The sound of the door closing was distinct. Caught between the door and Dohyun, Wooyeon blinked his eyes belatedly. The tears that had gathered in his eyes fell to the ground with a soft thud.
“…What is this?”
“Yeon-Ah.”
The sweet voice seemed to work like magic. Wooyeon found himself unable to push him away or reject him, so he just stood there, absentmindedly licking his lips. Dohyun gently wiped away Wooyeon’s tears with his thumb, then slowly lowered his head.
“Look at seonsaeng-nim.”
There was an undeniable force in the firm command. From tutoring sessions to now, whenever the teacher spoke, his body responded. At the end of the focused gaze, his eyes, brimming with tears, were clearly visible.
“…”
Then, their lips met.
Pupils dilated and pheromones surged. Wooyeon’s eyes widened, and his eyelids trembled slightly. The father-like warmth approached searingly hot, like it could melt him away.
It was as if he was giving him time to adapt. The lips, without weight, neither moved closer nor farther away but waited for Wooyeon.
Soon after, Dohyun, who had been waiting for a while, firmly bit Wooyeon’s lower lip.
“…!”
He felt a tingling sensation and the back of his spine felt chilly. A strange, almost electric, sensation rose up his spine. Wooyeon reflexively pushed Dohyun’s shoulder with all his strength. There was a thud, a sound that seemed painful, but Dohyun didn’t mind and stepped back.
“What…what are you doing right now?”
Unknown pheromones mingled in the air. The panting breaths were now filled with heat. Amidst the precarious, perilous atmosphere, Dohyun spoke with a subdued voice.
“I did it because I was worried.”
It was a self-deprecating tone. Wooyeon, who seemed about to get angry, shut his mouth as soon as Dohyun spoke. In his characteristic gentle tone, Dohyun continued.
“I kept noticing you and worrying about you, so I did it. At first.”
“…”
“You like me? It’s impossible not to know. You’re so obvious.”
Dry pheromones quietly permeated around Wooyeon. Dohyun’s unique refreshing scent somewhat calmed his anxious heart.
“Despite my attempts to draw a line, it wasn’t easy. At first, I was concerned, then I felt guilty. I knew this shouldn’t happen, but I enjoyed being liked by you too much.”
“…”
“Then it was too late.”
Dohyun cautiously reached out his hand so as not to startle Wooyeon. He gently brushed his thumb over Wooyeon’s eyes, which still held traces of tears.
“You were sixteen, Yeon-Ah.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Wooyeon licked his lips with a dazed expression. He hadn’t thought about the notion of “too late” in relation to four years ago.
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“Twenty?”
Incongruent to the situation, Dohyun let out a faint laugh. It was a sweet smile as if he found Wooyeon adorable. However, the words that followed were cruel.
“It took me about a month to forget someone I liked at your age.”
“I… I couldn’t forget so easily!”
“You shouldn’t be able to forget easily.”
Dohyun firmly held Wooyeon’s earlobe. The touch was cautious as if he was holding something fragile, yet it felt strangely suggestive.
“That’s why I’ve been waiting.”
Wooyeon trembled, feeling goosebumps on his spine. The rare predatory gaze from Dohyun evoked an instinctive sense of danger.
“Yeon-Ah. Seonsaeng-nim isn’t as good a person as you think.”
Contrary to the content of the conversation, Dohyun’s tone was very affectionate. If one were to listen quietly, it could almost melt one’s heart.
“If I was going to end up liking you anyway, I wanted to have the emotional upper hand.”
‘If I was going to end up liking you.’ It was a hypothesis that couldn’t help but make his heart race. It was a story he had never even dared to expect to hear from Dohyun’s lips
“To be honest, I never thought it would become this sincere…”
Dohyun awkwardly chuckled and took his hand away from Wooyeon. Wooyeon felt that the faint warmth that remained was quite comforting.
“If you’re just mistaking your feelings because of those old emotions rather than actually liking me, then I’m at a huge loss.”
“I’m not mistaken about my feelings.”
His voice trembled thinly. Was it anticipation, excitement, or perhaps lingering anxiety? Although his emotions were a tangled mess, it was more comfortable than confusing.
Dohyun returned with a cruel response, just as he had a moment ago when Wooyeon said, ‘Now I’m twenty.’
“To me, you’re still too young.”
Whether it was twenty or twenty-four, to Wooyeon, it seemed the same. Of course, the teacher was infinitely mature, but wasn’t Wooyeon the same age as that mature teacher now?
“Sunbae.”
Wooyeon deliberately avoided using the past title. Just as he wasn’t a middle school student anymore, Dohyun wasn’t a teacher anymore either. However, no matter how much they tried to avoid it, it was all ultimately unnecessary assumptions.
“What do you use your conscience for?”
Dohyun let out a helpless laugh. Reaching out his hand once again, he pulled Wooyeon into his embrace. Trapped within the wide embrace, Wooyeon held tightly onto Dohyun’s lapel.
“I like you.”
His heart felt like it would burst. The sound of his heartbeat echoed loudly. Despite appearing composed on the outside, Dohyun wasn’t much different in this regard either.
“I want to hold onto you with ridiculous lies like us sleeping together.”
“…”
“But now, you can’t say you don’t like me.”
He had a lot he wanted to say, but it all got stuck in his throat. After a while, Dohyun stroked his back a few times, then whispered softly into his ear.
“Your answer?”
“…”
Without saying anything, Wooyeon buried his face in Dohyun’s chest. He feared that if he did something wrong, this precious moment would crumble away.
After a while, Wooyeon muttered with a moist voice, “I can’t believe it.”
It all felt like a dream. The teacher he had longed for so desperately was confessing his feelings for him. Despite hearing the lengthy explanations, he still couldn’t believe it.
The affection and love Dohyun showed… Wooyeon felt he had come too far to believe it was love.
“If you liked me, why didn’t you sleep with me back then?”
“…”
“It’s not wrong to say that if you like someone, you want to sleep with them…”
“…That’s not entirely wrong, Wooyeon.”
Dohyun slowly let go and ruffled Wooyeon’s hair. With each stroke of his fingers, the tension seemed to ease away, and a subtle pheromone enveloped the surroundings.
“We also need to consider TPO.”
He couldn’t comprehend those words. Wooyeon knew that TPO referred to time, place, and occasion, but he couldn’t understand why that moment wasn’t suitable. Sensing Wooyeon’s lack of understanding, Dohyun casually added.
“I know you didn’t ask me to sleep with you because you like me.”
Yeah, now that he mentioned it, it was true. ‘If I hadn’t held you, you would’ve kept running away,’ he had said. Even though he was quick to catch on, was it possible to be this quick? It was a surprisingly remarkable feeling.
“If you can’t believe it, I’ll keep telling you until you do.”
Dohyun carefully let Wooyeon go from his embrace. Wooyeo hesitated, then stepped back, frowning in disappointment. Dohyun grabbed Wooyeon’s arm lightly and meticulously examined the bruise on his wrist.
“Is the other side like this too?”
“No.”
Although he answered promptly, it didn’t seem convincing. ‘It can’t be just one side.’ It was as if he was saying that it was nonsense. Before Wooyeon could refute, Dohyun grabbed his other arm and rolled up his sleeve.
“….”
“I guess I need to apply some ointment.”
As he said that, he pressed his lips to Wooyeon’s wrist. It was as soft and hot as the touch on his lips a while ago. Wooyeon’s face turned red as he quickly pulled his hand away from Dohyun.
“Seo… Seonsaeng-nim, lips aren’t ointment.”
Dohyun shrugged as if saying it wouldn’t harm him. Wooyeon whimpered as his elbow hit the wall. Dohyun reached out again, but this time, Wooyeon recoiled, trembling.
“….”
“….”
An odd atmosphere filled the air. It was even more embarrassing than what had just happened, strangely enough. Especially considering they were tightly embracing just a while ago.
Dohyun stepped back quietly, observing Wooyeon.
“Let me ask again…. What made you do such a thing?”
Dohyun’s gaze fell on Wooyeon’s wrist. Wooyeon replied vaguely, recalling when he’d said, ‘Let’s go sleep.’
“That’s because I already thought we slept together…”
He was preoccupied with various things, and above all, the heat cycle was imminent. He was so cornered that throwing himself wasn’t a big deal. But now, things were different.
“Then I guess kissing should be fine. Since we’ve already done that.”
Dohyun approached with a smirk. It was clearly a mischievous expression, but Wooyeon blushed up to his ears, covering his mouth. Dohyun tilted his head slightly, his eyes twinkling.
“If you cover your mouth, what will happen, Yeon-Ah?”
His smile was so charming that it made Wooyeon’s heart race. He was also Wooyeon’s favorite teacher, who smiled kindly. Why would anyone not like this? Wooyeon cleared his throat with a fake cough, trying to loosen it up.
“That was also something seonsaeng-nim did unilaterally…”
“Well… let’s leave it at that.”
Dohyun turned his gaze with a subtle expression. The slightly furrowed brow seemed to be hiding something. Wooyeon cautiously took a chance with a sense of doubt.
“Did I also do that…?”
The day he woke up in the same bed with Dohyun, Wooyeon was still in a nightgown at least. They’d even gotten drunk and flirted, so he couldn’t guarantee nothing had happened that day. Dohyun rolled his eyes and muttered to himself, looking at Wooyeon.
“You’re not entirely clueless.”
TL/N You’ve probably noticed but the update schedule has changed to 2 updates on Sundays
Enjoy~<33
I was so surprised to see 3 chapters and also very happy!! Thank you~~ ❤❤