By Zephyria 
Han Seung-jae placed the glass of whiskey on the table. Seo Yi-kyung cast a fleeting glance at the empty glass before turning his head. No one was there. Since there was no assistant nearby to help, was he supposed to pour the drinks?
However, Han Seung-jae was faster, tilting the whiskey bottle. He turned his head as he filled the glass.
“Ah, I didn’t realize there was water.”
Seo Yi-kyung, who had been looking back, leaned forward slightly and picked up a bottle of mineral water from the table. It had been hidden from view by a long wine bottle. In fact, his throat had been feeling parched for a while now.
As Seo Yi-kyung pressed the bottle to his lips, the voice of Im Ha-young, who had stepped onto the podium, echoed through the room.
[I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the distinguished guests attending today.]
As her voice filled the space, the heavy silence began to thin. Seo Yi-kyung took another sip of water and placed the bottle, cap tightened, in front of him.
[The first auction item is a pocket watch necklace.]
A staff member pulled back the curtain and presented the pocket watch necklace encased in glass. Simultaneously, the screen zoomed in on a specific part, showing the necklace in detail. Sparkling under the lights, the pocket watch felt different from the photos in the catalog.
Still, it was a watch that had nothing to do with him. Keeping his eyes on the screen, Seo Yi-kyung toyed with a metal button with his finger.
[Those wishing to participate in the auction, please press the button in front of you. We shall begin. The starting bid is 450 million won.]
450 million won… Seo Yi-kyung’s eyes widened as he stared at the screen. That thing? To him, it looked like an old watch necklace, but the atmosphere in the auction hall was quite the opposite.
Im Ha-young’s voice continued to flow through the room without pause. There was no time to feel awkwardness toward Han Seung-jae. Seo Yi-kyung soon found himself unable to tear his eyes away from the screen, as if entranced by Im Ha-young’s voice.
[Number 325, 500 million.]
500 million. He wondered if he had heard correctly.
[550 million.]
As Im Ha-young’s voice repeated, bundles of cash began to roll around in Seo Yi-kyung’s mind. Once the amount exceeded the range of what he could imagine, stacks of money started flying everywhere. He could no longer keep count.
“Ah…”
At Seo Yi-kyung’s short gasp, Han Seung-jae, who was about to bring the whiskey glass to his lips, looked over. He then tilted his upper body to properly observe Seo Yi-kyung’s pale face.
[One billion.]
Im Ha-young’s voice climbed higher.
Ha… When he didn’t know its value, it looked like just an old necklace. But as it was converted into numbers and called out, Seo Yi-kyung’s mouth hung open. His crimson tongue glistened, catching the light emanating from the screen. Moreover, the way it fidgeted caught Han Seung-jae’s attention.
Han Seung-jae set his glass down. As the numbers Im Ha-young called grew larger, so did the gap of Seo Yi-kyung’s open mouth.
“Is it that interesting?”
He had heard that Yi-kyung enjoyed visiting exhibitions, but he didn’t expect it to be to this extent. Would he walk around with his mouth open like this at other galleries too? Han Seung-jae reached out and cupped Seo Yi-kyung’s chin. As he did, his fingertips brushed against Seo Yi-kyung’s lips. Soft and smooth.
“Seung-jae…”
At Han Seung-jae’s sudden action, Seo Yi-kyung’s spine tingled, not knowing what was happening.
In truth, for a moment, he had been so focused on the screen that he had almost forgotten Han Seung-jae was even there. It was understandable, given that people were relentlessly pressing their buttons despite the astronomical amounts.
[1.95 billion. Are there any more bids?]
As if trying to pull away from the hand cupping his chin, Seo Yi-kyung leaned back slightly, sinking into the sofa. But was it an illusion that the finger clinging to his lip wouldn’t let go? Seo Yi-kyung raised his clenched fist and pushed Han Seung-jae’s wrist away.
Suddenly, Im Ha-young’s voice rang out clearly.
[1202. Two billion.]
“!”
Seo Yi-kyung jumped in surprise. While trying to push Han Seung-jae’s hand away, he had accidentally pressed the button. His fingertips trembled as if they didn’t belong to him. He turned his chin to look at the screen.
“S-S-Seung-jae!”
The number appearing on the electronic board was his: 1202.
“What? Look at me if you want to speak.”
Han Seung-jae grabbed Seo Yi-kyung’s chin and turned it back. In Seo Yi-kyung’s shaking light-brown eyes, Han Seung-jae was reflected, looking down with a cold face.
“The button… by mistake…”
I pressed it. The rest of the sentence crumbled on his tongue. Seo Yi-kyung’s chin, held by Han Seung-jae, trembled. He mouthed the words.
“With my thumb, the button…”
He struggled to continue, but to Han Seung-jae, it sounded like nothing more than a leaking hiss of air. He leaned his upper body forward slightly to better hear the faint voice.
“….”
In the quiet room, Im Ha-young’s voice echoed three times.
[Two billion, two billion, two billion. Sold to number 1202.]
As if responding to the call, Seo Yi-kyung bolted upright. He pointed frantically between the screen and the tightly closed door.
“What do I do? Quickly, if we go and tell them it was a mistake… Seung-jae, if you go…”
Wouldn’t it be possible for the arrogant Han Seung-jae? With the number two billion spinning in his head, Seo Yi-kyung babbled incoherently in a panic.
“You can go and cancel it, right, Seung-jae? Right?”
Then, Han Seung-jae leaned back into the sofa from his pressing posture. While remaining stiff and upright, he grabbed the wrist of Seo Yi-kyung—who looked ready to fly through the door at any second—before loosening his grip. It was a grip loose enough that Seo Yi-kyung could escape if he pushed away with all his might.
Han Seung-jae slowly brushed back his hair with his other hand. Perhaps because he had been working in the car until just a moment ago, fatigue was etched into his deep-set eyes.
“It worked out well.”
Seo Yi-kyung couldn’t understand Han Seung-jae’s words.
“…?”
“Didn’t you want it?”
“I did?”
“Sit down first.”
Without the strength to express his confusion, Seo Yi-kyung slumped back onto the sofa as if his legs had given out. Han Seung-jae had pulled him down. Seo Yi-kyung’s eyebrows slanted downward. Han Seung-jae let go of the wrist he had been holding.
“You were so spaced out you didn’t even realize you were drooling.”
Seo Yi-kyung rubbed his lips vigorously with the back of his hand. But he felt nothing. Lacking the energy to argue, he let his shoulders slump. He didn’t even have the strength to be played by Han Seung-jae.
It wasn’t because he coveted the pocket watch necklace. It was because of the way people pressed the buttons without hesitation and the relentless climb of the amount flowing from Im Ha-young’s mouth.
It was a staggering two billion won. He had to pay two billion won for that worn-out pocket watch necklace. Moreover, there was no way he had two billion won. No, he didn’t even have two hundred thousand won. Everything he possessed was practically Han Seung-jae’s.
Han Seung-jae spoke while leaning back against the sofa.
“What are you worried about?”
How could I not be worried? I have no money. Instead of saying it, Seo Yi-kyung made a miserable face.
“You have something you’re good at.”
Han Seung-jae reached out and touched Seo Yi-kyung’s forehead. His furrowed brows stiffened.
‘Something I’m good at?’
Was there such a thing? Seo Yi-kyung’s eyes darted around. Meanwhile, Han Seung-jae’s hand, which had been touching his forehead, slid down. The fingertips brushed against Seo Yi-kyung’s cheek and reached his lips.
“Painting?”
The lips touched by Han Seung-jae’s finger wavered.
Painting? If he painted something and gave it to Han Seung-jae… would he give him money? For now, there were canvases he had painted for practice with Seon-yu in the painting studio. Han Seung-jae hadn’t seen them yet. Would giving them all work?
But that didn’t make sense either. Since they were literally just scribbles for practice, there was no way Han Seung-jae wouldn’t recognize that. Furthermore, even if he scraped together every single one, it wouldn’t cover the price of two billion won. Even Seo Yi-kyung knew that.
“That would take too long,” Han Seung-jae replied indifferently.
Didn’t he say he would wait? Perhaps that had been an exception. Then again, considering Han Seung-jae’s temperament in the original work, it would be stranger for him to wait. If not that, what else was he good at?
On the screen between them, a faded shirt up for auction was sold. Next, a gold cigarette case was placed on the podium.
However, Seo Yi-kyung had no capacity to look that way. It was because Han Seung-jae had put his finger into his mouth.
“Suck it.”
Seo Yi-kyung’s lowered eyebrows shot up. He looked at Han Seung-jae’s heartless face. Han Seung-jae also looked back at him with eyes that held no particular expression. Meanwhile, his finger pressed firmly against the tongue. The cold finger touching the tip of the tongue felt as if it were crushing it all the way to the root.
“Or you can suck my cock.”
He was not a man to speak nonsense or tell lies.
“….”
A finger or a cock. It wasn’t even a matter for deliberation. Seo Yi-kyung moved his tongue. For a moment, one of his eyes winced. It was because Han Seung-jae had arbitrarily flipped his finger and scraped the roof of his mouth.
“Don’t use your teeth.”
He slowly rubbed the rounded finger that was scraping the roof of his mouth with his tongue. Despite this, Han Seung-jae’s face, as he carefully observed Seo Yi-kyung, was the embodiment of heartlessness. But his eyes were different. A glistening, strange light flickered in the pupils cast in the glow from the screen.
“Mngh…”
As the wet, humid tongue wrapped around the finger or made sucking sounds unconsciously, Han Seung-jae’s gaze swept over Seo Yi-kyung’s cheek as if licking it with a tongue.
“Ugh…”
The finger pushed deep, reaching the back of the throat. A short moan escaped through Seo Yi-kyung’s teeth.
[Number 568, 1.65 billion, sold.]
But the sound was quickly buried by Im Ha-young’s voice coming through the speakers. Han Seung-jae withdrew the finger that had been roaming through the mouth. Saliva glistened as it flowed from the fingertip to the knuckle.
“Haa… haa…”
Only then did Seo Yi-kyung let out a long breath he had been holding. In the meantime, Han Seung-jae opened his palm and placed it on the vest Seo Yi-kyung was wearing. The loud thumping of the heart was transmitted clearly to his palm.
“Take off your pants and get up here.”
“…!”
Gasping for air and wiping his wet lips with the back of his hand, Seo Yi-kyung was startled. Grabbing him by the chest, Han Seung-jae pulled Seo Yi-kyung’s body up forcefully.