DASH

Chapter 78

"Oh, you're yawning so wide that you're going to tear your mouth out soon," Manager Nam remarked, shaking the ashes off his cigarette.

Jihon, involuntarily yawning several times in a row, covered his lips with his hand in embarrassment and looked around. Fortunately, there was no one else in the smoking room except them.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't get enough sleep," he apologized, straightening his back, which had been bent from fatigue.

To which the colleague only shrugged his shoulders: "Come on, what's the matter. But where does such a lack of sleep come from? You don't seem to be late at work."

"Yes, I... I changed my bed recently," Jihon explained, somehow finding an excuse.

"Ah, well, yes, the bed is important," the manager nodded to Nam.

He even began to tell a story about how he once changed the bed and then his back hurt... Jihon listened to him without much interest: the fact was that he had no complaints about the new acquisition. On the contrary, he was quite pleased with it: the expensive thing turned out to be extremely convenient, and most importantly, the springs in it were so silent that no matter how much Jihon tossed and turned, or moved, or even jumped, they did not make a sound.

No, the real cause of his insomnia was who he had to share a bed with: Kwon Jaekyung, who had settled in his house.

As promised, he became a regular in Jihon's apartment, and in a completely impudent way: he showed up on weekdays and on weekends, whenever he wanted. Sometimes, he came before Jihon himself had time to return from work. On the day of delivery of the mattress, he generally arrived early in the morning and accepted the goods from the loaders, having previously signed all the receipts.

Well, this had its advantages: Jihon had a man who could look after the house and accept parcels while he was away.

In addition, Jaekyung, being completely alone, seemed to go into energy-saving mode: he almost did not move, did not litter, did not make any mess and did not even rummage through things.

And up to a certain point, Jihon was satisfied with everything.

However, the problems began when he, tired of a hard day's work, crossed the threshold of his own apartment. As soon as he washed and left the bathroom, Jaekyung immediately dragged him to bed and, not letting go of his embrace, began to shower him with burning tenderness, passionate touches and kisses. Of course, Jihong could not object, because they agreed that he could afford any liberties, except, in fact, sex. But how can you resist when you are so hugged, teased and playfully bitten?

Both the 21-year-old, vigorous athlete and the exhausted 27-year-old young man have both reached the peak of their desires. However, Jihong was optimistic about what was happening: after all, 27 years is not a sentence, and, as practice shows, he is still in good shape.

The only thing that infuriated Ji-heon was that after all these caresses, he had to cool down his ardor in his heart, while the impudent Kwon Jae-kyung calmly coped with his excitement right in front of Ji-heon. Neither requests, nor persuasion, nor threats did not work at all, like peas hitting a wall.

"Hyung, let's go together! Show me how you do it!" he insolently demanded.

But Jihong tried to answer as gently as possible: "Jaekyung-ah, be kind, save the hyun's strength."

He constantly explained to this small man that he was not made of iron. And if he is counting on something on the weekend, then he should moderate his appetites. To which Jaekyung, pretending to be a fool, obediently nodded.@@@@

But yesterday he was especially stubborn, as if he decided to act ahead. Jihong had barely managed to get out of the shower when Jaekyung immediately swooped down on him, kissing and nibbling. And, of course, by doing so, he quickly brought Jihon to the desired condition.

And Jihon, in an attempt to retreat, backed back to the bathroom, but the stubborn man left him no chance to escape, grabbing him by the wrist. And he demanded to do it right in front of him.

Jihon's cigarette almost fell out of his hands. He sat there for a few seconds, as if struck by thunder, and then somehow came to his senses and gently asked, "Well, there are many factors that affect the complexion, but how does it correlate with personal life?"

"Well, how come? For mere mortals like us, there are essentially only two things that can make us happy: either winning the housing lottery or having a new love. And you kind of said that you don't have a lottery ticket," manager Nam reasonably remarked. "So it's just the relationship, isn't it?"

From such truisms, Jihon immediately fell into a mute shock.

"I'm kidding," Nam's manager playfully summed up and took a drag on a cigarette. And after blowing out a long stream of smoke, he continued: "I remember you used to complain that someone asked you to quit smoking. And, judging by your stories, this man is clearly not used to being refused. So I assumed that you were serious."

But despite his friend's encouraging smile, saying, "Don't take it personally," Jihong still shook up.

"Manager: Nam, I was thinking...

"Yes?"

"Do you happen to have the gift of foresight?"

To which the manager Nam burst into laughter: "There's nothing to guess about, it's obvious!"

"No, really! You have such intuition that sometimes it even becomes scary," Jihon admitted.

"So I'm right?" Do you have an affair?

"No, no, no! No romance," Jihon hastened to assure him.

"Well... That is... Of course, we see each other often..." he muttered confusedly.

Manager Nam froze for a moment, as if in disbelief, and then waved his hand: "Come on, anything can happen. Everyone has their own path," he philosophically summarized, confirming his reputation as a person who does not meddle in other people's business.

"The main thing is that you feel good. Isn't it?" and with that, he turned around and walked out of the smoking room.

Left alone, Jihong took another puff and began to replay his colleague's answer in his head: "The main thing is that you feel good... Do I feel good now? Well... Not to say that it is bad. It's a sin to complain when you get everything you want. But, on the other hand, to confidently declare that I feel good... I can't either. It's not that I'm delighted with what is happening..."

While he was indulging in useless thoughts, the cigarette burned to the filter. And Jihon, exhaling, crushed the cigarette butt on the ashtray and resolutely rose from his seat.

Piles of documents were already piled up on his desk. Mechanically, he grabbed the top sheet he had received by fax.

Eyes fell on the sender: "Korean Sports Council."

And at the same moment, Jihon's eyebrows met on the bridge of his nose.