Pyeonghwa Apartment 801 (5)
“Betting starts.”
Pin lighting illuminated only the card table. Jeongbae smiled brightly as he shuffled the cards. But his fingertips were slightly stiff. On his first day working at the casino pub, the man in the blue shirt who’d sent sticky gazes appeared again.
“I want to win this time.”
“You will win.”
Jeongbae quietly dealt the cards.
“Picture. Ace.”
“Oh, blackjack!”
The man laughed as if pleased.
“You even know how to play fox. I’ll buy you a drink, so let’s drink together.”
“I’ll just accept the sentiment. If I drink alcohol during work, the manager will scold me.”
Jeongbae replied playfully. The man threw his head back, then loudly called the manager who was making cocktails at the bar.
“Hey, Manager Jeong, I want to buy this cutie here a cocktail, is that okay?”
The manager smiled with a troubled face.
“President Baek. Then you’ll be marked as a problem customer. Don’t you know the world is scary these days?”
“Where did you even find this puppy-like thing? How did you know again that I like country dogs?”
The experienced manager didn’t back down.
“We also have milk and orange juice.”
“Ah, how boring.”
Jeongbae smiled and added.
“Milk would be good for growing tall.”
“Then bring it. Milk.”
When the man answered with a laugh, the manager brought out milk in a glass along with liquor.
“Thank you.”
Jeongbae bowed in greeting and gulped down the milk. After finishing it all at once and wiping his mouth, the man was chuckling while looking at Jeongbae. Jeongbae feigned innocence and dealt the cards again. He’d been worried about what to do if he kept offering alcohol, but fortunately that didn’t happen.
“Player 10, dealer 8. Will you continue?”
“Being coy isn’t bad either. Cute.”
The game proceeded slowly. The man kept throwing jokes while checking his cards.
“The dealer is strong today too. I guess I’ll keep losing.”
“Games are about luck.”
“Luck? Then I should change my luck.”
The man, who chuckled, slid a business card across the table. Black background with vivid gold lettering.
[Geummyeong Capital CEO Baek Sangmin]
‘A loan shark.’
Jeongbae looked at the business card for a moment, then slowly picked it up with his hand. Normally he’d refuse customers’ business cards, but there was nothing good about upsetting this type of person’s mood. People who were half-gangster with nothing to lose.
Jeongbae silently pocketed the business card. But inside he felt bitter. This wasn’t just one or two business cards, and they weren’t given with good meaning. ‘Contact me when you need money someday.’ Embedded in those words was the certainty that ‘kids like you eventually come this way.’
Baek Sangmin was still relaxedly smiling while stacking chips. Jeongbae thought while dealing the next card. The reason he worked here, the reason he had to quickly chase away Yoon Jaehyuk. It was all the same context. He had to thoroughly draw the line with people he shouldn’t get entangled with and be able to stand alone. Because he had no one to lean on.
***
He stood in front of the front door, leading his tired body. An even bigger mountain remained. Yoon Jaehyuk, clinging unreasonably. He pretended to have no home or temple, but that probably wasn’t true. He absolutely couldn’t figure out the insides of that expressionless, handsome guy. It seemed like just yesterday cold wind was blowing fiercely, yet now talk of cohabitation and newlywed homes.
When he opened the door, the smell of rice wafted again. Today it was soybean paste stew and pan-fried tofu. It wasn’t a fancy menu, but it was neat. The fact that someone with that terrible manners and that visual could cook was fraud itself.
“Come quickly. Wash up and eat.”
“Yeah, I’m home.”
Jeongbae greeted without realizing and flinched. Until just before opening the front door, he’d only been thinking of kicking him out quickly, but he got swept up.
As if guessing his return time, steam was rising from the dinner table. Seeing the tall man with closely cropped hair placing chopsticks here and there, Jeongbae let out a big sigh and headed to the bathroom. These days, nothing went according to plan.
“Why is he like that? Really, why is he like that?”
While receiving the pouring water stream, Jeongbae muttered several times. Even being a kept man would be surprising, yet he was acting like a house fairy. He even said he was a poor orphan gold digger, so why was he clinging?
“Don’t tell me he really likes me.”
Flinch. Jeongbae covered his mouth without realizing, then removed it. The possibility wasn’t zero. There were alphas who quite liked him for some reason. Woohyun was like that too. And before that… Jeongbae, who’d been retracing his memories, collected his thoughts.
‘To detach him, this is the only method.’
After finishing the shower, he wiped off the moisture and scanned the mirror once with his eyes. Black, short bangs, slightly raised eye corners and a small nose. A spirited, well-smiling, lively man. There was no feeling beyond that.
At least when he had pink hair, he stood out a bit—the face in the mirror was ordinary no matter how you looked at it. A face that would be quickly forgotten when mixed among people. That was Kang Jeongbae. Just like Baek Sangmin said earlier, exactly like a country dog. Baekgu or Hwanggu.
His confidence plummeted, but he forced himself to take a deep breath.
‘If I do enough, he’ll leave soon.’
Jeongbae dried his hair while glancing at the living room. Jaehyuk was taking out another rice bowl while muttering to himself.
A warm dinner table, steaming soup, neatly arranged side dishes. When was the last time he received something like this? Jeongbae shook his head several times. He shouldn’t fall for things like that. He didn’t even put on underwear and only wrapped a towel around his waist. Then he quietly went to the bedroom and spread out the blanket.
“If you’re done washing, quickly…”
Jaehyuk froze while holding a ladle. Jeongbae leaned against the bedroom door and quietly called him.
“Want to do it?”
That was all. Crash, the sound of throwing the ladle into the sink rang out, and a large shadow that rushed over lifted Jeongbae up. The late dinner on the table was cooling down.
“Whoa, wait. You first.”
Jeongbae was laid on the blanket almost like being thrown. Immediately a heavy frame pressed down on him, and lips firmly overlapped. Jaehyuk hastily groped Jeongbae’s body with one hand while pulling down his own pants with the other. A thickly erect, hot penis began rubbing wildly against his lower body. It felt exactly like being hunted.
A persistently invading tongue strongly sucked out Jeongbae’s small tongue enough to make slurping sounds. Each other’s pheromones tangled dizzingly and pricked their noses.
A fresh grass smell as if in the middle of a forest and a sweet, thick tangerine scent. When he pushed the body away because he was out of breath, the long tongue chillingly swept his neck then headed to his chest.
“Hngh. Ah. Don’t. It tickles. Stop.”
His nipple began to be sucked with strong force right then. He writhed involuntarily at the unfamiliar stimulation.
“It hurts, ugh. Don’t… don’t suck. Stooop.”
Jeongbae twisted his body here and there, but it was useless. His toes curled automatically from the ticklishness and tingling. Only after whimpering for a while, grabbing the rough back of his head with both hands and pushing away, did the lips separate with a smacking sound.
Jaehyuk, who smoothly wiped his saliva-covered mouth, abruptly raised his body. With his gaze fixed on Jeongbae like licking, when he slowly pulled his top off inside-out, tightly packed abs and chest muscles were revealed.
Though he’d seen that body several times, that slow movement strangely felt more lewd. Without realizing, Jeongbae’s head sharply turned to the side.
“I was going to suck until milk came out…”
At the grumbling sound, Jeongbae covered his chest with both hands in horror.
“…Are you insane?”
“No.”
Jaehyuk’s gaze, laughing as if ridiculous, slowly scanned Jeongbae from top to bottom. Slightly reddened, raised eye corners, flushed cheeks, slightly parted lips, one swollen nipple, flat stomach and below that, an erectly standing penis.
That appearance was like a beast contemplating where to devour first. Jeongbae trembled from inexplicable fear and anticipation.
Jaehyuk’s hand stroked Jeongbae’s thigh. Slowly, and carefully. As if afraid it would break. That touch was strangely hot.
For some reason, Jeongbae couldn’t breathe. It was supposed to be a plan to chase him out with just the body, so why was his heart pounding?
“Hey…”
When Jeongbae called quietly, Jaehyuk’s hand stopped.
“…Continue.”
At those words, Jaehyuk’s eyes blazed up. Jeongbae closed his eyes without realizing.
“That saying is right.”
“What is?”
When Jeongbae questioned back without realizing, Jaehyuk’s eyes curved into half-moons.
“…The saying that newlyweds push aside the dinner table.”
“Please, that newlywed talk…”
Hot breath overlapped directly onto Jeongbae’s lips as he recoiled. A tongue split open his mouth, and fingers began obscenely fumbling at his lower hole. A hot glans rubbed wildly between his thighs.
“Mmph… Mph. Hngh…”
Saliva tangled and Jeongbae’s arms wrapped around Jaehyuk’s neck. Jeongbae’s back arched like a bow. Jaehyuk laughed lowly and whispered in his ear.
“Make some sounds. More.”
“I… don’t want to…”
But Jeongbae’s voice was already cracking. When one more finger was added, he tightly gripped the blanket. Jaehyuk’s pheromone spread thickly throughout the room. A smell like a forest beast. Jeongbae panted as if intoxicated by that smell.
That’s when it happened. With a tremendous bang, the room door suddenly flung wide open.
“Fuck, the pheromone smell all the way outside…”
A man with bleached blonde hair, a doll-like pretty face, ears so packed with piercings there was no space left, tall with a slender build burst in. At the suddenly entering presence, Jeongbae pushed Jaehyuk away in horror.
“What other bastard enters a newlywed bedroom without knocking!”
Jaehyuk irritably raised his body.
“Newlywed home? Bullshit, cover your dick! You viper bastard!”
A baseball bat flew right at him.
“Kyaa! No! Dogyeom!!!”
Jeongbae quickly jumped in front. Thwack. The baseball bat narrowly missed Jaehyuk and dented the floor.
Lee Dogyeom. The originator of pink-haired Kang Jeongbae and the mad dog of Haetsal Orphanage had appeared.
“That bastard trying to fuck our hyung with that hideous thing! I’ll completely crush-!”
A whoosh sound split the air.
“Dogyeom!! You’ll kill someone!”
Naked Jeongbae tightly embraced Dogyeom. Seeing his swinging stance, Dogyeom was serious.
“Let go! Hyung! That viper bastard-!”
But Dogyeom himself couldn’t push Jeongbae away hard and screamed.
“Kyaa, hey! Give it! That!”
While the two were struggling, Jaehyuk slipped closer and snatched the baseball bat without even using effort.
“Ha, you swing this shit trying to kill someone?”
Sparks flew from Jaehyuk’s eyes. But Dogyeom didn’t back down either.
“Just your dick. Get that dickhead away, you moron.”
“Dogyeom, please.”
Jeongbae clung while pleading. Dogyeom swept over naked Jeongbae then sharply reddened his face. Seeing that sight, Jaehyuk’s brow crumpled.
“Hey, what are you? Why is your face red? What kind of bastard are you? Want to die by my hand?”
“You shut your mouth.”
Jeongbae shouted angrily.
“You’re scaring the kid. He’s my younger brother!”
This time it was Jaehyuk’s turn to be dumbfounded.
