Into The Thrill

It wasn't until after 8 PM that he was able to leave the prosecutor's office. As he had said, I should have come earlier and kept my promises about the time. Haewon regretted being so late.
Tomorrow was Christmas, and everywhere around the streets, Christmas decorations sparkled. The sight of the Christmas trees placed along the roads made it feel like the year was truly coming to an end.
Haewon was in Hyeon Woojin's car, heading to the hospital. At the hospital, Lee Jinyoung, who had injured his eye because of Haewon, was hospitalized. He had said that he would file a lawsuit. Hyeon Woojin explained that if Haewon were sued, it would put him in a very disadvantageous position. The most disadvantageous part was that in court, their respective lawyers and prosecutors would have to argue the legal aspects of the case.

The question would be whether Lee Jinyoung, who tried to sexually assault him, was more at fault, or whether Haewon, who had poked his eye to protect his fingers, was the one at fault. Haewon didn't want to be in a situation where they would publicly argue whose crime was greater, exposing all the details. But Hyeon Woojin explained that the law in this country overly emphasized the rights of the perpetrator, meaning Haewon, as the victim, was at a disadvantage.
If what Lee Jinyoung wanted was just that, then Haewon wanted to settle it quickly and move on. If he wanted an apology, Haewon would apologize, and if he wanted Haewon to perform an oral act, Haewon would do it. Haewon just wanted to finish it in any way that could bring closure.
On Christmas Eve, Haewon sat in Hyeon Woojin's car, looking out at the holiday lights on the streets, pondering how to make Lee Jinyoung ejaculate quickly. Each time Haewon's face reflected in the car window, he furrowed his brows in disgust.

Once they reached the hospital parking lot, Hyeon Woojin stopped the car and turned off the engine. Haewon unbuckled his seatbelt and spoke.
“If you tell me the room number, I'll go in alone.”
“Let's go together.”

“It’s something I need to handle alone.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes.”

He nodded and told Haewon the room number.
Since visiting hours were over, the ward was quiet. Some rooms had the lights off, with patients already asleep.
Haewon arrived at the room Hyeon Woojin had mentioned and knocked. Soon, he heard a “Yes.” Haewon opened the door and entered. It was a private room with two beds on either side of the walls. Lee Jinyoung was lying on the bed on the right, and the other bed was empty. He was alone.

Lee Jinyoung, who had been lying down, jerked up in surprise when he saw Haewon. A bandage wrapped around his forehead and the right side of his cheek, thickly covering one side of his face. With his left eye, he looked at Haewon and awkwardly sat up.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry.”

Haewon apologized to the man who had tried to break his finger. For a moment, the hostility on Lee Jinyoung's face softened.
Although Haewon had poked his eye, Lee Jinyoung had also tried to overpower him and assault him. Haewon had caused injury to his body, but Lee Jinyoung had been unable to go further because Haewon acted first.
“I heard you're going to sue.”
Haewon silently nodded. Lee Jinyoung groped his bandaged face.

“You know what I want, right? I don’t want either of us to end up worse off.”
He probably didn’t want it either. Haewon knew this well, having already written a statement. If it went to court, private matters that neither of them wanted exposed would come to light. Legal battles were burdensome, even for Lee Jinyoung, who still had to continue his life in society.
“If one of my eyes had been completely blinded, who knows what would have happened.”

“I’m truly sorry.”
“If you’re really sorry, then don’t leave.”
“...”

“I won’t do that kind of thing again, okay? Just stay with me. I’ll act like nothing ever happened.”
His personality was more persistent and obsessive than Haewon had expected. Lee Jinyoung got out of bed and walked towards Haewon. He carefully took Haewon’s hand. A bruise was clearly visible on Haewon’s wrist from where he had been grabbed. When Lee Jinyoung saw the scars revealed beneath Haewon’s sleeve, he hesitated. His rough hand gently touched the wounds. The pain still felt warm. Haewon recalled the evidence pictures he had left on Hyeon Woojin’s phone.
“I won’t sue. I won’t make things hard for you. Haewon, I’ll never touch you again.”

“That’s not possible.”
“I don’t know what I might do. Every time you say that, I feel like I’m going crazy. Do you know what that means?”
He didn’t let go of Haewon’s hand as he spoke. Haewon lifted his head to look at him.

“Does that mean you’re going to sue?”
“If that’s what it takes to hold on to you, then yes. I’m serious. I’ll cling to you till the end, by any means possible.”
Haewon had never been in a deep relationship. When things seemed to get serious, he avoided them. Deep relationships were tiring and troublesome.

His mother had died alone because Haewon had not gotten too attached. Had his feelings for his father not been shallow, his mother would have taken revenge on his father and stepmother in any way she could. She would have gone to his father’s mistress' house and protested, lying down with her sick body, causing a scene, and blaming them for her death.
Because of this, Haewon had always met people who were hard to get attached to—those who lived abroad, those with high status and difficult to let go of their positions, or those who had too many attachments to their surroundings to become obsessed with him.
This situation was different. The man who had been poked in the eye, who could have gone blind, was now clinging to Haewon, saying that he liked him and wanted to be with him. Haewon had never been through something like this.

Unable to face the raw emotions, Haewon turned his head away. He pleaded with him not to do this.
“We’ll both be ruined.”
“I don’t care. I’d rather be ruined without you. That would be worse for me.”

What disgusted Haewon most was the fact that Lee Jinyoung was throwing himself at him with the intention of giving up everything. It was the very emotion Haewon had feared and avoided—his mother’s feelings as she died, and the emotions that made him recoil in fear.
“I don’t like you.”
“I know. We’ll take it slow. If you don’t like me now, you’ll like me later.”

Haewon’s body slightly trembled. He wasn’t coming alone with Hyeon Woojin in the car. He should have come with him. Haewon closed his eyes tightly before opening them again. The hospital gown made Lee Jinyoung’s sickness look even worse. Yet, with only one eye, he was still burning with desire for something.
“I’ll give you money. How much do you need?”
“Haewon.”

Haewon wanted to get away from his gaze. He randomly said the words that came to mind. He had decided not to rely on his father’s financial power, but there was no choice this time. He thought of the amount his father could provide immediately. He had no idea how much.
“How about 300 million? I can get 300 million.”
“Even if you give me 3 billion, I won’t take it. We were good together, weren’t we? You didn’t hate me, did you?”

“...”
At least to Haewon, there was no affection in the act. He had never genuinely liked anyone, nor had he desired anyone. This was also the reason he couldn’t understand his mother or Taeshin. He couldn’t understand their feelings of not being able to bear liking someone. Just as he couldn’t understand Taeshin, he couldn’t understand Lee Jinyoung begging for love right in front of him. Their feelings, claiming that they would rather lose everything than not have the person, disgusted him.
“I don’t want us both to suffer. Please don’t make me do that kind of thing.”

Lee Jinyoung held onto Haewon’s hand and earnestly begged him. It wasn’t a plea; it was a threat.
“Do you want to sleep with me?”
“What?”

“Do you want to sleep with me?”
“…If I said no, it would be a lie. Fine.”
Lee Jinyoung readily admitted it.

“Then I’ll do it for you. And then we’re done. No, if you want to sleep with me every time, I’ll do it every time. I can do that.”
“What nonsense is that? Do you think I’m doing this because I want to sleep with you? I don’t want you, that’s not it at all.”
“Let’s do it once and be done with it.”

Haewon took off his coat. Lee Jinyoung’s face twisted. As Haewon was unbuttoning his shirt to take off his top, the hospital door suddenly burst open. They both turned around at the unexpected sound.
The person who opened the door was none other than Hyeon Woojin. He was on the phone with someone. Holding the phone to his ear, he walked in and buttoned up Haewon’s shirt, then picked up the coat that had been thrown on the bed.
“Is it accurate? It needs to be accurate. If I’m going to threaten someone, it’ll be a real hassle if it’s not true. Yeah, do that. Forget the rest. No, it’s fine. That’s enough. Thanks for your hard work.”

Hyeon Woojin ended the call and tucked his phone into his jacket pocket. He draped the coat he was holding over Haewon's shoulders and carefully buttoned the few buttons of the shirt Haewon had undone, putting it back in place. Haewon, who had been about to take off his clothes, was now neatly dressed again. He looked at him in confusion.
"Are you innocent, or just clueless? Do you think that if Mun Haewon sleeps with you once, all this will go away?"
"What’s this? Your threats no longer work."

As Lee Jinyoung tried to grab Haewon's arm, Hyeon Woojin stepped in and quickly grabbed Haewon first, shielding him behind his back. Lee Jinyoung, unable to even catch a glimpse of Haewon now, was blocked entirely by Hyeon Woojin's broad back.
"Did your lawyer say that? That Lee Jinyoung didn’t really do anything wrong, since it was just an attempt?"
"He didn’t say I wasn’t wrong. He said if you sue, there’s a good chance we’ll win. The damages on my side are much greater."

"So you changed your mind in just one day? You wanted to forget everything, but now?"
"The situation has changed. I found out that the prosecutor was unnecessarily scaring me."
Lee Jinyoung, who had been threatened and pressured into a settlement by Hyeon Woojin the night before, was now brimming with defiance. Hyeon Woojin scoffed coldly at him. To Hyeon Woojin, who had dealt with criminals his whole life, Lee Jinyoung was so insignificant it was almost laughable to even engage with him. It wasn’t the lengthy threats but the short mockery that pierced Lee Jinyoung the most.

"Now that you’ve caught your breath, are you starting to remember the time you tried to rape Mun Haewon?"
"That’s crossing the line."
"You were probably just squirming in regret. You couldn’t even pull your pants up or down, standing awkwardly while failing to finish. I’d be upset too if I were you..."

Hyeon Woojin turned to look at Haewon. Their eyes met, and seeing Haewon in such an unfavorable situation, Hyeon Woojin smiled with a look of trust. He straightened his posture and looked directly at Lee Jinyoung.
"Well, I guess it seems too precious to share with someone else."
"What’s this about? Please talk to my lawyer from now on. Please leave."

Lee Jinyoung tried to move closer to Haewon, who was standing behind Hyeon Woojin. His thick hands, like those of a laborer, reached for Haewon. Haewon’s fingers, trembling slightly as they clenched the coat, shook even more as Lee Jinyoung neared.
Hyeon Woojin moved quickly to block Lee Jinyoung from approaching Haewon. Haewon, realizing what was happening, grabbed Hyeon Woojin’s jacket urgently, silently begging him not to move. Hyeon Woojin hesitated, feeling Haewon’s trembling hands clutching the fabric.
"Lee Jinyoung, you work for Samjeong Corporation, right?"

Lee Jinyoung faltered slightly at the question.
"You must know Executive Kim Hwanggu well."
"Our Senior Executive in charge of sales. What does that have to do with this?"

Lee Jinyoung’s voice darkened, becoming defensive. Haewon stood in the shadow Hyeon Woojin had created and listened to their exchange.
"Did you know that recently, in exchange for securing a $2 billion contract in Saudi Arabia, Executive Kim Hwanggu transferred domestic technical data overseas?"
"..."

"You wouldn’t be ignorant of this, would you? Since Lee Jinyoung is the one handling the practical matters, and your superior is the one who leaked the confidential materials. I’m about to get a warrant for this, so who should I say tipped me off?"
"...This is absurd."
"You don’t know that I’ve «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» met with Lee Jinyoung several times privately, do you?"

"What...! I don’t know anything about that, and I didn’t handle it either!"
His voice was full of indignation. It sounded like a plea, but it didn’t move Hyeon Woojin at all.
“If I investigate, it will all come out. Even if you claim you have nothing to do with it, if I say you’re involved, you’ll be closely connected to this matter.”

"..."
Lee Jinyoung’s hand, the one that had reached for Haewon, was now trembling into a fist.
"Your eye’s already like that, and you want to lose your job too? You want to sue? Go ahead. I don’t know who gave you such stupid advice, but if you really want to ruin your career and make it impossible for you to live here, go ahead."

Hyeon Woojin’s words crushed any lingering hesitation, trampling over it like a stubborn weed. He wasn’t stopping Lee Jinyoung, telling him to go ahead and make his move, promising that he would make him roll in the mud for the rest of his life.
Lee Jinyoung remained silent for a long time. Haewon, still hidden behind Hyeon Woojin’s back, clenched his jacket, wishing for this moment to end quickly. Hyeon Woojin glanced over at Haewon, noticing the trembling grip on his jacket.
After a pause, Lee Jinyoung finally spoke, his voice quieter, like it had sunk to its lowest point.

"...What’s this about? What’s your relationship with Haewon?"
"Now you’re asking about that? Right now, I’m about to cut off your source of income."
"What’s between the two of you?"

Lee Jinyoung pressed, his persistence unrelenting. Hyeon Woojin, his hand on Haewon’s, gave him a reassuring pat.
“He’s my friend’s younger brother.”
∞ ∞ ∞

Hyeon Woojin took the car key from his pocket. When he pressed the button, the headlights of a gray car flashed from afar.
“Thank you for today.”
As he walked towards the car, Haewon spoke to his back. Hyeon Woojin stopped and turned to look at him.

“Has the misunderstanding about me been cleared up?”
“I never had any misunderstandings.”
“Then get in the car.”

He resumed walking. Haewon didn’t follow.
“I’ll take a taxi.”
"..."

“Thank you for your help.”
Haewon sighed deeply, his chest slowly deflating. He fiddled with the car keys in his hand. He called out to Haewon, who had lowered his head in thanks and was about to turn away.
“Let’s grab dinner.”

“I’m not really hungry.”
“Come on, that’s a bit much.”
"..."

“After all this, it’s only polite to buy me a meal. Do you have any idea how much of my time you’ve taken up? If you treat me like just anyone, it’s going to be a problem. You know, because of this love triangle, a current vice minister got pushed back. I delayed the investigation into him because of Mun Haewon.”
He pronounced Haewon’s name slowly and deliberately. Hyeon Woojin explained how important and influential he was, as though it were a matter of course. Haewon listened in silence.
“They’re all frantic right now, how much longer do you want to make me wait?”

“If you’re that busy, you should go in. I’ll buy you dinner when you’re not busy.”
"..."
Haewon lowered his head and turned around. He could feel Hyeon Woojin’s piercing gaze on his back. Soon, the sound of the car starting up echoed in the distance.

The parking lot was empty except for Haewon and Hyeon Woojin. The gray car sped past Haewon, stirring up the wind. Haewon stared silently at the tail of the gray car as it disappeared into the exit.
Back at his officetel, Haewon took a shower first. Hunger wasn’t his main concern; he urgently wanted to wash off the dirt clinging to his body. Lee Jinyoung’s gaze, which had persistently pierced him, kept swirling in his mind.
After the shower, he collapsed onto the bed, exhausted. His face buried in the pillow, a heavy sigh escaped him. He thought about Hyeon Woojin’s back, hiding him behind it while threatening Lee Jinyoung.

It was a broad back. A back he wanted to lean on. He wanted to bury his face there and inhale the scent. But it was a back too firm and wide for Lee Jinyoung’s one-eyed gaze to climb over.
Haewon had thought that if he just apologized and appeased Hyeon Woojin, he would stop. He had expected Lee Jinyoung to apologize, saying it was all a mistake. That was the Lee Jinyoung he knew. If that wasn’t possible, he figured that he could just do it once, get it over with, and move on.
But Lee Jinyoung was worse than Haewon had imagined. He threatened Haewon while claiming to like him. As Haewon took off his coat, Lee Jinyoung made a disgusted face. Haewon had a feeling that it wouldn’t end with just one time. Hiding behind Hyeon Woojin, trembling helplessly, Haewon was repulsed by himself.

It was a level of obsession Haewon had never seen before. His mother had wanted her death to remain a secret, and Lee Jinyoung had stopped hiding his emotions. It was nothing compared to Kim Jaemin’s reckless visit to Haewon’s officetel. It gave Haewon goosebumps. He couldn’t handle Lee Jinyoung, nor did he want to.
Afraid that Hyeon Woojin might leave them here and vanish, Haewon gripped Hyeon Woojin’s jacket tightly. Hyeon Woojin’s hand, which came from behind to comfort Haewon’s trembling hand, gave a reassuring pat.