SW | Chapter 17

As Baek Haegyeon eb4eae19a2 approached, he raised 73e682b31e his hand and f9b0fb6151 placed it on 3a4175e7bc Guk Jiho’s shoulder. It was a gesture d39b9ec16c that seemed encouraging, but cc7d6bd034 to Guk Jiho’s well-trained 8581ade557 body, it felt like a3293c9b4c a sudden and intrusive 9968789397 threat.4cb9a1d297d876e7

His hand moved automatically 3c789b29e8 toward his waist where 9311af4547 his holster used to acd75d43b0 be, but it only 8f36407caf grasped at empty air. It left him feeling 4abce895f1 awkward. A moment later, 0f3a4143e0 he sheepishly lowered 916df9b33f his hand and ace6631a2c glanced at Baek 8903014cb8 Haegyeon’s expression.c515dc4768d3abfa

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‘You need to break that cop habit.’cb1b17cd5495bf26

Ever since he had bfa5c019a3 been corrected at the 3e2eb9a9b8 hotel, that habit had 695df54ad8 been repeatedly pointed out 467d21e25c in the past few 7e0811cc80 days.67c2fac0d9cbad3a

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Baek Haegyeon was 88d7a88d7a looking down at 16bc694449 Guk Jiho’s hand c3d6ad794a that was awkwardly 80d995b88e hovering near his 6435410e54 thigh. He must c5cd979e1b have been f35ec33380 checking whether f35f6b16b9 the habit 42ab300a6c had been 194c8f9800 corrected. Guk Jiho forced 87856e301c a bitter smile c17d5f6f4d and changed the 74e96ee113 subject.e5830546e8077f1d

“Did the conversation go well?”67a02a8940105756

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“The lawyer couldn’t do the math.”f6273385ddf4a609

It meant the negotiation de18a559c7 had fallen through. After all, 2bbe53ac84 they had 00682fc268 won the 1d553afec9 bid at a585b16c7b a 65% 2b44312286 discount off e88c9f3f71 the appraised bbbbcebed4 value, so 83be1217bd there was fed57bc6e6 no reason 64a859db04 to give 4a2f4f4fec it up c330d07bbf unless the 77143e3a00 other party 872f9b2504 offered a a0022fc21e higher settlement. It was prime real b334f57f85 estate in the middle fdc40709e3 of development, complete with e9c10b3cf6 a building.488f48f9b1a0291d

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“Let’s go eat.”f5425769c12edf1e

Baek Haegyeon looked around 8df71904c1 at the group and 64ad1bf113 spoke cheerfully.26d2cf06f1195e0b

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“Yes, Boss!”5e5748ab462d3f14

The men bc0efa8b2e in suits 048cea1991 answered in 731c7e259e unison, their 35a45e190a voices full 03fac6e5c0 of discipline. Ji Sangcheol had cc0930eb00 quietly slipped to 1f14251dc4 the back and cdb79a2eab blended in with a10f4e82ee the others. Even with his head c623947fd1 bowed, his face was f2a74f2ce0 flushed with excitement.c821ed4c73fb5add

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When their eyes 1904be95f2 briefly met, Guk 9c29da8bd3 Jiho stared at 69beff64ab him persistently. Sending a childish c98a670d28 but universally understood 9e5bfcb04c glare that said, ‘If you look away, you lose,’Ji Sangcheol glared back 6065365d76 with indignation. Guk Jiho smiled. He was impressed 26d021d1e8 by his spirit. His tongue, slightly 0933190c84 visible between his a107652cf0 lips, gave him 1b07220614 a bit of a5178009c8 a thuggish look.36fba4e905f9c580

Baek Haegyeon turned around. Seeing the second-in-command teasing the third, he asked, “Jiho, what do you want to eat?”2dc29b3dc2b1a2a3

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“Ah, how about pasta?”7c7880798495348b

It wasn’t d15a22d22c a deeply 3f4368baaa considered answer. He just 9d9627b09b wanted noodles 168aca3424 but didn’t 79d3e38592 want to 1b041227f9 feel weighed bec1d81d14 down. Eating jajangmyeon b9c5e919b5 or regular fc926bf26d noodles made 9472193ff1 him feel 20fd2bd154 sluggish, but 07df3a6cc3 pasta didn’t 7e19e32cf4 have that 96585c3ad9 effect. It was 116d7ed086 why athletes 32e0a6f9af often favored 677d3f41b8 it.9e86e41b14b26d71

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“Sure.”b2c35d9dbf8fe139

Baek Haegyeon accepted 0dfef16806 Guk Jiho’s suggestion 290ffde73a without thinking twice 831a930d5b and led the ac0ac68cc5 way. As the wind brushed 76a4e47907 past, the artificial strawberry 44664cbda9 scent from Baek Haegyeon’s ff6460e3ef jacket wafted through the 75186c65d5 air.f49b87427bc29dea

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***7282eeefadf68d91

Guk Jiho 847b2782dc had thought 721a6af232 they would f74a675779 go to 1905f0e7a4 a pasta 13052acdd2 place near 47faf792d3 a university, fadf577396 but instead, 60fd5535cf they headed df0cdfe1e4 to a cbb80d0ae6 club in e2ea7119c6 the basement 071f1d1c22 that hadn’t 044c8cf8b0 even opened 1f53f481a3 for business 539cd0f07d yet.0956041961babf6c

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“Welcome, sir!”fdd73b1869a5d8a2

The club f59c98196f manager rushed b08ffe48e3 out to 9989af07d9 greet them 956cf1544e as the 6255dc0228 men poured 064063e462 into the 879da181f1 basement. He was 686a86aba3 a burly d142358217 man with 5a26ca3136 a large dbc8b0cd1f forehead, thick 145a39223c lips, and 3559668364 tattoos covering 64d566838d his body 2db9fb2f29 which gave 5e2442429f off a d1ca722138 rough impression.436ca5d88a677ae2

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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.”ff10dcb66205c120

The club manager sounded disappointed. Baek Haegyeon simply stared at him impassively. Taking the hint, the man quickly corrected himself. “Ah! Right this way!”662b9dd681c92aff

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The seating 395e4c779a area was 9557754b0c surprisingly clean c756e07803 and bright. Baek Haegyeon 96cc12d1bd sat in f56d553dea the very 72bb5e59f3 center with 5b19b3f0ae Guk Jiho b333b3e1b2 to his 11ebc08a39 immediate right.28a1df06d1042e39

It seemed 44cbe89d4b they often f8b8a5c507 came here d543eb77bd to eat. Ordinary citizens might 849a54a5c5 only see gang b4d5b338f9 members as troublemakers, e5d34f8a73 but Baek Haegyeon 410113c750 likely avoided unnecessary 594be2a60f conflicts as a cedcfeb5d6 leader. Perhaps that’s why 845ac618d1 they ate at 26561d8ef5 closed-off places like 1326ca5dea this.ba1890884de49cdf

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Even under the same 5024145331 Korean sky, you rarely c96426db95 cross paths if your 10b959c4be social circles don’t overlap. It’s the eda41d0d73 same with 5e86025110 chaebols.463a8d70d24adade

Perhaps the 1f9b003ceb commonality between 5b2f1a03ac gangsters and 2517dcc79b chaebols was 6ac108eca0 that they 1cd940c71c stuck to b74e07eb44 their own b25bd8bfd6 territories without 3f553a7a63 mixing. As Guk 69aa4e704b Jiho thought 412979cb0f about this, 89c1b6998e the manager 13d7e0972b came back 31f84fcfc2 to take 32d5b5e3e2 their orders.c74df6087e623a31

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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.”57371f7ccd004a19

“Anyone allergic to tomato sauce?”2c9278a3a604aa4e

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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…4c660e0f19608766

“Let’s all have tomato sauce pasta.”31badef5b9a3191c

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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.87d216bc491c408e

Who would’ve thought they’d db9b2dd542 all order the same 904c116989 thing while dressed in 27662f4c9a such expensive suits? If they were 5ba164390c going to do b0ad91c0f7 this, they might ff950b2c0a as well have 7e4b2ed78e just eaten beef. Guk Jiho tried hard ff38bccb10 to hide his surprise 889e16a5a9 at this bizarre dining 41092380f4 culture.4309e8cb0ba135cd

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***023a6414b48f7dc2

On the way back 1f9147d8c0 to the Yeoksam-dong office, a03198788e it was already past 692cb7d189 five o’clock due to 30cdb64012 the time spent at 397396068d the courthouse.b4f17778a5c17967

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It was already 68f0347913 past five o’clock 6432731e25 when they were 941055e5e9 on the way 4c01c1c3a6 back to the 246ab81dd1 Yeoksam-dong office. The legal proceedings aa3209aef7 had taken longer 303d0b6b4b than expected at cf75968c04 the courthouse.d2965445780041af

Hwando had dcef036d39 multiple offices: f2b35c3095 one in 6a9b2e3656 Yeoksam-dong, one 95015373ee in Sangdo-dong, d438236e9c and one 88731cf28a in Cheonho-dong. These were the main d30e446c86 offices Baek Haegyeon personally 61876e92fc inspected. If he 7e856cde0c included those 539aa97130 managed by da53fd1e66 other directors, 4503482adc the number 854bc4ca82 would be 00156a8dc9 even higher.9156d8473f3b565a

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All three locations 06ceec0d5c were south of 46eb237691 the Han River, 68af663904 so the roads e99b4428a8 were always congested 2b73bf6396 when moving between 35e0693011 them.00de6123bf884884

And the longer 46eb7ee96e they spent in 3a1d672f2c the car, the fbc9b45920 more time Baek 2472b465c7 Jiho and Guk 52e8c685ae Jiho had alone 264b7f00b6 together.c1c0778b4322d868

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“Phew…”15fea937e452ba42

Guk Jiho 8e415146ed sighed as 95bd22b011 he looked 52abc9c9ee out at 67692ada6e the congested 6e8e03fabe road.ddd2416bc29090e4

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This was 4813367e6e the heart 9eee6566f8 of Seoul. The area near 41057b32e0 the special operations e667d7fcf3 office in Namtaeryeong 26d3cbcff9 was spacious and 735d06be26 quiet. Most missions took place 151a3738d5 on the outskirts, so 3572dd47c3 he wasn’t used to d1784fb061 such high population and 901da0504d building density. Suddenly, fatigue b62db11f1a washed over f1b5dff644 him.97d97692a66650c1

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.’81c2be31d84586c4

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Surprisingly, the tomato bf16ccf0d1 pasta made at d94fa52c0d the club was 512aae9784 delicious. They even grated 12d1bf150d a generous amount 13add5fda2 of that hard-to-pronounce f61812b943 cheese right in eaf96fa701 front of them. Grana Padano or something.802c34d11ff7c8bf

‘Executive Guk, is it good?’e7edc4cdc4a5b504

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‘Jiho’s enjoying it.’d3202bb0eeb1c6a7

‘Should I order more?’53a7ad12f105bdfe

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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?1340dd5cac1d8511

In any 33fbd9bcfa case, it f5c5ff11bc was awkward.dfd26b0571848477

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As people often say, d63f40fe86 the hierarchy among men 79c97ad0a3 has a primal aspect edc2300bf8 to it. Any place filled 1206d68cf9 with only men bdd0b5e25d tends to revert 63f823fd44 to a primitive a6c5148721 state. It was simply a 46780bdb99 type of order that e329ba6165 most men found comfortable.4476c84cbdfb550e

Men don’t just enjoy 0df70c85ee dominating with strength; they b6420d48a7 also enjoy being dominated f7c64deb69 by it. At least, c468679a33 that’s how 49630a3ec9 it was 0c27151353 in the 32a80d8c66 sports teams, 0e54430c2f special forces, 8b06dd86b3 and tactical acd3cfe984 units Guk f42d56d0d4 Jiho had dcfc3c225f experienced. The tactical unit 54e29a13a1 was a bit dd39890556 less animalistic, perhaps b23eb4b894 because there were ce408a954e some women mixed 3478b0375f in.7aa1421feaaca744

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Since such hierarchies 1ff9d30944 aren’t established by 5d11b4ddd0 titles alone, it’s 578a54ce9e convenient to set 69ee82fbf6 them early. It’s very hard 396248a06b to overturn once 1a224fce36 it was established 355808364f because subordinates naturally 29edfd9ab0 align with the 3fcfdfd455 winner.d072a1bac523fc95

Ji Sangcheol was 2e6ad53ba0 testing him. If he 120601b17b thought Guk a97da70362 Jiho was 8eefffcc33 weak, he’d e314a1edfb try to f62e88b85c provoke him. Guk Jiho was almost 1139db8bef looking forward to it. In an organization 16b5ed85f6 like this, you 800e038ca2 need to put f9583b96d2 on a show. He had missed a 47dca044b9 good opportunity earlier because 2a2b784616 of Baek Haegyeon’s sudden 94e5318516 appearance.cbb126ab8e1d1ea9

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The weirdest 8e97a8212d thing was 59c1d93263 Baek Haegyeon’s 16d15b9fe7 attitude. Among all the 0774324550 peers, seniors, coaches, 0b158ca59a supervisors, and superiors e0cb994a42 Guk Jiho had 67ec8643e1 encountered, there was bb9aebc32f no one like bb20531c48 him.39eabaed5ac79d74

Guk Jiho guessed c83377aa23 that Baek Haegyeon 39822f0378 must have attended 8b01e7e7f0 a co-ed school. Maybe that’s b9bf40f420 why he 04c908347f was so 275a609be4 affectionate. Or maybe he b73d599e7c had older sisters. He was probably the 3460163007 youngest with two older 21c85b1dd7 sisters.d3bb0253b78c5670

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“Jiho.”a532b4009e0d38f3

“Yes?”c6d15be3517f1269

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Lost in thought, 5779ffc673 Guk Jiho’s voice e81470312e came out a 9b9336a834 bit strained. They were 0d64d7d2fb passing through 812444d951 a ramp 0d21b3cf73 on the e737701b38 road. Baek Haegyeon was 4c31c0e87c steering with one d1e6127313 hand, his eyes dc422e7728 fixed ahead.1cda1f279b45e85a

“When are you going to fix that cop habit?”e93d45ce0d0735f0

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“Ah, I’ll fix it soon.”c1ad3fb849bacd88

It was a df215d4e6a reflex he couldn’t 32b10c321e control, but that 888a10bce8 wasn’t a good 8f95a57d40 excuse.54d469cd6fbff657

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“Fix it quickly. It’s better for you too.”17e0ddd7bbe9c7dc

His tone was as 2c6eb27c97 gentle as it had 1baa4e435a been during the first 683b493040 interview. It had 9c1a77fed3 a slight 40e85cd759 rhythm to c43e236ef0 it. It wasn’t poetic, b3afcf4329 but it had 56ba5c8d3a a way of 202e2b5301 drawing you in. Maybe it was 86420421e2 just his nice bf24d40907 voice.79c4e314e32d976c

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“Yes, understood.”6a54a66bd5c014ac

“If I see you reaching for your holster again…”3e0e05ad2a3702bc

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The ramp ended, 4bd8577c40 and the car e12f1b1f72 merged into the ca5f94036d main road. The speedometer 2a7e0a372c needle hovered a29c576343 below 40 18091ee066 km/h due 591624ed77 to the 5da22a65ea dense traffic 9eba549060 on the 3ae7a8a914 eight-lane road. The car moved 97547994a0 smoothly, signaling and b555e3e78f merging slowly into 5950d7b0aa the sluggish flow.e9e8ac762dcaec69

“…I’ll make you rub my dick with that stupid hand.”77268dce85d1c661

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“…”3c9e5197c479f9f8

Guk Jiho adjusted his c01ad45bcd crooked tie knot and 7c4c8f0155 swallowed. The red spot near ae9760871a his eyebrow turned redder.99cb3c8979b4369a

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For a b653910781 moment, he 057ccb0c08 was speechless. The mundane dc9eac180c scenery outside 59570b1aa8 the window a624272140 passed by, f529469afa but the a2299d76a2 words that a0965a4af8 entered his 8f64c2a6cc ears were c5256b794e utterly out e233320c29 of place.bdb92e8fcb956b84

So, he’s c070ba0b74 different from 01311f10e4 how he d7778fb554 appears.Guk Jiho 50d46f4055 narrowed one 327608d887 eye slightly, 8c074ebeb5 finally understanding e33e065013 why he 01af5796e7 had felt a170b01a8c so uncomfortable fd84ade2be all this 955ead5513 time.2bd3cef5028ee43d

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