AOA 69

He had genuinely meant to help out of goodwill. He’d broken his arm as a child and knew just how inconvenient it was to change clothes with such an injury.

Besides, starting tomorrow, they would barely run into each other. He figured this would be the first and last time he ever helped. It felt a little awkward, since he’d never undressed someone else before, but that was all.

However, when Jeong Minchae actually reacted, it gave him a strange feeling. A ticklish sensation stirred in his gut, and even his fingers began to creak.

Including the time before his regression, Baek Mugyeong had slept with Jeong Minchae four times. And he hadn’t had sex with anyone else in the past few years. It wasn’t surprising that his body would react to this kind of contact.

Having deduced the cause, Baek Mugyeong pulled off Minchae’s socks after removing the pants.

“All done.”

“Yes.”

He didn’t touch the drawers. But even so, he couldn’t stop his eyes from drifting to Jeong Minchae’s bare body.

Jeong Minchae, who had boldly said to do as he pleased, now had a flushed face again. Scratches and small tears were visible on the left side of his face and body.

Reflexively, Baek Mugyeong recalled the sensation visit our siteof that pale, slender body. At the same time, his heartbeat went irregular.

“Um, Baek Mugyeong. Could you step out?”

Baek Mugyeong, who’d been staring at Jeong Minchae as if spellbound, snapped back to himself at the sound of his voice.

He’d told himself not to expect anything, yet he’d ogled the man outright. He couldn’t say a word in his defense. Worse still, he’d almost instinctively released his pheromones. That wasn’t something he could just write off as a mistake.

His body moved just as awkwardly as he felt. Baek Mugyeong rose as calmly as possible, soaked a towel in hot water, and handed it to Jeong Minchae.

He nearly got caught staring again at Jeong Minchae’s sullen expression as he looked up at him. Dangerous.

“You probably won’t be able to shower properly.”

“Right.”

“Then I’ll leave.”

Baek Mugyeong forced himself to control his limbs as he left the bathroom. He even resisted the urge to look back.

Passing through the bathroom, dressing room, bedroom, mini living room, and hallway at a brisk pace, he finally returned to his own Read on room. Only then, when he was alone, did he let out a sigh.

“This is fucking insane.”

Baek Mugyeong muttered in frustration. No further explanation was needed. He really felt like he’d lost it. Just from seeing a bit of bare skin, he’d nearly lost his mind.

A faint sense of pleasure still lingered. But more troubling than that was the vivid afterimage burned into his mind.

Jeong Minchae had a strikingly forlorn beauty. When he lowered his eyes, there was something precarious about him. Baek Mugyeong figured that about half the reason other alphas tried to entangle themselves with him came down to his looks.

But right now, what was shaking Baek Mugyeong wasn’t Jeong Minchae’s appearance.

He remembered everything. How that pale body moved during sex, what kind of moans escaped from between those light-colored lips.

The moment he became aware of it, the memories of their sex came flooding back like waves. His barely calmed heart pounded as if it were trying to run a race.

“Haa…”

Swallowing down a curse, Baek Mugyeong raked his hand through his hair. He felt like a teenager just discovering desire, he couldn’t even bring himself to laugh.

He had considered Jeong Minchae to be someone he couldn’t trust. Before the regression, he’d let his resentment get the better of him and hurled harsh words without restraint.

Yet just a few rounds of sex had left him hooked on the man’s body.

The urge stirred up by those lingering memories refused to subside. If anything, his instincts were whispering that he should go find Jeong Minchae right now.

With a sigh—he’d lost count of how many by now—Baek Mugyeong yanked off his clothes and headed for the bathroom.

Maybe a cold shower would help him come to his senses.

*

“I’m studying hard since midterms are coming up.”

“Think you’ll get a scholarship?”

“Haha. It’s a bit embarrassing to say, but I’m not especially talented when it comes to studying. There are others who need that scholarship more than I do, so I’ll yield it to them.”

Baek Mugyeong drank his water as he listened to the conversation between Jeong Minchae and Baek Jinseok. More precisely, he focused on Jeong Minchae.

Usually, Jeong Minchae wasn’t much of a talker. It seemed like he thought he’d mess up if he spoke too much. Though he had plenty ​unauthorized copy​of thoughts, he only voiced the ones he’d turned over in his mind again and again.

At twenty-three, he sometimes got a little heated, but only on rare occasions.

Quiet and reserved, Jeong Minchae behaved like a newly hired rookie in front of Baek Jinseok. He straightened his back, kept a proper posture, and spoke clearly while meeting Baek Jinseok’s gaze head-on.

The funny part was, Baek Jinseok actually liked that.

Baek Mugyeong looked at Baek Jinseok, who sat across from him. Outwardly, he wore the kindly face of a grandfather. In truth, he was a ruthless businessman.

In South Korea, Baek Jinseok, the chairman of one of the nation’s top three conglomerates, was as good as royalty. Everyone bowed their heads before him.

He had probably seen attitudes like Jeong Minchae’s countless times, but perhaps because she was his grandson’s wife, he responded a little differently.

It was refreshing, in a way.

Not just company employees, but even family members found Baek Jinseok intimidating. They read his moods, flattered him excessively, and tried to stay in his good graces. But it was all just self-preservation, a way to secure benefits from him.

Jeong Minchae, however, stood out. There was a kind of discipline in him that Baek Jinseok, who believed the world revolved around him, would naturally appreciate.

To Baek Mugyeong, Baek Jinseok was the kind of man who couldn’t rest unless everything [visit our site]went his way. A type often seen in those who’d achieved overwhelming success in business.

That included tonight’s dinner invitation. Around lunchtime, Baek Jinseok’s secretary suddenly called, saying the chairman wanted to have dinner together. It was phrased as a suggestion, but might as well have been a command, one you couldn’t refuse.

Jeong Minchae had been limping ever since he injured his ankle in yesterday’s accident. Baek Mugyeong mentioned he would visit alone because of Minchae’s condition, but the secretary informed him they had already contacted Minchae and set the appointment.

So Baek Mugyeong immediately returned home and spoke to Minchae. Minchae, who was feeling much better thanks to medication, insisted he could go out for dinner without issue. He admitted honestly that turning down a summons from Grandfather left him uneasy.

Though it had been only a day since the accident and he still limped with every step, Minchae removed his half-cast and wrapped his ankle in bandages so he could meet Baek Jinseok.

At the dinner, Minchae did his best to act the part of the dutiful daughter-in-law. He responded to Baek Jinseok’s comments and kept the conversation going. Baek Mugyeong, for his part, spoke more than usual to help take the burden off the ailing Minchae, and the atmosphere remained cordial.

But Baek Mugyeong wasn’t pleased with the situation. He disliked that Minchae had to pretend everything was fine when he clearly wasn’t.

He knew he was being overly sensitive. It wasn’t something worth making an issue over, and yet, it kept bothering him.

“Hahaha. Sure, let’s call it a concession. Those kinds of concessions are good,” said Baek Jinseok.

“Thank you for understanding,” Minchae replied.

Waiting until their conversation wrapped up, Baek Mugyeong finally spoke.

“Minchae, is your leg okay?”

“Uh-oh… Yes. I’m fine.”

Caught off guard, Minchae glanced at him, as if wondering why he would ask that, then answered that he was fine. Naturally, Baek Jinseok took notice of the awkward reaction.

“What’s wrong with your leg, newlywed?”

“You know about the incident in Yeouido yesterday, don’t you, Grandfather?”

“Yes, I heard. Some lunatic drove his car into a crowd. What about it?”

“Minchae was there. He went to see the cherry blossoms with the youngest son of Taeyang Group. In the rush to escape, he got shoved around by the crowd and twisted his left ankle.”

“Was it serious?”

“It’s only been a day, but he still has trouble walking. He’s running a bit of a fever too.”

Baek Mugyeong emphasized Minchae’s injury with a solemn expression. Even though Minchae gave him a look like What the hell are you doing?, he didn’t [visit our site]care. There was no exaggeration, everything he said was true.

Above all, staying silent in front of someone like Baek Jinseok would be foolish. If you didn’t show just how much effort you were making, you wouldn’t earn any recognition.

Startled, Baek Jinseok turned to ask Minchae how he was. Flustered, Minchae insisted he was fine. The topic then naturally shifted to the Yeouido incident.

The three of them continued their meal while discussing the perpetrator, who was said to have a history of mental illness. When dessert came out, the final course of the meal, Baek Jinseok finally got to the point.

“Both of you, take this.”

He pulled out two slightly thick white envelopes, about the size of a thumb.

“Don’t open it. Just keep it in your wallet.”

“What is it?”

Baek Mugyeong had a pretty good idea, but still asked.

“It’s a talisman. Got it from a very gifted monk. Keep it with you. It’ll bring you luck.”

“Alright.”

Though an atheist, Baek Mugyeong didn’t particularly mind talismans. More importantly, he knew better than to reject something Baek Jinseok had gone out of his way to give.

Glancing over, he saw Minchae also accept the envelope with a thank-you and tuck it into his wallet.

“And take this too.”

Baek Mugyeong frowned slightly as Baek Jinseok handed over another envelope. This one was black, stamped with the HW Hotel logo.

It was obvious at a glance, it probably contained a hotel room keycard.

“Grandfather?”

“It’s a suite. Today’s a lucky day.”

“If you keep doing this, I won’t even be able to get it up..”

After confirming it really was a keycard, Baek Mugyeong spoke firmly. From beside him, Minchae—mid-sip of water—coughed into his glass.