Boy Monster Chapter 61

The one who would one day kill the head of the family,

The one who Jang Hwonwoo, the next head, might also kill,

He could not abandon the desire to keep that man by his side, and not by anyone else’s.

Jang Hwonwoo was confused and even angered by his own emotional desires.

Once he sat in the position of the family head who controlled the Hwelju and Yeonri, he would gain rights and a sense of superiority that ordinary people could not dare to challenge, as well as the status of the upper echelon of society. And yet, there was a man who brought a slight nuisance to this guaranteed life, and that man was Jae Eunho.

Why do I not want to be distant from him, and instead wish to be close, sharing more intimate conversations than with anyone else? What on earth is this intense sexual desire? If it’s just lust, can’t I sate it with someone else? Why, of all people, does my body want him?

He had even considered this: In that case, couldn’t I just take him by force once? If it’s just a lust that makes my body ache for him, won’t it wither away once I get used to it?

However, that was too extreme and carried a great risk, so he put it on hold for the time being. Instead, he purposely visited Eunho’s room on the days of his sexual unions. He would smoke a cigarette by the window, secretly listening in on the sounds. He did it hoping his feelings would fade if he accepted that Eunho would live a completely different life from Jang Hwonwoo. Or perhaps, his feelings would cool down if he listened to Eunho having sex with others multiple times.

But Jae Eunho was the same for years, no, for a lifetime. He remained as quiet as a mouse, not even letting out a breath. After eavesdropping on the cruelly one-sided affairs several times, it actually had the opposite effect. His guts twisted and rage flared, blinding him to everything, and he could no longer stand by and do nothing.

He gave money to those who volunteered for the sexual unions and threatened them into silence, so they never came back. Sometimes he had to harm them, but it was necessary….

The desire that had grown entangled with him over a long time became the boy’s life.

In his passions, he held him countless times. That man, who never let out a single breath during his numerous sexual unions, would writhe with a flushed face in Jang Hwonwoo’s arms.

What must I do to possess what I cannot have?

To hold for a long time the man who, for so long, had taught Hwonwoo all sorts of dirty and awe-inspiring faces at once, the man who had illuminated Jang Hwonwoo’s life with the sharp, cold moonlight?

‘I will break the shackles of fate, and I will cover the black moonlight.’

If the end of that resolution for Jae Eunho was the family head and the Empire of Japan, for Jang Hwonwoo, it meant he had to make Sa Hwelju’s Yeonri his own.

‘It’s not that there isn’t a way.’

If the bloodline of Sa Hwelju never appears.

Wouldn’t that work?

Just like now.

If, until Jae Eunho and I die, the king who will receive the power of Sa Hwelju does not appear,

Wouldn’t that work?

Then I can have Sa Yeonri. I can hold him in my bedroom every night. Whispering the most intimate words to him….

……What if the bloodline of Sa Hwelju appears?

I can just kill them without a soul knowing.

The ways to secretly kill a person are as varied as the kinds of brilliant Western-style furniture and clothes.

The country that would be unable to use that power without Sa Hwelju would surely be disappointed,

But…

What can I do?

Is there any other way?

For me to have him, I have no choice but to trample on the authority of Sa Hwelju.

The anguish and conflict that had enveloped Jang Hwonwoo’s inner self began to find their direction, stirring up a great wind.

The folding screen in the room of the Governor-General’s military officer… and… the stake that severed the pulse of Joseon… the railroad… the blood shed by gunshots… the brutal greed that cut across the Korean peninsula…… Outside Jang Hwonwoo’s body, a war that would sweep the entire world had begun, and inside Jang Hwonwoo, a storm just as large was raging.

Standing tall amidst the fierce winds of fate that shook his body and life, Jang Hwonwoo looked at only one place.

Like the bloody winds of a war that pierced through an era, an intense and viscous desire pierced through Jang Hwonwoo’s body.

:･⚜️⊹.️

Jang Hwonwoo had bought a motion picture camera on his trip back from Europe. It was a camera that filmed moving images by turning a handle. The principle was that a long, rope-like object called film would wind inside the camera, taking countless pictures, but even though it was modified for an individual’s hobby, it was large and heavy to carry around.

It seemed the guy needed a big hobby, as much as he was worn down by hard work. Jang Hwonwoo was filming Jae Eunho eating Jajangmyeon. The surrounding gazes gathered. The son of a rich family, I see, were the envious stares.

“Na Woon-gyu* would be beating the ground and weeping. You bought that expensive camera and even a projector, just to film me?”

“Title, Sa Yeonri’s Luncheon. Do you know how to eat Jajangmyeon without getting it on your clothes? This man is quite skilled at it.”

Jang Hwonwoo mimicked the tone of a byeonsa, a narrator for silent films. Jae Eunho lifted his head, still chewing. His eyes met the clumsy, black camera capturing him. Then his gaze shifted to Jang Hwonwoo’s arm holding the heavy camera. Tearing his eyes away from the tensed wrist, Jae Eunho began his final mouthful with his chopsticks.

“Sir, do you know how truly wicked you are? I’ve only had a few spoonfuls, but you’re already finished.”

Having finished filming, Jang Hwonwoo sat down and picked up his chopsticks. Jae Eunho wiped his mouth with a napkin and replied nonchalantly.

“Ah, that was delicious.”

Jang Hwonwoo laughed and picked up his chopsticks. While he finished his meal, Jae Eunho looked over the motion picture camera. His eyes wandered here and there until they met with the female owner of the Chinese restaurant. The owner was staring blankly at the nape of Jang Hwonwoo’s neck, which was exposed above his shirt. It was true that no matter how many stylish modern boys strutted around Gyeongseong, the opportunity to see a truly well-built, rugged man was rare. Whenever he walked down the street with Jang Hwonwoo, he would always witness such stares.

Jae Eunho was lost in a brief thought. He seems well past the age to choose a Yeonri.

They heard a large new cafe had opened, so they moved there after their meal. As they sat at a table under a tall palm tree, the guy’s two legs spread wide next to Eunho’s feet. His small legs, which used to bounce on the sofa when he was young, had now grown so long that there was hardly enough space.

The two men were silently listening to a popular youth song sung by Kim Hae-song. Jae Eunho took a sip of coffee and asked casually.

“Don’t you have a Yeonri in mind these days? You absolutely need a Yeonri to use your 1st-grade ability to its fullest.”

“Well…?”

“The Governor-General also seems to want you to connect with a Yeonri quickly….”

A 1st-grade Poong Hwelju could fly, and a 1st-grade Hwa Hwelju could heal life-threatening injuries. To use these abilities freely, a Yeonri’s control was essential, and since he was well past the age for marriage, it seemed talk was beginning to stir among the Japanese military leadership.

The tip of his shoe, which was outside the table, tapped slowly. Jang Hwonwoo, with his eyes on his coffee cup, asked back.

“Do you wish for me to get a Yeonri quickly?”

Jang Hwonwoo’s inscrutable gaze rolled up from Jae Eunho’s fingertips. Leaning his chin on his hand, Jang Hwonwoo said.

“Is there a Yeonri you’d like to recommend to me? I’ll follow your word, Sir.”

“Why would I choose your Yeonri? You have to find a child who’s a good match for you.”

“What kind of a good match?”

“Sexual compatibility.”

He was old enough to know, and he would be bound to a Yeonri eventually anyway, so he just said it frankly. He even added some more details.

“But that’s something that develops on its own as you attune your bodies to each other, so as long as it’s not terrible, it’s fine.”

“Aha….”

Seeing the guy nod his head so shamelessly without a hint of embarrassment made him think, ‘Huh?’ Did the family head teach him in detail about the lewd acts and emissions between Hwelju and Yeonri? Jang Hwonwoo, who had been staring thoughtfully at the ceiling, asked.

“You’re a Sa Yeonri, Sir. Does that mean you have to be alone until a Sa Hwelju appears?”

“That’s not it. After being connected, you can’t have intercourse with others, but if you’re not connected, well, it doesn’t matter if you use it so much that a fire breaks out down there every day.”

“Pfft…!”

Jang Hwonwoo almost spat out the coffee in his mouth from the sudden burst of laughter. He covered his mouth and looked at Jae Eunho with a very surprised face. It seemed he found it novel that Jae Eunho was talking about such risqué matters.

“When a man and a woman are passionately sharing affection and a fire breaks out, you have to put it out with water, right? Do you know what that water is called?”

“Heh…. Puhaha…! Well, I have no idea…?”

“I’ll tell you on the day you pair up with your Yeonri.”

“Can’t you tell me now?”

Jae Eunho shook his head, refraining from saying the word ‘cum’. He didn’t have many friends to share this kind of talk with, and since he was so comfortable with Jang Hwonwoo, making obscene jokes was also fun. Sitting across from Jang Hwonwoo after three months, he could feel his own mood becoming quite buoyant. Jae Eunho took a sip of his coffee, a long-overdue smile on his face.

Jang Hwonwoo rolled up his shirt sleeves. His wrists, now a bit thicker and tanned by the sun, showed how rough and harsh his recent missions had been. After fiddling with his chin for a while, Jang Hwonwoo spoke.

“You said I get to choose my Yeonri, so actually, there is a Yeonri I want.”

It wasn’t entirely unexpected, but hearing him say it in such a firm tone made him feel strange. Still, Jae Eunho asked with a welcoming expression.

“Who?”

“Hmm…… well… it’s hard to say exactly….”

The guy frowned and hesitated for a long time. The wait for his answer was not comfortable. He was dying of curiosity as to who it could be. Jang Hwonwoo answered.

“Someone else’s Yeonri.”

“You damn bastard. Give it up unless you want to be struck by lightning.”

“To be precise, it’s someone who is ‘to become’ another Hwelju’s Yeonri?”

“It’s the same thing.”

“It’s different. It’s the difference between taking them with difficulty and taking them with ease.”

“……Think it over and answer me again.”

He never imagined that Hwonwoo would be coveting another Hwelju’s Yeonri. Jae Eunho glared at him with a stern face. But Jang Hwonwoo fixed an even more serious gaze deeply on Jae Eunho.

“I want that person so much. I only think of having intercourse with that person. Every single night. It’s to the point of being painful.”

Jang Hwonwoo saying such things was so unfamiliar. To resolve this strange discomfort, Jae Eunho tried to convince himself in his mind. Right, he’s well past that age. Since he’s grown up this much, his lower parts must have developed years ago, and it must have been quite a while since his body started reacting to girls with perky, ripe breasts.

He was faced with a dark feeling, like a sense of deprivation, but Jae Eunho thought it was pity for himself, who had never experienced romance or love under the control of the family head.

Jang Hwonwoo, who had grown up so suddenly into a man and was now choosing a spouse, felt impossibly far away. Eunho finished the rest of his coffee and said.

“It seems the way you think is the core problem. Ever since you were very young, you’ve been using the expression ‘having’ a Yeonri. That’s why you’re talking about snatching someone else’s partner. How can you say you ‘have’ a lover who helps control your power and keeps you from going berserk? You should say you cherish them.”

“To me, having is more than cherishing. What’s the use of a loving heart if I can’t have them?”

When he answered like that, it became a reason in its own right. Jae Eunho hurriedly put on his coat, as if to get up from his seat. It was because he didn’t want to show his uneasy feelings.

“There’s no way the heir of Sashimcheon can’t have a Yeonri he likes. What are you worried about?”

Letting out a relaxed laugh, Jang Hwonwoo picked up his spoon and stirred his coffee. Tapping the rim of the coffee cup, tak, tak, Jang Hwonwoo asked lightly.

“What about you, Sir Jae Eunho.”

“What about me?”

“If I were to ask you to pair up with me as my Yeonri, would you welcome it?”

Jae Eunho furrowed his brow deeply. Did this bastard go crazy after his tour of the Siberian plains?

Footnote:

1. A film director active during the Japanese colonial period.