IOTF Ch 20
by soapaWhen I opened my eyes, I heard the murmur of conversation. Wondering if it was a dream, I got up and saw a white blizzard raging beyond the large window behind the curtain.
“……”
I slowly got out of bed and walked towards the sound. I slightly opened the door and sensed people in the large living room. I heard a man’s voice clearly explaining something, and in the corner of my eye, I saw a woman standing in a skirt. Woman? I thought, and at that moment, the boss’s voice boomed.
“I’m not tearing the whole damn thing down. I’m offering to build a proper hall with pillars in that shabby temple, give it a golden Buddha statue, and they’re giving me so much lip?”
“Exactly.”
“Do they think stuffing cash in the donation box is the only way to offer alms? So what do they want me to do? My kid keeps getting sick. If this is how it’s gonna be, I’ll just build a whole new temple myself. Have Park the Shaman go in and look after my kid.”
…I couldn’t understand what he was talking about at all. What temple? What shaman? Then, even more incomprehensible words started pouring out. The person called Park the Shaman kept explaining something, talking about fate and destiny, mentioning things like “myomoonsal” and “salmoonsal.”
“That’s exactly what my aunt said, right?”
“That’s how the ‘gyeopmoonsal’ works. Especially when the ‘gongmangsalsal’ is centered around earth, if you resolve it through ‘bo,’ then just as the name suggests, there’s no ‘gong’ (emptiness) and no ‘mang’ (ruin), so it can pass quietly. In terms of location, the main hall of Gaesimsa Temple is perfect. And you already made a considerable donation during the ‘gaegeumbu’ ritual at Jeungsimsa Temple…”
The man’s words were cut short. I had made a thumping sound while coming out of the room to eavesdrop.
I cautiously poked my head out, and everyone’s gaze turned towards me.
“You’re awake.”
It sounded like an invitation to come out. Still in my pajamas, I walked out into the living room. Against the backdrop of the swirling blizzard, three people were gathered.
The boss was sitting on the large couch, and the man in the modified hanbok and the woman who appeared to be his assistant were standing next to him.
“Come here.”
Unable to hide my awkwardness, I walked out into the living room. As I slowly approached, the man’s gaze fixed on me, and he started speaking fluently.
“You were born with a blessing for food. You also have strong vitality due to a good temperament inherited from your mother. You have a personality that pushes forward rather than bending, even if it means breaking, so many people try to challenge you, and you’re also good at backstabbing others.”
I stared at him without realizing it. As I began to grasp the situation, the boss reached out and pulled me towards him.
“His stubbornness is the best in all of Yeonsan.”
“It’s a stubbornness that no one but Boss Joo can handle.”
I didn’t even have time to roll my eyes at the boss’s words.
“You seem to have inherited an artistic temperament. Perhaps one of your parents was involved in music or art?”
I couldn’t answer. So, it seemed like the boss had called this shaman to do something, and the focus of their conversation was me.
“My mother majored in piano.”
“Ah, I see. People with strong artistic tendencies tend to be good at self-suggestion.”
“And my father was an actor.”
“Hmm, but the wide, distinct philtrum under your nose suggests a lack of parental support.”
“That’s why I’m saying I’ll give him the blessings he lacks. They say someone with this kind of fate needs a godfather. I’ll be your godfather, so find me a proper temple to work with.”
The boss slammed the iPad he received from the woman onto the table. Then he ordered,
“Call out both the head monk and the chief administrator of Gaesimsa Temple. If they don’t make time, I’ll go up there myself. I can bring a few assemblymen and pave the whole road to the temple with concrete, so tell them to be prepared.”
I didn’t understand what it meant, but the shaman and his assistant nodded resolutely. The two bowed and left. After they disappeared through the front door, I asked,
“Who are they? And what is all this about?”
“You kept getting into fights, so I made a large donation under the name Lee Soyoon. I’m also building a hall at the temple and re-gilding the Buddha statue. I think your rebelliousness is due to your unfortunate fate.”
I was speechless. I couldn’t understand why the boss was doing this, donating without saying anything to me.
“It’s for your own good.”
“I didn’t know you believed in superstition.”
“I’m doing this because it’s good for you. Not for me.”
He placed me on his thigh and looked at me with sparkling eyes. He stared at my bruised face as if it were beautiful, and I felt strangely awkward.
“I don’t believe in that kind of stuff.”
“What good is it to hear that you’re unlucky?”
“Am I unlucky?”
“They say it’s like ‘samjae.’ But you really are experiencing ‘samjae.’ They said you’ve entered your unlucky years, so it’s better to send them off well.”
Only then did I remember what he had said in his office. What I had said when I went to confront him about the video.
“…That day… I was also prepared…”
“You looked like it. I had a hard time keeping it together with you staring at me like that, full of venom.”
His hand trailed down my waist to my buttocks. Considering our reunion, the boss was acting far too nonchalant. I still wasn’t comfortable seeing him, and I wondered if this was really the right way for things to resolve, but the boss just seemed to think of it as a big fight between lovers that had been resolved.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Huh?”
“Are you being shy because it’s been a while since we’ve been like this?”
He brushed my hair back. He pushed aside my bangs, which had grown long enough to cover my eyes, and the boss narrowed his eyes as if troubled.
“Then it’ll be hard on Soyoon.”
“What will?”
“If you’re shy, I’ll have to lock the door and fuck you until you’re not. I have to pound you until my wife can’t walk. That’s how I am.”
It was as if he had come from the Joseon Dynasty. I glared at the boss, who was chuckling and talking like an old man.
“You sound like an old man.”
“That’s how it is. If it weren’t for your stomach, you’d be fucking me right now.”
“I don’t want to. I won’t.”
At my words, turning my head away, the boss laughed and pulled me closer by my waist. As I nestled in his embrace, warm and thick, I couldn’t deny the thought of sex flitting through my mind.
“Watch your mouth. Saying you don’t want to. It’s only been a day since we met again.”
“You said you kept following me.”
“Yes, I did. But it’s been a while since I’ve had you on my lap.”
The boss buried his nose next to my forehead and inhaled. He smiled as if he enjoyed the scent coming from a twenty-six-year-old guy, and my face felt hot, like it was about to burst into flames.
“Don’t you hate me?”
“You’re so naive. Even if you hate me, I can’t hate you.”
I asked if he hated me, but he said he couldn’t. The boss clearly understood the difference between hate and dislike, and he was deliberately emphasizing it.
“That’s the difference between you and me.”
“……”
“The difference between Lee Soyoon and Joo Geonwoo. And it’s also my damned fate that I’ll keep chasing after you.”
The last part sounded like a murmur to himself. Then he took my hand, fiddled with it, and said, “I never imagined I’d have such a windfall as you in my life,” which sounded like something the shaman had said.
“Isn’t a windfall a good thing?”
“It’s good for those who don’t have anything, but it’s a trap for those born with it. Once you’re caught, you can’t get out. And on top of that, we’re incredibly compatible in bed? He says your sensitive nature is a perfect match for me. What can I do? I guess my dick and your pussy are meant to be together.”
I wanted to cover the boss’s mouth at the crude and vulgar words. As I pulled my hand away, the boss chuckled and asked,
“Do you like this place?”
It was hard to answer. There was nothing to like or dislike. The bedroom had only a bed, and the living room only a TV and a sofa. The house was large and seemed well-built, but there were no signs of life other than this plastic water bottle.
“It’s too empty.”
“Now Soyoon has to fill it. I deliberately didn’t bring anything so you could fill it with expensive and nice things. If you don’t like it here, other places are fine too.”
The boss, with me still on his lap, reached under the table. He pulled out a brown envelope, one I’d seen before.
“And this is the contract for the Cheongwang Building and a newly built sixty-pyeong apartment.”
An apartment? Fine, but why the Cheongwang Building?
“The National Tax Service won’t look kindly on someone who hasn’t filed taxes suddenly acquiring billions in assets, so I’ll deposit money into your account little by little at regular intervals.”
“……”
“One hundred million. Two hundred million. Four hundred million. Like this, I’ll inflate it, and then you’ll buy this building.”
That meant I was buying it with my own money anyway. Why go through all this trouble?
“Anything related to Lee Soyoon will be kept clean, safe to consume. I’ll hand it over completely without worrying about taxes, so play with it.”
Play with it? I just stared at the boss, clutching the brown envelope.
As I gaped like a fish out of water, the boss pinched my cheeks and said,
“You’ve seen others run scams, but you’ve never run a proper one yourself, have you?”
“W-well…”
“Yes, at your age, it’s better to be in love. Hanging out with girls, traveling abroad, throwing parties with celebrities. Fuck, at your age, you probably thought that was a scam. Even if it was just leeching off of me.”
The boss stared at me with his long, narrow eyes. He seemed to be searching for something on my face, recalling it, and then spitting it out with a ‘tsk.’
“Soyoon, this is what a real scam is.”
He gestured with his chin for me to look inside. Unable to suppress the swelling feeling in my chest, I took out the documents and widened my eyes at the amount written in Hanja.
“It’s a long-term investment, so you have to reap this much.”
I hurriedly checked the apartment contract and felt a stinging sensation in my eyes. Even though I already knew the price of the building, seeing it again made my eyes widen.
“S-still, this is too much…”
“You’ve worked hard.”
At the unexpected words, I looked at the boss’s face and froze. He had erased his smile and now wore the same wounded expression I had seen in the motel room yesterday.
Heavy, scary eyes that seemed to hold deep regret.
“You’ve worked hard enduring all the shit a guy like me put you through with that soft heart of yours.”
The boss said that and asked, “Were you hurt?”
I couldn’t pretend I didn’t understand what he was saying. But it was hard to pinpoint where I had felt hurt, disappointed, and disgusted.
“What hurt you the most?”
“…In the office… with Mr. Baekil…”
The boss quietly nodded.
“You thought I called you to forgive you.”
“……”
“You thought I would delete the video and tell you not to expose Moments. You probably believed I would forgive what happened in Icheon and wipe the slate clean about the debt, but you were hurt because I didn’t meet your expectations.”
Every word pierced the secrets hidden deep within me. The boss knew all about my feelings and deliberately acted that way, pulling my chin towards him.
“But Soyoon.”
“Yes.”
“From now on, if I seem angry or if there’s something you absolutely need to get from me, don’t kick the desk leg. Just shut up and stay by my side. That’s what loved puppies do. They behave after causing trouble. If you want something, come to me and wag your tail. Of course, you’re not a puppy. And definitely not a dog. But if you want to take the lead between us, do what I like.”
Then, I, the lucky bastard who hit the jackpot, will do whatever you ask. Would I hit you, my precious thing? Would I abandon you?
The boss was talkative today. And he looked at me with more affection and tenderness than ever before. So, for the first time today, I felt like I was wearing a floral ribbon tied around my neck, not a collar, but a teddy bear’s ribbon.
“…Like at the department store lounge?”
“Yes, that’s right. Just quietly stare at my face next to me like you did then.”
The boss told me not to forget, no matter how angry he got. He told me how to handle Joo Geonwoo, the youngest son of the Mujinpa, and how to behave if I wanted to live with him, soothing me while handing me documents worth billions.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“…Because it sounds just like you.”
“What part?”
“The way you asked me to officially date you is so Joo Geonwoo…”
I burst out laughing before I could finish my sentence. The boss seemed genuinely happy today, my body shaking with laughter on his lap.
“But you don’t have to give me this.”
The laughing boss stopped and asked with his eyes, ‘Why?’
“If we’re dating, I want to date normally.”
“I’m not normal. You said you hated me because I’m a thug and a gangster. Isn’t it fair to have this much when you’re dating an old guy like me?”
If it had been before, I would have agreed. I would have pretended to refuse, taken everything I could get, and then waited for the right moment to run. I would have taken small things here and there, waiting for the boss to get tired of me, but now it was different.
After experiencing the moment when my mind collapsed and I thought I was going crazy, I realized something.
“I don’t even wish for a distant future, I just want to live well in the present. I want to live comfortably with someone who loves me.”
Comfort. If I could just live a normal, comfortable life, that’s all I wanted. I wanted to have a comfortable and everyday relationship with the boss, without thinking about scams.
“You said to apologize if I wanted you to back down.”
At my words, the boss tilted his head.
“But I can’t ask for forgiveness. Instead, I’ll seriously date you. Not as a scam or a pushover. I’ll think of you as my boyfriend, my lover.”
The boss, with his head tilted, was silent for a moment. He seemed both pleased and somewhat stiff.
“Is this Lee Soyoon’s way of apologizing?”
“Well, I did say I hated you outright.”
I had to say something about hurting him, since I had said everything I wanted to, like how I hated gangsters and that he was the biggest asshole.
“So you hate me less now?”
“I don’t hate you.”
I just felt uneasy. And I knew I would continue to feel uneasy, but I had no intention of letting go of this moment of reconciliation with the boss.
“I just didn’t have any feelings for you. There were misunderstandings, and unnecessary stubbornness. But I don’t need any of that now.”
“……”
“I like it best right now.”
At my reply, the corners of the boss’s mouth curled up. He knew it wasn’t a completely satisfactory answer, but he seemed to appreciate that I had come this far.
“I’ll stay with you, and because I like you, I’ll ask you to stay with me.”
“……”
“So I don’t need this. If you want to give it to me, give it to me later.”
I placed the documents he had given me on my chest. The boss’s eyebrows rose in pleasure.
“Ah, so this is Lee Soyoon’s collateral? Collateral for saying you’ll date me?”
“It means I’ll truly see you as my lover. I give to people I’m dating, I don’t take.”
I bravely moved towards the boss’s face. I scanned his smooth, wrinkle-free face and touched my lips to his. His warm, thick lips were different from the women I had dated, but it didn’t matter anymore. The object of my affection had simply changed from a woman to a man, and the boss was no ordinary man.
As I pulled away from the kiss, the boss’s eyes narrowed. It wasn’t a look of trying to decide whether to believe me or not.
“You’re deliberately seducing me?”
“Haven’t you already been seduced?”
“If you keep acting like this, I’ll have to raise the stakes tomorrow.”
“That won’t do. Let’s date first. We need that.”
We needed to have a somewhat normal, everyday relationship, where I sometimes took the lead. Even if I would never be above him, I at least wanted to express my affection for the person I liked.
“I’m in a hurry.”
“You haven’t received love from me yet. Aren’t you curious what it feels like to be loved by me? What about the push and pull I do? Don’t you want to experience all of that?”
The boss suddenly fell silent. He was shaken by my words, his expression completely different from what he had shown before.
“They say you were a nine-tailed fox in your past life.”
“Huh?”
“They say a sinner like me has such good fortune in his later years that the heavens will be angry, but I think I’ll die seduced by a nine-tailed fox before the heavens get angry.”
The boss threw the documents on my chest to the floor. He then lifted my silk pajamas and stared intensely at my wound.
“Fuck. Stomach, you try that again, just once.”
I realized why he was suddenly acting like this. The bulge between his thighs, his dick, was grotesquely visible, looking as if it would burst through his thick jeans.
“Do you want to?”
“Would I not want to?”
The boss pulled me into a tight embrace. He sucked and licked my collarbone, hurriedly undoing his belt, and as expected, he took my hand and made me hold his dick.
“What, isn’t this normal dating too?”
I nodded, holding the boss’s hot, erect, almost bursting cock.
“It’s not?”
His voice rose slightly with arousal.
I squeezed his cock once and said,
“No. You should ask ‘Do you want to?’ before making me hold it.”
The boss closed his eyes, opened them again, and tilted his head back. His sharp jawline and long neck were exposed, his smooth Adam’s apple prominent, and his earlobes were already flushed red.
“Do you want to?”
I burst out laughing at his question as he lowered his head again. When I laughed, the boss hurriedly picked me up and started striding across the living room. He carried me, his thick cock exposed, and entered the bedroom. He didn’t put me down on the bed immediately but sat down first and placed me on his lap.
“Grab it.”
I held the boss’s cock, just in a different location. His cock, which I couldn’t fully grasp with one hand, was still incredibly large and thick.
“The pre-cum is dripping down my wrist.”
“That’s how much I missed you.”
He was leaking pre-cum like it was semen. It had always been wet when we were together, but today, an unusual amount of pre-cum and semen was flowing down my wrist, dripping onto the floor.
“Haven’t you done it at all?”
“What the fuck?”
At my too-obvious question, the boss suddenly froze.
“I told you I’d only fuck with you, Soyoon. Who would I fuck without you?”
A strange sensation resonated somewhere in my chest. I remembered feeling chills when I heard those words before, but now it was completely different.
“I’ll only do it with you. Fucking or whatever.”
He pressed his lips against mine. I didn’t close my eyes as our tongues tangled. The boss also kept his eyes open as we kissed. He pulled down my pajamas and took out my cock, holding it in his hand. We gazed into each other’s eyes, sucking on tongues and stroking each other’s cocks. My cock, wet and fully erect, signaled its readiness, and the boss, his glans swollen, kissed me more intensely.
Hot breaths mingled between our lips. I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around the boss’s shoulders and moan. I came quickly, and the boss pressed his palm against my stomach. I felt like I would cry out in pain with the orgasm, but the boss, as if to reassure me, pressed down on my bandaged stomach and whispered,
“Tell me if it hurts.”
“Were you sad when I was hurt?”
Instead of answering, the boss stared intently into my eyes.
“I thought I was going to lose my mind.”
“……”
“I thought I had driven you to this state. If you had died, many would have died in Yeonsan. I might have killed everyone related to President Kim and then killed myself.”
Jaehoon’s words flashed through my mind and disappeared. He had said he was good at dismemberment, and he would have really killed all those people.
“Don’t ever do that again.”
“Is that a warning, not a request?”
“Yes, it’s a warning. If you die, you’ll really die by my hand.”
“Before that, you should live a good life. And stop filming weird things.”
This time, there was no answer. Instead, he stared intently at me, then pulled my face closer and showered me with kisses.
I held his cock and stroked it, then let out a moan. My cock was erect again, and now the boss was holding both of them and stroking them together. The pressure and sensation, incomparable to before, made my legs tremble, and the boss stuck out his tongue and licked my cheek.
“Ha, Lee Soyoon.”
“Haah! Haah!”
His large, veiny cock kept rubbing against mine, driving me to orgasm. Then, the boss, who was licking my cheek, whispered seductively,
“Say my name.”
“Haah… Haa! Joo, Joo Geonwoo.”
“Call me ‘you’ like that day.”
The boss rubbed my cock against his fully swollen glans, driving me crazy. I bit the boss’s lip and came, my head spinning and my vision turning white. My body trembled, and all my strength drained away, but the pleasure was so intense it felt like I was going crazy.
“You’re… driving me… crazy, Joo Geonwoo.”
The boss grinned. He frowned at the thick scent of semen and then came himself. He stopped abruptly stroking his cock and spurted out semen, the milky white liquid reaching my chest and staining my pajamas.
Both of our moans erupted, and the boss slowly stroked our two cocks with his large hand. Then, as if pleased, he kissed me. He sucked on my tongue and the roof of my mouth as if he were enjoying himself, and then said,
“Say it again.”
“…I feel like I’m going crazy.”
“Again.”
“I feel like I’m going crazy… because of you…”
The boss’s sharp eyes widened at my last words. I clung to his arm and poured out all my pent-up sorrow and pain.
The white blizzard raged. The boss held me close and didn’t leave the bed. We had sex as if we were the only two people left in the world, in this empty house. We couldn’t have penetrative sex because of my wound, so we exchanged caresses and oral sex, making a mess.
He fingered me and then masturbated with those same fingers. He sucked on my cock and stroked his own, rubbing it against my armpits and between my toes, then cried out my name and came.
He relentlessly kissed and sucked. The boss hardly let me go. He insisted on washing me and taking me to the bathroom, and when the delivered food arrived, he held me on his lap and fed me.
It was an unbelievably sweet time. There were no doubts about whether this was right. I didn’t hate the bastard boss anymore. I couldn’t say it was love or affection, but I felt that if we continued like this, I would eventually be able to call it love. I would hope that this man wouldn’t die a sudden or lonely death, that he wouldn’t get hurt, and that he wouldn’t abandon me.
“I brought what Soyoon likes.”
The boss unpacked the bag containing the newly arrived beer and snacks. Kalbbang had just delivered it, and inside was a steaming bag of half-dried squid.
“Want some squid?”
“Yes. With mayonnaise, please.”
The boss did as I asked. His large, scarred fingers held the mayonnaise-covered squid, and the sight was so absurd and funny that I burst out laughing.
“Why?”
“How did you make up with your ex-girlfriends after a fight?”
“I don’t think I did.”
“You mean you didn’t fight?”
“If we fought, we’d either make up physically or just end it. Or we’d just point fingers at each other and leave it at that.”
I burst out laughing again. Even with the beer mug, foaming white, right in front of me, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You’re weak to women and dogs, huh?”
“I’m human too, I have my preferences.”
I clinked my beer mug against the boss’s and drank it down. As I chewed on the squid, the jaguar tattooed on the boss’s chest caught my eye.
“But, boss,” I began hesitantly.
At my question, the jaguar’s eyes narrowed fiercely and then relaxed. Just then, the boss’s phone started ringing. Until now, his phone had been on silent, but after Baekil left the beer and snacks, he’d had a few words with him outside and turned the ringer back on.
“Answer the phone first.”
“Tell me first.”
“No, it’s okay. Answer the phone first.”
I handed him the phone with my free hand. The boss, taking the phone, kneaded my thigh and said,
“Yeah.”
The room, with the heating on full blast, was warm enough for just a thin shirt. Naturally, I wasn’t wearing anything underneath, and the boss was also just in light sweatpants, so his half-erect penis brushed against me with every slight movement.
I nudged the boss’s cock with my thigh as I chewed on the squid, and the boss, while on the phone, sensually caressed my calf, our eyes meeting.
“Pervert…”
“Bullshit.”
“You’re like an old man.”
The boss chuckled. One thing I liked about him was that he didn’t act like a typical old-fashioned꼰대. Whether it was his nature or not, he didn’t mind me teasing him when we were alone, and he just chuckled at my playful jabs.
As he said, as long as I stuck to him like a puppy and fidgeted, everything was okay.
“Right. We should entertain our guests when they arrive.”
I stopped chewing on the squid at the mention of guests. I looked outside, where the thick snow suggested difficult travel.
It seemed another ship was arriving from China.
The weather was never good when the ships arrived; it had rained before, too. Snow was also a form of rain, and the boss’s eyes hardened slightly, suggesting he would be busy again.
“Guests are coming?”
“So they say. Guests are coming.”
The boss, having said that, filled the beer glasses. Sitting on his lap, I drank the beer and nibbled on the snacks he handed me.
That’s how we spent the afternoon, and then the next morning arrived. I woke up from a nap to find the living room filled with shopping bags. They were full of new clothes, shoes, and bags that the boss seemed to have chosen haphazardly.
I picked up a padded jacket and was a bit surprised, not just because of the staggering 9.8 million won price tag. There was a business card tucked inside, and I recognized the name—it was the boss’s previous girlfriend. She had also left a small note, thanking him for using her department store and adding, “Lee Soyoon, let’s meet sometime.”
The boss snatched the note.
“She’s so damn thirsty. Probably desperate after only fucking an old man. Fuck.”
Strangely, it was amusing. The woman who wasn’t wary of me was funny, and the boss cursing was funny too.
The boss told me to tear it up. I ripped it to shreds, and then we went into the bathroom to shower together. He kissed me constantly while washing me. He gently touched my entrance, then slightly inserted his tip, rubbing against my thighs until he finally made me cum again.
“Stop now… There’s nothing left to come out.”
The boss splattered semen on my face. Still unsatisfied, he bucked his hips and sucked on my nipples before finally pulling away and choosing my clothes.
“Where are we going?” I asked, looking at the clothes filling the large dressing room.
The boss replied, “To see the guests.”
Ah, I thought, the guests he mentioned yesterday.
“Am I going too?”
“Of course. Would I go alone without my lover?”
I felt a flicker of fear, but the boss was humming a tune. I wanted to ask him what kind of guests they were and why I had to go, but I held back.
I had decided to like the boss and see him as my boyfriend, so I had to trust him. The boss seemed to notice my apprehension but didn’t bother explaining. I just had to trust him; there was nothing else we needed besides faith in each other.
The boss dressed me in a fluffy angora sweater and thick wool pants. He draped the nearly ten-million-won padded jacket over me and fastened a watch around my wrist. Then he started dressing himself.
I thought he would choose another flashy shirt, but he picked up a black turtleneck that hugged his body. The cashmere material, clinging to his large and solid frame, revealed how sexy and beautiful his body truly was.
He had a Western-like build, with shoulders and forearms like a fighter. His waist was sharply sculpted, and even though covered, his abdominal muscles hinted at their tautness. His buttocks and thick thighs, contrasted by long, slender calves clad in black silk socks, made him look agelessly sexy.
I stared at him, pressing my lower lip between my teeth. Even though I knew he was a handsome man, my heart raced and my ears burned. My chest tingled, and I wanted to reach out and touch him. The thought of this man doing who-knows-what without my knowledge sparked a fire in my eyes.
“Hug me,” I said.
The boss, who was choosing his watch, turned his head. He stopped, his hair neatly parted, and told me to come closer.
As I embraced him, the high-quality padding puffed out air, amplifying the scent of his cologne.
“Why were you staring at me like that?”
“Because I like you.”
The boss held his breath. I tilted my head up to see his dark, long eyes harden slightly before softening.
“We’re dating. I’m very affectionate and expressive with people I like.”
Before I could add, “It just takes me a while to get to the liking part,” the boss’s lips pressed against mine. He didn’t push in roughly but gently parted my lips, tangling our tongues together. The pleasant sucking sound made me wrap my arms around his shoulders and kiss him back.
The sweet mint scent mingled in my mouth, making my heart flutter. The novelty of feeling this way while kissing a man made me moan involuntarily, and the boss tightened his arms around my waist.
Breaking the kiss, the boss, as if snapping a silver thread, said,
“And you were going to run away?”
“……”
“If you do that again, you’re really dead.”
It wasn’t funny at all, but I giggled.
“I didn’t think you’d actually come after me.”
“I didn’t go to catch you, I went to get you.”
“What’s the difference?”
“There’s a difference. I went to get you, so we’re here like this. If I went to catch you, you wouldn’t be in this world.”
I laughed again. I was scared inside, but somehow, I found myself laughing. The boss pecked my lips a few more times and made his final preparations. As we stepped out the door, the heavy snowfall had subsided. I wondered if the ship would be able to dock in this weather, and then a luxury sedan glided up. My eyes widened in surprise. The car that had just stopped right in front of us was a top-of-the-line sedan.
“Did you change cars?”
“I changed it to drive Lee Soyoon. It should have arrived before you ran away, but it was delayed. So I’m driving you in it now.”
I was materialistic, and my materialistic nature surfaced at the sight of the car. I ran my hand over the sleek body. It was luxurious, needless to say, and the interior was perfect. I couldn’t help but gasp at the sight of the slightly skin-toned, peach-colored seats, my preference.
“Holy shit.”
“Do you like it?”
“Yes! I love it!”
“You scoffed when I said I’d make you a building owner.”
“But this is every man’s dream! A Maybach GLS 600 series!”
To think I’d be riding in a car that only chairmen ride in at my age! But then again, if I became the owner of a building worth billions, I could buy and drive this car with my own money. Well, I would become a building owner thanks to the boss’s money, but still, I didn’t expect him to attack me with a Maybach after the Rolex.
“My boyfriend’s car is a Maybach…”
At my awestruck murmur, Baekil, who had just started driving, spoke up.
“Thanks to Soyoon, I’m driving a car like this too. I was secretly disappointed that our boss didn’t have much interest in cars, but thanks to you, I’m enjoying this luxury.”
The expensive car drove smoothly through the snowy roads. The comfort was incomparable to Han Doopil’s white Sonata that had picked me up initially.
For the first time, I felt grateful that he was indulging me. He changed his car so his lover could ride in a nice one, bought a house, offered a building, was good in bed, and was a decent enough guy to carry me around. It would be perfect if he just lived a good life from now on, but I wasn’t stupid enough to expect that.
The boss would continue to do profitable things, run clubs and nightclubs, and engage in all sorts of shady dealings through the ships coming into Yeonsan’s harbor. I wished he’d at least give up the porn business, but he wasn’t likely to easily abandon a site he had deliberately acquired.
I didn’t know how much he earned, but it couldn’t be a small amount. And if I asked him to suddenly change after a lifetime of doing bad things, it would be, as he said, “treating his life like dogshit.”
As a money-loving materialist, I felt a moment of solemnity in the face of the boss’s morals, but I didn’t want to ruin the mood on our first day of dating. He was this kind of man, and I had run away because I hated it, but in the end, I had to experience the downfall of being without him.
It would be better to lower my moral standards a bit. Or rather, I now liked the man named Joo Geonwoo. There had been no one as intense as him in my 26 years of life, and the thousands of emotions I felt with him were unlikely to be experienced again.
Even if I broke up with the boss and went back to Seoul to start anew, even if I returned to my old self and lived as a normal heterosexual, could I forget him? Could I dismiss it as a fleeting, passionate love affair that burned brightly and then faded?
I didn’t know. I stopped thinking and nuzzled my face against the boss’s chest. He asked, “Soyoon, do you like me that much?” and kissed the top of my head.
It was a good start, needless to say.
˚｡⋆
As the boss said, Yeonsan’s winter was quite a sight. The sea was covered in white snow. I entered the H Hotel, which stood by the sea.
The largest hotel lounge in Yeonsan wasn’t much different from the boss’s hotel. Perhaps because it was almost a month after New Year’s, there were no special decorations. But why were we meeting guests in such an open place? I wondered if it was okay to be so visible, considering they were probably here for something shady, when my eyes widened in surprise.
Sitting at the best table by the window was none other than Jaehoon. He was talking with two women who looked distinctly different from the usual crowd. Their foreheads were unusually shiny, their faces sculpted with various procedures. Their skin was excessively clear, and their sparkling accessories were from trendy Cheongdam brands.
Then I realized what I had forgotten.
I had planned a scam with Jaehoon, and this was the boss’s territory. And the boss knew everything about me.
“Soyoon, over here!”
I couldn’t look Jaehoon in the eye. As I stood there, covering my forehead with my hand, the boss’s nonchalant voice reached me.
“He’s calling you.”
Still covering my forehead, I asked,
“How… did this happen?”
“That’s for the architect to figure out.”
Oh… shit, the architect is him. And when we planned the scam, my debt was only 400 million won.
And that was debt you created, and I was really going to pay it all back.
I wanted to argue, but I couldn’t say a word. I wondered how the boss had contacted Jaehoon and how he ended up here, but now wasn’t the time to question that. Jaehoon had actually come with women, I couldn’t escape this place, and the important thing was that the boss was watching everything.
“What do I do…?”
“What do you mean what do you do? Guests have arrived, we have to entertain them.”
While I was panicking, Jaehoon spotted me. He stood up and waved, and I felt dizzy, as if I had been hit in the back of the head. I had no choice but to walk towards his table. Jaehoon’s eyes shifted to the boss beside me.
“You didn’t come alone?”
“Uh… that’s how it turned out. This is…”
The boss spoke first.
“I’m newly acquainted with Mr. Lee Soyoon.”
“……”
“I heard you did a good job in Seoul, so I came along to greet you.”
At the boss’s words, Jaehoon’s eyes darted around. He was probably wondering what the deal was with this unusual man accompanying me.
“Ah, our Soyoon is quite capable. Even when he was in Seoul, everyone nodded at the mention of his name.”
At Jaehoon’s easygoing words, the boss and I sat down side by side. Across from us were two women and a man in his 40s, similar in age to the boss. The women lowered their gazes as soon as they saw the boss. It was the typical reaction of women meeting someone intimidating. On the other hand, when their eyes met mine, they smiled. They recognized me as someone they could control.
A suitably young man, perfect as an accessory. A hustler who wouldn’t refuse anything in bed, perceptive enough to act appropriately while sticking around for an allowance.
That was me, and I had also lived off such women in the past.
Seeing the women unable to even look at the boss, I felt a momentary blankness, as if I had been struck by reality. Then Jaehoon, oblivious to the situation, asked,
“What do you do? You’re so handsome, you don’t seem like you’re from Yeonsan.”
The boss, looking remarkably good in the black turtleneck that wasn’t usually his style, replied casually,
“I own a small business. It’s something I inherited, so I’m doing it relatively comfortably.”
“Ah, so how do you know Soyoon…?”
“I also import liquor, and Mr. Lee Soyoon is excellent at identifying counterfeits and has outstanding sales skills, so we’re helping each other out. Since it’s high-priced alcohol, I can’t entrust it to just anyone.”
Jaehoon’s eyes suddenly sparkled. Among liquor importers, there were quite a few big spenders. They often had many affiliated businesses and signed exclusive contracts with popular hosts to sell specific brands of alcohol. It was quite profitable for both the businesses and the hosts, often resulting in a few hundred million to a few billion won in lump sums.
Jaehoon grasped the situation and cleared his throat. He looked at me, his eyes gleaming with the thought, “This Lee Soyoon, I thought he was digging his own grave with debt, but he’s found a way out.”
“Our Soyoon is perfect for that. Not just because I’m a madam, but because Soyoon is really honest. He always gets good reviews from both guests and staff. You know, right? The smartest and most reliable host in Marine City. Sweetheart.”
At the word “sweetheart,” I instinctively glanced at the boss. He seemed indifferent, calmly listening to Jaehoon’s prattle.
It was me who had spun all the lies. What was with his attitude of scattering bait and not caring whether it was taken?
“I know. I’ve missed him since he disappeared. While we’re at it, let me introduce myself. I’m Kim Mijin. I got a good lawyer referral from Jaehoon and things worked out well, so I came here to relax.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Soyoon.”
“You’re really handsome. What’s going on in Yeonsan? The person you came with is also very impressive. I don’t know where to look.”
The woman in her 40s had been glancing at the boss. She subtly looked him over, her surgically concealed age momentarily showing, and then the woman next to her spoke.
“I’m Sowon. Lee Sowon. My sister asked me to come along for some fresh air. It’s my first time in Yeonsan, and it’s nice. I feel like my eyes have been blessed.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“We’re meeting for the first time, but I heard you’re quite young?”
“Yes, I’m twenty-six.”
“I heard you were in Marine City. Are you a madam here?”
I felt a cold shiver down my spine. I wasn’t a madam or a host. Now I was Joo Geonwoo’s lover and living as Lee Soyoon.
“No. Right now…”
“Oh, come on, sis. Didn’t you hear what we were talking about? The boss here said he’s going to work with Soyoon because he’s so skilled. What does it matter if he’s a host, a madam, or a manager? The important thing is that we’re meeting and seeing each other. Right?”
Jaehoon smoothly glossed over it. I was rather relieved. There would be no scam, I just had to send Jaehoon back to Seoul, and there was no need to impress the women.
“So, where should we go? Soyoon, do you know any good places around here? We left without breakfast, so we’re hungry. Do you know any good restaurants? Or does the boss have any favorite places?”
I thought of the raw fish and barbecue restaurants, but I couldn’t take them there. I couldn’t treat people who had come this far poorly, so I just looked around, and then…
“Since you’ve come to Yeonsan, you should have some raw fish. I know a good garden restaurant. Shall we go there?”
At the boss’s suggestion, we stood up. I couldn’t say a word until we reached the elevator after leaving the lounge. I was praying they’d just eat and disappear back to Seoul. Then the three of them gasped at the sight of the boss’s car.
“Wow… Boss, you’re amazing. To see a car here that’s rare even in Seoul.”
Jaehoon looked genuinely surprised. The women’s slightly widened eyes suggested they had realized he was more than just an ordinary businessman.
“I guess the inherited business wasn’t just a small company. Hahaha.”
“It’s nothing. I’ll go ahead, so follow me slowly.”
The boss acted stiffly but with reasonable manners. I felt like sighing every second, but Jaehoon, amazed by the boss’s wealth, just grinned from ear to ear.
“Yes, we’ll be right behind you.”
Leaving Jaehoon behind, I got into the boss’s car. I grabbed his arm as he got into the back seat and exclaimed,
“What the hell is going on!”
“I thought I’d have to see Lee Jaehoon at some point. He’s the one who sent you here. While you were sleeping, he was sending text after text, desperate to scam a woman.”
I took out my phone and checked. I hadn’t changed the password after getting it back, so it seemed the boss had seen the messages Jaehoon sent while I was asleep and even replied to them.
Anger flared in my eyes, but the boss was faster.
“You weren’t thinking of coming to me and apologizing, but of joining hands with Lee Jaehoon to run a scam?”
“That’s…!”
“We both like younger guys in our forties, so why discriminate? Why didn’t you try to scam me when I told you to, and why did you think of playing around somewhere else?”
I should have been the one to get angry first. I had a clear reason to be.
“That was when you saddled me with a 400 million won debt! What am I supposed to do when I suddenly have a debt like that! You sent me to a fucking hostess bar and expected me to earn money easily? How am I supposed to pay back the debt at a shitty place like that! I had to do something like that because I had no other way to pay it back!”
But the boss didn’t flinch. He looked at me with those jewel-like eyes and said,
“You’re right. I cherished you too much. I even tried to get you to see me using that as an excuse.”
My heart pounded.
“I went through all that trouble with the debt just to see you. I was a fool.”
“……”
“I sent you to that hostess bar so you could relax, and this is what I get?”
What did he mean by that?
“Do you think there aren’t guys lining up to get you at Queen’s or Versace? Would you just stand there and let them, with your personality? It was obvious you’d be hustling at tables and getting into fights with the ace hosts. There’s no way your barely stitched-up stomach would have stayed intact.”
The boss’s finger flicked my forehead.
I winced at the sharp sound.
“I told you. You’re nothing without my permission.”
“……”
“Do you think I’d ruin your life when I cherish you this much?”
The spot where he flicked me throbbed. The unexpected words pressed against my chest, my forehead, and then resonated deep inside me. He hadn’t abandoned me, he had kept watching me, and he had let me sleep in a warm motel room. He had never tried to ruin my life, and all his harsh words were just meaningless words spoken in anger.
Even if his expressions were too rough and made me feel hurt, he had never hated me.
“Is your head working now?”
Not knowing the boss’s true intentions, I slowly nodded. My earlobes were hot and stinging, and as I lowered my gaze, I heard the boss’s amused voice.
“This is why our Soyoon is so pure.”
“……”
“Right, Baekil?”
Baekil, who was driving, burst out laughing. The two men laughed, sandwiching me between them. I buried my face in the boss’s chest, speechless, as we drove through the winter landscape of Yeonsan.
A comfortable, steady chest rumbled with soft laughter.
˚｡⋆
Woorak Garden looked like a traditional Korean restaurant from the outside. The restaurant, renovated from an old house, was said to have been the residence of a nobleman 300 years ago.
I followed the boss deep into the courtyard. Along the path leading to the annex, rows of old jars and drying racks for fish stretched out.
“Wow, Yeonsan has a place like this too. What should I call him?”
“You can call him CEO.”
“Ah, just CEO.”
“Yes. He likes it when people call him comfortably.”
There was no need to reveal his surname as “Joo.” Although it was a common name, it held a different meaning in Yeonsan for someone of his wealth. I hoped the perceptive Jaehoon would figure it out and disappear after the meal, but the boss’s words before we got out of the car bothered me.
“Soyoon, just eat and watch what I do.”
“Huh? What are you going to do?”
“Seeing is learning, and it’s even better if you learn something.”
What did he mean by learning? Then Mijin, sitting on the warm floor, spoke to the boss.
“You don’t seem like an ordinary person, but aren’t you being too distant? You could at least tell us your name.”
The boss turned to me at her words. He turned his head away as if he didn’t want to answer, and Kim Mijin’s eyes sharpened.
“You’re completely turning your gaze away. Do you have some bad memories? Or are you uncomfortable with this meeting…”
“I have another appointment later. I was a little preoccupied with that.”
At the word “appointment,” everyone’s attention focused on the boss.
“I’ve recently met someone new, and no matter how much I think about it, I feel like I’m being played. That’s why my thoughts wander when I meet new people.”
It didn’t make sense. Kim Mijin also looked confused as she asked,
“You don’t seem like the type to be played? Even if you pretend to be.”
Kim Mijin’s eyes were sharp. To everyone present, the boss didn’t seem like someone who could be manipulated. And an appointment? This was the first I’d heard of it.
“I invested quite a bit initially, and I had high expectations because I heard he was a nationwide player.”
At the word “nationwide,” silence fell. The large, imposing boss sat with his back straight as he spoke, his words captivating.
“I learned mahjong while studying abroad in China. I met and learned from many players, and I thought this person was the real deal.”
Kim Mijin’s eyes changed completely.
“If he’s a player…?”
“Well, isn’t he a gambler? He was quite skilled, so I invested a bit, but it seems like he sees me as a sucker. Word has already spread in Yeonsan, which is a small place, so I’m worried.”
A smile finally spread across the woman’s lips. Then Lee Sowon, who was sitting next to her, chimed in.
“If he’s nationwide, my sister might know him. Her ex-husband tore down a golf course and put a gambling den there. He really made her suffer.”
Kim Mijin continued, “Well, that’s not why we divorced, but you’re right. I sold a building and set up a golf course for him, but before long, he had a gambling den running there. Sigh. I couldn’t stand it, so I told him to set up a proper gambling establishment, and guess what? He used our house as collateral and turned an entire officetel into a gambling den!”
Kim Mijin let out a long sigh, as if in disbelief. Then she looked up at the boss and asked,
“So. Who’s this nationwide player?”
“I call him Manager Kim.”
The woman’s mouth dropped open. A surprised voice escaped her lips.
“Manager Kim? That Manager Kim with the eight-to-two parted hair and thick eyebrows?”
The boss nodded at her description.
“Oh my god. Manager Kim was raking in the dough in Gangnam and then disappeared, and he’s here in Yeonsan?”
“Is that so?”
“That man was a player at my ex-husband’s gambling den. Was it late last year when he hit it big and disappeared? It was right before I finalized my divorce, so I remember clearly. People were calling every twenty minutes looking for Manager Kim.”
She narrowed her eyes knowingly.
“Is he the boss now?”
“Well, that’s how it’s set up for now.”
“Huh, that son of a bitch. If he hadn’t run off with the money, I could have gotten more alimony. Because he trashed the gambling den during the settlement, I lost two apartments in Gangnam. Ha, what a funny connection.”
Kim Mijin downed her drink. The boss remained unfazed by her words. The two women whispered to each other, while Jaehoon and I remained silent, like mutes.
“CEO, would you mind showing us the place you invested in?”
“Are you interested?”
“Yes. I know his methods well. My ex-husband had cameras installed and recorded Manager Kim playing twenty-four hours a day. I watched alongside him because there were CCTVs installed at every table where Manager Kim played. I’ll check if he’s still using the same techniques.”
She couldn’t hide her excitement. She exclaimed about the coincidence and asked if there was an ATM nearby.
Before I knew it, we had left the Korean restaurant and were headed towards the annex behind it. We descended into a hollowed-out area against the backdrop of the open sea and mountains.
The entrance was relatively clean and looked newly built. Thugs, presumably guards, were scattered around, smoking, and a few women in short skirts were milling about.
The boss opened the door first. As we entered, the waiters bowed deeply.
“Welcome.”
The hall was by no means small. A long corridor stretched out from the main hall, leading to four-person tables and private rooms. From inside, the shouts and exclamations of men suggested that gambling was already underway.
“Business seems to be going well,” Kim Mijin commented, glancing around the hall. “You’ll be joining in, of course, CEO?”
But the boss’s response was different.
“I don’t know how to play. I only invest.”
“Oh my, you said you played mahjong earlier.”
“I quit after I started investing.”
“Well, it would be strange for an investor to hold the tiles.”
As the boss finished speaking, a man walked out from the hallway. He was in his late 50s, with the thin frame and thick eyebrows characteristic of a gambler, likely Manager Kim.
“Well, well. If it isn’t our CEO. What brings you here so early?”
The man approached quickly, with exaggerated reactions.
“Manager Kim, it’s been a while. I have guests from Seoul today.”
“Ah, from Seoul. No wonder everyone’s faces are glowing.”
So it was Manager Kim. But he didn’t recognize Kim Mijin at all. He should have recognized her if he had been a player at her ex-husband’s gambling den, but whether he was feigning ignorance or genuinely didn’t remember, he was busy bowing and ushering us inside.
Walking down the slightly dim corridor, I felt uneasy and anxious. I didn’t understand why the boss had brought me here, nor what kind of scheme he was concocting. Jaehoon also seemed suspicious, and I nudged him in the side with my elbow.
“…Why? Do you think I know what’s going on?” he whispered back.
“…They’re not hustlers, are they?”
“Those women? Absolutely not. I can guarantee that.”
The women seemed excited. Their initial sophisticated image had disappeared, and as soon as they sat at the table, their eyes sparkled as they decided who would join which game. Especially Kim Mijin. She seemed more thrilled about meeting a skilled player than resentful about the alimony she hadn’t received from her ex-husband.
“Your ex-husband ran a gambling den?”
“Just because my husband ran a gambling den doesn’t make me a gambler. And I never touched a card when I was with him.”
Ah, whatever. I gave up and sat at a different table in the room. The boss came over to our table and crossed his long legs, and then Manager Kim came in and introduced the other players.
“This is the CEO of Geumseong Food, and this is an old friend of mine. He’s a public official, but he’s incredibly good at reading tiles. How should I introduce our guests from Seoul?”
“I’m Mijin, and you can call her Mijin’s younger sister. We won’t be coming back, so let’s just keep the introductions brief.”
“Shall we? You have a refreshingly straightforward personality, so I bet the tiles will stick to you today.”
The boss watched the table with an indifferent gaze. He wasn’t looking at the women, Manager Kim, or the two men Manager Kim had brought. He just gestured to a waiter and ordered drinks and cigarettes.
I looked at the boss’s profile and then turned away. He did all sorts of shady things, so it was possible he owned a gambling den, but I still wondered why he had brought the women here.
He could have entertained them for half a day just by visiting a few of his own bars, and he could have had them play until dawn and then put them up at his resort. Or he could have just told them to leave Lee Soyoon alone and go back to Seoul.
Anyway, now that we were here, I had to keep my mouth shut.
New cards were dealt, and the game began. I wasn’t interested in gambling, so I just watched the boss when…
“Thankfully, I’m sweeping the first round,” Kim Mijin announced.
It hadn’t been long since the game started, but she had already won money. The sound of chips being tossed followed, and the poker game resumed. Manager Kim’s friend won some money, and then Kim Mijin swept the table again. Her hand, raking in the chips, held a smile, and the atmosphere still seemed good.
“The tiles are sticking to you from the start,” someone commented.
Kim Mijin laughed heartily. The cards were shuffled again, and she won again.
“This round is mine too!”
Her voice echoed through the room as the other players folded. I felt thirsty watching the scene and reached for a beer bottle on a silver tray. Jaehoon, also seemingly bored, picked up a glass. I wondered if I should pour the boss a drink too and turned to him when…
“Jaehoon, come here. Sit next to me.”