Solo For Two

“That’s because… we were having a pillow fight.”As soon as little Charles heard that his parents were having a fun pillow fight, he jumped onto the bed, eager to join in.Karel, annoyed that Charles had interrupted this moment, began to toss the baby high into the air and catch him repeatedly. With each toss, Charles giggled with delight, but to Sasha, it looked like Karel was taking out a bit of genuine frustration while throwing Charles. It seemed that the brief period of celibacy due to Sasha’s tour had made Karel a bit more intense.In the end, as Sasha became worried that Karel might actually throw Charles up to the ceiling, he intervened, bringing the morning commotion to a close.＊ ＊ ＊“So, you’re saying that you’ll allow me to meet Sasha Sedrin alone?”Jean Clarkson asked, his face lighting up. Levin nodded.Levin had managed to arrange this meeting through the business card Jean Clarkson had left behind yesterday. When Clarkson first saw Levin, he was haughty and dismissive, even when Levin explained that this was to help Sasha Sedrin.However, the moment Levin mentioned that he could meet Sasha alone, Clarkson’s attitude changed dramatically. Sensing Levin’s skepticism, Clarkson began to emphasize his pure intentions toward Sasha.Levin patiently listened before getting to the point.“What I ask of you is simple.”He then explained the ‘script’ to Clarkson, adding a few specific requests and instructions.“So, I will meet Sasha Sedrin alone, right? Just the two of us?”“Yes, but more importantly…”“A private rendezvous!”“Um, Mr. Clarkson… This isn’t a rendezvous…”Levin was starting to feel uneasy about Clarkson. Meeting him in person only reinforced that feeling.‘But he said he was willing to participate in this ridiculous play for Sasha’s sake. It feels a bit strange, but maybe it’s just because there aren’t many middle-aged men among the passionate ballet audience…’Levin explained again.“When Sasha Sedrin goes to the dressing room after the performance, knock and enter. He’ll likely be quite nervous. After you’ve seated him, share your thoughts on the performance, just like yesterday…”“Yes, and then we’ll naturally have tea…”“Have tea, then pretend to choke and collapse. Don’t forget to bite down on the capsule to make it look like you’re bleeding.”Clarkson, beaming with excitement, was overjoyed at the idea of being close to Sasha Sedrin and promised to do anything for the opportunity.Levin, maintaining a calm smile, added, “I’m counting on you.”Jean Clarkson reiterated that he would do anything to help Sasha. While Levin felt somewhat relieved, it was clear that Clarkson was entertaining some other fantasies.After Clarkson left, Levin fell into thought.When she thought about it, despite Sasha having many devoted fans, it was rare to see a middle-aged man among them. Most people with money and power approached Sasha with the intent to flaunt that power.Now that Sasha was no longer affiliated with any organization and performed under his own name, it was harder to coerce him with money or power. Though Clarkson might be pretending to be a fan, his ultimate goal might be the same.To force Sasha to kneel before him and derive some base satisfaction from humiliating him.‘You shouldn’t hold prejudices against people.’But just in case, Levin decided to prepare a backup plan. After tidying up, she hurried off somewhere. There were only a few hours left until Sasha’s final performance of the tour.＊ ＊ ＊Although Sasha had remained calm during rehearsals, as he returned to the dressing room to prepare his makeup and costume, his anxiety began to surface.“Karel, um… do you think the Duke came to watch the performance today?”“He might have.”Sasha’s hands were trembling. Karel quietly sat beside him, taking the small brush from Sasha’s hand and lifting Sasha’s delicate chin to carefully apply makeup around his eyes. Under Karel’s gentle touch, Sasha naturally closed his beautifully shaded eyelids. His eyelashes were still quivering.Sasha’s mind had suddenly reverted to the early days of his twenties, back when he couldn’t escape the Duke’s grasp.“Don’t worry. When you’re on stage, he can’t touch you.”Karel said this as he pressed his cheek against Sasha’s, giving him a deep hug to help him breathe easier.“…You’re right.”Sasha’s breathing gradually steadied. He looked up at Karel and asked,“You’ll stay with the troupe, right?”“Of course.”“Until the performance is over.”“Obviously. I’ll be right behind you the whole time.”Karel, inwardly pleased by Sasha’s childlike dependency, helped him into his costume. The waistband adorned with a bright, reflective ornament sat low on Sasha’s hips, leaving his upper body mostly bare, with only a few accessories. Even without elaborate adornment, Sasha’s slender body was more captivating than any outfit. The phrase “the human body is the most beautiful decoration” seemed especially fitting when describing Sasha Sedrin’s physique.Karel lightly kissed Sasha’s bare shoulder. Tonight, Sasha would once again shine like a sculpture under the stage lights. Karel, who had grown accustomed to suppressing his possessiveness after countless performances, made an effort to do so again.‘But I’m the only one who understands this anxious inner world of his, and the only one who can calm it.’Karel placed his hand on Sasha’s slightly rising chest.“Oh, wait, Karel… Let me do that. Ah…”As Karel’s firm knuckles brushed against Sasha’s nipple, Sasha tried to push his hand away. However, Karel, undeterred, carefully twisted and removed the pink, plump nipple piercing set with a blue diamond. Watching Karel casually slip it into his pocket, Sasha felt around his now exposed nipple.The piercing had healed years ago, so there was no pain, but the nipple where the diamond had been was noticeably larger. From a distance of about five steps, it wasn’t obvious, so most people didn’t notice, but Sasha felt a bit self-conscious about having one enlarged nipple. He often tried to cover the area with accessories or costumes when he was on stage. Though, once the performance started, he tended to forget about it.“Why do you keep touching there?”“Huh? Oh, nothing…”“Feeling empty? Want to go on stage with it?”“…That’s not possible.”“Why not? I’d like it if you did.”Karel whispered, as he rubbed the breast where he’d just removed the diamond with his palm and pulled Sasha’s slender waist closer.“People would find out…”If Sasha were genuinely opposed, Karel wouldn’t force him. So, Sasha wasn’t about to go on stage with the blue diamond piercing in his nipple.Still, Sasha felt a cool thrill at the thought that Karel might really force it back in. Although he didn’t, Karel, as if wanting to mark that Sasha belonged to him, continued to toy with his nipple.“Don’t… If you do that to just one side, it’ll look strange…”“Really?”Raising his eyebrows, Karel started to eagerly lick and tease the other nipple as well, as if it was a good thing. Thanks to this, both of Sasha’s nipples were now swollen and stiff, and as he left the dressing room and walked through the hallway, the cold air made the area sting.‘I shouldn’t have said anything. But maybe it’s better to have them balanced…’Sasha mused on this tricky dilemma as he walked down the darkened corridor.Just before stepping onto the stage, instead of covering himself with jewelry, Sasha gave Karel a quick, nipping kiss on the chin. At that moment, everyone’s eyes were on the brightly lit stage, so no one noticed them kissing.Surprised by the affectionate gesture, Karel didn’t have time to return the kiss before Sasha dashed onto the stage with the music.＊ ＊ ＊‘Where’s Karel?’After finishing the curtain call, wiping the sweat dripping from his chin, Sasha wandered the small backstage area. The crew deftly moved the large props around him, avoiding the lost-looking Sasha. Almost every staff member who made eye contact with the star who had just finished the performance asked, “Can I help you? Are you looking for something?” Their well-meaning gestures made Sasha uncomfortable, so he returned to the dressing room.Half-opening the door, he removed his earrings and headpiece, hoping Karel might come in at any moment.Fortunately, the Duke wasn’t in the audience today. The man who had stared at him with a licking gaze from a seat close enough for his face to be visible in the lights the day before was nowhere to be seen today.Sasha looked at his reflection in the mirror and thought,‘He’s lost interest in me.’Sasha sighed in relief as he removed his earrings.‘Because I’m getting older now. So he’s gone after a younger boy. Probably one of those impressionable kids who are dazzled by a top position. It’s fortunate, but… not really.’The thought that there might be another victim made Sasha feel heavy-hearted.Sasha took off his headpiece. His disheveled black hair and slightly smudged eye makeup were reflected in the mirror. He wanted to wash his face, but since Karel liked seeing Sasha right after a performance, Sasha subconsciously thought he should wait for him before washing up.Sasha was sitting in a daze, waiting for Karel, when suddenly, there was a knock at the door.It was a polite knock. Karel didn’t knock.‘The Duke.’Sasha tensed up and sat still, not responding.There was another knock.“Karel…”A sound almost like a groan escaped Sasha’s lips.“Karel, where are you? Karel.”But the Karel who had promised to watch his back hadn’t been seen since the end of the performance. Sasha glanced around the dressing room several times, but it was still just him.There was a third knock. Sasha turned his head toward the door. He looked at the mirror, then back at the door.‘I’m an adult. I’m not that powerless child anymore.’Even though he was trembling, Sasha thought that.‘I have the strength to reject him… and Karel is with me.’Sasha stood up. He tried to act calm, but his body was visibly shaking with nerves. He walked toward the door, then hesitated, turning back to drape a dark gray blanket over his shoulders. He’d learned from experience that exposing his skin in front of someone who viewed him sexually made him feel vulnerable.The thin blanket draped over Sasha’s shoulders like a shawl. With his bare upper body covered, Sasha opened the door.“Sasha Sedrin.”The man at the door, beaming and holding out a bouquet, was a middle-aged man unfamiliar to Sasha. Yet, in Sasha’s eyes, he was unmistakably the Duke. The arrogant nobleman with the irritable face and perpetually displeased expression.“Today was simply superb, absolutely superb, and beautiful, so beautiful. Your clean leaps are unbelievable! When you jump, there’s not even a sound when you land. I can only imagine how much training it took to develop those muscles…”Sasha took a step back. The talkative man continued walking in, and before he knew it, they were sitting across from each other at the tea table in the dressing room. Sasha, trying to hide the tremor in his voice, asked,“Your business is…?”“My business? It’s to simply gaze at your face up close, like this. Absolutely breathtaking.”“If you don’t have any other business, please, please go back quickly.”“Why should I? We’ve finally got some time alone!”Hearing Jean Clarkson’s words, Sasha paled and said, “I’m just very tired.”“You do look that way, indeed. But Sasha Sedrin, I’ve followed every performance in the Eastern region just to speak a single word with you. But there’s always someone blocking the way to your dressing room. And when you leave the theater, there are too many people for me to get your attention. Ah, why am I rambling on like this? Sasha, up close, your skin is so fine. And your hair, so smooth.”Clarkson’s eyes flicked over the blanket Sasha had draped around himself, seemingly inspecting the cleft of his chest muscles. Sasha pretended not to notice and reached for the teacup, hoping that the warmth might bring some comfort.“Your skin is still damp with sweat…”At that moment, a rustling sound came from somewhere. But Clarkson was too entranced by Sasha, and Sasha was too tense to hear it.“It’s almost like you’re moist… such a pleasing sensation.”“Excuse me?”Sasha didn’t fully grasp Clarkson’s vague, incomplete statement and let it slide.However, Karel, hiding behind the curtain just in case, clenched and unclenched his fists, gauging the right moment to break the perverted old man’s nose.‘Disgusting pervert.’Jean Clarkson was indeed a pervert, Karel was convinced.Karel knew well how pitiable and beautiful Sasha looked right after a performance. His body was warm, his skin was moist, his scent was sweeter and softer, and after exhausting himself on stage, Sasha couldn’t resist anything Karel did to him.After completing a full act, Sasha was usually so drained that he didn’t want to take another step on his own. In that state, if Karel pushed him down, he would just moan and accept him. His body temperature would rise, his mouth and the inside of his body warm, and his skin, damp with just the right amount of sweat, felt wonderful to touch.Karel couldn’t deny that both he and Jean Clarkson, who looked at Sasha with a gaze that seemed to want to consume him to the bone, had the same expression.‘Disgusting. How could I be compared to a pervert?’Sharing this precious time with a perverted old man was infuriating.Instead of drinking the tea and pretending to spit blood and die as per Levin’s script, Clarkson was ogling Sasha like a trembling deer with a lecherous gaze. It was practically visual molestation.Just as Karel decided it was no longer worth holding back, Sasha surprised him by speaking.“Pl-please… l-leave. Thank you for watching the performance.”“Sasha! Isn’t it too soon? We’ve only been together for ten minutes…”“Yes. But now I want to rest. After a performance, I usually don’t meet with guests. No matter who you are… you can’t command me.”If his voice hadn’t been trembling so pathetically, it would have sounded like a firm statement. Hearing that voice, Karel felt an involuntary warmth around his eyes. He was proud of Sasha, who was struggling but still managed to muster the courage.“So please, leave.”Sasha was handling it well on his own. At least he was trying to overcome his trauma by his own strength.Karel felt an urge to rush out from behind the curtain and embrace Sasha, to hug him tightly and praise him for doing so well.But before Karel could fully savor his moment of admiration, Clarkson abruptly acted out of nowhere.“You’re telling me to leave? Letting me into your room is almost like giving me permission, isn’t it?”“What? Wh-what permission?”“Ah, I can’t hold back! Your skin looks so sweet. Please, let me lick it!”As Clarkson suddenly sprang up and reached for Sasha, Karel stepped out from behind the curtain, and Sasha lifted the table and overturned it, all in nearly the same instant.Crash!“Ugh!”Clarkson was struck directly in the forehead by the table Sasha had overturned and collapsed.The table hit the ground with a thud, followed by the small teacups, teapot, and vase falling and shattering. The chaotic noise took nearly thirty seconds to subside, and finally, in the silence, the sound of an unbroken cup rolling echoed.Karel, startled, quickly pulled back the foot he had just stepped out with. It seemed it wasn’t yet time for him to intervene.‘He overturned the table…?’Then Sasha’s faint voice was heard.“D-Duke…? Duke?”Sasha, confused, circled around the fallen Clarkson. As Clarkson fell, he had bitten down on a capsule in his mouth, causing blood to gush everywhere.“My God, I’ve… I’ve committed murder…”Sasha collapsed beside the blood-soaked Clarkson.Hearing no sound for a while, Karel cautiously peeked out. Sasha was covering his mouth, taking deep breaths.Karel hesitated, wondering if he should go out and comfort Sasha before he started crying.“I should have… I should have killed him sooner…”“……”At that moment, Clarkson groaned.“He’s not dead yet?”Just as Sasha was about to stab Clarkson again to finish him off, Karel emerged from behind the curtain. He couldn’t allow Sasha to become a murderer again.“Karel!”Sasha, overjoyed, pointed to the body on the floor.“Karel, I did this to the Duke. I… I…”“Yes.”Karel carefully took the knife from Sasha’s hand and said, “But, you seem a bit too happy… Do you realize you almost committed murder just now?”“Why? I only just realized it. After killing the Duke, I realized I wanted to kill him.”“Calm down. He’s not dead yet.”“Really? Then, in that case…”Sasha, thinking it would be safer to finish the job, reached for the knife again. A cold sweat ran down Karel’s back.Clarkson was just as much a pervert as he was. But if someone else did what he normally did, it was enough to make Sasha want to kill them. Karel wasn’t sure whether to be grateful for Sasha’s extraordinary love and forgiveness or to be disconcerted.‘More than that, he’s clearly manic.’Karel embraced Sasha from behind, halting his movements, and whispered in his ear, “How about we hand the Duke over to the police?”“The police?”“Yes, the police. Let him pay for his crimes. Let the whole world point fingers at him.”“Karel…”Sasha turned around, his face trembling with emotion, and kissed Karel’s jawline while holding his cheeks. “You’re too kind.”Karel thought to himself, ‘As if.’ Just moments ago, while behind the curtain, it was he who wanted to beat Jean Clarkson until he was unconscious.Sasha caressed Karel’s face wounds with his hands, then started kissing him noisily on the lips. When Karel didn’t open his mouth, Sasha licked the small cuts on his lips and kissed his chin and cheeks all over. It felt like a puppy licking him. Sasha leaned in and pressed his body against Karel’s, pushing him onto the sofa. Sasha then climbed onto Karel’s lap.“Sasha?”“I want to do it.”“Now?”“Right now.”“…I’m thrilled but…”Karel mumbled uncertainly.Sasha’s damp skin, still not fully dry from sweat, his tousled black hair, and the slender legs wrapped around Karel’s waist… His body, worn out from 70 minutes on stage, was fully relaxed. The nipples Karel had teased before sending him out on stage were still swollen and stiff from arousal.Karel swallowed hard. It wasn’t just because of lust.Sasha’s eyes were glazed over. He was clearly out of his mind. While Sasha’s enthusiasm was a delight, Karel knew very well that it was driven by a manic high and the strange euphoria that followed the end of a performance.Karel glanced at the unconscious Clarkson nearby. Even though the blood was fake from the capsule, it felt odd to be lying under Sasha with the bloody pervert beside them. Noticing that Karel wasn’t fully focused on him, Sasha began grinding down on the bulge in Karel’s pants.“Put it in right now. I want it.”It seemed that Karel wasn’t the only one suffering from frustration during the two-month tour. As Sasha leaned down and wrapped his arms around Karel’s neck, Karel grabbed the back of his neck and tousled his hair. Sasha shivered with delight at the touch of the leather gloves on his nape and let out a moan into the kiss.“Mm…”Sasha quickly unzipped Karel’s pants, impatiently tugging them down. Karel was speechless at how desperately Sasha reached for him, not even bothering to undress so they could feel each other’s skin and warmth. Sasha licked his fingers and wetted Karel’s member before trying to insert it right away.“Wait.”“…?”Sasha, lips trembling, looked at Karel in confusion as he held Sasha’s hand. His pupils were dilated. Karel calmly spoke to Sasha, who was trembling like a drug addict due to his mania.“You need to lock the door.”Karel gestured toward the dressing room door with his chin, and Sasha, feeling a pang of frustration, bumped his forehead against Karel’s chest.Sasha slowly got up, walked quickly to the door, and instead of locking it, kicked the doorknob so hard that it broke off entirely.“Is that good enough? Now hurry and put it in.”“…”Karel tried his best not to show that he was feeling overwhelmed by Sasha.Karel was a bit tense at Sasha’s aggression, knowing that Sasha was out of his mind—or rather, in a state of half-madness. There was no guarantee that Sasha wouldn’t do to him what he had just done to Clarkson.But while Karel hesitated, Sasha took matters into his own hands, pulling Karel’s member from his zipper, eagerly sucking on it, and then impaling himself without hesitation. Karel found himself deep inside Sasha’s wet heat in an instant.“Mm…”Sasha moaned as soon as he took Karel in, closing his eyes. Karel ran his hands over Sasha’s firm thighs that gripped his waist. When he moved his hands back to grasp Sasha’s buttocks, Sasha shuddered at even the slightest touch.“It feels so good, ah… it feels so good…”Sasha, overwhelmed by pleasure, moved with wet slaps on his own, but the motions were utterly unsatisfying by Karel’s standards.“…”Because Sasha had been a bit too eager, he soon found himself completely pinned beneath Karel, his body bent and folded as Karel thrust into him with animalistic force. Sasha cried and struggled under the brutal penetration, his body contorted. Karel, biting off one of his gloves, threw it aside and inserted his fingers into Sasha’s mouth as if he were violating it too. Sasha, forced to tilt his head back, couldn’t hold back the moans that escaped as he felt everything keenly.As Karel neared his climax, Sasha, panting, stopped him from pulling out to avoid making a mess and pleaded, “Karel, do it inside. Inside…”“If I do it here, it’ll be a hassle to clean up.”“I don’t care.”Karel, murmuring “You’re adorable,” kissed Sasha’s lips, wet with saliva from being pried open.Thanks to that, Karel could release inside Sasha without any guilt. As a large amount of semen filled Sasha’s tight entrance along with Karel’s member, the already stretched opening seemed to be under pressure, making Sasha tremble uncontrollably from the intense sensation. When Karel finally pulled out, thick white semen oozed out in clumps from inside. It had been a while, so it was thick and there was a lot of it. Karel smiled slightly as he pushed the dripping semen back inside Sasha.“Mm, what… Ah…”“Why did you ask me to do it inside?”“Mmh…”“Do you want to have a baby?”Karel playfully asked, kissing Sasha’s ear. Sasha collapsed weakly under the light kisses that made soft smacking sounds. As Karel let the semen flow back inside, Sasha rubbed his belly and muttered.“Why do you keep pushing it back in?”“Because you asked me to do it inside.”“It feels like it’s soaking into me.”“It might be. Do you want to have a baby?”Karel casually said as he caressed Sasha’s belly. Though he knew there was no chance of this belly swelling with a child, the thought of caring for Sasha in that situation brought him a particular kind of joy.Interpreting Karel’s wistful gaze, Sasha stared at him for a long time and then at his belly that Karel was stroking.“Karel, do it again.”Karel, pleased that Sasha, who would usually be too exhausted by now, was asking for more, readily obliged. Once again, Sasha begged him to finish inside, and without any reason to refuse, Karel did just that.In the dressing room alone, Karel finished inside Sasha three times. Although Sasha, who had experienced far more orgasms, seemed to mumble that it was enough at some point, Karel insisted on ejaculating inside until the end, claiming Sasha’s words were unclear. The semen that Karel had repeatedly pushed back into Sasha had now lost its viscosity and was dripping out in a thin stream. The sight of it slipping out from the wet and open entrance stirred Karel’s desire again. He tried to lift the limp Sasha for another round of penetration when Sasha weakly muttered.“Not anymore…”Just then, there was a knock from outside. The sound of the broken doorknob being turned followed.Karel, tense, asked, “Who is it?”“Ah, it’s the theater management team. Mr. Sasha Sedrin is still inside, right? Some of the audience members waiting to see you off were asking if you left through the back door…”At that, Sasha answered in a tired voice, “I’ll be out soon.”With Karel’s help, Sasha managed to stand up and clean himself up. Fortunately, since it was mostly a quick, rough session with minimal foreplay, they realized not much time had passed, and they both felt relieved. Before leaving the dressing room, they reported Clarkson to the police as a sexual assaulter.Before the police arrived, Sasha, looking somewhat regretful, glanced at Clarkson and said, “Karel, can’t I at least cut off his wrist?”“Hmm… do you really want to?”“Even if he serves his sentence, as long as he has his hands, he might assault others again, right? We shouldn’t let him create more victims.”Sasha then picked up a broken piece of a vase and moved to slash the wrist of the “fake Duke.” Even though Clarkson was still unconscious, he seemed to sense the threat and sweat poured down his fat face.Karel, thinking that Clarkson was getting quite a heavy punishment for a pervert, mused that if Sasha wanted it, there was nothing he could do.Luckily, before Sasha could actually cut Clarkson’s wrist, Levin entered the dressing room.“Oh my! What happened to Mr. Clarkson? Did someone poison his tea? Why is the table overturned? The teacups are all shattered… My goodness! Sasha, what are you doing? Why are you slashing Mr. Clarkson’s wrist? You’ll kill him!”Karel explained to the flustered Levin, “Well, it’s a long story. But thanks to it, I think Sasha might finally be able to escape his past delusions.”“Is that so? Well… that’s a relief, but…”“Though now he’s so happy that he’s showing signs of mania.”“Mania?”Just then, two police officers who were stationed at the theater entered the dressing room.“We received a report of a sexual assault. Is the person who collapsed over there the suspect?”“That’s correct.”As Jean Clarkson was dragged out by the police, Sasha, who hadn’t been able to cut his wrist, looked a little disappointed. Karel comforted Sasha, whispering softly, “It’s okay, Sasha. He’ll be punished according to the law, and that will be good for your reputation too.”“Right…?”Hearing their conversation, Levin confirmed that, in the end, his play had unintentionally achieved success.It was a strange end to a peculiar tour.