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Upon opening his eyes, Kang Il-hyeon's thick eyebrows and long lashes were right in front of him. Jagyeong couldn't easily look away from that sculpted face. Facing each other sober like this was extremely rare. After removing his arm wrapped around his waist, he got up and looked for a cigarette. As he put one in his mouth and turned around, Il-hyeon, who had opened his eyes at some point, was smiling gently.
"Did you sleep well?"
His deeply lowered voice still seemed to carry traces of sadness. He soon reached his hand out toward Jagyeong. When Jagyeong frowned and shook his head in refusal, he laughed.
"No, the cigarette."
Damn, I thought he was asking for a hug again. Feeling embarrassed for imagining something strange on his own, he quickly handed over the cigarette and lighter. He got up from his seat, put the cigarette in his mouth, and lit it. His moderately disheveled hair and the open front of the gown he was wearing subtly revealed firm chest muscles.
His profile as he exhaled smoke at length was like a scene from a movie. Compared to Jagyeong's fine features, Kang Il-hyeon had bold, defined features. Jagyeong secretly envied that. He looked much more masculine and strong.
Still, he comforted himself that his own personality was a bit better as he bitterly finished his cigarette.
"What are you doing after work tomorrow?"
"I'm not sure."
"If you're free, want to have dinner? Just the two of us."
It sounded like a date proposal. Jagyeong moved his tongue inside his mouth, struggling to find words to say.
"If you don't want to, it's fine to refuse."
It was an extremely gentlemanly tone, and Jagyeong found it very unfamiliar. Why has he been like this since last night? Did he get reborn as a new person to coincide with his mother's death anniversary? Normal conversation was impossible to get used to.
He waited for an answer, and after much deliberation, Jagyeong nodded.
"Tomorrow seems busy, so let's eat the day after. Lunch."
The corner of Il-hyeon's mouth rose impressively. So be it.
"Then can you go downstairs now? It would be troublesome if I ran into the hyungs."
At Jagyeong's request, he obediently got off the bed and approached Jagyeong. When Jagyeong stepped back in wariness, he passed right by and headed toward the entrance. He grabbed the doorknob and looked back.
"Wash up and come down. Let's have breakfast together."
He smiled, then opened the door and disappeared. Jagyeong looked at the door he had exited with a confused expression. Is he serious? No, even if a person changes overnight, how can they change like that? Given that temperament, it should show if it were an act....
Ah, he couldn't get a sense of it at all. Eventually shaking his head, he entered the bathroom to wash up.
***
Moving to the scheduled location, Jagyeong looked out the window. The rain showed no sign of stopping, and the humid, sticky weather continued. It was the kind of weather that made even one's mood gloomy. Perhaps influenced by the weather, Kang Il-hyeon had been behaving like a gentle lamb for several days.
"About Representative Kang. He seems like a different person, doesn't he?"
At Wang Lun's question, Wang Han shrugged his shoulders. Eventually he looked back at Jagyeong in the rear seat and asked, but received no answer.
"Did he really fall for Wei?"
At the joke mixed with laughter, Wang Han nudged his arm telling him not to do that. Even with Wang Lun's teasing, Jagyeong only looked out the window without saying anything special. As the car moved, he noticed a black car following behind them.
People sent by Kang Il-hyeon. They claimed it was protection, but the three of them pretended not to know that the purpose of surveillance was greater, as they knew better than anyone. As the car approached the destination, all three of them spoke progressively less.
The place to work was a club, and it was membership-based, not somewhere easily entered. Kang Il-hyeon had obtained a membership card in advance, and they decided to use it. As the car went inside, Jagyeong realized it was a street he had visited before.
There was a club nearby that he had visited with Kang Seok-ju. Following the navigation's guidance, the car went underground. After stopping the car, Jagyeong put on black sunglasses and got out. While the two waited, Jagyeong entered the club.
A staff member standing at the front guided Jagyeong. The path following him was like a maze. Upon arriving at the entrance, well-built staff members were checking people's identities and conducting body searches. When he held out the card, a man with a name tag reading "Manager" showed a businesslike smile.
"I'm sorry. To prevent unforeseen accidents, we are checking all customers' bodies. We would appreciate your cooperation."
At the polite request, Jagyeong smiled and nodded. Soon a metal detector scanned Jagyeong's body. The watch briefly made a sound, but that was disregarded. After confirming there was nothing, he moved inside.
Thump, thump. It felt like the floor was vibrating from the music sound. Lights flashed from the ceiling, and on the central stage, a shirtless DJ was moving his hands dazzlingly to the beat. Next to the dancing people was a swimming pool, and people smoking marijuana could be seen here and there. It wasn't much different from the club he had gone to with Kang Seok-ju before.
Going up to the 2nd floor, a woman who had been playing in the swimming pool spotted Jagyeong, raised her champagne glass, and threw a flirtatious glance. Jagyeong smirked and then went up to the 2nd floor. Everywhere, young youths were intertwined, rubbing bodies and whispering, creating a chaotic scene.
According to what he had learned in advance, drugs were secretly distributed on the 2nd floor rooms and directly administered. And in the hotel above the club, prostitution took place. Walking along the corridor, guards were stationed everywhere. They exchanged radios and occasionally glanced at Jagyeong but took no particular action.
Jagyeong leaned against the railing and looked down. After about twenty minutes, a group of people came up through the stairs. Jagyeong, wearing sunglasses, moved only his eyes to check them. Choi Man-sik was there.
He was much larger than in the photos, with a closely shaved head, tattoos covering up to his neck, and prominent knife scars on his face. They passed by Jagyeong and headed for the room at the very end where a guard had been standing. While his gaze briefly stopped there, someone nudged Jagyeong's shoulder. When he turned around, Jagyeong's eyes widened. It was Kang Seok-ju.
Kang Seok-ju also seemed surprised, his mouth agape, and he hugged him tightly as if delighted.
"Wow! Fuck! How long has it been! I wondered if it was you. It's Ian, right?"
Jagyeong barely peeled him off, then hooked his sunglasses on the tip of his nose and smiled awkwardly. Ah, why here of all places.... The smell of alcohol wafted from him. A year had passed, but he hadn't changed at all. He signaled his companions to go ahead first, and soon his group entered the room and disappeared.
"It's really been a while. When did you come? You came but why didn't you contact me? You weren't wearing glasses so I thought you were someone else."
Jagyeong forced a smile.
"Uh... Actually, I came secretly without telling home. I'd appreciate it if you kept it a secret too."
He nudged Jagyeong's arm.
"Don't worry about that."
"Thanks."
"Ah, right! You don't know that news, do you?"
Kang Seok-ju, who had seemed like he would leave soon, chattered excitedly asking if he knew what had happened. On the day Jagyeong left, he said Kang Il-hyeon had been sniped at his inauguration ceremony. He cursed viciously, saying he didn't know who the guy was but his shooting skills were pathetic, that if he was going to shoot, he should have shot his head, but he shot his thigh so that person survived. Jagyeong smiled bitterly. I'm sorry, bastard. That my skills were pathetic.
He wished he would just go, but he had so much to say that he kept holding on without any thought of letting go. Just then, the mobile phone in his pocket rang. Jagyeong checked it and his eyes widened. It showed "Bastard."
"Sorry. I have to take a call."
After telling him to come play if he was bored, Seok-ju pointed to the room where he was staying with his hand. Jagyeong nodded vaguely and then answered the phone. Kang Il-hyeon's voice came from the other end.
[Are you working?]
Normally he would have been annoyed, but right now, having been saved from Kang Seok-ju, it was actually welcome.
"Not yet."
[I called because I was curious about something.]
"Go ahead."
[What flowers do you like?]
He wondered if he heard wrong. Calling suddenly to ask what flowers he liked. While he was pondering what this meant, he saw Choi Man-sik walking from far away. Jagyeong slowly turned his back. When there was no answer, Il-hyeon asked again.
"Hmm... I'm not sure..."
With his eyes, he tracked Choi Man-sik. Walking while on the phone, he discovered him entering the bathroom and hastily ended the call. He entered the bathroom and locked the door. His figure wasn't visible. Checking the empty stalls one by one, he heard a voice from the very last stall.
He entered the stall next to his, pulled up his shirt, and untied the rope wrapped around his abdomen. Like when executing death row inmates, the rope already had knots made in it. After carefully standing on the toilet, his voice rang out loudly.
"Fuck. Then he should have paid more money. Anyway, these Russian bastards have no conscience. Trying to get something for nothing!"
Jagyeong in one swift motion looped the rope around Choi Man-sik's neck. Startled, he looked up, and Jagyeong jumped down from the toilet, lowered his body, and quickly pulled the rope. Choke. Choke, choke. Painful groans were heard from the other side.
Clenching his teeth, he quickly wrapped the rope around his arm and tightened the man's neck further. Perhaps because of his large build, his struggle was formidable. The rope was pulled taut as if it would break, and the stall partitions shook as he thrashed about. Then suddenly the rope loosened completely, and bang! The sound of the door being torn off rang out.
Confirming the severed rope, Jagyeong hurriedly rushed outside. Fuck. Choi Man-sik, who had been in the adjacent stall just moments ago, was holding a knife in one hand and unwinding the rope around his neck. Tsk. Jagyeong clicked his tongue and slowly stepped backward.
In an instant, flashing bloodshot eyes, Choi Man-sik charged with a face twisted in rage.
"This tiny fucking bastard!"