Chapter 17: An Unforgettable Morning After

Inevitably, the fruitless efforts in Haram and Inos resurfaced in my mind. My spirits plummeted. The mere thought that Lee Hyun-su might have been right once more ignited a simmering fury within me, making it nearly impossible to maintain my composure.

Amidst the general inebriation, a lone worker, evidently having failed to moderate his drinking, dramatically thrust his hand into the air.

“In my prime, I managed a massive enterprise, you hear?! I had over fifty people reporting directly to me. Leading a team—that’s no ordinary task!”

I yearned to tell him to silence himself. No, I simply decided I would. Was there any lingering reason to hold back? Yet, someone else interjected before I could.

It was Kim Cheol-su.

“That’s right. That’s right.”

He nodded in agreement. The apple stem atop his head swayed synchronously.

“Oh, our Cheol-su truly understands!”

“Indeed. I, too, faced considerable challenges when commanding my own legion.”

He grinned, his eyes curving into crescents. As I opened my mouth, the raw emotions I felt spilled out unfiltered.

“Haha, this is insane.”

He truly is a returnee!

“A legion? What leg—Ugh!”

I sprang back as if on a coiled spring, shoving the worker away. The man, yielding limply, crumpled to the floor like a sodden piece of paper, falling onto his side. He immediately began to snore loudly.

The other drunkards erupted into raucous laughter. Only those slightly less inebriated tilted their heads, questioning the scene, but their minds, still fuddled by alcohol, soon dismissed the sleeping man. They quickly resumed their boisterous drinking, pouring and imbibing amongst themselves.

“My legion… the Demon Realm… Mmph.”

‘Silence yourself, you apple-headed bastard!’

I crammed whatever I could find into the drunkard’s mouth, which was flushed red with alcohol. It was a shrimp tempura. Fortunately, it seemed to suit his palate, as Kim Cheol-su flinched slightly before beginning to chew the fried morsel. He truly had no thoughts whatsoever. Sagyeol’s eye twitched uncontrollably.

All my previous deliberations about traps or leading questions proved utterly pointless. Lee Hyun-su didn’t even need to return to Grisha. This apple-headed drunkard was unmistakably a returnee, even if one observed him mid-somersault.

Even as cold sweat trickled down my back, unsure what this man, now nodding off once more, might blurt out next, the corners of my lips stubbornly twitched upwards.

“Oh, when did the Section Chief arrive?”

“Ah, well, since you’re here, you simply must have another drink!”

The thoroughly inebriated individuals pressed bottles of alcohol upon me. I offered a faint smile, gently pushing the bottles away with my fingertips. Those who were relatively less drunk sensed the odd shift in atmosphere and rushed to pull their companions away. Of course, it was unlikely that those whose eyes were bloodshot and tongues slurred beyond recognition would heed their warnings.

The surroundings swiftly devolved into disarray. Observing the overturned tables and scattered bottles, I spoke as if I had merely been awaiting this opportune moment.

“The room is quite a mess.”

“Yes… yes?”

“It would be rather difficult to continue our revelry here. I’ve already arranged for a new setup in the adjacent room, so let us relocate there.”

“Ah, yes!”

Relieved that Sagyeol was not, in fact, angry, the workers hastened to move everyone, fearing he might change his mind.

“This gentleman appears utterly intoxicated, so I shall personally ensure he reaches home safely. I will settle the bill before departing; I trust you all to manage the remaining arrangements.”

Just as Sagyeol finished speaking, the ‘red apple’—Kim Cheol-su—limply leaning against him, mumbled.

“I am not drunk. I can go by myself.”

The very act of him speaking betrayed his inebriation.

“I see. Understood. Then I shall escort you merely to the establishment’s front door.”

Supporting his increasingly limp body, I brought him all the way to the hotel.

I ignored his slurred murmurs of, ‘The door… the door… how did I open our door….’ I practically tossed him onto the bed, finally allowing myself a sigh of relief. With a tug, I loosened my tie.

Settling onto the sofa, I fixed my gaze upon the quarry I had so meticulously acquired.

The ‘prey,’ now divested of the subtle aura of intimidation that typically enveloped him, lay exposed in a state of utter vulnerability.

My eyes were drawn to the firm nape of his neck, beneath the sharp line of his jaw. The collarbone, subtly revealed through the loosely parted lapels of his shirt, also captured my attention. I found myself unable to tear my gaze from those striking contours.

This sight inevitably piqued my curiosity about what lay concealed beneath his clothing. Would the skin beneath be as firm as his nape? Or might it, mirroring his intense aura, be covered in a myriad of scars?

“Hmm.”

Sagyeol raised a hand to thoughtfully stroke his chin.

For individuals such as him, scars were more than mere marks; they were history, the very footprints of his journey. With luck, I might glean a fragment of the story hidden within this stoic, indifferent man.

I rose from the sofa and approached the bed. Up close, his appearance shifted once more. As if drawn by an irresistible pull, I placed my hand upon his nape. I felt the warmth of his skin and the distinct thrum of his pulse. I wondered if he might stir, but he remained utterly still.

The man’s nape was both firm and surprisingly soft, as though embodying the very essence of the man himself.

As I gently rubbed, an inexplicable tightness constricted my chest. I scoffed at myself, finding the sensation absurd. Nevertheless, utterly captivated by this strange feeling, I began to unbutton his shirt.

Then, as the second button came undone and a crumpled, paper-like mark briefly became visible on his chest, Kim Cheol-su, as if by some trick of fate, snapped his eyes open. He swiftly seized Sagyeol’s wrist, then with a single powerful movement, he flipped over, pinning Sagyeol beneath him.

It felt as though a colossal mountain had settled upon my stomach. Or perhaps, more accurately, like being ambushed by a crimson beast. My usual position was quite the opposite, yet this wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

‘Oh, this.’

The instant that thought crossed my mind, my lower body, interpreting the situation in a decidedly sexual way, began to stir. Sagyeol offered a wry smile, then spoke.

“Are you awake?”

No answer came. Whether he was still intoxicated or merely half-asleep, his eyes remained unfocused. This, in itself, possessed a certain decadent allure. I licked my lips, leisurely appreciating the sight before me.

Kim Cheol-su, who had so willingly fallen into my grasp, stared down at Sagyeol with a vacant expression. After a few fumbling attempts, he managed to re-button his shirt, then simply flopped sideways, his eyes falling shut. Sagyeol let out a hollow laugh. He had watched, curious as to his actions, only to witness him buttoning up the very buttons he had just undone.

“So, ‘Don’t remove my clothes,’ is that it?”

“Hmm,” I mused, then reached for the buckle of his trousers. A soft click-clack echoed as the fly opened, yet he remained utterly limp, like a cadaver.

“Haha. So, the pants are acceptable, then?”

With a bright smile, I even removed his underwear before covering him with a blanket. It would be a lie to claim I felt no stirring, yet engaging with an unconscious person simply wasn’t to my taste.

But simply sleeping quietly beside him?

“That would be no fun at all.”

Humming a light tune, I took a shower. After a cursory towel-dry, I crawled naked into bed beside him. Imagining the man’s reaction upon waking tomorrow morning, the corners of my lips remained stubbornly upturned, refusing to fall.

I meticulously absorbed the profile of the man, who lay sleeping on his side.

There was undeniably something upon his chest. Something he wished to conceal so profoundly that even half-submerged in unconsciousness, he had groggily stirred to re-button his shirt.

“I’m rather impatient when it comes to curiosity, you know. But I’ll restrain myself just this once.”

So, please take good care of me from now on, Mr. Kim Cheol-su.

****

The touch of sunlight on my eyelids stirred me awake.

I blinked my squinted eyes a few times, then abruptly shot upright. This was an unfamiliar room. A splitting headache prompted me to hunch my upper body forward. My head throbbed, yet I vaguely recalled hearing that such discomfort was common after heavy drinking.

“Awake, darling?”

“……?!”

Crash!

My body recoiled with a jolt of terror. I pressed myself against the headboard, then glanced to my side. What I saw next startled me even more than before: a man with a familiar face lay stretched out beside me.

Completely naked.

In an instant, my mind plunged into darkness. My vision blurred, and cold sweat cascaded down my face.

‘…It’s gone.’

My lower body felt utterly bare. My upper garments remained as they were when I fell asleep, but below, I was completely nude. What could this possibly signify? I forcibly halted my brain’s frantic attempts to piece together the implications.

“Why such a reaction? Surely you’re not going to claim you don’t remember, are you? We had quite an enjoyable time last night, didn’t we?”

Crack.

I heard the sound of my heart shattering.

“Oh dear. That would have been rather expensive hardwood.”

It wasn’t the sound of my heart, but of the bed’s headboard—the one my hand had been resting on—cracking apart.

I hastily withdrew my hand. Wood splinters rained down. The utterly ruined headboard perfectly mirrored the chaos within my own heart.

I couldn’t definitively dismiss it as a lie. My memory was utterly blank, as if someone had excised it from my brain. I pressed a hand to my forehead. I had certainly drunk heavily, and then…

“Mr. Cheol-su, like this–”

He seized both my wrists, pulling them upwards, above his head. My body swayed precariously, then toppled directly onto him. Reflexively, I braced my hands on either side of his face.

“—you firmly grasped my wrists, then pressed down on me with your entire body.”

A particular scene, flashing vividly through my mind, overlaid the present situation like a translucent film.

Sagyeol, with a stiff expression, was looking up at me. The man who seemed to always wear a slight smile could not conceal his confusion and surprise. The composition was precisely as it was now, and the background and clothing matched perfectly.

Sagyeol confirmed my reaction, then smiled radiantly.

“Ah, you remember now?”

“…….”

“I was quite surprised. The quiet, shy man was surprisingly aggressive in an unexpected way. Shall I say it was like indirectly experiencing the feeling of a beast being devoured? Haha, no, perhaps directly experiencing it?”

“…….”

On an utterly atypical morning, the harsh reality of my naked existence smiled brightly before my very eyes.