BB 5

“Whew.”

Quietly catching his breath, he put his glasses back on and focused on the laptop. The two, who had been arguing for a while about the incident that had occurred unexpectedly last night, seemed to have finally found a compromise. After exchanging opinions quite seriously, they were finally showing some interest in work.

“Did you get the data? Some guys from Seong-tak are involved.”

Seong-tak was where the three of them had first started in this line of work. Publicly, it was a fairly large construction company, but it was far lower in quality than where they were now. It was a place that excelled more in illegal methods than in proper business.

After the Chairman died, a group led by his son established a new company, and Min-ho and Mu-gyeong had put in a lot of effort at that time. Gyu-oh, who had followed them, was no different.

Now they had established themselves under the name ‘Woowon’ and were running smoothly. However, the thought of facing former colleagues with whom they had a bad breakup left a bitter taste in his mouth. At Mu-gyeong’s question, Min-ho gathered the documents and moved toward the sofa.

“……Yeah, I saw the list.”

Actually, it wasn’t so much about old ties as it was… likely because he had spent nights with a few of those guys.

Usually, his rule was to erase both the name and the face from his mind after sleeping with someone once. He would block the contact in his phone and change the name simultaneously. If he kept seeking the same partner, he might unconsciously become dependent. He was lonely, but he didn’t want to become weak.

But occasionally, there were unintended reunions like this. He probably wouldn’t have to face them directly anyway. He brushed aside the lingering discomfort and flipped through the documents.

“From Seong-tak? Can’t we just ram into them and be done with it?”

“It’s ambiguous because those bastards aren’t the ones stepping forward. They’re using a cult as a front.”

The moment he heard the word “cult,” Gyu-oh’s face crumpled instantly. His posture became slanted, and his attitude turned hostile.

“……Do cultists never die?”

His muttered words were unusually cynical. Min-ho stared at the face that held no trace of a smile for a moment before looking away.

“Dealing with a cult never ends well.”

The bastards were hiding behind a cult church that was illegally occupying land to demand higher redevelopment compensation. If anyone contacted or threatened the believers, the bastards would swarm out and suppress them with force.

Because the men who had rolled around in those districts were acting as a substantial backer, starting the redevelopment must not have been easy. In the end, the troublesome matter had circled back and finally reached them.

“We have to proceed with as little risk as possible. We’re preparing a big project soon, and we can’t have this interfering.”

Everyone knew that to get started, it was far better to target the backers rather than the cult church. However, since they were dealing with people they had once eaten with, a foolproof method was necessary.

While Min-ho and Mu-gyeong sought a solution with minimal noise, Gyu-oh pulled out his phone, as if he had no desire to add to this conversation. Even while gaming, he chimed in from time to time, expressing the same opinion as before.

“Let’s just ram into them. Since when do gangsters care about formalities? And a cult isn’t exactly a group of civilians. You know they’re even worse.”

Bleep, bloop. Cute sound effects that didn’t match his serious voice continued incessantly. Watching Gyu-oh, who was leaning back into the sofa as if melting, holding his phone high, Min-ho slapped the sturdy thigh of the other man with a folder.

“That’s the absolute last resort.”

At that, Gyu-oh tossed his phone aside and bolted upright. He leaned his body toward Min-ho, bracing his hands on the table between them. His face was so close it felt as if it would touch at any moment.

“Then, what should we do?”

With his fierce expression and the tattoo on his nape, he exuded a genuine gangster vibe. The brat who did nothing but act slippery when he was young… as he got older, his features became sharper and his voice deeper.

While others would find this look threatening, Min-ho only felt a sense of, ‘He grew up well.’

“What do you mean, what should we do?”

“You’re hinting that I should go undercover in the cult this time, aren’t you? Seriously, I’d rather have a knife to my throat.”

His voice spiked sharply at the end. He continued to whine in a way that didn’t suit his menacing expression.

A few years ago, there had been a need to go undercover in a gambling house. At the time, Gyu-oh had rotted in a small room for half a year to learn sleight of hand from a professional gambler; perhaps remembering that, he shuddered. At that, Mu-gyeong curled one corner of his mouth.

“And if he crawls into my house without permission again, I’m locking him up.”

Though he spoke coldly, Mu-gyeong likely had no intention of forcing Gyu-oh, who had bad memories of cults, into it.

“Excuse me. Seeing as your gaze is unusual, I think an evil spirit has possessed you.”

Gyu-oh, having sat back down, pressed his palms together and bowed toward Mu-gyeong. In response, Mu-gyeong wrapped his hand around the nape of Gyu-oh’s neck, where the tattoo was, and gave it a few firm squeezes. He’s still good, Mu-gyeong didn’t forget to praise him.

“The one possessed by an evil spirit is you. You bastard with not a speck of affection.”

At the short addition, Gyu-oh’s eyebrows twitched.

“What’s with the affection? Whether it’s a cult or a gangster, they’re all the same to me.”

Burying himself in the backrest of the sofa, Gyu-oh rubbed his eyes. He let out a few wide yawns and laced his fingers behind the back of his head.

“Whatever. I’ll follow whatever method the affection-filled Hyungs decide.”

“Anything?”

“……I hate the cult. I’ve made that clear.”

After that firm warning, he fell silent. Seeing his eyes closed and motionless, he seemed to have fallen asleep. While glancing at him, Min-ho met Mu-gyeong’s eyes. When Min-ho shrugged, a small snort was returned as an answer.

Instead of kicking out the guy sleeping peacefully in the office, the two continued their conversation in lowered voices. Whenever a pen dropped to the floor or a phone vibrated, Min-ho would glance at the sleeping man.

The conclusion they reached after a long discussion was to attempt something that “looked like a negotiation.” They called it a conversation, but in reality, the atmosphere could turn foul and the situation could worsen as they talked. Normally, they would have planted Gyu-oh as a low-level member of the opposing organization. But since everyone knew each other’s faces, that wouldn’t work, so this was the best conclusion for now.

After Mu-gyeong, who had been talking for a while, left, silence fell over the office. Only the sound of paper rustling as documents were organized could be heard. Min-ho, who had tidied up the things scattered on the table and gathered them in one hand, paused for a moment. His gaze drifted down to the soundly sleeping Gyu-oh.

“……He sure sleeps well.”

The posture was uncomfortable, the lights were bright, and the conversation must have been noisy. Yet Gyu-oh seemed to be in a deep sleep. Since it had been a long time since Min-ho himself had slept peacefully, he felt a twinge of envy.

After looking down at Gyu-oh for a while, he moved quietly, suppressing his presence. He placed the documents on the desk, grabbed his discarded jacket, and returned to the sofa. Then, he carefully draped the jacket over Gyu-oh, who was sleeping with his arms crossed.

In that instant, a hand swiftly snatched his wrist.

“Ah.”

While he hesitated, a strong pull dragged his upper body down. Feeling as if he would collapse toward Gyu-oh, he reached out to support himself, but the distance had closed sharply. It was a distance where their lips would brush if either moved too hastily.

“Alcohol.”

Gyu-oh, breathing with his eyes cast down, muttered softly. His warm breath tickled and scattered across Min-ho’s lips. He felt that if Gyu-oh lifted his gaze and met his eyes now, the atmosphere would become strange. Conscious of even the act of swallowing, he rolled his eyes and replied, pretending to be nonchalant.

“……What?”

“You smell like alcohol. I guess you didn’t go to that appointment after all.”

The boy muttered in a voice thick with sleep, then released the wrist he had been holding firmly. Slipp, his hand lost strength and dropped onto the sofa. As if he had said all he wanted, he even pulled the jacket Min-ho had covered him with up to his shoulders. And then he fell back asleep. Not a single eyelash flickered.

“……Hah.”

Letting out a hollow laugh, Min-ho slowly straightened his bent waist. Gyu-oh seemed to think that since he had drunk, he wouldn’t have had sex… but there was no need to tell him that he had done both yesterday and still suffered from nightmares. In any case, it had nothing to do with Won Gyu-oh.

He calmed his heart, which was racing from the surprise, and headed back to his seat. After pressing his dry eyelids firmly with his hands for a long time, he found and put on his glasses. Rolling his tired eyes, he read through the densely packed letters, keeping watch beside the sleeping Gyu-oh.