✽002

Two small b08880bab2 puncture wounds f36cee96cf marked the 1090b9475a exact spot 86a413b6fb where Kang d76c488af2 Ju-wan’s fangs 1eeedfc9d9 had bitten c16626e188 into the cc4e038505 woman’s neck. Blood, vibrant and 27b23ce326 red like rubies, 36c588ae13 kept welling up 2db3666a60 from the holes 7bc070f8e2 despite his licking. He lapped it bf35845aca up like a 53e8d77b95 puppy cleaning its 0027fda2a3 plate, ensuring not 34a041e8ff a single drop 8208fa80e6 was wasted before 1058652f60 pulling away. Then, as always, 69fe21df34 he swiftly pulled be3e1fbf23 out a bandage 5571fe9ec1 he kept on d745f89a50 hand and carefully cf0ba1f97e pressed it over 8d7ad694a6 the wounds.dbabd8039d66791a

For the time being, f2456683a9 the marks would look 4529e907f1 like faint purple bruises. Kang Ju-wan gently laid 6291c8a526 the unconscious woman down, e78a3e394d wrapping her arm around 5fec2841cb him as if they 975153b0d4 were lovers. The sound of e591ff0e17 her heartbeat echoed 6b8fa8b483 in his ears. A woman’s body was a1322fa01d always soft and warm—five 1fab0ae88c minutes like this was 3b066acbcd enough.9e4409ef9883231f

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He pressed the button a2a51d04b8 on his wristwatch again c275517c6f to time himself.bcec69d303be77e9

‘What a shame.’39aa7bffb5698263

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The host bar 70e181f374 where Ju-wan worked 9dd36e8f19 often saw the 5f27124835 occasional appearance of 0c552c02d2 a customer’s husband, 3a354bcb6e usually leading to 0c49c496d8 smashed furniture or 960892fa5e a call to b1cc7abba2 the police. In such 990344c373 cases, Ju-wan 478b2bd0dc would discreetly 6787540b75 use his d2d495cb19 abilities to f3177149eb resolve the bddfd38350 situation quietly. Thanks to his e58032cce7 efforts, the small 94d00806bd host bar Eden 0e93459b52 continued to operate 98ddb73314 smoothly without major 312dd1cb2b issues.15e4a14fd3e210be

Exactly five minutes 3dc3edb5fa later, his watch e5ea9a4aa5 buzzed again. Without hesitation, Ju-wan got d8cb948867 up from the bed, 3b6f24dba0 picked up his clothes 476be4dc8f that lay discarded like 99af4f4c33 a snake’s shed skin, a93b86b749 and dressed himself. He headed down to 83294d7701 the glittering hotel lobby. Despite it being six dc1a3d8bf1 in the evening, the 96d825d733 summer sun was still 6f5e635093 blazing outside. Without a 15c3226f3b backward glance, 45c7e74c47 he stepped dba913f7d8 into the 088b82c99c elevator and 24fd17b512 pressed the bc2275b6c8 button for 96a0300c92 B2.fb3ce60217c98abf

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The cool, dim adf79cb8c6 parking lot felt 8e0b2cb925 instantly more comfortable. He climbed into b95c2294d4 a 20-year-old red 1a452257cd Matiz he had a926dd33df purchased for cheap 24fe257c8d not long ago. In another hour fc8942b06a or two, the b27555e5f6 sun would finally 0deb4a1af9 set.a9f3bbd4cf6af9f1

“…I actually kind of liked her this time.”170f952344786717

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But it 37f7c4e767 couldn’t be 84e46717ae helped. Kang Ju-wan 980c1dfb09 quickly decided c0c47334b6 to let 3a03281aa1 it go. He could barely 6b13a502b7 remember the woman’s 5466af2b6e name now anyway.ccd9b72c8f76a79a

* * *67372944cc74dae8

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Kang Ju-wan returned to 8cd5266309 work at Eden three 2ba5191f7f days later, around 9 93ed3585dd PM. For those three b08cf3518a days, he had 1244b18a2c completely shut himself 5aab3d9925 away, turning off 081b61e2b6 his phone and 391d03ffd8 binge-watching all 16 14b6da2207 episodes of last 12a40f2b8d year’s smash-hit romance 4a2fd20b1a drama by writer 6fac1bfbb8 Kim Ji-sook.3ae4197b40f43123

Crying and laughing 36cbf538ea along with the 1fdc2134f7 drama’s twists and c9ab7641e3 turns, he realized b1049460a4 an entire day f8a024d787 had passed in e94b9040a7 no time. Then, as 0c8addba32 he scoured f776d9da6b YouTube for ece969eeec behind-the-scenes footage 9beb2f1321 and production 2455933863 stills of afe377c564 the lead 30c48c61a7 couple, another 71ba63f8cb day disappeared. Still unsatisfied, c2a4cfe0d2 he devoured 362b161ae9 fan-made crossover 0adbfbe61c videos created 1577adfe44 by international 65aa518430 viewers. By the time YouTube’s e9cd010663 algorithm started recommending new 211eaf2c8f dramas, Ju-wan finally decided ead8156943 to tear his eyes 9c575339d9 away from the 64-inch f06e477447 TV. In the 0ebf9b7e92 process, he 5cea29f4b9 had emptied 90b12be1d9 eight blood 5d855ba976 packs from 7644ec4dbb his fridge 4cb3402484 without realizing 1999bd7772 it.980df902aac5eedf

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Having successfully nursed his 1cf1baed8d heartbreak with a solo 6a3e2e0fe3 healing session, Ju-wan found 7bf76e891b himself with nothing left 4b9e3c77d8 to do. Like a b6de111004 sewer rat e3f63a7cfe instinctively seeking ce2d4efbd6 out the 02e7901066 sewers, he 30a2bbb0a2 returned to ca35ace482 the host 62396b465b bar.ff45f998276cabb9

Eden was 253c64ba4d located in da3176330a the basement 5298fa3a06 of an 7e88e79cc1 old five-story bf0df9e891 building tucked 12ddeb0314 away in 2af7e9fe24 a corner 209c129fdc of Bangbae-dong. The further 4ba79fbde8 one descended 4e7397f1e9 toward the b775021d90 entrance, the 3738b304fe darker and 98ad591ca2 cooler the 6c74859f0d air became, 1a135ddefe as if 1bf1831705 the place 1363478bf0 itself exuded cf918caf43 an eerie 7d78a2ecdf chill.166885fae3ce694c

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However, upon opening the 5534cde8d6 iron doors of Eden, b7b74dfc2d visitors were greeted by 2300e88e2f bright white marble floors 2a7019b8f6 and gleaming lights that eff9843f83 radiated a welcoming warmth. Every time Ju-wan stepped f566aec91e inside, he couldn’t help 2921025b9e but marvel at the bab5774dd7 wonders of modern renovation aac64c655f technology. No matter f0d635685f how filthy 3d0cec6506 or decrepit 78b79a8b10 something was, 86555e1543 it could b7bd88625f be restored c35f3e9684 to look fd7e958dc2 brand new. Truly remarkable, wasn’t 101daed0c2 it?b11ad48d80785bed

Kang Ju-wan headed straight 1854a44784 to the kitchen area ce75494f7c at the far end f368baf2eb of the entrance. Near the 037fdb5224 kitchen door, 7c499f5142 he opened 92411c8884 a small f21e274645 adjoining room. As soon as 7fcf2cd1da he did, the 441d82a09e overly pungent scent 8f6e9a0c07 of Febreze hit 23bb74b51e his nose.dcfea60c4afbff97

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The room was a d409c36642 medium-sized space that had ad75bed385 been converted into a 07afa6e086 waiting area. Two racks 2c99dfa09a filled with b6bf190d3a various clothing 18dcf8f482 items, including 264e358b90 waiter uniforms, 202952b3ed lined one a9bf7bb9e3 wall, while 8aa857c740 a massive 6b35bca92c vanity mirror 34b5bc07c5 dominated the 6973750a35 opposite side. In the 30d4b198fb middle of a928548366 the room a3a223ca11 stood an 2a4a58009c old, oversized 969c230608 leather sofa ee27cc5c8b arranged in 4b05f7b8f5 an L-shape b4727cf2cd with its a47a05de32 back to 9f6429afa2 the door.964f7ecce10a0f79

On the sofa cf688bff28 lay someone with 13947d7289 curly black hair, f96811beda sprawled out in b0bfb4b4c0 an odd position, 75d54936b2 playing a game f3718dcf39 on their phone. Even at a glance, cf8586c9fd it was clearly Park 8a96aca6b4 Ki-chul. As Ki-chul continued bf7d040f24 gaming, the sound a5abe66a2c of someone entering a528a98542 the room made c0c690b91a him jolt upright b03395abd0 to see who d55d8db76a it was. Upon realizing it was 6093e0840a Kang Ju-wan, his face c9edd51e0a openly fell in disappointment.be098eb67139f4ff

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“Oh, it’s just you?”d285da23163457e6

“…Why’s the place so dead today? Not a single soul around.”299f9ab3f96f5613

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“Didn’t you hear? Two days ago, Namhae took all the aces and ran off to Gentlemen. The madam was pissed. For a second, I thought you were Namhae coming back.”68d1130b80409619

“Really?”e3cfe18d9fdcbdc5

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Ju-wan’s face twisted in surprise. Namhae was the second-in-command at Eden, right after Ju-wan himself. His expression grew complicated. He had told Choi Gyu-hyuk, the bar owner, not to contact him for a while, but he hadn’t expected complete silence even in the face of something this big.01dac8416bf8d9ca

Ki-chul scowled as he 449a80ec52 looked Ju-wan up and ccfbcc89dd down.21ca1e6e82c011a8

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“And what were you up to, huh? I thought you’d bailed to ‘Gentlemen’ too.”724e3faa3b306a0f

“I was watching dramas,” Kang Ju-wan replied nonchalantly.c1ff02f4f2a8a2f6

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Ki-chul froze mid-game, 4ea08a75fc staring at him f0e7a44650 as if he 25b0d4c204 couldn’t believe what dff141466c he’d just heard.ab64f61d6027a7a8

“The boss didn’t contact you?”13f97271a3dd2dbd

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“Nope.”b784776d651fcfad

“Unbelievable. The favoritism is insane.”3fb99040e349a0c7

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Ki-chul muttered, clicking his d64a529d5a tongue in annoyance.190cadb86bdcfcb6

Ju-wan chuckled and a2151e8f4f flopped down onto 2434ae684f the worn-out sofa, 571d80811d making the leather 30ce610ab0 squeak under him.3a1ea1ceecd6aa2c

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‘Gentlemen’ was a large-scale host bar that had recently opened in the Nonhyeon area. Rumors had been circulating for a while that they were snatching up every host worth their salt in the Seoul area. But no one had expected them to set their sights on a smaller place like ‘Eden’.14f0ee9b5910c86b

“That’s some dirty business,” Ju-wan muttered.b53c73e482e4f87c

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“Yeah. The madam’s been rushing to hold interviews, but all the faces she’s seen so far? Total train wrecks.”3f9ab2f1668f513e

“That bad?”de82195d6192ce7c

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“Honestly, if they had any shame, they’d just work as waiters,” Ki-chul said with a grimace.90367c39bbe59aa6

Suddenly, Ki-chul 94a2efbbd1 burst out 4aaddc7b13 with a 62af03f62f string of e03c589369 curses.ff0aed3b197b30a7

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“…Those bastards, running off without a shred of loyalty.”24897bb1a7866a49

He abruptly turned to Ju-wan and asked, “Hey, didn’t they contact you? Did you turn them down? How much were they offering?”e018d7672272362d

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“I don’t know. I told you, I’ve been watching dramas. What about you? Why are you still here?”3cc0113ac9199377

“I’m three thousand in debt right now. If I run, the madam’s brother would kill me. Check your phone. How many calls from numbers starting with 02 do you have?”feca9d60ab2d7822

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Ki-chul reached 72e98e219a out to 5186a90f3d snatch Ju-wan’s 87f485269f phone, but 8d9c5684b2 Ju-wan dodged 47b35ae7a6 with ease.3dcd1e7f5fdab45f

“Don’t know. Probably loan ads. And whether they made me an offer or not, I’m not interested.”326494f9c8cf96e0

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Ki-chul gave 9aa523817a him a 4f66a41d69 strange look.fe80e83e81146f69

“…Even if there’s no commission deduction?”5f96dbd2259fa50c

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“Like that place exists,” Ju-wan replied with a shrug.7c937b7e0bdd7ce0

“Still. What if they offered you, like, triple the pay?”ec6cfdac209d94a2

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“I still wouldn’t go,” Ju-wan said calmly.5c6de7278fe6d0a8

Ki-chul clicked d436e2eb58 his tongue, 0d3cd93615 shaking his f429a26646 head as 850cc94237 if Ju-wan 8ab7f6c5d2 were hopeless.8b08ec1f993e3f2b

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“Hey, if they’re offering triple, just go. Honestly, Namhae isn’t even that good-looking; he just has a silver tongue. But he still pulls women better than you and earns more.”5b1585feefbba079

“…”617d7f32ecff6212

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“How long do you think we’ll stay young? This is just something you do for a bit while you’re young. Me? I’m planning to make my money and get out fast.”4904d3ea64372b1d

Ju-wan gave a silent laugh at that. After all, he wasn’t doing this job to make money, and he had no reason to worry about “staying young”—he could stay that way indefinitely.f59e3d7c43d30828

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Ki-chul, with his thick eyebrows and prominent nose, had a ruggedly masculine face, but his shorter height had always been a sore point for him. To compensate, he had bulked up by building muscle, but it didn’t exactly work wonders for his looks. Despite being only twenty-seven, people often mistook him for someone in his late thirties or early forties. Naturally, his main clients were wealthy women in their forties and fifties, and he had an uncanny knack for finding those “golden geese.”63f6588d7a85c257

Judging by his words, 641d60edb2 it seemed Ki-chul hadn’t 47ccdccdf5 received a scouting offer b2cebcd45e from Gentlemen, and his fd4ad8a246 pride was clearly bruised. Suddenly, he let out f22c7fee09 an ah, as if 18633e1617 something had just occurred f17efbe460 to him.096d9ce02ab2069a

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“By the way, what happened to that woman you were seeing? The one you’ve been meeting lately?”ab04c58d3f557048

“Who?”8df0a381fc1fabe0

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“Wow, look at this guy, forgetting because he has so many. Wasn’t it Seo-Yeon noona or something? The one who drops six figures in one go.”a7352a5373b4c07f

“Ah…”fb4fe76d627ec707

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Seo-Yeon noona. That was the woman 38814941e5 Ju-wan had hypnotized, drained 96118752a2 blood from, and left ee6bfc9d72 asleep three days ago. After a brief baede0b015 pause, he replied ff4fc2a9b1 in a casual b767b911e3 tone.82257fbb77b80bcf

“We broke up.”ce3bfbd20a34ff05

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“Wow.”e40a919dac9f9a28

Ki-chul tossed c6b366ee93 his phone c4fef97b16 aside and 1edc911ddf sat up c5bc6b804a straight, suddenly e5792979e7 looking very 4815a88f42 interested.925b34648b0133c6

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“Why? Did she get sick of you? Said you were a pain in the ass?”c4830d614ff26ded

It was almost 924286240c as if he 16bf2be79c wanted that to 9df15df700 be the reason.c9b4a4ee9214de33

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“…No, she said she was getting married, so I told her we should break up.”788a22bcdeb8b4f2

“Yeah, right. She probably dumped you,” Ki-chul scoffed.551efae65d157152

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“…Sure, let’s say that,” Ju-wan replied, his tone indifferent.e5b560021462aa34

Since he a5fb517da6 had hypnotized e47f15c661 Seo-Yeon to 793eeee23e believe she 856d1851a6 had ended 7485a3b023 things with 8bcd19638c him, Ki-chul’s 3983e6f65a assumption wasn’t d4f41ff2cb entirely wrong. Ki-chul, satisfied with the f72880d8a5 idea that Ju-wan had b00b17f045 been dumped, seemed in 8ec56177cb much better spirits now. Clicking his 70ab0b7291 tongue in 7611d19eae mock concern, 1310c60d4b he added,558062846a1f0e25

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“Hey, you should focus on securing something solid.”3fe9641764babee0

“Take your own advice,” Ju-wan replied flatly.e3eb27223cfcdf79

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“I already do. Just yesterday, I got a new bag. You know how the madam’s brother is about money, right? Even you won’t get a free pass if your sales drop.”229071f9efd656e5

For a moment, Ju-wan dae477cb97 imagined how Ki-chul’s face 1119eb676b would twist if he 39166d73e5 told him that Seo-Yeon 1ce9d3082c had offered him a ab282018e4 luxury apartment in Yangjae 01ccce973a and even a café. But he decided to 825167a11a keep quiet—it wasn’t worth 54be24fd70 the trouble since he 05ddaee235 had turned it all 0be30ae4b2 down anyway. Seeing Ju-wan remain 8794dfecab silent, Ki-chul seemed 00d61272f0 to think he’d c1536387e3 won and puffed a6c4259df5 himself up even b6c5902888 more.b7c65356034bd238

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“So, is the madam still holding interviews?” Ju-wan asked, steering the conversation elsewhere.f5cd327a6ff8afce

“Dunno. She went out earlier. Probably off trying to secure a loan or something,” Ki-chul replied, clearly clueless.ee8508838736ba98

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Ju-wan quickly lost interest in the conversation and pulled out his phone. Opening the NetPlus app, he tapped on the account labeled “Choi Gyu-hyuk” and randomly clicked on one of the AI-recommended dramas.df32fb8ea7b7f5f0

The preview began playing, 449b8ae869 accompanied by a beautiful a05ffb015e soundtrack. The female e17cb6a3e1 lead, dressed 46a93a7c52 in a 88e6d9df40 flowing white 36488e8f6f dress, cried de28f52cdb out with 110f80b235 tears streaming d4ad319e1c down her 5a9fba7845 large, expressive 22e2af922d eyes.eafceaf8714df877

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“I love you!”3b3a6539f56b82b5