TTOA Chapter 28

#28

As the alcohol wore off, Kwon Jae-jin regained his senses. The moment he saw his arms restricted, he realized what had happened and sighed.

“…I’ve screwed up.”

His wrists were handcuffed.

The cuffs were lined with lambskin to prevent injury, and long chains made of sterling silver were attached. The chains snaked across the bed, their ends fixed to the bedroom wall. They had hammered wedges into the wall and connected the handcuffs there. Pulling on his arms, he could hear the clinking of the chains.

“Ha. They even gagged me.”

It wasn’t just his hands that were restrained. As if to prevent him from biting his tongue, Kwon Jae-jin’s mouth was blocked. A rod was inserted between his upper and lower teeth, and a leather strap was wrapped around his head to secure it.

“I need to talk to clear up misunderstandings, but I can’t speak like this… Damn it.”

He was frustrated with Seo Eui-woo, who had tied him up without listening to his explanation, even after he had said he had something important to say and would explain. Of course, from Seo Eui-woo’s perspective, it would have looked like Kwon Jae-jin was suddenly setting fires and protesting not to have his memory erased. He must have also seen him trying to fall from the rooftop railing… It was understandable that he would be agitated.

“Even so, shouldn’t he at least listen to my explanation? Doesn’t he think there might be a reason why I did such a thing? Besides, about the arson, we were going to move anyway, so burning down the house is no big deal…”

Would he believe it if he said it was something he did on a whim while drunk?

For some reason, at that time, he felt like he could solve any problem just by seeing Seo Eui-woo’s face. He wanted to call him out without considering the situation and talk to him face to face.

Maybe he just wanted to see Seo Eui-woo right then and there. Because he hadn’t come back for six days. Because he was anxious… He couldn’t bear to sit alone in this vast house waiting for Seo Eui-woo to return from his mission.

“In the end, I’m stuck in handcuffs in the second playthrough too…”

The only good thing was that Kwon Jae-jin’s memory was still intact. Although even that was at risk of being erased at any time if Seo Eui-woo changed his mind. He had to persuade Seo Eui-woo before such a mishap occurred.

“Ha… How did things get so twisted? I thought the second playthrough would be easy mode, but it’s the same hard mode. What’s up with the difficulty adjustment?”

Jae-jin sighed inwardly and slumped his shoulders. He took the strength out of his body and lay still on the bed. It seemed like this was a really important moment. Depending on how he responded when Seo Eui-woo returned, his future fate would be completely different.

Kwon Jae-jin waited for Seo Eui-woo, contemplating various strategies. He stared blankly at the ceiling, then lowered his gaze to look at himself wearing clothes that were scorched by fire and soaked with water.

His body was shivering and cold.

He hadn’t noticed when his body was hot from the alcohol, but after sobering up, he gradually felt the cold. Moreover, he had been exposed to the autumn sea breeze while wet, so it wouldn’t be strange if he caught a cold.

“Oh, great, just great…”

Jae-jin chuckled and shook his bound wrists. The sterling silver chains clinked against each other. After some time, a burst of light scattered in the air. He sensed that Seo Eui-woo, having emerged from the Sterile Transfer Room, was coming straight here. Without delay, the bedroom door burst open.

“You’re later than I expected. Were you waiting patiently?”

Seo Eui-woo was still battered, probably because there were many things to clean up. Now that he looked, his clothes were quite damaged. There was a tear across his chest and his combat uniform was torn, and his back was raggedly pierced.

Seo Eui-woo’s long neck was visible above the disheveled collar, and there was a large wound from his neck to his ear. It was such a severe injury that his ear could have been completely torn off, but new flesh was gradually growing, probably because he had injected a Healing Factor.

He chuckled dryly and sat on the edge of the bed. He took a moment to catch his breath, sitting with his long thighs spread apart. He seemed to be resting for a while. Seo Eui-woo looked quite tired too.

“I was so flustered that I forgot to put in your catheter before I left, Jae-jin. Did you want to go to the bathroom?”

Jae-jin slowly shook his head.

“That’s good. Then I’ll take those clothes off you first.”

Because they’re all wet.

Seo Eui-woo bit off the leather gloves he was wearing and reached out to Jae-jin. The damp clothes clung to Kwon Jae-jin’s muscles. Seo Eui-woo slowly unbuckled his pants and lowered the zipper. He grabbed his underwear together with his pants, rolled them down, and took them off.

He rolled up his top in the same way, but he couldn’t take it off completely because it was caught on the handcuff chain. Without hesitation, Seo Eui-woo tore the T-shirt. The white fabric split and tore along the seams.

“It’s cold because it’s wet. Are you cold?”

This time, Jae-jin nodded. Seo Eui-woo touched various parts of Kwon Jae-jin’s body to check his temperature. He touched his neck, his cheeks, and when he tried to put his hand on his forehead, Kwon Jae-jin was startled and reflexively turned his head away.

Seeing the clear reaction, Seo Eui-woo blinked. A sharp look flashed in his gray eyes.

“…Isn’t that a bit too obvious?”

He grabbed Kwon Jae-jin’s head. He dug his fingers into his hair and finally pressed his palm against his forehead. After checking his temperature, he let go obediently.

“I said I wouldn’t erase it.”

“…”

“Or is it because you don’t believe me? Well, I guess so. You can’t possibly believe me now.”

“…”

“But still, Jae-jin… Please don’t hate me too much.”

Kwon Jae-jin slowly nodded.

Seo Eui-woo, witnessing that, burst into a hollow laugh.

“Why are you doing that again? It’s not like you, Kwon Jae-jin.”

“…”

“Do you regret being tied up now? Do you want me to let you off the hook again? To untie you as if nothing happened and just… try to win your favor like before? Would you like that?”

Jae-jin lowered his eyes as if pondering.

Then he shook his head.

Seo Eui-woo let out another hollow laugh.

“You’re so difficult. I really don’t know what you’re thinking, Kwon Jae-jin. Sometimes I want to cut open your head and take a look inside. …I wish I knew how to use telepathy.”

Seo Eui-woo took away the wet clothes and changed the blanket and sheets with new ones. While he was making the bed, Kwon Jae-jin was floating slightly in the air with Seo Eui-woo’s ability. He lowered him down after he was done.

“Now spread your legs. I’m going to put in a catheter.”

Kwon Jae-jin didn’t move. He just stared blankly at Seo Eui-woo, so Seo Eui-woo grabbed Jae-jin’s knees and spread them apart. Kwon Jae-jin frowned, unable to hide his displeasure.

It seemed he was determined to insert the catheter.

Of course, Espers were required to learn general medical knowledge and skills as part of their training for combat situations where Healing Factors might not be available. Once inside a Gate, they had to survive with limited supplies until they destroyed the Gate core, so providing first aid, treating, and caring for injured or unconscious comrades was a key mission for Espers.

So, Seo Eui-woo perfectly mastered the use of sterile catheters and handled them better than expected, which was shocking. However, no matter what, it couldn’t be pleasant to have a silicone catheter inserted into his dick hole.

When it came to Guiding, Seo Eui-woo was the one who was excitedly clamoring for it, so he became calm and didn’t think much of it, but inserting a catheter into his urethra was different. Seo Eui-woo was nonchalant, but only Kwon Jae-jin was being poked, Seo Eui-woo was calm, but only Kwon Jae-jin was agitated. That made him feel bad.

‘Damn it, seriously, argh…’

Kwon Jae-jin, unable to endure the shame, quickly shook his head. The tips of his ears were faintly red.

Seeing him express his refusal, Seo Eui-woo, holding a pair of sterilized disposable gloves, glanced at Kwon Jae-jin. He asked monotonously as he put on the gloves.

“You don’t want to? Should I not do it?”

Jae-jin nodded.

“Right, you wouldn’t like this kind of thing, Jae-jin… I know that.”

Seo Eui-woo, positioned between Kwon Jae-jin’s legs, tore open the packaging of the sterile catheter and opened the saline solution cap with a somewhat rough movement.

“Listen, I’ll ask you one last time.”

With one hand, Seo Eui-woo held Jae-jin’s and pulled the soft foreskin down with his thumb to reveal the urethral opening. He would have touched it with his bare hands if it were Guiding, but touching it with disposable sterile gloves felt different.

Seo Eui-woo aligned the tip of the catheter with the slightly exposed small dick hole. The long, transparent tube made of soft silicone lightly touched the tip of his dick. Kwon Jae-jin flinched and tightened his waist.

“Can’t we just erase Jae-jin’s memories and go back to how we were before…?”

Kwon Jae-jin shook his head vigorously.

“Why? We were good. Just erase it this time, just.”

Kwon Jae-jin kept shaking his head.

“Ha, you know, what… what do you think of me, Kwon Jae-jin?”

Kwon Jae-jin stopped shaking his head. Seo Eui-woo whispered in a hushed voice.

“I’m your Esper, Jae-jin. All I want is to touch your body. Do you even know that…? Is that such a hard desire to understand…?”

“…”