“What?”
Seonha’s face instantly flushed bright red. In contrast, Hongdan had a frighteningly calm complexion. Seonha blocked his way with his body and interrogated him.
“When did you first sleep with an omega? Ah, is this also prejudice? Including betas and alphas. How old were you when you first had sex?”
“Wh-why are you suddenly asking that?”
As if planning to run away if the opportunity arose, Seonha even tried to pull away the hand he’d been tenaciously holding.
This bastard, where do you think you’re going?
Hongdan grabbed his left arm with both hands and yanked it toward him. Caught off guard, Seonha was dragged right up close in an instant.
“Hong…dan? I think we’re too close for a public place.”
Public place my ass.
He’d been clinging like a cicada just moments ago. And now to bring up people’s gazes—it was nothing short of ridiculous.
In truth, Hongdan had his own reasons.
Even if his body was a worn-out rag, wasn’t his head, which had lost those memories, in a relatively less defiled state? After realizing that irony, he’d suddenly become curious.
Whether this guy had already been touched by someone else even when he first met him.
In other words…
Now that his memories had regressed to eighteen years old, whether at least that ‘mind’ was virginal.
If that were the case, it would feel a bit less unfair that he’d given all his firsts to this guy.
Hongdan watched Seonha in front of him.
His face, which Hongdan had thought couldn’t get any redder, was almost at the point of bursting as the gaze on him lengthened.
Seeing something like this, he does seem like a virgin… but for a guy who’d pound away all night and still get it up in the morning to have endured just jerking off—that was completely unbelievable.
Hongdan slowly lowered his eye level. Then, with his head only slightly raised, he spoke in a gentle tone. Since physical means didn’t seem like they’d work, like Seonha had done at some point, it was the so-called ‘kitten eyes operation.’
“I want to know everything related to you too.”
“…”
Gulp.
Seonha tried hard to stay silent, but his Adam’s apple was shaking visibly. As expected, it had been good to be stingy with affection usually and raise its scarcity value.
Hongdan pulled up the corners of his mouth into an even more subtle curve. Inwardly, he was also worried about what to do if that sex maniac got an erection, but if that tactless dick got hard, he could just make it burst.
“You were my first, so you know when my first experience was.”
“Tha…t’s true, but…”
“Mm, so tell me too.”
He even gave him an eye smile that he rarely allowed. Seonha’s gray pupils rolled around anxiously.
“Uh…”
But he just mumbled for a bit and didn’t readily spill it.
Ahh— at this point, he should give in. Is he embarrassed because he was too young?
No, Yeon Seonha wasn’t the type to be ashamed of such a precocious past. Even if he didn’t blab about it everywhere like cheap punks, he was a born-to-be slut with no guilt about that fact.
Then why is he trying so hard to hide it?
Ah.
Could it be…
One possibility vaguely came to Hongdan’s mind. He straightened his bent waist and asked carefully.
“Don’t tell me at first you took it in the…”
“As if I’d have given up my ass, fuck!”
Seonha immediately yelled out loud. The surroundings instantly fell silent. Naturally, it was Hongdan’s job to bow his head to the innocent citizens while reading the room.
Even after Hongdan delivered his apology to the nation, Seonha’s face was still flushed red and pale. Hongdan looked at him with an odd expression. In truth, there was something that bothered him more than his strong denial.
“…Fuck?”
Hongdan asked, tilting his head. Only then did Seonha’s complexion return to normal. No, he hurriedly waved his hands with an even paler face.
“N-no, I wasn’t saying that to you…!”
“I wasn’t pointing it out to scold you.”
“Huh? Then?”
“Just, it feels like it’s been a really long time since I heard a curse word come out of your mouth.”
“…”
“Come to think of it, it’s strange. How did you completely quit cursing just from hitting your head once?”
Before he knew it, his curiosity about whether Seonha was mentally virginal had flown away. Hongdan slowly moved his stopped steps while contemplating the positive effects of amnesia. If only the same possibility of improvement as now was guaranteed, he thought it would be good if he bumped his head just one more time—no more, no less. Then maybe his future relationship with Yeon Seonha could also…
No, no.
That problem wasn’t something to decide on based on momentary emotions. He didn’t want to ruin this peace for no reason. Hongdan shook his head and cleared away the headache-inducing thoughts. Then he extended his hand to Seonha, who somehow seemed like he hadn’t moved a single step since earlier.
“Aren’t you coming? You said you know a nice tea house around here. I don’t know the way.”
“Oh, I’m coming.”
Unlike before, Seonha didn’t come running over frivolously. But he still firmly grasped his hand as if worried it might be withdrawn again, so Hongdan’s brief sense of dissonance was quickly erased.
The two walked side by side, matching each other’s pace. Seonha, who’d been quiet the whole time, also started pouting his lips and babbling like usual.
“But I wasn’t someone who cursed a lot originally…”
“Bullshit.”
“You cursed a lot, Hongdan.”
“You cursed a lot too.”
“Then do you like it when I curse, Hongdan? Hmm, was that your hard kink?”
“Again, you’re subtly steering it that way again. Perverted bastard, really.”
“Hee…”
The stupid laugh that didn’t match his build also returned. It matched quite well with the cloudless early winter sky. Perhaps because of that, he vaguely thought that, as Seonha said, it had been good to come out. Hongdan lightly flicked Seonha’s prominent nose, which never gave in easily, with his finger. Then Seonha rubbed the top of his head against Hongdan’s shoulder.
“Ngh, what can I do when even just you breathing is sexy?”
“That’s a sickness.”
“Then I won’t get better for the rest of my life!”
“Really.”
Ah, I wish time would pass slowly.
***
Had Yeon Seonha even learned mind reading? Hongdan thought while looking at a scene that was perfectly to his taste.
Whether he’d made a reservation while Hongdan was asleep in the morning, the place they were guided to was a private room located at the very back of the cafe. There was a large picture window inside, and beyond it, a well-landscaped yard could be seen. A landscape like a single painting stole Hongdan’s gaze.
A modest pond, almost like a stream. Scattered over it were out-of-season flower petals, and surrounding them were stepping stones covered in light moss.
It was a masterpiece capturing the period of slowly transitioning from the abundant season to the chilly season. The interior where he and Seonha were sitting was especially warm, making it feel like time outside flowed even more slowly.
“Do you like it?”
“Yeah.”
Hongdan nodded without hesitation. Seonha folded the corners of his eyes with a smile and poured the tea he’d chosen. Trickle. The calm sound of water filling the white porcelain teacup overlapped with the sound of ripples outside.
“It’s chrysanthemum tea. This one isn’t bitter and the scent is mild, so it should be nice to drink.”
It seemed to consider his palate, which preferred sweet snacks over rice. Hongdan’s expression became somewhat sulky.
“Hey, I’m almost thirty now, so I can drink somewhat bitter things.”
“I know. But if possible, drink something that suits your taste.”
“If only you’d keep your mouth shut.”
While grumbling quietly, Hongdan obediently picked up the teacup.
Indeed, the chrysanthemum tea, as Seonha said, had only a faint scent of dried flowers lingering, making it not difficult to swallow. Rather, it made him want to take another sip right away, chasing after the scent that had quickly dispersed. As expected, he liked it perfectly, just like this cafe.
“…Thanks.”
So he ended up muttering without realizing it. His heart, which usually kept up its guard like a habit, melted calmly.
“Hm? For what?”
“Just. For bringing me to a place like this.”
“I’m more grateful that you came with me.”
Maybe even more so because of that blind affection.
Hongdan stood up from his seat without saying anything. Then Seonha’s eyes hurriedly followed.
“Where are you going?”
But Hongdan’s mouth remained tightly shut and wouldn’t open. Only after Seonha, who’d been struggling, finally half-rose from his seat did a small voice flow out.
“Sit down. I went to the trouble of moving to sit next to you, so what are you doing standing up?”
“Huh?”
At Hongdan’s completely unexpected declaration, Seonha blinked. But the person who’d actually dropped a bomb on Seonha’s head just waved his hand carelessly as if even that reaction was annoying.
“Move over a bit.”
“O-okay…”
In truth, it was just because his head was already lowered, but Hongdan’s cheeks had also quietly reddened. Of course, he planned to hide it from Seonha all day today.
Thud. Hongdan deliberately made noise as he settled in. He wanted to show that compared to his noisy heart, his own heart was utterly indifferent. But when it came to Hongdan, Seonha was as perceptive as an airport metal detector.
“Hey, Hongdan.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you acting cute because you’re still curious about when I lost my virginity?”
This bastard doesn’t give me a chance to be nice.
