Absinthe novel Chapter 63

"Still haven't decided?" Minsu-hyung asked, expertly placing the set of weights he was lifting back to its stand, and in the process, showing off his beautiful guns.

I shook my head in response. I don't really know why I said yes when he invited me to work out together, but I guess I didn't really have a choice since I've been pigging out with Faye for quite some time now.

"Need some help?"

This time, I nodded instead. Minsu-hyung proceeded to position himself right behind me, holding my waist in place as I slowly lifted a barbell.

"Slow and steady," he coached as I bent lower.

I could feel Minsu-hyung's lean torso behind me as I straightened back up. I did a few more lifts until I completed the whole set and hastily placed the barbell back to the floor, panting and out of breath.

I felt Minsu-hyung's hands massaging my shoulders in slow, circular motions. "Long time no gym? If you don't take care of yourself, this here would start bulging out."

Minsu-hyung started tickling my belly with his left hand. His right hand was busy holding my two hands which were thrashing around in protest.

"Look at mine," Minsu-hyung said, "still as hard."

He lifted his shirt and revealed porcelain smooth skin shaped in symmetrical squares in diminishing size as they narrow down towards his manhood.

I looked around and was not surprised that everyone in the gym that morning had their eyes on us – businessmen and executives in varying stages of oldness.

"Hyung!" I protested. "You may want to be careful doing these things around me. I'm gay, remember?"

I decided to call it a day, grabbed my towel and water bottle, and headed towards the direction of the shower rooms.

"Hey, wait up." I heard Minsu-hyung calling out in Korean. "Let's shower together just like how we did back then!"

Unfortunately, Minsu-hyung uttered his next sentence in English. And as expected, everyone in the gym had their eyes wide as saucers.

Back when I was living in Korea, I did my possible best to avoid going to public baths, saunas, and swimming pools with any of my friends. I couldn't possibly just be casually naked with them, right? Not when all of my friends are hot and basically my type.

Don't judge me now... I don't intentionally befriend people I'm physically attracted to! It just happened that the guys I became friends with tend to have the very physical features I look for in men.

As bad as my luck could be, this hotel uses a very Korean shower room – no dividers whatsoever! I'm assuming this is the reason why the hotel gym is populated with guys who just keep my gaydar ringing!

I decided to be a grown-up and just deal with the situation, undressed myself, and went straight to the farthest showerhead. I was just about to shampoo when I felt Minsu-hyung's bare skin on my back.

"Come on, let me scrub your back for you," he asked. "For old time's sake?"

I shook my head violently. "I just had my back scrubbed yesterday. You won't get anything off of it."

"Whoa, you allow other people to scrub your back now? I spent years trying to get you to agree and we did it once! Just once!"

The guys at the gym earlier started coming in now, and they could see clearly how six-foot-three, porcelain-skinned, and sculpted Minsu-hyung is trying to share that tiny space under the showerhead with me.

"It was at the skin care clinic!" I protested. "I don't take showers with other people, remember?"

Minsu-hyung grabbed the small shampoo bottle from my hand and proceeded to squeeze a generous amount onto his palm. He then lathered it in gentle strokes on my scalp.

To be honest with you, nothing in this whole wide world beats Hyung-Dongsaeng relationships in Korea, especially if you form really close bonds with them. Dongsaengs, or the younger ones, like myself, get to enjoy pampering to a whole new level from the hyungs.

"Feels good?" Minsu-hyung asked.

I nodded in response. "Where's Gunho-hyung anyway?"

"Wasted," Minsu-hyung responded curtly.

"And you're not?"

"You're familiar with how all these work, right? One of us had to stay sober for potential issue that may come up."

"Oh yeah," I said, my brain suddenly flooding with memories. "I forgot."

"You used to be always drunk because all of our clients like drinking with you."