Second Half Chapter 38

“We are animals, so what’s the surprise?”

Right. One guy is shooting his load into a teammate’s mouth while getting sucked off, and the other is jerking off and coming right in front of his teammate. They really are nothing but animals. Overwhelmed by a sudden wave of self-loathing, Jerim turned his back and lay down, thumping his forehead against the back of the sofa.

“I have no intention of acting like an animal anymore, so just leave. Go get your clothes out of the dryer.”

“I don’t have any shoes.”

“I’ll lend you a car, so go barefoot. I’ll either wash your shoes and give them back later or pay you for them.”

“Are you joking? You want me to drive barefoot? No.”

“Then wear my slippers or something. Since the front and back are open, they should mostly fit.”

Whether the alternative of lending slippers satisfied his picky standards or not, Aaron finally got up. As soon as he was alone, Jerim struggled, kicking the innocent cushions and the sofa repeatedly.

I’ve lost my mind. I’m insane. No matter how starved I’ve been lately, to think I’d do it with that bastard of all people… Still, considering we both lost our heads, it’s a relief we didn’t go all the way and resolved it somewhat wholesomely, but how am I supposed to look at that bastard’s face from now on? The Champions League group stage starts next week. We even have to go on an away trip to Italy.

Since this was his first time ever causing an accident because he couldn’t overcome a moment of lust, the future looked bleak. To think he came in the mouth of an ex-boyfriend (same-sex) who broke up with him ages ago. The only time he had ever felt sexual excitement for a man was back when he was dating Aaron; since then, nothing like that had happened, so he questioned himself as to why he had succumbed and gotten excited so easily.

However, Jerim’s regret gradually faded as he recalled Aaron’s skillful fellatio and the playful behavior he showed right after the act.

‘That bastard seems to be trying to pass it off as just a happening too…’

He said with his own mouth that he had no intention of going all the way, he didn’t make any particular demands, and looking at the way he did it, he was clearly damn experienced.

Since he had consciously avoided news about Aaron, he had no way of knowing who he had been seeing, except for the actress he was involved in a scandal with 10 years ago. However, judging by how well he sucked a man’s cock and how slyly he handled a major accident caused by the mood, it was obvious he was used to these situations. When his thoughts reached that point, something hot surged up inside Jerim, and he jumped up.

‘Honestly speaking, did I ask him to suck it? Why am I the only one walking on eggshells?’

I should act confidently too, like someone who has experienced this kind of situation hundreds of times. As if I don’t care about this sort of thing at all. We’ll just go back to being teammates who bicker normally. Rather than sweating over it alone, I just need to be careful so it doesn’t happen again.

What’s done is done. In any case, the present is more important than the past, and the future is more important than the present. Jerim stood up briskly, reminding himself of the team’s grand goal of winning the Champions League. Just then, Aaron, who had washed up and changed his clothes, came out to the living room with his things.

When Jerim, who had been lying down like wilted spinach, suddenly recovered his energy and even gave him a bright smile, Aaron subtly took a step back. Jerim grabbed him and personally guided him to the entrance.

At the entrance sat Aaron’s white sneakers, now dingy and covered in mud. The way he had taken them off neatly compared to the other shoes around them suggested that the lesson Jerim had taught him—that it’s polite to take off your shoes and place them neatly when visiting someone’s house in Korea—was still in his head.

It’s somewhat admirable, but anyway, those won’t be fixed by washing. I’ll have to check the market price later and pay him back or get him a new pair. Jerim clicked his tongue inwardly as he opened the shoe rack and rummaged through the wall where the car keys were hanging.

“Is there a specific model you want?”

“Forget the shoe money; instead, give me the most expensive car.”

“Talk about taking the liver out of a flea…”

Even while grumbling, he tossed him the key to the most expensive car among them. Aaron, who easily caught the small object flying through the air, smiled and said, “Oh, a Bugatti,” then stepped closer as if to choose slippers. No sooner had Jerim scanned the inside of the shoe rack with him than a harsh curse rained down on his head.

“…Ha, fuck. Jerim, are you seriously a slut?”

“What now?”

What could possibly lead to being called a slut while looking for slippers? Jerim turned around, flustered by the sudden insult. Aaron then slammed down a pair of shoes he had pulled out from the corner of the top shelf of the shoe rack. They were sky-blue slippers. With a 3cm heel and a size around 6. Recognizing the object, Jerim let out a sound of realization and picked up the slippers.

They were probably the shoes left behind by his ex-girlfriend who had slapped him, but he hadn’t even known they were there for two years. And for good reason—how was he supposed to find something shoved into the very corner of a shoe rack that filled two walls and was taller than him?

You sure found this. An expression of wonder, as if looking at a drug-sniffing dog, spread across Jerim’s face. Aaron pointed a finger at Jerim and interrogated him.

“Where do you get the nerve to bring an ex-boyfriend to a house an ex-girlfriend frequents? On top of that, you even receive a blowjob in the living room?”

“They’re both ‘ex’ lovers, so what’s the problem? And did I ask you to do it? You’re the one who just started sucking.”

“You really…!”

“Just hurry up, pick something to wear, and get out. I opened the garage door.”

Becoming annoyed, Jerim pushed Aaron’s back. After huffing for a while, Aaron suddenly gestured toward the floor of the entrance and said determinedly.

“I’m going to wear these.”

“What?”

“The slippers, I’m saying I’ll wear these. If they belong to an ex, it doesn’t matter if they’re thrown away, right?”

Aaron insisted that he would wear the sky-blue women’s slippers he had slammed down.

Did this guy’s head go wrong because of the red ginseng I gave him earlier? The expiration date definitely hadn’t passed. More flustered than when he was suddenly called a slut, Jerim blinked his eyes, which were distorted with confusion.

“That’s true, but… will those even fit your feet?”

“No problem.”

“Why don’t you just wear something else? I won’t ask for them back, so pick a pair of shoes you like.”

“I like these the most. I’m taking them.”

Aaron forced his feet into the slippers that were only about the size of his palm. Naturally, his heels, which couldn’t fit at all, protruded out the back of the shoes. Riiip, the sound of stitching tearing sounded like the death rattle of the dying slippers.

The only saving grace was that the fabric covering the top of the foot was made of elastic material, so it didn’t tear completely. Though, judging by the pitifully dangling state, they looked like they would meet their end soon. Instead of pointing that out, Jerim covered his mouth and muttered.

“…Don’t blame me if an article comes out saying you’re a cross-dresser.”

“You don’t care anyway, right?”

Well, that’s true, but… still… if an article comes out saying a teammate enjoys wearing women’s shoes… what happens then?

Since it was something he had never experienced, there was a limit to his imagination. This was true even though he had experienced countless bizarre incidents and accidents caused by his teammates’ deviations, such as getting into fights with pedestrians while drunk, affairs, assaulting opposing players, feuds with neighbors over noise issues, and accidental exposure of genitals while filming TikToks in the locker room.

However, he could tell without even imagining it that it would become a topic of conversation far beyond any of the incidents he had faced so far. That Aaron Reyes, who is ranked number one every time they vote for the most handsome and sexiest soccer player in the world, walking around in private wearing women’s slippers the size of his palm.

Honestly, if such an article had appeared before the transfer, even Jerim, who had been avoiding news of Aaron on purpose, wouldn’t have been able to resist his curiosity and would have looked into it. Jerim exercised a shred of camaraderie and tried to stop Aaron.

“Hey, I’ll keep your preference a secret, so today just wear my shoes…”

It was then. At the sound of a vibration ringing from somewhere, Jerim stopped mid-sentence and looked around. No sooner had he confirmed it wasn’t his phone than Aaron pulled out the cell phone he had tucked in his back pocket. As soon as he pressed the accept call button, a woman shouted loud enough to make the entrance ring. Her tone sounded angry.

—Ari! Where are you? You said you were coming to pick me up today.

“…Hold on.”

Along with the Spanish, Jerim’s eyes narrowed at the familiar nickname, Ari. There was no way he couldn’t recognize it. Because it was a pet name he had come up with. A pet name they had promised only to call each other.