NTH 102

“Understood.”

After finishing the call, Jeha got out of the car and walked toward the entrance of Building A. He had a small bag on his back. Seeing that there was no separate security device on the common entrance, it was not a place with very strict security.

He went up the elevator without hesitation and got off on the 8th floor. Since there was a possibility that Cheon Sagang’s apartment was not Unit 801, he first put his ear to the front door and heightened his hearing. There was no sound coming from inside. Jeha increased his hearing even more.

More. More. More.

Cough, hack, hack!

Sob, sob, sob…

Jeha’s eyes widened. The sound of coughing was followed by sounds of groaning in pain and sobbing.

Sounds he never wanted to hear again. Sounds he had wanted to make sure would never be made again. Sounds his beloved person made only when he was sick and in pain.

But now, even those sounds were so welcome that his heart ached.

Sob, sob, Jeha…

The moment he heard his own name, Jeha barely managed to stop himself from shouting a reply to Jin. It was not yet time.

He quickly opened his bag and took out a few tools. A few days ago, he had secretly learned how to dismantle a door lock from a professional. It was in preparation for the case that Jin was confined in Cheon Sagang’s office or home.

It took him less than ten minutes to tear off the door lock and get inside. However, as soon as he entered the entryway, Jeha could not help but spit out a curse.

“Ha, damn it…”

A second steel door had appeared. It had a door lock just like the first one. Biting his lower lip, Jeha began to dismantle it again. He could not ask Jin to open it from the inside since he did not know what state Jin was in.

After dismantling the second door lock as well, Jeha finally entered the apartment. He looked around for a moment and found a bedroom door with a fist-sized padlock on it. It was as if it was openly telling him where Jin was locked up. Jeha took a bolt cutter out of his bag.

He knocked on the bedroom door. Knock, knock. His actions were calm, but his heart was pounding like crazy.

There was no answer from inside. Only the occasional sound of sniffing and sniffling could be heard. Jeha knocked on the door again, then spoke in the gentlest voice he could manage.

“Jin.”

“…?”

“Jin. Are you in there? It’s me, Jeha.”

He heard Jin gasp. A moment later, the rustling of a blanket was followed by the pattering sound of footsteps approaching the door. Jin’s breath became close enough to touch if he reached out his hand.

Jeha spoke once more.

“Jin. It’s me, Jeha. I came to get you.”

“Is… is that really, really… Jeha?”

“Yes. It’s me.”

After a brief silence, a trembling voice was heard.

“Do you remember… what food I got from you twice… when I went to your school before?”

It was a voice as fragile and full of fear as the baby goat in the fairy tale who asked to see a hand to check if it was its mother. Jeha barely held back the lump forming in his throat as he pictured Jin’s face, stained with tears.

“A parfait. A strawberry cheesecake yogurt parfait.”

“Then… in Hwon’s house… how many baby foxes are there?”

“Nine.”

“Then what is my very, very favorite outfit of yours, Jeha?”

The tone of Jin’s voice grew higher and higher with excitement. Jeha’s eyes grew hot.

“The bathhouse mister look, with the black briefs.”

“Jeha! Jeha-ahhhhh…! Waaah…!”

Jin burst into tears from behind the door. Jeha pointlessly pressed the corners of his eyes.

“Just wait a moment. I’ll open it right away.”

Jeha placed the shackle of the padlock between the two blades of the bolt cutter. It was an absurdly thick padlock, so it was not easy to cut even for Jeha, who was extremely strong. After several repeated attempts, the shackle was finally cut. Jeha hurriedly opened the door.

“Jin!”

“Jeha!”

Jin, who was wrapped in a blanket, rushed toward Jeha. Jeha hugged Jin fiercely. Jin sobbed so hard he could barely breathe. Jeha patted Jin’s back and stroked his head several times to soothe him.

Jin’s neck and shoulders, revealed from under the blanket, were in a wretched state. He had lost so much weight that his bones were showing, and his skin was covered in red and purple bruises, as if he had caught some terrible disease. Seeing this, Jeha clenched his teeth so hard it felt like they would all crumble.

“How did you find me? I don’t even know where this is…”

Jin, who had calmed down somewhat, asked, his voice still choked with tears. Jeha, kissing his forehead, answered affectionately.

“Let’s talk about that later. Right now, there’s something else we must talk about.”

Cheon Sagang hurried home. He had intended to return sooner, but strangely, things kept going wrong wherever he went. It was a terribly unlucky day.

He was about to leave work early in the afternoon when the landlord of the building where the new Angel Cash Loan office was located stormed in and suddenly announced the termination of the contract. He said he would pay the penalty and moving expenses in full, asking him to move out as soon as possible. He gave the ridiculous reason that he suddenly wanted to use the office himself.

It had not even been two weeks since he had moved in, so he was too dumbfounded to speak. After wheedling and placating the landlord, then threatening him intimidatingly, then bluffing that he would take legal action, over an hour had passed.

Just as he was about to finally go home, this time two men in suits came into the office. They said they were public officials from the district office’s regional economy department, there for a crackdown, and pressed Cheon Sagang to show them his money-lending business registration.

Cheon Sagang, who had contemplated killing them both and burying them on a remote mountain, endured and endured. He mumbled that he was ‘just about to start the business, so there were no customers yet, and that he planned to register tomorrow.’ The self-proclaimed officials held him up for a long time, lecturing him that they would inform him of the necessary documents and procedures for registration. Another hour passed because of that.

Annoyed to the point of exploding, Cheon Sagang came out of the office to finally go home this time. But this time, the left hood of his car was dented. Some punk had hit his parked car. Cheon Sagang was on the verge of exploding.

He had decided to skin the punk alive this time for sure, but suddenly, an employee from the punk’s insurance company appeared as if he had been waiting. The guy was such a talker that it took over another hour to negotiate the repair costs and compensation.

By the time that was over, it was rush hour. Trapped on a road that resembled a parking lot, Cheon Sagang spewed curses and slammed his fist on the innocent steering wheel as if to break it. In the end, he was only able to arrive at the officetel after it was pitch-dark.

It was a day that seemed cursed. He immediately got on the elevator. His head was throbbing from the series of tiring events that had happened all afternoon.

He needed Nana. Right now.

Perhaps because he was refusing food as if he had anorexia, his yang energy was not what it used to be. If he had his way, he wanted to stick a straw into Nana’s heart and drink all of his hot blood.

Every time he thought of Nana, Cheon Sagang’s throat became parched. But the water of life that could quench that thirst was barely dripping out like a broken faucet. It was only getting more frustrating by the day.

This lifetime’s Nana was too severely broken, both body and mind. It had now reached a point where it would be better for Nana to die quickly and be reborn. He had tormented him this much, he should have hung himself by now, but for some reason, Nana was stubbornly holding on.

Because of the taboo of that damned parasitic soul, Cheon Sagang could not kill Nana with his own hands. Should he make him want to die right away? Should he give him greater humiliation? Should he push him to feel more mortified? What would be the most effective method?

Just then, what Nana had said on the bed flashed through his mind.

“I’m so worried about Jeha that I don’t want to eat and I don’t want to breathe. Do you really want me to just die?”

That was right. Kwon Jeha. Nana was barely holding on, using him as his last lamp.

If Nana found out that Kwon Jeha was dead, he would lose the will to live in an instant. Therefore, he had to get rid of that bastard first. Then Nana, as if he were his supplement, would naturally follow him to the afterlife.

Ding-dong. With a cheerful chime, the elevator arrived on the 8th floor. When the door opened, Cheon Sagang walked toward the front of Unit 801. He was about to enter the password for the door lock when he paused for a moment. A strange, hard-to-explain sense of unease washed over him.

Was it just a feeling? Maybe he had become sensitive because strange things had happened one after another throughout the day. He entered the password on the keypad and went inside.

The feeling of unease did not go away even after he passed through the second entrance door. The house was quiet. Nothing was different from when he had left. If something had really happened, the most suspicious place was the padlocked room.

Cheon Sagang put the key into the padlock hole and turned it. With a click, the padlock was unlocked. Cheon Sagang pushed down the handle and slightly pushed the door open.

Nothing happened. Cheon Sagang slowly entered the room. Nana was, as always, lying on the bed with his eyes closed, having not touched his meal. His not even glancing at Cheon Sagang was also the same as usual. Still, he had a strange feeling.

“Get up. Stop being stubborn and at least eat some porridge.”

Nana gave no answer. Cheon Sagang, who was glaring at the bed for a moment, strode over. Before he could be stopped, he yanked the blanket off and threw it under the bed. But there was nothing under it. Other than Nana’s naked body, so emaciated it looked like it would break and scatter if touched.

“What are you doing. It’s cold.”

Nana opened his eyes and stared blankly at Cheon Sagang. Without a word, Cheon Sagang turned and headed for the bathroom. From behind him, he heard the sound of Nana groaning as he got up and clumsily gathered the blanket.

It must be just a feeling. Since his nerves were on edge, the everyday atmosphere must feel particularly unfamiliar. There was no way for Nana to get out of the master bedroom without his help.

After finishing his shower, Cheon Sagang took off his robe and got onto the bed. He first tasted Nana’s lips. The punk had bitten them at will, so his lips had become rougher than before, but his saliva felt sweeter and more full of yang energy than usual.

After slowly ravaging the inside of his mouth with his tongue, Cheon Sagang lowered his head and licked Nana’s chest. He sucked until his chest was all wet and made the tips of his nipples erect with the end of his tongue. Even so, Nana’s member showed little reaction. It seemed the saying that one cannot get an erection if one’s stamina is too depleted was true.

Cheon Sagang clicked his tongue in displeasure. Nana was just stiff like a wooden doll. He spread Nana’s legs and went between them, crouching down. He put Nana’s member in his mouth and licked it with his tongue. Involuntarily, Nana moaned, and a drop of pre-ejaculate trickled out from the tip of his member. Cheon Sagang licked it up greedily.

Yang energy rushed into his empty testicles. It happened in an instant. He had no idea why it was filling up so quickly today.

“Lie on your stomach. Raise your butt.”

Cheon Sagang, who had been sucking Nana’s member like a popsicle, sat up and spat out in a cold voice. After a moment of hesitation, Nana spoke.

“Can’t we do a different position?”

Cheon Sagang’s three-white-circled eyes widened. It was the first time Nana had expressed his own opinion about a sexual position. As he furrowed his brow, Nana avoided his gaze and mumbled.

“That position is humiliating… and it feels too awful.”

“Then what position do you want?”

“…Just lying still like this.”

“That’s not an option. Seeing you sprawled out like a block of wood makes me feel like I’m fucking a corpse. My dick gets cold and shrivels up.”

At the vulgar analogy, Nana was at a loss for words, so Cheon Sagang said, as if granting a favor.

“I’ll allow you to get on top.”

“You want me to get on top? You want me to sit on you?”

“Yes. If you don’t like that, then just lie on your stomach obediently.”

After blinking for a moment, Nana answered.

“…I’ll get on top.”

One corner of Cheon Sagang’s mouth lifted in a smirk. As he lay down long on the bed and waited, Nana, after hesitating, carefully climbed on top of Cheon Sagang’s pelvis. Cheon Sagang grabbed Nana’s buttocks in his hands and spread them. He inserted his thing between them and said.

“Move your butt and grind.”