PAHO 10

When he saw him on a television screen that was dozens of inches wide, he had thought that his spirited and fierce impression was prominent. However, seeing him in person was on a different level.

Enormous. That was the first impression that came to mind upon seeing Na Taebeom. He was only wearing a gray bathrobe over his bare body, yet far from seeming defenseless, there was a powerful aura emanating from his superior physique. At a rough estimate, he was 190 centimeters, or even taller. Even Nam Gyeonhwa, who was on the tall side, had to slightly raise his chin to meet his eyes.

Gloomy, cement-gray eyes.

“Are you deaf?”

Na Taebeom abruptly thrust his face in front of Nam Gyeonhwa, who was lost in silence. The stuffy scent of shampoo, as if he had just showered, hit the tip of his nose.

“What are you?”

His irritated gaze, matching his brusque tone, pressed for an answer. He had considered various variables on his way to the underground fighting ring, but encountering Na Taebeom was not something he had even anticipated among the many possibilities.

Whatever it was, dragging out the situation didn’t seem like it would improve things. Nam Gyeonhwa, who had been maintaining his composure with his lips tightly sealed, cautiously opened his mouth.

“…I’m sorry. I came into the wrong room while inspecting the fire-fighting equipment.”

“Fire-fighting, what?”

“The fire alarm went off about two hours ago, and I was looking for the cause. I apologize for the intrusion at night.”

It was an excuse he had wracked his brain to come up with in that brief moment. Will such a clumsy ploy work? Na Taebeom, who had been looking down at him, tilted his head slightly to the side.

“Something was ringing loudly earlier. Are you talking about that now?”

“Yes, that’s righ…”

Before he could finish his answer, Na Taebeom burst into a hollow laugh. A large hand immediately grabbed Nam Gyeonhwa by the collar.

“So you just walk into someone else’s room without permission?”

“Keuh, heuk.”

Driven back, Nam Gyeonhwa let out a guttural groan, unable to withstand the impact of hitting the wall. Na Taebeom, holding him by the neck, brutally lifted Nam Gyeonhwa’s body up. Pinned between the concrete wall and Na Taebeom’s body, his airway was constricted.

“Fire-fighting equipment inspection? You think I’m some fucking idiot who would believe that?”

His face and neck turned red from his ragged breathing. His vision flickered erratically like a broken streetlight. Just as Nam Gyeonhwa was struggling desperately to break free, the grip on his throat loosened, and he naturally slid down the wall, slumping weakly.

“You’re not the first or second bastard who’s come into this room pretending to be an employee.”

Na Taebeom grabbed Nam Gyeonhwa, who was clutching his choked throat and gasping for breath, by the hair and yanked his head up. His head was pulled up by the force, and their eyes were forced to meet.

“Half of them were motherfuckers trying to collect dividends by fixing matches, and the other half were prostitutes sent in by pimps trying to boost their sales. Every single one of them was annoying, so I kicked them out as they came, and later they even started sending them by race.”

Na Taebeom, who had been looking Nam Gyeonhwa up and down as if appraising him, burst out laughing as if he found it absurd.

“I never thought I’d see the day I’d be getting male prostitutes, of all things.”

The tone with which he asserted he was a male prostitute was as sharp as his gaze.

“But I don’t fuck men. If you came in here because you want to get your ass kicked, I’m willing to oblige.”

Despite the blatant contempt and sarcasm, Nam Gyeonhwa didn’t say a word. As if his docile silence was what was unpleasant, Na Taebeom, frowning, shoved the head he was holding away as if flinging it.

“If you understand, then get lost.”

Straightening his bent knees, he spun around and walked toward the sofa on the other side. Nam Gyeonhwa, who was swallowing a sigh while rubbing his neck where the dull pain had not yet subsided, turned his head at the sound of a piano. Na Taebeom, having lowered the volume of the Bluetooth speaker, sank deep into the sofa. He seemed to not care in the slightest whether Nam Gyeonhwa was still in the room or not.

To be faced with a strange intruder in the middle of the night in a defenseless state, yet to show no signs of tension, let alone agitation, was an attitude that went beyond confidence to the point of being chilling. He even felt an unspoken pressure that he should not associate with him, even on purpose. He had to get out of this place quickly before he aroused any other suspicions by hesitating.

Having barely pulled himself together, Nam Gyeonhwa held his breath and tiptoed toward the door that appeared to be the entrance. And just as he grabbed the doorknob.

From the other side of the door, the sound of heavy, solid footsteps was faintly approaching. Soon, ding-dong, the doorbell rang, and the intercom screen next to the door lit up, showing five people standing there. Just from their appearance, clad in protective vests over their formal uniforms, it was clear that they were members of the special security team.

One of them moved his hand close to the door, and at the same time, right in front of him, there was a thump, thump sound of someone knocking on the door.

“Is anyone there?”

Flustered, Nam Gyeonhwa stepped back as if to get away from the door. Then, remembering Na Taebeom sitting on the sofa, he swallowed dryly. With Na Taebeom wide awake in the room, he couldn’t possibly go back through the ventilation shaft right in front of him. But opening the door and breaking through those five people was practically impossible.

“What is it now?”

Na Taebeom, who had gotten up while massaging his neck, spat out in an annoyed tone. The security team member, having confirmed by his voice that someone was inside, continued his response in a loud voice.

“We apologize for disturbing your rest! At approximately 23:08 hours, a dangerous individual infiltrated Wiyeong, and we are currently conducting a search.”

“A dangerous individual?”

“Yes, sir. A young man in his twenties or thirties, wearing a black hat and a navy or black shirt. His objective is not yet known, but he is presumed to have been in contact with an internal accomplice who was just arrested. He is currently believed to have hidden on the top floor using the elevator shaft rails and the ventilation shafts.”

At those words, Na Taebeom’s eyes, which had been walking toward the door, turned to Nam Gyeonhwa. He turned his head away from the suspicious gaze, but it was a futile act of avoidance. A black hat, a dark navy t-shirt, a young man. Even if it were a coincidence, it was a description that was too precise to be dismissed.

“Aha, so that’s it.”

Na Taebeom grabbed his shoulder, pulled him closer, and said.

“So you hid in here?”

At the sound of a stifled laugh, Nam Gyeonhwa bit his lower lip. Just when he thought he had barely overcome one hurdle, he was faced with a worse situation. He was caught between a rock and a hard place.

Would it be better to take Na Taebeom hostage and threaten them? No matter how he looked at him, he didn’t seem easy to subdue. Another option was to attack a vital point to knock him out and then escape back through the ventilation shaft while the door was still closed, but he would never willingly let his vital points be struck.

“Director, would you please open the door?”

Thump, thump, the sound of knocking on the door came again. Na Taebeom, standing right behind him, whispered.

“They’re making a racket, telling me to open the door. What should I do?”

“…”

“Are you going to open it yourself, or should I be so kind as to open it for you?”

Either way, he intended to hand him over to the special security team, yet his attitude was as if he were bestowing a great favor. While Na Taebeom’s gaze, with his chin resting on his shoulder, roamed over his cheek and eyes, Nam Gyeonhwa stared at the door without moving. His tightly clenched palms were filled with cold sweat.

“Director Na Taebeom! Are you alright!”

When there was no response, the outside became noisy. Judging that something must be wrong, a command to bring the master key, urged over the radio, seeped through the steel door and into the room.

Whether he opened the door now or not, it was only a matter of time before he was caught. He might even be charged with assaulting Wiyeong’s real power broker, on top of trespassing. If that happened, he didn’t know when he would be able to return to Haejin. He might never be able to return.

Whether he liked it or not, there was no other choice. To survive, one had to use whatever was available. Taking a low breath, Nam Gyeonhwa reached out, grabbed the doorknob, and turned it.

Beep-boop, the signal sound of the lock being disengaged was heard, and the door slid open. The moment a gloved hand urgently grabbed the crack of the door and pulled it open with force, Nam Gyeonhwa turned his body toward Na Taebeom and stood on his tiptoes. Wrapping both arms around his neck, he kissed him as if ramming into him, regardless of his tightly closed lips.

Smack, came the sound of wet skin sticking together. The shadows of several people, illuminated by the light from the corridor, stretched long into the room. He could feel the gazes pouring onto his back, but Nam Gyeonhwa squeezed his eyes shut and deliberately made a loud sucking sound on his lower lip.

“Mmm, heup.”

While he was passionately feigning a kiss, Na Taebeom neither pushed him away forcefully nor stepped back. He was breathless from rubbing his lips together without a moment to spare for a single breath. Nam Gyeonhwa, pretending to be reluctant, pulled his lips away and buried his face in Na Taebeom’s shoulder, which he was clinging to.

“Director, I’m, good, at this. I can satisfy you.”

His whispering voice was barely audible. Even though he was voluntarily playing the role of a loose male prostitute, he felt no sense of shame or embarrassment. No, it was more accurate to say that he had no time to consider such things. If a moment for questioning arose, all that was left was to be dragged away immediately.

The moment he deliberately slid the hand embracing the broad back slowly downward, his arm was grabbed.

“Why don’t you check behind you first?”

At the gesture of his eyes, he peeked back and saw that the doorway and corridor, which had been packed with security team members, were now empty.