Chapter 118: A Shared Pulse

I waited for Taewoon in the Association’s airport lounge. Perhaps due to the A-Class gate that had occurred today, the airport was unusually quiet.

On the arrival information board, the flight shelter he was on had changed from ‘landed’ to ‘arrived’. His wavelength began to get closer, as if he had come out of the shelter as soon as it landed. Thinking about the bracelet I was going to give him, I walked towards the arrival gate with a light heart.

As if he also felt my wavelength, it connected to his immediately. Soon, the arrival gate opened, and his face was the first thing I saw. I thought he would be happy to see me there to greet him, but he looked slightly angry.

“Taewoon.”

I approached him with a smile and called his name, but he still didn’t greet me, his lips pressed into a firm line.

“What’s wrong? Did something bad happen in the US?”

“Why did you go to the gate?”

Only then did I realize that he had found out I had gone to the gate today. I had repeatedly asked them to keep my visit a secret, but it seemed someone from the Association had told him.

Back when his reputation was bad, no one would have bothered to report such trivial things to him, but it was different now. Since the Devil’s Gate, he had become an object of envy not only to the citizens but also to his senior and junior Espers.

He extremely disliked me going to a gate site. Since I had almost died at the Devil’s Gate two years ago, it was probably to prevent a dangerous situation. I even had to go with him on the mandatory gate dispatches twice a year. But in a dangerous situation like today, my help was needed.

“It was a high-level A-Class gate, and I went because I was nearby.”

“You promised not to go to a gate when I’m not here. Do you know how worried I was?”

“I’m sorry. I won’t go alone again, so don’t be angry.”

I grabbed his wrist to calm him down. His expression softened a little at my touch, but his face was still pouting.

“I want to keep you at home. So you can’t go anywhere.”

“You’re saying scary things again. You must be tired, let’s go home and rest.”

We went to the space where the car was parked. It was a 30-minute drive from the airport to home. I took the wheel instead of the tired Taewoon. He must not have slept due to worry, as he held my free hand tightly and closed his eyes.

I set the car to self-driving mode and looked at him. Perhaps because it had been a week, just looking at his face seemed to fill the longing I had felt.

The lights outside shone like stars, guiding us home. I held his hand the entire way, heading home together. As soon as we got home, I wanted to roll around in bed with him and share our body heat.

The car quietly arrived at the underground parking lot and parked safely. While he was sleeping, I checked the bracelet case I had put in the inner pocket of my jacket. Then, I watched his face until he woke up.

I had seen his sleeping face hundreds of times, but whether it was because of his handsome looks or because I liked him, he still felt lovely no matter how much I looked.

I secretly took pictures, and about 20 minutes had passed since I started looking at his dense eyelashes and smooth nose. His eyelids slowly opened.

“Huh…? Have we arrived?”

“Yeah. Are you very tired?”

“I’m not tired. You should have told me we arrived.”

“We just got here. Should we go up?”

We took the elevator up together, and his luggage was in front of the door. It seemed he had used the airport service.

He easily moved the luggage into the house with his ability. Then he hugged me from behind as I was walking ahead.

“It’s been a week. Did you miss me…?”

We had only been apart for a week, but I had no idea it would be so lonely and I would miss him so much. Come to think of it, I felt his absence keenly every time he went on a dispatch. If anything, I was the one who didn’t want him to go.

“I missed you a lot.”

“Me too. You have no idea how much I had to suppress my desire to go back to Korea. This is a gift.”

He handed me two shopping bags. He always prepared a gift for me when he returned from a dispatch, so I was excited to see what it would be this time.

“One looks like chocolate, but what’s the other one?”

We went to the living room and checked the contents. As I had expected, one was chocolate, and the other shopping bag was large, so I placed it on the sofa table and looked inside.

There were two boxes, and when I opened them, they contained a white and a light blue shirt of different sizes. They looked perfect for the early summer season.

“They’re couple shirts?”

“Come to think of it, we’re a couple, but we don’t have any similar clothes… I bought these this time, are they okay?”

“Of course, they’re okay. They’re simple, so they’re exactly my style.”

Judging by the size, the white one was his, and the light blue one was mine. I held the light blue shirt up to my clothes and smiled.

“How is it? Does it suit me?”

“Yeah. You have fair skin, so light blue looks good on you.”

I smiled at his words. It was only recently that I had been able to express my feelings so honestly.

I had been wondering when to give him the bracelet, but now that I had received a gift from him, I thought it would be a good idea to give him a gift in return.

“I actually have something prepared too.”

“What is it?”

At my words, he looked at me with a mix of curiosity and anticipation. With a fluttering heart, I carefully took out the bracelet case from my pocket and opened it.

“It’s a bracelet?”

“Yeah. It broke at the Devil’s Gate.”

“Right… Did you prepare this yourself, Shinui?”

“Yeah. Want to try it on now?”

“Actually, I’ve wanted to wear it ever since I saw it. Will you put it on for me?”

I carefully took the thin bracelet out of the case. Both his hand and mine were trembling. The thought that the bracelet, imbued with our wavelengths, would bind our wrists and always be by our side made my emotions surge.

“You chose a stylish design. I’m so happy just that you prepared this, Shinui.”

He also put the bracelet on me. I could definitely feel his wavelength. He must have felt it too, as he asked me.

“Did you put our wavelengths in the bracelet?”

“Yeah. I wanted it to feel like we’re together even when we’re far apart.”

“Lee Shinui.”

He hugged me tightly. His heart was beating so strongly that I could hear it in my ear. He showered my cheek with short kisses, then kissed me deeply.

Without either of us having to say anything, we opened our mouths, swallowing each other’s breath and wrapping our tongues around each other’s. It had been a long time since I had been with him. I wanted to be entangled in his body and his breath.

I ran my hands over his firm back, burying my fingers in his hair and pulling him closer. His hand slipped under my shirt and traced my ribs. His touch tickled, and I let out a laugh without realizing it.

My shirt was pulled up to my neck, exposing my upper body. His lips gradually moved down, sucking on my neck and then moving to my chest.

Just the touch of his tongue on my nipple made my soft nipple slowly harden. The sensation he was giving me caused a strange feeling in my lower abdomen, and my erection also began to harden. It seemed to be the same for him, as I could feel his hard erection rubbing against my thigh.

I held back a moan as his lips sucked deeply on my nipple, and I was stroking his hair when his hand slipped into my pants.

In that moment, I flinched involuntarily. He, misinterpreting my action, immediately pulled his hand away and sat up.

“I’m sorry… Did you not like it?”

“No. I didn’t not like it.”

I hurried to say that I didn’t dislike it, but even at my words, he still had a doubtful expression. Contrary to what he thought, I wanted to do even more.

I held his hand and said it was okay again, but he couldn’t erase the scared expression, as if he was afraid of being disliked by me.

At that face, I choked up without realizing it. The remnants of the wounds we had given each other were still there. And they were always standing in our way. Unless we overcame this, we couldn’t move forward.

“Taewoon, don’t be scared. I didn’t dislike it at all.”

“Still. I’m worried.”

“I told you I would say it if I didn’t like it. I feel the same way as you.”

I carefully hugged him. He also carefully held my back, but his weak touch made my heart ache.

“Don’t stop next time.”

At my words, he nodded. Seeing that, I held his cheek and gave him a short kiss. To convey, even if just a little, that I also cherished and liked him a lot.