PEN Vol 1 Ch. 1

1. Shadow 1 (Part 1)

White smoke scattered into the air. The man lowered his hand after putting a cigarette between his lips. A small head, positioned below his waist, was moving slowly. As he ran his fingers through the soft hair of his young partner, he felt a pleasure rushing up his spine.

Cold sweat was breaking out as he endured the tingling urge to climax. Ah…

A moan escaped from his lips, and the small droplets of sweat that had formed on the nape of his neck flowed down.

The man, Cheon Sejoo, had a black tiger ferociously baring its fangs on his back, claws extended as if ready to tear apart its prey. Small droplets of sweat trickled over the large paw tattooed above his narrow waist in contrast to his broad shoulders. Finally, a drop slid down his firm, sculpted buttocks and hit the floor. In that instant, Cheon Sejoo firmly pressed down on his partner’s nape and climaxed into his throat.

“Haah, haah.”

The man, Kang Doyoon, who soon vomited his large pen1s, breathed heavily as he looked up at him with flushed eyes. Cheon Sejoo wiped his sweaty forehead, scratched his cheek, and faintly smiled.

“Well done.”

Doyoon chuckled lightly and lay down on the bed at the mere compliment. Sejoo, who followed him, extinguished the cigarette that had been hanging between his lips, tapped it on the ashtray, and then lowered his gaze to the bedside table. The mobile phone placed on the bedside table had been emitting light continuously. After Sejoo checked the caller, he stared at the name intently with an indifferent face, then reached out to pick up the phone after a while.

As soon as he pressed the call button, a familiar voice came from the other side of the speaker.

– Hyungnim.  [T/N: Korean term for “Older brother” or “big boss”]

However, Sejoo did not respond and moved forward. As he put on the gown that had been thrown on the sofa, the roaring tiger on his back disappeared in an instant. He loosely tied the belt that hung down to the floor and headed to the living room.

– Hyungnim, are you awake?

The living room of the suite was enveloped in a quiet silence. Feeling the texture of the rough carpet under his feet, Sejoo walked towards the coffee machine next to the bathroom. He checked the wristwatch in front of the mug and saw that it was 9 o’clock. Saturday morning at 9 o’clock. It’s not a pleasant time for any call.

– Hyungnim, I apologize…

Worse yet, he received a call from a member of the organization who was calling him a ‘hyungnim’ annoyingly. Feeling the growing irritation, Cheon Sejoo did not respond and instead turned on the coffee machine. He placed a capsule into the machine and lit another cigarette while waiting for the hot espresso to brew. The acrid smoke billowed, obscuring his vision. Peering through the mist, Cheon Sejoo glanced down at his phone. The call had been going on for just over a minute.

Cheon Sejoo, who had deeply sucked on the filter until his cheeks hollowed, flicked off the remaining half-smoked cigarette onto the ashtray beside him. With a clink, he pressed the button to dispose of the used capsule and grabbed a new one. As the noise echoed through the speaker, the person on the other end let out a groan, as if in pain.

– It’s really the last time. Please help me one more time. If something like this happens again, then I’ll just…

“Do I look like a fool to you?”

The sharp question was met with a straight denial, and an irritated sigh was exhaled before abruptly hanging up the phone without listening to the other person’s explanation.

A phone call at this hour at that, there was nothing more to hear. This wasn’t the first time the youngest member in their organization had lost the accounting files. He’d done it twice before, and despite being scolded harshly each time, yet, here he was, doing it again. Maybe he needed a good beating to snap out of it. Cheon Sejoo closed his eyes, feeling the exhaustion wash over him.

As much as he wanted to ignore the call, he knew that if he didn’t intervene, the youngest member, the one who caused the trouble, would get beaten up. He couldn’t afford to disregard it. Cheon Sejoo let out a small sigh, set the phone down, and picked up two mugs filled with coffee.

Returning to the bedroom, he saw Doyoon lying upside down on the bed, looking out the window. Doyoon reached out a hand towards him, smiling with his eyes. Sejoo handed him a mug and took a sip of his own coffee before speaking.

“I have to go.”

“Already?”

At those words, Doyoon lifted his head. His expression clearly showing disappointment. They had spent several days together after a long time apart, but it seemed that even that wasn’t enough for Doyoo .

“I have something to do.”

As Sejoo briefly explained the situation, Doyoon shrugged and muttered. “It can’t be helped…”.

However, contrary to his accepting words, his actions spoke otherwise. He downed the lukewarm espresso in one gulp, then, on all fours, crawled toward Cheon Sejoo on the bed. With a charming smile on his pretty face, Doyoon reached out, untied the belt of Seju’s robe, and whispered softly.

“Then stay for just 30 more minutes…”

It was a simple yet mischievous temptation. Cheon Sejoo, who looked down at Doyoon with a cold gaze, suddenly laughed and lowered himself onto the bed. His large hand reached out, spreading Kang Doyoon’s legs apart.

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

When Cheon Sejoo came out of the hotel with wet hair, it was slightly past eleven in the morning. The breeze flowed through the gap of the unbuttoned collar of his shirt. He felt the heat rising from his head gradually cooling down. As the season transitioned from summer to winter, facing the chilly wind, Cheon Sejoo lit a cigarette while waiting for the car to be ready. With the hand holding the cigarette, he ruffled his damp hair and then picked up his phone.

32 missed calls. The screen was filled with persistent traces of someone trying to reach him. Moreover, even though almost two hours had passed since the call was abruptly ended without a word, it seemed to show that he hadn’t given up, as another call came through. The caller was the same person as before.

– Hyungnim! Please!

As soon as he answered the phone, a pleading voice rang out. Cheon Sejoo, who didn’t even want to hear it, quickly took a puff of his cigarette, said a few words, and hung up the phone again.

“Sir, I’ll escort you this way.”

A valet parking attendant approached Cheon Sejoo, who was rubbing his eyes with a deep sense of fatigue. Before he knew it, a brand-new white Lamborghini was parked right in front of him. Cheon Sejoo realized belatedly that it was his newly acquired car and took out his wallet from the back pocket of his pants. He handed a fifty-thousand-won bill to the attendant and climbed into the driver’s seat which had its door wide open.

[T/N: 50,000 won : around 36 dollars]

The distance from the hotel to the city was not far. The white sports car he was driving reached its destination in just 10 minutes.

Cheon Sejoo parked the car next to the sidewalk and turned his head. There was an old building standing outside the window. Near the glass doors with scattered sticker marks, a few sturdy men stood guard. They had a bored expression as they smoked cigarettes, but upon noticing the approaching car, they quickly approached him.

The men stood in line, waiting for Cheon Sejoo to get out of the car. Watching them from the driver’s seat, Cheon Sejoo closed his eyes silently and then opened them. Every time he came here, he felt uncomfortable, as if he were wearing clothes that didn’t fit him. However,  it was something he couldn’t avoid and something he had to do. Cheon Sejoo put on a cold mask over his indifferent face and opened the door of the driver’s seat.

“You have arrived, hyungnim!”

The thunderous sound of greetings echoed all around. Stepping out of the car, Cheon Sejoo, with his suit jacket draped over his left arm, nodded slightly. His mere presence alone created an atmosphere that made the men tense, causing them to swallow dryly.

Without saying a word, he brushed past the men and headed straight towards the building entrance. It was a moment of relief for the tense men, who sighed and straightened their postures. Suddenly, Cheon Sejoo stopped in his tracks and flicked away a cigarette butt that was lying next to the door.

“Get rid of it, you b*stards.”

At his sharp command, the men scrambled to pick up the dozens of cigarette butts near the entrance, bowing once more. While they hurriedly cleaned up, Cheon Sejoo sighed and continued walking inside.

The old building had a characteristic damp, moldy smell. Shinsa Capital was situated in an environment that Cheon Sejoo who was disgusted by dirty things, could not help but dislike. Built in the 1980s and surviving for decades without remodeling, the building was so poorly maintained that even with half-closed eyes, it was clearly felt that the interior of the building was dreary and dirty.

However, it seemed that it was not enough to be old and dirty. Today, there was even a large trash bag lying at the end of the hallway where the elevator was located.

Disgusting bastards, not throwing it out right away.

With these thoughts in mind, he was about to pass by the pile of trash. Glancing down, Cheon Sejoo realized that the blurry black figure he had seen was not trash, but a person crouched down in a black hoodie.

“……”

A slender jawline was visible through her long hair. The child’s face was pale, and as she turned to look at Cheon Sejoo, her eyes were filled with unmistakable hostility.

[T/N: In this part, Sejoo confuses him as her so I use ‘her’ as pronouns]

In that brief moment when their eyes met, Cheon Sejoo could glean from the child’s appearance alone that their parents had likely borrowed a significant sum of money from this place. The child seemed to be waiting for their parents who had been taken to the upper floors.

Tsk, he frowned and briefly clicked his tongue. There were indeed so many terrible parents in the world. However, as it was none of his business, Cheon Sejoo passed by the child and headed to the elevator, making his way to the third floor.

There wasn’t a single person in the hallway. Reminded of the fact that he was brought here on a day when everyone else was off, he kicked open the closed office door. At the sound of the door rattling, several men who had been dozing off in their chairs jerked awake, raising their heads in surprise.

“Hyungnim! You have come!”

Cheon Sejoo frowned at the perplexing title. He looked around the office without responding to the greeting. Most of the seats were empty because it was Saturday, and only the men who were constantly collecting money day and night were resting on the sofa and guarding the place.

However, the office was like a trash can. There were bags of snacks and beer cans scattered on the table, and there was even a guy who was still sleeping on the sofa. It was such a mess.

Cheon Sejoo, who was suddenly irritated, approached and kicked the sofa. With a sudden shock, the person who was sleeping screamed and woke up. A cold voice flowed from Cheon Sejoo as he witnessed the scene.

“Is this your house? If you’re going to sleep here, pay the rent, you b*stard.”

“Ah, hyungnim! You have come!”

“Clean this up too. Is this a pigsty? F*ck, should I catch you and beat you up for once?”

Cheon Sejoo’s outburst made the office bustling. Feeling guilty, the men hurriedly apologized and scrambled to tidy up the place.

Eager to leave the filthy place quickly, Cheon Sejoo ignored the men and moved further into the office. However, there was no one inside the partitioned accounting room. Seeing only the computer that he had to take over still turned on, he furrowed his straight brows.

The reason why Cheon Sejoo, the problem solver of the organization, ended up taking on the role of a manager in a loan company without any qualifications was simple. Three months ago, a major fight broke out among the members of the Shinsa Capital, and the timid ordinary employees who witnessed the bloody battle all quit. The news of the chaos at Shinsa Capital reached Shin Gyoyeon, the successor of the organization, and when the need for someone to control the place arose, thus he called Cheon Sejoo.

Two members who became the main instigators of the fight were mercilessly punished by Cheon Sejoo. Blood was spilled in the office, and once the atmosphere calmed down, he began to recruit new employees to work at the company.

The problem started from here. Somehow, the rumors spread and Cheon Sejoo simply couldn’t find anyone to handle the accounting tasks. Even after a week passed with vacant positions in the office, Cheon Sejoo eventually had to select some of the new, inexperienced organization members to temporarily take on the tasks.

The guy who caused the accident this time was one of them. He seemed smart, so he was put in charge of accounting, but the problem was that he was not meticulous and kept making mistakes. And unfortunately, within Shinsa Capital, there was only one person who could undo that mistake, Cheon Sejoo.

Where did he go after calling for someone to clean up his mess? Cheon Sejoo asked loudly with an annoyed sigh.

“Where did the youngest go.”

However, there was no one to answer that question. Frowning, Cheon Sejoo looked beyond the partition with his eyes narrowed. It seemed that the big guys were nudging each other’s sides and delaying their answers. It was clear that there was something uncomfortable for them to talk to him here.

Ha, Cheon Sejoo, who let out a sigh, sat down at the desk and rubbed his forehead for a while. He repeated the action until one side of his forehead covered with hair turned slightly reddish, then threw another question. Come to think of it, there was another person who should have been here, but they were nowhere to be seen.