9.2 Chae-gwi (Hungry Ghost)
After washing up, wearing only underwear under a robe, I had a delicious meal. He said he’d order the meat I liked, and braised short ribs were set on the table. Thinking that there was nothing better for brunch, I ate them up without worrying about my image. Chu Gi-oh watched me with a satisfied look. His gaze was less like a lover’s and more like a father looking at a son he had painstakingly raised.
After finishing the meal, I went to the bedroom to help Chu Gi-oh get ready, and only then did I notice the clothes scattered on the floor. Naturally, none of them were mine; they were all Chu Gi-oh’s, but strangely, there were two shirts and two pairs of underwear. I wondered if this man had put me here and then gone somewhere else. Even if it were just a shirt, I wondered if there was a need to change his underwear too. Just as I was about to dig deeper into the mystery like a detective, I figured it didn’t matter and started picking up the strewn clothes one by one.
Chu Gi-oh, who was taking clothes out of the wardrobe to put them on, glanced at me. The reason he was smirking was likely because I looked exactly like a real wife.
After putting on his trousers and belt, he suddenly paused while taking out a plastic-wrapped shirt. The expression on his face as he turned to look at me was quite serious. Wondering what was wrong, I set the gathered clothes back down on the floor. Just as I was about to ask what the matter was, sure enough, it happened.
“Have you ever worn stockings?” came the filthy question.
The question was so absurd that I just stood there, unable to even answer that I had never worn them. Honestly. Why not just ask if I’ve tried on a bra too?
“Yes or no.”
As he asked again, I was about to tell him that I’m a man and that the only things I’ve worn so far are socks and sneakers. In that split second, the memory of how we first met flashed back to me, and I momentarily lost my words. The coffee bundle, the red shoes… Right, from Chu Gi-oh’s perspective, it was a perfectly reasonable question. So, pretending to be embarrassed, I shook my head and answered accordingly.
“That… I’ve never worn stockings. I just… haven’t had the chance…”
He swept his gaze down my legs, which were stretched out beneath the gown. “Is that so?” he muttered, nodding to himself.
“Then I’ll have to give you another chance.”
“….”
He took his eyes off my legs and looked back at my face. Grinning as if advertising his perversion, he said, “I’ll pick out the color myself.”
Chu Gi-oh put on his shirt and then gestured for me to come closer. With a sigh in my heart, I approached and took the tie he handed me. I draped the tie around my neck first, and as he deftly buttoned my shirt, he suddenly grabbed my chin and tilted my head up.
“I’m planning to jerk off thinking of you today. At work.”
“….”
The look on his face, now devoid of any trace of a smile, was the same as when he desired me this morning. He looked more lewd than the semen he had spent on my body.
The thumb gripping my chin brushed over my lower lip. He leaned in close, as if about to kiss me, and whispered.
“Can I?”
“…Yeah, by all means.”
“And you.”
“….”
“Will you jerk off thinking of me too?”
When I nodded with a slight delay, he gave a pleased smile and continued.
“Then let’s just do it once each. We’ve gotta come together and spend a lot, right?”
I think I knew why he was saying such things. Right now, in his head, Woo Min-jo wearing the stockings he had chosen was probably throwing a wild fit.
Leaving the bedroom matters at that, I went to the entrance to see Chu Gi-oh off. I hugged him, kissed him, and whispered for him to have a good day, seeing him off as awkwardly as possible.
Chu Gi-oh, seeing me unable to look him in the eye out of embarrassment, hugged me tight and said, “Don’t be shy. Everyone lives like this.” Then, after whispering, “You know I like you a lot, right?” he looked down at me as if waiting for something.
Even though I knew what he wanted, I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I couldn’t say anything other than telling him to go. If nothing else, I felt that I shouldn’t speak carelessly about emotions. I didn’t know if it would ever become sincere one day, but at least not now.
About ten minutes after I was left alone, I heard the sound of a text message near the nightstand. Checking it, I saw my bag placed next to the nightstand. It seemed he hadn’t forgotten to bring my luggage.
Thinking that he was more meticulous than he looked, I took my phone out of the bag and checked the message. As expected, the sender was Chu Gi-oh, and the content was…
[You fucking erotic bitch]
—Along with those words, he had sent a photo that nearly made me faint. I was lying asleep on what looked like a hospital bed, wearing none other than Chu Gi-oh’s shirt. Because it was so oversized, the shirt looked almost like a blanket, and beneath it, my two legs were stretched out haphazardly.
Looking closer at the photo, I saw something black peeking out from under the shirt that covered more than half of my thighs. Unable to tell if it was underwear or pants, I texted Chu Gi-oh: [What’s the black thing?] He must have been waiting, because the reply came instantly, and the moment I checked it, I couldn’t help but swear.
[My panties]
Only then did I realize why there were two unauthorized copyshirts and two pairs of underwear. The stockings, the nonsense about jerking off at [stolen content]work—it must have all been because of this.
Honestly, I could have just let it go, but I couldn’t. I stripped off my trousers and underwear, went to the wardrobe, and pulled out a pair of Chu Gi-oh’s panties. When I put them on, they were unbelievably large. One thigh hole was as wide as my waist, and the two butt cheeks were filled with muscles the size of my head, so they couldn’t possibly fit my body. He might have been laughing his head off alone while watching them slide right off me.
There was no way he would have just let me wear them like that; he must have tied the waistband or folded them several times. Whatever it was, I was just glad I had been asleep.
Around two-thirty in the afternoon, Du-jik came to the guest room. He told me that the Big Brother wanted me to come to the office and asked me to get ready.
I wondered if he was calling me because he thought I’d be bored. Since he was someone who always ordered coffee around 3 PM, that might have been his break time. He wasn’t the type to make it himself, so I became curious about where he ordered delivery from these days. I asked Du-jik after getting in the car, but Du-jik tilted his head, not knowing for sure.
“There are so many places outside these days, so I’m not too sure. Maybe Pumpkin… or is there somewhere else to order from? Ah, Jeong-sik is always around, so I’ll go ask him. That kid is incredibly keen on that kind of thing, so he’ll probably know exactly.”
I was about to tell him it was fine and to leave it, but my curiosity was stronger, so I kept my mouth shut. It wasn’t costing any money, and since he offered to ask, there was no reason to stop him.
On the way, I stopped by a pharmacy and bought a large adhesive bandage to cover the bruise on my nose. It was because I couldn’t forget the looks some people gave me before I got into the car parked in the lot.
Looking in the car mirror, I applied the bandage to the bridge of my nose, and I looked much cleaner than before. Although it gave me a slightly rebellious image. Still, at this level, people would just assume I’d scratched it on something.
After soothing and comforting Du-jik, who was tearing up again out of pity for me, we arrived at the Gimun office.
The moment I entered the yard, my mood hit rock bottom. It was because the red coffee cart I had left in front of the house was parked in a corner of the yard. It definitely wasn’t for delivery, so there was a high probability it was Kim Jeong-suk. Even if she had quit being a car-woman, I still had business with her. Perhaps Kang Moon-soo had been captured and brought here. Maybe Kim Jeong-suk was kneeling beside a blood-covered Kang Moon-soo, begging for his life.
So he didn’t call me because he was bored, but because of work. I felt embarrassed for getting ahead of myself.
With Du-jik leading the way, I received Jeong-sik’s greeting, [Read on Read BL Novels]passed through the entrance, and Read on Read BL Novelsentered the living room. Jang-bae, who was sitting on the sofa, took over and led me to the door and knocked.
A moment later, the situation beyond the door unfolded before my eyes. It was true that the visitor was Kim Jeong-suk, but there was no blood-covered Kang Moon-soo anywhere. Naturally, there was no Kim Jeong-suk kneeling and pleading to Chu Gi-oh. Only the usual Kim Jeong-suk—that is, the coffee shop madam—was sitting on the sofa with her back straight.
“Come on in, quickly.”
Chu Gi-oh, sitting opposite Kim Jeong-suk, looked at me and patted the seat next to him. He wore a strange expression for a moment upon seeing the bandage on my face, but he didn’t ask about it.
On the other hand, Kim Jeong-suk didn’t even look back, even though she knew I had arrived. Only after I sat down next to Chu Gi-oh did she look at me. She seemed surprised by the bandage, but only for a moment, and she quickly returned to her usual stiff face. However, her stern expression was excessively awkward.
I could tell at a glance that she was afraid. She was terrified that Chu Gi-oh might do something to harm her because of yesterday’s events. If I was nervous, how must Kim Jeong-suk feel, having the man himself as her pimp?
Chu Gi-oh wrapped his arm around my shoulder as I sat beside him and spoke to Kim Jeong-suk.
“So, how much is the total?”
I looked back at Chu Gi-oh, thinking I had misheard. How much? More importantly, there should definitely be something more critical to ask first, yet he was asking how much.
“I should give you the amount including tomorrow’s pay, right?”
“Do that. You agreed to work until tomorrow, didn’t you?”
Kim Jeong-suk fumbled through the bag she had brought and handed something to Chu Gi-oh.
“Ahem. Last time I said five [Read on Read BL Novels]thousand, but it’s increased quite a bit since then. And as it turns out, there were other debts remaining as well.”
The crumpled things were several sheets of paper, and I knew what they were without even unfolding them. They were likely debt contracts or memorandums with thumbprints. But there was no way my mother had left such things. If she had, Kim Jeong-suk would have already shoved them in my face to threaten me. Therefore, they were all fake.
It seemed she had bought time under the guise of a handover just to come up with this kind of petty trick. Truly, they were people not worth associating with. They were dogs who had forgotten their humanity in their obsession with money.
Chu Gi-oh didn’t even examine the documents properly, flipping through them irritably and asking,
“So how much is it in total? You must have done the math.”
“…A bit over eight thousand. Eight thousand four… no, five hundred.”
“How much?”
“Ei… eight thousand five hundred.”
It was a ridiculous amount. Five thousand was already unacceptable, but eight thousand five hundred? She must have been stuttering because her conscience was pricking her.
I snatched the papers from Chu Gi-oh’s hand. One hundred, one hundred and fifty, five hundred. There were at least ten documents with absurd amounts and absurd dates. As I flipped through them one by one, I couldn’t take it anymore and threw them all at Kim Jeong-suk.
Seeing them with my own eyes made it even clearer. It was all a lie. The stamps were fake, and the thumbprints were fake. Even the handwriting was wrong. They had brought fabricated documents and were lying, claiming they were evidence to collect a debt.
“Are you kidding me? When did she borrow all this!”
I leaned over the table with both hands, shouting at Kim Jeong-suk.
“There’s a limit to how much you can lie! You had these and didn’t say a word? I know exactly what kind of person Auntie is!”
“Your mother borrowed money from me frequently starting a few years ago. The contracts were sent and received via courier. I just didn’t say anything out of affection, do you think I lie for no reason? No matter how well I treat you, you’re always causing a fuss.”
The fear had vanished from her brazen face. No, looking at it now, it wasn’t fear. It had never been fear to begin with. I don’t know what they exchanged while I was gone, but she simply loathed, despised, and found Chu Gi-oh filthy.
“I’m ending it here even though there’s another thousand to collect. Strictly speaking, it’s over nine thousand, nine thousand.”
“What, nine thousand?”
I was so enraged that I accidentally glared at Chu Gi-oh instead of Kim Jeong-suk. Regardless of whether one of his eyebrows arched, I looked back and forth between Kim Jeong-suk and Chu Gi-oh and spat out,
“Nine thousand or whatever, don’t even fucking think about taking it. CEO, if you give her that money, just try it. Who do you think is a total pushover?”
It seemed funny to him that a young kid was threatening. While I was so furious I felt like I was exploding, Chu Gi-oh just laughed at me. “Girl, your nagging is top-notch,” he muttered, then called out loudly to Jang-bae.
“Jang-bae, are you outside!”
Jang-bae entered in less than a second. “Yes, Hyung-nim.”
Chu Gi-oh gestured with his chin toward his desk and ordered Jang-bae,
“Open the safe and bring eight thousand five hundred.”
“CEO!”
“Bring it in a bag.”
I urgently grabbed his hand. I shook my head, begging him not to do this.
“CEO, please… This is really not right. Those, those contracts. They’re all fake, fake.”
Chu Gi-oh nodded and patted my back. He gave me a soothing smile and then spoke stiffly to Kim Jeong-suk, who was looking at us strangely.
“Then it’s completely over between us and my kid.”
“Yes, well… since you’re going this far, would there be any more business? I’m just grateful.”
As if she had never been stern, Kim Jeong-suk was on the verge of a wide grin. Her eyes grew visibly wide upon seeing the bundles of cash Jang-bae brought in a money bag. I glared at Kim Jeong-suk, then glared back at Chu Gi-oh.
“Do you think I’ll be grateful for this? I’m going to hate you, CEO.”
“….”
He flinched for a moment, but that was all. Chu Gi-oh soon ignored my gaze and words, speaking only to Kim Jeong-suk as she counted the money.
“Be careful not to get hit by a hit-and-run on your way. Don’t let it get stolen and keep visit our siteit safely in the Read on Read BL Novelsbank. It’ll be a disaster if you lose it.”
“Yes, I will. Anyway, thank you for taking care of him and not ignoring him.”
Kim Jeong-suk firmly locked the money bag without a word, confirming it was indeed eight thousand five hundred. She stood up and bowed deeply to Chu Gi-oh, just like the thugs do.
“Since you live so generously, you’ll receive a lot of blessings. Please stay healthy and live a long, long life. I’ll pray a lot that every day is a good day for you, CEO.”
At those words, Chu Gi-oh gave a short laugh, almost like a snort.
“The connection is only over with my kid; it’s not over with me yet. Don’t be mistaken.”
“Pardon?”
“Save those greetings for later. I’ll give you a separate opportunity to do so.”
“….”
Kim Jeong-suk, rolling her eyes as if trying to understand what he meant, walked away from the sofa as soon as Chu Gi-oh gestured for her to leave, as if she were fleeing. As if some affection remained, she stopped and offered me a greeting.
“Min-jo, you stay well too. Now just walk a flowery path by the side of a good person. Then, Auntie will be going.”
Seeing her back as she lightly stepped out the door with the money bag made my anger explode. I felt like I might even cry. I shook off Chu Gi-oh, who tried to hug me while asking, “Are you really gonna hate me?” and stood up.
I ran toward the door where Kim Jeong-suk and Jang-bae had exited. If I couldn’t take [visit our site]the money back, I felt that I would only feel relieved if I poured out a barrage of curses. Leaving [Read on Read BL Novels]Chu Gi-oh behind, I dashed outside and grabbed Kim Jeong-suk, who had already passed the living room and was heading toward the entrance.
As if she knew I would follow, Kim Jeong-suk faced me without a change in expression. She even dragged me into a corner near the entrance.
Only after pushing me into the corner did Kim Jeong-suk open her eyes fiercely and reveal her true colors. After glancing back at Jang-bae and Du-jik, who were watching, she threatened me in a low voice.
“If you utter even a bit of that fucking talk, I’ll kill you first. Got it!”
It was definitely about Kang Moon-soo. She seemed to think I didn’t know because Chu Gi-oh had been quiet. Suppressing the urge to strangle her, I pushed her back this time.
“That son of a bitch tried to rape me first. He tried to eat me up even while he had a woman like you. And yet you defend that bastard? Even if you’re together for money, still! When I think about how all that money you’re stealing today will go to that bastard, fuck, I’m the one who wants to kill you all. You know that?”
“Watch your mouth! Rape, my ass! You were acting like a bitch, so he hit you once, that’s all!”
I almost laughed. Looking at Kim Jeong-suk, blinded by money and a young man, was simply pathetic. While I hesitated, Kim Jeong-suk pushed me back.
“Just try blabbing about this somewhere. The moment something happens to Moon-soo’s well-being, I really won’t stay still. So what if your husband is Gimun? You and Chu Gi-oh, if you’re human, you only have one life. If you don’t want to get stabbed to death, don’t mess around!”
“Kill me if you’re so confident! Want to bet on who dies first?”
“Shut your mouth! You’ve already made a rich bastard yours by seducing him, so that’s enough, why are you raising your voice!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Jeong-sik entered through the front door. Smelling the sudden waft of cigarette smoke, Kim Jeong-suk jumped away from me.
“I intended to keep this word inside until the end, but you’ll end [Read on Read BL Novels]up just like your mother. [unauthorized copy]If you don’t want to [unauthorized copy]pay a fucking price for your face, live with your wits about you.”
I watched her hurl insults and scramble out the door, then wiped my face with my hand. Far from getting the money back, I hadn’t even been able to give her a proper piece of my mind. I couldn’t tell who was the problem and why I was suffering like this. Whether it was Kim Jeong-suk, Chu Gi-oh, or simply because of me.
My heart felt heavy. I didn’t know what kind of plan he was hatching, but if it involved being such a total pushover, I hated it. I didn’t feel good because the debt was gone; rather, I felt as if I had been sold to Chu Gi-oh.
Gone? It wasn’t gone. Kim Jeong-suk’s rights had simply been transferred to Chu Gi-oh. Now, I was in a position where I had to pay back a massive debt of 85 million to Chu Gi-oh. Whether with money or with my body.
Chu Gi-oh had said he wouldn’t bring up the money, but people’s words and hearts change as easily as flipping a palm. If the day ever came when he lost interest in me, it was obvious how he would react.
Wanting to hear the reason why he did it, I returned to Chu Gi-oh. Du-jik looked at me with worried eyes as I headed toward the room, but after receiving a signal from his Hyung, Jang-bae, he quickly looked away.
Chu Gi-oh was sitting in the same spot, smoking. With heavy steps, I deliberately squeezed past the table and stood close enough for my knees to touch his, looking down at him as I asked.
“Why did you do that?”
“…”
Chu Gi-oh didn’t answer; he just looked up at me and continued smoking. The smile hanging on his lips wasn’t the least bit cool. He looked so frustrating and foolish that I felt anger rising again.
“In one week, it went from 50 million to 85 million. Does that even make sense to you?”
“…”
Again, he didn’t answer and just smoked. Watching him puff out clouds of smoke made me feel like I [Read on Read BL Novels]was going to suffocate from frustration. He wasn’t taking me seriously at all.
I turned around and grabbed the contract sprawled across the table in a heap. I shook it violently in front of his face.
“Why did you hand it over just because they asked, without even verifying the facts? Are you a pushover, CEO? You did this at the house too—are you seriously donating and giving alms like this? Do you have so much money that you don’t know what to do with it?”
The hand holding the paper was trembling violently, but my mouth refused to shut. I didn’t care if he lost interest in me because of my arrogant attitude and demanded the money back immediately. I didn’t care in the slightest even if I eventually provoked his anger and got beaten. I only felt that this situation, where Chu Gi-oh suffered a loss because of me, was absolutely terrible.
“85 million isn’t some dog’s name; do you just give it all away because they ask? That’s not paying off a debt. You just foolishly let them steal your money.”
“…”
“And you still call yourself a gangster? No, if you’re a gangster, you should know how to steal money! How on earth is Gimun supposed to grow, huh?”
“…”
The paper finally slipped from my trembling hand. My legs shook as if I were about to collapse. My entire body was shivering uncontrollably.
To be honest, those last words were a mistake. I didn’t know if it was a fit of stubbornness, wondering if he would still stay quiet after that.
He dropped his cigarette to the floor. The smile was gone from the lips that exhaled smoke.
I thought, So this is how it ends in a mess. Why would he continue to be kind to a brat who doesn’t even know how to be grateful and instead raises his voice?
I bowed my head deeply. I begged for forgiveness for speaking so Read on Read BL Novelsrecklessly. Since I had nothing, acting subserviently was my only option.
“…I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry…. I must have lost my mind. I was just so angry because of that woman, Kim Jeong-suk….”
From my lowered gaze, I saw him raise his hand. Thinking he was going to hit me, I flinched reflexively. However, he only took my hand.
He pulled my trembling body toward his lap.
“Come here. I’ll hold ya.”
He forced my stiff body up onto him and embraced me fully, just as he’d said. He gently stroked my body, which was shaking violently in his arms, as I rested my forehead against his shoulder.
A soft voice reached my ears.
“Don’t shake. I told ya I wouldn’t get mad at ya as long as ya don’t throw me away.”
It felt as if a fist had struck me square in the chest; I couldn’t breathe. It felt hot and even stinging. I couldn’t lift my head because I felt that if I looked up at his face, I would shed the tears he hated.
“I know exactly why ya doin’ this. Who wouldn’t be pissed after handin’ over that much money like that? Even I’d be turnin’ inside out with rage.”
“…”
“But Min-jo. I’m right here, ain’t I? Do ya know how cold-blooded I am? Forget about mercy; I don’t know the first thing about givin’ stuff away for free. I ain’t some idiot who lives with everything stolen from him.”
“…”
He leaned down to look at me.
“Don’t worry. Even without ya naggin’ me, I’ll get it all back. I’ll get back ten times what was stolen. If I can’t do that, then just kill me. I’ll die quietly by your hand.”
“…”
Somehow, I felt like I was committing a great sin against a kind person. I became profoundly depressed.
Chu Gi-oh tried to turn my face to look at him using his chin. When I finally lifted my head to meet his eyes, he grinned and teased me.
“They’re all dead, those fucking bitches. Who the hell lies in front of Chu Gi-oh? I’m gonna rip out every single one of their teeth with pliers. Should I make a necklace out of ‘em?”
When I didn’t laugh along, he tickled various parts of my back with his hand, forcing me to laugh. I inevitably let out a laugh and shrunk back, saying, “Ah, CEO.”
“Not many days left. Not even days, it’s tomorrow. Tomorrow. I’ll rip ‘em out by the roots, so just trust me a bit. Eh?”
“…”
“Eh?”
“…Yes.”
Though I managed to laugh, tears felt like they were about to spill, contrary to my expression. I grit my [stolen content][stolen content]teeth to keep from crying. When I buried my face in his shoulder again, he hugged me tightly.
“You’re the only one who gives me affection. Don’t hate me.”
Perhaps he felt secretly hurt by what I’d said earlier, as he made such a request. His voice sounded so genuinely sad, as if saying If you hate me, I’ll cry, that I regretted speaking that way.
I didn’t only gain regret from this incident. I realized through this opportunity that when I’m furious, I can’t see reason, not even with Chu Gi-oh. I decided to try and manage my emotions starting today so as not to repeat the same mistake. No matter who picked a fight with me, I would ignore them, thinking a dog is barking. If I trained myself day by day, even if another fight with Chu Gi-oh occurred, it would never be as precarious or cross the line as it did today.
I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck. I apologized sincerely.
“…I’m sorry, CEO. I didn’t mean any of what I said earlier. I was just so angry because it felt like you were throwing away money you worked hard for because of me…. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
“I know ya didn’t mean it. Don’t apologize.”
I had been angry to the point of swearing, yet his touch as he comforted me was only tender. Not only was it tender, but he was also becoming aroused.
I felt his center pressing up against me, and my relaxing body stiffened once more. He let out a sigh, saying, “Now it’s automatic. I can’t even masturbate, damn.” Then, he whispered into my ear.
“Take responsibility and stay.”
“…What?”
Thanks to that, I forgot that I was about to cry and looked up at him. He bumped his forehead against mine.
“You nag me that much, and you expect my dick not to get hard?”
“…”
“From today, I’m gonna come home like this every day. Just so I can get lectured by you. Whether you kill me with words or beat me to death, do whatever the fuck you want. Just don’t say you hate me.”
“…”
An indescribable emotion bloomed, and I stared at him. I didn’t know if the hot, swelling feeling was a result of being moved by his generosity in overlooking my behavior. One thing was certain: Chu Gi-oh genuinely liked me.
He gave me a light kiss on the lips. The kiss was light, but the sound of his breath crashing against me was heavy and rough.
“Wanna do it here, or should we go to the desk?”
“…What?”
Only then did I snap back to reality. I felt the emotion shatter instantly.
Right outside the door were Jang-bae, Du-jik, and Jeong-sik. The sound would undoubtedly leak out. I shook my head urgently.
“Ho, hotel.”
“Stop fucking around! Desk!”
“No, wait, ah…!”
He scooped me up and stood up abruptly. He firmly supported my back as it threatened to arch backward and strode toward the desk. My body was laid down on the large glass-topped desk.
Chu Gi-oh easily stripped off my pants and stripped his own, smiling like a pervert. He hooked my two legs over his shoulders and immediately aligned his member with my hole.
“I’ll be gentle.”
“Hng, CEO…. Can’t we go to the ho, hotel? Please?”
He nodded.
“If you close your eyes, the hotel and here are all the same.”
I should have slapped him instead of just using words. If I had, the situation would never have unfolded this way.
“Now, hng, you’re definitely mine. Just try and throw me away!”
The member pushing in tightly felt thicker than usual. The face I saw above me was more perverted than ever. Yet, strangely, I didn’t feel dirty at all. Instead of losing affection, I felt a sense of relief that I had grown even more attached to him.
‘Go in first. I’ll be in soon.’
The man who had even taken a kiss before leaving had not shown his face as the dawn drew to a close. There wasn’t a single message. Just in case, I had turned the ringer to the maximum and held the phone tightly in my hand so I could check any text or call immediately, but there was still no news.
The reason I stayed awake was the anxiety that the plan he had set might be realized tonight.
Rather than hearing a simple phrase like ‘It’s all over,’ I wanted to witness the carnage with my own eyes. I felt that my anger today would only be appeased once I saw tears of blood streaming from the eyes of Kim Jeong-suk and Kang Moon-soo. I didn’t know how horrific the bottom of Chu Gi-oh’s methods would be, but it would be at a level I could endure. I, too, was someone who had experienced a fair share of storms.
As I imagined the end of Kang Moon-soo and Kim Jeong-suk, the scenery I saw the first day I visited Gimun naturally surfaced in my mind. Chu Gi-oh covered in blood, and two men lying unconscious and bloodied next to the sofa…. The moment the victims’ faces changed into those of Kang Moon-soo and Kim Jeong-suk, I heard the sound of the room door opening in the distance. Chu Gi-oh had finally returned.
I quickly shoved the phone under my pillow and lay on my side, facing the window. I didn’t want him to find out that I had been awake until this hour. I planned to pretend to wake up only if he touched me or did something strange. Whether he would fall for it or not, that was the plan.
Soon, the bedroom door opened. My hearing sharpened at the sound of footsteps approaching. Unlike that day when he was drunk, his steps were very cautious, but the smell emanating from him was, conversely, far more pungent. Back then, it was purely the smell of alcohol, but now, a disgustingly strong smell of cigarettes was radiating in all directions. The fingertips that stripped off his clothes in the dark, sat on the edge of the bed, and immediately stroked me were like a lit cigarette constantly exhaling smoke. He looked like someone who had just barely escaped from a raccoon’s den.
“…Fucking pieces of shit,” he muttered in a husky voice, and that alone was enough for me to guess where he had been. The house. Specifically, the house operated by Kim Jeong-suk. Seeing as there was no smell of blood, there was a high probability that he had spent the time just playing cards.
While his steps to get here were cautious, the touch on the back of my head was rough. He wasn’t careful at all, as if he were intentionally trying to wake me. The careless touch pushing through my hair told me his mood. He was very angry.
Was Kang Moon-soo also there? I could picture the scene: sitting in front of a man he wanted to kill immediately, pretending to know nothing and quietly playing cards. If that were the case, he would have played the pushover perfectly without effort, pouring all his concentration into suppressing his rage and maintaining composure. Thinking that the devils eager to devour him were successfully intoxicated by joy today made my blood boil more than it had during the day.
Beyond apology, I even felt pity for him, having suffered such humiliation because of me. Why did he endure it for the sake of some plan when he could have just smashed everything according to his temperament? If he had come back drenched in the smell of blood instead of stale cigarettes, I might have jumped up and welcomed him without hesitation.
I decided I should just wake up and face Chu Gi-oh. It felt wrong to secretly watch him, who spent so much money and heart for me, while pretending to be asleep. I intended to greet him and make it obvious that I knew where he had been and what he had done. I would boldly tell him that my intuition was as sharp as his, that he had suffered a lot until this hour enduring people more foul than cigarettes, and that he would undoubtedly achieve the desired conclusion tomorrow.
But it was then. He stopped touching me and suddenly began to sniff his own body. He panted like an excited gorilla and then spat out a curse, “Fucking hell.” The next moment, he jumped up from the bed and threw out a word.
“I’m gonna go wash up!”
No matter how you heard it, it Read on Read BL Novelswasn’t a tone used for someone sleeping. It was a tone delivered knowing exactly that I wasn’t asleep.
“The whole place smells like those fucking pieces of shit, so I can’t hug ya like this. Just stay like that for a bit. I’ll get the smell off and be right back!”
While I was flinching in surprise, he disappeared into the bathroom attached to the bedroom, his heels thumping.
He must have left the door wide open, as the sound of the water running and him showering was clearly audible. The intensity of it made it seem as if he wasn’t washing his body, but rather beating someone.
Chu Gi-oh, who dove into my body immediately after washing and had probably slept only an hour or two, looked so fine that it was hard to believe he had done such a thing. Without a hint of lingering fatigue, he snapped his eyes open and teased me, who had barely managed to wake up. While doing so, he said, ‘I moved my ass so much I’m starving to death.’
One might skip breakfast if they were tired, but he seemed to have no such habit because he didn’t feel fatigue in the first place. His face even had a glow as if he had slept deeply. The fatigue I saw in him yesterday morning must have been my imagination.
Now, facing him across the dining table, I realized that his skin was far too good. Even though he probably only used skin lotion, he looked like someone who had meticulously managed his skin. Comparing him to other men of the same age I knew, with a slight exaggeration, he felt like a young man. Even the faint beard stubble around his jaw was a point of style. The scar by his left eye also felt like a watch or a ring worn for decoration. If asked if that face was fierce, for now, I’d say well…, and if asked if he was handsome, the answer was of course he is, why even ask that?
…It seemed I had become quite accustomed to Chu Gi-oh. To think that I, who once trembled in fear, was now appreciating him piece by piece.
The spoon held in his large hand caught my eye. It looked so thin and small compared to his hand that it seemed it would snap in two if he gripped it with just a little force. Yet, it felt as if he were wielding a knife or a weapon rather than a spoon. It was probably because of his attitude toward food.
From the moment Chu Gi-oh sat at the table and held the utensils, he always acted combatively. He devoured his food like a servant who had woken up at dawn to bring in a load of wood from the mountain and fetch a full container of water as big as his own torso. Listening to the sound of the food being chewed by his strong jaw and swallowed down his throat, I felt that this is what appetite is, and a strange motivation to survive and not die surged within me. Along with that, something inside me would grow hot.
While he was a man who could plow a field instead of an ox, I was the one becoming haggard from taking it all. When I looked in the mirror while washing, my god, the dark circles had reached my knees. Moreover, I had bruises, and I couldn’t help but think I looked truly ugly. If the swelling hadn’t gone down, I would have looked even worse. And yet, he carried me around saying I was pretty. Chu Gi-oh’s eyes must be attached to his toes.
I thought I should sleep for an hour or two after sending Chu Gi-oh off to work. Because perhaps today, I might have to stay awake all night.
But it seemed I had been staring too openly.
“Somethin’ must be real lackin’. Seein’ as ya lookin’ at me like that.”
“…What? Ah, no.”
He stopped his utensils and stared at me. His grinning face was sly.
“Want me to flip the table and take a crack at ya? That’s Chu Gi-oh’s specialty too.”
“…”
I felt my face flushing. I bowed my head deeply and readjusted my grip on the utensils.
“…No. Please, finish your meal.”
I replied like the thugs and hurriedly moved my spoon, and I heard a faint chuckle. His rice bowl was already empty.
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