F67

Yeonho took Siwoo’s erection into his hand. Even with both palms underneath, it still overflowed, and he began to speak seriously about it sheer size and presence.

“How did you just shove this into my mouth like it was nothing?”

Back when he didn’t remember that they’d once been lovers, it hadn’t mattered at all how Siwoo had used it in the past. That’s why he had sucked it so diligently when Siwoo pushed it into his mouth. But now, he couldn’t accept what Siwoo had done, just shoving it in like that without any warning.

Despite Yeonho’s anger, Siwoo didn’t bat an eye and showed not the slightest hint of remorse as he responded.

“So you get to sleep around with other guys, but I can’t?”

“Even if you keep interrogating me like this, I still don’t remember what I did five years ago. I don’t get why I have to be treated like a slut.”

“You told me yourself. Even when we were dating, you kept sleeping with other guys. You said it. You’ve already recovered the memories of our relationship.”

“I must’ve made up some ridiculous lie again. Who knows why. Let’s just take our time and figure things out.”

With a clueless expression, Yeonho tilted his head as if he truly didn’t understand. He gently set Siwoo’s cock down and lay back awkwardly. When he turned over and gave Siwoo his back, Siwoo wrapped himself around him and began stroking Yeonho’s cock with one hand while rubbing his own between Yeonho’s cheeks.

Yeonho let his body go limp in Siwoo’s arms, lulled by the gentle pleasure, but a restless anxiety lingered. He wanted to remember. He didn’t think Siwoo was lying, but he couldn’t imagine why he would have said those things to him. No matter how many puzzle pieces he tried to fit together, the image never came together.

There was only one thing he knew for sure: he had made a desperate effort to break up with Siwoo. But if he had loved him, then why had he needed to push him away? Was it because he’d been diagnosed with a deadly disease and thought he wouldn’t survive? Or maybe his parents had found out about them and strongly opposed the relationship?

He understood now that he’d used Seong Junhee as a means of breaking things off. Something had happened between him and Junhee during that time, and whatever it was, it had led to him no longer loving him. That was as far as Yeonho’s speculations could go.

***

After a long time, Yeonho finally got a deep, restful sleep in Siwoo’s arms. He went to work in the morning with a clear mind. As promised, he had lunch with Seong Junyoung. It had been two weeks since he’d last seen his face.

Junyoung kept sneaking glances at him, clearly trying to gauge his mood, but eventually relaxed at Yeonho’s usual demeanor. It didn’t seem like Yeonho and Siwoo had spoken about him while he was unable to keep watch.

Even if Yeonho had felt drawn to Siwoo and had a one-night stand with him, surely he wouldn’t go so far as to meet again with the man who killed his older brother. Junyoung didn’t believe Yeonho was that kind of person.

Yes, he hadn’t cried at the funeral or attended the memorial this year, but Junyoung chalked it up to survivor’s guilt. He believed in Yeonho’s sense of family.

Maybe it was safe to start teasing him again. Junyoung had assumed that working at the same place would mean they could goof off together, but instead, it had only made it harder to see him. Their work hours didn’t align. As the room manager, Junyoung had a much more flexible schedule than Yeonho.

“Eat up, Yeonho. I live for you. What would I even do without you? I love you.”

“Don’t say creepy stuff like that while I’m eating. You’ll make me sick.”

Yeonho covered his mouth and pretended to gag, but Junyoung didn’t stop. He even wiped the corners of Yeonho’s mouth with a tissue. When he said life wasn’t fun without Yeonho, he meant it. Was there any game more entertaining than this?

Junyoung was different from Junhee. That man had liked Yeonho when he was quiet and compliant, lying there like a doll. Junyoung liked Yeonho alive, squirming, reacting. Junhee had taken his secrets to the grave, and Junyoung was confident he could do the same.

“Let’s watch the match Friday night. I’ll bring drinks. You should cook something for me. Don’t you collect frying pans?”

“Then come to my place. I’ll make seafood pancakes, but you bring the ingredients. And leave before eleven. I’m going to bed at eleven.”

“That’s perfect. The game starts at nine.”

***

That Friday, Siwoo finally obtained the username and password linked to Seong Junyoung’s private SNS account. Even moments before logging in, he was still hesitating. To be honest, he didn’t want to see it. He was afraid the fragile hope he had managed to revive would be extinguished completely.

After sitting with his eyes closed for five minutes, taking deep breaths, he finally steeled himself and opened Junyoung’s private account. It was visible only to a handful of close friends, and just as he had feared, it was filled with traces of Yeonho. The moment he saw it, he felt like a fool for even considering trusting Yeonho again. His eyes stung with emotion.

In the five-second video Junyoung had posted three weeks ago, Yeonho clearly leaned in and kissed the corner of Junyoung’s lips. At least, that’s what it looked like in the video.

“Ah…”

Letting out a strangled groan, Siwoo turned off the screen and tossed the phone onto the sofa. It felt just as painful as the day he saw Yeonho lying in Junhee’s arms five years ago. It made his stomach turn.

So is Ju Yeonho really just a liar, all lust and possessiveness with no sincerity at all? Or is he a victim, manipulated by drugs and edited footage?

“Yeonho… Yeonho…”

Standing at the crossroads between two conclusions, Siwoo lowered his head and covered his eyes with both hands. Was it time to give up on Yeonho, or to keep believing?

Soon, he raised his head and picked the phone back up. Letting out a long breath, he approached it like a task at work, calm and collected. He began to watch the video again, carefully analyzing every frame.

Siwoo kept going over past moments in his mind, trying to figure out how to distinguish between the times Yeonho was affected by the sleeping pills and when he wasn’t. The most obvious clue was when Yeonho would run barefoot across the pavement like a playful puppy. That was usually a clear sign.

But even that wasn’t foolproof. The day they reunited at the resort, Yeonho had come to his room and passed out on the stairs while wearing slippers.

Siwoo replayed the video of Yeonho telling Seong Junyoung he loved him. Over and over. Each time, his heart tore a little more.

I love you, hyung.

Maybe it was just his imagination, but something felt off. The expression, the tone in his voice when he said those words. It was subtle, but after hearing those same four words countless times, Siwoo could sense the difference. The face, the voice that had once told him I love you, this didn’t feel the same at all. Of course, it was all speculation based on intuition, and the logic was far too flimsy to be used as proof that Yeonho was a victim.

That night, Yeonho broke their usual pattern. He always came up to the fourth floor at exactly eleven, but not this time. Ever since Siwoo heard he was planning to watch the match with Junyoung starting at nine, he had expected something like this.

There was no point in waiting too long, so he gave him a grace period of exactly three minutes. At 11:03, Siwoo left his place and arrived at Yeonho’s apartment by 11:05.

He punched in the passcode and opened the door.

There it was again. The same scene, repeating.

Junyoung was sitting on the sofa, tangled up with Yeonho, his hand under Yeonho’s shirt. Yeonho blinked slowly, staring blankly at Siwoo. They were probably touching each other, maybe even kissing.

Junyoung quickly pulled his hand out from under Yeonho’s shirt and looked between them with a horrified expression.

“What the fuck… What is this? Why are you here again…”

Siwoo didn’t speak right away. He didn’t raise his voice or get worked up like he had before. He wanted to stay calm this time. Step by step, he walked over and stood in front of them.

Junyoung glanced anxiously at Yeonho and stayed frozen in place. Yeonho looked at Siwoo’s face and mumbled in a daze.

“Sorry. I’m late, right? I was trying to make it on time…”

Siwoo studied Yeonho’s face carefully. At a glance, it was hard to tell if anything was different from usual. In any other situation, the right thing would’ve been to get angry, to walk away after being made a fool of again.

But instead, he pulled Yeonho into his arms and gently patted his back. If they were building a new future, then he had to change too. If he didn’t change, nothing ever would.

Junyoung licked his lips nervously, his expression stiff with disbelief. But then he straightened his shoulders and shouted, as if he had found something solid to hold onto.

“Hey, you crazy bastard. What the hell are you doing? Let Yeonho go!”

Siwoo looked at Junyoung and simply smiled. Yeonho, who had been whining softly in his arms, soon drifted off to sleep. Cradling him, Siwoo crouched down slightly and patted Yeonho’s chest, which was rising and falling with quiet, shallow breaths. Unlike the past, when he’d kicked Junyoung in the groin and beat him, he now spoke gently, his voice calm.

“Let’s have a word, hyung-nim.”

“Why am I the hyung? You’re older than me by school year.”

Junyoung snapped, desperate to shave off even a single year of age. But Siwoo had found the one title he could use that would help him stay composed while talking to Junyoung.

“You’re Yeonho’s hyung, so I’ll call you that. When Yeonho wakes up, the three of us can talk together.”

Then he brought his index finger to his lips.

Shh. Our Yeonho is sleeping.