RB 40

It’s a blessing to be able to use both hands.

“……”

Eunho blankly looked down at his right hand wrapped thick in bandages. When he curled his fingers slightly, he felt a dull sensation instead of pain. It was thanks to the narcotic painkiller injection Ahn Jaehwan had given him. After a few hours in that state, the effect of the painkiller peaked and Eunho felt slightly dizzy.

“Sim Eunho-ssi, did you understand what I just said?”

When the clear voice reached him, Eunho slowly lifted his gaze from the bandages. Yeorok’s smooth face came into view. He had been drinking tea with him for a while now.

“Yes… you said you would erase my fingerprints.”

“Is that all you understood from it?”

The inner ends of Yeorok’s straight eyebrows twisted unpleasantly. His face clearly showed dissatisfaction with Eunho’s relaxed attitude.

“I don’t really mind though…”

Eunho kneaded his bandaged hand again. The strong painkiller had calmed the pain, but he felt dizzy. Even sitting still, his head tilted back and forth, like when he drank alcohol.

But even though dulled by the drug, his thinking itself was still clear. He understood everything Yeorok had explained earlier.

Yeorok said he wanted Eunho’s real fingerprints erased and Choi Yoonho’s imprinted instead. It was not a procedure that actually existed, but he reassured him by saying that Ahn Jaehwan had even trained in the US for this.

Fingerprints were the most important means of proving one’s identity. To erase the marks one had since birth meant there would no longer be any way to prove he was Sim Eunho.

Eunho exhaled a small breath. He had already decided to live a new life, so there was no reason to hold back. Thinking of the life ahead, it was better for him to accept Yeorok’s suggestion.

“I don’t care. It’s fine if they’re erased.”

“……”

Yeorok’s head tilted slightly. His cold stare stuck to Eunho’s dazed face. Soon he rubbed his brow with his ring finger, yet his suspicious look didn’t ease.

“It isn’t just erasing them. We’ll be putting Choi Yoonho’s on top. Do you really understand what that means?”

“Yes. From now on, if I request documents from public offices, they’ll show Choi Yoonho’s.”

“……”

“Article 1. Party B agrees to receive body modification and behavioral correction according to Party A’s standards. I memorized that contract clause.”

Eunho slowly blinked. Despite the clear answer, his head drooped again.

Yeorok tapped the rim of his teacup with his finger.

“It’s hard to have a conversation in this state.”

“No, I’m fine.”

When Eunho tried to clench his hand again, Yeorok caught his wrist and straightened each curling finger one by one. Like this, the wound would never heal. The reckless way he treated his body irritated Yeorok.

“This won’t do. Close your eyes until the drug wears off.”

The study had a bedroom attached to it which Eunho had once used before. In his daze, he let himself be led there.

When he lay on the soft bed, his whole body lost strength. Even the blanket carried nothing but Yeorok’s scent.

Eunho hugged the blanket tightly and rolled on the bed. Watching from the side with one leg bent, Yeorok let out a sigh. He says he’s fine in this state? It was absurd.

Yeorok laid him flat, spread the blanket properly up to his chest, took hold of his restless right hand and pressed down his wrist to keep it still. Then he sat at on the bed. He planned to stay and watch until Eunho slept.

“I’ll have to tell them to switch your painkiller.”

“But I like this one… it doesn’t hurt and I feel good.”

“That’s how you become addicted.”

“Ah, addicted…” Eunho murmured. His head tilted to the side, his hazy eyes staring directly at Yeorok.

“Choi Yoonho was… an addict too, right?”

“Do you think it was just drugs?”

Yeorok let out a deflated laugh. Then he reached out and brushed back Eunho’s already messy bangs.

“……”

Just like last time, Eunho didn’t resist and stayed still. He seemed to accept his touch easily. Yeorok now openly combed through his hair gently.

“Then do I… also need to take drugs?”

“You don’t need to worry about that. The cover story is that you went through drug rehab. No one will suspect even if you never touch them.”

“That’s a relief…”

Eunho smiled weakly. He seemed so used to Yeorok’s touch now that he leaned his head into it and relaxed completely.

“Chairman, your hand is… cold, I like it.”

“Is that so?”

“And it smells good too.”

“……”

Yeorok quietly lowered his eyes. Because of the tilt of his head, Eunho’s slender neck was exposed. Some impulse moved him, and his hand that had been combing through the hair slid down past the ear and gently took hold of the slender neck.

He traced Eunho’s nape with his thumb. Even though his body was dulled by the drug, Eunho’s neck muscle rose for an instant. The reaction reached Yeorok’s fingertips.

“You said you like it cold. Why are you tense?”

“…because you touched me suddenly.”

“Are you scared?”

The fingertips that had been drawing a soft line stopped. If Eunho said he was scared, they would drop right away.

Eunho shook his head. Of course, another person’s touch was still frightening. But more than that, he disliked Yeorok’s hand leaving.

“I can… endure it.”

“If you say that, it’s troublesome. It sounds like I’m molesting you.”

It wasn’t much different. The touch just now clearly carried intent. Only, Yeorok himself had no sexual desire in it.

Sim Eunho had no experience in love, and his only sexual experience was stained with assault. To suffer when facing such a situation was natural.

But life could not always be lived in comfort. Whatever the case, Sim Eunho had to overcome the trauma. Just recalling it made him hyperventilate, so it was necessary to go slowly, step by step. Since Eunho didn’t seem to feel strong rejection to his touch, Yeorok had tried it.

“With this kind of innocence, can you later imitate Choi Yoonho?”

“That has nothing to do, ugh…”

The fingertip that had been gently pressing down his neck slid down to his shoulder. Yeorok’s thumb traced the hollow of his collarbone. Eunho gasped, his back stiffening.

“Others will try to touch you like this. Will you be fine with it?”

“This much, this much is fine…”

“Then here.”

Yeorok suddenly pushed his hand under Eunho’s T-shirt. When the cold fingers touched his lower belly, Eunho flinched and pulled his waist back.

But Yeorok stubbornly roamed over Eunho’s lower stomach. His belly without a bit of muscle was soft, yielding to every squeeze and press.

He said he had gained weight, but where? Yeorok sneered. He slid his hand further along the smooth waist. The loose T-shirt caught on his forearm and lifted up to his chest.

“Do you know Son Jinhyung is crazy about nipples? Not that I was curious, but I happened to hear.”

As he said it, Yeorok brushed the small nipple with his fingertip. Eunho jolted as if he had been hit by lightning.

“Ah, wait, ha… wait.”

“The color’s too pale. Touch them often, even if by yourself. That way they won’t stay this light.”

Sim Eunho’s nipples were pale. When Yeorok scratched them gently with his closely trimmed nail, they stiffened quickly, flushing pink with blood. Very different from Choi Yoonho’s darker ones.

They would darken and grow in shape if handled often. Thinking that far, Yeorok let out a sigh. He felt pathetic for knowing even the state of his nephew’s nipples. It was disgusting and useless information.

That Eunho’s were at least pretty was a relief. At least he could touch them directly. Small differences between Choi Yoonho and Sim Eunho had to be noted carefully, but right now Yeorok preferred Eunho’s own state.

It wasn’t only Eunho who shrank from the contact. Yeorok too didn’t find touching another man’s body particularly pleasant. The only interest was Eunho’s ragged breath and hot snorts. For someone with trauma, Sim Eunho was reacting sensitively to every touch.

“Are you usually this sensitive?”

He didn’t ask to mock him, he was genuinely curious.

“I… don’t know.”

“It doesn’t feel bad?”

Eunho answered only by shifting his knees. With anyone else it might not, but strangely Yeorok’s touch felt good. His breath quickened, his chest tingled.

Heat gathered in his lower belly. Eunho tried hard to hide the erection, but it was impossible to escape Yeorok’s eyes.

“…So it doesn’t feel bad after all.”

Yeorok gave a calm verdict even after seeing his arousal. When Eunho bit his lower lip, only then did Yeorok smile.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed. It shows you’re healthy.”

“Chairman, could you step out for a bit… I think I need time to calm down.”

Eunho covered his flushed face with his forearm as he stammered. His face was so hot that even the glass of his watch against his brow had grown warm.

“Calm down?”

Yeorok muttered, as if he didn’t understand. Then he forcibly pulled away Eunho’s arm. His trembling eyes were revealed defenselessly.

“Don’t tell me you’ve never even masturbated?”