“What kind of bullshit is this! Stop watching those dramas Bang Minwook gave you, you bastard!”
Thick-jointed hands firmly grasped both of his hands. Woojae had to be held in his arms, breathing roughly as if nearly panting. He seemed like someone suffering from anxiety.
Gye Sajun patted Woojae’s back with his remaining hand. Woojae dimly knew he could escape if he struggled with all his might, but strangely, his heart cried out inwardly at the sense of reassurance. Gye Sajun, who had been carefully observing his confusion, advised in a very serious voice.
“If you want, you can grab somewhere else.”
“Y-you crazy bastard! What the hell did you see?”
“Take a guess.”
The faint trace of laughter clearly indicated that what he’d just said meant exactly what it sounded like. Now it was Woojae whose ears turned bright red. He wanted to go back to his room and sleep, but strangely his body wouldn’t move. Even though there was no strength at all in Gye Sajun’s hands or body.
Now he even tenderly stroked the back of Woojae’s hand with his thumb, so gently it felt almost affectionate. Woojae buried his flushed face in the pillow. Because I’m tired, because I’m not fully recovered yet. Because my room must be cold. Ridiculous excuses prevented Woojae from shaking him off and getting up. It was absurd.
“Do you need a whole month?”
“…Th-then two weeks.”
“That’s too long. Let’s make it a week.”
The situation—having to hear this question on his bed, reeking of Gye Sajun’s scent, held in his arms—wouldn’t register in his head. But contrary to his thinking brain, his body drooped to the floor like waterlogged cotton.
The bed was so incredibly soft. This moment, burning hot and absurdly comfortable, felt good. Like the illusion of being inside a warm electric blanket in the dead of winter, covered with thick blankets.
“…I’m sleepy. I’m going to sleep.”
“Aren’t you thirsty?”
“I don’t know, you bastard.”
“I left water by the headboard if you want to drink it. Are you hungry?”
“I said I don’t know.”
He just wanted to pass out like this. But sleep wouldn’t come. Saying he was sleepy was an evasion. The bastard who kept asking about his condition and taking care of him gave him goosebumps. Crazy bastard. Woojae felt the urge to punch his pounding chest with his fist as he turned away from Gye Sajun.
As expected, Gye Sajun wasn’t putting any strength into his body. The chill he felt as soon as he turned over reduced the queasy feeling and left him feeling empty. Woojae stared at the relatively cold wall and pressed his body closer to it. Behind him, a warm body was temptingly radiating heat, but this didn’t feel right.
“You shouldn’t show your back to the enemy.”
“Fuck… Huk…!”
No sooner had he snapped at words that could be a joke or serious than Gye Sajun pressed his body deeply against him from behind. Like perfectly matching puzzle pieces, the two had to be entangled on the bed. Woojae felt Gye Sajun’s arms wrapping around his waist from behind and froze like stone.
“I won’t do anything. Don’t worry and sleep. This isn’t the first time we’ve slept together.”
“Crazy bastard…”
“You can sleep as defenseless as you did then. I won’t touch you without consent. You know that, right? You kissed me first that time too.”
Woojae was simply confused. Like this? Suddenly? No, not suddenly, but anyway—me? With him? Of course we kissed, but it was in my sleep… But can being half-asleep be an excuse?
He’d thought he was cute several times. Even now, he found him strangely charming, but I’m a man and… A particularly hot energy transmitted to the back of his buttocks amidst thoughts that kept spreading their wings.
“You son of a bitch, you said you wouldn’t do anything!”
It suddenly occurred to him that even when he woke up at his place that morning, it probably wasn’t morning wood. No sooner had Woojae raised his voice than strength entered the arms wrapped around his waist. Woojae’s complexion turned deathly pale at the thought of being deceived. Regardless of Woojae’s reaction, Gye Sajun adjusted his position and retorted in a consistently serious tone.
“I’m not doing anything.”
“Are you insane? You perverted bastard…!”
“I can’t help getting hard. So stop squirming. I’m trying to restrain myself, but if you keep stirring me up like that, I won’t have time to think.”
It was like magic words. Woojae became docile the moment he heard them. The breath touching the nape of his neck was hot. Even shrinking his body as much as possible didn’t change anything. As the situation reached its limit, Woojae became a third party, as if having an out-of-body experience, and began thinking about this situation.
This was Woojae’s habit. After doing so, Gye Sajun’s words became even less believable. Li-li-like… No, anyway, how could you lie in the same bed with someone you want to do… that with and sleep like you’re meditating without doing anything? Moreover, he was an alpha, said to have a strong sex drive. It was better than facing each other, but as he said, giving his back made the anxiety amplify even more.
“Were you gay? Or have you always been like this?”
Though it didn’t seem like a very good question for this situation, Woojae tried to confirm things to calm his anxiety. Of course, it was a meaningless question. If he said he was gay, he’d be more anxious, and if he said he wasn’t… Then is that better? But why… The thoughts that kept going off track were overwhelming. As if to calm Woojae’s anxiety, Gye Sajun answered with a sleepy sigh.
“Does that matter?”
“…No.”
“Sleep, then. You can sleep more today.”
Gye Sajun put Woojae’s cold hands under the blanket and breathed evenly. As if enchanted by those words, Woojae closed his eyelids. The words that he could sleep sounded so comforting. His body gradually grew heavier and his consciousness drifted away.
“Go Woojae, sleep well.”
“Mmm…”
“Even a week is too long. But a whole month—who are you trying to bleed dry?”
Gye Sajun whispered softly and stroked sleeping Woojae’s cheek. The cheek touching his palm was soft. Even after Woojae fell asleep, Gye Sajun had to stay up with his eyes open until dawn. Because sleeping while just holding someone he liked was close to impossible.
***
“Everyone who’s here, get on the bus! If you have luggage to load, leave it here!”
Students bustled in front of two large double-decker buses. Jang Yeonju, wearing sunglasses, was giving orders here and there, and people who weren’t students were moving luggage. Though it was called a department MT, it was actually a simple MT with only freshmen and the student council participating. As a result, there were roughly 50 people, and contrary to Woojae’s worries, Jeong Minho wasn’t even a shadow to be seen.
The complicated itinerary involved taking a bus to the airport, then a plane to a very hot foreign country, staying at a hotel for a day, and afterward boarding a huge cruise ship.
What kind of college MT has this kind of scale? But except for him, everyone’s faces said this was natural, so there was no room for objection. Minwook said they were going to Europe for MT, so there was nothing more to say.
“Woojae, there’s a seat here!”
Woojae stepped into the bus, feeling the gazes following him. Sojeong, sitting in the front, smiled and waved. Probably because the weather had warmed up, she was wearing light clothes. Woojae stretched his legs to sit in the seat next to Sojeong, unnecessarily pulling at his worn-out shirt.
“Your seat is here.”
“…!”
Of course, it was an attempt that failed due to Gye Sajun grabbing his scruff from behind. Gye Sajun pushed Woojae into the seat behind Sojeong and sat on the aisle side, practically trapping him. The bus was so large and spacious, and the capacity was twice the number of participants, so there was no need to sit two by two, yet the bastard cramming his large body in was detestable. Woojae could only curse Gye Sajun with his eyes, unable to make a sound because he was conscious of his classmates looking at him unfavorably.
“Hey, Sojeong-ah. Sorry…”
When he turned his head, Sojeong was looking this way and smiling. Woojae had to apologize softly, feeling unnecessarily sorry.
“Yeonju was going to sit next to me anyway. Did you do well on the exam? I studied really hard but it was so difficult.”
“I was sick too, so I don’t remember well.”
Despite Yeon Sojeong’s question, Gye Sajun was rummaging through his bag with a frown. What is he looking for?
“Woojae was sick? What about now? You’re okay, right?”
“Yeah. I felt better after sleeping.”
How sweet. At Yeon Sojeong’s face dripping with worry, Woojae gave an embarrassed smile instead. Who was the partner for that ‘sleep’? It was fortunate that Minwook wasn’t at the dorm yesterday so they didn’t get caught. Just as the bus seats were being filled one by one and Jang Yeonju boarded last:
“I trust everyone went to the bathroom. It’ll take about 2 hours, so we won’t stop at a rest area separately, and let’s be quiet on the way. I drank a bit yesterday and my head is pounding.”
After grabbing the microphone and loudly finishing the announcement, Jang Yeonju plopped down in the seat next to Yeon Sojeong. Are we going to sing songs like a tour bus? he thought, but it was an unexpectedly dignified start. Is this what college MTs are like? Woojae awkwardly stared at the campus outside the window.
“Ah, fuck. I’m so fucking tired. I drank right after the exam ended yesterday and my stomach’s churning, I’m fucked.”
“Did you take a hangover remedy? I brought some, want it?”
“Sojeong, you’re an angel. Acknowledging you as the number one groom candidate…”
Jang Yeonju could be seen making dying sounds as she leaned back in her seat. Apparently the quiet start to the MT was due to Jang Yeonju’s hangover. The classmates didn’t seem to have any particular complaints either—when he glanced back, half of them were in a similar state to Jang Yeonju—and everyone was busy talking amongst themselves, and soon the bus started. It was when Woojae raised his head at the familiar hand that suddenly appeared before his eyes.
