CRT Ch 48

💎

Rain began to fall on the way down from the abandoned house to the private lodging house. Seok Ryu had wanted to leave the island on the yacht that Cha Yilhyun had arrived in, but the captain advised against it, so they decided to stay at the lodging house until the waves calmed down.

Due to the unexpected boom in business at the lodging house, the owner was grinning from ear to ear. Seok Ryu sat in a corner of the small room, warming his cold hands. He wanted to wash his exhausted body, but the only place to wash was a tap in the yard. He had no spare clothes, so he had to let his wet shirt dry while wearing it.

Perhaps because of the many fatal shocks he had received today, there were fine cracks on his fingertips. If Cha Yilhyun had not come then, he might not have been able to stop the cracking on his own. It was once again strange and amazing how Cha Yilhyun appeared like a ghost whenever he was pushed to his limits.

Suddenly, a knock on the door made him flinch. A moment later, the brown door opened. Cha Yilhyun stood by the wooden floor, backlit by an orange light. The rain that had poured down earlier had vanished as if by magic, and deep blue clouds hung in the island’s night sky. Cha Yilhyun was holding a steaming cup of instant ramen.

Cha Yilhyun came into the room and placed the cup ramen in front of Seok Ryu.

“That was the only thing in the store that hadn’t expired.”

Although he himself could not eat food, it was only right for the hero who found something rarer than wild ginseng to claim the spoils of war.

“I’m fine, so you should have it, CEO Cha.”

“I have no appetite because of my seasickness.”

Cha Yilhyun leaned against the opposite wall and stretched out his long legs. His gaze was that of an observer, keeping a step back as if watching a rescued stray animal.

The lame dog had just been sleeping as if it were dead. At the time, he had been so terrified that he did not even realize the dog was breathing. When Cha Yilhyun nudged it awake, the lame dog jumped up and ran down toward the village.

While waiting for the ramen to cook, Cha Yilhyun suddenly spoke.

“A person named Noeul broke into my private jet.”

His heart sank at the sudden words. And he was puzzled. For Noeul, who had been so brazen, saying he had gone easy on him and what not, to barge into a private jet was an action that did not seem at all relaxed.

Cha Yilhyun then threw out another remark that could not be ignored.

“But after a brief staring contest with me, he just left.”

“He met you, CEO Cha, and just left? Why?”

“I don’t know. He asked why I was fine after seeing him.”

“Did he say anything else besides that?”

“He was dragged out right away, so there was nothing else of note.”

Seok Ryu chewed on his lip, mulling over Cha Yilhyun’s message. Cha Yilhyun did not smell of Noeul, so he had not been doped. Why did Noeul not dope him, even when Cha Yilhyun was right in front of him? And twice, at that.

Could it mean that Cha Yilhyun was fine even after Noeul had attempted to dope him? If what Noeul said about ‘going easy’ was not actually going easy… But there was no reason for him not to be doped unless Noeul had let him go of his own volition. He had to be careful and watch him, as he might have other ulterior motives.

Cha Yilhyun rubbed his tired-looking eyes with his fingers. He had also been caught in the rain, and his hair and shirt were wet. A sudden silence fell. It was a good time for one of them to get up and leave.

“Did you successfully kidnap the art director?”

Cha Yilhyun ignored the question and stared at Seok Ryu. For some reason, his gaze was that of someone looking at Seok Ryu as if he were a stranger.

“Have you ever… been a model in the past?”

He trailed off, swallowing his words, and ultimately did not finish the sentence.

A few minutes later, Seok Ryu lifted the lid. As the smell of the spicy soup reached his nostrils, a hunger he had never felt before washed over him. Seok Ryu pulled his shirt sleeves down to cover his cracked fingers as much as possible, then picked up the spoon. He dipped the chopsticks into the red liquid and touched it to the tip of his tongue. His tongue tingled, but it was not an unpleasant feeling.

This time, he lifted the cup and tasted the broth. It was spicy and warm. From then on, he scooped up a full mouthful with his chopsticks and began to eat without hesitation. As he chewed and swallowed, Cha Yilhyun’s gaze remained fixed on him.

To Seok Ryu, eating was nothing more than an act that caused his stomach to rot. But the ramen Cha Yilhyun had made for him was by far the most delicious food he had ever eaten in his life.

Perhaps that was why, just for today, he did not want to drink soapy water and throw it all up. He wanted the warmth that was heating up his entire body to become a part of his cells. Then he would not have to feel guilty, and he would not need to hide it in a coffin.

Seok Ryu placed his chopsticks neatly on top of the empty bowl. He took out a crumpled bill from his notebook and held it out to Cha Yilhyun.

“This is for the ramen.”

He had earned it to pay for a boat ride; he never thought he would use it like this. It was the first time he had earned money without using his ability since he was restored.

Just as he stored the ramen Cha Yilhyun made in his cells, he wanted Cha Yilhyun to store his first experience in a corner of his wallet. Cha Yilhyun glanced at the faded bill and said something that went a step further.

“What about the boat fare?”

“This is all the money I have right now, I’ll pay you back later.”

Cha Yilhyun murmured in a low voice.

“Make sure you do.”

Seok Ryu nodded instead of answering. He planned to pay back everything, including the boat fare, once he got to the mainland. He had hardly touched the salary he received from the company, so he had saved up quite a bit of money.

As Cha Yilhyun fiddled with the bill, an unidentifiable blue powder was on his hand. Sensing Seok Ryu’s gaze, he turned his hand over and looked at it.

“There was a strange-looking pebble under the floorboards.”

Seok Ryu took a deep breath.

“That’s rat poison.”

Without thinking, Seok Ryu grabbed his wrist and dragged him to the water tap in the yard. He handed him a bar of soap and turned on the hose.

“How can you just touch anything? Even children these days…! Just wash it off quickly.”

Seok Ryu was about to scold him more but stopped. Cha Yilhyun wrinkled his nose, a troubled expression on his face.

“How much time do I have left?”

“You won’t die from this much.”

After washing his hands clean, Cha Yilhyun snatched the hose from Seok Ryu’s hand and tilted it toward Seok Ryu.

“I touched the cup ramen, so it must have gotten on your hands too, Manager.”

Through Heewan’s experiments, it was revealed that no drug, whether sleeping pills or rat poison, worked on guardian stones. But before Seok Ryu could say anything, Cha Yilhyun grabbed Seok Ryu’s hand and the soap together and worked up a lather. When Seok Ryu tried to pull his hand away, Cha Yilhyun ignored him and held on, continuing the ritual.

The rich lather that formed between their fingers was so slick it made his throat tighten. After a quick wash, Cha Yilhyun rinsed the soap bubbles off Seok Ryu’s hand with clear water. It felt as if the sin of contaminating Seok Ryu’s hand was being washed away along with it.

Over Cha Yilhyun’s shoulder, a bolt of lightning shaped like a snow crystal bloomed through the dark clouds. A rock that resembled a seal rode a wave before diving back under. The space that had once been frightening just by someone’s presence had completely changed into a different landscape. It was strange not to feel despair even though he had been abandoned by his master.

Cha Yilhyun turned off the tap and asked.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming here?”

Loving him and trusting him were two different things. He was once again reminded that he could not even predict what impulsive actions Cha Yilhyun might take.

“You didn’t tell me you had Director Choi with you either, CEO Cha.”

Under the wooden floor of the room across from them were Secretary Yang’s and Director Choi’s shoes. Director Choi had come along on Cha Yilhyun’s yacht. As soon as they arrived at the lodging house, Cha Yilhyun had shoved the two of them into the room across the way and forbidden them from taking a single step out. It seemed he was preventing them from running into Seok Ryu, afraid he would use his ‘hypnosis’.

Cha Yilhyun let out a short laugh.

“You must be frustrated that I beat you to it.”

“No, I should be bowing to you, CEO Cha.”

If Director Choi had been on the island, he would have become Noeul’s slave by now, without a doubt. The credit for intercepting Director Choi and protecting him from Noeul’s clutches belonged entirely to Cha Yilhyun. The most certain person to make Yejun a non-mainstream success was not Seok Ryu, but Cha Yilhyun. This incident was, without a doubt, his overwhelming victory.

Cha Yilhyun observed Seok Ryu’s expression, then rested his arm on his knee.

“Should I let it slide just this once?”

Seeing that Seok Ryu did not understand what he meant, he kindly added.

“I’m saying I’ll yield the credit for protecting Director Choi to you, Manager.”

In the dark night air, his eyes shone with a gleam.

“In exchange for a kiss.”

His back stiffened at the unexpected proposal. Seok Ryu clenched his own hands, which were still wet.

“Yielding it? How? Mr. Yejun will find out that you were the one who called Director Choi to Venice…”

“Strictly speaking, it’s more of a joint achievement than yielding. I found out that Director Choi contacted Lee Taeon right before calling me. I just followed your instructions, Manager, and prevented Director Choi from meeting that person, Noeul. If I were to tell Mr. Yejun this fact, with a little MSG added…”

Cha Yilhyun drew out the end of his sentence with a dark look in his eyes. It was an offer that Seok Ryu, whose feet were on fire, could not possibly refuse. Although he did not think of Cha Yilhyun as an enemy, the fact that Seok Ryu had to fight fiercely for his survival remained unchanged. The image of returning to Yejun like a triumphant general for protecting Director Choi flashed through his mind.

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. I’m not the one in a hurry.”

Contrary to his words, his eyes shimmered with impatience. It was an offer that exuded such a dangerous scent that anyone nearby would have tried to stop him.

But when the water was up to his chin and he was about to drown, he could not miss the lifeboat right in front of him. Even if it had a hole in the bottom and he did not know when it would run aground.

Cha Yilhyun waited for Seok Ryu’s answer without the slightest movement. Seok Ryu glanced at the closed door of the room across from them. The light was off, so Secretary Yang and Director Choi must have been asleep. His lips twitched, and then he raised his gaze.

“You have to keep your promise.”

As Seok Ryu’s words fell, Cha Yilhyun’s chest swelled and then deflated again. His face was more composed than a moment ago.

“I won’t do anything, so you do what you need to.”

A slight fever rose in his earlobes. Seok Ryu placed a hand on the cold stone curb and moved closer to Cha Yilhyun. He took a small, deep breath and lifted his head. He noticed for the first time that there were few wrinkles on his thicker lower lip. Just before their lips met, Cha Yilhyun added in a husky voice.

“If you do it half-heartedly, it doesn’t count.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his lips against Cha Yilhyun’s. Cha Yilhyun opened his mouth to make it easier for Seok Ryu’s tongue to enter. He hesitantly slid his tongue into the moist space. Cha Yilhyun’s thigh, which was touching Seok Ryu’s knee, hardened. But as he had declared, he did nothing.

As he fumbled and explored further, he found a wet piece of flesh. When he gently rubbed the underside of his tongue against it, Cha Yilhyun’s eyes grew moist with a thick luster. He held Cha Yilhyun’s tongue between his lips and sucked on it gently. Cha Yilhyun closed his eyes deeply and let out a heavy breath. The two pieces of flesh tangled together, making a squelching noise, and rough breaths tumbled over the smooth mucous membrane.

Because they were on the narrow stone curb, Seok Ryu’s body swayed. Their lips parted for a moment. Cha Yilhyun hurriedly wrapped his arm around Seok Ryu’s waist to steady him.

“Haah… haah…”

Seok Ryu gasped for air, his mouth open. Cha Yilhyun’s saliva trickled down Seok Ryu’s chin and along his neckline. Cha Yilhyun broke his declaration and lifted Seok Ryu up in his arms. Seok Ryu trembled with his eyes closed, and when he came to his senses, he was inside the room.

Cha Yilhyun closed the door and leaned against the wall. He gripped Seok Ryu’s bottom and lifted him onto his thigh. The hotly aroused flesh stirred along the curve under the root of Seok Ryu’s tongue. His head pounded from the rebound of being pushed up from below through the fabric of their pants. His neck was bitten by urgent lips, and his nipples were sucked. When Cha Yilhyun licked Seok Ryu’s nipple with the flat of his tongue, Seok Ryu swallowed a moan.

Veins popped on Cha Yilhyun’s forehead. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a zipper being hurriedly undone. The version of him consumed by dregs filled Seok Ryu’s mind with a haze.

Strangely, his body kept trembling. It felt like his heart was beating irregularly, making a bizarre noise. It sounded like misaligned gears being forced to turn. Seok Ryu secretly wrapped his fingers in Cha Yilhyun’s hair, tracing its texture. He hurriedly committed to memory the coarsely woven pattern of his irises and the lips that made him lose himself completely.

The dark blue night sea was reflected in Cha Yilhyun’s eyes. It was immeasurably dark and deep. In the middle of that vast, open sea, a small boat was swaying. It pitched so much it made him dizzy, then soared high. Before he knew it, the light of dawn was pushing into the room.

💎

The road back to the officetel was unusually deserted. As ‘Green Tea and Macchiato’ was successfully launched, interview requests flooded in for Yejun. Even after finishing the drama shoot, Yejun was exhausted from interviews with entertainment programs and magazines. Manager Byun hummed a tune as he drove the van.

“Now that the arrogant bastard is gone, it feels like a bad tooth has been pulled! The roads are so clear today, too.”

Jo Namheon’s sports car was following behind the van. Once Yubin and Noeul were kicked out, Jo Namheon had decided to move back into the officetel. Manager Byun and Jo Namheon seemed rather pleased at the news that Seok Ryu was stranded on the island. The only one making a fuss was Ryu Jihoon.

When his lie about having eye surgery was exposed, Ryu Jihoon had fled in a panic. Yejun had not even heard an explanation as to why he had told such a pointless lie. He suspected that Ryu Jihoon had worn the sunglasses to avoid making eye contact with Seok Ryu. But since Ryu Jihoon had no way of knowing about Seok Ryu’s ability, Yejun decided to just think of him as an attention seeker and a pathological liar. In any case, if he loitered around the set again, Yejun would make sure he could never set foot in this industry again.

Lost in thought, Yejun did not even realize his phone was ringing. The name ‘Broker’ was displayed on the screen. Yejun shot up from his reclining position. As soon as he answered the phone, he lashed out.

“What kind of behavior is it to just start something and then ghost me? Do you know how many times I called?!”

When Yejun shouted, Manager Byun glanced at him in the rearview mirror. Yejun pressed his lips tightly to the phone.

“If the 100% one was all better, you should have told me first. I don’t care about that, but what on earth possessed you to send him to my friend!”

—It is up to us to decide who we sell our products to. If we do not answer the phone, you should wait quietly until we contact you.

He let out a hollow laugh in disbelief. This was not the kind of dismissive treatment he had bought an eye-poppingly expensive guardian stone for.

“Keep treating your customers like that and see what happens. I can make you go out of business!”

His whole body trembled with anger, and he was out of breath. After a short silence, the broker threw out an unexpected question.

—I’ve been getting strange calls for a while now.

Yejun frowned and waited for him to continue.

—I traced the number and it belongs to a person named Cha Yilhyun. Did you happen to give him my number?

Yejun sucked in a breath so deep his chest swelled. Why would Cha Yilhyun call the broker? He gripped the phone and stammered.

“Why would I carelessly…! Are you sure it was him?”

The broker bit out each word in a voice suppressing his anger.

—Listen up and clean out your ears, customer. If you carelessly give out my number one more time, I will erase your existence from this world.

Beep—Beep—————

The broker hung up on him. Yejun was frozen, his soul having left him. When a client of the workshop wanted to introduce someone else, they had to get the broker’s permission first. Yejun himself had only managed to speak with the broker after Yubin had begged for days on end.

He was bewildered as to how Cha Yilhyun had found out the broker’s number and even called him directly. It was impossible unless someone had given him the contact information. Then who on earth…

He hurriedly called Cha Yilhyun, but it did not even ring. Even if he was in Venice, the call should have gone through, and he grew increasingly anxious. Yejun bit his nails and then dialed Noeul’s number, which he had saved a while ago. A moment later, when Noeul answered, he asked without a pause to breathe.

“Did Yubin tell him?”

—What are you talking about?

“Was it Yoon Yubin who gave the CEO the broker’s number?”

A sharp laugh came from the receiver.

—That’s impressive! Cha Yilhyun found out the Head Warden’s number? Yubin has never even spoken to him, since that Seok Ryu thing sticks to him like a leech.

Come to think of it, there was no reason for Yubin to risk being exposed as Inoh to give Cha Yilhyun the broker’s number. Guardian stones did not know the broker’s number, so it was unlikely that Seok Ryu or Noeul had told him. Could it be CEO Jo Youngseop?

Then, an unpleasant laugh reached Yejun’s ears.

—Director Gwak just returned to the country alone.

Yejun furrowed his brow at the out-of-the-blue remark.

“So what?”

—Director Gwak, who went to Venice with Cha Yilhyun, came back alone. Apparently, Cha Yilhyun got a text message, then bolted right out of the movie he was watching. He even suddenly ordered a yacht to be prepared.

Noeul sneered, driving the final nail in the coffin.

—I’ll bet my choker that Cha Yilhyun went looking for Seok Ryu.

Noeul ended the call with a snort. Yejun remained frozen, unable to even hang up the phone. He mulled over Noeul’s words but could not easily grasp their meaning.

“Manager Byun, did you by any chance tell the CEO about Seok Ryu?”

“What are you talking about? I don’t even have the CEO’s phone number!”

Afterward, he called Jo Namheon, who was following behind, and questioned him, but he just got extremely worked up and insisted on his innocence. He first had to confirm whether what Noeul had just said was true.

Since Director Gwak had blocked Yejun, he called through Manager Byun. The moment he confirmed from Director Gwak that Cha Yilhyun had gone to the island, his mind went blank.

Was it really true that Seok Ryu’s doping had not worked on Cha Yilhyun? Was it really true that Seok Ryu had colluded with Cha Yilhyun and was just playing him? Seok Ryu might have confessed his true identity to Cha Yilhyun and even given him the broker’s number. And yet, he had believed Seok Ryu’s words that he did not know the broker’s contact information without a doubt.

When Seok Ryu passed on the doped target through a handshake, his hand would become hot. That was why he did not suspect a thing when he received Cha Yilhyun, even getting burned in the process. Far from suspicious, he believed that the bond of subordination between him and Cha Yilhyun had grown stronger, in proportion to the pain he had suffered.

He denied that Noeul’s words could be true. Until the very, very end, he wanted to believe that Cha Yilhyun was his slave. Malice rose up in him, and his breathing became ragged.

“Stop the car!”

As soon as Manager Byun pulled over to the side of the road, Yejun bolted out. Jo Namheon also got out, his face pale. Yejun stuck his head in a drainage ditch and vomited violently. He had never imagined that Seok Ryu would betray his master twice. It was a mistake to have shown mercy to something that was not even human.

He immediately took the choker off his wrist and placed it on the paving stone. He picked up a nearby rock and lifted it high. He clenched his jaw and was about to smash the source stone to pieces, but he paused.

His drama was finally starting to do well; it was too unfair to end his life like this. There had to be a way to deal with Seok Ryu cleanly while keeping himself safe. He put the rock back down and tried to calm his boiling breath.

However, it was impossible for Yejun to handle an enemy like Cha Yilhyun on his own. Should he just hand Seok Ryu over to Cha Yilhyun? What if he offered Seok Ryu in exchange for Cha Yilhyun making him the top actor in Asia…

No, this was the Cha Yilhyun who had once tried to bury him. The moment Cha Yilhyun got his hands on Seok Ryu, he would retaliate against Yejun several times over for all the time he had held back.

Suddenly, he picked up Seok Ryu’s choker and held it up to a streetlight. He had not taken it off his body for a single moment since confiscating it from Seok Ryu, but he was only now noticing it. The cone-shaped source stone had fine cracks in it. It seemed to be holding its shape so precariously that it would shatter into pieces with just a slight bite from his teeth. He had a gut feeling that time was running out. For him, and for Seok Ryu.

He would rather return Seok Ryu to the workshop; he would rather die than see him with Cha Yilhyun. He had risked his life to possess Cha Yilhyun, and rather than cook a meal for a dog to eat, he would just flip over the pot and everything in it.

First, he had to make Cha Yilhyun so busy he could not even breathe. So busy that he would not have a moment to even think about Seok Ryu.

Yejun rolled his bloodshot eyes and looked at Jo Namheon. His mind was boiling, and he could not figure out what to do first. All that came out were tears from the bone-chilling sense of betrayal.

“Sunbae… please do me a favor.”

He had something else he needed to do.