-27- Evil jealousy
It's already three months since Zhan got the interview for Yibo and his big brother Hai Kuan and the two of them started working as swimming instructors in the school. Yibo was especially in demand because as it turned out, they could use his talent for saving lives, as well as his talent for dancing and sports. And so he is not only a swimming teacher, but also a dance coach and the assistant to the sports teacher.
In the meantime autumn has come and soon it would be winter. Already now the trees were all bare and in the evening it was often already very cold. And, finally, the parents of Zhan and Yibo also agreed on a wedding day. After Yibo kept bugging them about it, well noticed. They will now marry next year on February 14th. And thanks to their families, they will not have to worry about it themselves.
And since Zhan's best friend Chuyue met Yibo and they get along great, Zhan couldn't be happier. Yeah. After all, there is something that really bothers him. It even bothers him a lot. But he doesn't have the courage to bring it up because he's embarrassed! Embarrassed because he's jealous. He's jealous as hell.
Even though things are going great between him and Yibo and they spend every spare minute together, Zhan can't stop being jealous whenever Yibo talks about the good-looking and popular sports teacher at school, he feels this hot, raging and consuming jealousy inside of him.
At first Yibo only talked about his work as a swimming and dance teacher, but then he became an assistant to the sports teacher and almost only talked about him. Sometimes all evening long. And because he spoke with so much enthusiasm, Zhan didn't dare to say anything. He didn't want to be jealous. And he certainly didn't want Yibo to know he was jealous.
Because Seungyoun, Yibo's best friend, had once told Zhan at a dinner among friends that Yibo can't stand jealous people. In fact, he even said: "Yibo hates jealous people, because for him it is a sign of lack of trust. And if Yibo sees someone is jealous, he will cut off contact with that person."
Zhan was so rattled by this that he decided to keep it to himself how much it upsets him when Yibo often talks for hours about this sports teacher. Chuyue told him, "If you don't talk to Yibo about it, how does he know you don't like it? That could, if you keep pretending that nothing is wrong, backfire completely and lead to an argument. You're in a relationship, he loves you and won't leave you right away if you confess to him that you're jealous." So Zhan thought maybe he should say something to Yibo after all.
But then the next day he met Wooseok and talked to him about jealousy. And Wooseok said, "You should just keep it to yourself. There are some things we should not tell our partners. Especially not those things where they learn what they can use to make us jealous. Believe me, if they feel like it and they feel ignored, they use that knowledge to make us jealous."
Even if Zhan doesn't believe Yibo is that kind of man, it still rattled him. And he was even more insecure when he first saw this sports teacher. It was at a party thrown by the teachers. Zhan had accompanied Yibo, but just like all the other teachers, Yibo was standing by the sports teacher all the time while Zhan sat at a table and pretended that it was perfectly ok for him. Inside, he was boiling so much that he imagined himself getting up, going to Yibo and pouring a glass of wine over his head.
Oh yes, Zhan is very jealous. Plus, he's angry too. Because Yibo doesn't even notice that Zhan is uncomfortable when he talks about this sports teacher. Which is basically Zhan's fault, because he just doesn't want to jump over his shadow and talk to Yibo about it.
When Zhan came home tired from the early shift at the bookstore that afternoon, Yibo called him and asked if he could pick him up. Once again, his motorcycle did not start, the third time this month. "If you're too tired or you don't have time, I'll ask Louis to drive me." Said Yibo.
"No way, I'm picking you up." Said Zhan. Inside he thought, Louis? That sexy sports teacher? There is no way I'm letting my Yibo be in a car with him. So he went to the bathroom, freshened up, put on clean clothes and then headed off to school.
After Zhan arrived at the school only an hour later, he went straight to the gym, which he found abandoned. He was about to go back to his car and wait for Yibo when he saw the light in the swimming hall. Zhan immediately went there and wanted to go to the swimming hall but unfortunately the front door was locked and so he had to go around the hall and use the back entrance.
That was enough time for Zhan to let his wild imagination run free. And it began harmlessly with the question, why was the front door locked? Then Zhan asked himself the question, is this to prevent someone from coming in and disturbing? Or, was it to prevent them from getting caught? And the deeper Zhan let himself sink into these wild fantasies, the slower he became and the less desire he had to go into the swimming hall.
With his heart beating up to his throat, Zhan entered the swimming hall through the back entrance and went past the changing rooms, the office of Yibo and Hai Kuan, straight into the swimming hall to the pool. At the edge of the pool sat Yibo and Louis, the sports teacher with the broad shoulders. Seeing them sitting there and talking like that made Zhan feel the heat spreading across his face.
Slowly he walked towards them, almost sneaking up on them without knowing why he was doing it. Did he think they were talking about something that wasn't meant for his ears? Had he hoped to hear something like that and then be able to say that his jealousy was well-founded?
When Zhan had gotten close enough to them, he heard Louis say, "I don't think I could wait that long. If I had someone with your looks on my side, I wouldn't want to wait until our wedding day to be intimate."
"Why?" Asked Yibo quietly.
"Well, look at you. You're so handsome, I couldn't keep my fingers still. And besides, someone with your looks can have anyone. You wouldn't even have to wait." Louis explained.
Zhan imagined he kicked Louis and he fell head-first into the water. And of course, in his mind, the water was freezing cold. And if Yibo didn't say the right thing now, he would, probably not only in his imagination, kick Yibo. That's how angry Zhan was right now.
"You know, I'm the one who wants to wait. It's not Zhan." Said Yibo.
"Why do you want to wait? Are you perhaps not yet sure about you and Zhan? Do you need more time for that? If so, then I can tell you right now, if you are not attracted to him yet, it will never work out. You two have been together how long? It doesn't matter. I think you're overdoing it. Why do you want to get married so young? How do you know you won't meet someone else and fall in love?"
Yibo was silent for a moment, which made Zhan very insecure. And when Yibo didn't say anything for another four or five seconds, Zhan stepped up to them and said, "Well, maybe he's about to fall in love with someone else."
Yibo spun around, jumped up and Zhan started walking out of the swimming hall. Yibo followed him and yelled for him to stop. But Zhan didn't even think about it. Zhan had already reached the door when Yibo reached him. Yibo grabbed him by the wrist, said, "We'll clear this up right away," in a bitter tone, and pulled Zhan behind him back into the swimming hall to Louis.
When the two of them got there, Louis stood at the edge of the pool grinning and looking at them. "The reason why I want to wait is because I love Zhan and because it went so fast with our relationship, I want to show him in this way that I am damn serious about him. I have never loved anyone as much as I love my ZhanZhan and I will never love anyone else but him. I met him 20 years ago, just once and even then I said that I wanted to marry him. And honestly? As soon as I think of Zhan, I would love to rip the clothes from his body and want to make love with him. But I'll wait till our wedding night to do it, because I see it as proof of my love for ZhanZhan." Said Yibo to Louis.
"Why are you mad at me now?" Louis wanted to know.
"I'm more mad at myself for not realizing you were trying to confuse me. Not that you would succeed, because nothing and no one can stop me from marrying the man next to me. But it pisses me off that I didn't realize it." Yibo replied.
"Oh, is that why you didn't answer when I asked if you really wanted to marry so young?"
"No. Firstly, you had more than one question and secondly, I was imagining what it would be like when I married Zhan. When we are at the altar together. The thought alone makes me euphoric, and if it were up to me, I would have married him by now. Because I' ve never been so sure of anything as I am about marrying my ZhanZhan." Said Yibo.
Yibo put his arms around Zhan and kissed him and said, "You are my ZhanZhan and I love you. And next year on February 14th, I'm going to marry you and I'm going to feel like the luckiest man in the world. Please don't be mad at me, okay?"
Louis left the swimming hall, leaving Zhan and Yibo alone. Zhan was so angry with himself because of his evil jealousy, he could have cried. How could he doubt Yibo's love even for a moment? "I'm sorry, Yibo. I was jealous because you kept talking about Louis and I let my imagination run wild."
"To be honest, ZhanZhan, I was trying to make you jealous. Because, whenever you told me about your colleague Yang, I got jealous too, and I wanted you to know what that felt like. It was childish of me, I know. And I'm sorry, too."
"Really? "But I told you that Yang is married and about to be a father for the second time. He's not into men. And I only have you in my heart anyway. There' s no room for anyone else. I love you so much Yibo and I don't want to lose you."
"I guess I didn't hear the part about the wife and kids. I think we should really work on our communication."
"Mmm. But not now."
"Why? What are you up to ZhanZhan?"
"Mmm, we're both here, we're alone. Shall we swim?"
"Now?"
"Yes, now Yibo."
"But you didn't bring your swim trunks, and I don't have a spare pair I could give you."
"Well, then, we shouldn't wear swim trunks."
"Hrrrr, that sounds good. But I should lock the back door first. Even if we don't do anything naughty, no one has to see us like this."
Zhan nodded. He kissed Yibo and had to smile as he ran as fast as he could to lock the back door. When Yibo came back, he dimmed the lights in the hall and helped Zhan undress. And if they hadn't kissed incessantly, it wouldn't have taken them ten minutes to undress.
Hey, sorry you had to wait so long for that update. I've been meaning to write all day, but I was just too hot. With 30°C in the apartment, I rather felt like my brain was melting trying to think. haha