Crossed Lines

Jaeyoung fluttered his hand lightly toward Mintae’s rapidly retreating back.

Soon, he was dragged along by Saheon, shoved into the passenger seat, and buckled in with a series of crisp clicks.

“By the way, what kind of car is this?”

The moment Saheon sat down in the driver’s seat, Jaeyoung asked as if he had been waiting, his clear eyes widening.

He might have been drunk, but his cognitive abilities didn’t seem dulled.

“You said you didn’t like being recognized.”

“So I bought a new one.”

Saheon said it casually while fastening his seat belt.

At that, the confusion on Jaeyoung’s face bloomed into a radiant smile.

“You bought it because you wanted to come pick me up?”

Jaeyoung turned his whole body toward Saheon.

Joy burst out of him unchecked.

For a moment, it felt like Saheon could actually see a fluffy white tail wagging wildly behind Jaeyoung’s back.

No matter who the other person was or what the situation, no one had ever managed to stop Saheon from speaking his mind.

He was the type who couldn’t stand holding himself back.

But when he met Jaeyoung’s expectation-filled gaze, his breath caught for no reason at all.

“……Yeah.”

“Wow.”

Saheon narrowed his eyes.

Watching Jaeyoung look like he was about to start bouncing in place stirred something strange in him.

When he had taken the car his father bought for his second son, he’d almost felt a flicker of self-loathing.

And yet, once again, Jaeyoung exceeded his expectations.

“I did well, right?”

“So give me a kiss!”

Jaeyoung shouted brightly, then grabbed Saheon’s face and pressed a quick peck to his lips before pulling back.

“Since you kissed me, I’ll give you a kiss for being good.”

Then, having pulled away, Jaeyoung tapped his own lips lightly.

Everything happened so fast Saheon couldn’t process it.

He let out a hollow laugh.

“Who’s that for?”

Saheon shot back spitefully.

Doing whatever he pleased and then demanding gratitude afterward was absurd.

It was obvious who had taught him this habit.

There was no need to pick and choose.

Every member of Jaeyoung’s family was guilty.

His mother probably had a share in it too.

“You won’t?”

Jaeyoung frowned when Saheon didn’t move.

His expression clearly said this wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

Then he reached out toward Saheon.

Peck.

Jaeyoung lunged boldly, stealing Saheon’s lips once more.

If Saheon wanted to dodge, he could have.

He just didn’t feel any reason to.

Saheon watched Jaeyoung’s actions through half-lidded eyes.

Then, the moment their soft lips touched, he grabbed the back of Jaeyoung’s neck and pushed straight in.

“Mm—!”

Jaeyoung’s eyes flew wide in shock.

Regaining his senses, he tapped Saheon’s shoulder with a loosely clenched fist.

Even now, he seemed more worried about hurting Saheon than himself.

The weak knocks only made Saheon feel ticklish.

“What.”

Saheon pulled back just enough to ask, amused and fond despite himself.

Jaeyoung couldn’t answer, too busy gasping for breath.

“No objections?”

Saheon didn’t even wait for the brief pause.

He pulled Jaeyoung back in.

“Th-This isn’t a kiss—”

Jaeyoung blurted out desperately before their lips met again.

A crooked smile tugged at Saheon’s mouth.

“You should’ve grown out of that at seven.”

He said firmly, then pushed his tongue in deeper.

Jaeyoung sulked when things didn’t go his way, then went slack as if giving up.

It wasn’t surrender so much as compliance.

The breath Jaeyoung exhaled filled Saheon’s mouth.

Just like his lively personality, his tongue moved freely and without restraint.

Their tongues tangled, making Saheon feel like he was getting drunk on alcohol he hadn’t even tasted.

And strangely enough, it didn’t feel bad.

Jaeyoung never hid his emotions.

He let out soft, heated sounds without reservation.

Saheon slid his hand under the hem of Jaeyoung’s shirt.

Skin too thick to be called feminine, yet too soft to be masculine.

It was probably as pale as freshly made rice cake.

Maybe even more so.

With the owner’s silent permission, Saheon explored the warm flesh again and again.

“Hah… open your mouth wider.”

At Saheon’s urging, Jaeyoung blinked his clear eyes and tilted his head.

Satisfied with the deepened connection, Saheon stroked Jaeyoung’s cheek as if praising him.

He lifted the tip of his tongue and scraped against Jaeyoung’s palate.

Stimulated in just the right place, Jaeyoung let out a low, rumbling sound and tightened his mouth.

At first, he’d been so stiff he couldn’t even breathe properly.

Now he was mixing tongues with surprising ease.

Saheon let Jaeyoung suck on his tongue for a while before pulling it out.

He bit the pursuing tongue lightly a few times, then pulled away.

Jaeyoung’s lips, slightly swollen, glistened with both their saliva.

“You’ve improved a lot.”

Saheon said, tapping Jaeyoung’s cheek, which he’d been holding the whole time.

His voice carried the satisfied tone of a well-fed beast.

“Tongue… ah, practice… with you, hyung…”

It was as if Jaeyoung only ever chose words Saheon wanted to hear.

Espers were said to be instinctively weak to their Guides.

But Saheon had never imagined that applied to him too.

Jaeyoung squirmed restlessly, letting out small, strained sounds.

Saheon curled his lips upward.

He was in a similar state, so the reason was obvious.

“You felt it?”

Jaeyoung looked extremely uncomfortable.

His face twisted, his eyes wet with arousal and filled with resentment toward Saheon.

“You’re the one who said we’d stop at kissing.”

Saheon said pointedly as he unbuckled his seat belt.

“That’s yours to deal with.”

He delivered the words calmly, his face annoyingly devoid of humor.

Then he simply watched, as if observing an experiment.

As though giving Jaeyoung one last chance to take his words back.

Jaeyoung bit down on his heated lower lip.

He was desperate, but using this as an excuse felt dangerous.

It felt like Saheon would start crossing the lines Jaeyoung had drawn.

“Fine.”

“I guess this is my punishment for drinking so much.”

Saheon twisted his lips and stepped on the accelerator, leaving Jaeyoung frozen.

But the silence didn’t last long.

“At today’s welcome party—”

Jaeyoung spoke up, unexpectedly.

“Something happened, so Jungmin said she’d guide me later.”

“Ah!”

“Not that kind of guiding.”

“I mean travel guidance.”

He covered his mouth and giggled, amused by his own words.

Even when Saheon didn’t respond, Jaeyoung didn’t care.

He chattered endlessly about what happened at the freshman welcome party.

“A senior from the class of 2010 showed up, and—”

All the way home, Jaeyoung’s mouth never stopped.

“They barged in and said the freshmen this year were top quality or something.”

Jaeyoung told him everything, just like trailing behind his mom while she cooked dinner.

“Is a university some kind of club?”

“Talking about ‘quality’ like that.”

Saheon scoffed openly.

Jaeyoung’s eyes widened in surprise, then curved into a grin.

“I knew you’d say that.”

“And you’re spot on.”

Jaeyoung spoke excitedly, wiggling in place.

Saheon watched him with a strange look.

He hadn’t realized that harmless smile could feel so close.

“Are you the obsessive type?”

The thought popped out, tinged with mischief.

“What?”

Jaeyoung stared at him like he’d heard an alien language.

A smooth smile appeared on Saheon’s lips.

“You were thinking about me even when you went out.”

Saheon held Jaeyoung’s chin and lightly teased beneath it.

Saying it out loud felt better than expected.

Jaeyoung stared at him, stunned.

His mouth opened, then closed, over and over.

Nothing came out.

“That’s not it… or is it?”

Jaeyoung muttered incoherently, his expression tangled.

Saheon looked thoroughly satisfied.

“Anyway.”

“And then they said they only drink alcohol poured by women.”

“If they like that so much, they should go home and ask their mom to pour it.”

Even now, Jaeyoung frowned, clearly angry.

“Ah—wait.”

“That’s not right, is it?”

“Cancel that!”

Saheon glanced sideways at him.

It wasn’t the situation, but his sulky face was entertaining.

As Jaeyoung kept venting, Saheon quietly etched the senior’s name into his memory.

Jaeyoung’s eyes flew open as if a fluorescent light had snapped on.

Rolling his eyes to check beside him, the first thing he did was bury his face in his palms.

But the sound of a book closing made it clear pretending was already too late.

“You.”

“Your drinking habits.”

Saheon proved you didn’t need to face someone to talk to them.

Jaeyoung lowered his useless hands.

His face was twisted with gloom.

He wished he could play dumb, but the memories were far too vivid.

“Do you cling to everyone like that?”

“N-No.”

“I usually just laugh more…”

Jaeyoung glanced at Saheon cautiously, his face crumpled.

Even he found it strange.

Drunk habits usually surfaced more with close people.

Yet he’d treated Saheon like family.

“Have you gotten that comfortable with me?”

The words slipped out before he could stop them.

Or maybe it was because they’d always been like this.

Thinking of the kisses they’d shared, heat bloomed on his pale cheeks.

“I hate drunks.”

Saheon said flatly while looking at him.

Not just dislike.

Hate.

Jaeyoung’s face darkened.

“So don’t drink when I’m not around.”

Saheon said it lightly and got out of bed.

“What?”

Jaeyoung pushed himself up, staring with wide eyes.

He had expected to be told not to call him when drunk.

“Didn’t I tell you before?”

“That I could tie you up and just take the guiding?”

The seriousness of it drained the color from Jaeyoung’s face.

“So behave.”

Saheon tossed something near Jaeyoung and left the room.

Jaeyoung pulled back the blanket and found his familiar smartphone.

“Must’ve been noisy all night.”

He muttered while checking the flood of notifications.

He skimmed past the class group chat.

Then he noticed a private message from the society president.

[I got home safely, noona!]

Only after sending it did Jaeyoung regret how early it was.

The day after drinking, especially on a holiday, everyone deserved to sleep in.

[Minju-noona: You worked hard, Jaeyoung.]

A reply came immediately.

“Is she secretly an Esper or what?”

Jaeyoung joked under his breath.

It was a common rumor in the department.

She handled everything flawlessly without ever complaining.

“Noona?”

Then, a voice that wasn’t his own sounded above him.