Hit by a Pitched Ball Chapter 17

When the rather resolute reply came back, Yunjae accepted that there was no longer any escape route. And that he had to take responsibility for all these decisions.

What was surprising was the feeling of lightness after making the decision. Finally calmed down, Yunjae rolled his chair wheels and looked back beyond the open door.

What came into view was the modest kitchen and the edge of the sofa next to it, but in his head, he pictured the bed that had been so uncomfortable after just one night that it made him restless.

Wasn’t it uncomfortable yesterday?

Even though it was a space where he’d only slept quietly without doing anything, his muscles had screamed in protest—he had a hunch that if they had sex there, he might reverse this decision that very day.

Maybe a hotel would be better. Yunjae, who had typed “ho” into the message window, didn’t complete the sentence and just tapped the screen with his fingernail.

Then he eventually pressed the ‘X’ button repeatedly to delete the message. He knew that two men checking into a hotel wouldn’t look strange to others, but perhaps because his ingrained way of thinking worked like this, something about it felt off.

After a moment of contemplation, Yunjae rubbed his face roughly. He could feel his face heating up. His fingers, hesitating for a moment, closed the message window and pressed the green app. Yunjae, pressing his forehead, searched for beds with a pensive expression.

His fingers scrolled through the screen busily. He shortlisted a few beds he liked and began comparing them. As that time stretched on, he suddenly felt a chill at the back of his head. The busy movement of his fingers slowed, and his mouth went dry.

“Geez…”

Considering replacing a perfectly usable bed just to have sex wasn’t like him. An unbearable wave of embarrassment surged. Yunjae squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face on the desk.

“…”

But still, changing the bed would probably be better. In the end, it was a circular argument. Right, the bed was a bit uncomfortable. No frame either. I should buy a frame. If I buy them together, there’s a discount, so buying a mattress too is reasonable. Since I’m getting one, might as well get a king size… Hm? There’s also a large king.

Foolish thoughts spun round and round in his head. Until yesterday, he couldn’t have imagined making such a scandalous decision. But since he’d already decided, did he need to think about it more?

Deliberation only delays delivery. Just as he finally made up his mind and was choosing which card to use—

Ha Taebeom

You’re going to watch the broadcast, right. Get ready as soon as the game ends. I’ll come pick you up.

Taebeom’s name appeared at the top of the screen. After confirming the message, Yunjae, gaining strength from the fading embarrassment, completed the payment.

∞ ∞ ∞

[Buffaloes’ starter Park Shinyoung is gradually finding his rhythm. With a two-run lead, the Rangers’ number four hitter steps up to the plate.]

He could hardly focus on the game. Moistening his lips aimlessly, an old memory resurfaced in Yunjae’s mind. The day when an ordinary, even boring, day shattered into pieces. Yunjae had been in front of the television that evening too.

How had he been back then? Though the faded memory was unclear after so much time, he did remember not being this agitated. Probably because the act he’d committed was so far beyond his own expectations. Time felt heavy and anxious.

Would I back out now just because I’m getting cold feet? Even if he could, his personality would never allow it. He knew that such wordplay was far more rude than wasting a day meaninglessly. Even if he couldn’t be an innocent person, he didn’t want to remain a rude one.

Nevertheless, finding himself in a situation where he had to care about the dick health of a man he’d never even thought about before was enough to stir regret. His thoughts stalled in midair, flowing slowly.

Lost in thought, Yunjae rolled the remote control in his hand and changed the channel. Then, as luck would have it, the screen stopped on a channel showing a close-up of the Wolves’ dugout. Yunjae’s finger, resting on the button, paused the moment it spotted Taebeom.

At the edge of the line of players standing and watching the game, scattered along the dugout railing, was Ha Taebeom. What’s so fun and good about it? He kept smiling brightly, exchanging words with another pitcher standing next to him.

Even when captured on screen for just a brief moment, perhaps because he was a player who often became a topic of conversation, the camera spent a fairly long time zoomed in on him.

Yunjae was no different from others. He too couldn’t take his eyes off Taebeom, who was wearing a smile with no particular intent. Before he even realized it, his gaze shifted and naturally landed on the camera.

As if knowing full well that he was being watched secretly, that sharp smile made Yunjae merely blink deeply, helplessly.

As if standing right before him, the back of his neck flushed hot. Even knowing it was just his imagination, the heat starting from his neck spread to his cheeks, and his hands moved first. Yunjae rubbed his innocent cheeks to suppress his embarrassment.

Yunjae rubbed until his non-existent cheek fat seemed to squish, and wiped the back of his neck with his hand as if brushing it off, over and over. Even amidst all that, his eyes remained fixed on Ha Taebeom. His mouth went dry and his insides burned. He was inexplicably bothered.

“What’s so funny?”

Taebeom’s laughter was certainly directed at no one and intended for no one—it was just a situational reaction. At that moment, a teammate had hit a safe hit, and it was highly likely Taebeom’s laughter stemmed from that. The camera wouldn’t miss such a precious moment, and he just happened to see it.

Ha Taebeom was innocent. He was just standing where he was supposed to be. At that obvious fact, his throat itched and his chest area felt uncomfortably warm. Sure enough, the broadcast lingered for a long time on Taebeom, who was smiling brightly with his eyes curved thinly. When the replay of the hit showed, Taebeom’s smile repeated along with it.

As expected… ratings pay the bills, after all. The charming dimpled smile on screen caught his eye. Even knowing that the ear-splitting cheers weren’t for Taebeom but for the player who hit the safe hit, it felt strange.

The fact that he’d promised to meet the person who was at the center of that cheering made him feel a sense of danger.

Soon, the broadcast screen switched to the player who had hit and gone to first base, handing his equipment to the coach waiting beside first base.

Normally, he’d be calculating the flow of the game and tapping away at his calculator. But his head was only playing back that smile, which seemed to suck him in, like a broken projector, over and over.

Sighs poured out helplessly one after another. After emptying the afterimage etched into his retina, Yunjae decided to start over with his mindset. The timing was sudden, but now was optimal.

He was the one with the decision-making power in this relationship; he wasn’t just impulsively getting taken by accident. …Yes, if possible, he’d rather be the one doing the taking. He didn’t care what Taebeom thought, so he’d just set it that way.

Besides, Ha Taebeom was young, handsome, built like a brick house, with a superior frame where most of what clung to his bones was muscle. His unbelievable, by Taebeom’s own account well-maintained dick—which had made his groin tingle for days—was overwhelming not just in shape and size but also in performance.

…His technique was good too. Every time he insisted it was really his first time having sex with a man, Yunjae had mentally asked him thousands of times.

“I guess that sort of thing is just innate…”

Yunjae was lost in lewd thoughts. He was so focused that his lips were pursed tightly, making his chin wrinkle like a walnut. The game was already out of his mind.

He was so absorbed in replaying another match, the one fought on the bed, that even when highlight-worthy plays unfolded, they didn’t register.

Taebeom, as someone who made a living from exercise, had great stamina, and with plenty of experience, he was bold in positions and foreplay too. He showed no hesitation about rubbing against a man.

Whether the rumors were exaggerated or not, he knew how to cut off the unusually clingy aegyo at a level that wasn’t unpleasant. In relationships, his skillfulness beyond his years was a particular advantage.

Yunjae also focused on the positive aspects, even regarding the constantly overflowing warning signals. As Ha Taebeom said, since he was a public figure, there was no need to worry about him blabbing to others—Yunjae valued that point the highest.