PSY CH 36

A faint smell of instant noodles lingered in the lodging house’s kitchen. It seemed someone had just eaten before him. Jooyoung blankly stared out at the darkness beyond the open window, left ajar for ventilation. It wasn’t until his hands felt not just cold but aching that he finally turned off the faucet.

The glossy grapes were a recent gift from his aunt-in-law. He hadn’t had much of an appetite lately and left them untouched, but if he waited any longer, they’d go completely mushy. He figured he’d have them instead of dinner. After carefully washing the grapes, he stepped out of the kitchen, just in time to run into the building manager, Sunwoo.

“Jooyoung-ssi, hello!”

As always, he greeted him brightly. Jooyoung returned the greeting and was about to pass by naturally, but then a thought crossed his mind, and he called out to him.

“Excuse me…”

“Yes?”

Sunwoo, who had been about to enter the kitchen, leaned his upper body back while still gripping the doorframe. Jooyoung hesitated. Sunwoo was in charge of most of the lodging house’s operations, so if he asked about the CCTV, he’d probably get an answer easily. But…

“Would you like some grapes?”

“Huh? Grapes?”

Blinking blankly, Sunwoo stepped fully out of the kitchen.

“I got them as a gift, but it’s too much for me to eat alone.”

“Oh wow, if you’re offering, I’d be really grateful.”

Jooyoung told him he’d bring some over and headed back to his room. He grabbed a few bunches of grapes from the fridge and returned to the kitchen, where Sunwoo eagerly accepted them. Without even washing them, he popped one in his mouth and exclaimed how incredibly sweet they were.

“Thanks for the grapes, Jooyoung-ssi.”

“Sure.”

As Jooyoung turned to leave, Sunwoo called out to him.

“If anything ever bothers you while you’re staying here, please don’t hesitate to let me know. Since we’re all living close together, even little things can cause trouble sometimes. And I can fix most things myself, so seriously—just say the word!”

“Okay, I will. Thank you.”

“Yep! Then have a good night!”

Leaving Sunwoo behind, still chewing on grapes as he walked back into the kitchen, Jooyoung returned to his room. Through the window left open for ventilation, the sound of cicadas poured in. When he closed the window, the world fell quiet. Inevitably, the thoughts he had been pushing aside crept back into his mind, settling down like they belonged there.

“It was the original.”

“…”

“I told you, I don’t lie.”

If someone asked whether he still trusted Dohyun after all that, he wouldn’t have an answer… But it didn’t feel like a lie.

Even if the CCTV footage had been deleted, Dohyun already knew how afraid Jooyoung was of being reported. Maybe he just brought it up again on a whim, knowing it would get to him. 

“…”

Staring blankly at the grapes, Jooyoung suddenly acted on impulse and stepped outside. The hallway, cloaked in thick darkness, was utterly silent. The sensor lights flicked on with a sharp pop as they detected movement.

He tilted his head back and scanned the ceiling of the corridor. As he walked, he counted the shiny little cameras glinting in the dark. One, two, three…

“…Ah.”

Jooyoung’s steps halted as he followed the CCTV. His lips parted in shock. There was another CCTV camera pointing at the landing where he had picked up the wallet.

***

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Around midnight, a loud noise echoed through the quiet building. The source of the sound was the front door on the 5th floor.

Under normal circumstances, Jooyoung would never have done such a thing. But now, he was consumed by the thought that he needed to see Dohyun, and there was no time to consider anything else.

Bang!

With another strike of his fist, the sound of the door lock disengaging followed. The front door creaked open, and bright light poured out. Dohyun appeared with a calm expression on his face, very different from Jooyoung’s.

Even though Jooyoung had shown up late at night, Dohyun didn’t seem the least bit startled. He raised his chin slightly and lowered his gaze, staring quietly.

“…”

Jooyoung, with his hands in his pockets, grabbed the door handle and glared at Dohyun.

“Delete it.”

“…”

“Delete it, you asshole.”

“Heh…”

Dohyun quickly understood the situation from Jooyoung’s sharp curse and let out a laugh, as if it were all too ridiculous.

“Why am I an asshole?”

“You lied.”

“It’s not a lie.”

“…”

“I just didn’t tell you everything.”

Dohyun leaned casually against the doorframe and spoke nonchalantly. They had deleted the original video as part of a legitimate deal, so why was he the asshole?

Jooyoung’s bottom lip trembled. It wasn’t a lie, but it was still deceit. Not realizing that, he had lost all of his leverage over Dohyun. On top of that, he had handed it over himself.

“I guess you checked.”

Dohyun smirked, curling his lips.

When Jooyoung saw the CCTV from a different angle, showing the landing, it felt like his heart immediately dropped. He stood there for a while, staring up at the CCTV in silence.

“Should I delete it for you?”

Then Dohyun said something unexpected. His lips, curved in a gentle smile, seemed kind at first glance, but Jooyoung didn’t trust him. If Dohyun truly intended to delete it, he wouldn’t have let Jooyoung know about the other CCTV in the first place. 

The silence stretched, but Dohyun waited comfortably, as if there was nothing at stake.

“You’re not just going to delete it, are you?” 

“Wow, how did you know?” 

Dohyun opened his eyes wide, pretending to be surprised. The fake expression was so obvious, causing Jooyoung to bite his cheek hard. The swollen flesh hurt just from his teeth brushing against it.

“…Seriously, why are you doing this to me?”

Dohyun stared at Jooyoung for a moment, then briefly glanced at the darkness beyond him. He looked back at Jooyoung and spoke in a flat tone.

“You said you’d tell me, but you completely take it back.” 

“…What?”

Dohyun deliberately licked his lips, where scabs had formed. Only then did Jooyoung understand what he was saying. 

“Are you being serious?”

“I told you I don’t lie.” 

Jooyoung’s head spun. He couldn’t make sense of how things had gotten to this point. Had he underestimated him too much? He had assumed Dohyun would get angry or flustered—he never imagined he’d act this way. He hadn’t intended to provoke Dohyun in the first place.

The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. No matter how he tried to look at it from a different angle, the conclusion was the same. Dohyun was seeking a sexual relationship with him. He might have thought it was just a passing whim if it hadn’t been for yesterday. But Dohyun had kissed him, and now he was asking for more.

None of this felt real.

“So…”

“…”

“Do you want to sleep with me?”

Jooyoung shot him a glare, intentionally fierce. He hoped that Dohyun would realize just how abnormal the situation was.

“Yeah.”

But Dohyun’s answer came back far too quickly, almost emptily.

“…I’m a guy.”

Dohyun pulled his hands from his pockets and covered his face. With his head slightly lowered, he let out a quiet laugh, then ran his hand over his neck a few times.

“I know. You’re a guy.”

“…”

“I’ve actually been really curious about something, and you said you’d tell me. So why would I turn that down?”

Jooyoung felt his anger flare. Using someone’s sexual orientation as a means of blackmail, and the fact that to Dohyun, it was merely a game that sparked his curiosity.

“…”

Around midnight, Jooyoung had often seen Dohyun flirting with women in the hallway. The women he shared intimate moments with were sometimes the same, sometimes different. But when he saw them walking side by side toward the 5th floor, it was easy to predict what would happen next.

The women’s shoes at the entrance, the underwear, and the accessories he had seen at his place. Dohyun’s familiarity with his relationships with women was evident everywhere. 

The boy who had hesitated to kiss him, now no longer existed.

Maybe Dohyun was now trying to satisfy the curiosity he hadn’t been able to resolve when he was younger. But what would happen afterward?

“Dohyun-ah.”

Jooyoung slowly parted his lips.

“Just eat what you usually eat.”

“…”

“If you eat something you don’t normally, you’ll get sick.”

Dohyun let out a reckless laugh, as if he hadn’t been affected at all. Jooyoung bit the inside of his cheek again, feeling the bitter taste of blood.

“You won’t know until you try.”

“…”

“Also, if I don’t like it after taste it, I can just stop.” 

Dohyun stepped aside, revealing a wide house behind him. Unlike where Jooyoung was standing, it was brightly lit. 

“So, are you going to do it, or not?” 

Dohyun tilted his head playfully.

***

“Cough, ahem!”

Jooyoung, who had been standing absent-mindedly, snapped back to reality when he sensed someone nearby. The man standing by the counter kept glancing his way and clearing his throat.

“Ah.”

“…”

“Go ahead and pay first.”

It seemed the man thought he was in line to pay. Jooyoung stepped aside, moving away from the counter. But when he looked more closely, the man’s face seemed familiar. The man also seemed to recognize Jooyoung.

It took a moment, but Jooyoung realized who he was. The atmosphere was a bit different from that day, but it was still unmistakable. He was the man who had caused a scene at the pawn shop. This time, he looked healthier and his clothes were neatly arranged, suggesting he hadn’t been drinking.

“Hello.”

At Jooyoung’s greeting, the man widened his eyes and awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. He fumbled with his earlobe before lowering his hand, offering an awkward apology. “Sorry about that time.”

“Somehow, I ended up drinking too much, and… well…”

“…”

“Anyway, I guess you’re friends with Dohyun, right?”

Hearing the name he had been thinking about all along, Jooyoung instinctively became wary of the man. 

“I didn’t know that and… make a mistake, um.” 

“…”

“Anyway! From now on, I’ll think of you like a nephew, so let’s get along, okay?”

Jooyoung recalled how the man had been acting subservient around Dohyun, but he didn’t dwell on it. He simply thought, as he watched the man leave the convenience store, that maybe he should’ve gone somewhere farther away.

Somewhere the man couldn’t see it…

Jooyoung glanced down at his hand, which had been lightly clenched.

It was a condom.

TL’s Note:
Hi, Lulu here! Thank you so much for supporting this story — it makes me really happy to see someone enjoying it as much as I do. While some chapters may reach 2,000 words or more, I’ve decided to keep the cost at 5 Loves per chapter. However, SMUT chapters will cost 7 Loves due to the added difficulty.