CI 1.14

“Here, have this later.”

Thinking he might be giving him candy again, Son Yeo-il turned to see that what Boss Won was holding in his hand turned out to be a hangover remedy. Son Yeo-il tilted his head to one side with a “Huh?”

“But you were the only one drinking earlier, Boss Won?”

A little while ago, Boss Won had ordered soju, saying, “You can’t eat kimchi stew without soju,” and then downed a bottle of soju without even offering some to Son Yeo-il.

He was neither flushed nor even smelled of alcohol, making Son Yeo-il wonder to himself what his liver was made out of, but hearing his words now, had he actually gotten completely drunk in the meantime?

“Oh, I don’t need this. If the Won Hee-yeon were to call it quits after just one bottle of soju, you’d have to look into funeral services first. Because I’d be on my last legs.”

Boss Won chuckled at his own joke, then once again pressed the hangover remedy bottle into Son Yeo-il’s hand.

“This is for you, Attorney Son. There’s a team dinner later this evening.”

“Ah…thank you. But how did you know I have a team dinner?”

“Yongju is such a small place, you could do three forward rolls and reach from one end to the other, don’t you know that?”

Even so, Manager Kim had probably told him, Son Yeo-il thought while carefully putting away the hangover remedy.

“And I’m on leave tomorrow, so I can’t have lunch with you. I’ll see you next week.”

“Aing, after tomorrow there’s also the weekend, so why say next week? Don’t be so distant between neighbors.”

Judging by his talk of being neighbors, it seemed he was planning to stay cooped up in the studio apartment over the coming weekend. Even without that, there was a subtle tension flowing among the residents due to the sudden appearance of a thug in the otherwise peaceful apartment building.

Last night, when Son Yeo-il was on his way to throw out recyclable trash, he almost bumped into another resident on the stairs. But then Boss Won suddenly appeared and threatened, “Can’t you see where you’re going? Want me to introduce you to an optician?” Even though Boss Won  claimed his attitude had been quite gentlemanly, he had ended up causing that person to hurriedly run away.

“It seems like it’s time for you to go home. You said you got this room as a second home, right? Why are you staying at your vacation home instead of your real actual house?”

“Well, I’m currently, you know, in a sort of season…”

“Season?”

“The season~ of love~.”

Boss Won casually delivered a line that felt like it could shorten one’s fingers and toes by 3 cm just from hearing it, and even added a wink at the end.

Season of love? More like mating season! In normal circumstances, Son Yeo-il would have shouted something like that, but today, being low on energy for various reasons, he just silently made a disgusted expression.

At that moment, Hong-shik, returning from the bathroom, hurriedly got into the car.

“Sorry, I’m late, boss. We’ll depart right away.”

“Aing. Hong-shik-ssi, are you still alive? You were so late I thought you’d dropped dead along the way.”

Boss Won’s attitude toward Hong-shik had grown noticeably colder lately. The problem started the day after the motel stakeout when Son Yeo-il got into the car and said, ‘Hong-shik-ssi. Thank you for the photos.’

At that moment, the Boss Won’s face, which had been smiling languidly, hardened like a demon’s. Though Son Yeo-il had initiated the conversation, Hong-shik caught the fallout, and from then on, whenever Boss Won found reason to pick on Hong-shik, he would call him ‘Hong-shik-ssi, Hong-shik-ssi’ until it grated on the ears.

Like how he scared that person on the stairs yesterday…For someone with a stature as big as Namsan Mountain, he’s surprisingly jealous.

Son Yeo-il thought this unconsciously but then erased the thought. The word ‘jealousy’ didn’t fit between him and Boss Won. After all, jealousy was an emotion that presupposed affection.

That’s not it. It’s better if it’s not.

As the car started moving, Son Yeo-il fiddled with the hangover remedy bottle in his pocket. When they were nearly at the law office, Boss Won, who had been giving Hong-shik a hard time, said to Son Yeo-il in an even softer voice than usual, “Drink moderately. I’m worried about you. Okay?”

He had planned to drink moderately even without that advice from Boss Won. Although Son Yeo-il’s drinking pattern had been quite unstable lately, he had no intention of exceeding his limit in front of his workplace superior.

According to the handover notes left by his predecessor, one of Representative Bae’s few good qualities was that he didn’t force drinks on others, so unless Son Yeo-il went crazy and started pouring drinks down his own throat, there was no need to be concerned about getting drunk.

He really is a strange person. Worrying about such unnecessary things. I’m not even going to drink at all.

When evening came and the team dinner began, Son Yeo-il was definitely in the ‘I’m not going to drink’ mode. His resolve remained firm until beef ribs were placed on the grill and the first round of drinks circulated. But when did he start to lose his senses?

Not going to drink…huh? I wasn’t going to drink…

When he momentarily closed his eyes and opened them again, Son Yeo-il was already completely drunk. His vision spinning and feeling nauseous were problems, but the biggest issue was that Son Yeo-il’s body had gone limp and was leaning against something.

A familiar body scent, broad and thick shoulders. Son Yeo-il suddenly realized whose back he was resting his weight on.

Am I being carried on the Boss Won’s back right now?

He tried to get up in alarm, but his body wouldn’t listen to him. His cheek, firmly attached to Boss Won’s back, just rubbed back and forth against the other man. When he took a deep breath, an unnatural breathing sound, “kruhup,” echoed in his nose.

At that moment, Son Yeo-il realized his eyes were slightly wet. He must have shed tears while half-asleep. There was no need to think about why he was crying. Son Yeo-il always seemed to want to cry. Most of the time, he was just holding back tears.

Even now, drunk as he was, Son Yeo-il swallowed back his tears. Boss Won’s back wasn’t wet yet. If he stopped quickly, no one would know Son Yeo-il had been crying.

Meanwhile, Boss Won’s footsteps headed toward the shabby studio apartment building. He climbed the stairs effortlessly, as if carrying a limp adult male on his back was nothing to him, and unhesitatingly opened the door to Son Yeo-il’s room.

“Uh, I did, dinner, how did…”

How do you know my room’s password, you stalker? That should have been the first thing to say. But the worried Son Yeo-il tried to first figure out how he ended up being carried on Boss Won’s back and brought home from the team dinner.

As his drunken tongue failed to properly form words, Boss Won sat Son Yeo-il down in the entryway and, while taking off his shoes one by one, provided the answer to his question.

“In this wild world, how could I stand by when such a pretty husband might be wandering around drunk? I was just waiting right next to your team dinner.”

Despite his rock-solid promise not to drink much, Son Yeo-il had once again gotten hopelessly drunk. According to his hazy memory, he had even poured the drinks down his own throat voluntarily, without anyone urging him on.

Neither Manager Kim, being a woman, nor Representative Bae, being elderly, could have taken care of the unconscious Son Yeo-il, so everyone must have been relieved when Boss Won suddenly showed up at the restaurant. While thinking it was embarrassing but fortunate, one worry remained on his mind.

“Did I, perhaps, umm…”

“Don’t worry. You didn’t make any mistakes. When I got there, you were just sleeping quietly without saying anything. How is our baby so pretty even when sleeping?”

He was relieved that he hadn’t caused any trouble, but then Boss Won’s flirtatious words suddenly reminded him that he still wasn’t safe. Right now, Son Yeo-il was in a room with Boss Won while completely drunk.

The last time he was in this situation, a very inappropriate event occurred. As a result, a type of man that should never have been entangled in Son Yeo-il’s life had become mixed into his daily routine.

Crazy, what is this man thinking coming in here?

Son Yeo-il glanced at Boss Won’s eyes like a deer caught in headlights. Even when he smiled languidly, his eyes remained sharp, and in the darkness, those black eyes sparkled like wild grapes.

A gaze that seemed both warm and boiling hot. It felt like stepping into a tiger’s den. More precisely, it felt like letting a tiger into the room.

This isn’t right. I need to tell him to leave.

His reasoning sounded alarms in his head, but his body, dulled by alcohol, was sluggish to respond. Perhaps it wasn’t just the alcohol—maybe a part of him even wanted to leave this situation as it was.

It was half instinctive attraction, half self-destructive impulse. A feeling that if Son Yeo-ilsomehow broke himself, this suffocating, gloomy mood might find some relief—a desire to throw everything away and let whatever happened happen.

Well, does it even matter? We’ve already rolled around once, doing it twice won’t wear me out. And even if it does…so what?

Son Yeo-il was gradually being overtaken by wicked impulses. Boss Won might have been thinking similarly—after removing his shoes completely, his large hands idly played with the other man’s ankles, exuding heat from his every touch.

Without realizing it, Son Yeo-il imagined his hands moving higher, caressing his calves, his knees, then firmly pressing and spreading his thighs.

Though he pretended otherwise, Son Yeo-il recalled the rippling arm muscles and thick chest that strained the other man’s shirt buttons—things he had been secretly observing all along. And that thick object that had rubbed against his buttocks when he caught him as he almost fell in the valley.

“Oh my.”

After a long silence where they just breathed heavily, Boss Won murmured quietly. His hand, which had been on Son Yeo-il’s ankle, slowly moved up to his face. His long, strong hands cupped his cheeks.

Was he going to kiss me? As Son Yeo-il slightly parted his lips with some expectation, he firmly pinched the other man’s cheeks between his thumbs and index fingers.

“Such a pretty-hearted person, so upset inside. Hmm? Did you need to drink to comfort yourself?”

Then came words he had never expected. They were sudden but accurate. Son Yeo-il was definitely acting this way because he was upset about something.

It was strange. He hadn’t said anything particularly impressive that would improve his mood, and it was something Son Yeo-il already knew about. Yet somehow, just having someone point out his churning emotions felt somewhat comforting.

Son Yeo-il swallowed back the tears that threatened to well up again. As he pressed his lips together, not wanting to show his distress, Boss Won thoroughly kneaded his cheeks. His annoying fingers somehow withdrew at precisely the moment Son Yeo-il considered getting angry.

“You should sleep. Hmm? Come on, at least take off your jacket.”

He supported Son Yeo-il to sit on the bed. Trying to act gentlemanly in his own way, he removed his suit jacket and loosened his tie, but the other man couldn’t help his physical reactions, repeatedly gulping down his saliva.

“Well, shall I take off something else too?”

He asked slyly as if joking, but it was obvious that if Son Yeo-il had nodded his head to that question, the simmering tension would boil over and something would definitely happen.

It wasn’t an entirely unreasonable suggestion. Son Yeo-il was still completely drunk, and the man’s body throbbing before him was just as intriguing as before.

“I, I’m, I’m fine.”

Though Son Yeo-il’s words were slurred, he firmly shook his head. For whatever reason, the feeling of wanting to give up had completely disappeared in an instant.

Son Yeo-il’s mind had straightened out, but his body was completely exhausted, so he collapsed onto the bed like a straw doll. If Boss Won hadn’t been here, he would have fallen asleep in one second.

Boss Won clicked his tongue repeatedly and covered him with a blanket. Even after that, as if reluctant to leave, Son Yeo-il could feel him removing his socks and then fiddling with his ankles again, but it didn’t feel threatening. It seemed he wouldn’t do anything against his will if the other man had said said no.

Sleep came flooding in with relief. Son Yeo-il had a feeling he could sleep more sweetly than any other night since coming here.

…Huh!

Just like Son Yeo-il told himself he would, he was able to sleep very soundly. He slept so deeply that he didn’t even hear the alarm, and woke up later than planned.

I must be crazy. On such an important day too!

Son Yeo-il jumped up and began moving around diligently. Today was his day off. He had taken leave because he had somewhere to go.

Representative Bae had granted his vacation without objection, probably having heard something from the law school professor who recommended him. Yesterday’s team dinner might have also been intended to comfort him.

From Representative Bae’s perspective, he was being considerate, but it was embarrassing to have completely passed out there in front of everyone. Furthermore, oversleeping was truly irresponsible.

I need to stop by the flower shop too. Time is running out…

Anxious about missing the bus, Son Yeo-il rushed out of the house with his hair still half-wet. He was running down the stairs while turning on a taxi app when…

“Oh my, run carefully, you’ll fall and scrape those pretty knees.”

Somehow knowing Son Yeo-il would be out, Boss Won was standing in front of the main entrance. Already flustered, Son Yeo-il became even more so.

“Boss Won. I need to go somewhere quickly right now.”

“That’s why I came, isn’t it? Here, get in.”

Boss Won opened the door of the car beside him. Son Yeo-il had no idea how many cars the other man had, but this wasn’t the Maybach they had rode for lunch or the pink convertible—it was yet another new car.

But Son Yeo-il was in too much of a hurry to care whether it was a new car or a cart. He promptly got into the passenger seat. He had never responded so gladly to anything Boss Won had wanted to do before in his life. This was the very first time.

“I’m sorry. I’m in such a hurry. I just need to go to the flower shop near the terminal.”

“Oh, there’s nothing to be sorry about. Use me anytime.”

Boss Won joked as he started the car. Son Yeo-il anxiously kept looking outside the window. The bus schedule was tight, but if he retrieved the flowers right away, he probably wouldn’t miss it.

As if understanding Son Yeo-il’s feelings, Boss Won drove quickly and smoothly. Just as he was feeling relieved that they had arrived at the flower shop much faster than expected, Son Yeo-il’s face turned pale as they pulled up to the entrance.

“Huh, why is the door…?”