Vol 1 Ch 16

[I’m nearby, let’s grab lunch together.]

 

“Oh? Okay. Since you came all this way, I’ll treat.”

 

After finishing calls with the neighboring property owners, it was suddenly lunchtime. Just as I was about to eat, I received a message from Hanwoo. As he said he was coming by subway, I got up to close the office door, but a male customer walked in.

 

It was him. The tenant on the 6th floor across the street. Namgung Bin.

 

“President. I have something to discuss.”

 

“Ah, yes. Please sit down.”

 

Was he really going to cancel the contract? His expression was very somber. I took out a drink and offered it to him, but he refused, saying he was about to eat lunch.

 

“Um… If I cancel the contract, I won’t get the deposit back, right?”

 

I had already received 10 million won, which was 10 percent of the 100 million won deposit. He spoke with a heavy heart, knowing he didn’t have to return it even if he canceled.

 

“But, what happened between the two of you…? Weren’t you close until yesterday?”

 

“It’s… a personal matter.”

 

Even as a man, I thought Namgung Bin was quite handsome. He had the kind of looks that would easily appeal to Jun, who only liked good-looking people, so what could be the problem?

 

“Are you perhaps unable to afford to set up an office?”

 

“No. It’s not that… I don’t like the landlord.”

 

‘Me neither.’

 

Most people in this area probably felt the same way.

 

Although I didn’t answer, seeing me nod quietly, Bin seemed to relax. A faint smile flickered across his lips.

 

“Anyway, as long as you pay the rent to the landlord on time, you won’t have much conflict. The deposit isn’t a small amount. Plus, there aren’t many places around here as clean and spacious as that building. Moreover, it’s rare to find a landlord who would allow the extensive renovations your studio will require.”

 

“That’s true.”

 

I wanted to prevent a situation where I’d have to refund some commission from both sides if the contract fell through. Of course, I wasn’t obligated to, but…

 

Seomun Jun certainly had a bad personality, but once you signed a contract, he hardly interfered. He initially opposed the tteokbokki place on the first floor, but now he doesn’t even pay attention to it.

 

“President. If you haven’t eaten lunch yet, would you like to join me?”

 

“I’d like to, but my friend is coming over.”

 

He said he was disappointed and that we should talk again next time, then stood up. I told him he could come by anytime if he had anything to discuss and opened the door to see him off.

 

“Ah, I forgot to give you this.”

 

What Bin handed me was a small box. When I opened it, it was a wooden inkstone case, designed with compartments for business cards and pens.

 

“When we signed the contract before, I noticed your inkstone case was portable.”

 

“Ah… Thank you. I was planning to buy one anyway. We’ve been signing a lot of things lately. Haha.”

 

It wasn’t a common souvenir; it looked custom-made, with beautiful wood grain. I thanked him again and re-entered the office with the inkstone case.

 

I wondered where to put it, so I placed it next to the monitor and inserted the business cards scattered on my desk into it. Just having this one item made my desk look different. As I admired it, a voice like from a basement suddenly spoke near my left ear.

 

“So, he’s not canceling the contract?”

 

“Ahh!”

 

“Why are you so surprised?”

 

Jun was looking down at me. I hadn’t heard the door open; he must have secretly followed me in when I entered.

 

“What on earth are you two doing?”

 

“We don’t get along.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Hah, it’s ridiculous. Where do I look like a bottom? It’s an insult to my pride.”

 

Bottom? What was he saying?

 

As I looked at him, wondering what he was talking about, his hand moved. He took something out of his pocket – a cigarette. As soon as Jun put the cigarette in his mouth, I reached out and quickly snatched it away.

 

“No smoking indoors.”

 

Then, I carefully placed it in the cigarette case he was holding. Jun just stared at me, taken aback by my decisive action.

 

I thought maybe I shouldn’t have taken the cigarette out of his mouth, and I started to feel a bit intimidated. Say something, you brat! If you were offended!

 

“Yoodo!”

 

Just as silence hung in the air, my friend’s voice was heard, and I turned around.

 

Hanwoo had called me that cheerfully as he entered my office. No one in this space called me by my proper name. Jun, who had been staring intently at me, also shifted his gaze to the back where the voice came from.

 

“Ah, you have a client.”

 

“No, the consultation is over. Seomun Jun, I’m leaving now for my lunch appointment.”

 

“Let’s go together.”

 

What was this friendliness? He had treated everyone else like they were beneath him and didn’t want to associate with them, yet now he was asking to go to lunch together? Hanwoo rolled his eyes, signaling to ask who he was, and I introduced him as the landlord of the building across the street.

 

“I have something to discuss with my friend alone today.”

 

“Then, buy me lunch.”

 

He then held out his credit card between his index and middle fingers towards my face. Not wanting to show this scene to my friend, I quickly snatched it and vaguely agreed.

 

As a self-employed person, I didn’t mind eating at one or two o’clock, but Hanwoo did. He had to go back to work after lunch, and if it got a little late, he’d be caught in the crowd of office workers and face a long wait.

 

As we all left the office and I locked the door, Jun walked towards his building.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

With that, I quickly pulled Hanwoo towards the busy street on the car side.

 

“Why is he asking you to run errands for lunch?”

 

“He’s the landlord of the building across the street, and I received some help from him.”

 

“He looks young. Wow, you really can’t beat the rich. No, at that level, it’s diamond, isn’t it?”

 

“That’s not the important part. There’s something even more surprising. He’s him.”

 

“Him who? Who?”

 

“ShutUp.”

 

“Can’t I even ask?”

 

“No, that guy. ShutUp. The one who shoots electricity.”

 

Hanwoo’s body stiffened as we walked side-by-side. He suddenly pointed at me and asked with wide eyes, “Are you guys really… like that?”

 

“No, nothing like that. I only found out recently too.”

 

“Then him? Does he know you’re Gentle’s hand?”

 

“Of course not.”

 

We entered a franchise restaurant. It was a place that only served noodle dishes, so the turnover was fast, and the food came out quickly, making it pleasant even when crowded. We sat side-by-side at a long table by the window and chose our menus. Hanwoo, crunching on the pickled radish side dish, repeatedly said how small the world was.

 

“Be careful not to get caught. Is he gay? I heard his guide was also a guy.”

 

“Hmm. So that’s how it was.”

 

“He’s handsome, what a waste. If he’s going to be gay, he should give himself to me.”

 

“Men tend to be even more picky about looks when it comes to other men.”

 

Hanwoo, looking at Jun, grumbled about how he had everything – looks and money – and cursed the unfair world, vigorously adding chili powder to his udon as if taking out his frustration.

 

The chili powder villain was right in front of me. I suggested he should just eat spicy jjampong instead, but Hanwoo looked at me pityingly.

 

“Sigh. To be dumped by someone like that. All the banners that were hung around town yesterday are gone.”

 

“Really? That was fast. But, why did you come all of a sudden?”

 

“To see you. Actually, I need you to go hunting with me for a while. You said you have Relax, right? Please save a friend who doesn’t have a guide.”

 

“I’ll consider it if you buy dessert too.”

 

The bonds formed in games are truly made and broken so easily. The banners that had plastered the entire town disappeared like a mirage in an instant. I thought ShutUp would forget about me now that he was partnered with that Sunshine Angel person… Why is he still obsessively asking for me? I thought maybe if I partnered with Hanwoo, he would back off.

 

“Did ShutUp get a new guide?”

 

“Yeah. He met someone yesterday, 87 percent. Since I broke up with him, I figured he’d be with him.”

 

“Really? I saw ShutUp beating up users in the field yesterday, but I didn’t see a heart next to his name.”

 

When you have a partner, a small heart appears next to your name, but he said it wasn’t there.

 

“When?”

 

“I went to sleep around two in the morning, so around that time?”

 

“No, I logged off the game around eleven yesterday, so by then, he should have already linked—”

 

Just then, a woman sat down next to us, and Hanwoo nudged me, giving me a look. Even if it was just talk about the game, it wasn’t something to discuss loudly, so I just suggested we go back to the office.

 

After leaving the restaurant, Hanwoo paid for lunch, and I bought bubble tea on the way back. I felt burdened by him asking for a guide and then treating me to dessert.

 

“Just a moment. I need to buy something.”

 

It was inconvenient to pack the noodle dish, so on the way, we stopped by a bento box shop and I bought a ‘Young Master Set.’

 

“This is exactly Jun’s.”

 

I really liked the name ‘Young Master.’ Chewing on the tapioca pearls, I chewed over ShutUp, and soon we arrived in front of the office.

 

“Until when do you have to go in?”

 

“Me? Around three?”

 

“Then we have about an hour to chat. Wait for me, I’ll deliver this and come right back.”

 

I opened the office, let Hanwoo in, and quickly ran to the building across the street. As I rode the elevator up, I called him, wondering if he was home.

 

As expected, he didn’t answer. Since the salad in the bento box might spoil if left out, it could cause problems if I just hung it on the door. So, I hesitated, then pressed the doorbell.

 

Ding-dong— Ding-dong—

 

But there was no response. Thinking he wasn’t home, I turned to leave, but the sound of the door lock opening was heard.

 

“Ah, you were here. Here, this… do—”

 

Jun had just showered, his hair was wet, and he was wearing only tight briefs. They were so tight that you could tell the size of his member, as if you could align it with the direction a son would lie down.

 

‘Wow… Is that thing dead?’

 

Holding the bento box, I didn’t hand it over, so Jun stepped out the door and bent down to snatch the plastic bag. Then, he extended his hand. In my momentary panic, I grabbed his hand as if to shake it. Even though he was a man, his hand was really big.

 

“What is it? The card.”

 

“…Huh? Ah. Right.”

 

I was supposed to place the card in his hand, but in my fluster, I dropped it on the floor. As I bent to pick it up, Jun lowered his head first.

 

I saw his broad shoulders and solid trapezius muscles. He was truly a perfect specimen. He was even more impressive when undressed. As he slowly straightened up, his abdomen had no trace of fat.

 

‘So that’s a six-pack.’

 

“Stop looking. You’re not a pervert.”

 

“No, I can just see it. Honestly. What’s the point of looking at another man’s body?”

 

I turned around immediately and pressed the elevator button. A small laugh came from behind, followed by the sound of the door lock closing.

 

My face felt hot. As I exhaled through my mouth to cool down, hot breath came out like steam from a pressure cooker. Wow, really. It was the first time I’d ever been so impressed by another man’s body. Perhaps because all I had left was time and money, he seemed to have invested a lot in his body.

 

Ding—.

 

The elevator arrived, and as I was about to get in and go down, I heard the door lock sound again, and saw Jun coming out in the same outfit as before. And he stopped the closing elevator with one hand, propping it open.

 

“But, is this all?”

 

“Huh? W-what?”

 

“Are you telling me you bought this just for me to eat?”

 

Jun held out the container with the young master’s meal and was confronting me. Looking at that small rice bowl, I didn’t know why my gaze drifted to his lower body.

 

“……Is it small?”

 

“Next time, bring three. Got it?”

 

I answered “Got it” and pressed the elevator close button. Even after seeing me do that, he should have let go of the door, but he was still holding it open.

 

“I got it, so let go of the door.”

 

I lowered my gaze, embarrassed to look at his face, but my eyes involuntarily kept falling on his lower half. Jun lowered the hand that was holding the elevator door and moved it towards his briefs. With his thumb hooked on the waistband, he asked,

 

“What. You want to see mine?”

 

“Huh?!”

 

“Surprised.”

 

He laughed heartily and finally stepped back. The elevator then closed normally, and I descended straight to the first floor with a dumbfounded expression.

 

What’s so funny about that?

 

“Crazy bastard!”

 

As I muttered to myself and got off, people entering the building glanced at me.

 

It was fortunate that I was provoked like this after lunch; if it had been before, I might not have been able to eat the fish cake udon earlier. Even in the public bath, I often saw men’s genitals, and I had already seen so many in the military that I had no interest. It was natural not to be interested. But…

 

‘They said Blood Planet was harmful. It really is.’

 

It wasn’t for nothing that the panelists on TV were passionately criticizing Blood Planet. I’m not gay, but I’ve suddenly become someone who blushes at the sight of a man’s private parts.