“…Yes.”

“Do you understand?”

The cold voice pressed Cecil, seemingly intolerant of any misunderstanding. Cecil quietly looked at his brother and nodded. He had made his decision. Even if he couldn’t guarantee whether he would regret it in the future, he had promised to be with Cyrus.

Yet due to that inevitable fear, Cecil quietly embraced his brother. Sensing the slight trembling of the arms that held him, Cyrus silently embraced him back and kissed the exposed white neck.

He recognized that fear and terror. Knowing this, he still frightened Cecil, bullied him, and deceived him with vile tricks to finally possess him. Cyrus regretted nothing. It was a choice he couldn’t regret.

*

After accepting each other like that, Cecil discovered unexpected new aspects of Cyrus in various places.

It was, so to speak, the difference between being a “brother” and being a “man.” More precisely, it should be described as the difference between being a brother and being a lover.

Cecil made a puzzled expression, confused about whether it was appropriate to use such terms for his brother.

“Why that expression?”

At that moment, Cyrus, who sat across from him reading the assignment he needed to complete, asked.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Are you uncomfortable? Want to switch seats?”

“…”

“What?”

“No… I’m not uncomfortable. Do your assignment.”

It was exactly that kind of behavior. Even before, Cyrus would immediately resolve things if Cecil seemed uncomfortable, but there was something difficult to express about it. So as Cecil quietly stared, Cyrus, who had seemed to be concentrating on his assignment, sighed and stood up from his seat.

When Cecil gave his suddenly standing brother a look asking what was wrong, Cyrus sat down beside him without answering and casually interlaced their fingers under the desk.

“What is it? Should we go back to the dormitory?”

Cyrus asked, meeting Cecil’s eyes. As Cecil met those eyes, he suddenly realized. This was what was different. In the past, Cyrus would have asked a few times, and if Cecil didn’t seem like he would answer, he would either focus on his own assignment or forcibly make Cecil get up and return to the dormitory altogether. But now, he held Cecil’s hand in a ticklish grip and kindly asked for his opinion.

‘It’s like his way of expression is different…’

Having finally realized the difference, Cecil suddenly flopped face down on the desk to hide his warming cheeks. The feelings he had hidden by deceiving even himself to avoid revealing them were now at a loss after the dam broke, and his heart fluttered at every little action. These emotions were still unfamiliar and frightening, but Cyrus behaved like it was all natural, making Cecil dizzy with the pace.

“Why are you turning red again?”

“Shut up…”

As Cecil muttered and turned his head, he saw Cyrus looking down at him with his chin resting on his hand. There was a slight curve at the corners of his mouth. Annoyed by that curve, Cecil squeezed their interlaced fingers, and though it couldn’t have hurt, Cyrus made a groaning sound, saying “Ouch.”

“Shall I guess?”

“No, keep your mouth shut.”

Cecil hurriedly covered Cyrus’s mouth, knowing he was bound to say something embarrassing under the pretext of guessing. A pleasant low laugh followed. Then, before Cecil could avoid it, Cyrus quickly gave him a light kiss on the lips with a smack sound and pulled away. Startled by the attack that happened too quickly to block, Cecil jumped up in surprise and then sat back down.

“Hey, are you crazy?”

“Shh.”

But Cyrus just covered his own lips with his index finger and smiled playfully. It was a fresh smile like that of a boy his age. That smile made Cecil feel strange. Cyrus had always been more serious and quiet than his peers and never engaged in frivolous behavior.

Yet this Cyrus played such pranks solely because of him. As Cecil just stared due to that indescribable feeling, Cyrus leaned his head on Cecil’s shoulder, gripping the back of his chair.

“No one is passing by, the librarian has been organizing books downstairs for a while, and we’re the only ones in this section. Satisfied?”

He seemed to have detected the presence of all passersby during that time. Only then did Cecil breathe a sigh of relief. Still, feeling some aversion to such a bold act, he tried to push away Cyrus’s head with its brilliant blond hair, but Cyrus didn’t budge an inch, resisting with his strength.

“Can’t I even lean on you a bit?”

“It’s heavy.”

“Bear with it.”

It was an answer that left Cecil speechless. In the past, Cyrus would have immediately gotten up the moment Cecil said he was heavy, but as a lover, Cyrus was a bit mischievous and stubborn, and

“You smell nice, brother.”

Honest.

He expressed his feelings without hesitation to the point of making Cecil embarrassed. It was hard to understand why he had disliked talking to others so much when he was so good at speaking and expressing himself like this.

“…What smell?”

“Just. The smell of your skin.”

“You’re weird.”

“What did I do?”

“You keep saying strange things.”

After Cecil expressed the fact that his brother felt like a stranger that way and slightly averted his gaze, Cyrus burst into cheerful laughter.

“Is it strange that I say these things?”

“…Yes.”

“Why?”

“You don’t say such things. No, you hardly talk at all.”

When Cecil questioned why Cyrus was acting this way toward him, the playful Cyrus kissed the back of their interlaced hands again with a smack. Cecil stiffened slightly, which Cyrus could feel through their clasped hands.

“Because there’s no one I want to talk to except you, brother. Don’t you know something that simple yet?”

“…”

“Still a baby.”

“I said stop it…”

Sensing that Cecil might really get angry if he continued, Cyrus smiled with his eyes and pulled over his assignment, opening the book. His left hand still interlaced with Cecil’s. Sure enough, Cecil asked what he was trying to do. The implication was how could he manage when they were both right-handed but their hands were interlaced like this.

“I’ll do it for you.”

“Stop talking nonsense and let go quickly.”

“Why don’t you try to free yourself, brother?”

After saying that, Cyrus deliberately applied pressure and pleasantly enjoyed watching Cecil struggle and groan. Though Cecil had good physical fitness and agile movements, unfortunately, he wasn’t stronger than Cyrus. So after enjoying watching him struggle alone for a while, Cyrus released him, and a flush of color appeared on Cecil’s pure face. Immediately composing his expression, Cecil quietly glared at Cyrus. At that change, Cyrus felt like showering him with kisses right then and there.

People thought Cecil was always neat and didn’t show much change in expression, but if you looked closely, he showed rich expressions to those close to him.

Finding those small but diverse changes lovely, Cyrus finally leaned his upper body toward Cecil. As Cecil made a silly sound like “Huh,” Cyrus laughed and grabbed the back of Cecil’s head.

Smack.

A ticklish sound spread softly through the library as a gentle tongue invaded the open mouth. Cecil reflexively tried to push Cyrus’s shoulders away, but Cyrus felt him tightly gripping his collar instead.

“Mmm…”

A cute voice resonated through his vocal cords as his tongue licked each of the even teeth one by one.

“…No one’s here.”

After reluctantly separating his lips to reassure the fearful Cecil, he pressed them together again. He gripped the chair’s backrest more deeply and embraced Cecil’s nape. Trapping him in his arms so he couldn’t escape, he pressed their lips together, and a small panting sound was heard suggesting Cecil lacked breath.

When he breathed into Cecil, Cecil received that breath and slowly opened his eyes. His long eyelashes had faint teardrops, perhaps due to the lack of oxygen, and his lips glistened with saliva.

Staring intently at that series of beautiful expressions, Cyrus wiped the saliva from the corner of Cecil’s mouth and said:

“You look h*rny.”

Immediately, Cecil’s expression turned strange. It was the face of someone hearing something absurd.

“What am I supposed to do about looking h*rny?”

“Stop saying weird things.”

When Cecil scolded him, Cyrus made a soft laughing sound like escaping wind, pressed his lips firmly against Cecil’s neckline, and groaned:

“What should I do when I feel this good…”

He sounded completely surrendered to this love, with no other choice but to submit.

Cecil quietly stroked Cyrus’s hair at that voice of submission. Cyrus obediently accepted the touch of his brother and lover. It resembled taming a docile beast.

As Cecil stroked his brother’s hair, he thought that perhaps he too understood that submission.

*

The secret kiss in the library ended with Cecil biting Cyrus’s lip. Cyrus glared at his brother, saying it hurt, but he seemed pleased. Although Cecil was still somewhat passive, there was an enormous gap between acceptance and rejection, so Cyrus was satisfied with this much.

There was no point in rushing; the timid Cecil would only run away again. This time, he didn’t want to ruin things and make that happen.

Instead, he began to tame Cecil slowly, starting with small things. For example:

“…”

Cecil, who had been looking at the blackboard in front, silently flinched. The wrist he had casually rested on the armrest was smoothly grabbed. Without looking, he knew the culprit was Cyrus in the seat next to him.

At some point, Cyrus had developed a habit of pushing Cecil into the innermost seat in the very back row of the lecture hall and taking the seat beside him. It was for doing exactly this kind of mischief. Despite telling him many times not to do it because they might be caught, even though they were in the back row, it was useless.

‘Surprised?’

Smiling like a mischievous boy with a playful expression, Cyrus looked as innocent as a boy his age and as excited as a boy experiencing his first love. So even though Cecil tried to get genuinely angry a few times, he inevitably ended up bursting into laughter. He had always thought Cyrus was mature, but seeing him act childish in this way made him seem quite cute in a way.

Not only that, during horseback riding lessons, Cyrus would even perform the outrageous act of grabbing Cecil by the waist and lifting him onto the saddle. When the surprised Cecil looked around, everyone just burst into laughter, apparently thinking they were just brothers playing around.

‘You’re the only one having strange thoughts here, brother.’

Cyrus would say that, teasing the flustered Cecil and showing only a gracefully curving eye-smile. His brother seemed unspeakably happy about becoming lovers with his brother. Otherwise, with that polite and calm personality, he wouldn’t play such pranks several times a day. Cecil didn’t find it entirely unpleasant either. But like this,

“…Won’t you let go?”