Chapter 10.3

“Start what?”

“What could it be?”

Jaeyoung’s cheeks were colored by the street lights. The orange-colored eyes looked exceptionally bright. There were too many difficult parts of his words to interpret correctly. He could assume the reason for his anger and what he wanted them to do, but he needed to make sure.

“So, sunbae, you’re saying that you’re going to keep doing stuff like that… with me… “

The words that came out of his mouth were much more vague than he thought and his voice was cracked.

“Stuff like that?”

“Even if I’m a man, to relieve sexual desire. There will be holding of hands, kissing, and having sex. You’re saying that you’re going to act like we are a straight couple that is dating.”

“Act like dating? What are you…”

As Jaeyoung’s forehead wrinkled, the hand on Sangwoo’s wrist tightened. As he approached him with his head down, a shadow was cast around Sangwoo’s eyes.

“Let me just ask you one thing. What do you think dating is?”

“A straight couple meeting on the premise of marriage. It’s like a trial version of a formal program.”

“Ah, so it doesn’t work between men?”

“You’re calling that a question?”

Suddenly, both hands, which had been caught, were freed. Jaeyoung separated himself from Sangwoo and sat down on the ground with a flustered expression. The skin, which was soaked in streetlight, was glistening orange. He muttered.

“Wait for me to think. If you run away, I’ll kill you.”

Jaeyoung threw his gum into the trash can and grabbed a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. Soon, the tip of the cigarette shone red in the dark, and smoke rose from his lips into the sky. The air in Jaeyoung’s cheeks swelled and was emptied repeatedly. Sangwoo got up and sat hugging his knees a bit away from him.

Jaeyoung kept silent until he finished his cigarette. He stubbed the butt out with his shoe and rubbed his face with his palms as if he were washing his face. He wasn’t exactly sure because he didn’t check his watch, but it seemed like a long time had passed. At the end of the wait, Sangwoo made eye contact with Jaeyoung.

“Yeah. It’s better to be clear. If that’s all you can comprehend, let’s call it lust,” he cynically muttered and nodded. It was a signal to come closer. Sangwoo was a bit nervous as Jaeyoung wasn’t smiling one bit.

“Come here now before I get even more mad.”

Sangwoo approached him little by little by crawling on his knees. Jaeyoung kept moving his fingers with a dry gaze. Forward, forward, forward. Then, it became the distance of sitting face-to-face with a desk between them. Sangwoo stopped there.

“What?”

In an instant, Jaeyoung crawled forward. So he wouldn’t be able to escape, he held Sangwoo’s hand on the ground and clasped his fingers. Sangwoo hardened like a rock.

“Hold hands with me.”

His opposite hand got closer and held Sangwoo’s cheek. His thumb slowly swept through his lips.

“We’ve already kissed.”

Sangwoo slightly moved back while trembling, but Jaeyoung wrapped his hand around his neck and pulled him back into his arms. His whispering voice gave him goosebumps on his arms.

“Then all we have left to do is to have sex. Correct?”

Jaeyoung’s forehead pushed Sangwoo’s cap away.

Thump. He heard something fall behind him. It was hard to tell what was on his mind with those pale eyes. Whether he was being sarcastic or if he was seriously suggesting it. Most of all, he couldn’t concentrate because his heartbeat was too loud, and because his skin failed to regulate his body temperature.

“I have two questions,” Sangwoo spat out after managing to grab a string of reason.

Jaeyoung made a gesture with his chin as if was saying, try.

“First, sex isn’t possible between men. Then in what way would the sexual desire…”

“It’s possible.”

“What? Where… How?”

“If you don’t know, stay still. Cause I’ll take care of it then.”

“Why are you so confident? You have even tri..”

“I’ve tried. Next question.”

Jaeyoung, whose eyes were pierced on Sangwoo, turned his head while scratching his neck. Sangwoo didn’t get any answer except for that he was an experienced person, but decided to do independent research on that and moved on to the next question.

“Secondly, what’s good about having such an abnormal type of relationship?”

“Think of yourself as a Qing merchant,” Jaeyoung answered in a low voice. Then he whispered while adding more strength into the hand that was still gripping him: “There’s an enemy camp out there. If we leave it like this, they’ll surround the castle, shoot arrows, cut off the water supply, and make all kinds of fuss. Now, there are two methods.”

Jaeyoung’s index finger flicked up.

“One, ignore it and wait until it disappears.”

Sangwoo was silent. He already got the gist of what he was trying to say. Jaeyoung’s middle finger slowly stretched out.

“Two, go out and kick those bastards’ asses. Which one is to your liking?”

“…”

“When there’s a problem, the fastest way to eliminate the cause is by getting to the core. I think you’d be that kind of person.”