/Flashback/

When only men gather together, all sorts of topics can come up.

Jeong Taeui had been part of the male society since his school days, and he always thought that men were just as good at gossiping as women. Among them, those who Taeui considered less skilled would talk about things like sleeping with their girlfriends for the first time and whether her breasts were big or small.

During his time as a cadet, even though he didn’t want to listen, such stories would still echo in crowded places and from them Jeong Taeui learned many things.

From useless information like techniques to bed an innocent girl, to useful and practical information like how talking in such a way and being caught by a strict physical trainer would cancel weekend outings and result in punishment, the knowledge he absorbed from their conversations was varied.

Like most people who tend to associate with those they can talk to comfortably, Jeong Taeui was no different. He wasn’t close to those who constantly talked about women. It wasn’t that he disliked them; it was just that those topics didn’t interest him. Thus, with the friends Jeong Taeui usually hung out with, they almost never talked about women.

One day.

A close friend of his returned from the weekend, always smiling whereas he usually wore a gloomy face. Seeing his cheerful demeanor, it seemed like something very pleasant had happened.

No matter how they asked, he wouldn’t open his mouth, and finally when everyone pressured him, they learned the truth. It wasn’t anything major.

As usual, he had gone to his girlfriend’s house for the weekend and had a good time. After he finished talking, everyone fell silent.

But that alone wasn’t anything special and didn’t explain why he was smiling so broadly.

His classmates concluded that he must have won the lottery worth hundreds of billions of won and didn’t want to share any with them. They kept pressing him to continue. Eventually, the truth came out.

Even though he had slept with his girlfriend, it was usually just normal. He felt happy, but his girlfriend didn’t seem to enjoy it much; they just went through the motions out of habit. He stopped for a moment, then continued under the pressure of his friends’ fierce stares.

“But the other day, for some reason, everything was perfect. She was very excited, unlike before. As a result, I got more excited…… a lot more than usual…… that’s what happened.”

After he finished speaking, his classmate laughed awkwardly and scratched his nose.

“Isn’t it really that you won the lottery?” – Another classmate of Jeong Taeui asked, pushing others aside.

“It’s really tough holding hands with your lover and gazing at paradise together. So, how was breakfast?”

“Yeah, she prepared a lavish breakfast.”

He seemed very happy; he was usually a quiet person, but now he knew how to smile awkwardly and nod. It was as if there was a halo of confidence shining behind him, the confidence of a satisfied man.

Indeed, many wise men have said that you can gauge a woman’s satisfaction from the previous night by how she prepares breakfast the next morning. His classmates shared this tale, not knowing where it started and when they realized their hope of sharing lottery winnings was gone, they quickly lost interest and moved on to another topic.

Jeong Taeui remembered his own handsome young man and nodded, agreeing that if you satisfy that person at night, their mood would be great the next morning. Despite experiencing many wonderful nights, he had never received such a breakfast, which made him a bit envious, but he just shook his head and laughed.

Jeong Taeui thought that whether man or woman, when the body’s needs are fully satisfied, it’s natural for the mood to improve. He was then quickly drawn into a lively discussion about whether Soybean paste soup – a Korean delicacy, or Pollack soup – light and easy to digest,  was better for breakfast. This discussion shifted him from the world of desire to the world of cuisine. In the end, Jeong Taeui voted for dried pollack soup for its simplicity and lightness.

/End Flashback/

**************

While watching some Korean films sent by his uncle to remind him of his homeland, Jeong Taeui remembered the Korean pollack soup shown in the film, and this memory took him back a few years.

After all, having breakfast with lightly cooked pollack soup is better than having soybean paste soup on an empty stomach in the morning. Now, thinking of his friend who was so happy to have a lavish breakfast, it seemed that his friend was on the side that liked soybean paste soup. He wondered if his friend’s girlfriend still cooked him such lavish breakfasts. Maybe they were married by now?

Thinking about these things, the long-forgotten taste of home made him crave, his appetite increased. Though not picky about food, there were times Jeong Taeui missed the old dishes.

He stood up, thinking he should go to a Korean restaurant later. Thinking about something to eat, though not hungry, he still wanted to sip something.

He went to the cafeteria and asked Rita, who was making tea, to pour him a cup of cinnamon tea. This time he remembered Sujeonggwa (수정과)*.

(*Sujeonggwa (수정과) is a traditional Korean drink typically enjoyed during special holidays, especially during the Lunar New Year (Seollal) and Chuseok. It’s a sweet tea with distinct flavors of ginger and cinnamon, providing a warm and refreshing sensation.)

When his uncle said he would send some Korean films to remind him of home, Jeong Taeui thought – ‘Why remind me of home?’ – But when the memories flooded back, he realized he missed the food from home as well. To the point where he even remembered Sujeonggwa, a drink he didn’t really like, which indicated how much he missed his homeland.

“Oh my goodness, could I be pregnant*……”

(거참, 애라도 섰나*: This is a playful pun, joking about missing home and the food intensely.)

Jeong Taeui mumbled something without realizing it, surprising himself and curling up in embarrassment.

There are jokes you can make and jokes you shouldn’t. This clearly belonged to the latter category. Just imagining it was enough to frighten him in many ways.

Jeong Taeui rubbed his goosebump-covered arms, quickly grabbed a few cans of beer from the fridge, and returned to his room. Anyway, it was the first time he wanted to taste the flavors of home to alleviate his homesickness, so he decided to go out for dinner tonight.

He thought he should tell Rita not to prepare dinner for him and also inform him……

“Are you pregnant? That’s good news. Have you been to the hospital for a checkup?”

Jeong Taeui lost in thought while walking, abruptly stopped when he saw a broad chest blocking his view.

Perhaps having just showered, water was still dripping down his bare skin.

Jeong Taeui took a few steps back to avoid bumping his nose against that body and looked up. Ilay was standing there, drying his short hair with a towel.

“You’re up early? Why not sleep a bit more?”

Jeong Taeui tried to stay calm and speak, though his heart was pounding like he had encountered a predator strolling through town.

Since last week, Ilay had left the house and returned looking like a beggar covered in dust last night – more precisely, at 2am this morning. This was the first time they met in daylight at home in about a week.

“I planned to take a shower and drink a beer to cool off.”

“Beer?”

Jeong Taeui handed him a can from the ones he was holding. Ilay took it then opened it right there and took a large gulp. The sound of him gulping down the beer was refreshing.

Hmmm…… compared to far-off Korean food, he still preferred these familiar cans of beer……

Jeong Taeui also opened a can and took a few sips. It was refreshingly cold.

“Ah, I plan to go out for some Korean food tonight.”

“Korean food?”

“Yeah, I suddenly crave pollack soup.”

“Pollack soup? What’s that?”

“Oh, it’s a soup made from dried pollack…… there’s that dish.”

“Huh? Fish soup? Sure, let’s do that.”

Ilay nodded. Jeong Taeui also nodded and finished his can of beer.

At that moment, Ilay, looking down at Taeui, suddenly said something strange.

“When I was born, my mother had a hard time because of the difficult delivery.”

“……?”

Jeong Taeui tilted his head at this unexpected statement, took another sip of beer and looked at him. He often said unrelated things like that.

Ilay finished his beer in an instant, tossed the can into the trash and continued.

“If you’re pregnant with my child, it means you might have a hard time giving birth too.”

*SPIT!!!*

Jeong Taeui spewed his precious beer as if spitting blood. Then he coughed for a long time, his stomach muscles hurting.

Ilay – now covered in beer – silently wiped his face with one hand. Then he leaned over to look at Jeong Taeui from an angle and gave a faint smile.

“Don’t worry. From now on, I’ll diligently help you stretch enough so that you can give birth to any healthy baby without difficulty.”

“What……! A baby……!”

Jeong Taeui stammered, unsure whether to shout that he didn’t need that kind of help or to ask why there would be a baby in the first place. Suddenly, Ilay lifted him up. He slung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and started walking.

“I was looking for you, Taei. When I got home at dawn, you were asleep. And I haven’t slept for ten hours straight all week, so I went to sleep. Now I’m wide awake.”

“Wait, Ilay……”

“I’ve been stuck on the mountain all week, and I’ve ‘piled up’ a lot of tension and soreness to the point of pain. It would be perfect to relieve it now, sweat a bit, and then ‘dinner’ would taste even better because it would be the right time.”

“HOW LONG DO YOU PLAN TO SWEAT IT OUT!!”

Jeong Taeui shouted, but Ilay continued to walk steadily toward his room.

*************

He had anticipated that today would be a dangerous day.

Whenever this man was away from home for more than a week and then returned, his lower half always became truly terrifying.

Sometimes, Jeong Taeui thought very seriously.

From what he had heard, as men passed their youth, their sexual desire would gradually decrease.

Jeong Taeui himself had become quite indifferent but when he was still in Korea, he had partners and enjoyed physical relationships quite a lot. Therefore, when he went without for about a week, he didn’t feel uncomfortable and thought it was due to his age.

But the strange thing was that there was almost no age difference between Ilay and Taeui. So if Jeong Taeui became indifferent, Ilay should as well.

But……

……BUT……!

Damn it, he should have taken care of ‘it’ while Ilay was asleep…… Knowing it was a dangerous day, why was he stupid enough to get distracted by the thought of dried pollack soup?

Jeong Taeui blamed himself.

Now he was used to lying with his legs spread, lifting his lower half in the air and looking at the ceiling in this awkward position. He was also used to having his body intertwined with this man’s frequently. Life in this place had also become familiar.

But there was one thing he still couldn’t get used to……

Jeong Taeui lay down and glanced down. He saw Ilay leaving marks on his collarbone with his mouth.

Looking at Ilay’s lower body, he saw the large, thick piece of flesh swaying.

He had hoped that after a week of hardships on the mountain, Ilay would lose some weight. But it seemed that during that week, ‘it’ had accumulated more and grown larger.

He should have taken care of that thing while Ilay was sleeping……

Jeong Taeui swallowed his tears and regretted it.

“It seems you still have the leisure to think. You’re getting used to it, aren’t you?”

Ilay noticed he was lost in thought and whispered as he lowered his head near Jeong Taeui’s collarbone. Ilay seemed to be smiling slightly.

“No, I’m just mentally preparing for the upcoming hardships……”

Jeong Taeui hastily made up an excuse.

After all, he couldn’t tell the truth.

When Ilay had been away for a long time and returned, Jeong Taeui would sneak into his bed while he was sleeping to relieve his desire with his hand 1-2 times. He couldn’t reveal this, even if his mouth were torn open.

Of course, that method only succeeded about 1/5 of the time, and the other four times Ilay woke up in the middle, and he had to endure. But at least if he relieved himself once by hand, he could endure physically.

At first, when Ilay woke up with a very surprised look and asked: “Why are you doing this?” Jeong Taeui evaded by saying: “Just missed you after a long time……” Gradually, Ilay stopped asking. When he woke up, he would only smile lightly with sleepy eyes and climb onto Jeong Taeui.

Once, feeling a bit guilty so Jeong Taeui asked: “Do you mind when I touch your cock while you’re sleeping?” Ilay shook his head without hesitation.

“You don’t often take the initiative, so when you do, it makes me feel good. I like people who are straightforward with their desires, Taeui. Whenever you want, even if I’m asleep, just come…… I’ll be happy to help you enjoy sex more and more.”

When he said those words, Ilay seemed very happy.

Although there was a bit of a misunderstanding, Jeong Taeui thought it was better not to clarify that.

Today should have been the same, but because he was preoccupied with thoughts of dried pollack soup, Jeong Taeui had put himself in a dangerous situation. Jeong Taeui resolved to mentally prepare himself.

Jeong Taeui took a deep breath, and Ilay raised his head to look at him. He looked at Taeui with a slightly frowning face and then smiled.

“Do you still feel uncomfortable?”

“Hmm…… Saying no would be a lie…… But I can endure it.”

Jeong Taeui hesitated for a moment and then answered honestly. He felt that if he wasn’t honest, he might get into bigger trouble.

In fact, he still felt uncomfortable.

Luckily, in the past, if Ilay acted too strongly, Jeong Taeui would seriously consider going to the hospital the next day. But recently, it wasn’t like that. Although sometimes he felt so exhausted after a long time that he thought he should go to the hospital the next day, he ultimately survived.

But that only meant: ‘He had gotten used to it enough not to need the hospital’……, not:‘He had gotten used to it enough to comfortably accept it.’

“Tsk, how much longer until you get used to it…… You really have no adaptability.”

Ilay clicked his tongue as if scolding him back. Jeong Taeui glared at him.

“Being able to take that thing without bleeding is already an incredible adaptation!”

“But on second thought, you’ve never really felt anything when I penetrate.”

“Come on…… I don’t hate this. That’s enough.”

Jeong Taeui shrugged and mumbled.

Luckily, the man named Ilay Riegrow at least knew how to behave. Although Jeong Taeui turned pale from feeling overwhelmed in his lower half and broke out in a cold sweat, Ilay never enjoyed himself alone but always patiently stimulated Jeong Taeui’s front so he could climax too.

Moreover, even though his lower half felt like it was being torn apart, the warmth from direct skin contact was very comforting.

So, even though he had to mentally prepare for the upcoming hardships, overall, he didn’t hate the whole act.

Anyway, throughout the process, Ilay still massaged and stimulated his front so he could climax. So it wasn’t like he wasn’t satisfied at all.

“Hmm…… Anyway, that’s enough. Let’s start for real now.”

Ilay said as he played with Jeong Taeui’s chest.

Hearing that, Jeong Taeui resolved himself for the upcoming battle.

It truly was a battle.

Though loosened as much as possible below, the mass was still too overwhelming, causing Jeong Taeui to feel uncomfortable. Despite his internal organs seeming filled to the core, he still felt like they were swelling.

This time, the action was more aggressive than ever. It was only when the friction below became unbearably intense and scorching that Ilay finally reached his peak. By then, Jeong Taeui was nearly on the verge of passing out completely.

Though he said he was about to faint, in reality, Jeong Taeui had experienced brief moments of fainting several times already. Lying on the bed like a corpse, he thought there could be no more intense activity than this.

He had no sensation left below. He worried that this time he might need to go to the hospital for the first time in a long time.

Though Jeong Taeui wanted to check for bleeding, he couldn’t lift a finger.

In fact, his mind felt hazy as if he had stayed up for three days working and then drank a lot of alcohol. His thoughts were no longer coherent, drifting like in a dream.

When he blinked and came to, Jeong Taeui realized Ilay was lying face down on him. Though heavy, his mind wasn’t clear enough to feel it.

“Pulling out a bit might make you feel better…… But if you collapse like that, it’s really tough.” – The heavy mass of muscle on his back murmured softly.

If he plans to do more, he might as well kill me…… Jeong Taeui thought vaguely.

In his daze, Ilay’s voice sounded like it came from a dream.

“Why didn’t you come this morning? It’s only been a week, but surely your body must have started itching.”

“Yeah…… I should have come, but I was stupid not to……”

If he had known he’d be tortured to this extent, he would have dropped everything to come.

“Hmm……? You make it sound like an obligation.”

Jeong Taeui heard the amused tone in the voice amid his daze, then cried softly in exhaustion and sighed.

It felt like all the blood had drained from his head. Surely the blood flowed from his head to his limbs, making them heavy like lead, unable to move. Blood not circulating, the mind not functioning.

So Jeong Taeui muttered nonsense without knowing what he was saying

“You should have used your hands to loosen me a few times first…… then I wouldn’t have suffered physically like this……” 

As soon as he said it, he sobbed and fell asleep. 

He must have fainted and fallen asleep for just a few seconds, but when he gradually woke up, it seemed inexplicably quiet around him. He clearly felt the weight on his back, but Ilay said nothing.

He must have fallen asleep too…… So heavy……

Jeong Taeui grumbled and tried to move, but his head was still fuzzy. His body felt heavy, and the weight on his back remained.

Though feeling very uncomfortable, he thought he would have to sleep in this state. When Jeong Taeui decided to give up and pass out again, a low and dangerous voice whispered in his ear, as if from hell.

“……Ah ha…… So when I’m away for a long time and come back, you always sneak into my bed when I’m sleeping and play with my stuff, huh……?”

In that instant, Jeong Taeui felt like cold water had been poured over him, instantly waking him up. The fatigue from drowsiness vanished immediately.

Instinct honed for survival made Jeong Taeui sense something very bad was happening.

“Wait…… Ilay, what did I say?”

He felt he had said something he shouldn’t have, but he couldn’t even remember what it was.

With a clear mind, Jeong Taeui blinked a few times and carefully asked.

But there was no answer to his question. Instead, a cold amused whisper responded.

“I thought you’d be happy to see me after a long time, despite being a bit tired. I thought you’d want to enjoy our reunion……”

“Oh…… huh?”

Jeong Taeui still couldn’t move, weighed down by the body on him, only his eyes widening, pupils darting anxiously.

“Too bad for you, Taeui, you didn’t pull out earlier. Thanks to that, I still have a lot of energy left down here. Just a few times won’t be

enough……. So, let’s start over slowly.”

“What……?”

Jeong Taeui had just responded absentmindedly when he immediately realized the truth.

The reality was that the battle hadn’t even begun.