M 77

“Well, I’m not sure what you mean by meeting normally…”  

“Just that, normally.”  

When Ki Tae-jeong asked Sehwa to imagine a first meeting where he wouldn’t have had to interrogate him as Lieutenant Kim’s accomplice, Sehwa frowned, looking perplexed.  

“If that had happened, umm…”  

Did pregnancy make one crave things that looked like oneself? Sehwa’s pouting cheeks were like red apples, and the tip of his nose, still red from crying, was like a cherry.  

Of course, rice cakes also suited him well. Tae-jeong wasn’t sure if Oh Seon-ran’s words were true, but white rice cakes… it was quite plausible. After all, that body was white, warm, and chewy.  

“Then I probably would have called you Brigadier General right away, wouldn’t I?”  

Ki Tae-jeong’s gaze, which had been busy searching for traces of rice cake and fruit on Sehwa, slowly came to a halt.  

“I think I would have called you Brigadier General straight away, not Director…”  

Ah… That was right.  

To avoid others’ attention, he had used the nonsensical title of Director when he first met Sehwa, trying to tie up the entire House. There was a time when he had thought it was arousing to see Sehwa’s tear-streaked face calling out, “Director, Director.”  

…It was ridiculous to have worried about phantom titles like hyung or mister. He must have gotten carried away for a moment, enjoying the feel of a body that matched well with his own, and because, as Sehwa had said, it had been a while since he’d done this sort of thing.  

Sehwa wasn’t wrong at all. Even if Ki Tae-jeong hadn’t been harsh to Sehwa at their first meeting, his position as Brigadier General would have remained unchanged.  

Even without Lieutenant Kim’s incident, they would never have gotten close in their lifetimes. This wasn’t about mocking or belittling Sehwa’s status as a 4-Hwan resident. If Ki Tae-jeong hadn’t made it to Air Force Brigadier General, he wouldn’t even be alive now. To face Sehwa in human form, there had been no other way but to survive that hell and earn the rank of Brigadier General. How could there have been any other chance encounter?  

From Sehwa’s perspective, becoming the House manager after enduring so much was probably his best achievement. For two such people to meet and get involved, drug dealer and customer or gambler and construction partner would have been the most peaceful beginnings. There was no way it could have been normal in any sense.  

Ki Tae-jeong, running his tongue along the inside of his cheek, swallowed a hollow laugh. Comfortable and gentle titles? Nonsense.  

He didn’t know what he was regretting. Even if they could go back, stripping away all other conditions… if Sehwa had called him hyung or something equally familiar, trying to act friendly, he would have snapped his neck right there. He would have just thought about how much he wanted to fuck him, watching his tear-streaked face.  

“Or…”  

He was about to tell him to just open his mouth quietly or ask if he could kiss him. There was no reason to keep watching this frustrating scene when Sehwa, like him, couldn’t imagine beyond the given boundaries. But then—  

“Tae-jeong-ssi…?”  

“…What?”  

As he reached for Sehwa’s neck, covered in red marks, this rice-cake-and-cherry-like thing uttered words he normally wouldn’t dare to say. 

“Hyung or mister doesn’t seem right… something more formal? How should I put it… anyway, since that’s how most people start when they meet through work…”

Sehwa fiddled with his lips, saying that calling him Tae-jeong-ssi would probably get him even more than before. He seemed to be still pondering in his own way.

“Mister definitely wouldn’t have been it. Isn’t mister pretty much the same as ahjussi(uncle)? I didn’t feel like you were that old, Brigadier General.”

“…”

“Tae-jeong hyung… well. I think I would have gotten hit for sure if I started with that.”

“…”

“But why are you suddenly acting like this?”

Sehwa rolled over, groaning. Even that slight movement caused his muscles to ache dully.

Although Sehwa didn’t understand why, he was glad that a different topic came up, allowing him to catch his breath. It was much easier to answer than being asked to describe how good it felt when Ki Tae-jeong touched his embarrassing places…

Sex with Tae-jeong was always strenuous. Today was especially so. But while before, it was difficult to maintain a clear mind due to the steadily building pleasure, now it seemed to be because emotions were involved.

Once Sehwa acknowledged all his feelings, his heart fluttered at every little thing. His threshold for stimulation, which wasn’t very high to begin with, was now almost at rock bottom. His body opened up in a way that was incomparable to before. The mental satisfaction was so great that he didn’t have time to meticulously consider the physical pleasure.

Ah… come to think of it.

This was the first time having sex with someone Sehwa liked.

There was no threat that all his deals would be cut off if he didn’t take this client, no fear that he might be beaten to death if he didn’t comply. He wasn’t helplessly giving in and being controlled. He willingly accepted his touch because he wanted to, because he liked it. Of course, Ki Tae-jeong was a bit excessive…

“Um, Brigadier General…”

Sehwa discreetly let out a long sigh and fumbled for him.

Regardless of how overwhelming and good this moment was… he couldn’t endure anymore. He might actually die at this rate. He had already climaxed several times, and clear fluid was still flowing from his back entrance.

“Brigadier General.”

He tried to turn his body slightly, moving closer to him. Of course, that was how Sehwa perceived it; in reality, he had barely moved a millimeter, if at all.

“What.”

Ki Tae-jeong, who had been eagerly pressing on until just moments ago, suddenly seemed deflated. Was it because he couldn’t back out? Sehwa, who was about to beg that he couldn’t do it anymore, felt a little weaker and hesitated even after calling him.

“Well, I, um, can’t…”

“…”

Ah… no. This couldn’t go on any further. It was not just about being tired, but what crime had this child committed to be suddenly swept up in such lewd sensations? It’d hear plenty of talk about how it’d be discarded soon, and suddenly get cursed for having a terrible personality… Yeah. It would be better to suck him off and stroke him with his hands several times, rather than helplessly entrusting his body to his hands any longer.

“You… definitely said it last time, right?”

So Sehwa,

“That I don’t look like a whore.”

Decided to try his best to act cute for Tae-jeong.

“That’s…”

Ki Tae-jeong’s lips, which had been scoffing at what nonsense he was talking, gradually hardened. He seemed to have belatedly remembered where Sehwa had pulled this sudden topic from.

“You said I don’t look like I have a whore’s hole. I’m relieved.”

“…”

“…It didn’t matter then, but if my body feels that way to you now, Brigadier General… I think I’d be very upset.”

It was an impertinent remark he wouldn’t have dared make normally. It also felt embarrassing, like he was openly trying to flatter him.

“…”

Sehwa almost bit his tongue several times from the awkwardness, but surprisingly, that somewhat cheeky question seemed to have been quite effective on Tae-jeong. While he showed a bit of bewilderment, he didn’t seem displeased. Well, it had been like that before too. He didn’t dislike boldness, saying it made things more fun.

Sehwa barely managed to grip the sheets with his trembling arms. The gaze of the man whose intentions were unclear also followed him obliquely.

Ki Tae-jeong was the only one who could equate the relief that he wasn’t like a whore or a prostitute with a confession that he liked him. Only that man in the world could correctly interpret this absurd code.

So…

If you don’t dislike it, I want to give you a little more of myself in the future. Of course, the cutting words you threw at me are still so vivid, and those scars won’t easily fade. Your face when you mocked me for having absurd fantasies about relationships with someone I like, your voice saying that someone like me shouldn’t harbor any kind of feelings for you, are still clear. But still…

“…Lee Sehwa.”

Ki Tae-jeong lifted Sehwa’s chin with his index finger. It was a slow gesture. He didn’t seem to dislike it, but he didn’t seem to like it either. He just kept moving his lips several times, uncharacteristically.

“Lee Sehwa, you…”

“…”

“You definitely look younger than when I first saw you…”

Ki tae-jeong’s voice calling his name was much deeper than usual. The pause between “Lee” and “Sehwa” somehow felt awkward.

“It’s like you’ve been wearing a stiff mask all this time out of necessity, like this is how you’ve always wanted to live… You’ve completely let loose, slurring your words and chattering away, I thought you were acting younger and younger…”

As he said this, Ki Tae-jeong lightly brushed away the hair stuck to his forehead. It was a ticklish, gentle touch.

“You’re clearly still doing it, but strangely, today…”

Sehwa just breathed heavily. He felt an odd amplitude in Tae-jeong’s voice up close. He listened quietly to that resonance, but Ki Tae-jeong didn’t seem to want to continue speaking. As he quietly overlapped their lips, his tender, water-soaked flesh heated up once again.

“…Today, do I not look young but like an adult?”

To Sehwa’s frivolous words, uttered after swallowing saliva that might have been anyone’s, Tae-jeong looked incredulous.

“You keep trying climbing up, don’t you.”

Was that so? He was more afraid of this man than anyone else. Was it only in front of him that he acted young and mean? Sehwa quickly flipped through his past memories and then closed his eyes.

It wasn’t that long ago that he decided not to dwell on the past and hurt himself, even if he hadn’t forgotten. He decided to like him as much as he wanted without expecting anything, so even if he slumped down out of habit, he could just get up quickly. Thinking only of Ki Tae-jeong right now, not the past. Focusing only on this warmth that was carefully stroking his hair.

“I’m actually really easy. Everyone said so.”

“…”

“I give up quickly, adapt quickly… I’ve been criticized a lot for not knowing my place and rushing in recklessly.”

Sehwa tried to lift his weakened arm and place it on his shoulder. In the past, Tae-jeong would have sarcastically ordered him to properly wrap his arms around his neck, but now he silently lowered his upper body to help him get into a comfortable position.

Sehwa obediently clung to Ki Tae-jeong. It no longer mattered how precious and transparent what he held in his hands was.

The person I like.

That person is holding me,

So Sehwa was no longer miserable.

***

“I’ll just wash my hands and be right back.”

Sehwa said this because of the red fluid and fruit peels stuck all over his hands, but Ki Tae-jeong bit his finger as if telling him not to play tricks. Sehwa just sighed inwardly without being noticed.

A little while ago, no, quite a while ago. Ki Tae-jeong had kissed him with utmost gentleness. As if to say he had done well with his pretty act.

Sehwa thought the look in his eyes seemed somehow warm. Sehwa, with a somewhat proud and swollen heart, carefully rested his forehead on his collarbone. Inwardly muttering that he had done well to be honest, that he didn’t regret it at all. But then…

After his lips touched and left every part of his body from head to toe, and only after he had sobbed loudly, did he realize. What had been in the man’s eyes wasn’t warmth, but a warning that it was about to turn into intense heat.

There had been several intense ejaculations, and the aftershocks of climax that followed were too numerous to count. When he begged, crying that he couldn’t take anymore, Ki Tae-jeong finally offered his cock as if granting him a favor.

He barely managed to induce ejaculation by sucking and licking clumsily, and when Ki Tae-jeong took off his wet uniform and said he was going to wash up, Sehwa thought it was finally over.

But… while the enormous bathtub, about the size of a small swimming pool, was being filled with hot water, Sehwa had to suck his cock once more in the shower booth, and then again.

After the water had risen to a certain level, Sehwa found himself holding onto the edge of the tub, half-floating with his buttocks raised. He was also on his knees on the steps in the tub, which didn’t require much strength and wasn’t too burdensome. Of course, this only means his stomach didn’t hurt, not that it wasn’t difficult.

When he heard Ki Tae-jeong’s defense that he couldn’t explore his holes to his heart’s content on the bed… Sehwa was so dumbfounded that he almost shouted, “Are you seriously saying that right now?”

“I think we could do more.”

Ki Tae-jeong persistently clung to him, saying that the hole that had taken his cock wouldn’t be satisfied with just fingers or tongue.

“…No, I can’t. I might really die…”

His completely hoarse voice was pitiful.

Only after squeezing out a few drops of semen that had become as clear as water from being wrung out so much onto the water’s surface did Ki Tae-jeong finally ejaculate on his face. At this point, Ki Tae-jeong had “done” him a favor by coming. Then, saying the bathwater had gotten dirty and they should change it, they got tangled up in the shower booth again… Then Sehwa would lose consciousness and wake up to find his cock in his mouth, or Tae-jeong devouring him.

After repeating this several times, they finally made it back into the bathtub.

“You kept sticking your ass out towards my face earlier.”

“Wh-when did I…”

“When you were almost out of it, you stretched out and shook it as if asking me to lick more. So much that my cheeks were almost crushed.”

Ki Tae-jeong whispered mischievously as he wrapped a large bath towel around his body.

“That was when I was out of it…”

“That’s when you’re the most honest.”

Sehwa gave up on responding and just let his body go limp. Soaking in the warm water, leaning his back against his chest, he felt drowsy. He didn’t want to do anything.

The last time his mind went blank and he regained consciousness, he was finally in the bathtub. He was suspicious that Ki Tae-jeong might try something dubious again and head to the shower booth… but only when he saw the objects surrounding them did Sehwa realize that this relentless love making had truly ended.

Large ice buckets were placed densely along the wide headrest on both sides and the high edge of the tub, though he didn’t know when they had been set up. They were filled with all kinds of fruits. Of course, the most prominent were cherries, blueberries, and apples.

“It’s too sweet.”

Ki Tae-jeong frowned and withdrew his lips after sucking on Sehwa’s wrinkled fingers for a long time. Sehwa tilted his head while chewing on the tart fruit flesh. …Sweet? Of course, it was delicious and good, but… Actually, it was slightly different from the taste Sehwa had hoped for. It could have been a bit sweeter. No. Now that he thought about it, he didn’t want cherries, but that cake Ki Tae-jeong had given him.  The cherry-flavored cake with pink cream.

“You’re not going to eat more?”

“I’m okay for now.”

Surprisingly, once he recalled the exact target, the fruit that had been delicious started to become tiresome. Maybe because he had eaten so much, his stomach felt a bit sour…

“Then, I’m asking the adult Sehwa who’s gotten younger after eating his fill.”

“Haha, what’s that supposed to mean?”

Although Ki Tae-jeong was still brusque, Sehwa laughed softly because he didn’t dislike his tone, which had shed all its sharpness.

“Lee Sehwa.”

“Yes?”

“Put me down as your guardian.”

“…”

The corners of his mouth, which had been smiling brightly, closed tightly as if zipped shut. Sehwa unknowingly dropped his head low. It felt like a heavy burden he had been forgetting about was suddenly placed on his shoulders.

“Ah…”

Wanting to think only of good things, he had been unknowingly putting it off. Everything related to the child in his womb.

“…I,”

“It’s not really my place to say, but when I look at you.”

Ki Tae-jeong turned Sehwa around in his arms. Through the hazy steam, a terrible silence descended.

Today had been so good. He had been happy. He had felt so proud, like he had accomplished something… Disliking the sudden probing into a difficult and painful topic, Sehwa just stared at his hands submerged in the water.

“It seems like you want someone to stop you.”

“…Stop what?”

Ki Tae-jeong blurted out while pouring hot water to keep the towel from drying.

“It looks like you want someone to push you to have the baby, to stop you from getting rid of it. That’s how you look.”

“Wh-when did I…”

When he saw the ultrasound, when he heard the heartbeat, when he held the hologram in his hand… And when he sharply told him not to curse at the baby, when he hesitated earlier saying the baby would dislike it if he acted lewd. Sehwa’s fingertips tingled each time Ki Tae-jeong recounted his impressive moments. His pulse raced wildly in a different way than before.

“…That can’t be.”

Sehwa, who had been frozen for a moment as if someone had pressed a pause button, took a big, slow breath.

“I don’t know why you thought that, but as I’ve said many times, I-“

“I did say I’d take responsibility in whatever direction, but.”

Ki Tae-jeong cut off Sehwa’s words and gently poked just below his stomach with his index finger. After tapping like that a couple of times, he carefully wrapped his hand around Sehwa’s entire stomach.

“I hadn’t thought about it that seriously… It’s not that it was just empty words, but honestly, it didn’t feel real that I could have a child I could exercise parental rights over.”

“…”

“Responsibility… well. Helping to raise the child without financial worries? I’ve always solved problems by throwing money at them, so I only thought of that method this time too. Kiving you as much money as you need, assigning people to help you, I thought that would be enough.”

The man, having removed all harsh and vulgar curses, spoke neither quickly nor slowly, just quietly laying out his thoughts as they came.

“Of course, I’m reluctant. It’s something we both agreed on. That a child born with my bloodline would likely have a hard time living properly.”

“…”

“But if you really want this child.”

Water droplets trickled down his wet hair. Sehwa kept his eyes lowered and said nothing. No. He couldn’t. Ki Tae-jeong’s words, suddenly pouring down like a bombardment, sounded just like a confession… And it felt much more sincere than when he had talked about his unfortunate childhood while asserting his innocence…

“As General Oh Seon-ran said, if you want to have your own bloodline, your own family, regardless of how the child came to be…”

“…”

“…I won’t think I’ve taken responsibility just by throwing money at you.”

Brigadier General. The words to call him crumbled in his mouth without becoming sound. Every time he closed and opened his eyes, the moisture clinging to his eyelashes poured down, blurring his vision for a moment.

“Of course, I won’t stop you if you say you want to get rid of it, but.”

“…”

“Whatever happens, put me down as your guardian.”