By Zephyria 
After finishing their meal, Yoon Se-na’s family gathered in the living room, busy discussing business. Being caught in the middle of them made Kang Hee-shin feel momentarily triumphant, as if he had actually become a member of the household.
But that feeling didn’t last long. Watching Im Gyeong, who had been smiling at him for a while now, a sinister feeling began to creep up from the pit of his stomach.
Maybe he should have just come clean from the start. Dammit. He had been so flustered that his first instinct was to play dumb. Should he confess now? But the timing wasn’t right.
As he waited for a proper moment, the phone in his pocket vibrated.
“Shouldn’t you take that?”
Yoon Se-na asked suggestively. The caller was Chief Oh, and she was being unusually persistent. At this point, he guessed that something had blown up.
“Please excuse me for a moment.”
Leaving Yoon Se-na and her family behind, he stepped out of the living room. As he walked down the hallway and answered the call, Chief Oh’s harsh voice echoed through the receiver.
-Prosecutor! Where are you? Can you talk right now?
“Is it urgent? I’m out for something important.”
-He’s dead.
“…What?”
-Kim Hae-sung. He was found dead at his home a short while ago.
“…….”
-Are you listening? Prosecutor? Prosecutor Kang?
Kang Hee-shin walked down the hall and entered the restroom at the very end. According to the call, the host, Kim Hae-sung, who had appeared as a witness a few days ago, had been found dead. An acquaintance had discovered him collapsed in his bathtub with his wrists slit and reported it; detectives from the precinct were already on the scene.
Why would a man who had been so brazenly confident suddenly commit suicide? And if it wasn’t suicide? There were so many people entangled with him that it was impossible to guess who might have done it.
“Are they sure it was suicide?”
-They say a suicide note was found.
Hee-shin confirmed which police station the case had been assigned to and then hung up. He stood there in a daze for a moment before letting out a belated sigh. He twisted the faucet, and a stream of water poured out refreshingly. He tried to organize his thoughts while washing his hands with cold water.
The moment he looked up, his eyes met Im Gyeong’s in the mirror. Im Gyeong was leaning against the door, staring intently at him—who knew when he had arrived? Hee-shin gave a slight, nonchalant nod of greeting, pulled out a hand towel to dry his hands, and tossed it into the trash can.
“About that day,”
He managed to bring up the main point. He could have continued to play dumb, but Im Gyeong wasn’t a fool. He had clearly recognized him and made it known. Letting it slide felt far too unsettling.
“I apologize for my rudeness that day. I was looking for someone, and there was a misunderstanding.”
One corner of Im Gyeong’s mouth curled up elegantly.
“You said you didn’t know me earlier.”
…This brat is speaking informally.
“I was flustered and played dumb without realizing it. I’m sorry if I offended you.”
Im Gyeong stared blankly at him as he apologized politely. His gaze was completely unreadable. Since there was no further response, Hee-shin turned to leave, but the man’s voice stopped him in his tracks.
“Who died?”
Looking back, the man was washing his hands, his gaze fixed on the mirror. Their eyes met in the reflection. Hee-shin wondered for a moment who he resembled—that gaze that seemed kind yet chilling.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I just heard someone died.”
Come to think of it, this man had been there too. Had he seen Kim Hae-sung? Why on earth did he go to a host bar? Considering there were female hosts as well, a man’s visit wasn’t necessarily strange. Or perhaps his preference was men. Of course, he didn’t want to know that far.
He was simply curious as to why the man was now closing the distance between them.
Water dripped from the man’s freshly washed hands. Finding it unpleasant to watch, Hee-shin pulled a handkerchief from his trouser pocket and offered it, but the man just stared at him. If making someone feel awkward were a talent, he certainly had it. Embarrassed, Hee-shin tried to pull it back, but the man snatched it away.
Instead of drying his hands, he brought the handkerchief to his nose and smelled it. He almost told him it was clean and freshly laundered, but decided against it. This time, the man did wipe his hands. As he did, his gaze lingered on Hee-shin’s tie. Stepping closer, he touched the end of the tie with his hand.
What is this? As Hee-shin frowned, the gaze traveled up from the tie to his face.
Zokubutsu
Seeing the man’s mischievous smile made Hee-shin’s mood sour instantly. He didn’t know exactly what it meant since it was in Japanese, but it didn’t sound like a compliment. He slapped the hand holding his tie away and sharpened his gaze.
“Your jokes are going too far.”
Im Gyeong, who had been expressionless until now, grinned. Jokes? Before Hee-shin could even think to step back in caution, Im Gyeong grabbed him by the hair and ruthlessly slammed his face down against the sink. A groan escaped his lips as his face hit the basin.
“Wha—what are you doing!”
As he tried to shake him off, the man applied more pressure and shoved his face closer.
“Does this still feel like a joke to you?”
“Let go while I’m still being nice! Let go of me, you fuck!!”
Even in this situation, he felt pathetic for lowering his voice to keep it from leaking outside. Im Gyeong seemed to realize this, as he became completely brazen.
“What did you call me that day? A piece of shit who sells his body? Did you say you’d strip me down to my underwear and shake me out?”
“I apologized! I told you it was a misunderstanding!”
Ignoring him, the man began to grope Kang Hee-shin’s waist.
“What a shame. It wasn’t a misunderstanding. I’m famous for playing dirty. And the one selling their body isn’t me,”
The man’s lips closed in, nearly touching his ear.
“It’s you.”
Heat rushed to his face instantly.
“What?”
“Since we’re at it, shall I try stripping our Prosecutor’s panties too?”
The moment the man moved his hand down to grab his buttocks, Kang Hee-shin put all his strength into pushing himself up and simultaneously swung his elbow. With a loud thwack!, Im Gyeong’s head snapped to the side, and a moment later, bright red blood splattered onto the marble floor.
Kang Hee-shin brushed back his disheveled hair and placed a hand on his hip. His chest heaved up and down as he tried to suppress his rage. Blood flowed from the nose of the man as he looked up. The man blocked his nose with Hee-shin’s handkerchief and laughed—with a face that looked like he was dying of amusement.
Panting, Kang Hee-shin considered unleashing a torrent of curses but decided against it.
“You just molested me, so let’s call it even with this.”
“Just for this?”
“If you feel cheated, come after me. Let’s have a go at it in front of the whole family, you fuck.”
He snapped coldly and walked out, hearing the sound of chuckling behind him.
Crazy bastard. He finds this funny?
As he walked, he tidied his clothes and belatedly noticed blood splattered on his arm.
Sigh. He stopped with an irritated expression. He had a spare shirt in the car; should he go change? After debating it, he decided against it and went straight back into the living room. The people talking there widened their eyes at the sight of him.
“You. What happened to you? Is that blood?”
“Darling, are you okay? Are you hurt somewhere?”
He brushed off the concerned Yoon Se-na, claiming it was just a bit of a nosebleed. His mother chimed in, asking how busy he must be to end up like this, adding that as someone working for the state, he must take care of his health. A few people exchanged glances.
Even without words, they must have noticed that something had happened inside. Time passed, and Im Gyeong did not appear, but no one looked for him. He should have felt relieved, but instead, that fact only made him more anxious.