IOB Ch 10

Was he a guy who knew how to consider such ethics? I was genuinely surprised.

Woo Seonrim scrunched his brow tightly and chewed on his lips before speaking.

“Paperwork.”

“What?”

“Let’s put it in writing.”

“…You want to put in writing that we’ll have sex after you debut?”

“I think it’ll be more certain that way.”

I was so taken aback that I shut my mouth for a moment. I could write that kind of scrap of paper as much as he wanted. It was easy enough to nullify the effect of the document. The reason I was surprised was because of Woo Seonrim’s attitude.

Before hiring Woo Seonrim as a solo performer, I had suggested we write a contract several times, but he had refused each time. He said something about being tied down by documents being a hassle. Even when I asked what he would do if I ran off with his performance fee, Woo Seonrim had just shrugged his shoulders.

That same Woo Seonrim was the one mentioning a contract first. In a rather serious and anxious manner.

“Hey, is having sex with me worth that much…?”

“Yes.”

“Why…?”

“Because I like you, Director.”

I held my breath and squeezed my eyes shut. What did I just hear. Please say it’s not true. Say it’s a joke… I was begging inwardly, but Woo Seonrim’s voice continued to flow without stopping.

“I’ve been thinking about it, and it’s true that I like you. I’ve become certain.”

“Fuck…”

A curse slipped out helplessly first.

“So I was being mindful not to do things you dislike, Director. But it was all for nothing.”

“…”

“It was a waste of time waiting for you to like me back, Director. I’m so frustrated I feel like I have to have sex at the very least.”

My mind went dizzy at the strange progression of logic. I staggered over and plopped down on the edge of the sofa. Woo Seonrim simply followed me with his gaze but didn’t grab me.

“Haa…”

I rubbed my face roughly with my palms and then let out a long sigh.

“Why are you sighing.”

“Why do you think.”

“I’m the one who wants to sigh, Director. It was all for nothing to wait patiently. To think you were getting married.”

I don’t think he was all that patient. Anyone hearing this would think he was a pure-hearted man who had been devotedly loyal for over 10 years. Growing rapidly tired, I looked straight at Woo Seonrim and said, enunciating each word with force.

“…Mr. Seonrim. I’m not getting married. I’m serious.”

“Are you saying you’re going to break off the marriage?”

“I’ll break it off. Yeah, I’ll break it, I’ll break it off.”

“You’re a truly bad person, Director.”

“You son of a bitch…”

“But even if you break off this marriage, what if you go on another blind date with someone else? I realized that today.”

“What.”

“You were a person who could marry someone other than me, Director.”

“Of course, fuck.”

It seemed I must have gotten engaged to Woo Seonrim without my knowledge. Otherwise, there was no way he could be so shameless.

“Director, why that expression. Do you hate the idea of having sex with me that much?”

“Would I like it?”

“You came in my hand last time.”

“Why are you bringing that up?”

“You didn’t seem to dislike it much. We’ll get more used to it as we do this and that until the debut.”

“Do what…”

“I don’t know either. Wouldn’t you know better, Director? You go around meeting all sorts of people.”

Fine, think whatever you want. To think of a virgin as a Casanova, I’m so grateful I could cry, thank you, thank you.

“I’m going to act out from now on too. Because you’re stupid, Director, and you’ll keep going on blind dates and meeting women.”

“Did you just call me stupid?”

“Ah, I really hate this.”

Woo Seonrim clenched his jaw and ground his teeth as he spoke. Woo Seonrim, so emotionally agitated. That chilling unfamiliarity gave me an unavoidable realization.

Fuck, that bastard Woo Seonrim, he really likes me, doesn’t he…?

The sight of him spouting whatever came to mind, blinded by jealousy, was so uncharacteristically human for Woo Seonrim. Han Yeseo had been right about everything. He had pushed Woo Seonrim’s button precisely. Woo Seonrim had always exuded a hazy and peculiar atmosphere, making his thoughts unknowable, but now his emotions were clearly legible.

It was so obvious it was bewildering. Woo Seonrim seemed to genuinely harbor feelings for me. I thought it would end at simple curiosity, but was my charm too much? For fuck’s sake, it’s not like I can get surgery to make myself ugly.

Woo Seonrim, panting heavily, strode toward me as I sat on the sofa. Then he grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me back and forth. My head swam.

“Why don’t you know?”

“What… Hey, I’m dizzy.”

“How could you even dare to think of marrying someone other than me?”

“Who do you think you are…”

He wasn’t my lover or anything. Seeing Woo Seonrim’s behavior, it was as if I were some piece of trash who had betrayed a long-term partner.

“How could you do that, as a person.”

“What are you talking about. Ah, I feel like I’m going to throw up. Fuck, you’re just ridiculously strong…”

Thwack! As Woo Seonrim roughly let go of my shoulders, I swayed and leaned my body against the back of the sofa. My stomach churned, and in a fit of temper, I was about to lash out at Woo Seonrim but stopped. It was because Woo Seonrim’s expression was strange.

“…H-Hey there. Are you crying?”

The corners of Woo Seonrim’s eyes, which were always pale, were flushed red.

“I’m not crying.”

Woo Seonrim answered without a moment’s hesitation. It wasn’t an excuse born of shame, but a genuinely bewildered look. It seemed he didn’t know what state his face was in right now. Even though the long corners of his eyes were completely red and his lower lip was trembling.

It’s laughable that I felt a strange sense of guilt for a moment and worried, thinking he was about to burst into tears. That bastard was just treating me like someone spouting nonsense and making excuses. This is why people shouldn’t be nice. I had never once in my 30 years of life thought I had a good personality, but compared to Woo Seonrim, I was a saint. Everything is relative, after all.

“What are you talking about? You look like you’re about to start bawling right now. I can clearly see the moisture in your eyes.”

“Why would I cry? Because of you, Director? Because of a bad and promiscuous person like you, Director?”

“Your face looks even more like you’re about to cry as you say that.”

“I said I’m not crying.”

Woo Seonrim shut his mouth tightly, as if he would never admit it, and looked down at me. The sharp aura emanating from his entire body was unusual. In the midst of it all, his eyes were steadily, little by little, getting wet.

If he had just sobbed his heart out, my own heart might have softened. But that rude bastard was being neither here nor there, only succeeding in pissing me off. For a younger guy, he didn’t have a single bit of obedient cuteness.

After twitching the muscles around his eyes for a long time, as if on the verge of tears, Woo Seonrim suddenly spun his body around.

“What. Where are you going?”

He walked away with large strides without answering my question. I didn’t feel the desire to follow him. Let him do as he pleases. Woo Seonrim went into the bathroom, and soon the sound of running water could be heard.

I let the strength leave my body and sagged against the back of the sofa. Tapping my toes, I replayed the various things Woo Seonrim had said one by one in my head. Things that were impossible to tell if they were confessions, threats, or mockery. None of them made any logical sense, so the more seriously I thought about them, the more annoyance and emptiness welled up.

In the meantime, Woo Seonrim returned to the living room and stood tall in front of me again.

“Did you wash your face?”

“Yes.”

Woo Seonrim’s pale face was covered in water. The ends of his long, sideways-swept hair were wet, and a few strands clung to his cheek. A drop of water collected at the tip of his sharp chin and then dripped down. A few of those drops fell onto my pants, soaking the fabric.

I silently met Woo Seonrim’s eyes for a moment. Did he compose his crying alone in the bathroom? There would have been a perfectly bleached towel hanging there, so why did he come out without drying his face. What, was it to show off his charm, something like that? It was true that his wet face looked more pure and dreamlike than usual.

His shell was truly flawless. His fashion sense was terrible, but that was something I could just pick out for him to wear.

Moreover, Woo Seonrim possessed the musical talent to provide me with the ultimate pleasure, and he even had a track record of successful skinship. He had a profile that wasn’t half bad for my first lover.

But all those advantages were offset by the single disadvantage of his personality. Who would want to date a crazy person? I was crazy myself, and I was already overwhelmed just handling myself. On top of that, my family was all crazy people too, and now a lover as well? I really didn’t want to live such a tiring life…

Just then, Woo Seonrim, who had been quiet for a long time, suddenly opened his mouth.

“I’m going to stop liking you, Director.”

“What? Okay, good thinking.”

Without even asking why, the answer reflexively shot out. Ha, what a relief. I guess he thought the whole development of suddenly liking me and wanting to have sex was not right, even to himself. As they say, nothing good ever comes from acting impulsively.

To guide Woo Seonrim more firmly onto the right path, I spun a lie.

“You’re right about everything, Mr. Seonrim. I’m a bad and promiscuous guy. I’m sorry, really.”

“…”

“You seem to be more of a pure-hearted type than you look, how can you date someone like me who goes around meeting this person and that person. It’s a waste of you, Mr. Seonrim.”

“Truly nauseating…”

Woo Seonrim mumbled and scrunched up his face. That bastard, what a way to speak. I was about to flare up for a moment but firmly suppressed my feelings and smiled calmly.

“It can be like that.”

“I’m starting to hate you, Director.”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh.”

“I hate it… I don’t even want to see your face, Director…”

As I was enthusiastically agreeing, I suddenly shut my mouth, realizing my mistake. It would be troublesome if he left me altogether. In trying to evade Woo Seonrim’s confession attack, I had momentarily overlooked my mission. If Woo Seonrim gave up on his feelings right away, there would be no need for a sex contract. Would the debut talk also be canceled and we’d go back to square one?

I reached out my hand, grabbed Woo Seonrim’s forearm, and spoke quickly.

“Wait a minute. Then are you planning to call off the debut too? Have you come to hate debuting as well?”

“…Is that all you can think about even at a time like this? Is your head only filled with work, Director?”

“I guess I’m that kind of person.”

“How can you be like that? You probably don’t even know what kind of resolve I made when I said I would debut, Director.”

“Hey, that, I also made a pretty big decision…”

I didn’t know where Woo Seonrim had rolled in from, but I was determined to launder him with all my might and make him a clean person. If he said he had killed a person and buried them, I was even prepared to buy the entire mountain to conceal the body.

It was for the sake of letting the world know about a heaven-sent genius. In a way, I was a prophet who had recognized the genius early on. Carving out the first path is always painful, and trials always follow that path.

Woo Seonrim looked at me with gloomy eyes and said.

“…You should have liked me, Director.”

“You have high self-esteem. Of course, you’re handsome, so it’s understandable. So… is the debut off? I’m sorry, but I want to get this straight first.”

“Ah!”

“Why, why are you shouting.”

It was the first time Woo Seonrim had ever raised his voice so loudly. As the low tone that scraped his vocal cords and burst out vibrated the air, a tingling sensation shot down my back. How is it that even Woo Seonrim’s shout is so sweet…

Woo Seonrim slapped away my hand that was clinging to his forearm and swept back his wet hair.

“I’ll debut. I’ll do it, so please stop talking about that.”

“Oh, what a relief…”

“Instead, you have to have sex with me until I get tired of you, Director. I’ll just have sex with you and then dump you.”

“…Not such a relief then.”

The condition was quite harsh. A one or two-time sex thing after his debut might be one thing. This seemed like a deal where the cost-benefit analysis was severely off. But… did it matter?

Whether we wrote a contract or not, I had no intention of actually having sex with Woo Seonrim anyway. I would find a way to break the contract and nullify it somehow before he debuted. It would be even more welcome if Woo Seonrim completely lost feelings for me before that.

Just then, a brilliant idea flashed through my mind. First, I would gently coax Woo Seonrim into stamping his seal on a contract promising to debut, but from then on, I would only do things he disliked.

He seemed to like my face, so I would just not dress up at all when it was just the two of us. What else was there. Woo Seonrim seemed to extremely dislike promiscuous people, so it would be a good method to pretend to fool around on purpose. That guy I saw at the club last time… what was his name, it was Kim. Anyway, I’ll call Kim whoever-he-is and keep him by my side. If I just show him a scene of me going into a hotel with a few people, he’ll probably assume I’m playing around dirtily.

This was it. After coming up with a brilliant move, I suddenly felt like I could breathe a little easier. As expected, a person has to know how to use their head. I was basking in a sense of elation, recalling Woo Seonrim who shivered with disgust, saying he hated me because I was a bad and promiscuous person.

Woo Seonrim suddenly grabbed me by the collar without any warning.

“Director, did you hear what I said?”

“Gack. What…”

Woo Seonrim put strength into his hand and pulled me, who was sitting on the sofa, up. I stumbled up by force, my throat choked. Woo Seonrim gripped my collar even tighter and spat out his words quickly.

“Why are you thinking about something else? We were in the middle of a very important conversation. What are you thinking about? Han Yeseo?”

Blood rushed to my face. Now that I saw it, it seemed Woo Seonrim’s violent tendencies came out when he was excited. However, compared to President Choi, who would fly into a rage and punch you in the solar plexus and kick you, this was a very cute level.

“I can’t… breathe.”

If I said this, he would let go immediately. Though his gaze was still fierce.

“I asked what you were thinking about.”

“I was thinking about you…”

I gasped for breath and confessed the truth. I was in the middle of thinking about how to make Woo Seonrim lose feelings for me, so it was one hundred percent the truth.

“We were talking, so I was thinking about you. Why did you suddenly grab a person by the collar…”

“Your answer was late.”

“Wow, what a hypocrite. Take a look at your own conversation habits.”

“So are you going to sign the contract or not?”

“Ah, I’ll do it. I will. Write the contract.”

By this point, my mind had become somewhat organized and calm. Anyway, I could just use one of our people to get a fake notarization. I was scared at first by Woo Seonrim who suddenly wanted to have sex, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like no big deal.

Rather, the current situation was flowing in my favor. In any case, Mr. Woo Seonrim said he would debut, right? Shouldn’t I be grateful just for him making up his mind like that? Sex? Purity? Like Han Yeseo said, couldn’t I just do something about it and get over it somehow? Besides, Woo Seonrim was even in a state where he had resolved to stop liking me. If I make him get tired of me quickly, everything will be fine?

My attachment to Woo Seonrim’s music was beginning to quickly lead to a positive rationalization of the situation.

“Fine. Then let’s kiss now.”

Woo Seonrim brought his face close to mine without warning. Thwack! Our foreheads collided hard due to the hasty movement. It was practically a headbutt.

“Ack!”

Our faces were so close that our lips were half-overlapping. My mind went blank from the throbbing impact on my forehead, but Woo Seonrim muttered nonchalantly as if he didn’t feel any pain.

“Let’s kiss.”

“This bastard… Bring the contract. What do you mean by suddenly doing this…”

“It’s not sex, it’s a kiss, so what’s the big deal.”

“What?”

“Then should we do nothing for several months and then have sex? Would that be possible?”

Woo Seonrim pressed his forehead against mine. Pushed by him, I stumbled on my legs and sat down on the sofa. Just like that, Woo Seonrim quickly got on top of my body. This was a familiar position. I was suddenly reminded of the time I rubbed dicks with Woo Seonrim in the practice room.

“Uh, hey, Mr. Seonrim…”

“If you want me to debut safely, you have to provide some motivation in the middle. Do you think I’ll have the strength just believing in a sex that will happen in the distant future? Do you think music will come out?”

“Ah, well. The reason is understandable… but still.”

“You’re used to this kind of thing anyway. And it’s not like we’re going all the way.”

“Hey, still, a man is a bit… Ugh.”

I tried to pass it off with a smooth, easygoing tone, but Woo Seonrim’s eyes widened and he pressed down on me from above. His long, firm palm grabbed my head tightly. Fuck, that’s scary. Those were the eyes of a madman.

…Should I, should I at least kiss him? Being crushed under Woo Seonrim’s body, the points of compromise kept increasing one by one. I can’t do sex, but a kiss, well. We’re a pair who’ve touched dicks. That’s right, what’s the big deal about a kiss? Of course, I’ve never done it properly but… To gain something, you must lose something. Give up my lips and extort music from Woo Seonrim? It didn’t seem bad. I could endure this much.

Letting go of many things, I spoke with a mindset of non-possession.

“Fuck it, whatever. I get it, so kiss me or whatever.”

I even made a rather solemn resolve and squeezed my eyes shut, but nothing happened. When I opened my eyes into slits, I saw Woo Seonrim making a dumbfounded expression.

“You should do it first, Director. I’ve never done it before.”

“Ah.”

Me neither…

I had tried briefly pressing my lips against a few people to overcome my paraphilia, but it never led to a kiss. The moment another person’s tongue tried to touch the surface of my lips, I would feel nauseous. Ah, fuck. What do I do. I stared at Woo Seonrim’s red lips and swallowed dryly.

“Director, hurry up.”

If I took too long, Woo Seonrim would think it was strange. Then, contrary to his expectations, if he found out I was a chaste man, he might fall even deeper for me. That couldn’t happen.

I don’t know, fuck it. I squeezed my eyes shut and wrapped my hand around Woo Seonrim’s neck, pulling him in. Woo Seonrim was led obediently by my gesture. Just like that, I smashed my lips onto where I expected Woo Seonrim’s lips to be.

Squish. A soft, smooth texture was felt. It seemed to be near his cheek, not his mouth. Fuck, fuck. I roughly rubbed my lips here and there, moving them. Then I found the crack of his lips where his breath was faintly leaking out.

Here it is. It was a relief it didn’t take too long to find. I still wasn’t prepared to open my eyes. My shoulders trembled from the awkward and instinctively repulsive situation, but I tried to move my tongue shamelessly. I just have to shove my tongue into his mouth, right.

I tried to recall scenes of other people kissing, but it was of no use. Even in movies, when a kiss scene came on, I would watch with a blank look, without much interest. I don’t know. Just… just do it with spirit. Spirit! Don’t throw up! With that mindset, I stuck out my tongue.

Woo Seonrim’s lips parted obediently, and I entered inside. I could vividly feel another person’s mushy and hot tongue. Ah, it’s a tongue. Ah, it’s saliva. Ah, what do I do now. The moment my brain circuits were about to stiffen up.

“Heu…”

I heard Woo Seonrim’s small moan. Then, the movement of my tongue began to grow more natural. There was no sign of nausea welling up, and the trembling in my shoulders also stopped. For some reason, I felt a strange sense of confidence. Kissing… it’s doable?

I slowly curled the tip of my tongue upward and touched Woo Seonrim’s teeth. Then I tried pressing our tongues together and tickled the inside of his mouth. Midway, it became difficult to breathe, which flustered me, but I soon realized I just needed to breathe through my nose.

I moved my lips, changing the angle of my jaw little by little. Then, as our lips misaligned, the breaths of two people escaped through the gap. The breath was hot and moist. The corners of our mouths became wet with saliva.

“Heu-eu…”

Woo Seonrim’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he let out a pained sound. He seemed to be enjoying it. I must be doing it right. I was born with good motor skills, so I was the type to learn and adapt quickly to things done with the body. Well, you could say kissing is a tongue exercise.

Confidence began to build more and more. I was worried that Woo Seonrim might suspect something because I was so clumsy, but seeing his breathing quicken, he didn’t seem to have the leisure to be suspicious. Besides, he was a virgin too, so he wouldn’t know a damn thing.

So the world doesn’t collapse just because you kiss a human. A new realization.

As I rubbed my tongue, a faintly tingling sensation even started to swirl in my lower abdomen. The feeling of rejection faded. To the point where I couldn’t even register that the body pressing down on me was that of a human male.

It seemed like a situation that was only possible because my partner was Woo Seonrim. This wasn’t just a kiss; it was the act of motivating Woo Seonrim. It might be a noble sacrifice and my mission to foster his musical inspiration. Thinking of it that way made the current act all the more bearable.

With my tension slightly eased, I stealthily opened my eyes into slits. I was curious what Woo Seonrim’s face looked like. Weren’t the corners of his eyes flushed red like before, and wasn’t he trembling like a child? As I lifted my eyelids with a strange sense of anticipation, a deep ink-black color filled my vision.

It was Woo Seonrim’s eyes. Woo Seonrim’s eyes were wide open. The corners of his eyes, filled with more force than usual, looked bizarre and intense. He begged for a kiss, and now he looks like he’s about to kill someone with his gaze. What the hell… Was I not very good? For a moment, I was so surprised that I inhaled wrongly and almost hiccuped.

“Ugh.”

I tried hard to suppress the hiccup and paused my tongue for a moment. Woo Seonrim’s eyebrow twitched subtly, and he grabbed my hair with his hand. I could feel my hair getting tangled in his firm grip.

Swoosh, Woo Seonrim slowly twisted his jaw. Soon, Woo Seonrim’s tongue pushed mine away, moving forward and beginning to delve deep into my mouth.

“Eup.”

The sensation of another person’s tongue slithering past my lips was chilling. Was this a tongue or an earthworm. It was moist, warm, and strange. It was fine when I was doing it, but now that I was on the receiving end, my mind froze up again. I squeezed my eyes shut again.

I reflexively twisted my shoulders to escape from Woo Seonrim, but he pressed down on me with his chest. A sense of déjà vu. It was like this in the practice room too. Is this bastard’s hobby crushing people with his body. My breath caught, and blood rushed to my face.

Woo Seonrim paid no mind to my struggles and began to move his tongue. Just like I had done earlier, he tapped the roof of my mouth with the tip of his tongue and entwined my tongue. Woo Seonrim’s tongue was long and thin, so it seemed to move more freely than mine. It ruthlessly explored the inside of my mouth, looking like it would stab all the way to my throat.

“U-euk.”

Woo Seonrim pushed against me strongly. My jaw was forced wide open, and the area around my mouth grew numb. It was a kiss befitting a guy with brute strength. The grip on my hair also grew stronger and stronger, to the point where my scalp was now tingling.

Woo Seonrim puffed out his back and kissed me a little deeper. His tongue was too deep. My Adam’s apple bobbed at the overwhelming sensation, and a wave of nausea threatened to rise. A moment later, I even tasted the metallic tang of blood. It seemed Woo Seonrim’s lips had split and were bleeding. My head grew dizzy from the unwelcome smell of blood.

Is this even a kiss. Isn’t it too excessive in every aspect to be called a kiss. The word invasion would be more fitting. Woo Seonrim was invading my mouth with his tongue. To think this was my first kiss.

“Euk…”

I thrashed my lower body. My upper body was still pinned by Woo Seonrim and useless. I kicked my legs with all my might, striking the sofa. It wasn’t an act done with the expectation that Woo Seonrim would be considerate and back off. What could I expect from Woo Seonrim. It was just a struggle to express my overwhelming feeling.

But surprisingly, Woo Seonrim reacted. Did his brain melt from being so moved by his first kiss? Woo Seonrim lifted his head slightly, breaking our lips apart, and looked down at me quietly. I could feel his sharp gaze on me explicitly.

I opened one eye in bewilderment. I saw Woo Seonrim, his red-flushed lips twitching as he breathed heavily. In the midst of it all, a sense of instinctive admiration arose. He’s so damn handsome… An awkward silence flowed for a moment.

The taste of blood still lingered on the tip of my tongue. I mulled over my bloody first kiss and watched Woo Seonrim’s expression. Woo Seonrim had only broken our lips apart and seemed to have no intention of getting off my body. Squeeze. Instead, he pressed his lower body even closer.

At that moment, I felt Woo Seonrim’s own, full of heat. The part of me touching Woo Seonrim’s groin was hot.

Goosebumps ran all over my body. You crazy perverted bastard. I wanted to scream, You got like this with just a kiss? and kick Woo Seonrim off, but I couldn’t move my body rashly. It was because, for some reason, I felt a sense of heat gathering in my own lower body.

Fuck. No way. A wave of bewilderment and shame washed over me at the same time.

There was no way I could have gotten excited by such a clumsy kiss. I tried hard to ignore and deny my heavying groin. The long-stretching silence felt like it was tightening around my neck, so I abruptly opened my mouth.

“Mr. Seonrim.”

“…Yes.”

Woo Seonrim’s voice broke the precarious silence. As soon as the low, sunken voice hit my ears, strength entered my groin.

Something about this atmosphere is strange. It felt like the gravity around only me had momentarily become stronger. My whole body itched, and I felt a strange sense of impatience. If I could, I wanted to scratch hard at the area around my heart with my hand.

Thump. Our heartbeats were exchanged through our pressed chests. What is this, this fucking erotic atmosphere and tension. This can’t go on. With the sole intention of turning the situation around, I spouted whatever came to mind.

“Uh, you got any lip balm?”

Woo Seonrim’s eyes twitched as if to ask what I was suddenly talking about.

“You should put on some lip balm, Mr. Seonrim. Your lips are dry.”

“…”

“Your lips are split. I can taste blood in my mouth right now.”

“…”

“I’ll buy you lip balm. If you’re going to be exposed to the media, you have to pay attention to these things too. Take care of your lips regularly. What scent do you like? I’m not picky about scents, but I hate vanilla because it’s cloying…”

Woo Seonrim scrunched up his face and said.

“What are you doing right now?”

“What.”

“Why are you only talking nonsense after we finished kissing? After you were sucking my tongue like that just a moment ago.”

“When did I.”

“You liked it.”

“What kind of bullshit is that. You were a terrible kisser.”

Woo Seonrim let out a rough breath and then abruptly sat up. Was I too harsh? I stealthily checked Woo Seonrim’s complexion.

“Then I guess we’ll have to practice until I get good. Since you said it was terribly awful. Let’s do it every day, shall we?”

“No? Well, I guess it wasn’t that bad…”

“Ha, I hate you, Director.”

“Why again.”

Woo Seonrim glared at me while roughly sweeping back his side-swept hair. He’s handsome. A masterpiece. Even in this situation, that instinctive appraisal took root in a corner of my mind. The feeling that I must never lose Woo Seonrim welled up strongly once again. He was a talent who possessed both incredible commercial value and artistry.

“You can just do better next time. Anyway, now that we’ve kissed, isn’t it time to stamp the contract?”

“…”

“It would be troublesome if you just kiss and run, Mr. Seonrim. There’s such a thing as loyalty between people.”

“…This is really annoying.”

The more Woo Seonrim’s sullen attitude continued, the more my mood soured. If you’re going to be irritable, at least do it after signing the contract. I even gave up my first kiss, which I had guarded for 30 years, yet that bastard had so many complaints. It’s enough that I offered my lips, do I have to speak prettily too? The patience I barely had to begin with was quickly hitting rock bottom.

“I know you’re annoyed, but let’s sign the contract first.”

“This was my first kiss.”

So what. You think it wasn’t mine?

“Why are you so unromantic.”

“I’ll try to be romantic after we stamp the contract.”

“…”

“You ask for a lot, Mr. Seonrim.”

“Can’t you just be quiet?”

“You’re the one who started a fight first.”

“Why do I like someone like you, Director?”

“If you’re asking me… maybe it’s because of my face?”

“Everything except your face is the worst.”

“You don’t have to go that far. You’re no different.”

It might be a childish argument, but I didn’t want to lose a single word. It had been my ironclad rule since I was young. To always do my best in a war of words, regardless of when, where, or with whom.

Ha, Woo Seonrim let out a rough breath and shot up from the sofa. He placed a hand on his side and closed his eyes. Woo Seonrim’s chest rose and fell greatly. After abruptly standing up like that and taking a few deep breaths, he looked at me quietly again. His shaking black pupils had become calm in an instant.

Woo Seonrim spoke in a quiet voice.

“Director. Let’s write the contract right now.”

I shot up from my slouched position.

“Good. Come to the office tomorrow to look over the management contract yourself. I’ll have it ready.”

“Okay.”

“Good thinking, Mr. Seonrim. Now let’s stop wasting each other’s energy and work together with a spirit of partnership. I’ll support you diligently…”

“That’s enough. Let’s just get the contract done quickly.”

Woo Seonrim cut me off firmly. I was grateful for this, but. Belying the way he had trembled right after the kiss, Woo Seonrim had quickly become firm and cold. It seemed he had steeled his heart and made some kind of decision while taking deep breaths. What on earth was he thinking.

I was curious about what was inside Woo Seonrim’s head, but it would be useless to try and guess anyway. It was just a waste of my energy. Because Woo Seonrim always acted in ways that were different from my expectations, in ways I could never have imagined.

Tying him down in the form of a contract might make it easier to control Woo Seonrim than before. I hoped so. For the negotiation table that had unfolded today to turn out as favorably for me as possible.

What I wanted was simple.

For my idol to always exist as an idol.

Woo Seonrim should neither love me nor leave me.

I don’t think it was a difficult wish. Because it was a problem that would be solved entirely if Woo Seonrim just devoted himself to music. Isn’t it natural for a human born with a bizarre level of genius to do so. If you’re born a genius, you have to take responsibility for your talent.

I passed by the still heavy-groined Woo Seonrim and ran to the study to draft the contract. Praying that Woo Seonrim would not waste his energy on useless things like getting a boner.