Loud music struck Jae-young’s ears. His expression was deeply furrowed as he surveyed his surroundings, showing no signs of relaxing.
“…At this rate, my eardrums will burst soon.”
It was remarkable that his ears weren’t bleeding already. He sighed repeatedly.
The space where Jae-young stood with his exhausted face was a club secretly managed by that man’s organization. Although the company had officially handed it over to another operator, as far as he knew, this place was still their property.
He had questioned why a club had to be the first starting point, but reluctantly accepted when told this was the easiest and fastest method.
But… why hadn’t he shown his face yet? From what he’d heard, the man appeared regularly once a week, but Jae-young had been doing this for four days already.
The man’s schedule wasn’t typically disorderly, but he was often irregular with unofficial matters. Even though he hadn’t completed the full week, Jae-young’s irritation was growing exponentially.
He ran his hand through his carefully styled hair to suppress his annoyance. His hair, dyed black for this job, felt stiff.
Once this is over, I should just shave it all off.
He wouldn’t actually shave it, but Jae-young continued his silent complaints as he touched his hair.
He brought the lowball glass to his lips. His eyes moved busily, searching for the face he wanted. His Adam’s apple moved constantly as he swallowed the alcohol. Ice slid along the inside of the glass wall and hit his lips.
Perhaps due to his disgruntled mood, the alcohol tasted bland. As someone who disliked noise, Jae-young couldn’t help but scoff at the club’s tackiness.
After repeatedly looking toward the entrance, Jae-young suddenly twitched. It was the man he had been searching for all this time. Sa Gong-hyun.
“It’s damn hard to see you in person.”
Though his words were sharp, his expression brightened considerably.
Being quite far away, he couldn’t clearly see the facial features, but the silhouette and atmosphere were unmistakably him.
This was an achievement after four days. Jae-young put down his glass and moved while keeping his eyes on Gong-hyun.
“Looking for someone?”
If not for the face suddenly thrust before him, he might have savored the joy of discovering Gong-hyun a little longer.
Jae-young frowned at the figure blocking his path. Despite not being particularly short himself, he had to look up considerably to meet the man’s eyes – he was massive.
“I asked if you’re looking for someone!”
Apparently thinking Jae-young hadn’t heard him, the man lowered his head and spoke louder.
I’ll lose my hearing, you crazy bastard.
Though he wanted to snap back fiercely, he held it in by gritting his molars. Saying that would clearly cause a commotion, and then he’d need to find another approach.
Jae-young smiled kindly up at the man. He raised his hand and gestured. Understanding Jae-young’s gesture, the man obediently brought his ear closer.
“I’m with someone.”
He responded sweetly, just as he had for the past four days. Jae-young’s gaze searched past the man’s shoulder.
Ah, where did he go? Gong-hyun, who had been visible just moments ago, had disappeared. Just as he was about to move toward where Gong-hyun had been standing, the man blocked his path again.
“I’ve been watching you for several days. You’ve always been alone.”
So what?
Jae-young looked at the man with irritation. The man’s dirty face smiled lecherously. Why did this ugly-looking guy keep hitting on him? If he missed his chance today, he might have to repeat this for another week.
Jae-young shifted to the side, still trying to track Gong-hyun’s whereabouts. He decided ignoring was the best response.
Just then, Gong-hyun, who had disappeared from view, came back into sight. As Jae-young hurried to move, the man grabbed his hand. The man bent down, bringing his sticky breath to Jae-young’s ear.
“I’m quite big. When erect, it’s about 14cm.”
Fuck. He almost cursed out loud. The curses caught in his throat were screaming to be released.
A shiver ran down his spine as he unwillingly imagined the man’s unseen genitals. Jae-young gritted his teeth in disgust. He took a deep breath to calm his anger. After calmly pushing the man away, he picked up his glass again. He needed to clear his mind of the disgusting scene that had just unfolded.
“What do you think?”
What do I think? I think you’re a piece of shit.
He wanted to block out even the man’s voice, finding him so repulsive it made his teeth chatter. The cold alcohol slowly moistened his mouth. Just as Jae-young was hastily swallowing, someone bumped his shoulder, causing the drink and ice to spill onto his clothes.
“Ah, damn…”
Jae-young ground out a low curse as his face contorted. His patience had hit rock bottom. Even after brushing off his clothes, the unpleasant feeling remained.
His body trembled from the cold. Jae-young exhaled deeply and grabbed the man by the collar.
“Move, dickhead.”
“W-what…?”
“And I’m warning you, if you follow me one more time…”
“…”
“I’ll crush that filthy dick of yours first.”
He irritably released the man’s collar. As if he couldn’t care less about the man’s dumbfounded face, he hurriedly stepped away. He kept rubbing his ear, which felt unpleasant as if the man’s dirty breath had pooled there.
Although it was no longer cold due to the heat, his alcohol-soaked clothes remained uncomfortable.
Where did he go? Jae-young deliberately relaxed his deeply furrowed brow. He scanned the spot where Gong-hyun had been standing. Stretching his wet shirt that clung to his chest as much as possible, he moved again.
Even as he walked down the corridor leading to the club’s bathroom, he kept looking back. Just as Jae-young took another step forward while letting out an irritated groan, his body, which had been barely containing his irritation, collided violently with someone.
“Ah!”
His body lost balance and was about to fall backward. Jae-young recognized a hand reaching toward him and urgently grasped it. While catching his breath after nearly falling, he stared at the hand that had grabbed his forearm to stabilize him.
He had almost made a spectacle of himself.
“Are you alright?”
“How could I be alr—”
“You seem soaked.”
The moderately low, moderately gentle voice pierced his eardrum. This voice sounded familiar. His eyes slowly moved upward.
The moment his eyes met the man’s, he almost burst out laughing. It was Sa Gong-hyun.
“—right. I’m fine.”
Jae-young released the arm he had been gripping like a lifeline, his fingertips trembling slightly. Nevertheless, Gong-hyun’s hand holding him showed no sign of letting go.
Feeling the considerable strength in his grip, Jae-young’s eye twitched.
“…Could you loosen your grip now? It hurts…”
After calmly catching his breath, Jae-young deliberately smiled awkwardly. Though he had never deceived the man before, he figured he should just do what he usually did.
He’d heard Gong-hyun typically dated calm yet cute men.
It was obvious that a clumsy man who spilled alcohol on his clothes would fall far short of his taste, but there was nothing to be done. After all, hadn’t he spoken to Jae-young first?
“Of course. I apologize.”
Gong-hyun accepted Jae-young’s comment in a quite courteous voice. His hand slid down Jae-young’s forearm and moved away.
“Actually, I should be the one apologizing. This happened because of my mistake. Are you okay?”
He even smiled shyly, like someone without any wariness of strangers. An innocent and timid gaze circled around Gong-hyun. The embarrassed and apologetic expression was an added bonus.
“Yes.”
Just as he was about to extend his hand with ulterior motives toward Gong-hyun again, a calm voice was heard. With a faint smile, Jae-young curled his fingertips into a fist and looked straight up at Gong-hyun.
“By the way, are there many people in the bathroom? As you can see, I’m in a bit of a difficult situation right now.”
“It’s empty, so you can take care of your business comfortably.”
“Yes, thank y—”
Jae-young, who had been responding to Gong-hyun, couldn’t even finish his sentence. This was because Gong-hyun simply walked past him.
“—ou.”
Soon wiping the smile off his face, Jae-young ran his tongue over his lower lip. Ah, it seems I lacked impact. Should I let him pass like this? He rubbed the nape of his neck with his hand and wrinkled his nose bridge.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
