BOW Chapter 6 (Part 1)
by Brie- Experienced New Hire
On their way back to the café, Suhyeong and Jiyeon walked side by side, tightly holding hands. When Suhyeong glanced at Jiyeon’s flushed face, he swept a hand over his mouth to hide the smile that kept threatening to spill out.
The thought that Jiyeon liked him too made his heart pound every time he remembered it, and the corners of his lips twitched like his facial muscles had stopped working.
When Park Jongseo threw the lit candle into the trash bin, he had really thought he was going to die. The fire on the paper crawled up the wall and turned the small storage room into an inferno in no time.
“U-ugh, aaah!”
Terrified by the flames rising out of control, Park Jongseo screamed and bolted out of the storage room. Suhyeong immediately chased after him.
“Where do you think you’re going.”
“F-fire! I’ll die! I’m gonna die!”
“You did this.”
The scorching heat and the bright red flames that looked ready to burn everything in an instant made Jongseo shout even louder. Unable to understand any of his behavior, Suhyeong let out a hollow laugh.
“So let go! Damn it, you wanna die here with me?!”
Jongseo also twisted his face, clearly unable to understand Suhyeong. Meanwhile, the fire devoured the storage room and spilled outside, reaching right up to their noses. Thick smoke filled the large subcontract office.
“I hate bastards like you the most. People who act however they want just because the world’s gone loud. Do you have any idea how hard everyone else is trying to hold on to normal life in the middle of all this chaos?”
Thud!
Suhyeong shoved the coughing Jongseo hard. His head smacked the wall, and he collapsed weakly to the floor.
“Ugh… ugh…”
Leaving Jongseo crawling on the ground in a desperate attempt to survive, Suhyeong walked silently toward the exit.
“Help me, help me!”
Jongseo shouted after him as he grew distant. But Suhyeong ignored the plea and walked out the door. Not long after, something inside exploded with a loud boom behind him. It must have been the kerosene heater catching fire and blowing up. He felt no sympathy for Jongseo, who must have died gruesomely.
Suddenly, his parents came to mind. They had worked tirelessly to raise their reckless son right, creating order in disorder, protecting the ordinary in the midst of the extraordinary. When he thought of them, people like Park Jongseo and Park Myungsik deserved to die. And he himself, who had shattered that peace with his own hands, also deserved death. Until not long ago, he had thought that if a chance to die presented itself, he would accept it without hesitation.
But now, he couldn’t.
“You have to survive too, Team Leader.”
It was because of Hong Jiyeon. When he thought of Jiyeon telling him that once they got out of here, they should work out together and watch movies together, he couldn’t bring himself to die. He wanted to stop being tied to the past and keep moving forward with Jiyeon.
“Ugh.”
After finally making it outside, a pained groan escaped him. The lingering effects of the concussion combined with the smoke he’d inhaled brought on a severe dizziness. It wouldn’t have been strange if he collapsed right then and there. He was holding on purely by willpower.
“Graaaah! Kak!”
To make things worse, the mutants, drawn by the fire, began rushing toward the building. If he fell here, he would definitely become their prey. Determined to survive, he staggered and scanned the nearby cars. Fortunately, a large SUV was unlocked. Barely managing to climb inside, he lost consciousness.
And about twenty minutes later, when he came to, he found Jiyeon crying over him, thinking he was dead.
“Why are you staring like that. Don’t look at me.”
Feeling Suhyeong’s constant gaze on him, Jiyeon grumbled, his ears turning red. It was pretty cute.
“It’s my eyes. Why shouldn’t I look.”
“…It’s embarrassing.”
“But rubbing our things together wasn’t embarrassing?”
“Oh! Seriously!”
When Suhyeong teasingly brought up what they had done earlier, Jiyeon snapped and punched him in the shoulder. He was still struggling with the embarrassment that had hit him belatedly while he scrubbed his semen off Suhyeong’s padded jacket with snow that hadn’t melted yet.
“Team Leader! Assistant Manager!”
As they neared the café, Choi Sunghwa came running toward them, breathing hard. It was a rare sight from someone who usually reacted to Jang Joohee’s mistakes with a dry “It happens.”
“Assistant Manager Hong! How could you run out like that! I was really worried!”
Sunghwa raised her voice in a way completely unlike her. She must have been shocked by Jiyeon suddenly sprinting out of the café with a weapon, looking like he might collapse any second.
“You must’ve been startled. I just… acted before thinking because I wanted to find Team Leader Yoon first.”
Jiyeon awkwardly smiled as he apologized to the shaken Sunghwa. He then bowed to the other employees waiting outside.
“So, everyone’s here now, right?”
One of the employees from Ijin opened the door of the van parked right in front of the café. On the way here, Suhyeong had heard the situation from Jiyeon, and he eyed the employees with suspicion.
“…Is it really okay to get in?”
“Well, they don’t seem to be impostors.”
At Jiyeon’s question, Suhyeong nodded and climbed in first. Only then did the others hesitantly follow into the van.
“We’re heading out. Make sure you’re all buckled up. If we see any mutants, we’re just going to ram through.”
The man in the driver’s seat checked that everyone had fastened their seatbelts, then started the engine. With a loud roar, the van began moving.
They were finally about to leave Haseong City.
Jiyeon had believed without a doubt that now that they’d reached their destination, all their hardships were finally over. No, at least, he had believed that until the moment he stepped out of the vehicle.
After getting out, Jiyeon asked the female employee who had introduced herself as Han Areum to tell him where the underground evacuation route was. There was no need for them to go all the way into the company building, so he intended to proceed without any further help from the Ijin Electronics employees.
“The underground evacuation route? Oh my.”
But at Jiyeon’s question, Han Areum reacted as if she had just heard a joke.
“I’ve never seen a newcomer talk about the evacuation route on their first day.”
“Why? Are we not supposed to?”
Jiyeon frowned and asked again.
“That’s not a place a newbie is allowed to go. Well… you might become a newbie, but…”
“Sorry? I’m not sure I understand. I heard there’s an evacuation tunnel under this building connected to another city. And that you have a map.”
This time, Choi Sunghwa spoke up, unable to make sense of the bizarre words Han Areum kept saying. They had risked so much to come here for that one thing, and yet the response was strange and unsettling. The five exchanged anxious looks. Then the Ijin employee who had been driving, Choi Jinwoo, approached them with a friendly smile.
“Let’s talk inside. It’s cold.”
He guided Jiyeon and the others into the building. Even though they all sensed something was off, they had nowhere else to go, so they followed Han Areum and Choi Jinwoo into the Ijin Electronics headquarters.
The building’s security system was extraordinary. To enter, one had to scan a fingerprint on a device installed by the door, and every door inside the building had the same device. They were told that once recognized, the door would lock again within five seconds. It seemed designed to block not only mutants but any outsider.
“Our company has been preparing for mutant-related risks for a very long time, so most of our employees managed to survive. And with our security system, mutants can’t get inside at all.”
Han Areum spoke with confident, crisp articulation, as if delivering an important presentation. She radiated the dignity of a major corporation employee.
“What about people who mutate inside?”
“Oh, there were a few early on, but none now. We acted quickly in the beginning, so the affected employees were isolated on a separate floor. Please follow me.”
She answered Jang Joohee without hesitation and continued walking. Jiyeon made a troubled expression. The mention of early mutations reminded him of how their own office had been torn apart by the outbreak. If Haseong Media had reacted quickly at the start, Park Yeji might not have become a mutant so helplessly… The guilt he had forgotten for a moment crept back up.
“Why the long face?”
Suhyeong, who immediately sensed Jiyeon’s gloom, stepped closer and asked. Jiyeon forced an awkward smile and shook his head to say it was nothing. In response, Suhyeong subtly hooked his pinky around Jiyeon’s.
“Huh.”
The move was so cheeky it was almost cute, and Jiyeon couldn’t help letting out a small, startled laugh. It eased some of the heaviness in his chest.
“We’ll take the elevator up and get off at the 15th floor. That’s the survivor waiting area.”
“Elevator? There’s electricity in the building?!”
At Choi Jinwoo’s explanation, Choi Sunghwa widened her eyes. The city’s power had gone out shortly after they escaped the office. Some buildings had generators, but those were dangerous, the noise attracted mutants. And yet here, they couldn’t hear any generator running.
“The entire building runs on solar-powered self-generation.”
“Wow. As expected of a major corporation…”
Jang Joohee murmured enviously. Not long ago, Park Team Leader had scolded her, asking if she thought electricity was free and telling her to stop blasting the heater. It had been the day the entire city was under a cold wave advisory.
“When you get to the waiting room, you’ll undergo a basic check and then an interview.”
“An interview? What interview?”
“Well… since we can’t bring every survivor into the building, we interview and keep only those who pass. Like hiring new employees.”
“What…?”
It wasn’t even a survival audition at this point. The words made no sense, and everyone’s expression twisted. Feeling communication was faltering, Jiyeon stepped forward.
“No, we’re not planning to stay here. If you just tell us where the evacuation route is…”
But before he even finished, the elevator reached its destination.
Doors opening.
With the mechanical announcement, the doors slid open. Han Areum and Choi Jinwoo turned to the five Haseong Media employees and welcomed them once more with bright smiles.
“Welcome to Ijin Electronics.”
The 15th-floor lounge of Ijin Electronics headquarters.
The atmosphere was tense and chaotic. People of all ages, genders, and ethnicities sat rigidly in their seats, visibly nervous, from children to the elderly. All of them were waiting for this ridiculous “interview.”
Some murmured over prepared answers while others shook their legs anxiously. It really did feel like a high-stakes job interview.
“Ugh. My PTSD is coming back.”
Shuddering, Jang Joohee hugged herself. She had scattered thirteen resumes and gone through countless interviews during her job-seeking days. Remembering the darkest period of her life, she groaned repeatedly.
“Sigh.”
Even Choi Sunghwa was letting out deep, heavy breaths with an unpleasant expression. Jang Joohee glanced at her. She wondered if Sunghwa too was stressed by this brutal interview setting.
“I actually interviewed here once before.”
“What? Really? No way.”
“Yes. But I was rejected at the final round. That’s why I don’t use Ijin products.”
Sunghwa half-joked, half-confessed. If anyone was experiencing true PTSD, it was probably her.
“But what do we do? Do we seriously have to take this interview? The evacuation tunnel is right below somewhere!”
Jiyeon burst out, unable to comprehend the situation. Several survivors glared at him. A warning to keep quiet.
“This is insane.”
Dragging a hand down his pale face, Jiyeon dropped heavily into an empty chair. From the moment they entered, he could tell the Ijin building was an excellent shelter. But conducting this nonsense when an escape route out of Haseong City was right under their feet made no sense. And selecting survivors through interviews? That basically meant they would only keep people useful to the company. That corporate mentality persisting even now made his blood boil.
“For now, let’s wait a bit. Assistant Kim isn’t in good shape.”
Suhyeong soothed him. Kim Hyeongseok, running a fever from his aggravated injury, was lying on a portable medical cot in the lounge corner. They couldn’t leave him. Jiyeon reluctantly nodded.
They waited for who knew how long. Then suddenly, the large TV mounted on the lounge wall flickered on. Everyone turned toward the screen.
“IT for the future, a company for the future.”
The company slogan played, and soon a familiar face filled the screen.
“Hello. I am Lee Jungho.”
A man in his mid-to-late 50s with a well-maintained, polished appearance. He gave only his name, but everyone recognized him.
He was Lee Jungho, the chairman of Ijin Electronics, who had inherited the company after Chairman Lee Jinsang’s death five years ago.
“First, I would like to offer my respect and gratitude to everyone who has survived this chaos and made it here. Thank you truly for coming to Ijin.”
He bowed deeply toward the camera. Then, accompanied by VCR footage, he explained how the late Chairman Lee Jinsang had poured massive amounts of money and effort into preparing the headquarters building for a mutant crisis. The video projected such trustworthiness that cheers and gasps broke out around the room.
“No wonder these people are preparing so hard for the interview.”
Watching the video, Suhyeong muttered bitterly. For the survivors, this place was their best chance. Of course they wanted to stay.
“Underneath the Ijin Electronics headquarters lies an underground evacuation route that leads to the White Zone.”
“Oh my god, he’s talking about the evacuation route!”
The moment the route was mentioned, Jang Joohee jolted upright. Everyone, including her, stared intensely at the screen.
“However, I have made the difficult decision to close it.”
“What the hell?!”
This time, Jiyeon leapt up. It was as absurd as when the emergency broadcast told civilians not to use their own vehicles. But unaware of Jiyeon’s outrage, Lee Jungho calmly continued.
“As you all know, these are times of chaos. Throughout this crisis, I have witnessed far too many inhumane acts, people harming others just to save themselves. If we open the evacuation route to everyone, it will no longer serve its purpose as a refuge.”
That much… was understandable. But shutting it down entirely was excessive. Arms crossed, Jiyeon glared at the chairman on-screen.
“So we have implemented an employee points system. Each week, the five employees with the highest points will be selected and given priority access to the evacuation route. Even if you are not chosen, we have created a safe and sufficient system for living comfortably within the company, so please do not worry.”
“Seriously, what is this!”
“A point system? What is this, some kind of pyramid scheme?! What does that even mean?!”
Jang Joohee and Choi Sunghwa fumed at the absurd broadcast. Only then did it make sense why Han Areum and Choi Jinwoo had reacted so strangely when the underground evacuation route was mentioned earlier. They hadn’t known its location in the first place, and it clearly wasn’t something newcomers could aim for.
“Can’t we just find it ourselves? It has to be somewhere underground. It’s an evacuation route.”
Jiyeon looked at Suhyeong as he said it. Caught completely off guard, Suhyeong was watching the screen with a serious expression.
“Well then, I hope you become part of our company and a strength to one another.”
With those words, the screen went dark.
After Chairman Lee Jungho’s speech, full of nothing but impressive-sounding nonsense, two opposing opinions rose sharply among the Haseong Media employees.
Should they search for the evacuation route themselves?
Or should they stay here?
Jiyeon and Jang Joohee pushed for the first option, while Suhyeong and Choi Sunghwa preferred the second.
“There’s a guaranteed way out of here right under us, and you’re saying we should just sit back and watch?!”
Uncharacteristically raising his voice, Jiyeon confronted Suhyeong. His chest felt tight with frustration. They had struggled so hard to get this far, why should they now bend to the will of some giant corporation? Jiyeon wanted not a ‘safe fortress,’ but an ordinary life. No matter how secure this building was, he didn’t want to stay long. He had assumed Suhyeong felt the same.
“I’m not saying we should just sit and watch.”
Suhyeong lightly stroked his jaw before speaking calmly to Jiyeon and Jang Joohee.
“First, the evacuation route. There’s no way we can find it ourselves. You saw it earlier, right? They open every door with fingerprint access. How do you expect us to get to the basement in a building like that?”
“……”
“And Assistant Kim, he’s worse off than we thought. When I talked to them earlier, they said he’d need dozens of stitches. How far do you think we can go while carrying him around?”
Jiyeon pressed his lips together, frowning. The more Suhyeong spoke, the more rational and correct he sounded… which only irritated Jiyeon further.
“I get that you’re anxious, but let’s take it slow. Let’s not do anything reckless.”
“I understand what you’re saying. But what about the interview? We can’t wait or observe anything unless we pass it.”
Jiyeon finally found something to argue back with and snapped. Suhyeong merely shrugged as if it were nothing.
“Well, then we’ll just have to charm the interviewers as best we can.”
“……”
Jiyeon frowned, not sure whether he was joking or serious. Then, with a heavy sigh, he nodded. Judging by the security systems they’d seen so far, it seemed impossible to find the evacuation route on their own.
“Please take a number. When your number is called, enter the meeting room.”
An employee with a company ID around his neck handed out number slips one by one. No one knew when the interviews had begun, but they continued even after the sun went down.
Jiyeon received his number at nearly six in the evening. They had arrived around two, so they had waited almost four hours. During the long wait, Ijin provided simple boxed meals, hot packs, and blankets, luxuries unimaginable outside. That was probably why everyone wanted to stay here.
“Numbers 321 to 325, please come in.”
“Ah, wait.”
Jiyeon stopped. Number 324 was Kim Hyungseok, who was currently lying on a cot and unable to attend the interview.
After Jiyeon explained the situation, the employee told him to wait a moment before going inside the meeting room. Soon after, he returned.
“They said the remaining people should come in for now. Please enter.”
“……”
In the end, only the four of them entered without Kim Hyungseok. Contrary to expectations, there was only one interviewer in the meeting room, an austere-looking woman in her early forties.
“Stand right here.”
She pushed up her glasses. At that moment, Choi Sunghwa whispered almost inaudibly, “She’s the HR department head.” Apparently, she was present at the interview Sunghwa had taken in the past.
“I heard you’re from Haseong Media? I’m actually close with Executive Director Kwon there.”
“……”
Everyone fell silent, reminded of Executive Director Kwon, the arrogant tyrant who had been killed after abusing his power. The HR head clapped her hands sharply at the heavy awkwardness.
“Well, whatever. If you came from there, you must’ve traveled quite far. Amazing you made it here alive. Ah, except for the sick one.”
Narrowing her eyes, she looked over the four standing before her as if assessing their worth. They had expected to be asked for self-introductions or personal PR, but she simply observed them in silence. Which made sense, what use were job skills or credentials in a situation like this?
“Hm.”
“……”
Perhaps because of the sharp look in her eyes, Jiyeon’s shoulders tensed up. It seemed the others felt the same, everyone except Suhyeong stood stiffly under her scrutiny.
“Alright.”
After silently staring at the four for a while, the department head finally spoke, as if she had reached a decision.
“All four of you may stay here. Since you came all the way from Haseong Media, it’s only right to accept you.”
He wasn’t sure why being from Haseong Media qualified as a reason to pass, but regardless, they were accepted. The tension drained from Jiyeon’s body the moment a mix of anticlimax and relief washed over him.
“But…”
The HR department head, legs crossed, continued in a tone as sharp as her expression.
“That injured one, we’ll put him on hold.”
“What?!”
“We’ll treat him, of course, out of decency. But we generally don’t keep injured outsiders for long. They aren’t much help to the company.”
Jiyeon clenched his fists, pale with shock at how casually she said something so heartless. They had the option of staying here without Kim Hyungseok, but that wasn’t possible. They had come this far together, and he intended to go all the way with him.
Beside him, Jang Joohee and Choi Sunghwa shook their heads hard, refusing the idea.
“If even one of us is excluded, we’ll just leave.”
Suhyeong stepped forward, seemingly of the same mind. Up until recently, he hadn’t cared much about the lives of others besides Jiyeon. Outside of superficial interactions, he avoided forming deep relationships. He never needed them.
But after deciding he wanted to live, he began feeling bonds and camaraderie with other people too. That was why he didn’t want to lose even a single person.
If they couldn’t use the underground evacuation route here, then they would have no choice but to walk to Sanghyeon City. But walking dozens of kilometers on foot through a city overrun by mutants was nearly impossible. Staying here and finding the evacuation route themselves was far safer and simpler.
“That works out well, then.”
“…?”
As Suhyeong was mentally planning their next steps, the department head spoke with a meaningful expression.
“The search team is short on people anyway.”
“The search team…?”
Choi Sunghwa murmured with a slight grimace. Even from the name alone, it was obvious what the team did, likely going outside to retrieve necessary supplies.
“No matter how self-sufficient we try to be, there’s still a lot we lack. We need people who can bring in materials from outside. So here’s my proposal.”
Her gaze shifted to Suhyeong and Jiyeon.
“If one of you joins the search team, all five of you will be allowed to stay.”
“Search duty happens once every three days. Each time you go out and return, you earn twenty points. Thanks to that, I already have seventy.”
Han Areum said with a bright smile to Suhyeong and Jiyeon. The reason the search team earned so many points was clearly because the job was dangerous. Even so, her proud tone made Jiyeon offer an awkward smile as he nodded along.
“You two will head out in two days, so until then, please rest well.”
“Yes.”
“Please follow me.”
Han Areum led them to the 17th floor. Since the HR head had agreed to include Kim Hyungseok as an accepted survivor in exchange for one of the men joining the search team, both Suhyeong and Jiyeon had volunteered without hesitation. As a result, she simply put both of them in the search team.
Meanwhile, Jang Joohee and Choi Sunghwa were assigned to the resource management team, which handled the remaining supplies within the company. It was surprising how smoothly the corporate structure continued to operate despite the world outside being in ruins.
“Each floor has break rooms and conference rooms, but except for the fifteenth floor, we converted them into sleeping spaces. They weren’t originally made for that, so it might be a bit uncomfortable.”
Standing in front of the conference room on the 17th floor, Han Areum handed them thin blankets. This appeared to be the men’s dormitory. The women, meanwhile, were guided by another employee to the 19th floor.
“Oh, right. You registered your fingerprints, yes?”
“Yes. We did it right after the interview.”
“As you saw before, you need fingerprints to open doors. And remember, floors four through eight and the basement levels are sealed off.”
With that final reminder, Han Areum bowed and walked off in the opposite direction. Instead of stepping straight into the conference room, Suhyeong and Jiyeon stood still, facing each other.
“This feels strange.”
Under the bright white ceiling lights, Jiyeon kept rubbing at his eyes.
“Just a few days ago, I was still commuting to work… Being inside a company building again feels weird. Oh, well, it’s not the same scale as Haseong Media, of course.”
“……”
As Jiyeon awkwardly smiled and went to rub his eyes again, Suhyeong caught his wrist. Then he stared quietly at Jiyeon’s face, reddened under the eyes from rubbing, before leaning forward and kissing his flushed eyelids.
“What, what are you doing!”
The soft smack echoed in the quiet hallway, and Jiyeon jumped in alarm. His face flushed bright red, and though Suhyeong found it adorable, he apologized for his impulsive behavior.
“Sorry.”
“What if someone saw that!”
Jiyeon quickly looked around and hissed in a small voice. Suhyeong only smiled playfully.
“Oh, that’s the issue? Got it. Then next time I’ll do it somewhere with absolutely no people, and properly, too.”
“Team Leader… you sound incredibly perverted right now.”
Cooling his heated cheeks with his palm, Jiyeon muttered in irritation. His lower stomach tingled for no reason.
It wasn’t just the company building that made everything feel strange. His shifting relationship with Suhyeong was also part of it. Ever since realizing he liked him, Jiyeon found himself wanting to touch him constantly. It must have been the aftereffect of thinking Suhyeong had died. He wanted to feel Suhyeong’s warmth to reassure himself he was alive.
“Wanna look around the building?”
“Yes.”
Suhyeong offered his hand to Jiyeon, and Jiyeon took it without hesitation. The warmth in his palm always calmed his restless mind and heart.
Thinking back, he had felt the same way the day he accidentally killed the mutated Park Team Leader. Terrified and shaking uncontrollably, he had regained stability only when Suhyeong pulled him into an embrace.
‘Did I fall for him because he fed me well?’
Realizing this sudden thought, Jiyeon let out a startled laugh. Suhyeong tilted his head in confusion.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing. I’m just happy.”
“……”
Hearing that, Suhyeong rubbed his jaw with his free hand, clearly unsure how to respond. For someone usually so shameless and smooth, the sight of him flustered and unguarded made Jiyeon’s heart spark like electricity.
“Team Leader.”
Lightly scratching his palm with his fingertips, Jiyeon parted his dry lips.
“I want to kiss. Let’s find an empty place. Quickly.”
“You little…!”
Unable to resist the string of provocations, Suhyeong gripped Jiyeon’s hand tightly and quickened his pace.
The Ijin Electronics headquarters had a total of twenty-one floors. Jiyeon had wondered what kind of company needed such a massive building, but the answer became clear. The facilities were enormous. Every floor had a wide break room, and there was even a fitness center, a screen golf range, a product experience room where you could test Ijin devices, and a media room for streaming movies. The entire building felt like a multi-purpose cultural complex with only the residential function missing.
“But why do you think floors four through eight are sealed off? Mmnh…”
“They probably shoved mutants in there. Forget that. Open your mouth a little more.”
“Huu, ngh.”
Suhyeong’s tongue slid over Jiyeon’s. The heated, dizzying sensation made Jiyeon close his eyes and wrap his arms around Suhyeong’s back. At the same time, Suhyeong’s firm thigh pressed hard against the center of Jiyeon’s lower body.
“Ah, ugh. Don’t press there.”
The direct stimulation on his most sensitive spot made Jiyeon shake his head and push Suhyeong away. While searching for an empty place, the two hadn’t made it far at all, they had slipped into a bathroom stall somewhere on the 16th floor and were now sharing a deep kiss.
“Heuh.”
“Haa, ha.”
The tiny space, barely big enough for two grown men, filled with their hot breaths. Bodies flushed and burning, Jiyeon let out a low moan and clung more tightly to Suhyeong. They were moments away from falling into the same intense intimacy they’d had earlier that afternoon.
“I heard five people from Haseong Media came in?”
“……!”
At the sudden voices beyond the door, Jiyeon’s eyes flew wide open. He instantly shoved away the Suhyeong who had been kissing just under his ear. The unexpected arrival of others startled him so much he almost screamed.
“Didn’t Manager Sim say to just accept everyone from Haseong Media? Why did she say that?”
“Oh, I heard one of the search team went all the way to the Cultural Center before. They checked the Haseong Media building just in case, but apparently everyone was dead. Not a single survivor.”
The casual conversation between two men, clearly original employees of Ijin Electronics, was enough to shock Jiyeon speechless.
“I heard the third-floor cafeteria was insane. They said most of the people were stabbed to death, not killed by mutants. Looked like total carnage.”
“Damn. Guess they killed each other?”
“Seems so. Anyway, since these people survived somewhere like that and made it here, I guess they looked useful to Manager Sim.”
The two men who had no idea that the very “useful” Suhyeong and Jiyeon were hiding in that bathroom stall continued to chat idly before eventually leaving.
“T-Team Leader…”
Jiyeon looked up at Suhyeong with a trembling expression, clearly shaken. He wasn’t personally responsible for what happened at Haseong Media, but learning that all their coworkers had died weighed heavily on him.
“You knew it wasn’t a place we could stay long anyway.”
“Even so…”
“You don’t need to worry about everyone else. Just think about you and me.”
Suhyeong gently touched Jiyeon’s slumped body, then kissed his cheek with a soft smack. He was clearly trying to comfort him, but for some reason the touch felt sticky with heat.
“Don’t like it? Should I stop?”
He asked while slipping his hand under Jiyeon’s shirt. Up close like this, his face looked more beautiful and handsome than ever. Honestly, no one in the world would answer “no” when faced with that face.
“…No.”
Panting lightly, Jiyeon’s answer made Suhyeong smile before he sank to his knees on the bathroom floor.
“I’ll make sure you don’t have room to think about anything else.”
Suhyeong gripped Jiyeon’s hips firmly with his large hands. Then he leaned close to Jiyeon’s groin, inhaling and exhaling slowly against it.
“T-Team Leader.”
Even through his pants, Jiyeon felt the heat of Suhyeong’s breath on his bare skin. A sharp warmth spread downward, tightening everything in his lower body. His half-hard erection, which had lifted during their kiss, now fully hardened. Noticing this, Suhyeong grinned and pulled down Jiyeon’s zipper. Then he tugged both pants and underwear down at once.
Freed from the tight fabric, Jiyeon’s flushed pink erection sprang upward toward Suhyeong.
“Hh…!”
The cold air brushing directly against him, combined with the heat of Suhyeong’s breath, made Jiyeon swallow a moan and tremble. Even though Suhyeong had seen it once before, he leaned in as if it were the first time, examining it intently. Under that blatant stare, Jiyeon swallowed hard.
“Cute.”
“Saying that while looking there really hurts my pride, you know…?”
Jiyeon frowned as Suhyeong called his erection cute. True, it wasn’t quite on the same level as Suhyeong’s size, but it was still well above average. It wasn’t something that should be called “cute.”
Seeing Jiyeon’s wounded pride, Suhyeong lightly stroked him as he offered an excuse.
“You’re just cute to me. Everything about you.”
“How can you say things like that without getting embarrassed… ah, hhh!”
Jiyeon tried to retort, flustered by the shameless words, but he never finished. Suhyeong had wrapped his lips around the tip of Jiyeon’s erection. The hot, slick warmth of his mouth enclosed the most sensitive part of him. Feeling a sensation he had never experienced in his life, Jiyeon’s heels lifted off the ground.
“Huu, ugh, ah. Team Leader. Ah!”
When Suhyeong sucked a little harder on the tip, a helpless moan escaped Jiyeon. Then he suddenly remembered this was a public restroom and slapped a hand over his mouth.
“Hngh, mmph!”
After sucking at the tip like a candy, Suhyeong dragged his tongue down the length of the shaft. The different kind of pleasure made Jiyeon’s hips jerk upward.
“Has anyone sucked you off before?”
Pressing Jiyeon’s slick shaft against his cheek, he looked up with hooded eyes. The sight alone was obscene.
“Hmm? Jiyeon. Has anyone sucked your cock before?”
“N-No. Never. Hngh…”
It was obvious he was deliberately using vulgar words. Even so, Jiyeon shook his head desperately, his mouth still covered by his hand. He wasn’t inexperienced romantically, but he always kept relationships simple. Oral sex had never been part of that “simplicity.”
In short, what Suhyeong was doing right now was overwhelmingly stimulating.
“Yeah? So I’m your first.”
“Ah, nn, yes. Team Leader, you’re the first… ah!”
With a satisfied smile, Suhyeong licked him from the base upward. If sucking the tip had been like sucking a candy, licking the shaft was like savoring a melting ice bar. Jiyeon’s erection glistened lewdly, coated in Suhyeong’s saliva.
“Hmm.”
“A-ah, wait. Are you going to… go there too?”
While licking the shaft, Suhyeong’s tongue moved downward and touched the heavy sac hanging beneath it.
“Yeah.”
“Ah, w-wait, wait. Hngh, it’s… ah, it’s too much!”
The feeling was indescribable; Jiyeon writhed and tried to push Suhyeong’s head away. But Suhyeong didn’t budge, he took Jiyeon’s balls into his mouth and rolled them gently.
“Hah, nn, ugh! Team Leader, ah!”
In the end, Jiyeon couldn’t hold back anymore. A moan slipped out as his breathing turned ragged. From the tip to the very bottom, every part of Jiyeon’s sex was being devoured by Suhyeong.
“Haa, nn. Ugh. It feels good, Team Leader.”
Having given his most sensitive place over to Suhyeong, Jiyeon didn’t resist the rising pleasure, he accepted it fully. As a result, a bead of clear precum escaped from the flushed tip. At this rate, he felt like he could climax at any moment.
Chup, chuup.
The wet sound of Suhyeong sucking him only heightened their arousal.
“Hhhn, ah! Uuuh…!”
The relentless stimulation made Jiyeon clench his lower abdomen as he gasped. His climax hovered dangerously close. Following pure instinct, he subconsciously rocked his hips, but suddenly he felt a strange intrusion from behind.
“Team Leader? What are you… ahhk!”
Spreading Jiyeon’s rear cheeks apart, Suhyeong had slipped a finger straight into the tight opening. The cramped entrance stretched around his thick, long finger as it pushed deeper inside. But even so, he didn’t stop sucking the front.
“A-ah, it hurts. Hngh, uuhk!”
“Just… tch, hold still.”
When Jiyeon cried out from the dull ache shooting through him, Suhyeong spoke with his mouth still wrapped around the sensitive tip.
Instead of pulling the finger out, he pressed the blunt fingertip against the hot inner walls, pushing deeper. Because Jiyeon wasn’t wet at all, the intrusion looked almost painful, but Suhyeong didn’t give up. He steadily worked the finger in until it was fully buried inside.
“Hnn, ugh. Team Leader…”
It was his first time being sucked, and now he was being penetrated too. The mix of fear-like pleasure made Jiyeon’s mind float away. With the finger stretching and prodding his tight inner walls, he couldn’t tell if it hurt, felt good, or terrified him.
“Aah, n-no, not another… ah! No more!”
Sensing that Suhyeong was trying to slip in a second finger, Jiyeon jerked his hips and shook his head frantically. But with one finger already inside, stopping the second was nearly impossible.
“Aahk, hht!”
Suhyeong forced in another finger and began moving boldly. When he rubbed the tight walls roughly, pain overwhelmed pleasure. His once painfully erect sex softened slightly from the discomfort.
“Hnnf, ugh. It hurts… it hurts.”
“Tch, tsk.”
“No, no more. Hhh…”
Trying to offset the pain, Suhyeong sucked him with all the tenderness he could manage, but in the end Jiyeon’s eyes welled up with tears. It was clear that stretching him without any lubricant was too much.
“Take it out… please…”
Seeing Jiyeon crying and pleading, Suhyeong decided to abandon his own desire.
Just as he started withdrawing his fingers from the unbearably tight space, the twitching fingertip brushed against something inside.
“Hh-EEK…!”
Jiyeon suddenly let out a sharp cry and bent forward.
“…Hm?”
With Jiyeon’s shaft still in his mouth, Suhyeong tilted his head and pressed the spot again. In an instant, a spine-tingling wave of pleasure shot up Jiyeon’s entire body, making every hair stand on end.