“Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah. What is it that you’re being so serious about?”
Ray Jun said as he perched on the stool to the left of the sofa. Had he looked too serious? The guy already had the instincts of a ghost, so if he asked too directly, he’d pick up on something suspicious. After mulling it over briefly, Kang Siwon spoke.
“No, it’s nothing much. I was just thinking—don’t you have visa issues? You’re a foreigner too, aren’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“It must be hard for you to stay in Macau long-term too, but you don’t seem anxious about it at all. Is it really okay?”
“Ah, I got a work visa.”
“What? How?”
He’d only been fishing for information, but he ended up hearing something unexpected. To Kang Siwon, whose surprise was evident, Ray Jun answered calmly.
“I’m an employee of a data company in Macau.”
“…A company employee? Since when?”
“From the beginning. I created the company for that purpose.”
“Wait, you created a company? Isn’t that a paper company?”
“Half and half. But it’s true that it actually generates revenue. I just don’t go to work.”
‘As expected, he’s a lawless guy, unworthy of being a lawyer’s son,’ Kang Siwon thought as he clicked his tongue.
“Ah, I should have registered Siwon as an employee too. Then you wouldn’t have had to be so anxious about your visa expiration approaching.”
His smiling words were utterly irritating. ‘If you’d thought that far, you could have done it for me,’ he thought to himself. But that wasn’t what was important right now.
“So you haven’t been living in Macau only under the alias ‘Ray Jun’?”
“I suppose so?”
“When you went in for police questioning before. Did you get questioned under an alias then, or under your real name?”
Perhaps because it felt like an out-of-the-blue question, Ray Jun silently rubbed his chin. He’d thought he’d laid the groundwork well, but had his probing been too obvious?
After a brief silence, he spoke again.
“My real name.”
“Ah…”
“I don’t know why you’re suddenly curious about that.”
As expected, he seemed to have noticed something. Kang Siwon maintained a neutral expression as he spoke.
“I’m upset about it. We both infiltrated Sovereign under false pretenses, but you didn’t suffer any disadvantages. Meanwhile, I got caught by you.”
“What kind of disadvantage should I have suffered?”
“Being sued by Sovereign, or blackmailed… There’s plenty of possibility for that.”
“I can’t tell if you’re worried about me or secretly hoping for it.”
Ray Jun crossed his arms as he continued.
“Do you want to learn the secret? Some trick for not getting caught?”
“Is there such a thing?”
“It’s simple. Just get hold of a bigger weakness than what the other side has.”
“…”
“Then, blackmail them first before they can blackmail you. Pretty easy, right?”
“How could that be easy…”
It was a method that only worked because it was Ray Jun. If someone like himself—lacking in ability and courage (though really, he was probably normal and Ray Jun was just excessively bold)—tried to follow suit, he’d likely face a backlash.
“What kind of blackmail did you use?”
“Why are you asking? You know I saw and heard quite a bit at Sovereign.”
“…True.”
If Ray Jun had pressured them the way he pressured himself, anyone would have been intimidated. As if reading his thoughts, Ray Jun asked with a light laugh.
“Siwon, you think I’m too much, don’t you?”
“Not particularly.”
“You’re lying. You look at me like I’m some kind of villain. Even though I don’t mess with good people.”
Put another way, that meant anyone Ray Jun had touched had a reason to deserve it. Of course, that included himself.
Ray Jun grumbled as if feeling wronged.
“I only repay what I’m given. These days I’m upset because I can’t even repay half of it. Where else would you find such a considerate villain?”
“Considerate my ass…”
But thinking about it, Ray Jun really had never harmed an innocent person.
Ray Jun had certain standards and thoroughly adhered to them. For instance, he didn’t just tighten someone’s noose—he’d acquire their debt first. Not moral, but not entirely immoral either.
Even when blackmailing Li Hou, he wouldn’t have fabricated facts out of thin air. Ray Jun was certainly far from the reckless villain style of movies and dramas who just push through by force. That’s what made him all the more irritating and frightening.
“So when you cornered the Sovereign directors. Was it because they had given you reason to do so?”
“Are you asking because you don’t know?”
The snickering tone was somehow infuriating. How would he know unless Ray Jun told him? The guy seemed loose-lipped at times but thoroughly concealed his own affairs—how was he supposed to know?
“I’m asking because I don’t know. What grudge you have against the Sovereign directors.”
“Ah… I’m thrilled that Siwon is taking an interest in me, but it feels a bit unsatisfying to just tell you with nothing in return.”
It was an attempt to deflect with his usual cheekiness. If it had been a baseless guess, he would have laughed it off or denied it, but seeing him act like this, that ‘grudge’ might actually be an unexpectedly important clue. There might even be a possibility it was information related to the Zhang Weiren incident.
“Then I’ll pay you, so tell me.”
“I don’t mean to dismiss you, but what money do you have?”
“Add it to my debt. Whether I’m a 4.8 billion debtor or a 4.9 billion debtor, what’s the difference?”
“Are you serious?”
Ray Jun burst out laughing. Only after laughing for a while did he speak.
“No, not that. You have a better bargaining chip, don’t you?”
“…”
“Give me something better than masturbating later. How about it?”
Come to think of it, he had promised to masturbate in front of Ray Jun as the price for going out. He’d hated the idea so much that he’d pushed it to the back of his mind and completely forgotten about it. For Kang Siwon, who had a good memory, this was rare. Anyway, something worse than that—he didn’t know what it would be, but it was bound to be more humiliating than masturbating.
“No.”
Ray Jun nodded, as if he hadn’t expected Kang Siwon to agree anyway.
“Fine, then. Just masturbating will be hot enough.”
“…”
“So, will you show me now? Or tonight? I’m welcoming either way.”
He looks Kang Siwon over from head to toe with a leisurely gaze, as if ready to appreciate the show. Even though he hadn’t touched him with a single hand, it felt as if he were being touched. Kang Siwon shivered slightly.
The humiliation of masturbating in front of Ray Jun was unavoidable anyway. If that was the case, then perhaps…
“…Want to play a game?”
“A game?”
“If I win, answer my question. Whatever I ask, honestly.”
“Interesting. Then if I win?”
His hazelnut eyes sparkled. For a moment, he had the feeling he’d made the wrong proposal, but it was already too late to take it back.
“You can ask me anything you’re curious about too. I’ll answer honestly as well.”
“No, Siwon. If I want to know something about you, I can find out without asking. That’s not how you make a deal. You have to offer something the other person covets.”
“…”
“Bet yourself. Your body.”
Ray Jun gestured arrogantly with his chin.
Kang Siwon swallowed dryly at that heavy atmosphere. Here was a guy who had practically purchased him, making such a demand. It was of course a reluctant proposal for him, but in a way, it also seemed modest.
Perhaps this too was Ray Jun’s own ‘line.’ While he kept him trapped like a pet, he surprisingly didn’t use force to pin him down. Common sense would say that was natural, but when did this world ever run on common sense alone? If Ray Jun set his mind to it, he could have forced himself on him, but he didn’t.
“Not confident? Why so quiet?”
“…I was thinking.”
“You can’t get me excited and then back out. So, what game? Poker?”
Ray Jun was already excited. Was he thrilled at the prospect of playing a game after so long? Seeing this, he really was a born dealer.
Kang Siwon pondered what to do. This was gambling after all. It went against his principle of avoiding addictive behavior, but just for today, he had no choice. If it was to find out the ‘motive’ Li Hou had mentioned, he had no choice but to step onto this dangerous playing field.
“Let’s do it. But I get to choose the game.”
“Fine.”
Ray Jun smiled more brightly than ever. For a moment, he thought he’d made a mistake.
“To think you’d gamble against a dealer. I love how reckless you are, Siwon.”
“…”
It seemed he really had made a mistake after all.
