By Zephyria 
“Say that again.”
His voice was dreadfully low. In response, Eun-myeong slowly moved his stiffened tongue.
“I said… I don’t want to.”
The silence that followed was more than just chilling; it was suffocating. If silence had mass, he felt as though he would be crushed to death by the weight of it.
Clang! The man threw his knife. A sharp metallic sound rang out. Eun-myeong jumped, his hips bouncing in surprise.
“What is wrong with you today? You’re really getting on my nerves.”
Then, the man leaned his massive upper body forward. A large shadow instantly flooded the wide table.
“How did I tell you to act when I speak to you?”
…Yes, I understand; please pity me, adore me, and love me. That was how the man had told him to respond.
Eun-myeong’s lips felt frozen, as if coated in honey. Though he had summoned the courage to defy him, his legs were actually trembling. The fine hairs on his cheeks quivered like pussy willows.
In truth, there was something else he really wanted to say. Was it true that he had met the sashimi restaurant owner’s lover in Seoul? How could he have the stamina to sleep with someone else after mixing bodies with him like that?
But he couldn’t say it. Because he was neither the Boss’s lover nor anything of the sort….
Still, he didn’t want to obey him submissively. He was someone who knew how to feel hurt. There was no need to follow every order like a dog.
Eun-myeong glared with his large eyes. He clenched his fists tight, as if rolling gimbap.
“I can pay back the debt.”
Even without sitting on the man’s lap like a puppy in front of everyone, he could sufficiently pay back a mere debt.
“I’ll pay it back myself, I—”
Suddenly, his throat tightened, and he swallowed hard. His slender, deer-like neck rose slightly before smoothing back down.
“Why should CEO Kang Pyeong-won pay my debt?”
Something surged up inside him.
While the Boss was in Seoul, Eun-myeong had waited anxiously for his return. Yet, on rainy days, he hoped the man would just stay in Seoul because the roads were dangerous.
Even when falling asleep alone in that vast bed, he would bolt upright at the sound of the wind in his slumber, wondering if the man had come.
His pure heart was so precious, so how could the man treat it like cheap, unusable sashimi scraps? How could he meet someone else? You terrible man.
Perhaps the reason he came down to Gyeryong Bay to find Eun-myeong was because he was the most convenient partner here.
Holding his heart in his hand, the man swung it around like a knife, slashing him to pieces. To the man, how easy a weapon was it to acquire and wield?
“…When you’re practically a stranger.”
Since you don’t even love me… His chest ached so sharply that he couldn’t bring himself to utter the rest.
The man merely knit his brows and shook his head.
“No, that’s not it. Not at all.”
He tapped his thumb and middle finger together. It was the hand gesture he used when smoking. He seemed to be craving nicotine.
“How can we be strangers?”
He lowered his voice to a sly whisper.
“We’ve had so much sex; how could we possibly be strangers?”
“Th-that’s….”
Eun-myeong’s face flushed bright red at the sudden, obscene word.
“Do you want me to say such embarrassing things in a public place?”
The man asked. His expression didn’t change, but he pretended to be bashful, running a hand through his hair. To Eun-myeong, it was utterly absurd.
“Don’t ever say you ‘don’t want to’ in front of me again, okay?”
He muttered that he was in a foul mood, yet the man was still smiling.
Because he was as fierce and wicked as a predatory fish, Eun-myeong found himself walking on eggshells even when the man smiled. The atmosphere was so chilling and bizarre that anyone, no matter how oblivious, couldn’t help but notice it.
“The doctor said you can be discharged now.”
Eun-myeong frowned at the sudden remark.
“Pardon?”
“I’m talking about your Noona.”
The man grinned, his lips curling up exaggeratedly.
“I should get Lee Eun-joo back to work. I wouldn’t fire someone over something like this. I want to be a CEO who is generous to his employees.”
Of all times, he brought up his Noona. Eun-myeong’s mouth opened and closed like a goldfish eating, before he snapped it shut. It was because the man’s wide, glaring eyes terrified him.
A chill ran down his spine. Just from talking back for a moment, his palms were drenched in sweat. He rubbed them frantically against his thighs to wipe away the dampness. As if pressing down to kill a bug with a thumb, the man simply silenced Eun-myeong.
Still, even though he had been cowed into silence, it was a great step forward for Eun-myeong. He felt something stirring in his chest.
After all, even a worm wriggles when stepped on. Thinking this, Eun-myeong gathered his courage and ate one last piece of meat.
Yet, terrified and afraid, he couldn’t bring himself to meet the man’s eyes and stared at the plate instead.
Munch, munch. The fine hairs on his skin, standing up from the chills, glowed white under the dim light of the chandelier.
It was spring, a season where flower petals fell in abundance. In the sweet and cozy weather, everyone passing by looked happy.
Only Eun-myeong, following the man, looked miserable. He was slumped over like a puppy that had been hit on the nose for stealing food from its owner. His heart felt unsettled because he couldn’t go to the sashimi restaurant.
The man took the wheel of the open-top car and had Eun-myeong sit beside him. Vroom, vroom. A heavy, deep sound resonated from the exhaust.
Eun-myeong glanced at the man’s hand gripping the gear shift. Blue veins bulged fiercely against his dark, tanned skin. Looking at it, his waist felt a strange twist and his heart grew restless.
…I want to hold his hand. Eun-myeong fidgeted with the seatbelt. Whether he liked him or hated him, he just liked being with him.
But if he kept skipping work like this, he would become a useless parasite wasting time. What would happen to the debt?
“But if I stay like this, I won’t be able to earn money.”
“That sashimi restaurant is mine anyway, so why does it matter? Just think of it as earning your daily wage directly from me.”
Eun-myeong silently took in the man’s profile. Since last night, he had been acting truly strange.
Yesterday, he told Eun-myeong to iron his shirt, to help him bathe, and even to massage his shoulders.
His shoulders were so thick and wide that Eun-myeong couldn’t even wrap his hands around them. It was less of a massage and more of a rubbing motion. Such a massage seemed like it would just be a nuisance.
‘Boss, I don’t think I’m being helpful. You should call a professional masseuse.’
‘Why?’
Eun-myeong blinked blankly. What do you mean, why? He had said it because he felt he was useless if the man’s body was truly stiff, but the man had asked in a low voice.
‘Do you find doing this kind of thing tedious now? Because we’re strangers?’
‘It’s not that….’
Eun-myeong bit his lip hard.
He wasn’t usually the type to order menial chores, so why the sudden change? It felt as if he were testing him—testing his loyalty—which left Eun-myeong feeling very strange.
The man led Eun-myeong around like an owner walking a puppy.
A department store in a rural corner like this was nothing more than an outlet selling out-of-season clothes. The man clicked his tongue as he held clothes up to Eun-myeong’s body one by one.
“The quality and the colors are utterly vulgar.”
He critiqued the clothes without hesitation. To Eun-myeong, they seemed like very nice clothes. Moreover, for someone who criticized them so much, he spent far too much money.
Eun-myeong walked through the department store for a while with the man, who seemed to be possessed by a shopping demon.
“…….”
Then, they came across a lingerie shop. The inside was filled with incredibly erotic underwear. Eun-myeong looked away in embarrassment. The man let out a short laugh and asked, “Want me to buy you some?”
“No.”
Eun-myeong shook his head. He started to move away, wanting to pass by before the man teased him further.
Buzz, buzz.
Just then, the man’s cell phone rang. Out of habit, he reached into his jacket and pulled out the phone. His face remained expressionless as he checked the caller ID.
“Yeah.”
As he answered briefly, a voice flowed through the receiver.
—Boss, it’s me.
Good heavens, what a seductive voice.
—When are you coming to Seoul to see me?
A foul sensation, far worse than when he had overheard the sashimi restaurant owner’s voice, swept across Eun-myeong’s entire body.
“Tell me.”
Eun-myeong tugged slightly on the man’s sleeve. He felt as though he were pleading with him not to take the call, at least not in front of him.
“Go inside and look around.”
Instead, the man told him that, flicking Eun-myeong’s cheek—which had deflated like a crushed steamed bun—with the back of his thick hand.
“You have to pay back today’s debt.”
As if mixing bodies were also a part of paying back the debt, the man uttered those trashy words.
…He had hoped in his heart that it wasn’t true, but the sashimi restaurant owner had been right. He really had gone up to Seoul to meet someone else.
He didn’t have the confidence to watch the man talk to another person. Trudgingly, Eun-myeong entered the shop.
He could see the man’s back through the glass window. If there was any consolation, it was that he couldn’t hear the conversation.
“Are you looking for something?”
The shop owner approached the crestfallen Eun-myeong.
“No.”
Just as he was about to mutter that, the man’s voice flashed through his mind.
‘You have to pay back today’s debt.’
…How could he say something like that? He thought they were sharing warmth and breath, yet the man called it paying a debt. What kind of person is he? He’s not even a beast that just satisfies its urges and finishes.
Something surged up in Eun-myeong’s chest. It might have been resentment, jealousy, a sense of betrayal, or perhaps all of them.
As if having made a decision, Eun-myeong grabbed the first piece of lingerie he saw.
It was a piece of erotic white lace underwear, so thin it was like a dragonfly’s wing, revealing the skin beneath.