"You're really strange, Jae-jin," Seo Ui-woo said with a playful smile, tilting his head slightly. His puppy-like eyes, which usually appeared gentle and innocent, had turned cold.
"No matter how much I watch you, I can't tell what you're thinking."
Seo Ui-woo's gaze locked onto Kwon Jae-jin as if trying to read him.
His glossy gray eyes seemed distant, almost unreachable.
"The way you talk is strange too… and sometimes the way you look at me, it's weird."
"What on earth are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"Am I Ui-woo to you?"
"…What?"
"You know who I am, Jae-jin."
Kwon Jae-jin's hand, which had been holding the kitchen knife, froze in midair. An unseen force seemed to grip his wrist, holding it in place.
"Kwon Jae-jin… you know me."
Even though he didn't want to, Jae-jin's fingers began to unfurl, starting with his pinky, until he released his grip on the kitchen knife.
He thought the knife would fall and clatter to the floor, but instead of dropping, it halted in midair, hovering. It then floated over to the cutting board, landing gently on its surface.
"When we first met, you asked me if I was always this young, and then later, you asked if I remembered you. And just recently, you called me Ui-woo, so naturally… and asked for water…"
"…"
"How do we know each other?"
"…"
"And why don't I remember any of it?"
Seo Ui-woo tilted his head in confusion as if he had just unearthed a hidden truth without much effort. The part in his hair, which had been carefully combed to the right, shifted back to the left.
As if trying to say there was no point in distinguishing between different versions of Seo Ui-woo.
As if to imply that no matter what, tricks wouldn't work against him.
With deceptive ease, he returned to his true, singular, and irreplaceable self.
"Well… don't you have anything to say to me?"
Jae-jin's pulse quickened instinctively.
His chest tightened, and a chill ran down the back of his neck.
A quiet, ominous tension filled the kitchen.
"Don't you think you're a bit strange yourself, Jae-jin?"
Now free of Seo Ui-woo's power, Kwon Jae-jin moved his arm. The invisible force that had held him was gone.
Irritated at having his hand moved against his will, Jae-jin clenched and unclenched his fist, making sure he had full control over his body again. Satisfied that he was back to normal, he tightly curled his hand into a fist.
"…So, you held me like that and took my knife just to say this?"
"You're definitely hiding something, but it doesn't seem like you have any plans to tell me what it is. So naturally, I'm going to keep doubting you. Are you planning to run away? Or are you thinking about something else entirely?"
Jae-jin, who had been holding his breath, cursed quietly to himself.
He glanced down at the floor in brief contemplation, then abandoned the thought and looked back up.
"Are you some kind of detection dog, Seo Ui-woo?"
He didn't need to be asked, but he sure was good at finding things.
As expected, deceiving Seo Ui-woo was impossible. That guy had always had instincts sharper than a wild animal's.
Tch. Jae-jin clicked his tongue loudly and furrowed his brow.
"Yeah. I sort of know who you are, and you don't remember me. That's about right."
A second round of life.
Solving problems with the answers already in hand, but at the cost of being out of sync with the world around you. No matter how hard someone who's lived ahead of time tries, they can't erase the sense of alienation they give off. Sooner or later, they'd be found out.
Kwon Jae-jin had never intended to hide his strangeness from the beginning.
"But. Does any of that matter?"
Since there was no harm in owning up to it.
It was impressive how quickly Seo Ui-woo had noticed something off about him, quicker than Jae-jin had expected, but that was all.
"You, Seo Ui-woo, should focus on meeting the conditions I set. Don't get distracted by other things."
"Distracted?"
"What you need right now is guiding, isn't it? You're not interested in what kind of relationship we had or how I know you. You're probably not even curious."
"What? Now you're saying something different. Weren't you the one telling me before to win you over with charm and flattery?"
"That's exactly what I mean. From the start, I laid out clear conditions, didn't I? Money, safety, and treatment. Those are the three things. That's the quickest and most certain way for Seo Ui-woo to win Kwon Jae-jin over."
Seo Ui-woo probably didn't realize just how much of a gesture it was to him, tossing around his hundreds of billions like it was nothing. He couldn't possibly understand how something like that could be interpreted as charm or flattery.
The same went for safe guiding. If someone as young, fit, and good-looking as Seo Ui-woo were to gently, and carefully pay attention to Jae-jin's every need, without causing any pain, that would certainly qualify as charm and flattery, wouldn't it? How could he not see something so simple?
Even someone like Kwon Jae-jin, who had never in his life felt physical attraction to another man, had fallen in just four years. It was clear that this second-round Seo Ui-woo hadn't figured it out yet. Poor guy. Really, how pitiful.
And as for not treating him like an object? That was such a basic thing, there wasn't even much to say about it. As long as Seo Ui-woo didn't choke him, cuff him, or gag him, Kwon Jae-jin would be more than ready to shower him with praise, thinking, Ah, finally, my boy's done it. How commendable.
"Money, safety, and treatment, you say…"
Seo Ui-woo stared intently at Jae-jin's face with an unreadable expression. He silently observed every moment, every blink of Jae-jin's eyes, studying the way his eyelids opened and closed with meticulous care.
Seo Ui-woo's gaze was relentless, following the movement of Kwon Jae-jin's dark pupils and the rise and fall of his eyelashes with a persistence that bordered on obsession.
"Alright, then."
After a long pause, Seo Ui-woo smiled brightly.
His long eyes softened and curved gracefully, and his well-shaped lips parted naturally. It was as if a dreamy violet mist had cleared, letting a single beam of light pour through, illuminating Seo Ui-woo's face with radiant brilliance.
"Jae-jin, I'll lick you."
But wait — what? What did he just say, lick…?
Seo Ui-woo extended his moist tongue. The warm, rosy tip flicked out momentarily, as if greeting Kwon Jae-jin, before retreating swiftly back into his mouth.
"Guiding. You mentioned earlier that you'd thought of a good way. Just like how your mouth didn't get hurt because it was wet with saliva, if I lick and moisten your backside, I'll be able to guide you without causing any pain, even without using any other substances."
"…"
"It'll take some time, though…"
"…"
"If you lie down and spread your legs, Ui-woo will lick you."
****
Jae-jin's feet trembled uncontrollably, pointing toward the ceiling. His muscles tensed and relaxed in cycles, causing his whole body to twitch involuntarily. Sweat seeped out, making his entire lower half damp, especially between his legs.
"Ah, ugh, stop… enough!"
Jae-jin's fingers dug deep into Seo Ui-woo's hair. He yanked at his hair forcefully, trying to pull him away, but failed. Seo Ui-woo had no intention of leaving the space between Jae-jin's thighs.
"Ah, more, right there."
Seo Ui-woo mumbled with slurred words, his tongue still working over Jae-jin's mucous membranes. The wet sounds were relentless. Despite everything inside being soaked and the inner walls softening and yielding, Seo Ui-woo continued, undeterred.
How many minutes has it been already?
It felt like three hours had passed.
How long… just how long is he going to keep licking…
Jae-jin clenched his jaw, trying to stifle his groans. A bead of sweat trickled down his reddened neck. It was becoming harder and harder to hold on. If he let his guard down even slightly, he feared a whimper might slip out.
When Seo Ui-woo first started licking his backside, Jae-jin hadn't been particularly fazed. He just accepted it — it was better to be licked than torn open and bleeding. But he hadn't expected to be pinned to the bed for such a long time, having his rear endlessly wetted. The sun had long set, and the darkness outside had deepened, yet Seo Ui-woo showed no sign of stopping.
"That's… enough. Just… hngh… I said that's enough."
"I told you… not yet," Seo Ui-woo replied, his voice muffled.
"Wet, damn it, it's wet. Everything inside is soaked… Seo Ui-woo!"
Unable to hold back any longer, Jae-jin voiced his frustration. Seo Ui-woo, mumbling something incoherent that sounded like "I told you it's still tight," finally lifted his head slightly. Relieved to think he might get a break, Jae-jin let his body sag, loosening the tension in his hips. But the moment he relaxed, Seo Ui-woo's two long, thick fingers pushed inside.
"Ugh!"
"See? It's still no good. It's wet, but it hasn't loosened. The moment I put them in, it tightens up again."
Though Jae-jin's body had only tensed from the sudden intrusion, Seo Ui-woo was careful. He pressed and explored the inner walls with his fingers, once again confirming that the passage hadn't opened up enough.
"At this rate, you're going to tear again. Didn't you ask me to make sure you wouldn't get hurt?"
"No, but that's not something that can happen in just one day… ugh…"
"Even just with my fingers, it's still so tight and narrow. There's no way mine will fit. But it's better than before. I'll loosen it up some more."
Seo Ui-woo smiled with his eyes and massaged the deepest part of Jae-jin's opening. Jae-jin frowned, covering his face with his palm. Not just his neck, but his entire face had turned bright red. This was nothing short of torture.
Oblivious to Jae-jin's discomfort, Seo Ui-woo chuckled lazily and whispered, "But, you know, I think this is kind of fun. I should've done this sooner. I shouldn't have pulled out."
His tongue, drawn out languidly, descended once again to Jae-jin's lower regions.