SMNTCERR, Chapter 35 Cyan #8.
Sangwoo’s eyes looked slightly agitated, but why was he pounding this hard? Jaeyoung pulled a chair closer to the table and positioned himself in front of the person, synchronizing their hands together.
“Yes. Hyungnim, should I call you that?”
Sangwoo paused for a moment before coughing twice and looked at Jaeyoung again, then spoke.
“You… if you see my suggestions as a joke, it must be difficult for you.”
“What’s so funny about it? I’m genuinely listening to every word carefully.”
“Then why do you keep making the same mistakes?”
“I’ll be careful, Hyungnim.”
“Did your “Enter” key on the keyboard break or something? You’re good at English, why do you keep typing it wrong? It’s not that difficult, pay attention a bit, okay? Huh?”
‘He’s even able to bring up work topics in a drinking circle. This kid is really something.’
Jaeyoung picked up a piece of gum and handed it to Sangwoo.
“Have this, hyungnim.”
Sangwoo chewed the gum deliberately before swallowing and continued speaking.
“And… you, do you secretly skip steps because you don’t follow the work schedule? The deadlines keep getting pushed back.”
“Doing that sometimes has its benefits. And I apologize a little, I’ll take responsibility and do everything later myself.”
“Just in words?”
“No. Today, I worked before coming here.”
He lied. Today, Jaeyoung had been preoccupied with thoughts of Sangwoo and hadn’t done anything at all, but he was confident that he would do something someday, although he didn’t know when that would be true.
“Invite me to play Yaja Time to mock me, my dear Sangwoo-hyung.”
Sangwoo raised an eyebrow. Jaeyoung quickly reached out and fed the yakult to the other person’s mouth, then glanced through. The other person seemed fine, but with this look, Sangwoo himself seemed drunk too, his eyes appearing slightly relaxed. Even when he opened his mouth to receive it and closed it gracefully, he couldn’t maintain the perfect image, far from the robotic appearance in normal times.
“I want to hear you speak politely, you rude guy.”
“Oh, really? Then, hyungnim, have a glass of Soju.”
Jaeyoung lifted Sangwoo’s Soju glass and touched the edge of his own lips. Sangwoo drank it calmly, after swallowing what was in his mouth, he pointed his finger at Jaeyoung.
“Here you go, Jang Jaeyoung.”
“Yes, please go ahead and say it.”
“You crazy bastard… You know, right?”
“Of course, I know very well.”
Sangwoo laughed softly before hugging his chest and turning away.
“You…crazy…come write another person’s face.”
“That’s right. I’m really terrible. Why am I able to do that to your face?”
“So, you mean they didn’t manipulate the drinks… That’s a clear profitdriven manipulation, huh? Ever heard of Heo Sangjun[1]? Do you know about it?” “That’s right. It’s an eye-opening office protecting consumers for real. I’m realizing my mistake.”
“You trash…”
“I’m just human trash who can’t be really recycled. Would you like me to kneel down for you?”
From his seat, Sangwoo quickly lifted his upper body. He then placed his arms crossed on the table and rested his chin on them, his elbows pushing the yakult plate to the side. If Jaeyoung didn’t catch it, it would have fallen to the floor.
Because Jaeyoung himself was sitting close to the table, their faces were very close. The brim of the other party’s hat grazed against his forehead. Jaeyoung leaned down, resting his chin on his arm like Sangwoo. When his eyes that were concealed by the hat were revealed, his heart raced faster. Every time Sangwoo blinked, his eyelashes fluttered up and down, and the corners of his lips gradually moved.
“You…if you’re not handsome, you can’t do anything.”
“Even if your appearance is not good, a garbage human like me should just die, right?”
“I know this.”
His slightly drifting eyes, affected by the drunkenness, carefully examined
Jaeyoung’s face. No matter where their eyes looked, they felt a warmth rising. Sangwoo’s gaze paused at the forehead before moving to the nose, ears, neck, and chin. And it stopped at the corner of the lips. Sangwoo lowered his gaze, and Jaeyoung could see that the other party’s lips were revealed.
“My face will be ruined soon. Sangwoo.”
Sangwoo lowered his eyes even more, almost closing them. He took advantage of the moment to reach out and grab a bottle of soju and pour it into Jaeyoung’s glass. Jaeyoung took the glass back and drank half without hesitation before speaking.
“Am I handsome?”
Sangwoo pretended not to hear and filled Jaeyoung’s glass with soju.
Jaeyoung lifted the glass back to replace his answer and drank it all at once.
“Am…I handsome?”
Jaeyoung spoke softly and slowly, gazing into Sangwoo’s black eyes, eyes that were slightly forgetful and lacked their usual intensity.
‘What are you thinking? If I guess correctly, you must want me.’ Then Sangwoo finally responded in a soft voice.
“Yes.”
Jaeyoung blinked slowly, feeling a jolt of emotion surge from his heart throughout his body, unaware, aiming to investigate the danger of this relationship, to make sure it fades away. Jaeyoung drank more soju, perhaps because of that, he could only think about it.
He placed his hand on the table and stood up, his body slightly trembling but still maintaining an upright posture. Then he pushed the table that separated them to the side and took a step closer to Sangwoo. Sangwoo raised his head and saw the other side’s face clearly.
“Sangwoo.”
“What is it?”
“Can you take it off?”
“…”
His flushed face wasn’t because of the effects of alcohol, he believed that conflicting feelings in his heart were saying, ‘No.’
“What are you thinking? I mean the hat.”
He pulled off the hat without permission. When he saw Sangwoo’s surprised expression, a feeling of joy welled up in his heart. The other side was not the protagonist in a manga who changed so drastically just by taking off glasses.
No, he was just a slightly shy boy, but even his suppressed soul screamed like that. Jaeyoung didn’t listen.
The black eyes perfectly contrasted with the fair skin, creating a distinct image that is both refined and unrefined. What’s more, there were glimpses of eyes that never appeared indifferent. Chu Sangwoo, surrounded by a distorted filter fueled by alcohol and emotions, was no different from an incubus [2] that ignited an overwhelming sense of fantasy.
“Are you not going to fly in rage?”
Jaeyoung’s voice was softer than usual, he was standing right in front of Sangwoo, unable to control anything… Whether it was his tone, facial expression, genitals, or anything else.
“Give it back, please.”
Those pairs of eyes glanced up, his hand nervously touched his horse-like hair, such a face, there was no way for me to return the hat nicely.
“Give it back, will you?”
“If I say no, what will you do?”
“Told you to give it to me.”
“Oh, angry again.”
“You… playing with something that sets boundaries!”
Sangwoo stood up abruptly, his body not too short or too tall, just average height. Jaeyoung liked that Sangwoo had to raise his head to meet his gaze, and he liked that he had to slightly lower his face to look down from above, his chest moving with hot breath.
He waited for Sangwoo to reach out for the hat, and in that moment, he firmly held the other side’s wrist, locking their forearms together. He looked into Sangwoo’s confused eyes from a close distance. Sangwoo glanced down at the floor.
“Hey, fuck…”
Jaeyoung had just heard Sangwoo’s vulgar language for the first time, and the voice of the other party was as low as his own.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“I didn’t mean you.”
Sangwoo stared at Jaeyoung with fierce eyes, refusing to back down. Jaeyoung stood still, took a deep breath, wanting to touch the other party’s body until he couldn’t resist.
“Sangwoo-ya.”
“Yes.”
Jaeyoung slowly raised his right hand, aiming for Sangwoo’s cheek. Then, using the tip of his thumb, he gently brushed against the corner of the other party’s cheek. Jaeyoung could feel through his skin that Sangwoo’s body was trembling.
“Just a warning… don’t call me ‘hyung’.”
“Yes.”
“If you dare to call me like that again…”
“Yes, hyung?”
Jaeyoung clenched his fist, and this time Sangwoo did not look away.
“You’re damn handsome.”
Jaeyoung bit his lower lip, feeling his heart sink. His hand moved like a snake, descending towards the neck he had been watching. Then he wrapped it around the warm base of the neck, pulled it towards himself slightly, and stopped before their foreheads touched.
The face in front of him looked hot, with deep black eyes looking at him without a hint of embarrassment. Jaeyoung’s weak consciousness was diminishing, but he was fortunate not to forget who the other party was.
“Just so you know. In one minute, I’ll kiss you.”
The final rule he didn’t forget, a gesture that was just a superficial ritual, unrelated to the depths of the heart.
“If you want to escape, do it now.”
A heavy, lingering breath, each exhale producing a sound similar to a sigh coming from their mouths. The touching skin felt only warmth, surrounding them like an invisible flame. One of their gazes flickered for a moment.
Jaeyoung looked at that image without consciousness. Sangwoo held
Jaeyoung’s shirt on his chest with a weak hand and pulled him closer to himself.
‘Forty-eight seconds left.’
Sangwoo slowly closed his eyelids and pressed his lips against Jaeyoung’s lips, just like yesterday.
Pop, Fuse blown.. Jaeyoung provocatively pulled Sangwoo’s head and tugged him closer to seek, tilting his head slightly and swallowing the edge of the other party’s lips. He sent his tongue into that mouth. The other party was surprised but responded in the same way.
From that moment on, he couldn’t see or hear anything else. He could only feel the distinct sensation of overlapping lips, entangled tongues, and synchronized breaths. That warm feeling was devoid of purity; it was both wild and rough, filled with an intense desire that couldn’t be replenished in an instant.
The kiss, devoid of romantic nuances or conclusions, had only one climax from beginning to end. Perhaps that was why both hurriedly separated from each other even at the end. Sangwoo wiped his mouth with his sleeve and took a deep breath, while Jaeyoung stood leaning against the wall, adjusting his breathing.
‘Damn, we almost ate their lips, huh?’ He thought his heart would stop beating.
____________________________.
[1] Heo Sangjun, “허생전.” or the Story of Heo Sang, is a novel set
in the
Joseon period written by Park Ji-won of Yanam. It tells the story of the protagonist, ‘Heo Sang,’ who monopolizes all the necessary goods in the market in order to control prices.
[2] Incubus is the name of a male demon believed to come and sleep with women during their deepest slumber to engage in sexual activities. If it is a female demon, it is called Succubus.
Leave a Reply