Define The Relationship Novel - Chapter 97

At Ash’s dazzling words, which churned his brain, Karlyle urgently raised his hand. His elegant and neatly extended hand pointed to a thick black leather wrist restraint.

“I’ll take that one.”

Karlyle stopped Ash’s rampage with a stiff, business-like voice. Ash made a sound of disappointment, “Ah, ah.”

“Are you serious? You can still change your mind.”

Karlyle shook his head. Handcuffs were better no matter how he looked at it. Ash had pressed his hands down hard during his rut, preventing him from moving, so handcuffs would be similar in principle.

“No, this is fine.”

“Okay. Now let’s go choose something else.”

“What?”

It’s not over here?

“Liel gets surprised easily like a rabbit, so I’ll just choose two more.”

Where should he even begin to point out? That he was too tall to be compared to a rabbit? Or why on earth did he need two more perverted devices for whatever he was planning?

Ash pretended not to see Karlyle’s eyes, which were trembling with bewilderment. Like the most innocent person in this space, he led Karlyle without a chance to escape, his face clear.

The next section was a feast of small, round rings. Starting with rings the size of a thumb and middle finger curled together, their shapes varied slightly. There were also thick, bracelet-like objects made of chrome, clearly painful, with sharp spikes.

Are they accessories? Karlyle tried to guess the purpose of these bizarre things. But there didn’t seem to be any obvious use for them. Looking around the display more, he saw something like a leather bracelet. It seemed to be a bracelet. Though, for a bracelet, it was rather thick, like something for a child…

This time, Ash didn’t tell Karlyle to choose immediately. With a serious expression, Ash began talking to the store clerk.

“Is this rechargeable?”

“I’ve heard that some are rechargeable these days, but the ones we have are battery-powered. You don’t have to worry about elasticity.”

“So this one lasts the longest, I suppose?”

“Yes. It works even if you’re so good you faint a hundred times. But it’s best not to use it for more than thirty minutes.”

Those words seemed to satisfy Ash. Ash picked up a translucent, apricot-colored round ring. Karlyle pretended not to hear the words “faint” and “pass out” he had just heard, erasing them from his mind. How can someone have such a conversation with a stranger? It was embarrassing just listening to it.

“Here, choose.”

Ash gave him options. But the options seemed strange.

“For a bracelet, its shape is a bit… unique.”

Karlyle carefully chose his words to respect Ash’s taste as much as possible.

“A bracelet?”

Ash burst out laughing. Karlyle looked back and forth at the items in Ash’s palm. One was the painful-looking chrome bracelet he had seen earlier, and the other was the small apricot-colored ring.

“You thought that? You’re so cute, it’s driving me crazy. Really… hurry and choose.”

Ash whispered in an unbearable voice, gently urging Karlyle. At the unprecedentedly firm urging, Karlyle chose the apricot-colored ring, which at least looked somewhat normal.

“You really don’t know what this is?”

“I don’t know.”

Ash glanced around once, then leaned in as if to tell a secret. Karlyle also lowered his body slightly to match Ash, who made a gesture of covering his mouth with his hand.

“I’ll tell you when we get home.”

He felt deflated. No, it was fine. Whatever it was, he just wanted to escape this place now. This place, where he felt his energy draining and his soul corrupting every second, was like a Sodom within London.

Ash coaxed and led Karlyle, who kept trying to go to the exit, to choose the last item. Even Karlyle, ignorant of such devices, could instantly recognize its purpose. Karlyle inwardly groaned at the feast of artificial penises in stylish cases. He let out a shallow sigh, close to a lament, and covered his eyes with his hand.

“Ash… this… really… isn’t necessary.”

“Liel might want to comfort himself when I’m not around.”

“I don’t want to do it unless it’s with Ash, so it’s fine.”

Karlyle desperately argued, wondering why Ash was explaining it himself. It was also true. Even on business trips when he was away from Ash, he never touched himself. Karlyle was a person far removed from masturbation. Although he had surprisingly often shown himself to crumble under pleasure after meeting Ash, when he was left alone, he felt no sensation whatsoever. Unless it was his rut and he had no choice but to release his desires, that was how it was.

“Of course, I know Liel takes mine best.”

“This one seems good.”

As soon as he sensed that lewd talk was about to continue, Karlyle urgently reached out his hand. However, by coincidence, what he pointed to was a vibrator. Karlyle, unaware of such details, wanted to get out of there quickly without even looking at it. As a result, a dildo with a rounded tip for prostate stimulation and a thin overall length ended up in Ash’s hand.

Ash stood before Karlyle, holding the three items. Karlyle’s severely abused soul couldn’t bear to look at the grotesque objects and turned his gaze away. Looking earnestly at Ash’s face, Karlyle finally let out a weak plea. That’s how mortifying and싫 it was.

“…Can’t you just let it go this one time?”

His voice was dispirited. His insides trembled in a different way than when he was scolded by his grandfather. Karlyle was already worried about how unsightly he would appear to Ash if he used that. He was troubled.

“Do you want to?”

Karlyle remained silent, feeling too ashamed to answer yes. Ash shrugged, then offered him something as if he would really let it go.

“Then there’s a third option.”

Karlyle’s face lit up so much that if he had animal ears, they would have perked up.

“What is it?”

“There’s something you want to say to me, isn’t there?”

I know everything. As if he had read his thoughts, Ash spoke like someone who truly knew everything. The words Karlyle had been swallowing recently were obvious. Ash was asking about the words he was barely holding back, the desire to become his legal partner.

“That…”

“If you tell me now, I’ll make everything disappear.”

Karlyle looked around. Sex toys of unknown purpose glared at him from all directions. There was no way he could say such a thing in such a heinous environment. Even if he was a man who had never been in a relationship, he had this much common sense. Karlyle closed his eyes tightly, then opened them.

“I’ll pay.”

His resigned voice was now calm.

“I’m serious, though.”

“Thank you for the offer, but this seems fine too.”

His situation, having received only difficult choices, made him feel pathetic. Ash, who was beside Karlyle, eager to finish the payment and leave, added an unknown suction cup-like item before paying, thus ending their shopping.

Undoubtedly, it was the most shocking shopping experience in Karlyle’s entire life.

Ash watched Karlyle, who repeatedly looked at him like a small animal then looked forward, with a smile. It was incredibly adorable how his chin twitched like a timid rabbit, so mischievously, instead of reassuring his lover, he savored the sight. The man, who was slightly smaller than him in height, hands, and shoulders, was so beautiful and cute that Ash didn’t want to let him out of his sight.

“Are you waiting because you want to shower together?”

He had fed Karlyle a hearty dinner, knowing he would cry and release a lot. Yet, Karlyle’s nervousness was still evident, so they eventually started drinking. Ash had expected Karlyle not to like the devices, but it seemed Karlyle was more shocked by what happened earlier than he had anticipated.

“No. I’ll just finish this and go.”

Karlyle gripped the glass in his hand tightly and replied. More than half of the amber liquid sloshed inside. Apart from his cuteness, Ash felt a pang of worry. He rubbed his chin with his index finger and asked. This was because Karlyle was on his third glass of rum, which filled his Negroni glass to the brim.

It was the first time he had seen someone drink something with a 50% alcohol content straight like that. Ash was also a good drinker, but he had never even thought of drinking such high-purity distilled spirits straight. If he thought about it, his lover often revealed unexpected sides, and Ash felt a sense of wonder at those aspects.

“Aren’t you drinking too much?”

It seems like he’s trying to buy time, Ash asked, swallowing a laugh. Should I let him off the hook since he’s acting so cute? If he said he didn’t have to, Karlyle’s pale face would probably light up. He would widen his eyes slightly, as if disbelieving, and then carefully take his hand and ask if it was true. His lips, unaccustomed to smiling, would form a faint curve.

That sight was certainly beautiful to behold, but Ash still wanted to achieve his goal. He felt anxious thinking that Karlyle had been hiding his true feelings ever since the day he pushed him away last time.

He knew that giving personal space and respecting the other’s tendencies were the basic framework of a relationship, but Karlyle hid his true feelings excessively. It was better now, at least. Ash was always curious about what the man was thinking behind that expressionless face. However, he had never rushed him. He wanted to respect Karlyle’s wishes, and most of all, he had also waited for the day Karlyle would bring it up first.

But the moment Karlyle, with a deeply wounded expression, pushed his hand away, Ash was startled by an intense shock that was even hard for him to bear. It felt like his soul was being rejected. He suffered as if he had committed the greatest sin in the world.

And it was his Liel, of all people.

To confess his arrogant heart, Ash had unconsciously believed for some time that Karlyle would never abandon him. He had implicitly thought that the gaze always fixed on him would remain by his side forever. It was a blind faith, almost like a conviction. It was an unfamiliar way of thinking for him, who had avoided giving complete trust to anyone after the incident with Hazel.

He had always done his best for the person he loved, but he had never blindly believed that the other person would love him forever. That was a separate issue. Ash always tried to focus only on the present.

Given that, he would never have talked about marriage with anyone. He was too young when he met Hazel, so he never considered it then either. Though Hazel seemed to have wanted it…

Seeing Karlyle get angry at him over something he hadn’t done was more than sad; it was painful. His heart ached as if he had lost Karlyle, and he couldn’t concentrate on work. His reddish eyes were so wet, as if he was about to cry, that Ash stayed up all night, worried that Karlyle might cry alone when he wasn’t looking. What could he be thinking? He wouldn’t be thinking he’s worthless or inferior to Hazel, would he? After he learned that Karlyle thought lowly of himself, he tried to prevent such thoughts.

Either way, it was a hypothesis that tore Ash’s heart. He could no longer harbor feelings for anyone other than Karlyle.