DI Ch 118

When Tae Seong-je bluntly responded to my words, I instinctively widened my eyes. The forbidden word that I explicitly prohibited, and he, with all his assurance, using that very word! Judging by his reaction, it seemed like he also remembered at the same moment. I thought immediately and raised my voice.

“Hyung, we agreed not to do that! Ah! Hyung, there’s foam again!”

Before he could respond, I fell onto the bathroom floor. Since the bathroom was designed as a dry interior, it didn’t matter if I entered barefoot, but I was embarrassed because it was the first time I had ever fallen down like that.

Moreover, in my confusion, I didn’t have time to retreat from the approaching foam-covered face. Although I resisted with all my might, there was only a hard wall against my back, so my clean face now had a snowy white foam beard again.

“Ah, hyung, wait…”

That feeling of helplessness when I inadvertently touch the bridge of his nose and end up with it on my finger. I was about to say something stern to punish him, but I lost all my energy. Not knowing what I was thinking, he spoke in a light tone.

“Would you like me to apply some aftershave too?”

I said, “No, thank you,” and tried to make a point, but ended up just glancing away. Confronting him would only deplete my energy, and it would only waste the time of a busy person. It was better not to start a losing game in various ways.

“You can finish it, hyung.”

I still had shaving foam on one cheek.  He didn’t have much time and was still messing around like this. He was too laid-back. While wiping off the froth from my face, I gave him a meaningful look, urging him to finish quickly. Suddenly, his hand reached under my armpit.

My body was lifted just as the tickling caused my hair to stand on end. I blinked once and found myself slipping into his arms. I struggled to get up, but he had already placed my buttocks between his legs. As he put the razor in my hand, I narrowed my eyes as I wondered what did he want.

“What else now?”

“If you’ve learned something, you should review it immediately so you don’t forget.”

“Ah, Hyung, aren’t you leaving? Quickly wash up and leave. Everybody will be waiting. Don’t be late.”

“Why do you keep telling me to leave? You didn’t hold me back even once. Disappointing.”

“Wow, hyung, you’re really funny. I told you not to leave when I had a cold,  yet you left without looking back.”

“That was then. This is now.”

“Well, it wasn’t that long ago. Wait, uh, hyung don’t kiss me. It will get messy again! Uhm, look at this!”

Despite my attempts to escape and tell him to stop with these absurd jokes,  he didn’t listen. I tried to run away, but I couldn’t even stand up because he held my ankles.

As if that wasn’t enough, he put his legs on my thighs and I literally couldn’t move. I gritted my teeth and tried to put force into my legs, but instead of bending my knees, I felt my toes cramping up.

This strange method was draining my energy early in the morning. Don’t make me lose my energy like this. I sighed and finally lifted both hands. Let’s just get this over with and send him on his way.

Despite my determination to finish quickly and move on, my hands hesitated as I started.

“…You won’t scold me if I hurt you?”

“Look at you thinking about hurting me first.”

Tae Seong-je, who was twisting his head, burst into laughter.

“It’s originally harder when you do it to someone else. It’s my first time too.”

“It’s okay.”

“I’m not confident.”

Even though I said that, I wanted to give it a try, so I relaxed my hand holding the razor and started shaving carefully, holding his shoulder with my other hand. The sound of the blade grazing his skin sounded sharp for no reason. Maybe it was my mental state, but it felt like I was hearing something loud, so I stopped in my tracks out of anxiety.

“Am I doing well?”

“Yeah.”

“Like this?”

“Yeah, just like that.”

Actually, I knew I was doing well, but I kept wondering if I could have hurt him. Even though a few scratches on his face wouldn’t be like scars for life.

Even so, wouldn’t it be better to shave cleanly? As I continued to back away and hesitate over something that could be done quickly, he firmly grabbed my wrist as he appeared to be running late.

As I finally came to my senses and focused again on the pulling hand, I felt hands wrap around both of my thighs. No. Why was he grabbing my leg when he could easily put his hand down? I became aware of his hard thighs pressing heavily on mine again.

Slipping his hands beneath my knees and gently wrapping them was supposed to be a simple act, but my focus wandered, making my thoughts disorganized. I need to concentrate, but why did he keep caressing me, causing my emotions to fluctuate? I was slightly annoyed and warned indifferently.

“You could get into big trouble by touching like that.”

“Why?”

I said each word teasingly to him who was asking if my legs hurt right now.

“Thanks to someone, I’m still a kid. If you touch a minor, you’ll be in big trouble.”

The hand that had been meticulously examining and groping my thigh muscles suddenly stopped.

“Nevermind. It seems you’re already in a big problem? Because we did it before?”

“…”

Without even realizing it, I casually brought up a story from that day that we hadn’t mentioned before. Funny enough, compared to how nervous and worried I was, the world didn’t collapse. Except that, he kept his mouth shut as if he had sworn an oath. While it might be unrealistic to ask for complete disclosure, I hoped he would at least loosen up a bit. After all, I wasn’t really a minor, and how long should I endure it?

“Ah. It’s all done.”

I didn’t see any blood, and I think I did well for my first time. Perhaps because of my improved mood, he appeared even more handsome. I cupped his cheeks, gave him a quick kiss on the lips, and then pulled away. I searched for a damp towel to wrap things up and wipe off the remaining shaving foam.

As I was wiping it away, I belatedly met his tense gaze. …Was the joke too much? I subtly lifted the corners of my mouth to lighten the mood. It’s just something lovers say; what’s wrong with that? If he says something, let’s just consider it even with the times I teased him about worrying too much before.

“What on earth is going on in your head? No, what’s missing?”

Perhaps it was just a joke, but my wrist felt itchy for some reason. The tone of mockery was too much. Covering his forehead and the delicate veins on his temples with my palm, I lowered my gaze slightly. Still, I guess I really hate it when I see him getting frustrated.

I didn’t have any particular thoughts, but this time, I truly spoke without thinking. I admitted my mistake and stepped back. I pressed my temples to shake off the medicine effect that was slowly spreading.

“Seo Seung-won.”

“Yes?”

“I really care about you.”

“Ah… I know.”

“No, you don’t know.”

The intertwined look was intense enough to make my heart flutter, unbelievably deep, and attractive enough to make me want to kiss his lips.

Kiss.

Oh no. I kissed him without realizing the mood once again. Startled, I opened my eyes to find Tae Seong-je’s closed eyes. Nonetheless, he accepted it, which was unusual. I felt a little dazed after experiencing so many surprises. When I slightly backed away, he opened his eyes again.

“I love you.”

His dry lips brushing against the corner of my mouth were rough. Even that roughness could be viewed as cute due to love. It was truly precious when the person you love declared their love for you. I smiled as I got overwhelmed with a warm feeling. He spoke again, this time with a more serious attitude.

“I really love you.”

At that moment, his Adam apple bobbed noticeably.

“I value our relationship just as much.”

I felt a trembling in our touching hands. I wanted to tell him that I loved him as well, but I hesitated due to bewilderment. He stared at me and held my hand tightly.

“Don’t think it’s fine because you love me. Seo Seung-won, please don’t do that. Even if I’m too scared to bring it up, you shouldn’t just let it go.”

He spoke with his face buried in my hand. The mischievous glint in his eyes disappeared, replaced by a serious atmosphere. It felt awkward, and I wanted to step back from this situation. Of course, I couldn’t budge. Well, if it was uncomfortable because he felt guilty, then I thought I should just consider it as an exaggerated role-playing in an intense relationship and told him not to worry about it.

“Hyung, don’t… don’t worry. It wasn’t a big deal. I’m fine. Really, I’m okay…”

“I…!”

However, my firm voice trailed off at the end. As I waited for him to speak first, he hid in my hand for a moment to regain his composure before lifting his head and saying.

“I’m scared that if you let it go as if it wasn’t a big deal might become a trigger.”

I looked deeply into Tae Seong-je’s eyes before lowering my gaze to look at his scarred hands. I lowered my head like he did and buried my face in his hands.

Maybe it was because I had low expectations for him. Or maybe it was because I was prepared for part two. Either way, honestly, I think whatever happens, the damage would be minimal. The same goes for this case.

Though it was truly painful, it wasn’t that bad overall. It was a bit dangerous to almost pass out, but in the end, nothing happened, so I didn’t dwell on it much. In fact, the details of what happened at that time were quite hazy, and I remembered the hardships the next day more.

Still, if there was a problem, well… Just as I thought that even if Tae Seong-je loved me so much, his heart might cool down sometime during the second part or after… So, it could be because I didn’t want to fight that I was thinking of cherishing these moments until then, and even if there were problems, let’s try to get through this without fighting.

“People will realize it someday, whether they like it or not.”

His deep voice was different from the one he used when scolding or consoling me occasionally.