By Zephyria 
14, 13, 12….
The hotel floors dropped one by one. It felt as if they were counting down the time remaining for him. Thump, thump—Eun-myeong’s heart beat rapidly.
Then, ding.
The elevator arrival chime sounded. For a moment, Eun-myeong felt as if the ground had dropped out from under him, and he swayed.
Step, step. The man stepped out of the elevator first. That broad back was leaving Eun-myeong behind. Eun-myeong reached out his hand. He wanted to grab at least the lapel of the suit, to tell him not to go ahead like that, but Eun-myeong had no such power.
“…….”
He moved his feet heavily, trudging along. In front of the main entrance, a black sedan was parked like a crouching beast, idling with a low roar.
Bear was standing in front of it.
“Boss, here is the 20 million you mentioned.”
He handed over a golf bag. The man placed it on the trunk of the car. A lock was fastened to the zipper.
The man took a jackknife from his pocket and stabbed it deep into the belly of the golf bag. Then, he dragged the blade straight down.
With vulgar gestures, he rummaged through the bag. He stirred the inside as if mixing guts, pulled out thick bundles of green bills, and buried his nose deep into the money as if inhaling drugs. He let out a low moan.
“It really is the right amount.”
He quirked an eyebrow. His crude hands continued to knead the bills.
“Mister knows money and asses well just by touching them.”
Eun-myeong’s face flushed deep red as he remembered the hands that had kneaded his own buttocks like flour dough.
“Keep it safe.”
The man tossed the bag containing 20 million won into Eun-myeong’s arms. Green bills fluttered. Eun-myeong hurriedly gathered the money, stuffed it back in, and followed the man.
Assuming he would sit in the backseat as usual, Eun-myeong was surprised when the man walked around the hood toward the driver’s seat. Clunk, he opened the front door.
“Uh, B-Boss?”
The subordinate in the driver’s seat looked up at the man, his face clearly panicked. His rugged features were drenched in fear.
“Get out.”
The man grabbed the subordinate by the collar and hauled him out. The subordinate let out a confused “Uh, uh,” before being dragged and dumped onto the ground.
As the man climbed into the driver’s seat, the car chassis sank heavily. Fearing he might leave him behind, Eun-myeong quickly climbed into the passenger seat.
Today, the man took the wheel himself. With a cigarette clamped in his mouth, he exhaled puffs of smoke. Eun-myeong glanced at him.
‘The seatbelt….’
It would be a disaster if there were an accident, but the man’s jaw remained fiercely set. A grinding sound came from his molars. His chest, as large as a water tank, heaved sharply as he took deep breaths.
Yet, a cold smile still lingered on his lips. And then, he spoke.
“Baby, you should smile.”
That was the kind of thing he said.
“I heard you let just about anyone hold you.”
Eun-myeong tried his hardest to lift the corners of his mouth, but with his eyes looking miserable and only his lips forced upward, he looked ridiculous.
“Yes….”
Eun-myeong hugged the bag tightly to his chest as if it were his own lifeline. The sight was indescribably funny. Shivering pathetically as if shaking off droplets of urine, he looked like a total cheapskate.
“Boss, I will definitely pay this money back, no matter what happens.”
At those words, the man laughed vilely. Looking at him now, didn’t he look like he was harboring an egg? Since that back hole was so good at taking things in, he would probably be quite adept at laying eggs too.
“Still, Baby, there is such a thing as human decency.”
“Hmm?” He asked back, tilting the end of his sentence as a habit. He tapped the steering wheel with a middle finger that didn’t quite bend properly.
“Real estate agents, those fuckers, skim off 10 percent. How could I not give 20 million to a baby on the way to collect a ransom? Mister is a compassionate man.”
There were no questions about why he suddenly needed such a large sum or what was happening. For Eun-myeong, that was a great relief, and it was also a natural state of affairs between the two of them.
But why did his heart feel as though it were being torn like paper?
Suddenly, Eun-myeong felt the man scan his body up and down.
“It is a shame, though.”
He muttered that if he had known, he would have fucked him day and night. He even smacked his lips as if he were truly disappointed.
“But I don’t pick up things that others have eaten and thrown away.”
Those words sounded as if he would never associate with him again.
“I’m not some beggar, you know.”
Eun-myeong lowered his gaze. He really was a wretched person. Every word he spoke was like trash, and his actions deserved divine punishment.
And yet, why did his heart ache so much at the thought that he might not see him again after today? Eun-myeong bit his lip hard.
“…….”
The car screeched to a halt in front of Chairman Go’s massive mansion. The man stepped out of the driver’s seat first. Eun-myeong curled himself up like a cactus, clutching the bag tightly.
He didn’t want to leave the car. Would it be okay if he said he wanted to go back to the hotel now? Ah, …but then, what would happen to Noona?
Just as Eun-myeong was about to be devoured from the head down by a fear that gaped wide, the man’s large frame approached the window gloomily. He yanked the passenger door open as if tearing it off.
“Get out.”
He gripped Eun-myeong’s wrist tightly and dragged him out.
“Boss, just a moment.”
Eun-myeong lowered the bag from his lap into the car and looked back several times. His large eyes overflowed with longing, as if he were looking at a child he had birthed.
Finally, he stood before that mansion. In the end, he had circled back to this place. A sense of despair seemed to sweep over his body. Eun-myeong trembled, unable to bring himself to touch the doorbell.
He wanted to run away, but behind him stood the man, who felt as if his body were molded from hardened cement. He was watching him with wide, piercing eyes, like a military dog.
Ding-dong.
Soon, a white finger pressed the doorbell firmly. A beep sounded from inside. Eun-myeong stepped forward and whispered softly.
“Chairman, it’s Eun-myeong.”
Clang, the main gate opened. Eun-myeong entered the palace-like house like a courtier receiving royal favor. He climbed the stone steps one by one and passed a pond where goldfish swam.
Waiting at the front door was the bastard Chairman. As usual, he was dressed in modified hanbok. His back was bent, and his face was wretchedly old, folded into bumpy wrinkles.
“Our President Kang, you’ve worked hard coming such a long way.”
“Have you been well?”
The old chairman smiled and offered a handshake. The man smiled perfectly and took his hand.
“Of course I have, thanks to you, I’m quite healthy.”
Chairman Go let out a hearty laugh. While his body was facing the man, his eyes—visible beneath sagging lids—were glancing furtively toward Eun-myeong.
All sorts of filthy and vulgar emotions surged. Greed, lust, ambition….
These were not emotions unknown to the seemingly well-mannered and gentlemanly President Kang. In fact, he knew them intimately, as if they were his own. Who could look at that white, supple body and not harbor lust?
It was perfectly logical and natural. The old chairman swallowed hard once, then called Eun-myeong over.
“Eun-myeong.”
He approached Eun-myeong, who was standing as if hiding behind the man.
“Baby, you’ve grown up to be truly beautiful.”
A withered hand gripped the cheek that radiated softness and vitality.
“Did you resent me?”
“…N-no.”
Eun-myeong answered reluctantly, slightly twisting his shoulder away.
“I remembered you even in my sleep. No matter how much I spent, none were as beautiful as you….”
Filthy greed glistened in the old man’s eyes. Inside, his cock was probably twitching with lewd thoughts.
He would seize Eun-myeong’s wrists to restrain him, cast him under the moonlight without a single shred of clothing, spread his buttocks, and vulgarly lick between those holes.
Then, without needing to swallow Viagra, he could get a cock so erect it felt like it would burst, flip Eun-myeong over, and ram himself into that hole for two or three days straight.
Any bastard with a proper cock attached below would be unable to keep his head from rising in front of that body. To be an Alpha and not even be able to put strength into his shaft—that old man couldn’t look more pathetic. Hiding these gloomy thoughts, the man smiled gently.
“Was the Viagra alright?”
“Ah, of course. I can’t believe you sent several boxes of such a precious thing. I must admit, President Kang has a generous personality.”
The man pulled his lips into a smile. The gold tooth revealed by Chairman Go’s wide grin was an eyesore.
“Because of that, I can’t even sleep at night lately. I wake up while making eye contact with this fellow.”
Watching him tap his own groin, the man imagined grabbing the old man by the scruff of his neck, pulling out his molars with pliers, and shoving them into his back hole. Since the sphincter had no strength to tighten, it would probably just spit them back out.
“Baby, come here.”
He pulled Eun-myeong by the wrist. Eun-myeong, who had been burying his head, suddenly shuddered.
Chairman Go dragged him toward the kitchen.
“Have a drink.”
Flustered, Eun-myeong stepped forward slowly. Sure enough, a bottle and glasses were placed on a table made of old wood. The cap had already been twisted open.
“This is called night gate wine, which newlyweds share on their first night. If you drink it, your energy improves and your skin becomes even more beautiful.”
Newlyweds. At that expression, a surge of nausea seemed to rise from within.
Eun-myeong held the glass with both hands. Why was the color so yellowish and strange? He didn’t want to drink it. He glanced back, checking the man’s reaction. His expression was invisible.
…What should I do?
“Hmm?”
Chairman Go urged him. The man was watching him from behind, the man had given him money, and he had a debt to pay….
Faced with an overwhelming reality he could not possibly refuse, Eun-myeong eventually gulped, gulped, and drained the glass.
The terribly bitter liquor clung stickily to the inside of his mouth. As he swallowed the last sip, he thought it was strange, feeling as if some kind of grain remained on his tongue.
“Let’s go inside.”
Chairman Go spoke in a wretchedly wet voice. He gripped Eun-myeong’s shoulders with both hands.
And he led Eun-myeong into the room as if dragging him. Eun-myeong looked back at the man several times, but the man never once lifted his massive body from the sofa.
“…….”
Soon, thud, the door closed. The large mansion fell into a silent stillness. The man, burying himself in that silence, simply glared at the door that had just shut.
Buzz, buzz.
In the silence, the man’s cell phone began to ring. It vibrated repeatedly, grating on the man’s nerves.
Regardless, his mood was sinking into the gutter. He wondered when this anger had started. The man traced back through time slowly.
Was it from the moment that old man, not knowing his place, acted on his greed to take the youth? Or was it from the moment Hui-yeon’s body had the audacity to demand money from him? Was it from the moment that boy, clutching that measly amount, didn’t eventually cling to him, apologizing and begging to go back?
…Or was it from the very first moment he had let that thing into his sight?
Buzz, buzz. Even now, the vibration did not stop. Sliding his hand into his jacket, the man ground his molars. Gripping the cell phone as if it were a lifeline, he raised his hand.
He considered throwing it onto the marble floor, but seeing the floor reflecting the phone like a mirror, he slowly lowered it.
The caller’s name scratched across his vision, which was flushing red.