The next day was also a work day. Jae-min, who was heading to the clinic on the bus, checked the message and rubbed his face with his palm. Then he yawned languidly.
“Ha, my body feels light but I’m tired.”
After resting his head against the bus window, he gently closed his eyes. The events of yesterday felt like a distant dream.
Recalling the obscene acts that started in the student center club room and continued to Hyun-woong’s studio apartment made his nose tingle. Wondering if he was getting a nosebleed, he wiped under his nose with the back of his hand. Fortunately it was bone dry.
Jae-min, who bumped his head against the rattling window a few times, eventually straightened his posture again. He took out his phone and absentmindedly entered the messenger.
The conversation with Hyun-woong had stopped at the team project talk, so he had to scroll quite far down in the chat window to see it.
He could easily message first.
Jae-min chewed on his lower lip for no reason while staring at the conversation record that had stopped a long time ago. At the same time, he recalled the conversation they had while lying side by side after sex yesterday.
“You’re quick to ask.”
After Hyun-woong responded with a hollow laugh, there were no additional words. Though he’d been the one to toss out the question first, at the simple affirmation that came back, he instead lost his words and just opened and closed his mouth. In the heavily descending silence, Hyun-woong pushed aside the blanket and sat up.
“I’ll go wash up.”
Jae-min stared blankly at Hyun-woong’s broad back as he got off the bed and headed to the bathroom.
Having admitted he liked him, he thought he’d say something more. Asking how Jae-min felt, or what changes in their relationship he’d like going forward. But Hyun-woong neither asked nor demanded anything.
With each other’s bodily fluids still on their bodies, while still breathing roughly with excitement not yet settled. The calm reaction as if nothing had happened made Jae-min’s mood strange.
Jae-min removed the dirtied bed sheets while waiting for Hyun-woong to finish showering and come out. Finally Hyun-woong opened the bathroom door, and Jae-min whirled his head around. Hyun-woong appeared wearing comfortable indoor pants, patting his shoulders and chest with a towel to remove the remaining moisture.
Jae-min gulped when he spotted the nipples swollen from being squeezed and sucked for so long.
“Did you handle it alone normally?”
At the lightly delivered question, Hyun-woong quickly raised his head.
“What?”
“Your chest. Squeezing out the milk, I was wondering if it’s too hard to do alone.”
At Jae-min’s question delivered while pretending not to know, Hyun-woong went “Ah” and made a sound in his throat, then trudged over and pulled out a t-shirt from the closet. Throwing the towel roughly and putting on clothes, Hyun-woong answered the question.
“Actually, there’s a place I go to regularly.”
“A hospital?”
“A clinic… I guess I should call it.”
“Is it expensive?”
“Not cheap.”
Though he already knew all this, Jae-min deliberately asked. Hyun-woong answered smoothly without any suspicion. Jae-min blinked and pulled the chair closer to Hyun-woong.
“What do they do there? Do they prescribe medicine?”
“Not that. Mainly massage…”
“If there’s nothing particularly special, how about you stop going?”
Hyun-woong, who had been answering indifferently, flinched at that moment. Jae-min grinned and pointed to himself.
“I can squeeze it for you now.”
For Jae-min, it was quite a generous offer. It meant he’d now do for free what he used to get paid 3 million won to do. Of course, there were no professional medical devices or beds, but he had massage skills he’d been trained in and lips to substitute for the milking device.
Unlike Jae-min speaking with a confident expression, Hyun-woong had a flustered face.
“You? You’d go through that trouble?”
Hyun-woong had an expression of disbelief. It seemed like the two letters “Why bother?” were stamped on his face. Jae-min shrugged.
“Yeah, it’s not difficult?”
Hyun-woong opened his lips as if to say something, then immediately shut them tight. It seemed like he was about to say something but swallowed it. Toward Jae-min who was looking at him questioningly, Hyun-woong waved his hand.
“It’s late. Hurry and get ready to go.”
It was an order to leave. Jae-min stuttered and was chased out of Hyun-woong’s house just like that. He had absolutely no idea why. What he was trying to say, what on earth he was thinking.
What he planned to do going forward.
Ending his recollection, Jae-min let out a long breath and glared at his phone.
“Should I contact him first?”
He went to school today too but didn’t see Hyun-woong. He said it was his first time having sex, but he was curious about various things—whether his body was okay, whether milk had filled up again since then.
Jae-min, who had been hesitating, realized his stop wasn’t far away and tapped the keyboard.
[Is your body okay?]
He flinched as he was about to send the message. It was excessively ticklish as a message to send to Hyun-woong. Of course, thinking of it as words to send to someone he’d mingled bodies with, there was nothing strange about it, but his hands and feet curled up for no reason.
[What are you doing?]
The message he ended up deleting and resending had the appearance of a somewhat lingering ex. He didn’t like this either, but he had to get off the bus soon.
Jae-min, who confirmed with his eyes the number “1” indicating the other party hadn’t read it yet, pressed the stop button firmly to make the bus stop.
Today he would probably have to deal with a new patient. Jae-min, who had truly become a working person going to work, moved his heavy steps slowly. On the way, he bought a cup of coffee and entered the alley.
Inside the familiar building, he was about to go straight up the stairs when some man was leaning crookedly against the middle of the stairway wall, blocking the path with his leg. The man with a short height and broad shoulders, built like a judo athlete, had his back to Jae-min and was on a call.
If he was going to stop to make a call, at least he shouldn’t block the way. Jae-min sent an absurd look and opened his mouth.
“I’d like to pass through.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. Huh?”
The man turned around in surprise and saw Jae-min’s face. Jae-min ignored him and passed by, going up the stairs. But the man hung up the call altogether and shouted in a loud voice.
“Wait a moment!”
Since it was a stairwell, the sound echoed. Jae-min stopped and looked back. Though he was definitely a stranger at first meeting, the other person had a very welcoming look in his eyes. Toward Jae-min who was obviously showing annoyance, the man asked with pure brightness.
“Do you by any chance work at the clinic upstairs?”
“…Yes?”
“I’m right! The voice was familiar… I’m Lee Dong-gyu, you remember me, right?”
A man named Lee Dong-gyu who works at the clinic and mentions his voice. Since he couldn’t remember, Jae-min stared intently at Dong-gyu with narrowed brows.
“I think you gave me a massage last time…”
“Ah.”
Only then did he recall. He was a new patient he’d handled last time. That man who persistently asked if he could receive a massage from Jae-min again. He’d worn an eye mask so he couldn’t see his face, so it was correct that this was their first meeting. Though it was bewildering, thinking he was a clinic customer anyway, Jae-min entered expression management mode for now.
Dong-gyu covered the area around his mouth with both hands and sparkled his eyes.
“Wow. I thought you’d be handsome from hearing your voice, but you’re even more outstanding than I expected. Wow… I thought you were a celebrity. Your face is so small too.”
“Haha, thank you. I need to get to work now. Take care.”
When he tried to slip away by going up one step on the stairs, Dong-gyu also climbed one more step.
“Um, when do you work? They said appointments by name aren’t allowed, so I wanted to make a reservation during the times you work.”
Seeing Dong-gyu persistently wanting to receive another massage from Jae-min made his tightly suppressed temper stir. Jae-min took a deep breath, bit down hard, and forced a kind smile.
“It changes every time. Please inquire with the clinic for reservations. Then.”
Jae-min, who bowed in greeting, hurriedly climbed the stairs. Dong-gyu didn’t follow any further. Slam, Jae-min who opened the MLS Clinic door and entered took a big breath in and slowly let it out.
Ah, this is annoying?
When even an uninterested member of the opposite sex clings to him, it’s unpleasant, so seeing someone of the same sex showing interest in him made goosebumps rise on his forearms. Whether Cheol-hui was giving him strange looks or not, Jae-min rubbed his arms with his hands.
