Yang’s Master Chapter 2.3 - Liar

Cheon Yeomyung could not understand why Yang Euijoo, who was not such an innocent and moral person himself, was so deeply interested in whether a stranger lived or died. Many people were like that. It did not affect their own lives, yet they were so invested in the life and death of people they had only seen a few times.

Cheon Yeomyung had only ever seen devil-like people who would abandon their own family if necessary.

Still, it was not a bad thing. Cheon Yeomyung did his best to act affectionately so that Yang Euijoo would not be frightened.

“I am not trying to rebuke you.”

“Then?”

“I want you, teacher, to live comfortably in Yirang. Your job is decent, is it not? A pharmacist.”

And I plan to clean up the filth someday. Cheon Yeomyung watched Yang Euijoo’s expression as he rose from his seat. The frozen face was quite cute. I thought his prickly side was his charm, but the frightened side is a bit more to my taste. He made a cool-headed assessment that his own taste was frivolous and patted Yang Euijoo’s shoulder. Thump, thump.

“By the way, are you not eating too little? You should rest and have dinner before you go.”

From the well-set tea table, all he had touched was tea and a single muffin. Looking at Yang Euijoo’s portion size, Cheon Yeomyung thought it was not so strange that he was always ailing. In the end, he gave a somewhat personal order and picked up the glasses he had set down, putting them on his face. The beautiful face transformed back into that of an excellent and faithful capitalist.

“Oh, right.”

As if he had almost forgotten, Cheon Yeomyung, who was about to close the door and leave, turned his body and whispered as if it were a secret.

“You are the first lover who has come to my house, teacher. Welcome.”

It felt less like he had entered a nest and more like he was cornered. Yang Euijoo stared at the man with a blank expression. But the other person was already gone, and a large, heavy door blocked his view. The intricate relief carved into the door looked like the scales of a snake.

What was the lover he met before Yang Euijoo like? Cheon Yeomyung strenuously looked back on his life of the past year or so, which had been so very chaste that he was on the verge of becoming a living saint. No matter how much he thought, he could not remember what happened to his ex-lover. However, he did not tarnish his social standing by asking his subordinates what had happened to his ‘old lovers.’

It was Friday night, a precious time for an intimate dinner with his close associates. The people sitting around the large circular table were each putting food into their mouths and sharing light personal talk. Cheon Yeomyung took a piece of smoked duck, sliced it, and asked.

“How did the previous task I ordered go?”

“It was finished well.”

“Is that so?”

Even though they said it was finished well, something seemed to displease him, as Cheon Yeomyung let out a short sound. The tender smoked duck was the chef’s specialty, but today it seemed a bit too tough. Linlin, who had been frantically stuffing her mouth with meat, stopped and watched her boss’s expression.

“…Should I make a restaurant reservation?”

“Hmm?”

“For, you know, teacher pharmacist… so you can have a wonderful date in Yirang.”

It was a ridiculous story. Cheon Yeomyung, who had been spearing the duck meat with his fork, let out a dry laugh.

“Since when did you become a matchmaker?”

At the cold remark, Linlin maintained a steadfast smile. Since it was a dinner with the boss, Linlin, who had tied her hair more neatly than usual, scooped two bowls of fried rice with a spatula and shoveled it into her mouth. Watching the colorful fried rice disappear in an instant, Cheon Yeomyung lightly rested his chin on his hand.

“I will handle my own love life, so stay out of it.”

“But, boss, you always fail at dating.”

Linlin, whose spirits were high from receiving heaps of praise and affection recently for handling tasks proactively before Cheon Yeomyung even asked, chattered on. Beside her, Roserock shot her a glare that screamed ‘shut up,’ but Linlin was a tomboy by nature. She knew Cheon Yeomyung favored her a little more than the other members, so she often tested her boundaries. Of course, it was always within the limits Cheon Yeomyung allowed.

“Has my dating business been that much of a mess?”

With the new topic of romance, something other than “I will rip your mouth open” or “I will put a bullet in your head” came out of Cheon Yeomyung’s mouth. The atmosphere slowly began to loosen up. They each fearlessly started to evaluate the boss’s love life.

Cheon Yeomyung simply smiled as he looked around at his four subordinates, who would probably never stab him in the back. Listening to their stories, not a single one of them was on his side. Had he really been so careless with his relationships? He thought he had always been generous with his money and time.

He picked up a piece of softly steamed shrimp with his fork and put it in his mouth, watching as his subordinates’ conversation, which had been about ‘the textbook example of a trashy love life that not even Buddha could save and not even Jesus could resurrect,’ shifted to his new lover. Well, it was not confirmed that he was a lover yet, but a premature misunderstanding was not a bad thing. It would all turn out the way Cheon Yeomyung wanted anyway.

“He works as a pharmacist, you said? Does that mean he can make sleeping pills and stuff?”

“If he knew how to do that, would he be the boss’s lover?”

“That’s true too.”

Sogang, who had the most business trips, was very grateful that the dinner at the mansion, which he had returned to after a month, was no different than usual, and asked.

“Am I the only one who does not understand? Can someone explain?”

“Ah.”

Yi Jaryang, who had been roughly tearing at pig’s trotters, hastily wiped his greasy lips with a napkin. With a heart full of gratitude for Sogang, who always went on business trips in his place due to his anxiety with English, Yi Jaryang explained in as much detail as possible.

“The boss has a new lover. It is someone he met while you were in England, a teacher who works as a pharmacist in Yirang.”

“A man? Or a woman?”

“A man.”

“A man, but he is pretty.”

“A pretty man.”

Even without being asked, everyone chimed in with their own answers. Sogang made a complicated expression, then voiced his opinion to the boss, who was elegantly eating crab meat soup.

“Boss, I told you not to just look at their face, did I not?”

Cheon Yeomyung replied softly to Sogang’s advice.

“If you are curious, go have a look.”

“Is he that good-looking?”

Instantly understanding the meaning of his words, Sogang looked around the table and asked. Everyone who heard the question nodded their heads. Everyone except Cheon Yeomyung, who was calmly eating his soup. Linlin, in particular, was full of sincerity.

“That is strange.”

The wise Sogang tilted his head. Instead of touching the lavish food on the table, he looked at Cheon Yeomyung. He had served Cheon Yeomyung since he was young, but his expression was truly hard to read. It seemed unlikely he would get a proper explanation no matter how much he watched him, so Sogang looked around at those who were his family, his friends, his brothers and sisters, and asked.

“Is he someone who has not been in Yirang for long?”

“Probably about two years?”

“That is really strange.”

The sight of Cheon Yeomyung eating his soup looked so delicious that Sogang also filled his bowl to the brim with soup while wracking his brain. He took a spoonful of soup, then tapped the wide bowl. Tap, tap.

“A man handsome enough to meet the boss’s standards came to Yirang, and rumors did not spread as soon as he arrived?”

“Ah, as expected of Kang-oppa.”

Linlin waved her spoon in admiration. She hurriedly chewed and swallowed the food that filled her mouth and then continued.

“We only found out later, you know. He was practically living in hiding for about a year.”

“Is that possible in Yirang?”

“One person, um, kind of hid him.”

Unable to tolerate even a slight pause, Linlin, who had started tearing into the chewy oxtail stew again, slurred her words. Seeing Linlin’s cheeks puff up as she tore at the meat, Roserock explained in her stead.

“The first person who found him thought he could make money, so he tried to monopolize him. To put it simply, the boss’s lover escaped from under that guy and opened up his own pharmacy.”

“What’s with the pharmacy?”

“He sells some really trashy medicine… but that is not the important part. The boss told us not to worry about things like that.”

Linlin shook her head as she demolished her third plate of the main dish. Roserock roughly stroked Linlin’s head as if to say ‘shut up and eat.’ Then she swept back her chin-length bob, as red as her name, and clicked her tongue.

“Sogang, just eat for now. You returned late last night, so you need to regain your strength.”

“I am eating. So how did the boss get to know this man?”

“They say teacher Chui introduced them. I think they were neighbors. Still, being a person of Yirang, he would have been found out eventually, would he not?”

“Did he become his lover because of his face?”

“No.”

The answer came from Cheon Yeomyung. He pushed aside his half-empty bowl of crab meat soup, ordered a coffee, and leaned back in his chair. Sogang discreetly checked the leather gloves that invariably covered the boss’s hands, then speared and tore at the oxtail stew that Linlin had pushed onto his plate as if forcing him to eat. The well-steamed oxtail stew separated softly from the bone without much effort from the fork.

“I figured he would be useful.”

“In what way?”

“He is popular with the trash. If I show him to Kwon, that old man would drool while holding onto his limp dick that does not even get hard anymore.”

Sogang could not shake the thought that the boss’s love life was going to be dreadful this time as well. He ended up frowning. Yi Jaryang, who was watching Sogang’s expression from across the table, smiled silently. Yi Jaryang did not have high hopes for the boss’s new relationship either. All the people the boss chose as lovers had difficult lives, and after meeting Cheon Yeomyung, their lives only became more difficult.

“Do not think too deeply about it, just let it be. Let’s play cards in my room tonight.”

“Alright then…”

Yi Jaryang began to boast about the new deck of trump cards he had recently bought. Linlin pouted and grumbled about failing to pre-order a limited-edition deck with flower illustrations and received a gentle scolding from Roserock. It was a dinner filled with everyone’s own stories.

“By the way, boss, can I make a bet on you?”

Linlin, who had been talking about being short on allowance lately, asked Cheon Yeomyung as if she had just remembered. Cheon Yeomyung was in a very good mood at dinner today, so he looked at Linlin fondly.

“What kind of bet?”

“It is about the teacher. Since you brought this lover to the house, it will last more than a year. It will definitely not last this time either. Has he not done it yet? No way the boss would do that. He will make a move soon. The pharmacist teacher’s face looked haughty, so he will last a month. Things like that.”

Cheon Yeomyung asked, as if amused.

“What is the pot?”

“Minimum entry fee of 500 dollars! Big, right?”

Finally, a loud laugh burst from Cheon Yeomyung’s lips. After laughing for a long while, Cheon Yeomyung, with tears even forming at the corners of his eyes, covered his mouth with a leather-gloved hand and sighed, “Ah.” He was about to die from how cute his subordinates were, making bets on his love life.

“I will bet ten thousand dollars. Roserock, put it under your name.”

Roserock asked, with a face that said she could not believe the boss’s state of mind.

“…Where should I place the bet?”

“The relationship, one week. The romance, less than six months.”

“Eeeh!”

Linlin dropped what she was eating, jumped down from her chair, and ran to Cheon Yeomyung. Cheon Yeomyung looked at Linlin clinging to his arm and whining. Linlin’s eyes shimmered with expectation.

“I bet on more than six months! Boss, please just date him for exactly six months.”

“Do you like the pharmacist teacher? You are taking his side quite a bit.”

“Um, he seems nice. Like he knows his boundaries.”

Linlin beamed and pleaded charmingly.

“Please treat him well, boss.”

“If you wish for it, then I must.”

Cheon Yeomyung replied with a smile. All the organization members, except for Linlin who was blinded by the bet, had the exact same thought upon hearing the boss’s words.

That pharmacist teacher’s life was about to get quite difficult.

🐑

Not long after they had met and parted on bloody terms, Cheon Yeomyung came to Yirang again. The man, impeccably dressed from head to toe today as well, seemed to be the only one on this island not feeling the heat. The sunlight was dazzling. It was also a rare day without rain. Yang Euijoo’s throat was a little hoarse because five minutes ago, he had unleashed every swear word in existence on a drunkard who was screaming that he had been given rat droppings instead of a painkiller.

“Why are you here?”

Cheon Yeomyung, thinking Yang Euijoo’s hoarse voice was sexy, readily held out what he was holding in his hand. It was a rather prettily wrapped bunch of flowers. In short, it was what one would call a bouquet. An object you cannot even eat, trash, smelly trash, anyway, to conclude, it was trash. Trash. Yang Euijoo, a resident of Yirang, thought he would have felt better if Cheon Yeomyung had handed him an envelope of money instead.

“Because today is the day I formally ask you on a date.”

Yang Euijoo checked his own appearance. Today too, he had been working hard. He had just stayed at home, and since he had washed up carelessly last night, his already long hair was tangled and a mess. It was not appropriate attire for a date.

“A date, suddenly, looking like this?”

At the rather sensible reaction, Cheon Yeomyung snapped his fingers.

“That is why I came a little early. I would like the pharmacy to be temporarily closed today.”

Instead of saying he had to diligently sell the stock of about a hundred painkillers, Yang Euijoo nodded his head. After all, playing along with Cheon Yeomyung once was more profitable than him running his business. The bouquet of flowers he could not even eat rolled onto the poor floor without even having absorbed any water, and Yang Euijoo, still in his shabby clothes, was led by Cheon Yeomyung’s hand out of Yirang.

Today too, he could not hear an explanation of where they were going. After greeting the neatly dressed man in the driver’s seat with his eyes, they left Yirang and drove for about thirty minutes, arriving at a building with an immense ‘British-style’ exterior. Under the building’s sign, which was written in English, there was fortunately a guide written in Chinese characters that Yang Euijoo could read, stating it was a Beauty Parlor (美粧院). And as soon as he entered the beauty parlor, Yang Euijoo’s clothes were stripped off in a flash, and he was submerged in a bathtub with herbs floating on the surface. There were beauty parlors in Yirang too. He could not understand why he had to take a bath in a place that cuts hair.

He mustered the courage to ask, but the staff explained that this place was not a beauty parlor but a ‘salon.’ Unfortunately, Yang Euijoo could not understand what that word meant.

After finishing the job of literally getting scrubbed and polished, Yang Euijoo was seated in front of a large mirror, still in a gown, before he could even complain about the unfamiliar experience. Soon, two people wearing aprons approached from behind him and started talking while rummaging through his rough hair.

“Slightly longer hair would suit him too. If it is inconvenient usually, how about tying it up a bit? Like a half-up style.”

“I agree, it is a bit of a shame to cut it all off. What kind of hairstyle would you like, customer?”

“Shave it all off.”

Yang Euijoo said it without a moment’s hesitation, but the hairstylists immediately started conversing with each other as if they had not heard Yang Euijoo’s voice at all.

“Should we just trim the damaged ends and straighten it?”

“That sounds good. Lighter ends would suit him better than a heavy look.”

In any case, it was an attitude that did not consider Yang Euijoo’s needs or preferences in the slightest. Yang Euijoo desperately looked for someone to get him out of this crazy ‘salon,’ but Cheon Yeomyung, who had disappeared somewhere after they arrived, was nowhere to be seen, not even a single strand of his well-groomed hair. In the end, Yang Euijoo had his hair styled in a way that did not incorporate his opinion in the slightest.

After a lot of product was applied to his frizzy hair and it was exposed to heat for a long time, the previously frizzy hair became strangely silky. His long, unruly hair was now neatly arranged, covering the nape of his neck. It was still ambiguously long to be considered short, but strangely, it looked a little different from before. Yang Euijoo looked at his unfamiliar face and fiddled with his hair.

“You need to maintain this hairstyle often. It is best to visit once a month.”

“Still, it suits you so well, in fact, this kind of hairstyle is optimal for someone like you, customer.”

The voices of the hairstylists chattering loudly on either side of him about how well it suiLinda him were inaudible. Due to the hair styling that took about an hour, Yang Euijoo was dead tired. On top of that, since he had only been given a flimsy silk gown after his bath, he had to try not to sit with his legs wide open the entire time his hair was being done.

Even after that, he was not given proper clothes and had to follow where the staff guided him, still wearing only the gown.

“You are here?”

In the room at the end of the hallway sat Cheon Yeomyung, who had been nowhere to be found. He was reading a book. He was bare-faced, perhaps because he had not prepared his glasses since they were outside. Yang Euijoo noticed that the book Cheon Yeomyung was reading was the one he had noted down before. The book seemed quite interesting, as a good number of pages had been turned. It seemed he had been sitting elegantly, looking at a book, while Yang Euijoo was suffering.

“Yes.”

Thinking he would die from a bad temper if they went on just two dates, Yang Euijoo sat down in a chair. There was tea and cookies on the table.

“Even if you are hungry, hold on for just a little bit.”

Yang Euijoo, who had been reaching for a cookie studded with raisins, flinched.

“I am not saying not to eat at all.”

Just eat a little. Then Cheon Yeomyung tore his gaze away from the book that had captivated him with its intriguing introduction. Giving up on finishing the sentence was a good choice. His slightly shorter hair, neatly styled, covered the nape of Yang Euijoo’s neck, and the atmosphere suited him well. Cheon Yeomyung not only stopped reading but closed the book altogether. Sogang, realizing his boss was starting another romance based only on looks, turned his head to the side and pretended not to see.

“It looks quite good.”

“Can you move your eyes?”

Yang Euijoo grumbled shortly, adjusting the silk gown that felt like it would slip off with the slightest vigorous movement. He had been a bit stressed from having his body suddenly handled like a doll by others. Seeing the sharp-tongued Yang Euijoo, Cheon Yeomyung personally broke off a bite-sized piece of the cookie full of raisins. Then he held it to the mouth of his prospective lover who was his type.

“Ahem.”

Sogang, as if he had seen something he should not have, let out a dry cough and immediately left the room. Seeing his big brother who was of little help to his romantic endeavors, Cheon Yeomyung smiled even more brightly as if to show him and put a second piece into Yang Euijoo’s mouth. Yang Euijoo, after accepting half the cookie without a break, seemed to come to his senses and recoiled with a face as if he had eaten poison.

Watching him move away in an instant, Cheon Yeomyung regretfully lowered his hands. The wary gaze was blatant, but it was not bad. Yang Euijoo, cleaned up and with his hair done, looked like a young, budding actor dreamed of by directors who fuss about doing art business. A young male actor who would look suited for a scene where he runs away to California and waltzes with his same-sex lover in a single basement room.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because your hair suits you.”

So that his impure thoughts would not be misunderstood, Cheon Yeomyung lied without even taking a breath. It was not a complete lie either. Yang Euijoo, with his messy hair tidied up and smelling of a nice fragrance, truly had an appearance that was pleasing to the eye. His whitish-gray hair, his hazy eyes that seemed veiled in fog, and his pale skin combined to make him look fragile and precarious. After staring at the slender neck draped in the silk gown for a long time, Cheon Yeomyung belatedly realized his mistake at Yang Euijoo’s glaring gaze. He had been too blatant, unlike himself.

“Can I?”

Seeing the firmly shut lips, Cheon Yeomyung added the following words.

“We will end up doing it anyway.”

“Then why are you asking?”

“Because consent is important.”

“What if I do not consent?”

“I will wait, but it will not be for long.”

Yang Euijoo hated Cheon Yeomyung for wanting his consent. From the start of the relationship to sex, would his opinion ever be accepted? He was being treated as his lover for the sole reason that Cheon Yeomyung had chosen him, and now he was in a situation where he even had to sleep with the man. That proud face of his did not look like it would give its behind to a man smaller and thinner than himself, so it was obvious what their positions would be in bed.

“There is no reason for a man of my age to restrain his sexual desire for his lover, is there?”

Cheon Yeomyung shrugged as if it were a matter of course. They were words that did not suit the elegant room. He even defended himself with a rather solemn face.

“I am a chaste man, you see.”

Unable to contain his rising irritation, Yang Euijoo said sarcastically.

“Ah…, so you only do it with your lovers?”

“There is no reason to cheat on someone I love.”

“Love must come very easily to you.”

“Surely not? I always contemplate deeply. About my lover, that is.”

Cheon Yeomyung, as he said those words, truly had a sincere and solemn face, as if he had sworn his purity to God. Yang Euijoo did not believe Cheon Yeomyung’s words, but he quickly resigned himself to his fate. He had tried to act noble for twenty-five years, but the results were always just ridiculous.

Looking at Yang Euijoo’s thoroughly offended face, Cheon Yeomyung decided it was a bit early, but he resolved to get up from his seat. In the end, all people were the same. When something upset them, if you fed them something delicious and patted them, they all became fine as if nothing had ever happened.

“Instead of this vulgar talk, shall we go have a meal?”

The restaurant that Linlin had confidently reserved was right next door. Yang Euijoo, who abruptly grabbed onto Cheon Yeomyung’s clothes as he was getting up, belatedly exclaimed in a fluster.

“What about my clothes?”

“Ah.”

Cheon Yeomyung glanced at Yang Euijoo with a face that said he had almost forgotten. The body clad only in a silk gown was a pleasant sight.

“Would it not be alright to go just like that?”

“You think it would be?”

Seeing Yang Euijoo’s face turn icy cold, it seemed like he would get a slap across the face if he tried to explain that there would be no one else but them in the restaurant anyway. Cheon Yeomyung called for Sogang and quickly ordered him to handle the matter. Barely escaping the situation of having to go to the restaurant in a silk gown, Yang Euijoo wore a black traditional garment, handpicked by Cheon Yeomyung and far removed from his own taste, and ate steak for the first time in his life.

When no less than ten forks and knives, not even chopsticks, were laid out, he was flustered, so Cheon Yeomyung moved his own seat, came behind him, and taught him how to hold the fork and knife, holding his hands.

A date.

So, they really went on a date. Just as Cheon Yeomyung had declared.

Throughout the entire time he was cutting his steak, Yang Euijoo wondered if Cheon Yeomyung might stab him in the neck with the knife and kill him, but no such thing happened. The man acted affectionately, as if the bloody conversation from their past meeting was not even a memory. Cheon Yeomyung knew how to tell a story in an interesting way. He briefly described the Hollywood movies and novels he had seen so far. Yang Euijoo was doubtful whether the man he was facing now was the same person who had talked about killing people in his own home without any guilt.

“Do you happen to have a twin brother?”

So he asked right away, and the man laughed with a very cheerful face. Cheon Yeomyung, who had been laughing for so long that Yang Euijoo’s mood was about to sour, finally stopped laughing and crinkled his eyes as if trying to be charming. The golden eyes, filled with satiety, were not as beastly as before. Feeling an uncomfortable sensation at the sight, Yang Euijoo let out a dry cough for a moment.

“I do not have a twin brother, but I did have many siblings.”

Past tense. Yang Euijoo found himself unconsciously studying the man’s expression.

“I had quite a few siblings. My father was a libertine.”

It seemed this inhuman man did have a family after all. Yang Euijoo hesitated for a moment before asking.

“A libertine?”

“It was to the point where people would say, ‘All the beauties of this land are Cheon Homyung’s mistresses.’”

That was a rather interesting story. Yang Euijoo, who had been putting mashed potatoes on his steak, stopped and looked at Cheon Yeomyung. The man, pleased with his listener’s attentive attitude, poked Yang Euijoo’s cheek with his finger. Poke. Yang Euijoo quickly scratched the cheek where Cheon Yeomyung’s hand had touched. Scratch, scratch.

“I was my father’s twelfth son.”

“He must have had quite the stamina.”

To have over ten children, it was an unimaginable story. How many mouths to feed, and how much money would that take. Yang Euijoo wanted to have only one child even if he were to get married. It was a story based on the assumption that he could get married, but that was how it was in his imagination, at least.

“Thinking about it now, he was a man who knew no restraint. I was the youngest son…”

“The youngest?”

This too was a surprising story. For a man so full of arrogance to be the youngest. Thinking that being an only child would have suited him a little better, Yang Euijoo briefly stated his impression.

“That is unexpected.”

“Is that so?”

“Because it seems like you would have been spoiled rotten.”

Cheon Yeomyung just smiled brightly at Yang Euijoo, who accepted his story at face value.

How cute. Among a dirty group that had done every crime imaginable, Cheon Yeomyung’s story was not the kind that needed to be explained at length. The fact that he was the world’s biggest bastard who had personally slit his father’s throat after beating out all eleven of his remaining brothers and sisters was as famous as the story of Judas, the twelfth disciple who betrayed Jesus. What had happened on this island before Cheon Yeomyung impaled the traitors on a sotdae? But for the pharmacist teacher who had just put down roots, it was a stale story that had already passed ten years ago.

It might be a story hard to hear in today’s Yirang unless one had fallen into ruin beyond just dabbling in drugs. Though he did not know if even Chui, who had run his mouth quite a bit, had not told him.

Instead of smoking a cigarette, Cheon Yeomyung drank the wine prepared by the restaurant and gave Yang Euijoo a small pleasure by telling an exaggerated story of how cute and immature a youngest son he had been. Regardless of the ending, the childhood stories were mostly based on fact.

Cheon Yeomyung, who even now as a grown man looked like his social contribution would be higher if he became an actor, was even cuter in his childhood. By his own assessment, he was an angelic pretty boy, and his mere existence brought joy to his father who dreamed of the resurrection and second coming of Jesus. My little angel. That was what Cheon Homyung called his youngest son. He gave him the name of the most beautiful natural scenery in the world and made him sing in the church choir.

Is it not a ridiculous thing? A man who makes money by selling people and pushing them into ruin yearned for heaven and squandered tens of millions of dollars on religious events. Cheon Yeomyung gradually grew weary of playing the role of his father’s angel. In the end, he killed the hyung who gave him snacks, killed the noona who read him books, and finally, after killing the father who tried to offer him to God, he took Byeokhae for himself. Everything happened when he was twenty.

He seized power, receiving the dirty praise of being the youngest and most youthful organization boss in the world. The organization, which had the meaning of a deep blue sea just like its name, suited him who was made up of lies. When had a deep, blue, jewel-like sea ever been seen on this island? Inhaling the air that seemed to have fish scales stuck to it in the gray, foggy harbor, he gathered black money. Once the useless money spent on religion was gone, the business easily thrived.

Remembering the face of his father, who could not bring himself to strike down and kill his youngest son’s heart and instead sullied the altar with the blood that flowed from his own heart, Cheon Yeomyung lightly raised his wine glass.

“Now, let us make a toast. It is our monumental first date, is it not?”

Cheon Yeomyung was confident enough in his lying to deceive his own biological father. An ordinary person like Yang Euijoo was completely fooled by his lies. In fact, the story he told was so enjoyable that he even forgot Linda’s advice that the man was a beast barely wearing a human mask.

Yang Euijoo accepted the wine as offered and drank it. The wine he was tasting for the first time was delicious, and thanks to it, he drank too much and got a little drunk. Cheon Yeomyung looked at Yang Euijoo, who had a terrible tolerance for alcohol despite liking to drink, as if he were cute, and then headed straight for the hotel.

At the hotel, everything was already prepared. Cheon Yeomyung had bet money on them having a relationship within a week. Therefore, in order to win the bet, he had an obligation to hold Yang Euijoo. Since he held a sure hand, there was no reason to lose.

Cheon Yeomyung looked at Yang Euijoo, whose face was flushed and whose eyes were blinking slowly. A thick scent emanated from his breath. The wine was Portuguese, so it was quite sweet. Looking at the black changpao that fell straight down from his shoulders to his feet, Cheon Yeomyung reached out his hand without any hesitation.

And then, the man personally untied the knot that bound Yang Euijoo’s body tightly. The long sash naturally flowed downwards, and he loosely opened the collar that was cut down to around the stomach. Yang Euijoo clearly saw the golden sash that had cinched his waist head downwards, but he only cast his gaze upon it and took no action.

Cheon Yeomyung, who did not continue with any action after untying the sash, personally bent down and looped the sash onto his finger.

“I know this is a rude remark, but let me ask you to be sure.”

The man, kissing the golden sash, drew a terrible smile like spilling champagne.

“Is it really your first time with a man?”

Yang Euijoo let out a hollow laugh. If it is the first time, does he intend not to touch me? If I refuse, can I avoid it? Trying hard not to dwell on the power difference that was easy to crumble if he thought about it, Yang Euijoo answered. He was calm. He just hated himself a little for trying to act as if he had only just now noticed that this was a course designed for this very purpose.

“…What if I say it is my first time?”

At the words that sounded like a weak rebellion, Cheon Yeomyung’s eyes folded as if he was delighted.

“I can promise to treat you like a gentleman.”

I do not know if I should be grateful for his magnanimous treatment. Yang Euijoo took a little more time to think. However, Cheon Yeomyung seemed too bored to wait even that short amount of time and pressed his body closer. The other person’s body heat touched his exposed chest. Their gazes drew even closer than their bodies. Their gazes intertwined like vines shriveled by fire. The handsome man, handsome down to the curve of his forehead and the peach fuzz on his cheeks, shone his intense golden eyes and stood with both his hands placed on the door. It was a posture that trapped Yang Euijoo between his arms.

No matter how harsh a life Yang Euijoo had lived and how disconnected he was from culture and arts, he was not ignorant of such things. He had often witnessed such scenes on the ship. The subjects were sometimes a gentleman and a lady, sometimes a gentleman and a servant, and sometimes a lady and a servant. When they took this posture, they would soon kiss, whisper, and disappear beneath the curtains of the bed. That event had belatedly come to Yang Euijoo.

The young Yang Euijoo who had thought he did not know what was so daring about it was naive. With his back blocked with no escape, unable to move forward, being trapped in another’s arms stimulated fear. Ah. Yang Euijoo drew in a breath.

The embrace was a handspan’s distance away, their breaths were much closer than that, and the man’s face was clearer than the moon floating above his head. Yang Euijoo’s fingers instinctively scratched the door, making a rattling sound. Their short breaths could not brush past their hair and were sucked into each other’s mouths. Thinking it would be more bearable to just kiss properly, Yang Euijoo muttered.

“This is too classic…”

“So.”

Before he could be defiant, his eyes clashed with the golden ones. It was an unavoidable accident.

“You do not like the classics?”

Cheon Yeomyung whispered, leaning his body in a little deeper. A part of the man’s smoothly styled hair became slightly disheveled and stuck to his forehead. Everything was perfect, as if it were staged.

A perfectly perfect date. A perfectly perfect atmosphere. A position from which one could never refuse.

“I like them. The classics.”

Yang Euijoo stared stupidly at the bewitching face. The man’s hand, which had slid down the smooth door, firmly clasped Yang Euijoo’s. Their fingers intertwined layer by layer. It was an uncontrollable state, like a teacup in which improperly boiled water was bubbling over.

Soon, everything became a mess.

It was a sequence of events as natural as a poorly made sandcastle on the beach collapsing.