By Zephyria 
Perhaps the other person felt this current as well, for he only parted his lips without a sound. It was Gyu-oh who first broke the dry silence.
“…Whatever. If you’d done it well on your own, I wouldn’t have needed to touch it.”
His voice was an effort to ignore the strange atmosphere.
“I know how to use it. I just didn’t want to.”
“That’s the kind of excuse people who are high-maintenance make.”
A conversation followed, bickering quite like their usual selves. The two of them acted nonchalant, as if they had quickly forgotten that fleeting, unfamiliar silence.
“Anyway, I’ll be right back.”
Then, he tapped the top of the helmet twice more with his palm. Their heights weren’t even that different, yet Min-ho felt an uncharacteristic surge of irritation at the action of being patted like a younger sibling.
“Hey, you little—”
Shrugging his shoulders, Gyu-oh pressed his lips to his palm and then blew a kiss onto it. He didn’t forget to slightly close and open one eye.
“Crazy. So cheesy.”
“Yeah, yeah. I love you too.”
While maintaining eye contact, he even made a heart with both hands. Because Gyu-oh kept his gaze fixed on him, Min-ho continued to step backward precariously.
Who would look at that guy and think he was someone in a dangerous situation? No matter where he went, he was tailed, he received flowerpots with bugs planted in them, and threats could come at any moment. Yet Won Gyu-oh overflowed with composure in any situation. It was likely because he knew that was the best way to provoke the other party.
“……You’re going to get hurt. Look straight ahead.”
Cha Min-ho knew the moment when Won Gyu-oh’s usually leisurely face was filled with urgency. The moment when excitement surged to the top of his head and he reached his climax……
“Wait quietly.”
The plain voice snapped him back to his senses. It was a relief that the face shield was down. Gyu-oh had said his expression wouldn’t be fully visible this way.
“…….”
Min-ho fiddled with the black-tinted shield and turned around. He heard the sound of a car entering the parking lot. After moving about ten steps, he slowly turned his body. As expected, Gyu-oh had already vanished without a trace.
“The one who needs to get a grip isn’t him, it’s me.”
Wasn’t it actually Cha Min-ho who had been preoccupied with and thinking about Won Gyu-oh ever since they slept together? Perhaps Won Gyu-oh acted sly like that, but would quickly lose interest upon meeting someone new. Was he thinking too deeply, worrying too much on his own? Was he being swayed and shaken too much by himself?
He gripped the cigarette and lighter in his hand tightly. I need to change my train of thought. Shaking his head, he continued walking.
As soon as he opened the door to the smoking room, he ran into a hotel employee. The man, dressed in a suit, seemed surprised to see Min-ho wearing a helmet.
“Oh, excuse me.”
The man hesitated and stepped back, making room for him to enter. Min-ho gave a small nod and stepped inside to take out a cigarette. Since the area below the nose was open, there was no problem biting the cigarette. He sucked on the filter, hollowing his cheek, and lit it.
“Phew.”
As he slowly exhaled the deep breath, he turned his gaze and saw the employee still standing guard in front of the door.
“…….”
The man, who had been looking on with suspicious eyes, quickly wiped his expression and put on a smile. Then, after a polite bow, he quietly left the smoking room. Since it was an open space, Min-ho could clearly see the man’s receding back. Upon reaching the corner, the man stopped, pretending to use his phone.
“……Is he suspicious?”
Since he had often seen Gyu-oh going around like this, not only he but the employees on their floor had become quite accustomed to it. Then again, it would look strange to others. I should finish this quickly and get back to the car. With that thought, he sucked the filter so hard his cheek hollowed.
“Phew.”
The employee had disappeared around the corner, but seeing the tips of his shoes occasionally peeking out, it seemed he was still lingering there. I have to pass that person again; it’s going to be awkward. While thinking this, a taxi stopped right in front of the smoking room.
I should blend in with the passengers getting out. Deciding this, Min-ho quickly stubbed out the cigarette, which had only a couple of knuckles’ length left. Then, he left the smoking room with hurried steps.
Two large men got out of the taxi. Their heights were similar, so it would be perfect to blend in. Just as he took a step with that thought.
“Grab him!”
It was a small whisper, but the voice was incredibly urgent. Sensing danger instinctively, Min-ho put strength into his thighs to bolt, but the force grabbing him from both sides was faster.
“Push him, hurry!”
The guys who restrained his arms violently shoved Min-ho into the open back seat. Even though he lowered his center of gravity and resisted to avoid going in, everything was against him. His vision was obscured by the helmet, the guys on either side were quite well-built, and it was clear that the person holding the taxi steering wheel was not a driver but part of their group.
“Who the hell are you, you shits.”
As he resisted stubbornly, pushing against the taxi with his feet, the assailants seemed quite flustered.
“Hey, you, get out! Help, hurry!”
“There’s someone over there!”
Amidst the urgent conversation, he heard the voice of the employee who had been observing him suspiciously.
“What are you doing there?”
Quickly turning his head, Min-ho saw a man with a walkie-talkie approaching. I just have to hold on a little longer. Min-ho grit his teeth and put strength into both legs to endure.
“Shit. Just hit him already!”
At that moment, one of the bulky guys spat out a curse and kicked the back of Min-ho’s knee hard. Though he had already been bracing himself, he collapsed instantly from the single blow.
“Ugh, ack!”
While his balance crumbled and his body swayed, rough hands hurriedly pushed him. He felt one guy let go of his hand and run to the other side. Min-ho twisted his firmly gripped wrist. However, it was squeezed so tight that blood couldn’t even flow.
“……Crazy bastards.”
In this situation, it was impossible to escape by his own strength. Judging this, Min-ho let go of what he was holding. The lighter, covered in motorcycle stickers, fell to the ground. After confirming that the lighter was rolling around in the path where people passed, he felt a slight sense of relief—despite the fact that he was being kidnapped.
“Excuse me! Over here, security team!”
“Get in, hurry!”
Honk, honk! He could even hear the sound of the horn blaring from behind. He was completely disoriented. Under the hands that dragged and pushed him violently, he was finally forced into the car. Before the door could even close properly, the car slid forward.
Screeeech! The tires scraped the ground harshly as it took off. He looked back and forth at the guys grabbing his arms again. No matter how he looked, they weren’t familiar faces.
“I asked who you are. Which company?”
Min-ho breathed heavily, trying his best to remain calm. But his ragged breathing showed no sign of returning to normal, and eventually, even his fingertips began to tremble violently. He could handle being beaten or hit by a car, but a kidnapping that followed a step-by-step process like this was incredibly uncomfortable.
“Why should we tell you that?”
“Then fuck, you expect me to be dragged away quietly by some rootless bastards who kidnap people?”
As he snapped fiercely, the men exchanged glances in confusion.
“Is it him? The way he talks seems right.”
“Isn’t it similar?”
The man looked back and forth between the phone screen and Min-ho. Watching them act so frustratingly, Min-ho frowned and gestured with his chin.
“Look. I’ll let you see if it’s me.”
“Here. It’s you, right?”
The screen the man held showed a photo of Gyu-oh. He was smoking a cigarette with a helmet tucked under his arm. It was a completely different helmet design from the one Min-ho was wearing, and he was frowning with his head slightly turned, but it was definitely Gyu-oh.
“Maybe the photo came out like that. The build is a bit smaller……”
One of them added, sounding slightly unsure.
“…….”
They’re the bastards Son Pro sent. Since we’re holding all the guys he usually employs, he must have just bought any strong guys he could find. That’s why they can’t even tell me and Min-ho apart. Since threats didn’t work, he’s gone this far. A pulse mixed with anxiety beat a bit more violently.
“……Good eye.”
Min-ho replied with a smirk. At that, the men looked visibly relieved.
“Right? If you live in hiding, it’s right to think you’ve lost some weight compared to the photo.”
Perhaps he was truly out of composure, but not even a hollow laugh escaped him at such a boastful voice.
“…….”
Son Pro’s self-destruction. This was surely the moment Woo-won had been waiting for, but it wasn’t as joyful as he thought. It was because the nightmare he had tried so hard to forget flashed before his eyes. He had even avoided sleep because he was afraid of stepping into that dream, yet the nightmare had chased him all the way into reality.
‘Run.’
‘Sorry.’
He remembered Jae-hyeok’s lips, which bore a faint smile even while drenched in blood.
At least this was a relief. That he wasn’t kidnapped together with Won Gyu-oh. If it had been the two of them, he probably wouldn’t have been able to endure with a sane mind, and he would have surely become a burden to Gyu-oh. If he was alone, he could endure it somehow.
Did I drop the lighter for nothing? Regret washed over him, but the hotel had already vanished from sight, having moved too far away.