N | Chapter 1.5

Horan, sitting in Saul’s car, didn’t pay any attention to the spacious interior or the leather seats, instead focusing solely on his tightly clenched hands on his lap.

He was anxious about what Saul might say next and whether he could leave here safely. The quiet tension was loud with worry about survival.

Soon, the wheels began to move smoothly. Where were they going? Outside the window, there were no cars or people. It was an ambiguous time, so it was expected, but given the situation, the deserted streets instilled fear.

The enclosed space intensified the heavy scent of Saul’s cologne and the smell of burnt tobacco. Realizing it was absolutely his space made Horan even more nervous.

“Why were you in such a dangerous place at this time? Aren’t you a student?”

“……What?”

Horan’s eyes widened at Saul’s words breaking the silence. His voice was soft, almost like he was scolding a child, rather than threatening, despite his gangster-like appearance and having just half-killed someone.

“I’m twenty years old.”

Horan mumbled.

“I don’t believe it. You were wearing a school uniform last time.”

Under Saul’s suspicious gaze, Horan took out his ID card from his wallet and showed it to him. Saul nodded only after carefully examining the card, which was new and without a scratch.

After getting his ID back, silence resumed. Saul fiddled with his phone, and Horan fidgeted with his fingers.

‘Is this human trafficking? Would I get hurt badly if I jumped out of a moving car?’

No matter how overwhelmed by the atmosphere he was, it was crazy to get into a car with someone like this. Just as he was thinking about bolting as soon as the car stopped, the wheels came to a halt.

‘It’s not a mountain?’

He had thought it would be a shady hideout or a dark mountainside, but it was in front of a high-rise building in the city center.

“What are you doing? Get out.”

He was staring blankly up through the window when Saul’s call brought him back, and he hurriedly got out. Following Saul with quick steps, they entered a building connected to the parking lot.

‘Does having so many CCTVs mean it’s safe, or the opposite?’

The brightly lit lobby at this hour and the surveillance cameras attached everywhere on the ceiling made Horan realize this wasn’t an ordinary office building.

However, he had no choice but to follow Saul into the elevator. Asking where they were going now was meaningless. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was walking into a tiger’s den.

‘Maybe the mountain would have been better. Or jumping out of the car.’

While he was regretfully resigning himself, the elevator stopped at the top floor, the 40th floor. As the door opened, Horan knew the room at the end of the hallway was their destination. It was the only room on this floor.

“Wait a moment.”

Saul, standing in front of the door, took out his phone from his inner pocket. The screen was flashing with a vibration.

“Go inside.”

Saul said as he opened the door. He already had the phone to his ear. At least until the call was over, he could be alone. Horan entered without a word.

“Haa-”

As soon as the door closed behind him, he exhaled the breath he had been holding. He had been so tense that he needed a big breath.

‘Is this an office?’

He slowly looked around. It was a spacious interior, taking up an entire floor. There was a large desk with a panoramic view behind it and a sofa arranged in a U-shape in front.

“Wow…….”

What caught Horan’s attention wasn’t the heavy interior that seemed like something out of a TV show, but the night view spread out in front of him.

Horan stood in front of the window as if entranced. The end of the sky was dark blue. Was this dawn? Looking down made his head spin.

The top floor of a high-rise building in the city center. From the naturally revealed power, he could tell that the owner of this room was nothing like him.

‘I’m envious.’

He found himself thinking that. Just a moment ago, he was so scared he couldn’t breathe properly. But now, he felt envy, not fear, for having something he didn’t.

As he was thinking about whether his deficiency was so great that it could overcome his survival instincts, the door opened with a click, and Saul came in.

“Sit.”

Saul, sitting on the sofa, gestured to the opposite side, and Horan obediently sat across from him. Then he glanced at Saul lighting a cigarette.

‘What is this?’

Sensitive to the atmosphere, Horan noticed a subtle difference. Maybe the call had brought good news; Saul seemed more relaxed and in a better mood than before. It was a very slight difference, but it was certain.

“What was that guy earlier?”

Saul asked, crossing his long legs. In the dispersing cigarette smoke, the scene of almost being assaulted unfolded. Horan kept his mouth shut at the moment he didn’t want to recall.

“I helped because you seemed in a hurry, but I need to know who I hit, right? Hmm?”

Saul gently coaxed Horan instead of pressing him.

“……He was the boss of the bar I worked at.”

Horan’s tightly clenched hands slightly loosened. Having had no guardian since childhood, Horan was not immune to an adult’s kindness.

“Oh dear, did you lose your job because of me?”

“It’s okay. I hit him on the head with a soju bottle anyway…… It’s already over.”

Saul laughed out loud at those words.

He laughed? The person who looked like he couldn’t laugh?

“You’re braver than you look.”

Saul flicked the ash with a face still carrying a hint of laughter. Horan couldn’t take his eyes off that face.

‘Maybe he’s not as bad as I thought.’

No, wasn’t he the benefactor who helped him in the first place? Wasn’t he just prejudiced because he hit a bad person and had a fierce impression? His guard was lowering just from seeing him smile once.

“Still, since it’s partly because of me,”

And then the guard that had been lowered shot up at Saul’s next words.

“I’ll introduce you to a job.”

Feeling an unpleasant sense of déjà vu, Horan furrowed his thin eyebrows. Where had he heard this before? It was just a few hours ago.

‘Shall I introduce you to a job?’

He remembered the dirty gaze that had swept over his lips as he said that.

“I can’t say it’s a decent job, but the daily wage is quite-”

“I don’t sell my body.”

Horan interrupted.

“Thank you for helping me earlier. If you want compensation, I can’t do it right now, but I’ll definitely repay you later.”

He poured out his words like a rapid-fire gun and closed his eyes tightly. But contrary to his expectation of getting hit, what flew at Horan was Saul’s laughter.

“Who said anything about selling your body? Ah, this is hilarious.”

Horan looked at Saul, who was laughing while holding his forehead, with a dumbfounded face.

“……Then what?”

“A collector. Simply put, it’s a delivery job.”

Saul continued, stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray.

“Bars and clubs pay me protection money, and all you have to do is collect it. You’ll get fifty thousand won per delivery, so you’ll make over ten million won a month at least.”

Ten million won. The moment he heard the amount, his heart sank.

“All I have to do is deliver money……?”

Horan met his eyes. His black eyes, filled with distrust, caution, and even greater curiosity, sparkled in the moonlight.

Saul quietly alternated his gaze between the two eyes and then answered, “Yeah.”

With ten million won a month, he could save up for a deposit without needing a second job. He could get enough sleep and eat. But the joy was short-lived, and uneasiness followed.

“But why offer such a job to me…….”

“Because you have no criminal record and seem far removed from this kind of work. It’s even better if you’re quick-witted and brave. There aren’t many people like that.”

Horan quietly looked into the distance. Saul added more words to his seemingly contemplating figure.

“Two months. You can quit if you don’t want to do it after that.”

Saul, leaning back against the chair with his legs crossed, looked relaxed and confident.

‘What is this man in such a hurry for?’

However, Horan sensed a strange impatience from Saul. He couldn’t express it in words, but it seemed like the previous composure had disappeared.

“……I’ll think about it a bit more.”

So Horan instinctively avoided his offer. Saul’s thick eyebrows twitched at Horan’s subtle refusal, but he soon smiled.

“Contact me.”

Saul handed a business card to Horan, who was getting up. Horan looked at his large hand and the tattoo covering it before taking the card.

Saul, left alone after Horan left, leaned his head back on the sofa.

‘Did I really want to have him that much?’

Saul was reflecting on himself, who had unusually spoken at length after seeing Horan hesitate.

Hunting requires patience, and Saul was very good at it. But when facing Horan, an inexplicable urgency surged in.

Saul stretched his muscular arms. A dangerous aura spread around him. It was the primal nature he had suppressed in front of Horan.

He recalled Yoon Sung’s call from earlier. He couldn’t hide his pleasant mood at that first word. He knew what it meant to be a child whose protection had ended.

Literally an orphan with no relatives to take care of him. Thankfully, Horan was in a more dire situation than he had hoped.

Having just become an adult, he would desperately need money. So he thought Horan would take the sweet offer without hesitation.

‘I don’t sell my body.’

Thinking of the feisty Horan made him chuckle. Maybe because he looked so delicious in many ways, he wasn’t arrogant but cheekily cute.

At that moment, a stimulating scent lingered at the tip of his nose. The smell of fresh, sweaty young skin. Horan’s scent had lingered for that brief moment.

‘I’m going crazy with appetite.’

When those black eyes looked straight into his, it even made his thighs tingle. Even if he had to jerk off, he should have done it at home. Just as he was about to suppress his immediate desire with a cigarette,

“Sajang-nim.”

Yoon Sung entered simultaneously with a knock. If he was going to do that, why even knock? He must have come up as soon as he confirmed through the CCTV that Horan had left.

“Was that the guy who just left?”

Yoon Sung had a face that was somewhat convinced that the person he had been searching for all night was Horan, yet found it hard to believe.

“How did you find him? And how did you know his ID number?”

His voice was filled with curiosity and frustration. Yoon Sung, who seemed laid-back and lazy, hated being outdone in information and sometimes felt frustrated when things were resolved without his involvement.

“Jang Yoonsung.”

“Yes?”

Saul lit the end of his cigarette.

“Make that bastard need money. More than a kid can handle.”

Since he was in a situation where he had to worry about making a living, he thought he’d crawl in on his own, but recalling the hesitation he had shown earlier, he needed to create a more decisive opportunity.

“Yes.”

Yoonsung nodded without any sign of surprise, as if he had expected Saul to ignore his question.

He knew Saul had a nasty hobby. Saul paid for sex with those who sold their bodies for money, and for those who didn’t, he kept them by his side and slowly tamed them.

Once they became perfect sex toys, in other words, once they awakened to sadistic acts like putting things in their rear and choking, he sold them to the most secluded brothels.