DS 40

Something was wrong with him. Maybe it was because of the light fever lingering in his body, but his body and mind felt strangely floaty.

‘…Moreover…’

Eun-myeong bit his lower lip firmly. Sitting with his bottom on the bed, he quietly rolled his eyes to the side.

He could see the man standing in front of the mirror. He was grooming himself, sweeping his hair back and applying wax with his hands. His movements were swift and precise.

The shirt tightly wrapping his waist was pressed sharp as a knife, as if not allowing even an inch of excess fabric. Eun-myeong watched the man as if enchanted.

Then in an instant, he met those pitch-black eyes in the mirror.

“Hmm?”

He raised his thick eyebrows. Eun-myeong jumped up in his spot, realizing his mistake.

“Look at you, sneaking peeks at mister. Why does a baby have such a hobby?”

A mocking “kik” sound was heard. At the crude words, Eun-myeong touched his ear.

But what was really troublesome was that it wasn’t wrong. Eun-myeong often found himself secretly stealing glances at the man without realizing it.

Was it because he now knew that the man who had been so terrifying before wasn’t quite so anymore? The memory of him patting Eun-myeong’s head and gently asking what had been so scary while he trembled in fear was vividly imprinted in his mind.

The man smiled with mysteriously narrowed eyes.

“Seems like I should let you have a fuck to meet your expectations.”

At the vulgar words, Eun-myeong dropped his gaze  for no reason. The tips of his ears visible through his long hair were red.

“N-no, that’s not it. But, um…”

As he slightly broached the subject, this time the man turned his head completely. His hands were skillfully knotting his tie.

“About the fish restaurant…”

Eun-myeong voiced what had been concerning him. While the man, his creditor, was busily preparing to go out like that, was it right for him, with his mountain of debt, to be sitting so leisurely like this?

It was an incredibly busy fish restaurant. If even one person was missing, the remaining people had to compensate for the missing hand, make it even more tedious.

“How long do I have to stay idle like this…?”

As he chewed his words hesitantly while reading the atmosphere, the man immediately glared at him. His gleaming gaze was ice-blue.

“In that state? Customers will lose their appetite if the sashimi doesn’t look good.”

While pushing his cufflink deep into the straight hole in his sleeve, he raised his lip crookedly. His mouth corner looked like it was caught on a fishhook.

“You want to ruin someone’s business?”

At the outright rebuke, Eun-myeong bit his lip. He was concerned, wondering if his body still reeked strongly of fish.

“If you want to marry into a good family, you should just focus on housework and behave modestly.”

Leaving Eun-myeong like that, the man left one last word and coldly left the room.

“I’ll let them know you’re sick with something contagious, so keep your dick in check and stay in bed.”

Bang, the door slammed shut.

“……”

Left alone, Eun-myeong naturally glanced at the phone on the bedside table. This must be really expensive…. If he couldn’t work, he had no idea how to repay all the things he’d received from the man.

He was scared too. Was it really okay for him to have something this nice, or would he be punished for being greedy…?

Moreover, this wasn’t paying back debt, but accumulating more. The sense of obligation piled up heavily in his heart like a grinding stone.

Worried, Eun-myeong let out a brief “phew” sigh before picking up the phone. Then, he tried touching various things, fascinated by his first phone.

Then remembering something, he let out an “ah.” He thought of contacting his Noona. He pressed the keypad firmly.

[Noona]

A reply came immediately.

[Who is this?]

Color slowly returned to Eun-myeong’s round cheeks.

[Eunmyong]

Due to his inexperience, there was a typo and Eun-myeong’s fine brows furrowed slightly. But his Noona understood and sent back an extremely quick reply.

[OMG is this Eun-myeong??? Whose phone is this?]

Seeing Eunju Noonas’s obvious joy, Eun-myeong couldn’t help feeling happy too.

[It’s mine hehehe]

He fiddled with the phone. While he was quite worried, on the other hand, unlike his previous phone that was practically junk, having something so nice in his hands was very exciting.

There was something protruding on the back – could this be the camera he’d only heard about? Gasp, did that mean he could take pictures with this?

Finding the phone to be much better than he’d thought, Eun-myeong floated up as if riding clouds, then sank back down. He couldn’t openly be happy. Because he couldn’t do anything for him. Because he had no money…

So Eun-myeong started slowly looking around the room. He was looking for something he could do. The cleaning staff came and cleaned everything spotlessly, so him touching anything would just cause trouble…

Eun-myeong started thinking slowly about the man. Every day he styled his hair with wax, wore suits, wore watches.

“…Ah.”

Finally his thoughts moved to shoes. Yes, he should polish the shoes. Eun-myeong quickly approached the side table.

When he lifted the side table slightly, crumpled bills appeared on the floor. Twenty-eight thousand won. Money that had been coldly rejected when he’d tried to give it to the man for the jar.

He had secretly picked it up and put it there when the man wasn’t around. It was emergency money stashed away in case he ever needed it. Perfect.

Eun-myeong slipped out of the hotel room and entered a nearby mart.

‘How much time had passed?’

“Thank you, goodbye.”

In Eun-myeong’s hands as he left the mart were shoe brushes and shoe polish.

Returning to the hotel, Eun-myeong crouched by the shoe rack and slipped his hand into the man’s shoe. The feet were so big that Eun-myeong’s whole wrist could fit inside. The soft leather felt cozy against his hand.

Would he like this when he saw it? Since he loved things clean and tidy, he might smile. Eun-myeong smiled slightly in excitement. Looking closely, the left shoe heel was more worn. Just like how the right sleeve of his shirts was more worn.

Eun-myeong scrubbed the shoes until his cheeks turned red. When he finished, they gleamed so brightly that even a fly would slip. Eun-myeong looked at his work with satisfaction.

Then he opened the closet and ironed the man’s shirts. He sprayed them with water, carefully pressed the collars and sleeves to crisp angles, then hung them in the closet. He put the iron away neatly below.

Haa, Eun-myeong let out a satisfied breath. Though he’d worked up a sweat moving around while not fully recovered, the sense of fulfillment was greater. He hoped the Boss would come back soon to see this…

‘When would the Boss return?’

Eun-myeong took out his phone and stared at it for a long time. He agonized for a while with the Boss’s number displayed on the screen. Should he call, or not, should he,or shouldn’t he. He wracked his brains over it.

‘He must be busy.’

Just as he was about to close the window, thinking he shouldn’t disturb him, he accidentally pressed the call button. Turutu, the dial tone went.

Soon the man’s voice pierced through to Eun-myeong.

―Yeah.

It was an incredibly low voice. So rich in color that it had clear resonance even in a restaurant buzzing with people.

“Well…”

It felt like his soul was being sucked out. His whole body turned red as if on fire. The man had just said “yeah,” but Eun-myeong stood frozen in place like someone who had lost the ability to speak. It was just one word, but his heart pounded for no reason. He even forgot what he had wanted to say.

While he hesitated, click, the call ended. It was a characteristically cold of  the Boss. Only after the call ended did Eun-myeong  remember what he wanted to say.

He had wanted to ask when the man would return.

* * *

The man returned only after sunset. Eun-myeong, who had been waiting all day for sounds beyond the door, rushed out as soon as he heard footsteps in the corridor.

And he was standing by the shoe rack before the door could even click open.

“You’re back?”

The man looked down at Eun-myeong with furrowed brows.

“Acting strange, like a puppy.”

Eun-myeong sheepishly ran his hand through the back of his hair. Even to himself, the way he had come running at the sound of footsteps was exactly like a dog.

“I should put you on a leash for walks.”

The man spoke tonelessly as he took off his jacket. Behind him, Bear took the jacket and hung it on a hanger.

‘When would he notice the polished shoes?’

Just waiting for that moment made his heart flutter. It felt like dandelion seeds had secretly snuck into his chest.

However, contrary to his expectations, the man seemed occupied with work even after returning to the hotel. He frantically took calls from various places while loosening his tie.

“So why handle the work like that? Didn’t I say to not make things complicated for each other?”

Eun-myeong quietly watched him looking quite sensitive.

Suddenly the man’s hand reached for Eun-myeong.

“Here.”

The man pulled Eun-myeong. Before he could say “uh,” he was seated on the man’s thigh. The thick thigh parted where his bottom split in two.

When the sudden heat rushed through his whole body, he felt unbearably embarrassed. Even though this wasn’t their first or second time being intimate, why was he suddenly feeling shy?

Moreover, they weren’t even alone in the hotel now. Eun-myeong looked anxiously at Bear sitting like a statue in the single sofa. However, as always, he just stared into space like a military dog, not  showing the slightest reaction.

A large palm suddenly covered Eun-myeong’s eyes.

“You like that bastard?”

The man’s voice pooled by his ear. Eun-myeong quickly shook his head. 

‘That not it.’

“Read out the address, I’ll send people to deliver the goods.”

The man stuck a hotel notepad to Eun-myeong’s thigh. Then he scribbled writing on it with a pen. It was very rough and wild handwriting.

When he twisted his body because the pen tickled his sensitive skin, the man put his mouth to Eun-myeong’s ear and asked “Baby ticklish?” while slightly biting his earlobe. A shiver ran through his whole body.

At the same time, noticing something, Eun-myeong’s reddened cheeks puffed up.

‘…As expected.’

The man was right-handed, just as he had guessed.