On-Way Passage || ᴠᴍɪɴ

Chapter 40

The bedroom reeked of Taehyung's pheromones, and Jimin was soon drowning in them.

He'd wanted to have a good time, and a good time was had, but it came at a cost—his nape was bitten by Taehyung once more. There were no glands there. Taehyung's sharp teeth penetrated his flesh, drawing blood and injecting his pheromones once again.

At that moment, Jimin's entire body was ruthlessly pinned to the bed; he didn't even have the strength to struggle. He lay on his stomach, fingers tightly clenching at the bedsheets. A while later, he felt Taehyung gently turning him over, drawing Jimin into his arms.

Jimin's entire body was drenched with sweat, and he lacked the energy to get up and shower. There was an illusory moment where he thought his sweat smelled like Taehyung's pheromones—as if he was marinating in it again.

Having been exhausted already, Jimin thought that he would fall asleep in no time, yet his weary mind refused to let him doze off. He turned over in Taehyung's arms and lay on his side, his head angled to look up at Taehyung. "Are you a dog?"

Taehyung had already closed his eyes and was carding Jimin's slightly damp hair with his fingers. "Mm."

Jimin was somewhat taken aback. "You really are one?"

"What's the problem?" Taehyung's deep timbre rang out.

"How could you bite someone like that? Don't bite me next time," Jimin quietly grumbled.

Taehyung opened his eyes. "It's instinctive. I can't control it."

"How about we buy you a muzzle to cover your mouth with? The kind that people use when walking their dogs."

Taehyung's face immediately darkened.

"It really hurts when you keep biting me." Jimin also felt wronged.

"Must you really talk about this now?"

"Why not? Should I bring it up in advance the next time? Would there be any use?"

"No," Taehyung retorted coldly.

Jimin sighed. "Then can I wear a turtleneck sweater?"

Taehyung was visibly agitated. "If you don't have anything else to say, you can shut up."

"Then what do you want to talk about?"

Hearing Jimin's question, Taehyung's tone slightly warmed. "What do you remember?"

Jimin took a look at his expression and cautiously uttered, "Nothing."

Taehyung withdrew the hand that was carding through Jimin's hair.

Jimin rolled over onto his stomach, his arms crossed in front of him, chin pillowed on them. "Disappointed?" he asked.

"Take your time," said Taehyung. "You'll remember."

"What if I never remember?" Jimin hypothesised. Taehyung's words came to mind: It's pointless to invest in unreciprocated feelings. He thus said, "Will you give up on me?"

Taehyung didn't respond to his question.

Jimin added, "What if I don't remember, but still fall in love with you?" After saying that, he waited for Taehyung's answer with bated breath.

This time, he had to wait quite a while. Taehyung dropped his head and pressed his forehead to the crown of Jimin's head. Immediately after, Jimin felt Taehyung licking at the wound on his nape, stopping the bleeding from the wound that had yet to scab over under his warm, wet touch. It was both painful and ticklish, and Jimin's neck instinctively shrank back.