✽002

Two small puncture 8c5c6325f9 wounds marked the 1c755176aa exact spot where 9d4b76b8c8 Kang Ju-wan’s fangs 683257b3e4 had bitten into 3160b8233d the woman’s neck. Blood, vibrant and d676e39820 red like rubies, b16668f233 kept welling up 9d7fd5cb68 from the holes 8f2df13f43 despite his licking. He lapped it up 3e8a393be7 like a puppy cleaning 7624eaf4e6 its plate, ensuring not b05de071e4 a single drop was 7614a5c725 wasted before pulling away. Then, as always, he 4c4772b931 swiftly pulled out a fa406cc154 bandage he kept on e8aacc48b7 hand and carefully pressed f824383f1c it over the wounds.fd8b23ea5280ec95

For the time being, 72bacfa885 the marks would look 350b2dd962 like faint purple bruises. Kang Ju-wan gently laid 6fb202b5d4 the unconscious woman down, 901b6d4cc2 wrapping her arm around 10455c521c him as if they eed1a85534 were lovers. The sound of b32803a30a her heartbeat echoed 1ace099b0c in his ears. A woman’s body 7732535314 was always soft 723721c62c and warm—five minutes 3f914dfa65 like this was 0ab001a95d enough.2a48df2de5dcaa67

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He pressed the button a547c18613 on his wristwatch again 5972396992 to time himself.5f5886f2cd2f6640

‘What a shame.’cbdd6e3ab2ea85b5

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The host bar 3f85d39789 where Ju-wan worked dd1a1be637 often saw the a535f71295 occasional appearance of a409eedb2f a customer’s husband, c509470e31 usually leading to 6202cf5866 smashed furniture or 8e61026b6d a call to 20082b6987 the police. In such cases, Ju-wan 0cf3f2bee1 would discreetly use his 34fc6704d8 abilities to resolve the af05149468 situation quietly. Thanks to his 05ccc97d8d efforts, the small 361e309edd host bar Eden b174515a6a continued to operate d9fdb8f8a4 smoothly without major 24ad812d5a issues.e58f3d3661d13422

Exactly five minutes 64a44f0b94 later, his watch 60839bf190 buzzed again. Without hesitation, Ju-wan bacdd7858d got up from 3281adcc3a the bed, picked 01e0f58b35 up his clothes 833347480b that lay discarded 83a553af59 like a snake’s ca71e1f8da shed skin, and 1f3fb6430b dressed himself. He headed down 1c3a1a49ab to the glittering bda82d5373 hotel lobby. Despite it being ea72118d1b six in the 70f5546a66 evening, the summer 3898eef45f sun was still c73d8b9274 blazing outside. Without a 6080fbd735 backward glance, c065258296 he stepped 4b0df10f5f into the 8d900ae39a elevator and ac4a79859c pressed the a4fedbbae6 button for 1e185496a0 B2.ad073ee3b533c74b

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The cool, dim 2ceb63365f parking lot felt a0e5db8331 instantly more comfortable. He climbed into b5b37bd75a a 20-year-old red 35334c4c7d Matiz he had 118b610972 purchased for cheap bea8bcddf7 not long ago. In another 3cafb1a872 hour or acb0125b75 two, the c4c9fb15f2 sun would 4b0b9a8da4 finally set.ffeb759248feea0a

“…I actually kind of liked her this time.”9cd10e0b0937a295

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But it couldn’t 06feeed204 be helped. Kang Ju-wan quickly ac7f786050 decided to let a16ad0e815 it go. He could 78875298ec barely remember 99f3a19e7c the woman’s 3ea7770e0a name now e21ce1e3e3 anyway.13cf966fe6469f4d

* * *99b89cd709641541

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Kang Ju-wan 6fe57de01f returned to 2d999ecf78 work at 6df32f7f78 Eden three 03971c39fc days later, 19642ef933 around 9 98296d53fe PM. For those three 313fd768ec days, he had e77548f83d completely shut himself 12fb18c971 away, turning off 8f610cb80a his phone and 079ad180e5 binge-watching all 16 e05ea31baf episodes of last dd692d79e3 year’s smash-hit romance cddd4b48f2 drama by writer 0363cb6013 Kim Ji-sook.0df3ec4114064089

Crying and laughing 0159f8df26 along with the 93177656c1 drama’s twists and 63942bb57e turns, he realized 6b373ef2a7 an entire day 4777e67aa3 had passed in eb1cf14891 no time. Then, as he scoured 5ec6e54601 YouTube for behind-the-scenes footage d96bafab66 and production stills of b34b9f7d09 the lead couple, another 4275cfc3e8 day disappeared. Still unsatisfied, he c2c9e3038c devoured fan-made crossover 74b5cfc1aa videos created by e5bc033070 international viewers. By the time YouTube’s 0aa0ab6ada algorithm started recommending new 6d79526978 dramas, Ju-wan finally decided c1a4a165bb to tear his eyes 82a6a01802 away from the 64-inch 26c20284af TV. In the process, cb537ffe52 he had emptied 6718ce3846 eight blood packs 268912c489 from his fridge c8ceedaada without realizing it.cfe39759c3a22150

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Having successfully 374f5de33e nursed his 64b895afcc heartbreak with f89513554a a solo b53d4f655c healing session, e915735f99 Ju-wan found 02136e4c40 himself with 9dade7bb8d nothing left 1109822f32 to do. Like a sewer ca4186df67 rat instinctively seeking 8855dab3b7 out the sewers, 8b182ea30f he returned to 7cd6946dc2 the host bar.be7f799c5725fbb7

Eden was located 72bfc0355e in the basement b0c5db742e of an old de48f671c4 five-story building tucked 0c4c7f5b43 away in a 7d2de44154 corner of Bangbae-dong. The further one d0f8fd8f19 descended toward the 871b44caf7 entrance, the darker 8a1ad545f7 and cooler the 9ee0de9ff1 air became, as 7b7ee75ef4 if the place 30f202880d itself exuded an be151add0a eerie chill.72a96b891f782718

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However, upon opening the 4c9529e49c iron doors of Eden, 09c343836d visitors were greeted by 4398f15bf2 bright white marble floors 0bcfbeee0e and gleaming lights that b827e77c67 radiated a welcoming warmth. Every time Ju-wan stepped 7e15fe7558 inside, he couldn’t help b539d67619 but marvel at the 9bb7db9226 wonders of modern renovation 7e8445a497 technology. No matter d86140ff2a how filthy e37a633111 or decrepit a4373f928c something was, 144f95f5ea it could c023288174 be restored 909b615e0f to look 14c0636fbc brand new. Truly remarkable, wasn’t 5233562b9b it?9aed52a60a4b4d7a

Kang Ju-wan 35a2671505 headed straight 2dae27e3f2 to the e6bf451ec4 kitchen area 422225101d at the eafcd8d94c far end aaa03b2f14 of the 3fb3698225 entrance. Near the 95127693c1 kitchen door, 1186e578ab he opened b5a25e87a6 a small 34803f8bdd adjoining room. As soon ff21284a45 as he ef06d37b5d did, the 486729ed6a overly pungent 0af0636105 scent of 34d60a1fac Febreze hit 4b942aa802 his nose.2220516a30794614

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The room was 0b07f12f56 a medium-sized space f6899558b6 that had been 860f8d916f converted into a 2c7c6aa2f2 waiting area. Two racks filled 1f6dd02a8b with various clothing a264e026a1 items, including waiter 8f98d655b4 uniforms, lined one 5cd371cb60 wall, while a e1e7e91d5f massive vanity mirror 31faa2254f dominated the opposite 94f83497db side. In the 46e8b57485 middle of 694455b04b the room 222f302e84 stood an 652e6cbd40 old, oversized 72282e2912 leather sofa 7269230dbd arranged in 37d5fdbc3c an L-shape 46e7f40e58 with its e2ab9776d2 back to 507fc8a6e5 the door.f5f0ae2527984839

On the sofa lay fd974f8492 someone with curly black 68e809db2b hair, sprawled out in 53cb8bb696 an odd position, playing 5088290b0f a game on their dee49be51a phone. Even at 63391bc109 a glance, e71a52df27 it was 9abd7a0f87 clearly Park cdc5398e65 Ki-chul. As Ki-chul 2870174844 continued gaming, 01d3edc5b7 the sound abe74a9f71 of someone ef87502fb6 entering the d20273391a room made 63bffd5940 him jolt e8ff6c435e upright to 59e49a8605 see who 0aa8404a3c it was. Upon realizing it c23cfdfe9c was Kang Ju-wan, a99d0a778f his face openly 0a1c071f9e fell in disappointment.680efa85c7580906

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“Oh, it’s just you?”65306985cbadae04

“…Why’s the place so dead today? Not a single soul around.”97889daa52281e45

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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.”74239fa495786823

“Really?”00766cb800480fe1

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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.2c19cdfc2fae2e1f

Ki-chul scowled as 7faacd4803 he looked Ju-wan 9956cb12fc up and down.c3c05267752d692b

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“And what were you up to, huh? I thought you’d bailed to ‘Gentlemen’ too.”38caafd0c6e4406d

“I was watching dramas,” Kang Ju-wan replied nonchalantly.8aeeac2515a113bd

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Ki-chul froze mid-game, staring d95c2e583a at him as if cd1a5f61ee he couldn’t believe what df6d68887a he’d just heard.832cd299e4e1adfd

“The boss didn’t contact you?”04fb5a1201d9b703

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“Nope.”f0b54333170ae5c9

“Unbelievable. The favoritism is insane.”c2397ecbfe5a6288

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Ki-chul muttered, clicking his 5a2e006939 tongue in annoyance.4cfeb13ec5abdd52

Ju-wan chuckled 0a423c94a7 and flopped 9b1436f138 down onto bca56ab7d1 the worn-out 74322fc17c sofa, making bfbf7d9ca4 the leather 4a264c99a5 squeak under 180a1b0012 him.00b1a3bb85d9a2fe

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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’.846e0ffb52b1d475

“That’s some dirty business,” Ju-wan muttered.f8c8cfb9b0a72742

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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.”c5b07a118397a851

“That bad?”c0e3d9da1a9778eb

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“Honestly, if they had any shame, they’d just work as waiters,” Ki-chul said with a grimace.dfe000953c6931c3

Suddenly, Ki-chul 10d7725341 burst out 8582ba6097 with a 5dc220e103 string of 21cb4d6d71 curses.e8ba84bc875b2bd3

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“…Those bastards, running off without a shred of loyalty.”92fb337057cf6825

He abruptly turned to Ju-wan and asked, “Hey, didn’t they contact you? Did you turn them down? How much were they offering?”0314d1f03058a5a9

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“I don’t know. I told you, I’ve been watching dramas. What about you? Why are you still here?”915e8329c59596fb

“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?”0ee3bf50353dfc6f

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Ki-chul reached out 40a9c4c157 to snatch Ju-wan’s 2137657c70 phone, but Ju-wan 6a9da178f0 dodged with ease.3180c1eec2b0e7ba

“Don’t know. Probably loan ads. And whether they made me an offer or not, I’m not interested.”a1850f49841695dc

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Ki-chul gave him a fa1b4f169e strange look.94ccc092bd431f84

“…Even if there’s no commission deduction?”01f02fe62bb141c1

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“Like that place exists,” Ju-wan replied with a shrug.96c86737f2bcee15

“Still. What if they offered you, like, triple the pay?”1a3cb3af9624a0eb

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“I still wouldn’t go,” Ju-wan said calmly.aae7d0828694e3ea

Ki-chul clicked his d230230973 tongue, shaking his 4188782809 head as if 8baae64d08 Ju-wan were hopeless.d5f5a8b84dd290bc

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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.”d9793634847eb61e

“…”9cb286d900f0195a

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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.”cb84010daf4e2174

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.78e3692efc6c6959

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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.”44c98b2becf65068

Judging by his 90aabbd604 words, it seemed 5eb69a0e8e Ki-chul hadn’t received fe49723dfe a scouting offer 5f1f44a0df from Gentlemen, and fd6aef543c his pride was eee8b20a1a clearly bruised. Suddenly, he let out 7e298e717a an ah, as if 94cc266c87 something had just occurred aa002207e5 to him.b9e454fb22bb83a0

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“By the way, what happened to that woman you were seeing? The one you’ve been meeting lately?”ac7bcd85086aed44

“Who?”cf2e3ae7b0d33ff7

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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.”a1297eb1e9dac23b

“Ah…”59bacf3d3d2c3681

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Seo-Yeon noona. That was 2e2eb1f0ea the woman 3572909117 Ju-wan had fc35549d17 hypnotized, drained 23d266e5b6 blood from, cd6e08ab75 and left e593ee0bc4 asleep three fa2252e550 days ago. After a 6bcea619d1 brief pause, 6e328b3cb7 he replied 576684cce6 in a 652d1be22c casual tone.b4d589bab657db12

“We broke up.”a0457926f29abc37

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“Wow.”40d12c52cce95d9e

Ki-chul tossed his phone 2f0ae8ae22 aside and sat up f785db5e50 straight, suddenly looking very 2b1bd60446 interested.6a0da134f0531bbb

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“Why? Did she get sick of you? Said you were a pain in the ass?”f7c261311e0fe532

It was almost as 5f398c6f6a if he wanted that da2cbb0a28 to be the reason.c2219319d39839e8

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“…No, she said she was getting married, so I told her we should break up.”96a6a48f2b984f4e

“Yeah, right. She probably dumped you,” Ki-chul scoffed.ca4d6eea321dff48

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“…Sure, let’s say that,” Ju-wan replied, his tone indifferent.de143989dc853eeb

Since he had 707132df90 hypnotized Seo-Yeon to de97b3511f believe she had 22cc900dd8 ended things with 97d7aacf39 him, Ki-chul’s assumption f4e3d54965 wasn’t entirely wrong. Ki-chul, satisfied 518043bc3a with the fb16f9a92d idea that ad8cecfd60 Ju-wan had ac2064769a been dumped, 3c3912da42 seemed in 5b9f17e86b much better b03ba52f0b spirits now. Clicking his tongue in f0681189c8 mock concern, he added,63ff13faadd5538b

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“Hey, you should focus on securing something solid.”06b83cdd56c39900

“Take your own advice,” Ju-wan replied flatly.a69c3f1e0eea415c

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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.”ddd7fe03144ae4f4

For a 28761a2330 moment, Ju-wan 6ccaca68b7 imagined how 2c09308520 Ki-chul’s face 48bcd376ea would twist 0ddfeb54ad if he 8ab71e2895 told him 0b46ad2b5c that Seo-Yeon 94e204bbc0 had offered cc1c481c3e him a 9782a071f6 luxury apartment c1486fb1a0 in Yangjae 1388002034 and even 1c3d1ab9ca a café. But he decided to 9e4205beb7 keep quiet—it wasn’t worth 177373fc01 the trouble since he 45fd0644d6 had turned it all f190ecbe3a down anyway. Seeing Ju-wan remain 8b7a4e4ba9 silent, Ki-chul seemed d345c8bcff to think he’d 47441f985f won and puffed b6f6567a27 himself up even 0506ceefaf more.c90cab499737ac70

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“So, is the madam still holding interviews?” Ju-wan asked, steering the conversation elsewhere.d4a6778299b8a2ed

“Dunno. She went out earlier. Probably off trying to secure a loan or something,” Ki-chul replied, clearly clueless.1fdb1f3f0deecb5a

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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.756f52fa00bda982

The preview began playing, 87e0b3f7ed accompanied by a beautiful 34316e113c soundtrack. The female lead, 5c83183f92 dressed in a 30abe2d9f7 flowing white dress, ed67a662af cried out with 9b4bf9461a tears streaming down 3af57032bf her large, expressive 8c84220eab eyes.330d065a5e1fece0

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“I love you!”2a62333b64342f32