Winter Season Chapter 50

“Yes, it was no joke. He even told us to find the contact information of the tattooist who gave that brat the tattoo and handed everything over to the police, that’s what I’m saying.”

Even though he’s been acting like a gangster himself since he was eighteen.

Old scenes naturally rose to the surface. Yihyeon gritted his teeth and drained the beer sitting in front of him in one go. The heat rising inside didn’t seem to be entirely due to the alcohol.

“Goodness, hyung-nim. Let me mix a drink for you.”

As soon as Yihyeon set his glass down, a slick-looking man sitting next to him picked up a bottle. With practiced movements, he shook the beer and soju together and set it down in front of Yihyeon with a thud. Yihyeon, feeling a bit tipsy, nodded his head a beat late.

“Ah… yes. Thank you.”

“Oh, please speak comfortably. You’re the big hyung-nim’s guest.”

It seemed like a bit of a misnomer to call a simple debtor a guest, but Yihyeon chose to keep his lips shut instead of correcting the man.

“You can just call me Dongsik. I’m twenty-two, so please speak casually.”

His face made it hard to believe he was only twenty-two, but Yihyeon nodded. Feeling burdened by the sparkling gaze staring at him, he picked up his glass and turned his head.

I feel the alcohol rising. I think I should stop drinking.

“By the way, hyung-nim, you must be quite close with our big hyung-nim. I mean, it’s my first time seeing the big hyung-nim call an outsider to the office this often.”

He had simply been called here and there because they were bound by a contractual relationship, but he supposed it could look that way to people who didn’t know. Yihyeon smiled self-mockingly and pressed his lips to the glass.

The man shifted restlessly as if he wanted to talk more to Yihyeon, but Yihyeon merely toyed with his glass with a dry attitude.

When Yihyeon responded with short answers to a few more questions, the man shut his mouth and tactfully moved away. Being treated as if he weren’t there was more comfortable than receiving attention. Yihyeon slowly moved back and leaned his back against the sofa.

The men, now fully intoxicated, were raising their voices and laughing among themselves. Yihyeon sat still with his head tilted, watching the men talk while pointing fingers.

Blink, blink.

Was it because of the heat rising in his body, or the alcohol? Sleep began to creep in. Even though he was in an uncomfortable place with uncomfortable people, the intervals of his blinking were becoming longer and longer.

The sound of the rattling heater and the boisterous chatter felt faint, like a world a layer away.

I shouldn’t fall asleep here.

Beyond his heavy eyelids, he could see the tightly closed door of Gu Seunghyeok’s private office. When on earth is this guy coming? Yihyeon slowly drifted into sleep, letting the distant voices flow past one ear.

“…is what you’re doing.”

He felt someone roughly shaking his shoulder to wake him up. Drunk on sleep and alcohol, Yihyeon was in a daze. As he lifted his heavy eyelids, the silhouette of a man who seemed familiar appeared briefly. Since Subin was the only person who would wake him up, Yihyeon habitually wrapped his arms around the man’s neck.

“Hyung… just a little more…”

He rubbed his forehead against the solid shoulder, trailing off his words. For some reason, he felt the other person’s body stiffen. Sure enough, before he could finish saying “just a bit more,” the other person bolted upright.

“…Shit.”

Because his body was pulled up with him, Yihyeon was forced to snap awake. Once he came to his senses, all he saw was a table piled with liquor bottles and Seunghyeok’s organization members sprawled haphazardly on the sofas. Only then did Yihyeon remember where he was and jerked his head up.

“Ah…”

Gu Seunghyeok entered his field of vision, looking down at him with a deeply furrowed brow. Yihyeon’s arms, which had been reaching out as if to hug him, were hanging in the air. His face felt like it was burning at the thought that he had mistaken him for Subin.

“Sorry.”

He apologized quickly, fearing that words like “disgusting” or “filthy” would come out again, but Seunghyeok merely clenched his fists tight and said nothing. He looked down at Yihyeon with an expression that seemed both angry and annoyed before turning around.

“We have somewhere to go. Get up.”

He’s not saying anything.

It was strange that he turned away so obediently without a word, but there was no need to go looking for trouble. After staring at Seunghyeok’s retreating back, Yihyeon stood up quickly.

Seeing that the people who had been drinking were all passed out, he checked the clock and realized it was already dawn. Yihyeon wiped his face once and followed Seunghyeok down the stairs.

The alcohol was still in his system. Perhaps because of that, or in spite of it, he didn’t feel the cold even as the wind penetrated his collar.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Taeshik bowed ninety degrees and opened the back door of the car. Yihyeon watched Seunghyeok naturally board the car and then took his seat beside him.

During that time, Seunghyeok’s gaze never once landed on Yihyeon. Yihyeon also wiped his face with one hand and turned his gaze out the window.

The place the car stopped after driving for a long time was a famous hotel located in the center of Seoul. He followed quickly behind Seunghyeok, who headed naturally toward the elevator hall rather than the reception. Seunghyeok remained silent both in the car and after arriving, as if lost in thought.

Ding.

The doors opened with the sound announcing the elevator’s arrival. After meeting the eyes of Seunghyeok, who entered first and turned around, Yihyeon stepped to his side.

1, 2, 3… He was staring up at the slowly changing numbers.

“When you drink, you ask just anyone to sleep with you. You just throw yourself into their arms.”

“…”

“Is that a habit?”

At the sentence coming from the side, Yihyeon turned his head without a word. Seunghyeok was staring at the tightly closed doors as if glaring at them.

It was the same at the bar last time, and just a moment ago; since it wasn’t entirely false, he had no excuse to make. When Yihyeon merely looked at him without answering, Seunghyeok’s lips twisted coldly.

“Then again, I suppose a person doesn’t change that easily.”

Ding.

The elevator, having reached its destination, opened its mouth. Seunghyeok stepped out without hesitation. Left alone, Yihyeon stood staring at his back. There were no curses or bitter mockery in those words, yet strangely, his chest felt tight.

After passing through a long hallway, Taeshik stopped in front of a room door and held the card key to the handle. With a click, the door opened, and as they stepped inside, a large interior divided into several areas like a living room and bedroom appeared.

On the wide table located in the center, laptops and white papers were scattered as if several people had been working there until just a moment ago.

“You’re here?”

Just as Yihyeon was about to ask where they were, someone’s voice approached from the living area to the side. What appeared before the two of them was a woman with a flashy appearance wearing a tight black dress. It was a face that looked somewhat familiar, perhaps from television.

Drawing up her red lips, she approached slowly and stopped in front of Yihyeon. Then, she took Yihyeon’s chin with her soft fingers and tilted his head upward.

“Is this the one?”

“…”

“You certainly found quite a catch somewhere.”

Despite her attitude of appraising a piece of merchandise, there was no agitation on Yihyeon’s expressionless face. At the touch that silently removed the woman’s hand, the corners of the woman’s mouth rose even higher.

Seunghyeok passed the two of them and took a seat on the sofa in the living room. The woman gestured toward Yihyeon and then went to sit across from Seunghyeok.

“I’ve finished recruiting all the staff for the lounge side. There won’t be anyone in front of the basement storage, but just in case, I’ve taken measures so they can clear the area when I give the signal.”

“The attendee list.”

“I’ve checked them all, and there are no figures likely to cause a scene. As long as you go down and come back quietly at the scheduled time, no one will know.”

In the conversation flowing in earnest, there was no place for Yihyeon to intervene. Yihyeon sat still with his eyes cast down. It was because he thought nothing good would come of being deeply involved in this matter.

“Then all that’s left is this side…”