While taking the elevator and getting off at the top floor, Seungyeon diligently hypnotized himself. You are Baek Seungyeon now. The promiscuous Baek Seungyeon. The vulgar Baek Seungyeon. While muttering chants, he quickly arrived in front of the penthouse guest room.
Gulp—he swallowed dry saliva, hesitated, then knocked. Only then did he discover the bell and pressed it with an embarrassed face. When there was no response for a while, he hesitantly brought the card to the door handle. At that moment, the door swung open.
“You came earlier than I thought?”
The person who poked their head through the door gap was Yoon Taerim. Seungyeon belatedly greeted him.
“Hello.”
At the lukewarm greeting, Yoon Taerim burst into a chuckle. He reached out and pulled Seungyeon’s shoulder.
“Come here. The clothes suit you well.”
Tension surged at the closely interlocked body heat. Perhaps he’d unconsciously shown his discomfort, as Yoon Taerim whispered softly in Seungyeon’s ear.
“I won’t eat you up, Seungyeon-ssi. Don’t be so tense, be comfortable. Got it?”
He smiled with his eyes curving.
Easy for you to say—could you do that if you were me?
Seungyeon quickly gathered his heart that kept trying to sharpen. As long as there was remaining balance to receive, Yoon Taerim was the money source. Throwing a tantrum would only be his own loss. Seungyeon nodded his head modestly.
“I should. I will.”
From now on, method acting was needed. That way he could earn money, safely break up, and anyway end seeing this dirty sight today. So from now on, I am the promiscuous and vulgar Baek Seungyeon. He kept repeating to himself. All or nothing, let’s go as far as we can go. Seungyeon wrapped his arms around Yoon Taerim’s waist as he approached. When he leaned his body slightly, Yoon Taerim raised an eyebrow.
“Why?”
“Oh, nothing. I just thought the skinship was natural?”
“…I’ll take that as a compliment.”
At the completely deflated answer, Yoon Taerim let out a small laugh.
“Then I’ll take some liberties too.”
Yoon Taerim naturally draped his arm over Seungyeon’s shoulder. It was a posture that looked like lovers to anyone.
He entered inside following Yoon Taerim with an awkward smile. The open space caught his eye first. One wall was made of glass windows, and stairs were visible as if it was made into a duplex. People leisurely sitting on sofas and those who appeared to be hotel staff were appropriately mixed together.
Is this what rich people’s parties are like? I’d have to have been to a party to compare. While Seungyeon observed his surroundings with a fascinated face, Yoon Taerim whispered softly in his ear. The touch fiddling with Seungyeon’s hair and earlobe was quite natural.
“Sanho hasn’t come yet. I think he’ll arrive in about 10 minutes.”
He nodded while deliberately ignoring the ticklish touch. A staff member who approached the two held out a wine glass. Seungyeon bowed his head and took the glass, downing it in one gulp. Whether the alcohol content was quite high, the bitter alcohol scent spread sharply.
“Do you like alcohol?”
“No.”
At the short answer that followed immediately, Yoon Taerim burst into laughter. At the sight of him laughing with his shoulders shaking, Seungyeon made a disgusted expression.
“Why are you laughing like that…”
He drawled the end of his words and rolled his eyes. I’m sitting here drinking alcohol trying to somehow fight on, and you’re laughing? Should I pretend it’s a mistake and hit him once?
“Ah, sorry. Your expression was so resolute that I laughed without realizing it.”
Yoon Taerim, holding back laughter, leaned his head on Seungyeon’s shoulder. Soft hair tickled his nape. Even if he didn’t want to be conscious of it, his throat felt parched because of the skinship that became increasingly natural. As he was about to receive another glass, Yoon Taerim gently led Seungyeon’s body back.
Dragged to the sofa, Seungyeon plopped down in his seat. He wondered why he’d been dragged here, but the question was soon resolved. It was a position where his face could be seen head-on every time the door opened and people entered.
“Taerim hyung! It’s really been a while! Have you been well?”
A man who had just entered the penthouse approached happily. Yoon Taerim smiled and waved his hand while sitting.
“Ujin, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Have you been well? Didn’t you say you went abroad to study?”
“Right. I came back briefly because it’s vacation. What about hyung? Are you still going around giving acupuncture these days?”
“Of course. If you want acupuncture too, Ujin, come visit anytime. I’ll give you a special acquaintance discount.”
While the two chatted about topics only they knew, Seungyeon was no different from a borrowed barley sack. He had no desire to join the conversation, but just looking at this person called Ubin or Ujin’s attitude, it was clear how he thought of him. Far from goodwill, he was blatantly treating him like a transparent person—how could he not know that?
Go ahead then.
Yoon Taerim also said to act promiscuous and vulgar, not to make a fuss and act sociable. He didn’t have the energy for that, and his motivation had hit rock bottom too. Moreover, being treated like a borrowed barley sack wasn’t entirely bad either.
Just the fact that Yoon Taerim wasn’t talking to him made him feel free. It was good that he didn’t have to force himself to act, so he just wished they’d talk between themselves and not pay attention to him.
Hearing their private conversation in one ear and out the other, Seungyeon asked a passing staff member for a drink. He received wine in a glass and sipped to wet his lips. Though he didn’t like alcohol, the sweet stuff went down smoothly today.
“Then I’ll ask when I have business at the hospital.”
“If it’s a request from Ujin, you’re always welcome.”
At the end of the long conversation, the man who stood up smiling waved his hand lightly. There was a strange stubbornness in how he didn’t look at Seungyeon until the end. Regardless, Seungyeon had no particular interest in the man’s battle of wills either. While he looked down regretfully at the wine glass that had disappeared more than half, Yoon Taerim wrapped his arm around his shoulder.
“You should act like a lover, what are you doing only looking for alcohol like an alcoholic?”
Just as he was sipping wine, he rolled his eyes around. Yoon Taerim, who snatched the glass from Seungyeon’s hand, sipped the wine as if it were his own. At the shameless attitude that didn’t seem to feel his dumbfounded gaze at all, Seungyeon let out a hollow laugh.
“Why are you taking what I was drinking?”
You suck blood from a flea, you bastard. Even at the tone that naturally sharpened, Yoon Taerim only giggled. Only after he stubbornly emptied everything that remained did he open his mouth.
“Baek Seungyeon-ssi came as my partner right now. If it’s obvious you’re wagging your tail at him, you should have been on guard. Really now. Do I have to teach you even this?”
At Yoon Taerim’s reproach, Seungyeon tightly shut his mouth instead of saying ‘So what, you bastard.’ But so that was wagging my tail. I just thought I was having a conversation with an acquaintance.
“Originally, vulgar people push themselves regardless of whether the other person ignores them or not. It’s because Sanho isn’t here now that I’m letting it slide, but if you act like this when Sanho comes, I can’t give you money. If you act like this, will Sanho believe we’re lovers?”
“…I didn’t know that was wagging my tail. I just have to do well from now on.”
“I’m letting it slide this once. There won’t be a next time. Got it?”
Instead of answering, Seungyeon rolled his eyes to look at Yoon Taerim. Yoon Taerim, who burst into a chuckle, rubbed his cheek.
“You really seem like a different person.”
“What, again.”
While he endured wanting to turn his head, more and more strength went into Yoon Taerim’s touch. The thumb that was gently rubbing his cheek gradually moved down and slid along his jawline. Perhaps pleased with the flinching reaction, Yoon Taerim grabbed Seungyeon’s chin as it was and forcibly moved his head.
The faces looking at each other were as close as if they’d kiss. Promiscuous and vulgar—there was no better example of those words. Yoon Taerim languidly lowered his eyes.
“So I can clearly stamp my mark, when you see Sanho, kiss me right away. You can straddle me too.”
After hesitating, Seungyeon nodded his head slightly. Right, well. It’s not like it wears out—what’s the big deal about rubbing lips a bit? He’d feel shitty, but still, thinking about the money, it was a cheap trade.
He just wanted to quickly end all of this and go home. No wait, before going home he had to stop by his sister’s house. He still hadn’t decided what to do about that damn watch…
If only I had one more penalty nullification right…
Is there any way to somehow get it from Jung Sanho? If there was just one more, his range of choices would broaden.
Because of complicated thoughts, Seungyeon’s actions also became sluggish. Yoon Taerim kneaded Seungyeon’s chin and cheek like dough.
“It’s really soft. How old did Seungyeon-ssi say you were? Twenty-three?”
He just nodded to mean roughly around that. Yoon Taerim’s voice contained playfulness as he pressed down on the smooth cheek.
“Is it because you’re young? You still have peach fuzz. Did you know a dimple forms here when you smile or scrunch your face?”
“What…”
He was about to say ‘So what’ but stopped and looked at him.
Come to think of it, Jung Sanho wasn’t the only person who could give Seungyeon a penalty nullification right. There were a total of three people registered as specific individuals, and just in time, one of them was right before Seungyeon’s eyes.
In other words, if he could just raise Yoon Taerim’s favorability, he’d get a penalty nullification right.
