TTOA Chapter 17

#17

“It’s not that I dislike this mansion, but if I have to live here my whole life, I’ll have regrets. I want to move to a newly built house. If not new, anywhere, just not by the sea.”

Right. Moving.

Getting out of here and far away to a new house.

Actually, moving was more important than hiding the secret of my regression. Knowing that a gate would open in the front yard of this house in four years, shouldn’t I leave this place as soon as possible?

Changing houses was essential for Kwon Jae-jin to survive.

“Hmm.”

Seo Eui-woo slowly lowered his eyelids. Eyelashes, so thin and long they seemed transparent, drooped like beautiful crafted ornaments.

His breathing slowed for a moment, and the surrounding steam was pressed down to the floor by the pressure he emitted.

“Really? Should we move…?”

“Yes. It would be good to leave as soon as possible.”

“But, Jae-jin… you just changed the subject, didn’t you? Did you really not want to tell me about the old days that much?”

“Old days? No, I must have been lost in thought for a moment and didn’t hear you. I didn’t hear Seo Eui-woo’s voice.”

“Okay… well, fine.”

Seo Eui-woo chuckled and laughed. Followed by the sound of a turbid sigh.

“It’s okay, if Jae-jin doesn’t want to tell me. I won’t pry into the past anymore. Right now, I just want to do what Jae-jin likes. I have to win you over. A lot.”

“……”

“And somehow… I also want to try and guess it myself. It’s better not to hear it.”

A hand covered in white foam went down between his legs. He had washed up to his waist, so now it was time to clean below his waist.

The touch was quite cautious.

He seemed to be paying attention, wondering if Jae-jin would say it hurt again. Or maybe there was another reason. Seo Eui-woo’s voice sounded a little husky.

“You know. How about we build a new house from the ground up for the house we’re going to move to? I want to customize everything to Jae-jin’s taste, from the location and structure to the interior and even the doorknobs.”

Seo Eui-woo slowly stroked Jae-jin’s thigh repeatedly. The fingertips that touched the back of his knee gently pressed the folded flesh.

“So that Jae-jin likes it very much. So much that you don’t know what to do…”

Kwon Jae-jin let Seo Eui-woo touch him as he pleased, then curled his toes again under the invisible water.

“Um, just asking in case. Kwon Jae-jin can laugh, right?”

“…I laugh as much as others. It’s just that there’s nothing to laugh about right now.”

“That’s not easy. I’m laughing like this even when I’m just standing still… because I’m happy.”

“Who said anything…”

“Jae-jin, I like you so much. To an abnormal degree. I like you so much.”

“Yes, yes…”

*

After finishing the bath, a sleepiness I couldn’t bear washed over me.

Kwon Jae-jin fumbled for his bathrobe, put it on, and walked to the bedroom with his eyes half-closed. Seo Eui-woo repeatedly said he would carry him, but he flatly refused. His whole body creaked. I’m going to die.

Jae-jin collapsed onto the bed, and Seo Eui-woo, who followed, watched Jae-jin’s sprawled-out back with a smile. He thought he looked like a baby wrapped in a swaddle, wrapped tightly in a white bathrobe, but he didn’t say it out loud for fear of hearing another complaint.

“Jae-jin, are you asleep?”

“……”

“Are you going to sleep now?”

Kwon Jae-jin didn’t answer. He didn’t have the energy to answer.

Seo Eui-woo chuckled and shook his wet hair. After standing still and watching Kwon Jae-jin for a moment, he turned and opened the bedside table next to the bed.

Sleeping pills and a bottle of liquor were mixed up in the drawer. Seo Eui-woo opened the container of sleeping pills, poured the pills into his palm, and swallowed them in one gulp with tequila instead of water. Kwon Jae-jin saw this with his eyes half-open.

“…Spit it out.”

Jae-jin mumbled. He tried to pronounce it correctly, but he was too sleepy.

“What, Jae-jin, you weren’t asleep?”

“That… spit it out…”

“Huh?”

Seo Eui-woo held the tequila bottle and lay down next to Jae-jin. Seo Eui-woo wasn’t wearing a bathrobe, but instead had a large towel wrapped around his waist.

“I already swallowed it, how can I spit it out? Look, ah.”

Seo Eui-woo opened his mouth and showed his clean inside. Kwon Jae-jin frowned as if annoyed. He had to get Seo Eui-woo to sleep properly, he had to relieve his insomnia, but that bastard didn’t know anything and was eating medicine and alcohol.

In a very sleepy tone, Jae-jin muttered. Seo Eui-woo put his ear close because he couldn’t hear what he was saying well.

“What. I don’t know what you’re saying.”

“…People are going to sleep…”

“Haha, are you sleep-talking? No, is it a bedtime tantrum?”

“…Sleep… now.”

“Okay. I’ll put Jae-jin to sleep, I will.”

Seo Eui-woo put the tequila bottle on the bedside table and hugged Kwon Jae-jin’s waist. The hands patting his back were regular and languid. It was also affectionate.

This isn’t it.

Kwon Jae-jin has to put Seo Eui-woo to sleep.

It’s not Seo Eui-woo putting Kwon Jae-jin to sleep…

Ah…

Seeing Jae-jin’s face, who had finally fallen asleep, Seo Eui-woo chuckled. He watched his defenseless face with a stifled gaze, then stroked his cheek with the back of his hand.

Every time skin touched skin, the pleasure from Guiding spread silently. His hands were still wet, but he felt good because Guiding wasn’t completely blocked.

“Hoo.”

Seo Eui-woo, who made a small groan, hugged Kwon Jae-jin tightly in his arms.

He closed his eyes slowly after clinging so that his whole body overlapped. Whether it was because of the sleeping pill effect he swallowed with the alcohol, or because of the effect of proper Guiding, or both. He had a premonition that he would be able to fall asleep like this.

The fortress of insomnia that has been with him for a long time is crumbling little by little.

Gradually, his breathing calmed down, and the alertness of his keen sense of touch was relaxed. The strength was also released from his body, which was as hard as a carved diamond statue, and it became loose.

As he fell asleep intertwined with Kwon Jae-jin, Seo Eui-woo felt a boiling elation. All of his mind was stiff. But he had to endure it. Seo Eui-woo knew the weight of the life on his shoulders.

At no time should he lose his reason, or a berserk disaster should occur.

Hiding a mutant Guide who is not a formally registered Esper, and even depending on that mutant more than necessary, this act is actually…

Something that shouldn’t be done…

Soon his consciousness blurred, and he fell asleep and all thoughts ceased.

*

A few weeks had passed.

If Kwon Jae-jin’s life was a novel, wouldn’t there be comments like, ‘Author! Please feed Jae-jin properly! Why do you keep starving the kid!’ by now?

To meet expectations, Jae-jin scooped up a heaping bowl of rice. The braised short ribs, which were newly boiled and properly aged for a day, were so tender that the bones fell out with just a touch of chopsticks. The soy sauce seasoning was deeply infused to the core, so it was a bit salty, but it was okay because he would eat it with sticky rice.

For side dishes, he lightly made pollock roe omelet and abalone butter roast, and he also briefly boiled a stew with two spoons of soybean paste and half a spoon of red pepper paste because he thought it would be good to have some soup. In addition, he neatly cut and arranged the packaged kimchi and green onion kimchi, completing a great meal.

‘Even if the 13th round Seo Eui-woo comes, not the 2nd round Seo Eui-woo, I will empty this table.’

Kwon Jae-jin locked the door of the dining room with a determined expression. He really didn’t want to be disturbed this time. He couldn’t even remember when the last time he had a proper meal.

‘Thank you for the food.’

Jae-jin picked up a spoon. He took a large spoonful of rice and placed a large piece of short rib on top of it. He took the rib sauce with a spoon so that the fluffy rice would be slightly moist, and brought it to his mouth. The delicious smell of food stimulated his salivary glands. He craved food like crazy.

“Jae-jin! You were here.”

Damn it.

The dining room burst open without any reward for locking the door, and Seo Eui-woo appeared. After all, unlocking the lock with telekinesis is nothing for Seo Eui-woo. The face of the guy approaching with a bright smile looked very clear and innocent.

“……”

Kwon Jae-jin ignored Seo Eui-woo as if he couldn’t see him whether he came to him or not, and stuffed a spoonful of rice into his mouth. He wasn’t going to back down today.

Rice over Seo Eui-woo.

Rice over Guiding.

Today is rice!

Kwon Jae-jin chewed with his cheeks full of braised short ribs like a greedy hamster. It was a chewing motion that showed a strong will to take another spoonful before Seo Eui-woo interfered.