Second Half Chapter 20

Sure enough, fans unfamiliar with bisous culture were already gathering in the chat window, questioning whether people in Europe really greeted each other that way. Jerim nodded with composed nonchalance.

“Yes, cheek kisses as a greeting are quite common. I was flustered at first too, but now, well, I’m used to it.”

Honestly, it wasn’t common between men… and there were almost no cases of actually pressing one’s lips like Aaron just did… moreover, Aaron kissed his neck earlier, not his cheek… and he even bit him as if he were performing foreplay…

Anyway, from the cheek to the neck, it would all look about the same from behind the camera. He just had to stubbornly insist it was the cheek. Taking it a step further, he even called over Jesus, who was from a similar culture, and mimicked the same gesture. Although Jesus grumbled that it was gross, he played along, and thanks to that, Jerim was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

The fans’ fervor cooled down instantly once they realized it was a simple greeting and not an overt display of affection. Seeing that things had mostly settled, Jerim handed the camera focus over to other colleagues who had jumped in and made his exit.

Everyone was so distracted by the broadcast and snickering that no one cared if one person slipped away. Jerim, having stood up quietly, dragged Aaron out of the banquet hall. Aaron, who had been uncharacteristically compliant while being dragged out, muttered coldly as soon as the banquet hall doors closed.

“…You’re seriously annoying.”

The way he even glared with a look as if he were seeing something filthy was quite absurd. There’s a limit to the one who passed the gas being the one to get angry. Jerim replaced his answer by grabbing Aaron’s collar and dragged him all the way to the guest room where he was staying.

Upon opening the door, the luggage he had just tossed roughly was rolling around in a mess. After making space by kicking a large duffel bag out of the way, he shoved Aaron into the room and closed the door.

Jerim, having thoroughly checked that the thick iron door was closed tightly and that they were in a space completely isolated from the outside, opened his mouth.

Or rather, he tried to open it. Until Aaron lunged at him like a rabid dog and bit into his neck.

“Ugh! Crazy, what the hell are you doing!”

Unlike the light nip from before—Crackle—a stinging pain heated his nape along with the sound of skin breaking. Jerim pushed Aaron away and brushed his hand over the bitten area. From the exact spot where the lips had touched earlier, sticky blood was now slowly seeping out.

“Wasn’t it to have sex that you dragged me to your room?”

Aaron sneered as he wiped the blood from his lips with his thumb. The blood, smeared from his rough wiping, was drawn long past the corner of his mouth as if lipstick had been smudged. On a face that already emitted a dangerous atmosphere, the bright red blood spreading across the edges of lips that already looked erotic served as the perfect finishing touch.

Jerim just watched the scene silently for a while. He momentarily forgot that he was about to retort with, “Stop talking bullshit.” It was because he sensed a very significant abnormal reaction in his lower body.

…Perhaps because it had been a while since he had sex, some minor problem seemed to have occurred. Or perhaps the extreme anger caused his adrenaline to surge, speeding up his blood flow.

‘Right, this goddamn fucking adrenaline.’

It made sense if he thought of it as a phenomenon similar to getting an erection right after a match. He had to convince himself of that much to keep from beating his own dick, which was actually getting turned on in a situation where grabbing the other’s collar wouldn’t even be enough. Jerim sang the national anthem in his head, desperately overlooking the fact that he hadn’t felt sexual arousal while looking at a man since breaking up with Aaron.

Currently, this is the World Cup round of 16 deciding match… no, the Asian Games final where military exemption was on the line… I listened to ‘A Soldier’s Letter’ right before coming out of the tunnel… and I’m imagining myself saluting the national flag with a solemn heart while singing the national anthem before the match starts, which calmed his dick that had been about to stand right up.

“Sex, my ass. Is biting someone’s neck until it bleeds ‘sex’ to you?”

Jerim retorted as if spitting out the words while wiping the blood from his hand. Fortunately, looking down, everything was fine except for the fabric near his left thigh being slightly prominent.

However, there was nothing he could do about his face, which had turned beet-red from the sudden rush of blood. Jerim took pride in being a handsome man with a rather cool impression, but he didn’t like his fair skin that easily revealed when blood rushed to it.

It was because it created very embarrassing situations at times exactly like this.

“This isn’t sex, it’s a greeting. You said it was a greeting. Sex comes after that.”

“…”

“But Jerim, what’s with your face? Ah, is it because it’s been a while since you ‘greeted’ a man that you’re excited?”

A large hand cupped Jerim’s entire cheek. The cold temperature touching his skin seemed to tell him just how flushed his face was right now. The glistening amber eyes also held a mocking laughter. Jerim tried to breathe out slowly and brushed off Aaron’s hand.

“Yeah. I’m so damn excited that I feel like I’ll go crazy if I don’t punch you right now.”

“Since when did your tastes lean that way… well, I’ll accommodate you. I’ve gathered enough info that you’ve been swinging your dick around lightly.”

“Bullshit.”

He grabbed the back of the neck of the guy who was trying to bury his lips in his nape again like a teething beast and lifted him up. It was true that he was somewhat turned on due to the visual stimulation, but he had no hobby of having sex with a former lover. Once you break up, that’s the end of it, don’t be pathetic, fuck.

Moreover, Jerim was a civilized person, far too much to have sex just because he got turned on in the middle of a fight. If one can’t endure this much desire and loses their sense of judgment, then they aren’t human, but a beast.

And as a civilized person, the same should apply to the guy in front of him with those unnecessarily brilliant eyes. The tone that sounded like he was gritting his teeth and the crookedly tilted corner of his mouth looked closer to anger to anyone watching. It seemed like his stubbornness to piss the other person off somehow was stronger than being turned on.

Jerim was simply puzzled as to why the one who picked the fight first was continuing to show so much that he was the one who was angrier. Even if it made sense, he had no intention of accepting this shameless attitude. He didn’t have that kind of personality. He let go of Aaron’s neck as if throwing it away and asked.

“What do you want?”

Originally, he intended not to ask any more. With what thoughts he transferred, why he was picking a fight as soon as he arrived, exactly with what kind of face he was acting so shamelessly—all of it.

Regret was enough once ten years ago—no, twice including what he experienced during the talk show filming. Aaron was going to ignore him anyway, and even knowing that, he didn’t want to make a gesture that seemed like he was reaching out first. He had his pride in a situation where they were no longer a couple or anything.

Reenacting the events of the past was something he flatly refused. His pride had already been crushed as much as it could be back then, so he had to cherish and save his remaining pride for the rest of his life. To begin with, one could say half of the elements composing Ban Jerim were pride, and the other half was responsibility. A significant portion of that half was trampled upon by this guy in front of him during their childhood.

‘…I’m sick of your light attitude. You’re annoying, you.’

Along with the line that had decisively shattered his pride, the words his most recent ex-girlfriend said while dumping him suddenly came to mind.

‘It’s strange. We’re clearly lovers, but it feels like a relationship worse than sex partners.’

He heard those words while they were lying in bed together. Not only that, she followed up by saying that no matter how much they shared bodies and bantered whenever they had a chance, she felt like she couldn’t see into his depths, and since she only felt lonely even when they were together, they should break up.

Jerim was in the middle of playing around by twining his lover’s long hair around his fingers and tickling her back. He had naturally not expected at all to be dumped in such an atmosphere.

When faced with such an unexpected situation, most people would probably ask if they had done something to offend them. However, even then, Jerim didn’t ask for the reason and simply replied, ‘Okay, if that’s how you feel, it can’t be helped. You have a lot of luggage, so I’ll at least take you home,’ only to be slapped across the face.

The reason he didn’t ask was similar to the reason he decided to kill his curiosity about Aaron now. He was curious, but asking wouldn’t change anything, and since it was better to give up cleanly without wasting time rather than becoming a pathetic mess who clings on.