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Join the Server“You two aren’t children anymore. Honestly, short of holding an official ceremony, you’re basically married, so who on earth would criticize you for something like this? Hand them over. I’ll take care of the laundry.”
“No, Mother… but this is incredibly mortifying for me…”
Approaching with a warm smile, Lee Chae’s mother practically snatched the tightly balled sheets right out of Hae-jin’s arms before continuing.
“Ever since he was a child, he never showed a single shred of interest in romantic matters, so I spent years deeply worried that he would be incredibly lonely. Even after he awakened as a Guide, which proved there wasn’t a biological issue on that front, I kept wondering why on earth he never went out on a single date.”
Judging by her perfectly earnest expression, she clearly wasn’t throwing these details out simply to tease him.
“You… you definitely don’t have to worry about that particular department anymore, Mother. Because I’m right here by his side.”
“Yes, it certainly looks that way. Haha. You must be deeply embarrassed, I shouldn’t have rambled on with unnecessary comments. Hurry back inside and get some sleep.”
“Th-thank you so much.”
Bowing his head deeply, Hae-jin bolted straight back into the bedroom like a fugitive. A wave of belated regret crashed over him. No matter how wildly aroused he had become after discovering that box, he absolutely shouldn’t have initiated things inside this house… Come to think of it, considering how his future father-in-law had stayed perfectly silent despite inviting him for late-night drinks earlier, it was highly likely his mother had caught the leaking noises from their room and subtly signaled the father to leave them be.
“Haa…”
Hae-jin crawled back into bed and pulled Lee Chae tightly into his arms. Squeezing that radiating, feverish body against his own instantly brought a sense of calm to his fiercely hammering heart.
“What are we going to do? We officially got caught.”
Though he delivered the words in an incredibly faint whisper, Lee Chae stirred from his sleep and offered a drowsy response.
“Of course we got caught. You were driving me to scream like absolute madness.”
“I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the one screaming, though?”
Lee Chae’s fist delivered a soft thud against Hae-jin’s shoulder. It didn’t carry an ounce of actual force, but knowing Lee Chae took secret satisfaction whenever he played along, Hae-jin rubbed his shoulder dramatically and let out a soft laugh.
“Still, you have to admit the risk made it oddly more exhilarating. Right?”
Seemingly incapable of denying the truth, Lee Chae offered a faint, reluctant nod. Wanting to anchor him even closer, Hae-jin pulled him deeper into his chest. The sudden movement elicited a sharp, pained groan from the younger man.
“What’s wrong?”
“Haa… every single time my shirt chafes against my nipples, it hurts like absolute hell. Why on earth do you have to handle them so ruthlessly?”
“Well, that’s obviously because…”
Because you’re absolutely obsessed with having them handled, he was on the absolute verge of saying, before a sudden stroke of pure mischief struck him. Wearing a thoroughly wicked smirk internally while modulating his voice to sound as pitiful as humanly possible, Hae-jin sighed.
“You know I didn’t exactly receive a wealth of motherly affection growing up. I bet I didn’t even get to touch a breast when I was a baby.”
“…”
It was a completely thoughtless line thrown out purely to tease him, but Lee Chae’s expression instantly turned incredibly solemn. A fleeting pang of minor guilt brushed against Hae-jin’s conscience for taking the joke a bit too far, but witnessing Lee Chae staring up at him with a face that looked ready to burst into tears on his behalf was simply too intoxicating, causing Hae-jin to keep his mouth shut.
“I’m sorry. I was being incredibly thoughtless.”
Wait… why on earth are you taking the blame for that?
Hae-jin’s jaw dropped in absolute bewilderment.
“I never once imagined that specific touch carried that kind of underlying emotional weight for you… and since I’m a man myself, I just assumed…”
Flushing a deep crimson, Lee Chae stumbled over his words as if desperately trying to swallow his own inadequacy. He let out a heavy sigh and ultimately buried his face into both palms, dragging them down in a dry wash.
He’s so incredibly cute. I’m literally going to die from how adorable he is. Seriously, what am I supposed to do with you?
Indulging in the internal adoration, Hae-jin nevertheless leaned deeply into Lee Chae’s embrace and began lazily fondling his chest through his shirt.
“Mmh, I guess that’s exactly why I’m so fiercely obsessed with this spot.”
Though his body shivered under the stimulation, Lee Chae didn’t bat his hands away, choosing instead to lie perfectly still and allow Hae-jin to have his way. Seizing the golden window of opportunity, Hae-jin slipped his palm beneath the hem of the t-shirt, reshaping the sensitive flesh entirely to his whim. Lee Chae began to gently pat his back in a soothing, rhythmic motion.
“I can’t exactly step into the role of a mother for you, Hyung, but I can officially be your family now. So… I really wish you’d stop carrying all that lingering pain inside.”
The reality was that Hae-jin had fully processed and moved past his childhood trauma a lifetime ago. He was simply keeping quiet because clarifying the truth would instantly dismantle his current perks.
“…Mmh.”
It had undeniably started as a shallow joke, and Lee Chae’s earnest comfort should have left him feeling purely amused. Yet, as that gentle palm continued its rhythmic, soothing pats against his back, an uncanny, heavy ache suddenly blossomed deep within Hae-jin’s chest. Why was he reacting like this? He harbored absolutely zero lingering sentiment toward the family members he had lost, so why…? Was he suddenly missing his father? Or was it simply that Lee Chae’s comfort was so profoundly potent that his own emotions were synchronizing with it?
Moving beyond basic empathy and actually synchronizing with his emotional state? Who? Me? Or is it Lee Chae doing it to me?
A sudden wave of profound confusion began to swirl through his thoughts. Sensing the shift, Lee Chae murmured softly against his ear.
“It’s okay, Hyung. In the past, you used to completely deny that you were even traumatized, choosing to feel absolutely nothing. But right now, you’re finally acknowledging the pain to yourself, and that recognition is officially our starting point. Let’s overcome these wounds together.”
“…Huh?”
Hae-jin lifted his head off Lee Chae’s shoulder, staring down at him with a thoroughly bewildered expression. Right, considering they were locked in a literal guiding connection, it was entirely impossible for Lee Chae to be completely fooled by a shallow joke.
No, there was absolutely no way. Why on earth would he suddenly start hurting over long-buried, ancient history at this stage in his life? To suggest he was genuinely traumatized right now?
Utterly refusing to validate that reality, Hae-jin pinched Lee Chae’s cheeks and pulled them playfully, breaking into a loud laugh.
“I surrender! I completely surrender. Let’s stop the act right here. I simply threw out a pathetic excuse because I desperately wanted to handle your chest.”
Normally, delivering a confession like that would cause Lee Chae to blow his top and curse him out for playing games during a serious moment. Yet, Lee Chae simply continued to gaze up at him with the exact same, fiercely tender expression—looking precisely like a deeply empathetic adult staring at a tragic, vulnerable child while carrying a profound sense of protective responsibility. Wrapping his arms tightly around Hae-jin once more, Lee Chae whispered.
“It’s okay, Hyung. You don’t have to pretend you’re perfectly fine around me.”
“…”
Receiving zero verbal response, Lee Chae took things a massive step further, guiding Hae-jin’s wrist and pressing his palm directly over his own heart.
“You can touch me as much as you want, however you want. As long as it brings you comfort, Hyung.”
“Jung Lee Chae, I’m literally telling you that’s not it! I don’t harbor any complex emotions regarding my mother, and missing out on touching a breast as an infant is hardly going to leave a permanent psychological scar. You’re making me look like an absolute lunatic here.”
“Mmh, I know. I understand your heart, Hyung.”
No, you clearly don’t…!
The sheer frustration was enough to drive him completely up the wall. To make matters worse, knowing Lee Chae was the last person on earth to utilize an emotional topic for shallow teasing only amplified his internal madness.
Ultimately, giving up on any further attempts to convince him, Hae-jin simply ran his fingers through Lee Chae’s hair, attempting to anchor his own fractured sanity. Even while reminding himself that it didn’t matter what the younger man believed as long as he knew the truth, he couldn’t deny that the pity was scratching at his pride in a deeply jarring way.
How bizarre. Normally, having him view me with pity would be an absolute win to exploit. Why on earth is it bothering me this much?
Treating him exactly like a fragile child, Lee Chae pressed a gentle kiss against Hae-jin’s forehead and whispered.
“They say childhood wounds are incredibly difficult to mend, even after you become an adult. There’s a reason the term ‘adult-child’ exists.”
Staring quietly down at Lee Chae’s deeply affectionate face, the lingering knot of frustration in Hae-jin’s chest gradually began to dissolve. Even if he hadn’t actually suffered a trauma—or rather, even if he couldn’t decipher whether he was traumatized just because Lee Chae insisted he was—he realized that under the influence of such tender kisses and radiating warmth, any wound on earth would be instantly healed.
“Fine, I’m an adult-child. So you better do an absolute stellar job of raising me.”
The beautifully foolish Jung Lee Chae broke into a bright smile, telling him to leave everything to him. Feeling a sudden surge of pure playfulness, Hae-jin sharply pinched his nipple, eliciting a breathless ‘Hngh!’ from his lips—yet Lee Chae simply beamed up at him anyway. Hae-jin wrapped his arms around him, locking him into a crushing embrace.
Right now, this was the absolute maximum he could offer in return to the magnificent lover who was actively comforting wounds that didn’t even exist. He held him, kissed him, tangled their legs together, and returning to his lips, lazily fondled his chest. Predictably, the atmosphere began to simmer with an intensely erotic charge once more, but utilizing every single ounce of his residual willpower, Hae-jin forced himself to halt.
Encountering his future mother-in-law while smuggling a ruined bundle of sheets to the laundromat was a mortifying ordeal he only needed to experience once in his lifetime. Nestled deeply against Lee Chae, Hae-jin gradually regulated his heavy, aroused breathing.
“Sometimes, moments like this are surprisingly nice.”
Lee Chae’s soft, rhythmic breaths brushed warmly against his neck. Savoring the intensely familiar comfort while aligning their heartbeats perfectly against one another, a heavy wave of drowsiness washed over him. To think he could actually fall asleep while sporting a full erection… Was this truly what it meant to evolve into a mature adult? Entertaining the absurd thought, Hae-jin slowly closed his eyes.
Several months later, the brand-new vehicle lineup launched by Legion was selling like absolute wildfire. While the commercial featuring Cha Hae-jin and Jung Lee Chae appearing side-by-side certainly fueled the frenzy, the primary driver was the stabilization of the global landscape, which had actively revitalized the international export market. Naturally, the administrative operations division found itself infinitely busier than the tactical combat teams, and under the crushing workload consuming Executive Director Jung Lee Chae, Hae-jin’s frustration was rapidly reaching a boiling point.
“Director Jung, it’s officially time for lunch.”
This was a lunch date he had meticulously locked into their schedules three full days in advance. If Lee Chae attempted to cancel on him today, Hae-jin was firmly resolved to either detonate Legion headquarters entirely or kidnap Jung Lee Chae straight out of his chair.
Yet, Jung Lee Chae was apparently so buried in tasks that he didn’t even bother to lift his gaze away from the monitor. Letting out a sharp sigh, Hae-jin called his name again.
“Jung Lee Chae! I said it’s the lunch hour.”
“Yeah, yeah… just a second…”
Despite offering a verbal acknowledgment, his eyes remained firmly superglued to the screen. A deeply childish retort about how if he loved labor so much he should have simply married his desk nearly slipped past his teeth, forcing Hae-jin to clamp his jaw shut.
“One, two, three, four…”
The moment he began counting aloud in a low murmur, Lee Chae finally shifted his gaze over.
“What are you doing?”
“Counting the exact number of seconds it takes for my lover to actually look at me.”
Lee Chae let out a soft chuckle.
“Just give me a moment. I should be completely wrapped up in about ten minutes.”
“Oh… so you didn’t actually forget our appointment?”
“How on earth could I forget? You have no idea how fiercely thrilled and impatient I’ve been all morning just thinking about going on a date with you!”
What kind of calculated strategy is this little fox trying to pull on me today?
Having endured an absolute lifetime of calculated maneuvers from this specific fox, hearing those sweet words triggered instant suspicion rather than butterflies. Hae-jin narrowed his eyes into dangerous slits, glaring across the room.
“No matter how beautiful you try to color your words, it’s not going to work. You are officially required to clear a full two hours for me today.”
“Yes, of course. I’m absolutely planning to spend it with—ah, damn it. Who the hell miscalculated these logistics again?! They can’t even align a single baseline metric properly…”
Muttering under his breath with his brow deeply furrowed, Jung Lee Chae frantically scribbled a series of rapid notes before looking back up to meet Hae-jin’s gaze with a thoroughly conflicted expression. Instantly focusing immense power into his glare, Hae-jin pinned him with a fierce look.
He was going to ensure Lee Chae didn’t even possess the baseline courage to suggest postponing their date again.
Sensing the absolute finality in his posture, Lee Chae rose from his desk, glided over to the sofa, and instantly wrapped his arms around Hae-jin’s elbow, clinging to him tightly. He was undeniably planning to leverage intense physical affection to seduce his way into a postponement. Not a chance in hell—he was absolutely refusing to fall for the exact same trick twice!
The excitement doesn't stop here! If you enjoyed this, you’ll adore Jinho's Story. Start reading now!
Read : Jinho's Story
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