Apparently, Tae Shinwoo found that reaction of his amusing. Judging by how the vulgar talk continued even with a meal in front of them. Seo Eunho twisted his lips and laughed briefly. Thinking about it quietly, this always seemed to be the problem. Easily falling for the provocations he casually threw out.
“Ah, so we could roll around as three?”
It would be a lie to say he had no intention of provoking Tae Shinwoo. However, the moment Tae Shinwoo’s face turned ice-cold in an instant, Seo Eunho should have stopped talking. But the reason he didn’t was because his desire to win at least this much got the better of him.
“Ah, so that’s why you sent someone. I guess it meant to get acquainted. To see the face of the person I’d be rolling around with in advance.”
“Haha……”
“You should have told me beforehand. Then I would have looked more closely. Well, anyway, it would be fun.”
Even while rambling on, Seo Eunho thought he should shut his mouth right this instant. But Seo Eunho couldn’t stop talking until the end. Until he completely wiped the smile off Tae Shinwoo’s face.
Crash!
The plate that had been sitting on the table shattered and a knife was gripped in Tae Shinwoo’s hand—it was the moment Seo Eunho’s bravado-filled words ended. Before he could even register what he was trying to do, Tae Shinwoo stood up from his seat and walked toward the man standing at a distance. His striding steps were threatening.
“Agh!”
The man whose hair was suddenly grabbed collapsed to the floor in an instant. At that moment, the knife Tae Shinwoo was holding moved at a rapid speed, accurately aimed at the man’s eye.
“Tae Shinwoo!”
Amid people’s screams, Seo Eunho called out Tae Shinwoo’s name and ran urgently. His body, which had been frozen stiff in shock, finally moved. Fortunately, the knife Tae Shinwoo held didn’t pierce the man’s eyeball. It was just stopped precariously. Seo Eunho thought that if Tae Shinwoo set his mind to it, he could stab his eye at any time. It really seemed like he would.
“I’m, I’m sorry. Pl-please spare me……”
It wasn’t just a feeling—Tae Shinwoo’s murderous face and vicious atmosphere showed this wasn’t a simple prank. In the ice-cold frozen atmosphere, no one could open their mouth. It was proof that he wasn’t overestimating Tae Shinwoo.
“What are you doing……”
After hesitating for a moment, Seo Eunho carefully opened his mouth. He thought he should stop him, but somehow it seemed like that would backfire. The knife standing rigidly sharp looked ready to pierce the man’s eye at any moment.
“Why are you doing this?”
Not wanting to provoke Tae Shinwoo’s anger, Seo Eunho asked as calmly as possible. Even though it was just a knife used to cut steak, while it was aimed at a person’s eye, Tae Shinwoo raised the corners of his mouth.
“I became curious about why you suddenly had that thought.”
At the bizarrely felt expression, dry saliva went down involuntarily. His whole body stiffened with tension.
“What kind of eyes did he look at you with to make Seo Eunho think that?”
His question wasn’t directed at himself. Realizing this, the man’s pale lips twitched.
“I, I didn’t……”
“Should I rip your mouth open first?”
However, Tae Shinwoo didn’t seem to have any intention of listening to the man’s words. The knife entered the man’s mouth. At the knife pressing down on the corner of the man’s mouth, Seo Eunho was horrified and shook his head.
“I just thought that on my own.”
“You must have thought that because you saw signs.”
The knife dug into the corner of his mouth little by little. The man couldn’t resist at all and just kept his mouth open.
“There was nothing like that. He just did what you told him to do.”
“Are you defending him?”
“I’m not defending him……”
The knife was clearly blunt, but he must have applied so much force that a wound soon formed on the tender flesh. Even as drops of blood formed at the corner of his mouth, Tae Shinwoo showed no sign of releasing the strength from his hand. Creeped out, Seo Eunho clenched and unclenched his now-sweaty hands. It seemed like he should stop him, but he didn’t know what to say to stop him. For doing something pointless. Cold sweat flowed and his lips were parched dry.
“I just……”
Seo Eunho opened his mouth again with difficulty. Both eyes tightly shut. His head spun trying to find the words Tae Shinwoo wanted.
“You, I thought you’d be there…… Ha, I’m saying you weren’t.”
He didn’t even know what he was rambling about. Seo Eunho opened both eyes, worried that his words might have a bad influence. The moment their eyes met, Tae Shinwoo tilted his head. As if telling him to continue, so Seo Eunho could guess that this time his words hadn’t gone against his mood.
“So, I thought maybe you were trying to… play around with me with other people, and so… so, I was, was hurt.”
Seo Eunho didn’t really think Tae Shinwoo would actually try to share him. He just wanted to upset him. He didn’t want that kind of situation in the first place anyway.
Knowing all that, he’d provoked him with pointless bravado and created this mess.
“Aha.”
Fortunately, Tae Shinwoo seemed quite pleased with his excuse. The knife that had been threateningly tearing at the corner of the man’s mouth fell to the floor. At the same time, the man could also escape from Tae Shinwoo’s grasp.
“I don’t have a hobby of sharing.”
Whether the man’s, no, everyone around’s complexion changed, Tae Shinwoo didn’t care at all. His gaze was directed solely at Seo Eunho. Seo Eunho could only nod his head.
“Go inside.”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
As if nothing had happened, the man stood up from his seat and bowed his head toward Tae Shinwoo. Tae Shinwoo returned to his seat with a detestable smile on his lips. Seo Eunho hesitated a bit before sitting down again in the seat across from Tae Shinwoo.
Soon a new knife was placed on Tae Shinwoo’s table. The waiter’s hands that brought it were trembling with fear.
“……”
Seo Eunho barely held back the sigh that was about to flow out heavily. It was because his stomach felt stuffy thinking he’d threatened the man’s safety by bringing up pointless words. However, Seo Eunho didn’t show it. If Tae Shinwoo found out about it, it seemed like something would really happen to the man.
He didn’t know who he was and had no emotional attachment whatsoever. He just wanted to avoid a situation where someone suffered damage because of bravado born from his pride.
He must not mention others in front of Tae Shinwoo. Tae Shinwoo had just confirmed that with his own eyes.
“It’s gotten cold. Let’s order new ones.”
“……Yeah.”
Whether it was warm or not, it would probably feel like rubber to him anyway, but this time too, Seo Eunho nodded.
“Eunho-ya.”
As if that obedience also didn’t sit well with him, Tae Shinwoo slightly crumpled his face and called his name. Though the corners of his mouth were clearly raised, it didn’t seem like he was smiling at all. Seo Eunho nodded while putting down his knife.
“You don’t need to keep wearing that patch anymore, do you?”
At the same time, Seo Eunho’s brow furrowed slightly. Tae Shinwoo tilted his head.
“Take it off.”
What followed was an order.
“Now.”
If he had wanted his possessiveness and obsession the same as before, would he have been pleased with this situation now? Well. He didn’t know. Seo Eunho didn’t think long. Even if he did, there was nothing he could do.
Seo Eunho removed the patches that had been stuck all over his nape. The vivid marks, as if they would remain forever, were clear in their reddish-purple color.
“Is this good enough?”
People were already glancing at Tae Shinwoo and himself. How would he look to them now? The gazes of people he normally didn’t even care about made him so uncomfortable today.
Seo Eunho pretended to be completely unaware of others’ gazes. They were people unrelated to him. What did it matter if they knew his identity as nothing more than a kind of prostitute?
“Yeah.”
Tae Shinwoo smiled with a satisfied face.
Right, what did it matter? From his position, as long as Tae Shinwoo was satisfied, that was enough. So he should just try to accommodate whatever he wanted, but why did he feel so twisted inside?
Just then, the cold meal was cleared away and newly prepared food was placed before his eyes. Seo Eunho made a conscious effort to empty his head. Just not thinking about Tae Shinwoo at all—that seemed like it would be best for his mental health.
“Let’s eat.”
At Tae Shinwoo’s words, Seo Eunho immediately nodded. As expected, the meat was just like rubber.
