11.1 Clear Skies, Hot Sunlight, and a Bad Encounter
The next day. Around 2 PM, after Chu Gi-oh had left for work, a man in his 50s visited the house. The man brought a large frame that was wider than it was tall, stating that the CEO of the house had ordered him to mount it on the living room wall.
The man unwrapped the thick layers of newspaper. Since it was lying face down, the wooden back was visible first. The moment he wiped the back with a dry towel and flipped it over, I was startled by the words written on it. At the top was the word ‘Motto,’ and below it, the phrase ‘I am you, you are me’ was written in a large, formal Gungseo font. In the bottom right corner, our two names were written smaller, stamped with a bright red seal that appeared to be Chu Gi-oh’s.
The man looked at me, seeing my bewildered expression, and laughed.
“The CEO must be a real eccentric, eh? It ain’t common to hang a motto like this on a wall. I’ve seen plenty of ‘Diligence and Sincerity’ or ‘Frugality and Thrift,’ but this…”
“Ah, yes…”
“I’d love to see what kind of person he is in the flesh. Is he not home right now?”
“Haha, yes. He’s a very busy man…”
He probably wondered what kind of motto this was. It was nothing more than a play on words. Even to me, it seemed that way. The only ‘motto’ I knew was the Army Service Motto, which perhaps made this one seem even more like a joke. The Service Motto, starting with ‘Our Resolve. We, for the state and the people—’ was so grand from the very first line. In contrast, this was…
In an instant, I snapped back to my senses. I shook my head vigorously. I wondered why a motto necessarily had unauthorized copyto be something special. If the person who carves it into their heart considers it important, it becomes important; if they [Read on Read BL Novels]consider it special, it becomes special. If you just scoff at it, it’s just a piece of junk. In unauthorized copyother words, only the hearts of Chu Gi-oh and I—who would henceforth live by the words ‘I am you, you are me’—mattered. The opinions of others didn’t need to be considered one bit.
A moment later, the frame was hung in a spot that was directly visible from the sofa. I murmured quietly behind the man as he tidied up the area.
“…Still, it’s cool. I am you. You are me.”
Chu Gi-oh is Woo Min-jo. Woo Min-jo is Chu Gi-oh.
As I thought this, feeling inexplicably shy, the man glanced at me.
“Well, yeah. Looking at it again, it’s quite philosophical and nice. It means you’re one in heart and soul, right? That you and he are of one mind.”
“Y-yes. One heart. One mind.”
A complete union.
This must have been another gift from Chu Gi-oh for me. Since I received it, wouldn’t it be polite to let him know I appreciated it? After the man left, I grabbed my phone from the room and took a photo of the frame.
[I hung it up well.
It looks quite impressive.]
After typing that, I attached the photo and sent a text to Chu Gi-oh. A reply came not long after, but it didn’t mention the frame at all; it only said something else.
[Let’s eat out for dinner tonight.
Get ready by 7, and I’ll come pick you up.]
“…What?”
The moment I read the text, my heart suddenly began to race. I wondered if Chu Gi-oh really sent it. For some reason, he wasn’t using his dialect. In the past, he had always used his dialect even in text messages. Was he doing this on purpose? As part of some new proposal?
Then, a suspicion flared up that it might not be him. Could he have been too busy and instructed a subordinate to send the text? It wouldn’t be those hulking guys since they’d write exactly how they speak, but it could have been one of the head office employees I saw back then. It would be natural for them to use standard speech, and they might have sent it from their own phone and spoofed the sender’s number.
Even if it was a trivial detail, I wanted to be sure. After hesitating for a bit, I sent a text: [Is this really the CEO?] But in less than a second, my phone rang.
“H-hello?”
“Ah, no. I sent it by mistake…”
Silence fell. It felt like he was guessing why I had sent such a text. I hurriedly blurted out whatever came to mind.
“U-um, I’ll be ready by 7. Should I wear shorts? The yellow ones?”
“Um, you are coming to pick me up, right…?”
Then, the silence vanished instantly, and I heard him laughing on the other end.
“N-no. I was just curious…”
He gave another short laugh. Then, his voice sounded soft as he said, ‘I’ll come. I have to come. It’s you, after all.’
“…Ah, okay…”
‘Then I’ll see ya later. Hanging up now.’ [Read on Read BL Novels]I looked down at the phone after the call ended and read the text he sent again.
[Let’s eat out for dinner tonight.
Get ready by 7, and I’ll come pick you up.]
For some reason, I felt like I had seen a different side of Chu Gi-oh. A Chu Gi-oh who spoke Seoul dialect instead of satoori.
Instead of ‘Did ya eat?’ it was ‘Did you eat?’
Instead of ‘Ya alright?’ it was ‘Are you okay?’
Instead of ‘Come here, I’ll hold ya,’ it was ‘Come here. I’ll hold you.’
Instead of ‘I like ya a lot, I cherish ya heaps,’ it was ‘I like you a lot. I really cherish you.’
Instead of ‘I’m livin’ with ya in my heart!’ it was ‘I live with you in my heart!’
Instead of ‘Min-jjo-ya,’ it was ‘Min-jo-ya.’
“….”
The moment I imagined it, I felt a throb below my navel. I raised my hand and slapped my own cheek. I cursed myself for being a lunatic, a freak. I blamed Chu Gi-oh for the way I was overthinking this. Why didn’t he just send the text in his usual dialect? Why suddenly…
I shook my head vigorously and stepped away from the frame. Suddenly, I looked down and realized that, without noticing, I had been scratching the area around my solar plexus again.
There was still plenty of time before Chu Gi-oh was supposed to pick me up, but since I had nothing to do, I decided to wash up. The bedroom he had prepared for me had an attached bathroom, so I could shower comfortably. After washing up, I rolled around in the yellow blankets wearing only underwear, and then started getting ready shortly after 6.
Chu Gi-oh said he wouldn’t force me, but since he was a man who had readily given me a room in his own house, I felt like I wanted to give him something in return. The embarrassment would only be temporary.
I pulled out and put on the yellow shorts he liked. Fortunately, they weren’t as short as the ones I wore at the coffee shop, so it was less embarrassing. Though it was only a difference of a few centimeters.
I considered wearing a white t-shirt, but since it was a date, I thought it would be better to look a bit more put-together, so I decided on black. The contrast would make the yellow shorts stand out more. I worried about what I’d do if there wasn’t a black shirt, but fortunately, there were two. No matter how I looked at it, the person who put the clothes there was clearly considering my feelings.
After putting on socks, I looked in the mirror attached to the wardrobe. A guy who looked decent enough was standing there. If only I were a bit taller… I felt a sense of regret, but height wasn’t the only thing lacking. My scrawny build was also a problem.
I wasn’t exactly skin and bones, but I’d never be the kind of guy to elicit a “wow” even in my wildest dreams. Unfortunately, I had a constitution that didn’t build muscle easily, so even in the army—where everyone usually bulked [unauthorized copy]up—I stayed this way until discharge. From the time I became [Read on Read BL Novels]a corporal, I tried working out morning and night, but all I got was muscle pain. I had thought that if I were muscular, maybe my small dick wouldn’t look so pathetic. Truly… nothing in my life ever went my visit our siteway. And yet, such a guy had met one man, cleared all his debts in one go, and was now living a lazy life without working. Was it true that those destined to eat a man’s cock live long lives?
Just as Kang Moon-soo crossed my mind, the phone I had tossed on the bed began to ring. I rushed over to check, and it was Chu Gi-oh. As soon as I answered with a “Hello?”, a familiar voice spoke.
At the words ‘already in front,’ I checked the clock on the wall. There were still more than 30 minutes left until 7. Did he hurry to come to me?
“You’re very early.”
“No, I’m all done. I’ll come out right now.”
As I said that and was about to hang up, he spoke urgently from the other end.
“Yes!”
A spirited answer escaped me without thinking. I heard him chuckle.
Clutching the phone tightly, I practically ran to the entrance and put on my sneakers. I opened the door that connected to the garage rather than the one leading to the yard. I saw a large car driving toward me.
Before I could even open the door, the rear seat door opened. Chu Gi-oh had opened it from the inside. He smiled brightly and pulled me in. He immediately kissed me. While accepting it, I glanced toward the driver’s seat. Fortunately, Jang-bae stolen contentwas in the driver’s seat today. That Jang-bae, who didn’t give a fuck no matter how much we sucked and licked each other in the back.
After finishing the taste-test of my lips, Chu Gi-oh sat me close against him and slowly scanned my body. His gaze lingered for a long time on my thighs, which were exposed as the shorts rode up when I sat. I could see a smile forming on his lips.
“You crazy thing, it was worth rushing over here.”
Soon, a large hand landed on my thigh. His fingertips slowly swept up from my knee to the inside of my groin. As I flinched at the ticklish yet rough sensation, he lifted his gaze to look at me.
Then, he abruptly held out his right cheek. Thinking he wanted a kiss, I started moving my lips, but a different request came.
“Give me one slap.”
“Pardon…?”
“Hurry up.”
“….”
He was clearly playing a prank, making me wonder if I was dreaming or awake. However, his eyes were incredibly serious. He pushed his right cheek further [stolen content]toward me as if urging me. “Hurry!”
“T-then, just a light one…”
As I lightly touched his cheek, just as I had on the day of the company dinner, he gave a wide grin. Similarly, the same words as back then reached my ears.
“Yeees. I like you a lot too. I love you.”
In an instant, I whipped my head toward the window without realizing it. Unable to stay still, I rubbed my thigh with my palm. I kept wanting to scratch my solar plexus.
The place he took me to was a restaurant called ‘Seolhwa.’ It was a place that sold Hanwoo beef, and the atmosphere was more luxurious than the ‘Seongsim Hall’ we had visited before.
Passing through the open hall, we entered a private room where we could eat quietly and sat facing each other at the table. Since he had made a reservation, the table was already set.
Because it was so quiet for a restaurant, it felt somewhat awkward. I rubbed the back of my neck while listening to the sound of the meat sizzling on the grill. Just then, a waiter brought a bottle of soju.
Chu Gi-oh, taking the bottle, twisted open the cap and said,
“Let’s just have half a bottle each, then go to a second place and drink a lot.”
“A second place… you’re going to one?”
“Of course.”
He poured drink into my glass, looking at me as if I were asking something obvious.
“I’m a man with weekends too. Now that I’ve got a lover, I gotta enjoy the things I can enjoy.”
“Ah…”
“What’s with the ‘ah’. You’re the one who’s a novice.”
“…Haha.”
I responded to the joke with an awkward laugh. I wondered if he knew that he sounded like such an old man at times like that.
“Eat a lot. You gotta eat plenty to play hard later.”
By ‘play hard,’ he was likely referring to ‘that act’ rather than a second location.
“Shall we clink glasses?”
“Yes.”
As I held out my glass, he also held his out and recited a toast.
“Always be healthy. And while doing that, like me a lot too.”
“…Yes. You too, CEO…”
“Yeees.”
After clinking glasses, I swallowed the alcohol. I picked up a piece of rib meat he had already placed on my side plate and chewed it. It melted in my mouth; the taste was incredible. Naturally, expensive things should be eaten without regard for appearances when you have the chance. So, I ate everything he gave me and helped myself as well.
And so, I ate the meat, half a bottle of soju, and rice with soybean [visit our site]paste stew. The alcohol kicked in, making me feel good, and my stomach was full. When the staff removed the heat, the warmth vanished instantly. Just as a coolness washed over me, I suddenly thought of the text I had received during the day.
Pulling out my phone under the table, I looked at him as he wiped his hands with a wet towel. If I asked why he sent it like that, would he give me a truthful answer?
“Stop overthinking and just say what you want to say.”
Chu Gi-oh spoke as he tossed the wet towel down. Apparently, I had a habit of staring at the other person while thinking. Chu Gi-oh looked at me, grinned, and gestured with his chin as if to say ‘hurry up and ask.’
“It’s just… you sent a text earlier. ‘Let’s eat out,’ ‘Get ready…’ and ‘I’ll come pick you up’… like that…”
“And?”
“You don’t usually use those words.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“I mean… ‘Let’s go eat.’ ‘When you’re all ready… I’ll come pick ya up.’ Like, in satoori…”
“Did ya hate it?”
“A-ah, no. It’s not that, but since you suddenly did it… I wondered if something was going on…”
At my words, he chuckled.
“What ‘something’. I met someone during the day, and that brat spoke just like a news anchor. I guess I got influenced while talking, and it just came out that way.”
“….”
I was so speechless that I could only stare at him. Since when do texts just ‘come out’ on their own? Then, he leaned toward me with a grin. He whispered low.
“Why. Did it turn you on? Want me to do it right in front of you?”
“….”
My insides grew hot, as if he had caught me in the thoughts I’d had alone during the day. I hurriedly averted my gaze and picked up my water glass. When I realized it was empty, I pulled the water bottle toward me and hurriedly poured some. At my utterly awkward behavior, he straightened his body and laughed.
“Half a bottle ain’t enough, eh? Right?”
After mentioning that half a bottle wasn’t enough, it seemed he had intended to get me drunk from the start. The second place we went to was ‘Renaissance’ in the basement of the Grand Hotel. Indeed, half a bottle would have been far too little to act as aggressively as he had during the company dinner.
As we entered a room with dim lighting, we saw a set table. Chu Gi-oh led me to the seat of honor. After a while, a waiter brought out a 30-year-old liquor, an ice bucket, and a fruit platter. This was my first time in such a setting, so I felt awkward, but Chu Gi-oh was likely someone who had been to all sorts of entertainment venues. Everything about him was indifferent, except for the way he looked at me.
The waiter, perhaps a novice, couldn’t manage his expression when he saw me hugged tightly in Chu Gi-oh’s arms. Since this was a place for playing with women, not a host bar, it was natural for him to react that way to a man being held. Fortunately, Chu Gi-oh was so preoccupied with me that he didn’t care one bit about the waiter’s wide-eyed expression. Otherwise, he might have picked a fight, asking, ‘Why’s your face like that?’
“Please have a pleasant time.”
As the waiter bowed and prepared to leave, Chu Gi-oh called him. Telling him to ‘come closer,’ he pulled a 100,000 won check from his wallet and handed it over. The waiter’s eyes grew even wider than before, and he bowed so deeply he almost touched the floor.
“Thank you, CEO!”
That sight wasn’t unfamiliar. I had times like that too. No, until just a few weeks ago, I had been living my life groveling like that. I had been that way in front of Chu Gi-oh, too.
“Let’s have the first glass neat.”
Having already poured the liquor into straight glasses, he handed one to me. I received it politely with both hands and, out of habit, tried to turn my face away to drink. Then, Chu Gi-oh [Read on Read BL Novels]said displeasedly, “Where ya lookin’?”
“Look into my eyes and drink.”
“A… yes.”
Since it was my first time having such expensive liquor, I tried not to spill a single drop, but ugh, the alcohol content was so high it wasn’t easy. While I barely managed to drink it in three sips, Chu Gi-oh downed his in one gulp. Without even flinching, he waited for me to finish, then said, “Gotta eat some appetizers,” and lunged forward. He licked, sucked, and rubbed every corner of my mouth where the alcohol had just passed through. After a long while, he finally pulled away and spoke in a voice that sounded like he was dying to do it.
“I think I’m already drunk. Fuck, I’m gonna cum.”
To tell him to calm down, I picked up a cherry tomato and put it in his mouth.
“Eat this. This is the appetizer.”
Chu Gi-oh chuckled and readily ate it.
He said ‘let’s have the first glass neat,’ but the next ones were the same. After drinking four glasses straight, he suddenly took on a serious expression and stared intently at me. Having drunk strong liquor four times in a row, the intoxication was hitting me hard. Instead of fruit, I took a cube of ice from the bucket and put it in my mouth, chewing it. I was crunching the ice loudly when, at some point, my mouth became empty. Through the kiss, the ice had all transferred from my mouth to Chu Gi-oh’s.
Chu Gi-oh, who had stolen all my ice, grinned at me and said,
“Sing me a song.”
“Ugh, no.”
The refusal came out of my mouth instantly. It was a word spat out by my drunken tongue, not my will. Chu Gi-oh immediately frowned.
“Sing it!”
“I don’t want to.”
“Woo Min-jo!”
“I’m really bad at singing. Please make me do something else. I’ll do anything except sing.”
“….”
As he glared at me as if he were angry, I drove the point home once more.
“I’m sorry, but looking at me like that won’t help. No means no.”
“Even if I say it’s a wish, Chu Gi-oh’s wish?”
“Even if it’s a… wish, I can’t. No means no.”
“….”
He breathed heavily, sounding as if he were huffing in frustration.
“How can you be so heartless? I’d rather you hit me or curse at me. Don’t make me cry over something like this. Huh?”
I admitted to myself that I was being heartless. I gently stroked his thigh to soothe him.
“It’s not that I’m trying to be heartless, or that I don’t want to sing. It’s just that I’m such a terrible singer that I’m embarrassed to let anyone hear me. You might lose all affection for me after hearing me sing; would you really be okay with that?”
I… want to show only my best side to the CEO. Because I want to be with you for a long time…
The moment I finished my sentence, he frowned deeply. “…Fuck.” He looked as if he were gritting his teeth.
“Fine. What’s the point of forcing someone who says they hate it.”
“I said it’s because I’m tone-deaf, not because I hate it.”
“Fuck, it’s all the same!”
“…It’s not all the same.”
Actually, I just didn’t want to do it. I figured I could sing roughly as well as anyone else. However, Chu Gi-oh stopped glaring at me and suddenly began rubbing his face vigorously with his hands. Then, he pressed the bell attached to the side of the table.
A waiter, who seemed to have been waiting right outside the door, rushed in instantly. It was the same waiter who had taken a tip earlier.
“Did you call, CEO!”
“Go call Cheol-jung for me.”
“Ah, you mean Mr. Hwang Cheol-jung?”
“Yeah, that fucking Hwang Cheol-jung.”
Hwang Cheol-jung? The moment I thought the name sounded familiar, a man who had introduced himself as a human wiretap at Kim Jeong-suk’s house flashed through my mind. He was practically the person who had saved me from Kang Moon-soo.
“Yes, CEO. Please wait a moment.”
The waiter bowed subserviently and stepped outside after Chu Gi-oh’s irritated response. In less than a minute, Hwang Cheol-jung opened the door and walked in.
“Yes, Hyung. You called?”
As soon as he entered, Hwang Cheol-jung approached the table and bowed. Today, he wasn’t wearing casual clothes, but rather professional attire—a sharp-looking suit. Just changing his clothes made him seem like a different person. Though, in reality, he had just gone from a scary detective to a scary Kkakdugi.
To Hwang Cheol-jung, who remained bowed and waiting, Chu Gi-oh spoke as if it were a routine occurrence.
“Sing a song before you go.”
“A song? If you just pick the track, I’ll sing it well enough to rival a professional.”
It seemed he was going to make Hwang Cheol-jung do it instead of forcing me. I thought he would be stubborn until the end, so this was a bit unexpected. In this regard, Chu Gi-oh wasn’t like an old fogey; he was an open-minded person. It was quite cool.
Chu Gi-oh turned his head to look at me. Smoothing out his frown, he smiled warmly and pointed at Hwang Cheol-jung with his chin.
“Now that we’ve got a singer, tell him if there’s a song you know. I won’t make you do it.”
“Ah, one I know?”
“Yeah, one you know. Just tell him the title and this guy will sing it. He looks ignorant as hell, but his singing skills are top-notch. He’s a renowned singer around here. What was it—the high notes—? Cheol-jung, what did you say your nickname was?”
Hwang Cheol-jung answered promptly to Chu Gi-oh’s question.
“Yes, Hyung. I’m the High-Note Terminator. The Terminator. I have another one too, which is ‘Mugwang Rocker.’ You can just assume I’ve conquered the rock scene here in Mugwang.”
Hwang Cheol-jung’s confident attitude almost made me burst into laughter. The High-Note Terminator and Mugwang Rocker. I wondered how great his singing skills had to be to earn such nicknames. I tried to [visit our site]imagine Hwang Cheol-jung [unauthorized copy]holding a microphone and singing, but I couldn’t picture it at all. Only a funny image of him humming a [stolen content]tune while holding a microphone that looked ridiculously small compared to his body came to mind.
No matter how drunk I was, I knew my manners. I quickly bit my lip to stifle the laughter. Laughing here would be no different from mocking him. To suppress the amusement, I grabbed whatever glass was closest and brought it to my lips. Something bitter and strong entered my mouth. It was the drink Chu Gi-oh had poured.
As I swallowed the alcohol and hissed to myself, Chu Gi-oh gently rubbed my back.
“You heard the nicknames, right? You definitely won’t be disappointed. I guarantee it.”
“Ah, yes….”
“Now, please pick a song. What should he sing?”
“Let me think for a moment….”
No song came to mind immediately. My life had been so harsh; where would I have the luxury to listen to music? When I took too long to answer, he patted my back soothingly and spoke.
“Is there a song you want to dedicate to me? Anything that comes to mind is fine. Pop, children’s songs, or even folk songs. Just throw anything at him and he’ll handle it. Don’t feel pressured, just tell me comfortably.”
“Ah, that one!”
“That one?”
A song suddenly flashed through my mind. Back in school, I had a desk mate who was obsessed with Kim Jong-seo, and because he sang it every break, I had naturally memorized it.
“What is it?”
“Um, ‘Beautiful Constraint.’”
“….”
I didn’t know why he flinched.
“Beautiful Constraint?”
“Constraint. Constraint.”
“….”
Staring intently at me, he blinked a few times before looking at Hwang Cheol-jung.
“Do you know this song?”
“Of course, Hyung. That’s my signature song. The melody and lyrics are so great that I’ve had it memorized since it first came out.”
Following those words, Hwang Cheol-jung gave me a thumbs-up.
“Wow, our boss! Your taste in songs is as top-notch as your looks! Kyah, isn’t that the kind of song that really moves a man’s heart!”
Chu Gi-oh let out a small chuckle at Hwang Cheol-jung’s words and gestured for him to start. Hwang Cheol-jung grabbed the booklet from the edge of the sofa and quickly found the song. A number was pressed, and soon the intro began to play. Simultaneously, Chu Gi-oh pulled me into an embrace. The expression he wore as he looked at me was unusual.
“So, you mean you wanted to sing that for me?”
“…Well, yes.”
“In other words, you think of our relationship [unauthorized copy]right now just like the title visit our siteof that song. Right?”
“…Well, I guess so. Yes.”
“Fuck….”
I almost told him the truth—that I didn’t mean it and it just popped into my head—but I decided against it. I figured I’d just let him misunderstand and be as happy as he wanted.
“Listen to the lyrics. They’re even better.”
Whether it was just the words or the thought, Chu Gi-oh breathed heavily. Throughout the intro, he held my shoulder tightly.
“Then I’m going to concentrate for a bit. Imagining that you’re the one singing.”
Hwang Cheol-jung’s singing skills were truly immense. He sang well enough to rival a professional. I actually felt bad that he was living the life of a Kkakdugi with such talent. Did Chu Gi-oh pay him a lot? As I thought that, I realized his looks weren’t suited for being a singer. Hwang Cheol-jung’s image was clearly that of a gangster, or a terrifying detective. He was far too lacking to sway the hearts of women. However, since his voice was tear-inducingly good, perhaps he could have worked as a faceless singer.
After finishing the song, Hwang Cheol-jung held the microphone with both hands and bowed. Through the fading music, the sound of heavy breathing could be heard. Finding it strange, I looked beside me and saw that Chu Gi-oh was extremely aroused. He poured a glass of liquor and gulped it down. Setting the glass down hard, he spoke to Hwang Cheol-jung in a gritty voice.
“Get out for a moment.”
As soon as Hwang Cheol-jung left and the door closed, my body collapsed onto the sofa. Chu Gi-oh, pinning me down from above, began to crave me ravenously, like a starving man. A tongue tasting of strong liquor filled my mouth. Then again, the title alone was enough to make Chu Gi-oh lose his mind. Every time Hwang Cheol-jung recited the love-filled lyrics, it must have felt like a bombardment to him.
Kisses rained down on me until I was breathless. His lower body, pressing against my crotch, was becoming hard. Perhaps he was out of breath too, as he pulled his lips away and panted above me.
“Quickly, huff, say you can’t live without Chu Gi-oh! Hurry!”
Good grief, the old man was starting again.
“I can’t, huff, live without Chu Gi-oh.”
My tongue was starting to slip due to the alcohol. My words came out in a dialect, just like his. No, it was a dialect. When I imitated him, he made me say something else.
“I can’t do without Chu Gi-oh! I’ll die!”
“I can’t do without Chu Gi-oh. I’ll die.”
“Me too! Fuck, me too, Min-jo!”
“Me too. Fuck, me too, Min-jo.”
“Hey, that last part was my line!”
“Hehe, hey, that last part was my lineee.”
I had imitated the last part knowing full well. At my attitude, he stopped talking and glared at me as if he were going to devour me. He abruptly spat out, “You fucking bitch.” No matter how drunk I was, I couldn’t call him a “fucking bastard” in return, so I just laughed.
I received him for a long time as he lunged at me again. He had been thrusting his hips between my legs as if we were having sex, when he suddenly bolted upright. He shook his head violently from side to side.
“Why, what’s wrong?”
I was startled, wondering if he had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage because he was too happy or too excited. I quickly sat up, grabbed his face with both hands, and asked.
“Are you dizzy? Can you see in front of you?”
“It’s not that. Phew.”
He cut off his words and let out a long breath. He removed my hands from his face and sat up straight in his seat.
“I’ve received a greeting of love, so as the groom, I should give a response song. I’m not an animal; I should do what needs to be done before I push back. Wait, I’ll make you go crazy too.”
Saying that, he put ice in his mouth and crunched it, just as I had done. Then, he spat the crushed ice onto the floor. I thought, this old man is really something, but the thought vanished the moment a glass of liquor was placed in front of me.
“Drink.”
“I-I’m already drunk.”
“I know. I know, so just drink.”
When I made a distressed face, he brought the glass to my lips himself. “Aren’t you going to open up?” I could see his lips growling behind the glass.
As I opened my mouth, the alcohol flowed in. The moment I swallowed it all, he popped a piece of ice into my mouth. Then, he grinned.
“Ready?”
Chu Gi-oh poured liquor into the glass I had used, downed it in one shot, and pressed the bell again. Not a waiter, but Hwang Cheol-jung entered. To Hwang Cheol-jung, who stood there saying, “Yes, Hyung,” Chu Gi-oh wiped the smile off his face and spoke solemnly.
“From now on, you are this Chu Gi-oh.”
“Yes. I shall think of it as such.”
“Imagine you are me and give us a soulful rendition of ‘Invitation to Daily Life.’”
In an instant, my body flinched involuntarily. It was the moment I personally understood why he had flinched earlier. Hwang Cheol-jung grabbed the microphone, bowed, and spoke.
“Then this Hwang Cheol-jung will do his best to possess the spirit of the Big Boss. It is an infinite honor to be invited to this place, Hyung.”
The intro began to play slowly. Suddenly, Hwang Cheol-jung knelt and stretched out one hand toward me.
“Darling.”
For a moment, my eyes nearly popped out. I felt like I had sobered up instantly. ‘Darling’?
Hwang Cheol-jung continued to look straight at me, reciting as if in a monologue, as if he truly had become Chu Gi-oh.
“If it is not greed… would it be alright if, starting today, I fill the daily life that is ‘me’ with the event that is ‘you’?”
“….”
“For a lifetime, forever, until the moment my life ends, I want to dig into only one event—the event that is you….”
“…Ugh.”
I covered my mouth. It was appalling. I thought those kinds of lines had ended in the late 90s, but to think they were still alive and breathing.
Chu Gi-oh let out a short, habitual laugh and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “You fucker. That line is killer.” He then pulled my hand away from my mouth.
I couldn’t handle Hwang Cheol-jung, who was now even wearing sunglasses, so I lowered my head. I wanted to blurt out that young people these days don’t confess their love like this, and that everyone would run away if they did. But there was another problem. That person was not Chu Gi-oh. No matter how hard I tried to think positively, the face was too different for that thought to even occur.
“Hey! Look at Chu Gi-oh, where are you looking?”
As I lowered my head, a scolding flew in from beside me, and my head was forced upright. To prevent me from looking down, he pressed his forehead against mine. His voice whispered in my ear.
“Since you didn’t call for me today, I’m not calling for you today either. Don’t feel sad. Got it?”
I almost told him I was so grateful he didn’t. I didn’t feel he was being narrow-minded in the slightest. At his words, “So make sure to call for me next time. Then I’ll do it for you,” I could barely manage to answer, “I will.”
Slowly, Hwang Cheol-jung’s voice drifted over the accompaniment. Contrary to my fears, the combination of a masterpiece and superior singing skills automatically drew me in. By the middle of the song, Hwang Cheol-jung really felt like Chu Gi-oh, and he even looked cool. He said he’d make me go crazy, and indeed, my emotions were shifting moment by moment as if I’d been drugged.
Lost in the song, it was over before I knew it. I found myself clapping for Hwang Cheol-jung as he gave his closing greeting, saying, “Thank you.” I felt once again that the power of alcohol was truly strong. It was then that I felt a hot gaze, as if it would melt my skin, from beside me. When I turned, Chu Gi-oh was looking at me with smoldering eyes.
He pressed close to me as if he were about to pounce. In the corner of my vision, I saw the silhouette of Hwang Cheol-jung exiting on his own.
“Will you come to me?”
“…CEO.”
“Come to me. Please come to me.”
“….”
He was a man with a frustrating side. I was already here, yet he kept asking me to come to him.
“Come to me, please. Huh?”
“I’m already here…. I’ve been here for a long time.”
At my words, Chu Gi-oh’s gaze deepened as if he were moved. He nodded as if he were swallowing hot coals.
“I… have no regrets even if I die right now.”
“….”
In his gaze, it felt as if our twilight years were already captured. Ten, twenty, thirty years. The days we would spend together in the future seemed to be etched into his pupils as if they were days already passed. Peaceful and calm, without any great waves…. It might have been the alcohol, but there was definitely something there that made my heart swell. My emotions were shaken to a frightening degree.
Impulsively, I kissed him. Naturally, Chu Gi-oh flinched. But the hesitation lasted Read on Read BL Novelsonly a split second. Instead, he pounced on me [stolen content]and pulled me up onto his thighs. He gripped my pelvis and rubbed me roughly against his genitals.
“If I’d known today would be like this, I would’ve prepared a ring! Later, huff, I’ll definitely put something on your finger as big as my balls! Really! Fuck, really!”
A ring as big as a ball. To wear something like that, my finger would have to be as thick as Chu Gi-oh’s cock. The thought made me burst out laughing. As I giggled, he looked at me as if wondering why I was laughing so randomly. Wiping the smile from my lips with my hand, I quickly made an excuse.
“I-I laughed because I’m happy.”
“Wow, fuck, does that sound like a lie?”
“No… I said I’m happy.”
“Do you think I wouldn’t do something like that for you?”
“No! I said I’m happy….”
He seemed upset that I had treated his serious proposal lightly by laughing. He let out a deep sigh and suddenly snatched my left hand.
“I’m sorry I didn’t prepare it in advance. I’ll apologize [unauthorized copy]a hundred, a thousand times, so for now, just accept the groom’s heart. [Read on Read BL Novels]Look, [Read on Read BL Novels]the real deal. This is something you can’t buy with money.”
Then, he began to do something strange. He used his thumb and index finger to slide firmly down my ring finger. I only realized what that meant once his fingers reached the base of my ring finger. He had placed an imaginary ring on me. He had offered me his heart—the real deal that money couldn’t buy—by likening it to a ring.
“Next time, I’ll come properly prepared. So you won’t feel sad, for sure.”
“….”
“I don’t say things twice. If I say I’ll kill, I kill; if I say I’ll save, I save. You understand?”
“….”
It was cringeworthy, yet my heart was racing so fast I couldn’t look at him properly. As I turned my head to avoid his gaze, he caught me. A strong force was applied by the fingers gripping the base of my ring finger.
“Don’t avoid it. You have to accept it.”
“….”
Instead of answering, I wrapped my arms around his neck. At the same time, I swayed my hips.
“Hng, fuck.”
As I rubbed my lips against his neck where I could feel his pulse, he pulled my hair back and kissed me roughly. His tongue entered and ransacked my insides as if we were fighting. Ah, fuck…. It felt good. I felt like I could die from how good it was.
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