NFS 1.17

The atmosphere at the shelter on the weekend wasn’t very good at the moment. Others would consider it a much smaller issue compared to the situation where the shelter almost had to move, but to the people at the shelter, they thought that it was a much bigger deal.

“A friend lives near that neighborhood and said they’d look for Cookie whenever they have the time.”

A female volunteer who had volunteered a few times said worriedly, and another volunteer looked like they were disappointed.

“Ah, my house is too far from there. Instead, I posted articles about the shelter looking for Cookie on all the sites I frequent.”

Cookie, who everyone was worried about, was a dog who had been living at the shelter and was adopted out about a year ago. But a week ago, a volunteer reported something. The guardian who first took Cookie had been actively sharing news on social media, posting stories about Cookie every day, but he gradually stopped, and there hadn’t been any stories about Cookie for a month. Then, they added worriedly, “The owner often posts pictures of their house on social media, but there are no dog supplies at all on the premises. It’s strange.”

A member who was listed as an executive of the shelter contacted them immediately and found out that Cookie was really not in that house. At first, the owner said that he had sent him to someone else, but when they couldn’t provide any hard evidence, he finally confessed. Cookie had left the house through an open door. Even if it was an excuse that no one believed, there was nothing they could do about it.

Rather, the member who visited that day was reported to the police for intimidation, so they couldn’t hear any more details. So, they started looking for Cookie from then on. There were a lot of dogs to manage at the shelter, so there was never a peaceful day, but this was the first time something like this had happened since they started running the shelter. So, everyone was angry.

“We told him so many times when he adopted him to bring him back to the shelter if he was going to abandon him, and we even got a written oath. Isn’t that person crazy? Can’t we sue them?”

“You can’t sue them with just that. I wish I could send some thugs I know to beat him up.”

Joo Seung-ha watched the excited people on one side and took a sip of the drink in his cup. The sweet drink that entered his mouth felt refreshingly cool due to the midday heat. But those who were worried were too busy venting their anger, forgetting about the cool drinks in front of them. In the meantime, a member living near where Cookie disappeared decided to take charge of this matter, so Joo Seung-ha didn’t have to step in. Instead, Joo Seung-ha took on another task.

“We raised the reward money to Million won. There was a report that Cookie was seen in the xx neighborhood, so we’re putting up flyers in that area and notifying the animal hospitals. Since the reward money is high, we’ll get a call…Sunny, are you really okay? I’m going to put your number on the flyers.”

Jjang Nuna, who had come to his side, asked worriedly. Joo Seung-ha replied lightly as if it was nothing.

“I’m in sales, so it’s my job to spread my phone number around. And for things like this, there are guys who play pranks looking for the reward money, so a man has to take the calls.”

That was one reason he said that, but the biggest reason was that he wanted to ease Jjang Nuna’s burden. He had been by her side all the time but hadn’t properly seen her burden, which Seo Ahn-jae had seemed to pick up right away, and this had been bothering him ever since their last meeting.

“If you get a report call, post it in the group chat. You’re busy, so we’ll search for Cookie ourselves.”

“Am I the only one who’s busy?”

“You’re the busiest. You’re the only one who comes to the shelter every weekend. Why don’t you take a day off?”

Joo Seung-ha chuckled at Jjang Nuna’s dissatisfied words.

“Because I’m fine even if I don’t rest.”

“Hey, just wait until you’re over thirty. If you’re so confident and overwork your body like that, you’ll suddenly become frail. When you were running as a Deputy before, we were seriously worried about whether we should lock you in Jjajang’s kennel and force you to rest.”

He wanted to ask if locking him in the kennel was really helping, but seeing that Jjajang-i was the cleanest dog in the shelter, he figured they were being considerate in their own way. So, he knew better than to say that he was going to run as Deputy again.

“Have you contacted CEO Seo since then?”

Joo Seung-ha felt a little flustered and took another gulp of his drink, asking, “Why?”

“Why? When you broke up back then, CEO Seo said that he’d contact you if he had any questions since you’re a junior he knows.”

“…Well, not really. I guess he doesn’t have any questions about the shelter.”

“Does he have any other questions?”

Joo Seung-ha turned to face her, wondering if she knew something, but Jjang Nuna just had a curious look on her face. He would have immediately cut off anyone else who asked personal questions, but he knew he couldn’t do that to Jjang Nuna.

“No, he doesn’t have any questions.”

“Ah, so you did contact him.”

“What do you want to know, Nuna?”

Jjang Nuna shrugged her shoulders as if it were nothing.

“Just…I wonder why you keep in contact with him even though you clearly dislike him.”

“I don’t dislike him. I just don’t have any feelings for the man.”

Jjang Nuna stared at Joo Seung-ha for a moment, then nodded and walked toward another volunteer who was calling for her. Joo Seung-ha also turned to grab his shovel to continue digging the ditch he had been working on, but his eyes were as dark as the night. He had lied to her. It wasn’t that he had no feelings for the man at all. He had feelings now. Now that Seo Ahn-jae was uncomfortable and hateful toward him.

Joo Seung-ha continued working on the waterway until the sky turned red, and before he knew it, his body was soaked with sweat and the smell of the shelter. He couldn’t shower here, so he brought clothes to change into, but no matter how much he changed into new clothes, the smell ingrained in his body still lingered. It was especially bad as the days got hotter. So, when it was over, the first thing he wanted to do was to go and wash up, more than get a bite to eat first.

“Get in. I’ll take you to the subway station.”

When Joo Seung-ha offered rides to volunteers who hadn’t brought cars, two young ladies who appeared to be college students stepped forward with bright eyes like schoolgirls. After getting them settled in the backseat, just as Joo Seung-ha was about to get into the driver’s seat, he received a text message. Perhaps because he had received a similar message last Sunday, he felt uneasy before even looking at it.

―xx-street. Now.

While the earlier time than last week was appreciated, he disliked having to go without washing up even more.

―I can’t come now.

―Whether the substitute driver has time or not isn’t any of my concern.

Substitute driver. After staring blankly at the word that precisely revealed what he was to Seo Ahn-jae, he replied:

―Sir, please call another substitute driver.

Joo Seung-ha put his smartphone in his pocket and wanted to quickly get into the car, but again couldn’t open the door. The phone rang. Seo Ahn-jae’s name appeared on the screen. Joo Seung-ha was about to ignore it but noticed the ladies waiting for him in the car, so he turned and answered the phone. When he briefly answered “Yes,” the other person asked:

[Where are you?]

Laughter mixed with Seo Ahn-jae’s deep, smooth voice. His light, playful tone could momentarily deceive even Joo Seung-ha, who had already put up walls around himself against Seo Ahn-jae in the meantime. He was acting as if they were close and friendly. Of course, Joo Seung-ha wasn’t fooled by this either. The 21-year-old who was enthralled by his bait of kindness no longer existed.

“At the shelter.”

Though Joo Seung-ha answered briefly in an indifferent tone, Seo Ahn-jae continued speaking lightly:

[It takes about an hour and a half. Leave right away.]

He had missed the window to lie about not leaving now. After saying what he needed to say, Seo Ahn-jae coldly hung up. Damn it. Joo Seung-ha got in the car while cursing internally.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting.”

The two young ladies waved their hands dramatically, like sending distress signals from a deserted island, at Joo Seung-ha’s apology.

“Oh no, it’s fine. The car is nice and cool.”

Thinking it was good he’d turned on the air conditioning in advance, Joo Seung-ha slowly moved the car. Throughout the drive, he could feel their gazes on him. He answered several questions but tried not to show excessive kindness toward them. Though unlikely, he hoped they wouldn’t fall for him. While he could coldly cut off men, it was difficult to do so with women.

“Sunny-nim, do you know you’re famous? Everyone talks about how there’s a handsome guy at this shelter.”

“The rumors are greatly exaggerated.”

Though he answered flatly, the two ladies laughed loudly as if they’d heard the funniest story in the world. This was why it was hard to treat women like them who were interested in him coldly. Joo Seung-ha found their behavior cute and unconsciously smiled slightly. Then one of the ladies said, “It’s not an exaggeration. There are understated rumors about you.”

Understated rumors? Joo Seung-ha glanced at them through the rearview mirror. The college student who met his eyes had slightly reddened cheeks despite the cool air conditioning blowing in her direction.

“Your voice. Your voice is really deep and smooth.”

His voice. Perhaps due to frequently hearing comments about his voice being unexpected given his appearance, compliments about both his looks and voice were now just familiar. However, seven years ago when all his pride hit rock bottom in front of Seo Ahn-jae, even this voice was something unsightly that was difficult to use in the other man’s presence. This was mainly because he had hurled vulgar words at Joo Seung-ha during his most vulnerable moments. With a voice deeper and lower than Joo Seung-ha’s, he had poured out degrading words.

‘Fucking hell, you’re already squirting just from being fucked. Do you only think about my dick usually? Look at you biting down and not letting go. Fucking hell, even a dog wouldn’t pant like you. …Haa, hey, if you bit, shake your ass on your own. You fucking bitch.’

Even though his face felt like it would explode with shame, he moved his body at his command. But because of his embarrassment, he couldn’t make a sound easily. At some point, when Joo Seung-ha swallowed his moans, he would hit him harder and harder until he would finally get a plea out of Joo Seung-ha.

‘Hyung, stop…stop, euheut, haa Ah! It’s too deep…Heuk…stop it, please…’

Only after begging and begging with a voice mixed with tears and cracking, he pushed his throbbing penis deep inside Joo Seung-ha and poured out his hot fluids. But soon, his penis, which had become hard again, was thrust into Joo Seung-ha’s body with force. Then, along with reason, shame also vaporized, and pleas and moans burst from Joo Seung-ha’s mouth until his throat was hoarse.

After sex, he was always ashamed and regretted that he had screamed like that. What if Seo Ahn-jae hated him more? So, he spoke less and less in front of Seo Ahn-jae. But after meeting Seo Ahn-jae again, those past memories inevitably returned like unwelcome guests.

And viewing it coldly like a third party, a sudden realization came to the surface. While his own preferences were one issue, weren’t Seo Ahn-jae’s preferences similarly problematic? In the end, weren’t those sounds and pleas what he had wanted all along? This was the only explanation for understanding why Seo Ahn-jae wanted to be intimate.

So this time when they met, he planned to tell him clearly: “I’m not who I was seven years ago. I can’t give you what you want.” But it wasn’t the right atmosphere to have a serious talk in—not in a narrow beef bone soup restaurant half-full of customers.

“Sit.”

Watching Seo Ahn-jae eat hot beef bone soup in increasingly hot and humid weather, he was reminded that his taste was surprisingly like that of an older man. The interior was so cold due to the air conditioning blasting overhead. To the point where it was actually suitable for hot soup, but this worn-down alley restaurant didn’t seem to suit Seo Ahn-jae.

Joo Seung-ha thought about leaving but corrected his thinking as he sat across from the other man. No, it wasn’t just the food that didn’t match him. His car was a domestic mid-size SUV, and while his home was in a new apartment complex, it wasn’t in the wealthy Gangnam area that rich people typically lived in.

Rather, it was in an area where Seoul’s housing prices weren’t particularly high. It seemed he had chosen the place solely based on its proximity to work. Though Joo Seung-ha hadn’t seen his house, he assumed it wasn’t a large unit. Probably an average 30-pyeong. While having a 30-pyeong apartment alone at his age was impressive, for the CEO of Million, neither his car nor his house seemed fitting. And his eating habits were the same too.

He had always been like this. He didn’t care much about anything outside what he focused his attention on. Ironically, this unexpectedness made him even more special. Because he would see things through to the end and obtain whatever he set his mind to, almost frighteningly so. That was why Joo Seung-ha was so desperate for the other man’s interest.

“Here, one more beef bone soup.”

When Seo Ahn-jae ordered food for Joo Seung-ha, he habitually started to decline with “It’s okay,” but stopped himself. Seeing the other man eat so heartily made him hungry too. He was really enjoying his food. Perhaps he had no formal meetings today, as he was wearing casual work clothes today instead of a suit.

Joo Seung-ha suddenly remembered someone mentioning those t-shirts were designer brands. When everyone at the shelter was praising Seo Ahn-jae, they definitely said that. Designer brands. Come to think of it, his suits had always fit him perfectly too. It seemed unlikely he’d suddenly developed an interest in fashion?

“Why?”

Noticing his gaze, Seo Ahn-jae asked while chewing some radish kimchi in one cheek.

“Is that clothing designer brand?”

Seo Ahn-jae glanced down at his t-shirt.

“I have no idea.”

“Didn’t you buy it yourself, senior?”

Seo Ahn-jae stopped eating halfway and simply stared at Joo Seung-ha. Joo Seung-ha reviewed his question for any mistakes but found none. He didn’t even realize this was the first time since their reunion that he’d shown interest and asked something.

“Am I not allowed to ask?”

“You are,” Seo Ahn-jae answered, leaning back comfortably in his chair to face Joo Seung-ha.

“I bought the clothes. I paid for them at least. But I didn’t choose them. The company sends clothes every week.”

“That’s unexpected. To see the day you care about fashion.”

Seo Ahn-jae twisted his lips while looking at Joo Seung-ha curiously.

“Sometimes I need proper attire for certain occasions. More importantly, you know me well.”

So well that all the accumulated information about him had yet to disappear.

“Not really. I only know as much as others do.”

“That can’t be true. Others wouldn’t know what I say to you when I’m—”

Though it was meant to be sarcastic, it didn’t come out as light teasing. Joo Seung-ha looked around, feeling startled. Fortunately, the customers at the next table were busy eating their steaming beef bone soup and weren’t paying attention to them.

“Can’t I buy a proper conversation that should be had in a public place with money?”

“Probably could. There’s nothing money can’t buy these days.”

Seo Ahn-jae answered lightly and added, looking at Joo Seung-ha’s angry eyes, “Except you.”