Love Me More

Chapter 22

It was too cold to drink beer outside. Yet, with heat rising from within, Si-yul hurriedly opened a beer can. Perhaps due to being shaken on the way, frothy foam surged from the opening. Not wanting to lose a single drop, he quickly pressed his lips to it.

He gulped it down, but a stream trickled down the side of the can. Regretfully, Si-yul licked the length of the beer can with his lips.

Foam covered his philtrum and lips. As he stuck out his tongue to lick around it, he felt an intense gaze from beside him.

…Was it that unsightly? It might have been to Woo Hyun-se.

“I didn’t want to waste it,” Si-yul explained, rubbing his lips with the back of his hand. According to Kwon Yuwon, even a single drop of alcohol should be treated as precious as blood. Woo Hyun-se was about to take out a beer can from the bag when he paused and looked at Si-yul.

“If you drink this, you’ll tell me to call a designated driver, right?”

“Yes. You’re asking the obvious.”

Clicking his tongue, Woo Hyun-se put down the beer. Instead, he only drank water. His prominent Adam’s apple undulated like a wave under his skin.

“How was the movie?” Woo Hyun-se asked, tossing the empty water bottle back into the bag. The mention of the movie brought back those explicit scenes. Going further, it also recalled the movie he had watched at dawn, Woo Hyun-se’s low, languid voice, and the faint moans playing in the background.

“It was quite risqué.”

“Was it?”

Promiscuous alpha. Si-yul narrowed his eyes as if glaring, then emptied his own beer can completely. He crumpled the empty can and dropped it next to the water bottle.

“Ah, I suppose it might have seemed that way to Kwon Si-yul.”

“Why? Why would it seem that way just to me?”

“Because you’re still young?”

“I’m an adult, you know.”

“Have you dated before?”

His tone was belittling. His eye-smile was thick. Si-yul couldn’t help but feel upset.

“Of course!”

Driven by the desire not to lose, lies flowed smoothly. What dating? When had he ever had the luxury to meet someone and have a lovey-dovey relationship? There might have been a girl he liked at the orphanage when he was very young, but now her face and name were faint memories.

Even seeing Si-yul’s irritation, the curve in Woo Hyun-se’s eyes didn’t soften. Despite his benevolent face, he had an innate talent for teasing. Even without opening his mouth, his eyes alone could turn someone’s insides out.

“Experience?”

The question was bordering on crossing a line. It might have already crossed it. But Si-yul’s competitive spirit hadn’t been broken yet.

“It would be strange not to have any at this age.”

“Women? Or men.”

“Both.”

He was going to say women, but his mouth moved on its own. He didn’t know why. It just felt like that was the answer that would scratch the other’s nerves, even if only slightly. Or it might have been immature bravado.

Woo Hyun-se let out a “huh” and leaned back, placing his hand on the ground. The smile on his lips didn’t look like a smile. The playfulness in his eyes cooled as quickly as the flowing river water. Although Si-yul didn’t know about pheromones and such, he could read the noticeably cooler atmosphere, but he pretended not to notice and just sipped his beer.

“Well, I guess you wouldn’t be innocent if you were selling drugs.”

“That’s not…”

It was an irrelevant story. He couldn’t finish his sentence. “Kwon Si-yul,” Woo Hyun-se called his name and turned to look at him.

“Shall we sleep together?”

If he had been drinking beer, he might have spat it out spectacularly. Si-yul’s eyes widened like full moons. He knew that phrase didn’t mean its literal, dictionary meaning.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“Wow…”

Surprised by the unexpected statement, Si-yul pressed his hand to his eyes. His head was throbbing from shock. Doubting if he had understood the sentence correctly, he glanced at Woo Hyun-se. Despite having clearly thrown a grenade, the other was utterly nonchalant.

“You’re quite casual with sexual harassment.”

“I’m just being honest.”

Si-yul was the one who had been unilaterally hit by a bomb. He hurriedly rubbed his face with both hands. His complexion changed moment by moment, turning red then pale. He barely calmed himself and removed his palms.

“Do you talk to others like this too?”

“No. Most people fall for me with just a bit of flirting.”

“Ha…”

What a person with no regard for chastity. How could he throw out an invitation to sleep together as casually as asking to have a meal?

“What if I refuse?”

As if he hadn’t thought that far, Woo Hyun-se’s eyebrows rose. He scratched his nose bridge and pondered with an “Hmm.”

“I’d probably bother Kwon Si-yul a bit more than now.”

“You mean you’d harass me?”

“I mean I’d see you more often.”

“Until when?”

“Until you agree.”

It meant he would stick persistently. That was just like Woo Hyun-se.

“Didn’t you say you had experience? What’s the difficulty?”

“I don’t live my life throwing my body around carelessly…”

His laughter was refreshing with a “Haha.” His eyes were not. Even in the dim light, Woo Hyun-se’s eyes looking at him were exceptionally clear. As was the resolve in them.

“Do you need time?”

Woo Hyun-se asked, leaning sideways and bumping Si-yul’s shoulder with his own. Si-yul wanted to move far away, but it was as if someone had secretly glued his backside to the spot. He swayed like a roly-poly toy but returned to his original position. His shoulder touched Woo Hyun-se’s. Although his reddened face wouldn’t be visible in the dark, he still bowed his head deeply to hide it.

“…Yes.”

“It’s difficult to answer right away?”

“Yes.”

“How long will it take?”

“…”

“I don’t think I can wait long.”

“…”

He rubbed his cheek against his arm. Why did a simple proposal sound like a threat, and why was he postponing a decision that could be ended with a firm refusal? Even he didn’t know. Si-yul stopped trying to look into his own feelings. It wasn’t time yet. He left it in confusion.

“Your ears are red.”

Fingertips touched his earlobe. They gently rubbed the soft flesh between thumb and index finger as if wiping something off. Si-yul curled up like a mimosa plant. “Don’t touch me,” he avoided, timidly hunching his shoulders.

Woo Hyun-se rested his head on Si-yul’s shoulder with a thud. It was heavy. But this time, he didn’t avoid it. The weighty presence was also warmth that heated up the cold night.

* * *

He couldn’t sleep at all after returning home. He lay awake all night, finally dozing off as dawn broke. Even then, he woke up early to the sound of Kwon Yuwon clattering about, getting ready to leave.

“I’m off.”

“Yeah.”

He lazily waved his hand without even looking at Kwon Yuwon as he left. Kwon Yuwon paused at the door, suspiciously eyeing Si-yul who was different from usual, then left with just a light exhale. He couldn’t pester Si-yul about what was wrong because he was already 10 minutes late for his usual departure time.

After the door closed, Si-yul let his raised arm drop to the floor. Perhaps due to lack of sleep, his eyes felt dry. Even after blinking several times, moisture didn’t return to his eyeballs. He placed both hands on his face, then rubbed roughly as if washing. Sleep had long since fled.

“Ah…”

He sighed, sitting up. Last night felt like a dream. If defined, it was somewhere between a nightmare and a wet dream. Si-yul pulled out the memories he had been ruminating on before sleep, wondering if what he had seen, heard, and perceived last night was correct. Woo Hyun-se’s voice and eyes, the conversation between them.

‘Shall we sleep together?’

“He’s really insane…”

He wanted to believe he couldn’t answer due to the atmosphere and slight intoxication. Si-yul grabbed his messy hair and slowly bent his upper body. He curled up until his nose touched the blanket, then bit a handful of the blanket and silently screamed “Aaaargh!” The back of his ears visible through his hair was red, unlike someone who had just woken up.

How could he say such things so casually? Are all alphas that lascivious? To propose sleeping together with him, who was neither an omega nor a woman. His ex was clearly a woman, so did this mean Woo Hyun-se had also fooled around with men? No, if an omega was male, that could happen, but he wasn’t an omega.

Moreover, his own loose lips were a problem. This reckless mouth should have cleanly cut it off from the start, saying he had no experience and therefore would refuse. But to protect his tiny pride, he told an ill-advised lie about sleeping with both men and women. Even the boy who cried wolf would shake his head and click his tongue, wondering where he had learned his lesson from reading that fable.

“This damned mouth, this damned trap!”

He slapped his lips with his palm repeatedly. After hitting them until the area around his mouth was as red as if smeared with lipstick, he buried his head in the blanket again. His tightly clenched fists trembled. He felt like he could die of shame.

How…

He had no idea how to clean up this mess. He wanted to confide in someone, but the only suitable person to pour his heart out to was Kwon Yuwon. It was painfully obvious that if he revealed everything frankly, Yuwon would fly into a rage and head straight for the kitchen knife, insisting they go cut Woo Hyun-se’s throat first.