PIA 102

The rainy season, the heat wave, and even the typhoon had all passed. The sky was becoming increasingly blue, and in the mornings and evenings, a cool breeze blew away the summer humidity.

It was spring when Ji-an first opened his eyes in this world and conceived Ppoggeuli, but autumn was already approaching.

“Wow, the weather is so nice.”

Thanks to the clear day, the visibility was excellent, and they could see all the way across the Han River. Ji-an hung onto the railing of the parking tower, exclaiming in admiration.

“Should we change plans? Skip the movie and go for a drive instead?”

“No, no! I really wanted to see this movie that’s premiering today.”

“Alright then, come here. It’s dangerous.”

Like scolding a child playing on the railing, Jeong Hee-seo finally pulled Ji-an away and turned him around.

“I want caramel popcorn.”

Ji-an rode the escalator, enchanted by the caramel smell wafting up from the floor below. He was holding Jeong Hee-seo’s hand tightly.

Since deciding to stay in this world and remain by Jeong Hee-seo’s side, every day had been a whirlwind of activity. Ji-an was focusing on cleaning up the messy surroundings of villain ‘Seo Ji-an’ and creating a clean environment to welcome Ppoggeuli.

Ppoggeuli, whom they had seen during hospital check-ups, was growing healthily day by day without any issues. He even felt this as encouragement for himself. Ji-an was trying hard to move forward, looking only at the positive signals among all those the world was sending him.

For instance, the warmth of Jeong Hee-seo’s hand that he was holding right now.

‘You can’t go anywhere now.’

That’s what Jeong Hee-seo said on the day Ji-an gave him the wish coupons. He kept biting Ji-an’s fingers like an animal gnashing its teeth, and for a moment, Ji-an wondered if he was still a little drunk or if he was really upset about the officetel.

‘I’m not going anywhere. I wasn’t planning to.’

‘You won’t?’

When Ji-an retorted that Jeong Hee-seo was the one in trouble now, that he couldn’t back out and shouldn’t even dream of taking everything back, Jeong Hee-seo instead made an enigmatic expression. Then he bit his finger again, hard enough to make a sound.

‘Ouch! It’s going to bruise! Seriously!’

There were clear teeth marks on the first joint of his reddened ring finger. Ji-an looked at it in dismay, thinking it might even bruise blue. And in that moment, Ji-an realized something. Unable to hide the thought that had occurred to him, he met Jeong Hee-seo’s gaze, but he avoided his eyes and gently licked the wound.

‘Sorry, it was just so soft… I won’t bite anymore.’

A man as perceptive as him couldn’t have missed that Ji-an had figured it out. Jeong Hee-seo was quickly pretending not to notice, probably afraid Ji-an might question him further.

After realizing that Jeong Hee-seo was thinking about a ‘ring’, Ji-an couldn’t maintain a neutral expression. His heart raced, and a deep blush spread from his forehead all the way down his cheeks.

‘Well… now, Ji-an should go eat.’

‘Food, food sounds good.’

Ji-an had stood up awkwardly, cleared their things, and left for the parking lot, not even sure how he got there. The whole time, he couldn’t look Hee-seo in the eye. His head was spinning, overwhelmed by the thought that the man who had been persistently pursuing him since the day they met was still passionately envisioning a future with him.

As soon as he climbed into the passenger seat and turned to grab the seatbelt, their lips met. His breath caught short and excitement rapidly surged. As their tongues intertwined, a hot hand suddenly slipped under Ji-an’s T-shirt.

‘Mm…’

In the blink of an eye, the seat reclined and Jeong Hee-seo’s body covered Ji-an completely. The heavily tinted car interior became as dark as night.

‘But… this is still the company building.’

Ji-an tried to push him away, worried about people who might recognize Jeong Hee-seo’s car.

‘No one comes to this side.’

‘Ah, if you touch me like that…’

‘Just a little, Ji-an. Please?’

Jeong Hee-seo explored his body like a young man freshly in love. As if needing to fill a meal every 6 hours, he seemed to be trying to make up for the uneventful previous night. Each kiss, each touch was so hot and intense that Ji-an’s body felt like it was melting. He simply couldn’t find the will to refuse.

Afterwards, they were enveloped in passion. If pheromones had a color, the car would have been completely stained. Their intimate relationship, like stamping the day’s schedule while confirming their affection, continued even after that day.

Every day, Ji-an’s body was filled with his pheromones, making him feel as if he was in Jeong Hee-seo’s embrace even when alone. The two were living like s3x addicts, constantly intertwining their bodies.

Amidst this, Ji-an was contemplating how to sincerely show his feelings before Jeong Hee-seo presented him with a ring.

Each day was a day of exploring Jeong Hee-seo.

***

It had been so long since he’d been to a movie theater that his heart was pounding strangely. Ji-an pressed his chest and glanced at Jeong Hee-seo standing beside him.

The man, who was precariously balancing a drink and a large popcorn bucket in one hand to avoid letting go of Ji-an’s hand, looked refreshingly like a college senior today. It might have been because of the white baseball cap Ji-an had made him wear to his taste.

Sitting side by side in the narrow theater seats, Ji-an’s heart fluttered again with the feeling of being on a date. Ji-an was glad Jeong Hee-seo had given up comfort to experience the feeling of a movie theater date he had never had before.

‘So this is why everyone comes to the movie theater…’

At Ji-an’s request, Jeong Hee-seo had given up the large screen and high-performance projector at home, as well as booking a private theater. Ji-an had argued convincingly that they’d never finish the movie in such settings anyway. Moreover, even seeing Jeong Hee-seo sitting uncomfortably with his long legs cramped made his heart flutter, confirming that this was a good choice.

As the lights went out and it became dark, Jeong Hee-seo took off his white cap and gently shook out his hair. Even this sight he was seeing for the first time ignited Ji-an’s excitement.

“Do you like this actor?”

In the early part of the movie, Jeong Hee-seo, who had been quietly watching the screen, leaned over and whispered. Ji-an was about to ask what he meant, but then remembered that they had watched a movie with the same actor at home a few days ago.

“It’s not that, this is a series, you know.”

Jeong Hee-seo leaned over, bringing his ear close to Ji-an’s lips to hear his words better, but showed no particular reaction to Ji-an’s answer.

Ji-an stared at the face of the man who was once again focused on the screen, then reached out and pulled his head towards him.

“I don’t like him.”

After whispering with his lips against Jeong Hee-seo’s ear, Ji-an’s cheeks inexplicably heated up. Jeong Hee-seo, now facing Ji-an, had a subtle smile on his lips and shrugged his shoulders. It was as if he was saying, “Who said anything?”

“…”

Ji-an couldn’t help but smile. He had discovered that Jeong Hee-seo, for all his seriousness, had a tendency to sulk easily—something that Ji-an found endearingly cute.

Ji-an tugged on Jeong Hee-seo’s ear once again.

“Next time, let’s watch a movie you like. They say when you date, you’re supposed to take turns.”

“…”

At his soft whisper, Jeong Hee-seo flinched and then turned to look at Ji-an intently. Ji-an had said it because Jeong Hee-seo seemed unable to concentrate, but due to the darkness and the backlight from the screen, he couldn’t see his expression.

“Hyung-nim?”

“…Mm.”

Jeong Hee-seo suddenly squeezed their clasped hands tightly. He continued to stare at Ji-an’s face for a long time, causing them to miss quite a bit of the movie’s flow.

“Hyung-nim, move aside a bit.”

Ji-an, who had been trying to peek at the screen over Jeong Hee-seo’s face, finally couldn’t bear it anymore and smiled awkwardly. However, Jeong Hee-seo moved even closer and put his lips to his ear.

“Do you really have to watch it till the end?”

“…”

He fiddled with Ji-an’s earlobe. His thumb carelessly brushed his lower lip. Ji-an pouted his lips and whispered firmly.

“Stop imagining weird things and keep watching.”

“…How did you know I was imagining weird things?”

“Ah, you really are like an old ma- Ah!”

Ji-an’s voice involuntarily rose when Jeong Hee-seo playfully took his entire earlobe into his mouth and began nibbling on it. Surprised, Ji-an covered his mouth with his hand and glared at Jeong Hee-seo. His other hand was busy trying to hold onto the popcorn bucket he had almost spilled.

He pressed his chin against Ji-an’s raised shoulder and burrowed in.

“I want to take off your pants right now and get inside you.”

The sound of Jeong Hee-seo’s words, so wet and intimate in his ear, sent a shiver down Ji-an’s spine. His body trembled as Jeong Hee-seo’s tongue explored his ear, making it easy to imagine exactly what he meant by his words.

“S-stop it.”

“If you knew what I imagine when I look at you usually…”

“Ugh…”

Jeong Hee-seo’s hand gripping Ji-an’s thigh tightened. He seemed somewhat regretful as he pressed his lips firmly against Ji-an’s temple and cheek a couple more times before pulling back. The corners of his mouth were still curved in a deep smile.

In the end, they barely watched the movie as it passed by. They stubbornly sat through till the end, but due to the honest reaction of their lower bodies, they struggled to hear the dialogue even during the climax.

It’s hard to say whether it was fortunate that they had booked the very back row, or if Jeong Hee-seo had acted that way because they were in the back row. Ji-an looked down at the heads of people lined up in front of him with wronged eyes, trying to calm his heart.

Jeong Hee-seo continued to laugh even at the place they went to eat.

“Is Ji-an sulking?”

Ji-an’s face became even more pouty as Jeong Hee-seo kept teasing him. Ji-an felt strange because his lower half was still tense from earlier, and his pride was hurt because Jeong Hee-seo’s lower body seemed calm.

“See? I told you I could help.”

“Eek!”

The more worked up Ji-an got, the more amused Jeong Hee-seo seemed.

“But, Ji-an.”

As he put down a plate of cut pork cutlet in front of Ji-an, Jeong Hee-seo abruptly changed the subject.

“Han-joo is going to have an engagement ceremony soon.”

Ji-an was startled as he was about to put a piece of pork cutlet in his mouth. Worried he might choke, Ji-an reached for his water glass, but Jeong Hee-seo, somehow knowing, quickly pushed it closer. Ji-an hurriedly gulped down the water, his eyes darting around wondering what he was going to say next.

Jeong Hee-seo, with a calm expression and a voice tinged with amusement, simply asked,

“Do you want to go, Ji-an? With me.”