Kiss Me Like You’re Not Married.

The shower had long stopped running. Steam clung faintly to the air, a warm veil thinning in the low-lit apartment as silence filled the space where skin had met skin only minutes earlier.

Joon-Won stepped out of the kitchen barefoot, holding two steaming mugs of tea in his hands. His damp ash-blond hair was brushed back loosely, a few strands falling over his forehead. He was wearing nothing but dark sweatpants now that he had in the closet for whenever he was in this apartment, ringless, his chest still slightly flushed. The only light in the room came from the single lamp near the bed and the spill of faint city glow through half-closed blinds.

Tae-Hyun sat on the bed, knees pulled close to his chest, wrapped in a thick gray blanket like a cocoon. His hair was still wet, curling slightly at the ends, his neck was covered with marks that still stung him as a reminder of what had happened a few minutes ago, he was wearing an oversized hoodie that belonged to Joon-won with nothing under it and his eyes lifted the second Joon-Won walked in.

He looked… young.

Too young to be a married father of one. Too soft in that moment to be the same man who'd been screaming into the couch cushion not long ago. His cheeks were pink, lips raw from biting them, and the faintest imprint of rope still marked his skin where the ties had once been, he can see a glimpse of his whenever Tae-hyun would shift and pull the blanket closer to his body. He didn't even try to hide it anymore.

"You're staring," Tae-Hyun murmured, his voice was raspy from all the screaming after all as Joon-Won handed him the mug.

"I am."

Tae-Hyun took the cup, fingers curling around the warmth. He sipped softly, then tucked his legs tighter under the blanket.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?" Joon-Won sat beside him, propping his arm on the pillow behind them.

"Like you know me better than I do."

Joon-Won let out a breath of amusement, letting his tea sit untouched on the nightstand. "You make it easy."

Tae-Hyun looked down into his mug. "Or maybe I make it hard and you just like a challenge."

There was a beat of silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable.

Then: "Why are you like this?" Tae-Hyun asked suddenly, voice quiet. "Seriously.. why?"

Joon-Won raised an eyebrow at the sudden question but his voice remained calm and composed. "You'll have to be more specific. I'm a lot of things."

"This," Tae-Hyun said, glancing sideways at him like he couldn't meet his eyes yet. "You were so… different tonight. Not just in bed, I mean. You brought me here. You didn't send me home. You made tea. You made me wear your hoodie. You—"

"Showered with you," Joon-Won finished for him, a slight smirk playing at his lips.

Tae-Hyun's eyes flicked to him, and something in them lingered. "Yeah."

He put his mug down on the floor beside the bed. "So what is this? Some hidden version of you? The one your wife doesn't know either?"

Joon-Won leaned back onto one hand, his shoulders relaxed now, but his eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"There's no one version," he said slowly. "But yeah… this side doesn't come out much."

"Since when has it been there?"

"Always," he admitted. "I just don't trust many people with it."

Tae-Hyun hummed under his breath. "So I'm what, a test run?"

"If I wanted to test something, I wouldn't fuck it like I did you," Joon-Won said without hesitation, his tone lazy but eyes sharp.

Tae-Hyun flushed, his cheeks burned at his words and he looked away with a huff, but he didn't retreat. He couldn't. He needed answers. "Then what do you want from me now?"

Joon-Won glanced at him. "You still think this is about what I want?"

Tae-Hyun froze for a second and stayed quite for a second. He blinked. Trying to figure out what that question even meant but he still didn't meet his gaze.

Joon-Won sat up slightly, elbow brushing Tae-Hyun's through the blanket. "You're the one who keeps coming back. You're the one who begged to be used. You're the one who sounded and looked at me like you wanted me to take your ring off."

Tae-Hyun looked down at his bare hand instinctively. His finger was naked, no ring in sight and he brought the cup up to his lips with a small shaky breath.

"Yeah," he whispered softly. He didn't sound like he regretted any of it. He didn't.

Joon-Won studied him for a moment before speaking again, his eyes falling down to the way he was curled up in his blanket like he was used to him.

"And yet," he said as he reached over to bruh the back of his index along the marks on his neck softly. Almost teasingly, "you're sitting here wrapped in my blanket like it's yours. Your body smelling like mine, neck all marked with my teeth. Like this isn't just some side affair. Like you don't want something else from me."

Tae-Hyun's breath caught. He didn't answer but his neck tilted slightly at Joon-won's touch, exposing more of it and closing his eyes slowly.

Joon-Won leaned in closer, his voice soft now, just above a whisper as he brushed his lips against his neck, right where he had sucked leaving a hickey in the middle of fucking him. "Do you.. Tae-hyun?

"I-I don't know," Tae-Hyun whispered and let out a soft breathy moan at the softness of joon-won lips brushing against his bruised neck. "That's the worst part."

Joon-Won didn't press. Instead, he slowly pulled away after placing a soft kiss on his neck and he reached for his own mug and took a slow sip, watching Tae-Hyun from the corner of his eye.

The blanket had slipped slightly, revealing more now of the bruising along his neck and throat. He clearly didn't hold back. Joon-Won could still see everything he left behind, he glanced down at the back of his hand and smiled slightly at the sight, marks Tae-Hyun had left in the heat of things, desperate and possessive.

"I think you do know," Joon-Won said eventually. "You just don't want to admit it."

Tae-Hyun stayed silent for a moment. His gaze fell on his cup of tea before he finally looked up at Joon-won with a slight tilt of his head. Eyes searching his but all he could see was something unreadable. "And if I do?"

Joon-Won leaned in. "Then maybe I'll start showing you the rest of what I'm hiding."

Tae-Hyun didn't answer right away. He just stared at him, searching his face for something he hadn't seen before — and maybe it was there now. That softness under the sharpness. That cold exterior cracking just slightly. That man who could destroy him… but also remember how he liked his tea from a conversation they had weeks ago over the phone.

The silence stretched again. Late-night quiet. Cars passing far below. The hum of city life that didn't know two married men were sitting on a bed in a place no one else knew existed, ringless, one of them shirtless, the other not less, still aching in ways they didn't have words for yet.

"You're dangerous," Tae-Hyun whispered. "So fucking dangerous Joon-won.." 

Joon-Won smiled faintly and hummed softly against the rim of his cup. His eyes glancing sideways ways at him before closing them.

"I know."

He reached across the bed, brushed a damp strand of hair from Tae-Hyun's forehead with his free hand. "But you don't want safe, do you?"

Tae-Hyun swallowed thickly and he didn't even think twice when he heard that question. Not after today. Then shook his head slowly.

.

.

.

They sat that way for a while, half bare skin against cold sheets, tea cooling in their hands, the window fogging slightly from the heat of the weather after the rain had stopped.

Tae-Hyun glanced around the room, eyes falling on the floor where both their rings sat side by side, forgotten, out of reach. He didn't move to get his. Neither did Joon-Won.

"Tell me something about you," Tae-Hyun said suddenly. "Something normal. Something stupid."

Joon-Won raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Like… I don't know." Tae-Hyun shifted in the blanket, resting his chin on his knees. "Like a dumb thing you did when you were younger. Something that would make me hate you less."

"I don't think anything could do that," Joon-Won muttered, but leaned back, thoughtful.

He told a story about when he was sixteen and tried to sneak out of a family trip in Busan just to ride a ferry by himself. Ended up getting caught by a drunk stranger who thought he was someone's runaway kid and dragged him back to the police. He was grounded for two months, but he still bragged about making it halfway across the city barefoot.

Tae-Hyun burst out laughing, the sound sudden and warm and childish. "You? Barefoot? I can't even picture that."

"I was fast," Joon-Won said. "And desperate."

"You were a little shit."

Joon-Won smirked playfully and hummed. "Still am."

Tae-Hyun shook his head, and for some reason, maybe the tea, maybe the quiet, maybe the fact he was half naked under that blanket—he felt loose enough to mimic the story. He climbed off the bed barefoot, grabbed a pillow, and started acting it out dramatically, pretending the pillow was the drunk man and miming the whole police scene.

It was ridiculous. It was childish.

But Joon-Won sat there watching, one hand resting beside his tea, eyes softening in a way they rarely did. The corner of his mouth twitched, and for once.. he didn't stop it from becoming a full smile.

"You're unbelievable," he murmured, holding back a chuckle.

Tae-Hyun collapsed back onto the bed with a groan. Arms and legs spread open with a slight pout on his lips. "I haven't done something that stupid since I got married."

"Well," Joon-Won said, tilting his head, "you are here." He teased while looking down at him and chuckled when Tae-hyun shot him a playful glare. 

But that also had shut Tae-Hyun up.

They lay there for a while after that—Joon-Won on his side, propped on an elbow, staring down at him. Tae-Hyun on his back, arms above his head, the blanket bunched around his stomach.

Outside, the city breathed in the dark.

Inside, they stayed quiet. Another silence stretched between them. Then Tae-Hyun suddenly looked up, eyes narrowing. "Do you… always do this?"

"Do what?"

"This. Secret apartments. Late night tea. Acting like you're half in love but also emotionally unavailable."

Joon-Won's lips quirked, oh he was about to tease him and see him all flushed, he knew it. "You think I'm half in love?" He teased with a low voice, his eyebrow shooting up in a fake surprised expression.

"NO!" Tae-Hyun shouted immediately. Voice high and squeaky, his face flushed again. "FUCK!" Quickly covering his face with the fabric of the hoodie on his arms and groaned into it in embarrassment. "I didn't mean it like— I just meant, you know…? F-Fuck! I just meant you're weirdly good at this kind of.. intimacy."

"Maybe you bring it out of me."

Tae-Hyun blinked behind his arms, caught off guard. Then he grinned and covered his face with the blanket instead quickly. He couldn't help but feel his cheeks get even warmer but he didn't let joon-won see that. "Shut up. That was too sincere coming from you!."

Joon-Won laughed, really laughed—low and genuine. "Sorry sorry.. I'll go back to being smug."

Tae-Hyun peeked at him through the blanket. 

Eyes curious and ears all pink. 

Joon-Won looked at him and couldn't resist it, he reached out to softly ruffle his damp hair with a slight smile, he looked way too adorable peeking at him through the blanket like this all wide eyed like a kid despite him being older, Tae-hun closed one eye at the contact before leaning into his hand and pulling the blanket down slightly but keeping it over his lips. he ran his fingers through Tae-hyun hair once and thought for a moment. "When I was thirteen, I tried to dye my hair blue at home because I saw some guy in a drama do it. Turned out green instead."

Tae-Hyun stared at him quietly for a second, he pictured it in his head before he scoffed then burst out laughing. "No. fucking. way."

"Yes way. I had to buzz it all off before school started again."

"Do you have pictures?"

"No, thank fucking God."

Tae-Hyun laughed harder, his shoulders shaking under the blanket before covering his mouth to try and calm himself down. "Okay okay, your turn. Ask me something dumb."

Joon-Won raised a brow. "Alright. What's the dumbest lie you ever told to get out of a date?"

"Ohhh," Tae-Hyun's eyes lit up and he didn't even think before he spoke, he seemed so excited to share. "This guy I tried dating from my university once wouldn't stop texting me, like he'd spam me everyday and if I don't respond he'd blow up my phone none stop.. so I told him my family was moving to Canada. Like… permanently."

Joon-Won stared at him. Quite at first but his lips parted slightly in surprise. "Did he believe you?"

"….He brought me a goodbye gift.. he was crying and shit.."

Joon-Won shook his head in disbelief. "You're the worst." The second that left his mouth a chuckle followed.

"I was twenty! He was the first guy I texted ever! I panicked!" Tae-Hyun laughed, stretching his legs under the blanket and resting his head against the pillow on the bed behind him. 

He sipped his tea absently, eyes narrowed in thought.

"…So," he said, casually. "That guy from university… was he your first?"

Tae-Hyun blinked at him. "Like—first what?"

"You know," Joon-Won said, clearing his throat. "First guy you… talked to. Dated. Slept with."

Tae-Hyun smirked. "That's three different categories."

"I'm aware," Joon-Won replied, eyes not leaving him. "I want all three."

Tae-Hyun chuckled. "Damn. That tea really got you bold."

Joon-Won tilted his head, waiting. It wasn't teasing anymore.. it was curiosity. Earnest. Or maybe something else.

Tae-Hyun sighed like he'd been caught stealing. He shifted, pulling his legs up loosely under the blanket, one arm resting over his knees. "Fine. First guy I talked to was a year older. He was in my English Lit class. Sat behind me, used to doodle on my notes and say it was 'character development' or some shit."

Joon-Won raised a brow. "That sounds like flirting."

"Oh, it was." Tae-Hyun gave a small laugh. "He had long fingers, too. Always stretching, reaching. Annoying. Thought he was so clever. But I liked it."

Joon-Won hummed, his thumb tapping the side of his teacup. "What happened?"

Tae-Hyun shrugged. "He kissed me once behind the library. Freaked me out. I ran."

Joon-Won smiled into his tea. "Cute."

"I was mortified. Thought I was broken." Tae-Hyun laughed again, quieter this time. "Didn't even talk to another guy until… maybe two years later?"

"Was that the clingy one you ghosted to Canada?"

"Nope. That one I actually slept with."

Joon-Won paused, cup halfway to his lips. "And?"

Tae-Hyun tilted his head. "And what?"

"How was it?"

Tae-Hyun looked amused now. "Are you asking for a performance review?"

Joon-Won leaned back against the headboard, his legs crossed loosely. "I'm asking as a curious man with questions. And tea."

"Mm." Tae-Hyun thought for a second, then grinned. "Mediocre. Honestly. He was nervous. I was nervous. Mostly just bumping knees and apologizing for half an hour. Not exactly life-changing."

Joon-Won scoffed, unable to hide the smirk curling at his lips. "You apologized during sex?"

"Once or twice. I didn't know what I was doing!"

"Poor guy."

"Poor me. He cried after."

"Jesus."

Tae-Hyun chuckled and watched Joon-Won now, eyes glinting. "Why're you so interested, anyway?"

Joon-Won shrugged, but his tone was too casual. "It's late. You're talkative. I'm indulging you."

Tae-Hyun tilted his head, not buying it. "You indulging me looks a lot like low-key jealousy."

"I'm not jealous," Joon-Won said.

Tae-Hyun arched a brow. "You're very specific with your questions."

Joon-Won gave a light scoff but said nothing. His fingers tapped the porcelain rim of the cup again. Then:

"Did you ever date someone seriously? Like… someone who wanted to make it official?"

Tae-Hyun blinked at that one. "Mm. Not exactly. I had this one guy who was a bartender at this gay bar I used to go to after shifts." He exhaled through his nose. "He'd give me free drinks, flirt a lot. I ended up staying over at his place more than once."

Joon-Won looked at him for a long second. His jaw clenched slightly before he muttered under his breath—so soft it almost blended into the room's silence.

"…Sounds trashy."

Tae-Hyun froze.

A beat passed. Then another.

He didn't look at Joon-Won right away. Just stared at the pattern on the blanket between his knees.

"What'd you say?" he asked, lips curling slightly.

Joon-Won didn't answer.

Tae-Hyun slowly turned his head and met his gaze—eyes sharp now, teasing but laced with something else. "You judging me now, joonie?"

The word was playful. Deliberate.

Joon-Won's gaze flicked to him. His expression was unreadable for a second, then cracked. "You said it, not me."

Tae-Hyun rolled his eyes and laid back on the bed, arms above his head dramatically. "Wow. Look at this. Can't even tell a story around you without triggering some alpha male rage."

"I'm not raging."

"Sure," Tae-Hyun smirked. "You're just bitter I've had sex in more than one location."

Joon-Won looked down at him, eyes dark. "I could ruin every single one of those memories for you."

Tae-Hyun blinked. Mouth opened. Closed.

A flush rose up the back of his neck. He turned away so Joon-Won couldn't see it, fluffing the pillow under his head in fake annoyance. "Okay. Whoa. Someone's had too much tea."

Joon-Won set his cup down. "You started it."

"You're the one asking questions like some jealous ex."

"Is that what I sound like?" Joon-Won murmured. He leaned in slightly now, one arm draped across the bed beside Tae-Hyun's shoulder. "Do I?"

Tae-Hyun's breath hitched. He didn't move away. Just turned his face slightly toward the ceiling, trying to play it cool. "You sound like a guy who's about to try and outdo all of them just to prove a point."

Joon-Won smiled.

He didn't deny it.

Tae-Hyun's heart thudded. He swallowed, eyes fixed on the ceiling fan as if it held the answers to life's great mysteries. His fingers curled slowly in the blanket.

"You're too curious," he muttered.

Joon-Won's voice was a little closer this time. "And you like it."

A silence stretched between them. A heavy, humming one. The room was warm from the tea and the blankets, from shared laughter and the quiet tension that hadn't let go since the bar.

Finally, Tae-Hyun huffed, half-exasperated, half-smiling.

"…Fine. You get one more question."

Joon-Won didn't hesitate. "What kind of man do you fall for?"

Tae-Hyun turned his head. Their eyes met.

The smile on his lips didn't match the heat in his face. "The kind I shouldn't."

Joon-Won looked at him, expression unreadable. The room was still.

And then..

"I'm going to get us more tea," he said suddenly, his voice lower now, like he needed to step away or say too much. "Stay right there."

Tae-Hyun just hummed, curling back into the blanket, hiding his smirk.

But his heart didn't stop racing.

Not even when Joon-Won walked away.

.

.

The kettle clicked off in the other room after a few short minutes.

Joon-Won returned with two fresh mugs, the steam curling softly between them. Tae-Hyun sat up again, cradling the blanket around his waist like a robe, skin flushed faintly from warmth and something else he wasn't naming.

"Thanks," he murmured, taking the mug.

Joon-Won sat beside him on the bed this time, closer than before. Their knees almost brushed. Neither of them commented on it.

Tae-Hyun blew on the tea, then glanced sideways. "So. My entire chaotic gay history's out on the table now."

Joon-Won took a sip, noncommittal. "Seemed fair."

Tae-Hyun narrowed his eyes. "Your turn."

Joon-Won looked at him with a faint smirk. "You know my past."

"No, I know your wife," Tae-Hyun corrected. "Not the version of you she probably never met. The one you hinted about. That badboy phase."

Joon-Won shook his head, but there was amusement tugging at his lips. "Why are you so interested?"

"Because it's late," Tae-Hyun mimicked, "you're talkative, and I'm indulging you."

Joon-Won gave a low laugh and leaned back against the headboard. "Alright. Fair."

Tae-Hyun leaned in, eyes curious. "So? What kind of guy were you?"

Joon-Won glanced down at the mug in his hand. Thought for a second.

"…Cocky," he said eventually. "Reckless. Kinda mean, sometimes."

Tae-Hyun raised an eyebrow. "Mean how?"

"Made promises I didn't keep. Slept around. Told girls what they wanted to hear. Drank too much. Fought guys for no reason."

Tae-Hyun blinked, stunned for a moment. "…Wow."

"What?"

"I can't tell if I want to slap you or kiss you."

Joon-Won let out a short laugh.

Tae-Hyun smirked. "So what changed?"

"Graduation," Joon-Won said simply. "Getting a job. Meeting her. Responsibility." His voice softened slightly. "Fatherhood, especially. It makes you straighten out real fast."

Tae-Hyun nodded slowly, then tilted his head. "You said you were wild. Like… parties, hookups, that kind of thing?"

Joon-Won arched a brow. "Why does it sound like you want the gritty details?"

"Because I do," Tae-Hyun said shamelessly. "You're still trying to play it safe around me. I want to know the real stuff. Not the resume version."

Joon-Won gave him a long look, like he was debating how much to share. Then he sighed, almost amused with himself that he was even talking about it.

Joon-Won sighed in defeat. "Fine. In college, I had this thing. I didn't date. Just… hookups. Girls knew what they were getting into."

"And you got away with that?"

"I was charming," he said simply.

Tae-Hyun hummed. "Bet you were one of those guys who knew how to say just enough to make someone feel special for one night."

"Maybe."

"Asshole," Tae-Hyun grinned.

Joon-Won chuckled. "Yeah."

"So how'd you stop?"

Joon-Won paused. "Got older. It stopped being fun. Started feeling empty." He looked down. "Met someone who didn't fall for it. I liked that."

"Your wife?"

Joon-Won nodded.

Tae-Hyun studied him for a moment. Then leaned forward slightly. "You ever… have a guy try something with you back then? With all that charm?"

Joon-Won stiffened.. just a little. His grip on his mug shifted.

"…Yeah," he said after a beat.

Tae-Hyun's brows lifted and he shifted slightly. "Wait, really?"

"Once," Joon-Won said, voice low. "At a party. Some older guy was visiting campus. Friend of someone's brother. I was drunk. High, probably. He cornered me when I was alone on the balcony. Said I was 'too pretty' to be straight."

Tae-Hyun snorted. "He's not wrong."

Joon-Won shot him a look, but the corner of his mouth lifted.

"He kissed me," he continued. "Hands under my shirt. I let him. It didn't feel… wrong. Not at first."

Tae-Hyun's expression slowly shifted, he was getting even more curious now. "…So why'd you stop?"

"I sobered up just enough to realize where I was. What I was doing. I told him to get off. Went inside. Got sick."

Tae-Hyun stared at him. He didn't speak for a moment. Then: "But you let him touch you."

Joon-Won met his eyes. "Yeah."

"And it didn't feel wrong."

Another pause. "No."

Tae-Hyun licked his lips. Something restless flickered behind his lashes as he brought the mug up, only to lower it again. He turned slightly, facing Joon-Won more directly, blanket still wrapped loosely around his frame.

"So…" he began slowly, his voice dropping a little. "When you were… fucking me tonight…"

Joon-Won's fingers froze against his cup.

Tae-Hyun stared at him—eyes serious now, brow slightly furrowed. "You weren't drunk. Or high."

"No," Joon-Won said quietly.

"And it didn't seem like you were figuring it out. You were—" He stopped himself. "You knew exactly what to do."

Joon-Won didn't respond immediately. His mouth opened, then closed.

Tae-Hyun tilted his head, watching him. "…Was that your first time? With a guy?"

Joon-Won's voice was quiet. "First time I finished."

Tae-Hyun stared.

Something in his chest twisted a little. Not jealousy, at least not quite. But something like territorial curiosity. He set his tea down and leaned closer.

"And with me," he said softly, half-teasing but not really. "What did it feel like?"

Joon-Won's jaw clenched, his ears slightly turning red in embarrassment the more Tae-hyun asked. "You're really pushing it tonight."

"Come on.. I get one more question," Tae-Hyun said, lower now. "This is it."

Joon-Won hesitated.

Then.. he leaned in, meeting Tae-Hyun's eyes so closely their foreheads almost touched.

"It felt," he said, voice deep, "like everything I'd been pretending not to want all those years but was yearning for."

Tae-Hyun's lips parted slightly. He was stunned by the sudden shift and he just froze. Staring into joon-won eyes with his own widen before he felt his cheeks warm up.

"…Shit," he mumbled under his breath, flushing even more when he realized what he had just heard.

Joon-Won smirked at that. He liked how easily Tae-hyun blushed whenever he said the right things. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Say it."

Tae-Hyun glanced away, pouting now as he pulled the blanket back up over his mouth. "You're so annoying."

Joon-Won laughed. "You're blushing."

"I am not."

"You are."

"You answered the question. Shut up."

Joon-Won reached out, poked the edge of the blanket. "You're being cute again."

"God—don't say that—"

"Pouting. Getting flustered. Calling me annoying. What happened to the sharp-tongued bastard I married?"

"You didn't marry me."

"Not yet," Joon-Won muttered.

Tae-Hyun froze.

"…Excuse me?"

Joon-Won just sipped his tea, nonchalant. "Too much tea," he said, echoing Tae-Hyun from earlier. Like he didn't just say something too out of pocket that had Tae-hyun too shocked he even forgot to breathe for a second.

Tae-Hyun opened his mouth. Closed it. Then curled up dramatically in the blanket again, face completely buried now with a low muffled scream.

"You're not allowed to talk anymore," came the muffled voice from within.

Joon-Won chuckled, leaning back against the headboard again, watching him.

The room went quiet again. But this time, the silence felt heavier. Warmer. Like something unsaid had finally gotten air.

After a long moment, Joon-Won spoke, softer now.

"Don't pout."

"Wasn't," came the muffled response.

Joon-Won smirked, brushing his fingers over the edge of the blanket again. "It's not a good look on you."

"…You just said it was cute."

"Yeah," Joon-Won murmured. "That's the problem."

Tae-Hyun peeked out slowly. Face all red, eyes staring at Joon-won annoyed and he could tell behind that blanket hiding his mouth he was pouting still.

The room had gone quiet again, that kind of heavy, slow quiet that made it hard to remember where the edges were between comfort and danger.

They were still staring at each other, long enough that the silence turned into something else. Neither of them blinked. Neither moved. 

Until Tae-Hyun did.

He shifted slowly under the blanket, the fabric falling from his shoulders as he sat up more, and then..

without really thinking, without asking,

he moved forward and straddled Joon-Won's lap.

The blanket slipped behind him like a dropped curtain.

Joon-Won didn't move. Didn't flinch. His eyes stayed on him.

Tae-Hyun's palms rested flat against his bare chest. Pushing his down on his back. The skin was still warm from the tea and the leftover heat of the shower earlier. His thumbs brushed over his collarbones without meaning to.

"…How the hell," Tae-Hyun murmured, tilting his head as he looked down at him, "did you fuck me like it wasn't your first time?"

Joon-Won's lips parted slightly. He said nothing yet. His hands settled on Tae-Hyun's thighs, grounding him there, not rough, just… steady.

Tae-Hyun's thumbs drew slow half-circles across his skin. "You kept your rhythm. You didn't panic. You didn't hesitate. Even when I got quiet a little… you didn't freeze."

Still no answer.

"You knew where to keep thrusting," Tae-Hyun added, voice low, "and when to pin me. You held my face like you'd done it before. And you even knew when to… talk."

A flicker of a smirk crossed his lips, but it faded quick. His expression turned sharper, more intrigued.

"…So where'd you learn that, Joon-Won?"

Joon-Won's fingers flexed slightly against his thighs. His gaze didn't budge, didn't drop. "You're really stuck on this."

"Wouldn't you be?" Tae-Hyun challenged. "I should be the experienced one."

"Then prove it."

That made Tae-Hyun pause.

Joon-Won leaned back slightly, shifting to lay his head on the pillow instead, one arm folding behind it lazily as the other stayed gripped on Tae-Hyun's hip. "You want stories? You first."

Tae-Hyun blinked down at him.

Joon-Won's gaze was darker now. Still calm, but heavier. Something possessive curled at the edge of it, something he hadn't meant to show.

Tae-Hyun raised a brow. "What, you want me to list names?"

"No," Joon-Won said too quickly.

Tae-Hyun's brow arched higher. A slight playful smile appearing on his face at the quick response from Joon.

Joon-Won smirked like he caught himself. "Just stories. I want to hear what made you so good at it."

Tae-Hyun narrowed his eyes slightly. He could feel Joon-Won's hand tightening subtly on his hip, thumb brushing bare skin under the hem of the hoodie he was wearing.

"…There was a guy in college," Tae-Hyun started, voice slow and testing. "My professor. It wasn't anything serious, but we used to sneak into his office room during the day."

Joon-Won's jaw tensed just slightly.

Tae-Hyun noticed.

"He taught me how to shut up," he added, lips twitching. "Said my noises were gonna get us both in trouble.. he'd stuff my mouth with his tie while fucking me into his desk."

Joon-Won's hand slid up to his waist.

"What happened to him?" Joon-Won asked flatly.

"He got married," Tae-Hyun said. "To a woman. Transferred to another uni. We didn't speak again."

Joon-Won gave a small nod. His gaze hadn't dropped once from Tae-Hyun's eyes.

"And another?" he prompted, tone a little clipped now. "Who else taught you to moan like that?"

Tae-Hyun let out a soft breath of amusement. "Why? Want me to thank them?"

"No," Joon-Won said simply, "I want to know what to do better than them."

Tae-Hyun stared.

That shut him up for a second.

A blush crept to his ears, but he covered it with a scoff. "You're seriously competing now?"

Joon-Won leaned in, his voice low. "Shouldn't I?"

Tae-Hyun gave a light scoff but didn't move from his lap. "Alright," he said, sitting back more firmly, palms dragging down Joon-Won's abs now. Feeling them flex under him with a hum. "There was this bartender in a bar I used to go to a lot.. we dated for like… two months. Older. He liked tying me up."

Joon-Won's eyes darkened.

"Used to leave little rope marks around my wrists for days, he once even tied me down to his bed and had his way with me," Tae-Hyun added, half-smirking as if testing him. "I kinda liked it."

Joon-Won didn't say anything right away.

His hand moved up, brushing Tae-Hyun's arm, thumb tracing a slow circle along the inside of his elbow through the fabric of his hoodie that's on tae-hyun body.

"…You let him tie you up, but you looked at me wide eyed when I grabbed your neck?."

Tae-Hyun froze slightly.

He looked down at him. "…You noticed that?"

"I notice everything," Joon-Won said, voice low.

There was a long pause. And their eyes locked again.