I’m Not That Obsessive

Chapter 14

Mitchell’s car quickly passed through the forest path. Beyond the iron gate, they arrived at Mitchell’s garage, as expected. The shutter was down again today. Geon-woo, standing in a daze, dragged his heavy legs into Mitchell’s house.

“I need to go home for a bit.”

For two days, he had eaten and slept at Mitchell’s house. What Mitchell had asked was for him to look after the house while he was gone, not to follow Mitchell around constantly.

Of course, Mitchell’s true intention, presumably due to his emotional deprivation, was to have Geon-woo by his side, but currently, Geon-woo was in no state of mind to consider Mitchell’s feelings.

“Why?”

“I need to go home at some point. I can’t stay here forever. I need to change clothes, my phone battery is dead, and also…”

“Bring whatever you need and come right back. Besides, it’s not like you have anyone to contact, right?”

“…Yeah, I guess not.”

Normally, this would be an infuriating statement. But now, it was a truth that awakened him to reality, and at the same time, clear evidence of Mitchell’s symptoms of deprivation. His fear of being alone was clearly visible.

Geon-woo looked at Mitchell, thinking, ‘You must be struggling too.’ Lacking the will to resist further, he slumped down on the sofa, his usual spot, with a pale face. He didn’t want to go home either.

It wasn’t that he was depressed from seeing his older brother. He was just shocked. It felt like facing a ghost from the past that had finally caught up with him here.

As memories of what happened in Korea started to resurface one by one, Geon-woo unconsciously frowned deeply.

“Are you already practicing your acting?”

Mitchell, who had approached without notice, sat close to Geon-woo. He grabbed Geon-woo’s chin with one hand and lifted it up, making him look at himself. Geon-woo, drained of energy, let him do as he pleased.

“What practice?”

“The role you’ve taken on. That character is always angry. Always frowning and raging. Just like you now.”

“Ah… yeah. That’s right. I’m practicing my acting now. The movie needs to do well. I’m practicing intensely.”

He spoke as if resigned.

“Good. That’s a good attitude. I’ll help you. We’ll get your things later, first take this off.”

Mitchell’s hand left Geon-woo’s chin. Instead, he tugged at Geon-woo’s t-shirt.

“…Why?”

“I said I’d help you, didn’t I?”

“With what?”

“Building your body.”

“Ah…”

He realized belatedly that Mitchell meant exercising. It was a good idea. There’s nothing better than exercise to manage complicated feelings. Geon-woo took off his t-shirt without hesitation.

“Follow me.”

Geon-woo followed Mitchell’s gesture towards the end room he had never been to before. There were various gym equipment there.

Large press machines in a private home. No wonder Mitchell’s body was so good.

As soon as they entered the room, Mitchell also took off his shirt. It’s not necessary to exercise shirtless, but actors need camera-friendly muscles.

When Geon-woo was building his body before, his trainer had said the same thing. Either look at yourself directly in the mirror or get feedback from someone else throughout the workout.

When you need to build a beautiful body quickly, it’s best to focus on the necessary parts intensively. And since time needs to be shortened, a slightly different exercise method is needed. So exercising with the upper body exposed is an excellent method, but…

‘It should be okay, right?’

Geon-woo was concerned about Mitchell’s history. That history of shaking beds with men.

Thanks to this, thoughts of his brother gradually disappeared from his mind. That alone was enough effect. Geon-woo shook his head and approached Mitchell, who was adjusting the exercise equipment.

“Just a moment.”

Mitchell reset the weight of the equipment, adjusted the height of the chair, and then took out bottled water from the mini-fridge. His eagerness to help put Geon-woo at ease.

“Sit there.”

Geon-woo sat on the press machine Mitchell pointed to. He grabbed the handle of the machine that strengthens shoulder muscles, pushed it up and then lowered it. Mitchell came over to correct his posture.

“Arms a bit more back… lower it slowly.”

He pushed back Geon-woo’s neck that was coming forward and corrected his chest that was sticking out too much. Every time Mitchell’s hands touched his bare skin, Geon-woo was inwardly startled. His body trembled as if ice had been placed on his skin.

Each time, he pretended to shake as if the equipment was heavy. As an actor, Geon-woo thought his acting was flawless, but Mitchell was also an actor. Being very perceptive, he immediately noticed where Geon-woo’s groans and trembling were coming from.

“Try to keep your upper body fixed as much as possible.”

Standing right next to him, Mitchell pressed Geon-woo’s chest and back simultaneously. The tip of his finger caught Geon-woo’s nipple. That small, cute thing was crushed under Mitchell’s ring finger.

Every time Geon-woo raised and lowered the press bar, his finger and nipple created friction. As a result, Geon-woo’s face gradually heated up.

Geon-woo recalled Mitchell on the bed. The writhing back muscles, the tightly raised buttocks, and that backside strongly thrusting down…

“Mitchell…”

He was about to ask him to remove his hand from that ambiguous spot. Just then, Mitchell’s phone rang. Mitchell pulled out the phone from his pocket with his right hand and brought it to his ear, while keeping his hand on Geon-woo’s chest.

“Hello.”

Geon-woo couldn’t tell if Mitchell was checking his posture or satisfying his own desires.

“Yeah, I’m at home now. It’s fine… Yeah. That day? Okay. Let’s do that.”

As the call continued, Geon-woo’s interest shifted. From the hand caressing his chest to Mitchell’s phone conversation. The voice faintly heard through the phone was a woman’s, and Mitchell was making plans with her.

Geon-woo, who had been burning up until just a moment ago, cooled down rapidly. He couldn’t accept Mitchell meeting someone he didn’t know.

‘Who could that person be?’

There wasn’t enough time to figure out everything about Mitchell in such a short period.

Meanwhile, Mitchell had ended the call. He put his phone on the nearby shelf and again held Geon-woo’s back. He subtly rubbed Geon-woo’s chest in an almost embracing posture.

“Who was that?”

Geon-woo, indifferent to his body being touched, was curious about the recent call.

“Lydia. The female lead for this movie.”

Lydia Rosa, the female lead of “Racing Instinct.”

Mitchell’s co-star and the role that develops into a romantic relationship with Mitchell.

Lydia was undoubtedly beautiful and had won several awards at prestigious ceremonies. Though she had slightly come down from her peak, her recognition was still high. As much as Mitchell was famous worldwide, Lydia was someone who could match that level.

Geon-woo wasn’t particularly jealous of their relationship, but he wasn’t thrilled about having to share Mitchell’s time with her.

“Are you meeting up?”

He asked, pausing the exercise for a moment. He looked up at Mitchell while catching his breath.

“We’re meeting a bit earlier than scheduled on the first day of shooting.”

“Why?”

“To rehearse and stuff.”

“Didn’t you do that during the actual rehearsals?”

“We did. We’re just going two hours early to build rapport. Other actors are coming too.”

“Were you already friends with Lydia?”

“Yeah, we’ve worked on a few projects together.”

“So how close are you?”

“…Why are you so curious?”

“Can’t I ask? I told you I’m naturally curious about many things. I can’t help it when I’m curious.”

“You’re not a kid anymore.”

“I’m more of a kid than you are.”

Mitchell laughed in disbelief. Then he patted Geon-woo’s shoulder, who was indeed speaking like a child. After all, Geon-woo was two years younger than him.

“I want to go too.”

Geon-woo said as he started moving the bar again. It seemed to have gotten heavier in that short break.

“Where?”

“I should show my face too. Even if I’m just a supporting actor, I should at least greet everyone.”

“You don’t have any scenes to shoot that day.”

“Right. My shooting starts in a month, doesn’t it? It’s still a while away.”

“But you still want to come?”

“Yeah. It might be awkward, so let me stick by your side.”

At that moment, Mitchell’s hand on Geon-woo’s chest tensed. Geon-woo frowned at the almost grasping action. At this point, it didn’t seem like it was just for posture correction.

Mitchell closed his spread hand, focusing on one spot. He squeezed one side of Geon-woo’s muscular chest and teased the small nipple. When Geon-woo’s shoulders tensed, Mitchell smiled widely, showing his teeth.

“Alright.”

He seemed to be in a good mood.

***

I followed Mitchell in finishing the shoulder workout, then continued with abs and back exercises. By the time sweat started to drip, we finished the upper body workout.

Throughout, Mitchell’s hands barely left my body. Rubbing, pressing, pushing, pulling. If you think of them as hands helping with the workout, it’s about right, but if you suspect ulterior motives, the hand movements were certainly suspicious enough.

The ambiguous workout, which could be interpreted differently depending on the person, ended. Or so I thought.

“Lower body? If we do lower body too, I think I’ll completely collapse here today.”

I said, lying sprawled on the equipment. I couldn’t remember the last time I had worked out properly. It must have been when I was in Korea.

My whole body’s muscles screamed from the sudden exercise. I couldn’t do any more. It was impossible.

“I’m really exhausted. Let’s stop here for today. Thanks for your help.”

I said, gently touching my fully pumped chest in satisfaction. Being tired is one thing, and feeling good is another.

Mitchell stared intently at my hand caressing my chest. He raised one eyebrow, then lowered it, and met my eyes again.

“Since we’ve started, let’s do it all. We should do at least an hour. We’ve only done 30 minutes so far.”

“That’s all we’ve done?”

“Yeah. You’re weaker than you look? Good stamina lets you do ‘many things for a long time.’ Don’t you agree?”

Mitchell emphasized ‘many things for a long time.’ Of course, he didn’t specify exactly what he meant, so I didn’t think it had any special meaning.

Right, I suppose good stamina lets you do many things.

“Calling me weak hurts my pride? I’ve never been told I have bad stamina anywhere.”

I said, wiping the sweat from my forehead with satisfaction as I got up.

“What are we doing next?”

I looked around confidently and went to the equipment Mitchell pointed at. Just as I was about to start the lower body workout, Mitchell said,

“Take off your pants.”