Chapter 88: Chapter 88

Ye Jun

Si Woo’s head snapped up, his smirk gone in a flash, and he stepped forward, that defensive tone kicking in like he owned the whole room. “Hold up,” he said. “Ye Jun and I already went for a run earlier. He is pretty tired. Right, Ye Jun? We sprinted the whole way back. No way he is up for more.”

I laughed, sharp and bitter, because tired? My ass was throbbing from the tattoo, sure, but tired from a run? Please. I pulled back from Ohm’s hug just enough to glare at Si Woo. “Tired? Nah, I am not tired at all. You should go have fun with your girl. Your wife-to-be, Lisa. Sounds like you two have a lot of catching up to do. Wedding plans and all that cute childhood stuff.”

Si Woo’s jaw tightened, his eyes narrowing at me, but I did not wait. I grabbed Ohm’s arm and started dragging him toward the door. “Let us go. Now.”

Ohm did not argue. He just nodded, shot Si Woo with this quick look I could not read, and we were out. The door shut behind us, and for the first time all day I could breathe a little. Sort of. My ass was still stinging with every step, the tattoo rubbing against my jeans like Si Woo’s name was mocking me, but at least I was not stuck in there watching him enjoy his perfect future.

We got in Ohm’s car, and he started driving, chatting away like nothing was weird. “So, how is everything? You look stressed. Si Woo giving you a hard time again?” He kept glancing over, talking nonstop about some game he had played last night, some work thing, whatever, but I could not focus. My mind kept looping back to Si Woo in the living room, arm around Lisa, smirking about the wedding like it was no big deal. I liked him. God, I actually liked the sadistic pervert, even though he was materialistic as hell and just wanted to fuck me and mark me up like I was his toy. The collar, the tattoo, all of it. It was messed up, but it was him, and now he was getting married to her. I wanted to punch something, or cry, or both, and the words just kept spinning in my head while Ohm kept talking and I kept nodding like I was listening, but really I was not.

I rubbed my hands on my jeans, feeling the denim catch on the fresh ink, and finally blurted it out. “Hey, Ohm. Can we skip food? Let us go drink. Like, actually drink. I need to get this crap off my mind.”

Ohm raised an eyebrow but grinned. “Drink? You sure? Last time you said we cannot drink anymore after that one night we…. ”

“Yeah, yeah, I know what I said,” I cut in, waving it off. “But screw it. Yes. Let us go. I need it.”

He did not push back. Just turned the car toward the bar we both knew, the one with the loud music and dim lights where nobody asked questions. We got there fast, ordered shots, way too many, and slammed them back one after another. The burn hit my throat, then my head, and soon everything felt fuzzy in that good way. Si Woo’s smirk, the tattoo, the wedding talk, it all blurred a little. I kept ordering more, laughing, sarcastic little jabs slipping out between shots. “God, this is better than sitting there watching Si Woo play house. You know he….. . What an asshole.”

Ohm laughed with me, pulling me closer as we hit the dance floor after that, bodies moving to the bass, his hands on my hips keeping me steady because the alcohol was hitting hard.

We were dancing like that for a while, me laughing and him staying close, and I felt this weird mix of relief and anger still bubbling under the buzz because part of me wanted to text Si Woo something mean, but the bigger part just wanted to forget. Then this guy walked up, a random dude from the crowd smelling like cheap cologne. He leaned in way too close to me, voice all slurry. “Damn, you smell so good. What is that?”

“Thanks,” I said, half-laughing because whatever, alcohol made everything funny. The guy thought Ohm and I were just friends or something, I guess, because he kept pressing closer, hand brushing my arm like he was about to grind up on me.

Next thing I knew, Ohm’s fist flew. One punch, clean to the guy’s face. The dude stumbled back, one eye already swelling red, blood trickling down his cheek. Holy shit. I had never seen Ohm like that, pissed, chest heaving, eyes dark.

“Whoa, Ohm, calm down!” I grabbed his arm, yanking him back. “What the hell happened? It was just some drunk guy.”

Ohm shook his head, voice low and rough. “I do not want anybody getting close to you like that. Not him. Not anyone.”

I stared at him, blinking through the buzz in my head. He was being a little too protective, was he not? Like, way more than friends. “You are being a little too protective, aren’t you? Jeez, it was nothing.”

“Yeah,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, looking almost sorry now. “Sorry. I just… yeah. I Apologize for that.”

We kept dancing anyway, the guy long gone, security probably dragging him out. The music pounded on, and Ohm stayed close, his hands back on me but gentler. I felt this weird mix, scared a little, because when did Ohm change so much? He used to be the chill buddy, now he was throwing punches over me, but I liked it. Liked how big and protective he got. It was different from Si Woo’s crazy possessiveness, less tattoo-on-your-ass and more real or something. My head was spinning from the drinks, from everything.

Ohm leaned in closer while we moved, his breath warm on my ear. “Hey, Ye Jun. You ever kissed a guy?”

I froze mid-step, heart kicking up. I tried to dodge it, because yeah, I am gay, but I did not know how Ohm would take that. What if he was straight? Or into that whole alpha-omega thing where guys like him only went for omega ? I did not want to weird him out. “Nah, never,” I said quickly, forcing a laugh. “Why? You asking for a friend?”

He did not buy it. I could tell by the way he looked at me, eyes narrowing a bit but not mad. “You sure? Does not seem like it.”

My face went hot, the alcohol making my words sloppy. “Yeah, I am sure. Never. Why, you offering or something?”

Ohm stopped dancing, just held me there on the floor, bodies still swaying a little. “You want to try? Kissing a guy. With me.”

I thought about Si Woo, his smirk, the wedding, the tattoo burning on my ass like a brand I could not escape. I wanted someone different. Someone not him. Someone nice, gentle, not all sadistic and claiming. “Yeah,” I said, voice cracking a little. “Okay. Let us try.”

He did not rush it. Just cupped my face soft, leaned in, and kissed me right there in the middle of the bar. His tongue slid into my mouth slowly, carefully, sucking on my lips gently like he was tasting something he did not want to break. It was not like Si Woo’s hard, owning kisses. This was different. Built differently. No one had ever kissed me this nicely, all soft and steady, making my head spin in a way that was not just the drinks.

I kissed back, hands on his shoulders, thinking maybe I could use this. Use Ohm to move on from Si Woo. Make him gay if he was not already. Whatever it took to forget the name on my ass and the smirk on Si Woo’s face.

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