AER 10

Chapter 10

“Let’s have fun tonight.”

Jae-jin said while putting his arm around Ji-wan’s shoulders. When he raised his arm onto the 188 cm man, the shoulders of the average-height Jae-jin rose awkwardly.

“Ah, let’s grant Lee Dong-wook’s wish a bit.”

At the continued urging, Ji-wan brushed off the pitifully draped arm and answered that he understood.

It had been a long time since he was on the stage.

Music blared as if the speakers would burst, and under the flashy lights people shook their bodies as if half-mad. The stage, tangled with the smells of cheap perfume and spray and the like, was truly a chaotic mess.

Ji-wan roughly followed the rhythm. Even with the half-hearted movements, sensuality overflowed. On top of that his large build made him stand out uniquely.

Women carrying damp heat began to flock around Ji-wan. He skillfully brushed past the women and moved to another spot.

Gazes mixed with regret and desire clung persistently to Ji-wan.

It was a familiar look, and Ji-wan knew how to enjoy it. Even if he couldn’t do romance or sex like others, watching women go crazy over him was worth seeing.

At this level it seemed he had saved a certain amount of face for the petty Lee Dong-wook. Dong-wook was visible standing next to the DJ and giving a thumbs-up toward him. It was a bright face for the first time in a while.

“Crazy bastard.”

Ji-wan cursed yet snorted a laugh. Just as he was naturally trying to leave the spot, he felt people’s gazes turning toward one place.

With an indifferent expression he followed the numerous gazes.

“…!”

He froze in an instant.

It was Ha Hye-ryeon.

Fearing that he might have mistaken someone who merely resembled her like before, he even rubbed his eyes unsightly. This time it was definitely her.

The hair that she always tied neatly at the company was completely let down. Wherever she had bought those clothes, she was wearing a light blue satin shirt on top and a beige pencil skirt below.

It was an outfit one could believe even if she said she was just heading to work.

That was why she stood out even more. Among the half-naked women, her neat attire.

And that wasn’t all.

The extraordinary volume inside the fluttering shirt was subtly revealed. A slender waist and wide hips. A figure like a capital S was highly seductive.

It was a form that any male would want to possess even if it meant selling his soul.

She shone that much.

“Haa……”

Ji-wan unknowingly let out a short sigh.

“Hey, did you see that woman—?!”

Jae-jin shouted loudly so his voice wouldn’t be buried by the noisy music.

“Isn’t that otherworldly size?!”

Instead of answering, Ji-wan furrowed his smooth brow. Because the interior was dark, Jae-jin failed to see Ji-wan’s expression in time.

“Wow fuck. Look at them already hitting on her. Men are like that. In my view, the guy who gets that girl tonight is the winner.”

Jae-jin chattered with an excited face.

“This body challenges too!”

Like a referee blowing a whistle, Jae-jin raised his hand high. Instead of words, Ji-wan grabbed Jae-jin by the nape and dragged him backward. The relatively small Jae-jin struggled as he was pulled by force. He tried to protest something, but it didn’t work at all.

“Hey, look at Kang Hee-won. He’s already started working. Because of you I couldn’t even try and ended up with sour grapes, you bastard.”

“Grapes—?”

How dare he compare her to grapes.

And what? What couldn’t he eat?

Ji-wan asked back with a thoroughly heated face. The flustered Jae-jin pulled his neck back like a turtle.

“Why the sudden outburst again? Are you Lee Dong-wook?”

“Haa……”

It felt like he would go crazy from irritation. Ji-wan roughly swept his hair back and turned his head in the direction of Hye-ryeon and Hee-won.

They say a quiet cat climbs onto the stove first. He never expected that Kang Hee-won, who usually maintained face with a gentlemanly expression, would hit on Hye-ryeon.

No, honestly he wasn’t even sure if Hee-won’s actions fell into the category of “hitting on.” He maintained a moderate distance from Hye-ryeon while whispering with a gentle face, and Hye-ryeon faintly furrowed her brow then snorted a laugh and nodded.

He didn’t know what conversation they were having, and he didn’t want to know. But he wanted to know.

Just what the hell are they babbling about.

As he got thoroughly angry, his forehead grew hot. Steam seemed to rise from the top of his head.

“Hey. Are you okay……? Your expression is completely pissed.”

Jae-jin grumbled about why he was causing a fuss again when he had been dancing fine until just now. These days he flared up at the drop of a hat, just like his own menopausal mother.

“I don’t know.”

Ji-wan completely left the stage and headed toward the bar located against the wall. He asked an employee to prepare just one booth. The reply came that because it was Friday night the waiting list was long.

Ji-wan handed his entire wallet to the employee and ordered him to show his ability. Soon a seat became available. He sat alone at the wide table and poured liquor.

One glass. Two glasses. Three glasses.

With each sip of alcohol, like the miser in the fairy tale, he glanced at Hye-ryeon. Around her, similarly looking bastards kept changing one after another.

Among them one bastard naturally touched Hye-ryeon’s arm.

“Crazy bastard.”

Ji-wan abruptly stood up from his seat then sat back down again. He roughly messed up the hair he had set so nicely.

Who was he to intervene. He had no right.

If he was going to get angry for no reason he could just leave this place. But he hated that even if he died.

A club on a wild Friday night. One never knew when or where beast-like bastards might jump out.

So rather than having his blood dry from not seeing Hye-ryeon, it was better to watch while his insides burned.

“…Ha.”

This time she readily accepted and drank the alcohol someone offered. Watching that scene, Ji-wan poured liquor straight from the bottle. His gaze clung tenaciously to Hye-ryeon.

From inside, every curse word he knew burst out like speaking in tongues.

Just then, Hye-ryeon lightly tapped the elbow of that guy who seemed close earlier and burst into laughter. Well well. She’s having a great time.

A thousand fires blazed up inside. Without even having time to examine the reason.

If only there were a plausible justification like “menopause” like Jae-jin’s mother, he would try to hide this emotion behind it.

“Haa……”

He finally opened a second bottle. Just then Hee-won, who had spotted him, approached Ji-wan.

“A lonely wolf was here.”

“Don’t interfere.”

It was the first time he had spoken sharply to the gentle Hee-won. But he had not the slightest desire to correct it.

“I heard from Jae-jin. That you’re in a bad mood. Why. Tell me.”

Hee-won asked like a talkative girlfriend. Normally he clearly felt that friend’s consideration, but today irritation surged as if a swarm of flies had gathered.

“Enough. You seemed busy with your romance business. Why did you come looking for me.”

“Ah. Hye-ryeon-ssi?”

A familiar name was called intimately from Hee-won’s mouth. The vein that rose on Ji-wan’s forehead pulsed roughly.

“I bumped into her by chance earlier and she kept apologizing without knowing what to do. I said it was fine but she kept furrowing her brow with an expression that said she didn’t understand. So we exchanged a few words, that’s all.”

“…Did you get her number?”

At Ji-wan’s question Hee-won laughed lowly as if saying nonsense.

“Whatever she said.”

Seeing Ji-wan casually refer to an unfamiliar woman, Hee-won thought it was just like him and laughed again.

“She said it’s her first time in a place like this so she didn’t know the TPO. She dressed up reasonably because it was a friend’s birthday, but felt a bit embarrassed that she alone looked unfashionable.”

“So what did you say.”

“I told her she was beautiful. Because it’s true……”

“What is it, you bastard?”

Ji-wan set the bottle down with a *tang* and glared. That gaze was no different from a fighting dog’s.

Hee-won could not grasp at all what had touched Ji-wan’s mood. At times like this it was better to have a lull.

“I’ll go to the bathroom for a bit.”

Ji-wan did not answer and drank again. After Hee-won disappeared his gaze returned to Hye-ryeon.

“…?!”

In the short time he had conversed with Hee-won, she had disappeared.

Ji-wan abruptly stood up from his seat again. He frantically searched through the club whose structure he didn’t even know well. Then his eyes met exactly with Hye-ryeon’s, who was standing on the second-floor railing looking down.

Her widened eyes, as if she hadn’t known he was here either, were innocent.

Crazy.

Ji-wan strode up the semicircular stairs to the second floor. Then he blindly grabbed Hye-ryeon’s wrist.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

The man beside her stopped Ji-wan. He was a guy who looked excessively pretty for a man.

“She’s my companion, so please let go.”

Eun-chan solidly blocked in front of Hye-ryeon. The intoxicated Ji-wan had no energy left to deal with him.

“Ha Hye-ryeon.”

He called Hye-ryeon in his characteristic ultra-low voice. Eun-chan’s eyes widened. Though it wasn’t clearly audible, the shape of his mouth was definitely calling Hye-ryeon.

“Do you know each other?”

Eun-chan asked. Hye-ryeon nodded faintly. The voice asking “Shall I stop him?” was quite kind, which once again spoiled Ji-wan’s mood.

Seeing the angry face of Ji-wan, Hye-ryeon answered that it was fine and stepped forward.

“I’ll stay here, so contact me right away if anything happens.”

Eun-chan said to Hye-ryeon with a worried face. She nodded.

At the friendship play between man and woman that wouldn’t work, anger surged in Ji-wan again, but that wasn’t the urgent matter.

He dragged Hye-ryeon up to the rooftop without thought.

He confined Hye-ryeon against the wall and looked down at her with eyes as if he would devour her.

“Bamboo shoot, or what.”

Hye-ryeon stared up blankly at Ji-wan who was sneering in a high-handed voice. Then she slowly opened her lips.

“You’re allowed…… and I’m not?”

From her came a moist floral scent. In that instant Ji-wan was seized by the impulse to sink his teeth into Hye-ryeon’s nape.

“Why not.”

The red and plump lips that continued to argue were as seductive as ripe fruit. Ji-wan pressed Hye-ryeon’s lower lip hard with his index finger. The texture that touched the tip of his finger was maddeningly thrilling.

“Say one more word.”

He warned in a thoroughly hoarse voice while moving his protruding Adam’s apple.

“This isn’t NK company either. And I’m no longer a person you can treat so carelessly……”

Before Hye-ryeon’s words even finished, Ji-wan twisted his head and swallowed her lips. The people who had been passing by at a glance had long disappeared from memory.

To close the height difference, Ji-wan bent his large back and pressed Hye-ryeon even deeper. Hye-ryeon made a sound similar to a moan with a *heuk*, but he had no intention of going easy.

With a thoroughly irritated tongue he thoroughly searched the soft mucous membrane. He felt the small tongue trying to escape here and there without getting entangled. Where do you think you’re going.

He intertwined his fingers with both of Hye-ryeon’s hands that were pushing against his chest and pinned them to the wall. He continued the kiss as if devouring her over and over. He finally bound the escaping tongue and rubbed it thickly. This time a lewd nasal sound of *heung* leaked out, and soon he felt her relax the strength in her lips.

I’m going crazy.

The more the saliva of unknown origin mixed messily, the more his lower body, where blood had rushed, felt like it would burst.

Ah fuck, why is it so sweet.

Like a thirsty beast he sucked and sucked, then couldn’t hold back and bit her lip.

“Ah……!”

Seeing Hye-ryeon looking up at him with dazed eyes, the reason that had left home barely returned.

Ji-wan, with his chest heaving, slowly wiped her lips. The gaze looking at her was persistent. He showed no intention of hiding the fierce carnal desire that glittered in his pupils.

Soon as if regretful, Ji-wan moistened his own lips with his tongue. Once again his Adam’s apple rose and fell.

The uncontrollable excitement of a male was transmitted intact even to her.

Hye-ryeon also faced Ji-wan while her chest heaved. All sorts of confusion crossed in her dark brown pupils.

“Looks like you didn’t expect it.”

The thoroughly sunken low voice brushed past her earlobe like a tentacle.

“What would happen if we met.”

When you don’t even know something like that.

“How dare you…… appear in front of me?”