BB 106

I could tell just by the clumsy sound of the footsteps that it wasn’t Min-ho. Click. I carefully pressed the record button. The man’s voice, diving straight into the main point, was very coarse and laced with sensitivity.

“It’s been too hard lately. I keep seeing dead people… I can’t sleep unless I’m drunk, I just can’t.”

“Is that something you feel in your heart, or is it a physical manifestation?”

That last question sounded just like the priests, didn’t it? After spending nearly a month close to them, I’ve become reasonably good at mimicking them.

“It’s real. Really, they were alive…”

The man let out a trembling breath. Gyu-oh led the conversation with a gentle yet clear voice, just as the priests had done.

“Why does that weigh so heavily on your shoulders, brother?”

“It was a mistake. I had no intention of letting them die. I just meant to scare them. I really intended to call the police once the sun came up! Things were quiet for a while, but then rumors started circulating…”

“What kind of rumor moved your heart, brother?”

The man had probably done this kind of confession often. Seeing as he poured out the massive secret of killing someone without a shred of hesitation, even in a confessional.

“Rumors spread that the building owner signed a contract with another construction company… I only meant to scare him. It really wasn’t intentional!”

The man let out an agitated shout, followed by the sound of him muttering a prayer.

“Was the deceased someone precious to you?”

“…I don’t know. I don’t even know who they were. Their name, their age. They were just someone who did errands if I gave them some bread or ramen. That day, I just told them to rest there for a bit before leaving. But I didn’t know the weather would be that cold…”

The rambling continued.

“They simply accepted what you offered, brother.”

“That’s right, that’s right! I swear to heaven, there was no malice. I don’t know whose greed interfered, but it’s always the same ending. But they keep flickering before my eyes… it’s so hard, really.”

Occasionally, the sound of the chair shifting could be heard.

Perhaps the man had initially come here out of true faith to repent for his past wrongs. However, as time passed, his reflection seemed to have become a matter of inertia; no particular guilt or regret could be read. To him, it seemed enough to confess the wrong and repent, and what mattered most was that he was currently struggling, uncomfortable, and afraid.

“I’ve spent several days without a wink of sleep, praying a lot. This mistake—no, it was an accident caused by bad timing. I want to put down my guilt, my regret, now. I wish to cleanse my soul through prayer.”

He was truly vile. He commits every wrong imaginable and thinks he’s set just by leaning on faith to repent? What did God do to have to listen to the prayers of people like this? If he hadn’t done things worth repenting for in the first place, everyone would have been at peace.

“Prayer isn’t a license to sin, is it?”

“…Excuse me?”

“I mean, why did you do something that would make a ghost furious, brother?”

“Wh-what are you…”

The flustered man trailed off. Whether he was too bewildered or simply didn’t think to, he didn’t seem to consider bolting out of the seat. Gyu-oh pressed the record button again. Since he had captured enough necessary testimony, it was time to wrap this up.

“After killing someone like that, you just lie around sleeping; do you think the dead person can close their eyes peacefully when they’re that pissed off?”

“….”

“If it were you, could you sing a lullaby next to someone telling them to sleep well?”

After a hurried gasp, the sound of someone crashing out of the confessional echoed. Gyu-oh brought the phone, which had grown warm from being held, to his ear.

—Yes, Team leader. We are on standby.

“The rat is crawling out.”

—Oh… oh! He’s coming out.

“Grab him.”

Footsteps and the sound of wind tangled together, and soon someone began to scream. It was probably the guy who had been whimpering in the confessional just moments ago, saying, ‘The dead people keep flickering before my eyes.’

“I’ll head over by car.”

—Yes, sir.

He hung up after the prompt response. His steps were light as he left the once-cozy confessional. As expected, there was a reason people sought this place out. After making the sign of the cross—which he had learned from the priests and now had the hang of—he quietly exited the hallway.

The man was practically being shoved into a van parked on one side of the parking lot. It was lucky that no one was passing by; if someone had seen, they would have surely reported it to the police.

“We’ll move out immediately.”

“Oh, and you…”

Gyu-oh, who had pulled the man down by his collar, turned around and looked up at the cathedral. He felt a strange sense of lingering regret, as if he had grown fond of the place.

“Go say your goodbyes to the cathedral.”

“Huh? You’re not going, Team leader?”

“You punk, that’s originally the lackey’s job. You look too much like a gangster, so I, with my better impression, was the one going.”

“…Is that so?”

The guy scratched his short hair and tilted his head. He had the kind of look that would make someone jump in fright if they encountered him on a dark road. Though, of course, he was soft-hearted.

“Yeah. Go give a polite greeting and show some sincerity. So they can spend warmly until next winter.”

As he spoke and reached out his hand, the motorcycle keys with a tangerine keychain were immediately handed over. From behind, someone even brought and handed him a helmet and padding.

“Where are you going?”

Gyu-oh, who was just putting on his helmet and sliding his arms into the padding, stopped. He flipped up the face shield and stared at the large man with a blunt gaze.

“Are you a spy? What would you use my private life for?”

“Ah, I thought you were coming with us… I’m sorry!”

These guys think they’re on equal footing just because we’ve shared a few meals. If it were based on personality, he would have given them a harsh dressing down right here, but since seeing Cha Min-ho’s face was more urgent, he decided to postpone it.

“You bastard, you saved your life thanks to the Director. Say thank you.”

“I’m always grateful to Director Cha.”

“That’s right.”

He hummed a tune continuously, even while spouting words that would get him reported for workplace harassment if anyone heard. The husband of the union representative he had just captured would now take responsibility for the interference he’d caused, and work could proceed without further hindrance. Naturally, overtime would decrease, and there would be no need to be apart from Hyung like this.

“I’m going to give him some seriously deep pecks.”

Double what he had held back earlier. Clack. As soon as he lowered the face shield, he pulled the throttle. The destination was where Cha Min-ho, who had left with a light heart, was. The place where Won Gyu-oh belonged.

* * *

Thanks to the noise surrounding the commercial redevelopment project being somewhat settled, Min-ho and Gyu-oh got a day off. Min-ho, who in the past would have stubbornly gone to the office even on a day off, was now unable to even leave the bed.

Gyu-oh had tormented him all night, waking him up from his dozing to do it again at dawn. It wasn’t that he was simply trying to satisfy his own desires, but because he knew Hyung could only fall into a deep sleep if he was pushed to the limit like this. To make up for the sleep he’d missed, he had to sleep more diligently than others. There was no particular ulterior motive here.

“I should wake him up when the pizza arrives.”

Perhaps the effort infused with his sweat and semen had paid off; Hyung was still fast asleep even though the sun was high in the sky. Technically, the actual amount of time he’d spent sleeping wasn’t much, but regardless, he was likely getting proper deep sleep. Gyu-oh pulled the blanket up over Min-ho’s limp shoulder, which didn’t even twitch, and headed to the living room.

While cleaning up the traces of the sex that had lasted all night, his lower half stubbornly stiffened again without tact. So, he had gone out for a workout after a long time to sweat it out, washed up thoroughly, and returned. He finished ventilating and tidying the living room and waited for the pizza to arrive.

After ventilating for so long that the chilly winter wind seeped into every corner of the house, he sprayed some room spray. Min-ho was sensitive to scents, so a pleasant fragrance always had to be lingering. He placed the arriving pizza on the dining table and headed back to the bedroom.

A fragrant scent was spreading here as well, and because the curtains were drawn, the room was filled with a cozy darkness. As he stepped forward, killing his presence, the familiar scent of shampoo reached him faintly.

“Hyung.”

Perhaps it was too hot because of the thick blanket; he was lying face down, having pulled the blanket I’d covered him with down to below his waist. His cheeks seemed slightly flushed. Gyu-oh brushed a hand over his cheek and tidied his disheveled hair.

“Darling, are you going to sleep more? Hmm?”

Even when called by the embarrassing title, there was no response. Click. He turned on the bedside lamp to the dimmest setting and observed Min-ho a bit more.

His shoulders and nape were covered in marks that looked less like pecks and more like he’d been chewed on. The small of his back and the area around his shoulder blades were the same. He couldn’t even remember when he’d bitten him there. He slowly traced the hematomas with his fingertips. The fairly firm body flinched slightly following his touch. Swallowing a chuckle, he moistened his dry lips.

“Wake up. You have to eat.”

He needs to fill his stomach quickly and digest it so they can have another round. If it’s a honeymoon, they’re supposed to do it just by making eye contact. He didn’t say that last part out loud, as it was his own private plan.

“Gyu-oh is bored. Your lover is on the verge of dying of boredom.”

He pressed firmly on a mark on the nape and scratched it with his fingertip. The shoulder twitched, and the brow furrowed. If he had been awake, a look of disgust would have followed, but since he was still in a dream, he merely tossed and turned.

“Hey, Mr. Cha Min-ho.”

The touch that had been poking him became a bit more daring. It moved below the waist covered by the blanket and firmly gripped the buttocks that bore red handprints.

“Min-ho-yaaa.”

He slid his fingers smoothly between the groin. He leaned in close, intending to chew on the earlobe as well. At that moment, Min-ho snapped his head up.

“Hey!”

“Ah!”

Thump. Gyu-oh, who had slammed his forehead into the back of Min-ho’s head, let out a short scream. It was a pain sharp enough to instantly kill the slight reaction he was having below.

Unlike Gyu-oh, who groaned with exaggerated pain, Min-ho didn’t even say it hurt, nor did he touch the spot where they collided. He simply quickly pulled up the blanket that had been dragged down to his thighs.

“Hyung, is my head cracked? Look.”

“It doesn’t hurt.”

Leaving his tingling forehead behind, Gyu-oh fiddled with the back of Min-ho’s head. It felt as if heat was pooling there. Gyu-oh made a fuss, rummaging through the hair and blowing on it—hoo, hoo. The hand pushing him away was very firm.

“I’m the one who hurts, Hyuuung.”

He drooped the corners of his eyes, pretending to be as pitiful as possible.

“…Let me see.”

The meticulous touch groping his forehead felt good. Pain or not, he felt as if he could break a brick with his forehead if he could receive this touch.

“It’s hot, right? My dick completely died because I’m in so much pain.”

Min-ho, rubbing the tingling forehead with his thumb, slowly opened his lips.

“Maybe your head isn’t cracked enough? Let’s hit it one more time.”

“…I can do the ‘hitting’ part, but does it have to be the head?”

“If you just stay still, you’ll do fine, Gyu-oh.”

Slap. Gyu-oh awkwardly pulled back at the light blow to his forehead.