MIM 87

87

The muscle pain hadn’t subsided yet. Considering his abnormal healing ability, the aftermath of this rut was lasting quite long. Ma Jae-seung adjusted his shirt collar and sleeves in front of the mirror. Though his arms still ached from holding and rolling around with a grown man until just last night, his outward appearance was impeccable.

Ma Jae-seung licked his dry lips while looking at his reflection. His gaze, scrutinizing his familiar features, suddenly caught sight of his tongue. The tongue that had been licking his unusually plump and red lips slowly disappeared into his mouth. As he stared, the strange sensation of having his tongue sucked returned, making his chest flutter.

They had kissed.

Though losing his virginity had happened long ago, making a kiss seem trivial in comparison, he felt strangely unsettled all day. Maybe it was a side effect of the suppressants. Over the past few days when he’d lost control pursuing pleasure, his temperature had fluctuated constantly, and images that might have been dreams or hallucinations had flickered before his eyes. He’d shivered with chills one moment, then been drenched in sweat from heat the next. Given how out of it he’d been, feeling strange was probably natural.

Therefore, his jumbled feelings had nothing to do with the kiss. Having reached this conclusion, Ma Jae-seung cleared his throat and straightened up. But that lasted only a moment—seeing his full reflection in the mirror, he thought of the kiss again. Coincidentally, their first kiss had happened right beside this mirror.

Why did he kiss me? Ma Jae-seung wondered, eyes narrowed. If it wasn’t a hallucination, Shin-woo had definitely initiated the kiss, suddenly approaching him. Despite regularly sleeping together, he’d always said kisses were for people you like—Ma Jae-seung still couldn’t understand what had gotten into him. After taunting him about trust with that casual attitude, he’d suddenly kissed him. And quite thoroughly at that.

Not just casually kissing during sex, but focusing entirely on the kiss to the point of stopping everything else. When the other grabbed his head and sucked on his tongue intensely, he’d responded in kind. When Shin-woo moaned, the vibrations were transmitted directly, and when he took short breaths through his nose, their breathing quickened together. Every time their tongues touched the soft interior, excitement built up until he was leaking. It was a different kind of pleasure from when he’d first pushed inside that tight entrance, a sensation that numbed his reason.

Later, they kissed throughout their lovemaking. Though his memories were patchy, he was sure of that much. Ma Jae-seung lightly pressed his fingertips to his lips. They were naturally full, but seemed slightly swollen now.

“What are you doing?”

Startled by the sudden voice, Ma Jae-seung looked up. Shin-woo was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. Though he didn’t know how long he’d been watching, his eyes were curved playfully. Ma Jae-seung awkwardly pretended to stretch, moving the hand that had been touching his lips behind his neck.

The gaze remained steady. When he glanced sideways, he saw Shin-woo raise one eyebrow. He was wearing comfortable black pants and a t-shirt, his hair hanging more tamely than usual, perhaps still damp from washing. Whatever he felt inside, he too looked perfectly normal, as if he hadn’t spent the last few nights having sex.

But the atmosphere was slightly different. Maybe it was his attire, but he seemed more relaxed, or perhaps just tired and languid. His bangs seemed slightly long…Now that he looked, his lips were slightly swollen with a small scab, as if someone had bitten them.

“Butler Hwang told you? She’ll be here in…about 30 minutes.”

Shin-woo said, glancing at the wall clock. Butler Hwang had just informed them of Ma Jae-seung’s  mother’s visit. Given that she was coming to the mansion personally, she must have something urgent to discuss.

She must have heard about Kim Ye-wook ‘s disappearance. There would be no other reason for such an urgent visit with same-day notice. Since she would know he was one of those who had invested in the genetic transformation research, she would be on edge about his disappearance. Not just his mother, but everyone who knew about the research would be wary. Most of them feared Shin-woo. They would likely consider him the prime suspect in Kim Ye-wook’s disappearance.

Ma Jae-seung slowly turned to look at Shin-woo. While his mind was confused about what to say first amidst the complexity of the situation, the one who had actually disposed of the body seemed unperturbed and calm. He grinned at Ma Jae-seung’s serious expression.

“You’re handsome.”

Ma Jae-seung’s eyebrows twitched in surprise. Though it was obvious to anyone with eyes, hearing it so suddenly, and from him no less, was startling.

“You can stop looking in the mirror now.”

He added softly with a playful smile. Watching Shin-woo act as if nothing had happened made Ma Jae-seung feel calmer too. He pulled Shin-woo’s arm into the bedroom and closed the door.

He had been planning to remove his pheromones that were all over Shin-woo before his mother arrived. He didn’t particularly enjoy people gossiping about Shin-woo and him. Ma Jae-seung picked up and shook the spray he had left on the drawer.

“Use this from now on. Since you said you don’t like this scent, I’ll buy a different one later.”

“From now on?”

When Shin-woo repeated Ma Jae-seung’s words, the hand shaking the spray stopped abruptly in mid-air.

Does he mean there won’t be any more of this from now on? Come to think of it, he had said he was sick of this. After staring at Ma Jae-seung, who was blankly waiting for him to continue, Shin-woo sighed lightly.

“Don’t you want to meet an Omega?”

Instead of answering, Ma Jae-seung sprayed the scent neutralizer directly in Shin-woo’s face. Sprayed from too close, the liquid ran down over his tightly closed eyes. Undeterred, Ma Jae-seung circled around Shin-woo spraying him, then shook the bottle to gauge what was left before throwing it in the trash.

“Damn…” Shin-woo muttered quietly while wiping his wet face with one hand. Seeing his reddened ears suggesting genuine annoyance, a smirk escaped. Between the news reports, spreading rumors, and his mother’s imminent arrival, it clearly wasn’t the time to laugh, but he found himself chuckling anyway.

When he laughed openly, Shin-woo glanced up at him. His eyes were round with bewilderment. Ma Jae-seung answered the question he had posed earlier, “I only need you.”

It sounded cheesy once said aloud, but he would understand the meaning. Since his current physical condition was fine, completing his education and inheriting the company took priority. There was no reason to risk additional complications.

Ma Jae-seung tried to logically review his conclusion while deliberately diverting attention from last night’s memories. He pushed away the image of Shin-woo kissing him with flushed cheeks, as if genuinely caring rather than doing it just for money. It might have actually been a hallucination rather than reality.

“You really trust me?” Shin-woo asked quietly. His face, now dry from the spray, was turned toward Ma Jae-seung.

“Yes.”

Ma Jae-seung answered without hesitation. Whatever his reasons, Shin-woo wouldn’t harm him. When he met his gaze with confident eyes, Shin-woo stepped closer. As the spray’s scent gradually faded, his shampoo smell became noticeable. He stood still for a while, watching Ma Jae-seung. His brown eyes rolled carefully, observing Ma Jae-seung with unreadable thoughts.

Suddenly, a mischievous look entered his gaze. As soon as Ma Jae-seung sensed the changed atmosphere, the still-damp head slowly lowered.

Ma Jae-seung consciously tensed his legs as he stood. Shin-woo had knelt at his feet and was looking up at him. Kneeling in a posture that could only be read as sexual, he remained silent as if awaiting orders. When his swollen lips parted slightly, bold thoughts followed.

Ma Jae-seung suddenly realized he had never attempted oral intimacy. Given that teeth could be bared at any moment in that mouth, he hadn’t even considered trying it for fear of being bitten.

As if noticing this realization, Shin-woo’s eyebrows twitched slightly. Ma Jae-seung swallowed hard and cupped Shin-woo’s ear with his hand.