M 18
by Sorai“Get up.”
The man stood up again as if determined to see everything. Sehwa also stood up and leaned forward. Holding the knife that had been used to tear the plastic containing the drugs, the man inserted his finger through the opening in the patch. Nevertheless, due to the previous tugging by Ki Tae-jeong and constant exposure to water, it opened easily. With a rustling sound, the patch fell to the floor.
The man stepped back with a fairly large movement as if to appeal to Ki Tae-jeong that it was not his will to use the knife. Sehwa neatly closed the front of his gown, which had become slightly loosened due to his trembling body. The man’s gaze followed involuntarily, but it seemed devoid of desire. He merely stared in fascination as he realized Sehwa was wearing nothing beneath the robe. It was more like curiosity, wondering how incredible his body had to be to make Ki Tae-jeong forget about his own responsibilities and tasks.
Sehwa could do the following work with his eyes closed. Adjusting the level of the glass pane horizontally, he wrapped gauze around his index finger and then dipped it into the vinyl bag. There were five prepared items in total. Sehwa put gauze in his mouth and tasted it, then replaced it with a new gauze and scooped out the powder onto the glass plate. Sehwa decided to use only two of these. The appropriate amount was mixed, injected into the syringe, and filled it with saline. He flicked the cylinder with his finger to check the concentration with his eye and then he reached out to the man.
“Please roll up your sleeves.”
The man obediently rolled up his sleeve. Sehwa pretended to feel his forearm as if looking for a suitable spot for the injection. Since he was a soldier, he was quite muscular. The blood vessel was easy to find, but if he inserted it incorrectly, the needle might bounce off. Usually, with such a target, he would aim for the neck with a smaller syringe from the beginning.
“What’s the price for this?”
Ki Tae-jeong, who had been watching from behind, finally broke the silence and spoke.
“No, not yet…”
“It seems like you’ve been trying so hard to show your body.”
“I haven’t injected it yet…”
“It’s different from what you told me, isn’t it? You said you killed people in a surprise attack.”
“What? I didn’t kill anyone… And it wasn’t really a surprise attack.”
“People who are crazy about drugs would have just watched and done nothing while you were prancing around like that in front of them. Get inside.”
When Ki Tae-jeong clicked his tongue briefly, the man adjusted his clothes and took his steps.
“Wait a minute.”
Just a little more patience. I couldn’t stand it… Sehwa muttered to himself again. He always kept his true feelings hidden, but it seemed like they intensified even more in front of Ki Tae-jeong.
“You have to take this back.”
As Sehwa took out the money from his pocket and showed it, the man chuckled.
“But you didn’t give me the drug.”
“It’s alright.”
“Is that so? Well, this money… call it an outcall fee if you want.”
Sehwa flicked the bill with his thumb and revealed the card hidden inside. The man’s eyes widened as he was about to leave.
“You’re not taking this? Whatever it is.”
The man’s hands were shaking as he urgently took out his wallet and rummaged through it. Ki Tae-jeong’s eyes narrowed as he taunted Sehwa.
“I already said there isn’t any extraordinary skill.”
Sehwa scratched his cheek a little awkwardly. Yet, he felt a bit relieved. It didn’t seem like a positive direction, but Ki Tae-jeong seemed to be interested.
Sehwa hoped he would somehow remain interested in him. The worst thing that could happen to a toy that lost its owner’s interest was to be thrown away. It was the future that Sehwa wanted to avoid the most. So, he hoped Ki Tae-jeong would continue to find him interesting. It would be even better if the direction was not sex.
“Give it back.”
If Ki Tae-jeong wasn’t there, it would have been a fierce, cursing voice that might have erupted.
“I don’t want to.”
“What?”
“If you want this back, bring more money next time, sir. You knew you couldn’t use a card here, and you brought a mere 70,000 won. What can 70,000 won do?”
When he heard Sehwa’s condescending voice, the man swung his big hand toward Sehwa’s wrist. It was even more humiliating to see him act on his own without Ki Tae-jeong’s permission, and that he was unaware that his credit card had been stolen by a 4-Hwan low-class person.
“If you keep doing this, I’ll beat you up!”
The wrist that was holding the money was immediately grabbed. Anyway, there was a sofa behind him blocking his path, so it wasn’t a situation where he could run away. Sehwa’s body was pulled forward. The area below his knees, which had been hard hit on the table, was throbbing.
“Give it to me.”
“But you told me to take the money?”
“I said give it to me.”
His wrist felt like it was about to snap. Gritting his teeth in excruciating pain, Sehwa raised his other hand. The man almost tore the bill covering the card and was about to take out the card he was looking for when he turned his head casually as he sensed a shadow approaching.
“This is…!”
The man’s eyes were colored with absurdity when he spotted the syringe in Sehwa’s hand, which was right in front of him in an instant. Rather than being surprised, just at that? There was just that level of vagueness.
“I told you that if you keep doing that, I’ll beat you up.”
Aiming for the acupuncture line and inserting the needle took only a few seconds. The man violently slapped Sehwa’s hand away the moment he pushed the rest with his thumb. The half-injected drug, blood drops, and torn money were scattered in the air. The syringe, which had failed to fulfill its purpose, rolled pitifully on the floor. The object that made a pitiful sound like a dying man fell silent at Ki Tae-jeong’s feet.
“It’s like this…”
Sehwa hesitated to speak, unable to bear the terrible silence that followed the skit. Ki Tae-jeong’s face was expressionless, and he said nothing. The people behind him noticed and left when he was lost in thought and kicked the syringe. Sehwa checked on the man who had dealt with him. He appeared to be a little weaker, but since he hadn’t properly injected anything, there shouldn’t be any major problems.
“He is Lieutenant Kim’s spy.”
Ki Tae-jeong sat down on the sofa across from him. Maybe it was because of the cigar in his mouth, but the low whispering voice dispersed like fog.
“I was planning on dealing with him anyway, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Then before… Those people also that, uh, so they were also spies?”
“Those people?”
“Those… whether it’s the eyes or the tongue… anything to make them silent.”
“Well. Think what you want.”
Sehwa managed to read the answer in his indifferent response. The men who washed him were not even spies, but they seemed to have been punished for no reason.
“I don’t think you’re in a position to care about those bastards right now.”
Ki Tae-jeong was inspecting the foot of the slightly slumped statue. His chin tilted slightly, long eyelashes, a gloomy shadow extending from his forehead to the bridge of his nose… It somehow reminded him of a long-forgotten royal dynasty from ancient times. Noble, elegant, but fallen, and therefore forever unattainable.
“What if there were no stolen items, no way to threaten them?”
“Then I’ll deliberately give him something stronger. So that he would remember and come looking for it.”
“Secretly?”
“Yes, secretly.”
Of course, kissing was an occasional incident in the process, but Sehwa wasn’t tactless enough to reveal it to Ki Tae-jeong.
“I’m thinking that even if he came to me, I’d have to make him beg for it first while saying I can’t give him the same amount of drugs.”
“That’s right. Wahh. You’re a scary person, babe.”
Sehwa continued to fiddle with the ends of the gown knot. Ki Tae-jeong seemed to be interested… but he couldn’t tell if the direction was positive or negative.
“Do it again.”
When Sehwa raised his head, Ki Tae-jeong briefly gestured with his chin.
“The thing from earlier.”
Ki Tae-jeong rested his elbows on his spread knees and lowered his upper body. He clasped his hands together and looked at the items on the table with utmost seriousness.
“Put the drug in, keep the syringe handy, and take it out again. Do it again.”
Sehwa, who was waiting for the evaluation or punishment that would fall on him, nodded and wiped his sweaty palms on the floor. He scooped the powder with gauze, filled the syringe, and hid it behind his back, in his gown pocket, or in his hand…
“Again.”
It wasn’t difficult because it was something Sehwa did every day, but he couldn’t figure out why Ki Tae-jeong wanted him to repeat this process.
“Can you do it faster?”
Fortunately, the tension had completely dissipated from repeatedly doing it, so Sehwa could maintain a pace somewhat similar to when he worked alone. Ki Tae-jeong, who had been estimating the time, issued the same command again.
“Again. Faster.”