By Zephyria 
On the third day of the stakeout. As usual, Lee-eum got out of the car and looked around, but there were no suspicious vehicles following him. How did Choi Won-joon find this place on the first day? No matter how much he thought about it, it could only be interpreted as Won-joon having someone tailing him or attaching a GPS.
Lee-eum smoked a cigarette and walked towards the 24-hour convenience store. The night was quiet, and the only thing passing by was a stray cat. He bought a simple drink and was about to go outside when his cell phone rang. An advertisement at this hour? Lee-eum, who was deleting the alarm, checked the messages he had exchanged with Choi Won-joon.
【Don’t even think about coming unless you want to advertise that you’re on a stakeout to the whole neighborhood.】
【Are you going to catch the criminal all by yourself? Being alone is only good for a day or two. Why did you ask me to live with you if you were going to be like this? Is it enough if I just make money?】
Ah…. This was a line he had heard a lot before. He had witnessed his mother saying something similar to his father when he was young. And now he was hearing it from Choi Won-joon….
【I can’t go today.】
【So when are you coming?】
【I’ll go when I catch the criminal.】
【Should I catch that bastard and bring him to you?】
He didn’t want to reply anymore, so he ignored it, and he didn’t hear from him after that. Lee-eum got in the car and handed Nam-soo something to eat. They had been spending the night in the car for several days, and both of them looked terrible. Nam-soo drank his coffee and peeled a sausage, then stretched his neck and looked out the window. The sky was turning blue as if the sun was about to rise.
“Ah, another morning is coming like this.”
“Looks like we’re out of luck again today. It’s better to go in after sunrise and meet Kim Dong-hee’s lover.”
“Do you think he’ll answer honestly? He’s not an easy person either. He’s in his mid-twenties and already has five stars. Is he a Michelin-starred restaurant or something?”
Lee-eum muttered with a slightly dazed expression.
“Talking about restaurants makes me want to eat a spicy pollack stew….”
Nam-soo nodded, smacking his lips.
“Me too. I’m tired of kimbap and cup noodles. There aren’t even any burger joints around here. I won’t even rot when I die later. Ah- the lunch box that Choi Won-joon Sunbae bought me on the first day was really delicious. Was it really from a famous hotel?”
“I don’t know.”
“When did you get close enough to pack you a lunch box?”
Lee-eum didn’t answer, and Nam-soo guessed.
“Well, Lee-eum Sunbae is a benefactor to Choi Won-joon. Imagine if you had just left him alone when he lost his memory and was wandering around. No one knows what would have happened to him.”
What if he had missed him that day and passed him by? Wouldn’t his life be more peaceful than it is now? When you think about it, his symptoms during the heat cycle got worse after Choi Won-joon, that bastard, gave him the Catalyst without permission. So he’s the real culprit.
“You didn’t withdraw the complaint against Choi Won-joon, did you?”
“No.”
He thought that if someone committed a crime, they should pay the price. But the chances of him being punished were slim. Because of the series of events, his lawyer would argue for his innocence, and the court would take that into consideration to some extent. Come to think of it, he’s appearing at the prosecutor’s office this week. He’ll meet Jeong Dae-han, I hope he doesn’t say anything unnecessary.
He sighed, feeling overwhelmed with thoughts, when someone knocked on the door. Nam-soo, who was looking back, screamed, “Oh, shit,” and Lee-eum was just as surprised. A man with a swollen face was urgently knocking on the window.
“Whirr,” as the window rolled down, the man stuck his face in and said urgently.
“Hello, I’m Kim Dong-hee! You’re the detectives, right? You came to catch me, right?”
“…….”
“I’ll turn myself in. No, you can say you caught me if you want.”
Lee-eum raised his hand to stop the man from speaking.
“Wait, just a minute. Are you really Kim Dong-hee?”
He got out of the car to compare him to the photo, but the man kept glancing back. He looked terrified, like someone being chased by something. His face was more swollen and his hairstyle was different than in the photo, but it was Kim Dong-hee.
As Nam-soo got out and approached, Kim Dong-hee held out his hands.
“I did commit fraud! I admit everything. I’m repenting for my sins. So, can I get in the back seat first? Please.”
Lee-eum grabbed the man’s shoulders as he was flustered and looked him straight in the eye.
“Who hit you?”
“Huh?”
“Who hit you in the face? You didn’t come here of your own free will, did you?”
“No! Absolutely not! I got beat up for being cocky in a gambling den. Turning myself in is my own will. I want to live a good life from now on, and I feel bad that you detectives are standing here like this, and turning myself in is the way to save my life, no, that’s not it! Anyway, I really wanted to turn myself in, so I came here!”
What nonsense is this? Lee-eum stared at the rambling man in disbelief, and Nam-soo quickly put him in the back seat of the car. Then he came to Lee-eum’s side, nudged him, and grinned from ear to ear.
“What a windfall. The criminal suddenly appeared on his own two feet?”
Lee-eum looked around with a suspicious expression and walked along the road the man had run from. But there were only cars running on the road in the early morning, and he couldn’t find any traces.
❖ ❖ ❖
After parking the car in the parking lot, Lee-eum walked towards the elevator. Normally, he would have gone straight home after finishing the stakeout, taken a shower, and gone to sleep, but he washed up roughly and changed his clothes in the on-call room, just in case he ran into Choi Won-joon.
Even if they weren’t on good terms, he didn’t want to run into him looking like a beggar. On the other hand, he was annoyed that he was even worried about that guy. He looked at his face in the elevator mirror and, sure enough, it was haggard and full of fatigue.
【About the finger. It’s Kim Ji-cheol’s. I got a call from the National Forensic Service.】
Team Leader Oh told him that the finger found in the memorial park a few days ago belonged to Kim Ji-cheol. He also told him that he had already handed it over to the Southern Police Station and told him not to worry about it anymore. He said that the corruption was severe and the mother-of-pearl box was common, so it would be difficult to identify the culprit. He told him not to waste his energy on unnecessary things.
Kim Ji-cheol must have heard the news too, I wonder how he feels. He must be trembling with anger. Does he still suspect me? He must want to take revenge, but he’s enduring it well, or is he aiming for me somewhere?
Lee-eum opened the front door with a complicated mind and a heavy body. He was relieved that there was no sign of Choi Won-joon and changed into slippers. And as soon as he took a few steps, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
In the few days he had been away from home, the number of things he had never seen before had increased. The lighting fixture on the ceiling had been changed, and a large potted plant and painting as tall as a person had been added underneath it and placed on the floor. The small appliances had also been replaced.
He sighed and went to the bedroom, where he saw two dolls he had never seen before on the bedside table next to the bed. The dolls were made of wood, and both were wearing tuxedos, reminiscent of a bridegroom getting married.
He could imagine what the intention was, so he put the dolls far apart from each other. Still not satisfied, he tried to hide them in a drawer, but when he opened the bottom one, it was full of condoms and lubricant. The second drawer too, and the third drawer too….
“You crazy…”
He cursed and closed the drawer, and hesitated whether to call Choi Won-joon, but gave up. No matter how much he argued, he would just be slippery and tease him. He was dying because he couldn’t sleep, and he didn’t want to add to it.
Lee-eum dragged his tired body into the bathroom and noticed that the slippers had been changed. They were the same shape, but different colors. The same was true for the toothbrush and the toiletries. Lee-eum looked at the luxury brand logo on the toiletries with curious eyes. He only knew they made bags, but he didn’t know they made things like this.
After washing up, drying his hair, and changing into comfortable clothes, he went straight to bed. As soon as he lay down, he felt unbearably sleepy, and he wandered in his dreams for a long time. How much time had passed? He felt someone’s presence in his sleep and tossed and turned, and the next moment, an arm wrapped around his waist.
“When did you come…?”
As he spoke, he tried to take his arm off, but it only tightened more.
“A while ago.”
“What time is it?”
“It’s past 3 o’clock. Go back to sleep.”
Why is he groping his body while he’s sleeping? He inhaled and smelled a faint scent of alcohol. Did he drink? His hand was now inside his clothes, and Lee-eum quickly grabbed it and stopped him. This time, something hard poked his butt.
“Take it away. I’m tired….”
“It’s been a few days since I’ve seen you. Let me do this much.”
“So you’re saying I caught the criminal, so I should repay you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Where the hell did you find him?”
“Will you let me put it in once if I tell you?”
“Don’t hit him. You scared him so much that his face turned white.”
“I was scared and afraid of sleeping alone too.”
“I shouldn’t have said anything. Go to sleep. If you keep touching me, I’ll move to another room, so keep that in mind.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Choi Won-joon pulled Lee-eum’s pants and underwear down to his thighs. Ah, shit. As he tried to turn around, Won-joon hugged him tightly from behind and pushed his dick between his thighs. It’s hot. Lee-eum unknowingly tensed up and grabbed his arm.
“I told you, don’t do it.”
“I’ll just pretend. Doing this will help you too.”
That’s an excuse. He clearly said that he could just hold him. Choi Won-joon moved his waist slowly. His dick rubbed between his thighs as it went in and out, and Lee-eum felt his body slowly heating up, so he stopped breathing and didn’t move at all.
As he remained silent, his hand came inside his clothes and fondled his chest. He rubbed his nipples with his fingertips, stimulating them, so he bit his lower lip to suppress a moan, and now he was licking his ear with his tongue.
“You know what? Your voice when you wake up is so sexy.”
“I know, take, ugh, your hand away.”
“When I die, I’m going to ask them to play your voice in my coffin. Doesn’t that sound exciting?”
What the hell is he talking about? As he tried to take off the hand that was clinging to his chest, Won-joon slapped him hard from behind. It felt like penetration even though it wasn’t, and he was flustered, and the speed was getting faster and faster.