<39>
Jakyung sat at the cafe terrace watching people pass by. Since coming to Korea, he had been so busy he hadn't had the leisure to enjoy daily life, but now sitting leisurely drinking coffee, he felt a momentary sense of freedom. Inside the cafe, people his age or younger were gathered in groups, absorbed in their studies.
Jakyung leaned back in his chair and tilted his head back. He was tired after a sleepless night. As he closed his eyes, he heard a car door closing. He turned his head and straightened up. Kang Ilhyun had parked his car by the road and was just getting out of the driver's seat, walking toward him.
He pulled out a chair and sat across from him, tossing his car keys onto the table.
"Looks like you couldn't sleep all night. Your face looks pretty worn out."
He reached out and took Jakyung's coffee, drinking it as if it were his own. Sorry. I was thirsty. Jakyung merely looked at him without any reaction. Kang Ilhyun crossed his legs and sat crookedly against the chair, tapping the table with his fingertips. Tap, tap. The sound pressed on his psyche like the second hand of a clock.
When the couple behind them disappeared and only the two remained on the terrace, Jakyung finally spoke.
"I'll accept the conditions you mentioned."
His moving fingers stopped. As if he had expected this, a smile spread across Kang Ilhyun's face. Jakyung clenched his fist tightly under the table.
"But I have a condition."
"What is it?"
"Give me three times the amount."
Kang Ilhyun was expressionless. Three times would be 15 million dollars. 18 billion won. An absurd amount.
"To pay the penalty to Chairman Kang after finishing the job, I need at least that much."
"Why the penalty? Because he couldn't kill me?"
"Yes."
"That's quite a lot of money for that, isn't it?"
Jakyung continued calmly.
"Isn't that a trivial amount compared to what Managing Director Kang will gain?"
"You're more generous than you look. Calling 18 billion won a trivial amount."
"If you can't pay, I'll withdraw from both sides."
As Jakyung tried to stand, Kang Ilhyun took off his sunglasses and lifted his chin. Even if he's testing him, as someone being paid to do a job, isn't he being too stiff? When he gestured for him to sit, Jakyung sat back down and drank the cold water next to him instead of coffee.
Ilhyun laughed. The person sitting in front of him, Jang Ian, no, the fake Jang Ian, was more brazen than he thought. He hadn't expected him to be scared, but he didn't know he would ask for more money. After thinking, Ilhyun slowly nodded.
"Fine. 15 million dollars. I'll pay half as an advance and the rest when the job is finished."
"The advance must be paid before the work begins."
"It's difficult right away. It'll take three or four days."
Jakyung nodded.
"Is that all?"
"Yes."
"Then I guess I can be told now."
Told what? When he already knew who ordered it.
"I don't understand what you want to be told."
"Your real name. It's obviously not Jang Ian."
Jakyung kept his mouth shut and didn't answer. There were more than ten names people called him. Wang took him and gave him the name Wang Wei, and starting from that, several names were created. But Jakyung liked his original name best. Even though he hated his parents enough to want to kill them, that didn't extend to his name.
As he stubbornly kept his mouth shut, Ilhyun laughed in disbelief.
"That's too much. For 18 billion won, you can at least tell me your name, can't you?"
After hesitating, Jakyung parted his lips.
"Lee..."
"Lee?"
"Lee..."
Ilhyun's eyes narrowed. His eyes urged him to speak quickly, and Jakyung had no choice but to tell him.
"Lee Jakyung..."
"Lee, Ja, Kyung?"
Kang Ilhyun pronounced each syllable clearly as if confirming. His name coming through his voice felt quite unfamiliar. Starting from Dmitri, few of the people he had known over time knew his real name. Why did he tell him? He regretted it immediately, but taking it back after saying it seemed even stranger.
"Age?"
"Is that important?"
"I'm curious. Tell me."
"Twenty-five."
"Ah, four years younger than me. Parents?"
Jakyung frowned. He could understand the name, but he couldn't understand why he was investigating his family registry. When he didn't answer, Kang Ilhyun leaned forward, propped his chin, and stared at him. The flowers on the table swayed gently in the wind.
"I'm just curious."
"They're gone..."
"Lover?"
When Jakyung remained silent and glared, Ilhyun understood and laughed.
"Nice. No lover and no parents."
"...."
He laughed cheerfully, pushed his chair back, and stood up.
"Let's go home for now. You'll have to live as Jang Ian for a while."
***
[Dmitri, that bastard.]
Wang Han's angry voice came through the receiver. The middleman Dmitri had switched sides to Kang Ilhyun, putting Wang Han and Jakyung in a difficult position. Ironically, double-contracting wasn't rare in this business.
In this world where money comes first, there was no reason to refuse an employer who offered more. But Jakyung thought credit was as important as money. That's why he thought choosing Kang Ilhyun might later come back to bite him.
[Are you really going to do it?]
"Yeah."
[Do you trust him?]
Jakyung couldn't answer readily. Can he fully trust Kang Ilhyun? He had asked himself that question countless times, but it was difficult to reach a clear conclusion. Even if he wanted to withdraw now, Kang Ilhyun, who knew everything, wouldn't just back down.
"There's no other way."
[Should I come to Korea?]
"No. If you move too, it'll only draw more attention. Stay there for now and watch the situation with Dmitri. They might be working together to screw us over."
[Will you be okay alone?]
"Don't worry. Ryun hyung is there too. I'll get the balance and return with my body intact."
Wang Han's deep sigh reached him all the way here. If he knew that Jakyung had infiltrated the ship last night and killed someone, he'd cause an even bigger scene. After telling him about the money that would be transferred to his account, he ended the call. Only then did Jakyung let out the sigh he had been holding back.
He had returned home following Kang Ilhyun, but his head had been throbbing since earlier. He rummaged through the bedroom but couldn't find any painkillers. He called someone through the intercom and asked them to bring medicine. He wanted to avoid the awkward situation of running into Kang Ilhyun by going downstairs.
He was sitting with his head against the headboard when he heard a knock. Did they bring the medicine? As he got off the bed and put his feet on the floor, the door opened and Kang Ilhyun appeared. Ah, Jakyung openly frowned, but he came in without caring. In his hand was a tray with a cup of water and medicine.
"You said your head hurts. Are you okay?"
Jakyung nodded halfheartedly.
"Yes... well."
He set the medicine and water on the table. When Jakyung tried to sit across from him, he pulled his arm and made him sit next to him. Last night he had even put a knife to his throat, but since he became his employer, it was difficult to treat him roughly. He reluctantly sat next to him, and he handed him the medicine and water.
When he tried to take the medicine with his hand, he took it back and mimed opening his mouth.
"Ah-ah."
Here we go again. Jakyung looked at him with disgust, and he grinned shamelessly.
"You don't even force a smile anymore? Is everything exposed now?"
Taking advantage of the moment he was looking at his eyes, Jakyung quickly snatched the medicine and swallowed it with water. As it went down his throat, he felt a sharp taste and his esophagus gradually heating up. Did he swallow it too fast? As he touched his throat, Kang Ilhyun giggled beside him.
Suddenly his spine went cold. He tried to put his fingers in his mouth to vomit, but was immediately stopped. He struck his arm away fiercely and tried to stand, but he grabbed him again. Kang Ilhyun pressed his body down and climbed on top, and suddenly he found himself lying on the sofa.
Kang Ilhyun's eyes looking down at him were fierce. Perhaps because of the medicine, his breathing slowed, he felt languid, and strength drained from his limbs.
"Thinking about it, I'm a bit resentful."
"Get off."
"Even a small restaurant gives you something for free when you eat there, but I paid 18 billion won and haven't received anything, have I?"
Jakyung frowned. He could roughly guess what he meant by "something for free." Kang Ilhyun slowly removed the bandage on Jakyung's neck. The mark was still red, and that had been annoying him since yesterday. Even when he found out everything in Hong Kong, he hadn't been this angry.
Jakyung felt his breath becoming shorter and his stomach feeling strange. Even when he pushed Kang Ilhyun away, his limbs had no strength, so it was useless. He touched the mark on his neck and muttered.
"While I was gone, going around making marks like this... fuck. It's annoying."
He tried to kiss him, and Jakyung covered his lips with his hand.
"If you want someone to spend a night with, find someone else. I'm not interested in men."
Ilhyun immediately put his hand inside Jakyung's pants. His already erect cock was excited enough that the front was thoroughly wet. Jakyung urgently grabbed Ilhyun's arm, but it was useless. Ilhyun didn't care and grabbed the shaft, stimulating it by stroking up and down.
Jakyung felt a fuse blinking in his head and bit his lip.
Kang Ilhyun whispered in his ear.
"If you're not interested, why is your dick hard?"
Jakyung ground his teeth in sudden anger.
"Fuck! That's because you drugged me!"
When Kang Ilhyun pressed his lips against his, the words were instantly swallowed. Jakyung bit Kang Ilhyun's lower lip with his front teeth. It must have hurt, but he didn't care and put his tongue inside, moving it freely.
Trying to push him away with his tongue only resulted in them rubbing together. Because of that, the hand stroking the shaft became rougher. The tongue that had been ravaging his mouth pulled away for a moment, and taking advantage of that gap, Jakyung bit Kang Ilhyun's lower lip.
Ugh. Ilhyun frowned and pulled his lip away. Drop, drop, drop, red blood fell in dots onto Jakyung's face. Seeing that, Ilhyun smiled eerily.
"So this is how you want to play?"