DASH-Chapter 165

“Wait, shouldn’t you ask your mother first? She might have a different opinion.”

Jiheon’s dad held on until the very end, unable to let go of hope.

“No, sir. The thing my mother hates the most is meeting my father’s family. I’m sure she’ll say okay for no wedding because she doesn’t have to see them.”

“Oh, is that so...? Uh, I see, if your mother says so, well....”

Jiheon’s dad muttered absentmindedly, looking perplexed as a family story he had never even thought of came up.

“Okay. Do whatever you want, then.”

Finally, Jiheon’s dad leaned back on the sofa.

Perhaps thinking that this was the end of the conversation, Jaekyoung put down his fork as if he had been waiting and asked.

“Can I have a look at that for a moment, please?”

He gestured towards the living room cabinet he had been glancing at since earlier. In there, Jiheon’s dad’s commendation awards and medals were neatly showcased alongside the medals Jiheon had received during his days as an athlete.

“Sure.”

With Jiheon’s mom’s approval, Jaekyoung stood up. He walked and halted in front of the cabinet, inspecting it closely from the top. Spotting a medal just below his eye level, he leaned in, gazing at it intently through the glass for a long time.

Jiheon seemed to know what had captured Jaekyoung’s attention. He grinned, getting up and heading toward the cabinet. Opening the door, he retrieved the bronze medal he had received from the World Championships, handing it to Jaekyoung.

“Here.”

Jaekyoung held the medal in both hands, looking at it for a while. Jiheon teased, finding it cute how Jaekyoung treated the medal like a precious thing to see for the first time, even though Jaekyoung himself had the same thing and even many better ones.

“Should I give it to you? Do you want it?”

Jaekyoung looked really worried but eventually shook his head.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I heard your parents like it.”

“You’ll like it more.”

Jiheon playfully whispered. Jaekyoung chuckled and returned the medal to the cabinet.

“I’ll leave this here and take you instead.”

Jiheon laughed, giving Jaekyoung a slap on the back, unaware that his dad, leaning on the sofa, suddenly interjected.

“Hey, if the two of you are gonna give me goosebumps, go to your house!”

“Alright, we’re on our way.”

Jiheon swiftly grabbed their hanging clothes.

Watching his son and son-in-law prepare to go home without hesitation, Jiheon’s dad whispered to his wife, “They’re swimmers, so they’re quick on their feet.”

“Are you tired, hyung?”

Jaekyoung asked once they hopped into a taxi.

“Not really? Why?”

“Can we make a quick stop at the swimming center?”

There was no way he was going to stop by for a swim at this hour, but since they were in Ilsan, it seemed like he wanted to visit at least once.

“Sure, why not.”

Jiheon requested the taxi driver to head towards the swimming center. The car pulled up in front of the facility in 15 minutes, and the driver left Jaekyoung with a friendly remark, expressing anticipation for the upcoming Olympics.

Jaekyoung stood there for a while even after the taxi left. When Jiheon asked him about it, Jaekyoung said as if he was amazed.

“It was right here.”

“What?”

“We talked right here when you left the center.”

Jaekyoung said with a smile.

“Do you remember, hyung? You told me to aim for the Olympics and achieve the Grand Slam. Right here.”

This guy didn’t even pay attention to the harsh words Jiheon had said to him and only remembered the good things about him. Jiheon slipped his hands into his coat pockets.

“Of course, I remember. I was shocked that someone I barely talked to suddenly chased after me, demanding to know why I quit swimming. But the moment I spoke, you started crying and complaining. Like a little crab.”

“What? Cry and complain? When did I?”

Jaekyoung suddenly got defensive.

“And I was over 170cm back then. How’s that ‘little’?”

“Hey, height doesn’t matter. Just think about elementary school kids. To high schoolers, they’re just little kids.”

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“What the.... What’s the age gap, anyway?”

Jaekyoung grumbled with protruding lips. He showed his annoyance and walked towards the building on his own, but then casually returned to stand beside Jiheon.

“What? Wanna go by yourself?”

“No.”

Jaekyoung said it bluntly and even grabbed Jiheon’s ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) hand. Jiheon hesitated for a moment, but he thought, ‘Well, no one’s around. Who cares?’ and took the lead by placing his hand on Jaekyoung’s.

Perhaps because it was late, all the lights were out except on the first floor of the building. Since it was a public place, its open hours were shorter than a private one. However, the first-floor lobby was still well-lit, and the entrance was open.

“Is this the door I opened for you?”

Jiheon asked, pointing to the front door.

“Yes. You really don’t remember, hyung?”

“I don’t know. Seems like it did happen, though.”

“Well, fair enough. How can you remember all that? It must’ve happened to you more often than having three meals a day.”

Jaekyoung was so happy and teased about how forgetful Jiheon could be.

“Hey, not that often.”

“I know. Just kidding.”

Jaekyoung said with a grin and let go of Jiheon’s hand. With a nod of his head, he gestured toward the entrance.

Thinking Jaekyoung wanted to go in, Jiheon swung the door open and went in first. Jiheon naturally strolled towards the lobby, expecting Jaekyoung to follow. However, when he noticed Jaekyoung was still outside, he was surprised and called out:

“Hey, what are you doing? Why aren’t you coming in?”

Jiheon shouted to Jaekyoung outside. Then, belatedly, he realized what Jaekyoung wanted, so he smiled and walked back to the front door.

Jiheon opened the door wide.

“Come on in.”

He expected Jaekyoung to come in right away, but surprisingly, he didn’t. Instead, he stood quietly outside the door, looking at Jiheon. After a while, he said:

“Hyung.”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for swimming.”

Jaekyoung had a rare, bright smile on his face.

“If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have made it this far.”

Jiheon’s heart tightened at Jaekyoung’s innocent smile and words.

“You brought me all the way here.”

Jaekyoung said that and walked through the open door Jiheon had left open for him. Then, he cupped Jiheon’s cheeks with both hands and gave him a light kiss. That tender and cautious kiss suddenly brought back memories of the first time they had kissed at the swimming pool. Jiheon chuckled thinking about Jaekyoung, who turned away with his ears turning red after a simple peck.

No, he thought he was going to laugh, but tears actually welled up.

“Ah, no, don’t.”

Jaekyoung quickly hugged Jiheon.

“You can’t cry now.”

“Why? Why not...?”

Jiheon asked with his face forcibly buried in Jaekyoung’s chest.

“You should cry after I propose to you.”

“What?”

Jiheon burst into laughter this time.

“Hey, do it now. This is the perfect moment to propose.”

“No. I will definitely win gold at the Olympics.”

Jaekyoung remained stubborn.

“I’ll do it by giving you all the medals I win.”

“Oh my gosh.”

Jiheon laughed because he was dumbfounded. Seeing Jiheon like that, Jaekyoung smiled as if he suddenly remembered something.

“Hyung, I’ve picked a nickname for the baby.”

“What is it?”

“Genie.”

Jiheon was taken aback by the unexpectedly simple and cute name (to be precise, unexpected coming from Kwon Jaekyoung) and muttered:

“What the.... It’s so adorable....”

“Right?”

Jaekyoung looked proud.

“Is it from Genie of the Lamp?”

“That’s right. And it’s also named after you, hyung.”

“Oh, I see. Jiheon, Genie.”

“Yes. Because you are my genie. You made it all come true.”

Jaekyoung said that and gave strength to his arms hugging Jiheon.

“I didn’t make it all come true; you did.”

“No, both of us did.”

Jaekyoung insisted again. Jiheon chuckled at that stubborn tone and said, “Yeah, yeah.” He patted Jaekyoung on the back. Jaekyoung buried his face in Jiheon’s shoulder, then suddenly lifted his head again and started kissing him.

Jiheon didn’t know what to do but just let him be, using the excuse that he didn’t feel any presence of anyone around them. Then, he raised his chin first and kissed him passionately.

Jiheon didn’t know what Jaekyoung thought, but this guy grabbed his cheeks with both hands and began kissing him fervently, as if he was going to eat Jiheon. The initial light touch evolved into a deep kiss, and before he knew it, he found himself pressed against the entrance wall.

“Jae, kyoung-ah, wa... stop, stop now....”

Jiheon groaned each time their lips parted, yet, contrary to his words, his hands on Jaekyoung’s neck tightened. His chin was raised even more, and his lips opened wider than before, never knowing how to close them.

‘We shouldn’t do it here. There might be people in the building, and it would be a disaster if someone saw us.’

Anxious, Jiheon tried to push Jaekyoung away. However, when Jaekyoung sucked his tongue hard and bit his lip, he clung to him even tighter. After living a chaste life for almost two months, a single kiss heightened his arousal, leaving him unable to control his body.

“Jaekyoung, seriously, stop....”

Feeling it could become a really big problem, Jiheon gathered his strength to push Jaekyoung away. Just before that, Jaekyoung parted his lips, buried his face in Jiheon’s shoulder, and let out a sigh, muttering in a pained voice Jiheon had never heard.

“Haa....... When the hell will these 12 weeks pass?”

Jiheon burst into laughter even though he was in no position to talk.

“Only three weeks left.”

Hearing this, Jaekyoung raised his head and looked at Jiheon. Jiheon chimed in:

“But next week is the second selection round, so I won’t let you do it again.”

“Right.”

Jaekyoung looked disappointed, muttering, “What the hell?” and buried his face in Jiheon’s shoulder again. In response, Jiheon slapped the back of Jaekyoung’s hand as he tried to sneakily caress his waist again, scolding him.

“Hey, enough. Let’s go home.”

Pushing Jaekyoung’s chest, Jiheon stepped away and held Jaekyoung’s hand, who was still in despair, speaking more determined than ever.

“Let’s go home and meditate.”