SMS | Chapter 7.1

As we arrived at the sunrise viewing spot, surprisingly, there were a lot of people around. Guess people do come out to see the sunrise even on Christmas. Mino shoved his hands into his long padding coat pockets and blew out a breath of white steam. Despite the cold, Lee Dohoon, dressed in just a coat, showed no signs of feeling chilly.

“Are you cold?”

Dohoon, noticing the look in my eyes, asked first.

“A bit.”

“You’d think it’s because of the cold. No one here knows us anyway.”

Then Dohoon suddenly said something cryptic before pulling Mino into a hug from behind. The pressure of his strong embrace felt good. Sex was better than expected, and these small touches were quite satisfying too.

There were no explicit punishments or restraints, no clear hierarchical dynamics… and he didn’t finish inside, but… still, it’s like feeling satisfied with just a bowl of rice porridge after starving for a while.

“It looks like it’s about to rise. Over there.”

As he pointed, the sky gradually reddened. The slow ascent of the sun was so touching that even a blink of an eye felt regrettable.

“How is it?”

“Beautiful.”

“How does it compare to when you watched it in school?”

“Much… prettier.”

It felt like a new day was dawning in my life as well. The moment of sunrise, long yet fleeting, was as regrettable as it was beautiful.

After the sun rose fully above the horizon, Dohoon pulled Mino toward the car, saying it was too cold to stay out any longer or we’d catch a cold. Even though the pension was right there, Dohoon had brought out the car, considering Mino, and suggested a drive.

The sun was the same old sun, the asphalt road no different from the one we usually took by bus, yet it strangely thrilled me. It felt like adding a color or two to a monochrome life. No, maybe even two.

The warm car felt nice compared to the chilly outside. I always got carsick when Seongjun drove, but Dohoon drove well. He seemed flawless in every way. Why would someone like him confess to me?

Mino glanced at himself in the rearview mirror. He looked terribly plain compared to Dohoon. Never had anyone said he was ugly.

“Where did you used to live?”

Mino, staring blankly outside, was caught off guard by Dohoon’s question.

“Ah, I’m from Monaedong in Seoul.”

“…My friend is from Monaedong too.”

“Really? Which friend?”

It’s rare to meet someone from the same neighborhood through social interactions. And now my boyfriend’s friend is from my neighborhood? I became curious about their relationship. It’s not easy to get introduced to a friend when you’re dating a guy, but still.

“A close friend. I’ll introduce you sometime.”

“To me?”

“We’re dating, aren’t we? Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?”

Well, there’s only Seongjun. If it’s Seongjun, he’d practically chant prayers to meet him, so that wouldn’t be hard.

“I’ll introduce you. So, where are you from, Doctor?”

“Seoul. Uh, near Monaedong.”

“We might have crossed paths.”

The conversation paused briefly before Dohoon asked another question.

“Which high school did you go to?”

“I went to Monaenam High.”

“Mino, you were a junior of my friend.”

“Really? That’s amazing.”

Yet, I regretted it a bit. It would have been nicer if I had been Dohoon’s junior instead.

“Which middle school?”

“Monaenam Middle. Did your friend go to Monaenam Middle too?”

“No. He went to Moseok Middle.”

His expression seemed slightly complicated. Moseok Middle was nearby. Some of my elementary school classmates went there, so it felt close yet far.

I wish we could have met in school, but the age difference would have made it impossible. A sense of lingering affection arose.

“What kind of student were you back then?”

“I was just average. I was pretty good at studies until middle school, but just around the upper middle in high school… You must have been really good at studies, Doctor.”

“I wasn’t that great. If you were good in middle school, you might have been in the student council or something.”

How did he know? Mino’s eyes widened as Dohoon precisely guessed his past.

“Yes, I was.”

“I remember that school being affiliated with a Christian foundation.”

“Yes, yes. That’s why I was dragged into Christmas events. Speaking of which, today’s Christmas.”

“I heard there was quite a fuss because of some incident back then.”

The fact that he knew so much about a friend’s school made the conversation easier.

“Yes, the chaplain from Monaenam High was in charge of organizing events.”

“The proxy punishment incident, right? My friend told me about it.”

Since that chaplain was affiliated with Monaenam High, the incident must have spread even more noisily there.

“Haha, yes.”

“Did you get punished too?”

His gaze on me felt odd. Why look at me like that?

“Yes. I had never been punished before, so it really… hurt. That chaplain was such a strange person. Not normal at all. I think he was unfit as an educator.”

I almost blurted out “It was incredibly good” but managed to rephrase it just in time. Then, I rambled on.

Thinking about that time, memories of my “first love” came flooding back. It’s odd to call it a first love, but it was the person who made me realize I was a pervert. What’s he doing now?

“He said the same, that the guy was crazy….”

Dohoon murmured as if lost in thought, his profile captivating. It’s not polite to think of a first love in front of your boyfriend. Mino tried to change the subject.

“Doctor, aren’t you hungry?”

“Hungry?”

“Yes….”

My stomach was indeed grumbling, even though I had eaten plenty the night before. Then Dohoon teased me with a mischievous smile.

“I thought I fed you a lot yesterday.”

“It’s been over 10 hours since we ate.”

“No, I filled you up pretty well. Don’t you remember your belly bulging?”

Such lewd talk so early in the morning. How delightful. Mino covered his face with his palms.

“Doctor….”

“Were you still lacking because I didn’t finish?”

I wish he would tease me more. Too embarrassed to say it out loud, I turned my head away shyly as Dohoon reached out and tweaked my ear.

“If I had finished inside, you might have gotten a stomachache.”

“…….”

“Your ass is too small, it would have overflowed.”

“Doctor, it’s just that yours is too big.”

As I countered quietly, a pleasant laugh sounded. When I sneaked a peek, I saw Dohoon smiling cheerfully.

“I know you’re considering me, but I wish we both enjoyed it.”

“Did you enjoy yesterday? You passed out.”

“Next time, I definitely won’t pass out.”

“You make it hard to hold back.”

His voice sounded somehow somber. Why does he keep trying to hold back? I resolved once more, as I had spoken, that next time, no matter what, I definitely would not pass out.

The car had not stopped once as it was all green lights, but it began to slow down now. A red traffic light was shining ahead.

After the short drive with Dohoon and a hearty breakfast, we returned to the pension. While Dohoon was handling the luggage, I turned on my nearly dead phone all day.

“What’s this?”

As the phone had been off, a flood of catch-call texts had accumulated. The phone kept vibrating one alert after another, and I opened the messaging app only to find over 20 messages from Seongjun.

Was there some trouble? I was startled and tried calling him, but even though the ringing went on for a while, Seongjun didn’t pick up.

“Did you get a call?”

Dohoon also heard the incessant vibrating and came over to me.

“No, not now. Just a moment.”

I excused myself to Dohoon and checked Seongjun’s messages.

[100Seongjun]: Hey, why was your phone off?

[100Seongjun]: Ha Mino, I have something to tell you

[100Seongjun]: Hey, I’m seriously serious

[100Seongjun]: I got a call from Junhyuk and it felt weird, that’s why

[100Seongjun]: Call me back when you see this? It’s making me worried

[100Seongjun]: Why’d you turn off your phone like crazy!

The rapid-fire nature of the messages and their unusually warm tone made me panic. The last message he sent was ominous.

[100Seongjun]: You traitor!

Leaving such a message and not picking up the phone, what was he thinking? With a serious expression, I left a message for Seongjun.

[What’s up? My phone was off. Call me when you see this.]

And because I felt somewhat unjustified, I sent one more.

[Why am I a traitor?]

As I tapped the screen, my lips protruding, Dohoon poked my sulky cheek with his finger.

“What’s with that face?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Should I help you with packing?”

“It’s all done. Let’s go out now.”

As I followed him, a pink shopping bag caught my eye. Come to think of it, there had been no mention of that. I too was curious about the identity of the items Dohoon had brought.

“Doctor. That, you know.”

“Yes. Tell me.”

“Did you open this…?”

I blurted out what now seemed like a thoughtless question. It felt like I was making a mountain out of a molehill. Pointing to the shopping bag on the table, Dohoon quickly walked over and opened the crumpled bag.

“Did you?”

Should I say I did? My eyes flickered, caught off guard by the unexpected question, and Dohoon pulled out a box and pushed it towards me while sighing faintly. It was hard to read his expression, which seemed lost in thought.

“Why don’t you answer if you opened it? The wrapping is torn.”

Ah, right. Mino bit his lip in despair. When Dohoon gave it to me, the box was tightly wrapped. Now that it was completely unwrapped, it was clear I had opened it. And judging by Mino’s uncomfortable expression, Dohoon muttered in a low voice.

“It’s useless to keep it. Giving this as a prize, I should have opened it first. Weren’t you too shocked?”

“Yes? Yes….”

He didn’t know. Well, it didn’t seem like Dohoon would give such a thing and mock someone. It would have been nice if he had known.

Meanwhile, Dohoon, seeing Mino’s pale face, was managing his expression. The age difference between Mino and himself was four years. Earlier in the car, he mentioned a friend, but perhaps the young middle school student from back then was Mino. If that young boy who caused such a discovery was Mino, it would be a remarkable coincidence.

The breathless moans from that time had already faded from his memory. But as Mino mentioned that event, he said, “It hurt a lot.”

As if recalling a terrible memory. An ordinary person might not want to remember such a past. At least five middle school boys were whipped then.

So even if Mino was there and got whipped, there’s only about a 20 percent chance it was that boy. Moreover, he said he hated it. So Mino is just an ordinary person.

Mino has no immediate thoughts of breaking up with me. He thinks of me as a ‘good person,’ and that’s why he accepted my confession.

A ‘good person’ doesn’t gift adult toys to a newly dating partner. It’s a shame, as I prepared it to test the waters, but now I’ve grown too fond of Mino. If I want to keep him as a lover, I must distance myself from such things.

“I’ll take it with me. Sorry for startling you.”

“Ah, ha, you must have been surprised too… It’s really a weird café.”

Mino’s awkward response was barely audible to the impeccable acting Dohoon.