SW | Chapter 17

As Baek Haegyeon approached, c365ea1649 he raised his hand 65f793fa09 and placed it on 1c345b3b65 Guk Jiho’s shoulder. It was a gesture 0b69de645e that seemed encouraging, but 5be5eac387 to Guk Jiho’s well-trained 5f79d96fc6 body, it felt like b732509194 a sudden and intrusive 94f3c1beca threat.0aee1a70430f8ad6

His hand moved 1b3569c6d1 automatically toward his 5c2032d48f waist where his 830bc7871e holster used to 9a2b372fd2 be, but it 36d6ad01ca only grasped at a360af879e empty air. It left him feeling 2661c1c5be awkward. A moment b660a76014 later, he 773d4507cb sheepishly lowered f11ef57abf his hand c493ac9f52 and glanced 109bc1f1cc at Baek f48dbb06c7 Haegyeon’s expression.06ef86e258e115f7

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‘You need to break that cop habit.’3563a8194087a956

Ever since 8937508e4f he had c12bc6d6e0 been corrected 852b321e44 at the f47ab56655 hotel, that 508e9031de habit had 6e3bb85223 been repeatedly ee520b4a52 pointed out df4410cf21 in the 0ff1c6456c past few e27018832f days.dc8aa32b0b7cdb0c

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Baek Haegyeon af6f9df5ba was looking 13cd878acc down at ebc0242527 Guk Jiho’s a6414e0e14 hand that fae5078ee7 was awkwardly c04ac71096 hovering near ec9efbe15b his thigh. He must 72836265cc have been eff7d0abae checking whether 751e2b8db7 the habit 4849d613a1 had been aef59b5d3f corrected. Guk Jiho f1e99c1e77 forced a efd13f88e0 bitter smile 51f4ab5886 and changed a24e032a61 the subject.279ef221723df6e7

“Did the conversation go well?”431800b703179fb3

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“The lawyer couldn’t do the math.”4916c8de5caaaabc

It meant the negotiation d0b51c07a3 had fallen through. After all, they had 4f33954927 won the bid at 3c5f76d014 a 65% discount off 8cbb5f6ca5 the appraised value, so 3685ad3cf4 there was no reason ed33b7356b to give it up 7e230b3f42 unless the other party 199151f371 offered a higher settlement. It was prime real 5e8fafd6af estate in the middle 0a3ce0f03b of development, complete with 6c89137c85 a building.21e1f61b0a342f84

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“Let’s go eat.”eeddd14d264cdfd7

Baek Haegyeon looked around b194e16f5f at the group and 0842369b83 spoke cheerfully.ee6f6400ef7703f0

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“Yes, Boss!”2fdfba5d2e041cc8

The men in suits ddb5c02199 answered in unison, their 94c04e6869 voices full of discipline. Ji Sangcheol had 5073f76cc3 quietly slipped to 46b890b574 the back and e266bd6b94 blended in with 8d03ebf78c the others. Even with a66cac0354 his head 08edb619dc bowed, his 99d0678907 face was 3822104f53 flushed with a969f3adb7 excitement.39b61baefbf26150

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When their eyes 711d8b4480 briefly met, Guk 767ac248c8 Jiho stared at 47bd5a4ac4 him persistently. Sending a childish 155d6ae92c but universally understood 5b67ebabcc glare that said, ‘If you look away, you lose,’Ji Sangcheol glared back 5cfe75bc81 with indignation. Guk Jiho smiled. He was impressed by e112c46b87 his spirit. His tongue, slightly visible 80d96bf70d between his lips, gave 9ca9f32803 him a bit of 0c2daf8eed a thuggish look.e631f6889bd31c55

Baek Haegyeon turned around. Seeing the second-in-command teasing the third, he asked, “Jiho, what do you want to eat?”07d31830f73ad262

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“Ah, how about pasta?”34dcc066bac732dd

It wasn’t 074549e844 a deeply cfcfe9118c considered answer. He just f87f05104e wanted noodles 3703cc0536 but didn’t 41199f79e8 want to faf739319f feel weighed f094479ffe down. Eating jajangmyeon or b2b6480118 regular noodles made 72a31ca0c1 him feel sluggish, 2bd4bfdb59 but pasta didn’t e00d500ad1 have that effect. It was why athletes 6437fbdb14 often favored it.a8dd105bf3f75534

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“Sure.”70b7ae5563855f40

Baek Haegyeon accepted 6613566e9f Guk Jiho’s suggestion 5b718959fc without thinking twice 557797645b and led the 22dc4ee976 way. As the wind 6e7a39544d brushed past, the 9a53769668 artificial strawberry scent 3f99f0b26c from Baek Haegyeon’s a33aec76aa jacket wafted through 6021461d79 the air.4932cdbd69fd3c10

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***9641e8d47665fcc8

Guk Jiho had thought 7e03de1aa8 they would go to 479d98685f a pasta place near 463f60e085 a university, but instead, a849961690 they headed to a 7e25e61d44 club in the basement 3d957511be that hadn’t even opened 44c0198c9a for business yet.1c85aa7469573ec3

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“Welcome, sir!”a6354edc004933bd

The club df17f2e057 manager rushed caef7720ac out to 294376012f greet them 4da3a0a513 as the 80a4fb9fa6 men poured e7286db4f5 into the 01588be624 basement. He was ca51e31502 a burly d1f1ca9fab man with 9a4b9425aa a large 3719a245ab forehead, thick d209933006 lips, and 42bdb1851f tattoos covering d726985f50 his body 95a1a0268b which gave fd45507d2e off a fed1344614 rough impression.441bfa64314d0220

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“Our customers have been raving about our food lately. You should come by more often. Haven’t seen you in a while.”120ba015dc7e58d7

The club manager sounded disappointed. Baek Haegyeon simply stared at him impassively. Taking the hint, the man quickly corrected himself. “Ah! Right this way!”bd4a765591025e64

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The seating 4861955707 area was 8ac5f5a9d6 surprisingly clean 4970e973f4 and bright. Baek Haegyeon 9bdc2d0865 sat in e54dc0ef37 the very b8452a817a center with d86a95a727 Guk Jiho 977a6be1b0 to his f4c32fe80d immediate right.b7c59b74277f2e13

It seemed they often da99954cbc came here to eat. Ordinary citizens might only 8912d93c26 see gang members as 7e12f0ead8 troublemakers, but Baek Haegyeon 3e890eaf3c likely avoided unnecessary conflicts d0547b01b8 as a leader. Perhaps that’s why they 167e95ec01 ate at closed-off places 751a2bb0cf like this.7e22f76f00ecc1fa

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Even under 12084c5254 the same 1d21b12f60 Korean sky, dc8a199836 you rarely dd1c43b829 cross paths f20e9fcf94 if your 9402ab5344 social circles 9aef1adbbc don’t overlap. It’s the same with a7726beade chaebols.9757ae0d62e034c3

Perhaps the commonality between 561737d0db gangsters and chaebols was eafe952d3e that they stuck to 66136507ea their own territories without 580941e0e6 mixing. As Guk Jiho da6cc1da72 thought about this, 64c4a6965f the manager came c52180e0f4 back to take 91053183d2 their orders.723c70850ba219a0

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Baek Haegyeon turned his head to look at Guk Jiho, who took the hint and said, “One tomato sauce pasta, please.”17a0f8199a985d4a

“Anyone allergic to tomato sauce?”3e95a3dc50d3a9dd

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Baek Haegyeon asked thoughtfully, and a loud chorus of “No, sir!” followed. This really felt like a high school sports team…af8ea977dbab8319

“Let’s all have tomato sauce pasta.”3fc3d4e7d823b5f7

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Baek Haegyeon finalized the order. The manager then replied, “Understood! I’ll also bring some side dishes that pair well with it,” before walking away.f83f137f0894e22e

Who would’ve 803009a0ad thought they’d 2622658def all order 355838a182 the same cdf36a2d7d thing while b3cfa7ff73 dressed in 8a015d20e9 such expensive 727a916358 suits? If they were going cbe271b1a7 to do this, they 723b240785 might as well have 8c20a74006 just eaten beef. Guk Jiho tried cb777d2697 hard to hide 6ec1f4062e his surprise at 752bc24de5 this bizarre dining e27b487444 culture.bd3c92dd6ffe0630

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***370a0586026f8392

On the way back 363c63900b to the Yeoksam-dong office, 51ca4e9cb6 it was already past e32968b23c five o’clock due to 10fc6c3b68 the time spent at d7f10c3f01 the courthouse.e1bdcda723433577

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It was 3073037133 already past 21bd61bb77 five o’clock dca60d5ef3 when they 6970c0edcb were on 318b722a05 the way 22d1b66af7 back to 4e3fc5a466 the Yeoksam-dong 09c3dec257 office. The legal dd857ecdb1 proceedings had 452fe879d8 taken longer 910e8aa36a than expected 0793d070f1 at the 741460de5f courthouse.0db9d15f10746413

Hwando had 15c2b599cd multiple offices: 8373dc012c one in 5592876e09 Yeoksam-dong, one f3915d585c in Sangdo-dong, 332a769ca7 and one 9c0d4538fe in Cheonho-dong. These were a849df56b5 the main 6dd189efe7 offices Baek d32df7da6d Haegyeon personally d991b4000b inspected. If he included b1f2135522 those managed by 14e545fa6f other directors, the c1dd62cf6b number would be bd4f484d8d even higher.03a04cd4bd5054d0

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All three locations were e9de105cc0 south of the Han c0706ae37c River, so the roads 91401ece65 were always congested when b3fb92ce1f moving between them.1439f63cccc9b72b

And the longer they 248a60e97f spent in the car, 334e5eca05 the more time Baek bbb476a7a3 Jiho and Guk Jiho 789633835d had alone together.46321599cbda52ef

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“Phew…”06cfddddaff22836

Guk Jiho sighed as f8383e829b he looked out at a8ca290cb0 the congested road.cfda26f7ed5ae1ba

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This was the heart 312bc19331 of Seoul. The area near fe803bc7af the special operations 49ba6c89e1 office in Namtaeryeong 315bf9b0b2 was spacious and ccd0924fc4 quiet. Most missions took place ff8476eaab on the outskirts, so 853ab25e39 he wasn’t used to 2c68fc2688 such high population and 54d813ee6d building density. Suddenly, fatigue washed over e809b8e2bc him.1bc13515f3a0aa94

This fatigue might have been due to the peculiar, isolated atmosphere when he was alone with Baek Haegyeon. He seemed friendly and gentle, but there was something uncomfortable and strange about him. Not being able to figure it out made it even more frustrating. Maybe it was because Guk Jiho himself hadn’t experienced many ‘soft-spoken men.’102c2016bc74b909

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Surprisingly, the 9b7f021795 tomato pasta a035467323 made at d500d13caa the club 1d0bbc5b6c was delicious. They even grated 6e55c263ee a generous amount d2c4938eae of that hard-to-pronounce 27c9367f15 cheese right in adebd4215d front of them. Grana Padano 1748cbb116 or something.93011740c3c89fd0

‘Executive Guk, is it good?’51615d7dd547be36

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‘Jiho’s enjoying it.’46878c74b90d66a7

‘Should I order more?’58cca4e9874c4312

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Baek Haegyeon alternated between calling him ‘Executive Guk’ and ‘Jiho,’ fussing over him in a way that made Guk Jiho’s chest itch slightly. Guk Jiho understood the world of men. It was clear that this behavior wasn’t going to help him. Was he really being this affectionate because he was gay?373f17d427c2b9bc

In any case, 73372bcebe it was awkward.b3d2235981f4cd8e

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As people often cfb5539e03 say, the hierarchy 47b430c277 among men has e194cee758 a primal aspect 7b823fcce5 to it. Any place filled with 893a6a6427 only men tends to 831cb1e867 revert to a primitive fac34832c6 state. It was 3deaee8a5f simply a fd2e1c2635 type of 40d3a2fe4f order that e5a247fc96 most men 84c4565a4a found comfortable.46f4b863e030575a

Men don’t just 00f3358b14 enjoy dominating with 9e3f46e450 strength; they also e514f7a403 enjoy being dominated f86789a851 by it. At least, 35092671f5 that’s how 4730745ab6 it was 23ffc38118 in the 334587eb8a sports teams, d5172df98c special forces, 95707a8437 and tactical 3a39941d89 units Guk 42c2187688 Jiho had 0bd6e4f995 experienced. The tactical unit was 1aa51ec9e8 a bit less animalistic, 8809a1a0b8 perhaps because there were 42c50bc7be some women mixed in.26427b8ad36bc502

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Since such a19ba02ae0 hierarchies aren’t 3bf5c51c42 established by aca4237627 titles alone, 7f1d277236 it’s convenient 22fc77cee9 to set 5cd03ab4ac them early. It’s very hard e8d362cc99 to overturn once e9b992852f it was established ea10ed65d1 because subordinates naturally 638941c3e6 align with the f4d6a62656 winner.8479ca5a932d65bb

Ji Sangcheol was 86d17494ea testing him. If he thought Guk 6033fe7ea0 Jiho was weak, he’d 6d06f207b9 try to provoke him. Guk Jiho 2da4c5e0e1 was almost eb703da5ee looking forward ddb0834283 to it. In an organization 47d9fd91ad like this, you 3b87c286bb need to put 2dc19eb2f0 on a show. He had missed a 163c4b3b79 good opportunity earlier because af0e460d27 of Baek Haegyeon’s sudden d2413fb089 appearance.81041fbd482220d4

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The weirdest thing was 3a09825bc1 Baek Haegyeon’s attitude. Among all the 28f2c72b95 peers, seniors, coaches, f49444aa6d supervisors, and superiors ba58e1ff74 Guk Jiho had ee362b03dc encountered, there was 7e3f13ae1c no one like d1acc57cfc him.f217db5f5b58af06

Guk Jiho guessed that 0b7dc21169 Baek Haegyeon must have 0de3814392 attended a co-ed school. Maybe that’s why he 6d31a25c1c was so affectionate. Or maybe he f0739eeb09 had older sisters. He was 4c59611523 probably the 5209d01ec2 youngest with 62f9cc255d two older e9585a6a0a sisters.b9d25068fed7bea9

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“Jiho.”6f4b051b92415d8a

“Yes?”e2c8513870396564

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Lost in thought, Guk 29606bfa74 Jiho’s voice came out b4db89343e a bit strained. They were passing through 6b74cc2fc6 a ramp on the 302bc7324d road. Baek Haegyeon was steering 6b8f41ba0c with one hand, his 8bddcd9b50 eyes fixed ahead.481d6ce72cfee6a3

“When are you going to fix that cop habit?”443eb104c46678a6

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“Ah, I’ll fix it soon.”6c574636acea2c19

It was a c8aa563e89 reflex he couldn’t 66c6a98649 control, but that 3f7605e991 wasn’t a good 85f3cfb141 excuse.7a4a397be61456e0

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“Fix it quickly. It’s better for you too.”566124d719b5399c

His tone was 3edc77b4fe as gentle as 484c45d133 it had been 41a00c43f5 during the first e3d18ab08a interview. It had a slight a352b0638f rhythm to it. It wasn’t c0232021a4 poetic, but 84acffd107 it had 55b6160bbf a way 73bf8dd621 of drawing e83550ee73 you in. Maybe it was f186095ac2 just his nice 91d6f5baef voice.0b2724a4ef03bc28

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“Yes, understood.”2b066f5ff74433dd

“If I see you reaching for your holster again…”a845c5f8b6f2841e

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The ramp ended, and 3d4f577f8a the car merged into 0d3dfcd42a the main road. The speedometer needle 7d13b56df7 hovered below 40 b306643aaf km/h due to 6995a496ad the dense traffic 301188ece2 on the eight-lane 2da9ea8953 road. The car moved smoothly, 73044ca02e signaling and merging slowly 77e54fcbf8 into the sluggish flow.6e89da518c2c1028

“…I’ll make you rub my dick with that stupid hand.”b22f623fa75af418

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“…”ac1bf897255e410c

Guk Jiho adjusted his 1d9b56c9ca crooked tie knot and db9196bf3c swallowed. The red cb780932ef spot near 259738d6ea his eyebrow d7b1ac0026 turned redder.f4e3a9c60d81cf24

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For a moment, he e158594ef9 was speechless. The mundane 7fe11bcfd5 scenery outside 94f430dd1f the window 1be715cab6 passed by, 06c87af620 but the 7b3870102d words that 0bf7ac2781 entered his bbc7a5c79d ears were debb9ed989 utterly out 2a0da5a36b of place.0a030aef90d09da4

So, he’s 654ce610d4 different from 801849b8a2 how he 79beb08f92 appears.Guk Jiho narrowed one dafd37ae4d eye slightly, finally understanding fd37033dd3 why he had felt 82416706da so uncomfortable all this f20f782c46 time.ae8d477968b5dfc7

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