HPK 63

The body heat of another person crawling up his back was familiar.

“Boss, my clothes, just a moment!”

Wooseung pushed his shoulder with all his might with a thud. The blouson jacket under his hand rustled and rubbed. Unlike usual, Taejung reacted to the forceful refusal by snarling viciously, “Fuck. What, again.”

“At home, let’s do it at home. This is a car, so…”

Noticing Wooseung’s eyes glancing at the driver’s seat, Taejung followed his gaze. Beyond the seat, he could see the stiff back of Junseok, who was gripping the steering wheel with both hands and desperately trying to feign disinterest in the back seat.

“What, are you embarrassed?”

A faint shadow fell beneath his gracefully lowered eyelashes. His eyelids blinked faster than usual due to tension and anxiety.

“You’ve done it in a car before.”

There was a time when he had sucked Taejung off with Hoonyeong right in front of them. Taejung was talking about that day.

“Hoonyeong is okay, but he’s not?”

“…”

“Why?”

“…I’d just like it if we did it at home.”

It was not a matter of it being okay because it was Hoonyeong and not okay because it was Junseok. Back then, he had been grabbed by the hair before he could even refuse and had been completely helpless. Wooseung kept a stubborn grip on Taejung’s wrist and shook his head.

“Let’s do it at home. Boss.”

“…”

“Can’t we do that? I’ll be good.”

At the words ‘I’ll be good,’ Taejung’s eyes crinkled. His member, which was already half-hard, became fully engorged with blood at just those two words. A throbbing sensation spread through his lower abdomen, and an impatient pleasure urged him on.

“How are you going to be good?”

“…I won’t say it hurts.”

At those words, reluctantly uttered, Taejung finally burst out laughing. The shitty situation of him ignoring his call and being at a viewing had been completely forgotten, and all that remained was the dazed face right in front of him.

Funnily enough, he was moved by the simple words, ‘I won’t say it hurts.’ Taejung smiled a broader smile than ever before. His fingertips tingled with a sensual anticipation.

♡

As if he were dreaming of stepping off a cliff, Wooseung woke up with a start. He stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment, then began searching for his phone.

He spotted the wristwatch placed on the nightstand just as he was about to step down from the bed. 12:40 AM. The wee hours of the morning were setting in. His heart, which had dropped, slowly found its rhythm again. He should have stayed sharp, but he had foolishly fallen asleep. But since he was not completely late, Wooseung felt a sense of relief and began to push the covers away.

He was about to leave the bedroom just like that, but…

“Hey.”

His wrist was grabbed with a jerk.

Taejung, who he thought had been sleeping face down, had already turned his head and was looking this way.

“You, why…”

“…Yes?”

“No, shit.”

Taejung abruptly let go of his wrist and sat up with a scowl. The blanket that had been covering him up to his waist slipped down, revealing his naked body. Even in the darkness, the outlines of his greatly swollen muscles were distinct.

“What, going to work again?”

Taejung, who had instantly figured out the reason for Wooseung’s hurried awakening, asked in a voice full of irritation. He slightly bowed his head, rubbing his forehead with his palm to shake off the lingering sleepiness.

“…Yes.”

“…”

“May I get going?”

Taejung slowly raised his head. As their eyes met his expressionless face, tension naturally spread throughout his entire body. He fidgeted with his clasped hands, but what came back was an indifferent refusal.

“No.”

He had anticipated it, judging from the general atmosphere, but hearing him say no so bluntly made him feel bleak.

“Boss, I really have to go to work today. I’ll come right back after I see just one room… Can’t I just go and come back?”

“I said no.”

Like the reasonless stubbornness of a child, Taejung maintained an attitude of not listening to a single word. For Wooseung, who could not understand why Taejung was preventing him from leaving to this extent, it was just frustrating.

“If there’s anything you want me to do, I’ll do it when I get back.”

“No.”

“Boss…”

“I said no, fuck.”

The abusive remark of whether his earholes were clogged followed. In the end, Wooseung had no choice but to say the words he had been trying to avoid. If Taejung refused to listen even to this, then…

“It’s because there’s money I have to send by tomorrow. I can make up the amount if I just see one room. I’ll be back right away.”

At the mention of money he had to send, Taejung’s eyebrows twitched.

“Money? What money.”

“…I have something I borrowed.”

Judging by the way he spoke, it was not an advance from the establishment. Taejung observed with interest as Wooseung fidgeted with his clasped hands and confessed his debt.

“How much is it.”

After hesitating, Wooseung answered reluctantly.

“…1.5 million won.”

“Interest?”

“Yes…”

Although he had been sending money consistently until now, he had not been able to repay even half of the principal. It was something that had happened due to his naivety in believing they would naturally abide by the legal maximum interest rate of 20% just because they were registered on a loan brokerage site.

“Where’d you borrow from, some shitty place?”

Wooseung’s expression briefly hardened before relaxing, and he slowly nodded his head.

Taejung, who had seemed to be in a bad mood, now had a subtle smile on his face, as if that had never happened. The fingers of the hand he had placed behind him lightly tapped the bedding.

“Ah, should I pay it for him or not.”

Then, he muttered playfully as if to himself.

Wooseung raised his bowed head and looked at Taejung. The pupils within his gentle eyes fumbled over Taejung.

“Are you going to ignore my calls again?”

“…No. I won’t ignore them.”

The face, which still showed an expression of disbelief yet gave the answer the other person wanted, was quite a sight to behold. The corners of Taejung’s mouth lifted broadly, and a sly voice flowed out from between them.

“Do you have the confidence to do 1.5 million won worth of work from now on?”

“Are you really… lending it to me?”

Because it was Taejung, who had always been petty about money, Wooseung was still half in doubt. Taejung grinned, grimacing as if he had heard something funny.

“What do you mean lend it. I’m giving it to you.”

“…You’re giving it to me?”

He could not even believe he would lend it, but he was giving it away. And 1.5 million won at that? It was not something Taejung, who was always busy cutting down his pay while nagging about depreciation, would say.

“Yeah, I’ll give it to you.”

“Why, why?”

Perhaps because of that, the question of why he was giving it to him popped out before the words of gratitude.

“Because I was pissed off that you ignored my call?”

“…”

“Because it was annoying when you whined that it hurts?”

His tone was playful from start to finish, so it was difficult for Wooseung to distinguish whether his words were sincere or a joke. He was readily offering 1.5 million won, but the reasons were so trivial that it made it even harder to believe.

It was completely unbelievable. Hadn’t he teased him before, saying he would give him money and then claiming he couldn’t because he had no cash on him? This, too, could possibly be a trap he had set.

“Wow, you have a look of disbelief on your face.”

Taejung let his eyebrows droop as if he were being wrongly accused.

“Give me your account number. I’ll send it now.”

“…”

“If you don’t, I’m taking it back.”

Wooseung haltingly recited the account number of his main bank. Taejung, who had brought his phone from the corner of the bed, put it down a moment later and gave him a look that said to check it. Wooseung took his phone out of his bag, which was by the door. He lacked conviction even up to the moment he opened the banking app, but soon, his round eyes widened more than ever before.

[Bank Account 4,380,000 won]

Taejung had really sent the money. And 3 million won at that.

Wooseung remained crouched down, staring blankly at his phone. Something so unexpected had happened that he felt dazed, as if he were seeing things.

“Why do you doubt people. So damn disappointing.”

Taejung grinned and called out to Wooseung, who was still staring at his phone with a stupid expression.

“Use that to send next week’s payment too. If you’ve confirmed it, come here.”

“…”

“I said come here, Wooseung.”

Wooseung placed his hands on his knees and slowly stood up. As he approached, Taejung removed the hand he had placed behind him and pulled Wooseung’s arm with a sharp tug.

“Let’s not make me call you twice.”

A voice mixed with faint irritation tapped at his ear. Only then did Wooseung slowly come to his senses and face Taejung directly.

“Are you ready to do 1.5 million won worth of work?”

His lips, forming a gentle curve, were elegant. The smile, which would have normally filled him with a chilling fear, felt strangely alright. Rather, he felt dazed, like someone who had just woken from sleep. 1.5 million won, an amount he could barely get his hands on after working nonstop for a week, had been deposited into his bank account in less than five minutes.

“…Yes.”

Wooseung nodded with the face Taejung always called stupid. Taejung’s smile deepened even more. The thought that he might have fallen into a trap belatedly began to creep up, but Taejung pulling his body down was faster. Wooseung’s reason quickly sank into the swamp below.