The water had already been spilled, and the game had begun. Even if Seung-kwon had a bad feeling, the fact that he didn’t halt the operation meant there was a greater possibility of success.
“If it activates, come rescue me right away. If you cut me loose, I’ll follow you to hell and kill you.”
Seung-kwon blinked slowly. His lips, which had been pressed into a straight line, curved into a smile.
“Alright.”
And Jae-young followed that smile with one of his own.
Jae-young put a Bluetooth earphone in one ear. Since Seung-kwon had taken the clothes he would wear during the operation, he left empty-handed.
After opening the front door, Jae-young was about to leave a voice message for Seung-kwon and Ju-yeon when he looked up. With a bored expression, he examined the door and changed the doorlock’s password.
Though he wouldn’t be coming back to this house for a while, he couldn’t bear the thought of spending his own money and getting nothing in return. After setting the password as long as possible, Jae-young raised his head with a satisfied expression.
His gaze traveled from the doorknob and doorlock to the doorbell. After staring at the doorbell intently, Jae-young moved with an uneasy step.
After taking a step or two forward, he pulled back. His index finger pressed the doorbell button firmly.
Ding-dong-
As soon as he removed his finger from the button, a clear bell sound rang. Jae-young inhaled slowly and revealed his rotting expression just as it was.
“This con artist, until the end…”
He made a “tsk” sound by flicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. Shaking his head side to side, Jae-young swallowed his anger and pressed the elevator button with a sullen face.
Before the elevator arrived, he dialed an eight-digit number. After just one ring, the signal cut off and silence immediately followed.
Ding-
The elevator that had arrived just in time opened its doors. Jae-young, who had already erased the irritation that had appeared all over his face, took a step forward.
“Do Jae-young entering cue now.”
After recording the voice, he hung up. Now it was really beginning.
# You Must Go to the Mountain to Catch a Tiger
D+4. Present.
Jae-young, having changed into the clothes Gong-hyun had given him, came out with an embarrassed face.
“The clothes are… a bit big.”
Ah, how humiliating. Though he was smiling on the outside, he was crying on the inside. He knew well enough that he was thin, but Gong-hyun’s clothes were so big it made him want to bite his tongue and die.
Although he generally liked boxy clothes, those were appropriately loose – these were excessive.
Especially since it was a hoodie, it was extremely heavy. Of all things to bring, he had to bring this. Gong-hyun would never know until his dying day that beneath Jae-young’s innocent face, his inner thoughts were filled with complaints.
“With your small build, it can’t be helped. It suits you well.”
Yeah, your shit is thick, you bastard. From the beginning to the end of the sentence, there wasn’t a single phrase he liked. He had dressed up nicely to come here, only to be told that these shabby clothes suited him better, that his build was small.
It didn’t sound like a compliment at all. Moreover, Jae-young had never asked if the clothes suited him. Jae-young grumbled inwardly and wiggled his hand, half-hidden in the sleeve.
“…Really? I thought you’d laugh as soon as you saw me, since I look like I’m wearing someone else’s stolen clothes.”
Gong-hyun silently looked Jae-young up and down. His tilted head seemed to be a habit. His indifferent eyes looked down and then slowly came back up. His examining gaze stopped at a particular point.
“I suppose so.”
His voice was dry. However, contrary to his voice, his eyes were intense. Gong-hyun’s gaze lingered for a long time on Jae-young’s pale nape. Noticing this, Jae-young awkwardly grabbed his own nape.
“I’ll wash and return the clothes. I’ll need your number for that… Will you give me your number?”
Jae-young approached Gong-hyun hesitantly and held out his phone, which he had kept in his pants pocket. The gaze that had persistently stayed on his neck finally lifted.
When their eyes met as Gong-hyun looked up from the phone, he briefly lifted the corner of his mouth. It was a rather kind smile.
“There’s no need for that.”
“Pardon?”
“Instead of paying for the clothes, let’s have a drink. If you’re okay with it, I’d like to buy you a drink somewhere else, not here.”
Gong-hyun approached more boldly than expected.
The subject changed so suddenly that Jae-young almost nodded without realizing it. And with a bright smile and a big nod at that. He knew what offering to buy drinks implied, but it still felt quite uncomfortable.
Jae-young silently moved his lips while looking down at his phone. Gong-hyun’s hand, which didn’t move at all in front of the phone, was cunning.
It was embarrassing and irritating. So he wants sex, but doesn’t want to give his number? As Jae-young swallowed his annoyance, Gong-hyun’s lips parted again.
“Do you have company, by any chance?”
“No. It’s not that…”
He smiled awkwardly and withdrew his phone. Though it was disappointing not to get Gong-hyun’s number, he had no intention of refusing. He just trailed off because accepting immediately seemed too transparent.
Jae-young pretended to consider, rolling his eyes, and then smiled as brightly as possible.
“Then I’ll pay. Instead of the clothes.”
Jae-young, your eye-smile is really pretty. That’s what he’d heard until his ears wore out when he first worked with Ju-yeon.
At the time, he had protested, saying to stop it because it made him want to vomit, but now that phrase suddenly came to mind. The corners of his mouth that curved into a smile felt like they were about to twitch.
Gong-hyun, who had been waiting for Jae-young’s response, pulled the corners of his mouth up even more.
Gong-hyun behaved as if consideration was ingrained in him. Though his eyes shone arrogantly, a kind smile permeated his lips. Jae-young wasn’t fooled because he knew it was all an act.
He left the building with Gong-hyun. A luxury sedan parked at the entrance was the first thing he noticed. Gong-hyun opened the passenger door for Jae-young, who was standing awkwardly. Jae-young got into the passenger seat almost reflexively.
Tap-
After Jae-young sat in the passenger seat, Gong-hyun gently pushed the door closed and walked halfway around the car to the driver’s seat.
It seemed too good to be true that things were going so smoothly. It felt like compensation for the four days he’d been stuck at the club.
There’s a saying in gambling that beginner’s luck is fool’s luck, but that didn’t apply to Jae-young. Usually, if things started well for him, they ended well too.
Jae-young scanned the interior of the car with wide eyes. When his gaze met Sa Gong-hyun’s, he smiled awkwardly.
“You act just like a child.”
“Pardon?”
“The way you can’t keep your hands still, the way you look around everywhere. It feels like I’m luring a child with a toy.”
“Ah…”
Jae-young let out a small exclamation as if he had just noticed his fidgeting hands. He separated his clasped fingertips and grabbed both thighs. As his hands slid to the inner thighs, the backs of his hands touched each other.
“You should fasten your seatbelt too.”
“Ah, yes.”
Jae-young, who had been sitting with nervous eyes, belatedly fastened his seatbelt.
Click. He had stepped into the tiger’s den and fastened the safety device meant to protect his body. It seemed ridiculous, but of course, he didn’t show it.
“Why are you so nervous?”
A very gentle and relaxed voice followed. Jae-young, who had been continuously swallowing, let out an embarrassed laugh.
“Can I be honest?”
“Of course.”
“It’s my first time going out for drinks alone with a stranger, and also…”
He deliberately trailed off. He glanced at Sa Gong-hyun, who was staring straight ahead, but quickly averted his gaze. As he fiddled with the innocent seatbelt, he could feel Sa Gong-hyun’s gaze from the side.
“Also?”
Sa Gong-hyun prompted Jae-young for an answer, but Jae-young only mumbled, moving his lips hesitantly. He kept swallowing continuously, pretending to be extremely nervous.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
