Winter Season Chapter 64

The more he vowed not to care, the more his thoughts multiplied. He was curious about how Kwon Yihyeon would react upon facing him again.

Recalling the image of Kwon Yihyeon shedding tears while pinned beneath him made a boiling sensation rise in his lower abdomen. As soon as the thought of wanting to see that sight once more flashed through his mind, Seunghyeok let out a cold, hollow laugh.

Have I gone mad after sleeping with a gay bastard?

Seunghyeok lifted Yihyeon’s promissory note again. His gaze naturally fell toward Yihyeon’s name written at the bottom of the crumpled paper.

Borrower: Kwon Yihyeon.

As expected, he felt thirsty.

Vrrr, vrrr, vrrr.

The continuous, unending sound of vibration reached his ears. Yihyeon, eyes still closed, frowned and fumbled around his bedside with his palm.

Thud. He picked up the phone his fingertips finally caught and barely checked the screen; an unknown number was displayed. Managing to steady his hoarse throat, he answered the call.

“Hello.”

— Is this Mr. Kwon Yihyeon’s phone?

“…Yes.”

The voice coming through the phone was not unfamiliar. Where had he heard this voice before?

— As of today, Mr. Kwon Yihyeon’s debt has been fully settled. The principal of thirty million plus interest. Section Chief Gu Seunghyeok said there is no need to pay any of it back.

As soon as the name Gu Seunghyeok came out of the man’s mouth, sleep seemed to vanish instantly. He thought there was something familiar about the stiff yet cocky tone, and realized it was the voice of that man who followed Gu Seunghyeok like a shadow.

Yihyeon, finally regaining his senses, quickly pulled the phone away from his face and checked the time. Monday, 11:30 AM. Despite the fact that his work hours had long since passed, there were no missed calls or messages on the screen.

No matter how strong the sleeping pill was, the effects should have worn off by this time. This meant that Gu Jinhyeok knew he wasn’t there when he woke up, yet chose not to contact him first. No matter how out of his mind he was because of the stimulant, he should have poured Jinhyeok’s wine and fallen asleep beside him. If he had done that, he wouldn’t have to tremble in fear of being suspected like this.

Yihyeon wiped his face with one hand and brought the phone back to his ear. He said hello, but no answer came back; it had already been disconnected. Letting out a long sigh, Yihyeon managed to push his heavy body up into a sitting position.

The state he was in as he barely forced his swollen eyelids open was pathetic beyond description. His shirt, which had been so white it was almost bluish, was untucked and stained with mottled dark red marks, and his pants were rumpled with the belt completely undone.

However, his physical condition was more serious than his outward appearance. His entire body throbbed as if he had been beaten, and it felt as if someone were repeatedly stabbing the back of his head with needles.

His stomach was churning as if he were seasick; unable to suppress the rising nausea, Yihyeon rushed to the bathroom and grabbed the toilet. After dry-heaving and spitting out pale gastric juices a few times, he returned to the bed in an exhausted state.

What happened yesterday…

He had come out of the guest bathroom, searched Gu Jinhyeok’s phone, and then managed to scramble into his clothes and flee into the hallway. He had asked a waiter he happened to meet for help, and then he met Gu Seunghyeok and was dragged somewhere.

…Ah, Gu Seunghyeok.

‘Swallow it all.’

‘Ha-eu, hak, heu-euk…!’

‘I’ll give you the cock you’re so crazy for.’

The scenes coming to mind were as foreign as if they were someone else’s memories. The face looking down from above against the ceiling light, the strength of the thrusts while his pelvis and waist were gripped tight, and the weight that pinned his whole body down—they were all unbelievable things. Because the person wasn’t anyone else, but Gu Seunghyeok.

He didn’t need to ask to know what Gu Seunghyeok must have thought when he saw Yihyeon clutching a phone and asking to call any man.

The gaze looking at him with a cold face would have been full of disgust and weariness. He couldn’t fathom the process that led such a person to make that kind of decision.

In truth, if he had been left drugged in a venue full of people, he might have suffered something much worse. But the fact that the person who found him happened to be Gu Seunghyeok weighed on his mind.

“Ha….”

Yihyeon buried his face in his hands and let out a long sigh. Seeing as his vision of gasping beneath Gu Seunghyeok flickered before cutting off at a certain point, it seemed Gu Seunghyeok had moved him to his house after he collapsed.

He had received a call saying the debt was gone, but there were too many things weighing on his heart to just wipe his mouth and move on. Whether they found what they wanted, how he should treat Gu Jinhyeok, and what Seunghyeok was thinking yesterday—even if it was awkward, he felt he had to see him in person and talk. Yihyeon let out a very long sigh, lowered his legs from the bed, and slowly stood up.

As soon as his feet touched the floor and he stood, muscle pain that felt like a beating thrummed through his body. He barely straightened himself and headed to the bathroom, when he felt something sliding out from between his buttocks.

Because he knew what it was, a wave of shame washed over him. His face instantly flushed, and Yihyeon clenched his teeth.

Yihyeon stopped in his tracks at the entrance of the old building. It was in front of Seunghyeok’s office, which had become familiar after a few visits. Looking up, he saw the lights were on in the fourth-floor office. Instead of heading for the stairs, Yihyeon walked toward the alley next to the building.

He stepped behind an outdoor air conditioning unit covered in snow, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. A chill wrapped around his body. The cigarette butts crushed on the ground and the rolling trash were as messy as the thoughts in his head.

Yihyeon, who had been exhaling smoke that felt like sighs while looking down at the corner of the alley, turned his head at the sound of a voice just as he finished one long cigarette and was lighting a second.

“Ugh, god damn it. It’s so cold my dick’s gonna freeze. Hey, let’s hurry up and smoke so we can go up.”

Two large men in black winter jumpers had just entered the alleyway. With their hands shoved in their pockets and lighters aimed at their cigarettes, they were huddled with their backs to Yihyeon, who was further inside.

“Whew…. Did you see hyung-nim when he came in earlier?”

“He just got back from headquarters, right? He seemed especially bad today.”

Hearing them say “hyung-nim,” it seemed they were men working under Gu Seunghyeok. His second cigarette had burned down nearly to the filter, but it looked difficult to pass through the men blocking the entrance. Left with no choice, Yihyeon put a third cigarette in his mouth, waiting for them to leave.

“Is that why he’s in a bad mood? The atmosphere has been no joke since yesterday.”

A man mumbled with a cigarette in his mouth, and the man next to him leaned in close. Then, bringing his face near as if to whisper, he continued in a low voice.

“Ssh, hey, I only heard this secretly while hyung-nim was on the phone, so keep it to yourself.”

“What is it?”

“There’s an item hyung-nim was looking for, but it wasn’t there or something. He was on the phone sounding fucking terrifying, asking who diverted it or if they had the wrong idea from the start. Seeing the mood, I thought I shouldn’t listen any more and came right out, but you just pretend you don’t know either.”

It was a loud voice for a whisper. At the man’s words, which he heard naturally, Yihyeon—who had been looking at the ground without a thought—raised his head.

They couldn’t find the item?

Based on the context, it seemed right that they were talking about the matter at the party, but it was something he hadn’t heard during the morning phone call. His brow furrowed, wondering if something had gone wrong.

He turned his gaze toward the entrance to hear more, but the men were leaving the alley while rubbing their arms. Yihyeon, who had been leaning against the wall, slowly straightened his body.

“…”

Determining the password was supposed to be the end of his role, but hearing that they actually failed to find the item bothered him. Yihyeon swept the roof of his mouth with his tongue, crushed out his cigarette, and started walking.

Bang, bang-bang.

Reaching the fourth floor, he knocked on the old iron door, and a loud noise echoed. Yihyeon turned the handle with an expressionless face, but he faltered as all gazes in the room fell upon him.

“What bastard…?”