CI 1.4

“Boss Won. About that matter. Let’s talk.”

Though he brought it up as coldly as possible, Boss Won propped his chin on both hands across the table and made it so it seemed like his eyes were sparkling.

“How is even your voice pretty? Do all lawyers speak as decisively as our baby?”

“That’s not the issue…more importantly, don’t call me ‘baby.'”

“You don’t like the word ‘baby’? Should I call you ‘wife’ then?”

“Are you crazy?”

He crossed the line just seconds after deciding not to. Son Yeo-il’s cheeks flushed red, embarrassed by his own blunt words, but Boss Won’s attitude was as if he were watching a child’s playful antics.

“Oh my, you don’t like ‘wife’ either? Then I’ll be the wife, and you be the husband.”

“Ha, really. Boss Won.”

“Yes, husband.”

Argh! Damn it. Son Yeo-il, becoming increasingly irritated, almost to the point of shouting. The more they conversed, the more he felt like he was getting caught up in all the teasing.

“Sigh…Let’s set aside the issue of what to call each other. About what happened last Sunday. I made a mistake. I was very drunk when it happened, and I’d like to act as if it never happened. You know what I mean, right?”

Son Yeo-il, possessing strong mental fortitude, barely maintained his composure as he delivered his prepared speech to Boss Won. His expression was surprisingly calm.

“Mmm.”

“I’m glad you understand. Thank you for the meal today. Then I’ll…”

“But I don’t understand.”

“What?”

“Well, you see. How can something that happened become something that didn’t happen? The laws of physics don’t work that way. You’re an educated fellow, and yet you don’t know that?”

He wanted to tell him to stop saying things like “husband,” but knowing that would lead to ridiculous responses like “Then is south-husband okay? East-husband?” that would drain his energy, Son Yeo-il decided to simply ignore such trivial matters.

“It’s just a figure of speech. I’m saying I’d like us both to forget about it and move on as if it never happened. You can do that, can’t you? We’re both adults, after all.”

“What? Adults?”

As the other man picked at his words and questioned again, Son Yeo-il thought he was trying to treat him like a child. But Boss Won, whose attack patterns were utterly unpredictable, began making another bizarre argument.

“Is being an adult everything? Huh? Does being an adult mean you can trample on someone’s pure heart? Is it okay to thoroughly seduce a man and then pretend nothing happened?”

Son Yeo-il was rendered speechless. It was strange to hear a man who looked so worldly and experienced talk about “pure hearts” and being “seduced.” If anyone should be saying such things, it would be Son Yeo-il. After all, that night was his first experience.

It wasn’t like he had been saving himself for something special—it just happened that he reached twenty-six without any experience. He had been busy studying relentlessly, and with his different sexual orientation, he had far fewer opportunities than heterosexuals.

Though he occasionally met people who were “on the same side” who would flirt with him, Son Yeo-il was always in defense mode, given that  he was lacking in cuteness and was full of wariness.

For all that, I still ended up making a mistake while drunk. No, even before coming here, I almost…

Son Yeo-il, who almost recalled what happened in Seoul, returned to reality with a start. He had no desire to lament about the past. Once again putting on a cold mask, he responded as if nothing was wrong.

“Seduce? What are you talking about?”

“There’s a common misunderstanding, you see. In this situation, it’s easy to think that I seduced Attorney Son. But if you think about it from an ergonomic perspective, it was our Attorney Son who took my, Won Hee-yeon’s, cock…”

“Please stop talking.”

His cold mask almost crumbled instantly. He felt his cheeks turning red and he automatically wanted to fan himself, but remained silent for fear of revealing his blushing. Boss Won, not missing Son Yeo-il’s moment of hesitation, pressed on with his offensive.

“Alright. We’ll gradually clear up that misunderstanding. Anyway, there’s no such law. Is it okay to seduce someone first and then pretend not to know them?”

“I seduced you first?”

“Of course, do I look like someone who would lie?”

As a matter of fact, he did look like that. Son Yeo-il examined the man who was talking nonsense. Even though the gaudy shirt with patterns that could be either flowers or animals, his distinct features made a strong impression. If Son Yeo-il had been a naive twenty-year-old, he might have fallen for him at first sight.

Did I really make the first move? If I was very drunk, I guess it’s not impossible…

The moment he began to doubt himself, Son Yeo-il was already getting caught up in Boss Won’s argument.

“After sucking out all the sweet juice, how can you discard a person like an old shoe? Hmm? How will you heal this wounded heart?”

“Well, since you’re an adult, Boss Won, you should be able to handle it…”

“Huh, really. You keep talking about being an adult. If you’re truly an adult, when you hurt someone, you should first pay compensation.”

Surprisingly, that was the basic spirit of civil law. Intimidated by this sound argument, Son Yeo-il asked in a much smaller voice.

“Are you asking me for money?”

Boss Won replied with twitching corners of his mouth, like someone trying hard not to burst into laughter.

“Come on, would I, Won Hee-yeon, covet the money of my husband when all I have left is money?”

“Then…”

“I’ll pay the money, so Attorney Son just needs to give me some time.”

To Son Yeo-il, who still didn’t understand, Boss Won revealed what was probably his prepared main point.

“Just have a few meals with me, that’s what I’m saying. Don’t worry about it too much. Even if I want to eat something else, I’ll hold myself back and only eat food. How about it? It’s not a bad proposal, is it?”

What the hell? When Boss Won made that “not bad proposal,” Son Yeo-il unknowingly revealed his expression of disbelief without any filter. And the next moment, he realized his mistake.

Son Yeo-il’s expression just now was overtly rude. No matter how much he was being pestered, it wasn’t an attitude to show a man ten years his senior. Furthermore, weren’t gangsters people who valued hierarchy more than anyone? That barbaric man wouldn’t tolerate this situation.

Am I going to get hit? If I get hit once and report it, I guess that would end our entanglement…

Though he had been grinning all day, Boss Won had a sharp glint in his eyes as dark as his eyebrows. If he removed his smile and tightly closed his mouth, he might have quite a frightening face. If he were to swing those pot lid-sized hands, well, that would be a whole other story altogether.

But even after a long while, Boss Won showed no reaction. Son Yeo-il, who couldn’t raise his head and had been shrinking his shoulders in the meantime, cautiously lifted his eyes when the atmosphere didn’t become as scary as he thought. Surprisingly, instead of frowning, Boss Won was smiling even more broadly than before.

“Wow. How can your expressions be so diverse? Watching your face, Attorney Son, I could rot an entire handle of a sickle, really.”

It was fortunate that he wasn’t angry, but the words he was spewing out made absolutely no sense at all. Son Yeo-il had never been one to show much emotional range, and lately even less so. Pleasant events were rare, and he didn’t want his face to show that he was having a difficult time handling this situation. He originally thought he had maintained a sullen, stiff expression the entire time he was with Boss Won.

He must be seeing things.

As Son Yeo-il’s face grew even more and more sour, Boss Won continued to snicker like a deflating balloon.

“Oh my, oh my! Why are you like that? Is it because you don’t want to eat with me?”

“…”

“Why are you being like this? Where can you find a man like me? I understand that you’re worried I might be involved in unsavory business, but I’ve long since washed my hands of that. Besides that, well, I’m good-looking, and have plenty of time and money.”

Hearing him talk about his own wealth didn’t sound particularly pleasing, but Boss Won seemed to be simply stating facts rather than boasting. The gaudy patterned shirt he wore had such a flowing texture that it suddenly occurred to him that it might actually be a luxury brand.

“And more than style, you know, I have a big cock too!”

Son Yeo-il, who had been staring at his shirt, was horrified by Boss Won’s subsequent remark.

“What?”

“You know it’s not a lie. You saw everything when we were completely naked.”

“W-What?”

“You don’t remember? Want to feel it now? It shouldn’t get too hard, so you have to touch it verrry gently, understand?”

Son Yeo-il replied, raising his already slightly upturned eyes even higher.

“Y-You know this is sexual harassment, right?”

“Of course, are you going to sue me?”

Boss Won asked languidly, as if “suing” were some extremely lascivious act. While Son Yeo-il was speechless, crinkling the corners of his eyebrows, Boss Won laughed gleefully several times before suddenly adopting a calm expression.

“It’s a joke, don’t be surprised. I won’t eat you. You seemed too tense, so I was just trying to loosen you up a bit.”

A joke? Which part was the joke? From when he asked to eat together?

“I’m not asking for much, just to have meals together now and then. Yes or no?”

Ah. So the meal invitation was serious. He kept lifting him up and putting his cock down, and Son Yeo-il was already feeling drained. There was no way to win when communication was impossible. Why on earth was this man acting this way?

What else could be the reason? He’s trying to get with me somehow.

The intentions of such a frivolous man were obvious. Right now he might be sweet-talking because he wanted something, acting as if he would give away his own liver and gallbladder, but inwardly he probably harbored darker thoughts.

But it was a bit strange. As he said himself, Boss Won seemed to have it all. Men and women alike would probably be lining up, desperate to get involved with him, so why would he need to pursue Son Yeo-il while having to endure his cold shoulder?

Just like how the other man seemed strange and unfamiliar to Son Yeo-il’s eyes, perhaps Boss Won too found him intriguing—a type he would never normally encounter. Maybe Son Yeo-il’s stiff attitude went on to stimulate his competitive spirit.

Right. He might be acting this way because I keep refusing. He’ll probably get bored quickly if I show little reaction.

Though reluctant, Son Yeo-il decided to go along with him to some extent and asked nonchalantly.

“What exactly do you mean by ‘now and then’? How many times?”

“Well, about a hundred?”

Come on, damn it. He was definitely a man with a knack for irritating people. Son Yeo-il swallowed his rising anger at the absurd number.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Why is it ridiculous? If you eat three meals a day, that’s a hundred in a month, easy.”

“Why would I eat three meals every day with you, Boss Won?”

“Life is full of all sorts of happenings.”

There was some truth to that. Just a few months ago, Son Yeo-il never would have imagined himself sitting in this rural place he’d never been to before, with a plate of freshwater snail stew in front of him, arguing with a gangster—or according to him, a former gangster.

“Anyway, a hundred is too many.”

“Then eighty.”

“Eighty is still too many. I was thinking around ten.”

“Hmm? This person is legally picking my nose. How can anyone lowball so much?”

“Then tell me a number I can accept.”

“Personally, I’d still like a hundred. Ah, fine. Seventy! Not a penny less.”

It felt like haggling over prices at a market. To be honest, it was a bit fun for a moment there, but Son Yeo-il maintained his indifferent expression as he responded.

“Fifty. I can’t go higher than that.”

Boss Won seemed quite unsatisfied, pouting his lower lip to form a walnut shape on his chin before raising both palms upward.

“Fine. I’ll let it go because you’re pretty. Oh, when you look at me so primly, I just can’t resist.”

Still appearing to be regretful, he grumbled discontentedly.

“This is maddening. Who would stick fifty to their nose?”

“If we have a meal once a week, that’s a year’s worth.”

“What? Once a week? What a cold-hearted thing to say. We should eat every day.”

Just as he was about to argue that this was unreasonable, Boss Won added more quickly.

“How can you just eat kimbap and bread for lunch every day? People need hot meals to have energy to read books and plow fields.”

It was something he’d heard often before in the past. His mother would ask if he had eaten every time they spoke on the phone, nagging that eating proper, warm meals was necessary for studying well. Just as his nose stung with nostalgia and affection, Son Yeo-il realized something truly chilling.

“Boss Won. How did you know what I eat for lunch?”

“…”

“Did you send someone to watch me?”

Boss Won showed signs of being flustered for the first time. He cleared his throat and fanned himself a little, then abruptly stood up.

“Oh my, look at the time already. I’ve kept a busy person for too long. Let’s go now.”

Having apparently settled the bill in advance, Boss Won headed straight out of the restaurant, bypassing the counter. Fumbling in his jacket’s inner pocket with one hand, he asked in a casual voice.

“Does our baby smoke?”

“I don’t. And stop calling me ‘baby.'”

Boss Won completely ignored the latter part and simply tucked the cigarettes he was about to take out back into his pocket.

“Alright. Then I should quit smoking too now.”

“No, please smoke.”

“Hong-sik! Take these cigarettes and throw them away!”

Son Yeo-il frowned at his blatant flirtation, but Boss Won promptly threw the cigarette pack to Hong-sik, who was standing next to the car. Then, joking, “Oh, my hands feel so much lighter already!” he opened the rear door of the car.

“Come on, Attorney Son. I’ll ensure your journey is comfortable.”

Son Yeo-il, who almost smiled, firmly locked the corners of his mouth and got into the vehicle.