Bring It On! - Chapter 32

Chapter 32.

Jay had a natural talent for entertaining a nine-year-old kid. Not that he noticed, nor did he probably think he was doing anything entertaining.

Regardless, Jay managed to completely exhaust the boy’s boundless energy, like a battery drained to zero.

Eventually, it got to the point where what we were doing couldn’t even be called laundry anymore. It was full-on war.

Suho swung a long stick he picked up by the roadside like a sword, threatening Jay, and Jay, despite getting hit every time, managed to overpower him.

Seeing the two sprawled out like dried fish, I clucked my tongue and started gathering the finished laundry. Jay, who had been dawdling, glanced at me and quickly picked up a blanket.

“I’ll hang the smaller stuff first,” I said.

Jay pretended not to hear and spread the blanket wide across the laundry line. As soon as the blanket blocked us from view, he suddenly wrapped his arms around me from behind.

“Wh-What are you doing?!”

Then he began showering me with small kisses on my temple, neck, cheek, and ear.

Smooch, smooch, smooch, smooch. The sound of his lips brushing against me echoed endlessly.

What the hell is wrong with this guy?! No matter how much I squirmed, I couldn’t escape his strong hold.

The unexpectedness of it all had my head spinning.

I should push him away harder, but the ticklish heat rising from my chest to my lower belly made it difficult to resist properly. I shook my head slightly, then finally stomped hard on the top of his foot.

“Ugh.”

I felt Jay’s face drop onto my shoulder.

But even then, his arms refused to let go.

“What, did a ghost who died from lack of kisses possess you or something? Should I sprinkle salt on you?”

“I don’t know. I just want to kiss you, what can I do?”

He mumbled against my shoulder, his words and the warmth of his breath spreading softly across my skin, making me flinch.

“I told you not to do this when Suho’s around.”

“I’m exhausted. I’m doing this because I’m tired.”

“So what, I’m supposed to fix that for you?”

“I won’t ask for much. Just enough to recharge a bit, okay?”

“Get off. Ugh, that tickles.”

I never imagined a kiss that had started as a one-time curiosity and whim would lead to this.

I had noticed Jay’s physical affection increasing day by day, but I hadn’t expected it to escalate from sexual urges to this level of tender, embarrassing kisses.

Even worse was the fact that I couldn’t bring myself to push him away decisively.

“Ugh… ah…”

Jay nibbled around my neck while one hand traced up my waist and ribcage. The sensation was sharper and more electric than dipping my feet into icy water, shooting all the way up to my head.

“Aren’t you embarrassed making those moaning sounds?”

“Sh-Shut up. Hhh… don’t bite…”

“You sure you want to keep moaning like that? Suho might hear. Not that I mind.”

The shameless bastard…. He didn’t even think about how he was the one biting and sucking all my sensitive spots, making it sound like I was the pervert moaning uncontrollably.

I clenched my eyes shut and pressed the back of my hand over my lips to muffle the sounds. I could feel his chest shaking softly as he laughed, still holding me tightly.

“Hnnng… mmph.”

“You’re so sensitive. Did you know the more you hold back, the more I want to tease you?”

I don’t care. I don’t want to know. Just get off me already.

I grabbed both his forearms wrapped around my stomach with all my strength. The heat spreading from my chest had already traveled to my shoulders, tickling my nape. Now, it felt like my whole ear was burning red.

His soft lips trailed up my neck and sucked at the dip beneath my ear.

Ah! A sharp shiver raced up the back of my neck.

I couldn’t hold back any longer. Whether I elbowed him in the solar plexus or smashed his face with the back of my head, something had to be done.

“What are you two doing?”

It was at that moment. A sudden voice froze me in place.

A voice I shouldn’t.have heard brushed past my ear. The heat that had been burning all over my body vanished in an instant, and my heart plummeted.

I could feel the massive body behind me stiffen completely.

“…….”

Just as a chilling sense of dread began to spread through my limbs, I swung my elbow back with all my strength and struck Jay.

I felt him fall backward from the blow, and at the same time, I opened my tightly shut eyes.

Suho, gripping the blanket like someone pulling back a curtain, was staring at us intensely. His smooth, pebble-like black eyes seemed to reflect our panicked expressions exactly. 

I froze in place, my lips just opening and closing wordlessly. Then I just grabbed a phrase that flashed through my head and threw it out there.

“W-Why aren’t you doing the laundry? What are you messing around for again?”

“……”

“Ah, Suho. You take a break, okay? Jay and I will finish up the rest.”

Jay, still holding his chest where I’d smacked him earlier, looked completely out of it. I punched his shoulder again, this time deliberately harder. 

But instead of convincing Suho, my suspiciously over-the-top behavior only deepened the cold scowl on his face.

“What are you two doing.”

“……”

Suho asked in an icy tone. Instinctively, I clasped my hands together politely.

“What’s going on between you two?”

He marched toward us with heavy steps, snorting through his nose, his thick eyebrows arched in sharp accusation.

“I-It’s not what you think.”

“But your faces were right next to each other.”

This kid had impeccable eyesight. I guess I should be thankful the blazing sun hadn’t damaged it.

Before I could even start explaining, Suho launched into a barrage of sharp questions.

“Why were you hugging? Are you guys dating? Are you keeping it a secret from me? So are you getting married? Having kids? But didn’t you say you liked someone else, noona—mmph!”

Unable to withstand the mental assault, I finally clamped both hands over Suho’s mouth. With his words physically blocked, Suho glared at me with eyes full of injustice and betrayal. His little chest rose and fell violently with rage.

I’d shut him up for now, but it was no different from closing my eyes in front of a blazing fire. Sooner or later, I’d have to say something. But trying to brush it off with “we were just wrestling” or “I was scolding him” would never work on this clever, wickedly sharp nine-year-old.

But that didn’t mean I could tell him the truth either.

‘Jay and I aren’t dating, but sometimes we fool around. Like groping each other and kissing whenever we feel like it.’

Disgusting. So dirty! Seeing my own actions laid out objectively, I couldn’t believe how low and sleazy I’d been. As an adult, I had to protect this kid’s still-innocent worldview.

S-So should I just say we’re dating? That might be the most peaceful and convincing answer. I hadn’t asked Jay if he was okay with it, but honestly, that wasn’t the point right now. What mattered most was making sure Suho never found out the awful truth.

“So, um…”

“Lee Suho.”

Just as I was about to speak, Jay, who had been standing half a step behind me, suddenly stepped forward. He gently pulled my hands away from Suho’s mouth.

What the hell? Had he come up with some brilliant solution? I turned to him, hoping for a miracle.

“Who did Sun Woori say she liked?”

But what came out of his mouth was the most useless, out-of-nowhere question imaginable.

“Answer me.”

Jay asked seriously, and Suho’s eyes narrowed in response.

“You didn’t know?”

“……”

Jay looked like someone had just punched the air out of his lungs. He was utterly blindsided.

“Noona had a guy she used to go on nighttime dates with.”

“Nighttime… dates.”

“She said he had pale skin, a soft voice, and a tofu-like vibe. Completely different from you, hyung.”

As Suho went on, Jay’s eyes lost focus. He looked like he’d sunk into deep thought. Watching Jay carefully, Suho’s lips curled into a sly grin.

I flinched. That wicked smile on a nine-year-old boy sent an instinctive alarm through me. And sure enough, what Suho said next completely rattled Jay.