“You said you weren’t thinking about anything… but were you thinking about me?”
Jaegyeom hesitated and looked at Yoon Taehee. He almost denied reflexively, but it was true that he had been thinking about him from the moment he woke up until now.
“Stop changing the subject. Just answer my question.”
Jaegyeom avoided eye contact and mumbled.
“What? Oh… about whether I’m a sodomite?”
Yoon Taehee, who was one step below, casually stepped up the remaining stairs with his hands clasped behind his back. The eye level that seemed similar when Yoon Taehee was one step down returned to the usual difference.
Yoon Taehee said, “Nope. Not a sodomite.”
The answer was so brief and clear it could feel insincere.
“Then why did you do that yesterday?”
“Do what?”
“You kissed me yesterday.”
Yoon Taehee silently looked down at Jaegyeom. Since Jaegyeom kept looking down at the ground, Yoon Taehee’s gaze naturally settled on his forehead. Suddenly, Yoon Taehee felt an impulse to brush aside those unruly bangs and leave a mark on that round forehead. Without realizing it, he leaned forward, stopping near his temple.
“Curious?”
A faint laugh tinged the whisper that sounded like a jest. Jaegyeom looked up. Their gazes met at an angle. Yoon Taehee was looking down at him with half-closed eyes.
“Because… I’m better at kissing than punching.”
The close scent of perfume was suffocating. The dark emergency staircase was too quiet, and the pounding of their hearts filled their ears like hallucinations. Jaegyeom felt his heart pounding unusually hard from the moment he became aware of the approaching scent of perfume. He hurriedly averted his gaze in an attempt to suppress his agitation.
“Wh- what does that mean?”
“Isn’t it better to kiss than to have a bloody fight?”
What Yoon Tae-hee implied sounded like he kissed to avoid a fight.
If that’s how it was seen, then the situation went exactly as he intended. The unexpected kiss startled Jaegyeom into running away, naturally stopping the fight. Even if he hadn’t run, his fighting spirit would have been dampened by then, effectively ending the confrontation.
But even if that was the reason, it was still strange. Of course, Yoon Taehee was known to be bizarre and unpredictable. Knowing this, Jaegyeom usually let things slide, but this time, no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand Yoon Taehee’s actions.
“If it were me, I’d rather fight than do that to another guy.”
Jaegyeom shot back hesitantly, and after a moment of silence, Yoon Taehee said, “…Really? I would.”
In the dim emergency staircase, the soft light from the emergency lamps cast a strange shadow on Yoon Taehee’s face. After a brief silence, he playfully whispered in Jaegyeom’s ear.
“You might not know, but a kiss is no big deal.”
Jaegyeom felt a sudden drop in his heart. His mood soured instantly when he heard that. Something fell with a thud inside him, sending unpleasant ripples spreading outwards.
He remembered the advice Jeongju had given him that morning. When he told Jeongju about the kiss between two men, Jeongju also reacted as if it was no big deal. He said that in today’s world, it happens, and you just move on.
“It might not be a big deal to you, but it’s not the same for me.”
However, Jaegyeom found it hard to let go. Hearing the same thing from Yoon Taehee suddenly hurt his pride. He was annoyed that he had been dragged around all day by that kiss, which had meant nothing to the other man.
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.
“Vb, vbc’a fnfg vb atja jujlc.”
“Qts?”
“Dfmjerf la offir cjras.”
“…”
Tbbc Kjftff ibbxfv vbkc ja Ajfusfbw klat jc fzqgfrrlbcifrr ojmf joafg atf yieca rajafwfca.
“Glv la cbk? P vlvc’a xcbk atja…”
Coafg j ktlif, tf wewyifv lcrlcmfgfis jcv revvfcis gjlrfv tlr tjcv. Llr ibcu, ragjluta olcufgr abemtfv Ajfusfbw’r rela pjmxfa, atfc oilmxfv j yeaabc.
“But what should I do? I don’t care about how you feel.”
He tilted his head and looked at Jaegyeom.
“…”
Yoon Taehee was truly strange. He claims he doesn’t want to fight, yet he provokes others easily; he says he doesn’t want to hurt others, yet he always speaks hurtfully. Normally, he touches his body without permission, but when it comes to fighting, he doesn’t lay a finger on them. Jaegyeom closed his eyes tightly. The atmosphere changed in an instant.
“Why on earth are you doing this to me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why do you always talk like that?”
Jaegyeom glared at Yoon Taehee with lifted eyes.
“If you hate fighting, then don’t start it in the first place. Yesterday was the same. None of it would have happened if you hadn’t provoked me first.”
Of course, He knew well that there was nothing good about fighting.
Earlier, Seok Juryeon had asked what happened the moment she saw the wound on Yoon Taehee’s face. That was when Jaegyeom first felt alarmed. Judging by her reaction, it seemed that if Yoon Taehee had shown up badly hurt, dealing with the aftermath would have been troublesome.
Even if they had fought, it wouldn’t have ended in a brutal beating like before, but it was clear that Yoon Taehee would have been more severely injured than he was now. Thinking calmly with yesterday’s emotions diluted, it was ultimately a good thing they didn’t fight yesterday.
“You have no idea how much I let slide, how much I tolerate from you.”
Jaegyeom slapped away Yoon Taehee’s hand, which was fiddling with someone else’s button. The rejected hand lingered in the air. The man glanced at his hand floating in the air.
“No, I know. That you’ve been lenient with me. If it had been like before, I would have broken a bone by now…”
He brought his hand close to his face, turning it back and forth as if inspecting an object. The behavior, flaunting nonchalance, felt utterly weightless.
“But, do you know this?”
Yoon Taehee chuckled and threw a look at Jaegyeom.
“It’s not just you who’s letting things slide.”
He narrowed his eyes playfully, squinting as if making a joke.
“Behaving recklessly like before is problematic.”
“What?”
“Department Head Seok has an incredibly quick intuition.”
“…”
Jaegyeom was at a loss for words, realizing what Yoon Taehee was talking about. He was referring to the previous situation in the seminar room, where he had pinpointed the issue and captured the attention of Department Head Seok Juryeon and the other exorcists.
“I managed to sort it out roughly this time, but if things keep dragging on, sooner or later you’ll get caught. So, I hope you’ll be careful to avoid such situations in the future.”
Yoon Taehee effortlessly and smoothly changed the conversation.
“Ah… Since we’re on the topic, shall we clear one more thing?”
Yoon Taehee leaned in, whispering as if revealing a precious secret.
“You said you didn’t talk about anything much with Seok Juryeon… Me giving in to such an obviously untrue statement is the first and last time. Do you understand?”
His voice was very gentle, but the term ‘Department Head’ had somehow changed to ‘Seok Juryeon’. Jaegyeom thought he had deftly avoided the topic, but the topic he thought had drifted away suddenly hit him in the back of the head. Yoon Taehee sometimes seemed like a lazy hunter, showing apparent vulnerabilities. However, they were actually traps to make the opponent let their guard down, like now, waiting for the right moment to activate the trap.
“I said it was nothing much because it really wasn’t much to me.”
Jaegyeom responded coldly to his words.
“No, that’s not the important part here.”
Yoon Taehee shook his head with a now expressionless face.
“It seems you’re misunderstanding something… My point is, don’t cross the line without permission. Whether it’s nothing much or not is for me to judge, not you. And your job is to move as I’ve instructed, in the position I have assigned you.”
Yoon Taehee murmured dryly while looking down at Jaegyeom.
“Don’t forget why you’re here beside me. You’re just a chess piece in my game.”
It was as if reminding himself…
“So, your feelings or thoughts are unnecessary.”
Jaegyeom felt as if he had had a bucket of dirty water dumped over his head.
“…”
Chess piece. The moment he heard that word, it felt as if a part of his heart had frozen over. Jaegyeom had thought that although their relationship wasn’t exactly close, they were colleagues who would at least watch out for each other. But he realized at this moment that it was just his own misconception.
“Right. I am your chess piece.”
After a moment of silence, Jaegyeom slowly spoke up. “But, you know what?” He glared at Yoon Taehee with a sharp gaze. The corners of his mouth were twisted up slightly.
“You’re also a chess piece to me.”
For a moment, Yoon Taehee’s eyelid twitched slightly.
“Don’t be mistaken. I’ve agreed to join hands with you, not to be under your control. If you expect me to move according to your wishes, then don’t treat me this way.”
Jaegyeom took a bold step forward and pressed down hard on the toe of Yoon Taehee’s shoe. It was then that the latter’s eyes slightly widened. Jaegyeom said in a cold voice,
“And I’m sorry for the mistake earlier. Since you’re the one who brought me here, you should naturally handle such situations, shouldn’t you? Did you really think there would never be an incident like this after I joined? Then you’ve misread the situation.”
Suddenly, Jaegyeom paused,
“So, will you play the game properly?”
He looked at Yoon Taehee skeptically.
“…”
Yoon Taehee silently looked down at Jaegyeom. Jaegyeom, too, didn’t blink as he stared back at the other. Their gazes locked without any gaps. A strange tension flowed as if time had stopped.
“…Have you always been so articulate?”
Yoon Taehee spoke unexpectedly after a while.
“Who did you learn to talk like a dog from?”
Finishing off with a sarcastic tone, Jaegyeom walked past Yoon Taehee without any hesitation, climbing up the stairs he had come down only for his arm to be grabbed.
“Don’t touch me.”
Jaegyeom shook off the hand roughly. As he stumbled slightly from the force of shaking off the grip, Yoon Taehee didn’t miss the opportunity and immediately reached out again, pulling him towards him. Jaegyeom’s step faltered, and pulled by the force, he collided against the wall.
“Move.”
Suddenly, Jaegyeom found himself between the wall and Yoon Taehee. Trapped between the wall and the man, Jaegyeom glared fiercely at him. Yoon Taehee’s grip on his arm was painfully strong.
Yoon Taehee said, “What do I need to do?”
The words were difficult to understand. Jaegyeom ignored his words and twisted his arm forcefully. However, Yoon Taehee didn’t budge. “Get your hand off and get out of the way.” Jaegyeom grabbed Yoon Taehee’s wrist to shake off his grip. At the same time, he placed his other hand on his chest, intending to push him away forcefully, but Jaegyeom found himself freezing in place.
“…”
Through the shirt, Jaegyeom could feel Yoon Taehee’s heart beating wildly.
“Go on. Keep pushing me away.”
Feeling the pulse vividly under his palm, Jaegyeom involuntarily snatched his hand back. Or, he tried to. But Yoon Taehee, who had been looking down, placed his hand over Jaegyeom’s on his chest. The sensation of the pulse intensified.
“If you’re not going to move as instructed, then go ahead. Do as you please. Keep acting on your own. Push me away and run. Make me unable to trust you. That’s your job.”
Yoon Taehee looked down at Jaegyeom with a shadowed face. The shadowed features seemed strangely lonely. Jaegyeom, who had been stiffly frozen, hesitantly lifted his head.
“What are you talking about now?”
This time, Yoon Taehee pressed down on the toe of Jaegyeom’s shoe.
“That means if I kiss you, you can slap me.”
After saying that, he lightly grabbed Jaegyeom’s chin and quickly turned his head, drawing him into a kiss. The emergency exit was dark, silent, and filled with a familiar scent.
Leaning against the wall, Jaegyeom slid down.
Pr: K
Checkmate
Why does it feel like YT has a degradation kink lol
Specifically from JG of course, but still
Thank you for your work ✨
Maaaaan … some hurtful words in this conversation.
JG was begining to soften towards YT but the idiot ruined it by saying hurtful things in this chapter
Yoon Taehee is such a confusing and complicated character, I think that’s what I truly like about him. You can’t be sure what he will do next, his moves are always beyond expectations and he always baffles Jaegyeom. Will we get to see Yoon Taehee’s past?? I’m so looking forward to it. By far, Yoon Taehee’s character is immersive, I can’t help but feel like that Yoon Taehee I more stronger and powerful than Jaegyeom and that he is just not using his full strength on Jaegyeom. I don’t know if that’s true?
Thank you for your hardwork!! ❤