Chapter 21: The Art of Futile Persuasion

“Jung Ban-ri, you wouldn’t know, just mindlessly thrusting like that, but I… I’m in agony.”

“…Agony?”

“Of course!”

“Where?”

Jung Ban-ri’s gaze swept over In-tae’s legs, from his toes upward, as if scanning them. His eyes, devoid of even a hint of concern, were filled with suspicion.

“Where else? Everywhere you saw.”

“Your legs?”

Each retort made In-tae feel like he was being treated as frail, so his words grew sharper.

“Then why don’t you try keeping them spread all night?”

“Ah. Because they’re spread.”

Jung Ban-ri gathered In-tae’s legs together, slinging them over one shoulder as if handling a lightweight piece of wood.

He gripped In-tae’s thighs firmly to prevent slipping, then drove his penis, which had partially withdrawn during the shift, even deeper. The sensation of Ban-ri’s testicles crushing against In-tae’s constricted buttocks was vivid.

“Ugh…! Hey! Just pressing my legs together isn’t going to work! Damn it, my ass—”

“It doesn’t hurt.”

“What nonsense are you spouting? Want to try being on the bottom for once?”

“You said that after three times, you lose all sensation.”

“……”

‘Damn his memory.’

“So, weren’t you just thinking about other things the whole time?”

‘Damn it, he’s even got supernatural intuition.’

“No, I wasn’t.”

Though Jung Ban-ri was excessively intelligent, he couldn’t possibly read In-tae’s mind. So, In-tae decided to act defiant, daring him to do his worst.

“Liar.”

“I’m not lying!”

Instead of indulging In-tae’s childish banter, Jung Ban-ri pulled back slightly. Without fully withdrawing, he subtly rubbed between In-tae’s tightly pressed buttocks, as if offering a final chance.

“When it hurts, this place clenches as if it’s trying to sever you, like during the MT. But right now—”

Instead of words, his penis surged deeply inward. It was enough to create the illusion that In-tae’s lower belly was bulging out.

“Hmph…!”

‘Just because I said ‘do your worst’ doesn’t mean you have to actually tear me apart, you bastard.’

As if there was no need for further words, Jung Ban-ri’s gaze fell upon the tip of In-tae’s penis, which was twitching and expelling clear fluid.

Even after climaxing and drenching himself in bodily fluids, the small opening continued to flutter, as if the pleasure hadn’t fully subsided. Feeling a profound betrayal from his body, which couldn’t lie, In-tae tried to persuade Jung Ban-ri once more.

“Alright, honestly, I don’t feel anything anymore, and I don’t want to come again. But frankly, aren’t you… no, isn’t your d*ck the same? Shouldn’t you be past feeling anything by now?”

“So what?”

Jung Ban-ri couldn’t quite deny it. Nevertheless, he kept partially withdrawing and re-inserting, as if ready to start again at any moment.

“Yes, your stamina is amazing. Truly amazing. But…”

‘It’s always so hard to win against this guy with words.’ In-tae scrutinized him, desperately searching for a weakness.

Ban-ri’s breath was a little more ragged than usual, his face slightly flushed, sweat trickling down his ivory skin, and a faint pink warmth subtly visible beneath it… ‘This bastard has gotten even prettier.’

‘No, this isn’t right. I need to find a weakness.’ In-tae shook his head vigorously and looked at Jung Ban-ri again. The moment their characteristically indifferent eyes met, In-tae grinned.

“Hey, but honestly, aren’t you a little sleepy too?”

Jung Ban-ri’s well-defined eyebrows twitched. He seemed slightly startled, a flicker of agitation crossing his face.

In-tae felt a sense of satisfaction incomparable to getting a test answer right. If there were an exam on Jung Ban-ri, he would undoubtedly score first place.

“…So?”

“So what? Why ask when you know everything? Let’s stop here for today—huff!”

Jung Ban-ri pulled In-tae closer, bumping against him irritably. His long eyes narrowed sharply.

“I said I have no intention of stopping.”

Just when he thought he had found a weakness, the negotiation quickly broke down.

Since some point, s*x with him had always been like this.

In-tae would desire him, Jung Ban-ri would notice and try to satisfy that urge, and then, ultimately, even after all of In-tae’s desires were completely spent… the act wouldn’t end. Not until Jung Ban-ri decided it was over.

‘Still, isn’t today a bit too much? No, wasn’t he the one who stirred up my quiet self and got his d*ck hard in the first place? I didn’t even initiate it today, so it’s only right to stop here.’ In-tae rationalized internally and once again began to persuade him.

“You know, Ye-eun called earlier about getting breakfast. Aren’t you getting hungry now—ugh!”

‘…He isn’t.’ Yes, that wasn’t the right thing to say to someone who had no appetite.

“Alright, even if you’re not hungry, I am, and you’re sleepy—is there really any reason for us to, *really* to keep doing this—Ah!”

‘What should I do? If coaxing doesn’t work, then I’ll have to soothe him. At this point, I have to use every method available.’

“Hey. School’s out starting today anyway. We’ve got plenty of time ahead of us, so why overdo it?”

He tried to gently cajole him.

“What we don’t do today, we can do to our heart’s content tomorrow.”

He also made empty promises.

“It’d be a waste, wouldn’t it, if you overdid it and got dark circles under your beautiful eyes, huh?”

He heaped on compliments with ulterior motives.

Jung Ban-ri paused his hip movements for a moment, indicating he might be slightly swayed.

Anyone else would have punched him on the shoulder and pushed him away by now. But In-tae merely tapped the tip of Jung Ban-ri’s neatly trimmed fingernail, which was gripping his thigh.

He’d learned, while haphazardly preparing for medical school he never intended to attend, that fingernails are densely packed dead cells. So, strictly speaking, this much physical contact… ‘Should be fine, right?’

Jung Ban-ri, startled by the unexpected touch, dug his fingers deeper into In-tae’s thigh. At the same time, his gaze sharpened unmistakably. In-tae flinched for a moment but brazenly smiled.

They say you can’t spit on a smiling face, don’t they?

***

He didn’t spit on his smiling face… but he must have come. In-tae rubbed his stiff cheek as soon as he woke up. The solidified, whitish fluid crumbled like a chunk.

He didn’t even need to look to feel where the bodily fluids had dried, not just on his face, but between his thighs and lower abdomen. ‘He really went at it, quite spectacularly.’

“You inconsiderate bastard!”

He shouted loudly towards the wall connected to Jung Ban-ri’s house. It was a bravado he could only afford because the other houses on this floor were empty.

As expected, there was no reply. Not just words, but no sound at all. ‘Did he leave? Or perhaps…’ In-tae quickly picked up his phone.

[Na Ye-eun: In-tae TT You said you were really hurting TT Next time, let’s get hangover food together!]

‘…They went for hangover food together.’

It was a natural outcome, if anything. Ye-eun must have contacted Jung Ban-ri many times, just as she had In-tae, and Jung Ban-ri wouldn’t refuse such a request. He was a polite guy, after all.

‘Ah. Of course, not to me.’

Grumbling inwardly, In-tae sent a message that was the complete opposite of his true feelings.

[Okay. Enjoy your meal. ^^]

“—With someone who doesn’t even know what flavor is.”

In-tae stared at his phone, which received no reply. ‘Are they too busy looking at each other to check their phones?’ A faint flicker of jealousy arose, but it didn’t last long.

Jung Ban-ri wouldn’t feel any particular emotion, no matter who he ate with or what he ate.

Perhaps the reason he couldn’t give up on his long, unrequited love was precisely because Jung Ban-ri loved no one.

He tossed his phone aside and stripped the bedsheets stained with bodily fluids. It was something he did after every day of continuous s*x, a habit by now.

He threw them into the washing machine along with the clothes scattered on the floor, still bearing Jung Ban-ri’s scent. Now, the only trace of him left… was In-tae’s own body. In-tae sighed and headed to the bathroom.

Before turning on the shower, his eyes fell on the clear plastic file in front of the bathroom door. It was where he kept the day’s study material.

However, the contents inside were unfamiliar. It seemed Jung Ban-ri had put a newly prepared paper there while In-tae was unconscious.

“Oh, wow, when did this busy person manage to swap this out and leave it? So incredibly devoted…”

Despite his grumbling, the corners of In-tae’s lips eventually curved into a smile. He shook his head vigorously.

“Devotion, my ass. This is just… habit, pure habit. It’s not easy to quit something you do every single day.”

He forcefully turned the faucet, letting out hot water. Steam rose, clouding the plastic file.

In-tae recalled the words on the paper. Perhaps what he had been desperately memorizing all this time wasn’t the content of the words, but rather Jung Ban-ri’s neat handwriting—the beautiful script he had written just for In-tae.

After washing up, he sat at his desk. This, too, was a habit. Naturally, it was time for morning study. He was busy filling his clearest mind with the material for today’s tutoring session.

The anatomy textbook he had spread out the day before the MT was still on the desk. He tried to focus and concentrate, but soon shook his head.

“If it’s not for me, it’s not for me.”

He neatly folded the textbook.

He tapped a pen against a white piece of paper. He already knew how to drop out. It would be finalized after parental consent and a meeting with his academic advisor.

In his case, parental consent wasn’t necessary, so he just needed to manage the meeting well. Reading posts about dropping out on the community forums, he learned that professors usually tried to dissuade students in their first semester.

It wasn’t uncommon for freshmen to feel frustrated by their grades.

Therefore, before abruptly declaring his intention to drop out, he needed to have a firm resolve and a future plan in place. For instance, the next step after dropping out.

But this was precisely the problem. While it was clear that being a doctor wasn’t his path, he hadn’t yet found his own way.

No, he thought he had found a path—but it had vanished.

In-tae subtly glanced down at his left ankle. A white scar intricately webbed across his skin like a spider’s web.

“If I hadn’t gotten hurt, really…”

‘Then come to the same place as me.’

‘…I wouldn’t have been so easily swayed by those words.’

***

Aside from the month or so he spent in an orphanage after his mother passed away, In-tae had always lived under Jung Ban-ri’s roof.

He finished elementary school at his original school, but for middle and high school, he went to a private institution with Jung Ban-ri.

He even chose the science track to follow Ban-ri. He didn’t have grand ambitions anyway, and people said science majors found jobs easily.

In a way, he was young and immature. Moreover, that period was marked by the intense fever of unrequited love.