For some reason, there was a heavy and uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I wanted to scrape out whatever was filling me up inside. If only I could stick my hand into my chest, I would have scraped it out with my hand like a claw, but it was frustrating that I couldn’t.
“Oh dear. What a shame.”
The trembling dishes flew neatly in unison towards the kitchen. Soon after, I could hear the sound of trickling water and the scrubbing sound of a sponge. Seo Ui-woo pressed Minh’s slightly parted lower lip firmly with the head of a toothbrush.
“Come on, open wide.”
“…Ah.”
“I will meticulously brush every single tooth of yours, Mr. Jae-jin, so you can trust me and just relax.”
Seo Ui-woo held Jae-jin’s chin and made him open his mouth. After intently examining the red mucous inside, he started brushing with the toothbrush.
The white bristles on the white teeth created thick suds.
Seo Ui-woo brushed Jae-jin’s teeth with great delicacy.
Starting from the front teeth to the molars, he touched each tooth one by one, deeply reaching in and pressing down on the neatly situated wisdom teeth at the end with the tip of the toothbrush.
Kwon Jae-jin had a total of 30 teeth.
Two wisdom teeth had erupted on his lower jaw, while the upper jaw was smooth.
The offer to brush his teeth had been a spur of the moment outburst, but as he scrubbed each of Jae-jin’s evenly white teeth, an inexplicable sense of satisfaction welled up in him.
It was to the extent that my lower stomach tightened and a warm flush filled me.
It was curious to feel such passion for a task that wasn’t even a guiding act.
“…Uh.”
Kwon Jae-jin, who had been quietly parting his lips, let out a small noise and closed his eyes. His vision shut, and darkness welcomed Jae-jin. A cool mint flavor filled his mouth.
Seo Ui-woo, with heated eyes, looked at Kwon Jae-jin and lazily moved his hand even slower.
He liked how Jae-jin obediently closed his eyes under his touch, and he enjoyed the act of jabbing the toothbrush deep into his vulnerable mouth covered in foam.
Seo Ui-woo counted the number of Kwon Jae-jin’s teeth, a figure he already knew, three times over for no reason and thoroughly brushed them. Once the white teeth were all gleaming, he felt satisfied and then turned to the tongue. Being careful not to press too hard and trigger Jae-jin’s gag reflex like before, he gently maneuvered the brush.
Each time he touched the tongue, Kwon Jae-jin twitched ever so slightly. Seo Ui-woo watched steadily without even blinking an eye.
Their breathing slowed down, and time seemed to halt, hanging in the air.
At one point, Seo Ui-woo’s previously unguarded expression slowly twisted and changed.
Something massive, well contained within his deeper self, began to overturn and split, causing fissures to form.
A dark entity that had been suppressed for years started to stir and raise its head. Like a coiled snake, it was the supernatural ability that had grown with Seo Ui-woo.
Beyond the overflowing exterior, it was an enormous innate power resembling a monster that had sunken into the abyss.
Seo Ui-woo momentarily stopped brushing and exhaled a quiet breath.
He continued brushing afterward, but the surrounding air had noticeably changed, now heavy and oppressive.
The atmosphere was sticky, damp, and weighty.
The quietly lingering pressure eerily pricked at the skin.
“…….”
Throughout the entire process of brushing Kwon Jae-jin’s teeth, Seo Ui-woo did not utter a single word.
Even after the brushing was finished, the toothbrush in his hand crumbled into powder and vanished. It disappeared without leaving a trace behind as if it hadn’t been there at all.
“Mr. Jae-jin.”
Seo Ui-woo extended his large, thick-palmed hand towards Kwon Jae-jin’s lips.
“Spit it out.”
Kwon Jae-jin gathered the mouthwash he was holding and spat it into Seo Ui-woo’s hand.
The foamy, white substance that was dense with suds Seo Ui-woo squeezed in his fist. As he opened his hand again, the foam had disappeared without a shape left and was completely gone.
It was as clean as if he had washed his hands, or rather, as if nothing had ever been on his hand at all.
Just like the powdered toothbrush, the mouthwash seemed to have disappeared in the same way.
Jae-jin rinsed his mouth with the remaining water in the cup on the table. His freshly cleaned mouth felt refreshed and cool with the mint flavor, but that wasn’t what mattered.
The uncomfortable tension was unwelcome. It was a sign that balance was falling apart and changes were on the horizon.
Jae-jin avoided making eye contact with Seo Ui-woo and looked away.
✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧ 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 ✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧
