BHB 138

Yeowon had been standing in front of the dressing room mirror for over thirty minutes. A pile of clothes he had tried on was stacked on one side. He hadn’t paid this much attention to his outfit even for his first date with his first lover. But today was a day when he couldn’t help but be concerned about his appearance. Absolutely. Today he absolutely had to look the best at that place.

“Ah, shit… why does everything look so mediocre?”

He thought navy blue suited him well, but today it looked strangely dull. After tossing aside the blazer he had been holding up against himself, Yeowon was now struggling with a gray-toned suit.

“…Do you really have to go to that much trouble?”

Leaning against the doorway, Taegang asked with a voice tinged with a sigh. His face showed he couldn’t understand why Yeowon was making such a fuss.

“What a silly question about something so obvious.” Yeowon responded firmly. 

Taegang let out a small laugh watching his deadly serious demeanor.

“The navy looks better.” He simply advised with a nod toward the discarded clothing.

“Really?”

“Cool colors suit you well.”

“Don’t I look too young? Isn’t gray better?”

“…Everything looks good on you.”

“…What?”

“I said everything looks good on you.”

Caught off guard by the unexpected compliment, Yeowon was momentarily speechless.

“You look good in anything, so just put something on and come out.”

‘…Is he crazy?’

Yeowon stared blankly at Taegang with a stiffened face after that casual remark. Then, his face quickly heated up, and he awkwardly fidgeted with his nape, letting out an incredulous laugh as he started to put on the outfit he hadn’t been able to decide on for dozens of minutes.

He wished Taegang wouldn’t casually drop such embarrassing comments. Yeowon had no tolerance for such things and couldn’t hide his embarrassment. He then properly dressed in the navy suit setup as Taegang had suggested and carefully examined himself in the mirror.

‘Well, true. What wouldn’t look good on me?’ 

Yeowon smiled arrogantly as he swept his blow-dried hair with wax. Then he attached his pre-selected tie and tie clip, and wrapped a watch from the display case around his left wrist. A man needs a watch. Having completed his final preparations, Yeowon came out to the living room to find Taegang, who had finished getting ready long ago, silently waiting by the door.

“Hey, aren’t you wearing a tie?”

“I’m fine.”

Taegang was dressed rather casually. He had simply put on his usual black suit without a tie. Even his shirt had several buttons undone.

Though it didn’t feel perfectly formal, it suited him in its own way. The moderately rebellious image wasn’t bad, and Yeowon looked him over with a face that seemed to say, well, I like it. Honestly, he looked good. Standing over 190cm tall, with a build sturdy enough to easily lift even a grown man like himself, and a face that would captivate anyone who saw it. He had it all. As this thought crossed his mind unconsciously, Yeowon’s spirits rose.

“What?”

That guy was truly his now. Enough to bend his stubborn, difficult personality for him. Enough to be crazy about him and demand contact with him. Yes, there was nothing to worry about. His frivolous past was practically over and done with.

Taegang asked bluntly, finding Yeowon’s obvious stare puzzling. Yeowon shook his head saying it was nothing.

“Nothing.”

As if finding his bland response amusing, Taegang lowered his head and placed a light kiss on his lips.

“What’s that all of a sudden?”

“Because you were looking at me like that.”

“Ha. That’s funny. Wasn’t it just what you wanted to do?”

When Yeowon retorted with an incredulous laugh, Taegang captured his lower lip again and answered, “…That’s right.”

In fact, it was rare to see Yeowon in a suit. Being turned on by this uncommon sight was only natural for Taegang. The gathering notwithstanding, Taegang’s true desire was to dress him up and then immediately take him to bed.

“…Should we skip it and stay home?” He pressed against Yeowon naturally, lowered his head to overlap their lips again, and murmured. 

Yeowon glanced at his already reacting center and exhaled a low sigh.

“Put it away.”

“As if I could control it that easily.”

“Today is really important to me.”

“It’s completely meaningless to me.”

“Hey.”

“What’s so great about seeing those people?”

Though he eventually agreed, Taegang was still displeased. He didn’t want to go at all, and naturally didn’t want to take Yeowon with him. He couldn’t predict what they might say or what they might do. Even if nothing happened, the very idea of Yeowon’s face being recognized made him shudder with disgust.

“I need to show off how great your boyfriend is.”

“What?”

Yeowon retorted confidently, “I’m going to intimidate them.”

“……”

“To show them that the person by your side is definitely not someone to be trifled with.”

Determination blazed in his steady gaze. Taegang, who finally understood why Yeowon had so stubbornly insisted on coming along, paused for a moment before softly letting out a faint laugh. Then, holding Yeowon’s face, he carefully pushed him against the wall and crashed their lips together again. Yeowon was briefly startled but had grown accustomed to these sudden kisses, skillfully embracing him in return.

Taegang’s quickly heated breathing invaded between Yeowon’s lips. They became absorbed in the kiss, embracing each other as their tongues intertwined deeply enough for the wet sounds to resonate. It was a passionate kiss where their faces shifted from side to side, greedily mixing tongues and swallowing saliva that could have belonged to either of them.

“Hah… we need to leave now.”

Their bodies were pressed together without a gap, but Yeowon struggled to push him away, breathing heavily.

“…Just a little more.”

“Shit. You’re going to end up taking my clothes off.”

“I want to do it while you’re dressed. You look fucking sexy right now.”

Taegang whispered these vulgar words as he pushed his tongue into Yeowon’s ear and then sucked on his earlobe. With his ears being an erogenous zone, Yeowon trembled slightly and pushed Taegang away again.

“Ugh, stop…”

“Ha… fuck.”

‘I really want to do it.’

Taegang bit back a suppressed curse and deeply sucked on Yeowon’s lips once more.

“When we get back, just you wait.”

Taegang’s eyes burned pitch-black as if a switch had been properly flipped. What got him so worked up this time? Yeowon let out a light laugh and confidently retorted.

“Do whatever you want.”

And he too placed a light peck on Taegang’s lips. He liked that crazed face. That obsessed expression was a stimulant that excited him.

Since it was a private gathering, security was tight from the entrance. The meeting was held in a hotel banquet hall, and that floor was restricted to invited guests only. They had rented out the entire floor’s banquet hall to prevent any possible scandals or rumors. They even conducted body searches at the entrance as a precaution.

After completing those lengthy preparations and entering the banquet hall, they found quite a number of people had already arrived. 

‘How could there be so many relatives?’ 

Moreover, the venue was exceptionally luxurious with chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling, floral decorations reminiscent of a wedding, and even an ice sculpture molded after a swan.

“This is seriously over the top.”

When Yeowon whispered this to Taegang, he snorted derisively in agreement.

“What would you like to drink?” He glanced at the uniformed staff serving drinks and casually asked Yeowon.

“Hmm. Champagne?”

“Alright. Wait here a moment.”

With that, Taegang headed toward the buffet table lined along one wall. As Yeowon was contentedly watching his reassuring back, a familiar voice came from behind.

“So you really came.”

It was a voice that now even felt friendly. Yeowon turned around cheerfully with a bright smile.

“Yes, brother-in-law.”

Lee Tae-joo’s eyebrows twisted slightly at the cheeky response. Yeowon confidently stared at him with a relaxed smile. After all, Tae-joo had definitely helped them. While he wasn’t exactly on their side, he wasn’t completely on the other side either, and Yeowon knew for certain that he wasn’t someone who would harm them.

“…Brother-in-law?”

“Yes. I’ve decided to call you brother-in-law now. ‘Hyung’ seemed too presumptuous.”

Tae-joo stared at him sideways and let out a hollow laugh. “Is that kind of shamelessness how you managed to come here?”

Tae-joo tilted his head as if genuinely curious. Pure curiosity, not mockery, flickered in his eyes.

“You said you invited me first.”

“I’m asking because it’s strange that you accepted.”

“I didn’t see any reason not to come. What did I do wrong?”

When Yeowon retorted with a casual shrug, Tae-joo shook his head slightly.

“You must know you’re in a position where you’re deeply disliked.”

“Hiding won’t solve anything.”

“This kind of thing is impossible to solve from the beginning.”

“What can I do? Either way, I’m going to spend my life with him.”

When Yeowon nodded toward where Taegang was and spoke indifferently, the other man seemed unwilling to respond further, merely letting out a faint smile.

“Is this the one?”

At that moment, a middle-aged woman accompanied by attendants approached with the distinct sound of her heels clicking. 

Tae-joo stepped aside for the woman who had come up behind him and replied casually, “You wanted to see him that badly? Even inviting him.”

“I had to see. He’s the one holding that rogue’s leash.”

Yeowon knew perfectly well who this middle-aged woman was. She was someone he had seen several times while living next door. Though her cold gaze had frozen him every time they met, that was back when he was a student.

“Hello.” Yeowon bowed his head formally. 

Her sharp gaze scrutinized him from head to toe.