Midday Guest Chapter 38

Pushed up by his strength, Yiwon was wedged between the back door and the seat, letting out shallow breaths. He didn’t know how anxious he was, fearing the door might suddenly swing open.

His underside burned with heat. And then, Cha Seokjoo, with his dick sandwiched between Yiwon’s legs, spilled his semen onto Yiwon’s t-shirt.

Trembling white hands bunched up the shirt. The white fabric was a mess, tangled with the semen both of them had poured out. At the very least, they hadn’t left a mark on the car; with that thought, Yiwon collapsed in relief. He stayed there, clutching the t-shirt tightly to his chest.

“…Not a walk, and not the alcohol. You came out just to do this, didn’t you.”

“You’re asking the obvious.”

Cha Seokjoo spoke shamelessly.

“We’ve restored our energy with the food, so we ought to use it.”

“Ah, it’s so hot… I feel like I’m going to die.”

Cha Seokjoo fiddled with the keys. Only then did a cool blast of air conditioning pour into the car. Yiwon felt like his face was beyond ripe; it felt ready to burst. Sweat dripped down because of the heat, but he didn’t even have the strength to wipe it away, so he just lay there.

Cha Seokjoo, seemingly not bothered by the mess at all, lay down while pulling Yiwon into his arms. Even if the car was large, it was an absurdly cramped space for two adult men to lie in, but they stayed like that anyway.

“…How are you going to go back inside. After making my clothes look like this.”

“We came together, so why try to determine who’s responsible. If we’re being technical, you came more than I did.”

“You’re the one who dragged me to the car, Director.”

“And you’re the one who made my dick stand up.”

Yiwon turned his head and glared at Cha Seokjoo. No matter how much he thought about it, the way back to normalcy seemed far off.

“…Anyway, take responsibility.”

“Want me to give you my clothes?”

“That would be even weirder.”

“That’s true.”

“Ah, why again….”

“I’ll think about it while we do it.”

Something poked his buttocks from below. Cha Seokjoo locked Yiwon in his arms and kept his dick wedged between his buttocks. The slippery horse-sized dick lifted its head stiffly once more.

“Stay still. If you mess around, it might go in the wrong place.”

“…Ah, hut.”

“I know, I know, so just stay still.”

Goosebumps rose at the low voice reaching his ear. He buried his face, which was flushed to the point of exploding, into the seat and braced himself with his arms. Yiwon let out a low scream at the reckless movement of the man’s waist. There was nowhere to run.

Yiwon returned to Haeundang wearing the t-shirt smeared with semen. Fearing that Oh Taesik and Ma Haeyoung might notice something, Yiwon ran straight to his room, while Cha Seokjoo diverted their attention.

He came out after finishing a shower. Fortunately, Oh Taesik and Ma Haeyoung didn’t seem to notice anything strange. They probably just thought he washed up because the day was hot—no, they seemed to have no interest in what Yiwon did at all.

However, he couldn’t say a word to Oh Taesik’s banter about how he thought they had gone to brew alcohol. Cha Seokjoo replied curtly with “Just drink,” and Oh Taesik said it was delicious as he gulped down the lukewarm makgeolli straight from the bottle. Thus, the second round began.

Oh Taesik and Ma Haeyoung were big eaters. After emptying the bear pot completely and finishing every last drop of alcohol, the two finally looked satisfied. It wouldn’t have been awkward to give them the titles of “Baeksuk Slayers” or “Makgeolli Masters.”

By then, the sunset had descended. When the two lay sprawled out on the wooden veranda and asked if they could sleep over, Cha Seokjoo chased them out, pressing some pocket money into their hands. It went without saying that he even called a designated driver for them.

Oh Taesik, who was kicked out to the front gate in an instant, said:

“Director, you’re truly merciless.”

Ma Haeyoung, standing beside him, nodded as if in agreement. Cha Seokjoo merely furrowed his brow without saying much.

“If you know that, then leave quickly.”

“Director, if we leave, aren’t you going to kick the Little Boss out too?”

“Why would I kick him out.”

“Why aren’t you kicking the Little Boss out?”

“Are you drunk?”

“I’m not drunk.”

“Go. I’m tired.”

“Ah, yes.”

Oh Taesik, who was nodding with a sulky face, suddenly snapped his head up.

“Pardon? Director. Were you tired?”

“Because of you.”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to interfere with your rest… well then, we’ll be going now.”

Oh Taesik and Ma Haeyoung bowed their heads in unison. Watching them, Yiwon ran toward the wooden veranda and shouted.

“Wait a moment, you two.”

In the hands of the returned Yiwon, a bouquet of wildflowers was rolled up. Oh Taesik snatched it and buried his nose in the flowers.

“Hneu-mi, that smells good. But what is this?”

“I enjoyed the baeksuk today. I don’t have anything else to give… so I wanted to give you at least this.”

“You’re giving this to us?”

Oh Taesik asked with wide eyes. When Yiwon replied with a “Yes,” Ma Haeyoung hugged the bouquet and was delighted.

“Ah, our Mija will really love this. Thank you, Boss. I’ll take it and arrange it beautifully.”

“No, I’m the one who’s grateful.”

It was just as he was about to bid them a safe trip back. Oh Taesik, taking his nose away from the bouquet, smiled and asked Cha Seokjoo.

“Director, can we invite the Little Boss on that day too?”

It was a confusing statement. While Yiwon was assessing the situation, Cha Seokjoo countered.

“Invite him to do what.”

“A catering truck is coming, and there’s a lucky draw and such, so I was thinking of feeding the Little Boss in the midst of it all.”

After thinking about something for a moment, Cha Seokjoo gave a light nod.

“Do as you like.”

Oh Taesik showed his teeth and laughed, saying “Thank you.”

“Little Boss, you remember that building on the corner of the downtown area over there, right?”

“The one I ran into a few times on the street?”

“Yes, yes, we’re having an opening ceremony there next week.”

“Did you open an office?”

“We did. So come over, eat something tasty, and hang out.”

“I will. Thank you for inviting me.”

“I’m telling you just in case, but you have to come empty-handed. If you bring something, I’ll finish your wrist off.”

The warm atmosphere of celebrating the office opening and responding to the invitation died down quietly starting from what Oh Taesik said.

“…Pardon?”

“It’s a joke. Just something to say for a laugh.”

Oh Taesik laughed while thumping Yiwon’s back. Then, he was blocked by Cha Seokjoo’s hand and pushed out the gate.

Oh Taesik and Ma Haeyoung, though faltering, kept waving their hands toward Yiwon and Cha Seokjoo. They were people with a lot of affection. It was just that their expressions were a bit rough.

“See you that day, Little Boss.”

“Yes, both of you get home safely.”

“Right, you rest too. Director, we’ll be going now!”

At Oh Taesik’s booming voice, Cha Seokjoo replied.

“Fine. Just go, for God’s sake.”

Cha Seokjoo took care of the rest of the send-off.

Yiwon used that gap to tidy up the place. He also carefully washed and hung up the t-shirt he had left rolled up in the corner of the room. Even though he soaped it more than three times, it stayed slippery and gave him a lot of trouble, but he decided to keep that as his own secret.

When he was back in his room hanging the laundry on the rack, Cha Seokjoo entered and appeared. Sometime during the interval, his clothing had returned to training pants.

“What are you doing here?”

“Preparing to sleep?”

“Why are you preparing to sleep here.”

“This is my room.”

“What do you mean, room. A place without even an air conditioner.”

It seemed he had to sleep in the across room again today. After fixing the shoulder line of the laundry sagging on the drying rack, he looked at Cha Seokjoo. The man was checking a notebook at the desk.

Flip. The sound of a page turning was heard. Then it was silent again, and after a long while, another page turned.

“Did you draw all of these?”

“Yes.”

“Study hard, Hankuk University student. You’re no good at drawing.”

It was a light comment mixed with a hint of laughter. Yiwon smiled along, then turned back to him with a slightly surprised expression.

“How did you know I’m a Hankuk University student?”

Cha Seokjoo’s gaze went toward the varsity jacket hanging on a wall hook.

“It was hanging there as if to show it off.”

He had hung it there where it could be seen, promising himself that he would definitely return one day. Since it had been hanging in the same spot for so long, he had forgotten its very existence.

Yiwon stroked his eyebrows with an embarrassed hand and lowered his head. Every time Cha Seokjoo moved his hand, the notebook flipped through its pages.

For a while, he stared blankly at the back of the man’s hand. He watched the bones of the hand move like waves and the veins rise and fall.

Cha Seokjoo was flipping through Yiwon’s notebook with an interested face.

“Explain this. What on earth did you draw?”

Cha Seokjoo laughed while showing a hand-drawn sketch of a fire pit. Yiwon tried to snatch the notebook away but was pushed back by the man’s shoulder. While he stayed still from the impact of being bounced off like a piece of luggage, Cha Seokjoo’s arm wrapped around his waist.

He asked in a gentle voice.

“Aren’t you going to tell me.”

“…It’s a fire pit.”

“And this.”

“A tarp, uh, you can think of it as a tent.”

“So it was a notebook for business plans. I’ve been rude.”

“It’s okay. It’s not a huge secret.”

Cha Seokjoo stared blankly at the three people gathered closely around the fire pit and asked.

“Family?”

“…Yes.”

“I guess you don’t meet often.”

“My dad passed away, and my mom lives separately due to circumstances. How did you know?”

“Because there’s a memory, but no trace.”

“Ah….”

He was surprised because he hadn’t thought the man would feel the empty space. Yiwon replaced the awkwardness with a laugh, and Cha Seokjoo closed the notebook with a “thud.”

“I’m alone too. You can just see me often.”

You can just see me often.

Those words particularly lingered in his head.

While Yiwon was dazed from chewing over the past words, Cha Seokjoo tilted his head.

“Come out. Pack anything you need.”