“Ah.”
Jaeha let out a dumbfounded exclamation as if caught off guard, and Kyungwoo drove the point home.
“Your way of thinking is already fucked up, so why bother pretending otherwise?”
Jaeha couldn’t find words for a moment.
“But I’ve never been like this before.”
“A guy who doesn’t even have a woman.”
“And you do?”
This time Kyungwoo shut his mouth. If he lied and said yes, that bastard would definitely demand proof. As he averted his gaze, Jaeha raised the corners of his mouth triumphantly.
“If you’ve shaken up someone who was living just fine, you should take responsibility.”
“So why the hell should I?”
“Because it’s your fault that I… ended up like this.”
It took a beat to realize what “ended up like this” meant.
“Crazy bastard.”
Kyungwoo glared at the man before him.
“Your sexual identity confusion is your own fault. Don’t push it onto others.”
Kyungwoo didn’t hide his disgust. He even felt disappointed in Seo Jaeha.
“It’s the truth.”
“Even if it’s true, isn’t it a problem you need to solve yourself? If you want to test yourself that badly, you should’ve gone to a gay club instead of me. You picked the wrong number.”
Kyungwoo lifted his leg and struck Jaeha’s ribs with his knee.
“Ugh… That’s not going to work.”
Even while grimacing in pain, Jaeha tried not to let go of the struggling Kyungwoo.
‘If he hadn’t drained me with that surprise kiss earlier, I wouldn’t be held down so helplessly.’
Kyungwoo felt frustrated inside. And he was crushed by the helplessness brought by the overwhelming difference in physique and stamina.
“You always try to solve things with force.”
“You’re not exactly easy either, so calm down.”
“If you were in my position, could you calm down in this situation?”
“That’s your problem. I’d just like you to take some responsibility for the lid you opened.”
And with that, Jaeha dropped a bomb on Kyungwoo.
“Since it’s come to this anyway. Why don’t you cooperate wholeheartedly, Jung Kyungwoo-ssi.”
At the chilling choice of words, Kyungwoo found himself asking reflexively.
“Wholeheartedly cooperate?”
“If you’ve shaken someone up, you should at least help them find an answer.”
It was absolutely something he didn’t want to probe into. But his damn mouth moved on its own.
“…What?”
It was hard for Jaeha to answer clearly either. Just watching the man squirming beneath him was distressing in an unintended way. Truth be told, quite a bit of heat had gathered in his lower body. If it were a woman, he’d properly seduce her. But this. It was maddening.
“So. Phew. I’ll only say this once, so listen carefully.”
After taking several deep breaths, Jaeha looked down at Kyungwoo, who was growing paler by the moment.
“I admit I’m a bit shaken. And I hope you’ll admit that you’ve driven me strangely. If you keep collapsing, crying, and falling asleep in my arms… Even if we’re both men, looking like that, you shouldn’t act so carelessly.”
“Bullshit.”
“Even if it’s bullshit, the truth is the truth. The situation is shitty, so I have to talk shit. You admit you dragged me here and did something weird when I was trying to solve it in my own way, right? Because the situation worsened because of that. You definitely bear some responsibility, so it’d be good to cooperate in solving it. Otherwise, I might completely lose it.”
“What?”
“Just once is enough.”
“So… what?”
While firmly suppressing his discomfort and embarrassment, Jaeha feigned as much composure as possible.
“I honestly don’t have confidence I’ll be good at it. But I guarantee I’ll make my best effort.”
“So what exactly!”
Anxious, Kyungwoo shouted. His widened pupils shook mercilessly. It was the same for Jaeha.
“Sex.”
“…Who… with who?”
“You. With me.”
Thud!
For the first time, Kyungwoo learned what it meant to exert every ounce of strength, even the strength from when he was nursing. His body, sensing crisis, produced explosive power.
Thump.
Jaeha rolled off the sofa onto the floor. In the meantime, Kyungwoo sprang up like a spring.
“Crazy.”
Because of that damn bastard, he’d been experiencing too many first-time realizations in his life lately. His father was right. He should’ve destroyed him from the start.
He headed for the suite door leading outside. Just as he was about to open the door, tremendous force from behind overwhelmed Kyungwoo.
Bang.
Caught between the door and Jaeha’s body, Kyungwoo’s stomach slammed into the protruding doorknob.
“Ugh.”
It hurt enough to make him want to curse violently. The moment he hesitated, Jaeha seized the opportunity and spun Kyungwoo around.
“I asked for your cooperation.”
“You bastard who’s lost it completely. Is that something to cooperate on?”
“Really?”
At those words, Jaeha’s expression changed. While clearly showing his frustration, he didn’t back down.
“You were interested in me too, weren’t you? That’s why you called me here and hugged me.”
Just from the words, it sounded like sarcasm. But combined with his desperate tone and earnest expression, it was close to pleading.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. Prosecutor Seo. If you don’t want to lose your position, back off now.”
“Do you really… have no interest in me?”
The voice asking again cracked somewhat. He was pretending to be strong, but he looked truly desperate.
“Please say you do.”
“What if, by any chance, I did?”
“I’d try to seduce you in earnest.”
At the response like a college freshman fresh from the college entrance exam, Kyungwoo couldn’t help but laugh.
“Are you filming a drama right now, Prosecutor Seo Jaeha?”
“If it were a drama, that’d be better. I’d get entangled with you somehow.”
The light laughter that burst out absurdly quietly disappeared due to the utterly serious reaction.
“You’ve lost it.”
“Yeah. I’ve lost it.”
With a self-deprecating answer, Jaeha eased up a bit on the force pinning Kyungwoo down. Even that was enough opportunity to push him away and escape this situation. But Kyungwoo didn’t.
“Are you serious?”
“Does it look like a joke?”
In those burning black eyes, he couldn’t find a trace of joking. For a moment, his back trembled finely.
‘This is insane.’
His head rang with a strong warning alarm. But Kyungwoo ignored it.
A joke? Honestly, about 30 percent was an impulsive joke. 20 percent was a scheme to somehow appease Seo Jaeha.
The last half… Yeah, he had to honestly admit it. Kyungwoo had no experience being sexually involved with anyone. Whether woman or man.
In America, they usually labeled indifferent people as denial gays. Pretending to have no interest at all because they couldn’t accept their sexual identity.
Of course, Kyungwoo had never thought of himself as gay. He’d believed that if he ever had a relationship, it would be with a woman.
Throughout his life, the gender that had shown even a slight possibility was definitely female. But out of nowhere, a powerful typhoon named Seo Jaeha had struck.
The tall, handsome man with a masculine face dismissed Kyungwoo’s seizures as drug side effects and pressed him forcefully. Perhaps it was thanks to getting used to his presence in that muddled way.
Having gotten past even a kiss, which he’d vaguely thought would never happen, he’d become bold. Or perhaps he’d lost his fear.
“Let’s do it.”
“What?”
“Let’s do it. Sex.”
And with that, Kyungwoo stared directly at Jaeha.
“Are you serious?”
“You were the one begging first. Why are you surprised?”
“I didn’t beg. I just didn’t expect you to agree so easily…”
“Your logic that I bear some responsibility was plausible.”
“Is that all?”
Jaeha seemed satisfied that his persuasion had been effective, yet his attitude was subtly dissatisfied. He was truly a difficult, demanding person to deal with.
“Do you need something else?”
“No.”
No matter how twisted his inner thoughts were, if he said no on the surface, treating it as no was basic business relationship protocol. Also, dissatisfaction that couldn’t be or didn’t want to be expressed had to be handled by oneself.
Instead, problems that absolutely couldn’t be handled alone had to be disclosed—that was also an unwritten rule for constructive business.
“It’s my first time with a man.”
Perhaps it was fortunate it was a man. Now it was easier to hide that it was his first time at all.
“Same here.”
“I’m warning you in advance—if you’re thinking a man is easy and planning to show ugly, cheap tastes, find someone else. I’m expensive.”
It wasn’t that he had some grand romance about his first relationship. But considering that the spectrum of sexual relations was extremely wide, and that relations between the same sex were quite hard, he needed to draw a line metaphorically.
“I don’t have perverted tastes, so rest assured.”
“Do you not realize that making this proposal to me itself is perverted?”
“That’s not something someone who readily agreed to the proposal should say.”
His retort was excellent.
“Then let’s each do some preliminary research.”
“Each? Abandon any expectation that I’ll do it.”
Kyungwoo cut him off in a stiff tone.
“Fine. Since I’m the one who brought it up first, I’ll do the research and brief you later.”
And with that, Jaeha rubbed his mouth with his hand. His complexion was a bit flushed, as if embarrassed.
“Somehow this is awkward.”
“Awkward, when you boldly asked me to become your bedmate?”
“Partner.”
As if the word partner was quite unfamiliar, Jaeha repeated the word in a deeper voice. Then a confident smile spread across his lips, which were distinctly obnoxious.
“Please treat me well from now on. Partner-nim.”
And with that, Seo Jaeha extended his hand.
“Suddenly a handshake?”
“To celebrate the successful contract?”
Kyungwoo, who let out a laugh, threw the tie and shoes he’d just picked up back onto the sofa.
“Aren’t you acting a bit too innocent?”
Kyungwoo shoved both hands into his pants pockets and lifted his chin toward the opponent who was subtly looking down at him.
Even though the height difference between Jaeha wearing shoes and barefoot Kyungwoo was greater than usual, the pride of a man who wouldn’t easily yield to anyone manifested as naturally as breathing.
“Forget the handshake that doesn’t suit you. How about trying something else?”
“For example, what kind?”
“Do whatever turns me on. So I won’t reverse my decision right here.”
“What cheap talk.”
“If you’re not confident, don’t beat around the bush and just fuck off.”
“I didn’t say that.”
And with that, Jaeha took another step closer. He came close enough for their bodies to touch, but Kyungwoo stood stiffly. Backing down here would be the same as saying he was scared and running away. A pride fight between men was in a way like a dogfight. Ridiculous and unseemly, but one he absolutely couldn’t lose.
Long fingers rose into the air. A hand that looked strong enough to break a wrist bone with grip strength alone moved surprisingly delicately. The neatly trimmed nails touched first between Kyungwoo’s cheekbone and temple.
