Though he’d only stated the truth as it was, Yuwon carelessly spat out utterly vulgar words. His characteristic free-spirited yet glamorous atmosphere transformed into a blatantly decadent beauty due to those filthy sentences.
Sungjin felt as if both his body and mind had been forcibly locked down as if he’d been in a traffic accident. His mouth was clearly attached, but no words came out.
“……”
“……”
“Why are you silent? Say something.”
Yuwon still had his lips curled up as if Sungjin’s reaction was amusing, but the gaze looking down at him was terrifying. Eyes so fearsome as if wanting to devour the person in front of him whole.
Sungjin trembled, his hands shaking, and barely muttered with his head dropped toward the floor.
“So, that is….”
However, the response that came back was sharp.
“Why? What excuse are you going to make? If you’re going to do it, it’d be better to be a bit more creative. Don’t pull some bullshit that won’t fly at all.”
“……”
There couldn’t possibly be anything he could say. Sungjin tried to drop to his knees right in front of Yuwon with his eyes squeezed shut. He didn’t have any pride to begin with, and he didn’t care. However, Yuwon didn’t let him do as he intended.
“Who told you to kneel?”
“I’m sorry….”
Sungjin awkwardly stood and bowed his head again. If he tried to explain his position half-heartedly for no reason, it seemed like it would have more of a reverse effect. He was afraid of being scolded for daring to think of him as such a suspicious person. ‘If you’re going to be wary of someone, shouldn’t it be you, the famous person? Someone like you? Do you think you’re worth putting moves on?’ It felt like he’d be beaten with words.
So he apologized first, unable to even make eye contact and lying flat, but that seemed to have offended Yuwon’s mood instead.
“I, I… that… made a mistake… I made a mistake….”
As soon as Sungjin gave an opening, he seized the opportunity.
“A mistake? What mistake? What was the mistake?”
Instead of answering, Sungjin wanted to bash his head against the sink and die. He even thought that would be a way to preserve his honor. However, the sink was a bit far away, and to get there, he’d have to pass by Yuwon, so it was impossible.
Meanwhile, someone’s screams were still echoing off the walls in surround sound. Their voice and stamina were both good. It was too harsh a situation for Sungjin’s mental strength to overcome.
“That day….”
“That day?”
He didn’t know how to answer to make Yuwon’s mood less unpleasant. Sungjin fumbled then barely squeezed out a voice.
“Leaving only Yuwon-ssi… at the hotel….”
Then Yuwon looked down at Sungjin with a victor’s face, smiling graciously.
“Ah. Finally remembered? Or did you decide to stop the pathetic acting now? You acted so nonchalantly like you were seeing me for the first time, I thought you were an aspiring actor.”
“…I’m sorry.”
On top of that, he’d even unintentionally scratched his pride with the baseless conviction that the person he’d met couldn’t possibly be Lee Yuwon himself. It wasn’t just touching the nose hairs of a sleeping lion—it was at the level of completely plucking them out.
To have followed him to a hotel then run away, yet not even remember properly. That fact seemed to have thoroughly wounded Yuwon’s pride. Even with ten mouths, he had nothing to say except sorry. Sungjin couldn’t say anything with his head deeply bowed. Then Yuwon, who had been glaring only at Sungjin’s crown, broke the short silence.
“So what’s the answer? Did you really pretend not to know?”
It was a strange question. Was that important in this situation? However, whether Sungjin thought so or not, it seemed to be important to Yuwon, so Sungjin barely opened his mouth. Not answering seemed like it would irritate his temper more.
“I didn’t… remember. I was… so drunk… back then….”
Then the gaze piercing the back of his head became even sharper. Sungjin swallowed tears like a mouse in a trap.
“So you’re asking me to believe now that you knew the model Lee Yuwon but didn’t remember the face of the man you almost rolled around with at a hotel?”
Even if it was unbelievable, what could he do when it was the truth? Sungjin wasn’t particularly talented at lying, and he also didn’t know what kind of lie would please Yuwon. So just confessing the truth was all Sungjin could do in response.
“I’m sorry…!”
Meanwhile, he still couldn’t grasp exactly what point Yuwon wanted an apology for. For hitting him in the back of the head that day? For not remembering him? He could only be certain that his very existence was currently extremely grating to him.
He had no idea that his flat, prostrate, humiliating attitude was stimulating Yuwon’s temper even more. Yuwon shot back with an even sharper voice.
“So what? I’m sorry, but what do you want me to do about it? Are you going to compensate me or something?”
Compensate? Sungjin flinched at the appearance of the word that struck his eardrums. What could he possibly do? The assets he’d barely saved while working were tied up in a deposit he might not get back, and he was a privileged person born already holding in his hands more wealth than he could accumulate in a lifetime.
Whatever he did didn’t seem like it would particularly satisfy Yuwon. Maybe if he was out of sight, he’d be less irritating? Yuwon was probably annoyed at the sight of him shamelessly stepping forward in front of people pretending to be a flawless person.
Personal difficulties or circumstances didn’t really matter anymore. Getting away from Yuwon was the top priority. Having reached that conclusion, Sungjin answered in a voice like an ant crawling.
“…I will… withdraw.”
“What?”
As soon as Sungjin barely answered, Yuwon glared at him as if to devour him and asked again.
“I… appearing on this… this kind of broadcast seems… to displease you….”
It was an explanation barely strung together, but Yuwon’s expression was one of even more anger rather than subsiding.
“Withdraw? You think that’s all it’ll take?”
Of course it won’t be enough. Sungjin screamed inside. Then what on earth could he do? It wasn’t like he could die for him. An ordinary office worker like himself with no money, no power, and no connections—there was no valuable thing he could do.
When Sungjin couldn’t give any answer, Yuwon sighed “Ha” and said,
“Don’t even dream of thinking you can run away by withdrawing.”
Then what do you want me to do? Sungjin continued swallowing screams inside and squeezed his eyes shut. When he was annoyed even by what he could see, yet said withdrawing wasn’t allowed either, he couldn’t predict what he wanted.
Was he just determined to make things difficult no matter what he did? Would he only be satisfied after seeing him humiliated in front of viewers around the world?
When Sungjin shrank like a trembling mouse, Yuwon suddenly ordered.
“Lift your head.”
“……”
Sungjin obediently followed what Yuwon told him to do. He lifted his head with his eyes tightly shut, his eyelids trembling because he was so scared. Ha. Yuwon’s scoffing sound resonated through the air again.
Is he planning to slap me? Sungjin gritted his teeth, determined not to make a sound even if Yuwon threw a punch, so as not to offend his mood.
However, the sentence that followed was completely unexpected.
“Open your mouth.”
Why is he telling me to open my mouth? Does it hurt more if you get hit with your mouth open? Or is he going to check to make sure I can’t clench my teeth? Not understanding the reason, he did as he was told for now.
Then what touched his chin wasn’t a hard fist but soft fingertips. The moment his chin was gripped as if to fix his head in place, something warm and moist overlapped onto his parted lips.
“……?”
He was so surprised he couldn’t even breathe. He’d been bracing for a lightning-like pain to strike down on his face, but what came back was a persistent kiss as if to swallow his lips whole. His lower lip was chewed thoroughly and every corner inside his mouth was sucked. It was an act that could only be expressed that way.
Sungjin was explored and devoured as if he’d hidden something in his mouth. Even a single drop of saliva pooled in his blankly opened mouth all became Yuwon’s. Sungjin forgot even to breathe and unknowingly grabbed Yuwon’s arm, then lost strength at the strange sensation stimulating inside his mouth.
The sensations of the acts he’d done with Yuwon at the hotel several years ago gradually revived. Every place he’d touched, that moment that had been hot as if set on fire, struck Sungjin’s mind. It had been a long time since the reason for how this had happened had disappeared from his head.
“Haah… ha….”
When Yuwon, who had been sucking and chewing until Sungjin’s lips swelled, finally pulled away, Sungjin was in a state where his eyes had gone unfocused and his face had turned red, unable to think of anything.
