DHG Ch 27

Heewoo took out bottled water instead of ice. He’d often assisted with tasks in the food storage room, and through this unintentional time spent with the CEO, he’d learned the man, rather unexpectedly, was sensitive to the cold.

After some thought, he’d created a new energy juice recipe without ice. He couldn’t exactly add boiling water to the juice, so this was the best option.

“Hmm.”

Jang Seungyung made a strange noise as he received the not-cold takeout cup again today.

What’s wrong?

It wasn’t the first time he had given him juice without ice. He knew it tasted quite good because he had sampled it several times before finalizing the recipe.

“…….”

Heewoo involuntarily looked up. Unlike usual, when he would leave immediately after visiting during business hours, Jang Seungyung opened the domed clear plastic lid. He slowly swallowed the juice on the spot.

His long, firm neck tilted back, and his thick Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. His gaze, looking down, remained fixed on Heewoo. Only the thick sound of the liquid traveling down his throat resonated slowly in the silence.

Heewoo was the first to drop his gaze.

However, he couldn’t hide the ripples in his eyes. Noticing Heewoo’s slightly trembling eyelashes, Jang Seungyung’s eyes flashed like a villain’s. He abruptly set down the cup and stepped closer to Heewoo, placing both palms firmly on the stainless steel counter.

“Aren’t you going to drink?”

“…No. I don’t drink it.”

Heewoo was uncomfortable with the man so close, but there was no space to step back. The counter had originally been built in a spare corner so as not to interfere with the kitchen staff’s movements.

“Is that so?”

“…….”

“Drink it anyway.”

Jang Seungyung, who had been hunching his shoulders, slid the half-full juice cup towards Heewoo. He seemed determined not to back down until his will was carried out.

Did I leave out an ingredient? All sorts of thoughts ran through Heewoo’s mind. His hands trembled in the incomprehensible situation. After a moment, he picked up the plastic cup, his dry throat making a rustling sound.

He carefully placed his lips on the opposite side from where the man’s lips had been. He slowly took a sip.

Gulp.

The sound of his swallowing seemed unnecessarily loud in the silent air.

Even though the lukewarm liquid went down with a tepid sound, the man remained silent. He simply tilted his head slightly, his unreadable gaze, as if piercing through him, unwavering.

“…….”

Heewoo put the cup down. Despite having just taken a couple of sips of juice, his throat felt dry.

Licking the lingering sweetness in his mouth, he became uneasy. The man was still too close.

Close enough to feel his breath. Two arms tensed as if refusing to retreat. Frozen beneath them, Heewoo made up his mind. Just as he was about to awkwardly squeeze past the counter, even if it meant avoiding the man-

“Kwon Heewoo!”

Someone called him breathlessly, entering the kitchen. Flawless makeup highlighting clear skin, a beauty mark prominent above the bridge of the nose. It was Hong Sunsoo.

“Help me out. Over there in room 13… Oh, our generous CEO! Hello, sir.”

Hong Sunsoo, who looked up and belatedly noticed Jang Seungyung, offered a cheerful greeting. He seemed a bit drunk.

Only then did Jang Seungyung step back slightly. Heewoo discreetly exhaled the breath he had been holding. Pretending to focus on Hong Sunsoo’s request, he quickly slipped out from behind the bar.

“Daol has passed out.”

This was the reason for Hong Sunsoo’s urgent arrival.

A while ago, Daol had sold some of his belongings to the Sunsoo’s, just like Heewoo had. Of course, everyone was aware that Daol’s items were gifts from the rumored dating violence boyfriend.

Despite his admirable efforts, it seemed his heart was struggling. Daol hadn’t been himself for the past few days. Even in the rooms, instead of working the customers for drinks, he’d been drinking like a fish himself. Today, he had passed out before 10 p.m.

“I put him in an unpopular room, but we need to get him out quickly in case a customer shows up.”

Hong Sunsoo grumbled.

Daol had been a burden on his colleagues for the past few days. Everyone’s lives were difficult, so they couldn’t keep covering for him. The fact that he had so readily confessed his problems, even with the CEO present, reflected their resentment.

“If not, we’ll have to call the bouncer.”

If they called the bouncer, Won Madam would find out.

“I’ll go.”

Heewoo took off his apron. He didn’t forget to say, “I’ll be going then,” to Jang Seungyung, who was still leaning casually against the bar, sipping his juice.

Daol was sprawled out on the faux leather couch of the standard small room, in an avant-garde pose like a subject in a printed masterpiece.

“So avant-garde….”

Leaving Hong Sunsoo’s sarcastic sigh behind, Heewoo pushed aside Daol’s arm, which was covering his face.

“Hyung, where’s your key card?”

He needed the key card to take Daol to his room. He lightly tapped Daol’s slack cheek, but only a disgruntled groan came in response. He reeked of alcohol.

“Do you know where his key card is?”

“No. I’m leaving now.”

Hong Sunsoo, wiping his sweat with a handkerchief and heading for the door, suddenly turned around with an “Ah.”

“I don’t hate you. You know? I just haven’t talked to you much because of Kim Jinhwan.”

Heewoo was certain Hong Sunsoo was drunk.

“Of course.”

“You were also a victim of Kim Jinhwan. Among the hosts here, the only one who wasn’t dragged off by him… was Daol, right?”

“…….”

“That’s why I sometimes dislike him.”

“You know? That bastard, I bought him a bottle of Roderick, and he chugged it all down and threw up in my room. Wasted such expensive alcohol.” Putting his handkerchief back in his pocket, Hong Sunsoo chuckled.

Heewoo blinked a few times before asking,

“A victim… of what?”

Hong Sunsoo, who had been adjusting his untucked shirt, looked up from his laughing face. Heewoo also slowly turned his head to face him. Silence hung between them, with the set table in the middle.

“Oh, what the.”

After a moment, Hong Sunsoo, one corner of his mouth lifting, spoke as if he understood.

“You were properly played, weren’t you?”

“…What do you-.”

“The Chunghae Motel.”

“…….”

“You’ve been there, too. Just like ‘us.'”

Hong Sunsoo smiled enigmatically. Suddenly, Heewoo’s vision tilted. Hong Sunsoo’s smiling face, blending with the modern lighting, swirled before his eyes.

Motel.

Heewoo recalled the gray motel he had been abruptly dragged to last spring. Kim Jinhwan lunging at him, and the man with dyed hair helping with the aftermath. Fragmented images mingled in the swirling vortex.

Suddenly, he couldn’t remember any more.

His thoughts became muddled, like a rain-soaked floor. He desperately longed for the nerve stabilizers he had abruptly stopped taking.

Hong Sunsoo’s ringtone snapped his distorted vision back.

“Ugh, can’t they cover for ten minutes?”

Hong Sunsoo sighed and answered the phone. “I’m coming.” The call ended quickly, and he trudged out of the room.

After Hong Sunsoo left, Heewoo remained slightly dazed. He felt disoriented, as if he were drunk himself, even though he was carrying Daol’s alcohol-laden body. It felt like a dream, not reality.

As he struggled to get out, supporting Daol with one hand and fumbling for the doorknob with the other—

The door suddenly swung open.

Heewoo’s gaze slowly traveled up the tall, sturdy figure clad in a black suit. A clear, sharp gaze, jolting him back to reality, pierced him like cold water.

It was Jang Seungyung, waiting outside the room.

“…Sir.”

“What took you so long?”

Jang Seungyung clicked his tongue at the sight of Kwon Heewoo struggling and reached out a long arm. Heewoo breathed a sigh of relief. His body felt lighter as the man firmly grabbed the back of Daol’s neck with his large hand.

His mind, too.

The man had that effect, just by being there.

“Thank you,” Heewoo replied, his vision now clear.

Daol’s skin-tight jeans pockets were clearly empty. Heewoo considered getting the master key from Won Madam, searching the hosts’ break room, and then decided to just put Daol in his own room.

I’ll do it. Please just press the button. …Thank you so much. …Yes. Here’s the key card.

Thanks to Jang Seungyung, Heewoo was able to move Daol much more easily than he had anticipated, from the staff elevator, across the connecting bridge, and all the way to his room.

He carried Daol over the open threshold and laid him on the bed. He straightened Daol’s body and was undoing his constricting tie when he paused.

Jang Seungyung was entering the room. His eyes, full of undisguised curiosity, scanned the unlit interior. The open door, bringing in the orange light from the hallway, closed completely.

The small, ten-square-foot room.

Jang Seungyung looked around the cramped space, which seemed full just with his presence.

A bed with only a mattress, a desk with its height adjusted by a piece of cut cardboard box replacing a broken leg. On the open spiral notebook, the unexpectedly messy handwriting he’d seen once before was neatly arranged.

His gaze settled on the yellow mechanical pencil stuck in a plastic cup used as a pencil holder. On its faded tip, worn from long use, a winged yellow puppy character met his eyes.