably wouldn’t want it either, right??’
“But why did you suddenly change your mind?”
Jiheon, who was suppressing his useless reason, widened his eyes at Jaekyung’s unexpected words.
“Huh? You’re finally asking that now?”
Yesterday, as soon as Jiheon asked him out, Jaekyung didn’t hesitate or question anything. He simply stood up and said, “Alright, hyung. Don’t take back what you said. We’re dating from now on. It’s the first day of our relationship.”
“I didn’t bring it up because I thought you might change your mind if I asked why.”
Jaekyung meant that he now felt comfortable asking since he had made it through the day safely. And it was now a bit too late to reconsider anyway.
“Hyung, you didn’t say that because you were sick, did you?”
“Is that something you would say to your lover?”
Jiheon replied with a sigh, and Jaekyung’s eyes widened in embarrassment at the sudden mention of the word “lover”. He briefly glanced at Jiheon from the corner of his eye, muttering, “Gosh…,” and turned his head in the other direction.
Even though he pretended to be looking out the window, Jiheon could see he was acting smiling ear-to-ear.
‘How cute.’
Jiheon resisted the urge to pinch Jaekyung’s cheek and gripped the steering wheel tightly.
“Well, after thinking about it, I think what you said was right.”
Jiheon’s tone was unusual, and his gaze remained fixed on the road.
“What did I say?”
“You said we could just date since it’s the same whether we’re dating or not.”
Jaekyung looked at him with an expression that seemed to say, “Really?”
“Yeah, well, I guess it’s not bad. It seems like the better way. After all, I have a duty to support you until the Olympics, right?”
When he said there was no particular reason, Jaekyung rested his elbow on the window frame, quietly observing Jiheon. The look in his eyes was filled with unspoken thoughts that made Jiheon feel a sense of guilt.
“Why? You don’t like it? I can just take it back if that’s what you want.”
When he spoke in a somewhat casual tone, Jaekyung said bluntly:
“Who says I don’t like it?”
“But what’s wrong with your expression?”
Jiheon thought Jaekyung would reply with the usual, “What about my expression? What’s wrong with it?” but he surprisingly didn’t. He didn’t deny it but simply rested his chin on the back of his hand and muttered softly.
“I just thought it was a bit further than I expected.”
Jiheon was about to ask about what he meant, but he stopped. He had a rough idea of what Jaekyung was referring to. It was probably about the remaining distance of the 100-meter dash he had mentioned before.
Jiheon believed they were already at the finish line, but Jaekyung seemed to think there was much more distance left.
Jiheon wanted to tell him that they had reached the touchpad, but he held back. Even if he said that, it was already over. There was no further to go.
“By the way, how did you know I was on the third floor?”
Jiheon didn’t want to dampen the mood, so he deliberately changed the topic. He wondered if Jaekyung would respond in a cold tone again, but to his relief, Jaekyung replied normally.
“I don’t know. I just had a feeling that someone was watching me, so I looked up and you were really there. It surprised me too.”
“Really? Maybe I was staring too hard?”
“Yes. It felt like my back was burning. But if you want to watch me like that next time, you’ll have to pay, hyung.”
Jaekyung bluntly asked for a fee.
“Do I have to pay to see my boyfriend’s back?”
Jiheon sighed while looking at his boyfriend. Sure enough, Jaekyung suddenly closed his mouth and glanced at Jiheon out of the corner of his eye.
“Hey, seriously, what’s the matter with you?”
Jiheon eventually said with a smile.
“Why do you look at me like that every time I say something?”
“It’s just… you say things like ‘lover’ and ‘boyfriend’ so naturally, hyung. I still can’t quite get used to it.”
Jaekyung said with an expression that showed he was struggling to get accustomed to it.
Before they started dating, this guy had confidently asked Jiheon to be his boyfriend, but now that they were actually dating, he seemed a bit embarrassed by the words.
Jiheon found this cute and amusing, so he deliberately used the words “boyfriend” and “lover” to tease Jaekyung. And before they knew it, they had already arrived at the villa.
Once Jiheon safely parked the car in the lot, he reached for the bag of medicine that had been left on the dashboard.
“What did they say at the hospital?”
Jaekyung inquired as he unfastened his seatbelt.
“It’s not a cold, just body aches.”
“Is that so? Colds and body aches have similar symptoms, anyway.”
Jaekyung picked up the bag he had thrown in the back seat.
“It’s different.”
Jiheon unfastened his seatbelt. And then, he suddenly leaned in to grab Jaekyung’s head, pulling him into a passionate kiss.
“You don’t usually get body aches. Right?”
After letting go of Jaekyung’s head, he looked at him expectantly. Jaekyung seemed speechless and then touched his lips belatedly before muttering.
“Well… it’s definitely different.”
◆◇◆
When Jiheon said he wanted to increase the suppressant’s dosage, the doctor briefly sighed, as if to say, “It comes to this in the end.”
“How much more dosage would you like to increase?”
“As much as possible.”
Jiheon responded without hesitation.
“Please increase it as much as you can. I think that’s the safest way.”
The doctor stopped typing on his keyboard and tilted his head in thought.
“The safest way is not to increase the dosage. Or perhaps, judging from your physical condition, we should set it to a minimum and then increase the dosage little by little.”
“I can’t afford to keep coming to the hospital to do a checkup, doctor.”
The doctor frowned, finally realizing that Jiheon’s ‘safest way’ did not mean that his own self was safe, but rather his partner was safe. The doctor didn’t say anything but his facial expression clearly conveyed that he thought, “That’s really foolish. Your partner is being selfish.”
Had the doctor said it out loud, Jiheon would have made an excuse and said it wasn’t like that, but since the doctor only spoke with his facial expressions, Jiheon had no choice but to protest internally.: “I may be making a foolish decision, but my partner is not selfish, doctor. This is my choice.”
By the time he stopped by the pharmacy and took the prescribed medicine, it was well past ten in the morning. He called Minwoo to confirm that the morning training was still ongoing and then made his way to the gym.
Upon his arrival, he found out that Jaekyung was performing a 600m freestyle, the last menu of today’s training.
“He just started.”
After hearing Oliver’s words, Jiheon went straight up to the third floor.
The third floor of the gym had a balcony space designed like an observatory, offering a clear view of the entire swimming pool below. Thanks to this, he could clearly see Jaekyung leisurely swimming through the 50-meter pool, creating white foam.
Wanting a closer view, Jiheon walked up to the balcony railing. But when he rested his arm on the railing, he inadvertently pressed against the incision on the inside of his forearm and quickly released it. Luckily, the sutures weren’t damaged, but the pain shot through him as if he had just touched the wound.
Jiheon gently pressed the area where his bandage covered the wound. The sharp pain made him reflexively frown.
Yet, his gaze remained locked on Jaekyung. He leaned against the railing, clutching his arm. He wanted to see Jaekyung’s swimming in more detail. He didn’t want to miss a thing, including the clean and powerful flip turn, the long underwater run, and the almost perfect streamline position [1].
Yesterday, Jiheon had actually thought about asking Jaekyung to stop. He had planned to say, “Since the situation is like this, let’s keep some distance, at least until the Olympics are over. I didn’t want this to happen either, but I hope you can understand my position. For now, this is the best for both of us.”
However, when he actually saw Jaekyung, those words remained unsaid. He simply couldn’t bring himself to utter them.
His heart seemed to break when Jaekyung said that he would be lonely and miserable without Jiheon. But that wasn’t the only reason. Even if Jaekyung did say that, he would eventually overcome it. He would go to the Olympics and win gold medals. He was an athlete who had learned to overcome such loneliness over the past decade. In the remaining nine months, he could have prepared himself to endure it somehow.
It was rather Jiheon who couldn’t endure it. He just couldn’t bear the thought. He couldn’t shake these imaginations while talking to Jaekyung—that if he couldn’t see him, he would feel lonely, miserable, and wanted to die.
Jaekyung was right. When he’d asked, “Is it a threat to you that you might never see me again? Do you hate not being able to see me? Are you scared?” everything he had said as a joke was absolutely right.
Jiheon was scared when he thought he might never see him again. He hated it, and he was scared of it. He couldn’t endure the next few months until the Olympics, so how would he be able to endure the months after that? Just thinking about that already made him feel like his heart was breaking apart.
Even yesterday, while they briefly sat apart, his hand continually twitched, longing to touch and caress Jaekyung. When Jaekyung said he was lonely at the swimming pool alone, he wanted to hug him. He wanted to say, “Okay, then I’ll always be with you. I won’t let you feel lonely.”
But he was so cowardly and had no courage to say that until the very end. All he could manage was to laugh and say, “Should we just date?” as if it were a joke.
“Last leg!”
Oliver’s loud shout echoed through the pool area. Jaekyung executed a stronger turn than ever, knowing that only half a lap remained. As soon as he touched the wall after swiftly crossing the 50-meter pool, he lifted himself out of the water, removing his swimming cap. He pulled down his goggles and raised his head, instinctively looking up toward the observatory, as if he knew Jiheon was there.
‘How the hell did he know?’
Jiheon was astounded by how quickly Jaekyung had spotted him without even saying a word, so he waved his hand hard without realizing it. Jaekyung looked embarrassed for a moment, probably not expecting that Jiheon was going to wave at him, and then he started waving his hand too.
Before he knew it, that guy’s face was filled with a bright smile.
That smile was so beautiful, and the sight of Jaekyung standing in the glistening blue water, looking up at him and waving his hand, was so dazzling that it made Jiheon’s heart hurt. For the first time in his life, he realized that someone’s presence could be so good, so lovely, that it could make his heart ache and pound so much.
If Jiheon were truly selfless, he would have expressed these feelings to Jaekyung. If he were truly a person who knew how to help others as Jaekyung had told him, he would have said something to make Jaekyung happy, like “Maybe I like you more than you do.”
However, he was selfish and even cowardly, so he couldn’t bring himself to utter those words.
He knew he would have to leave a corner to run away, so that he would be less miserable later.
Instead, he wanted to say everything except that one word. He wanted to say a lot of things that would make Jaekyung happy. He wanted to make Jaekyung happy with his words. He wanted to cherish him as much as he could and give him everything he wanted. He wanted to see Jaekyung happy and having fun because of Jiheon, not anyone else.
‘So, can’t you just let this cowardice slide? Can you please forgive me for not being able to speak honestly? In return, I will do everything. I will take all the pain and side effects that will follow.’
Before he realized it, he was clenching his arm again. His grip tightened, and he felt pain where he had inserted the new chip.
Rather than letting go, he squeezed it even harder, as if punishing himself for being a coward.
About ten minutes after Minwoo left with Oliver and Dr. Gleason, Jaekyung exited the gym and got into the passenger seat of the car. Jiheon, who had been waiting, spoke as soon as Jaekyung settled in.
“I heard Oliver is thinking about increasing the stroke count by two per section.”
Jaekyung glanced at Jiheon, then closed the passenger door firmly.
“I won’t increase it.”
“Is that so? Why not?”
“The touch becomes unclear. I tried it earlier, but right before the last touch, there was a point where I hesitated whether to stroke one more time or not. If I hold on with a glide[2], it will be too slow, but the distance is too short for another stroke. I’ll just stick with my current approach.”
Jaekyung tossed his bag into the backseat and fastened his seatbelt.
“It’s not like I’m physically weak or anything right now, but for some reason, my tension is so high that my body’s rhythm is a little messed up.”
When Jaekyung said that he would be fine if he trained hard for a few days, Jiheon nodded his head.
“I think it would be better to go with the flow.”
If the heightened tension was indeed due to the pheromones, Jaekyung’s lactate levels should return to normal by Monday after the weekend. Then, things like his stroke count and speed should naturally recover without the need for excessive exertion.
“It should get better soon enough.”
Jiheon remarked while starting the car. Jaekyung looked at him quizzically, then propped his arm on the window frame and spoke crookedly.
“But why is our conversation like this?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s like nothing has changed since we started dating.”
Jiheon chuckled at Jaekyung’s open grumbling.
“Hey, I already told you so. I’ve told you several times that it wouldn’t be any different if we started dating because we’re already doing everything we can. And it was you who said you wanted us to date.”
At that, Jaekyung said in a disapproving tone.
“Well, I mean, that’s true. It’s really the same as before we started dating.”
Jaekyung seemed a bit disappointed, perhaps because he thought he would at least get a kiss for his hard work in the car. However, his anticipation turned to frustration when Jiheon immediately started talking about training.
“It’s no different from before.”
“No, it’s gonna be very different.”
Jiheon said as the car left the gym’s parking lot.
“What’s going to be different?”
“Well…, you’ll know once you see it yourself, right?”
He wasn’t making any kind of election pledge or stuff like that, but he was just vaguely saying that he would do many sorts of things. However, that seemed to have caused some misunderstanding.
“Did you just…… is it about something lewd?”
Jaekyung asked with a hint of embarrassment, but anyone could tell that he was looking forward to it.
“How did you even connect that……? Is that really all you’re thinking about when you see me?”
At that, Jaekyung lowered his gaze, as if reflecting on himself for a moment, but then he got upset and said:
“I can’t help it. That’s all I’ve ever done with you so far.”
‘Well, he’s got a point. Then, should we go in a healthier direction from now on?’
Jiheon contemplated seriously.
‘Since we’ve done nothing but touching until now, should we…… start dating in a healthy and decent manner from now on? Why? For whom? Kwon Jaekyung probably wouldn’t want it either, right??’
“But why did you suddenly change your mind?”
Jiheon, who was suppressing his useless reason, widened his eyes at Jaekyung’s unexpected words.
“Huh? You’re finally asking that now?”
Yesterday, as soon as Jiheon asked him out, Jaekyung didn’t hesitate or question anything. He simply stood up and said, “Alright, hyung. Don’t take back what you said. We’re dating from now on. It’s the first day of our relationship.”
“I didn’t bring it up because I thought you might change your mind if I asked why.”
Jaekyung meant that he now felt comfortable asking since he had made it through the day safely. And it was now a bit too late to reconsider anyway.
“Hyung, you didn’t say that because you were sick, did you?”
“Is that something you would say to your lover?”
Jiheon replied with a sigh, and Jaekyung’s eyes widened in embarrassment at the sudden mention of the word “lover”. He briefly glanced at Jiheon from the corner of his eye, muttering, “Gosh…,” and turned his head in the other direction.
Even though he pretended to be looking out the window, Jiheon could see he was acting smiling ear-to-ear.
‘How cute.’
Jiheon resisted the urge to pinch Jaekyung’s cheek and gripped the steering wheel tightly.
“Well, after thinking about it, I think what you said was right.”
Jiheon’s tone was unusual, and his gaze remained fixed on the road.
“What did I say?”
“You said we could just date since it’s the same whether we’re dating or not.”
Jaekyung looked at him with an expression that seemed to say, “Really?”
“Yeah, well, I guess it’s not bad. It seems like the better way. After all, I have a duty to support you until the Olympics, right?”
When he said there was no particular reason, Jaekyung rested his elbow on the window frame, quietly observing Jiheon. The look in his eyes was filled with unspoken thoughts that made Jiheon feel a sense of guilt.
“Why? You don’t like it? I can just take it back if that’s what you want.”
When he spoke in a somewhat casual tone, Jaekyung said bluntly:
“Who says I don’t like it?”
“But what’s wrong with your expression?”
Jiheon thought Jaekyung would reply with the usual, “What about my expression? What’s wrong with it?” but he surprisingly didn’t. He didn’t deny it but simply rested his chin on the back of his hand and muttered softly.
“I just thought it was a bit further than I expected.”
Jiheon was about to ask about what he meant, but he stopped. He had a rough idea of what Jaekyung was referring to. It was probably about the remaining distance of the 100-meter dash he had mentioned before.
Jiheon believed they were already at the finish line, but Jaekyung seemed to think there was much more distance left.
Jiheon wanted to tell him that they had reached the touchpad, but he held back. Even if he said that, it was already over. There was no further to go.
“By the way, how did you know I was on the third floor?”
Jiheon didn’t want to dampen the mood, so he deliberately changed the topic. He wondered if Jaekyung would respond in a cold tone again, but to his relief, Jaekyung replied normally.
“I don’t know. I just had a feeling that someone was watching me, so I looked up and you were really there. It surprised me too.”
“Really? Maybe I was staring too hard?”
“Yes. It felt like my back was burning. But if you want to watch me like that next time, you’ll have to pay, hyung.”
Jaekyung bluntly asked for a fee.
“Do I have to pay to see my boyfriend’s back?”
Jiheon sighed while looking at his boyfriend. Sure enough, Jaekyung suddenly closed his mouth and glanced at Jiheon out of the corner of his eye.
“Hey, seriously, what’s the matter with you?”
Jiheon eventually said with a smile.
“Why do you look at me like that every time I say something?”
“It’s just… you say things like ‘lover’ and ‘boyfriend’ so naturally, hyung. I still can’t quite get used to it.”
Jaekyung said with an expression that showed he was struggling to get accustomed to it.
Before they started dating, this guy had confidently asked Jiheon to be his boyfriend, but now that they were actually dating, he seemed a bit embarrassed by the words.
Jiheon found this cute and amusing, so he deliberately used the words “boyfriend” and “lover” to tease Jaekyung. And before they knew it, they had already arrived at the villa.
Once Jiheon safely parked the car in the lot, he reached for the bag of medicine that had been left on the dashboard.
“What did they say at the hospital?”
Jaekyung inquired as he unfastened his seatbelt.
“It’s not a cold, just body aches.”
“Is that so? Colds and body aches have similar symptoms, anyway.”
Jaekyung picked up the bag he had thrown in the back seat.
“It’s different.”
Jiheon unfastened his seatbelt. And then, he suddenly leaned in to grab Jaekyung’s head, pulling him into a passionate kiss.
“You don’t usually get body aches. Right?”
After letting go of Jaekyung’s head, he looked at him expectantly. Jaekyung seemed speechless and then touched his lips belatedly before muttering.
“Well… it’s definitely different.”
