PM Chapter 23

Chapter 23

“What?”

“……”

What the hell is this bastard? Should I cut his hand off.

That was the first thought that crossed Daesik’s mind. The moment he saw Heeseong being shoved around by some filthy, grimy man, Daesik completely lost it.

He had been outside the car briefly on a call, then returned carrying a large bag of ice cream from the shop, only to see Heeseong being harassed. The instant he saw that scene, Daesik’s vision went red.

Who the fuck does this bastard think he’s touching right now?

The drunk flinched when he saw Daesik, but as if trying not to let it show, he burst out swearing loudly.

“Fuck, you son of a b— guh!”

Daesik clamped his large hand around the drunk’s jaw in one swift motion, shutting his noisy mouth first. His ears had already felt like they were rotting from all the yelling, and it had been grating on his nerves.

As he tightened his grip, the drunk’s face flushed a deep red and veins bulged on his forehead.

“Y, I’m sorry… I’m sorry….”

Up until then, Heeseong had been standing there with his eyes tightly shut, mumbling to himself. His head was bowed, his trembling legs barely keeping him upright.

His body shook violently, like a trembling aspen. Even though he knew shaking would only make it worse, he couldn’t control it. He wanted to collapse to the ground, but his body was frozen stiff, making even that impossible.

“……”

Daesik’s brows twisted as he looked at Heeseong. Just then, Kyunghoon, who had finished his errand and was coming back, sensed something was wrong and ran over quickly.

Daesik handed the drunk over to him with a look. Kyunghoon immediately understood what it meant.

“Ghk… th, ugh!”

Taking hold of the drunk, Kyunghoon swiftly shut his loud mouth first. Since the man was wearing a loose tie, Kyunghoon shoved it straight into his mouth. Then, grabbing the thrashing drunk by the collar, he dragged him out of the parking lot.

Left alone with Heeseong, Daesik called out to him, still frozen in place with his eyes shut and shaking.

“Yoon Heeseong.”

“Huh… I, I’m s-sorry….”

The way Heeseong burst into tears while begging was abnormal. This wasn’t just simple fear. It was worse than that. There was something else behind it.

Narrowing his eyes, Daesik let out a slow breath and calmly wrapped an arm around Heeseong’s shoulders.

Then, with his fingertips, he gently tapped Heeseong’s pale cheek, now soaked with tears as he cowered.

“Heeseong, you need to snap out of it.”

“Hngh… sob….”

He hated people who cried and sniffled like this.

Strangely enough, Heeseong crying didn’t irritate him. It didn’t make him angry either. If anything, it felt more like…

Tilting his head slightly, Daesik reached out. He brushed aside the hair stuck to Heeseong’s sweat-damp forehead and asked softly, his voice gentle.

“Who am I. Hm?”

“Hic… uh….”

“Open your eyes and look. Who am I?”

When he asked patiently, almost whispering, Heeseong slowly lifted his tightly shut eyelids.

When Heeseong’s clear eyes appeared behind his tear-smeared glasses, Daesik felt something stir inside him.

I like this quite a lot.

“Y, you’re… the boss….”

Heeseong stammered, his wet eyelashes fluttering. In that moment, Daesik felt a rush of thirst.

Forcing down his rising excitement, Daesik patted Heeseong’s shoulder and opened the car door.

“Good.”

Guided by Daesik, Heeseong got into the car, letting out a thin, trembling breath.

Daesik followed him inside and clicked his tongue inwardly as he looked at Heeseong, who was still half out of it.

What does he think he’s going to accomplish like this?

He grabbed Heeseong’s chin, turning his face, and lightly tapped his cheek with his index finger.

“Yoon Heeseong. Who am I?”

“Th, the boss….”

“That’s right.”

Nodding as if to reassure him, Daesik brushed his thumb across Heeseong’s soft lips. Pressed by his thumb, the lips grew even redder, as if blood had rushed to them. Daesik stared at them with a deepened gaze.

“If you’re scared, just remember that.”

Still dazed, Heeseong simply nodded weakly, offering no resistance. Each time Heeseong nodded, the tip of Daesik’s thumb slipped between his lips and back out. Watching that, Daesik’s brow creased.

* * *

While Daesik was busy calming Heeseong down, Kyunghoon quickly dealt with the drunk.

Dragging the struggling man into an alley where no cameras could see, he struck him repeatedly in the abdomen, then slammed a hard blow into his solar plexus. The drunk went limp immediately.

Kyunghoon cleanly snapped the drunk’s arm with a sharp crack. As for his legs, he simply fractured them. Then he rummaged through the man’s pockets, found his wallet, and pulled out his ID and business cards.

Just in case, he needed the man’s name and address. Not because he feared retaliation, but because Daesik might ask about it or want follow-up measures taken. Kyunghoon was thorough, both in execution and preparation.

Leaving the drunk sprawled in the alley, Kyunghoon returned, picked up the paper bag he had set beside the car, and got in as if nothing had happened. Of course, not before shaking off the grime stuck to the bottom of the bag.

As soon as he got in, he handed the snack bag to Daesik, who held out his hand. Their eyes met, Daesik’s gaze sharp. Kyunghoon nodded to signal that everything had been taken care of, and only then did Daesik look away.

Straightening his posture, Kyunghoon immediately started the car and focused on driving smoothly.

As the car pulled away, Heeseong gradually came back to his senses.

Watching clarity return to Heeseong’s eyes, Daesik ran his tongue over his canine. The feeling was strange, a mix of regret and satisfaction.

By then, fully aware again, Heeseong bit his lip. The shame of trembling in fear over a random passerby washed over him.

When Heeseong flinched, his cheeks reddening, Daesik slowly released his grip on his chin. Reluctant to lose the warmth, he flexed his heated fingertips slightly.

“Feeling better now?”

Heeseong glanced at Daesik cautiously and muttered,

“Yes… I’m sorry….”

“What are you apologizing for. He’s the one who picked a fight.”

Daesik said gently, soothing the withdrawn Heeseong. Then he added casually,

“Don’t apologize so easily.”

Speaking quietly, Daesik handed Heeseong the paper bag full of snacks. Heeseong’s eyes widened as he stared down at it, clearly flustered. His startled squirrel-like expression was oddly amusing, and Daesik lifted one corner of his mouth.

“A gift.”

Heeseong blankly lowered his gaze and peeked inside the bag. Inside were packaged madeleines, muffins, cookies, cream bread, sandwiches, ice cream, and all sorts of snacks, piled high. Every single one of them looked delicious.

“…Thank you.”

“If someone picks a fight again, don’t be scared. Push back hard.”

Heeseong’s chest tightened, and he gently bit his lip. Watching him, Daesik continued,

“If you can’t do that, contact me. You should be using the phone I bought you.”

Listening to Daesik comfort Heeseong, Kyunghoon found himself nodding along, almost out of habit. Even to him, Heeseong didn’t look like someone who could push back, let alone deal with troublemakers.

“…Okay.”

Heeseong lowered his head with a teary face at Daesik’s words.

Even after seeing me act like an idiot, he didn’t get angry or hit me or call me stupid.

He really is a good person.

The fact that he kept helping without knowing what Heeseong might end up doing made his throat tighten painfully. His chest felt heavy, like a stone had been lodged inside. On the verge of tears, Heeseong clenched the paper bag tightly.

Seeing Heeseong’s eyes grow moist again, Daesik clicked his tongue inwardly. But then he let out a short laugh. Just as Heeseong looked like he might start sniffling again, he began rummaging through the snacks.

Unaware that Daesik was watching him with amusement, Heeseong pulled out a madeleine, tore open the wrapper, and timidly held it out to him.

“You should have some too, sir.”

Seeing how insignificant yet polite Heeseong was, Daesik finally burst out laughing. Covering his eyes with one hand, he laughed quietly for a while before speaking with a lifted corner of his mouth.

“You eat a lot. It’s all yours.”

“Yes….”

Heeseong blinked, not really knowing what was funny, but since Daesik said it was fine, he accepted it. Then another wave of emotion welled up inside him.

So he bought all of this just for me.