Seok-joo got out of the car and went to Kang Il-hyun’s house, carrying a box of herbal medicine with secretary Yoon. It had been a year since he had visited. When Zhang Yi’an was here, he still came often, but he hadn’t visited much since then. It was still heavily guarded and there were big dogs everywhere.
When he entered the house, the housekeeper was the first to greet him.
“Welcome, young master.”
He greeted her with an indifferent face as she smiled brightly. The housekeeper was the only person that caused him to feel as horrible aside Kang Il-hyun. She’s an old woman who was always smiling, but you couldn’t understand what she was thinking on the inside. It was occasionally unsettling to see her smiling just as in the pictures. Seok-joo took the herbal medicine from Secretary Yoon and held it out.
“My father told me to bring this to my brother. Since it was summer, he bought it himself.”
“Oh my God, it is so precious. I’ll give it to him when he comes home.”
“About hyung… Where did he go?”
“He’s out of town today, so I don’t think he’ll be back until tonight.”
“I see.”
“Would you like to wait, so you can meet face to face?”
Seok-joo immediately shook his head in rejection in response to her question. His job was to see if Kang Il-hyun was at home and to give herbal medicine. He declined the housekeeper’s offer of a cup of tea, and as he turned to go, he heard men’s voices from upstairs. He turned to face the stairs, but no one was there. He asked the housekeeper who was in front of him out of curiosity.
“It seems there are guests?”
“Yes. They will be staying here for the time being.”
Without giving it any thought, Seok-joo left. He just wanted to leave this house as quickly as possible. He proceeded outside after the housekeeper accompanied him, but he stopped when he heard a noise coming from the house’s backyard.
He went over there and had a look after signaling Secretary Yoon to go first. Two of the workers were smoking. It just took a while to return because the topic of conversation was simply how hot it was getting.
“When is the CEO coming back?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he’ll stay there for a while?”
Seok-joo held his breath and listened to the conversation. The housekeeper said that he would definitely come at night.
“He didn’t go alone, did he?”
“I don’t know either.”
“Deputy Kim said he saw the Hong Kong guy in the car. He said it looked like he was dead.”
“No way. The brothers are alive and well.”
“Really. He said he saw it clearly with his own two eyes.”
“Nonsense.”
As soon as the talk was interrupted by the sound of footsteps, Seok-joo hurriedly moved in the direction of the gate. When he opened the door, he found Secretary Yun waiting with the car engine running. Seok-joo, who was seated in the back seat, thought about the conversation the employee’s had just a moment ago.
Hong Kong person?
He didn’t know why, but it reminded him of Zhang Yi An, whom he met by chance at a club.
Ah, probably not. No way.
***
Ja-kyung felt heavy and sinking. He repeatedly closed and opened his eyes, but his body refused to move. Ja-kyung finally woke up and raised his arm to examine his wrist as the sun slowly started to light up the room.
The signs of tying are obvious. His entire body was covered in cuts and bruises from the island explosion. He was able to get out of bed with the thought that he had to leave the room and a sense of relief that he had survived. His legs were shaking, probably because of the medicine.
He repeatedly stepped onto the floor, fell, and stood up again. He leaned against the wall and stood up, looking around the unfamiliar bedroom. He had never seen this place before. His eyes searched for the doorway, and he almost screamed when he saw a figure standing in the corner.
There was a figure who looked very much like him. His eyes widened, and he couldn’t help but open his mouth in shock. Am I already dead? Am I dead and looking at myself? Or am I dreaming?
Ja-kyung slapped his cheek and pinched his arm, but it hurt. What. As he got closer and looked at it, it appeared to be just like him, but it was a model, not a real person. What’s this? Just in case, he pulled up the pants and peered inside. Even the shape of the dick was made similar.
Frightened, he stepped back, scanning the model up and down. When the hell did he make this? He hurried to the door, opened it, and went outside into an unfamiliar place. He noticed a sound coming from the kitchen inside the house as he was gazing around. When he entered, a familiar back appeared.
The sound of swearing could be heard all the way here while he was working on something in front of the kitchen counter. Ja-kyung suddenly felt lightheaded and stumbled. Il-hyun swiveled to face behind him. He held a knife in one hand with a reddened expression on his face, he looked as if he would kill a Ja-kyung at any moment.
“Go… go away.”
Ja-kyung stepped back and waved his arm, and Kang Il-hyun approached him while still holding a knife. Then he pulled out a chair, grabbed Ja-kyung by the shoulder, and sat him there. Ja-kyung’s nerves were all on the knife he was holding.
However, Kang Il-hyun put a cushion behind Ja-kyung’s back and kissed him on the cheek.
Ja-kyung shuddered to see Il-hyun greet him kindly. The terrifying figure he had seen before passing out was nowhere to be found. Perhaps because of the medicine, Ja-kyung lost all his energy and had no strength left to attack. Il-hyun handed over a cup of tea and pulled out a chair across from him and sat down.
He rested his chin on his palm and smiled as if nothing had happened.
“So, my dear, how does it feel to come back from the dead?”
Ja-kyung glared at Il-hyun while holding the cup. Should he just hit his head with this?
“What happened?”
“I’m staying here for the time being. I decided to give you my attention for a full twenty-four hours since I could tell you were desperate for it. I’m going to stick around and give you a lot of affection.”
Il-hyun smiled when he used the words ‘affection’ and ‘a lot.’ Ja-kyung glared as he opened his mouth.
“Is that a face when you’re happy?”
“Don’t joke around. Where are my brothers?”
“They’re safe. I wanted to kill them all, but I didn’t want to be hated by you, so I spared them. Aren’t I nice?”
Noticing that Ja-kyung didn’t believe him, Il-hyun made a video call to Park Tae-soo. Park Tae-soo’s expressionless face appeared, and he immediately handed the phone to the Wang brothers. Fortunately, both of them seem fine except for minor scars on their faces.
Wang Lun was conscious of Kang Il-hyun’s presence and continued to flatter him.
[I’m really sorry, sir. I should have told you in advance that we were going on vacation, but I forgot. Aren’t you still misunderstood? Please take good care of our Ja-kyung. You have a broad mind and a handsome face, but I was truly amazed at how you can have such a great personality. Haha.]
Ja-kyung put the phone down because he didn’t want to hear it as Wang Lun would praise Kang Il-hyun to the top of the sky. He handed Kang Il-hyun the phone, who then asked with a smile.
“Do you want to listen to music?”
Before he could hear an answer, he pressed the button on the remote control and Ja-kyunge’s voice reverberated throughout the house.
[I like you, sir!]
Ja-kyung’s face twisted.
[I really like you. I thought I ran away for nothing. I thought a lot about whether I should go back. I really liked it. I’ve never had such ecstatic sex in my life! Trust me!]
Fuck. When Ja-kyung jumped up from his seat and attempted to steal the remote control, Il-hyun laughed and hid it behind his back. They scream as though the table was being turned, yet the sound repeats indefinitely. He couldn’t compete with him since he had no strength.
Kang Il-hyun walked to the sofa with Ja-kyung on his shoulder after getting a hold of both his hands. He tossed him on the couch, and as Ja-kyung attempted to attack him, Il-hyun grabbed his head and pressed the button. The blinds that covered the living room window were drawn back, revealing a sweeping view of the ocean.
Ja-kyung was at a loss for words at the unexpected scenery.
“You can watch the sea from here. I know it’s not what you wanted, but it’s still an island.”
Il-hyun sat down with one leg bent in front of him and made eye contact with him when he didn’t say anything. His eyes were so warm and friendly that Ja-kyung wondered if he was the same man who looked like he would kill him right away. The sound was still audible through the speakers, I really liked it. I’ve never had such ecstatic sex in my life!
“Hey, CEO Kang. Please, please, turn that off!”
“Then be honest with me.”
“What.”
“How many times did you think of me while you were running away?”
Ja-kyung couldn’t answer. Maybe once a day, no, maybe more. He closed his mouth, not wanting to say it. From the speaker, ‘I like you, sir’ still came out like a song. Ja-kyung felt like he was being brainwashed, so he wanted to cover his ears.
Il-hyun asked again.
“You never did?”
Ja-kyung pursed his lips. He thought there was no need to lie.
“I did…”
The corners of Il-hyun’s lips rise gracefully. Ja-kyung was about to not answer if he persisted about how many times he thought of him, but Il-hyun stood up with a satisfied look on his face.
“That’s all right then.”
What do you mean that’s all right? Soon, his face approached, and their lips kissed briefly before parting. Ja-kyung frowned and wiped his lips with the back of his hand before turning away. Strangely, his ears were burning and his stomach was itching.
Il-hyun smiled and proceeded to the kitchen, where he took a knife and began cutting things in front of the countertop again. However, within a moment, Il-hyun threw his head back, stared at the ceiling, and cursed.
Fuck. It’s fucking spicy.
It wasn’t until later that Ja-kyung realized Il-hyun was chopping an onion.