Side story 1. Ch 1.1

01.

Contrary to my expectations, the house was empty. I opened all the doors, searching for CEO Jang, but he was nowhere to be found. The house, which I had visited after a long time, lacked any sense of life, as if no one had lived there for at least a few years.

…Could he have left? My heart sank to the pit of my stomach. Fear suddenly tightened around my throat. After rummaging through the entire house, I headed back to the shoe cabinet. As I was slipping my feet into my sneakers, the door burst open.

And CEO Jang walked in.

“…….”

“…….”

The man stood like a wall in front of the door, his back to the sunlight. His face was obscured by the deep shadows cast by the light. His large frame unmistakably belonged to a man. Yet, to confirm with my own eyes, I walked barefoot toward him. As I got closer, his face gradually came into view. His deep voice resonated in the small space.

“It was your last chance.”

“…….”

“Why did you take off the watch and run away again?”

I had returned to this house on my own two feet. The image of the Möbius strip drawn by the watch on the plywood floor flashed through my mind. Back then, it didn’t seem so terrifying. I had come back to him on my own, by my own will.

The man in front of me scanned my face from my forehead down to my eyes, nose, and chin. He took a step closer. His face and body emerged from the shadows into the sunlight. His dark eyes, crossed by the sunlight, were filled with uncontained emotions.

“Why didn’t you come to see me all this time?”

“That sounds like you were waiting for me.”

“…….”

A confident smile, as if to say that couldn’t be, was painted on CEO Jang’s face. I approached the man, who was smiling coldly, and grabbed his black coat. Gripping both bone and flesh, I confirmed his presence once again.

It had only been a day since we reunited at the funeral home. The time he had given me to fully return to him was just one day. Even in that short time, I couldn’t shake the anxiety that meeting him again might be a dream.

I blurted out my feelings.

“…I waited for you.”

“Why.”

My lips hesitated, parting and closing repeatedly. Words flowed out like a sigh from my parted lips.

“…I was worried.”

I was so worried I thought I’d go crazy. What if something terrible had happened to him? The employee said nothing would happen to the boss, but I needed to see his face to feel at ease. I needed to see with my own eyes the man who speared ruthless words with that indifferent face. I thought of him, swept up by nameless emotions countless times.

“You said you wished I were dead. Why are you worried about me?”

The man looked genuinely puzzled.

“You said you wished I were unhappy?”

I pressed my forehead against his chest. ‘I wish you were unhappy.’ I had regretted those words I spat at him countless times.

“I didn’t mean that.”

The man silently waited for me to continue.

“I thought that would make me less disgusted with myself….”

It was too hard to accept the situation of leaning on him. I couldn’t understand it. Why, of all people, did I have to rely on this man?

I hated the harsh words and violent actions he directed at me. If it weren’t for his abnormal obsession, things wouldn’t have gotten so tangled. The more I reflected on it, the more nauseous I felt. So I made up my mind. To hate him.

I had already hardened my heart with a solid shell. It was unbearable to feel that solid resolve waver. Every time his inexplicably tender touch reached me, I had to reaffirm my resolve. But no matter how much I denied it, it was useless.

“I waited for you.”

In the blink of an eye, I was wrapped around him like overflowing bathwater. I missed this man, who was as stubborn as a dog, selfish, and even perverse.

His tightly sealed lips parted slightly, then swallowed mine. His arm wrapped around my waist as if to break my spine, and he devoured my breath. We sucked on each other’s lips and rubbed our noses together.

“Ah, hng….”

With the hand on CEO Jang’s shoulder, I unbuckled his belt and pulled down his zipper. I grabbed his fully erect c*ck. It was hot and swollen, ready to burst. I held the thick shaft and shook it up and down vigorously. I had never even properly m*st**bated before, so I was clumsy, but the man trembled and moaned. He exhaled a low breath and urged me on.

“Grip it harder, shake it faster.”

“…Like this?”

His hand covered mine as I gripped the thick shaft. He began to move his hand roughly, as if my efforts were child’s play.

“Take off your pants.”

I took off my pants and pulled them down to my knees. The red, swollen glans began to slap against the inside of my thigh. His body writhed as he spilled prec*m on my thin skin. Feeling his lower body through the thin fabric, I bit his lip.

“Ah, hah, hng….”

My back was pushed against the mirror. Small decorations on the shelf fell to the floor, shattering with a sharp sound.

The man grabbed his c*ck and pushed it toward my entrance. The taut glans slipped at the entrance. It had been so long since the last time, and without any lubricant, it was difficult to enter.

We pressed our genitals together and panted like dogs, moving our hips. Each time his glans caught on my entrance, my spine tingled. It felt like my head was melting. Eventually, the man came. My bu*tocks, stuck to the mirror, made a sticky sound as they peeled away, and the man gripped my bu*tocks hard. I clung to him with a gasp. The pain was enough to make the back of my head stand on end, but it was also filled with a sense of fullness. My waist trembled at the fact that he had entered me.

The man, who must have been in as much pain as I was, gritted his teeth. He tried to pull back, but I didn’t want to lose the feeling of being filled, so I quickly held onto him.

As I tightened my bu*tocks, my hole clenched. His c*ck was halfway in, tightly gripped. The man cursed, “Ah, f*ck,” and grabbed my bu*tocks as if to tear them apart.

“…Don’t pull out, don’t pull out.”

The man growled in a suppressed voice.

“Who said anything about pulling out?”

Then he pushed back in all at once. My sensitive walls were scraped, and I trembled like a fish stabbed with a red-hot spear.

“I was going to f*ck you hard.”

I couldn’t even stand properly and clung to him. I lost almost all reason and clung to him like ivy.

“Ah, ah, ah… ah!”

The man thrust into me fiercely. I moved my hands from his waist to his bu*tocks and pulled him toward me. As he pulled back, I quickly asked for it back.

“Ah, quickly… hng.”

The man bit and sucked my earlobe, cheek, and lips frantically.

“I don’t… want to let go….”

I quickly followed him. The part that had been pushed out was sucked back in. The man lifted me, about 10 cm shorter than him, off the ground. The sound of our bodies colliding filled the small space. I wrapped my legs around his waist, both feet off the ground.

“I should have done this long ago.”

I hugged the back of his neck and pressed my nose to his ear.

“Ngh, ng… CEO Jang….”

***

Without even taking off our clothes, we hurriedly tangled our bodies together right in front of the entrance. Only after changing positions twice and reaching release did we finally strip and step into the bathtub together. With our clothes scattered messily around us, we lay in the warm water, our bodies pressed together. Sitting on his thigh, I rested my cheek against his jaw.

Time flowed around us in quiet stillness.

My eyes fell on his hand gripping the edge of the bathtub. I reached out and touched his fingertips, then traced the wet surface of his skin. His fingers were thick at the joints, long—nearly half a palm longer than mine. His ring finger, especially, was much longer than his index. I carefully slid off the ring encircling it.

It came off a bit stiffly due to the water. Worried it might slip from my wet fingers, I held it carefully and tilted it under the light. It was plain to the point of being unremarkable. But as it caught the light, it shimmered, looking rather decent.

“When did you get this made?”

“As soon as I became an adult.”

Tilting my head, I looked at him. His reflection filled my eyes.

“The client who used me as a courier wanted to see me, so I had this cheap thing made in a rush. I had it sized bigger on purpose, expecting my fingers to thicken.”

Now, it was small enough to leave a deep mark on his skin. Under the small ring lay a scar. I cautiously brushed my fingertip over it, tracing the old wound with careful strokes. Did it still hurt? Just in case, I searched his face. But he showed no reaction. Leaning his head against the tiled wall, he simply watched me. The scar had been there too long for him to feel pain anymore.

He stretched out an arm, opened the window, and pulled a cigarette pack from the pants tossed beside the bathtub. He placed one between his lips and lit it. A sharp breeze rushed in, carrying the distinct scent of summer.

“Did it hurt?”

He raised an eyebrow, as if searching his memory.

“Of course.”

Pain didn’t suit him. It felt strange to imagine him suffering. He must have noticed my thoughts because he continued.

“I clenched my teeth and endured it every night.”

“……”

“There were about ten of us in a single room. If I so much as groaned in pain, I would’ve become an easy target for the bastards already waiting for a chance.”

He flicked the ash off his cigarette with little care. His face, as he spoke of the past, was just as detached.

“It’s hard to imagine. That something like that happened to you, CEO Jang.”

“You wouldn’t know. Now, I have more money than I know what to do with. Money covers up miserable pasts.”

“……”

As he spoke of his wealth, he took another drag of his cigarette and looked at me. The air felt different. Just as I noticed the shift, he closed the distance in an instant. He kissed me, abruptly, as if there was no need for preamble. Gripping my cheeks so tightly it felt like they might burst, he pressed his lips against mine, then bit my nose. Only after leaving a faint sting did he finally let go.

My nose throbbed, heat creeping up my face. I thought about sinking into the water completely but instead glanced down at the ring in my hands. On impulse, I slipped it onto my finger.

The ring that had fit tightly around his finger sat perfectly on my index. I clenched and unclenched my fist, testing the fit.

“…CEO Jang.”

He asked why I was calling him. I held up my hand, showing him the ring now snug on my finger.

“Can I have this?”

His eyes, momentarily washed over with pleasure, now held only languid traces of the afterglow.

“Who taught you to look at someone like that and ask for what you want?”

Meeting his gaze, I eventually averted mine and pressed my cheek against his chest. The deep, steady vibrations of his breath resonated through my skin.

“I could just get you a new one. With a diamond in it.”

“This one is enough for me.”

I felt his stare on the top of my head. Then, out of nowhere, he let out a breathy, incredulous laugh. The vibrations against my cheek deepened.

His voice, damp and heavy like a moss-covered swamp, slid over me.

“You would’ve been smarter to take my watch and run.”

“Would you have let me go?”

“I would’ve cut off your ankle.”

The way he spoke of severing a limb as if it were a mere tree branch left me momentarily speechless.

“……”

“And then I would’ve implanted a GPS in the stump.”

There was no laughter this time. His words were dry, his gaze parched like a desert. I silenced him by pressing my lips over his.

“Don’t say things like that.”

For a second, I had been afraid. But I chose to let his words slip past me. He had once threatened to cut off my fingers if I ran, yet in the end, he had never even laid a hand on me.

“CEO Jang.”

His rough hand touched my forehead. I wondered what he was doing, only to realize he was pushing back the strands of hair sticking to my skin. With fingers blunt at the tips yet oddly gentle, he swept away every last strand. The same hands that had once yanked my hair without hesitation were now stroking my forehead, caressing my ear. It was a touch too delicate for his large hands.

“CEO Jang.”

As I shifted to a more comfortable position, the water sloshed, spilling over the edge of the tub with a soft splash. I buried my nose against his neck.

He smelled of many things. The sharp scent of cigarettes, the faint fragrance of shower cologne, the warm scent of his skin.

We had been tangled together for so long that I could no longer tell if the scent lingering on me was his or mine. Dazed by the aftereffects of release, I murmured his name like a sigh.

“CEO Jang Ki-joo.”

His eyes darkened.

“Why are you looking at me like that? You’re only twenty-three.”

I shook my head and traced his jaw, the same place where I had once left a mark. Running my fingers along his sharp jawline, I kissed it—just a small peck, like a bird pecking at seeds. The act was minuscule, but with the remnants of saliva from our earlier kiss, it made an oddly wet sound.

Chup.

“I was waiting for you to come.”

CEO Jang frowned, as if he couldn’t believe what had just happened. For a moment, my heart shriveled like a dried-out potato. But I ignored it. For now, I didn’t want to know whether he was displeased.