I was about to tie up the bag after sorting through most of it, but my body had grown sluggish, as if weighted down, ever since discovering that toy. Strangely, what Kwon Yujin had said kept gnawing at my mind.
‘Don’t tell me you hate it. Hyung, you don’t have the right to say that.’
Kwon Yujin’s incomprehensible behavior. And that incomprehensible contract that exists between him and me.
I hate him just as much, yet every time I recall how he hates me, I don’t know why it irritates me so much. Shouldn’t it not matter?
Moreover, the contract terms weighed on my mind. What would happen if I just ignored contact like this or didn’t follow the terms? But then again, I couldn’t just accept those perverse demands Kwon Yujin was making either.
Honestly, I couldn’t even be sure if what he said about us sleeping together was true.
“Haah.”
We needed to find some middle ground. Kwon Yujin seemed upset and resentful about being imprinted on someone like me too.
It wasn’t that I didn’t understand. There must be plenty of omegas around him incomparably better than me, yet he got imprinted on me of all people.
Since it seemed somewhat true that he and I knew each other in the past and were quite deeply connected, it looked like I needed to see him face-to-face and bring this to a definitive conclusion rather than just avoiding him.
I kept staring at the toy car that kept catching my eye, and eventually decided to contact Kwon Yujin.
First, I called Kwon Yujin’s number on my phone, but there was no answer.
[Can we talk?]
I sent a brief text and was about to finish cleaning up when my phone vibrated shortly after. I thought a reply had come, but an unknown number was calling.
“Hello.”
—It’s me.
Kwon Yujin’s voice. But it was a number not in my contacts.
“Is this your number?”
—Yeah. Save it.
“Then what’s the one in my contacts?”
—That’s for business.
“……”
—You said you wanted to talk, right? Come to my place first. The address is….
“I don’t know where your place is. Come here yourself.”
—What?
“Don’t tell me to come and go. Come here yourself.”
—I have to go to training, and you’re telling me to come see you in person?
There were many emotions packed into that question. He seemed flustered, and I could clearly feel the hostility that seemed to ask, ‘How dare you, someone like you?’
Even so, my mind hadn’t changed. Not only did I not want to, but I didn’t know what might happen if I went to a place I wasn’t familiar with. I didn’t want to experience another unpleasant incident like what happened at the hotel.
“If you don’t want to, we can do this over the phone. The reason I contacted you is to finish what we were talking about last time….”
—So you can’t come here? Are you trying to mess with me?
“I’m being serious.”
A few seconds of brief silence flowed from the other end of the receiver.
—Hyung.
“Yes?”
—I’ll be there within 30 minutes, so wait.
Whatever change of heart he’d had, Kwon Yujin spoke in a considerably softer tone. For a moment, I was about to ask if he was saying that knowing where my house was. But before I could open my mouth, the call hung up immediately.
“……”
I stared at the screen for a moment before putting down my phone. I figured he must know the address since he said he’d come on his own.
“I’m hungry.”
After hanging up, I suddenly felt hungry. I left what I’d been cleaning and opened the kitchen refrigerator to eat. Then I took out eggs and rice as usual and made myself fried rice.
Whether I’d been irritable from hunger, the inexplicable unpleasantness that had been bothering me throughout the call subsided somewhat.
After quickly finishing my meal and even doing the dishes, the sound of someone banging loudly on the front door echoed through the house.
I grabbed the mask I always kept by the entrance. Before putting it on, I checked the mirror hanging on the wall and saw my face still mottled with bruises.
Disgusting.
It wasn’t as hard to look at myself as it used to be, but observing my face wasn’t pleasant either. I hurriedly put on the mask and cap.
Then I opened the front door that Kwon Yujin kept knocking on.
“You’re early.”
“So. What did you want to say?”
Kwon Yujin entered the house without my permission and got straight to the point. He was about to step on the flooring with various stains without even taking off his shoes.
I hurriedly grabbed him before he could fully enter the living room.
“Excuse me. Take off your shoes.”
“Huh.”
“Entering someone else’s home with shoes on is very rude behavior.”
I stated the obvious, but Kwon Yujin didn’t look convinced.
“For this shithole to even be called a house.”
He muttered while scanning the floor with clear wet marks and the shabby wallpaper with traces of scrubbed-off mold everywhere.
He wore a briefly unpleasant expression but fortunately took off his shoes obediently.
“Now tell me. What were you going to say?”
Kwon Yujin jerked his chin as if telling me to hurry up and talk. He must have come right after receiving my call, as he was still wearing the t-shirt and pants issued to the national team, and his hair was slightly disheveled.
He’d definitely sounded agitated when I heard his voice over the phone, but the Kwon Yujin I faced in person was calmer than I expected.
Though it would be better to talk sitting in a chair, it was a bit burdensome from my perspective watching him stand firm in the middle of the living room like that.
“As I said at the hotel, even if I don’t remember, I intend to help Kwon Yujin-nim as much as possible according to what’s written in the contract.”
“So how?”
“Don’t we just need to spend time together? As long as it’s nothing weird, I’ll do as you ask.”
“What if I ask for something weird?”
Kwon Yujin bent at the waist with his hands in his pockets and brought his face close to mine. As if expecting my reaction.
“I’ll have to refuse.”
I answered while looking into his eyes.
“So you don’t want sex. How far does your refusal go? Blowjobs?”
I hesitated momentarily at the explicit word.
Did he mean he’d suck mine, or that I’d have to suck his? Honestly, I couldn’t imagine either.
“That won’t do.”
“Doing it with hands?”
“Does it have to be that kind of thing?”
“Kissing?”
“……”
“You don’t like that either?”
I was about to answer that it obviously wouldn’t do, but suddenly what I’d discussed with the Director on the phone today came to mind.
‘The next one will probably be out of town, and the site is big so it might take a while. It’s in Hoeju, will that be okay?’
If I took on the next job, I might have to be in Hoeju for several weeks. I wouldn’t be able to come to Seoul for a while then. I needed to use my free time after work to investigate President Choi directly.
The contract stated I had to meet with Kwon Yujin at least once a week. However, if I took the Hoeju job, it would be difficult to follow the contract terms. Since it didn’t seem like Kwon Yujin would come all the way down to Hoeju, we needed to reach an agreement on this part.
So rather than unconditionally refusing Kwon Yujin’s demands, I also had to accept this situation to some degree. To avoid being sued for breach of contract.
“Kissing… I’ll think about it. But I have a condition.”
“Now you’re attaching all sorts of things.”
“Not right away, but in about two weeks, I’ll have to be in another region for work for a while.”
“So?”
“I think I’ll be very busy, so I hope you’ll understand that I won’t be able to meet with Kwon Yujin-nim during that period in that region.”
“So you’ll allow kissing in exchange for that understanding?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“What if I refuse?”
At his immediate retort, I was at a loss for words. I hadn’t thought about what to do in the next situation if we couldn’t reach an agreement.
As I stood before him unable to provide an answer, Kwon Yujin faintly curled up the corners of his mouth.
“Should I tell you? That would be a clear breach of contract, so I could charge you a penalty or file a lawsuit, right?”
“I can return all the money I’ve received so far. I’d rather make it like the contract never existed….”
“According to the contract, in case of violation, the penalty is specified as compensation amounting to five times that amount. Simple return of the principal already received alone would be difficult to establish as damages compensation and settlement for breach of contract.”
I didn’t understand most of it, but anyway, it seemed to mean it wouldn’t work.
“It’s important work for me…. Won’t kissing be enough?”
