SMNTCERR, Chapter 39 <110> #3.

   The notebook should have been left blank but was filled with numerous drawings. There were pictures of various cars and guns on a couple of pages, while the rest were drawings of people, all of them cartoon characters, SD, wearing black caps, pointing fingers, with dark eyes that extended down to the cheeks, big heads, and thin bodies like tree branches. When flipping through a few more pages, he came across a cartoon series called “Killing, Chaseo…”

   ‘When did he draw these pictures?’

   In the four-panel cartoon, Sangwoo in the form of SD was cut in half, crushed into powder, blown up like a balloon and burst, and had his cap snatched away until he fell ill and died. Each image was peculiar and absurd, but because they were drawn as cartoons, Sangwoo chuckled softly when he saw them. However, the final picture didn’t look like the usual line drawings by Jaeyoung—it was a side view of a man wearing a hat, drawn so realistically it resembled a photograph.

   ‘Is this me?’

   The drawing was so well-done that it could pass for a celebrity—slightly lowered eyes with eyelashes arranged neatly, a prominent nose, lips drawn with soft curves, a neck with carefully rendered lighting and shadows, an extended Adam’s apple and muscles connecting to the shoulders. There was even a fly perched on the shirt collar. Sangwoo looked down at his own collar and realized for the first time that there was a fly sitting there too.

   “Does Jang Jaeyoung know that you’re here? Don’t just sit there, try calling him.”

   The person stealthily hunting animals behind him spoke up. Sangwoo slid the notebook into his backpack once again and closed it shut.

   “I don’t have any plans today, so it’s okay to wait a little longer.”

   “And if he doesn’t come, well, I feel uneasy. It’s nothing, can you make the call instead?”

   “Whatever, go ahead.”

   The person hunting animals blew air through their mouth and picked up the phone. After a moment, they dialed a number and switched on the speaker mode, and he heard the familiar ringing sound.

   Doot… Doot… Doot…

   The louder the ringing sound became, once, twice, three times, repeating continuously, the more frustrated he became, but Jaeyoung didn’t answer. Even after calling two more times, it was still the same. The person who stealthily hunted and insulted him, saying ‘let’s see who will win’ but no matter how many times he called, the outcome remained unchanged.

   “That guy must be intentionally ignoring me, huh? Here, let me try calling him with your phone.”

   Sangwoo responded to that request politely, called Jaeyoung, and handed the phone to the other party. This time, the person who stealthily hunted pressed the speakerphone button as usual.

   Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep….

   [Hello.]

   “What’s wrong with you? Why don’t you answer my calls!”

   [Are you with Sangwoo?]

   The person who stealthily hunted glanced with dark, piercing eyes.

   “Where are you?”

   [Home. I asked if you’re with Sangwoo?]

   “This kid came to the office and refused to go there. He is just sitting there with a dissatisfied face. Not doing anything! I’m suffocating to death here.

   Come and pick him up now.”

   A soft sigh could be heard from the speaker.

   [Got it.]

   The conversation ended. The other party hung up.

   “I wonder if this guy thinks I’m so easy, thinking he has no need to answer immediately, deliberately ignoring me.”

   The person who stealthily hunted made a gurgling sound before handing the phone back to Sangwoo. Sangwoo put the communication device in his backpack and picked up a book.

   “Um… So, Chu Sangwoo.”

   “Please remember other people’s names correctly.”

   It seemed like he had talked about this issue ten times before.. Sangwoo had tried to remember the name of the person who stealthily hunted, but he hadn’t recorded the information. However, he saw the gold necklace around the other party’s neck, with the name ‘Choi Yoona’ written on it.

   “Do you mind if I call you Choi Yoochwe?”

   “That’s not a big deal.”

   “Then from now on, I’ll call you that. Choi Yoochwe.”

   “…”

   Sangwoo seemed somewhat uncomfortable when he saw the face of the other party. It was true that their interactions were limited to arguments during their time together, so the impression wasn’t great. Even though he didn’t necessarily need to have a good relationship with such a tough guy.

   “Are you guys fighting or something…? I haven’t seen you here recently. And looking at Jang Jaeyoung’s expression…”

   “Forget the pressure to engage in pointless conversations. Act like I’m not here. You can do whatever you want. Choi Yoochwe.”

   “I’m asking out of curiosity. Are you fighting? Why are you fighting?”

   “We’re not fighting. And you don’t need to know either.Choi Yoochwe.”

   Hyungnim and I drank together and then kissed. After that, our opinions about the future diverged into two sides, and that wasn’t good. So Sangwoo kept his mouth shut.

   Suddenly, he glanced over and saw Yoona’s desk. When he saw the tangled mess of wires, it reminded him of his own situation, and he couldn’t stand it. Sangwoo got up and walked towards the girl’s table. Her eyes, surrounded by dark circles, looked up at Sangwoo.

   “If you are not doing anything, just take a break, okay?”

   When he saw Sangwoo gesturing for her to come out, the girl stood up. Sangwoo controlled the mouse and keyboard to save the work of the twelve programs that were open, then shut down the computer, turned off the speakers, closed the computer screen, found the buttons of the devices that looked like switches and turned them off, and closed the devices under the desk that he didn’t know what they were for. Then he started dealing with the cables.

   He unplugged the hard drive cable halfway and inserted it into the case, rolled up the mouse cable, tablet charger cable, and put it in the drawer, unplugged the mouse and keyboard cables, and placed them next to each other. Then he began organizing the power cords for the computer screen and CPU, which were tangled messes, and plugged them back in, installed a four-port extension plug behind the computer screen, neatly arranged the remaining device cables so they wouldn’t tangle, and after that, the desk looked much cleaner.

   Sangwoo used a yellow rubber band lying on the table to tie up the loose cables neatly and revealed a satisfied expression. The speaker wires were not short, but it was because the person who used them was careless. People often mistreat machinery.

   “You should turn on the TV and watch programs like “Master in the House

   [1]” or something.”

   “Next, organize it like this because I like to plug in unused items all over the place. The table is cluttered with things.”

   “I use all of them.”

   “Well then, go ahead and do it like that.”

   While both of them were talking, the office door opened. Jaeyoung kicked the door closed with his foot and took a long step, wearing a white sweatshirt with a baseball team logo on the front and black trousers. He walked past Sangwoo and sat down at his own desk.

   “Oh, so the grumpy old man is here.”

   Upon hearing Jaeyoung’s sarcastic remark, Yoona burst into laughter.

   “Why are you so grumpy?”

   “Ask yourself.”

   Jaeyoung played with his mobile phone nonchalantly without responding. Sangwoo looked at the other side silently, but Jaeyoung kept staring at the phone screen without saying anything. The side profile of the other person’s face showed a cool and somewhat disdainful expression, which made Yoona chuckle uncontrollably.

   “Hey… Why are you guys arguing? Quickly make up and be friends again.”

   “We’re not arguing, but it’s a weirder situation than that.”

   Jaeyoung crossed his legs and put his chin on his knee, examining his own fingernails.

   “Why are you here? I know you probably came to ask about the job, but I haven’t done anything, so what should I do? Should I just stand here raising my hand?”

   “No. About the offer from the senior… I said I would consider it and let you know by tomorrow, right?”

   “Yes, that’s right.”

   “I think I’ll let you know in advance today, so I came here.”

   Jaeyoung’s gaze intensified as he sneaked a look at Yoona’s back and spoke to her.

   “Hey, is it time for you to smoke, Yoona?”

   “Do you want me to leave? Well, that’s a way to chase someone away.”

   “Come back in ten minutes then.”

   “That’s funny. How about paying the rent?”

   Jaeyoung’s command was unfair, and it seemed like Yoona strongly opposed it, but she just expressed her dissatisfaction. Then she grabbed her mobile phone and wallet.

   “You guys have made the working atmosphere abnormal enough. Take responsibility and fix it. I’ll be gone for just ten minutes, really.”

   The young woman cursed under her breath and walked backward. When she opened the door and left, there were only two people left in the room.

   Silence ensued for a moment. Jaeyoung, who had been playing with his phone and putting it in his pocket without realizing when, looked at Sangwoo. There was no hint of playfulness behind the lens of his glasses, his eyes didn’t even blink because he had encountered the other party for the second time in two weeks, and Sangwoo’s body had already undergone a chemical reaction.

   “The proposal from you, hyung… I agree. I think it makes sense. Besides, you have more experience. So I’ll give extra points starting from next week.”

   Sangwoo calmly explained his decision to Jaeyoung. It was a purely sexual desire, 100% pure affection, with no other intentions. Sangwoo was like a wild person who had never touched civilization, holding a club and hunting down unnecessary desires that bothered him.

   Jaeyoung listened with an indifferent face and spoke one word.

   “What is the proposal? Please explain clearly.”

   “It’s giving permission for both parties to engage in normal dating activities.”

   “With the purpose of resolving sexual desires?”

   “Yes.”

   “Sleeping together… like that, right?”

   “Yes.”

   “Damn it, you bastard.”

   Sangwoo doesn’t understand Jaeyoung’s reaction. He is the one who presented the problematic proposal that goes against moral ethics. And now he acts as if Sangwoo did something wrong.

   “Honestly, I didn’t think you would agree and I don’t know what to say.

   Well… let’s see.”

   “Alright then, I’ll get in touch later.”

   As Sangwoo finished speaking, he prepared to stand up from his seat, but Jaeyoung’s voice stopped him.

   “Wait.”

   Jaeyoung didn’t move, he looked at Sangwoo with the same expression on his face as before, and spoke with a cool tone.

   “Why don’t we start today like it’s Monday? Do we have to prepare?”

   “Yes. And we have to study too.”

   “Study what?”

   “Do I have to tell you?”

   Jaeyoung pursed his lips, his face changed profoundly.

   “Um… I think I already know what you’re going to say, so Monday… the hotel, right?”

   “I understand it that way too.”

   Jaeyoung exhaled and rubbed his face with his hand, making a loud sound,  “Hoo.”

   “Okay, I understand now. So there’s nothing today. We haven’t seen each other for two weeks, so maybe there’s a lot of accumulated desire, isn’t it?”

   “How can we do something about it today? I didn’t prepare anything.”

   “It’s not about that, but there are other things we can do here.”

   Jaeyoung has a tendency to speak ambiguously. So when talking to Sangwoo, he often had to think again, but this time it wasn’t difficult.

   “Last Saturday, we went to the liquor store, remember?”

   “Doing it again won’t kill us, right?”

   ‘That’s true.’

   Sangwoo stretched his legs and pushed the chair back with his foot. Then he approached Jaeyoung gradually. As the chairs collided, Jaeyoung’s chair was pushed back slightly. Sangwoo reached out and held onto the chair, then raised his head. Jaeyoung, who was only inches away, widened his eyes. Sangwoo could clearly feel the desire swirling inside him.

   “I want to kiss you, but… Should we lock the door first?”

   “Go ahead.”

   Sangwoo stood up and walked over to press the round doorknob. Then, when he turned around, Jaeyoung appeared in front of him without making a sound.

   “Oh, jesus..”

   Jaeyoung’s hands quickly cupped both sides of his cheeks. As the other party’s lips pressed down, Sangwoo couldn’t say anything anymore. Sangwoo closed his eyes, overwhelmed by the scent of vanilla from Jaeyoung’s lips. He couldn’t know what components were in the saliva of the other party that made it taste sweet. A storm of emotions raged, making his mind clouded and unable to focus, as if a heavy rain just fell with thunder and lightning at the same time.

   Sangwoo’s tongue swept across Jaeyoung’s entire mouth, showing the overwhelming feeling that was difficult to control. His head was filled with thoughts of wanting to conquer and devour the other party who made him feel strange sensations, but it was hard to distinguish whether it was a good or bad feeling.

   When he couldn’t breathe anymore, Sangwoo pushed Jaeyoung away before taking a deep breath as if he had just finished running. Then he used the back of his hand to wipe the corners of his mouth. Jaeyoung bit his lower lip slightly and whispered softly.

   “You don’t look like that on the outside. And why are you so intense like this?”

   The low, hoarse voice provoked Sangwoo’s desires even more. Why did he do this? It only made things worse. It didn’t solve any problems. Sangwoo didn’t know how to deal with this overwhelming desire, so he took a deep breath.  ‘If I endure until Monday, maybe the problem can be solved.’ One pair of serious eyes stared almost piercingly at Sangwoo’s face.

   “I’m really confused whether you’re an idiot or a genius.”

   “I don’t understand what you’re saying, but I’ll leave first.”

   Sangwoo returned to his seat, slung his bag over his shoulder, and felt that if he stayed here, he might commit some kind of crime, so he quickly left the office.

   return 0;.

   ________________________________________.

   [1] Life Master, translated from the name of a South Korean television program, SBS’s “Saenghwal-eui Dal-in” “Master in the House”, which presents the lives of people who have worked in one field for many years and have become experts and role models in their lives.

      SMNTCERR CHAPTERS HOME