HEAL 11

Sang-kyung let out a smirk. Without even glancing at Garam, who had asked the question, he kept his gaze fixed solely on Yeon-su, who sat directly in front of him. Perhaps because of the vodka, his own voice sounded a bit coarse in his ears.

“Mistakes because they were drunk? That’s all bullshit. They just use alcohol as an excuse to do what they already wanted to do.”

“Is that so?”

“Think about it. Just washing your face clears your head a bit; by the time they’ve stripped your clothes, been kissing you all over, and before they even put it in, they’d have regained some level of consciousness.”

Ah, was that last part unnecessary? Was he being too explicit in front of a colleague and a complete stranger? Sang-kyung leaned his head back against the sofa and looked up at the ceiling. His head throbbed as if something were applying pressure inside his skull. Fortunately, the dim lighting didn’t strain his eyes.

“So… speaking like this is different because there’s no preparation involved, so you can say things you wouldn’t normally say, like I just did. But having sex requires moving around and a lot of preparation.”

“You’re quite conservative, aren’t you?”

“I mean, I have made mistakes while drunk before.”

The alcohol was slowly kicking in. He felt like his tongue might start to trip. Sang-kyung paid closer attention to his pronunciation.

Garam glanced at Yeon-su. Yeon-su’s shoulders trembled slightly. He set the cocktail glass he was holding down on the table. The glass hit the surface with a heavy thud.

“You think you’re going to break it doing that?”

Garam clicked his tongue, but Yeon-su paid him no mind. His brown eyes wavered, fixed only on Sang-kyung.

“I… I was completely wasted and turned on a game… and I listed an item in the shop with one zero missing.”

The strangely heavy atmosphere from a moment ago vanished into thin air. Garam couldn’t hold it back and burst out laughing.

“That was a best-in-slot item, so it was freaking expensive….”

Recalling that moment brought the anger rushing back.

“What game is it?”

When Yeon-su showed interest, Sang-kyung waved his hand dismissively.

“What game is a working professional playing? I couldn’t even do my daily quests because of overtime, so I got annoyed and quit. It’s frustrating being the only one falling behind among the unemployed and students. I hate losing. But I’m not the type to spend real money on it. Don’t even start, Yeon-su. It’s a waste of time.”

“Okay.”

The Hubae, who listened intently to his every word, was quite cute.

“If you play games, it takes away from the time you could spend dating.”

“Ah….”

Yeon-su’s expression clouded over again. As Yeon-su tried to take a sip of the Screwdriver Garam had made, Sang-kyung leaned forward and placed his hand over the back of the other man’s hand.

Startled by Sang-kyung’s touch, Yeon-su flinched, his shoulders hunching. His gaze moved slowly from the cocktail glass to the back of Sang-kyung’s hand blocking the glass, and finally up to his face.

“Don’t drink it. It tastes bad.”

“That’s a bit harsh.”

Garam laughed airily.

“No, it really tastes bad. This guy put too much vodka in it.”

“Is your boss a lightweight?”

Garam spoke to Yeon-su, ignoring the person actually involved. It was as if he were treating him like someone completely intoxicated. It was a provocation that pricked at his pride. Sang-kyung cut in before Yeon-su could answer.

“It’s because I drank too quickly.”

“We don’t really have to do business entertainment, so I’m not entirely sure, but I don’t think he’s a lightweight.”

Yeon-su added to Sang-kyung’s words.

“Right?”

What a good lad. Sang-kyung looked at Yeon-su with satisfaction. Garam picked up the orange juice and vodka. As he leaned in toward them, Sang-kyung straightened his posture.

“Then shall we have one more drink?”

“Sounds good.”

I came here to listen to his troubles, so what am I doing with this other guy? A brief question crossed his mind, but his consciousness was soon stolen by something else.

“Assistant manager.”

Yeon-su’s voice was full of anxiety. Garam ignored the voice mixed with a slippery attempt to stop him.

“I’ll make it taste good this time.”

Sang-kyung narrowed his eyes, observing the ratio of juice and vodka Garam was pouring. Indeed, the proportion of orange juice was overwhelmingly high this time. To the point where he wondered if it was just orange juice with a hint of alcohol.

“You couldn’t be a bartender.”

“Haha, if I did, I’d run the place into the ground.”

He has a good sense of self-awareness. Seeing how nonchalant he was, it seemed this was Garam’s shop. Judging by Yeon-su’s earlier words, it seemed he often didn’t even show up for work. Enviable.

Garam filled his own glass with orange juice and called a waiter to order appetizers. The waiter quickly brought a fruit and cheese platter, along with more orange juice, vodka, and a few empty glasses. Seeing how prompt he was, it seemed he had been well-trained by Garam.

How on earth did Yeon-su and this man know each other? Come to think of it, he knew nothing about Yeon-su’s private life. Though he had discovered the big secret that he was gay.

They say birds of a feather flock together. Both Yeon-su and this man were gay; could Yeon-su also be a young master from an incredibly wealthy family? If he were draped in luxury brands, the chatterbox Son Ju-hyeong would have already made a fuss.

Sang-kyung sipped the cocktail that should be called juice and ate a few pieces of salty cheese. As his stomach filled, he felt more sober than before. Just as he thought he could finally breathe, Garam picked up the vodka bottle and filled the glasses.

“I’m bored, shall we play a game? We ask each other questions, and if you don’t want to answer, you bottoms-up this glass. How about it?”

“…I’ve just met you, Garam, and I have nothing I’m curious about.”

“Hah, you were really curious about how many shops he owns.”

Garam covered his mouth, pretending to be innocent. Good for you. With a lukewarm expression, Sang-kyung continued his thoughts. Well, since he looked decent, even if it were a woman or man who didn’t know he was gay, someone who had more exposure to gay people might be interested. No, still, I’m not curious.

“You have a look on your face that says you’re truly not interested.”

Garam shrugged as if disappointed. He shifted his gaze from Sang-kyung to Yeon-su sitting beside him. With a meaningful smile, he continued.

“Then shall we change the target?”

Garam wrapped his arm around Yeon-su’s shoulder ostentatiously. Yeon-su frowned, but Garam ignored him and asked Sang-kyung in a seductive voice.

“Assistant manager, aren’t you curious about anything regarding our Yeon-su?”

Sang-kyung’s expression stiffened. The indifference from a moment ago was completely gone.

Why wouldn’t he be curious about Yeon-su? How much one could devote themselves to a promiscuous lover, why he offered so much. And… what on earth did the proposal to cheat together mean.

It was a conversation one couldn’t have while sane. Should he dig deeper? The other person was a colleague. Seeing a dirty mess through a private entanglement was enough with Ji-yeon. Instead of answering, Sang-kyung bit his lip.

“…I don’t like this.”

Surprisingly, it was Yeon-su who protested. Sang-kyung and Garam’s gazes turned to Yeon-su simultaneously. Yeon-su brushed off Garam’s arm from his shoulder. His voice was firm.

“The Assistant manager is uncomfortable with games like this. Don’t drag him into it as a joke.”

Yeon-su knew more about him than he thought. Even if he had allowed it on a momentary impulse, he would have ended up regretting it.

“Geez, and here I was trying to help.”

Garam pouted and grumbled.

“Help with what? You’d just ask useless things.”

Despite the blunt reply, Garam curled the corners of his mouth as if he found something amusing.

“You’ve grown a lot, haven’t you?”

“…….”

“I’m curious about what happened with Seo-jun. You said it wasn’t forced. You didn’t get to hear it directly from the Assistant manager either, right?”

Seo-jun. That must be the name of Yeon-su’s lover. Even though he had seen the face, hearing the name made it feel as if Yeon-su’s lover had suddenly manifested as a real entity. Was it because the encounter hadn’t been framed as meeting Yeon-su’s lover? Or was it because he had become conscious of Yeon-su after meeting the man?

“That’s really rude.”

There was even anger in Yeon-su’s voice. Did he not want to hear about his lover’s cheating? As if Garam wasn’t even worth dealing with anymore, he firmly packed his bag and stood up.

“Assistant manager, let’s go. I’m sorry for getting you caught up with a strange person.”

“A strange person? That’s too much.”

Garam drooped the corners of his eyes. However, Sang-kyung knew that people who are truly hurt try to hide it. As expected, Garam changed his expression instantly. He seemed accustomed to playing people in the palm of his hand.

“Are you going home to follow Seo-jun around again?”

Yeon-su flinched. Why? An impulse arose that he shouldn’t let him go like this. Sang-kyung grabbed Yeon-su’s wrist and pulled it down. The thick vein running straight across the forearm tightened tensely under his palm.

Rather than sending Yeon-su to a piece of trash, wouldn’t it be better to keep him here by making him completely wasted? Instead of resisting Sang-kyung’s downward pull, Yeon-su slumped back down into his seat.

“Yeon-su, you remember we decided to go right to the edge of cheating today, right?”

Just then, a provocative jazz melody, the kind that would play during the climax of a drama, echoed through the bar.

A red fever bloomed from the curve of Yeon-su’s ear down to the nape of his neck. Beneath the shirt, buttoned up to the top without flexibility, he might have been flushed as well.