TTD Ch 15

Ja-kyung stared blankly at the smoke that was being drawn in through the ventilation. He couldn’t sleep and tossed and turned all night, and when he awoke in the morning, his mind was half-blurry. He thought washing up with cold water would be better, but it was the same.

He was desperate for nicotine due to excessive stress.  He drew out an e-cigarette and smoked it, and it appeared that he recovered. His mind gradually regained its stability. After hanging his arms and legs in the bathtub, he remembered what happened last night.

The sensation that crept through his buttocks was distinct even in the middle of his confusion. Damn it. He kicked him with his feet, but he still wanted to kill him. Even after returning to his bedroom, the drug-induced desire persisted till he couldn’t handle it any longer and had to go to the bathroom and fall asleep.

That was just too shameful.

“Bastard.”

He spits out a curse as he glanced at the ceiling. The phone rang when he was grinding his teeth. It was a call from Wang Han. He heard his friendly voice as soon as he answered the phone. But Wang Han observed that Ja-kyung’s voice has no energy and wondered what was going on.

“It’s no big deal.”

[Then why are you so down? You’re not sick, are you?]

Ja-kyung moved his head and looked down between his crotch. There was a slight pain in the lower back, but he never wanted to talk about it because it was embarrassing.

“What are you doing early in the morning?”

[Where are you now? The GPS activated last night.]

“I used it somewhere else for a second. Send it to my cell phone from the beginning to the end.”

Last night, Ja-kyung hid a GPS in the passenger seat of the man with the goblin tattoo. He had no idea what he was thinking.  Perhaps he was curious about the guy who reminded him of his childhood, or he was curious about the reality of the group that tried to kill Ja-kyung at that time. He’d find out about it when he went back and checked.

“Hey. Kang Il-hyun’s information that hyung gave me, is that all?”

[What are you talking about?]

He couldn’t bring himself to ask if Kang Il-hyun liked men. He ended the conversation after insisting it was nothing. Ja-kyung, who threw his cell phone into the bathtub and stared blankly at the ceiling, got up from his seat.

He climbed up the bathtub railing and placed his hand on the ventilator. He pushed his finger down through the small hole through which the smoke was sucked out, but it didn’t budge. In case he pushed it to the other side and it shifted slightly.

Oh. The fan plate opened and parted from the ceiling when he maintained a stable position and pushed upward with effort. He turned on the flash on his phone and looked inside; it was dusty. He had no idea where it led and it was smaller than he expected. He was wondering if he could get in.

Damn it. With a dissatisfied expression, he replaced the plate, reinstalled it, and sat in the bathtub.

“You should’ve told me earlier. I have no reason not to show it to you.”

It was surprising that Kang Il-hyun willingly showed the basement. If he asked him where the safe was, he would probably tell him. He guessed he was feeling something similar to his interest or a crush on him. He wasn’t sure if he was teasing him for fun or if he was going to try something.

Why didn’t he just act insane and give Kang Il-hyun his butt and gently persuade him into telling him where the safe is? Should he do so? Maybe he would hand over the key.

Ja-Kyung shuddered as he imagined himself panting beneath Kang Il-hyun. Oh, shit. Crazy. It was insane. There’s a limit to being blinded by money. He was completely insane. He slapped himself on the cheek, rose from his seat, and exited the bathroom.

He was laying in bed, his eyelids constantly closing. He then fell asleep, and when he awoke, it was past lunchtime. He eventually became hungry and went downstairs to eat.

Meals were usually prepared by the family’s housekeeper, who was an excellent cook. Korean cuisine, as well as cuisine from other countries, has been made perfectly for Ja-kyung to eat.

He stopped about two-thirds of the way down the steps when he heard a voice from downstairs. He hoped it wasn’t him, but Kang Il-hyun was sitting on the sofa and talking with Park Tae-soo. He was confused as to why that person was staying at home instead of going to work. He turned around and ran back to the second floor, but Kang Il-hyun called him from behind.

“Yi An. Where are you going?”

Ja-kyung stopped as he heard the remark. Son of a b*tch. However, he immediately relaxed his expression and turned around, smiling neatly.

“Good morning, Director.”

“It’s afternoon now.”

“Yes, you’re right. Because I overslept…”

“You must have been very tired. Did you not sleep yesterday?”

Ja-kyung tightened his fist behind his back. There was a limit to being brazen. He was probably purposefully irritating him, or he already had dementia. If the goal was to irritate him, he succeeded, you bastard.

“I have insomnia…”

“Oh, no. It seems that my house is not comfortable.”

“There’s no way. I’m very comfortable because you’ve been taking care of me a lot.”

They were having a conversation that they don’t even want, but then Kang Il-hyun slowly raises his hand and licks it like a dog. Ja-kyung raised both corners of his mouth and pretended not to see him.  Then he wished him a good day at work and returned to the second floor. He pondered whether or not he would follow him, and he did.

He eventually turned around in front of the door, only to find Il-hyun already in front of him.

“Do you have anything more to say…?”

“The CCTV will be removed tomorrow. If you have valuables in the bedroom, put them in the safe in advance.”

His ears perked up as he heard the word safe.

“A safe?”

“Did you not see it? I converted the bed frame into a safe. I reset it, so you can set the password yourself.”

The unexpected words raised Ja-kyung’s small expectation.

“How amazing…. Is a safe like that used in every room?”

Il-hyun nodded.

“Normally.”

Oh. So, how about your bedroom? He asked with his eyes but Il-hyun did not respond. Furthermore, if he says it too casually, it will arouse suspicions. Yesterday, he was careless and caught off guard. He stared him in the eyes to figure out what was going on. Dark eyes smiled as they peered down at him.

“And about yesterday, let’s pretend it didn’t happen. It will be uncomfortable for each other.”

Ja-kyung smiled calmly.

“Yesterday… What happened?”

Il-hyun stretched out and tried to touch his shoulder as soon as he finished speaking, and Ja-kyung, startled, took a step back. Il-hyun’s lips curved upward in an arc.

“See. You remembered.”

Ja-kyung kept smiling, but his insides were boiling. He wanted to scold himself for tripping and retreating a while back. Kang Il-hyun said, “See you after work,” and returned the way he came. Ja-kyung clenched his teeth as he watched him get further away. Yeah, laugh as much as you can.

***

“I’m sorry about what happened yesterday. You didn’t say anything else to my brother, did you?

Kang Seok-joo came to see Ja-kyung after lunch. He acted like a king in the hideout last night, but as soon as he came to Kang Il-hyun’s house, he became a coward again.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“As expected.”

Kang Seok-joo wrapped his arm around Ja-kyung’s shoulder like an old friend. And he told him about the woman last night that sat next to Ja-kyung who said that she liked him very much, and even told him that she was the only daughter of a well-known legal family.

“She is obsessed with you. She has been calling me since morning asking me to give her your contact information. How is it? She is pretty and has a nice body, would you like to meet him?”

Ja-kyung smiled shyly and raised his glasses.

“Well…”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t done it yet?”

“What?”

Kang Seok-joo made a sexually suggestive hand gesture with his finger. Ja-kyung laughed inwardly. He was attracted to a Chinese sister who lived next door when he was 15 years old. He met a lot of women after that, but when he started this work, it became less and less. Kang Seok-joo’s eyes lit up when he couldn’t answer, as though he’d never done it before.

“That’s great. There is a different exhibition tomorrow, let’s go there.”

He didn’t know what it was, but it didn’t seem like a real exhibition. Looking at Kang Seok-joo’s face, he looked very happy.

“Are your friends coming too?”

“Friend? Who?”

“The friend who took me home yesterday. I couldn’t even say thank you because I was busy…”

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s just a favor I asked him.”

“Are you two very close?”

Kang Seok-joo narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment before coming to a decision.

“Should I say that we are rather a business partner than a friend? Cause I’ve invested in what he’s doing.”

Even after he said it, Kang Seok-joo immediately changed his words.

“Of course, it’s a secret. Don’t talk about it to my brother.”

“I don’t like talking to other people… .”

Kang Seok-joo expressed his appreciation for him and patted Ja-kyung on the shoulder. Without being asked, he gave a brief explanation of Choi Ki-tae. When asked about the tattoo on his arm, he stated that he did not represent any organization and only wanted to look like his father. Ja-kyung remembered seeing a man in the past and suspected him of being Choi Ki-tae’s father.