<73>
"Without Park Tae-soo, alone?"
At Secretary Kim's report, Chairman Kang's snake-like eyes narrowed. He had sent Seok-ju, who happened to overhear employees talking there. Whether true or not, the story was that Kang Il-hyun had moved alone.
It was extremely rare for him to move without Park Tae-so accompanying him. Moreover, Ja-kyung's trail had completely vanished. If they had met in the first place, given Kang Il-hyun's personality, he wouldn't have spared Ja-kyung. If he did let him live, there was only one reason.
"Investigate all buildings owned by CEO Kang. He wouldn't have gone far."
"Yes, sir."
Chairman Kang's eyes flashed like an awl.
"Once confirmed, send the skilled ones."
Secretary Kim immediately understood what Chairman Kang wanted. After he left, Chairman Kang leaned back on the sofa and smiled bitterly. Others would point fingers saying he even threatened his own son to keep his position, but there were many things in the world that couldn't be helped.
Since both had the same personality, unless one died first, this fight would never end.
***
After tasting the fried rice Kang Il-hyun made, Ja-kyung was at a loss for words. He kept cursing while cutting onions—did all those tears go into the rice? It was too salty. Afraid he'd throw a fit if he spat it out right away, he moved his jaw slowly and looked at Kang Il-hyun sitting across from him.
Sure enough, his expression turned serious and he immediately drank water.
"Fuck. Why does it taste like this?"
You made it. He barely held back those words. Il-hyun snatched both his own plate and Ja-kyung's plate and shoved them into the sink. Seeing him grip the sink with both hands and sigh deeply, Ja-kyung unconsciously let out a small laugh.
He only messed up one dish, why is he being so serious about it? Plus he's tall enough that his head almost touches the upper shelf. Watching him, Ja-kyung got up and went to the refrigerator and opened it. He took out a few ingredients and went to the cooking counter, and Il-hyun watched him.
"Is there leftover rice?"
Il-hyun nodded. When he went to check, rice had been cooked but the amount was enormous. This would last until tomorrow morning. At least he measured the water properly. As he was cutting vegetables, Il-hyun came up behind him and hugged his waist.
"Are you going to cook for me yourself?"
He put his lips to the nape of his neck, so Ja-kyung grimaced and shrugged him off. He kept clinging stickily, so he held out the knife he was using to cut carrots.
"I'm holding a knife right now."
Even in front of the knife he didn't care, but when he took out an onion, he immediately frowned and stepped back. The onion was particularly pungent, but not enough to make him curse like that. If he'd known this, he should have mixed him with onions and killed him instead of shooting him a year ago.
"You're much better at this than me."
Il-hyun leaned against the sink with his arms crossed, watching Ja-kyung cook. When he poured oil in the frying pan and skillfully stir-fried the vegetables, he even clapped in admiration. Ja-kyung felt absurdly proud and moved the frying pan even more vigorously.
Then he felt like he was being played by Kang Il-hyun and quickly came to his senses and frowned. Sure enough, he was smiling away. He felt like he'd been had. After completing the fried rice like that, he divided it onto plates for each of them.
"I'll eat well."
Kang Il-hyun sat down, picked up his spoon, took a bite, and nodded.
"It's delicious. You could marry me."
"Shut up."
Don't waste energy getting angry for no reason. It's not like he's been picking fights for just a day or two. But having a meal together alone in an empty house felt strangely weird. The housekeeper, the staff, Wang Han, and even Wang Lun were all gone, so it was even more awkward. So Ja-kyung kept his head down and ate in silence.
"Want to take a walk by the beach after the meal?"
"No."
"Then sex?"
When he frowned and glared, Kang Il-hyun laughed.
"You know my dick gets hard every time you look at me with those eyes wide open?"
Ja-kyung thought of the mannequin in the bedroom and sneered.
"That works out well. You even made a doll, so you can just fuck that."
"That's not for me to keep, it's a gift for you."
When he asked what he meant, he smiled viciously.
"It means next time you run away, it won't end with just a mannequin."
Ja-kyung flinched then pretended not to hear and kept eating. The reason those words didn't sound like a joke was because Kang Il-hyun was crazy enough to actually do it. After eating, Kang Il-hyun even did the dishes on his own. Ja-kyung felt unnecessarily uncomfortable and tried to help but got chased away and made to sit at the table.
"Sit here and admire my broad back."
Saying that so brazenly himself. He rolled up his sleeves and washed the plates and cups. He couldn't understand why he wore a shirt and full suit even on an island, but every time he bent forward to move, the shirt pulled tight and revealed the shape of his firm, sculpted upper body.
He washed the dishes with enough force that tendons stood out on his arms, and finally smashed a cup. He cursed and threw the broken cup into the trash can. Ja-kyung sat in the chair watching that sight, then looked around the house.
It felt like someone could appear at any moment. But the house was deathly quiet, with only the sound of water and dishes clinking. Everything was still unfamiliar. After washing the dishes, Il-hyun dried his wet hands and walked to the table. Water had splashed all over the front of his shirt somehow while he washed dishes.
He looked down at his wet shirt and frowned, so Ja-kyung said without thinking.
"You should have just brought someone to do the work."
Il-hyun started unbuttoning his shirt one by one.
"I don't want you being conscious of other people. I wanted you to focus entirely on me alone."
"……."
"I want to use this opportunity to properly look into your heart."
"……."
"Until then, I'll wait too."
"What do you mean?"
"I won't touch your body first while you're staying here. I promise. Of course, if you come to my room first and take off your clothes yourself, that's a different story."
"Dream on."
He was calm but his tone was sincere. Truly an incomprehensible man. Sometimes like a childish elementary schooler, sometimes like an adult, and sometimes like a crazy murderer—he didn't know which was the real Kang Il-hyun. While watching him, he takes off his shirt completely. Then he starts taking off his pants too.
Belatedly coming to his senses, Ja-kyung hardened his expression.
"Why are you taking off your pants?"
"To shower."
You can go inside and take them off. Why here of all places. On top of that, he even pulls down his underwear. Kang Il-hyun's erect cock suddenly popped up. It was so firmly erect it looked like it would stick to his stomach. Ja-kyung opened his mouth and was at a loss for words.
Is he taking some kind of drugs? Otherwise how is it erect every time he takes it out? With an expression like he saw something he shouldn't have, he turned his head away sharply, and Il-hyun tossed his clothes aside and asked.
"Want to eat?"
He grimaced and yelled at him to fuck off, and he smiled greasily.
"I was talking about dessert. There's a decent cafe at the end of the island."
"……."
"Let's go together tomorrow."
Hearing it was an island, he thought only this house was there, but apparently not. Hearing there was a resort and restaurants though they'd have to travel a bit by car, Ja-kyung felt slightly relieved. At least he could eat proper meals.
After he disappeared to shower, Ja-kyung leaned his head back with an exhausted face. He was tired so he closed his eyes, and Kang Il-hyun's voice came from the bathroom.
"Honey. I can't find the shampoo, can you come find it for me?"
Ja-kyung frowned and shouted right back.
"Stop with the bullshit!"
He heard laughter right away. Ja-kyung got up from his seat and went into his bedroom. After locking the door firmly, he turned around and saw the mannequin standing in front of the window and flinched. Ah. The more he looks, the scarier it gets.
He dragged the bed sheet and covered it, and that was a bit better. How did he think to make something like this. He should have at least made the dick bigger. It's not this small. That bastard, is his own big so everyone else looks small to him? He got angry for no reason and went into the bathroom swearing.
After lighting and smoking a cigarette, he took off all his clothes. He turned on the hot water and finished showering, and felt like he could live a little. While drying off with a towel, Ja-kyung turned around and stopped. The bathroom mirror briefly caught his back and there was something he hadn't seen.
No way... The moment he confirmed it properly, his eyes went wide.
There was an unfamiliar letter prominently engraved at the boundary between his waist and buttocks. It was English and small in size, but anyone could see it was Kang Il-hyun's name. Was this a joke? He applied water to wipe it, then scrubbed with soap, but the letters remained clear without smudging.
He looked with disbelief and then fiercely contorted his face. Fuck. He hastily threw on a robe and stormed out angrily, barged into the room where Kang Il-hyun was staying. Bang. He opened the door like he'd break it and went in, and Kang Il-hyun was on the phone with someone with just a towel around his lower body and a cigarette in his mouth.
"I'll call you back."
He finished the call and raised one eyebrow. What's going on?
Ja-kyung fumed and pointed his finger.
"Who said you could tattoo my body whenever you want!"
Il-hyun set his phone aside and slowly approached. Seeing his narrowing eyes, that was exactly the look before he loses his mind. Ja-kyung clenched his fists. His condition had recovered considerably, and he felt like he wouldn't lose even if they fought now. Il-hyun approached and tilted his head slightly to the side.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Ja-kyung angrily took off his robe to show him the letters engraved below his waist. You still don't know after seeing this? As soon as the words ended, Il-hyun grabbed his shoulder and threw Ja-kyung onto the bed. Suddenly pinned underneath, Ja-kyung furrowed his brows.
Il-hyun untied the towel around his waist and grinned.
"You came first, and you took off your clothes first?"