CTL 27

He didn’t look at the time, but he could tell it was dawn. Yoongeon was leaning against the bed, staring blankly ahead.

Several days had passed since that day. Now, Seohwi fell asleep with him as if it were the most natural thing in the world. No, in fact, it wasn’t just sleeping together. He did everything with Yoongeon.

They ate together, worked together, and he didn’t even leave him alone when he was washing up. Sometimes Yoongeon tried getting angry, but Seohwi wouldn’t back down. When he would say, “Please just leave me alone,” Seohwi would just say a single word, “No,” and cling to him, so all Yoongeon could do was get angry and punch his shoulder.

Because of that, Yoongeon’s time alone completely vanished. At home, Seohwi was with him all the time, and at the office, that bastard Lim Sunwoong was stuck to him. It was driving him crazy.

What on earth is wrong with that guy?

He wasn’t like this before. He was not a man who preferred to be stuck together all day. But after being reborn, it was as if his head had suddenly gone mad, and he was acting out of character. Of course, Yoongeon knew the reason. It was because of the incident a few days ago when he had a seizure and collapsed. It seemed Seohwi had been quite startled that day.

In any case, the current Yoon Seohwi was both the same as and different from the Seohwi of the past.

“……”

What should he call it? After pondering for a moment, he realized. The current him was more affectionate than the him of the past. He was not as indifferent as before.

He doesn’t try to push him away, nor does he show an air of detachment from worldly affairs. He’s a bit more honest with his emotions… and he definitely talks more than he did back then.

The Seohwi of the past was so indifferent that he wouldn’t bother speaking unless it was something that absolutely had to be said. That was probably due to the education he received to become the king of Seoroguk. It was to properly fulfill the duty of a Seoroguk king, who must not covet anything and must die at an appropriate age to disappear from this world. If the Seohwi of the past had also grown up as an ordinary person, perhaps he would have been an affectionate person, just like he is now.

That was why Yoongeon didn’t look back at him now. It was because he felt that if he looked, he wouldn’t be able to hold back and would cry shamefully again. Because he felt sorry for him, and because he missed him.

He knew that Seohwi, who had no reason to die and no memories of the past, would now be unconditionally affectionate towards him. Seohwi would rather just say that everything was okay than see him floundering, submerged in guilt.

But even knowing this, Yoongeon does nothing. He says nothing.

“……”

Of course, despite that, Seohwi is overly soft on him…

Yoongeon just stared silently outside. Right now, that was all he could do. It was hard to shake off the desire to cling to him even while knowing, so not looking at Seohwi was the best he could do at the moment.

“Haa…”

It’s complicated. Things have gotten complicated.

Where on earth did it go wrong? Even when he tried to guess, he couldn’t easily find the starting point. Maybe they should have never met from the very beginning. Despite being on guard, the two became entangled quickly, and in the end, the line Yoongeon had drawn became completely useless.

“You seemed to be quite good at that sort of thing.”

Drawing a line. Something Seohwi was extremely good at. Wasn’t he the one who got caught in it time and time again, getting his heart broken? The lines Yoongeon was drawing now were all things he was imitating from Seohwi, yet somehow, Yoongeon wasn’t doing as good of a job as the Seohwi of that time.

Seohwi wasn’t being pushed away like he had been. Even when a line was drawn, he ignored it and even stepped over it. Even now, the relationship between them is not clearly defined, yet he stays by his side without a care. No matter how much Yoongeon pushes him away, it’s useless; on the contrary, he comes even closer. There is simply no way to win. Why isn’t he pushed away? Unable to overcome his fatigue, Yoongeon rubbed his dry face with his hands.

He had no idea how long he had been like this. With the blackout curtains drawn, he still couldn’t tell the time properly.

“……Seohwi.”

He called out softly. Seohwi did not answer. He did so even though he knew that the man, who was a heavy sleeper, would never be able to answer. He could feel the even breathing from the bed.

‘I love you.’

Yoongeon silently mouthed the words. Being careful so that Seohwi would not hear him, he bit his lip hard.

Are you having a hard time?

You could at least try to say something.

I would listen.

He unconsciously touched the crook of his arm. He could feel the traces of an unsightly scar.

“……”

These marks engraved on his arm were drawn as many times as he had been in pain. They were almost engraved this time as well, but he was able to avoid it because Seohwi was there. But that was all.

Baek Cheongha had told him to tell Seohwi, that he would listen, but Yoongeon didn’t even consider it. He had decided to endure the pain and hardship alone, so there would be no revoking that vow.

Of course, he would listen if Yoongeon opened his heart. He would sit quietly without pestering him, listen to his story, and then forgive him very easily. While saying things like, ‘That’s enough.’

But…. Yoongeon looked at the floor with deeply sunken eyes.

But, if that happens… Seohwi’s life will flow in the exact same way as the past. If he is forgiven, Yoongeon will end up making it so that he can never live with a whole heart. Yoongeon was so afraid that Seohwi would live like that again because of him, that he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

‘Seohwi.’

Yoongeon called him again. This time too, he only mouthed the words quietly, so Seohwi didn’t even stir.

‘I will protect you.’

He gently stroked Seohwi’s hair and made a vow. That he would definitely protect him until he died. Making that vow, Yoongeon raised the corners of his mouth into a smile. It was the smiling face Seohwi had so longed to see, but it soon disappeared without a trace.

In any case, he could not win against Seohwi’s stubbornness. If he wanted Yoongeon to be by his side, Yoongeon had no choice but to do so.

At first, he had only intended to watch from afar, but now it couldn’t be helped. To Seohwi’s question of whether he liked him, Yoongeon ultimately couldn’t say no, and had allowed him to push his way in.

“Seohwi.”

This time, he called him with his voice.

“That’s something I’m very good at.”

Saying that he is very good at the task of protecting him, Yoongeon kissed his deeply sleeping forehead. By the time the unfamiliar touch disappeared and Seohwi furrowed his brow slightly, Yoongeon was no longer by his side.

✧ ✧ ✧

It took about three hours to get to Taebaek in Gangwon Province. Yoongeon took a drag from his cigarette and looked up at the casino building. The neon sign, which would have been dazzling at night, looked shabby in the bright morning sun, and all sorts of trash was rolling around the area. Things that are brilliant at night are bound to lose their power when morning comes.

Upon hearing the news that Ko Yoonchul had gone from the lounge bar to the casino in Gangwon, Yoongeon did not hesitate and rushed straight here.

“……”

Yoongeon looked around his surroundings with emotionless eyes. He had been thinking the entire way here. That he should probably get rid of Ko Yoonchul. He remembered his promise to his eldest aunt, but in any case, the priority was Seohwi, not him. He could not keep a person alive who would clearly interfere with Seohwi’s safety. Thus, he thought about it all night and came to a conclusion at dawn.

He was a person who would only be a hindrance to Seohwi’s life, never a good thing. A guy who holds a grudge against him would not leave Seohwi, who was on his team, alone. And so Yoongeon chose Ko Yoonchul as his companion for the road to the underworld in this life. He was a disgusting person to be with, but thinking of it as for Seohwi’s sake, it was not an impossible task.

How should I kill that bastard…

“Excuse me, sir.”

It was when he was about to put out his half-smoked cigarette and leave. A man came up close to him and bowed excessively.

“Uh, I, I haven’t eaten for several days, so please give me some money for food.”

“……”

Money for food? What a joke. The man bowed his head servilely, saying something a passing dog wouldn’t believe. Yoongeon looked him up and down, then took a 50,000 won bill from his wallet and held it out. As the man’s face lit up and he tried to take the money, Yoongeon quickly raised his hand.

“S-Sir?”

The man called out to him, quite flustered.

“If you want to receive money, you have to earn it.”

He had no hobby of giving alms to guys who weren’t worth their salt without getting anything in return. At Yoongeon’s words, the man just swallowed dryly and asked what he had to do.

“When you go inside, there’ll be a young bastard who looks loaded. He’ll be strung out on drugs.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Go wake up those guys sleeping on the ground over there, surround that bastard, and play a game. Whatever that bastard does, stick right next to him. I’ll give you 20 seconds, go get six people.”

At the words that he had 20 seconds, the man dashed off and started kicking the homeless people sleeping on the ground to wake them up. “Hey! I’ll give you money, so get up!” At those words, the ones who had been kicked shot up.

“Mo-money?! Where! Where!”

They scrambled to stand in front of Yoongeon. When Yoongeon handed them money and gestured with his eyes for them to go inside, they rushed into the casino. Yoongeon took out another cigarette, lit it, and waited until they had surrounded Ko Yoonchul before heading that way.

A moment later, upon entering, not only the employees but also all the customers looked at Yoongeon. It was because his appearance, which clearly exuded an air of nobility, as well as his intimidating atmosphere, drew their attention. Yoongeon glanced around before entering the gaming area. As always, Yoongeon, who had no interest in gambling, looked for Ko Yoonchul with an uninspired gaze.

Finding him was not difficult. He was surrounded by homeless people, spinning a slot machine half-heartedly. The sight of him leaning limply against the back of the chair looked precarious, so he probably came without the drugs having properly worn off. Every time he was about to collapse, someone who appeared to be his subordinate would carefully help him sit up straight.

“Ah, get lost. You filthy bastards! Won’t you piss off?!”

He got angry at the homeless people who had suddenly surrounded him and were playing games, but they mumbled that they had already put money in, so how could they leave. Even when his subordinate tried to chase them away, they stubbornly held their ground, getting their money’s worth, and a look of displeasure settled over Ko Yoonchul’s face.

“There are plenty of other spots, so why are you making a fuss here, damn it!”

“This is the lucky spot! This mister is trying to steal the lucky spot, isn’t he?! Huh?!”

“Ha, fuck… Talking about a lucky spot, my ass.”

Saying he felt sick to his stomach and couldn’t be with them, Ko Yoonchul screamed and yelled. Then, as if looking for an employee, he turned his head, so Yoongeon quickly hid his body behind a machine.

“…When is that bastard coming! Ha, fuck… Get these things out of my sight right now!”

Ko Yoonchul couldn’t hold back and threw a fit. He didn’t seem to have any interest in the game, so it looked like he was waiting for someone. As if his patience had run out, he staggered to his feet. He grumbled that he didn’t want to wait and would just go find the person himself. Yoongeon waited until he was completely out before quietly following him.

“Don’t take the elevator. You want everyone to see?”

“I apologize. We always went this way…”

“Fuck, is now the same as back then? Huh? Is it the same?”

“…I apologize.”

With eyes watching from all sides, it seemed there were many things that bothered him. Of course, for someone who claimed to be bothered by it, he did come after doing drugs. He complained about why he had to go through this kind of trouble, venting all his anger, but still began to crawl up the stairs.

“The money, you’re sure it’s ready?”

“Yes, Vice President. I said I would leave it in the room and come to escort you, but it seems to have been slightly delayed. If you are having a hard time, shall we take the elevator now?”

At his subordinate’s words, Ko Yoonchul said, “Damn it,” and swung his fist carelessly. The weak fist tapped the man’s forearm.

“Is it funny watching me go through this shit?”

“Not at all. I apologize.”

In truth, it was a hardship he wouldn’t have had to endure if he had just waited for the employee to come get him. But the man wisely swallowed his words. Ko Yoonchul’s panting continued.

A moment later, he heard the sound of Ko Yoonchul, who had panted and crawled his way up to the 14th floor, opening the emergency exit door. Yoongeon glanced and saw a guard standing in the gap of the slightly open emergency exit door. It seemed they were confirming the identity of the VIP.

Yoongeon went down one floor, opened the 13th-floor emergency exit door, and went inside. There were rooms for guests lined up, and an elevator right in front. Just in time, Yoongeon caught one that was coming up and pressed the 14th-floor button. It was a quick arrival.

“Sir, this area is for VIP guests. We need to confirm your identity, so please present your ID card.”

When the elevator doors opened and Yoongeon got off, two guards in black suits approached. The guards on this floor would have memorized the entire VIP list, but looking at Yoongeon’s appearance, it was evident that they were speaking politely.

“I don’t have one of those.”

“Is this your first time at our casino?”

A guard asked back at Yoongeon’s words as he stroked his chin. He nodded his head.

“You’re not going to tell me to do that on the 1st floor now, are you.”

“Not at all, sir. We will guide you to a room.”

There was no way a casino employee would fail to recognize someone who clearly looked like he had money to spare. The guard, who bowed his head respectfully, turned around and began to lead the way.

Yoongeon surveyed the area. Each room had a unique game name written on it. Black Jack, Slot Machine, Roulette… The rooms were all open, and no one was playing games. They were surely suspicious of Yoongeon right now. After all, there wouldn’t be anyone coming to play games at the crack of dawn.

Well, it didn’t matter anyway. The reason Yoongeon had come to this place was simply to tighten the leash on his half-brother. That dull and stupid bastard wouldn’t even know that a dog collar was fastened around his neck unless he was kindly told. Yoongeon walked a little further, then stopped in front of a door from which a loud noise was coming.

“Sir?”

When Yoongeon took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, the guard watched him and then approached with an awkward smile.

“We will escort you to your room.”

“No. I like it here.”

“Pardon? What… wait!”

Bang! With a loud noise, Yoongeon threw the door open, and the people inside flinched in surprise and all turned to look.

“Now you’re even coming all the way here.”

At Yoongeon’s words, Ko Yoonchul, who had been arguing inside, stiffened and glared at him.

“…You, how did you get here.”

“What’s so difficult about tailing a junkie.”

Saying it would be harder to tail a little kid, Ko Yoonchul’s face contorted violently.

“Hoo…”

Yoongeon blew out cigarette smoke and went inside, sat on the sofa opposite Ko Yoonchul, and gestured with his chin at the money bag placed in front of him.

“I’m curious. What you’ll do with this money.”

“……”

Drugs, alcohol, sex.

These were the usual things Ko Yoonchul did with the money he got his hands on.

“But will this be enough?”

The amount of money in the bag was not large. Either a large chunk was taken as a commission, or he didn’t have the means to put in a large sum in the first place.

“You won’t be able to do much with this kind of chump change.”

As Yoongeon jeered, Ko Yoonchul’s face turned beet red. Seeing him looking anxious, Yoongeon knew that his half-brother was not well off.

“Ahh… I was wondering why there was so little money… looks like you’ve been blocked.”

“What, what do you know to be spouting such nonsense!”

For Ko Yoonchul, who was a vice president in name only with no proper salary and no proper economic activity, the only source of money was his mother, Park Dongju.

“Eldest aunt has finally closed her wallet. Well, it’s a good choice.”

Watching Yoongeon’s face as he estimated how much money had been poured down the drain just because he was her son, Ko Yoonchul flared up.

“…You, what do you know?”

“I know what you don’t know.”

“……What?”

“It means I know about all the deals that went on while you were strung out on drugs and drunk on alcohol.”

Not even knowing that the rope he was holding onto was a rotten one, he only looked right in front of him, which is why he couldn’t avoid this kind of situation.

“So is this the last method you found? Well, it’s true there aren’t any other ways now.”

In the meantime, Yoongeon had found the routes he used to create slush funds and blocked them one by one. Each time he blocked a route, Yoongeon deliberately left a time gap. It was partly to prevent him from realizing that someone was deliberately blocking them, but in fact, it was also because he enjoyed watching him slowly being cornered.

After blocking them like that, the place he finally found was here. Deliberately gambling to lose money and getting back the amount minus a commission was one of the classic methods that was hardly used anymore, so he must have been quite desperate.

“…You were the one who blocked them? All of them?”

“Who else would it be, Yoonchul.”

Yoongeon’s eyes curved slightly. He gestured with his eyes at the bag Ko Yoonchul was holding in his hands, and he flinched in surprise and hugged the money bag tightly to his chest.

“From now on, I’m going to do one fucked up thing for you.”

“What, what?”

“Shall I make a proposal.”

He said. Ko Yoonchul looked at him, startled, but Yoongeon’s gaze was directed at the VIP manager.

“If you take that money bag right now and give it to me, I’ll make it so that your involvement in money laundering never happened.”

“……”

“How about it? Will you answer me? I’ll give you 30 seconds.”

At Yoongeon’s words as he tapped his wristwatch, the manager looked back and forth between the two, then finally bit his lip hard.

“I apologize, guest. We will be collecting the money bag.”

He did not hesitate for long. The manager gestured to the guard standing watch at the door, and the guard approached Ko Yoonchul. As Ko Yoonchul yelled what kind of bullshit this was and shot up from his seat, his subordinate blocked the way and swung his fist, telling them to get out of the way. In an instant, the guard and Ko Yoonchul’s subordinate began to fight, trading punches.

In the room that had instantly become a pandemonium, Yoongeon alone leisurely smoked his cigarette and watched the scene. Ko Yoonchul, screaming and hugging the money bag to protect it at all costs, his subordinate who was a mess from fighting to protect him, and even those who were rushing in to snatch the bag away. It was truly a chaotic mess. Yoongeon quite liked it.

“You, you son of a bitch! You fucking bastard!”

When Ko Yoonchul, who eventually had the money bag taken from him, was sprawled on the floor spewing curses at Yoongeon, the manager who had received the bag from the guard politely placed the money bag in front of Yoongeon.

“To cause all this ruckus just to get this measly amount of money.”

Yoongeon sneered at him. He took out a bundle of bills, waved it, then held a lighter underneath and flicked the wheel, and the bills began to catch fire.

“Fuck, no! My money!”

Ko Yoonchul screamed while kneeling on the floor. When Yoongeon, after burning it for a bit, looked bored and tossed the money aside with a flick, the manager rushed over and put out the fire on the bills.

“Money is overflowing, so why are you acting so pathetic. It’s so uncool.”

“You, son of a, fucking bastard.”

“Ah, I forgot. You don’t have any money now, do you?”

Yoongeon said, leaning against the armrest as if he were bored. His gaze remained fixed on Ko Yoonchul the entire time.

“But I’m a little curious. If I block this, where will you find next.”

“……”

“But hyung, it might not work anymore. You won’t be able to breathe the outside air for a while.”