CI 3.13

And the next day at the office, Son Yeo-il was sitting at his desk, half out of his mind. If he had known they would end up going home together, he would have suggested going to Won Hee-yeon’s house instead of the one-room apartment in the first place. Going straight up to the one-room apartment with no soundproofing was the root of the problem.

At first, they lay side by side in bed, saying they would just hold hands and talk, but when he came to his senses, they were in a position where they were blocking each other’s lips, making conversation impossible.

If they had just rubbed their lips together and ended it there, he would have fallen asleep on time, but that was impossible. Won Hee-yeon, as if unable to bear it even when trying to sleep, fiercely chewed, tore, tasted, and enjoyed Son Yeo-il, and Son Yeo-il, with his mouth tightly shut so that the sound wouldn’t be heard in the next room, was entangled with Won Hee-yeon.

It was good when they were rubbing against each other like that, but the aftermath was inevitable the next day. He worked like a zombie all morning, and even while eating lunch, he was half dozing off.

<Oh dear, what terrible person didn’t let my darling sleep?>

Won Hee-yeon said mischievously, but his expression was full of worry. However, it was a little infuriating that they had rolled around together, but he was the only one with a clear and smooth face.

<There is such a person.>

<That’s a very terrible person.>

<Don’t speak ill of my boyfriend.>

Son Yeo-il had bantered back and forth, and Won Hee-yeon had beamed, utterly delighted. Just recalling Won Hee-yeon’s frivolous laughter brought a smile to Son Yeo-il’s face.

Look at me, smiling when my whole body aches.

The only saving grace was that tomorrow was the weekend. Weekends were always welcome, but Son Yeo-il was especially looking forward to this one.

The day before yesterday, on payday, Son Yeo-il had received the promised bonus from Head Attorney Bae. As a junior associate who hadn’t even completed his probation, he’d brought in two fairly significant cases, so the sum was substantial this month.

With this unexpected income, Son Yeo-il’s first thought was to treat Won Hee-yeon to something delicious. Won Hee-yeon had long since fulfilled his promise of ’50 meals’ and still secretly paid whenever they had lunch together.

Feeling guilty about always being treated, Son Yeo-il had asked, ‘Why do you always pay, Hee-yeon?’ Won Hee-yeon had brushed it off, saying, ‘What’s mine is yours,’ but when Son Yeo-il offered to pay with his bonus, Won Hee-yeon vehemently insisted that Son Yeo-il should spend the money on something he enjoyed.

<I enjoy eating with you, Hee-yeon.>

Won Hee-yeon seemed quite affected by Son Yeo-il’s reply, clutching his pectoral muscles and seriously scolding, ‘How can you be so pretty and say such pretty things!’ With such a fuss made over arranging the date, the weekend couldn’t come soon enough.

What should I wear? I should pick something Hee-yeon bought me. Hmm, actually, all my clothes were bought by Hee-yeon. I guess we’ll have to sleep separately tonight. If I stay up all night, I’ll ruin the date. If we sleep together, I might not even be able to go out for food tomorrow…

It was Friday, near quitting time, when the thoughts of office workers oftentimes drifted to leisure. Even Son Yeo-il couldn’t help but daydream at this hour. As he scrolled through his mouse wheel, lost in thoughts of the weekend date, a messenger notification popped up. It was a message from Oh Yu-na.

Wondering what legal term she might have mistaken for a queer term this time, Son Yeo-il nonchalantly checked the message. The next moment, his eyes widened.

Wow…ah.

The opportunity he’d been waiting for had finally arrived. Of all times, it had to happen right before his date. Son Yeo-il hesitated for a moment but quickly made up his mind.

“Hee-yeon, I’m so, so sorry.”

Ten minutes later, at quitting time, Son Yeo-il got into the car and immediately clasped his hands together in front of his chest, begging for forgiveness. Won Hee-yeon, who was always ready to forgive Son Yeo-il, didn’t press him about what he’d done wrong but instead, started the car with a relaxed attitude.

“Aigoo, whatever it is, it’s okay. Why is a grown man all hunched over like that? Now, puff out your chest and tell me.”

“Well, about our dinner tomorrow. Actually, I just got a message from Oh Yu-na…”

The relaxed atmosphere vanished as Won Hee-yeon’s eyes narrowed at Son Yeo-il’s words. Son Yeo-il quickly cut to the chase before Won Hee-yeon could get too upset.

“Don’t worry. I think this will be the last time I have to deal with this. It seems like the real deal this time. I’ll show you the pictures when we get there.”

When the car stopped in front of the studio apartment building, Son Yeo-il showed Won Hee-yeon the photos Oh Yu-na had sent him. They were screenshots from an unfamiliar chat app, but it was obvious what kind of app it was just from the pictures.

Koo Dae-hyun had sent suggestive messages and photos of himself shirtless to a man with a profile picture, and the other person had responded in kind, exchanging explicit language.

So far, it was nothing different from the other evidence Oh Yu-na had gathered, which would likely be dismissed as illegally obtained if presented in court. However, the last page held a crucial clue.

“Here. It says they’re both going to a place called Sixnine tomorrow night. I looked it up, and it seems to be a gay bar.”

“That’s right.”

“…Have you been there?”

Son Yeo-il’s expression turned cold, and Won Hee-yeon frantically waved his hands around.

“Eing? Who? Me? Huh? Me? No way!”

His stiff tone was suspicious, but Son Yeo-il quickly calmed his rising anger. It wasn’t worth getting upset about. Son Yeo-il trusted Won Hee-yeon completely and had resolved not to be swayed by pointless jealousy.

“Anyway, that’s why I think I need to go there this weekend. Oh Yu-na would stand out if she went in, so I’ll take the pictures myself. It’s in Seoul, so I’ll have to leave by lunchtime at the latest…”

Just as he was about to apologize for canceling their dinner plans, Won Hee-yeon interrupted.

“Is that so? Then I’ll have to go with you.”

Eing?

***

Son Yeo-il was taken aback by Won Hee-yeon’s matter-of-fact tone, but then he realized that, from Won Hee-yeon’s perspective, this was ‘a chance to watch his boyfriend get revenge on his ex-boyfriend from the front row.’ It was a dopamine-boosting event.

“Uh…do you really want to? But it’s just going to be sneaking in, taking pictures, and leaving. It won’t be that exciting.”

“It’s not about fun, it’s about worry. I can’t send my darling into a den of wolves alone.”

Ah, it was jealousy again. Won Hee-yeon’s expression was serious, but Son Yeo-il smiled inwardly. Hee-yeon is so much more jealous than I am, he thought.

“You don’t have to worry. Anyway, okay. I was nervous about going to a place I don’t know, so it’ll be nice to have you with me.”

“Aigoo, that’s right. I don’t know those places either, but I’ll keep a close eye on anyone who tries to lay a finger on Yeo-il.”

“Okay. Then I’ll cancel the restaurant reservation for tomorrow. And…”

Son Yeo-il hesitated, then spoke cautiously. He was disappointed about missing their date, but the moment Won Hee-yeon offered to come with him, a good idea had popped into his head.

“Since we’re going all the way to Seoul, should we stay longer? Instead of treating you to dinner, I’ll book a…hotel.”

He didn’t think it was anything to be shy about, but the moment he said the word ‘hotel,’ Son Yeo-il’s face turned bright red. It was even more embarrassing because Won Hee-yeon’s eyes suddenly lit up with excitement.

“Hmm, hmm. That’s a great idea. My darling is so smart.”

Won Hee-yeon swallowed hard and nodded vigorously to himself, then grabbed Son Yeo-il’s hand as if he couldn’t contain his excitement.

“Well, shall we go up now? No, it’s Friday, we should go to my place instead of here.”

His breathing was getting heavier and heavier, and if left unchecked, he would devour Son Yeo-il so thoroughly that he wouldn’t even have the energy to go to the gay bar in Seoul to embarrass his ex-boyfriend tomorrow.

“Ah, no. Let’s sleep separately tonight. We have things to do tomorrow, and we both didn’t sleep well last night.”

Won Hee-yeon was displeased that his surging desires were being thwarted, but he also seemed to like the word ‘we’ that Son Yeo-il had used, and his lips twitched slightly.

“That’s right. I shouldn’t get in the way of my husband’s work. Let’s do that today, and let’s have a nice time tomorrow.”

Won Hee-yeon raised Son Yeo-il’s clasped hand and kissed the back of it. His lips and eyes were so hot that Son Yeo-il’s heart was still pounding when he returned to his room. Before falling asleep, Son Yeo-il had a thought that was a mix of anticipation and worry.

Tomorrow is going to be an incredible day.

***

And so, Son Yeo-il and Won Hee-yeon, who had decided to raid Koo Dae-hyun’s gay bar visit, had lunch on Saturday and immediately set off for Seoul. Before launching their operation, they planned to meet with their client, Oh Yu-na, for a consultation. The drive with Won Hee-yeon was enjoyable as always, but he seemed strangely tense.

“Tsk. We’re going because my darling told us to, but what kind of building is this?”

“I don’t know. It looks like a commercial building. Maybe she’s meeting us at a cafe?”

Won Hee-yeon, who already disliked Oh Yu-na, was also suspicious of the destination she had given them. Son Yeo-il was also nervous but tried to answer cheerfully, popping a walnut pastry into Won Hee-yeon’s mouth.

Won Hee-yeon, who had been complaining a moment ago, seemed happy that Son Yeo-il had fed him a snack, and he mumbled with a mouthful of walnut pastry, ‘Awoohoohooonga.’

“You should talk after you finish eating. Oh, next, I think we need to turn right up ahead.”

Won Hee-yeon’s car followed the navigation system’s guidance to a small building in Gangnam. They went up to the room number Oh Yu-na had given them, and an unexpected place appeared.

“…It’s a hair salon.”

“Oh, t-that’s right.”

At Won Hee-yeon’s flustered words, Son Yeo-il wondered if he had misread the message and tried to check his phone again. That was when it happened.

“Attorney Son!”

With a voice as light as a bell, Oh Yu-na appeared. She approached Son Yeo-il with a welcoming expression, then tilted her head to one side when she saw Won Hee-yeon.

“Oh, this person is…”

Son Yeo-il hesitated for a moment, unsure how to introduce Won Hee-yeon. The modern person’s sense of not outing someone and the fear of unnecessarily provoking his jealous boyfriend quickly crossed his mind.

“Aigoo! I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Won Hee-yeon, Yeo-il’s boyfriend!”

Won Hee-yeon stepped forward and greeted her loudly, as if the concept of hesitation didn’t exist in his mind. At this rate, everyone in Gangnam would know about Won Hee-yeon and Son Yeo-il’s relationship, not just Oh Yu-na in front of them.

Oh Yu-na’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment, then she chuckled at Son Yeo-il’s rapidly reddening cheeks. Son Yeo-il’s face turned even redder, but Won Hee-yeon remained as dignified as ever.

“Puh-huh, hmm, hmm. Nice to meet you. I’m Oh Yu-na. Attorney Son’s client. Um…Won Hee-yeon, was it? Do you know what kind of case I’ve entrusted to him?”

“Of course. I know everything. There’s no such thing as secrets between Yeo-il and me. You should always keep in mind that we’re that close.”

Won Hee-yeon, who was usually confident, was being even louder than usual today, which must be his way of asserting dominance. Son Yeo-il had no idea why he was showing off when they were in such a strange place.

“I’m sorry for not telling you in advance. I’m not used to this kind of thing either, and I thought it would be better to have someone trustworthy accompany me in case I couldn’t get the pictures.”

Son Yeo-il belatedly apologized to Oh Yu-na. Usually, the person trying to break off an engagement wanted the details of the case to be kept quiet. He was worried that she would get angry if he spread the word, but she simply scanned Won Hee-yeon and Son Yeo-il with the eyes of an observer.

“So, Mr. Won Hee-yeon will be accompanying us tonight as well? Um, okay. Would you like to come this way?”

She led the two of them into what looked like a hair salon—or rather, what they called a hair shop in this neighborhood. Son Yeo-il stood there blankly, unsure of what was going on, when a young woman at the counter saw Oh Yu-na and rushed over.

“Yu-na’s here! Oh my, you’ve lost weight. You’re even prettier.”

“That bastard is making it impossible for me to eat. Director? Anyway, this is the attorney I told you about. And he has a companion with him.”

The hair salon’s ‘Director’ also scrutinized Won Hee-yeon and Son Yeo-il like Oh Yu-na had done earlier and clapped her hands enthusiastically.

“Oh my, oh my. This is so rewarding.”

“Right? But the clothing size is the problem. Can you contact Ji-yeon? I hope it’s okay on such short notice.”

“Oh, what do you mean, sudden. Ji-yeon absolutely loves this kind of thing. She won’t just send clothes—she’ll probably want to come herself.”