Swallow Hunting Chapter 2

When the sweat cooled, the cold hit him all at once. Rubbing his arms hard with his hands, Haejun stood up. If he at least had his phone, he could’ve called anyone in his contacts and begged them to co pick him up, but right now even that was impossible.

There was no way he could walk all the way ho like this. It was only luck that no one had pulled out a cara yet—if he walked around in this state, soone would definitely snap a photo or video and upload it to the internet, preserved forever. So shit like “Suspicious Man Taking a Naked Night Walk,” or he’d run into the cops and get stopped and questioned. His head kept filling with nothing but those bad scenarios.

The bar was closer than his place, so if he stuck to the shadows he might make it there, but the problem was Han Yeonghwa’s mouth. If she’d spilled his personal details bit by bit, the bar wouldn’t be safe either.

“No.”

Haejun shook his head. A guy who ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) ca all the way to a hotel to catch an affair would’ve known where he worked already.

Tears pushed their way out. Why the hell was life this hard? Was it really that greedy to want to lean just a little on soone else’s wealth and live?

Haejun sniffled and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. But it didn’t last long—he shook off the wetness and looked around. If there’d been a clothing store, he would’ve thrown his pride away and begged for credit. Before that, though, he spotted a used-clothes donation bin.

Lucky, considering everything. He nearly cheered as he limped over and lifted the lid of the green bin. Standing on his tiptoes, he shoved his arm in up to his shoulder and rummaged around until he grabbed sothing. He pulled it out—kids’ clothes. He set them on top and shoved himself back in, digging again. His fingers caught on sothing thick, and with a grunt he dragged it out. He got lucky. The hem was torn, but it was a fairly expensive-looking long coat.

Wearing it bare-legged made him look like so trench-coat pervert, but beggars can’t be choosers. He hurriedly threw it on and buttoned it all the way up. By sheer luck, he even fished out a pair of sneakers one size too big, jamd his feet into them, and left the alley.

He’d decided where to go. For now, it wasn’t ho, and it wasn’t the bar either.

* * *

Haejun found a public phone near his friend Yohan’s place. He flattened himself down and swept the ground, and sure enough, a couple of blind coins turned up. Thank god he rembered the number. Yohan rejected the call twice, then on the third answered by yelling, “Who the fuck is this?!”

“Yohan, it’s . Save . Please.”

-You crazy bastard. Why the hell are you pulling this shit without your phone? And I’m working right now.

“Ah, just tell your door code. I won’t steal anything. Please? I’m begging you, bro. I’m gonna freeze to death.”

He whined and cried, and Yohan spat out another hearty curse before giving him the password. The only person he could really call a friend, and as far as Haejun knew, the kindest bastard alive despite his mouth.

In his current state, even a semi-basent in a row house felt like a palace. He washed his body, frozen stiff from the cold wind, in hot water. The hair he’d spent an hour blow-drying got scrubbed with cheap shampoo, and the back of his neck, where he’d sprayed perfu, got washed with cucumber soap. Yohan didn’t even use proper body wash, just that.

After his shower, Haejun ca out of the bathroom screaming “Aah! Aah!” with every step, like the Little rmaid after giving up her voice and stepping onto sand for the first ti. The walls slled musty, like mold, and the blankets reeked of old staleness, but he didn’t care. It was way better than the place he stayed.

He wrapped himself in the blanket like a caterpillar and lay there. Way too much had happened in one day. It really had been the line between life and death. He thought his life was about to bloom, and instead it’d almost been a one-way ticket to the underworld. If that guy had grabbed his hair, there’d have been no escape—he’d have been dragged straight to so mountain or abandoned factory and had his organs harvested while still alive.

The man was a gangster. No doubt about it.

Even dressed in a suit and handso enough to make your head spin, he couldn’t hide that aura. A constant tallic, blood-tinged sll on the tongue, even without spilling blood. A sharp killing intent in his eyes, like he could throw a punch or pull a knife the second sothing pissed him off.

If he’d known the guy was Han Yeonghwa’s lover or husband, he would’ve bolted the second he saw a single strand of her hair. No male prostitute bothers checking whether a client’s taken before going for a second round, but after this, it felt like skipping that background check was a massive mistake.

What the hell should he do now?

His stomach growled. It was ridiculous—he might be on the run for his life, but he was still hungry. Haejun let out a bitter laugh, then sniffled and pulled the blanket over his head.

He dozed off and woke up to the sound of soone pressing the keypad. One side of his half-dried hair was smashed flat. He pressed down on his swollen eyelids with the base of his palm until his eyes finally opened. Right on cue, the door opened and Yohan walked in.

“You useless little bastard.”

He deserved the insult. Haejun sat against the wall with the blanket over his head. Yohan clicked his tongue in disbelief.

“Why didn’t you go back to the dorm? Why co here?”

“I’m fucked, Yohan.”

They’d been friends since they were kids, thanks to Yohan’s grandmother. She’d taken in Haejun, who’d been left to roam like a stray dog.

But Yohan’s house ended up slated for redevelopnt, and when n ca smashing it up with crowbars, his grandmother fell ill from the shock and passed away. With nowhere to go, Yohan lived with Haejun for a while. It was possible because Haejun’s father had gone off chasing so gambling den, leaving the place empty.

“What, you weren’t fucked enough already?”

It was Yohan who’d introduced him to host work. When Haejun complained that he was slow and useless at normal part-ti jobs, Yohan told him to sell his dick instead and opened that door for him. Thanks to that, Haejun had touched real money and started paying off his debts. Yohan was basically his savior.

They’d talked about living together, but if you wanted to save money, the dorm the bar provided was the best option. It was an old building that wouldn’t be surprising if ghosts showed up, but the boss rented it cheap under the excuse of an employee discount. In a city this massive, where even lying down required millions, a coffin-sized room at that price was good value.

“I ssed with a woman who was taken.”

“Haven’t you done that a million tis?”

“Her guy’s a gangster.”

“What?”

Yohan shouted as he hung his suit jacket up. Guilty as hell, Haejun shrank back and wiggled his toes.

“What happened. Tell everything.”

“So, what happened was...”

Haejun spilled the whole story. He thought he’d caught a sucker, turns out it was a venomous snake. He’d scrubbed his dick spotless, but instead of a fucking, it’d almost been a ball-chopping. He barely escaped, and now he had no idea what to do.

“I think the bar knows too. What do I do, Yohan? Am I gonna die?”

He rubbed his face with both hands, voice trembling. Yohan sat cross-legged in front of him and patted his shoulder.

“If that was gonna kill you, you’d already be dead. Your life’s tough as hell.”

“But it’s scary! You should’ve seen him. That guy looked—”

“Ugly as shit?”

“No, fucking insanely handso...... Anyway, that’s not the point. What do I do now? Tell a way out.”

“Well, if there’s no other choice, go stick your nose in the floor and beg. Be ready to lose a ball.”

“Are you insane? Without this, how am I supposed to make a living?!”

“You can still get it up with one ball.”

Haejun’s eyes welled up. Then finally he bowed his head and broke down, snot and tears streaming as he sobbed. The situation was serious enough to kill him, but Yohan just picked at his ear, totally unfazed.

“Should I run to China?”

Haejun muttered darkly. Yohan flicked the earwax off his pinky toward him.

“Don’t be stupid. What’re you gonna do there? If you run and get caught, you’ll just lose an ankle. Rember Daniel? That bastard took a Mic King loan[1) and ran. The boss caught him trying to stow away and chopped his ankle off. He’s begging now. I saw him on Line 1 the other day.”

All the color drained from Haejun’s face. He knew Daniel too. Cute-looking, half-Vietnase, had decent demand. After taking a Mic King loan, he’d vanished without a trace.

And now he’d been caught and lost his ankle.

“Right. The Mic King loan.”

That was the problem—Haejun had taken one from the boss too. When he couldn’t keep up with the loan shark interest and thought his organs were about to get harvested, he’d borrowed it as a desperate asure. Turns out that was a noose too.

The world was terrifying. As he shook, his stomach decided it would starve faster than he’d get killed and started pounding like a drum. At the loud growl, Yohan sighed and stood up.

“Let’s eat first. Even a ghost that dies full looks better.”

“You fucking asshole.......”

His friend was about to end up with dirt in his eyes, but Yohan didn’t even blink. When you’re on the verge of getting buried in a cent-filled drum, the best comfort you get is a al.

Having a best friend like this—who didn’t even try to figure out a way to live together—there was no hope left in the world. Haejun collapsed on the floor and bawled.

Then hunger twisted his gut, his jaw trembling as he lifted his head. His face, sared with tears and snot, looked like a filthy mutt that’d rolled in dirt.

“So... what’re we eating?”

Yohan let out a deep sigh and silently opened the cupboard. Five packs of the cheapest PB ran were lined up inside.

“Got any cold rice?”

Yeah. Like the saying goes, if you die after eating, at least you’ll look decent. Sniffling, Haejun unfolded the low table leaning against the wall. Even tear-soaked ran was better than an empty stomach.

[Footnote]

1) An advance paynt given by adult entertainnt businesses to their employees