Winter Season Chapter 35

The man who had guided Yihyeon from the entrance sat Yihyeon down next to Subin and then took the seat on the other side. The people who already seemed tipsy felt their excitement rise again at Yihyeon’s appearance and began to fill their glasses once more.

A new glass was placed in front of Yihyeon as well, filled with a few ice cubes and Western liquor. Yihyeon stared blankly at it for a moment before letting out a sigh.

If he had known Subin would be in such an insensible state, he would not have come. Yihyeon had wanted to apologize, even now, for what Gu Seunghyeok had done back then, but it seemed Subin had simply called him out to play.

Thinking he would just humor them for a bit and then get up pretending to go to the bathroom, he drained the glass in front of him. The people around them burst into exaggerated laughter, shouting “Ohhh!”

“Yihyeon… our pretty Yihyeon came just because I called. No, you bastard… if I call, of course you have to come, huh? Do you know how much I’ve done for you, fuuuuck.”

The moment he set the glass down on the table, a heavy arm draped over his shoulders. It was Subin, who had staggered to his feet. The smell of alcohol wafting from him was thick.

Raising his gaze, Yihyeon narrowed his eyes. Subin’s dilated pupils were strangely black.

“…Hyung, why did you drink so much?”

“Do I look like the type, uh, not to drink? Fuck…? After that incident, rumors spread all over the club that I’m a homo, fuuuuck…”

Every slurred word was laced with a curse. From what he could gather, it seemed Subin had quit his job after worrying about the stares of others because of the rumors. Feeling a surge of guilt again, Yihyeon lowered his eyes and bit his lip. Subin stared at Yihyeon with unfocused eyes and then roughly stroked the back of his head.

“But, shit, Yihyeon, you fell for that gangster bastard, huh…?”

It seemed he remembered the terrifying situation from back then as some sort of a love affair. It was true that Yihyeon felt sorry for Subin, but that was no reason to tolerate his drunken behavior.

When a sighing Yihyeon tried to pull the arm down, Subin grimaced hard. Then, saying “Just stay still for a second,” he grabbed the back of Yihyeon’s neck and abruptly leaned his face in.

“Don’t do this…!”

He twisted his head to try and escape, but the grip on the nape of his neck was strong. As he twisted his body to resist, the man sitting next to him slyly intervened.

“Ehey, ehe-ey, hyung-nim. Why are you doing that to someone who says no? Don’t do that and have another drink.”

The man, who had nonchalantly refilled the empty glass, squeezed in to sit between Subin and Yihyeon. When Yihyeon pulled his legs inward because the touching thighs felt uncomfortable, the man let out a smirk.

The drinking party continued in that fashion. Whenever Subin tried to ramble on about something to Yihyeon, the sharp-looking young man would step in and mediate the conversation. Whenever Yihyeon, who had been sitting quietly, tried to leave thinking this was enough, it was that same man who would pull on his wrist.

In the end, he couldn’t talk to Subin and he couldn’t go home; he was just wasting time aimlessly. In the meantime, most of the people around them had fallen into a drunken stupor.

“…I’ll be heading out first.”

Thinking this was enough, he tried to pick up his phone from the table, but someone snatched it away first with a “Whoosh.” It was the man who had been sitting next to him the whole time.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Ah, everyone’s finally quieted down a bit. It was noisy, wasn’t it? These hyungs are like this once the alcohol gets in them.”

He wasn’t curious about what kind of crowd Subin hung out with. He wanted to take his heavy body and go home, but the man didn’t seem to have any intention of giving him the phone. Ah… this is annoying.

“Give me the phone.”

“Wow, your eyelashes are really long. Subin hyung showed me some pictures a few times, but you look better in person than in the photos. By the way, how old are you?”

The man didn’t even pretend to listen and just kept talking over him. When Yihyeon frowned while holding his head, which had started to throb, the man burst into laughter again as if watching a fascinating spectacle.

“Wow, you look even hotter when you’re scowling.”

What is this?

Because of the man who suddenly sat close, their legs touched. Feeling the firm sensation was unpleasant, he tried to move his hips away, but the man grabbed Yihyeon’s opposite shoulder and pulled him sharply toward himself.

“Mr. Yihyeon, I heard you only sleep with men.”

“…”

“I heard that once you get a taste for a man’s back hole, you’re in big trouble. Is that true?”

“…Phew.”

Living life, one occasionally encountered people like this. The type who aren’t gay but are curious about sexual relations with men. This person seemed to be one of them, but Yihyeon had absolutely no desire to become their plaything.

“Let go of me.”

A scowling Yihyeon tried to pull his arm away, but because the man pulled with force, his body staggered and tilted instead. The man grabbed Yihyeon’s hand, which was pressing down on his thigh, as if it were a perfect opportunity and led it between his own crotch.

“Hyung. Ah, or are you not a hyung? I’m twenty-four, so you’re a hyung to me, right? Anyway, hyung. Do you want to try it with me? I’ll treat you better than Subin hyung.”

The volume touching his hand was vivid. He roughly shook off the arm, grabbed the water cup placed in front of him, and gulped it down urgently. It was to clear his head and get out of there quickly.

“Uh-oh? Hyung, you shouldn’t drink that so fast?”

Yihyeon glared at the man as if asking what he meant. The man had a beaming expression, as if this situation was entertaining.

“I pre-mixed that to have some fun later. Ah, of course, I put it in front of you for you to drink. But I don’t even know hyung’s age yet, oh dear…”

Upon hearing the man’s words, Yihyeon’s face crumpled. He couldn’t believe the fact that even though he thought the taste was a bit strange while gulping down the water, he had naively finished the whole cup. Yihyeon glared at the man and grabbed him by the collar.

“…What is this. What did you put in the water?”

“It’s nothing dangerous, so don’t worry. The drug should kick in soon; aren’t you feeling hot?”

As soon as the man finished speaking, a thirst and a creeping heat that started from deep inside his throat began to spread through his blood vessels.

“…Ha, what are you, you…”

His breathing became labored and he felt his body lose strength and grow languid. Yihyeon’s body, which had been sitting upright while holding the man by the collar, slumped. The man pulled Yihyeon’s hand down and wrapped his arm around his waist.

Even though the sensation of him pawing at his cheeks, ears, and the nape of his neck felt like a bug crawling over him, the heat rose. As he began to pant heavily, the man let out a snickering laugh. He popped open the buttons of Yihyeon’s white shirt and buried his lips in the exposed nape of his neck.

“Let go, of this…”

He tried to struggle by pushing the man’s body away, but just lifting his arms was a struggle. In the midst of that, the feeling of the hands creeping over his body was horribly loathsome. Yihyeon bit his lower lip hard to regain consciousness and pushed the man’s chest with both hands.

“I told you, not to do this…!”

Thud.

Perhaps the man, who had been relaxed, didn’t expect Yihyeon, who had been flailing helplessly, to suddenly resist that strongly, so he flopped over onto the table. Not missing that moment, Yihyeon hurriedly opened the door and stepped out.

Thump, thump. The loud music vibrating through the walls and floor surged through his body. His vision seemed to spin, so he leaned against the wall and barely walked forward; the gazes of the gathered people landed on him indifferently and then drifted away. It was the moment Yihyeon staggered and took another step toward the exit.

“Man, seriously. I tried to go about this nicely…”

With a grim voice, his shoulder was grabbed tight and his body was spun around. Looking up, there was the man, his face flushed with alcohol and contorted menacingly. He pulled on Yihyeon’s arm forcefully as if to drag him somewhere.

“Hyung, why are you playing so hard to get? From what I heard from Subin hyung, you aren’t that type. Huh?”

“Let go of my hand, you son of a bitch…”

Because of the music blaring from all directions, the flashy lighting, and the people crowded hectically together, his vision was dizzy and his stomach churned. Perhaps that was why, when he shook off the man’s hand once more, he perceived his body swaying and tilting one beat late. He quickly leaned against the table right next to him to steady himself, but in the process, the glasses and items placed on top fell, and a sharp sound rang out. With a “Whoa, whoa,” and the sound of murmuring, the eyes of the people flew and pierced into Yihyeon.