ITDW 18

In the Vice President’s office, Jungyoon was receiving a report from Director Gu on the progress of the so-called ‘YJ Project’, designed to weaken Yoonjae. Seeing Director Gu’s gaunt eyes, Jungyoon thought, He must have pulled another all-nighter.

“Director Gu, I gave you the authority to hire people. Why are you doing all the work yourself?”

“There are many things that I must handle personally,” Director Gu said, pushing up his glasses.

“Don’t be so full of yourself. Hire people and work with them. You’re going to collapse from overwork.”

“I do not collapse.”

“About fifty smart kids could replace you, Director Gu.”

The listener couldn’t tell if it was a compliment or a threat, but Jungyoon was not joking. If you collapse, I really will replace you. Director Gu often pushed himself beyond his limits.

“I understand what you mean.”

“What about the political networking? Any progress?”

“My workload is heavy, so not yet—”

“I told you I was going to suck all of your potential dry.”

Jungyoon said this, calling Director Gu ‘you’ without using his title. He was speaking as a sunbae. Gu Jihyeon wanted to burn up all his abilities for the person who recognized his talent. That was why he gave him the advice. Delegate everything that others can do, and you just do the special things that only you can do. Efficiently.

“I understand, sunbae. As for the political networking, I’m working on the side of party leader Gwak Sanghoon rather than floor leader Kim Seokmin. That’s the direction, but the picture isn’t fully clear on that side yet, so I need to look into it more.”

“Please pay close attention to it.”

“Yes. …By any chance, are you thinking of entering politics later on?”

“That’s not it. We just need to prepare our negotiating cards in advance.”

“Ah, you used that one card rather anticlimactically before.”

“It’s not like that, since I intended to use it before joining the company from the start.”

He was talking about the negotiation with his father before he joined the company. The conflict that arose was intertwined with the matter of bringing Jaeri from the main house; it wasn’t something that happened because of Jaeri. He had anticipated a test from his father before he joined the company anyway, and since he had used the card at the right time, he didn’t think it was used anticlimactically.

“Is Jaeri doing well? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that kid’s face. He was so pretty when he was young.”

“Director Gu.”

“Yes.”

“This is the Vice President’s office.”

“…I apologize, Mr. Vice President.”

Jungyoon was already feeling a bit irritated because thoughts of the kid kept popping into his head while he was working, scattering his concentration. After dismissing Director Gu who had finished his report, he tried to organize his thoughts for a moment, but thoughts of his youngest brother squeezed their way into the gap once more.

He hadn’t scolded him severely, but Jungyoon himself was aware that he had been a bit harsh. However, it seemed the kid had recently made a habit of telling petty lies. If he had followed his temper, he would have given him a few painful spanks on the butt, but he decided against it because it was cute how Jaeri, despite shedding big fat tears in sorrow, said he was sorry and tried to hug him.

Since Jungyoon neither hugged him back nor comforted him separately, Jaeri cried the entire way to the hospital. He tried to hold back his tears, but they wouldn’t stop, and he would let out an occasional hic sound as he cried. Unable to watch any longer, Jungyoon gently said, “Okay, stop now,” and although Jaeri was still sniffling, he seemed to feel he had to say this one thing. “But that hurt, hyung… It hurt, and it was embarrassing,” he said, letting a tear slip out. Jungyoon had no choice but to pull the car over and buy him ice cream. Perhaps because he was eating something sweet, he calmed down a little, only hiccuping a few more times.

Before they entered the hospital, he told Jaeri to participate sincerely in today’s counseling session, and Jaeri answered sullenly.

After that, all day while he was working at the company, the image of the kid’s crying or sullen face would pop into his mind from time to time. Especially his crying face as he looked back when Jungyoon had probed inside his body with the thermometer. That was a bit of a… novel feeling. To say it was cute and lovely was a bit of an understatement. It was utterly lovely.

That kind and gentle face was flushed, his eyes couldn’t even open all the way, his eyelashes were soaked and clumped together, and a few strands, heavy with the water they had absorbed, couldn’t even lift up and were stuck messily below his eyes. The image of Jaeri trying to push Jungyoon’s hand away with his own, but not quite managing it and just letting out another cry, flickered in his mind. In that moment, Jungyoon’s thoughts arrived at a certain place. It was a radical kind of thought, one this world would not permit. He shook his head.

He’s my youngest brother, and there’s a big age gap, so everything he does must just be cute. I shouldn’t think any deeper about it. It was now time to review a very important project proposal, so Jungyoon tried to think of it as nothing significant.

Seonyeong, who had come over to Jaeri’s house to hang out, was sighing deeply after he and Jaeri had eaten their fill of pizza. He had been like that ever since they met, as if there was something he wanted to say but couldn’t easily bring it up. Jaeri wasn’t particularly curious about Seonyeong’s business, so he had just let him be. He had been waiting for Jaeri to ask if he had something to say, but there was no sign of it. In the end, Seonyeong couldn’t hold it in any longer and opened his mouth.

“Kim Jae, what are you doing for Christmas?”

“Nothing much. I don’t have any plans yet. Why?”

“Minwook hyung… wants to meet up that day.”

“Uh-huh.”

Jaeri replied while rummaging through some DVDs. They were the DVDs Jungyoon had picked out for him yesterday, saying he could watch them. They were animations, romantic comedies, biographies of great people, and nature documentaries. There was nothing intense like art films or war movies. Jaeri picked out an animation about ants.

“…The thing is…. He, hyung, is asking me to go to a motel, you see?”

Seonyeong’s face turned red as he said it. Jaeri lifted his head and looked at Seonyeong, and Seonyeong avoided Jaeri’s gaze. But Jaeri’s stare was persistent.

“So? Ye Seonyeong, you said you’d go?”

“Ah, well, I did say I would, but…. I’m a little… I just feel like it’s too fast. And it’s my first time….”

“You don’t want to do it?”

Jaeri asked, getting straight to the point.

“I tried saying that it seemed a bit early, but hyung said everything’s okay. That he’d be good to me, that I’d like it too, … and all that… so.”

Seonyeong told Jaeri, faltering. But even as he spoke, he thought that Jaeri wouldn’t understand his difficult situation.

“…That bastard has no conscience, does he? A bastard who’s two years older than you. If his young boyfriend asks him to wait a bit, he should wait, but he’s just trying to satisfy his own desires. And you said that hyung is enlisting soon.”

Jaeri said, looking at Seonyeong as if he were pathetic. A little intimidated by that pathetic look, Seonyeong spoke in a small voice.

“Yeah… so before he enlists,”

“When is he going?”

“In January….”

Jaeri was so dumbfounded that his voice turned cold.

“Wow, fuck. Can’t you just tell by looking? That he’s trying to do something with you before he goes?”

“Kim Jae, hyung is not that kind of person.”

“Then what, he loves you so desperately that he absolutely has to have sex? Even when you say you don’t want to. Objectively, that’s how the situation looks.”

“It’s not like I completely hate the idea either.”

“Do you hate it, or do you like it?”

Jaeri was starting to get confused about what on earth Seonyeong was saying and what he was worrying about. If he didn’t hate it, then what was the problem?

“It’s… well, I’m a little excited, and also scared…. How can you put that into just one word? And it might actually be good if we really do it. Besides, hyung has waited for me until now.”

Jaeri grew weary. So you’re saying you like it, then. You like it, but you’re nervous, that’s what it is. I’m jealous.

“Well, do whatever you want. Just don’t call me crying later. And don’t leave me any messages either.”

“Kim Jae. I told you, hyung is not that kind of person.”

“I get it. Anyway, seriously, don’t contact me about gay stuff on my phone.”

“Why? You never said that before.”

“Whatever. Just don’t.”

“Okay.”

Now that he knew Jungyoon wasn’t gay, there was nothing to be gained by letting him know he had a gay friend. He thought he would be sad if his brother told him not to meet Ye Seonyeong for that reason. He would be sad once from his brother looking at gays in a bad light, and again because he would truly lose a good friend named Ye Seonyeong, just as his brother commanded. He would be sad twice.

Jaeri quite liked Seonyeong. Seonyeong was one of the few kind people Jaeri knew.

Jaeri didn’t have many friends. He would make friends during his hypomanic periods, only to blow them all away like dandelion seeds during his depressive periods. The kids would get hurt by Jaeri’s extremely indifferent attitude and leave. But Seonyeong was an exception. When Jaeri’s heart was very cold, Seonyeong would just leave him be, or check in on him sometimes, but he never expected anything.

“And. …Can I ask you for a favor?”

Jaeri said to Seonyeong.

“What is it?”

“Could you be a purchasing agent for me?”

“A purchasing agent?”

“You just have to buy something online and give it to me. I’ll treat you to ten meals if you do.”

“What is it? I won’t do it if it’s something bad. Your hyung is scary.”

Jaeri’s friends or acquaintances all inevitably knew Jungyoon’s personality. Combined with his frightening personality, his social standing as the eldest son of the Hanyoung family made him a truly intimidating presence.

“…It’s not bad. It’s… um, so, have you… ever masturbated anally?”

“…Why are you suddenly asking such a personal question?”

“Is it good? I’m thinking of buying something like a dildo.”

“You crazy bastard….”

“What? Masturbation isn’t a bad thing, you know? It’s natural.”

Jaeri told his friend the words he had learned from his hyung.

“No, I mean, why are you getting so serious about it right from the start when you haven’t even tried it?”

“…Well. I’m thinking of trying it now.”

Jaeri had tried a little bit today, but he couldn’t tell Seonyeong that.

“And you have to be an adult to buy adult toys.”

“Ah. What, so I have to wait until January 1st?”

Jaeri found the distinction between adults and minors a bit ridiculous, and he even felt a sense of suffocation from that strict division. From his perspective, adults were just as childish and foolish as minors. Only his hyung was adult-like.

“Are you really going to buy one?”

“Yeah. You buy it for me. A kind of small one, I don’t think it needs to vibrate, and a bit longish… something like that.”

Jaeri held his hands apart to show Seonyeong how long he wanted it and said, “About this long?”

“You crazy bastard, if my mom and dad caught me with something like that, I’d be dead.”

“If my hyung catches me.”

Jaeri momentarily thought about what would really happen if his brother caught him. Since he was a doctor and knew the human body well, he was lenient about sexual desire itself, but still, he couldn’t guess. No matter what, it seemed like he would get scolded for using an adult toy.

“You….”

Seonyeong giggled. The thought of his friend actually getting caught with an adult toy by that strict hyung was funny. He wondered what would really happen. If it were him, he’d be dead, but in Jaeri’s case, it seemed like there would be something more on top of death.

“What about me.”

“I don’t know, I can’t even imagine.”

Seonyeong couldn’t stop laughing. Why was that? It would surely be a moment where his friend would be in a truly pitiful situation, but it was just funny.

“So. Please buy it for me. It’s safer that way.”

Jaeri liked anything professional. Whether it was horseback riding, basketball, or painting, whenever he started something, he would spend thousands on related professional equipment.

Therefore, when doing an act like masturbating anally, it should be done with professional equipment. That would be safer for his body.

“Ten meals isn’t quite enough. How about twenty?”