Joker 1 (Side story) Ch 4

The man in the black knit looked ascetic, as if he hadn’t had sex the previous night. He was looking at a newspaper, a paper newspaper, which had been rare lately.

 

He preferred paper to his phone for newspapers. The butlers, knowing Kwon Taeha’s preferences, would place the morning paper in front of him every early morning.

He had finished his workout and showered before breakfast; his hair looked soft. Living together had made it clear that Kwon Taeha never wasted time. He usually woke before dawn, exercised, ate, and then began his day in earnest.

When Joo Hawon glanced at the clock on the side table, it was already 11 a.m. That meant Kwon Taeha was wasting time now.

Joo Hawon had been watching him since he woke up. Feeling suffocated by the blanket pulled up to his chin, he pulled it down, and Kwon Taeha looked up.

“You’re awake?”

Lowering the newspaper, Kwon Taeha sat on the sofa by the window.

He stood and walked to the bed, placing a hand on Joo Hawon’s forehead. As if he had just woken up, Joo Hawon’s body temperature was warm. It would be nice if he always stayed that way, but once he got out of bed, he would quickly turn cold again.

“When did you wake up?”

“About five hours ago?”

“You should’ve woken me up.”

Joo Hawon blinked and sat up, leaning against the headboard.

“The prince kissed you, but you didn’t wake up.”

“Don’t you feel embarrassed saying that yourself?”

“Not at all.”

His confidence left no room for argument.

Joo Hawon pressed his hands against his eyes before lowering his legs over the edge of the bed. Only then did Kwon Taeha draw the curtains, revealing a clear sky with a few clouds drifting by. Joo Hawon gazed blankly at the view, then looked around. Having been washed by Kwon Taeha the previous night, he had slept in only a T-shirt, and his lower garments were nowhere to be seen.

As he got out of bed completely, a large hand reached for him. It grabbed his genitals, and he instinctively caught Kwon Taeha’s wrist.

“What are you doing?”

“Your cock looked like a banana.”

What asceticism? His words were full of vulgarity. It wasn’t the first time he’d done something like this, but it was still hard to ignore. Joo Hawon twisted his wrist harder, and Kwon Taeha feigned pain before letting go.

“I’ll go wash up.”

“Wash up after eating.”

“I’d rather wash before eating.”

Joo Hawon shuffled toward the bathroom attached to the bedroom. His buttocks were completely exposed under the T-shirt, but he showed no intention of covering himself. Before entering, he even pulled off the T-shirt and yawned.

Red marks covered his lower back and neck—remnants of their lovemaking. The front likely looked no different. Kwon Taeha had been about to follow him in and pull him close, wanting to suck his nipples.

Suddenly, Joo Hawon turned around. Caught staring, Kwon Taeha quickly hid his surprise. With an indifferent expression, Joo Hawon pointed at his chest.

“It hurts. Bring me a bandage.”

“Just wear underwear.”

“It’s stuffy.”

“You’re not listening.”

Kwon Taeha closed the distance in one stride. Feeling his gaze sweep over him, Joo Hawon took a step back into the bathroom.

“We don’t do it in the morning.”

“I don’t have to do it in the morning either.”

His agreement was oddly suspicious, so Joo Hawon checked the clock again. It was already nearing noon.

“Not for lunch either,” he added, slipping into the bathroom.

“He’s so perceptive,” Kwon Taeha muttered under his breath, opening the closed bathroom door. As if expecting him, Joo Hawon was sitting naked on the edge of the bathtub.

“Are you going to wash again?”

“No, I’m going to wash you.”

Rolling up his sleeves, Kwon Taeha turned on the showerhead and adjusted the temperature. When the moderately warm water poured over Joo Hawon’s head, he closed his eyes.

The sight of droplets clinging to his long, dark eyelashes was striking. They absorbed the water, making it easy to understand why his eyes always stung when he showered.

Kwon Taeha brought the showerhead to his chest. The scars from the gunshot wounds were barely visible after two surgeries, but they remained an indelible memory for him. As he gently brushed aside Joo Hawon’s wet eyelashes with his thumb, the man blinked twice and opened his eyes.

“CEO, you know you’re treating me more like a child these days, right?”

“There’s no hair here yet, so you’re still a child,” Kwon Taeha replied, lowering the showerhead toward his pubic area.

“Stop teasing me about my complexes.”

Joo Hawon cupped water in his hands and splashed it at him. Water dotted Kwon Taeha’s face as he wiped his cheek with the back of his hand. He was clearly doing it on purpose. His suggestive expression made Joo Hawon’s pulse quicken; he pressed his thighs together tightly, afraid his body might react.

“Joo Hawon.”

“Yes?”

“It looks like you don’t have one.”

He sprayed water between his thighs, where it pooled above his groin.

“You know how much I like Secretary Joo’s bare skin. Don’t hide it.”

Kneeling down, Kwon Taeha slowly licked the water pooled on his thighs. Startled, Joo Hawon grabbed his cheek, urging him to spit it out before he swallowed the tap water.

Gulp. The sound of his throat swallowing came too fast.

“It’s delicious.”

When the demanding man acted like that, he truly resembled a mischievous boy.

****

The dining room table was laid out with mismatched dishes.

On one side of the table was galbitang with kimchi and seasoned side dishes; on the other, a Western breakfast spread with pancakes and omelets provided by the hotel.

While Joo Hawon quietly slurped the galbitang broth, Kwon Taeha sat opposite him, eating toast.

“Do you know that?”

“I know that Joo Hawon’s nipples hurt.”

Joo Hawon ignored the crude remark and continued eating his soup.

“They say couples or lovers who don’t share similar tastes don’t last long.”

“Really?”

Kwon Taeha’s steely blue eyes reflected a faint hint of curiosity.

“Because if they disagree on what to eat, there’ll be more arguments, right?”

“Is that so?”

“That’s what they say.”

“What’s there to argue about? We can just eat what we like.” Kwon Taeha gestured toward Joo Hawon’s galbitang with his eyes.

“That’s true.”

Since it wasn’t a topic that required much thought, Joo Hawon simply agreed.

“Should I have eaten galbitang too?”

“No.”

Joo Hawon gently tore a piece of tender meat from the soup and put it in his mouth.

“Then why bring up something strange about not lasting long?”

“Well, thinking about it, it’s fine if our opinions don’t match. We can just sit at the same table, eating what we each like, like we are now.”

“I don’t really like this, though.”

He poked the sausage garnish with his fork and lifted it up, his tone unusually defiant.

“I don’t like this, or this either,” he added, pointing at the food before him.

“You like it more than galbitang.”

“Really?”

“You’re fixating on something odd again, CEO. Just let it go—I was only talking in general terms.”

“Would disagreeing about food really cause a breakup? If you want to eat something, you can just get it and eat it.”

He sounded displeased, as if the idea of something “not lasting long” struck a nerve. Seeing him react that way to a passing comment, Joo Hawon’s voice softened.

“That might be true for you, CEO. But ordinary people put thought into choosing a restaurant to go eat what they want.”

“…Is that so?”

Kwon Taeha removed the sausage from his fork. He still looked as though he didn’t quite understand.

“What if I want jokbal, and you want Schweinshaxe? Then we’d have to discuss and decide which one to go for, right?”

“What’s there to discuss? We can eat both.”

“…”

“Do you want jokbal?”

“No, this is fine.”

Of course, it wasn’t a topic that would resonate with him. If Joo Hawon mentioned wanting something, Kwon Taeha was the kind of man who would have it delivered before he even finished the sentence. For him, the act of choosing food carefully didn’t exist. He had never needed to consider cost when picking a restaurant.

Around this time last year, when they visited Jeju Island and Joo Hawon ordered fried chicken for delivery, Kwon Taeha had been puzzled.

‘Why order delivery when there’s chicken on the room service menu?’

‘Hotel chicken doesn’t taste good and it’s just expensive. It’s better to get something cheap and delicious.’

‘Is that so?’

‘Yes.’

Kwon Taeha had no concept of cost-effectiveness.

He didn’t dislike fine dining, but he didn’t particularly value food either. One thing was certain, though—he didn’t like cheap food.

Joo Hawon also believed expensive food was usually worth its price, but sometimes, when looking at the bill, he found the amount excessive. And did Kwon Taeha ever really enjoy such meals?

Not really. His usual response was a flat, “Not bad.”

The only times he reacted differently were—

“Should we also start discussing where to eat from now on?”

Joo Hawon found the question oddly amusing. He said it, yet he didn’t even seem to understand why they should discuss it.

“What do you want to go eat?”

“Then let’s go eat goguksu for dinner.”

“What? That’s not a discussion. That’s a notification.”

“Isn’t it all the same to you anyway, CEO, if I’m not the one cooking it?”

The only time that man ever showed any reaction to food was when Joo Hawon cooked it himself. Of course, the only things he knew how to make were simple dishes like scrambled eggs.

Kwon Taeha didn’t reply, only smiled faintly at him. Then he poked the sausage again, put it in his mouth, and chewed. Casually, he commented that it tasted worse than a banana.

“CEO.”

Joo Hawon’s tone suddenly turned serious. As always, Kwon Taeha paid close attention to him, but Joo Hawon stayed silent for a long moment.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Aren’t you worried at all, CEO?”

Joo Hawon finally brought up the matter of Aeil’s sudden appearance. He didn’t want to care about whatever schemes Aeil might be plotting, but it was none other than Mailler Kwon.

The only reassurance was that the shares of Kwon Yijae that Mailler had inherited had already been bought by Kwon Taeha. Joo Hawon also knew that he had finalized a deal with Mailler’s guardian—his biological mother.

Now, the only shares Mailler held were those of Tex, not enough to wield any real influence.

“The fact that he’s saying he’ll be adopted as a sibling must mean Felix has already given his consent…”

“Why? Are you worried I’ll be kicked out?”

“Who said that? I just haven’t seen Jaehee-ssi much lately, so I’m a little uneasy.”

“They say the rich stay rich for three generations, even if they fall.”

“Are you planning to fall?”

“Well, I am planning to make it fall, aren’t I?”

Kwon Taeha absentmindedly placed a blueberry from his yogurt into Joo Hawon’s open mouth. Joo Hawon licked the remnants of yogurt from his lower lip with the tip of his tongue.

“He’s someone Jaehee hyung liked. That means he’s not stupid—but even so, what could someone like him possibly do now?” Kwon Taeha said, cutting his omelet in half.

“Do you think he regrets selling his shares now?”

“That’s possible.”

Kwon Taeha lightly tapped his temple with his index finger.

“It must’ve been a big deal.”

Since Mailler Kwon was seventeen now, he would have been around fifteen when the shares were sold. As he grew older, he might have begun regretting the sale his biological mother had made. If not for that, Mailler Kwon would have become one of the major shareholders of STA Corporation.

“What if Mailler stirs up internal conflict by using the fact that he’s Kwon Yijae’s biological son? After all, Kwon Yijae was STA’s CEO when he was alive.”

“It’s not the sixteenth century anymore. Successors aren’t decided by bloodline—equity matters more than lineage.”

The man who spoke as if recalling the Renaissance smiled elegantly, like the refined aesthetic of that era.

“CEO, what I’m worried about is—”

“Mailler also knows how Kwon Yijae died.”

…

Joo Hawon, startled, parted his lips but couldn’t speak.

“Would it be better if his father had died of a chronic illness—or if he died trying to kill someone?”

“Since I’m still alive, he might think Kwon Yijae’s death was unfair. From a son’s perspective…”

“Unfair?”

A vein bulged in Kwon Taeha’s neck.

“Joo Hawon, you came back alive after being on the brink of death. If I’d been even a moment late that day and hadn’t saved you…”

He pressed his lips together, as if unwilling to continue. Joo Hawon reached out and placed his hand over his. Only then did Kwon Taeha relax slightly and change the subject.

“Well, that’s what happened.”

His hands, usually warm, were as cold as Joo Hawon’s. Joo Hawon couldn’t imagine how much pain he must have endured during those moments between life and death. While he himself had been unconscious, Taeha had suffered through it all, fully aware.

“After we eat, shall we take a walk on the beach? It’s been a while.”

“Hmm, we might not have time.”

“Are you busy?”

“We have a flight in two hours.”

“Are we going straight back to Germany?”

“No, we’ll go to Seoul.”

Of course—their original destination wasn’t Jeju Island but Seoul. Joo Hawon nodded.

He dipped a piece of galbi into the sauce and held it to Kwon Taeha’s lips. Taeha watched him for a moment, then drew the chopsticks into his mouth. When he saw Joo Hawon mixing rice into the broth and eating with genuine appetite, he seemed pleased and quietly continued his meal.

“Don’t be foolish—eat properly instead of watching me. Your lungs are still weak, and your digestion’s not great either.”

“Why would I be watching you, CEO? You’re a funny one,” Joo Hawon said, deliberately placing kimchi on his rice and finishing his bowl clean.