Spark Chapter 2.4 - Spark

Cha Hongjo smiled, but Go Baekwoo felt like crying.

🔥

By the time Cha Hongjo arrived, Chairman Go and Go Baekwoo, guided by Manager Kim, had already completed a tour of the High Entertainment building, so there was no reason for them to linger in the office. Manager Kim called the Korean restaurant he had reserved earlier and moved up their reservation time. They all got back into their respective cars and headed to the restaurant.

The high-end Korean restaurant they arrived at clearly reflected Manager Kim Yongmin’s meticulous attention to detail, befitting a venue for hosting VIP guests. As some of the attendees were publicly recognizable while others benefitted from anonymity, the traditional Korean sliding doors separating the dining areas served their purpose well. The soft background music playing at a moderate volume was a thoughtful touch, preventing conversations from being overheard while also adding to the ambiance. There was no need to worry about the food, as the restaurant’s culinary reputation preceded it.

Around a spacious table large enough to accommodate several adults lying down, Manager Kim and Manager Tae were seated on the left, Director Kim and Cha Hongjo on the right, and Chairman Go and Go Baekwoo at the head of the table.

Even as the dishes were emptied, the alcohol glasses were continuously refilled, like an inexhaustible spring. Faces flushed with the effects of alcohol, and the laughter that punctuated their conversations became increasingly boisterous. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. This, of course, excluded the one who wasn’t laughing.

Go Baekwoo, his lips set in a rigid line, drank a glass of alcohol, glanced at Cha Hongjo, drank another, looked at Director Kim, and then, after yet another glass, his gaze returned to Cha Hongjo. This cycle continued relentlessly. Even without the alcohol, a burning sensation churned in his stomach, a knot that felt impossible to untangle. While everyone present was likely feeling the effects of the alcohol, Cha Hongjo and Director Kim were especially intoxicated, making no attempt to mask the charged atmosphere that flowed between them. It was as if they were deliberately putting their intimacy on display.

Perhaps that was precisely their intention. Cha Hongjo, whispering and leaning close to Director Kim, would occasionally glance at Go Baekwoo with a hint of provocation.

Clink. Go Baekwoo abruptly set his glass down. He couldn’t bear to sit passively and observe any longer. He rose to his feet, intending to step outside for some fresh air and a moment to compose himself. As he stood, his eyes locked with Cha Hongjo’s, whose lips were close to Director Kim’s ear.

“Where are you going?”

“To the restroom.”

He answered his father, who had been discussing High Entertainment’s operations with Manager Kim, and looked up at him. Despite the brevity of his reply, his anger was palpable. He was about to take a step when,

“Baekwoo.”

Cha Hongjo called out. Go Baekwoo turned his head and looked down at where the low voice originated. Cha Hongjo’s words were slightly slurred as he asked,

“Where are you going?”

“……To the restroom.”

“Let’s go together.”

“…….”

Unable to respond or refuse, Go Baekwoo simply continued towards the restroom. He checked the pocket of his coat, which hung on the coat rack, and retrieved a cigarette. Perhaps due to the lively conversation, no one seemed to notice or object. It was true that, having joined the drinking party, there was little reason for anyone to reprimand him for smoking. Especially considering Cha Hongjo was with the director…

“Fuck.”

While he was not unaware of Cha Hongjo’s history with women, knowing something and witnessing it firsthand were entirely different matters. He had no desire to interact with Cha Hongjo at this moment. So, he ignored the elongated shadow that trailed at his heels.

The sliding paper door opened and closed softly, swallowing the noise and leaving silence in its wake. In the quiet hallway, Go Baekwoo walked without pausing, stepping on and over the persistent shadow that mimicked his movements.

“The restroom is here.”

He stopped again. He turned to see Cha Hongjo standing midway down the hallway.

“I’m not going to the restroom.”

“You said you were going.”

Don’t you realize I gave that fucking excuse because I didn’t want to see what you were doing? Damn it.

The corners of his mouth trembled. Go Baekwoo turned his back on Cha Hongjo and continued walking. The shadow stubbornly followed, clinging to him until he stepped outside.

Why was it so difficult to learn to hate?

The moment the cold air hit his skin, he thought of Cha Hongjo’s cold hands. The heat that had risen to his forehead from anger dissipated with surprising ease.

“……Ha.”

Go Baekwoo turned to face the source of the shadow he had been persistently ignoring. Cha Hongjo was leaning against a car, the owner unknown, watching him. He approached him, closing the distance until he was standing very near, his toes nestled between the tips of Cha Hongjo’s shoes.

“Give me your hand.”

Though Cha Hongjo withheld his affections, he readily offered his hand. The hand he enclosed within his own palms wasn’t as cold as before.

“They’re not cold now.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Had the alcohol warmed him, or perhaps the director…?

“……Nevermind.”

He wasn’t in a position to be concerned about Cha Hongjo. Go Baekwoo released Cha Hongjo’s hand and took out a cigarette. He had barely placed it between his lips when Cha Hongjo snatched it away. He stared intently at Cha Hongjo for a moment, then took out another cigarette. And again…

“…….”

He frowned at Cha Hongjo, who had taken the second cigarette as well. Cha Hongjo then, without hesitation, tossed the unlit cigarette to the ground.

“Go Baekwoo.”

“Why are you…?”

“Give me your lips.”

Tilting his head slightly, he leaned in.

While withholding his affections, Cha Hongjo readily offered his hand and his lips. For one who lacked, there was no choice but to accept what was given. Go Baekwoo couldn’t refuse the lips that pressed against his own.

Angling their heads in opposite directions, they slipped their tongues between their joined lips. Their noses brushed and briefly intertwined before separating. Go Baekwoo wrapped his tongue around Cha Hongjo’s and grazed the sides of it with the tip of his own. Cha Hongjo’s tongue pressed firmly against the underside of Go Baekwoo’s before sliding smoothly to another spot. Their tangled tongues separated, and they playfully touched the tips together before parting slightly and shifting the angle of their heads. They continued like this for a while, sucking on each other’s upper and lower lips alternately.

As the kiss deepened and Go Baekwoo grew more assertive, Cha Hongjo’s back was gradually pressed further back. He eventually gripped Go Baekwoo by the scruff of his neck, took a step to the side, and then turned, pressing Go Baekwoo against the car he had been leaning on. Their lips, momentarily parted, rejoined. The sound of flesh against flesh, muffled by their intertwined noses, faded before it could fully rise into the night air.

They walked between the parked cars, their destination unclear, until they stopped. Cha Hongjo bit his lip. Go Baekwoo cupped Cha Hongjo’s face, a fleeting, almost ethereal smile playing on his lips, and gently wiped his mouth with his thumb. Cha Hongjo then rummaged through his pants pocket, retrieved something, and held it up.

“Should we finish this in the car?”

Go Baekwoo, his attention caught by Cha Hongjo’s playful, drunken smile, shifted his gaze to the object dangling between them. It was a car key.

“……Whose is this?”

“My manager’s.”

“Why do you have his key?”

“I stole it when we left.”

Preoccupied with the kiss, he hadn’t realized where Cha Hongjo, gripping his collar, was leading him. He watched as Cha Hongjo opened the door of the black car behind them, and then he was pulled inside by his arm. He placed his knees between Cha Hongjo’s thighs as Cha Hongjo sat down in the passenger seat and pushed the seat back. Cha Hongjo, suddenly reclined, let out a soft laugh.

Go Baekwoo, as the last to enter, didn’t forget to close the door. Click. The dark, confined space, now sealed off from the night air. Only the sound of their still-warm breaths filled the silence. Cha Hongjo wrapped an arm around Go Baekwoo’s neck and pulled him closer. Go Baekwoo willingly leaned in, his upper body bending towards the object of his unrequited affection, and kissed him.

The hand that had been on Go Baekwoo’s neck slid down his back, seemed to momentarily grasp his shoulder blade, and then dropped away. Landing on the car seat, it moved between Go Baekwoo’s legs. Skilled fingers unfastened his pants.

Go Baekwoo’s hand, which had been stroking Cha Hongjo’s chest, also reached his lower abdomen and undid his belt. After completely unzipping his pants and holding the waistband, Cha Hongjo slightly raised his hips. In perfect timing, he pulled down Cha Hongjo’s pants and underwear. Simultaneously, his own pants were pulled down to his knees.

Breaking the kiss, Go Baekwoo licked Cha Hongjo’s soft lower lip and then gently nibbled on it with his front teeth. Tilting his head, he buried his nose against Cha Hongjo’s neck and pushed his lower body forward. Their erect penises bumped softly against each other. He grasped them both together. Cha Hongjo closed his eyes and lifted his chin. Go Baekwoo licked the now prominent Adam’s apple and began grinding his hips against Cha Hongjo’s.

The skin, rubbing roughly within his large hand, soon became slick with pre-seminal fluid. With each thrust of Go Baekwoo’s hips, the thick, hard tip of his penis grazed the base of Cha Hongjo’s glans. Cha Hongjo would either close his open mouth or bite his lower lip, as if trying to suppress a sound. The fingers gripping Go Baekwoo’s arm tightened progressively.

“Cha Hongjo… open your eyes.”

A low, husky voice settled between his brows.

“Why, ah…”

Cha Hongjo started to open his eyelids and respond, but then gasped as a sudden, strong pressure gripped his penis.

“Relax your… hand.”

“No.”

With that decisive word, Go Baekwoo released his own penis and gripped only Cha Hongjo’s, squeezing it even harder than before.

“Ugh…!”

Cha Hongjo, his brows furrowed, his half-closed eyelids fluttered. The fabric of the shirt sleeve clutched in his hand wrinkled tightly.

“Hand…!”

“Cha Hongjo.”

“Let go of my… hand.”

“Look at me.”

“…….”

The mood had been so good, why this sudden shift?

Cha Hongjo laboriously lifted his eyelids to meet Go Baekwoo’s gaze. But the vise-like grip on his penis didn’t loosen. It was agonizing.

“Cha Hongjo.”

Or rather, had the pleasant atmosphere been one-sided? Go Baekwoo’s expression was unsettling. Instead of speaking, Cha Hongjo tightened his grip on Go Baekwoo’s arm as if trying to stop him.

“You.”

The beautiful Go Baekwoo, who still looked stunning even with a sudden, harsh edge and a shadow cast across his face, parted his lips.

“What is your relationship with that director?”

“……Ah.”

Was this really the reason?

“What relationship, ugh…”

His words were broken and gasped out as the forceful hand moved, stimulating his penis. He felt suffocated, as if Go Baekwoo were choking him.

“What did it… look like?”

“Lovers.”

It hurts.

“……That can’t be true. Not with your personality.”

“It’s not, with my… personality… Let go of my hand now.”

“Then what is it? What’s your relationship?”

Because Go Baekwoo, whom he had not seen in a while, looked even more beautiful than before. Because the alcohol tasted good. Because he was pleasantly intoxicated. Because Pretty Boy was a skilled kisser. Because the friction of their penises against each other was thrilling. The mood, the atmosphere, everything had been perfect. Yet, after ruining all those pleasurable sensations and tormenting him with brute force, Go Baekwoo was wearing a hurt expression.

“What’s your relationship, tell me!”

He even yelled.

“My head is ringing, fuck…”

“Cha Hongjo, please.”

He finally let go after ignoring him when he had begged him to.

“Please… just…”

Tears spilled as he crumbled, leaning against Cha Hongjo’s chest and dampening his shirt.

“Tell me you’re not anything…”

Cha Hongjo lowered his gaze to the weight pressing against his left chest. Hair, a shade lighter than black, tickled his chin. He covered it with his palm as if to brush it away, slowly stroked the back of Go Baekwoo’s head, and spoke.

“That woman and I.”

Come to think of it, when they first met, Go Baekwoo’s hair had been too short to hold. So much time had passed that it had grown this long.

“We’re not anything.”

Back then, his aunt, vibrant and full of life, had died from carbon monoxide poisoning, and he subsequently lost contact with his uncle. He had assumed he would drift through life, moving from one woman to another, until his own demise, but he had unexpectedly become an aspiring actor. While others struggled for years as aspiring actors, he had swiftly been cast in a renowned director’s film, making his presence known early on. And Pretty Boy had grown his hair, become even more beautiful, and even become a young master.

“Pretty boy.”

He called him casually, and Go Baekwoo shrugged, his arms wrapping around Cha Hongjo’s waist. He realized now, he wasn’t a dog, but a child. Cha Hongjo lowered the hand that had been stroking Go Baekwoo’s hair and patted his broad back. In a comforting gesture. But, in truth, he had never comforted anyone in his life. Nor did he intend to.

“Really, we’re fucking nothing.”

This, too, wasn’t comfort.

“Just like you and me.”

Applying a salve to a wound he himself inflicted was nothing but a deceitful act. He hoped his brutal honesty would prompt Pretty Boy to finally let him go. So that he would stop crying.

“…….”

“…….”

Now he understood with absolute certainty. He was swayed by Go Baekwoo’s tears. It had been the same the last time they met. The moment tears welled up in those thick eyelashes, he had been unable to refuse him. So, Go Baekwoo needed to stop crying, and he needed to stop liking him.

Feelings, like his aunt, were remarkably resilient. They couldn’t be severed, like his ties with his uncle. Nor could they be bypassed with a stroke of luck, like a change in circumstance. And once they began to grow, they couldn’t simply be cut short, like hair.

As he had come to realize during the time Pretty Boy’s hair grew long and his circumstances changed, he had become careless enough to be swayed by Go Baekwoo’s tears. This was problematic. Carelessness led to a vulnerability of the heart. Go Baekwoo needed to give up on him first…

“Okay… that’s fine then…”

Go Baekwoo muttered, raising his head.

“Be nothing with whoever you’re with. Then it’s okay.”

A single tear traced a path down his flushed cheek and slid across his moving lips.

“But Hongjo, at least when I’m watching,”

Go Baekwoo, his head bowed once more, gripped Cha Hongjo’s shoulders tightly.

“Don’t be all over each other, please…”

Go Baekwoo’s arms trembled slightly, as if he were restraining himself from crushing what he held.

“I’ll kill you.”

The pitifully honest Go Baekwoo always spoke the truth. This time was no different. Cha Hongjo, unable to meet his gaze, stared down at the top of Go Baekwoo’s neatly styled hair and clenched his jaw.

At some point, Go Baekwoo’s sincerity had become a heavy burden. That’s why he had run away and hurt him.

But now, Go Baekwoo was threatening to kill him, while wearing an expression that suggested he himself might be the first to crumble.

Today, Go Baekwoo felt particularly overwhelming, but trapped in his firm grip, escape was impossible. Should he inflict another wound? But it seemed that his counterpart only burned hotter the more he bled.

The realization that Go Baekwoo wouldn’t give up on him so easily pierced Cha Hongjo. He felt suffocated.

🔥

He was experiencing sleep paralysis.

He was transported back to that day two years ago. Early evening. He entered the house, a place saturated with loneliness despite being inhabited by two people. As always, there was no one to greet him. He walked through the dimly lit house without turning on the lights. Then, he bumped into something. He knew the layout of the house, his home since birth, like the back of his hand, even in the dark. It was an empty space. The middle of the living room, devoid of furniture or any obstacle. Cha Hongjo took another step. Thud. He bumped into it again. By now, his vision had adjusted to the dimness. He could discern the long, striped object. It was his father’s tie. For the first time in Cha Hongjo’s life, his father had been there to greet him upon his return.

His father, who had hanged himself.

He pulled and pulled at the body, trying to get his hanging father down. Already nearing the end of puberty, his physique was much the same as it was now. The electrical wire that had twisted his father’s neck snapped under his now mature strength, separating from the ceiling with a sharp crack. The corpse collapsed on top of Cha Hongjo.

If he had just died alone, he might have at least felt some sense of closure. But his father, as if still clinging to some lingering regret, stared up at him with eyes wide open. His decaying eyes, though devoid of the spark of life, gleamed with a chilling madness. Go away, go away, go away! Cha Hongjo pushed at the corpse, avoiding its putrid yet disturbingly vivid gaze. But it wouldn’t budge. He wanted to escape, but he was trapped. That horrific day two years ago had been Cha Hongjo’s birthday.

Just the day before, his father, deeply intoxicated, had uttered words utterly unlike him.

‘I’m… sorry, Hongjo.’

‘…….’

‘Come home early tomorrow. Let’s have dinner together.’

‘Why?’

‘Because it’s your… birthday.’

They say that doing something out of character is a bad omen.

His father, who had brought him into this world uninvited and then barely acknowledged his existence. Why torment him even in death? Why seek him out only now…?

It was true that, while he lived, he had yearned for his father’s affection. As a living being, the craving for affection was only natural. But no longer. Cha Hongjo no longer needed his father. He had resolved to need no one. He resolved, he practiced, and he had finally become numb. Yet, the ghost of his past returned, refusing to depart.

He had thought he had finally managed to forget.

Cha Hongjo, getting out of bed, irritably ran a hand through his hair and counted the days. One, two, three… six, seven. It had been seven months since he’d last experienced sleep paralysis. What a fucking way to start the day. And today was the day filming for <Epitaph of Youth> began.

Tae Pyunghyun was bustling around, tense and agitated, as if he were the one about to begin filming. Cha Hongjo, his mood darkened by the disturbing dream, finally snapped during the drive to the set.

“You know,”

Tae Pyunghyun had been nagging him incessantly about reviewing the script again.

“Shut your mouth.”

“That difficult scene… wh, what, what did you just say?”

“I’m telling you to be quiet. Stop chattering.”

While he acknowledged the boy’s inherent arrogance, Tae Pyunghyun was still taken aback by Cha Hongjo’s attitude. Even if he were his servant, he was significantly older, and it was thanks to him that Cha Hongjo had become an actor. He felt resentment and anger rising within him. But he restrained himself, choosing to endure rather than express every fleeting emotion. Hongjo, though he hid it well, must be quite nervous. After all, he was surrounded by famous actors, a situation that was bound to create tension. And who else would tolerate him at a time like this if not his manager?

“……Fine, this big brother will shut his trap, so why don’t you try to get some rest, Actor Cha.”

“…….”

Instead of closing his eyes as suggested, Cha Hongjo rolled down the car window and put a cigarette between his lips. Days when he experienced sleep paralysis, days when he dreamt of his father, left him irritable all day long. On days like these, he needed to drink himself into oblivion to feel any semblance of relief, but filming prevented that. Actually, he had heard there was some sort of pre-filming ritual. Perhaps he could sneak a drink then. He wasn’t sure. He suddenly had the urge to jump out of the moving car.

“You’ll lose your fingers doing that.”

Tae Pyunghyun, glancing at the rearview mirror, quickly interjected as Cha Hongjo stuck his hand out the window. If Cha Hongjo were to get injured before filming even started, it wouldn’t be Cha Hongjo who would die, but him. He shuddered at the thought of what Kim Yongmin would do, let alone Director Kim, who would surely say something cutting like, “Pyunghyun, a manager with that kind of carelessness won’t last long.” He wasn’t just a punching bag, he was the punching bag.

Finally, Cha Hongjo flicked the cigarette away as if discarding a bothersome thought, and then wiggled his fingers. Tae Pyunghyun was about to scold him again when he pulled his hand back inside. That sly fox. Tae Pyunghyun clicked his tongue silently and rolled up the window. The rush of wind ceased abruptly, and silence descended until they reached the filming location.

The small village on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province was where they would film a third of <Epitaph of Youth>. The shoot, which started today, was scheduled to last for three nights and four days.

As previously arranged during location scouting, the village community center had already been prepared as temporary accommodation for the actors and crew.

Tae Pyunghyun escorted Cha Hongjo around, introducing him to the staff and senior actors. They had all met previously with Director Kim, so the greetings were more relaxed than they would have been with strangers.

“Oh, hello. You’re early.”

The last person he introduced Cha Hongjo to was Yang Seohee, the female lead of <Epitaph of Youth>. Having started as a child actress, she was now one of the top actresses in the industry and was scheduled to have three bed scenes with Cha Hongjo.

“Have you eaten breakfast?”

Yang Seohee was exceptionally friendly towards Cha Hongjo. She had been like this from their first meeting. It was infinitely better to be on good terms with the lead actress than to be disliked by her. Tae Pyunghyun felt grateful for her easygoing demeanor towards the rookie actor, even though Cha Hongjo’s attitude was, as always, bland.

“No.”

“I packed lunch. Let’s eat together. You get cranky when you’re acting on an empty stomach.”

Yang Seohee took Cha Hongjo’s wrist and led him away. Then, as if remembering something, she turned around and looked at Tae Pyunghyun.

“Manager, what should we do? I only packed lunch for two.”

No one asked for any. Tae Pyunghyun also wanted a break away from his actor. Once filming started, he would have to keep a constant eye on Cha Hongjo, so this would be his only chance to rest. He still had some time until the male lead, who hadn’t arrived yet, showed up. Tae Pyunghyun waved his hands at Yang Seohee.

“Oh, I’m fine. Enjoy your meal.”

“Okay.”

Yang Seohee, considered one of the most beautiful actresses currently active, smiled like an angel and turned away.

“Let’s go, Hongjo.”

Lucky bastard… Tae Pyunghyun lit a cigarette as he watched Cha Hongjo’s retreating figure. In any case, whether male or female, looks were everything. Ah, he suddenly thought of Yoo Kyungri from the ‘office.’ Our Kyungri is pretty enough to be an actress too, how is she doing?

🔥

Cha Hongjo, or rather, Yeo Jitae, in character, pressed his lips against Kim Choji, played by Yang Seohee. Kim Choji flinched, her shoulders trembling, and then pushed Yeo Jitae’s chest. Taking a couple of steps back, she screamed at him.

“Go away! Stop messing up my life and just go away!”

Yeo Jitae sneered at her desperate cry.

“You’re the one who dragged me into your life.”

“……Please, just go……”

Kim Choji covered her face and sobbed. Yeo Jitae pulled her into his arms. His embrace around her small frame tightened progressively. Kim Choji felt suffocated, but unable to break free, she rested her forehead against Yeo Jitae’s chest.

“Okay!”

Director Kim’s signal came, and Cha Hongjo released his hold. Yang Seohee, freed from his embrace, lifted her head and pressed her index finger under her eyes. A staff member rushed over and handed her a tissue.

Dabbing at her eyes with the tissue, Yang Seohee turned towards where her co-star had been. This marked the end of Cha Hongjo’s scenes for the day. She considered inviting him for a cup of coffee before they started their individual shoots, but the spot where Cha Hongjo had been standing was empty. Finding the suddenly vanished Cha Hongjo wasn’t difficult. He was, naturally, by Director Kim’s side.

After each scene, Director Kim would call Cha Hongjo over and give him detailed instructions. While she called it meticulous guidance, she even offered advice on how to eat, so it seemed more like an obsession with Cha Hongjo himself. As she had declared in an interview, stating her ‘full support for Actor Cha,’ her dedication to him was evident. The fact that this dedication wasn’t limited to their professional relationship was now an open secret that everyone tacitly acknowledged. In fact, even now…

“Huh?”

Yang Seohee, who had been observing Director Kim and Cha Hongjo with a sharp gaze, raised an eyebrow at the figure who suddenly appeared between them.

The unfamiliar man was even taller than Cha Hongjo, and his small face held strikingly handsome features arranged in perfect harmony. Everyone here was either staff or an actor, and he certainly didn’t look like staff, so he must be an actor. Yet, he was a stranger to her. Casting had been finalized long ago, and they wouldn’t replace an actor now that filming had started.

“Hey, Minki.”

Yang Seohee nudged her manager repeatedly, her eyes fixed on the man who was now exchanging greetings with Director Kim after Cha Hongjo.

“Uh, yeah. What?”

“Who’s that?”

Her manager, Go Minki, glanced in the direction Yang Seohee indicated with her chin and then shook his head.

“I don’t know. Someone Director Kim knows?”

“He looks like an actor. Do you really not know, Minki?”

Her manager looked at the man again. This time, his gaze was openly scrutinizing, not just a fleeting glance.

“Wow… he’s incredibly handsome. Is he a rookie? He seems to know Cha Hongjo, maybe they’re from the same agency?”

If Go Minki, who was well-versed in the entertainment industry, didn’t know him, he was likely a pre-debut rookie or a non-celebrity. Probably the former. Yang Seohee continued to observe the man with interest.

Cha Hongjo was also staring intently at Go Baekwoo.

He had just finished filming his last scene for the day and was talking with Director Kim.

“Cha Hongjo.”

A familiar low voice suddenly sent shivers down his spine. Goosebumps erupted along his back. Pretty Boy couldn’t possibly be here. But…

“Cha Hongjo.”

The voice that called his name again, now closer, was definitely not a hallucination. Why was Pretty Boy here? Cha Hongjo straightened up from where he had been leaning towards the monitor and turned around. At the same time, Director Kim turned her head.

“Who is this? Chairman Go’s son?”

“Hello.”

Go Baekwoo’s gaze, which had been fixed solely on Cha Hongjo, shifted to Director Kim. Director Kim, rising from her seat, lightly touched Go Baekwoo’s arm.

“What brings you here? I didn’t hear anything about this.”

“……Cha Hongjo.”

But only for a moment. Go Baekwoo’s gaze returned to Cha Hongjo, as if he were his rightful place.

“I came to see him.”

“…….”

Cha Hongjo’s gaze went to Go Baekwoo’s slightly pink, cold-nipped nose, then up to meet his eyes. At that moment, Go Baekwoo wrapped an arm around Cha Hongjo’s waist and pulled him closer, turning him slightly towards Director Kim. As if displaying himself, clinging to Cha Hongjo, to the director.

“I was worried about how he was doing.”

🔥

Go Baekwoo had Cha Hongjo easily. Cha Hongjo had just finished his scenes for the day, and even Director Kim couldn’t come up with a plausible excuse to keep him around until filming resumed the next day. Tae Pyunghyun, though surprised by Go Baekwoo’s appearance, didn’t object to them leaving the set. He only added a nagging reminder for Cha Hongjo to drink moderately and return before it got too late, for the sake of tomorrow’s filming.

Although the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province weren’t far from Seoul, public transportation was inconvenient, so Cha Hongjo assumed Go Baekwoo had sent a driver. However, there was no one waiting in the parking lot, and as Go Baekwoo naturally got into the driver’s seat, Cha Hongjo raised an eyebrow and settled into the passenger seat.

“Did you learn to drive?”

“Yeah.”

Go Baekwoo replied curtly as he started the car. Watching his profile, Cha Hongjo was once again struck by Go Baekwoo’s beauty. Even after exchanging glances with an actor who embodied the ideal type of every man in Korea for half a day, Go Baekwoo’s beauty hadn’t faded. Pretty Boy was indeed pretty.

“You haven’t eaten dinner, have you?”

Go Baekwoo asked as he drove out of the parking lot. He was a surprisingly good driver, considering he hadn’t been driving for long.

“No.”

“What do you want to eat?”

“I don’t know.”

He had no appetite. Cha Hongjo ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek, then put a cigarette in his mouth and rolled down the window. The slowly passing scenery outside gradually blurred. The car was accelerating.

“Let’s have a drink.”

“I can’t drink and drive. I have to take you back.”

“Then just pour me drinks, Pretty Boy.”

“……Don’t you have anything you want to eat?”

“…….”

Cha Hongjo didn’t answer, only smoked his ‘Rose’ cigarette. Go Baekwoo, glancing at him through the rearview mirror, stopped the car at a red light. He rolled down his window and put a ‘Rose’ cigarette between his lips. He rummaged around, looking for his lighter, but couldn’t find it. He kept checking the traffic signal while searching.

“…….”

Cha Hongjo, with the cigarette in his mouth, suddenly leaned in. Slowly. The tips of their thin cigarettes met. Cha Hongjo inhaled, and the tip of his ‘Rose’ glowed red, transferring the ember to Go Baekwoo’s ‘Rose.’ Go Baekwoo inhaled in turn. The ember, spreading like wildfire with a crackling sound, ignited the entire cigarette. Cha Hongjo exhaled a plume of grey smoke, smiled faintly, and leaned back. The scent of cigarette smoke and Cha Hongjo’s cologne lingered like a heat haze before dissipating.

“……Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

The light turned green.

“Should I light it for you like that from now on?”

“…….”

Go Baekwoo, taking the cigarette from his lips and squinting with one eye, gripped the steering wheel again. The car started moving. The wind, rushing towards the car, invaded the interior. Their hair flew in all directions. The ash from their cigarettes scattered into the air before they could flick it away.

“……Here.”

“What?”

His voice was lost in the swirling wind. Cha Hongjo, turning his head towards the driver’s seat, asked again. Go Baekwoo briefly glanced at Cha Hongjo, then returned his gaze to the road and said,

“Let’s have a drink.”

“You said you can’t drink and drive.”

“We’ll take a taxi.”

“Will you pay for the taxi?”

“Or you can sleep with me and leave in the morning.”

“…….”

“If that’s okay with you.”

“It’s not a problem.”

Cha Hongjo took a drag of his cigarette and continued where he left off, “But if you’re going to stop halfway and act like a jerk like last time, then no.”

He seemed to be referring to the day they met at High Entertainment. In Tae Pyunghyun’s car…

Go Baekwoo, remembering his own jealous outburst, subtly twitched his index finger on the steering wheel and then nodded.

“I won’t.”

The car turned off the main road and into a larger side street. It was a more developed area than the village where the filming was taking place, though incomparable to Seoul.

“Should we go further in, or stop here?”

Go Baekwoo asked, slowing down. Cha Hongjo suddenly laughed.

Why is he laughing? Go Baekwoo, wondering if Cha Hongjo had seen something amusing, turned his gaze towards him. There was nothing funny to be seen in the shabby scenery, which was as run-down as Wonseon-dong.

“Why are you laughing?”

He couldn’t contain his curiosity and finally asked.

“I didn’t realize…”

Cha Hongjo placed his hand on Go Baekwoo’s thigh and murmured with a chuckle,

“Pretty Boy, your voice is sexy.”

“…….”

“Stop here.”

The hand that had been gripping his thigh tightly, as if about to crush it, slid away.

“Not in the car, somewhere else.”

Go Baekwoo, his neck flushing with heat, cleared his throat unnecessarily and looked for a parking spot. There was a truck parked in front of a utility pole just ahead. He could park behind it… that seemed like a good spot.

🔥

Eleven o’clock at night. The owner of the street food stall clicked his tongue as he cleared away the empty soju bottles that completely covered the blue plastic table. Why were those handsome young men pouring alcohol down their throats like old men on the eve of an ancestor memorial ceremony…?

“Pretty boy… slowly…”

Cha Hongjo was drinking a lot tonight. No, he wasn’t just drinking a lot; as the stall owner had muttered to himself, he was downing soju as if he were at a memorial service. He had been like this since the restaurant. Go Baekwoo, who had initially just thought he was drinking too fast, couldn’t stand it any longer and tried to stop Cha Hongjo from ordering more soju after they moved to the street food stall. But words only worked when the other person listened.

“Slowly, slow down, damn it, I feel… sick…”

“…Should we take a break?”

“…”

Go Baekwoo stopped walking and adjusted Cha Hongjo’s position on his back. He glanced towards Cha Hongjo’s ear, from which only soft breaths could be heard. Cha Hongjo, his face buried against Go Baekwoo’s shoulder, had his eyes closed.

“Cha Hongjo.”

Had he fallen asleep already?

“Hongjo.”

He called again, but there was no response.

Go Baekwoo had been pacing himself, knowing he had to take Cha Hongjo back to the set in the morning. Unlike his friends and Tae Pyunghyun, Cha Hongjo didn’t complain whether others drank a lot or a little. So, he wondered if Cha Hongjo also ignored others’ concerns, regardless of whether they tried to stop him or not, even with filming scheduled for the next day.

“Ha…”

His breath, expelled with a sigh, was visible in the cold air. His cheeks felt frozen. Thinking he needed to get inside somewhere quickly and let Cha Hongjo lie down, Go Baekwoo started walking again. One by one, the signs in the small, modest shopping district of the unfamiliar town were turning off. There were few pedestrians. It was a weeknight, and it didn’t seem like a bustling area to begin with.

Go Baekwoo’s gaze, scanning the dimly lit signs as he walked, finally landed on one.

[Munjang Motel]

It was a motel. He was relieved to find at least one motel in this town, which seemed unlikely to have many travelers. Of course, motels weren’t exclusively for travelers. With that thought, Go Baekwoo adjusted Cha Hongjo on his back again and stepped inside.

The motel room, where the price for a night’s stay was cheaper than a meal, was worth exactly that much. It was cramped and smelled of mildew. The wallpaper was yellowed and faded, and the curtains, meant to block the window, were sticky. At least the bedding seemed to be laundered, as there was a faint scent of detergent. Even that was threadbare.

He didn’t want to lay Cha Hongjo down on the bedding, even if it smelled of detergent, as he didn’t know who had used it before. Go Baekwoo gently placed the completely asleep and limp Cha Hongjo on the floor, took off his own coat, and spread it wide on the bed. Then, he went back to Cha Hongjo, removed his outer clothes and socks, and lifted him into his arms. Even as he laid him down on the coat, Cha Hongjo’s closed eyelids showed no sign of opening.

“Ha…”

He could stay up all night drinking with Cha Hongjo if that’s what he wanted. But it was a problem when the drinking companion wasn’t him. He didn’t know how many people Cha Hongjo had shared drinks with, but it must have been countless. However, that had been possible because it was in the past, when he didn’t know Cha Hongjo, and it wouldn’t be possible anymore. Cha Hongjo couldn’t be this unguarded in front of others, not him.

‘Really, we’re fucking nothing. Just like you and me.’

That day, after returning home, Go Baekwoo didn’t try to force himself to sleep, but stayed awake, pondering. Why did Cha Hongjo deny him?

It might be wishful thinking fueled by his longing, but even if it wasn’t the same as his own feelings, Cha Hongjo definitely had feelings for him. If he had to categorize it, it was close to affection. And that affection wasn’t friendship. He was certain of this. Perhaps it was possible between a man and a woman, but where was there friendship that involved exchanging tongues and rubbing naked bodies between two men? At least, as far as he knew, there wasn’t.

‘I’m not turned on by just that anymore, because of your face. So, Pretty Boy, take some responsibility.’

Cha Hongjo had clearly shown sexual desire towards him and had acted on it. He could excuse the first time as a drunken mistake, but from the second and third times onwards, alcohol was just a cowardly excuse. Of course, neither Cha Hongjo nor he had ever used alcohol as an excuse.

That was it.

The fact that no one had made any excuses about their relationship was the crux of the matter.

Just as he had never tried to justify why he liked Cha Hongjo, Cha Hongjo had never made excuses for why he pushed him away. Cha Hongjo repeatedly emphasized that they were nothing, but he never explained why they had to be nothing. He hadn’t said he liked him, but he hadn’t said he disliked him either. He pushed him away, but he didn’t push him away.

Affection is sometimes, or rather, often blind, making explanations unnecessary. Just as he had become so with Cha Hongjo. However, rejection demanded a reason. Even if that reason remained unspoken to the rejected party.

Judging by Cha Hongjo’s personality, which he had observed so far, if he truly disliked him, he would have said so without hesitation. He wouldn’t have called him pretty, nor would he have returned to the place he left without a word. Even driven by lust, he wouldn’t have seduced him, nor would he have succumbed to seduction. Cha Hongjo was someone who could easily find other partners if he wanted to. He didn’t need him…

Yet, Cha Hongjo still called him “Pretty Boy.” He had left twice, but returned both times. He initiated the seduction, and he yielded to it. He hadn’t completely shut him out. While he wouldn’t allow him to delve into the deepest parts of himself, he had accepted him to drift on the surface. But why?

‘Why does Cha Hongjo deny me?’

The premise was wrong. Go Baekwoo rephrased the question.

‘Why does Cha Hongjo try to deny us?’

They had already seeped into each other. They desired and were drawn to each other, accepting each other into their lives. It didn’t matter how shallow or deep their immersion was. The important fact was that absorption had already occurred. And the day they would sink to the bottom of each other’s depths was not far off. Because the weight of their feelings increased with every passing second.

“…….”

Go Baekwoo, gazing at the sleeping Cha Hongjo, knelt on the floor. He kneaded Cha Hongjo’s hand, which dangled off the bed, and then rested his cheek against his palm. Cha Hongjo’s brow twitched. But he didn’t wake. Truly…

“Cha Hongjo, you…”

He shouldn’t be this unguarded in front of anyone other than him. Not anymore.

No impurities should contaminate the pond they had created, a pond still new. Contamination happens in an instant. Therefore, he would no longer stand idly by and watch the pests swarming around Cha Hongjo.

‘Be nothing with whoever you’re with. Then it’s okay.’

He had meant those words. It was fine if Cha Hongjo was with anyone, as long as he denied the relationship. As long as he remained indifferent, without exploring the depths of the connection, he wouldn’t care. Because, in the end, he would be the only one falling deeper for Cha Hongjo.

‘But Hongjo, at least when I’m watching… don’t be all over each other, please… I’ll kill you.’

He had meant those words too. He would reiterate, he would no longer tolerate the pests swarming around Cha Hongjo.

He alone was enough to dance with the flames. That’s why he had survived until winter. Even burned, even festering.

“Hongjo.”

Burn brightly, as much as you want. Because, in the end, I’m the only one who will drown you.

Go Baekwoo wet his wings. Engulfed in shimmering, nascent feelings, he didn’t realize that what he applied to his wings was poison.

“I like you.”

Go Baekwoo’s eyes, gazing at the flames of his own heart, burned intensely.

“So much, it feels like I’m dying…”

Go Baekwoo rubbed his nose against Cha Hongjo’s palm, then slid it down to his bony wrist. Cha Hongjo’s unique, sweet scent permeated his senses. He felt dizzy. This wasn’t the alcohol, not now.

He brought his face back to Cha Hongjo’s palm and gently pressed his lips against it, as if trying to keep it a secret. Like kissing a sacred relic.

As he kissed Cha Hongjo, imagining the day he would finally have him, his groin stirred. He unfastened his constricting pants.

As if Cha Hongjo’s touch transmitted the warmth of alcohol, his forehead and cheeks flushed. His lips felt hot, as if the skin would peel off. He reached down and grasped his now erect penis, which felt foreign in his hand. He squeezed the blunt, swollen flesh.

“…….”

Masturbating, he stuck out his tongue and licked Cha Hongjo’s palm. He traced the long fingers, lingering in the spaces between the joints, with the tip of his tongue. Just as saliva pools in a mouth that has tasted sweetness, pre-seminal fluid leaked from him. He covered the engorged tip with his palm and rubbed it, then slid his hand down the shaft.

Go Baekwoo tilted his head and sucked on the smooth, unblemished tip of his finger, then simultaneously tightened his grip around the slick shaft and pumped it rhythmically. Each time his thumb and forefinger grazed the base of his glans, shivers ran down his spine. Swallowing his ragged breath, his throat bobbing, Go Baekwoo pulled his face away from Cha Hongjo’s palm and lifted his chin. His lips, flushed and swollen, were pressed against his teeth.

Go Baekwoo, with some effort, raised his trembling eyelashes and stared intently at Cha Hongjo. A hot, surging feeling welled up inside him.

“Ugh…”

Instinctively covering the tip with four fingers and rubbing the slick glans with his thumb, Go Baekwoo reached his climax. Before the semen on his fingers could drip onto the clothes, he turned his palm over. He reached for a tissue.

“Pretty boy.”

He met Cha Hongjo’s gaze over the arm that suddenly appeared before him.

“Did you just jerk off?”

“……Yeah.”

He answered, crumpling the tissue in his hand. He couldn’t see Cha Hongjo’s expression because of the arm blocking his view. He could hear a snicker and a slow exhale, though.

“…….”

“…….”

Go Baekwoo couldn’t even breathe comfortably. He gulped down the dry air in his parched throat as he wiped away the lingering traces of lust from his hand and groin.

It was something he could do as a person, as a man in an age group where the need for sleep was superseded by hunger, and hunger by sexual desire. So, he wasn’t embarrassed, but… it was awkward. He felt a strong urge to escape this situation. He carelessly tossed the used tissues into a corner, hastily adjusted his pants, and stood up.

“……I’ll go wash up.”

“Baekwoo.”

But then, a hand clasped his wrist. It was the same hand he had been licking and sucking on moments ago. Go Baekwoo, who hadn’t imagined that hand would grab him, was slightly startled. He looked down at Cha Hongjo with wide eyes. Cha Hongjo tightened his grip on his wrist, then abruptly released it, his fingers splayed open. His wrist fell back with a thud.

Wiggling his outstretched fingers, Cha Hongjo said with a curved smile,

“Come back quickly.”

Then, as if he wouldn’t wait, he turned his back and lay down on his side.

Go Baekwoo stared for a moment at the pale curve of Cha Hongjo’s back, partially exposed where his shirt had ridden up.

“I’ll be right back.”

He reluctantly pulled his feet away, wanting to both flee and stay.

🔥

It was the first time he’d experienced sleep paralysis two nights in a row. Had even alcohol become useless? Cha Hongjo mocked himself from beneath the corpse that lunged at him as if to devour him. If you’re going to do this, just take me. Why torment me like a bastard if you can’t even take me, Father?

As if reading his unfilial thoughts, the ghost pressed down on him even harder. He felt suffocated. His ribs felt like they would break. It was agonizing. But he knew that no matter how painful it was, this eternal nightmare would eventually end. And he knew that once it ended, he would be tormented again by the air of reality. He wouldn’t die, no matter how recklessly he lived.

“So much, it feels like I’m dying…”

Even if it felt like he was dying, he wouldn’t die… Wait, that wasn’t his voice.

It was at that moment, as his own pessimistic mumbling echoed in his ears, that the corpse before him vanished. Cha Hongjo stared blankly at the gloomy ceiling that replaced his father in his vision, then, his throat constricting, he closed his eyelids again. The ceiling spun. His temples throbbed, his stomach churned. Before he could even wonder where he was, he remembered that he had drunk a considerable amount of alcohol.

With the returning memory, sensation returned as well. Cha Hongjo began to wiggle his fingers slightly. And then he felt it. Something wet and warm, crawling across his fingers. He knew what it was without having to open his eyes to confirm it. It was a tongue.

“…….”

His hearing was the last sense to return. His head throbbed as if struck by alcohol, making it difficult to hear clearly, but the uneven breaths were heated. The sounds accompanying those breaths, sometimes in sync, sometimes not, were of wet skin rubbing against skin… It was too subdued to be the sound of sex, and too intense to be the sound of masturbation, but it must be masturbation nonetheless. The heated breaths belonged to Go Baekwoo. He was certain. Go Baekwoo wouldn’t be with someone else while he was lying there.

“Ugh…”

He would take care of himself with him as the subject of his desire, not like this.

“Pretty boy.”

Even if he was passed out drunk, how could he do this when he could wake up any minute?

“Did you just jerk off?”

“……Yeah.”

His boldness seemed to have been ejaculated along with his semen. Go Baekwoo avoided his gaze, his ears flushed, as if embarrassed. Cute bastard. Cha Hongjo couldn’t suppress the chuckle that escaped his lips. Did he think he was being mocked? Go Baekwoo’s movements, wiping away the traces of his arousal, became frantic. He felt a mischievous urge to tease him further, seeing him so embarrassed, but as he watched Pretty Boy consumed by shame and exhaustion, he realized…

“……I’ll go wash up.”

…his hand…

“Baekwoo.”

…had moved first. It happened the moment Go Baekwoo abruptly sat up as if to flee.

Go Baekwoo’s face was etched with bewilderment. He was equally bewildered. Why had he grabbed Go Baekwoo? As he asked himself this, his grip tightened involuntarily again.

Let go. Only after consciously thinking it could he release Go Baekwoo’s wrist. His five fingers, splayed open in the air, felt awkward. He forced a smile and wiggled his hand.

“Come back quickly.”

That wasn’t what he meant to say. It was strange. His body was acting and speaking on its own. Was he possessed? If so, the ghost possessing him must be his father. The evil spirit that refused to acknowledge its death and parasitized his being.

His face contorted. It was the expression he only wore when he woke up alone in the cold, blue light of dawn, drenched in cold sweat. He shouldn’t show this face to others. So, Cha Hongjo turned away.

“I’ll be right back.”

“…….”

Yes, come back quickly. He curled up on his side, ignoring the erratic beating of his heart. It was a cheap room, probably a motel room, where he couldn’t expect any soundproofing. The sound of running water, indicating Go Baekwoo had started washing up, invaded the room. Cha Hongjo listened to the aggressive splashing, his gaze fixed on the yellowish stains that patterned the wallpaper. He blinked. Closed his eyes, then opened them again. Blinked again, and again, and again.

He wanted to die.

But…

‘So much, it feels like I’m dying…’

Why did you feel like you were dying?

Cha Hongjo decided to ask Pretty Boy the meaning of his words when he returned.

“…….”

The wait felt excruciatingly long as he held onto the questions he wanted to ask. He said he’d be right back. Did he drown himself in the sink, or…?

Cha Hongjo blinked, his eyes opening and closing, and ran his tongue over his dry lips in his anxiety. If he hadn’t drowned himself… did he leave? Fuck.

Just as he had unconsciously grabbed Go Baekwoo’s wrist, a sudden pressure gripped him. The fabric beneath him crumpled softly. And then, amidst the persistent sound of running water, a scent wafted towards him. Pretty Boy’s scent. It was like soap, like cologne, but also unlike anything else.

His gaze, which had been fixed on the yellow stains on the wallpaper, shifted downwards. Only then did Cha Hongjo realize he wasn’t lying on bedding, but Go Baekwoo’s coat.

No matter how resilient he was, he wouldn’t have gone out in the middle of winter without his coat.

“……Ha.”

He hadn’t left.

The realization that he was lying on Go Baekwoo’s scent-infused coat hit him. The chilling loneliness that had enveloped him vanished instantly.

In that moment, Cha Hongjo realized he had been drowning in loneliness. Finally.

No, he had known he was lonely. He just hadn’t realized how much, how much he could be comforted by the faintest trace of Go Baekwoo’s scent.

‘Who isn’t lonely in this world?’

He had said those words to someone who had confided their loneliness to him in the past.

He had considered loneliness a universal emotion and tried not to dwell on it.

Who isn’t lonely in this world?

It would have been less pathetic if he had truly understood those words when he spoke them. It was horrifying. How foolish he had been. That he was so hollow, so easily moved by the scent of someone else’s coat.

Since when?

Since when had he become this pathetic? Cha Hongjo mocked himself as he traced back his past.

“Haha…”

A hollow laugh escaped his lips.

Since the day his father committed suicide? No. Since the time he learned the feeling of being left alone at home? No. Since the time his mother, whose face was now a blur, began to be absent from his life? Or perhaps, since the day he was born.

Loneliness, like an eternal monsoon season, had poured down on him, submerging him. A fish that lives only in water knows nothing of the land. So, Cha Hongjo hadn’t known he was lonely. He had struggled not to know. Because that was the only way he could survive.

“I’m… still drunk, fuck.”

The loneliness he confronted for the first time was blindingly vivid. It screamed at him, look at yourself, left all alone. He blinked, rubbing his stinging eyes, and attributed the surging emotions to the alcohol.

He had never cried from drinking, though. Unless he was truly possessed, the real him shouldn’t be crying, no matter how drunk he was, no matter what he was going through. Don’t cry. Cha Hongjo rubbed his burning eyelids, repeating the words to himself.

Don’t cry…

His whole body trembled.

🔥

Go Baekwoo felt it would be inappropriate to put his outside clothes back on after showering, so he wrapped the towel he had used to dry his hair around his waist. He hesitated, thinking this attire might be unsuitable after having revealed a slightly, very slightly embarrassing side of himself to Cha Hongjo. But then again, he had already exposed everything to Cha Hongjo, both the presentable and the unpresentable, so he decided it didn’t matter. He stepped out of the bathroom.

Cha Hongjo was lying in the same position as before Go Baekwoo had gone to shower. Is he asleep again? It was strange that he had woken up earlier, considering how much he had drunk. Go Baekwoo, once again trying not to wake Cha Hongjo, softened his steps.

In the cramped motel room, he could reach his destination in just a few steps. Go Baekwoo sat down on the edge of the bed. Creak. Despite his efforts, the old mattress groaned and vibrated. If it were a person, he would have gagged and tied its limbs. Fortunately, Cha Hongjo didn’t seem to wake.

Go Baekwoo twisted his upper body towards where Cha Hongjo lay, placed a hand near his slender back, and leaned on it for support. He tilted his body further, craning his neck to see Cha Hongjo’s face, shadowed by his own.

“You weren’t asleep?”

He asked as soon as his eyes met Cha Hongjo’s, which were moving beneath closed eyelids. He simultaneously noticed that Cha Hongjo’s eyes were particularly red. The room was warm. Then it must be because of the alcohol… Before he could fully form the question, Cha Hongjo abruptly sat up, nearly causing their foreheads to collide. He dodged just in time, but his nape was immediately caught in a firm grip. He was pulled forward. As if pulling wasn’t enough, Cha Hongjo tilted his head and leaned in. Go Baekwoo gave up trying to understand the situation, wrapped his arms around Cha Hongjo’s waist, and exhaled.

Their tongues tangled aggressively, their breaths quickly growing ragged. Go Baekwoo reached under Cha Hongjo’s sweater. Cha Hongjo, breaking the kiss, pulled off his sweater in one swift motion. Thud. He tossed it carelessly onto the bed and kissed him again. Their hands moved through each other’s hair, leaving it tangled and messy. Go Baekwoo’s fingers, running through Cha Hongjo’s still-damp, dark hair, felt the moisture.

Go Baekwoo was only wearing a towel, so only Cha Hongjo needed to be undressed. His hand, trailing from Cha Hongjo’s dark hair down his back, reached his slender waist and then moved to his groin. Buttons were undone, zippers pulled down. As he tugged at Cha Hongjo’s waistband, Cha Hongjo removed his hand from Go Baekwoo’s hair and took off his own pants.

After a deep, lingering kiss, they pulled apart slightly and looked at each other. As their heated gazes locked, the world around them seemed to darken, as if they had been plunged into the vast expanse of space. Then, their features, illuminated by a brilliant light, came into sharp focus. It was a miraculous moment. They understood each other’s hearts without a single word.

You want me, and I want you.

They kissed again, deeply, their noses brushing against each other. Cha Hongjo collapsed under Go Baekwoo’s weight. Go Baekwoo immediately positioned himself between Cha Hongjo’s spread legs, their lower bodies pressing together. Whether from the lingering moisture of the shower or from new arousal, their joined bodies were damp. Their penises, flushed with heat, slid against each other. Then, as they became too deeply intertwined, he instinctively pulled away, about to bite Cha Hongjo’s tongue.

“Ha… Pretty boy…”

Cha Hongjo murmured, releasing the breath he had been holding. Go Baekwoo, grinding his hips against Cha Hongjo’s, cupped his face instead of replying. Cha Hongjo winced as Go Baekwoo’s index finger brushed near the corner of his eye.

“Baekwoo.”

“Yeah, Hongjo…”

“Dick, ugh.”

Just as he was about to speak, the hard tip of Go Baekwoo’s penis bumped against the base of his own. This time, Cha Hongjo squeezed his eyes shut and let out a low moan. He exhaled shakily and continued,

“Maybe it’s… because of the alcohol… I’m so fucking turned on right now…”

“Me too, ha… so…”

As if to prove his sincerity, clear fluid leaked from the tip of his penis. The shaft was coated with a sticky, whitish pre-seminal fluid from their repeated friction.

“But, more, ah.”

As Go Baekwoo bucked his hips upward, Cha Hongjo threw his head back with a gasp, his mouth open wide. He pressed against Go Baekwoo’s shoulder, his lips forming words.

“Make me… want to fuck you more.”

“…….”

The rhythmic movement of Go Baekwoo’s hips stopped abruptly.

Frozen in place, Go Baekwoo looked down at Cha Hongjo, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. Cha Hongjo, meeting his gaze, pushed down on his broad shoulders again and urged,

“Suck it.”

He hadn’t hesitated the first time, so the second time was even easier. Go Baekwoo lowered his face to Cha Hongjo’s ear. He ran his tongue along the outer curve of his ear, hidden beneath dark hair, and gently sucked on his earlobe. His lips moved lower, pressing softly against Cha Hongjo’s neck. He gently nibbled on Cha Hongjo’s collarbone, where droplets of moisture had gathered, then soothed the spot with his tongue. Without retracting his tongue, he moved it lower, to Cha Hongjo’s chest.

“Ha…”

He pinched one nipple between his thumb and forefinger, rolling it gently while teasing the other with the tip of his tongue. Cha Hongjo let out a low, breathy moan and arched his back slightly. After lavishing attention on both nipples until they were flushed, Go Baekwoo trailed his tongue down the shallow valley between Cha Hongjo’s abdominal muscles. The hand that had been gripping his waist as if to anchor him moved down to his hips and then to his thighs.

“……Ah.”

His hand slid to Cha Hongjo’s inner thigh, grasping the flesh as if to pinch it, then pushed outwards. Cha Hongjo naturally spread his legs wider. Go Baekwoo moved lower, positioned himself, and began to slowly lick Cha Hongjo’s throbbing penis, from the base to just below the glans. Cha Hongjo curled his toes and gripped Go Baekwoo’s hair.

“Suck it. Don’t just lick it.”

His voice was urgent. Go Baekwoo glanced up at Cha Hongjo, who was pulling his hair, then tilted his head and opened his mouth wide. He engulfed the glistening tip of Cha Hongjo’s penis and deliberately tilted his head further back. He rubbed the slick glans against the sensitive inner lining of his mouth.

“Ah, fuck…”

“…….”

Cha Hongjo cursed, covering his eyes with his forearm. Go Baekwoo stopped rubbing the glans against the inside of his mouth and pushed Cha Hongjo’s penis deeper into his throat. He tightened his lips around the shaft, creating suction, and wrapped his tongue around the part inside his mouth. He pulled back his head, then thrust it forward again, sucking rhythmically. At the same time, he moved the hand that had been gripping Cha Hongjo’s thigh down to his knee, lifting his leg. Cha Hongjo only arched his back and opened his mouth a little wider.

“Ha… ha…”

When the grip on his hair tightened, Go Baekwoo pulled Cha Hongjo’s penis from his mouth. He ran his lips along the saliva-slicked shaft. As he reached the base and pulled away, there was a soft popping sound, and a thin strand of fluid, either saliva or pre-seminal fluid, stretched between them.

“Ah, ah…”

He took Cha Hongjo’s penis in his hand and pumped it rapidly. Cha Hongjo moaned, the sounds broken and strained, as if he was close to climax. Go Baekwoo lifted his gaze to Cha Hongjo’s parted lips, then took his heated, reddened scrotum in his mouth and gently sucked on it. He pressed the thin skin with the tip of his tongue, feeling the round shape within. He swirled his tongue around it as if savoring a sweet candy.