The Smell of Something Fishy Chapter 1.1

The man was sitting in the middle of the funeral hall. Dressed entirely in black as if to show respect at the house of mourning, he had a calm demeanor. Even when he lit the incense in front of the deceased’s portrait, and when he exchanged bows with Yeonseo, the chief mourner, he observed the proprieties without any superfluous actions, and there was a strange discipline to his movements.

In short, he was a man who did not seem like a loan shark at all.

He did not bring subordinates with him, as the gangsters Yeonseo knew were wont to do, nor did he cause a scene or shout threats demanding the money be repaid.

—I am sorry for your father’s passing.

That was the only thing he said. That was all he offered when he came face to face with Yeonseo.

Thanks to that, when Yeonseo bowed while looking at the top of the man’s head, he did not know the man was a gangster. No, he could not even begin to guess what sort of connection he had with his father. He was polite, but he seemed like a person from a world too different to be entangled with his father. If his father was a mayfly, this man seemed to be of a breed that dwelled in such a high place that one could dare call those who barely earned enough to eat for the day commoners… or so it felt.

The reason he felt that way was probably due to their starkly different physical builds. That was likely the biggest reason. To begin with, he was bigger than anyone Yeonseo had ever seen.

He was a man better described by the adjective “stately” rather than simply “big.” His head alone rose abruptly above the sea of similarly-sized heads, forcing everyone in the hall to look up at him. Even a man who might be considered quite tall had to tilt his head back quite a bit to see his face, and for Yeonseo, who was only of average male height, it was only possible to make eye contact by tilting his neck all the way back.

And a physique to match his great height. His shoulders were particularly broad and his limbs were long, giving the impression of a very heavy and large, muscular body, even without having to see it unclothed.

That alone brought to mind rich resources, a high quality culture medium. The man was even incredibly handsome. Yeonseo experienced firsthand that day why one is made to think about talent and genetics when faced with an overwhelmingly impressive person.

But it was a little strange. To be a person bestowed with every excellent quality, he strangely felt like a sharp, honed hunting dog. Lacking the characteristic ease of one who has…

Was it because of his consistently calm, almost silent, atmosphere? Or was it because of the musk scent that made even the surroundings sink heavily? He was exceedingly handsome from afar, but frightening to approach… Even staring at him openly felt inwardly burdensome.

Whether it was misfortune or a blessing, Yeonseo had been close to gangsters since he could remember. Of course, it was not of his own will. It was because of his father. At the time Yeonseo was born, Yeonseo’s father was a businessman who was barely maintaining a business that had already half collapsed. Because of that, he had been repeatedly taking out private loans and paying them off for a long time.

The gangsters, who referred to his father as ‘President Park’ or ‘Brother Park’, were cheerful one day and violent the next. On cheerful days, they would offer a piggyback ride and carry Yeonseo on their necks. On violent days, they would grab Yeonseo’s wrist in front of his father and threaten him by shaking it. Then, his father, with a deathly pale face, would easily drop to his knees.

He did not know what it meant when he was young, but he understood after he grew up. Because of you, President, your son is going to become a daughter. You wanna make him take an old man’s dick in his pale cunt? Enough time had passed for him to understand those words. During that time, the gangsters continued to hover around Yeonseo. His father passed away after hitting his head badly on a hand that a gangster had pushed.

Leaving behind only a debt that had not been fully repaid.

🕷️

“…Thank you for coming.”

Yeonseo placed a cup of hot tea in front of the man. The funeral hall had been sparsely attended from the first day. Even then, after eight in the evening, no one besides one helper was around. Yeonseo sent the helper home and brewed the tea himself. He felt he had to. It seemed unlikely that the reason a man so out of place in this location had waited so quietly for a whole hour was ordinary.

In truth, he could have asked earlier if he wanted to. The reason he had not was due to a strange anxiety. An anxiety about an unforeseeable situation. His own unfamiliar reaction of his attention immediately drifting that way if he let his mind wander for a moment.

The man was scary because he was too handsome, scary because he was gigantic, and scary because he was a type of person he had never once met in his life. With time, he might re-evaluate this as excitement within the anxiety, but right now, Yeonseo, for the first time, ended up avoiding the situation by simply lumping his emotions together like a child.

Even though he could only hold out for an hour.

“Excuse me… is there something you wish to say to me?”

The man, without even touching the tea Yeonseo offered, took out a business card from his inner jacket pocket.

「Geumung Capital, Tae Shinju」

“I am Tae Shinju.”

“Ah…”

Although he was already sitting on the floor, Yeonseo was overcome with the feeling of his legs giving out again as soon as he checked the business card. Managing Director of Geumung Capital, Tae Shinju. The place Yeonseo had heard of ad nauseam was Geumung Loan. Geumung Capital. Geumung Loan. Though the designation at the end was different, to Yeonseo, this man came down to one thing.

‘He’s a loan shark.’

Only after defining him as such did Yeonseo realize what kind of expectations he had been harboring for the man. He himself was unsure what exactly he had been expecting, but he had been unconsciously hoping that this outstanding man would live up to the expectations he himself did not even know he had, that he would please not disappoint him.

It seemed his subconscious had been praying that this man, Tae Shinju, was not a loan shark.

‘I was a fool.’

Resignation came quickly. No, the more he thought about it, the more foolish it was. If he had used his head just a little, he would have quickly determined which side this man was closer to.

His father’s connections were, to put it nicely, abysmal. It was easy to picture the process of him losing a great number of people while stubbornly holding onto his failing business. In recent years, his contact with gangsters had been more frequent than with ordinary people, so much so that Yeonseo had even thought he should just cremate him immediately rather than hold a funeral.

Above all, he had no money either.

Funerals cost money, and cremation was all money. Moreover, his father’s death was close to a sudden, unnatural death. There was no way he would have had money saved up in preparation for his own funeral.

Right after hearing the declaration of his father’s death, he had a panic attack at the hospital. He fainted right then and there, so he did not remember the subsequent situation well. The person next to him when he woke up told him that he had hyperventilated.

Yeonseo’s eyes widened.

“…Come to think of it.”

—On behalf of the CEO, I express my deepest condolences for your father’s death. It is modest to call it compensation, but we will take responsibility for all funeral procedures and Mr. Park Yeonseo’s medical expenses. Please rest comfortably until you have fully recovered.

Saying that, a young man he had never seen before had handed him a business card. Geumung Capital. The company name, engraved in gold foil, suddenly revived in his mind.

‘At that time, I was so out of it I just said I understood…’

……So it was this man. The person who was the CEO.

Yeonseo, still kneeling, bowed his head deeply.

“Um, my greeting is late, but… thank you for your help. Thanks to you, I was able to send my father off well. The money, I will pay it back, even if it’s little by little….”

“The money is fine. Did the employee not convey it to you then? That you should not worry about the costs. Our side is not without responsibility in your father’s death, so it was arranged as a token of apology, so please do not mind it. And….”

The man, who had cut him off so curtly it was rather embarrassing, suddenly trailed off. Despite knowing almost nothing about the man, Yeonseo thought this act was somehow unlike him. It seemed that for him, there were only two options, ‘to speak’ and ‘not to speak’, and the act of trailing off mid-sentence… let alone choosing his words, seemed like something he would have never done, nor needed to do, in his entire life.

This man, choosing his words while studying someone’s face. It was such a dissonant combination that a laugh like a sigh escaped instead.

Glancing down at Yeonseo, he slowly continued.

“Mr. Park Yeonseo, do you know how much your father’s debt is.”

“I believe it is around… 4.3 billion.”

“Your father’s debt was 4.29 billion won as of the end of last month, and the interest was 60 percent per month… 30 million won was added each month.”

Thirty million…. To Yeonseo, for whom a single bill was precious, both 30 million and 4.3 billion were sums so large he could not even begin to grasp their scale.

He was genuinely curious. How did his father see that money? Did he think he could repay it if he just tried somehow? Knowing that such a huge burden was growing, how could he have pressed his own finger to the seal and signed the contract?

What kind of lingering attachment had he been captivated by?

Yeonseo thought he knew what Tae Shinju was about to say. You must repay the money your father borrowed. That must be his business.

“The interest can be stopped.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Starting next month, your father’s debt will be managed not by Geumung Loan, but by Geumung Capital… by me. The debt will be 4.3 billion, but I will stop the interest there.”

Again. It was another development different from his expectations. Yeonseo, without realizing it, let his mouth hang open blankly. But the man, with a somewhat displeased look, furrowed his brow.

“Of course, there is something Mr. Park Yeonseo must do before that. You must express your intention to repay the debt by inheriting your father’s assets. If you renounce the inheritance or go through the process of qualified acceptance, ‘Geumung Loan’ will try to charge Mr. Park Yeonseo a penalty fee. Furthermore, they will judge that there is a critical risk to repayment and there is a high probability they will not try to transfer Mr. Park Yeonseo’s case to Capital.”

“……”

“Once you inherit, you must first dispose of your father’s factory and land to reduce the debt. If you need a professional’s help, I will assign someone to you. And, if Mr. Park Yeonseo’s case is successfully transferred to Capital, we will draw up a revised contract with an interest waiver clause.”

“Why….”

After being momentarily surprised by the unexpected development, the man’s business was ultimately not different from what Yeonseo had surmised. But the nuance was extremely strange. Was there something wrong with his ears? To his ears, it sounded as if Tae Shinju was saying that was the only way he could help him.

Even though this man was just another loan shark.

But why….

“Why… are you trying to help me?”

He could not help but ask. They were complete strangers who had never met in his twenty one years of life. If there had been even a speck of a connection, he would never have been able to forget. He had the face and presence for it.

He let out a faint sigh. The sight of him slightly lowering his eyes and exhaling was so picturesque that it was scary again.

“Can you not just say I did it because I felt like it.”

He could. Whether the intention was light or not, it was salvation for Yeonseo.

“……”

“……You probably do not know, but the company your father, Mr. Park Yeonseo, borrowed money from is run by my younger brother. We have different mothers, though.”

He had not said anything, but the man’s brow furrowed noticeably. Why am I saying this. It was a delusion, but it seemed as if that was written on his furrowed brow. So strangely.

“Ah….”

However, the story that followed was so close to his private life that Yeonseo did not know what to do. While he pricked up his ears and listened attentively, he was anxious about whether he was allowed to hear this. The person confessing the fact himself was indifferent, though.

“I will not bother mentioning what the conduct of Geumung Loan’s CEO is like, as you, Mr. Park Yeonseo, would know best. As you know, Tae Hyunwoong is an untrainable son of a bitch, for whom even the expression ‘gangster’ is a waste. Because an incompetent and stupid thug has money and power, even when he plays with people and engages in blackmail and threats, all his actions are processed legally. And….”

It was the second time already. That he trailed off while speaking.

Yeonseo’s lips were parched. He wished the man would speak without hesitation, just as he had when he was pouring out what Yeonseo had to do.

“And… what is next?”

The expression ‘out of character’ must be used for times like this. Despite having been the one to press him, Yeonseo was surprised by his own action.

Their eyes met. His pupils were a particularly deep black. His pupils were a little small and he had sanpaku eyes, but whether it was because of the deep inner double eyelids or the sharp tension, his eyes, which had a glint in them, gave a clear impression.

From the moment he made that judgment, it was Tae Shinju who held Yeonseo’s gaze, preventing him from looking away.

Red lips…. A beautiful man has pretty lips too.

“…Have you ever slept with a man.”

“…Ah….”

The man faintly softened his eyes. In reality, no sound was made, but in Yeonseo’s mind, a laugh that seemed to have flowed in a terribly low bass voice was echoing.

“I heard you were pretty… but if you just keep your mouth open blankly like that even when being sexually harassed, bad guys will make a move on you.”

“……”

“In times like these, you should say ‘son of a bitch’.”

Yeonseo closed his mouth. Not because he could not repeat the curse, but because of the man’s remark and his gaze. The feeling of being licked all over… of being stripped naked while sitting in this spot.

“…Anyway, to continue the story, one of Tae Hyunwoong’s many nasty hobbies is to ruin excessively pretty and young people like you, Mr. Park Yeonseo.”

“……”

“That bastard is surely waiting for you, Mr. Park Yeonseo, to renounce the inheritance. If he presents you with a penalty fee of up to 400 percent on top of the current debt, you, Mr. Park Yeonseo, with no home, no means, and no parents, will fall right into his grasp… and after being violated in every hole, you will be sold off as someone’s fap material.”

Fap material. When he pronounced the vulgar word, he smiled slightly with his eyes. Yeonseo knew he had put it mildly. As he said, he would be ‘legally’ raped, and would be made to film pornography.

The gangsters also used to say it often with a smile. To let them know if he was really desperate for money. That they would let it slide for a month or two.

While fidgeting with Yeonseo’s pale legs.

He now knew that they would deliberately poke, push, or knock him over to try and touch his body. Yeonseo believed that the reason his skin did not tan, his Adam’s apple did not protrude, his voice was not low, or his body lines were not sharp and firm like ordinary boys was because of another hole. The trace of a woman that others did not have, which was why his father had tried even harder to hide it.

If he did not have this, if he just had an ordinary body, would the gangsters have constantly used him to threaten his father… would they have tried so desperately to touch him, he could not help but wonder.

“So… do you also want to ruin me?”

“You.”

Tae Shinju picked up the word as if it were an interesting expression. Yeonseo lowered his head. The fact that he was Tae Hyunwoong’s half brother meant that half of the son of a bitch’s blood was mixed in him too.

He hoped that the unmixed side of the blood was not that of a son of a bitch, but it would be foolish to have expectations.

“Hmm…. You do not have to believe me, but I actually came here without much meaning. My hobby is to watch the distorted face of my disgusting brother by interfering with his business, and the target of my visit did not necessarily have to be you, Mr. Park Yeonseo. It just had to be a target that he was interested in and obsessed with.”

“……”

“The reason I came here was simply out of curiosity. Just how special are you, Mr. Park Yeonseo, that my stupid brother, the gangsters who are all brawn and no brain, and even the meticulously selected subordinates cannot keep their wits about them.”

The gaze fixed on his forehead and cheeks felt like nails. Yeonseo blinked his eyes in confusion. He was confused about the intention behind the remarks the man was reeling off. Was he saying that he himself was a trained son of a bitch, that he had no intention of harassing Yeonseo, or that he simply did not like his half brother engaging in thuggish acts.

“How strange…. I certainly do want to sleep with you.”

“……”

“You look like you would cry just from a light touch, but when actually touched, you are dry and brittle, which stimulates a man’s desire for conquest, is what I am saying.”

They were using the same Korean, but it felt like listening to a foreign language. Yeonseo seriously contemplated. This is….

“…bull…shit….”

Right…?

“…Hmm. You are quite a fast learner.”

Oh, he smiled.

He had mumbled unconsciously, so Yeonseo belatedly realized he had said it out loud. His pale cheeks flushed red.

“I am sorry….”

“No. It is bullshit, so there is no need to apologize. This is a bit sudden, but would you like to make a deal with me.”

“Excuse me? What kind of deal….”

Tae Shinju’s expression softened to a degree that was clearly noticeable compared to a moment ago. His eyes were full of interest.

“Let’s sleep together. If you, Mr. Park Yeonseo, cry under me, I will give you ten million, if you curse, twenty million, and if you cry and curse, fifty million. I am not telling you to decide right now, so think about it. Even if you refuse, the matter of the revised contract will proceed as is, so do not worry.”

Son of a bitch.

Unfortunately, it seemed he was indeed mixed with half the blood of a son of a bitch. He had put it nicely, but he was telling Yeonseo to sell his body. It was just a matter of whether he would be dragged away and forcibly raped and made to film pornography, or if it would take the form of sex by his own free will.

He was curious.

“By any chance… do you know about my body?”

“If you mean that you, Mr. Park Yeonseo, are intersex, then I know. …Ah. Do you prefer not to use the female genitals?”

This is crazy…. Yeonseo ended up covering his face. He had never imagined he would have a conversation about his own crotch in his right mind, let alone that the brother of the person who had tormented him for so long would bring up such a topic.

Tae Shinju narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Mr. Park Yeonseo…. Are you by any chance a virgin.”

“……”

“Hmm…. Then I will raise the price. 100 million for taking Mr. Park Yeonseo’s virginity. 200 million if you let me use both holes. Fellatio… I see you have never done it before. Your face is about to explode.”

The man, who was across from him, suddenly closed the distance. His arm reaching out to grab Yeonseo’s neck was faster than Yeonseo could pull his upper body back. It was a very gentle grasp, completely without force, just wrapping around his Adam’s apple, but even so, Yeonseo stiffened and held his breath. So much so that it felt as if his scent was binding and pressing down on his entire body.

“Your neck… is slender.”

“Hut…”

“300 million if I use your throat too.”

300 million in one night.

It was an enormous amount of money. As he said, for Yeonseo, who had no home, no means, and no parents, the opportunity to earn 300 million in one night would never come again in his lifetime.

Gulp.

The saliva that had pooled from tension trickled down his throat. He knew the man savored that feeling. Yeonseo, his hands now damp with cold sweat, raised them and wrapped them around the man’s wrist. Once it became a nine figure sum like his debt, he found himself helplessly calculating the unit price. The feeling of having become cheap already, even though he had not sold his body, was surely not just his imagination. But he could not help it. Being dragged away by Tae Hyunwoong was more frightening.

“Just one thing.”

“……”

“Just one thing… please promise me. If—.”

“If?”

“If you… happen to like… like this body, that you will continue to buy… buy it, at the same price.”

His breath trembled the entire time he spoke. Yeonseo was not used to bargaining. Even less so when it came to selling his own body.

He questioned him back, his fingers toying with Yeonseo’s neck.

“Well…. Buying you again would not be difficult. But the same price…. What is the reason for that? That double price includes the cost of your, Mr. Park Yeonseo’s, virginity.”

“S-Still…. Even so… my first time will forever be with you, Mr. Tae Shinju….”

It was difficult to guess the man’s age by his appearance alone. Yeonseo had not experienced enough people to discern that at a glance. Compared to the gangsters he had encountered, he looked to be in his twenties, but he was too mature to be in his twenties like himself, so he also seemed to be in his thirties.

He laughed heartily for the first time.

“Haha… this is a trip.”

Then, he cleanly let go and stepped back. He flipped over the business card he had given Yeonseo and wrote down his contact information himself. Even as he did so, he kept letting out small chuckles, as if something was just that funny.

“This is my personal number. Contact me when you are ready, I will come pick you up.”

His tone of voice also seemed a bit more… friendly.

When he smiled, his impression was a complete reversal. He was a frighteningly handsome person even with an indifferent expression, but when laughter and ease were added, Yeonseo could do nothing but stare as if mesmerized.

The only one surprised was Yeonseo; he stood up and put on his shoes as if they had never had such a risqué conversation. Yeonseo, who followed him out as if possessed, only had fragmented thoughts like a broken robot, thinking that the black leather shoes suited him well.

“Mr. Park Yeonseo.”

“Yes, mph…!”

Then, he was suddenly robbed of his breath.

A kiss that bit his lips painfully and threatened to pull out his tongue. It was his first kiss. Yeonseo struggled, not knowing where to breathe. He was in great distress, his breath cut off, but the man rummaged around and touched everywhere inside Yeonseo’s mouth before pulling away with a smack.

He was dumbfounded.

In the midst of it all, the man’s lips came into view. They were glistening with a moisture that was not there before. Since their lips had been completely pressed together and mashed, that could have been Yeonseo’s saliva. Suddenly, that was so, so erotic. To have smeared his saliva on someone else. That he had sucked on the hidden flesh inside him.

Suddenly, the purpose of the part of his body that he had lived his whole life pretending did not exist was conscious for the first time. The lower abdomen connected to that place felt tight and tingly….

“First kiss?”

“……”

“A pointless question. Add this to the tab as well. Your firsts, Mr. Park Yeonseo, I will buy all of them.”

The son of a bitch left.