The moment Seo Chang-seop shot up from his seat, his body swayed to the side. The soju bottle in his grip slipped from his hand, toppling onto the table with a hollow clunk. His legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the floor with a dull thud, his face twisting in pain.
“You… bastard…?”
Muttering under his breath, Seo Chang-seop swayed once more before completely crumpling to the side.
“…Seo Chang-seop. Seo Chang-seop!”
Kim Min-seok called his name repeatedly, but Seo Chang-seop barely managed to squint his eyes open, his body weakly rustling against the floor. Scanning the room, Kim Min-seok grabbed a clothes hanger and prodded him with it. Seo Chang-seop mumbled something, but his voice was so faint that it was impossible to make out what he was saying.
Kim Min-seok took a deep breath. The most important thing wasn’t punishing Seo Chang-seop—it was erasing the data completely. To do that, he needed to check Seo Chang-seop’s phone again. If there were any other cloud storage accounts he hadn’t deleted, there would likely be apps installed for them.
Cautiously, Kim Min-seok moved closer. He crouched beside Seo Chang-seop and quickly reached into his jacket. His fingers wrapped around the phone. The moment he yanked it out—
Sharp pain stung his thigh.
“What… the fuck?!”
Kim Min-seok scrambled backward in a panic, still crouched. Seo Chang-seop, who just moments ago had been barely conscious on the floor, was now pushing himself up, his upper body trembling.
“You little whore… You thought you could drug me?”
His voice was venomous as he spat out the words. Then, he flung something at Kim Min-seok, but his movements were sluggish—his body weakened by the drug. The object fell to the ground between them with a soft thud, never reaching Kim Min-seok.
“A… syringe?”
Kim Min-seok muttered as he stared at the thin syringe lying on the floor. He instinctively touched his thigh where he had felt the sting moments ago. Seeing this, Seo Chang-seop let out a low, wheezing laugh.
“You really thought you could drug a junkie? You’re fucking dead, you little bitch.”
Seo Chang-seop staggered to his feet, unsteady but not completely incapacitated. The drug had affected him, but it wasn’t enough to paralyze him. Unfortunately, Kim Min-seok was in a different situation. The instant he realized something had been injected into him, his vision warped—crumpling like a sheet of paper.
“What… is this…?”
His body slumped to the floor, his limbs turning limp.
“What do you think, dumbass? It’s drugs. Do you have any idea how expensive this shit is? You know ‘ppong,’ right? The good stuff that makes people fly high—that’s why it’s called ‘ppong.’”
Seo Chang-seop stumbled toward Kim Min-seok and snatched the phone from his hand, tossing it onto the table. Kim Min-seok struggled to move away, but his body wouldn’t cooperate. His mind was sinking into a daze.
This was the worst possible outcome.
“I actually thought about just taking the money and leaving you alone out of the fucking affection I had for you since I raised you from a kid… but only for a second.”
Muttering to himself, Seo Chang-seop grabbed Kim Min-seok by the collar and dragged him across the floor. Kim Min-seok’s body was limp, completely at his mercy. The drug had made it impossible to resist. Seo Chang-seop seemed too weak to lift him onto the bed, so he settled for dragging him beside it instead. His trembling hands fumbled as he ripped off his own jacket, tossing it aside. Then he pulled off his shirt, followed by his pants.
His emaciated body was repulsive—sickly thin limbs contrasted grotesquely with his sagging, bloated lower belly. The image of Seo Chang-seop panting in his dream flashed through Kim Min-seok’s mind, making his stomach churn with disgust.
Seo Chang-seop, now completely naked, collapsed onto the floor beside him, steadying himself on the bed as he swayed from the drug.
“Fucking brat… You threw a fit every time you got older, so I couldn’t fuck you anymore. And now you’ve lost your memories? Fine. I’ll just make you remember what my dick tastes like today.”
“Go… fuck… yourself…”
Kim Min-seok forced the words out of his barely responsive mouth.
Slap!
“Ugh…!”
Seo Chang-seop’s palm cracked against his face. His head snapped to the side, and burning pain bloomed across his cheek. The bastard wasted no time—he yanked down Kim Min-seok’s pants and underwear in one motion.
Kim Min-seok tried to kick him away, but his legs wouldn’t move. Whatever drug had been injected into him had completely shut down his body.
A rush of cold air swept over his exposed lower body. Kim Min-seok clenched his teeth, seething, glaring murderously at Seo Chang-seop.
“You… fucking bastard…”
Slap!
Another blow landed across his face. His vision blurred from the impact, his eyes burning—not with fear, but with pure, unadulterated rage. The kind of rage that turned into something far darker, far deadlier.
Seo Chang-seop spat into his own palm, rubbing the saliva onto his growing erection like a sick lubricant. The sight of his grotesque dick swelling made Kim Min-seok’s stomach churn with nausea.
Once fully hard, Seo Chang-seop grabbed Kim Min-seok’s legs and spread them apart.
The head of his cock pressed against his entrance, dry and unforgiving. Even without penetration, just the feeling of it against him made Kim Min-seok feel like he was already being violated.
His fingers twitched weakly before moving—slow, sluggish, but moving nonetheless. He reached inside his jacket, his hand clumsily brushing against something solid.
Then, his fingers wrapped around it.
Click.
Something locked into place.
“Die, you piece of shit!!!”
With every last ounce of strength in his body, Kim Min-seok swung.
***
Seo Ha-yoon had vanished without a trace.
Ha Jun-seo rushed straight to Seo Ha-yoon’s apartment, only to find that he wasn’t home. His car keys and wallet were still there, untouched. His next destination was the apartment entrance—if Seo Ha-yoon had gone somewhere, he would have taken a taxi.
But when Ha Jun-seo arrived at the entrance, there was no sign of him.
“Sir, have you seen a pale guy, about this tall, getting into a taxi? It must’ve been just now, less than five minutes ago.”
Ha Jun-seo leaned into the security booth, asking urgently. The two security guards shook their heads.
“No one’s taken a taxi for quite a while now.”
“…Thank you.”
Muttering a brief thanks, Ha Jun-seo stepped out of the apartment entrance, raking his fingers through his hair in frustration. Fuck, fuck. The curses slipped out of his mouth instinctively. Then, suddenly, he froze.
Seo Ha-yoon had been drunk. He had seen it with his own eyes—there was no doubt about that. And yet, he had vanished so quickly? On top of that, his car keys and wallet were still at home.
If he took a taxi, he’d need money. Where the hell did he get the cash for a cab?
The realization struck Ha Jun-seo like a hammer. His stomach sank. Without a second thought, he bolted toward his own apartment.
The moment he swung open the door, his eyes landed on his wallet—carelessly tossed onto the living room sofa. He grabbed it, flipping it open in haste. The cards were all untouched, but every last bill was gone.
“Ha—Even with memory loss, he’s still Ha-yoon, huh?”
A humorless chuckle escaped him.
Seo Ha-yoon hadn’t run away recklessly. He must have hidden somewhere inside the apartment—maybe in a corner, or even the emergency stairwell—waiting for Ha Jun-seo to leave. The second the coast was clear, he must have snuck out, swiped the cash, and slipped away. Since he never showed up at the main entrance, he likely escaped through the back or side exit. Even piss-drunk, the bastard was still as cunning as ever.
Without wasting a second, Ha Jun-seo dialed Choi Sang-hyuk. The call barely rang once before it was answered—Choi Sang-hyuk was just as frantic.
“Talk.”
“Long story short, he took the cash from my wallet and ran. He’s probably in a taxi heading straight for Seo Chang-seop. I have his phone, so I can’t track him. Do you have any way to find him?”
Silence. A heavy, oppressive kind. Ha Jun-seo could practically hear Choi Sang-hyuk grinding his teeth, barely holding back a barrage of curses. Not that he could blame him. He was doing the exact same thing. But now wasn’t the time to argue—they had to find Seo Ha-yoon.
“Are you sure he took a taxi?”
“One hundred percent. I don’t know where they agreed to meet, but he left his car keys behind. No way in hell he’d be sober enough to take a bus, so a taxi was his only option. At most, he caught one at the back or side exit about five to ten minutes ago. He doesn’t have his phone, so it wasn’t a call taxi. He must’ve just flagged one down.”
“Got it. I’ll check the taxis. You—stay the fuck home.”
“What kind of bullshit—I’m helping you look.”
“You dumbass. You’re too fucking recognizable. You really wanna parade your face around the streets when we don’t even know what kind of shit Seo Ha-yoon’s caught up in? You wanna help him by putting his name and face on a fucking silver platter for the world to see? Get your head out of your ass.”
Choi Sang-hyuk’s words were blunt, harsh—and completely right.
Ha Jun-seo couldn’t argue.
Even just walking down the street, people took pictures of him. If Seo Ha-yoon was already in trouble, his involvement could turn this into a goddamn disaster.
“…Fuck. Fine. But you better text me updates. If I don’t hear anything, I swear to god, I’ll lose my shit and do something crazy.”
“I’ll keep you posted. Just stay put.”
Click. The call cut off.
Ha Jun-seo stared at his phone for a moment, before letting out a string of curses and turning his eyes toward the busy street.
In the brief moment he let his guard down, Seo Ha-yoon had slipped right through his fingers.
It was only now that Ha Jun-seo realized just how easy it was to lose someone.
