SN | Chapter 2.2

“…I’ll do it myself.”

He didn’t want help from someone like that. Hearing Yuwon’s cold, firm whisper, Kim Unhak handed him the showerhead with a troubled and apologetic expression.

Not wanting to see that hypocritical face, Yuwon kept his head down, knees drawn up, and silently began washing his feet. Kim Unhak watched quietly before continuing.

“If you listen well, he’ll treat you well. He’s not someone who gets angry without reason. If you just meet his expectations, nothing like yesterday will happen again. I hope you can endure it, even if it’s hard.”

“Turning an innocent person into a debtor…!”

“…….”

“And he’ll treat me well…? Me?”

The outburst he couldn’t hold back carried Yuwon’s torn heart. It was a voice too pitiful to ignore. Yuwon bit his lip against the pain squeezing his heart.

“That’s…”

Kim Unhak’s eyebrows furrowed, and he sighed. He looked like he had nothing to say. Yuwon’s face hardened with cynicism.

He didn’t understand why Kim Unhak was making excuses for that man. It would have been better if he’d said nothing, but he was stirring up his insides with unnecessary words.

He wanted to voice the criticisms swirling inside him, but the strong comfort he’d received from Kim Unhak lingered in his mind, so he lowered his head and muttered.

“I’ll wash alone.”

“…Alright. I’ll be outside, so call if you need anything.”

Kim Unhak forced a smile and stood up. As he was about to leave the bathroom, he hesitated, looking back at Yuwon.

“I’m not good with words, so I can’t express what I want to say properly. But, Yuwon, there are many things in the world that don’t go our way. It’s the same with the boss. No one can make him do what they want. He’s harsher to those who try.”

“…….”

“So… for your own sake, even if you’re upset, I hope you can hold back a little. Then nothing will really happen. I hope you can trust me.”

Kim Unhak seemed earnest, but Yuwon couldn’t genuinely accept his advice.

From the moment he heard that the man wasn’t harsh, he lost trust in Kim Unhak’s words.

“…Yes. I understand.”

Not wanting to talk further, he nodded even though he didn’t understand at all. Kim Unhak opened his mouth to speak again, then smiled as if it was fine and left the bathroom.

Staring blankly at the closed door, he shifted his gaze. His feet, scratched and torn from running barefoot, were in tatters, and his bruised knees were visible. Between his legs, dried blood and semen were still messily clumped. Not wanting to look, he endured the pain and sprayed water, washing away the sticky traces left by the fierce alpha. But the scars and bruises remained on his now clean skin.

That man isn’t harsh?

Yuwon shook his head, erasing Kim Unhak’s words from his mind.

The man was harsh, a merciless tyrant. That seemed like an unchanging fact for a lifetime.

⋆˙⟡⋆˙⟡⋆˙⟡

After washing, Kim Unhak was waiting outside the bathroom. Wearing a new T-shirt, he helped Yuwon dress. The white T-shirt and soft cotton pants were excessively large, not belonging to Kim Unhak.

“They’re quite big…. Manager Baek went out, so new clothes will arrive tomorrow. Please bear with it for now.”

Though Yuwon remained silent after their conversation in the bathroom, Kim Unhak continued with a gentle demeanor. Despite feeling terrible about his words, his returning kindness softened Yuwon’s hardened heart.

Yuwon was particularly weak to kind people. In his short life, such people were rare. In the end, just before Kim Unhak left the room after giving him medicine, Yuwon had to express his gratitude.

“…Thank you, Manager.”

Kim Unhak smiled at the title. His neat eyes softened his handsome face, making him appear even more approachable. He was good-looking enough to be likable to most people.

“The boss will be back soon. Rest up. He’s often away, so think of this as your room.”

But the peaceful thought was shattered by Kim Unhak’s parting words as he left the room.

Before he could ask anything, the door closed.

A chill ran down his spine. Left alone in the quiet room, Yuwon recalled the man who had pinned him down and looked around the room. The shelves were filled with books. The nightstand held well-used pencils and notebooks, and several books with bookmarks were scattered.

It was a neat and tidy room. A room that seemed like it would belong to someone who enjoyed quietly reading and smiling. No matter how many times he looked, that impression didn’t fade, making it even harder to believe.

This is that man’s room?

He imagined the man would have a small cage in the room, enjoying watching animals devour each other. But books?

Thinking it didn’t suit him at all, he thought of Hitler. Hitler must have read books too. With that thought, the man didn’t seem particularly intellectual. Only then could he shake off the terrible sense of disparity.

“Ha….”

Even after washing, eating, and taking medicine, his body’s fatigue and pain remained. His high fever showed no sign of dropping, and the untreated pain below sent waves of throbbing pain through his body.

The fact that he was too pained to think of anything else was a small blessing. Leaving his sluggish mind alone, Yuwon lay on the bed. He had no time to be wary of sleeping in the man’s bed. His eyes, filled with despair and gloom, were only directed at the outside world.

The green-tinted trees looked beautiful. The large pillow his cheek rested on faintly smelled of tobacco leaves. The peculiar scent of the cigarettes the man smoked….

“…What is this?”

They say even a tiger appears when you speak of it. So he shouldn’t have thought of the man.

Lying on the bed, Yuwon turned his head toward the man who suddenly opened the door and appeared. His wide eyes began to tremble.

The man, shirtless and drenched in sweat, seemed to have just finished exercising. His bulging chest was almost as big as Yuwon’s skinny buttocks. Remembering how that body had pinned him down, he couldn’t say anything, only biting his lip. Seeing this, the man raised an eyebrow incredulously and approached the bed.

“Ah, ah….”

He didn’t know if he should greet him or what to say. His fevered head felt like it would melt any moment. His vision spun.

“Damn, the sun reaches here….”

The man knelt on the mattress, muttering incomprehensibly, and reached out. A large hand approached his face. Certain he was about to be strangled, Yuwon gasped and squeezed his eyes shut.

“Why do you keep closing your eyes when there’s nothing to see but your face?”

But instead of pressure on his throat, a gentle hand cupped his chin. Startled by the irritated question, Yuwon hesitated before lifting his eyelids. The man’s face was right in front of him. Staring into those alien blue-gray eyes up close felt surreal. Like he was in another world, detached from reality.

“…….”

With his fevered mind unable to think properly, Yuwon stared blankly at that face. Meanwhile, the man also looked at Yuwon. He seemed to savor the blurry, oil-painting-like face that appeared in his space before finally lowering his hand and standing up.

“Wearing stolen clothes….”

“I didn’t steal them…! Someone gave them to me!”

His words made Yuwon bristle unconsciously. As if being called a toilet wasn’t enough, now he was being treated like a thief.

Kim Unhak had given him the clothes; Yuwon didn’t even know where they’d come from.

Seeing Yuwon protest indignantly, the man only frowned. He looked him up and down as if to say, “Just look,” then sneered viciously.

“Damn, these are my clothes.”

Only then did Yuwon realize who owned the oversized clothes. No wonder they were so big. The T-shirt sleeves reached his elbows, and the pants, rolled up three times, had come undone, covering his feet. Confirming this, the man looked down at Yuwon and sneered.

“Pathetically small. Height, hands, feet, even your dick.”

“…….”

Even though he sold his body, Seo Yuwon was still a man. No man wouldn’t feel bad hearing his dick was small. Yuwon, feeling a surge of anger, lowered his head and tightened his lips.

He felt extremely uncomfortable. He hated the situation where the man, after doing such things to him, spoke so casually. He didn’t understand why he was joking instead of being as overbearing as yesterday.

If this conversation continued, he felt he might say something he couldn’t take back. Yuwon hid his expression and stared at the mattress.

“Boring.”

After a brief silence, the man suddenly said. Instead of adding more words, he stood up from the bed and headed toward the bathroom. Yuwon remained still, head down.

Soon, thud, thud, the sound of pants and underwear hitting the floor was heard. The man, kicking them aside, opened the bathroom door and spoke.

“Take off your pants and lie down.”

Click, the door closed.

Yuwon, pale, stared at the closed door. It was absurd. There had been so much blood, and his fever hadn’t gone down. His injured lower half was swollen and throbbed with every movement, making even inserting a finger difficult. He’d shed tears while washing because of it.

And now he was told to take off his pants…. Doing so would surely ruin him completely.

“…….”

Thinking the pain from yesterday would repeat made cold sweat bead on his forehead. His fevered face, once flushed, turned pale.

Clenching his trembling hands, Yuwon lowered his head.

His brain, melted like water, seemed to slosh inside his head. He suppressed the urge to vomit and pondered.

Would he listen if I refused?