For a moment, the face of the deceased Kim Jung-min flashed through his mind. Was that why Kim Jung-min died too? Because he seemed to have feelings for Sa Gong-hyun? But at that time, it couldn’t have been to that extent. Why?
No, whatever it was, the reason wasn’t important.
Actually, thinking about it now, it was laughable. Why had he been curious about Kim Jung-min’s life or death? And why had he been curious about the reason?
It was ridiculous. He had been pretending to be an innocent citizen while deceiving a man who could kill without blinking an eye.
While smiling face to face with a murderer. While mixing bodies with him and being in heat for him. Guilt? If he were the type to feel such a thing, he shouldn’t have started this in the first place.
When examined closely, Sa Gong-hyun and Jae-young were separated by just a hair’s breadth. Jae-young simply hadn’t directly killed anyone. He had ingeniously switched the truth and lived avoiding the law.
Suddenly, he realized his situation. He thought that he was no different from Sa Gong-hyun. Looking at how he could still smile normally despite knowing the backside of Kim Jung-min’s death proved it.
Jae-young raised his head to look down at Sa Gong-hyun. Nevertheless, he had no choice but to smile even more warmly. After all, as Sa Gong-hyun had said, Jae-young needed to stab him in the back.
“Who says such things in such an eerie way?”
“I’m sorry if it sounded like a joke, but I’m serious.”
He gently lowered his head. Though their lips didn’t touch, they were close enough that just a slight tilt would connect them.
“Don’t worry. You’re everything to me, Hyun-ssi.”
Would Sa Gong-hyun let this pass, even knowing the truth? That was impossible. This wasn’t just an affair or a simple betrayal. So to preserve his life, he needed to finish the job as soon as possible.
Jae-young, a beat late, captured his lips. It was somehow a night that made him want to cry.
# Calling in a tiger to keep away the wolves
Jae-young stood dumbfounded as he looked up at Sa Gong-hyun. He wondered where they were going so early in the morning, and it turned out to be a motorsport circuit.
So… the place for car racing, which was his hobby.
“I thought you were curious about my hobby.”
“…”
“I don’t have anything particular to call a hobby, but this is the sport I engage in regularly. Do you have a license?”
Was he suggesting they race together? Jae-young’s lips parted with reluctance.
He had heard that Sa Gong-hyun drove racing cars extremely recklessly. Could it be that he was angry about him crying so much during sex yesterday and now wanted to kill him? He couldn’t find his voice.
Jae-young blinked blankly as he watched a racing car zoom past him. If he were hit at that speed, he would die instantly.
Sa Gong-hyun, who had been staring at Jae-young’s blank face, suddenly narrowed his expression. When he raised his right hand and beckoned, a man presumed to be the manager approached.
Sa Gong-hyun slightly lowered his head and rubbed his forehead, as if something displeased him.
“I thought I told you to clear the circuit today. Didn’t you hear?”
“I’m sorry. He’s participating in a race day after tomorrow, and he said he’d drive briefly before you arrived…”
“Excuses only work when you refuse money.”
“I apologize. I’ll take immediate action.”
As a deep sigh escaped from him, the manager hurriedly returned to the control tower. Jae-young belatedly swallowed.
“Do Jae-young-ssi.”
“…I won’t be driving, right?”
He hoped with all his heart that the answer would be no. It would be perfect to just watch from a distance… Contrary to his wishes, Sa Gong-hyun placed a helmet on Jae-young’s head.
“So you do have a license.”
“Hyun-ssi, I have a license but I’ve never used it. I’d rather just sit over there…”
“Or you can sit next to me.”
Of course, the part about never using his license was a lie. It was a lie, but his hand, stretched toward the rear seats, was suddenly grabbed. The blood drained from his face. His heart was beating as if it would explode, and he hadn’t even gotten into the racing car yet.
Really… he really didn’t want to ride. If Sa Gong-hyun himself were driving, the chances of an accident might be reduced slightly, but such a reckless race wasn’t to Jae-young’s taste.
Sa Gong-hyun pushed Jae-young into a supercar parked in front of the paddock. Throughout all this, Jae-young’s mind was in a state of panic.
Is this really safe? Since I’m wearing a helmet, I won’t die, right? Yes, Sa Gong-hyun is still alive after all this time. Does he even get injured? If injured, would it stop at fractures? How painful was it when I broke a bone?
“Are we going to die?”
Sa Gong-hyun, who had somehow already gotten into the driver’s seat, mocked Jae-young. He suddenly reached out and fastened Jae-young’s seatbelt.
But then, something strange caught Jae-young’s eye.
“…Are you going to drive in that outfit?”
Sa Gong-hyun’s attire was hardly different from when they’d left the villa. Don’t race car drivers usually wear proper racing gear? Moreover, he wasn’t even wearing a helmet.
“If I were going to die like this, I would have died long ago.”
“Even so…”
“Keep your back pressed against the seat and hold on tight. If you don’t want to damage your cervical vertebrae.”
“What? No. No, Hyun-ssi, wait a moment. Just wait…!”
As Jae-young urgently opened his mouth, the racing car started moving. Jae-young momentarily held his breath and squeezed his eyes shut.
With his eyes closed, he felt various sensations. First, there was a greater sense of speed than when riding in a production car. It was truly an insane speed. It sounded like the RPM was endlessly soaring until it burst. And there was the smell of burning rubber.
This is crazy. This is violence too! Jae-young gritted his teeth as he gripped the door trim with all his might.
“Open your eyes.”
No. No. Hell no. I don’t want to die yet. I still want to live! As if eavesdropping on this silent struggle, Sa Gong-hyun’s laughter could be heard.
The fact that his laughter could be heard amid such loud engine noise meant that he was laughing quite loudly.
Jae-young unconsciously opened his eyes. Turning his head to the side, he saw Sa Gong-hyun’s upturned lips. At that moment, the racing car turned a U-shaped curve. His body was twisting on its own, so he tensed every muscle to endure.
Eventually, as they passed the curve and were now driving on a straight course, the shaking of his body somewhat subsided. He hazily opened his eyes, which had reflexively been shut tight. Sa Gong-hyun was fully captured in his gradually clearing vision. Sa Gong-hyun was smiling with pure innocence.
“…”
It was a first. Seeing such an unaffected, bright smile. It was like watching a child who had just been given his first toy.
Did Sa Gong-hyun know that he was smiling right now? That thought suddenly crossed his mind.
At that moment, Sa Gong-hyun turned his head to look at Jae-young. With a stylish smile, he focused on the road ahead and increased the speed of the supercar.
That’s when he realized. The speed he had been driving at until now was nothing compared to what was coming.
His stomach turned. His heart, beating like crazy, showed no signs of calming down.
Based on his experience of car racing from the passenger seat, racing wasn’t as dangerous as he had thought. Actually, it was insanely dangerous, but “not as bad as expected” would be the right expression.
After one lap around the circuit, he felt nauseous and had to hold his chest. After about two laps, Jae-young could say he enjoyed it to some extent. He tensed up when turning on curve courses, but it was bearable.
The biggest reason Jae-young thought it was better than expected was that the driving was done with a clear awareness of the course. When Sa Gong-hyun increased speed on the straight course, it felt refreshing.
While in the racing car, it felt good not having to think about anything else.
With so many complicated things happening lately, the stress must have been substantial. To feel refreshed after such a dangerous experience… He was surprised at himself for thinking that.
If there were no other cars around like now, and if the speed was reduced a little more, Jae-young thought it could be a sport he might try.
Although he had to stand in place for a while after getting out of the racing car, drinking water, it wasn’t a bad experience. He could vaguely understand why Sa Gong-hyun liked this sport. It was stimulating. So intensely stimulating that his nose tingled.
“Your face is still pale.”
Sa Gong-hyun approached Jae-young, who was sitting absent-mindedly. He wore his usual expressionless face, as if he had never smiled.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
