Winter Season Chapter 53

“I wonder if there’s anyone who isn’t.”

Jinhyeok brought the wine glass he was holding to his lips and tilted it slightly. His eyes, visible over the glass, were fixed on Yihyeon.

When Yihyeon did not avoid Jinhyeok’s gaze and stared back quietly, Jinhyeok curled the corners of his mouth and lowered the glass.

“I don’t know if you realize, Mr. Kwon Yihyeon, but those eyes of yours really make a person thirsty.”

“…”

“Pretending you aren’t while being wary every time someone approaches… you’re just like…”

“…”

“A stray kitten pushed out onto the street after losing its parents.”

Jinhyeok lightly brushed his fingers over the back of Yihyeon’s hand, which was resting on the table. When Yihyeon reflexively pulled his hand back and clenched it into a fist, the corner of Jinhyeok’s mouth smirked upward.

“That kind of thing is exactly what stimulates people like us.”

The upper body of Jinhyeok, which had been leaning toward the front of the table, moved away, but the remaining tension was as thick as ever. Yihyeon stroked the back of his hand where the fingers had touched with his other hand. It felt as if an ant were crawling over it.

Instead of answering, Yihyeon picked up his wine glass and pressed it to his lips. The taste lingering on the tip of his tongue felt more bitter than before. Yihyeon lowered his thick eyelashes and stared near Gu Jinhyeok’s large hand. He could feel the gaze watching him persistently.

“…I’ll go with you.”

If he could be alone with him in a private space, a chance to touch his phone might arise. He could aim for when the man was showering or when he had fallen asleep.

Even if he ended up actually sleeping with Gu Jinhyeok in the process, it wasn’t a losing deal. Thirty million won for one session of sex; there would be no such transaction anywhere else in the world.

Nevertheless, the reason he felt like trash was likely because he couldn’t erase the feeling that he had become a male prostitute. He thought he would never again in his life consider the idea that it was okay to sell his body for something. And this time, to think it was even for money.

Suppressing a self-mocking smile that surged within him, Yihyeon lifted his head. Jinhyeok held out his glass with a satisfied face. The thin wine glasses clinked lightly against each other. A small vibration, a ring, seeped through his fingertips.

For now, don’t think about anything and focus on what needs to be done.

Yihyeon put his lips to the glass and turned his gaze to the night view outside the window. Twinkle, twinkle; the products of money were emitting light and illuminating the darkness. For a moment, his head spun, and Yihyeon closed his eyes.

The door opened with a click, revealing the lit entryway. The living room, visible at a glance, was pitch dark, suggesting Seunghyeok hadn’t returned yet or was in his room.

Was it because of the relief of receiving the proposal he’d been waiting for, or because of the wine he’d accepted and drunk as it was given? Or was it because he had come into the warm indoors after being out in the whistling cold wind? His body felt heavy, as if weights were attached to it.

I want to sleep quickly.

Yihyeon took off his shoes and stepped into the house. As he took a step to head quickly to his room, his gaze suddenly shifted toward the dark living room.

Contrary to his expectation that no one would be there, Seunghyeok, dressed in comfortable clothes, was sitting on the floor leaning his back against the sofa, looking out the window. A whiskey bottle and a glass were placed on the glass table in front of him.

It bothered him that Seunghyeok was sitting like that without even turning on the lights, but he didn’t particularly want to strike up a conversation. Seeing as the man didn’t say anything to him when he walked in, Yihyeon figured it was the same for him. Yihyeon forced his eyes away from Seunghyeok and clicked his bedroom door open.

“Whew…”

As he collapsed helplessly onto the bed without even taking off his clothes, the intoxication he had been ignoring began to crawl up. Various thoughts surged within his creaking mind. The biggest concern was the method to get his hands on Gu Jinhyeok’s phone.

The best way would be to swipe Gu Jinhyeok’s phone amidst the crowded party, but he had never done something only a pickpocket would do, and it seemed impossible since there would be many eyes watching.

In that case, there was only one way left. Aiming for the time they would be alone after going up to the second floor.

The ideal scenario was to find the phone while Gu Jinhyeok was showering, but there were too many variables. Waiting until he fell asleep after sex was the same. Since he only had one chance, he had to find a more certain method.

“I can’t exactly ask him to borrow his phone outright…”

It was as if he had crossed one mountain only to find an even bigger one waiting. Rubbing his face with one hand, Yihyeon was about to push himself up using the nightstand.

Clatter.

Something placed on the nightstand was hit by his hand and fell to the floor. What he picked up with a frown were the sleeping pills he had brought from home a few days ago. Yihyeon, who was about to put the pill bottle back on the nightstand without much thought, paused his hand as a thought flashed through his mind.

If he could just get the chance to give Gu Jinhyeok a sleeping pill after going up to the second floor, touching his phone would become very easy. If he could make him sleep with a strong medication, he could solve the matter without even having to sleep with him. For Yihyeon, it was a task worth attempting.

A sleeping pill strong enough to make Gu Jinhyeok fall asleep.

The ones he had were closer to nerve stabilizers, so the effect would appear late. He needed a drug that would put Gu Jinhyeok to sleep quickly. And the person who could provide that was closer than anyone else. He recalled the image of Gu Seunghyeok secretly handing something over at the bar.

With the thought that he should speak quickly while it was on his mind, Yihyeon stood up. Even though he roughly dried his damp hair and changed into light clothes, his cheeks were burning because of the alcohol.

Click.

Through the opening door, Gu Seunghyeok was in the same posture as before he’d entered the room. With his arm hooked over the armrest, the light of the night view was reflecting off the glass he held precariously. Yihyeon narrowed his brow and bit his lip.

If he had been making remarks that grated on his nerves like usual or looking at him with cold eyes, it would have been easier to bring it up.

Yihyeon stared quietly at Seunghyeok, who wouldn’t even look his way, then sighed once and went to the kitchen to take out a glass.

Thump.

After approaching and sitting on the sofa opposite Seunghyeok, Yihyeon picked up the whiskey bottle, and only then did Seunghyeok’s head, which had been facing the window, move toward Yihyeon. Yihyeon brought the glass to his lips while meeting Seunghyeok’s eyes.

Whether he had drunk quite a bit, the eyes he met were sunken and pitch black. As he stared quietly without avoiding the direct gaze, the face he saw every day felt strangely unfamiliar. Yihyeon turned his head and looked down to avoid Seunghyeok’s eyes.

“…”

Only the sound of a clock’s second hand echoing from somewhere manifested its existence clearly. In the suffocating silence, it felt as if a subtle tension was hanging in the air. Even though he was the one who avoided the eyes first, a sudden thirst arose at the piercing gaze. As he licked his wet lips, they tasted bitter.

Tick, tock. The rhythmic noise tickled his ears.

Yihyeon picked up the glass again and swallowed a sip of whiskey, thinking about how best to bring it up. Along with a sensation as if his throat were burning, he felt his mind going blank.

The wine he drank with Gu Jinhyeok plus the whiskey. He was well past his limit. His whole body was sending signals that he shouldn’t drink more, but he set the glass down on the table as if he were fine.

“Gu Seung—”

Yihyeon’s firmly closed lips opened, and his slightly hoarse voice cut through the air. However, before he could even finish calling Seunghyeok’s name, his wrist was snatched, and another voice cut in.

“Were you planning to die?”

The low, sunken voice was quiet. His slightly parted lips shut tight, and all his nerves were focused on the wrist that was being held.

When Yihyeon froze at the question he never expected to come out of Seunghyeok’s mouth, Seunghyeok’s fingers dug between Yihyeon’s sleeves like snakes. His fingertips, which felt hot from a high body temperature, quietly pressed down on the scar on the wrist.

“If I just hadn’t been here, you could have gotten along fine while sleeping with Lee Chanyang.”

Thump, thump. He couldn’t tell if the pulse beating in his wrist was his own or Seunghyeok’s.

Yihyeon grit his molars as he felt like his ankles had been seized at the name he was hearing for the first time in years. He twisted his wrist belatedly to shake off the held hand, but there was no way he could escape from the large hand.

“Suddenly…”