SMNTCERR, Chapter 95: #13. 

“I don’t want to be your sex partner anymore. People who alleviate your loneliness are abandoned… It hurts me. It’s probably impossible for me. I want to go on a date with you, have a meal at a beautiful place with you, go on trips with you, walk with you, sleep with you, be your life partner, be your other half.

How can two men be in a relationship? Well, see for yourself.”

Jaeyoung continued his long speech without taking a breath before abruptly stopping. The other party grabbed a phone from his pants pocket. Then, he opened a particular file and handed it to Sangwoo. It seemed to be an infographic that looked like the guy had made the graphics and charts himself. But after glancing through it briefly, Sangwoo looked at Jaeyoung with a blank expression.

“World population… ‘Blah blah.’ In nature itself… ‘Blah blah.’ Giving importance to freedom… raising awareness of human rights… ‘Blah blah.’

Making people accept it through laws…”

Strange. He was sure that Jaeyoung was presenting data and talking about something logical, but Sangwoo’s ears didn’t hear it. Among the things the other party had previously mentioned, only the words ‘life partner’, ‘couple’, and ‘other half’ repeated over and over in his mind.

“Hey.”

After a light tap on his forehead, Sangwoo returned to reality.

“Are you thinking about something else? I’m talking seriously here.”

“No, it’s not like that. I was just a bit surprised…”

Jaeyoung pressed his finger against Sangwoo’s lips and whispered, “Shh.” His eyes looked more serious than ever before, blinking repeatedly.

“I have a proposal.”

Even though he hadn’t had a chance to listen, Sangwoo’s heart started racing. Jaeyoung stared at Sangwoo and took a deep breath. Sangwoo held his breath unknowingly, waiting for the person in front to speak.

“Chu Sangwoo, date me.”

That was an offer that had enough value to wait and see if it was true as soon as he heard it. Sangwoo smiled widely. Although Jaeyoung hadn’t heard the answer yet, that image made his heart tremble with warmth and happiness.

Sangwoo smiled until his lips almost tore, speaking softly.

“I thought we were already dating.”

“Let’s restart and date officially.”

The breath came out rapidly, as if running a long distance, leaving no room for any other words.

“Agreed.”

Jaeyoung raised his face, took a long breath, then snorted and turned away, looking foolish and excited at the same time.

“I’m so excited I thought I was going to die.”

Jaeyoung rubbed his nose roughly before raising his hand and placing his forehead on Sangwoo’s shoulder. The other party took a deep breath in surprise. Then, he held Sangwoo’s hand and placed it on his left chest. Sangwoo could feel the fast and strong heartbeat through the thin T-shirt.

Jang Jaeyoung was a person who was indirect and playful. At the same time, he liked to compare and had a philosophical nature. Sangwoo realized that Jang Jaeyoung mustered the courage to adapt to someone sincere and serious. At the same time, he was straightforward and had a righteous nature like him.

Sangwoo hugged Jaeyoung tightly without saying anything, using his hand to stroke the other’s back repeatedly, sinking into the warm and gentle darkness.

“And…”

Jaeyoung gave Sangwoo a big smile and then raised an eyebrow.

“I have something else to say.”

His opponent’s fingers twitched, and his eyes blinked slowly. Jaeyoung opened his mouth slightly, but then closed it in an instant. The opponent squirmed like a worm once again, appearing to find it difficult to match someone as skilled as himself.

Sangwoo waited patiently, but Jaeyoung kept looking at him for a long time, not getting bored. Sangwoo thought it was fine. At that moment, the other side slowly closed his eyes and hugged him tightly. Jaeyoung rested his chin on Sangwoo’s shoulder, whispering into his ear with a warm breath.

“I love you.”

Jaeyoung murmured softly, barely audible. Sangwoo stopped breathing, his ears tingling, as the sound of crashing waves began to fade into the distance, more and more distant. Only the quick pace of his heart beating, resonating throughout his body, repeated over and over again.

“From the bottom of my heart.”

Jaeyoung whispered once again, with a clearer voice than before. At that moment, Sangwoo finally exhaled, 100% believing the other’s words, with a margin of error of 0%.

“It takes a lot of courage, doesn’t it?”

“Hmm.”

“

Come here, let me hug you.”

Jaeyoung allowed him to embrace quietly, and Sangwoo held the other tightly against his back, clasping his face gently to his neck. Then he whispered softly.

“I never thought it would be like this when we left the house today.”

“How do you feel?”

“My heart was shaken as if it would die. But even though I feel like dying, I still don’t want to die right now… Ah, what did I say just now? I was out of my mind.”

Laughter burst into his ear, inviting relief. Sangwoo chuckled happily as well.

Although it was a situation beyond imaginable boundaries, after meeting Jaeyoung, such things could happen without difficulty.

“Hyung Jaeyoung.”

“Oh.”

“This is my second time having a lover.”

“And?”

“After failing for the first time, I thought I wasn’t very lucky in this area. But if

I learn, I can do well in anything. I’m still new at this, so please teach me.”

“What do you want to learn?”

“How do I love you?”

“If we study this here, it will definitely cause a big issue.”

Sangwoo looked at the overwhelming excitement that filled his heart with unfamiliar eyesight, the sweet atmosphere that resembled a sense of pride in achieving this goal, connecting with someone special, and that point was clearly different from other emotions. He speculated that he might often come across this feeling.

Sangwoo loosened his hug and looked at Jaeyoung’s face, which still looked the same as before, but he felt that everything had changed. Even though the other person didn’t do anything to their face, the corners of Sangwoo’s lips curved into a wide smile. Jaeyoung also had the same expression on his face.

“If you want to date me, pay attention to these three things.”

“It’s already decided that I have to deal with this.”

“From now on, don’t smile at anyone else. Don’t hug anyone else. And don’t touch anyone’s head. The right to look, the right to touch, those belong to me alone.”

“That’s already clear.”

Jaeyoung wrinkled his nose and chuckled like a young boy.

“No matter how angry you are, don’t cut off contact like last time.”

“Hmm, promise.”

The other party reached out a small finger. Sangwoo interlocked their fingers and continued speaking.

“I don’t like being manipulated. Even if I act arrogant, don’t push me around, but please explain it to me slowly.”

“Put the leash on. Now I am yours.”

Jaeyoung put on the leash that couldn’t be seen on his neck and handed it to Sangwoo. Sangwoo held hands and intertwined fingers, looking straight into Jaeyoung’s eyes.

“And… continue studying abroad as planned. Now I have the power to control you. I can endure it.”

Jaeyoung, who used to listen obediently until now, suddenly resisted. Sangwoo desperately desired to be in a relationship with Jaeyoung and have someone by his side, but what was more important was that he hoped the other party would not abandon his dreams. Sangwoo wanted to be a useful partner in all aspects, both as a supporter and a good dealer like Jang Jaeyoung, and wanted to be a developer who helped make Jang Jaeyoung’s designer world

“

come true. He didn’t want to be an obstacle that blocked the other party, even a little bit.

However, Jaeyoung moved closer with a defiant face and whispered in his ear.

“I don’t want to.”

Sangwoo pushed the person in front of him and looked straight into their eyes.

“Don’t act like a little kid.”

“Who said we should call each other little kids.”

“You are changing your life plans because of emotions, you know. I have to set up a stand.”

Jaeyoung laughed, his body laughed silently for a moment before he opened his mouth.

“Do you remember my portfolio?”

“Yes.”

Speaking for myself is quite difficult, but me… I’m not inferior to anyone no matter where I go.”

“I know, but…”

“Right now, even here, there are even vacancies, the company I want to work for, the clients I want to hire, I can choose freely, and in reality, there is also a studio that is interested.”

“And what about it?”

“I am your lover, isn’t it? Just not studying abroad for a while, doesn’t mean

I’ll be completely useless, right?”

Lover. While he was attentively listening, those words made Sangwoo’s mouth hang open in surprise. Jaeyoung crossed his arms and sighed.

“To take care of my lover who is still a student, I must focus on my work and make money.”

It seemed that no matter what he said, the other party probably wouldn’t listen. Sangwoo represented both of them, X and Y trying to think of solutions to various problems, and then stopped thinking. He felt downhearted for a while.

“Hyung Jaeyoung, I have three requests.”

“Feels like I’ve turned into a giant genie.”

Jaeyoung reached out and intertwined his fingers with Sangwoo’s, playing with his thumb.

“First, in this situation, let’s postpone the release date. We have plenty of time. We need to add an unlimited mode, ladder ranking, and special quests.

We should start working on the graphics next week, right?”

“…Is my boyfriend a workaholic or what?”

Sangwoo accepted that remark and moved on to the second request.

“Also, if there’s a DVD of this semester’s drama club performance. I’d like to have it.”

“Of course, you should. I had to participate in the performance, you know.

Why didn’t you come and watch?”

“Don’t even ask. It’s a painful memory.”

“Just the recorded file should be enough?”

“If possible, please give me a Blu-ray.”

Sangwoo, who successfully reached the second request, moved on to the final question.

 

 

Lastly, could you give me some English tutoring?”

“No problem, but why do you need it if you’re studying here?”

“There’s something I need to learn. I’ll tell you later.”

“Curious, aren’t you?”

Jaeyoung smiled and lightly tapped Sangwoo on the cheek without saying anything. He thought it wasn’t time to tell yet. After reevaluating his life plan once again and gaining newfound courage, Sangwoo will return to a place where he no longer feared tomorrow. He sat by the beach with his new love, just the two of them, and the man was massaging Sangwoo’s hand, as if he wanted to touch every line on his palm.

“Just this? Is there nothing else you want?”

“There’s nothing else.”

“That’s normal, I’m ready to give everything.”

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

“Then can you give me a hug?”

“Oh, that’s not possible.”

“…Why?”

“Because it already belongs to you.”

Sangwoo looked at Jaeyoung, who was blushing with admiration. He wondered how the other person could naturally say something like that, it seemed like he had to learn a lot to keep up. Sangwoo was determined that tomorrow he would have to buy a few reference books on dating and understanding emotions.

“Finished talking, then?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go and kiss each other.”

Jaeyoung stood up comfortably on his two lazy feet. Then he bent down and reached out to Sangwoo. As he held the big hand, his body was pulled into the embrace of Jaeyoung’s chest. Jaeyoung hugged Sangwoo tightly, his arms encircling his waist.

“Why don’t you answer for yourself?”

“…”

“Don’t you want to kiss me?”

“Not just a kiss.”

I mean exactly that.”

“I have to buy a lot of necessary items, a gallon of lube and such. I haven’t had any some-some in a long time.”

“Is this your warning that I won’t be able to sleep tonight?”

“Usually the first night is like that, right?”

The soft laughter sounded delightful. Sangwoo looked up and met  Jaeyoung’s gaze. Then he saw the familiar ripples that flooded deeper than the waves in the sea in those warm-colored eyes. The moment the corners of his mouth curled into a smile, floating along with the heartbeat in his chest.

Jaeyoung swallowed quietly.

Both large and warm hands embraced the neck. Then in the intimate darkness of the night, the soft touch of the sandy beach, the gentle breeze of the hot season, the sound of the crashing waves, and the loud roar of passing ships all drifted far away.

Only one person remained, and that was the most excellent time in

Sangwoo’s life. return 1; [1]  ~, Clearing rewards, ~. 

[Chu Sangwoo] received a nickname [Boyfriend]! 

▷ Learned skill: [Care for him, Level 1.] 

[Jang Jaeyoung] received a nickname, [Boyfriend]! 

▷ Learned skill: [Exercise patience, Level 5.] Move on to the next level…. 

. 

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[1] return 1; The writer used return 0; before this between a scene because it correctly signifies a complete and error-free program. But if the returned value is not 0, but any other value, it means there is an error, which in this case, signifies Jaeyoung has turned into Sangwoo’s error himself. 

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The END 

 

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