He was at a loss for words. Jae-young often forgot that he wasn’t an ordinary office worker, but that annoying man never forgot for a moment that his profession had been that of a con man.
As he turned to walk away, Jae-young followed, taking off his bulletproof vest.
“Let’s say I somehow shot a gun to protect myself. If someone dies, who cleans up the aftermath?”
“I will.”
“What about the psychological trauma I’d suffer from killing someone?”
“You get used to that sort of thing quickly.”
“No!”
This style of conversation showed no signs of becoming easier to adapt to.
“South Korea isn’t a country with such poor public safety that you need to use things like that often, right?”
Suddenly stopping in his tracks, Sa Gong-hyun looked down at Jae-young indifferently.
“How can you guarantee there won’t be a need to use it?”
“…”
Jae-young raised his chin to match his eye level and stupidly opened and closed his mouth.
“…Don’t tell me you’re trying to say I’m exposed to all kinds of dangers because I’m a mafia boyfriend?”
When he asked with a blank face, Sa Gong-hyun gave a short laugh. As his previously stationary steps began to move again, Jae-young hurriedly caught up.
“Am I in such a dangerous position right now? Is that why you keep assigning people to me?”
“Because there’s always a possibility.”
“Wow, this is driving me crazy. Not even giving me a hint about something like… No, no matter what, there’s no need to handle a gun, I’m telling you. Instead of this, let’s spend more meaningful time together. Hm?”
Just then, the shooting range manager passed by them, offering a brief greeting. Sa Gong-hyun merely nodded once.
“Hyun-ssi doesn’t know, but I’m quite good with my body. I’ve steadily learned self-defense and also… Ugh, what are you doing?!”
Jae-young, who had been chattering incessantly while sticking close to Sa Gong-hyun, let out a single scream.
It was because Sa Gong-hyun had twisted his arm behind his back and roughly pushed him against the wall. Jae-young struggled with his cheek pressed against the rough wall surface. His breathing became ragged due to the pressure on one of his shoulders.
“Try to break free if you can.”
“What… No, what are you suddenly doing?!”
“Didn’t you say you learned?”
Both his wrists were already bound by him. The only thing he could move was his legs, but when he tried to kick Sa Gong-hyun, he strongly hit the inside of his knee.
“Is that how you’ll defend yourself if an attacker comes at you?”
His insides boiled with anger. Jae-young, revealing his irritated breathing openly, twisted his body again.
Sa Gong-hyun didn’t budge at all, showing just how strongly he was restraining him.
“At this rate… huff, even a gun would be useless.”
“It would be. Unless the muzzle is against the back of your head.”
Suddenly, a warm breath reached the nape of his neck. Sa Gong-hyun, still pressing Jae-young down, pressed close from behind and buried his lips on the nape of Jae-young’s neck.
“…I get it, so let me go now.”
“This way, it will be hard for you to take care of yourself.”
“I said I get it, so those lips, huff, stop rubbing those damn lips and let me go.”
The hand that had been pressing down on his shoulder slid down his arm. The touch that passed his side waist, encircled his pelvis, and moved inward was discreet yet explicit.
“Don’t be reassured by self-defense skills that don’t work.”
“Huff…!”
The hand that reached his front gripped his genitals once before retreating. Jae-young, breathing heavily, grabbed his previously restrained wrist and turned it clockwise.
His wrist was red as if it had been gripped too hard. He glared with triangular, upturned eyes.
Annoying bastard. While every part of him—from his cheek that hit the wall to his wrist—was aching, the fact that Sa Gong-hyun was smiling with a clean face was really irritating.
His growing rebelliousness added to the anger he had been harboring all along.
He extended his right foot and heavily stepped on Sa Gong-hyun’s shoe. Jae-young quickly began to dash away.
“Do Jae-young!”
Hearing his shout from behind, he snorted.
“Eat this, you dick. No approaching until you fix that damn temper!”
He turned around and honestly raised his middle finger at Sa Gong-hyun. After directly confirming that he had frowned, he turned his back.
Although saying “no approaching” would likely mean surrendering to Sa Gong-hyun’s force, Jae-young widened his stride even more. He had no immediate worries, as the future Jae-young would somehow clean up the aftermath.
Of course,
“I’m warning you, put me down while I’m still asking nicely.”
He never imagined that future would come in less than ten minutes. Jae-young lowered his voice as if truly warning him. Regardless, Sa Gong-hyun, who had picked up Jae-young and slung him over his shoulder, slapped his buttock once.
“It hurts, I said!”
“Stop chattering, it’s making my head ring.”
He was frustrated. His teeth ground together. He had quickly run away, but who would have known that Manager Jo would be standing openly at the building’s main entrance? No wonder he didn’t immediately chase after him.
“Did I do something wrong? You’re the one who suddenly pushed me against the wall!”
“Your manners are getting worse day by day.”
“Why is an American guy bringing up Confucian ideals!”
“I should just bite you as soon as possible.”
“Apologize before you bite!”
Blood rushed to his head. Even struggling took energy, so his arms went limp.
“If you’ve done something wrong, you should know how to apologize. Is Hyun-ssi a three-year-old?”
No sooner had he grumbled in a calm tone than an electronic sound came from behind. Then the door sound was heard, and his body, which had been held high, was lowered to the ground.
“Are you trying to teach me now?”
He held the opened car door with his hand. His tilted head seemed quite dissatisfied. Jae-young gently rubbed his solar plexus that had been pressed against Sa Gong-hyun’s firm shoulder.
“Is there any reason why not? When I look at it, you treat your boyfriend worse than a stranger. Is this what dating is supposed to be like?”
Jae-young, pushing out his lower lip, got into the car. He had wondered why he opened the back door, but it seemed the driving would be left to Manager Jo.
Clak. Despite Jae-young’s complaints, Sa Gong-hyun closed the door without saying much. After walking halfway around the car, he sat down next to Jae-young.
“We’ll be leaving the country in three days.”
Even as Manager Jo got into the driver’s seat and changed the gear, Sa Gong-hyun was just staring out the window. His eyeballs slowly rolled. He made eye contact with Manager Jo who was looking back through the rearview mirror.
If asked whether it was Manager Jo who brought up the departure, the answer would be a clear no. His eyeballs continued to roll to the side.
He could see Sa Gong-hyun staring intently at Jae-young.
“…What did you say?”
“I said we’re leaving the country.”
“…”
His eyelids fell and quickly rose again. It’s not like he’s just announcing it, so why is he telling me this now? Soon, Jae-young exhaled through his nose and turned his head in the opposite direction. The scenery that unfolded like a film was particularly fluid today.
“For how long?”
Is this how a wife feels when sending her husband on a business trip during their honeymoon? Knowing that his arbitrary boyfriend was planning to be away, he felt relieved yet somehow complicated.
His incredibly simple mind seemed to have already forgotten how his boyfriend had treated him carelessly.
“A week.”
“A week is…”
“So get ready.”
“For what?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
