Vol 7 Ch 11

Tangbang, who had been leaning against the corridor wall with his arms folded, followed after him.

Joo Hawon ignored his presence as they walked side by side, and not until they stepped into the same elevator did either of them speak. Only when they exited on the floor where the chairman’s office was located did their pace slow.

“Why did you seek me out?”

Joo Hawon asked without glancing aside.

“Curiosity. Chairman Kwon keeps you hidden so well that no one knows whether you’re alive or dead.”

“Since when have we had reason to care for each other’s well-being?”

“You know there’s still half of WikiLeaks left, don’t you?”

Tangbang hadn’t completely released all of WikiLeaks. The first disclosure had been about half of the total.

“The rest has plenty of trash, and only a handful worth using.”

“I gave it to you, so use it as you like.”

“As you know, I’m done with pharmaceuticals. I’m thinking of devoting myself entirely to the information trade now.”

“And that’s why you sought me out?”

Surely it wasn’t to ask permission.

“Not exactly. I just felt like seeing you again. Seems I grew somewhat attached over time.”

“That’s nonsense.”

“Among the information you didn’t hand over… there was the STA and Tex Land Lease case, wasn’t there?”

Joo Hawon halted mid-stride.

“And if it was?”

“Doesn’t seem like that was the only one.”

“It was the only one. That’s why Chairman Kwon went public with it.”

“What a way to carve out someone’s weakness… So then, won’t you be carved out someday too, Hawon?”

“You think I’m Chairman Kwon’s weakness?”

“Of course.”

“Well, if I ever get kidnapped or attacked, the culprit will be obvious. Don’t forget you’d be on that list too.”

“Wow, so you didn’t mellow out—you just got scarier.”

Feigning fear, Tangbang rubbed his arm. At that same moment, Wagner was approaching, pressing an earpiece into his ear.

“Now that even the knight has appeared, this servant will take his leave.”

Tangbang offered a martial bow.

“May Chairman Kwon never carve you out. Until we meet again.”

Watching the fluttering back of Tangbang’s changpao, Joo Hawon muttered under his breath,

“Still stirring up strife as ever.”

“Teasing?”

Wagner glanced at Tangbang walking away and smoothed down his buzz cut.

“There’s that sort of thing. What about Oh Woosung?”

Since inside Pyosen, it was more common for Oh Woosung to follow him around than Wagner, he asked.

“He does disciplinary drills.”

“What?”

“Training for being insolent. Our mercenary way.”

“Wait a little. I’ll study German hard, so let’s converse in German.”

“I’ll wait.”

Wagner was also hoping for that day to come quickly. Because the more he spoke and learned Korean, the harder it became. But Wagner, who was walking next to Joo Hawon like before, felt a bit puzzled. It was the first time he’d seen that kind of expression on Joo Hawon’s face since he’d known him. He was usually either expressionless or wore a cynical look, but today, the corners of his mouth were curled up subtly, like a well-fed cat. In any case, it was a look that suited him well.

***

Was it around then?

“The reason I left Hawon was to protect him, and even now, I have absolutely no intention of   causing him harm. Hawon-ah, I don’t expect you to understand the state of mind I was in when I left you. So, I just hope you’ll continue to get along well with the CEO. If the CEO truly likes Hawon, I believe he won’t put him in danger. Things are dangerous enough for him as it is now.”

It was probably right then.

Back when he had entered Korea and was in the process of tracking down WikiLeaks, Baek Hyunseok had spouted those words. Kwon Taeha had sent Joo Hawon up to his room that day and met separately with Baek Hyunseok, who had remained in the cafe. Unaware that Kwon Taeha had returned, Baek Hyunseok just stared down at his cold coffee, his face full of anguish. A bitter smile also played on his lips, as if he was glorifying his own past.

“You were still here.”

Kwon Taeha said as he sat on the sofa opposite him. Baek Hyunseok flinched and looked up, startled.

“Hyung, I was sixteen back then.”

Kwon Taeha couldn’t stop thinking about what Joo Hawon had said. That it was the first d**k Joo Hawon had had…… He briefly imagined crushing Baek Hyunseok’s d**k.

“CEO Kwon……”

After a brief pause, Baek Hyunseok finally revealed his true thoughts.

“Why are you keeping Hawon by your side?”

He asked, somewhat insolently.

“Well.”

“He’s had a very hard life. Perhaps……”

Baek Hyunseok took off his glasses and then continued.

“If you have any desire for revenge because of Chairman Joo……”

“Will you save him instead, then?”

“Pardon?”

“From what I hear, it seems I’m the villain and Former Managing Director Baek is the hero. How about you save him instead?”

“……”

He was the common type, all talk without the guts or ability to back it up.

“That’s not what I meant, I’m just worried about Hawon.”

“Your worry for Joo Hawon must have a different meaning. You’re the one who slept with a sixteen-year-old kid and then abandoned him until now, despite being so concerned.”

Baek Hyunseok probably knew about WikiLeaks too. Baek Jaetak’s purchase of the Mars land had proven it, and he had brought up the issue of Joo Hawon’s safety being endangered because of WikiLeaks.

“Honestly……. That guy was born with eyes that bewitch people. At first, I just wanted to protect him, but I fell for him completely.”

Baek Hyunseok spoke candidly and swept a hand over his face.

“If I had stayed any longer, I felt like I would have given up everything—inheriting the family business, grad school—all of it, just to live with Hawon. You must understand, CEO. People like us can’t act that way.”

“People like us?”

Kwon Taeha frowned.

“There’s public opinion to consider, and one must get married too, no? My plan was to build up my power so I could protect Hawon properly later. But as time passed and I started my own family, the memories gradually faded. I thought he must be living well somewhere. Maybe he married a good person… I never thought it would come to this……”

Even without deep analysis, there was no way Joo Hawon could have been living well. It was just the self-consolation of a man who had thrown some alimony at a boy buried in debt and left.

“Still, if you truly like Hawon, CEO, I want to believe you won’t put him in danger.”

Kwon Taeha found it slightly ridiculous.

“Why, does it seem like I don’t like Joo Hawon very much?”

“For us, marriage is also a kind of business.”

“Is that so? Not for me.”

Baek Hyunseok looked uneasy.

“Thinking quietly about why I was so angry, it’s because I’m completely smitten with our dear dealer. Thanks to you, Former Managing Director Baek, my thoughts are getting sorted out.”

“That’s a… relief. As you know, that guy gets very lonely.”

Ah…… For the first time in his life, Kwon Taeha thought he wouldn’t mind killing Baek Hyunseok right there in front of everyone. To act so comfortably all this time and now offer advice like that, pretending to be worried.

Was Joo Hawon’s presence that significant to him? At first, he had tried to see him only as a delectable body that came as a bonus with WikiLeaks. He liked his unpredictability, the freshness of not knowing what he’d do next. He enjoyed seeing his audacity, how he pretended not to be scared even when he was. The significant gap between his usual demeanor and how he was during sex was also quite appealing.

Thanks to Baek Hyunseok, Kwon Taeha understood why he sometimes felt irritation rising up about Joo Hawon’s past actions. Joo Hawon was his possession, and no one else could lay a claim to him now. He was getting angry because of people like the one moments ago, who tried to encroach on the ownership he held.

“Former Managing Director Baek.”

“Please, speak.”

“If you go around divulging details about Joo Hawon’s past, a problem will occur that is beyond your ability to handle.”

“I… understand well.”

Kwon Taeha stood up and patted Baek Hyunseok’s shoulder a couple of times.

“Don’t do anything unnecessary either.”

He dusted off his hands with an air of elegance.

“Relay this exactly to the person above Former Managing Director Baek.”

As the gray-blue eyes scanned his face, goosebumps rose all over Baek Hyunseok’s body. He had thought it was merely business. Baek Hyunseok had been sure that CEO Kwon introducing Joo Hawon as his lover was also a calculated move, but he had misjudged. Those are the eyes of a jealous man. Baek Hyunseok picked up his coffee cup with a slightly trembling hand.

“You’ll get devoured. Hawon……. He came to me even though he knew what I was doing was wrong. He was a child who unconsciously seduced me to survive.”

Losing interest in the weak man who shifted the blame onto Joo Hawon to cover his own mistakes, Kwon Taeha left the lobby. Checking his ringing phone, he let out a light laugh and muttered.

“It’s Joo Hawon who’s getting devoured.”

***

Joo Hawon was packing clothes into his suitcase. Since he only stayed once or twice a week, his luggage was always light. Usually, Oh Woosung would pack for him while chattering away, but hearing that he’d been acting insolently even to the bodyguards, it seemed he was being put through disciplinary drills. Joo Hawon half hoped this would be the chance for the guy to disappear from his sight for good. More than that, he wanted to see Kwon Taeha before leaving. The owners’ meeting should be almost over by now……

Joo Hawon placed the new briefs on top and closed the suitcase. The suitcase, which could hold about 10kg, still had plenty of room. The flight time from Macau to Korea was now just three hours away. Worried he might have forgotten something, he opened the suitcase again. And he just stared down at the neatly packed luggage.

“You look like someone planning to run away from home.”

Joo Hawon lifted his head toward the bedroom door. Kwon Taeha was watching Joo Hawon, who was squatting on the floor.

“When did you get here?”

“A while ago.”

He got up from the carpet and walked over to him. With a playful glint in his eyes, he embraced Kwon Taeha’s body, whose arms were spread open. Kwon Taeha held the docilely leaning Joo Hawon tightly, inhaling his scent.

“Living long enough, I get to see a day like this. Right?”

Joo Hawon looked up at him.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Just, because I’m happy?”

Joo Hawon brought his nose close to Kwon Taeha’s face and detected a pungent scent of alcohol. It was the smell of whiskey.

“Did you drink a lot?”

“Hmm, a moderate amount.”

He pressed his lips to Joo Hawon’s forehead, then interlaced his fingers and rested his hands on the small of Joo Hawon’s back.

“I got a hundred bottles of Château Palmer, no strings attached.”

“From the old man?”

Kwon Taeha planted a loud kiss on the corner of Joo Hawon’s eye.

“We’ll just enjoy it.”

“Did you know you get a little cute when you’re drunk, CEO?”

Joo Hawon pushed away Kwon Taeha’s approaching lips with his palm. He wanted the kiss too, but if this continued, he would miss his flight. Kwon Taeha gnawed playfully at the insolent palm with his teeth.

“I have to get to the airport.”

“Let’s go together.”

“Aren’t you going to Germany?”

“Something came up in Korea.”

“They don’t let drunk people on planes.”

“Why, are you worried I’ll cause a scene on board?”

He bestowed light kisses on Joo Hawon’s neck. As he did so, he tugged upward on the shirt Joo Hawon was wearing.

“I have to go straight to the helipad. Oof.”

He stimulated the n**ple, thickened and swollen from the aftermath of the previous day’s s*x. The feeling that the areola had gotten larger than before probably wasn’t just an illusion. Since it was originally so small, it was even better to suck on when it was a bit bigger. Heading straight for the bed, he pushed Joo Hawon down and immediately began sucking on his n**ple. Rolling it around in his mouth made Joo Hawon’s head jerk back.

Ah, I’m done for.

Cradling Kwon Taeha’s head, Joo Hawon thought just that.

“That must have been when.”

He said, licking his way up Joo Hawon’s chest with his tongue. His breath was hot.

“……When what?”

“What do you mean, when? When I started getting devoured by Joo Hawon.”

“It feels like I’m the one being devoured, actually.”

He had only undone his zipper and now took out his c*ck . Perhaps enhanced by the alcohol, it was tremendously hotter than usual. Joo Hawon wrapped his hand around it as it pressed against his lower body. It was just amazing to think something like this went inside him.

“Since you’ve swallowed me whole, digest me well.”

Joo Hawon pulled down his pants and lifted both legs. The hole was already gaping open.

“It’d be even better if you enjoyed eating here too.”

He shoved a finger in deep and pulled it downward.

“Ah!”

Joo Hawon urged him with his eyes to put it in quickly. As the thick, firm glans stretched the hole insistently, a pleasured sigh mixed with a gasp escaped him. Spreading his legs wide, he used his own hand to rub the bulging spot above the c*ck . His pale hand, rubbing against the clean, pubic hairless skin, moved without shame.

The constant stimulation during their encounters had now firmly established it as an erogenous zone. When Kwon Taeha pressed firmly on Joo Hawon’s lower abdomen, the inner walls also clamped down hard on his c*ck . Joo Hawon raised his hand, trying to find the gel placed on the headboard. Kwon Taeha grabbed that wrist and pulled it above his head. He drove his shaft in with forceful thrusts into the tight passage.

“Ugh! A little…… gently.”

After stuffing it in full to the hilt, he looked down with a satisfied smile, tapping Joo Hawon’s lower abdomen.

“You said you liked it rough.”

Joo Hawon shot him a look that asked just when he said that, biting his lip against the dull, pounding impacts. Even so, the pleasure was right there, undeniable.