Chapter 35

“…You’re pretty.”

Gi-hyeon’s voice was terribly hoarse.

A faint, ghostly smile ghosted across his lips. Since the bastard was convinced this was a dream, Gi-hyeon decided he only needed to play along as if it were a dream until he finally woke up. If this wasn’t a dream, how else could he explain this horrifying state, his body boiling over with an impossible, sickening lust? The corners of Gi-hyeon’s eyes crinkled softly. Without a word, Jo Yeon-oh’s gaze intensely tracked the subtle shift in his expression.

“…This is really fascinating.”

Reaching out to gently tap the corner of Gi-hyeon’s eye, Yeon-oh chuckled softly. Pulling Gi-hyeon into a tight embrace, he let out a low, contented groan.

“You smell so fucking good, So Gi-hyeon…”

With Yeon-oh burying his face deep into the crook of his neck and mumbling incoherently, Gi-hyeon slowly, methodically patted his broad back. He still had absolutely no idea how things had derailed to this point, but if Jo Yeon-oh truly believed this was a dream, Gi-hyeon had no choice but to flawlessly match his rhythm.

Their entire relationship was a fragile castle built on a beach, sustained entirely by their mutual, agonizing effort. An unspoken pact ensuring neither of them would accidentally kick over the bucket of water and dissolve the sand.

“Gi-hyeon-ah.”

“…Yeah.”

Both of them had to play their parts flawlessly. So Gi-hyeon understood Jo Yeon-oh with a terrifying depth. Yet simultaneously, he began to drift further and further away.

And just like that, the sex softened considerably. They moved together gently, as if they were actually lovers sharing a tender, intimate connection. Gi-hyeon found the entire charade incredibly funny. And because it was funny, he laughed. Every time a breathy, hollow chuckle escaped his lips, Yeon-oh would stare at him in quiet fascination before gently grabbing his wrist and pressing a soft kiss directly into his palm.

The bastard’s soft lips tickled the sensitive skin of his palm. Reaching out with his free hand, Gi-hyeon gently caressed Yeon-oh’s cheek. Responding exactly like a massive, spoiled beast demanding affection, Yeon-oh immediately leaned his heavy head into the touch. Staring intently at the man he loved, Gi-hyeon finally spoke.

“This is a dream, Jo Yeon-oh.”

“I know. Seeing you smile makes it pretty obvious.”

Me, who only ever smiles in your dreams, and you, who assumes I could only ever smile in a dream—we’re both so fundamentally broken, so why the hell are we still clinging to this rotting carcass, calling it love and affection? They were like two fools stubbornly hugging a spoiled corpse, completely oblivious to the mold actively spreading onto their own bodies.

If someone were to actually tear the lid off their relationship, they might find that the thing So Gi-hyeon treasured and the thing Jo Yeon-oh cherished had both rotted away simultaneously. No, at the very least, mine is definitely rotting. Gi-hyeon was absolutely certain of it. And simultaneously, he was confident that Jo Yeon-oh would undoubtedly wake up and still believe this was nothing but a dream. He wouldn’t suffer a single moment of confusion in the morning.

If that was the case, there was zero reason to deny this. There was no justification to hate it or push him away. For years, So Gi-hyeon had lived his life violently suppressing the desperate, agonizing urge to let Jo Yeon-oh touch him. If I have no reason to refuse, and you lack the rationality to stop, then neither of us has to take responsibility for this sex.

“Hey.”

Gi-hyeon aggressively grabbed Yeon-oh’s waist and yanked him forward. Dragged by the sheer force, Yeon-oh’s lower half collided directly with Gi-hyeon’s soaked groin. Pressed flush against each other, they could feel their erections bumping and sliding against the slick, drenched flesh. Whether he enjoyed the sensation or hated it, Yeon-oh’s brow furrowed into a deep scowl.

Reaching down, Gi-hyeon began to slowly stroke the Alpha’s erection with his thumb, whispering softly.

“Don’t just shove it in. It’s my first time, so prep me properly. Don’t think about half-assing it just because it’s a dream.”

“Yes, sir.”

Poking his tongue out to slowly lick his lower lip, Yeon-oh fired back the cheeky response. The beauty mark perched perfectly on the bridge of his nose scrunched delightfully whenever he flashed that playful, teasing grin, making him look devastatingly handsome. Mixing a heavy sigh into his words, Gi-hyeon finally asked the question that had been burning in his mind.

“How did you end up wanting to do this with me? Even in a dream.”

Jo Yeon-oh possessed a visceral disgust for intimate relationships with Betas. Yet, entirely incapable of completely rejecting So Gi-hyeon’s heart, he had initiated their twisted relationship anyway. Because of that uncompromising boundary, sexual intimacy was supposed to be permanently banned between them.

So why was Jo Yeon-oh dreaming about this? Smiling softly at the baffled question, Yeon-oh lowered his head, dragging his tongue slowly up the column of Gi-hyeon’s neck before whispering his reply.

“Gi-hyeon-ah.”

“…”

“Is my answer really that important?”

Yeon-oh’s hand ruthlessly seized Gi-hyeon’s cock once more. Gi-hyeon’s brow instantly furrowed. He couldn’t tell if his face twisted because the friction between his legs felt like a raging fire, or because his heart was actively breaking in his chest. The ambiguous, untraceable agony warped his expression completely.

Dropping his voice to a dangerous, vibrating whisper, the bastard spoke again.

“It’s just a dream anyway, why try to figure it out.”

“…”

Gi-hyeon let out a dry, defeated laugh. Grabbing the Alpha’s hips and pulling them down hard to intentionally deepen the friction between their groins, he answered.

“Jo Yeon-oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Even if this wasn’t a dream, you clearly have no intention of answering me.”

In response, the bastard simply laughed. The sound shattered Gi-hyeon’s heart, confirming that his assumption was the absolute, undeniable truth. There was no kiss to initiate the act. Instead, something far darker, far more ruinous deepened between them. Gi-hyeon squeezed his eyes shut. This room, this entire night.

It was nothing but a suffocating, intoxicating haze.

And just like that, the surface area of their bare skin pressing together expanded. Gi-hyeon arched his back, writhing slightly under the touch.

“Why are you pinching me there… ah…”

Frowning in genuine confusion as Yeon-oh began playfully tweaking his nipples, Gi-hyeon asked the question, only for Yeon-oh to smile and drag his tongue in wet circles around the areola. The way Yeon-oh looked up at him through thick lashes, his eyes curved into perfectly sculpted crescents, was the exact expression he used when acting shamelessly cute to get exactly what he wanted.

Watching Jo Yeon-oh suck on his chest while wearing such an obscenely adorable expression felt incredibly bizarre. Gi-hyeon had fully expected the Alpha to violently dry-heave if their physical contact ever escalated this far, given that Gi-hyeon was a Beta. Seeing him offer such a sweet, pliant expression while actively violating him was a completely surreal experience.

“Why, is it weird? Should I not do it here?”

Perhaps sensing that Gi-hyeon was completely lost in thought somewhere else, Yeon-oh lightly caught Gi-hyeon’s nipple between his front teeth and asked. Stifling the groan threatening to spill from his lips, Gi-hyeon replied.

“…Do whatever you want.”

His senses were agonizingly sharp, his rationality was melting away, and So Gi-hyeon still loved Jo Yeon-oh. He had absolutely no idea what had happened to his body, but if Yeon-oh genuinely believed this was all a dream, Gi-hyeon was fully prepared to let him treat it as one. So whether he licked his chest or ruthlessly fondled his cock, Gi-hyeon intended to let him do exactly as he pleased. It was a sentiment bordering on total resignation—use me however you want, just return me in one piece.

However, making that mental resolution and actually enduring the overwhelming physical arousal of the sensations were two entirely different matters. So Gi-hyeon was completely unaware that the Alpha pheromones dripping from Jo Yeon-oh’s saliva were actively causing his nipples to harden even further. Right now, Gi-hyeon understood absolutely nothing about the biological changes tearing through his own body.

Because Jo Yeon-oh was aggressively determined to kiss, bite, and suck on every single inch of So Gi-hyeon’s skin, Gi-hyeon’s body was littered with bright, swollen red marks. Gi-hyeon writhed uncomfortably.

“It tickles. Stop for a second.”

“I’ll scratch it for you. Where, here?”

Pinning Gi-hyeon’s wrists down, Yeon-oh lightly scraped his front teeth against the exact spots Gi-hyeon complained were ticklish. Because Alpha and Omega pheromones are secreted most heavily from the mucous membranes, having saliva-coated teeth scrape against his skin didn’t relieve the itch at all—it only amplified the unbearable arousal. Completely oblivious to this biological reality, So Gi-hyeon furrowed his brow and begged to be allowed to scratch it himself, but Yeon-oh utterly refused to listen.

“Let go of me. Ah, there… wait, hng…”

“Hah, you fucking bastard. You never wear the lotion I buy you, but you constantly slather yourself in baby lotion. That scent drives me absolutely insane. I told you to stop using it because it makes me feel like I’m getting turned on by a fucking toddler, but you never listen.”

“Ah, don’t touch… there… hng, no, seriously, wait…”

There wasn’t a single person on that bed who possessed a shred of rationality. Both men were simply talking past each other, spouting whatever thoughts crossed their minds. They were so consumed by lust they couldn’t even process what the other was saying.

Their pressed-together groins were a sticky, slick mess. A thick, heavy erection completely drenched in slick was aggressively grinding against everything between Gi-hyeon’s legs, which were already overflowing with transparent, slippery fluid. Every time Yeon-oh’s cock bumped against his lower abdomen, Gi-hyeon winced deeply.

“Why… why are you so wet…?”

“You’re the one who’s soaking wet, not me.”

Reacting as if Gi-hyeon had said something completely absurd, Yeon-oh went right back to aggressively sucking Gi-hyeon’s nipple. He pressed his rough tongue hard against the painfully erect peak before abruptly pulling away. A sudden, sharp moan tore from Gi-hyeon’s throat—a sound he didn’t even know he was capable of making. Startled by his own voice, his eyes blew wide.