RB 36

“Right now?”

“Yes, right now.”

From there they went to the study together and began writing a movie review. Eunho held a fountain pen and filled the empty paper.

While the pen nib moved busily, Yeorok sat with his legs crossed and observed Sim Eunho carefully. Eunho’s left hand now moved freely. Only a short time ago he could barely write simple letters, but now he was copying Choi Yoonho’s handwriting.

His effort deserved recognition. The review page clearly showed how much practice he had put in.

Yeorok slowly lifted his eyes from the paper. The face before him was still the same as the nephew he had so despised. Yet it did not look entirely like Choi Yoonho. Just from the gentle tone and expression, he seemed like another person.

In front of others Eunho would need to act perfectly, but Yeorok wanted Sim Eunho to remain his true self at least in front of him. Just like now, obedient and mild. If so, he thought he could look upon him fondly until the end.

“Sim Eunho-ssi.”

“Yes?”

Eunho answered immediately at the call, lifting his wide eyes. The gaze that met his own looked dangerously pure.

“Keep doing that.”

“…What do you mean?”

Eunho tilted his head as if he could not understand, but Yeorok did not give the answer he wanted. Instead he only curved his lips in a smile.

The large eyes blinked. Eunho’s gaze wandered across Yeorok’s face, then dropped. He adjusted his grip on the pen and forced himself to continue writing, but the rims of his ears had already turned dark red.

Yeorok rested his chin on his hand and lightly traced the wood grain of the desk with his finger. Sim Eunho was strangely entertaining to provoke. The moments when his eyes trembled, the moments when he caught his breath, were addictive.

He had not realized this about himself, so the feeling now was unexpected.

Was it a kind of sadism?

No matter how he treated him, the relationship would collapse in the end, so why keep spending time and staying close? Was he truly this much of a bad man?

Yeorok tried to find justification for his actions. Improvement of their relationship, raising his loyalty… he could attach many reasons, but none of them really convinced him.

Even so, for now he could not stop.

Watching movies together had become a routine.

By the fourth time, Eunho seemed to have grown quite fond of it. Whenever he came to the study, he actively browsed the DVD section. Today, after careful thought, he chose a romance film.

He handed the DVD to Yeorok like a student submitting homework. His expression looked bright, as if he was confident in his choice.

Yeorok checked the front and back covers carefully. The film Eunho had chosen was considered a masterpiece, even winning best picture at an overseas festival. Yet he slightly lifted his straight brows.

“You think this will be fine?”

“Is there a problem…?”

“This one is quite explicit.”

That couldn’t be. The poster showed a man and woman couple looking lovingly at each other. Eunho had assumed it was just a normal romantic comedy.

He reached his arm out in a rush, but since Yeorok held the DVD high, Eunho only grabbed at empty air.

The two of them had about a ten centimeter height difference. Eunho was not short, but the other was so tall that even standing on tiptoe he could not reach. No matter how much he tried, he only bumped repeatedly against Yeorok’s chest, never getting close to the DVD.

In the end Eunho dropped his arm, as if giving up. With force useless, he had no choice but to ask.

“Can’t we change it?”

“You should not be picky with genres.”

“Then what if I watch it alone…”

“You think that will work?”

Eunho rubbed his flushed face. Since he could not take back his choice, all he could do was sigh heavily.

“Chairman, can you even watch something like this with me?”

“Why would I not be able to?”

“……”

Eunho had nothing to say at his unconcerned attitude. He muttered weakly that he understood.

The movie flowed calmly. As a romance about a man and woman in love, it was filled with a bright, thrilling atmosphere.

As the relationship of the main characters grew deeper, Eunho’s tension rose too. He didn’t know when the explicit scene would appear, so he watched nervously, as if it were a suspense film.

His throat grew dry, so he kept sipping alcohol. He could not even glance sideways. From the occasional sound he only guessed that Choi Yeorok was watching too.

Then the lighting in the film grew darker as the protagonists entered a house together and embraced. Ah, it was about to begin. Eunho anticipated the start of a ten-minute-long sex scene.

For audiences, the process of resolving misunderstandings and confirming passionate feelings often brought catharsis. But Eunho, unable to focus on the film, could not feel that.

While the two leads kissed hastily on screen, Eunho stared blankly at the ceiling. His pupils trembled, and a laugh came from beside him.

“You look about ready to run out.”

“…Can I really?”

“The emergency exit is over there.”

Yeorok kindly pointed at the door. But of course he would not truly let him leave. Eunho sighed in resignation.

The main characters continued step by step, kissing with wet sounds. Even if he looked elsewhere, the sounds could not be blocked. The heavy breathing, the wet sounds of bodies meeting were vividly clear. The expensive sound system was certainly worth its price.

To avoid adding the sound of his own swallowing to it, Eunho just gulped down more alcohol. Yeorok had been right when he said the drinks would be needed.

The obscene sounds suddenly died down. Yeorok had touched the laptop. He muted it at his own will and leaned back comfortably again. He asked in a half-hearted voice.

“Sim Eunho-ssi, have you ever liked anyone in your life?”

Eunho glanced sideways. Choi Yeorok’s eyes were on the screen, but he did not look like he was actually watching the movie.

“No.”

He had been too busy trying to survive, so how could he have had the leisure to like anyone? He had not even had friends. Eunho thought it was a ridiculous question and laughed. He swirled his glass lightly, then suddenly felt the same kind of curiosity. He sipped enough liquor to wet his lips, then asked.

“Chairman, you must have dated a lot, right?”

“Do I look that way?”

“You must have been very popular.”

He figured there must have been at least two or three people secretly in love with him. Even if he dated several partners at the same time, it would somehow seem believable.

Yeorok rested his elbow on the sofa and leaned his chin on his hand.

“Unfortunately, not even a first love.”

Eunho’s eyes widened slightly. He could not believe it even after hearing it.

“Really?”

“Is that such a surprising thing? You said you never have either.”

“Well, my situation is different…”

Eunho tilted his head, still in doubt.

Maybe his standards are too high… no, that makes sense. He thought so to himself and drew his own conclusion. The movie had already lost his attention. The only thought stuck in his head was that it was a waste for a face like Choi Yeorok’s to go unused without even dating.

Eunho drank with his upper body half-bent. At some point his head began turning sideways in little glances, and finally he outright stared at Choi Yeorok.

“Why are you looking like that?”

“Chairman… you are wasting your face.”

Yeorok laughed.

“You are not in a position to say that to me, Sim Eunho-ssi.”

“……”

“And you seem to be mistaken. I have not dated, but that does not mean I have no experience.”

His straight finger pointed at the screen. Eunho’s head turned the same way.

On screen the main characters were already in the middle of having sex. With only the image moving in silence, it felt like a silent film. Eunho realized then that the auditory stimulation had been the real problem.

He forced himself to look at the video. The male and female leads held each other and moved in slow, desperate motions. The level of nudity and actions was quite high, but the film showed through its artistic cinematography that it was leagues above simple pornography.

But the longer he watched, the more he felt his throat tighten. The reaction was so unexpected it even startled him.

‘Fuck, I usually do not even touch men…’

Why such a horrific memory surfaced during a scene filled with affection? He didn’t know.

In that instant, he was not in a comfortable theater room but thrown back into his moldy rooftop room. The fragments of that day stabbed violently through his mind.

‘Eunho, just one fuck with me, I will wipe off this month’s debt..’

His heart pounded irregularly, and cold sweat ran down his back. Eunho pressed his forehead with his fingertips and tried as hard as he could not to look at the screen. Even the flickering shadows on the floor from the movie were unbearable, so he closed his eyelids tight.

“Chairman, can you just skip ahead?”

In the end, he could no longer hold back and ask. He didn’t want to show that something was wrong in front of Choi Yeorok, so he covered his face.

Eunho wanted no one to ever know what had happened to him. It was a memory even he wanted erased.

With a rustling sound, the video stopped with a click.

“Sim Eunho.”

The low voice came from above his head. Suddenly his trembling hand was pulled down. Choi Yeorok’s flawless and clean face filled his sight.

“Look at me.”

Yeorok soothed him calmly. The dark and distinct black eyes seemed to pierce straight into him. Unlike what he expected, Yeorok looked as though he had understood everything.

He touched Eunho’s forehead. The cool palm settled the turmoil in his head in an instant. His wrist brushed lightly past the tip of Eunho’s nose.

A cool fragrance like a forest at dawn.

Realizing it was Yeorok’s own natural scent, Eunho instinctively drew in a deep breath.

He recalled the Yeorok who had once come to help him. He was still right here in front of him. As long as Choi Yeorok was there, nothing to worry about would happen. Once he realized that, his trembling chest finally began to calm.

“Did you hate it so much it made you sweat?”

Yeorok spoke as he gently wiped Eunho’s damp forehead. His expressionless face looked clearly stiff. It was surely an embarrassing situation even for him.

“… I just felt aversion.”

“It is PTSD symptoms.”

As expected, Choi Yeorok knew everything. Eunho closed his eyes and nodded slowly. Hiding it had been impossible from the start.

“I was careless. I am sorry.”

“…It’s, fine.”

Eunho quickly straightened his back. He wiped his wet palm on his pants and steadied his uneven breathing.

Yeorok still looked grim. His face was more rigid than Eunho’s.

“Chairman?”

“I will call Secretary Hong. Go with him. It will be best for you to go back and rest today.”

He made a phone call immediately, and soon Secretary Hong came to take Eunho away.

Left alone in the dark theater room, Yeorok sat on the sofa for a long time, lost in thought. It was an unexpected matter that left him in considerable difficulty.

***

Bright afternoon sunlight.

A car came to a stop in front of a long wall. Through the door that opened like a wing stretched the leg of a man in a suit.

Son Jinhyung leaned against the car body and looked up at the grand mansion. Haegang’s headquarters was indeed as magnificent as the rumors said.

“I really ended up coming here.”