# Chapter 138
“They told us not to come?”
“Why don’t they want us there? What are the two of them planning to do?”
“I wouldn’t know. But they said don’t come since they won’t be eating pork or duck.”
“If we actually don’t go because of that, our friendship is dead. Give me that. I’ll talk to them.”
After the sound of Gye Minho and Ban Hajun chatting, Ban Hajun’s voice came through clearly.
“Mo Eunje, if you don’t like pork or duck, would you like to eat beef?”
“What? I told you not to come.”
“I don’t want to hear that. We want to see Igyeol too. You think you’re the only one who misses him? I missed Tae Igyeol so much that I couldn’t sleep last night. Just thinking about Igyeol arriving today made my heart flutter.”
“What absolute nonsense. Why are you making up such elaborate lies?”
“Okay. I’ll get pork belly and pork neck. Since our Igyeol will miss kimchi, I’ll specially make kimchi stew for him too.”
While he could at least have a conversation with Gye Minho, talking with Ban Hajun felt like talking to a wall. It might be faster for Tae Igyeol to come and kick the friends out.
“Hey. He was only in America for two weeks—why would he miss kimchi? Besides, his grandmother’s house has kimchi too, you know?”
“Then we’ll go with doenjang stew! You need to film me making the doenjang stew well. Got it?”
“…Can’t you just give us a break today? I really have something serious to talk about with Tae Igyeol.”
“If you know how much I’ve suffered between you two, don’t run off somewhere else and come straight here.”
It was a threat he couldn’t refute. No matter who said what, it was true that Ban Hajun had suffered between Tae Igyeol and him. It must have been frustrating to keep quiet about everything he knew, and he had even gone to Tae Igyeol’s house several times to make sure he ate meals and took medicine. The most grateful thing was that he had willingly provided a place to sleep for two weeks without showing any sign of discomfort.
Since Mo Eunje had a conscience and couldn’t ignore Ban Hajun’s suffering, it seemed the wisest approach would be for Tae Igyeol to come and chase the guys away. He wanted to be alone with Tae Igyeol, even if that’s what it took.
After hanging up the phone and waiting a bit longer, Tae Igyeol appeared wearing a white short-sleeve T-shirt with cream jeans and sunglasses. He wouldn’t have worn sunglasses on the plane, and Mo Eunje didn’t know why he needed to wear them indoors, but anyway, he was pushing a cart loaded with two 28-inch suitcases and one carry-on. The sight was so incredibly handsome that it took his breath away.
“Tae Igyeol!”
Mo Eunje was so excited that he smiled broadly and waved his hand high above his head. When Tae Igyeol spotted Mo Eunje, the corners of his mouth lifted. He took off his sunglasses, hooking them on his T-shirt, and approached. Although Mo Eunje hadn’t expected an emotional embrace, somehow things felt more awkward and uncomfortable than before, so he smiled even brighter.
“…I’m back.”
“Yeah. Welcome back. Did you buy my gift?”
“All of this is your gift.”
Tae Igyeol lightly kicked one of the 28-inch suitcases on the cart with his foot. Mo Eunje had asked as a joke, but hearing that he’d bought so many gifts to fill an entire suitcase made him flustered instead.
“Uh… this much…?”
“Eunje.”
“Yes?”
Tae Igyeol lightly hugged Mo Eunje with one arm. He seemed to be restraining himself as much as possible, conscious of the many people at the airport. Of course, Tae Igyeol wasn’t the type to care about such things, but he was being considerate in case someone who knew Mo Eunje’s face might be there.
“I missed you.”
His low, sweet whisper in Mo Eunje’s ear made his hair stand on end. At this rate, his heart wouldn’t survive all this excitement. Usually, it was Mo Eunje’s role to cling to him and express affection playfully, but when Tae Igyeol took the initiative, Mo Eunje became shy and only mouthed “me too.” Even though Tae Igyeol couldn’t have seen the shape of his lips since they were hugging, when he pulled away, he was wearing a satisfied smile.
“How’s your arm?”
“It’s fine.”
“That’s good. I brought the car. Let’s go home.”
Mo Eunje pushed the cart for Tae Igyeol. Suddenly, he thought about holding hands, but then Tae Igyeol wrapped his left arm around his shoulders. It was just a light, casual arm over the shoulder like friends would do. With just a layer of clothing between them, every cell where their skin touched seemed to throb.
“Let’s get the things I left at the moving company’s warehouse this weekend.”
“My stuff? There’s not much to bring back. I’ve been living fine without it. At this point, couldn’t we just throw it all away?”
“Then let’s go on the weekend and throw away what we don’t need and keep what we can use. I’ll tell Mom we don’t need to check your place anymore.”
“…Yeah.”
Mo Eunje hadn’t expected to end up living together so offhandedly, but even that seemed good. On the weekend, they could go to the warehouse to see what was there, send things that couldn’t be thrown away, like books, to Busan, and for now, just bring clothes.
Mo Eunje felt twisted up inside with this subtly changed relationship and atmosphere. From the moment he saw Tae Igyeol coming out, Mo Eunje’s face had been like it was broken, smiling constantly, the corners of his mouth refusing to come down from where they were hooked up to his ears.
When they reached the parking lot, Mo Eunje stopped Tae Igyeol from trying to use his strength and loaded all the suitcases into the trunk by himself. Even though Tae Igyeol claimed he had fully recovered, places where ligaments had been stretched could experience recurring pain, so it was better to be careful.
“I’ll drive. You get in the passenger seat.”
Tae Igyeol chuckled and went along with everything Mo Eunje wanted. As Mo Eunje watched Tae Igyeol get into the passenger seat, he got into the driver’s seat, and as soon as the car door closed, his nape was grabbed by a strong grip and pulled. Before he could be surprised, their lips collided urgently. As their breaths overlapped and tongues intertwined, he instantly heated up with a burning passion.
“Hey, w-w-wait a minute…!”
Mo Eunje, still not immune to intense skinship, reflexively pushed Tae Igyeol away and covered his lips with the back of his hand. Although Tae Igyeol looked displeased, he fixed Mo Eunje with a persistent gaze of unquenched thirst.
“Why are you stopping me? From the moment I saw you, I thought I was going to die wanting to do this.”
“No giant perverted moves allowed.”
As Tae Igyeol’s desire-filled gaze, which had only been uncomfortable and unfamiliar before, took on a different meaning, Mo Eunje felt strength gathering in his lower abdomen. He thought this might be a bit dangerous.
“Perverted… We’re dating now, aren’t we? So it’s okay to do this, right?”
“That’s true, but still…”
“But still what?”
“Haah… I’m sorry, but could we take things a little slower? Honestly, it’s not that I haven’t imagined doing lewd things with you, but when you come at me so aggressively, it’s hard for me to keep up.”
“You imagined lewd things with me…”
Tae Igyeol’s voice trailed off as he covered his face with his large palm and bowed his head for a moment. He seemed to be mumbling something, but Mo Eunje couldn’t properly hear what he was saying.
While in his dreams, Mo Eunje had done things beyond kissing with the illusory Tae Igyeol without hesitation, when it came to sharing breath and feeling the sensation with the real, physical Tae Igyeol in reality, Mo Eunje’s heart pounded so hard that he couldn’t think straight. Even just the brief touch of their lips made him dizzy.
“So, are you saying you don’t like it?”
Tae Igyeol raised his head and met Mo Eunje’s eyes with deepened pupils, speaking in a rough voice. The fact that his usual deep voice now sounded sensual meant there was definitely something wrong with Mo Eunje’s hearing. Mo Eunje awkwardly rolled his eyes, searching for an excuse in case Tae Igyeol discovered his thoughts.
“No, it’s not that I don’t like it and find it burdensome. I do like it, but I like it so much that it’s overwhelming to handle. So let’s just take things a little slower, okay?”
“How about adapting quickly?”
“Give me some time to adapt before saying that.”
“Eunje.”
“Yeah?”
“…Tell me you like me.”
Only after receiving this affectionate request did Mo Eunje realize he had never verbally told Tae Igyeol that he liked him. Even during their video call yesterday, he had only said he missed him, without clearly conveying his feelings in words. Mo Eunje looked directly at Tae Igyeol and pronounced each syllable with emphasis, enunciating clearly.
“I like you. I like you, Tae Igyeol.”
“…Tell me you love me too.”
“I love you, Igyeol.”
Their lips met slowly once again. The soft flesh pressed and pushed against each other, becoming moistly wet. The sensation was entirely different from a simple peck where just the lips touched and then separated—now the tender inner membranes of their lips brushed against each other. The feeling of another’s lips and tongue touching the soft mucous membrane made his lower abdomen tighten and sent a tingling sensation up his spine. Fear of what might happen to his body and a greedy desire to go further crossed each other.
They needed to leave now to avoid traffic congestion and enter Seoul before rush hour, but unlike before, Mo Eunje couldn’t stop the gentle, caressing kisses. To shake off the faces that kept appearing in his mind, Mo Eunje responded actively to the kiss.
While crossing the invisible line had been difficult and hard, once crossed, it was so sweet that he couldn’t think straight. Ironically, after all his conflict between friendship and love, he now thought that with Tae Igyeol, there was barely any difference between being friends or lovers.
Simply put, it seemed like not much had changed except for the kissing. When he thought of it as just being friends who also kiss, his guilt subsided significantly. Tae Igyeol would never imagine that Mo Eunje would think this way, but likewise, Mo Eunje couldn’t imagine how far Tae Igyeol’s thoughts went.
