The Hunter's Gonna Lay Low

With his vision blocked, Uijae's other senses became heightened. He could feel the firm arms wrapped around his waist, the way their lips pressed together, and the black tongue teasing the roof of his mouth, exploring deeply. He felt like he was drowning in sweetness and heat, suffocating.

‘…No, this isn’t the time for this!’

Snapping back to his senses, Uijae shoved Sayoung’s shoulders, causing him to pull away. Sayoung tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable.

“Why?”

In the meantime, Uijae hastily covered his mouth with the back of his hand and backed away, stopping only when his back hit a pillar. For once, he was fumbling with his words.

“Hey, you… How did you… Wait, were you awake?”

How the hell did he know I kissed him?

Was his body asleep, but his mind awake? Or did he overhear the conversation with Hong Yeseong while pretending to sleep? But Uijae hadn’t sensed anything like that. Was he just too out of it to notice? His mind felt like a storm of confusion. Then, Sayoung shrugged.

“Hah…”

‘What now?’

“AHAHAHA!”

Sayoung burst into laughter, a rare full smile on his face. Uijae was dumbfounded. What’s so funny? Uijae lowered his hand from his mouth and snapped in frustration.

“Are you going to answer me? Were you awake or not?”

“Ah, seriously…”

Sayoung, still grinning as if he found the whole situation hilarious, slowly crawled toward Uijae on all fours. Pressing his back against the pillar, Uijae tensed up. Sayoung leaned in until they were face-to-face.

“Awake? You think I was?”

“…”

“I was just testing you.”

“…What?”

Uijae’s jaw dropped slightly in disbelief. Sayoung chuckled softly, then pressed a kiss on Uijae’s cheek with a loud *smack.*

“Good thing you wear a mask all the time. If you didn’t, I wonder what would’ve happened.”

“Hey, Lee Sayoung…!”

“All your emotions are right there…”

“Hey, sto—”

“…written all over your face.”

Sayoung started placing kisses all over Uijae’s face—on his cheeks, the tip of his nose, his temples, his forehead—before cupping Uijae’s face with both hands. Uijae, his frustration mounting, grabbed Sayoung’s wrists and gritted his teeth. His usual poker face, which had served him so well for so long, had long disappeared. Now…

“You can’t lie for shit.”

*Smack.*

“At this rate… I won’t be able to leave you alone.”

Sayoung let out a short breath. Uijae could see his reflection in Sayoung’s eyes, but instead of simply mirroring him, those eyes held something deep, something unknown. Their lips met again, and Sayoung’s tongue slipped into Uijae’s mouth. This time, Uijae didn’t resist.

Was he mesmerized?

His head felt like it was melting from the heat building up inside him.

‘Damn it…’

With Sayoung’s hands covering his ears, the only sound Uijae could hear was the wet, sticky noise of their kiss, which tickled his senses. His body trembled slightly as he clumsily clutched Sayoung’s coat, wrinkling the cold leather in his grip.

‘I’m losing it…’

His trembling hands found their way around Sayoung’s neck. His fingers shook as he clung to him, and as Uijae slowly opened his eyes, he saw Sayoung staring down at him intently. In those dark, violet eyes, Uijae saw something that sent a chill down his spine.

‘…Shit.’

It was unmistakable—desire.

The back of his neck tingled, as did his lower back. It was a different kind of unease from anything he had felt before. Sayoung’s large, cold hand slid up to grip the back of Uijae’s neck, fingers tracing the sensitive skin there. Panting slightly, Uijae clung to him, still trying to catch his breath as Sayoung’s lips moved to kiss his chin.

“Why are you so tense…?”

Sayoung’s voice, now rough and low, seemed to echo from a distance. Uijae gripped the back of Sayoung’s neck tightly, his blurred vision slowly coming into focus. It was as if his submerged mind was finally surfacing from the depths.

‘Wait a second.’

He recalled a time from the past—a young boy, his hands wrapped in bandages, clinging to Uijae. Even though the boy groaned from the pain, his eyes never left Uijae, as though Uijae were the only thing keeping him grounded in the world.

‘That kid…’

Uijae now looked at the person holding him in his arms—a man with a solid build, easily overpowering Uijae’s frame. Sayoung, his eyes lowered, was fully engrossed in caressing Uijae’s neck and hair. His long eyelashes cast shadows as they fluttered with every blink. His lips, swollen and red from the rough kisses, had a small beauty mark beneath them.

Noticing Uijae’s gaze, Sayoung lifted his head. His lips curled into a smirk, and he leaned in for another kiss. Uijae quickly turned his head, making Sayoung’s lips land on his cheek instead. A soft chuckle escaped Sayoung’s lips, and Uijae’s heart began to race. His entire body tensed.

‘Is this really the same person?’

Could that boy ever look at him with such raw, unfiltered desire? Did he ever see Uijae that way, as something to possess? It didn’t make sense.

The stark contrast shook Uijae to his core. Was it the time apart that had done this? Sayoung had grown up, and Uijae had stayed the same. And now, the grown-up Sayoung had not only surpassed him in height and strength but…

Now, Sayoung was lusting after him.

‘Shit, something’s gone really wrong.’

This situation was beyond comprehension, something that could only happen in a world that had turned upside down. Uijae’s only desire had been for them to become family, to be each other’s only kin, to live together, eat together, sleep under the same roof. And if the boy leaned on him, Uijae had thought, it would have been enough.

‘But this…’

There had never been any room for this kind of physical intimacy in his desire for Sayoung. But his thoughts were cut short when he felt Sayoung’s warm breath against his ear. Then came the sharp sting of teeth biting down on his earlobe. Uijae quickly pushed Sayoung’s cheek away.

“Don’t bite me.”

“What are you thinking about while you’re with me?”

Uijae shot a glance at Sayoung’s face. The desire in his eyes hadn’t waned—it had only grown darker. Even Uijae, who was unaccustomed to dealing with such situations, could recognize it immediately. He looked down, feeling his pulse race faster.

‘Since when has he looked at me like this?’

Sure, they had kissed before, but that had been under unusual circumstances. Back then, Sayoung had been in a state of hyperventilation, and Uijae had been trying to calm him down. And—

“Hyung.”

Sayoung’s low voice cut through Uijae’s rationalizations. Startled, Uijae looked up. Sayoung tilted his head slightly.

“What are you thinking about?”

“…”

What was he thinking about?

‘That no matter what we are to each other, this is all completely wrong.’

Somewhere along the way, the buttons had been misaligned. Uijae swallowed the words that had risen to his throat. He couldn’t bring himself to say them while still wrapped in Sayoung’s arms. If he spoke now, the hands caressing his neck might very well close around it. Of course, Uijae wouldn’t just let that happen, but…

“Hmm?”

Sayoung urged, running his fingers through Uijae’s hair. Uijae finally managed to choke out a few words.

“…I’m wondering if this is okay.”

“What?”

“You… and me… if this is okay.”

“Be specific. What part of it?”

“Well… these… things we’re doing.”

Uijae, fighting back the part of him that wanted to be strict and old-fashioned, tried to word his thoughts as delicately as possible. But all he got in response was a scoff.

“You’ve already done everything, so what’s there to wonder?”

“What?”

“You seriously need to stop overthinking things, Hyung.”

Sayoung’s hands, which had been playing with Uijae’s hair, moved to his cheeks, pressing gently until Uijae’s lips puckered. Sayoung muttered.

“How do you think so much with such a tiny brain…”

Annoyed, Uijae slapped Sayoung’s hands away.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing to your hyung?”

“Oh… Hyung, huh?”

Sayoung’s violet eyes gleamed with a sinister glint. A chill ran down Uijae’s spine. His instincts told him something was very, very wrong, but unfortunately, he had no idea how to fix it.

Sayoung’s pale face split into a chilling smile. He leaned in, his forehead pressing against Uijae’s. His black tongue peeked out, licking his own lips before he bit down lightly.

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“Does your ‘hyung’ kiss his little brother like that?”

Uijae’s eyes flew wide open.

Uijae’s eyes flew wide open. In his entire life, he had never heard something so blasphemous. He was utterly speechless, his mind blank, and while he sat there, dumbfounded, Sayoung continued to toy with Uijae’s hair, grumbling under his breath.

“We aren’t even related by blood, and we’ve never been bound by any laws or anything, so how are we ‘brothers’…?”

“You, you… you….”

“I told you before in the lab, didn’t I? You’ve always been so hypocritical.”

“……”

“You should really think carefully about who I am and what you want from me. Stop denying it.”

“……”

“And stop with the typical ‘brotherly’ stuff.”

Sayoung pressed a light kiss to Uijae’s nose, then stood up, his coat swirling behind him as he moved toward the other room. There, still bundled up like a caterpillar in blankets, lay the sleeping Hong Yeseong. Without hesitation, Sayoung kicked him sharply. Kkokko flapped its wings, rushing over to defend Hong Yeseong’s ankles.

Now alone on the floor, Uijae dropped his head into his hands, resting his elbows on his knees. His face was burning red with embarrassment.