Swallow Hunting - Chapter 52.1
Hae-jun hesitated. Forget the money or anything else; he just wanted to give up on it all and run away from this spot with every ounce of strength he had. His fingertips trembled. A learned terror washed over him.
“What are you doing not taking that fucking thing off?”
He fumbled with the helmet. He had never been late with his interest and was paying it back faithfully, so there was no reason for them to find fault with him. Even as he thought there was no reason to be scared, his heart pounded with anxiety.
He wanted them to just let him go, but the way the man stared with his eyes rolled back made it clear he had no intention of releasing him until his orders were followed.
Nevertheless, he could not bring himself to take off the helmet. He did not want to reveal his identity. When Hae-jun continued to waver, Choi Man-seok spat out a curse and forcibly yanked the helmet off.
His vision cleared and his stifled breath finally broke free. Even so, his chest felt tight. As he lowered his head, the man grabbed a fistful of his hair and snapped his head back. After confirming his face, the man grinned, revealing teeth stained yellow.
“I thought that voice sounded familiar. This bastard changed careers. Cha Hae-jun, you don’t suck cock anymore?”
“Hyung-nim, who is this?”
“Him? Our VVIP customer.”
“Cha Hae-jun, Cha Hae-jun… …Ah, that brat whose father sold him off.”
The thug nodded deeply and sneered. Hae-jun repeatedly cursed at himself. If he had known it would be like this, he would have just given up those few cents and turned back.
No wonder the rain was falling so damn miserably.
Choi Man-seok narrowed his slit-like eyes even further. Wearing a mean smirk across his entire face, he draped an arm over Hae-jun’s shoulder and pulled him close.
“Come in. Since it’s fate, have a drink before you go.”
“I have deliveries to do. I’ll be on my way now.”
Hae-jun squeezed the words out and put strength into his legs. He didn’t have the slightest intention of sitting in that enclosed space and trading drinks with these gangsters.
The excuse was reasonable enough, but suddenly, with a loud thwack, sparks flew before his eyes. His cheek burned, and hot blood—which he first mistook for snot—streamed down before he could even inhale.
“Hey, you piece of shit. How many times have I told you not to make me say things twice?”
Because he had been struck near the ear, the ringing lasted a long time. The blood he thought was snot crossed his philtrum and pattered onto the floor.
Resistance was futile. Even if he tried to flee, he would be caught before he could even leave the hallway, and the one hit he took would turn into ten. The helplessness engraved into his body weighed Hae-jun down.
He was dragged into the house, held by Choi Man-seok’s hand. In a corner that hadn’t been visible from the entrance, a middle-aged man was kneeling stark naked. He looked as if he had been beaten to a pulp; the area under his nose and lips was a gore of blood, his eyelids were swollen red and puffy, and his torso and thighs were covered in bruises. He trembled uncontrollably, pouring out tears and snot like the falling rain.
“……”
Looking at that sight, a glimpse of his own past overlapped. Hae-jun deliberately turned his eyes elsewhere.
This was surely that man’s house, yet the thugs had spread the food out on the table as if it were their own quarters. Without a single glance at the homeowner, they began devouring the feast.
Hae-jun sat next to Choi Man-seok like a useless sack of grain. The smell that had made his mouth water so much back at the shop was only nauseating here. His stomach churned so much he felt he might vomit at any moment.
“So, how’s the new sucker you hooked?”
“……”
“Is this bastard deaf? You haven’t been hit enough, have you?”
Choi Man-seok raised his hand high. When Hae-jun reflexively flinched, the man lowered his arm with a satisfied look. He patted Hae-jun’s shoulder and smiled as if he were being benevolent. He even thrust a piece of sweet and sour pork right in front of his nose. Knowing he would definitely be beaten if he didn’t eat it, Hae-jun forced it into his mouth.
“It’s because you’ve been paying back so regularly lately, dear customer. I was just curious how you’re earning money so well.”
“I’ve been working hard at deliveries…”
“Stop sitting there and talking shit. You’re selling your ass, aren’t you?”
“……”
“The market price for ass is low, though. How well do you have to spin it to earn that much?”
Telling himself he couldn’t hear a thing and couldn’t see anything, Hae-jun lowered his head deeply. He clenched his fists and counted numbers in his head. In between them, Lee Kang-ju popped into his mind fitfully.
Sitting together on a park bench on the day the first snow fell, drinking alone with him, or the miracle-like moments of waking up side by side in the same bed.
He missed him. Desperately.
He was enduring this bed of thorns that felt like it would pierce him until he bled just with those memories, when a hand suddenly thrust between his legs.
Hae-jun flinched and squeezed his thighs shut. Choi Man-seok, who was groping the soft inner flesh, leaned close to Hae-jun’s ear and whispered while blowing a breath.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen our Cha Hae-jun’s crotch. Shall we open it up today?”
“……”
“It’s a joke, you bastard! What have I even done for you to be so scared? I won’t draw blood, so don’t cry—hush! Why would I cut you again when our customer is paying back his money so well? Right?”
Hae-jun only kept his eyes cast down. The hand he had placed on his thigh was trembling faintly.
“Still, the cutting sensation was fucking great. There was never a bastard as delicious as you.”
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