By Zephyria 
“What’s wrong with your face? Did you not sleep last night?”
Kang Hee-shin rubbed his cheek and gave a bitter smile. Leaving behind Chief Oh, who was looking at him with concern, he sat at his desk. As he continued the work he had left unfinished yesterday, supplementing his caffeine intake with coffee every now and then, sleep kept washing over him.
He didn’t know how hard he had scrubbed his face and brushed his teeth after leaving the hotel and going home. He had brushed until his gums bled. Even when he closed his eyes to sleep, that scene played back repeatedly like a video. The sight of that crazy bastard climbing on top of his chest, grabbing his cock and shaking it.
In the end, he had chugged the remaining soju in the fridge and fallen asleep in a drunken stupor. Even then, he had woken up in the middle of a dream.
He prided himself on having experienced all sorts of things in his life, but yesterday’s scene was shocking in a different sense. Even if he wanted to forget, he remembered everything in detail—the shape of the guy’s cock, the color, and even the fact that he had no pubic hair. Fuck, why the hell did he shave all the perfectly good hair off…
“Haa….”
Letting out a sigh, he slammed his forehead onto the documents. His intuition told him. This wouldn’t be the end.
Crazy bastard….
Would someone really want to do that to their younger sister’s lover? Has he given up on being human? Even a beast wouldn’t do that. Besides, aren’t they the same sex? He had roughly guessed it based on the subtle hints the man had been dropping. However, he never dreamed he would be this blatant.
As he slammed his head down again, Chief Oh called out, “Prosecutor?” He snapped back to his senses and lifted his head. Chief Oh and the administrative officer, Baek Young-mi, were looking at him with worried faces.
“…Are you really okay?”
He nodded and stood up from his seat. “I’m going to go wash my face.” He hurried outside and headed toward the restroom through the hallway. He turned on the cold water and tried to shake off the distracting thoughts while washing his face. As he roughly wiped the water from his face, a voice came from behind him.
“What are you doing by yourself?”
Turning around, he saw Park Tae-min walking in.
Park Tae-min looked Hee-shin up and down and smirked.
“Did Chief Prosecutor Cho chew you out again?”
“No.”
“The work? Is it going well?”
“An employee from Guyoung Construction’s finance team is appearing this afternoon.”
“Be careful.”
“About what?”
“Those guys are gangsters at their core. Even if they’ve laundered their image, where does the blood go? They might be itching to get you right now.”
Was it Guyoung Construction that sent the photos after all? It could be a threat to tell him to back off at this point. If they were the ones who sent them, the bait would start to bite soon. What they want would be the whereabouts of the finance director. By now, they would have more than noticed that someone on this end had made a move.
“By the way, where did you hide Director Kwak?”
Park Tae-min probed casually.
“Who?”
“The finance director of Guyoung Construction. I heard you have him.”
Hee-shin replied with a straight face.
“Who told you that?”
“Man. The rumors have already spread.”
“I know nothing about it. He’s probably hiding somewhere well.”
“Look at how shameless you are. Is this why women like you?”
Thinking deeply, Hee-shin turned his body to look Park Tae-min straight in the face.
“Sunbae.”
“What.”
“Look closely at my face.”
“Why all of a sudden?”
“In your opinion, do I have a face that women would like?”
Park Tae-min made a look of contempt.
“Is this some new way of bragging?”
“It’s not a face that men would like, right?”
For a moment, Park Tae-min’s ears turned red, and he changed the subject, saying he was talking nonsense. Seeing that, Hee-shin frowned slightly. Fuck. Why are his ears turning red? Am I actually the type that appeals to men? That’s strange. In the 33 years I’ve lived, no guy has ever confessed to me.
“Why are you flustered?”
“Flustered, my ass. The question is just too stupid. And do you think there’s a separate face for appealing to men or women? People like anyone who is handsome.”
That’s a prejudice. There were plenty of guys who hated him simply because he was handsome. During his school days, he had even been called away by seniors and beaten up for that reason. The reason was that he was supposedly flirting with the girls they liked. But it was also true that he benefited from it. Wasn’t it because of this face that Yoon Se-na confessed first?
“Be grateful to your father. For passing down such a great face.”
At Park Tae-min’s words, his expression twisted sharply. Dammit. Always bringing it up when things are going well. But he couldn’t refute it. It was a fact that he took after his father, not his mother. And with that great face, the man had cheated excessively. Though the conclusion was a miserable state, lying in a hospital bed, unable to even handle his own waste.
As he walked out frowning, Park Tae-min followed.
“What, man. Are you sulking? Getting moody again?”
“Forget it. It’s not like you said something that wasn’t true.”
Just then, Prosecutor Jang Seon-woo walked toward them from the opposite direction. Giving a slight nod of greeting, he passed by with a faint smile. As he moved away, Park Tae-min lowered his voice.
“Did you see? He’s wearing a really expensive watch.”
“I’m not interested.”
“Anyway, where did your watch go? That one you bought on installments.”
“I threw it away. I got sick of it.”
“You sold it.”
He didn’t answer. Park Tae-min was sometimes ghost-like in his intuition. Just look at him now. However, he lacked tact. He could have just pretended not to know. He always had to pry and ruin a person’s mood.
After parting with Park Tae-min and entering the interrogation room, a man in a prisoner’s uniform was sitting there. He was a perpetrator who needed further investigation regarding a murder case. The man, handcuffed at the wrists, smiled with his legs spread wide, looking perfectly relaxed. He was far too nonchalant for someone who had killed two people.
There were people like that among those he knew. Humans who seemed to have no guilt and looked as if they would never reflect on their actions. Once again, the scene of the man grabbing and shaking his cock played in his head.
Fuck… swallowing the curse internally, he tried to focus on the perpetrator sitting in front of him.
The sliding door opened quietly, and a staff member in a black uniform entered with a low bow. Shortly after, wooden bowls were placed one by one on the table. Appetizers to stimulate the appetite were served, and on a cypress plate where the subtle grain of the wood was alive, the red flesh of bluefin tuna and the transparent flesh of flounder were spread out like flower petals.
Afterward, a dish of golden-brown grilled black cod was served. Even before touching it with chopsticks, the oily scent of the fish and the smell of charcoal stimulated the appetite. The staff member explained each dish and then quietly withdrew.
Once the restaurant staff left, Im Gyeong poured a drink for his father.
Chairman Yoon took a sip of the alcohol and picked up some sashimi as a side.
“I don’t know how long it’s been since the two of us had a meal alone.”
“I’ll visit you often until I leave.”
“You’re not saying you’ll stay in Korea.”
Im Gyeong smiled silently. Even though they saw each other occasionally, Chairman Yoon complained every time he saw him.
“How is it since you’re meeting Prosecutor Kang separately?”
“It’s good.”
“What does that mean?”
“As a shield, he’s flawless.”
At the concise answer, Chairman Yoon, who was chewing his food, nodded.
“Make sure Sena keeps her mouth shut tight.”
“You know. She’s a greedy child even though she’s young. She won’t change her mind.”
“It seems things will unfold smoothly thanks to you.”
Just then, with a knock, the sliding door opened again. Soon, a guest who had just arrived revealed himself. The man of imposing stature wore an Assemblyman’s badge on his chest. Chairman Yoon and Im Gyeong immediately stood up.
“Welcome, Assemblyman Bae.”
“Haha, I’m very late, aren’t I?”
“Not at all. We just arrived ourselves.”
After exchanging greetings with Chairman Yoon, Assemblyman Bae turned and shook Im Gyeong’s hand pleasantly. He then sat down and unbuttoned his jacket. His thick belly, protruding from the jacket, was on the verge of touching the table.
“The prosecution raided the election office this morning and took everything. Those guys were absolutely venomous. It was shivering stuff. Haha.”
Assemblyman Bae laughed boisterously. He complained that he had never been as busy as he was lately since the slush fund case involving Guyoung Construction and himself broke out. He groaned that he might be pelted with eggs soon. Then, while maintaining his smile, he muttered.
“Still, well. If I can deal with Assemblyman Choi and Prosecutor General Jang In-cheol all at once, why would I be afraid of a few eggs?”
“Of course. I hope you achieve what you desire.”
“This is all thanks to our Chairman Yoon.”
“What did I do? Our Gyeong worked hard.”
Chairman Yoon attributed all the credit to Im Gyeong.
“By the way, is it Kang Hee-shin? I feel sorry for that young fellow. Jumping into a pit of fire without knowing what will happen to his own future.”
Contrary to his words, a smile spread across Assemblyman Bae’s face. Indeed, wouldn’t any human be ignorant of their own future? Unless they were a god. That’s why life is interesting.
Listening to this, Im Gyeong thought of Kang Hee-shin in his head. The nape of the neck and the face that had turned red while pinned beneath him. It certainly is interesting. Smiling faintly, he quietly picked up his water glass. For some reason, whenever he thought of Kang Hee-shin, he felt as if his throat were burning.