Story Of A Villain

Around noon.Gu Wonjae, after a long time, ran his hands through his hair, dressed in his favorite suit, and stepped out of the annex. The weather was quite chilly after the rain had stopped, which was disappointing. He wished it would rain more.Suddenly, he remembered the deep blue energy filling every corner of the annex. Thinking about it made him feel that it might be okay even if it didn’t rain anymore.Just then, a large black sedan entered through the village entrance. Choi, the manager, got out of the car and signaled to his subordinates to bring a coat. While the black coat was draped over his broad shoulders, Gu Wonjae pulled out a cigarette from a case in his jacket pocket. As Choi adjusted the flame to light it, Team Leader Jeong, who was guarding the gate, approached and stood before him.“Director. If you go out now, when do you expect to return?”Gu Wonjae, who was absentmindedly blowing smoke through his slightly parted lips, blinked slowly before answering.“Probably around evening? Why.”“Then, will the person inside stay in the annex the whole time?”“…Maybe.”A faint chuckle escaped. After tapping off the ash from the filter, Gu Wonjae pondered for a moment.An hour ago, after finishing his meal, he had summoned Cheongwoo to the bedroom.Cheongwoo must have been tired from wandering around Dowonhyang all morning, so he intended to let him rest. However, the little one was trembling in fear, his imagination running wild.Gu Wonjae watched him silently.His skin looked fluffy but felt moist and full of water when touched. The white, thin boy would flinch whenever Gu Wonjae took a deep breath, reached out to shake off ash, habitually crossed his legs, or turned his head slightly to blow smoke out the window.Yet, he managed to speak quite boldly.“I won’t do it anymore. I absolutely won’t do it with you, Director. Never.”Chirp, chirp, chirp.Despite the attempt at a firm tone, it sounded pitiful to Gu Wonjae’s ears. The trembling end of his words lacked any threat.Of course, the declaration of never doing it again was irritating. It wasn’t Cheongwoo’s decision to make.“Because of the bead?”So, he asked in a low voice.“Do you have any other choice if I decide to do it?”Slowly reaching out, he grabbed the small chin, drawing the trembling gaze to him. What had they done? He only remembered suppressing his rising desires and impulses because of Cheongwoo’s excessive fuss.“Cheongwoo.”“…”“I’m calling you.”“Yes, Director.”“Good. You should listen well.”Gu Wonjae reminded him once more in a calm tone.“Don’t make me ruin your life for fun.”The eyes, suddenly filled with fear, flickered like the tender reeds of spring swaying in the slightest breeze.“…Director?”Team Leader Jeong’s voice interrupted his reverie. Gu Wonjae quietly composed his expression.“Yes.”“What about the person inside?”“Tell them to have fun.”With that low response, he got into the back seat of the sedan. ‘Have fun?’ The ambiguous answer made Team Leader Jeong and the other employees tilt their heads in confusion before they bowed respectfully as the vehicle started moving.The beautiful scenery of the annex village flashed by outside the open window.Anyway, Cheongwoo was confined within the cage Gu Wonjae had set up. Even the day before, he had tried to escape during a shower, so this time, to prevent the same mistake, black subordinates were placed at every gate of Dowonhyang. There was no escape hole for Cheongwoo now.Discipline.Gu Wonjae didn’t consider this confinement. It was just setting simple rules for a naughty child to follow. It was a simple and easy problem. Be good and quiet. Just stay where Gu Wonjae had decided.“Are we going down the mountain? Where exactly should I take you?”As the vehicle was about to leave the annex village, the driver glanced in the rearview mirror.The scent of quince grew stronger outside the car window. The ripe quinces, hanging heavily on the branches, seemed to make the branches bend. Seeing this, he remembered Cheongwoo crying, saying the bead was too disgusting and it hurt.Gu Wonjae, twitching the corner of his mouth, answered in a voice slightly blurred by the cigarette between his teeth.“To the urology clinic.”Two hours after Gu Wonjae had gone out.Cheongwoo, having just stepped into the bathtub, peeked out with only his forehead and eyes showing through the window frame. He observed the movements outside. His round eyes, full of tension, quickly scanned the colorful garden bathed in autumn sunlight.The garden was empty of people. But the guy with the scar on his forehead must still be guarding the front gate.It’s risky to try to climb over the wall. If caught in the act, even the smallest chance of escape would be gone.“…Um, I have something to ask.”Finally, he spoke up. Now was the best time if he wanted to make it on time.After an hour of contemplation, Cheongwoo left the bathroom in light attire and stepped into the garden, pretending to look around before sticking close to the wall.“What is it?”Team Leader Jeong approached immediately. Cheongwoo, trying to look as casual as possible, flashed a faint smile.“I want to go to the guest house to talk with my friend, Joohye.”“To the guest house?”Team Leader Jeong scrutinized Cheongwoo’s face, his scar twitching. From the first encounter, he seemed like a scary guy. Feeling cold sweat on his back, Cheongwoo forced a smile and nodded.“Yes… We’re still within Dowonhyang, and the Director didn’t specifically say not to wander around. If you’re suspicious, you can come with me.”Team Leader Jeong pondered for a moment. Come to think of it, when Gu Wonjae was asked about Cheongwoo’s whereabouts, his answer was vague. Well, there’s no way out anyway. The exits in Dowonhyang were already sealed by the subordinates.“Let’s go together then.”Thinking he just needed to watch over the boy, Team Leader Jeong opened the gate with a sullen face.Cheongwoo took light steps as if going for a stroll. Having cried his heart out when caught after a bold escape attempt in the morning, he now seemed quite sly. Team Leader Jeong glanced at Cheongwoo’s profile and asked.“So, who are you going to meet?”“Oh, Joohye, my very close sister. We made plans to meet today.”Cheongwoo tried to smile, sweat beading on his back.They soon reached the guest house. Team Leader Jeong stopped by a bench in the garden to light a cigarette. Cheongwoo greeted other fairies cheerfully as they passed by.Then he went straight to a narrow, long porch of the main house, took off his sneakers neatly, and called out to a door.“Sister. It’s Cheongwoo. I’m coming in.”Before any response came from inside, Cheongwoo quickly opened the paper door and entered.The room was empty. This wasn’t Joohye’s room; it was Taesung’s room, from where he had escaped.Before executing his plan, Cheongwoo checked through a tiny hole in the paper door. Far away, Team Leader Jeong was sitting on the garden bench, smoking and watching this door.Having visited Taesung often and knowing the room’s layout and escape routes, Cheongwoo hurried to the back window facing the backyard. Opening this window was always his job when Taesung smoked in this cramped room.After pushing the back window as wide as it would go, Cheongwoo stuck his head out first. Though the window was small, fortunately, it was wide enough for the slender Cheongwoo to slip through.Careful not to get stuck, he wriggled out of the room. He awkwardly descended into the backyard, his socks soaking through the moment he stepped on the muddy, rain-soaked ground.Regardless, Cheongwoo clenched his fists and started sprinting like mad towards the back door of the guest house.The fairies walking around the inner garden turned in surprise as Cheongwoo raced by. Many faces flashed past his blurred vision.Fluttering his clothes, he ran for his life to the east gate of Dowonhyang, facing the kitchen. Luckily, he seemed to have arrived on time. A refrigerated truck for food supplies was parked in front of the wide-open east gate.Cheongwoo pressed himself against the side of the kitchen building, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.While employees from the food supply company and the kitchen worked together to move boxes, Gu Wonjae’s subordinates were gathered at the threshold of the open gate, laughing and chatting.There was no need for further thought. Next to the path where Cheongwoo hid was a large water jar used to collect rainwater from the roof tiles to prevent it from pooling on the ground. It was big enough to hide two people and was filled with rainwater.“Ha!”Cheongwoo took a deep breath, pinched his nose and mouth shut, and plunged his feet into the jar.The water was chillingly cold. Despite his whole body shuddering, he closed his eyes tightly and crouched down in the water. Water splashed and overflowed from the jar as he submerged.He stayed like that for a while.Then, he cautiously peeked out his eyes from the icy water. There was no sign of anyone yet. As he kept watch for movements outside, he saw Team Leader Jeong approaching like an enraged bear from afar. Startled, Cheongwoo ducked his head back under the water.“Hey! The kid didn’t come this way, did he?”Through the water in his ears, he heard the men’s voices buzzing.“Excuse me? Who came?”“That fairy or whatever that the Director brought into the annex. Fuck. He’s fast even though he’s just a kid. They said he came towards the east gate, but you didn’t see him?”“No, we’ve been on standby here all this time, and nothing happened around here.”“What are these idiots doing, dawdling around? You, call Manager Yoon and tell him to check the CCTV fast. Make sure everyone guards their posts at each gate. You, go check the back mountain behind Moran’s Hall, and you, come with me.”“Yes, sir.”It seemed like the men were dispersing in a hurry.Cheongwoo, almost out of breath, finally brought his nose out of the water. Even that movement was cautious and deliberate.He took a deep breath, submerging up to his philtrum. Peeking over the edge of the jar, he saw a man standing guard by the wide-open gate, making calls on his phone.“Wow, we’re really fucked. The Director’s fairy ran away? Well, since we’re covering everywhere, he won’t get out completely. No word from the west gate guards? He’s supposed to have come this way to the east gate of the kitchen, so check the CCTV.”At that moment, an employee in the middle of the kitchen courtyard shouted.“Is that the last box?”The truck driver, turning his back to the passenger seat, answered, “Yes, that’s the last one.”While people crisscrossed, one of Gu Wonjae’s subordinates, who had been pacing back and forth at the gate, turned his back to this side, his expression grim, still on the phone.Now was the moment.Soaked from head to toe, Cheongwoo climbed out of the jar and dashed towards the refrigerated truck.The driver, who was exchanging receipts with the kitchen manager, turned around at that moment, but he didn’t catch sight of Cheongwoo slipping into the refrigerated compartment just in time.Cheongwoo went to the back corner of the refrigerated compartment, pushed away some boxes, and curled up there. He was trembling all over. He wrapped his arms around his armpits and buried his forehead on his raised knees.Then someone rapped on the side of the refrigerated compartment and called out.“Delivery complete, you can go now.”He slowly raised his head. The storage door closed, the latch clicked, and the sunlight that had been on Cheongwoo’s forehead was shut out. The vehicle started, and he felt the vibrations.“…Thank goodness.”Now he wouldn’t have to see that hideous, spiky thing anymore.It was almost traumatic; just thinking about it made his frontal lobe feel like it was cramping. Cheongwoo slowly relaxed, letting out a long breath. Shivering from the cold, he pulled over some blue plastic sheeting lying around and wrapped it around himself.🧸The removal surgery was done without sedation.Since going all the way to Seoul just to remove the bead seemed excessive, to avoid his mother finding out, he came to the largest men’s clinic in the area. The doctor seemed quite competent. Right after pulling out the surgical needle from his arm, Gu Wonjae looked for a cigarette to smoke when the director of the hospital came to his private room.“Yes. The implant was removed cleanly. It was a special wide type, a bit overdone, but there was no infection… You took good care of it.”It was more like he hadn’t been with anyone other than Yeon Cheongwoo since inserting the bead ring, or so it seemed. His memory was hazy.“The stitches will dissolve on their own, and there will hardly be any scarring. By the way, even after the stitches dissolve, it would be good to manage it with tegacosp for another week.”The doctor still seemed tense, with a subtle aura of beauty around him. It seemed like he had been like that during the surgery too.Gu Wonjae, sitting on the edge of the bed with a tired look, listened to the doctor’s words, then lowered his hand as a thought struck him late.“When can I have penetrative sex?”The doctor coughed.“Um, well, technically, it should heal in a week. But to prevent infection, it would be better to wait at least two weeks…”“Two weeks is too long.”Gu Wonjae asked with a somewhat gentle expression.“Couldn’t I manage with antibiotics?”“…”The atmosphere suggested that saying no wasn’t an option.The hospital staff still gossiped whenever they gathered, saying that a rich, handsome gangster had come to remove his piercing. Was he really a gangster? His subordinates looked rough, but his manner of speaking and actions were too refined for one. However, the man’s presence was undeniably intimidating.The doctor, feeling the dissonance, was about to reluctantly agree to a week when someone knocked on the door of the room, breaking the silence.“Come in.”It was Manager Choi, holding Gu Wonjae’s coat, who entered. He looked fine before the surgery, but now his complexion seemed off.He waited until the doctor left the room before approaching with the coat, unfolding it habitually. Gu Wonjae, who was slipping his arm into one sleeve, paused at Manager Choi’s next words.“Young Master, Cheongwoo has disappeared from within Dowonhyang.” Gu Wonjae lifted one eyebrow slightly and first put on his coat. Then he pinched the cigarette he had in his mouth between his fingers.“When.”“Around 2:30 PM.”“…”“I’m sorry. I received the call while you were having your beads removed. I couldn’t bring it up during the surgery…”Manager Choi, feeling guilty, approached with a tablet in hand, nervous. The screen was paused on CCTV footage from various parts of Dowonhyang.Gu Wonjae played the video with neither haste nor delay, his expression merely impassive. Manager Choi, standing beside him, spoke up even though he wasn’t asked.“I apologize for not informing you sooner. But he probably hasn’t left Dowonhyang yet. He must be hiding somewhere in a corner. There’s nowhere for him to escape to.”As he finished speaking and glanced at Gu Wonjae’s face, Manager Choi tensed up, swallowing hard.Gu Wonjae’s eyes, which were now staring intently at the tablet, suddenly flashed with an eerie light. The man’s eyes, like blooming blue petals, didn’t even blink. He was using his abilities.“…Maybe so.”The man whispered to himself, continuing to check the footage.Hiding in some corner, still.A blood-red aura signifying malice rose from his fingertips holding the tablet, but Gu Wonjae was too absorbed in searching through the footage to notice. And then, in the next moment:His eyes, looking down at the tablet, gleamed with a bluish light again. He spotted a faint, pale blue energy flitting across the frames. Gu Wonjae tapped the screen to slow down the playback and then spread his fingers to zoom in.The screen was filled with a large jar placed between the kitchen buildings. Cheongwoo was huddled there. The timestamp was 2:35 PM, already an hour and a half ago from now.Cheongwoo repeatedly peeked out from the jar full of rainwater and ducked back in several times. After a while, he climbed out of the jar and cleverly hid in the food supply truck. With determination and cuteness. Up to that point in the video, the corner of Gu Wonjae’s lips curled sweetly.“The kid got away.”🧸Cheongwoo felt sick. The refrigerated compartment of the food truck was shaking so much and the temperature was so low that the food he had overeaten at Gu Wonjae’s annex kept trying to come back up.The truck descended the winding mountain road for quite some time.Soon, it seemed they had reached a main road; fortunately, the shaking decreased.‘It’s cold.’Yet he was lucky. While trying to wrap himself more with the rustling plastic, he found work clothes, gloves, and even some towels in the corner of the storage. Cheongwoo cheered and crawled to grab the towels first.Though they smelled of old sweat as if they hadn’t been washed in a while, he wasn’t in a position to be choosy. He took off his wet jacket and t-shirt, roughly wiped his upper body, and then changed into what looked like a thick factory jacket.He also took off his wet pants, wrung them out, and spread them out to dry, then wrapped his lower half with the blue plastic. Only then did he start to feel a bit better. The blue plastic unexpectedly kept his body warm and moist.As his body condition improved, a belated fear crept in.If he got caught, it wouldn’t end with just a slap. But he was that disgusted by the man’s grotesque thing, and by the man himself.Why did the man keep trying to do such things when he was clearly against it? Even Cheongwoo, who was inexperienced, felt he was too clumsy. That man could find much more capable partners if he wanted.The man’s intentions were inscrutable, which made him even more terrifying and repulsive. Feeling the cold again, Cheongwoo wrapped plastic around his shivering thighs.After about an hour of travel, they arrived at a food distribution factory. He pulled up his pants over his legs wrapped in plastic. They weren’t completely dry yet, but much of the water had evaporated.While the workers were opening the storage door to unload empty boxes, Cheongwoo slipped out of the refrigerated compartment. Seeing the fields spread out in front of the factory, he sighed in relief.Sparse factories, quiet cement roads, rural houses, and endless fields.Beyond them, he could see the foothills of Jirisan Mountain from where he had escaped. This area seemed to be a rural region focused on large industrial complexes and farming. If he moved through the paddy field paths to the mountain trails, no one could catch up. There would be no car black boxes or CCTV cameras here.‘First, I should call Gyujin.’He was afraid of the police. And it was daunting to aimlessly wander to an unfamiliar place. Shamelessly, he decided it would be better to stay with his friend Gyujin, who lived near their school, and look for a job. Gyujin’s school was not far from this area, so it was convenient distance-wise.He had about 200,000 won in wet cash in his pants pocket, the money left after lending some to Taesung.Cheongwoo, keeping an eye out, headed straight for the paddy field path. Though the sun was still bright, it would get dark soon as it was late autumn. He had to reach the bus terminal before then.“Ouch, my feet hurt…”He might need to get shoes first. Walking on the rough dirt with just socks was quite painful. Every time he accidentally stepped on a pebble, he would involuntarily open his mouth, a scream catching in his throat.What a mess this was.By this time, Cheongwoo was almost as pale as a sheet, staggering as he walked. He was starting to feel feverish. He seemed to have caught a bad cold.In fact, it was a wonder he was still alive. To dive into a water jar in this weather and then endure over an hour in a refrigerator, he was quite proud of himself.He had left his phone, bag, everything at Dowonhyang. He was like someone bewitched. At that moment, all he could think about was escaping from Gu Wonjae. Recalling the last cold smile he saw, a creepy feeling ran down his spine.‘Don’t make me ruin your life for fun.’A sudden chill swept through him, as if a large hand might reach out from somewhere to grab his hair. Cheongwoo instinctively held his breath, looking around.“…”All around, there were only empty fields after the harvest.🧸‘Where is it, Gunsung County’s Jeil Distribution? Gather everyone.’Upon checking, the food truck carrying Cheongwoo headed to a small city in the adjacent region. Originally a rural area focused on farming, it had been gradually developing industrial complexes with the aim of becoming an industrial zone over the past five years. Gu Wonjae also had quite a bit of land purchased in this area.However, most of the south was still farmland, and the outdated downtown from the ’80s, with its dirty ditches, made it a place awkwardly called a city. The food supply company, their destination, was located in the countryside rather than the urban area.Thus, three shiny large sedans entered the narrow cement road, just wide enough for two cars to pass.It was around 4 PM. The leading car slowed down as it entered the food factory, and the security guard, startled by the sudden arrival, ran out waving his hands, only to halt. The men in black suits stepping out of the sedans had an ominous air about them.“…”Lastly, Gu Wonjae, with a cigarette in his mouth, got out from the back seat. Manager Choi draped a coat over Gu Wonjae’s shoulders, and Gu Wonjae inhaled the cigarette without using his hands. All eyes focused on him.“Has the land value gone up here?”Gu Wonjae suddenly asked the factory manager who was approaching, pale with worry. His calm gaze was fixed beyond the fields.“How has it been frozen for five years…”His voice was chillingly low, fitting well with his sharp jawline. A breeze blew.At that moment, a glasses-wearing man, one of his subordinates, began explaining the circumstances that led to the delivery here to the delivery driver, and the factory manager, swallowing hard with tension, nodded.“Yes, there’s been talk recently about developing a resort by the Seomjin River.”“Did you not see a kid?”Gu Wonjae smoothly changed the subject, adding that no harm would come to them even if they had helped the child escape.However, not only the factory manager but also the delivery drivers were genuinely unaware. They protested their innocence until they finally brought out and handed over the CCTV footage near the delivery vehicles.While Manager Choi checked the footage, Gu Wonjae stood looking into the refrigerated compartment. He took a slow breath. No visible energy, but the scent of the energy lingered faintly. The scent of water mint. The smell from Yeon Cheongwoo’s nape.He slowly exhaled smoke from his lips. Through the pale blue smoke, he saw the worn-out windbreaker Cheongwoo used to wear like a uniform. He clicked his tongue. The wet clothes and dirty towel, carelessly thrown in the corner, were also visible.It was all quite messy.“He snuck on board and got off unnoticed.”Just then, Manager Choi, who had been reviewing the footage, spoke up.“Outside the factory, it’s a blind spot, so we can’t pinpoint where he went. The vehicles with black boxes are parked behind the factory.”“But did he have money to wander around like this?”Gu Wonjae mumbled with a slurred voice.“Yes, he had about 200,000 won left.”“200,000 won.”Gu Wonjae’s lips twisted slightly at the mention of the cute amount.“How much did that kid, Taesung or whatever, take exactly?”“700. Before that, Cheongwoo had some tips saved up. From what I understand, those kids aren’t the best, but they seem to have been lenient because he’s a kid. No interest was added, and they agreed to pay back the principal in equal installments over seven months. The total was 3,000…”At the mention of 3,000, Gu Wonjae finally burst into laughter. The total amount seemed so fitting for Yeon Cheongwoo.With a lingering sneer in his eyes, Gu Wonjae looked back over the fields and asked the factory manager.“If you follow this field, where does it lead?”“Ah, yes. It leads to a mountain path. If you walk along the path on the mountain, you’ll come to a fairly large village called Okmyeon, and then you’ll get to the town center right after. Beyond the town, there’s nothing, just a continuous road without traffic lights.”The factory manager, sweating from tension, explained eagerly. Gu Wonjae nodded slowly a couple of times and flicked his cigarette into a nearby empty can.“Thanks for taking the time, though you must be busy. Team Leader Jeong.”“Yes, Director.”“Give them something for their trouble.”“Yes, Director.”Trouble for what? Before the confused factory manager could refuse, Gu Wonjae got into the backseat of the sedan. The man called Team Leader Jeong, with a scar on his forehead, approached, reaching into his inner jacket.The factory manager, who had been subtly watching the man’s hand, flinched back in surprise.“…”Team Leader Jeong, expressionless, handed over some cash, his thumb missing a nail and covered in dried blood.The sun was beginning to set. The distant mountain ridge was bathed in a red sunset. Cheongwoo, walking along the mountain path, nearly fell several times and actually did once, landing with a thud. Checking if he had sprained his ankle while getting up awkwardly:“Aaah!”Someone screamed.“Aaah!”Startled by the sound, Cheongwoo also screamed. Then he froze, his eyes darting around, unable to move for a while.The buzzing of insects continued, followed by the hoot of an owl.And then, another scream was heard.“Aaah!”“Huh!”Cheongwoo screamed again as if in response and crouched down. What on earth was that? He thought it was a bizarre scream, but then he realized. It wasn’t a human scream but the call of a water deer.He remembered being scared by a similar sound when he was young, near his grandparents’ house, where it sounded like a man possessed screaming.“…”Feeling embarrassed being alone, Cheongwoo quickly stood up as if nothing had happened and started walking earnestly. His ears were hot with shame, but since no one was around, it was okay.Dragging his seemingly broken leg, he walked endlessly until he reached a rural village. By the time his socks were almost worn through and his feet had lost sensation, he found discarded slippers near a trash area and put them on. It was a small mercy in misfortune. Although the front part was nearly falling apart, it was much better than being barefoot.“I’m tired…”His whole body was trembling. At this rate, he felt like he might die of exposure. He was really exhausted and in pain.He wanted to get to a large road with solid asphalt as soon as possible. There might be taxi or bus stops around there.He could even hitchhike to the bus terminal if he was lucky, but he didn’t dwell on that thought. What if Gu Wonjae was in the car he stopped? Walking until his feet blistered was much better than that.Following a small stream alongside the village road, he soon reached the end of the village. Nearby, there was a small alley leading to a post office. Peeking inside, he saw signs for a small store, a hardware shop, a tea room, and a fruit shop, all converted from residential houses.“I’m thirsty.”His clothes were dry, but he was exhausted, cold, thirsty, and his body ached. Cheongwoo suddenly wanted to drink the warm quince drink he often had from the convenience store during school days. His hesitant steps eventually led him into the alley as if enchanted.Standing blankly in front of the store, he checked the money in his pocket. It was still damp but usable. Just then, the headlights of a car swept through the darkening alley.Surprised, he turned around to see a large sedan squeezing its massive black body into the narrow alley.Cheongwoo, turning pale, tried to open the sliding door of the store but found it locked.In a panic, he looked around and, without further thought, dashed into the next building. He pushed the door without even checking where it was, and it opened with a jingle of a bell.“Haa. Haa.”From behind the closed door, he heard the sedan passing by. He waited until the engine noise faded, then finally noticed the very rural interior with sofas and tables. Above the counter, a large menu board read “Yeondu Tea Room.”At that moment, a woman who had been sitting at a table with a customer stood up. Cheongwoo jumped.“Welcome. What would you like?”The woman asked, chewing gum with a click-click sound.🧸— Hello?“Gyujin!”Hearing the familiar voice through the phone, Cheongwoo felt like he might burst into tears. He called out to his friend, inadvertently starting to sob.“Gyujin. Gyujin.”— …Cheongwoo? What’s this number? Why does your voice sound like that? Is something wrong?But now wasn’t the time for sentimentality. Cheongwoo swallowed back his tears and quickly explained the situation and its context.Gyujin, listening without interruption, suddenly asked in a serious tone where he was.— Fuck, where are you? I’ll come to get you right now.Cheongwoo shook his head vigorously, holding the phone with both hands.“No, you don’t have to come. I’ll come to you. That’s fine…”— Can you find your way here alone?“Of course. I’ll be there by today, is that okay? Can I stay?”— Dude, there’s plenty of space. I’ve got loads of blankets. My friends come over to my room all the time. Anyway, I don’t know exactly what happened, but you can stay here as long as you need, just get here. Oh, do you have money for the trip?“Yeah, I have money for the trip… Thanks, really. Thanks, Gyujin.”Cheongwoo wiped the tears trickling down with the back of his hand and rubbed his nose several times. His eyes and nose quickly turned red. Hearing someone worry about him after so long suddenly overwhelmed him with emotion. After mumbling a few more words, he hung up.Only then did a sense of relief wash over him. He had also written down the address.“So, what will you drink?”“…”A gruff voice came from behind the counter. The tea room owner was looking at Cheongwoo, slowly moving her jaw while chewing gum, making a clicking sound. She was a middle-aged woman with heavy eye makeup and flamboyant perm, which momentarily intimidated him. Cheongwoo asked hesitantly, looking troubled.“Uh, um… Is, is takeout available here?”“We don’t do that.”Feeling awkward, he closed his mouth. The owner gave him a look that said, ‘If you use someone else’s phone, you should order something.’‘…Well, I’m thirsty anyway.’He decided to drink quickly and leave.After swallowing hard, Cheongwoo quietly looked at the menu board and spotted the quince ginger tea. That’s what he had wanted to drink earlier.“Then, I’ll have a cup of quince ginger tea, please.”“Quince ginger tea? How many spoons of honey? You need four for it to be sweet.”“Ah… then, please do that.”Cheongwoo nodded obediently.After placing his order, Cheongwoo looked around and found the interior of the shop to be quite warm. He was still exhausted, and while waiting for his tea, he wanted to sit down, even if just for a moment. Cheongwoo hesitated before carefully sitting at a table near the kitchen.He then pulled out the memo with Gyujin’s address from his pocket and looked it over. As he was doing this, he suddenly felt a chilling presence.Cheongwoo slowly raised his head. A middle-aged man sitting at the table in front of him had his arm draped over the back of the sofa, looking down at him.“Where are you from?”The man’s eyes, which were glaring slowly, were particularly greasy. The smell of alcohol was overwhelming, indicating how much he had been drinking since early evening. His gaze as he scanned Cheongwoo’s body felt like oil floating on soup.“You’re really pretty. How old are you? Do you have a boyfriend?”Cheongwoo, with a look of confusion, only moved his lips. The man’s bald head reflecting light was very uncomfortable. He leaned back slightly and answered timidly.“Ah… I’m twenty-one.”“Twenty-one. Nice.”“…”“When I was twenty-one…”The man began to ramble about his past, which Cheongwoo hadn’t asked for. Where was the quince tea? It seemed like five minutes had already passed. Cheongwoo glanced towards the kitchen, then quickly folded and pocketed the memo.Just as he was about to stand up to leave, the man suddenly got up and plopped down next to Cheongwoo. Cheongwoo flinched in surprise.“Why are you doing this…? Why, why are you sitting here?”“Huh? Why are you so scared? You remind me of my son, that’s why. I’m not some weird old man, just the guy who runs the hardware store next door. But a pretty boy like you, what if you get into trouble? Up close, you’ve got cheeks like rice cakes, rice cakes.”“No, no, I won’t get into trouble. So please, move away…”However, instead of moving away, the man put his arm around Cheongwoo’s shoulders. The unpleasant breath was felt as their sides touched. The man was now breathing heavily.The air was filled with the nauseating smell of mixed cigarette and alcohol. The man licked his thumb and pinky finger before suddenly thrusting them in front of Cheongwoo’s face.“Do you know this?”He made a phone gesture with his hand, specifically wiggling only his thumb and pinky in a disgusting manner.“This is originally a skill that drives girls crazy. But recently, I had this hot young guy; he said he needed some pocket money. Don’t you need some pocket money?”“No, I don’t need it. Please go away…!”“Really? Anyway, that guy was a boy too, and when I did this, he was so happy he nearly fainted. Like this, putting a bit of saliva on each finger, the pinky goes in the back, and the thumb gently, gently rubs under the balls…”BANG!The man’s face was slammed into the table, and Cheongwoo let out a single scream.“Ha!”The man, who had been wiggling his thumb vulgarly, had collapsed unconscious under Gu Wonjae’s sudden grip. Cheongwoo’s eyes were wide with shock at the scene before him. The person pressing down on the man with a large hand was Gu Wonjae, with a cigarette lightly between his lips.Still holding the man down with his bloodshot hand, he slightly tilted his head towards Cheongwoo.“Hi.”Cheongwoo’s eyes, wide open, were swirling with turmoil. Half in panic, he tried to back away, but the side was blocked by a partition. Cheongwoo, sobbing, instinctively crawled under the table.Watching this, Gu Wonjae gave a short chuckle, narrowing one eye. His grip on the man’s head tightened, making the man’s body tremble.“What’s going on? Who are you people!”The tea room owner, who had been in the kitchen, shouted. At that moment, the door was roughly opened, and men in black suits rushed in, filling up the small space.“Ah… nothing to catch.”Gu Wonjae clicked his tongue as he tried to lift the man by his hair, patted his shiny bald head a couple of times, and then slowly stepped back. His steps were controlled, not hurried as usual. The man slumped on the table twitched intermittently, seemingly concussed.“There, the police, right? Some strange people are here…” The tea room owner urgently dialed her phone. Manager Choi quickly confiscated her phone while quietly handing her a business card.During this, Gu Wonjae extinguished his cigarette by pressing it with his shoe and looked down at the man still in the same vulgar pose on the table.“Team Leader Jeong.”“Yes, Director.”“Cut off these fingers.”“Yes, Director.”The attendants quickly dragged the unconscious man to another table and laid him out.Gu Wonjae dropped his cigarette and ground it under his shoe. Then, tilting his head slightly, he looked under the table where Cheongwoo’s curled-up feet were visible.“What should I do?”At his low whisper, Cheongwoo’s toes clenched even tighter.“I’m not in the mood to play with you right now.”Adding this in an indifferent tone, Gu Wonjae knelt on one knee and lowered himself under the table. This gave him a direct view of Cheongwoo, who was huddled with his knees drawn up.“Cheongwoo.”“…”“What are you doing, sticking your butt out?”“…Huu.”His curled-up body trembled. Gu Wonjae could have grabbed him by the ankles and dragged him out but didn’t. He just watched with emotionless eyes, devoid of sympathy or pity.“Huu.”As silence continued, Cheongwoo felt himself coming back to his senses bit by bit. He took short, sharp breaths.‘Why am I caught up in this?’He thought again.What did I do wrong to deserve this? What exactly…His eyes reddened. Cheongwoo lifted his trembling chin, bit his lip hard, and slowly straightened up while cautiously looking back.Beyond Gu Wonjae’s shoulder, he could see the situation outside. The man from earlier was struggling on the table, surrounded by subordinates. Cheongwoo felt like he was seeing Gu Wonjae’s true nature for the first time, making it hard to breathe. Cut off his fingers?“I don’t want this…”So, without realizing it, he shook his head, hiding his hands behind his back.“I want to go to my friend, Director… Please let me go. Please spare me.”“I won’t kill you.”Even in this situation, he spoke audaciously. Gu Wonjae, swallowing a chuckle, slightly tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand why Cheongwoo was behaving this way.“Shouldn’t you learn by now what happens when you run away?”His deep voice, scattered indifferently, drained more color from Cheongwoo’s face. At that moment, a scream came from outside the table.“Aaah! Aaah!”His breath came in gasps. His heart was beating so fast that he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Cheongwoo shook his head, exhaling rough breaths like a burst. He was too, too scared. The man’s scream sounded exactly like the water deer’s cry he had heard just hours before.“I, I haven’t done anything wrong… Why, why are you doing this to me? Why keep…”Cheongwoo muttered incoherently with a pale face. His jaw trembled so much that his teeth chattered.Cheongwoo had slept with Gu Wonjae and received money from him. He thought that was the end of it, but now Gu Wonjae was trying to imprison him. That’s why he ran away. No matter how he thought about it, running away wasn’t wrong.“Oh. You haven’t done anything wrong?”The voice asking back was gentle.But the more affectionate the tone became, the more fear Cheongwoo felt. If he contradicted here, something really bad might happen. Too scared, his words came out stuttering.“I, …maybe I did… something… I, I don’t… know…”Gu Wonjae looked at Cheongwoo, who couldn’t even speak properly, with a merciless gaze. His face was pale under disheveled hair, wet with tears. The dirty factory jacket, the small hands tightly clenched, and the frozen pale blue aura.“What should I do with this?”A low monologue followed. At that, his light-colored eyes rippled slightly. Cheongwoo closed his mouth, letting out an unstable breath. Intermittent sighs could be heard.If only he had stayed quietly where he was supposed to, everything would have been easier. Gu Wonjae despised when something with necessary elements deviated from its place. In fact, it was rare for him to feel that he needed something at all. Everything was already his even before he could think he needed or wanted it.So this child was refreshing. As much as it was interesting, it was also strangely unpleasant.Gu Wonjae slowly inhaled the energy he had momentarily lost. As his mind cleared, a sharp, obsessive light shone in his eyes. He smiled.“If you’ve done something wrong, you should be punished.”Cheongwoo looked at him with his rabbit-like red eyes, dazed.“What…?”“Team Leader Jeong gets nails. That guy gets fingers.”The calm voice continued.“What about you?”Gu Wonjae looked down at those innocent eyes and whispered cruelly.“Or how about your Achilles tendon?”That would be good.Though the pronunciation was very soft and the tone was calm, Cheongwoo felt his insides being cut by those words. His face stiffened like lead.Gu Wonjae looked down with a merciless gaze at Cheongwoo’s cowering ankles. Then, with neither haste nor delay, he pulled something out from his jacket’s inner pocket. It was a knife.“Manager Choi, go get something to put in the kid’s mouth. Disinfectant, gauze too.”“Yes, Young Master.”At the calm command, Manager Choi looked around. Cheongwoo couldn’t easily understand what he had just heard, but Manager Choi, understanding immediately, moved swiftly.Manager Choi first picked up a half-used roll of toilet paper. Then he asked the tea room owner if she had the other items Gu Wonjae had requested.“…M-Mister.”Cheongwoo called out to Gu Wonjae with a dazed face.Without replying, Gu Wonjae grabbed Cheongwoo’s ankle with force.“Director… Director…”It felt like the thread of reason in his head snapped. Too shocked, even his sobs stopped for a moment. Cheongwoo urgently grabbed Gu Wonjae’s wrist, which was holding his ankle. At that moment, Manager Choi, who had gathered the medical supplies, approached.Without thinking further, Cheongwoo stretched out his arms towards Gu Wonjae and desperately clung to him, burrowing into his embrace.“Director… No. Please, don’t do this. Don’t… okay?”Surprised by the sudden embrace, Gu Wonjae momentarily froze.He instinctively moved the hand holding the knife away, fearing it might hurt Cheongwoo. As he watched the tip of the knife with a cold gaze, he slowly tensed his jaw muscles.After a while, he asked:“What are you doing?”At the dry question, Cheongwoo trembled, turning as white as a sheet. His sobbing voice wavered.“Huu, Director, hic… Please… Hu, Director.”Gu Wonjae swallowed a short, sharp breath.Cheongwoo was crying so hard he could barely breathe now.“Please, please…”Even as he cried out, he wrapped his arms tightly around Gu Wonjae’s neck. His soft, tender body kept clinging to Gu Wonjae’s firm chest. His hot, wet cheek rubbed against Gu Wonjae’s cool ear several times in desperation.“I won’t let go.”Gu Wonjae murmured in a voice so low it was chilling. He then slid his arm between himself and Cheongwoo, coldly pushing away the clinging body.“Huu, hu…”Even after being pushed away, Cheongwoo didn’t give up; he clung to Gu Wonjae again, crying. He put his hands under Gu Wonjae’s sides, gripped his solid shoulders, and pressed his forehead against Gu Wonjae’s shirt collar.“I, I was wrong… I did wrong.”Pitiful sobs kept escaping from his face buried in Gu Wonjae’s neck.“Achilles, hic, no, no…”“Why? It’s annoying, so let’s cut it. Then you won’t be able to run away with your feet at least.”“I won’t, hic, won’t run away again… Hu, just, just once, please… please…”The grip on Gu Wonjae’s coat tightened and trembled. Along with intermittent hiccups, the shirt collar got wetter.Gu Wonjae slowly lowered the hand holding the knife.“…If I let you off.”The scent of water mint.A cold sigh escaped. Gu Wonjae slowly lowered his calm gaze and buried his nose under Cheongwoo’s earlobe. Closing his eyes as he inhaled the rainwater seeping into his lungs, Cheongwoo flinched at the faint contact.“Will you listen well?”Cheongwoo nodded urgently.“Yes, I’ll listen well. Hic, I’ll, I’ll listen.”“No running away.”“No, no running…”“If I say spread them, will you?”“Huu, yes… I’ll spread them…”This is maddening.He was dumbfounded. Gu Wonjae felt a fleeting sense of helplessness and unconsciously frowned slightly.As he tilted his head, Cheongwoo’s red, swollen eyes, nose, and mouth filled his vision. His face was panting, looking like he might pass out at any moment.“Hic, hu, Grandma…”“Director, we must do this.”“Grandma… Di, Director…”Suppressing a brief chuckle, Gu Wonjae wrapped his arms around Cheongwoo’s thin body and stood up lightly.Clang. He dropped the knife to the floor. Then he supported Cheongwoo’s hips with one arm.“Bring Sangseob’s car.”“Yes, Director.”“Clean up the rest.”“Yes, Director.”The sobbing didn’t stop.Gu Wonjae looked down at Cheongwoo’s wet eyelashes in his arms and playfully tapped them with his fingertips. The teardrops that had gathered at the corners of his swollen, red eyes melted away at his touch.Cheongwoo wished all this was a dream. That what he had just experienced wasn’t real.With his chin on the ghostly man’s shoulder, Cheongwoo cried until he passed out from exhaustion.🧸Slowly opening his eyes, Cheongwoo faintly realized. The one holding him now was a ghost.No, it was Gu Wonjae.His heart started beating slowly, not from excitement but from fear.Cheongwoo was sitting astride Gu Wonjae’s firm knees, facing him like a child. He wished he could faint again, but it didn’t work out as he hoped.Through the misty car window, a dark forest passed by. The car was filled with the scent of pleasant air freshener and a faint smell of cigarettes. He was a heavy smoker. Perhaps he had occasional erectile dysfunction not because he was ill but because he smoked too much. Yet, it was strange that no bitter smell of tobacco came from him, only a good fragrance.The car window was slightly open. Gu Wonjae’s fingers, with an arm stretched out through it, quickly evaporated the cigarette. Cheongwoo, who had been pretending to sleep, twitched his reddened nose tip due to the acrid smoke.Soon, the smell of cigarettes disappeared.“Eyelashes.”The man muttered.Cheongwoo was startled and squeezed his eyes shut again. His thick eyelashes trembled along with his swollen eyelids. A chuckle came from above his head.“Young Master.”“Hmm.”“When will you stay in Dowonhyang?”At the sudden question from the man in the passenger seat, Gu Wonjae leaned his elbow against the window and rested his temple on his hand nonchalantly. Cheongwoo felt a jolt of awareness.Right. How long does he plan to stay? Doesn’t this man work?At least, the only way Cheongwoo could escape from Gu Wonjae seemed to be if he got tired of Dowonhyang and left. If Gu Wonjae showed any sign of leaving soon, there would be some hope for him. A faint hope began to rise from the depths of his heart.But soon, a deflating conversation followed.“Why?”“Manager Kim wants to arrange a dinner with the clients during the week, regarding the provision of the large water park site…”“Geon & Comprehensive?”“Yes.”“Tell them to come to Dowonhyang when they have time. This side is the ordering party.”“Yes, understood.”So, how long will you stay? Are you planning to leave?Cheongwoo wanted to ask instead, but he swallowed the mad impulse down his throat. And he buried his forehead weakly under the man’s chin.Eventually, the car entered a paved road, and the shaking decreased. The wheels rolled smoothly. They had returned. To Dowonhyang.It was only half a day, but it was an exhausting, terrifying, and shocking adventure. Cheongwoo, facing the reality unfolded before him once again, clenched his trembling fingertips with difficulty. Meanwhile, the first gate opened, revealing bamboo groves. Another ten minutes would take them to the second west gate, which would open to reveal the bright central courtyard.‘And…’Cheongwoo slowly lowered his eyelashes. Once he crossed that threshold, he would become a fairy. Not just any server, but Gu Wonjae’s dedicated fairy.“Young Master, why not drive all the way to the annex…”“No. Let’s walk a bit.”“Understood. Then, please rest well.”“Please rest well, Director!”In the clear autumn night without a hint of wind, under the pale moonlight, the grand gate of Dowonhyang opened on both sides. The men bowed to Gu Wonjae as he got out of the car. Cheongwoo did not lift his face from where it was buried in the man’s shoulder.In the courtyard, many fairies were laughing. The sound of the gayageum and ajaeng harmonized, and drunken guests were singing loudly amidst them. Gu Wonjae, holding Cheongwoo and smoking a cigarette at an angle, walked through them leisurely, his coat tails fluttering. His relaxed pace attracted the gaze of everyone.“Hey, isn’t that Cheongwoo?”“Oh. Why is he being carried by the big shot…”“Shh.”Whispers came from all around.Before long, Cheongwoo looked up at the moon with his tear-filled eyes. Beyond the familiar noise, he thought he heard the sound of fate’s scales tilting, but the landscape of Dowonhyang, bathed in moonlight, remained beautiful.When he was young, he had watched a cartoon about a goblin’s hammer.The animation was very grotesque, depicting a scholar who got caught eating acorns in the middle of a pavilion where goblins were gathered. He was beaten all night with the pointed goblin hammer. The scholar tried to escape by crawling away in tears, but the guardian statues at the village entrance only laughed at him mockingly instead of helping.In his dream, Cheongwoo became that scholar.While walking in the forest, his ankle suddenly fell off, or he was chased by a water deer screaming, or beaten with the pointed goblin hammer on his buttocks repeatedly.Dreams or reality, they were equally cruel. Cheongwoo thought about what was different between the ordeal he had just experienced and the ones he would have to endure in the future.“…”He woke up with a start from his dream, curled up in the blankets.Swallowing a silent sigh, Cheongwoo curled into a fetal position rather than throwing off the covers. He then reached down to touch his ankle. Thankfully, it was intact.…For now.Silently mimicking the man’s way of speaking, he slowly pulled back the covers and stuck his bird’s nest hair out. It was already bright daylight.The shutters were open, and morning light poured in through the large window. Cheongwoo pressed his swollen eyes with his fingertips and slowly sat up in bed, then looked down at himself in shock.His clothes were gone.Not only the factory jacket he wore the day before but also the t-shirt and pants underneath were stripped off. Even his underwear.He slowly furrowed his brows. The underwear he wore the day before was character panties his grandmother had bought in bulk from the market. In fact, that was all the underwear Cheongwoo had. His ears quickly turned red as if they had been burned.Who on earth took off his clothes? Obviously, it must have been Gu Wonjae.He hated it so much. Cheongwoo’s eyes welled up with tears at the thought of how much he hated that man. Why did he take off his underwear? What else might he have done while he was asleep? The feeling of being stripped of even the most basic human rights overwhelmed him, and he found himself sobbing again upon waking up.“Huu, this is so annoying…”After swallowing back his tears for a while, Cheongwoo looked around with a sense of helplessness. He then saw a slightly unfamiliar scene.Naturally, it was Room 7’s bedroom. The traditional Korean and classic Western decor blended without feeling out of place, which was surprising. He hadn’t paid much attention the day before due to his state of mind, but it looked somewhat similar to Junmo Shin’s Room 9 yet different, especially around the window leading to the veranda.Glancing up at the ceiling, Cheongwoo caught sight of strange talismans stuck to the window frames and held his breath for a moment. Not one, but ten of them. Seeing the bizarre foxes, pigs, and incomprehensible red letters gave him an eerie feeling.The overall tone of the bedroom was dark, but with so many windows, it was also dazzling. Somehow, the room resembled Gu Wonjae, making it hard to feel attached to it.‘Come to think of it, there were spare clothes in my bag.’First, he wanted to get dressed. He remembered leaving his backpack in the living room around noon the day before. Cheongwoo, pressing his wet eyes with the inside of his wrist, slowly slipped out of bed. Then, he looked down at his naked body.The inside of his thighs, his ankles, wrists, the area around his nipples raised from the cold… and even the dimples on his buttocks, he carefully felt to check if anything had happened. He felt nothing unusual.‘…Did he do nothing?’Still harboring doubts, he suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice from behind.“Excuse me.”Startled, Cheongwoo almost fell back onto the bed and quickly pulled the blanket up to his chin.“Ah, I apologize for startling you.”“…”Cheongwoo held his breath without responding. The person who entered the living room through the sliding doors was wearing Dowonhyang’s server uniform. Though it was a face Cheongwoo hadn’t seen before, he seemed about the same age, with a neat appearance, somewhat resembling Gyujin.“Manager Choi instructed me to serve breakfast in the living room.”“Ah. Yes…”He replied blankly. The server, hesitating, awkwardly knelt by the table in the living room and began setting it up.‘Gyujin must be really worried.’Since he had said he would leave immediately after their call yesterday, and there’s been no news since, Gyujin must be anxious. It would be good if he could somehow contact him.While Cheongwoo was momentarily lost in thought, the server finished setting the table. He seemed a bit embarrassed, standing still in the living room, occasionally glancing towards the bedroom after finishing his task.“Excuse me, I’m sorry again.”“Yes?”“I think I startled you.”“Oh, no, it’s okay… Thank you for serving the food.”Cheongwoo instinctively bowed his head in greeting. The server, who seemed just as flustered, also bowed in response.Silence fell for a moment.“Then, I hope you have a pleasant and comfortable time.”“…”The man politely said goodbye with the standard server line. Even as he left the living room, an awkwardness lingered about him. He must be new.…A pleasant and comfortable time.Cheongwoo swallowed a sigh of futility and needlessly ruffled the hair at the back of his head. He felt his soft hair sticking out awkwardly in places.A pleasant and comfortable time. Those were words he had repeated so often they were ingrained when he served. But hearing them from another server in this situation felt strangely foreign. He could imagine how he must have appeared to that man. He must have looked exactly like a fairy.It would have been less embarrassing if it were someone else, but showing such a state to a boy his own age felt oddly shameful. He pressed his lips together tightly and squeezed the blanket in his hand.“Will you spread them if I say so?”“Huu, yes… I will spread them…”At that moment, the conversation he had with the man came to him like an ambush.Cheongwoo, now with a very pale face, gathered the bed sheet around himself to clumsily cover his naked body. First, he needed to find some clothes.