Swallow Hunting - Chapter 24.1
The two of them stood in the cramped alleyway between the buildings and lit their cigarettes. There was no conversation, but it wasn’t awkward. Yohan was someone with whom he could feel comfortable even if they spent the entire day together without uttering a single word.
“……I’m sorry.”
After a long silence, a low apology flowed from Yohan’s mouth along with the smoke. Hae-jun simply held his cigarette in his mouth as he flicked the ash. His heart felt heavy.
“What is there to be sorry about? You were just trying to help me.”
“No. I said some fucked up shit. Just act like you didn’t hear it.”
“Aigoo, man, forget it. Stop apologizing. It isn’t like we can’t say things like that to each other.”
“…….”
“Wow, is there nowhere for a money windfall to drop from? If not that, I wish a blind sponsor would latch onto me. My junk is perfectly fine now!”
Hae-jun smirked and laughed like a morning glory to change the mood. It was then that the phone in his pocket vibrated.
He assumed it would just be another text for debt collection or a loan advertisement, but he pulled it out just in case. After taking a deep drag and checking the sender, Hae-jun let out a violent cough. Because the acrid smoke had stung his windpipe, tears and snot poured out as if he were undergoing chemical warfare training.
Was this the blind sponsor? Speak of the devil; a text had arrived from Lee Kang-ju.
“What’s wrong?”
Yohan struck Hae-jun’s back forcefully. Hae-jun turned his body away, waving off the hand.
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
“What the fuck. Is it another collection text? Seriously, those bastards all need to be thrown behind bars.”
Yohan huffed and tossed his butt into an empty bin used as an ashtray. Hae-jun stared at the phone screen in silence. A certain hotel room number. By a certain time. It was the same hotel where they had spent that night together.
“I’m going to head to the shop for a bit.”
“Now? Why? Didn’t you say you were resting today?”
“They told me to come out because there are a lot of customers.”
“That’s good. Go make a lot of money.”
Yohan patted Hae-jun’s buttocks in encouragement. The situation where he had to lie to his friend was not entirely pleasant. Vowing to reveal the truth in the near future, Hae-jun moved busily. His steps were, for some reason, somewhat light.
***
Lest he keep Lee Kang-ju waiting too long, Hae-jun hurried toward the hotel. Since it was a place he had visited once, the exterior and the counter were familiar. He took the elevator up and stood before the room where he had spent that night—a night he couldn’t erase even if he wanted to.
The moment he pressed the doorbell, the door opened immediately. Lee Kang-ju stood there like a déjà vu. Unlike that day when he wore only a robe, his upper body was bare and he wore comfortable pants below. Hae-jun tried to relax the tension in his stiff neck and put on the smile he usually showed to customers.
“You came quickly.”
“I ran as fast as I could. Because I wanted to see you, CEO.”
His tongue spat out the words of its own accord. The rhythm he used with customers had popped out in front of Lee Kang-ju out of habit.
Hae-jun quickly covered his own mouth and peeked up to gauge the reaction. Lee Kang-ju’s lips curved ever so slightly.
It was too faint to be called a smile. Nevertheless, in Hae-jun’s eyes, he saw a brilliant five colored rainbow spread out behind the man. When he rubbed his eyes and looked again, it had cleanly vanished.
‘Is my body broken? I’m seeing all sorts of strange hallucinations.’
Since Lee Kang-ju didn’t seem to dislike it, Hae-jun relaxed and entered the room. A laptop sat on the sofa, and a bottle of bourbon whiskey was on the side table.
“Are you not going to have any snacks? Your stomach will sting if you drink on an empty one.”
“Did you eat dinner?”
“Yes, I ate before coming.”
“If there is anything else you want to eat, order it.”
Hae-jun shook his head. He had polished off a bowl of gukbap with Yohan before coming. It was a must to fill his stomach before working. He had seen more than one or two people ruin their stomachs and vomit blood after pouring alcohol into an empty one.
As he stood there awkwardly, Lee Kang-ju offered him the sofa. Hae-jun sat down promptly. The golden liquor sat right in front of him.
Since alcohol was something he dealt with to the point of boredom while working, the mere sight of colors representing liquor usually made him nauseous, but for some reason, the thing before his eyes looked sweet. It was straight, without a single piece of ice. The moment it touched his tongue, it would feel like it was burning. Even so, his gaze was drawn to it involuntarily.
The sweet scent of oak and the sugary taste of the liquor seemed to linger in his mouth. Because it was a taste he knew, it was even harder to resist. His mouth watered automatically.
The sound of his gulp was incredibly loud. Hae-jun turned his gaze away from the alcohol as if he hadn’t noticed, but the tips of his ears turned red.
“Why don’t you just drink it.”
“Oh, CEO, how could I without your permission.”
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