N | Chapter 1.1

Even in the early winter weather, there were women dressed lightly and men searching for such women. The downtown area, filled with entertainment venues, was bustling with people even though it was midnight on a weekday.

Among them, at the back door of the club with the longest line, men in suits were gathered. They kept glancing at the corner of the alley as if waiting for someone.

At the front of the group, the man who seemed to be the leader flicked his cigarette, burnt down to the filter, onto the ground. The ground beneath him was littered with cigarette butts he had discarded.

“Boss, it seems like you’re smoking too much in a row.”

The youngest guy next to him cautiously spoke up. He had been smoking non-stop without even a moment to exhale, and the young guy seemed puzzled as to why the boss was so tense.

The other subordinates seemed to share the same sentiment, and the man, envying their ignorance, took a deep drag for the last time.

“Hey, when that person arrives later, don’t even think about raising your head. Don’t make eye contact either.”

A few years ago, a colleague had once upset him. What was the reason again? It was so trivial that he couldn’t remember. Maybe it was because he was standing with his legs crossed or because he put out his cigarette too late.

Anyway, before he even realized his mistake, the guy’s face was smashed. And then, with a smile as if he was joking, he looked down at the sprawled-out colleague with such a fierce expression.

Since that day, just hearing the name Kim Saul made him shiver and avoid him, but of all days, he was coming here for a meeting today.

“Come on, boss. I’m not a rookie. I’ve heard the rumors about him too.”

Whether he thought the elder’s warning was exaggerated or wanted to lighten the mood, he responded playfully. The man could only let out a dry laugh.

“You think you know from hearing? The moment you see him, you’ll wish you didn’t know.”

He’s not just infamous; he is the infamy itself.

As the sky, filled with dark clouds, began to drop a few raindrops, a black sedan slowly turned into the alley.

The man, who looked like he’d seen a ghost, threw away his cigarette, and the men standing under the eaves ran out.

“Welcome!”

“Welcome!”

Ignoring the pouring rain, they all bowed toward the stopped car.

Soon, the driver got out of the car and quickly opened the back door, and a man stepped out.

“Saul-nim.”

“Wait here.”

The driver greeted him and got back into the car. The man who sent him off naturally took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, exuding an intimidating aura that made one swallow dryly just by watching.

The man earlier was sturdy enough to not just be a driver, but this guy was even more so, with a physique that required one to tilt their head back to look up at him.

For someone in his mid-thirties, he had a heavy presence. An impeccable black suit and neatly slicked-back black hair. Tattoos covering his neck and the back of his hands, contrasting with his tidy appearance.

But what was most intimidating about him was the fierce gaze that seemed to reveal everything inside.

‘The moment you see him, you’ll wish you didn’t know.’

So that’s Kim Saul. The words that had been brushed off earlier echoed in the youngest’s mind, and the three syllables of his name were deeply imprinted.

As Saul passed by, the men, still bowing, clenched their fists to suppress their instinctive trembling.

“This way.”

A waiter waiting inside the club led the way. Trying to keep up with Saul’s stride, which seemed to be about 2 meters, looked like he was fleeing from a beast.

“President Park is inside.”

They reached the end room, passing through the hallway where the loud music from the stage seeped in. Without a moment to catch his breath, the waiter, whose hands were sweaty, wiped them on his pants and turned the doorknob.

“Oh, you’ve arrived!”

As Saul entered the room, a middle-aged man greeted him cheerfully.

“……Hello.”

Saul offered a polite greeting and glanced at the women beside the man. Their voluptuous chests were barely covered by the tight dresses clinging to their bodies.

“Come, sit down!”

As the man gestured with his eyes, a woman grabbed the edge of her precarious dress and sat next to Saul.

Seeing Saul take a seat, the waiter carefully closed the door and left. As the outside noise was completely blocked, the woman, as if waiting, pressed her chest against Saul’s arm.

“I’ll pour you a drink.”

Then she placed a glass in front of him and began to fill it with ice.

“You crazy bitch!”

“Eek!”

The man, seeing this, suddenly grabbed a handful of lemon slices and threw them at the woman’s face.

“You bitch. Didn’t I tell you President Kim drinks it straight without ice?”

“S-sorry.”

The woman, hit by the lemons, quickly apologized and poured a new drink. Saul, without sparing a glance at the scene, took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

“Tsk!”

The man, looking at the woman with displeasure, saw Saul exhaling smoke and began to speak with a sly smile.

“President Kim, about what we talked about last time.”

As if it was a signal to get to the main topic, the woman placed her hand on Saul’s waist and skillfully began to undo his belt.

Her touch over the fabric was quite blatant. Saul, with the cigarette in his mouth, looked down at the woman diligently handling his thing inside his briefs.

“These bastards say they absolutely can’t pay the tribute. I know their sales, and they say that? It’s been ten days since they defaulted, and they’re acting like they don’t care. This way, I can’t show face to other establishments, so President Kim-”

“Three times.”

“Huh?”

Saul suddenly grabbed the glass and slammed it onto the marble table.

“Kyaa!”

With a loud crash, glass shards scattered. The women, who screamed reflexively, shrank back and lowered their heads.

“Ki, President Kim?”

“Four times.”

Saul picked up the ice bucket and swiftly struck the man’s face with it. With a crunch, the metal bucket crumpled, and the ice inside scattered everywhere.

“Guh, guh!”

The man clutched his nose, pouring blood like a faucet. His nose bone clearly shattered, he soon slumped on the sofa and lost consciousness.

“President Kim? Ha- Did I go senile……. I thought it was something big since you insisted on coming out, damn it.”

The thrown bucket rolled on the floor with a loud noise. Wiping the alcohol off his hands with a napkin, he took a deep drag of the cigarette he was holding, and the woman, who had turned pale, caught his eye.

“What are you doing?”

“Hic…! Y-yes…?”

Saul laughed at the woman, who was scared and inhaled sharply. Then he pointed at his still-standing thing.

“Continue.”

❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎

On a weekday dawn, a boy who had just turned twenty appeared in an entertainment district filled with bars and clubs.

His black, thin hair swayed with every step he took. His flawless white face, the long, thin double eyelids following his upward-slanting eyes, and lips that seemed to show the blood beneath.

The reason people were staring at Horan was not because of his school uniform, which didn’t suit the place, but because his face made even the uniform look provocative.

‘That was close.’

Horan, however, paid no attention to the stares. He pulled out a wad of cash from a brown wallet that seemed too old to be his. Then, as if he didn’t need the rest, he tossed the wallet onto a nearby trash bag and began counting the cash in his hand.

‘One, two, three…’

Horan had just finished what he called a ‘part-time job.’ This time, the prey was sharper than expected and almost caught him, but the risk was worth it as the wallet was stuffed.

His job was to scam men who wanted compensated dating, or more precisely, men who wanted to engage in compensated dating with him. By wandering the alleys late at night in a school uniform, there was a high chance that older men with a taste for young boys would approach him.

Of course, he never actually did anything. He would just grab their wallet when they left for a moment and run.

‘Seventeen, eighteen…’

Just then, a raindrop fell on the cash. Horan frowned as he looked up at the sky. No wonder the air felt heavy. Soon, as raindrops started to fall harder, he shoved the uncounted cash into his school uniform pants pocket and hid under a nearby eave.

“Hope there’s no thunder.”

Horan muttered in an uneasy voice. The sky, which had started pouring rain, didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping. The weather forecast was never right.

Horan clutched the crinkling cash in his pocket. He could run to a nearby convenience store to buy an umbrella, but he needed this money for rent.

“Damn it.”

Eventually, he stepped out from under the eave and started walking in the pouring rain. The cold weather combined with the rain made his shoulders shiver involuntarily.

Just then, the sky rumbled. No, he had to catch a taxi. With a foreboding feeling that a thunderstorm was imminent, he was about to head to a taxi stand when,

“Huh-”

Amidst the noise of the heavy raindrops hitting the ground, he faintly heard a woman’s voice. Horan’s gaze landed on a corner of the alley. Next to a pile of trash where the streetlight didn’t reach, a man and a woman were close together.

“Ah, ah-”

The woman, who had pulled up her tight dress to her waist, was receiving the rough movements from behind.

The man standing behind her had his pants half-down to his hips and was biting the end of his shirt, moving his hips as if he didn’t care that they were outside and it was pouring winter rain.

‘What a crazy bastard.’

Horan thought he might step in if it was a troubling situation, but it didn’t seem necessary. He noticed the large hand gripping the woman’s buttocks and the tattoo on the thick neck of the man.

It was obvious he was a gangster from around here. This was that kind of street. Just as he decided not to get involved and cause unnecessary trouble, his eyes met the man’s.

‘…What the hell.’

The dangerous glow in the man’s dark brown eyes instantly bound his entire body. It was an ominous pressure, like encountering a beast in the wild.

‘Dangerous.’

He couldn’t even turn his back, feeling like he would be devoured if he did. All his nerves were ringing alarm bells. The sound of his heart pounding was so loud it drowned out the sound of the rain, echoing in his ears.

At the same time, the man’s gaze moved from his eyes to his ears, lips, chin, and finally rested on his neck. Even though they were quite far apart and it was pouring rain, the movement of the man’s eyes was unbelievably clear.

Horan read a clear desire in those dark brown eyes that clung to his entire body. It wasn’t the woman being held and penetrated by him. It was himself. As soon as he realized this, the man’s brow twitched, and he clenched his jaw, still biting his shirt.

With the woman’s shrill cries, the man pushed his hips faster, his gaze still fixed on Horan. After a few more thrusts, the man ejaculated without any emotion, pulling out from the woman.

Cold rain poured onto his reddened penis. The man spat out the shirt he was biting and lightly cracked his neck from side to side.

“Ah.”

The woman, who was adjusting her clothes, noticed Horan and hurriedly went inside the building.