GB 36

An amateurish imitation, lips clumsily misaligned, the sweet smell of alcohol spreading between their lips, body temperature as high as a child’s.

Yoon Moo-hwa didn’t close his eyes. His pupils, which had briefly dilated at first, quickly returned to their normal size.

He cupped both sides of Haero’s head and waited patiently. So inexperienced, Haero wasn’t even breathing. It was clear he would soon fall back on his own.

“…”

And indeed, moments later, Haero’s arms loosened with his eyes still closed. No, they fell loose. Haero dropped downward, breathing softly. He had fallen asleep.

Only then did Yoon Moo-hwa slowly raise his upper body. He rubbed his lips with the back of his hand, but nothing came off. Of course not, as he hadn’t even used his tongue.

It was absurd. This was the clumsiest kiss he’d ever experienced.

“Huh…” He laughed in disbelief as he got up from his seat.

Stepping back hesitantly, he bumped into the bedside table, causing the memo pad and pen on top to clatter to the floor. Just before they hit the ground noisily, Yoon Moo-hwa caught them by a hair’s breadth. He carefully placed them back on the table, then covered his face from below his nose, pausing for a moment before sighing and brushing his hand down to his chin.

“I didn’t expect him to declare his adulthood in this way.”

His emotions, which had been greatly shaken just moments ago, quickly settled. His muttered voice was the same as usual, except for a very faint bewilderment at the end.

“Congratulations… on becoming an adult, I suppose.”

There was no way the drunk, sleeping person would respond. It was an irresponsible escape and an old-fashioned method, but highly successful.

He offered the unwelcome congratulations, but the person meant to hear it was in deep sleep. Yoon Moo-hwa stared at Haero for a moment, then tucked the blanket up to just under his chin, patted him, and left the room.

Once out, he took out his own glass of alcohol, then picked up the discarded e-cigarette and tilted it over the glass.

Puzzled when nothing came out, Yoon Moo-hwa finally realized what he was holding, frowned, and clicked his tongue. He put the cigarette device on the counter and shook his head.

“I’ve never been this confused even on the ship…” He muttered, then properly filled his glass with a bottle of alcohol from the display case.

He sipped quietly, then emptied the glass in an instant. As he repeatedly filled and emptied the glass, Yoon Moo-hwa suddenly raised his head.

Through the half-drawn curtains, he saw his reflection in the car window. His face involuntarily frowned.

Quite a few people see ghosts on ships. Some say they’re just illusions, but most believe they’re real ghosts.

Yoon Moo-hwa had neither judged them as ghosts nor illusions, simply remaining indifferent.

But now, Yoon Moo-hwa saw an illusion. It was a hallucination.

Haero was sitting on the counter, clinging to him just like before. Yoon Moo-hwa had his hands placed on either side of that body, frowning. Yoon Moo-hwa was extremely displeased to see such a thing, especially that it was in Haero’s form.

He irritably emptied his glass and left his seat.

As he entered his room, his artificial eyes automatically created an augmented reality before him, claiming it was an urgent message. Yoon Moo-hwa, massaging his throbbing temples from fatigue, deleted the message from his father that had come as an “urgent” communication.

“Is it that child? That’s a relief.”

The old man who had suddenly approached him at the party a few hours ago, pretending to know about Haero, resembled his father too.

“What do you mean?”

When Yoon Moo-hwa asked with a slight smile, the man joked, 

“I’m talking about Haero. I heard he’s entering this year. We have high expectations. His grades are excellent. I wonder if it’s thanks to you, Colonel, for raising him.”

Only then did he vaguely recall. This person was the superintendent of the Naval Academy.

He boasted to Yoon Moo-hwa, saying Haero was practically the top student already, flattering him with vague words about being first in his class.

“Congratulations on his admission. His grades are excellent. Perhaps he takes after his… brother. It’s truly fortunate.”

Admission?

Yoon Moo-hwa didn’t even pay attention to how the man deliberately dragged out the word “brother” while watching his reaction.

People around them must have overheard their conversation, as suddenly a crowd gathered to offer their congratulations. But what were they congratulating? Yoon Moo-hwa let the repeated words wash over him as he headed towards the terrace where Haero was.

One thing was certain: Haero had submitted an application. It had already reached the superintendent, which meant all reviews were complete, and Yoon Moo-hwa had been unaware of this fact.

He had tried to persuade Haero somehow, but it seems he had already acted on his own. Yoon Moo-hwa was angry about this fact.

Is what I really want to control that child?

Before retiring from the Navy, Yoon Moo-hwa had taken an aptitude test at a place his father had arranged separately. It was to test for violence and impulsivity. If those scores came out too high, he would have been finished as an officer, so it was clearly arranged privately just in case.

In a way, it showed a perfectionist side, and in another way, a distrust of his son. However, Yoon Moo-hwa took the test calmly instead of feeling disappointed or hurt.

The results were not far from expectations. Impulsivity was very low. Violence was neither too low nor too high, just the right level. All were excellent indicators for responding to combat in confined spaces.

“What’s most unique is that his tendency for self-control and control in general is extremely high. That seems to be why his impulsivity is low.”

Why was that statement coming to mind now?

Regardless of those scores, Yoon Moo-hwa wasn’t particularly controlling of others. He wasn’t obsessive about suppressing his own desires either. Yoon Moo-hwa had judged that such items only showed general aspects of a person.

“Of all people, with Haero.” Clicking his tongue, he headed to the shower.

Shedding his clothes like molting, he put the formal wear he had been wearing into the laundry basket. Every time he bent and stretched, his body, marked with scars, flexed elastically.

As he took off even his underwear, which he had never removed in front of Haero, his well-concealed genitals were exposed.

Though he had always seemed ascetic due to keeping himself covered with clothes, Yoon Moo-hwa’s dick was quite large and thick. Its color was a pretty peach shade. It had been the object of admiration since his cadet days, as the skin there was thinner than elsewhere, potentially turning dark red when erect.

Yoon Moo-hwa didn’t care at all what they whispered about him behind his back. Even if someone sneaked into his bed enticed by those rumors, or if someone stood next to him in the shower with ulterior motives, he never gave them a glance.

Desires, except for hunger and sleep, were just somewhat cumbersome habits that needed to be relieved appropriately when they became bothersome.

Today happened to be one of those days.

During voyages, he lived like a machine, ignoring his sexual desires. After returning to port, he had been a bit busy because of Haero. It was just an unfortunate coincidence. That his desire had built up to a bothersome level today.

“Haa…”

Yoon Moo-hwa rubbed his dick under the falling water, stroking up and then down somewhat forcefully. His attitude was businesslike. After repeating this a few times, he braced against the bathroom wall and increased his speed.

Veins stood out on his forearm. He thought of nothing, relying solely on the external stimulation. That was his way.

But today was particularly annoying.

What kind of alcohol was it? As he pondered recalling the label, his already patient dick remained stiffly erect, still showing no signs of ejaculation.

“I see. That was the alcohol.” Yoon Moo-hwa moistened his lips with his tongue and chuckled wryly.

The alcohol Yoon Moo-hwa and Haero drank today contained some plant components that relaxed people and made them laugh, but without being addictive. It made perfect sense now why Haero had become so mildly intoxicated and why he himself had briefly seen a hallucination.

“To keep such a thing…”

Although it wasn’t strange for hotels to stock it given how mainstream it had become, Yoon Moo-hwa still clicked his tongue.

He didn’t close his eyes. He kept them open even as pleasure naturally intensified. If he closed them, he felt he might see scenes that would be extremely unpleasant to his rational mind.

Instead, he stared at the back of his hand and wrist braced against the tiled wall. They were unmistakably male. Rough, firm, and quite large. Both veins and tendons stood out. It was a turn-off.

However, not long after, Yoon Moo-hwa’s hand twitched as if trying to grasp something. A thickness just right to be held in one hand, despite being two wrists. He twitched his hand and twisted his wrist just that much.

Only then did it match the thickness that had filled his hand.

Yoon Moo-hwa reached his climax in a brief flash.

“Mm…!” He let out a sound closer to a sigh than a moan, spilling something very thick and copious into his palm.

Yoon Moo-hwa’s body was hot as if fever had taken hold.

He frowned, glaring at his palm before washing it clean with the shower’s harsh water pressure.

After rinsing his body with just water, he came out, changed into casual clothes, and called somewhere. Without waiting for the unanswering recipient, he stuffed the discarded e-cigarette into his pocket and left the hotel room.

Shortly after, Yoon Moo-hwa gave an order-like request to the lobby staff to stop anyone trying to leave his room, then left the hotel.

In the silent room of the two, only Haero’s soft breathing filled the air.

It was as quiet as the deep sea.