This Masquerade
He tapped at the message. After confirming the time and place the man sent to him, Ha Joyoon put his phone back in his pocket and leaned his back on the outer wall of the building. It was past the expected time but the main attraction showed no signs of appearing. It might have been because there were a lot of cars by this time on his way back from work. Now that the difference in the length of day and night had clearly widened, a red sunset was spread out across the sky as if painted with watercolor paint even though it was not too late.
He shook his head from side to side, pressing his neck that had stiffened from a busy schedule. His entire body was tired from a long period of fatigue. Even though he was focusing on rehabilitation in his own way, his physical strength that had once hit rock bottom could not be easily recovered. He lost energy two times faster even though he worked at the same level as he did in the past. And on days like this when he was extremely fatigued, he had to regulate his condition for several days to recover his stamina.
Could he continue his life as a correspondent in this state? There used to be a time where he would go from site to site and stay up all night with work related to refugees. It made him bitter that health could be lost so easily.
With several different thoughts in his head, Ha Joyoon rubbed at his eyes and let out a small yawn. His eyes were filled with drowsiness due to his overnight work. He didn’t refuse Shin Kwonjoo’s request to pick him up because he was so tired that he knew he’d fall asleep the moment he put his head on something. He suddenly let out a silly laugh as he made several excuses for his gabbling heart. His attempt to make up reasons seemed funny. This was why he couldn’t argue against Shin Kwonjoo’s criticisms of his words and actions being careless.
Honk—
As he got immersed in his thoughts, the sound of a horn rang lightly a couple of times nearby. He turned his head in the direction of the sound and saw a familiar car. The black tinted sedan gently turned the corner and stopped at the entrance of the building where Ha Joyoon was standing. Jing- There was a small sound from the car window being opened and a familiar face was soon revealed.
“Get in. There was traffic since it’s rush hour.”
The man gestured with a short excuse from the driver’s seat. He thought about going to the backseat and getting some rest but he went back and opened the door to the front passenger seat when he saw the seemingly offended look from the other. Click. Between the opened door came the cool scent of his skin.
“Where did you say the meeting was?”
Ha Joyoon pulled at the seatbelt and asked in a habitual tone. He remembered Shin Kwonjoo saying that he was working nearby. The hands on the steering wheel paused for a moment at the question.
“Would you know where that is if I told you?”
“…? Why would I not know? I was born in Seoul so I know my way around pretty well.”
The man turned with an unreadable expression on his face. Under silent pressure to not ask anymore questions, Ha Joyoon awkwardly stiffened his face and tightened the belt to fit his body.
It was odd.
He was somewhat insensitive to reading other people’s thoughts and minds, but he felt that it was definitely strange. He realized that it didn’t matter who one knew first just as long as both minds and moods become different over time.
He began to suddenly fear the end of this relationship he had fearlessly jumped into. He was able to start it because he had no clue about the other, but the more he got to know Shin Kwonjoo, the more he discovered unexpected sides to him. Just like he did, the man probably discovered new things about him as well. The changing air, breaths, touches, thoughts… Those several things left his head in a mess.
“Did you travel to a different world again?”
“…?”
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.
“Pa ibbxfv ilxf sbe kfgf lwjulclcu rbwfatlcu kflgv.”
Ktf wjc ifa bea j wlrmtlfnber, jiwbra pfralcu rwlif. Lj Absbbc ibbxfv ja Vtlc Bkbcpbb lc defralbc yea atf batfg ralii rajgfv ragjluta jtfjv jcv rlwqis ajqqfv ja tlr mtffx.
“Tbeg ojmf lr mbwqifafis gfv.”
“…P’w j ilaaif tba. P gjc tfgf.”
“You have nice stamina.”
The slightly low voice seemed to be in a good mood. Just like he said, Ha Joyoon’s face was stained a red color from fevered heat. Even though they had seen each other’s naked bodies countless times, he felt embarrassed and found it difficult to endure being alone with the other.
Feeling like the other could see the parts he wanted to hide and even the parts he couldn’t show, his several emotions began to collide. What made him come all the way here? His eyes, which appeared to be slightly lowered, shook with confusion.
When he understood Kang Taejung’s change of heart and fully accepted his break up with him, the relationship between him and Shin Kwonjoo changed in many ways and none. To be exact, Ha Joyoon’s feelings toward Shin Kwonjoo had changed, but nothing had changed in Shin Kwonjoo’s attitude and feelings toward Ha Joyoon.
It was that night when the other had seen him in an unstable mood.
When Ha Joyoon woke up that morning, returning to his usual state, Shin Kwonjoo’s eyes that stared back at him made his chest feel tight for the first time.
Even though he knew that that was by no means considered love.
It was still a strange feeling.
By the time they got to the house, the night had already been completely covered in darkness. The sedan car slowed down at the entrance of the alleyway close to the house, reducing its speed before completely stopping.
“Thank you.”
Shin Kwonjoo nodded and waved his hand in response. Awkwardness lingered in the air. Shin Kwonjoo would often take him home as he did today whenever the timing was right. It seemed to have become more frequent recently, but it could also just be Ha Joyoon’s arbitrary interpretation. Just as Ha Joyoon was about to say his goodbyes with unexpected regret, arranging the camera bag by his feet, “Oh, Sunbae.” He called as a thought suddenly came to mind, making the man glance in his direction.
“On the way here I took a cool picture. Let me show you.”
“…?”
“Wait a second…”
Before he could get a reply, his hands quickly began to open his camera bag. Dark eyes carefully watched his movements with an ambiguous expression.
A well managed camera soon appeared in his bag. After Ha Joyoon carefully took it out and pressed a button, he selected a folder and began to go through the photos he took that day.
The fast moving screen began to slow down at some point, before completely stopping at a particular scene. After carefully looking at the photos before and after one more time, he selected the best one and displayed it on the screen. A bright and childlike smile spread across his lips in satisfaction. The expression of the man watching him stiffened a little, but the person distracted by the picture had no idea.
Checking the photo for the last time, Ha Joyoon slightly turned around and moved the camera into Shin Kwonjoo’s vision. The picture that filled the screen shone brightly in the dark. Inside the small device screen were unique and saturated rainbows overlapped in several layers over a cloudless blue sky to show off the beauty of color.
“I saw a quadruple rainbow.”
“…”
“I happened to see it after my news report. There were a lot of people gathered to look at it.”
“…”
“…Do you not find it cool? People say it’s extremely rare, though…”
Even though he wasn’t surprised by the man’s character, he thought the other would at least burst into an exclamation. However, the cold reaction made him feel embarrassed that he showed it so excitedly. To hide his awkwardness from the unexpected reaction, Ha Joyoon made up random remarks from the top of his head. Even so, the more he explained it, the more ridiculous he felt and his voice became smaller over time.
“I’ve seen a triple rainbow before but it’s my first time seeing a quadruple one. A lot of people thought it was cool and came out of their cars to take pictures. I happened to see it on my way back, as well.”
“…”
At that moment, there was a shadow over his fair face. The man, whose shadow was covering his body, tilted his head. The back of Ha Joyoon’s head touched the seat lightly and at the same time, hot lips crashed roughly against his. A warm tongue rudely slided between his slightly opened lips without asking for permission.
As soon as his head was about to be completely tilted, big hands clasped both of his cheeks. The other’s hands caressed his face and their cheeks rubbed against each other. Hot and cold breaths quickly crossed and mixed into each other.
In an uncomfortable posture, Shin Kwonjoo spat out low curses and roughly loosened the seat belt that held him back. Immediately, his free body completely twisted and collapsed on Ha Joyoon’s upper body. “Ngh…” Suppressed groans barely flowed through his lips as they kissed. Ha Joyoon tried to hold back the man’s body that was overwhelming him with a trembling hand. His palm felt the solid chest and the heart hidden in it beating fast and hot.
“So.”
“Haa…”
“Did you want to show me?”
The tone of his voice lowered and sounded rough. At the husky voice, his forehead grew feverish as he rubbed against the man’s shoulder. He felt the strength from the body where it met his. “Ha Joyoon.” Shin Kwonjoo called his name again. The voice grazed his ears and they reddened from the heat.
“What was so fascinating about that?”
“I…”
“Why do you act so childish at your age?”
“…”
“Do you know how you look at me?”
His body gently held in the man’s arms flinched. Shin Kwonjoo had a clear mixture of lust in his tone and impatience in his words, which was different from the usual indecipherable words that were hard to tell whether it was criticism or irony. When Ha Joyoon raised his head up, their lips met once again. Shin Kwonjoo’s hot tongue licked at the saliva he couldn’t swallow. A simmering feeling began to slowly rise from the tip of his toes as thin fabrics rubbed against each other and the weight of the other’s body pressed down on him.
“You know what?” He whispered as he licked his ear. The chestnut eyes, blurred with pleasure, blinking slowly in weariness.
“You looked at me the same way from the very start.”
“What are you… Ngh…”
“To look after you. To help you out.”
“I never…”
Unlike his words, the feeling of their kissing, frantically sweeping over each other’s lips, cheeks, and eyelids, was very ambiguous, making it impossible to guess the other person’s mind. Taking advantage of the moment when his lips fell open, Ha Joyoon quickly buried his face in the man’s chest. He felt like he could hear a loud drum sound throughout his brain as if his heart was in his head. A large hand slowly stroked the back of his head.
“Why do you look at me like that?”
“Like what?”
“Don’t seduce me so carelessly. It’s not like you know how to.”
Thinking that that was what he wanted to say back, Ha Joyoon opened his trembling eyelids and caught sight of the man’s face. There was no doubt that he was the reason for the other’s messy hair, which was different from a few minutes ago. It was strange that Shin Kwonjoo didn’t even seem to care about it even though it might be annoying. The air was full of sweetness, and their eyes that met in the dark were intertwined with each other in heat.
A pale hand in the dark trembled and grabbed the man’s jacket collar, pulling him closer. Without much of an opposition, the other soon leaned down in his direction. The questions Shin Kwonjoo asked were actually the same words he wanted to ask back.
Why do you look at me like that?
Why does it have to be me…?
…It’s just like…
Still heaving for breath, their lips crushed against each other. One of the man’s hands dug past clothes and roughly smoothed his bare skin. He let out a moan and his tensed waist arched like a bow at the gesture filled with sexual intent. His spread legs trembled painfully from the weight of his body. A weird fever and sexual impulses raged. As they frantically craved for each other, he didn’t realize that the painful fire burning in his heart would not stop for a long time after that.
😍
Thank you for the update
Oh oh fire ignited!!! Let it burn 🔥 🎶