Romantic Gangster

#12

In the end, I didn’t eat the ramen Seo Ji-woo gave me yesterday. After smelling its sweet scent so much, I didn’t feel very hungry when I got home. Also, I thought if I took out what was in that shopping bag, I’d end up thinking about things I shouldn’t, so I just didn’t eat it.

“…”

I remembered Seo Ji-woo, who brought his face close without any wariness, saying the wound wasn’t very visible. No, it was the first time I’d seen an omega so defenseless in front of an alpha, let alone a dominant alpha. Sitting close, grabbing onto me, smiling and saying thank you, not even realizing his sweet scent was seeping out as the medication wore off.

The image of his white face illuminated by the phone light, which he told me to hold so the wound would be visible, lingered in my mind.

How can a guy be so white and soft? His eyelashes were long, and his lips looked moist as if he had applied something. Lip balm, probably?

“…”

I wondered what all the guys I’d seen before were. They were all dark-skinned with stubble growing because they didn’t shave, and even the ones who cared about their appearance mostly looked tacky trying to follow trends awkwardly. But Seo Ji-woo, who suddenly appeared before me, was clearly different.

Is it because he’s an omega? No, not all omegas look that soft and pretty. He probably doesn’t even sweat. No, he might. Everyone sweats.

Suddenly, I remembered his face, panting and out of breath as he tried to keep up with my quick pace. My imagination expanded on that strained face.

‘Hyun-joon… I’m struggling.’

What if instead of standing behind me, he was underneath me, shaking me and saying he was having a hard time…

“… Shit. Am I going crazy?”

The moment flesh-colored images spread in my mind, Lee Hyun-joon abruptly stood up. He took out the cigarette he had been holding in his mouth, crumpled it roughly, and threw it away, then flapped the front of his t-shirt. Cursing from the morning, he was really doing well.

What’s pretty about him? He just nags. Is there nothing pretty in the world that a male omega has to be pretty? And is there nothing else to imagine pinning down but him? Just an ordinary boy who talks a lot, meddles a lot, and is overly sentimental – how could that be arousing?

Shaking his head vigorously, Lee Hyun-joon went back into the house, dragging his slippers. It seemed better to put aside useless thoughts and just get ready to go out and have breakfast.

* * *

After eating an omurice and two servings of ramen at the snack bar, I felt adequately full. I could eat more if told to, but it was better to eat moderately for body maintenance. If I got hungry later, I planned to eat a piece of chicken breast.

Lee Hyun-joon bought an ice cream at the convenience store and headed towards Friendly Loans, crunching on the hard treat. He was going there to get an explanation about the next collection target.

Entering the shabby-looking building and climbing the always-desolate stairs to the second floor, he saw the door with the “Friendly Loans” nameplate. He thought the yellow smiley sticker, stuck there in an effort to look friendly, actually had the opposite effect.

Knock knock. After knocking and entering, Baek Ju-seung, who was sitting at the desk doing work, greeted Lee Hyun-joon with a bright smile.

“Oh, Hyun-joon. You’re here?”

“Yes, hyung.”

As always, Lee Hyun-joon sat on the sofa in the center of the office. Baek Ju-seung got up from his seat, took out two vitamin drinks, placed one in front of Lee Hyun-joon, and plopped down in the seat opposite him, opening the other.

“Hyun-joon, I’m really enjoying life thanks to you these days, really enjoying it. If collections had always gone this smoothly, I would have started something bigger long ago. Like Friendly Loans. How’s that name? Friendly Loans, Friendly Money.”

Hahaha! Baek Ju-seung burst out laughing, then seemed to remember something and got up to go to his desk. He took out an envelope from the drawer, came back, and placed it in front of Lee Hyun-joon.

“A bonus. I deposited 5% into your account, and this is in an envelope just to lift your spirits.”

At the mention of a bonus, Lee Hyun-joon’s eyes widened as he picked up the envelope and opened it. Inside were about twenty 50,000 won bills.

“Yesterday’s collection was a bit tough, right? Even that handsome face of yours got scratched. Think of it as money for medicine.”

“Thank you. I’ll use it well. Where’s the next collection?”

“Taste money and immediately ask about the next target, huh? The next one won’t be too difficult. The old man who borrowed money has six children. If we pressure them one by one, at least one of them will pay up. These are the easiest.”

“Okay. Please send me the address when it’s ready.”

“Sure, sure. What are you going to do today? Going to drink heavily now that you’ve got some money?”

Baek Ju-seung asked as he followed Lee Hyun-joon, who was getting up and heading towards the door. Lee Hyun-joon folded the white envelope in half and put it in his pants pocket, then grabbed the doorknob and turned it.

“I don’t drink.”

At those words, Baek Ju-seung burst out laughing again, hahaha, and patted Lee Hyun-joon’s shoulder.

“Hyun-joon, you have a sort of, how should I put it, righteous side to you. You don’t beat people up to collect money, and you smoke but don’t drink. That’s what makes you interesting.”

Thinking that it wasn’t really something to find interesting, Lee Hyun-joon was reminded of Seo Ji-woo again. More precisely, what Seo Ji-woo had said to him.

‘You’re surprisingly kind.’

Even thinking about it again, it was a strange thing to say. You’re either kind or you’re not, what does ‘surprisingly kind’ mean? What a weird guy.

“But you do that, right?”

“That?”

“Yeah, that. With that face and body, there must be a line of people throwing themselves at you.”

“Ah.”

“Huh? What kind of reaction is that? Don’t tell me you don’t even f*ck?”

“Well, not really.”

“This is when you really show how young you are. Cute bastard. Let me know if you’re interested. We have plenty of girls who could take your virginity at our place.”

“I’ll take care of it myself. I’m leaving.”

Not wanting to hear any more useless talk, Lee Hyun-joon gave a quick bow and left. Even through the closed door, he could hear snickering laughter. He couldn’t understand why not rolling around with just anyone was something to be laughed at. Lee Hyun-joon went down the stairs, thinking it was more disgusting and pathetic to just sleep with anyone without discrimination just because you’re horny.

After stopping at an ATM to deposit the million won bonus, his bank balance showed over 7 million won. Wow, shit. Just two more jobs and it’ll be over 10 million. If I do a few big jobs, it could quickly become 20 million, 30 million, and then maybe even 100 million?

Seeing over 7 million won accumulated in an account that had just over 100,000 won until recently made him feel secure, but also wonder if it was okay to make money this easily. Of course, collecting wasn’t that easy, but considering it wasn’t a daily job and he could do it occasionally while still having fun, it felt like free money.

Lee Hyun-joon pulled his card from the machine, thinking he’d work hard for 1-2 years while he could, save some money, and then move on to something else. He then entered a large supermarket nearby. Since he had some extra money, he planned to stock up on food at home today.

It seemed perfect to buy some ramen that had run out, instant rice, and fill the fridge with his favorite zero-calorie cola.

Pushing the cart around the supermarket, Lee Hyun-joon first put three bundles of discounted instant rice in the cart. Then he loaded a 24-pack of cola on the bottom of the cart, and also generously added discounted chicken breast and chicken sausages.

“Ramen…”

Ah, there it is. Lee Hyun-joon entered the ramen aisle to choose ramen, almost the only food he cooked at home. He put two bundles of five spicy dry ramen in the cart, then pushed it towards his favorite soup ramen.

“…”

That’s when Lee Hyun-joon’s eyes fell on the ramen Seo Ji-woo had given him the night before. It wasn’t ramen made by Seo Ji-woo, just a mass-produced product, a very famous and ordinary ramen, but for some reason, it caught his eye today. Even though it wasn’t the brand he usually enjoyed, he felt a strange urge to buy it.

What the hell. Getting all sentimental over ramen.

Shaking his head, Lee Hyun-joon passed by that ramen and went to his usual brand, putting three 5-pack bundles in the cart.

“…”

But he still felt uneasy. Eventually, Lee Hyun-joon put two bundles back and stepped back to where Seo Ji-woo’s ramen was, putting two 5-packs of that ramen in the cart. Only then did he feel satisfied, like his full cart.

Right, it’s just because I saw that ramen package yesterday. Sometimes when you eat the same thing for a long time, you want to try something different, and he just pushed that button for me. What does that ramen have to do with him? Even if I hadn’t received it from him yesterday, I probably would have wanted to eat it if I saw it today.

After rationalizing repeatedly, Lee Hyun-joon finally added milk, cereal, and sports drinks to his cart and headed to the checkout counter.