Swallow Hunting - Chapter 57.2
Lee Kang-ju’s name was displayed on the screen. Without even realizing it, Hae-jun sat primly on his knees upon the bed. Fearing the call might end while he hesitated, he quickly pressed the answer button.
“Hello…?”
“Why aren’t you sleeping yet.”
Lee Kang-ju’s voice coming through the receiver made Hae-jun’s entire body feel itchy. It felt as if fine, beautiful grains of sand were trickling over his skin.
He let his body collapse onto the bed. The plush mattress caught his heavy weight perfectly.
“I, uh, was having some drinks with a junior.”
– Which junior?
“A junior I knew from when I worked at the club. We met by chance.”
“Did you drink a lot?”
“No! Just a little bit of beer.”
“I recall Mr. Cha Hae-jun being a weak drinker.”
“Me? No way.”
He used to survive just fine at the club even after pouring down hard liquor as a penalty. Perhaps his liver had given out since then because he couldn’t handle that much lately, but he still wasn’t the type to get dead drunk off a few cans of beer.
– You were drunk last time, too.
He must have been referring to that day when he was drunk on the atmosphere rather than the alcohol. The incident where he lay on the dining table to suck the man’s cock remained a long standing humiliation for Hae-jun. Even if he went back in time, he would probably do the same thing, but he was ashamed of himself for ejaculating even in a situation where he almost suffocated to death.
“Ahem!” He cleared his throat loudly. A low chuckle drifted over.
“Be careful when you drink with your juniors. Don’t spread your legs for the wrong person.”
“I would never do that. I truly serve only you, CEO, with total devotion. I don’t even lay a finger on anyone else.”
“That is a relief.”
The conversation paused for a moment. Hae-jun lay on his side and kept the phone to his ear. He didn’t want to hang up like this. Even just the sound of the man’s breathing would be fine; he wanted to listen until he fell asleep.
“CEO… how was your day today?”
But he knew that if he stopped talking, the call would end. Hae-jun asked the question to keep the conversation going a little longer.
“Always the same.”
Hae-jun giggled. Having observed him for a few days, he could vividly picture Lee Kang-ju’s dry, monotonous morning.
“Have you found a hobby yet?”
– Nothing quite like Mr. Cha Hae-jun yet.
He hoped the man would never find one for the rest of his life. He hoped Lee Kang-ju’s hobby would become Cha Hae-jun himself. Because it was a selfish desire and hope, he pushed it deep down below his Adam’s apple.
“There is nothing as fun as me.”
“Is that so?”
“It’ll probably be the most fun thing in the future, too. You won’t get bored of me either.”
“That sounds like you’re saying you’ll work hard.”
“Yes. I’ll do whatever you want.”
Another laugh came through. It was a contagious sound. Hae-jun smiled broadly, bent his knees, and tucked his hands between his thighs.
“CEO, could you sing me a lullaby?”
– A lullaby?
“The one you said you’d sing for me before. The national anthem is fine, too.”
It might have been a passing joke, but Hae-jun remembered it. He really wanted to hear a lullaby sung by Lee Kang-ju with his own ears one day.
“Wasn’t it Mr. Cha Hae-jun who said he’d do anything? You should be the one singing the lullaby.”
A counterattack came. Hae-jun held the phone to his ear and rolled over to the other side. He pondered while rustling his toes against the dry blankets.
“If you aren’t going to sleep right now, CEO… I’ll sing it next time.”
“Sing it now.”
He had dug his own grave. He couldn’t refuse a firm command. The only lullabies he knew were the ones his grandmother used to sing while patting Yohan and him, but he couldn’t exactly sing “rock-a-bye baby” to Lee Kang-ju.
By a stroke of pure luck, a song suddenly came to mind. Hae-jun cleared his throat with a few dry coughs. It began with the lyrics “Sleep well, our baby.”
“Sleep well, our… CEO?”
Lee Kang-ju was the number one person in the world for whom the word ‘baby’ was the least suitable. Just as one might do when singing a birthday song, he inserted ‘CEO’ at the end, causing a low burst of laughter from the other side. Hae-jun beamed as well. When Lee Kang-ju laughed, the corners of Hae-jun’s mouth went limp like a child becoming a clown in front of a girl they liked.
“In the front yard and the back hill…”
When he worked at the club, he was second to none when it came to singing. He wasn’t much for dancing, but he was confident in his vocals. He sang in a low, quiet voice suited for the dawn. Morning birds chirp cheerfully, but night birds cry out to reach far distances. Hae-jun’s voice was the latter.
“The moon into the casement…”
As he sang, Hae-jun’s eyes blinked slowly and closed heavily. The sound leaking through his lips grew fainter and fainter. Occasional sounds of a mouse clicking and a keyboard being tapped drifted through the phone.
Eventually, Hae-jun couldn’t continue the song. The phone, which had not been disconnected, sat like a bird by the ear of the fast asleep Hae-jun.
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