DASH-Chapter 136

It wasn’t like there was nothing; Jiheon was just plain tired. Even though he had slept for a while, exhaustion hit him so fast that his vision got all blurry.

Jiheon knew it too. This was mental fatigue. He couldn’t help it. Words like children and marriage, which he thought would never concern him, kept popping up one after another. Just talking about it seriously without avoiding it drained a lot of his energy.

‘Marriage....’

Jiheon mumbled that still unfamiliar word. In some ways, talking about marriage was more surprising than talking about children. He’d already rambled enough about children when he was in heat, and even though he was half out of his mind, he was somewhat immune to it.

But this was the first time they talked about marriage. Jaekyoung had been expressing how much he liked Jiheon, but he never once mentioned marriage before, so Jiheon figured Jaekyoung had no plans to tie the knot either. Even if he wasn’t a non-marital person like Jiheon, did they really need to get married in today’s world? They could just live together if they liked it. Break up if they wanted, stay together forever if they didn’t.

But the truth was, Jaekyoung was actually considering it. He just hadn’t said anything, assuming it was a natural thing to do. He was even thinking about proposing to Jiheon after winning gold at the Olympics.

“.......”

Somehow, Jiheon felt like his fatigue was doubling. Feeling like he might fall asleep while sitting # Nоvеlight # like this, he crawled into bed and lay down.

But when he tried to sleep, he just couldn’t. His heart was beating so loudly, and his hands seemed to get sweaty. The more he thought, the more tangled his mind became. He tried to stop thinking about it, but he kept on, “What should I do? What should I do now?”

‘What if Jaekyoung really proposes...? Can I just act surprised and say I don’t know what to say? Should I answer him later?’

...No, then Kwon Jaekyoung would be upset and ask why he was acting like it was the first time he’d heard this even though that guy had told him everything half a year ago. If Jiheon pretended to be clueless, Jaekyoung would definitely be upset and ask why Jiheon didn’t think of an answer ahead of time.......

‘Then...... Can I just say I understand? First of all, okay? And let’s talk slowly about when to get married? Just because he proposes to me doesn’t mean we have to get married right away, right? If Jaekyoung asks me when to get married, I’ll just roughly say... ‘How about in about six years?? If you still want to get married when you’re my age now, let’s do it??’ Of course, Kwon Jaekyoung will call me a scammer....... But it’s not that we’re not getting married; I’m just saying we should do it slowly, right?? Why am I a scammer?? Right?! Mm, yeah, that’s good! That will work!’

After reaching his own conclusion, luckily, his mind started to relax, and he naturally began to feel drowsy. Imagining Jaekyoung’s happiness when he accepted the proposal (whether it was a scam or not), his fear vanished completely, leaving only a bit of excitement and anticipation. Eventually, in his half-asleep state, Jiheon even pondered how he wished the Olympics would wrap up soon.

He had no clue how much time had passed. After falling into a deep sleep without realizing it, Jiheon suddenly woke up when Jaekyoung climbed into bed.

“Oh, are you going to sleep......?”

When he asked in a half-submerged voice, Jaekyoung answered:

“Yes.”

Noticing the darkness everywhere, it seemed like night had already set in.

“Then scoot over, come closer.”

Jiheon, half-asleep, shifted to the side.

“That’s alright. There’s enough space here. Sleep comfortably, hyung.”

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‘There can’t be enough space here.’

Jiheon chuckled. This bed wasn’t king-size, just a double bed. The size was too snug for two average-sized adult men to lie side by side, so it was impossible for two people as big as them to comfortably stay in their own zones. So, unintentionally, they always ended up sleeping together, like one body.

“It’s fine. Come here. You’ll fall.”

After saying that, Jiheon lay facing the wall to give Jaekyoung more room. Soon after, he felt Jaekyoung’s presence behind him. Jaekyoung lay down facing the same direction as Jiheon and casually hugged him with one arm. In the process, his fingertips accidentally brushed against Jiheon’s chest, and Jiheon flinched without realizing it.

Sensing the tension, Jaekyoung chuckled and said:

“I’m not doing anything. Don’t worry, just sleep.”

‘No, I wasn’t particularly worried....’

As Jiheon made excuses to himself, Jaekyoung suddenly asked him cautiously:

“Hyung. Are you scared of doing this?”

“What...?”

Jiheon turned to look at Jaekyoung at the unexpected remark. When Jiheon gave him a questioning look, he hesitated for a moment and said:

“Because, at the end, when I was knotting you, we were in this position.”

That was a reason he hadn’t even considered, so he stopped and unconsciously raised his voice.

“No? That’s not it at all?”

It felt like he had just snapped awake.

“I wasn’t really thinking about that.”

When he said that with a smile, Jaekyoung finally buried his face in Jiheon’s shoulder with a relieved look. The arm around Jiheon’s waist tightened for a moment but then relaxed almost immediately.

‘For some reason, it feels like he can’t hug me comfortably....’

Jiheon thought with an uneasy feeling. Sure enough, after a while, Jaekyoung slowly released his arms and got up, leaving the bed entirely.

‘Is he gonna get some water?’

Jiheon wondered as he heard the door open and close quietly.

He expected Jaekyoung to return soon, but no matter how long he waited, Jaekyoung didn’t come back. Doubtful, Jiheon went to the living room, and as expected, Jaekyoung was lying on the sofa.

Jiheon was surprised and grabbed Jaekyoung’s shoulder, shaking him.

“Why are you sleeping here? Just go to bed.”

Jaekyoung opened his eyes briefly, then closed them again and said:

“It’s okay, hyung. You’re still not feeling well, so sleep comfortably by yourself.”

“Hey, what do you mean? I told you I’m fine.”

Jiheon laughed, feeling baffled.

“And I don’t feel uncomfortable because you are there. If that were the case, would I continue to sleep with you all this time?”

“Still.”

“It’s okay. Hurry up and get up. Let’s go to bed and get some sleep.”

Jiheon pulled Jaekyoung up by the arm and made him stand. Although he forcibly took him to the room and laid him on the bed, Jaekyoung still seemed worried about Jiheon’s well-being. Instead of their usual close cuddling as they slept together, they lay as far apart as they could, facing away from each other.

Seeing Jaekyoung like that, Jiheon belatedly wondered if it made sense. He pondered whether Jaekyoung went out because he felt uneasy about sleeping next to him.

As the next day arrived, Jiheon’s suspicions grew stronger.

As soon as Jaekyoung opened his eyes in the morning, he headed to the living room as if he had been waiting.

Jaekyoung usually never did that. He was used to waking up early, always rising at 6 in the morning without an alarm, but that didn’t mean he would get up first. He would stay next to Jiheon until the latter woke up, and when Jiheon’s cell phone alarm buzzed, Jaekyoung would hug him as if he had been waiting and kiss him, playfully saying, “Hyung, wake up. If you don’t wake up, I’ll keep kissing you.” He used to indulge his own desires under the pretext of waking Jiheon up.

But today, as soon as he opened his eyes, he darted out like lightning. He didn’t return to the bedroom even once after going out. Typically, on weekend mornings when Jiheon was in bed, Jaekyoung would lie down beside him, hug him, and fool around as if it was natural. However, today, he skipped all of that and spent the entire day alone in the living room watching movies.

Jiheon was really puzzled. Even though he didn’t say it, he had mentally prepared for Jaekyoung to go through a tough time from today onward. With Jaekyoung’s injection rendered useless, the only hope was Jiheon’s pheromone suppressant. Finding the right dosage that wouldn’t affect Jaekyoung while avoiding harm to Jiheon’s body would likely take some time. Until then, minimizing contact was the best approach. It seemed that Jaekyoung had already made up his mind when he realized the injection wouldn’t work. In that case, Jiheon naturally assumed Jaekyoung wouldn’t waste this precious week, as it was his last vacation before the Olympics.

Even when it was just the two of them, Jaekyoung used to be the one to hug, touch, bite, and suck Jiheon, like it was the most natural thing. It was that way even when Jaekyoung claimed to be the only one who had feelings for him. But now, knowing they both felt the same way, having gone through heat together and declared a kind of war in the form of a proposal (even though, of course, Jaekyoung told Jiheon to pretend he never heard it), they were basically stuck together for the rest of the week. It was clear Jaekyoung would act like that. Jiheon had worried ahead of time, thinking that even if he couldn’t have penetrative sex due to his condition, Jaekyoung might try everything else that he could. But Jaekyoung’s behavior was surprisingly composed, making it oddly calm.

‘Maybe he thinks I’m not feeling well because I stay in bed all the time...? Is that why he’s being all self-conscious?’

Jiheon, who became slightly concerned later on, finally got out of bed and went to the living room. Jaekyoung was still sitting on the sofa alone, watching a movie.

“Is it fun?”

Jiheon asked, deliberately sitting down next to Jaekyoung.

“Just so-so.”

Jaekyoung answered briefly, glanced at Jiheon sitting right next to him, and slowly moved to the side. At first glance, it seemed like he was making room for Jiheon to sit comfortably, but Jiheon was convinced that Jaekyoung had shifted to avoid him. Because as soon as Jiheon sat down next to him, his expression subtly hardened.