Swallow Hunting - Chapter 40.1
“Gosh, I told you it’s not like that. Bak Yohan is just jumping to conclusions.”
“Well, if that’s the case, then it’s a relief. Look, I used to be in the same line of work, so if I can be a bit of a meddler… Yohan is right.”
“…”
“Affection is a poisonous thing; once it takes root, it grows like a rolling snowball. Be careful.”
His voice was somewhat self deprecating. Hae-jun draped an outer coat over the curled up Yohan and stole a glance at the owner.
“By any chance.”
He was about to ask if this was based on personal experience, but Yohan started whining and tumbled onto the floor behind him, causing him to miss the timing for the question.
Hae-jun first looked after Yohan, who was wriggling like an earthworm. Commenting that the kid’s tolerance had turned to trash while he wasn’t looking, the owner clicked his tongue and called a taxi for them.
“Come by again next time.”
“Yes. Thank you for today.”
“Get home safely.”
Hae-jun bowed until his head almost touched the ground before getting into the taxi with Yohan. Just as they were about to depart, the owner caught Hae-jun and handed him a yellow banknote to use for the taxi fare. Even when he tried to refuse, the man was adamant. He insisted that it was only polite for a younger person to accept what an elder gives without a fuss.
Having no choice but to take the money, he dropped Yohan off at home and headed back to his own place comfortably. As he stepped out of the taxi, the alcohol finally started to hit him. Hae-jun staggered as he walked, but fearing a massive hangover tomorrow if he went to sleep like this, he bought a hangover relief drink at the convenience store.
Before entering the building, he stopped at the smoking area and put a cigarette to his lips. He hadn’t touched one since moving into the new house, but today felt like a day he had to smoke. Even after eating delicious meat and drinking, the bitterness wouldn’t leave his tongue.
‘Don’t give your heart to a customer.’
Those words hooked into Hae-jun’s chest, curved like a fishing hook. His solar plexus felt heavy as if he had indigestion, so he thumped his chest with his fist.
He resented Yohan for refusing to listen even after he claimed a hundred times that it wasn’t true. Should he have grabbed him by the collar right then and there to tell him to stop talking nonsense? He felt like a fool for gently repeating that it wasn’t true.
Falling for Lee Kang-ju.
“That’s impossible.”
Sure, he might be a bit slow and not very sharp, but he was someone who strictly separated business from personal feelings. There was no way he would fall for Lee Kang-ju. He didn’t even like him. He was just a customer who spent generously and was sexually compatible, so he was simply trying his best to stay with him as long as possible.
‘Affection is a poisonous thing.’
“I said I don’t like him…”
His muttering voice was devoid of energy. Dejected, Hae-jun threw the finished cigarette into the ashtray. He trudged toward his home with reluctant steps.
At the end of the hallway, the trash was still piled up like a tower. Boxes, general waste in bags, leftover food, and scrap metal were strewn about.
It would be nice if he cleaned it up, but it seemed the neighbor didn’t have the slightest intention of doing so. As the pile grew day by day, bugs had recently become a common sight. The buzzing gnats had bodies thicker than regular fruit flies.
Hae-jun arrived in front of his house, waving away the flying insects clinging to him. However, he couldn’t bring himself to press the keypad.
[Male prostitute, son of a bitch, crazy bitch who has sex with men and deserves divine punishment, noisy, I’ll kill you.]
Someone had covered the front door and the surrounding walls with bright red spray paint. Most of it consisted of vulgar insults and threats.
Hae-jun’s face turned pale. Immediately after, a loud ‘thud’ echoed as the door next door slammed shut. They had been watching for his reaction.
“You motherfucker…”
In an instant, rage boiled up to the top of his head. He had endured as much as he could. Hae-jun clenched his fists and ran to the neighbor’s place, pounding on the front door as if he were trying to break it.
“Come out, you son of a bitch. Come out!”
The culprit was definitely the neighbor. It couldn’t be anyone else. Since it was late at night, he had intended to let it go quietly, but with his anger peaking, Hae-jun flew into a rage.
Clack, the sound of the lock being released rang out twice, three times, four times. Hae-jun huffed, gritting his teeth with the intent to land a punch on the man’s face the moment he opened the door.
Without unfastening the final latch, the man peered at Hae-jun through the narrow gap. His black pupils were dilated in his glistening eyes. His lips were covered in white flakes of skin, and a foul stench of rotting, tangled filth wafted through the crack in the door.
“You’re the one who graffitied my door, aren’t you? If it was noisy, you should have used your words or filed a lawsuit. Why the hell are you spraying graffiti on someone else’s house!”
“D-do you have proof that I did it?”
“There’s a CCTV over there, so let’s go check it together. Get out here right now!”
Hae-jun kicked the front door. The man flinched violently and then scrambled away on all fours, disappearing into the piles of trash. He reappeared in less than a few seconds, holding something in his hand. It was a rusty kitchen knife.
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