His eyes rolled to the side in an instant. When he made a face showing he didn’t understand, Sa Gong-hyun glanced at Jae-young.
“Since I made you wait, I should give you appropriate compensation.”
“After you even bit my lip.”
“You’ve got it all wrong. I never said I’d let the lip-biting incident slide.”
“At times like this, you’re just a complete thug.”
He grumbled with his lower lip pushed out. Rather than disliking it, he just wanted to give a light reproach.
As if he sensed this feeling, Sa Gong-hyun merely smiled briefly at Jae-young’s complaint.
***
Morning at his house was always strange. Due to the sun that didn’t set even when night came, the concept of time wasn’t properly grasped.
He decided to rely on habit to recognize that it was morning. Even if he couldn’t wake up on time, he would naturally know it was morning when Sa Gong-hyun was about to leave for work.
I still want to lie down more… Jae-young burrowed into Sa Gong-hyun’s arms with needless complaint. Another person’s body heat, the scent of skin, and the comfortable embrace harmonized in three parts to bring peace.
Suddenly, he thought it was amusing. Until just recently, he had been averse to sharing a bed with someone, but now his body, having grown accustomed, unknowingly craved more warmth.
He still craved the dawn more. Drunk with sleep, he gently shook his head from side to side. As Jae-young shook his head, his lips rubbed against skin.
“Are you testing me?”
A languid voice enveloped his ears. When he narrowly raised his eyelids, bare skin reflected in front of his eyes. It was a chest.
“I was having a hard time holding back anyway.”
The hand that had traced up Jae-young’s buttocks pressed against the bed. In one breath, he climbed on top of Jae-young. Sa Gong-hyun caressed Jae-young’s lower lip.
Jae-young rolled his eyes downward, still not fully awake. Something seemed to touch his groin, and it turned out to be a member.
As thickly protruding as what he had taken in his mouth last night. He felt as if sleep was completely vanishing.
“…That’s naughty.”
Jae-young half-raised his eyes. Unable to meet his eyes, he fixed his gaze on his chest. He lightly grabbed Sa Gong-hyun’s waist.
The touch that had been lightly flicking his lower lip grasped Jae-young’s cheek. The gentle force guided him to raise his head.
Then their lips met. Two naked bodies without a thread of clothing clung to each other.
For them, a kiss was like a signal to begin the morning. They deeply intertwined their tongues and caressed each other’s bodies. After a round of light lovemaking, they would each move to find their respective tasks.
While Sa Gong-hyun was in the bathroom to wash, Jae-young went to his dressing room.
He intended to pick out a suit for him to wear to work. That was something Jae-young always did whenever he stayed at his house.
Upon entering the dressing room, Jae-young picked up a jacket that was carelessly placed on top of the cabinet. He wasn’t the type to leave a worn outfit as it was, so judging from the lack of tidiness, it seemed last night’s urgency wasn’t just on Jae-young’s part.
Jae-young smiled and checked the condition of the jacket. There were no wrinkles, and its state was better than expected. Intending to dust it off, he gently shook the jacket. Just as he was about to place the jacket on his left forearm—
Thud.
Something fell at his feet. Innocent eyes naturally turned downward. And when he captured with his two eyes the identity of what he had dropped, Jae-young almost screamed unconsciously.
“…”
What was rolling on the floor was an ID card. Jae-young hastily picked up the ID card and quickly swallowed his breath.
His fingertips trembled finely. It was certainly an ID card that he had picked up, but it wasn’t the ID card of a Republic of Korea citizen that Jae-young was familiar with.
The ‘New Jersey’ written at the top made Jae-young’s mind blank. The photo embedded below was clearly Sa Gong-hyun’s face. His trembling focus traced the letters printed on the right side of the photo.
Pierce
Rogan Winston
Pierce? Rogan Winston? This… is a name I’ve heard somewhere before.
Jae-young gnawed on his lower lip. Ah, an exclamation that couldn’t burst out of his mouth quietly circled the inside of his mouth.
Logan Pierce. A name he had forgotten for a while suddenly came to mind. He remembered. The American man who had requested this job from Seung-kwon.
His mind couldn’t organize everything. Why that name was embedded on this ID card. Why Sa Gong-hyun had an American citizen’s ID card.
Out of habit, he turned around to check the closed door. Not being able to understand the current situation at all, he rubbed his forehead with a stupid face.
His hand holding the edge of the ID card was growing cold.
Bang—
Suddenly, the sound of a door came from behind Jae-young, who had been holding his breath. Jae-young turned around, hiding the ID card behind his back.
Sa Gong-hyun’s indifferent eyes scanned Jae-young’s face once.
“…”
Though he smiled at the corners of his mouth out of habit, even to himself, the expression felt unnatural.
“…You’re already here? The dressing room was messy, so I was in the middle of tidying up. I’ll pick something out for you right away.”
To hide his stiff smile, Jae-young hurriedly turned his back. He stirred through the hangers containing dozens of suits.
His mind went blank, and he couldn’t organize his thoughts. There was no way the dozens of suits spread out before his eyes would register.
Calmly, more calmly than now. He had to hide his surprised feelings. Just act as usual. He forcibly soothed his erratically fluctuating emotions.
First, he took out the most noticeable shirt and jacket. He took a hanger and approached him. After holding it close to gauge the outfit, he then handed the suit to him.
“Why is your expression like that?”
Sa Gong-hyun inserted his arm into the sleeve with a meaningful face.
“…What’s wrong with my expression?”
“You look like you’ve seen something you shouldn’t have.”
He responded dismissively and turned his body toward the full-length mirror.
“Maybe I overdid it yesterday. Do I look that strange?”
Jae-young reached out and buttoned his shirt. Although the trembling had stopped, his face in the mirror was extremely pale. He had reason to pick on it.
“If it’s a worry that’s come up, I could alleviate it for you.”
“What…”
Just as Sa Gong-hyun, who had tied his tie with naturally flowing movements, opened his mouth again, Jae-young could no longer hide his pale face.
It was an abrupt statement. Before he could ask what that meant, the doorbell rang. His calm gaze turned toward outside the dressing room and immediately returned.
“So ask me for help.”
Even though Jae-young hadn’t volunteered to choose it, he took out a metal watch from the cabinet and put it on.
Ding-dong—
When the doorbell rang once more, his gaze was withdrawn. He stepped outside.
Only then did his hands tremble uncontrollably. His legs weakened. He supported his body by pressing his hand against the cabinet.
“…”
As if something suddenly came to mind, he searched his pocket. There was nothing to touch. When Jae-young, who had hastily left the dressing room, was about to enter the bedroom—
“…Shibal, what is this?”
Finally, a small curse burst out. The ones who had come to see Sa Gong-hyun early in the morning were two men in shabby, casual attire.
Sa Gong-hyun was seen eyeing the two men with a cold gaze. Well, judging from the conversation between the three men, the identity of the uninvited guests was detectives.
One of the men gestured toward outside the entrance, and Sa Gong-hyun half-turned to look at Jae-young.
“Stay right here.”
No matter how quick-witted one might be, this situation was not easily grasped. Even after seeing him leave the house with the detectives, Jae-young couldn’t take a step.
***
What he had said wasn’t a request. It was a warning. However, Jae-young wasn’t stupid enough to accept this obediently.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
