Side story 2 Ch 1.2

The circumstances surrounding the man always unfolded exactly as he desired. This time was no exception.  

 

The man watched the entire process as the new recruit knelt between his thighs, parted his lips, and swallowed his c*ck. He had expected it to be tight—but the throat was even narrower, even wetter than he’d imagined.  

 

“…Mmm.”  

 

The pale face gagged around the length in its mouth. Neatly shaped eyes, now red and swollen, dripped tears, while saliva spilled from lips unable to fully close. Well, this was more entertaining than he’d thought. The man, who had been bored and listless for so long, finally let a venomous smile curl at his lips.  

 

His gaze lingered on the recruit’s face, licking over every feature like a slow, deliberate caress. What an intriguing face, he mused.  

 

Eyes veiled by trembling lashes traced delicate curves, and the bridge of the nose followed the same soft, refined lines. Lips flushed with blood-red tint couldn’t stretch wide enough to fully take him in.  

 

The exposed body was more balanced than he’d expected. ‘So this is what a trained body looks like.’ The waist was slender enough to fit in the circle of one arm, while the thighs and hips carried lean muscle, lending an elegant allure. It made his mouth water in more ways than one.  

 

At first, the body had been stiff—but after a few rough strokes of his fingers, it had grown pliant. When he finally sheathed himself fully inside the recruit’s entrance, the man threw his head back and let out a satisfied groan. A wave of pleasure, a softness he’d never experienced before, crashed over him.  

 

Gripping the calf tightly, he hooked it over his shoulder and thrust deeper, burying himself to the hilt. Not only did the sensation of sinking into tight, wet heat overwhelm him, but the sight of that lithe body was a feast in itself. And then there was the scent—a strange, intoxicating musk that grew richer as sweat glistened on heated skin. ‘I knew it’d be good—but this is beyond expectations.’  

 

The man buried his nose in the nape of the recruit’s neck, relishing the way it flushed under his breath. Spreading those pale buttocks apart, he slammed in, and the inner walls clenched around him exquisitely. The flesh inside dragged against his c*ck with every movement, pulling him deeper. With a hand like an iron lid, he pressed the recruit’s cheek into the sheets. ‘I want to ruin this face, this soft dough-like complexion.’ He panted harshly, drunk on the sounds of the recruit’s choked, dying moans. He couldn’t remember the last time pleasure had felt this intoxicating.  

 

Not even on that freezing winter night—when he’d pried open a bag of smuggled drugs to numb the cold—had he felt this mind-blowing euphoria.  

 

The man explored the recruit’s body with pure delight. When he gripped the nape, he could feel the pulse of life thrumming even more vividly beneath his fingers. The faster the heart raced, the thicker the scent of sweat and skin became. The man sucked all that scent into his nose.

 

***

These days, the man’s greatest concern was how to soften up the newbie who wore the name “Seo Suwon” like a mask over his own face.

A pale face smiled in front of the man. His eyes curved gently, and both cheeks rose into soft mounds. Bright red, plump flesh; a smile hung on his lips.

The man felt his throat parch just looking at that face. He felt an oddly persistent thirst. He tried wetting his dry mouth with his tongue, but it wasn’t enough. He tipped his glass all the way back and moistened his throat. Even then, the thirst lingered, stuck in his throat, leaving him irritated.

In his hand, he rolled around the watch the newbie had asked him to gift. Just recalling the pale face that had lowered itself before him while making that request sent blood rushing downward. If only he could fasten it around the ankle. Lacking that, he thought of stripping the newbie completely bare and fastening it around just the wrist.

With such thoughts, he had summoned another person to the room. He thought the her name had been Lee Hyewon. The newbie had bumped into her, and the bottles on her tray had come tumbling down, shattering on the floor.

Then things unfolded in an unexpected direction.

The newbie stepped back, shielding Lee Hyewon, and ducked under the table in her place. Watching the newbie crawl on all fours across the floor, the man clenched his jaw. How dare he pull such a stunt. He barely resisted the urge to grab the newbie by the ankle and drag him to the bed.

He hadn’t been in the best of moods to begin with. He had prepared a gift to praise the newbie’s pretty behavior, only to have the newbie slowly back away from him, which was already enough to sour his mood.

“Where do you think you are, crawling around on your knees like that?”

The newbie stood in front of him like a child being scolded. A mocking smirk suddenly escaped that frightened face. It was because the man had just thought that with those long, flawless legs, the newbie would probably look great in a skirt. If he’d dressed him like that, watching him crawl would’ve been even more enjoyable.

“You two seem pretty close?”

“…No.”

He had memorized her name because they’d been hanging around together lately. But the quick-witted newbie shook his head, denying it. The man simply stared at that insolent face for a while, then held out the wristwatch to him.

Even after receiving what he had wanted, the newbie didn’t show the slightest change in expression. Not even the standard sales smile—something that should be second nature to all employees—crossed his face. He only glanced up at the man from time to time, reading his mood as usual.

Watching him do so made the man’s temper twist like a coiled snake.

He was the one footing the bill, so it was only natural that the newbie should bow before him. And yet, every now and then, the flickers in his eyes hinted at something else. The man didn’t like that at all. What exactly was he hiding beneath that pale skin? The suspicion only deepened by the day.

Then, from the employee he had ordered to watch the newbie’s movements, something unexpected came.

“Sir.”

He gestured for the employee to speak, and the report came in.

“He’s been looking into transportation options.”

That was news to the man. Transportation? A chill escaped his lips. So that’s what he’d been hiding in that shallow gut of his. Out here in the middle of nowhere, transportation was essential to get out.

“Go bring Lee Hyewon.”

“Yes, sir.”

It hadn’t been more than a few minutes when a knock came at the door.

The man replied that they could enter, and the employee opened the door. Lee Hyewon stepped into the room, the sharp clack of her heels echoing on the floor.

“Hello, sir. I was told you called for me.”

The man, gazing at her gently smiling face, placed a cigarette between his lips.

“I hear you’re spending a lot of time with Seo Suwon lately.”

Lee Hyewon readily agreed. Her easy affirmation brought a strange sense of displeasure to the man. As if to push that irritation away, he ran a hand over his forehead and asked,

“How is he? Treats you well?”

“Yes, he treats me well.”

The man quietly observed her.

If Seo Suwon—no, Seo Yeowon—was really harboring thoughts of escape, there was a good chance he would reach out to her. Lee Jinseok had likely already judged that seeking help from him was risky, due to the identification issue.

“There’s a task I want to leave to you, Miss Lee.”

“A task, for me…?”

The man, still puffing silently on his cigarette, continued. Smoke leaked from his lips along with the name “Seo Suwon.” A name that rolled off the tongue easily but felt oddly mismatched with that refined face.

For a man who’d only ever cared about what lay behind that face, a new curiosity had stirred.

What name had originally belonged to that body?

The man called in another employee to conduct a background check.

Exactly two days later, the employee returned—not with “Seo Suwon,” but with a new, three-character name.

The man pronounced the name aloud with his lips: Seo Yeowon. Yes, Seo Yeowon. That name, at last, blended softly with the body it belonged to.

***

The slight tension in Seo Yeowon’s expression and gestures kept making the man suspicious. It felt as if he was hiding something in his stomach, forcing a smile to keep him from noticing. That alone grated on his nerves.

He’d dressed him in clothes he likely had never worn in his life, fed him expensive meals, and gave him what he wanted with just a few sweet gestures. From his perspective, what he gained far outweighed what he got in return. He had never been involved in something with such a high sunk cost. Being someone skilled in such calculations, he was, of course, fully aware of that fact. But there was no better option.

The man found himself constantly seeking out Seo Yeowon’s body, driven by surging desire. Yet the cravings only grew worse. The more his desire overflowed, the more it spilled out, and he began to feel his brain shrinking. His tongue was bone-dry. His whole body was burning up.

He had always had the self-control to space out even drug use to avoid addiction, but now he was losing that control. Even knowing it was a losing game, he kept returning to it.

But now, to think that she had been harboring other thoughts behind that composed face. Only now did the man understand the source of the tension coiled around both Seo Yeowon’s mind and body. He could no longer conceal the discomfort crawling under his skin.

So he threatened him.

He took off a ring he hadn’t removed in front of anyone since starting his business and used it to intimidate him. He said it was the way he’d learned—if he ran, he would cut off his fingers. But how did Seo Yeowon react? Even after being given two chances, he came crawling between his legs with his face buried, playing dumb. He betrayed a man who had, for the first time in his life, offered a gesture of generosity.

Then, news came from the quiet Lee Hyewon.

“He requested room service from me today.”

Lee Hyewon placed a few bills on the table in front of the man. His long, narrow eyes scanned the text on the bills. Seo Yeowon’s voice echoed in his ears, asking for a ride. The man closed his eyes briefly, suppressing the fury that surged within him. His body grew hot, while his head went cold. He tapped his temple with his fingers, wondering how to deal with this.

“For now, just do whatever Mr Seo Suwon asks.”

Lee Hyewon gave a soft reply. The man handed over a fee for her trouble. When the sound of heels left the room, the man, now alone, grabbed the bills from the table. He had hinted that he would cut off his fingers if he ran. Seo Suwon—no, Seo Yeowon—was smart. He should have understood. Yet this was the result. The man felt a rising urge to wrap his hands around that pretty but foolish neck and choke the life out of him. He thought it might be the only way to relieve the fury churning inside him. The moment his throat closed tight, he would plunge deep into it. If he could bring him even a moment of pleasure, then that would be enough to say he had fulfilled her purpose.

As he entertained such vicious thoughts—

Seo Yeowon knocked on the man’s room door first, unexpectedly. He tried to offer a gentle smile, but his stiff neck betrayed him. The man scoffed inwardly as he looked at him. He shamelessly offered him drugs, and he found himself wanting to grab his neck and snap it.

He decided he would give him one last chance. If he took the drug and, even after falling asleep, ended up limp beside him with that delicate face, he would at least praise him.

With that in mind, he took the drug Seo Yeowon passed through his lips and absorbed it through the mucous membranes in his mouth. That night, he held him in his arms the entire time. But come dawn, when he opened his eyes, his place beside him was empty. He had already left, and the sheets were cold.

The man spoke coldly.

“Find him.”

He figured it wouldn’t take more than a few hours. But things took a turn he hadn’t expected at all. Seo Yeowon, whom he thought would take the car prepared by Lee Hyewon, had simply let it pass by. Had he not even trusted Lee Hyewon?

Even on foot, he couldn’t have gotten far. But Seo Yeowon vanished without a trace. Like a puff of cigarette smoke, he disappeared.

To think he had worked that tiny brain of his so cleverly.

“Fuck.”

An eerie wave of fury wrapped around the man’s entire body. Having lost someone he thought he could have at any moment, the man was consumed by anger for days.

Just cutting off a few fingers didn’t feel like enough to forgive that pretty face. From head to toe, everything about Yeowon—his clothes, his body—had been given by him. And when stripped bare, that white, slender body was covered in the bruises he had left behind with his own teeth.

How should he deal with someone who repaid his kindness with such betrayal? Should he dig a long, slim grave in his front yard, just like Seo Yeowon’s body? No, it would be a waste to get rid of something that pleasing to the eye and touch.

Tapping the sofa arm with his fingers, the man dialed a number. The ringing tone buzzed before the call was answered.

“Mr. Im, have you been well?”

Im Seoncheol’s voice came through the receiver. The creak of old iron doors echoed. The man’s brows furrowed in disgust. Seo Yeowon’s soft yet sharp tone was the complete opposite of this man’s rough, scratchy voice.

“I was wondering if I could stop by for a bit.”

– Right now?

A dry cough came through the line.

– I might need to check today’s schedule.

As if that meant anything. The man smirked. All Im Seoncheol ever did was drift between gambling houses and squander money he got from his nephew. Now he was pretending to be busy. The man’s jaw tightened. He could hear Im Seoncheol bragging to someone nearby: “Ah, I’ve gotten close to a young CEO lately…” The man scratched his eyebrow with a long finger. His thick brows, already expressing irritation, bent sharply. Realizing that even dealing with this clown was ultimately because of Seo Yeowon, the man’s mood sank even deeper.

– Turns out I’m free today. Let’s meet in a bit.

“I’ll be there soon.”

The man uncrossed his legs and rose from the sofa. He grabbed his jacket and left the room briskly. No matter how far he ran, he was still within the palm of his hand. Finding him wouldn’t take long.

But the man planned to take his time. He would close in slowly, squeezing the breath out of him inch by inch, and wait until he was soaked in fear before snatching him back. So he would never dare to think of running again.

Lee Jinseok, that sly bastard. The man cursed under his breath. What had he slipped under his command?