HYDP C15

Chapter 15

 “Did Seo Kang-jo head overseas again?”

“Mr. Seo, the CEO? Not sure.”

“Not sure? Doesn’t an ‘lover’ usually know the schedule?”

“…Lover?”

“Yeah. Weren’t you Seo Kang-jo’s lover?”

What on earth was he talking about now. Without so much as a blink, Sanhong finished the paperwork. His handoff as he passed the pen over and turned the signature line to the other party was practiced.

“Not a lover.”

“Really? With how he’s always looking for you, I figured you were.”

“I do have preferences.”

Speaking evenly, he kept on, and at that tone Cheonguk burst out laughing. The man scrawled his signature and slid the papers over, muttering:

“Anyway, I’m not the least bit glad that bastard’s back.”

Seo Kang-jo’s rank had quietly dropped to “that bastard.”

“Why? Didn’t you like it when he handed out cash?”

“Like hell. Every time he came, someone in the neighborhood ended up dead. And a guy like that’s a city councilman.”

“If he’s that big a fish, that’s why he can be a councilman. Looks like I’ll have to keep my head down for a while too.”

“Yeah. You especially be careful. He’s got his sights set on you.”

From the safe, he pulled out a bundle of fifty-thousand-won notes and handed it over.

“Come back for it in two weeks.”

“I will. I’ll win big and pay it all at once.”

“I waited on those words and lost half my organs.”

“…I’m going.”

Worried he’d cancel the contract, the man hurried out of the pawnshop.

Left alone with the least welcome of guests, he took a packet of instant coffee from the corner and poured in hot water.

“Do you sell your body?”

Cheonguk tossed it out first thing. He ignored the rudeness to the end. Some things weren’t worth answering.

“Are you running a pawnshop, or whoring?”

“What’s got you so curious.”

“I want to know a lot of things about you.”

“I don’t want to tell you.”

He drank his coffee without a ripple. Cheonguk chuckled, stroking the vivid-colored sofa.

“Our Sanhong’s got pretty taste. Not exactly easy to source a color like this.”

“Even selling your cum wouldn’t buy this sofa.”

“Wow, damn. Listen to that gutter mouth… I might get hard.”

In the underworld, Beta semen went for about two million won; Alpha semen started at ten million.

Covering his face with both hands, Cheonguk peeked through his fingers at him. How could someone so clear and beautiful spit out something shameless every sentence.

He felt like he could let himself be consumed by Sanhong and die. Then the fact he was a Beta rankled for no reason.

“What bounty did the bureau put on me?”

“Our Sanhong doesn’t have a bounty. You’re a straight promotion.”

A reward more than any bounty.

“…So you’re going to kill me and get promoted?”

“Hey, Sanhong, said it already. I’m not killing you.”

“……”

He didn’t believe that face without credibility. Only, “Ah. Sure.” and let it slide.

“Do you co-sign?”

“Why would I ruin someone’s life.”

“Don’t sell your body, won’t co-sign… Isn’t our Sanhong a little too upright? Then how do you make a living? You’re retired, too.”

He started treating him like a peddler—meaning, he didn’t bother listening to anything.

He hadn’t dressed the part like last time; looked like he truly wasn’t here to kill him. But with those types, one never knew when they’d flip.

Once more, he vowed never to trust him.

“Oh, Sanhong. I’m here.”

“Welcome.”

The pawnshop door opened and half a dozen men poured in. They glanced at Cheonguk on the sofa, then dropped their eyes and took seats.

“I came to get what I pawned last time.”

“Yes.”

“But I’m a little short.”

“How much?”

The man gestured for him to lean in. He pushed his head forward without a word.

Watching with interest, Cheonguk idly bounced his toe.

“It’s fine. Then just give me that amount.”

“Really? For real?”

“Yes.”

He stamped a slanted closing seal on the pawn-loan contract and slid it into the file slated for disposal, then shut the drawer.

Meanwhile, the man’s crew sacrificed two coffee packets to brew a paper cup filled to the brim. They sat across from Cheonguk and started trading empty, useless talk.

How much someone had won, what the game was—they chattered away. Then he felt a stare like a pinprick.

“……”

“……”

Cheonguk was glaring, face hard.

“Is he staring at us?”

“Looks like it…”

Under that gaze, they sipped their coffee. One stood to go get more.

“Hey. You think you bought the place?”

“…What?”

“What’re you chugging like that for. You fuckers. This a coffeehouse?”

Uncrossing his legs, he rose slow. Swinging his long legs, he blocked the man’s path, lowered his head to match eye level, and spoke.

“You’re really bleeding him dry. How many packets you gotta sacrifice to wet your gut.”

“……”

“If your mouth’s bored, go lick each other’s dicks.”

The man dodged that oily, dangerous stare. Then Cheonguk went to a planter in the corner and scooped up soil. It had been watered recently; it stuck damp to his hand.

He blocked the man again and dumped the dirt into the paper cup.

“Here. Coffee.”

“……”

“I said drink.”

He poured in hot water himself, stirred with his pinky, and held the cup out.

Inside, of course, was muddy water.

They wanted to make a fuss, but picking a fight with an unfamiliar outsider wasn’t easy. As for the strange show of character, he found it absurd, but he didn’t bother stopping it.

Honestly, he didn’t like guys who came by and only mooched coffee every time either, and he wasn’t close enough to Cheonguk to step in earnestly. Whoever swung first, it wasn’t his concern.

“Not going to drink? Huh?”

Half-threatening, he waggled the cup, mocking them; they hesitated, then with a long sigh filed out. He plopped back on the sofa, regretful look on his face, cradling the cup like it mattered.

As the door closed, he exhaled short and folded his arms. A few unresolved contracts lay scattered on the desk. Gathering them, a little annoyed, he cut a glance at Cheonguk.

He looked around the pawnshop with a listless air.

Again it struck him: the atmosphere was nothing like the outside. Immaculately clean. He could have been told to lick the floor and done it.

Even the air felt clear. The whole neighborhood stank of rot; this place was like paradise. Soon he spotted an air purifier humming quietly in the corner.

His gaze was closer to recording than sightseeing.

“If you’re going to do that, why not just take a picture.”

“Seeing with the eyes lasts longer than a photo.”

He threw the jab, but Cheonguk gentled the reply.

“No staff?”

“No.”

A place that at least put on the face of an office; managing it alone without a single employee made him look pitiable. He didn’t like that, and asked again.

“You do everything alone?”

“No. I just do what’s mine.”

Keeping it short, he stamped down the contract like he meant not to keep talking.

The heavy thunk of the seal pressing the desk echoed through the shop.

Watching a moment, he looked like he wanted to say more, but in the end shoved his hands in his pockets without a word. Open his mouth and risk bringing up what shouldn’t be said and earning resentment—better to keep it shut.

He pretended not to notice the hesitation. Quietly he stacked the papers, jammed them in the drawer, and tapped the desk with his palm.

“Well then, Sanhong. Take care. Lock up tight.”

“……”

“See you again.”

“If you must.”

At that, he smiled and pushed the door open. Smothering the depth in his eyes, he turned away with a bitter smile.

He raised a hand in a small wave and walked off quietly. He didn’t move until the door fully closed.

Click—

The closing door’s sound sliced the air, and stillness fell again over the empty pawnshop.

Even as he stepped out, Cheonguk dragged his feet for a time. He came out into the long alley, but his heart was still inside.

Sanhong’s face, eyes, even his lips—

“How is someone that beautiful.”

A laugh escaped him before he knew it.

More a breath of disbelief than a laugh. He was the kind of person who forced words like that out of you.

Sanhong, Sanhong, Yeon Sanhong….

The instant he thought of him, his heart seemed to drop. It wasn’t a face you could just pass by.

“How can someone… have a face like that.”

Rubbing his own face with his fingertips, he sighed. In his confused mind, dizziness and embarrassment seemed to tangle at once.