Everything that happened after occurred in an instant.
Woonghee threw off the rice sack and snapped off the blade of the cutter knife in his hand. And with it, he scraped at the bastard’s eyeball. Or rather, tried to scrape it out.
…Damn it!
But the bastard jerked his head back to avoid the vital spot. The deflected blade barely left a scratch on his smooth cheek. Drip drip—bright red blood gushed out and splattered on Woonghee’s cheek. The blood on his pale skin was beautiful and sensual like a rose blooming in snow.
‘Oh my.’
The man, wearing a purple half-mask, curved his lips into a smile. Blood pooled on his shapely lips.
His only plan had gone up in smoke. He had planned to stab the man and then escape in the confusion, but no matter what kind of body he had, the man didn’t flinch or shrink back at all even the moment he was injured. Instead, he failed because the man grabbed his wrist.
‘Looks like I picked up something interesting.’
Woonghee heightened his guard considerably. Because the moment he properly faced his opponent, he knew immediately. That the man before his eyes was an Alpha. Just as herbivores instinctively detect predators, his entire body was sending strong danger signals.
‘M-Managing Director…!’
At that moment, the men who belatedly came to their senses rushed to the man’s side and began checking on his wellbeing. Every single one of them had ashen faces.
‘Don’t make a fuss.’
With just those words, the man settled the chaotic scene. As if by magic, everyone around stopped their movements all at once.
Meanwhile, the hand gripping his wrist moved up and firmly grabbed Woonghee’s nape. Then shoved him back into the trunk. There was no chance to resist.
‘…Kh, heok!’
It was only one arm, but the grip of the hand clutching his neck was incredibly strong. Woonghee trembled like a dragonfly with both wings caught.
‘Shh.’
The man made a sound as if soothing a frightened child. Woonghee gasped violently for breath. With an expressionless face, the opponent took a deep breath—huuuu. Woonghee instinctively knew he was gulping down the pheromones emanating from him.
Fuck, perverted bastard… Don’t tell me I’m being sold to this bastard?
That worry was brief—a shock came to the back of his neck and his vision went black.
‘…Are you still alive?’
He passed out just like that.
When he opened his eyes again, he was being carried home on Tula’s back. By then, he couldn’t help but know. Who had caused him that humiliation. So he smashed the bastard’s back of the head with his fist.
The story he heard afterward was nothing but absurd.
This son of a bitch, well, apparently while doing delivery work, his eyes had rolled back and he stole some jewel. An expensive necklace studded with a large gemstone.
[The Mermaid’s Tear. That was that man’s jewel.]
Fuck, so that Alpha back then was Managing Director Gi…?
“So.”
Woonghee gritted his teeth.
“Were you planning to steal it again? You goddamn bastard!”
Why, why the hell did you have to go that far!
He felt like grabbing the bastard and slamming him into the ground right now. If there was even a bit of thought in that head, shouldn’t he have not attempted to steal it again? Would he have to split that skull open and dissect it thoroughly to understand his mind?
Woonghee suppressed the urge to snap at him about whether he even knew what kind of repercussions his childish behavior had caused. Because he was still in the middle of listening to the story.
[Do you remember what those bastards were trying to do to you? They were trying to sell you as a male prostitute! If I hadn’t barged in, you would be right now…!]
Tula’s pierced eyebrow trembled. The increasingly agitated and rapid words were now reaching a level that was almost incomprehensible.
[I wanted revenge on those people!]
“Hey. Stop it and shut your mouth.”
He couldn’t listen anymore so he cut off his words. The Mermaid’s Tear. What the hell was that jewel fragment? What was so important and expensive about it that he’d commit such dangerous acts, leaving behind his daughter-like little sister?
“So you.”
Woonghee shoved his fist into the bastard’s chest and spat out.
“Did you sink the Captain’s boat?”
Though all the words were in Korean, Tula’s face wavered. Woonghee’s dark pupils trembled. The bastard understood the question from this atmosphere, from Woonghee’s expression, from his tone. Soon the bastard lowered his head. As if he absolutely couldn’t bear to look at Woonghee’s eyes.
[It, it was a mistake….]
“Hey, you crazy bastard!”
Unable to contain his fury, Woonghee struck his forehead hard with his palm.
[Woong, I’m sorry. Really fuck, I, I’m desperately sorry.]
The bastard rubbed both eyes frantically as if going crazy with anguish, spitting out his words.
[But… but those bastards said they’d sell Jjokko too if you weren’t handed over!]
Sell, Jjokko… Words that should absolutely never be in the same place.
“…What?”
[Those bastards said they’d sell Jjokko instead of you.]
Managing Director Gi made such a threat? That was just… wasn’t that too ungentlemanly?
Because he was a man who tried to appear gentlemanly on the surface, he didn’t exert force on weak things. The reason he would capture a wild boar rather than easy bird meat was to show everyone what kind of person he could be.
Such a person threatened with a mere four-year-old baby? It was like a puzzle that didn’t quite fit together. But on the other hand, he wondered how well he really knew that man.
[Woong, I have to go back.]
Tula suddenly burst out words in Tagalog. His emotions were so intense that he unconsciously used his homeland’s language. The exotic language, sharp at the edges of pronunciation but enchantingly heard, pierced into Woonghee’s ears.
[I have to return to my hometown, Cebu. I have to go see Jjokko.]
But the only word Woonghee understood was one. Jjokko, only that baby’s name.
Woonghee’s fingertips trembled. Because he remembered the fern-like fingers that had pulled on this hand.
Fingers small and soft like newly sprouted buds. A face that smiled gently just from being fed a few pieces of ice… Fuck, Woonghee cursed inwardly. It was a vulgar curse that seemed to stab his own chest.
“Hey.”
Woonghee grabbed the bastard’s collar and pulled him up.
“Why do you think Managing Director Gi, that person let you live?”
Blabbering in Korean as usual like that, he bit his tongue hard.
“Damn it…”
Usually the conversations they had were nothing special. What’s for dinner tonight, where are you going out again at this late hour, if you rub your tongue on me one more time and get hard I’ll really kill you—that was it.
But now was a moment where every particle mattered. So he cobbled together barely-passable English and spat it out.
“Why is he hiding you?”
Tula’s pupils dilated greatly, then he lowered his head. Looking confused, it seemed he didn’t know the reason either.
Which made sense because Managing Director Gi, that bastard was the kind of human who’d pull out others’ intestines if tears came from his own eyes. But why. Why did he leave only Tula alone like this—he couldn’t understand the reason at all.
Woonghee let out a deep sigh.
“Hey.”
Glaring at the bastard, he stomped his foot on the ground—thud.
“From now on, always erase your footprints.”
If he got caught by other people, they’d definitely suggest cutting off his head and putting it on display, so Tula absolutely had to keep running away.
“This.”
Woonghee crouched down and pointed at the footprint in front of him.
“Erase it.”
Then he rubbed out Tula’s footprint with his palm.
[Yeah, okay. Your hand’s getting dirty. Don’t do it with your hands.]
Tula detestably picked up Woonghee’s hand and blew on it—huu huu—dusting off the dirt. As if he might wear away if he even breathed roughly, he was careful and gentle even in that. It felt exactly like being a delicate flower.
“What are you doing, shit…”
Woonghee irritably pushed the bastard away with a whoosh. He glared at Tula while grinding his teeth. He felt like pulling out that bastard’s spine one by one and sticking them in his teeth right now.
If it weren’t for his young sister, that baby, he would have committed the act right then and there.
[Uh, uh, sorry….]
Tula, looking awkward, backed away and nimbly moved around, rubbing out footprints with his palm—swish swish. Woonghee also swept the nearest footprints with the sole of his foot.
“Hey.”
At a sudden thought, Woonghee called to the bastard again. Tula, who had been carefully watching his mood, flinched and trembled his shoulders.
“But where is that jewel now?”
Jewel was, fuck, what was it in English. Woonghee, fumbling through his head, soon spat out the word jewelry. The bastard’s hand stopped dead. With his back turned, he said nothing. What did that ominous silence mean? Regret? Lingering attachment? Disappointment?
Who cares. As the silence lengthened, Woonghee, feeling suffocated, shouted again.
“Even in this situation, you still that rock…!”
[I don’t know.]
The bastard slowly turned his body toward him.
[Woonghee, this is the vast open sea. There’s nothing. I have nothing.]
Tula looked extremely depressed. His long eyelashes covered his large eyes. The blood that had flowed from his nose was caked, covering his philtrum, and his shoulders were in a state where all the bones showed. He had gotten much thinner since they last saw each other.
“You bastard…”
Woonghee closed both eyes as if in despair.
You fucking bastard, what the hell are you trying to do?
***
All the way back to the bungalow, Woonghee bit his nails in anxiety. Though it felt like eons to Woonghee, barely an hour had passed.
Creeeak—carefully opening the door and entering, fortunately the man was sleeping with both eyes closed in the same position as before. Woonghee briefly checked if the man was really asleep, then docilely lay down beside him. Of course, with his back turned to him.
Complicated thoughts passed through his head one by one. Numerous questions with not a single one resolved. Within them, Woonghee squeezed his eyes shut then opened them as if turning away from reality.
The familiar wooden wall entered his dim vision.
How much time had passed? Smoothly, his upper body was raised. The man’s head moved slowly, staring at the wall. He got the feeling as if their eyes had met beyond the shadows. He seemed to be watching him.
“……”
As if knowing Woonghee wasn’t asleep, that eerie and strange standoff continued for a long while.
What was Managing Director Gi thinking?
Why was someone who didn’t hesitate at revenge just watching Tula? There was no way he didn’t know Tula kept circling around this area.
