PHUW 137

***

It was embarrassing to admit, but he had fainted while doing it. On top of that, when he came to, the surroundings were spotless. The culprit who had driven Haeri to the brink of death with an inhuman-sized weapon was nowhere in sight. He was just about to get up to go to the bathroom.

“Ugh.”

Just lifting his head made a death rattle come out on its own. Groaning, he tried to at least turn his body to the side. Whatever was wrong, his body wouldn’t move properly. While he was straining, the door opened.

“You’re awake?”

The culprit came.

“Are you okay?”

Did he look okay? If this looked okay, then there was something wrong with his eyesight. Or maybe his head was the problem for forgetting what he had done.

“Bathroom.”

Nothing more, nothing less, he spat out just the need.

Then Jeong Mok, in penitent servant mode, hurried over and carefully carried Haeri to the bathroom.

His stamina and his willpower were both drained. He felt so sluggish and exhausted he didn’t even want to talk. He was feverish too. His body ached all over.

“My body’s hot.”

“Feels like the flu. My body’s hot. But I don’t want to go to the hospital. If you say let’s go, I’ll jump out the window.”

“Alright. I won’t say let’s go.”

This time, even Jeong Mok couldn’t bring himself to mention going to the hospital. Instead, he found some fever reducers and brought them with lukewarm barley tea.

He must have dozed off. At some point, he felt someone touching his arm and opened his eyes. A stranger was just about to stick a needle into it. Before he could even panic, Jeong Mok stepped in and touched his forehead.

“What are you doing right now?”

“A nutritional IV drip for recovery, it’ll sting a little~.”

The standard reply made it clear the person was a nurse.

Ah. He was tricked.

He had said he didn’t want to go to the hospital, so Jeong Mok had brought the hospital to him. The nurse quickly set up the IV and told him it would take about two hours to finish, so he should rest comfortably, and then left.

“What time is it now?”

“Three o’clock.”

“Guess we can’t go to the museum.”

It was his own fault for jumping on him the day before the museum trip. He should have waited until after. But then again, Jeong Mok had said he threw him out while he had amnesia. If he hadn’t said that, Haeri never would have jumped on him. So this was Jeong Mok’s fault. At least, that’s how Haeri consoled himself.

“We can just go tomorrow.”

“We can’t tomorrow either. My ass hurts too much.”

At the mention of his ass hurting, Jeong Mok grew restless.

“Then, should we go the day after?”

Sitting on the bed, Jeong Mok wrapped an arm around Haeri’s shoulder and spoke gently. But Haeri kept his eyes fixed firmly on the opposite wall.

“You must have been looking forward to the museum. Sorry for making you miss it.”

The museum itself didn’t matter at all. That homework didn’t affect his grades or entrance exams. Missing it once was fine.

He just couldn’t bring himself to look at Jeong Mok.

He had confessed that he liked him. And they had gone all the way. There was even a signed promise of lifelong responsibility. So now they weren’t master and pet human anymore, but lovers.

He needed some mental space to process the sudden change. But being sick made it hard to think straight. And meanwhile, Jeong Mok kept fussing over him like he couldn’t stand it.

“You can’t even stand to look at me, huh, Haeri?”

“It’s not that I can’t stand it. I’m just… embarrassed.”

“What’s embarrassing? Fainting while doing it? Or getting the flu right after?”

“If you know, why ask?”

At that, Jeong Mok chuckled.

“What do I do when our Haeri is this cute.”

“What do you mean what. You have to take responsibility for life.”

“Yeah. I’ll take responsibility.”

And then, inevitably, he turned Haeri’s face and pressed their lips together. Haeri thought, they hadn’t even brushed their teeth yet, how could kissing feel right. But Jeong Mok didn’t care, devouring his lips and tongue.

“So, when are we going to the museum?”

“Tomorrow?”

“If we go tomorrow, when am I supposed to do the homework? It’s a report, it’ll take a long time to write.”

“Then should I ask your teacher to give you more time?”

If he could use the parent card, that changed things. Haeri’s eyes lit up.

“…How much time can you buy?”

“I won’t know until I ask, but how much do you want?”

“About… a week?”

“Alright. Then I’ll tell them you’ll hand it in next Monday.”

“Yes.”

Clenching his fist, Haeri grinned, while Jeong Mok gave a helpless laugh like he’d been beaten. But he didn’t go back on it. He contacted the social studies teacher and really pushed the deadline back.

After that, Jeong Mok stayed by Haeri’s side all day, waiting on him in every way. And kissed him constantly. Bring him water, kiss once. Help him to the bathroom, kiss once. Feed him rice, kiss once. At this rate his lips were going to wear away.

The kisses themselves weren’t bad. The problem started somewhere else.

After getting the IV and resting well, the next day he woke up with a lighter body. From then on, every time he saw Jeong Mok moving around lazily with his sculpted body draped in loose sweats and messy hair sticking out in all directions, something twisted strangely in his lower belly. That wasn’t all.

“Haeri, are you awake?”

When his handsome lover came close with a sweet smile, eyes dripping honey, and kissed him, Haeri closed his eyes and his hips twitched without him realizing. His hole, which had quietly gone back to its natural role while leaving only a faint lingering heat, suddenly asserted itself with loud presence.

Hey, master bastard. I want what I ate yesterday again. Bring it. Crazy bastard. You couldn’t even take it properly, swollen and wrecked as you are, what nonsense. It’s spicy but addictive. So let’s eat again.

‘This is insane!’

Haeri startled in the middle of the kiss. Jeong Mok, startled too, grabbed him, and by mistake brushed his nipple.

“Haa.”

His nipples, already sensitive, had become so hypersensitive after the act that even Haeri himself couldn’t touch them. Just brushing over the shirt sent tingling electricity across his whole body.

“What’s wrong?”

“N-no, it’s not that.”

Haeri couldn’t hide his dismay and lowered his head. From just one touch on his nipple, his cock pitched a tent without a hint of shame. Hey, you unfaithful bastard. Why are you acting up too.

“…It’s hard.”

Jeong Mok, glancing down, murmured quietly.

“No, it’s just because I woke up from sleep. It’s a natural thing, a natural thing!”

“Natural things need to be taken care of. If not, it makes you sick.”

It didn’t sound like worry. This was a danger signal.

“I’ll take care of it myself.”

Just as he tried to turn away quickly, thick arms grabbed his waist tight.

“I’ll take responsibility.”

Jeong Mok smiled at him. Haeri’s spine went cold.

And with that, he was dragged back into the room.

“I won’t hurt you.”

“That’s a lie! I just had an IV drip yesterday!”

“Hm. True. Then maybe you’ll need two packs this time?”

Not stopping, but increasing the IV?

Jeong Mok’s eyes had completely gone wild as he crept toward Haeri.

Terrified, Haeri scooted back little by little. But he was already on the bed, with nowhere left to run. Pressed against the headboard, frozen stiff, he watched as Jeong Mok suddenly pulled a condom out of his sweatpants pocket and tossed it at the foot of the bed.

He couldn’t even utter a word about when he had stocked up that many. The slow but menacing manner overlapped in his mind with a thug tossing a measly check at residents of a demolition site. If he provoked or resisted, his bones wouldn’t even be left intact.

“A week… I’ll skip classes for a week.”

“Deal.”

He easily bargained, then Jeong Mok lifted the pillow always shoved in the corner and pulled out lube.

When had he planted that there?

Haeri had foolishly handed over an excuse to a man who had set up a fish trap, ready to pounce at any time.

Jeong Mok crossed his arms from the bottom and pulled his shirt off in one motion. Every move was lewd enough to slap a porn star across the face. Of course, his fine features and sculpted body weren’t even comparable to some low-class actor.

This man was his lover. He was desperate to fuck him. Haeri still couldn’t believe it. But belief was separate from reality. And reality was that his lover leaned in toward him. Naturally, Haeri lowered his gaze, thinking it was for a kiss.

But instead of lips meeting, only heated breath brushed against him. Looking puzzled, Haeri met Jeong Mok’s mischievous grin. Normally he was softhearted enough to give away everything, yet only at times like this he got mean.

“Are you going to undress, or should I undress you?”

“I-I’ll undress.”

Haeri quickly pulled his shirt up. Should he take off his pants too? While he hesitated, Jeong Mok pressed their lips together.

The lips and tongue that rarely cursed were, at least when kissing, arrogant to the point of being vile. Like an angry debt collector, he swept Haeri’s mouth, rubbed and sucked his tongue without restraint.

Toying with Haeri’s nipples, pinching and rubbing them, Jeong Mok used his knee to spread his legs. As the space between his legs opened like an automatic door, the man closed in steadily, swallowing him whole into his embrace.