KTS Ch 2

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Is this your first time here?”

The man leaned back and sat in his chair. Woojung hid his trembling voice and recited the prescribed script.

“Good morning. For your beverage, would you like me to prepare coffee or black tea?”

“You should answer the question I asked.”

A shiver went down Woojung’s back. A business smile was out of the question; he could not manage his expression at all. He was not strong-hearted enough for that, and it was clear that if he tried to raise the corners of his mouth in his current state, they would just quiver pathetically.

He wanted to run out of the guest room right away. This situation was too, too difficult for Woojung. Calming his trembling heart, he barely managed to answer.

“…This is my first time here.”

“Give me a cup of coffee.”

“Yes, yes.”

Woojung did as the man ordered, pouring the coffee and setting down the rest of the tableware. When he placed the last dish on the table, he wanted to shout with joy.

“Please enjoy your meal….”

I hope you do, he was about to say as he tried to pull the tray away. The man’s chopsticks pointed at the plate.

“What is the name of this.”

“Crab meat cream soup….”

“Crab meat cream soup?”

“…Probably?”

A soft sound of laughter. The man chuckled as if in disbelief. In the man’s eyes, which had been as tranquil as if they held the night sea, Woojung’s reflection filled the space completely.

“I am not asking for the name of a dish.”

It was a response he could not comprehend. Woojung’s round eyes blinked at the man.

“…Then what.”

The man’s chopsticks pointed at Woojung. The trace of a smile still lingered on the corners of his mouth.

“I am asking for your name.”

Why was he asking for his name? Could it be that he was going to report the earlier mistake to the part leader and file a complaint? Woojung’s mind tangled into a mess. As his expression turned strange, the man watching him also furrowed his brow deeply.

“Yesterday, you made me look for you twice, and today, you’re making me say things twice.”

The man set his chopsticks down with a clatter and looked at Woojung. He seemed unbothered, but Woojung was not. The sharp silence before him, the gaze that coiled around Woojung, was unbearably difficult to endure.

If a problem arose with this part-time job, the daily life he was precariously maintaining would also fall apart. What could be more important than the problem of putting food on the table? Fidgeting with anxiety, Woojung finally opened his mouth after a long while.

“…It’s Cheon Woojung.”

“Alright, Mr. Woojung. I am Sa Gongjun.”

The empty chair next to him was pushed back. Woojung’s gaze naturally drifted downward. Sa Gongjun’s toes were hooked on the edge of the chair. The straight, neat instep of his foot and the elegantly curved ankle moved slowly. The black gown covering his thighs parted, revealing firm thighs with a clearly defined vertical line.

It was an unrealistic sight. The clothes he was wearing, the way he sat, his manner of speaking. Elegance could not be felt in any of it, yet Sa Gongjun’s unique atmosphere was added to it, making it feel as if he were appreciating a work of art.

“…An interesting staff member.”

A calm and powerful voice. Woojung followed the sound and lifted his head. The Sa Gongjun who entered his sight was still in the same spot. Leaning his chin on the dining table, looking up at Woojung in his loosened gown, in that very same posture.

“Do you think you can see it by looking like that. Why don’t you just sit down below and look up.”

“Ah, that’s….”

“It’s fine. I may not look it, but I like guys who are horny.”

“…That’s not it.”

He had never imagined that such words would flow from the mouth of a man who would seem ascetic if he kept it closed. The image of a suite guest that had formed in Woojung’s mind and the man before him were very, very different.

“So, does the bottom half pass too?”

His face was not just flushing; it felt like his head was about to explode. He had a lot of part-time job experience, but this was the first time he had been faced with such a situation, and he could not even begin to guess how to handle it well.

“I’m sorry, but.”

“Sorry? Are you saying it’s a fail.”

“A fai….”

Woojung could not finish his words and clamped his mouth shut like a clam.

The long eyes stared at Woojung. He lowered his eyebrows as if he were hurt, but he could not hide his sparkling eyes. He was watching with interest as the bright-eyed young staff member who had entered his domain flailed about.

Sa Gongjun, without taking his eyes off Woojung, kicked the empty chair. The sound of the chair legs scraping across the floor was harsh.

“Sit.”

Even when looking down from above, he felt crushed by the pressure. But now he was telling him to sit? It was a fact that Woojung knew without having to experience it—that as soon as he sat facing him, he would shrink back, intimidated.

As he stood stiffly in place, Sa Gongjun’s eyes twitched fiercely. His gaze, which made no attempt to hide his emotions and revealed them as they were, tightened around Woojung as if to bind him.

“Hmm.”

“……”

“So Mr. Woojung is also a staff member, is that it.”

Sa Gongjun leaned his body toward one side of the table. Rummaging through a money clip that was bulgingly full, he took something out. A pitch-black credit card swayed back and forth in front of Woojung’s eyes.

“I’ve used up all my cash, what should I do. Do you take cards too?”

“……”

“You don’t like it?”

“…No. It’s alright, you don’t have to give me anything.”

Woojung’s breathing grew increasingly rapid. The sharp energy that seemed to constrict his body from a distance was similar to a sense of pressure. If he were not on duty, he felt like he would have run to a place where Sa Gongjun’s gaze could not reach.

Woojung thought that the man, of whom he currently knew nothing but his three-syllable name, might perhaps be an Alpha. He had never once been targeted by an Alpha’s pheromones, but he even had a groundless conviction that if the man were to intentionally release something, it would be Alpha pheromones. His appearance, his atmosphere, his manner of speaking all said so. Even his own inability to react rationally.

However, it was impossible to find out the facts right now. This was because for adults who were Alphas and Omegas, unless they revealed their secondary gender as part of their self-introduction or deliberately let their pheromones leak, there was no way to determine what secondary gender each other possessed.

“So you don’t take cards. Then wait a moment.”

Woojung’s anxious eyes followed Sa Gongjun’s movements. After briefly leaving the kitchen area, he returned with wads of fifty-thousand won bills fluttering in both of his hands. Woojung shook his head from side to side.

“I, I’m really fin….”

Sa Gongjun, holding the bills divided between his hands, embraced Woojung from behind. The warmth of another person’s body was transmitted through the thin uniform. They were so close that if he just turned his head, their cheeks would brush and the tips of their noses would touch.

“You smell good.”

“…Ah….”

“Usually, they just come in covered in the smell of food.”

He buried his face in the nape of his neck and examined Woojung, moving up along the straight line of his throat. The slender, long line of his neck, the plump lips, the downy cheeks, all the way to his round forehead.

“Let go of me, please.”

“Hmm.”

Sa Gongjun took a deep breath with his mouth open. Each time he inhaled and exhaled, the white skin broke out in goosebumps all at once. Woojung froze, his fists pressed tightly against his thighs.

“Ah, don’t do that.”

“Don’t do what?”

“…Yes.”

That was as far as Woojung got in uttering a clear statement.

“What have I done for you to say don’t.”

“……”

“Fuck, you’re so arousing….”

A large, hard hand roughly rummaged through the gap in Woojung’s vest. Sa Gongjun, who had carelessly stuffed the money in, grabbed Woojung’s flat chest tightly and shook it. Woojung curled his body forward and made a sound.

“Ugh….”

The strength drained from his legs. Woojung crouched, about to collapse to the floor. Then Sa Gongjun crouched at the same angle and wrapped his arms around Woojung’s waist.

With a sound like eucha, Woojung’s legs lifted into the air. Something hot and soft brushed against his buttocks. Woojung struggled, twisting his shoulders from side to side. The corners of his eyes grew hot, and the choked breaths in his throat grew increasingly moist.

“Hmm, is it because the money isn’t enough? Then I should give you more.”

Sa Gongjun mauled his chest with his palm as if trying to tear it. The yellow bills wedged in between were crumpled like trash, rustling. Woojung’s vision blurred in an instant.

“Take… take it out, please.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen a guy ask me to take it out when I haven’t even put it in.”

Woojung, who was hanging in the air, turned his head back. It seemed the passenger behind him hadn’t understood him correctly, so he felt he needed to explain in more detail.

“Your hand, I’m talking about your hand. Here….”

“I have to use my hand to slip you the money.”

“Hngh, ah….”

“What, is it that you don’t smell the money because you’re receiving it so elegantly? Do I need to stick it somewhere else?”

Thrust, thrust, Sa Gongjun ground his hips against Woojung’s buttocks.

He tried squirming to get away. His two feet touched the floor again, but Sa Gongjun did not budge in the slightest.

Faced with the unexpected situation, his whole body trembled. If he screamed, would someone hear him? The possibility of that was close to zero. Then what about the probability of someone coming to look for him while he was on a delivery run? If Seo Dowon had been there, maybe, but his work area had changed starting today, so even that was a distant hope.

Woojung reached out and gripped the edge of the table tightly. He had never imagined he would feel so isolated on a cruise with a few hundred staff and a few thousand passengers. He had to somehow get out of here safely and not cause any trouble until he returned to Incheon Port… but no method came to mind.

Sa Gongjun cupped his palm and inserted it between Woojung’s legs. The voice of Sa Gongjun, who was watching Woojung jump as if he had been electrocuted, was full of amusement.

“With your eyes, you act like you could lick a person up, so why is there no reaction down here?”

Woojung urgently grabbed Sa Gongjun’s wrist. As he pressed his thighs and knees together and held firm, an arm that came from behind wrapped around Woojung’s waist, pinning him so he could not move.

“Anyone who saw this would think I’m killing someone.”

He thought his heart might give out and he could die soon from beating this fast. In contrast to Woojung, who was barely holding himself up, Sa Gongjun’s tone felt almost serene, and Woojung felt his breath catch in his throat.

“Mr. Woojung.”

A hand traveled up from his waist, over his chest, and gripped Woojung’s throat tightly. The texture of the skin clasped in Sa Gongjun’s palm was incredibly smooth and soft. Tilting his head, he buried his lips in Woojung’s ear, and the corners of his mouth went up.

“Mr. Woojung.”

“…Yes, yes.”

“I really hate asking the same question, but for you, Mr. Woojung, I’ll ask just one more time.”

Woojung shut his eyes so tightly his long eyelashes disappeared and nodded his head.

“You still don’t feel like sitting down?”

“…What?”

“I’m fine with talking like this forever.”

“No, no. I’ll sit.”

“A good decision.”

The hand that had been rubbing his groin now patted his head. When he had tried to get away, it had been hard as a rock, but once Sa Gongjun’s will was decided, his arm was released without any issue.

Woojung pulled back a nearby chair. He hung his head low and sat meekly at the table. His downcast eyes were filled with moisture. Woojung stacked his feet, the only part of him that was out of Sa Gongjun’s radar, and rubbed them together forcefully.

If he weren’t in a situation where every penny counted, he would have cursed him out as a son of a bitch and quit the part-time job on the spot. But he could not say a word and just bit the inside of his cheek hard.

Sa Gongjun served a portion of the crab meat cream soup into a bowl in front of Woojung. And he even pushed the dishes that were far away closer to Woojung. It was to the point where he wondered if this was the same person who had been groping his body just a moment ago.

As Woojung hesitated, Sa Gongjun even spoke to him, saying, eat. He lifted a spoonful as he was told. The dish that had been so delicious when eating with the staff had no taste at all.

Sa Gongjun, watching the mechanically moving Woojung, suddenly asked a question.

“You were speaking Filipino.”

Although only two cycles had passed, Woojung quickly read his conversation pattern. After a round of teasing had passed, his gaze returned to one of observation, sizing something up again.

“I saw you in the lounge.”

“I learned it when I was young.”

“Did you grow up abroad?”

“No. Little by little from the people who worked with my father….”

“I guess your head isn’t entirely bad.”

It was a strange way of speaking. It was as if he were laying down the premise that he was unintelligent, yet not quite.

Woojung, mulling it over, began to feel bad. But right now, his priority was to avoid creating any point of contact with Sa Gongjun and to get out of this place safely.

“I only know a little. Just enough to stumble through when I encounter a foreigner while working….”

“But you understood the passenger in the lounge just fine, did you not.”

“……”

Silence was an admission of guilt. Sa Gongjun looked at Woojung and smiled. He sat with his mouth unhurriedly closed, enjoying and enjoying the sight of Woojung trembling with anxiety. Having blocked off all of Woojung’s escape routes in advance, he threw his real question.

“Do you also interpret?”

He wanted to say he did not know how. Woojung became afraid that if he gave an answer his opponent did not want, he would fall into a difficult situation again. So he answered honestly.

“English and… a little Filipino.”

“Do you have any intention of using that mouth for my sake, and taking my money, Mr. Cheon Woojung.”

Sa Gongjun grabbed Woojung’s leash and shook it.

There is no such thing as free money.

It was a phrase his mother, who had suffered from financial hardship during her life, used to say like a habit. And now, Woojung also knew its meaning well.

Of course he knew. He had learned through his experiences so far, to his very bones, that there was no one in the world who just gave away money. The money borrowed from the bank came with interest, and when he could no longer borrow money and had to borrow from other places, even more interest was tacked on.

And now, here, on the table between Cheon Woojung and Sa Gongjun, was a wad of fifty-thousand won bills. This bundle of cash, which to Sa Gongjun was nothing more than a notepad provided in a suite, was more than enough to sway Woojung’s heart.

He closed his eyes and composed his breathing. The way money swayed a person was like a demon. The demon had already swallowed his family whole, and now it was trying to devour him too.

Woojung thought about the price attached to that money. For money to be offered to him, a person to whom even loan sharks would no longer lend money. He did not even want to think about what the interest attached to that wad of bills would be.

He had to look away. That was the right thing to do. He knew well that the correct choice was to shake off the sweet whisper and continue to work hard at his part-time job and earn money as he had been.

In his honest heart, he was greatly moved. However, Woojung still looked at Sa Gongjun with his guard not yet down. It was the best attack Woojung could muster right now.

As Woojung just sat there silently, Sa Gongjun approached him.

“It is not a difficult job.”

“……”

“You have honest eyes. Do I seem strange to you?”

“A little. I don’t understand why you would offer me so much money… to entrust me with such a task.”

“Because everyone around me is someone I can’t tell if they’re on my side or not.”

Woojung’s head tilted to one side. He gripped the edge of the chair with both hands so Sa Gongjun could not see and continued speaking.

“…How do you intend to trust me? We just met yesterday, and this is the first time we’ve had a conversation like this.”

“That is correct. I do not trust you, Mr. Cheon Woojung. Just as you do not trust me.”

“Then why….”

“Why do you think that is?”

“……”

“I am asking you why you think I am making such a proposal to you, Mr. Woojung, who has nothing and whose abilities are insignificant.”

It felt like he had been hit hard without being struck. Woojung hunched his shoulders and sat back, away from Sa Gongjun.

“…I don’t know.”

“That is why I am doing it. I do not trust you, Mr. Cheon Woojung, but I trust your poverty. And your experience, which is close to a blank slate.”

At Sa Gongjun’s confident words, Woojung’s head buzzed.

“Those who are poor and inexperienced do not even know what they should steal from me, so I trust in that. As payment for that, I will give you a generous compensation. Enough so that you won’t have to struggle for a living, searching for part-time jobs like you are now.”

Sa Gongjun said as he rose from his seat.

“I will give you time to think about it until we arrive at Incheon Port, so when you have made up your mind, come find me again. I will tell you the detailed terms after you have accepted my proposal.”

A black gown fell in the place Sa Gongjun had passed. He entered the bathroom with slow steps.

Woojung silently got up from his seat. Then he cleaned up the traces he had left behind. He draped the gown that was rolling on the floor over the sofa, tidied up the trash roughly, and moved the plates scattered on the table onto the tray. In the end, only the bait that Sa Gongjun had left behind remained.

Woojung’s white hand repeatedly gripped and released the wad of bills.

You have no pride, Cheon Woojung.

To think this is catching my eye in this situation….