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Ha-gyeom repeatedly pulled his hips back and tightened, ensuring the entire length, from the tip to the base, was rubbed against. This caused Baek Sa’s chest to swell dramatically. The rapid thrusting, mimicking penetration, quickly heightened Ha-gyeom’s pleasure.

“…Mm, ugh!”

He couldn’t hold back his moans any longer. As he alternated between swallowing them and letting them slip out, Baek Sa’s length rubbed furiously against his perineum. The rough fabric between them forced Ha-gyeom to recall the maddeningly soft sensation from past memories, which would have been far more intense if they were naked.

As he roughly rubbed his flushed, overheated skin, already slick with sweat and various fluids, the pleasure was almost as intense as penetration. Baek Sa’s length was unbearably hard, and Ha-gyeom’s perineum was excessively soft. The thought of Baek Sa’s hot, rigid length pressing insistently against him made the fabric between them seem like no obstacle at all.

“Haah…, ugh…!”

Baek Sa seemed to feel the same. As he thrust his hips even harder, Ha-gyeom’s body shook uncontrollably. Moaning continuously, Ha-gyeom felt Baek Sa’s length pressing harder and harder between his legs. Ha-gyeom tightened his knees inward, his desperation clear, as Baek Sa pressed his body even closer, leaving no space between them. The force of his movements made Ha-gyeom’s vision flash with stars.

“Hngh, ugh…, mm!”

In that moment, Baek Sa’s length twitched beneath him—a clear sign that his climax was imminent. His hand, which had slipped into Ha-gyeom’s pants, moved past his tailbone and reached between his buttocks. A wave of heat surged through Ha-gyeom’s abdomen, and his ears burned with the unexpected sensation.

“Haah… shit…!”

Reaching his limit, Baek Sa cursed and thrust his hips a few more times. The wild, animalistic movements nearly drove Ha-gyeom insane. Despite the savage pressure of Baek Sa’s length pushing against him, Ha-gyeom clung on, unable to push him away.

“Haah…!”

With a final, desperate moan, Baek Sa came. As his still-throbbing length pulsed, Ha-gyeom felt a hot sensation spreading between his legs. Baek Sa’s rough fingers rubbed insistently against Ha-gyeom’s unlubricated entrance. The intense pressure made Ha-gyeom shiver as goosebumps spread across his back.

With his face flushed deep red, Ha-gyeom followed Baek Sa in climaxing shortly afterward. The tight combat suit only made the situation worse—Ha-gyeom didn’t even want to imagine the mess inside. The sticky warmth was uncomfortable, and he felt like he could barely breathe. The overwhelming pleasure that consumed his body refused to subside, leaving him trembling atop Baek Sa.

Baek Sa, meanwhile, seemed in no hurry to clean up, content with caressing Ha-gyeom’s entrance. Though it was a bit frightening, Ha-gyeom eventually calmed down, resting his cheek against Baek Sa’s collarbone as he embraced him.

“……”

“……”

The breeze brushed over their bodies, cooling them down. Baek Sa’s bare hand reached Ha-gyeom’s perineum, soothing the raw, chafed skin. The combination of stinging pain and tingling pleasure made Ha-gyeom’s eyes well up with tears. His chest rose and fell rapidly, and the intense heat of Baek Sa’s body felt like it was burning him, as though he were running a fever.

Even so, Ha-gyeom clung to Baek Sa’s waist, pressing his nose against the soft skin. As Ha-gyeom showed no sign of pulling away, Baek Sa eventually withdrew his hand from Ha-gyeom’s pants. The firm arms wrapping around Ha-gyeom’s back brought a sense of relief. Despite having been the one to lead Baek Sa into pleasure, Ha-gyeom couldn’t bring himself to lift his head.

They remained like that for a long time, with Baek Sa taking calm, steady breaths. As his breathing returned to normal, the stickiness inside Ha-gyeom’s pants became unbearable. The combat suit, now stained with Baek Sa’s semen, was beyond filthy.

Reluctantly, Ha-gyeom pulled away slightly and glanced down at the mess between them. It was too dark to see clearly, but the discomfort was unmistakable.

Noticing Ha-gyeom’s unease, Baek Sa gently lifted him off his lap and set him down on the bench. He then stood up and began adjusting his combat suit. Even Baek Sa’s body bore traces of their encounter, his sweat-soaked skin quickly disappearing beneath buttoned-up fabric. After fastening his buckles, Baek Sa knelt beside Ha-gyeom.

Ha-gyeom, who had been licking his lips, sticky with saliva, glanced down at the mess between his legs. The real problem, however, was the inside, not the outside, and Ha-gyeom didn’t want to complain about it.

As their eyes met, with his unresolved desire still simmering, Baek Sa asked.

“Are you satisfied now?”

Despite his true feelings, Ha-gyeom nodded shamelessly. Whatever intentions lay behind Baek Sa’s piercing gaze, Ha-gyeom was pleased to know that his scent lingered on Baek Sa’s body.

“You’re not the only one who doesn’t like seeing someone else’s hands on their partner.”

Just how much could Baek Sa read into things? Was it because he was in his thirties? Because of his experience? Or maybe… was Ha-gyeom’s shallow jealousy over Gi Suh-hyun so blatantly obvious?

At a loss for words, Ha-gyeom swallowed several times, his eyes darting to the empty space around them. Baek Sa, still in a somewhat uncomfortable position, rose and looked down at Ha-gyeom as if observing him. Something flickered in Baek Sa’s steady gaze.

“So, you asked for more.”

The self-deprecating words made Ha-gyeom’s ears burn. He rubbed the ear that Baek Sa had touched with his tongue and looked up at him nonchalantly.

“Where on earth did you learn something like that?”

Baek Sa seemed irritated. The cold glare in his eyes made it impossible for Ha-gyeom to think of Baek Seung-woo.

---

“Now I’m even cleaning up after the guide’s nightly activities,” Tae-seong grumbled. Ha-gyeom glanced down at his lower body, covered by a blanket.

He couldn’t entirely blame Tae-seong for his irritation. Ha-gyeom’s upper body was marked with red handprints and drenched in sweat, making it clear what had transpired between him and Baek Sa. Given the unusual orders Tae-seong had received, it wouldn’t take much to guess what they had been up to. Ha-gyeom didn’t have the strength to scold Tae-seong as he spat out curses and walked away.

Feeling somewhat awkward, Ha-gyeom eventually removed the blanket. At least he was grateful that Baek Sa had assigned him an isolated room where he could clean up alone. Thinking back to how he had rubbed against Baek Sa without considering the aftermath made his heart sink, but there was no undoing it now.

Ha-gyeom meticulously wiped down his body with a towel. When he cleaned the area below his navel and between his legs, stained with semen, his face flushed with heat. Still, he diligently completed his cleanup and changed into a fresh combat suit, feeling much better afterward. No matter what they had done, all traces were gone.

The state of his energy, having climaxed while exchanging fluids with Baek Sa, was excellent. Maintaining his resonance would be no problem. Ha-gyeom lay down on the sofa in the room, feeling only the physical fatigue unrelated to his energy. There had been no sign of Baek Sa since he had left the room.

‘Did I really see wrong?’

Ha-gyeom couldn’t stop doubting. The hope of rescue was gradually fading. If he had really seen wrong, then no matter how many opportunities arose, there would be no rescue.

Although he had received training related to rescue operations as a trainee, it had always been from the perspective of the rescuer, not the one being rescued, so it wasn’t particularly useful now. He wondered if it might be easier to just give up and find peace of mind. After all, as long as he was by Baek Seung-woo’s side, he could endure with hope alone, not expectations.

Even so, Ha-gyeom couldn’t hide the sinking feeling in his chest as he lay in the darkness, blinking up at the ceiling.

Baek Sa returned after about an hour.

Ha-gyeom, who hadn’t fallen asleep, held his breath quietly. As expected, Baek Sa didn’t wake him, but instead approached quietly, checking on him. Not particularly inclined to pretend to be asleep, Ha-gyeom simply opened his eyes.

“……”

“……”

Their eyes met, and Baek Sa got up, placing the gun he had been carrying on the table. Ha-gyeom hadn’t anticipated that Baek Sa, now disarmed, would slip onto the narrow sofa with him.

Suddenly, Ha-gyeom found himself enveloped in Baek Sa’s arms. The familiar heat of Baek Sa’s chest pressed against his back, and just the sound of Baek Sa’s breathing made the nape of Ha-gyeom’s neck warm. In the midst of the silence, only the sound of Ha-gyeom swallowing broke the stillness.

The intense sensations that had clouded his mind earlier were nowhere to be found. Ha-gyeom was left feeling dazed by Baek Sa’s embrace, which felt almost like they were one body. The soft hand that gently slipped under his belly only made Ha-gyeom relax further. It seemed that Baek Sa was just as much at ease as he was.

The clock on the wall looked like it had stopped long ago, but every passing second was vividly clear to Ha-gyeom. After tossing and turning several times, Ha-gyeom eventually turned to face Baek Sa and burrowed into his arms.

Baek Sa’s large hand softly stroked the back of Ha-gyeom’s head. The gentle touch on his neck and back reminded Ha-gyeom of someone familiar, someone who had once been so tender with him.

On that sofa, Ha-gyeom couldn’t stop thinking about Baek Seung-woo. His eyes grew heavy, and soon he found himself recalling the soft scent he had remembered from his childhood in Baek Seung-woo’s arms. It felt as if everything—the fact that Baek Seung-woo had lost his memory, that he was now Baek Sa, and that Ha-gyeom had left the Center—was nothing more than a distant, false memory.

Along with that, he remembered the days when he had been filled with contentment under Baek Seung-woo’s care…

Ha-gyeom squeezed his eyes shut. As he listened to the heartbeat thudding against his ear, the irresistible drowsiness that he had felt so often as a child began to take over.