Ja-kyung stared blankly at the smoke being sucked into the ventilator hole. He had tossed and turned all night without sleeping and greeted the morning with half his spirit gone. He thought washing with cold water might help, but it was the same.
Due to excessive stress, nicotine was desperately needed. He took out his e-cigarette and puffed away continuously, and only then felt like he might live. His mind gradually regained stability. After dangling his long arms and legs in the bathtub, he recalled what happened last night.
Even in his hazy state, the sensation of something entering between his buttocks remained vivid. That bastard. He had kicked him with his foot, but if it were up to his feelings, he wanted to kill him right then and there. After returning to the bedroom, the drug's effects lingered and the urge to do it kept arising, and eventually unable to bear it, he had to go into the bathroom, take care of it once, and then fall asleep.
That too was so shameful.
"Bastard."
He cursed while glaring at the ceiling. He was grinding his teeth when the phone rang. It was a call from Wang Han. As soon as he answered, he heard his pleased voice. But he noticed Ja-kyung's voice had sunk and wondered if something was wrong.
"Nothing's wrong."
[Then why do you sound so low? You're not sick or anything?]
Ja-kyung moved his head to look down between his legs. His lower back hurt slightly, but he was too embarrassed to ever say it.
"What's up this early in the morning?"
[Where are you right now? The GPS worked last night.]
"I used it somewhere else briefly. Send the data from start to finish to my phone."
Last night he had attached a GPS under the passenger seat of the car belonging to the man with the dokkaebi tattoo. He didn't know what he was thinking. Perhaps the child who reminded him of his own childhood weighed on his mind, or perhaps he was curious about the true nature of the group that had tried to kill him back then. Anyway, if he went and checked, he'd find out something.
"Hey. The Kang Il-hyun materials you gave me, is that all the content there is?"
[What do you mean?]
He couldn't bring himself to ask if he liked men. He said it was nothing and changed the subject before ending the call. After tossing his phone into the bathtub and staring blankly at the ceiling, Ja-kyung stood up.
He stepped onto the bathtub rim and reached for the ventilator. He inserted his fingers into the small holes where smoke was being sucked out and pulled down with force, but it didn't budge. Just in case, he pushed the other way and only then did it move slightly.
Oh ho. He stabilized his stance and pushed upward with force, and the ventilator panel opened and separated from the ceiling. He turned on his phone flash and looked inside—dust was thick. He didn't know where it led to, but it was narrower than expected. Could he barely fit through?
Damn. With a disappointed face, he reattached the panel to its original position and sat on the edge of the bathtub.
[You should have told me sooner. There's no reason I can't show you.]
It was unexpected that Kang Il-hyun readily showed him the basement. Would he also tell him where the safe was if he asked? Judging from yesterday's events, he didn't have affection for him exactly, but felt something like interest. Whether he was doing it because teasing him was fun or whether he had plans to do something once, he didn't know.
Should he just pretend to be crazy, offer his ass once, and coax him gently to tell him where the safe is? Who knows? He might even give him the key.
Imagining himself panting underneath Kang Il-hyun, Ja-kyung scowled. Ugh, fuck. Crazy. Lost it. There's a limit to being blinded by money too. Lost his mind. He slapped his own cheek, stood up, and came out of the bathroom.
When he lay on the bed, his eyes kept closing. Then he dozed off, and when he woke again, it was well past lunch time. He started getting hungry so he headed downstairs.
Meals were mainly handled by the housekeeper called Sangju-daek, and her cooking skills were excellent. Not only various countries' cuisines but also Korean food was perfectly suited to Ja-kyung's taste.
He had come down about two-thirds of the stairs when he stopped at voices coming from below. He wondered if it could be, but Kang Il-hyun was sitting on the sofa talking with Park Tae-soo. Why was that human still not at work and inside the house? He hurriedly turned and fled up to the second floor, but Kang Il-hyun called him from behind.
"Ian. Where are you going?"
Ja-kyung stopped and grit his teeth. Bastard. But soon he relaxed his expression and turned around with a proper face, smiling.
"Did you sleep well, Managing Director?"
"It's lunch right now."
"Yes. Right. I overslept so..."
"You must have been very tired. Couldn't sleep last night?"
His fist clenched automatically, hidden behind his back. There's a limit to being shameless. Is he doing this on purpose to piss him off, or has dementia already come to that young guy? If the goal is to make him angry, it's a success, you fucking bastard.
"I have insomnia..."
"Oh dear. I guess my house isn't comfortable for you."
"That couldn't be. You've taken great care of me, so I'm staying very comfortably."
While exchanging insincere conversation, Kang Il-hyun slowly raised his hand and made a come-hither motion, like calling a puppy. Ja-kyung raised both corners of his lips, then pretended not to see. He said he should go to work well, gave a greeting, and turned to go back up to the second floor. He wondered if he'd follow, but sure enough, he followed.
Eventually he turned at the door, and he was already right in front of him.
"Is there something more you want to say...?"
"I'll remove the CCTV tomorrow. If you have valuables in the bedroom, put them in the safe beforehand."
His ears perked up at the mention of the safe.
"Safe?"
"Didn't you see? I converted the bed frame into a safe. I reset it, so you can set the password yourself."
At the unexpected words, Ja-kyung felt a small sense of anticipation.
"That's amazing... Does every room use that kind of safe?"
Il-hyun nodded.
"Usually."
Ah. Then in your room too? He asked with his eyes, but he didn't answer that far. Besides, him telling him so easily made him suspicious. He had let his guard down and been caught once yesterday, hadn't he? He stared intently to figure out his inner thoughts. Those deep black eyes looked down at him and sneered.
"And about yesterday, let's pretend it didn't happen. It'd be awkward for both of us."
Ja-kyung smiled calmly.
"Yesterday... what happened?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Il-hyun reached out to touch his shoulder, and a startled Ja-kyung stepped back one pace. One corner of Il-hyun's mouth curved upward in an arc.
"See? You remember."
Ja-kyung still smiled, but inside he was seething. He wanted to severely scold himself for hesitating and stepping back just now. Kang Il-hyun said he'd see him after work and went back the way he came. Watching him grow distant, Ja-kyung clenched his teeth. Fine, laugh all you can while you can.
***
"I'm sorry about yesterday. You didn't say anything else to my brother, did you?"
Kang Seok-ju came to meet Ja-kyung after lunch passed. He had acted like a king at the hideout last night, but as soon as he came to Kang Il-hyun's house, he became a cowering wretch again.
"I didn't say anything."
"As expected."
Kang Seok-ju draped his arm around Ja-kyung's shoulder like an old friend. And he told him that the woman who was next to Ja-kyung last night liked him very much, even revealing that she was the only daughter of a quite prestigious legal family.
"She's totally into you. She's been calling since morning asking for your contact info. How about it? She's pretty and has a nice body, want to meet her once?"
Ja-kyung smiled awkwardly and pushed up his glasses.
"Well..."
"Don't tell me you haven't done it yet?"
"What?"
Kang Seok-ju made a hand gesture suggesting sexual intercourse. He laughed inside. This was Ja-kyung who lost his virginity at 15 to the Chinese woman who lived next door. After that he dated quite a few women, but since starting this work, it became sparse. When he didn't answer, apparently thinking he really hadn't done it, Kang Seok-ju's eyes even sparkled.
"Perfect. There's an unusual exhibition tomorrow, let's go there."
He didn't know what it was, but it didn't seem like a real exhibition. Looking at his expression, he seemed very pleased.
"Is your friend coming too?"
"Friend? Who?"
"The friend who dropped me off yesterday. I was so out of it I couldn't even say thanks..."
"Ah, don't worry about it. I just asked him as a favor, that's all."
"Are you two close?"
Kang Seok-ju narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment before concluding.
"Rather than friends, I'd say business partners? I invested in some work he does."
After saying it, he seemed to realize something and immediately changed his words.
"Of course, it's a secret. Don't go blabbing to my brother for no reason."
"I don't really like talking about other people..."
Kang Seok-ju said he liked that and patted Ja-kyung's shoulder. Without being asked, he briefly explained about Choi Ki-tae. When asked about the tattoo on his arm, he said it wasn't representing an organization but something he got to emulate his father. Ja-kyung remembered the man he had seen in the past and guessed that he might be Choi Ki-tae's father.