“……”
With the watch resting on his palm, Yoon Jooho remained silent for a long moment.
He didn’t move, as if lost deep in thought. Even the blinking of his eyelids was slower than usual. When he stayed quiet like this, he really looked like an angel.
Yoon Jooho’s face suddenly turned toward me, his straight, long eyebrows slightly furrowed.
“Did you buy this?”
“What kind of joke is that.”
“……”
“I don’t have that kind of money. It’s Sunbae’s. It came from Manager Cha Kyumin.”
“How?”
“You know, it wasn’t that hard. Ji…in…”
Song Hyunsoo, who was about to excitedly start explaining that Jin is a friend of Taeyoon’s older brother, suddenly trailed off.
There was never a good atmosphere whenever Jung Jin’s name came up, so it seemed best to skip that story.
“There’s a guy I know who’s got crazy connections. He’s got Gangnam’s used luxury goods market locked down.”
I told him how this guy had tracked down whoever sold or consigned that watch.
― After inquiring through the used luxury goods circles in Gangnam, he surprisingly found Manager Cha Kyumin’s trail at a shop in Gwanak District.
Song Hyunsoo described the scene in detail, even acting it out.
“Right at that moment! Director Bang and I appeared. At first, Manager Cha denied everything, but then he knelt down and begged.”
“……”
“Wow, I’d never seen Director Bang so angry. He was like a different person. I thought he never swore.”
As Song Hyunsoo rambled on about his heroic tale, Yoon Jooho didn’t take his eyes off him. He didn’t smile or ask any questions. He didn’t seem like he was really listening. He just stared at Song Hyunsoo with a scary expression, like he was angry, or maybe like he was struggling to hold back tears ready to burst out.
Realizing the gaze late, Song Hyunsoo felt awkward, scrunched his nose, and quietly shut his mouth.
“Anyway, it’s Sunbae’s.”
Yoon Jooho held out his hand toward Song Hyunsoo.
“Put it on.”
“Me?”
Without a word, Yoon Jooho extended his left wrist.
I slipped the watch onto the wrist, the blue veins visible from the back of his hand all the way down.
What beautiful hands. Hands that seemed like they’d never taped up a window or chopped kimchi on a cutting board.
Hands that probably only knew how to flip through scripts and spray perfume. But I want you to stay like this forever. Because you’re my star.
“From now on, don’t pretend to be okay when things like this happen.”
“……”
“If someone takes something that belongs to you, you have to chase after them until you get it back.”
Feeling the intensity of Yoon Jooho’s gaze, I ignored it and clicked the buckle on the inside of his wrist.
“If it’s precious, say it’s precious. If it hurts, say it hurts. If you don’t want to lose it, say you don’t want to lose it. Say everything.”
“Don’t lose it? Chase after it till the end?”
I stopped fiddling with the watch and nodded firmly.
“It’s mine, so why would I just stand by if it gets taken? That’s not respecting myself.”
Yoon Jooho smiled shortly as he held and turned the wrist I’d just fastened the watch onto.
“Sounds reasonable.”
“It’s not good to suppress your feelings and lie to yourself. Life’s short. I realized that after Hongseo passed…”
He stared quietly at the watch on his left hand.
His face was full of emotion. Not just simply moved, but a complex mix of feelings tangled together.
Maybe because he’d lived as an actor, there were moments when he expressed complicated emotions so delicately on his face. Like right now.
He looked different from usual.
Even coming all the way to my place like this was unusual.
“Sunbae.”
His eyes turned to me.
The eyes of actor Yoon Jooho, whom I’d admired since childhood and endlessly tried to imitate in front of the mirror.
Eyes that held both the arrogance of a star who has everything and the hesitation of a boy afraid of getting hurt.
Looking deeply into those eyes up close, I realized naturally.
No matter what happens from now on, I could never hate this man.
“Did something really happen?”
I covered his cheek with my palm. Without thinking. His eyes looked tired, his face too gaunt.
Yoon Jooho’s hand slid over mine.
He covered the back of my hand with his wide palm and held on tightly like he was clinging.
Something… did happen.
“What is it? Is it something really bad?”
His gaze wavered as he looked into my worried eyes. Instead of answering, Yoon Jooho pulled my hand.
His body leaned forward, shifting his center of gravity toward me. At the same time, his other hand came up and wrapped around the back of my neck.
Before I even realized what was happening, our lips met.
His grip on my neck tightened as he crushed my lips with force.
“Mm… mm.”
He twisted my lips to make a gap and slid his tongue in. As always, he was unrestrained. His tongue quickly filled my entire mouth, swelling as if trying to take up all the space inside me.
“Hng, hhk, h.”
Pressing his tongue to the roof of my mouth, he softly teased back and forth, making my neck tingle. My toes curled and my lower body began to melt.
“Ugh.”
Yoon Jooho’s arm wrapped tightly around my waist, pulling me close. Taking the cue, I threw all my thoughts away and clung to his lips and tongue.
Our tongues rubbed together, tangled and wrestled like fighting.
“Mmm, hup!”
Suddenly overwhelmed in the struggle, I was pulled deeper into his mouth. He sucked on my tongue with such force it felt like he was drawing out all its red pigment.
My whole tongue throbbed and the base tingled from the pressure. When I looked up at him with watery eyes, his bloodshot eyes burned down on me. My entire body shivered.
“Ugh, uh. Mm…”
When the sharp pain spread across my tongue, he released me slowly but then began tormenting my lips. He scratched, nibbled, bit down hard, and sucked with firm pressure between his teeth.
“Ah… ah. Hk!”
My lips already felt battered. But the pain came with an even greater pleasure. His desire for me was transmitted straight through.
Pulling my waist closer with an embrace, he pushed his body forward as if about to climb on top of me. Overpowered by his physical strength, my upper body slowly leaned back.
“Mm. Uh. Mm, uh!”
With him biting my lips, I finally collapsed backward completely.
“Haa, ha… hng.”
Lying on the mattress, I gasped for breath. Yoon Jooho pressed down on my upper arm, his broad shoulders rising and falling as he looked down at me.
His contorted eyes were filled with lust. Yet, he didn’t rush in again right away.
“Are you going to do it?”
“…I’m thinking.”
He was rock hard even over the training pants, but pretending to think like that was pointless.
I could clearly see his dilemma. I’d rejected his confession, yet he still wanted to touch me. Song Hyunsoo had been angry about that.
But now it didn’t matter anymore. Because I thought I finally understood Yoon Jooho a little.
The way he spoke, and even the things he didn’t say.
From now on, I decided to trust the feelings he showed with his eyes, hands, and actions more than the words coming from his mouth.
Gently stroking his arm pressed against my upper arm, we locked eyes. I reached out my hand toward his cheek.
“It’s okay.”
“……”
“Just come.”
His upper body moved over me, covering me completely as he came closer. The hand that had been holding my cheek slipped around his neck and hugged him.
But when the fluorescent light appeared over his broad shoulder, I frowned. I pushed his shoulder away and sat up.
“W-wait a minute.”
“Why? You told me to come.”
Like a child whose cake got snatched away with the whole plate just before the first bite, he pouted. His voice was hoarse. He really wanted this.
That thought made my lower body tingle, but there was something that had to be taken care of first.
“Turn off the lights and come back.”
Phew.
He bit his lip and sighed. His forehead and brow were deeply furrowed. Still, he reluctantly got up and walked toward the door.
The sound of the switch flipping was followed by darkness.
Night light quietly pooled inside the room through the bubble wrap taped over the window. Yoon Jooho’s silhouette approached as he took off his short-sleeved shirt over his head.