HPK 6

Kim Jungoh walked straight down the hallway and stood in front of a familiar room. With his hands clasped behind his back, he knocked and then quietly pressed his ear to the door.

“Let’s be tactful and do a good job.”

And before opening the door, he warned Wooseung in a low voice.

The door opened, and Wooseung stepped past Kim Jungoh, who had moved to one side, and entered the room. Taejung was in the same spot as that day. The very center of the U-shaped sofa, under lighting that was neither too dark nor too bright. Every scene was exactly the same, like déjà vu or a decalcomania.

However, one thing was different…….

“Eu-eut, hah-eu……”

A man, with his hands on the table and his head bowed low, was breathing heavily. Every time he exhaled deeply, his well-defined, rounded calves trembled intermittently. His pants were crumpled and bunched up around his ankles.

“Straighten your back.”

Hoonyeong pressed down hard on the man’s back. It was because the man’s back kept rounding due to his inability to bear the pain.

Wooseung desperately averted his eyes from the exposed lower body where the pants had been removed. And from the latex-gloved hand that was moving in and out of it.

“Heut!”

As the fingers went in so deep that the bones of the back of the hand touched the flesh of the buttocks, the man’s knees buckled. The latex glove that came out again was glistening. The area around his buttocks was also soaked, and every time the fingers moved in and out, it made a squelching sound.

Every time the fingers went in deep, Wooseung was startled, as if he were the man himself.

Boing, ppyo-bong, Combo!

Just then, amidst the ragged breaths filling the room, an alien sound interjected.

Perfect! Ppyong!

Gaming sound effects rang out ceaselessly from the phone held horizontally in Taejung’s hand.

His eyes were serious, and his hands were busy. His thumbs were constantly moving across the screen. Every time they did, the sound effects shouting ‘Perfect’, ‘Ppyong’, and ‘Combo’ were heard in alternation.

Wooseung had absolutely no idea what was going on. He had prided himself on having seen all sorts of frown-inducing sights in the rooms, but……. this was a first.

It was originally forbidden for hosts to go for a second round, but everyone secretly had relations with customers outside. However, they never did it in the room. Although there were customers who would take off their clothes and play around. In any case, most of them kept a certain line.

“You’re here?”

Taejung glanced over his phone and then gestured with his chin to the seat next to him.

“Sit.”

Wooseung swallowed hard and hurried to Taejung’s side. In the meantime, the gaming sound effects and the man’s moans continued to be heard. It was so bizarre.

“……Hello.”

Wooseung turned his body completely toward Taejung so that the man’s naked buttocks would not come into his line of sight. He thought it would be better to watch Taejung, who was sprawled on the sofa, engrossed in his phone game.

“Hoonyeong-ah. Are you almost done?”

Taejung, who had breezily ignored Wooseung’s greeting, asked Hoonyeong.

Hoonyeong, who had been looking down at the man with an expressionless face, finally pulled his hand out from between the rounded buttocks. He threw the inside-out latex glove into the trash can under the table.

“It is done.”

“Can you do it?”

The moment Hoonyeong finished speaking, Taejung asked. The man still had his head bowed low and said nothing.

“Hey. I asked if you can do it. Fucking speak up.”

With an irritated voice, Taejung kicked the leg of the table.

“I, I can do it.”

Clatter, the table slid, and only then did the man straighten his back. The corners of his eyes were flushed red. The marks of his teeth were clear on his lower lip.

“You’re not going to go back on your word, are you? I fucking hate that.”

“No, sir. I can do it.”

“Alright, then follow Hoonyeong.”

The man picked up the pants bunched at his ankles and hurriedly fastened the buckle. His hands were clumsy as he tucked his shirt into his pants.

Only then did Wooseung realize that the man’s face was familiar. He was a man who never missed the gambling games that took place in the waiting room. He had often witnessed him losing his stake and borrowing money from here and there. He had even borrowed ten thousand won from Wooseung once. Of course, he had not paid it back yet.

“Hoonyeong-ah. Next time, let’s at least give him an enema or something. Fuck, it fucking stinks.”

“Does it smell?”

Lifting his fingers as if to sniff them, he tilted his head and replied indifferently, “I can’t really tell.” He then picked up the box of latex gloves. The box looked extremely small in his large hand.

“It fucking does, it fucking does.”

“I will have it prepared in advance next time.”

The man also started walking, following Hoonyeong who was heading straight out. His gait was somewhat awkward, with his butt slightly pushed back as if something was uncomfortable.

Bang, the door closed. The feeling that he had to do something came over Wooseung.

“It’s been, ahem……. it’s been a while since you’ve come.”

His throat was tight with nervousness, so Wooseung coughed in the middle of his sentence.

The man still had not taken his eyes off his phone screen. His right leg was trembling, as if the game was not going well. He also occasionally furrowed his brow.

“Why, did you miss me?”

And yet, he still played along.

“Yes. I missed you.”

He answered reflexively, like a doll that would shout ‘I love you!’ if you pressed its stomach.

The man’s fingers, which had been busy tapping the screen, stopped dead. He turned his head toward Wooseung. The first thing he saw were his eyebrows, drawn into a sharp peak. Soon, a chuckle, like a gust of wind, escaped from between his lips.

“You lie without even batting an eye.”

It was an ambiguous tone, as if it had a hidden meaning, or as if it was just an offhand remark. The man’s words were always like that. He just could not get a feel for how to take them. Even for Wooseung, who had been through his fair share of hardships, it was like that. The man was more difficult than any other customer.

“It’s not……. a lie.”

“It’s not a lie?”

“No……”

The man threw his phone onto the table as if tossing it. It was a phone without a case, yet he did it without a hint of hesitation.

As the loud gaming sound effects disappeared, silence filled the room like a fog.

“Did you do some cleaning today too?”

For a moment, the crumpled cola can that had been discarded in front of the entrance came to mind, but Wooseung denied it.

“I didn’t.”

“Wow.”

Taejung grinned, with a face that said ‘I caught you.’

“Even though you picked up the trash.”

“……”

“You lie so fucking well.”

How did he know that he had picked up the discarded can. Wooseung could not deny it any further and remained silent. He was even more at a loss for words at the sight of him looking disappointed, saying he should have made a bet.

Taejung looked at Wooseung with eyes that showed more interest than before. He folded his right leg horizontally and placed it on the sofa, then turned his body completely toward Wooseung.

“You were fucking surprised earlier, right.”

Dressed in a woven training suit and high-end brand sneakers, he looked freer than anyone else who frequented this place. It also suited his lighthearted way of speaking.

“Yes, I was a little surprised.”

“Do you know that guy from before? Or are you strangers?”

“I don’t know him well. I just know his face, I see him sometimes in the waiting room. Ah, he borrowed ten thousand won from me once……”

At the words he added in a mumble, Taejung asked, “Ten thousand won? You did, or he did?”

“He did……”

Pfft, a light laugh was the reply. Thinking he had babbled on about something he had not been asked, he stealthily closed his lips. He was nervous, so he had blurted out something he did not have to say.

Taejung rested his arm on the backrest and propped his chin on the back of his hand. And he stared intently at Wooseung. Thinking it would be rude to avoid his gaze, Wooseung ended up observing him as well.

“……”

Anyone would say he was a handsome man. His high nose bridge and deep-set eyes, which gave a strong impression, were particularly impressive. But…….

Separate from his handsomeness, he did not have the kind of feeling that made you want to keep looking, to meet his eyes. There was a chilling aspect to his eyes and the shape of his eyes that surrounded them, like that of a predator. He was tall and well-built, so being near him was even intimidating. Dressed in comfortable clothes, he was a person who created a more uncomfortable atmosphere than anyone else. Just like now, when the silence that enveloped them was by no means comfortable.

“Today.”

Taejung’s tightly closed lips opened.

“You don’t smell like alcohol?”

At those words, Wooseung reflexively lifted his arm and sniffed. The faint scent of the perfume that Hyojun had sprayed on him earlier, saying he had bought it new, was lingering.

Taejung laughed lowly at the sight of him burying his nose in his arm and sniffing. Only then did Wooseung awkwardly lower his arm.

“……Did I smell a lot like alcohol back then?”

He asked cautiously, his hands gathered on his thighs.

“Yeah, you smelled a fucking lot.”

“……I am sorry.”

“You work at a bar, what can you do.”

Taejung said, “Right?” and extended the hand he had been propping his chin on to tap Wooseung’s cheek. Slap, the back of his hand and the plump flesh collided, making a sound.

It would be a lie to say it did not hurt. However, Wooseung was in a position where he had to endure any of the man’s actions here. While diligently trying to read the other’s mood.

But as mentioned before, Taejung was a man whose mood, whether bad or good, was impossible to tell. His tone was gentle, but his actions were not so merciful.

“……I’ll be careful not to smell in the future.”

“In the future?”

“……”

“Wow, you want me to pick you again?”

Taejung, who had interpreted Wooseung’s words as he pleased, tilted the corner of his mouth crookedly.

“Ah, but what should I do.”

Soon, he trailed off as if he were in a difficult situation. In a voice that was obviously exaggeratedly feigned.

“I don’t put it in unless it’s wet.”

Then he lowered his hand, grabbed his right thigh, and shook it lightly.

“Because this is fucking big.”

Following the gesture, something thick under the training suit dangled.