SW | Chapter 17

As Baek Haegyeon approached, a8faae5703 he raised his hand 65c9bd26a2 and placed it on 030dd58074 Guk Jiho’s shoulder. It was a 9514e6c992 gesture that seemed 61150dbd9b encouraging, but to efe14c9a81 Guk Jiho’s well-trained 65ace381ce body, it felt 26dc190c66 like a sudden 370d2c554d and intrusive threat.4f6cb9b9505ad37d

His hand moved automatically 7c218ae25f toward his waist where 590d345543 his holster used to 9ff15ef7dc be, but it only 491849cce7 grasped at empty air. It left him d8a34bd6cd feeling awkward. A moment 75f48f63a1 later, he 87ce1d0e78 sheepishly lowered 94a0c2740f his hand c0e30c28c5 and glanced 7a4b585879 at Baek a1f3d82b0c Haegyeon’s expression.643a7ac891864fd7

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‘You need to break that cop habit.’3f8f6c5ae9b0b833

Ever since he had 707c03b798 been corrected at the be517d7514 hotel, that habit had 2570088cc7 been repeatedly pointed out 3dd82ed774 in the past few 4ed84a8be7 days.acc01ce5dc432236

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Baek Haegyeon was 51d1c49665 looking down at b1d31bde89 Guk Jiho’s hand e0f1ebd21b that was awkwardly fc4a7b181e hovering near his 3169e974ec thigh. He must 528bfc06e2 have been 5a9b4a6876 checking whether bb0d35ca8d the habit 9830fe8426 had been a8973c2cac corrected. Guk Jiho 7f7baeed24 forced a 928dc918a8 bitter smile 47ac92b83a and changed 1e06b41b55 the subject.64fb906c739841f3

“Did the conversation go well?”b01184bc15a329fc

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“The lawyer couldn’t do the math.”c117ae492050ab2a

It meant e67409943e the negotiation bcff74ee3c had fallen 2ab3b17839 through. After all, 6eddc8fa0a they had 68675fb19e won the d745947931 bid at 1fc2597d80 a 65% 173c111d35 discount off 8a370be430 the appraised cfade3fcc0 value, so 2b03930d06 there was b1960bb05f no reason 42b0f1d22a to give d4e725bf8f it up 49b6d5eaee unless the dcc592183e other party 23e48afe0d offered a 8297ecf64e higher settlement. It was 3dcf9ec257 prime real 8dcc124de4 estate in 3f7c8e3910 the middle 5f56cc918a of development, 8eaec3d08a complete with 40107d333c a building.ce4a83d4ecca4b19

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“Let’s go eat.”754ad6fa3673586c

Baek Haegyeon looked around d4569306cf at the group and 2945acab60 spoke cheerfully.a69e81ee91b33c63

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“Yes, Boss!”b2593205c2915779

The men in suits 2ca036e300 answered in unison, their 8a8fd78865 voices full of discipline. Ji Sangcheol had e08040c147 quietly slipped to 0d4e2a8608 the back and f3efbe3c1a blended in with 9ba10c0ba6 the others. Even with 1598f027cf his head 3814190784 bowed, his e429bd3d1e face was de75979954 flushed with 9780b8e18f excitement.35f51368e9b9d035

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When their 9f13f9c742 eyes briefly 38cbddc943 met, Guk 1cce3da3a9 Jiho stared 9b9f147de0 at him 3dca39ba15 persistently. Sending a childish 1d90dfad61 but universally understood 3d924142d4 glare that said, ‘If you look away, you lose,’Ji Sangcheol 402dd7fab8 glared back c0f2545277 with indignation. Guk Jiho smiled. He was impressed 4933df773d by his spirit. His tongue, slightly visible 8422ee5bbb between his lips, gave 7709b97c51 him a bit of 087733b54f a thuggish look.ceb178960a9ebb2c

Baek Haegyeon turned around. Seeing the second-in-command teasing the third, he asked, “Jiho, what do you want to eat?”4731e87af32335c3

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“Ah, how about pasta?”935ce94f0c69f43f

It wasn’t 72d4483efb a deeply 459bf3ab07 considered answer. He just b24a181b06 wanted noodles c087468b97 but didn’t b0f4f8838a want to 8c352a56e6 feel weighed 74a3af34ad down. Eating jajangmyeon or e3b89a5db5 regular noodles made 4289ff3f9b him feel sluggish, adaa9e320d but pasta didn’t 8a62fe4c46 have that effect. It was e8d72c4843 why athletes efadeff33c often favored 07210ceeb3 it.46010a510a4f2924

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“Sure.”851f14d1fb4fddca

Baek Haegyeon accepted Guk 25fb57d462 Jiho’s suggestion without thinking 383756c18d twice and led the d0177964e4 way. As the wind ffff0f414d brushed past, the bfbf3f1ad4 artificial strawberry scent ebf081c8eb from Baek Haegyeon’s d15ffed8b0 jacket wafted through c6e267ddd3 the air.5347b101fac14c74

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***af0ebd3e65831dcd

Guk Jiho had thought 1697a8f3de they would go to cae9a2d793 a pasta place near 705628b9be a university, but instead, b26224fe98 they headed to a fac3ab8ffc club in the basement 7ca353fe00 that hadn’t even opened 08bb4e5a81 for business yet.abda87ce07e315bc

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“Welcome, sir!”7c4de4cd1f9fbc13

The club 3a3689a924 manager rushed 3c5d5cdc5f out to d82de8ca1f greet them 49f8d9b4ef as the 678a3c315b men poured 9a75651945 into the bc91aa20df basement. He was a ba82fcb7d5 burly man with 7244d323d5 a large forehead, 6a7a79cd75 thick lips, and bcd8496099 tattoos covering his 5d8238a136 body which gave d06aacd90f off a rough 528a085c0a impression.4e8d1e5e6112e7fa

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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.”b26a1313e5ad94e5

The club manager sounded disappointed. Baek Haegyeon simply stared at him impassively. Taking the hint, the man quickly corrected himself. “Ah! Right this way!”35486f81e58c70ff

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The seating area was 8e753fd138 surprisingly clean and bright. Baek Haegyeon sat in e29a5eeb20 the very center with ab9b771db5 Guk Jiho to his 15d2d65309 immediate right.0b39c12e5d069b3b

It seemed d5a016c942 they often e14b69fa66 came here df78289384 to eat. Ordinary citizens b356bccfde might only 5d8951539c see gang 2b267d08be members as 65a9b3fd9c troublemakers, but 13b4d5f61f Baek Haegyeon fa85a28a85 likely avoided a51449aed3 unnecessary conflicts 755292dbeb as a b391e7f601 leader. Perhaps that’s why b14072ed08 they ate at c08bc4abdb closed-off places like b919b36224 this.961a4971f26b32f4

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Even under the same 930424e9b8 Korean sky, you rarely 0cb28102e1 cross paths if your cf49b49ee3 social circles don’t overlap. It’s the same f5c9e87710 with chaebols.38362051f9ac9974

Perhaps the commonality between e03ef59af4 gangsters and chaebols was 5e0042ff34 that they stuck to 5182a10033 their own territories without 0ba2f38c7f mixing. As Guk Jiho thought e5a5b6b295 about this, the manager cbefd1705b came back to take e2e5409396 their orders.f68839b1cc9e5c45

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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.”7320dd1283693324

“Anyone allergic to tomato sauce?”d0ff1ca683b350f3

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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…ca7139970e39c11a

“Let’s all have tomato sauce pasta.”6a51d49212f7a632

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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.0504eb929d171515

Who would’ve 16dc2ffd35 thought they’d 5e22d1afd2 all order 27f2ad6e52 the same 8a3fd6f2de thing while a4e9f86faa dressed in 8dee50647a such expensive d7b9f09436 suits? If they were going aca93602fb to do this, they 1c02e7742b might as well have a84b754172 just eaten beef. Guk Jiho tried hard 1305bb1723 to hide his surprise c555f3fb21 at this bizarre dining 75f23aa1ef culture.e90b65319432bb94

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***330b27d1da7bbc77

On the 2406cdd0f2 way back 13153669c5 to the 7d78b433d9 Yeoksam-dong office, 82ca13d713 it was 6e7252e241 already past 8df76af748 five o’clock e6c231e225 due to f8f59df441 the time 8086f5599d spent at c4fb003255 the courthouse.d9cca4e7329b07b1

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It was already past 40cce48190 five o’clock when they 7a24f3a844 were on the way 9037eeda3a back to the Yeoksam-dong 6440884606 office. The legal proceedings had 44e86f9c23 taken longer than expected ebe919cd38 at the courthouse.b8ad7f20daa5760c

Hwando had multiple 9496bd3502 offices: one in 4ab307bbfb Yeoksam-dong, one in e31aba383e Sangdo-dong, and one e8e8a89f27 in Cheonho-dong. These were the 389469cb5d main offices Baek 7b1dc259fc Haegyeon personally inspected. If he included those ac20a5f5c3 managed by other directors, 382ae93228 the number would be 37ba592413 even higher.3023267af1d6db7e

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All three 06bb35433f locations were 0495f66b8f south of 2a2405ef42 the Han 47f453b9d2 River, so 3918709036 the roads 78402a964a were always 54462811ea congested when 0c55213bdb moving between 8625b1eaf6 them.75e48b7fa28e9a20

And the longer they 7e1b9db5f9 spent in the car, a028281df0 the more time Baek 93a953451a Jiho and Guk Jiho fb986dea9d had alone together.00254bab0b0ad4e5

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“Phew…”2766663e7e42acef

Guk Jiho sighed c10b5fadd5 as he looked b3b22e2d09 out at the 5ca349c788 congested road.f86f5364e03b3a85

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This was f9c52af203 the heart 62d37eec2a of Seoul. The area near 721dc6c09f the special operations f98b67f138 office in Namtaeryeong e4f95f12d6 was spacious and c0fc2e1889 quiet. Most missions 7b76ead113 took place 2f6d4d34ae on the b356ef77a1 outskirts, so 0fcc39911d he wasn’t 49f613b005 used to c47f16eb2c such high 5aa72de5ea population and 40fe57720a building density. Suddenly, fatigue df2ed4e2ca washed over 2bb16d9075 him.a053001f000cdcfd

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.’48b4ecf5b2965806

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Surprisingly, the d0a229ed32 tomato pasta bceb8048c0 made at c0d9051457 the club 74ac76b716 was delicious. They even b11c3749c1 grated a 2ca27201ec generous amount 8dbc1cea6a of that bb07dec4cc hard-to-pronounce cheese eca695b77e right in 9c74ab0bea front of 838530a5c5 them. Grana Padano or something.58900a8fbd53007d

‘Executive Guk, is it good?’74faa85a165c72c4

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‘Jiho’s enjoying it.’5601c175080ed55f

‘Should I order more?’3c86814447dacf0f

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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?ce187eef2a6b54eb

In any case, 631d215fe6 it was awkward.fa62a38ef7f44ab8

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As people 839cc103cd often say, d05eb9b9a5 the hierarchy 8321f29769 among men ab7afe0521 has a 16d4c8abda primal aspect 7300eab36a to it. Any place filled with b8b1b72ea2 only men tends to ef15cfd56d revert to a primitive 549438e1c3 state. It was simply e291b4a66b a type of 777b46f30d order that most d5347e21db men found comfortable.bf5acdda3f3f7e05

Men don’t 02c5122db0 just enjoy 839e741c3c dominating with 1a7127ad32 strength; they 341ff31e0b also enjoy 2119ad0a73 being dominated 02b7128ec5 by it. At least, 6ff4902c4e that’s how d35d7270d3 it was 85ccd050d0 in the 9f4b525fc8 sports teams, 70afaa4ce0 special forces, 03aa4cb465 and tactical bd39d2f77f units Guk 80ad2eb582 Jiho had f89044671c experienced. The tactical 5096274463 unit was ccf7597432 a bit bd574d77a0 less animalistic, 8828914a9d perhaps because c12ca55308 there were f0de7e0a8e some women f45bf386ac mixed in.5bfa777fe274e0f8

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Since such 7d3f96482a hierarchies aren’t 9fd5c52d9c established by be549ce4d4 titles alone, 606065f8be it’s convenient 2f91411e8f to set d2b2d70da7 them early. It’s very hard to d0ae7e0961 overturn once it was 7069d180fb established because subordinates naturally f9d376f9e8 align with the winner.793e38a2dc710df7

Ji Sangcheol was f5e6edeefe testing him. If he thought Guk 4ae6d5fcb7 Jiho was weak, he’d 037f9f2212 try to provoke him. Guk Jiho was almost 83a1e13dfc looking forward to it. In an organization like b5cc3cab14 this, you need to 8e66a7554d put on a show. He had missed 75d842de07 a good opportunity ad475d9913 earlier because of 091e082aec Baek Haegyeon’s sudden 43886ead7f appearance.9a52d207fab0fae6

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The weirdest thing was cf5fc4dee0 Baek Haegyeon’s attitude. Among all the c0ead3db3c peers, seniors, coaches, 349986a9bf supervisors, and superiors 0f141f8ee0 Guk Jiho had e9e56c292e encountered, there was bb12edb3d9 no one like 87fb9dcbf9 him.d0703e77f6933ef9

Guk Jiho guessed bf5242433a that Baek Haegyeon 7e30e716c7 must have attended 8d002d4aed a co-ed school. Maybe that’s why he f16f52eac6 was so affectionate. Or maybe dd11c0efe7 he had 94ec7f35a7 older sisters. He was 5fe33e195e probably the 00aa2f236d youngest with 8a0f6a1bfa two older 360b438141 sisters.f81b88121948efbf

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“Jiho.”284a8babee25ae9a

“Yes?”2f7531f75590e32b

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Lost in 40c4811cec thought, Guk 353d2e4530 Jiho’s voice 06f77f877a came out bd6e012447 a bit 54469cbbc1 strained. They were passing 90952de8f5 through a ramp e92f40318b on the road. Baek Haegyeon 73f71671be was steering 67a3e15e3d with one 972d0b57f7 hand, his c35d26be05 eyes fixed deb1d461c5 ahead.bda57122afa92e90

“When are you going to fix that cop habit?”6348f920a0b97332

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“Ah, I’ll fix it soon.”abbfdef007a39923

It was a d4fc734b49 reflex he couldn’t cd4faa0a14 control, but that 9b791c4b0a wasn’t a good 66f79b20dd excuse.934b2ee3b3d381e2

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“Fix it quickly. It’s better for you too.”485ea5128fea8b10

His tone was 04cdd21a15 as gentle as f732e7f04a it had been 7c38eaa5af during the first 61431ee7d0 interview. It had a 16451367e5 slight rhythm to a14965f7ca it. It wasn’t 9d5f564a3f poetic, but 7fc5e21c04 it had 5d5b54335e a way 3d5d205e7d of drawing be964580b7 you in. Maybe it 56fee3f66e was just ab20d4c416 his nice d3efd0b5fc voice.628d6573127e8556

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“Yes, understood.”478981a65ce91f8b

“If I see you reaching for your holster again…”49980bb607d4e476

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The ramp ended, 829629010e and the car fda9cfb792 merged into the 3e096b7c5e main road. The speedometer needle 1baf0fd6bc hovered below 40 1ff06452aa km/h due to d639accc15 the dense traffic 406f33d1c2 on the eight-lane adf66600da road. The car moved smoothly, 4cacc9b129 signaling and merging slowly a2142c6fcb into the sluggish flow.ed8da62aadea0a73

“…I’ll make you rub my dick with that stupid hand.”21e5eee6e1180de3

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“…”4f51ddbe5f93a621

Guk Jiho adjusted 3a94bf48b4 his crooked tie ab4cbe5a2e knot and swallowed. The red spot near ce3e21bc9e his eyebrow turned redder.a4b0cef70fa7453a

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For a moment, he 60e27b621a was speechless. The mundane scenery 7375595c18 outside the window 6d2669c34f passed by, but 13bfa05ba7 the words that 5f592529eb entered his ears 15a108dc96 were utterly out 9770c3c711 of place.a327bc4690815ae2

So, he’s different from d783b2796f how he appears.Guk Jiho e219a087a3 narrowed one 8e2567e3b8 eye slightly, 307ce7c822 finally understanding c870884a1f why he b23df26123 had felt 136ae41f97 so uncomfortable 08d9bb6a5f all this 9906a4c9d1 time.754b8fe9efd7b1b6

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