CH 1

A dim light poured through the curtains. Hazy sunlight fell on the bareback on the bed, where the white sheets were crumpled.

Reddish fingernail marks were carved on the side of the wing bone where the light shone. It was a sign of an intense love affair. Man scratched his back once, whether or not he had a sore wound, then stretched out his arm. The protracted yawn followed.

The man brushed his messy hair and lowered his legs under the bed. As if moving right away was troublesome, he collapsed on his side and rolled himself up on the blanket, and only after a while did, he wriggle out to get himself up.

The blanket slid over his feet, exposing his naked body in the light. The man stood up from his seat, rubbing his stiff neck from side to side. The curve that fell from his round shoulders to his narrow waist seemed to have been drawn in one stroke with the tip of a pen dipped in ink, and the raised buttocks were chubby and firm. The person he was with last night must have known that, and there were reddish handprints on his immaculate buttocks.

The man looked towards the bathroom once, then sat down on the bed, and reached for the table. Tapping the cigarette pack, he spontaneously took one out, put it in his mouth, and lit it. He dug his cheeks well and sucked in, then held the note left under the ashtray in his hand.

“Yesterday was good. See you later”

The red lip marks were also left as a stamp. The man chuckled and crumpled up the note throwing it into the trash. The purpose for which he reached out was not a useless note, but something beneath it.

It was the price to pay. I counted the yellow bills one by one, hoping that it was worth shaking his waist for. She gave him a few more than the original amount.

“Not bad”

As if the man was letting off steam, he let out a short puff of smoke. As he was about to move quickly, he chewed on the filter for a long time, regretting the remaining length of time. Unlike the pile of stiff bills stuck between his fingers, the edges of the black wallet were smooth and worn out.

Soon after, he extinguished a cigarette he had smoked in ashtray and stood up with a stretch. He wanted to lazily dissolve his frowning body with hot water. His muscles all over his body were throbbing from sleeping at the edge of the bed all night.

I can afford to be extravagant. There was still some time left before leaving.

Today started out no different from other days.

***

When I was in my senior year of high school, my homeroom teacher said. “Don’t give up on your dreams if you work hard, one day your dream will come true. Effort does not betray one.”

Young Han Seon-joo snorted. The homeroom teacher didn’t tell the truth that even if one does not betray one’s efforts, reality often strikes back. It was like a dream. Unless reality supports it, dreams are like finding meat in a barn where rice has fallen.

It is said that there are people who overcame adversity, and achieved their dreams, but aren’t they few enough to appear in the media? Not everyone could overcome difficult circumstances and write a successful story.

At first, yes, at least until the first year of high school, Seon-joo also had hope. Someday he will get away from this disgusting reality, join a decent company, and live with his family in a pretty house. Even if it was an insignificant dream in the eyes of others, it was precious to Seon-joo.

And the dream ended up being just a dream. Things happened one after another when he was in his senior year of high school, which reduced the sound of his footsteps in his own home. He heard the news that his older brother took out a loan and invested in a company that did not look like a bad deal, and then it went bankrupt. The cancerous lump that grew in his mother’s breast was probably caused by the stress his older brother gave her, and Seon-joo had no doubts about it.

College, studying, and giving up everything, wasting all my time taking care of paying off all those debts. He went to the army in the middle of all of this but when he came back greeted by his mother, his family got addicted to gambling, and so more and more debts piled up with no means to pay back. As I worked to pay off debts for money I had never seen or touched, I ended up begging for money with my body before I knew it.

Morally, it was a small profit. Money was more terrifying than violence, and life came and went for just a few pennies. In a capitalist society, money was a list in the hand of the grim reaper.

Fortunately, he is not ugly, so the guests often nominated him. I made a decent amount of money in one night by touching my stomach a little, singing a little, taking off my shirt if I wanted to take it off, taking my pants off if I wanted to, and matching the rhythm as I wanted. The second time was also good. He didn’t hesitate to put his tongue on the instep of foot if the person gave him money. Even worse than that, he liked till the needles sprout at the top of his foot.

At least, the store where Seon-joo worked mostly consisted of beta. Occasionally, Alpha and Omega with unusual tastes came, but they usually stopped by only once, probably out of curiosity. It was a peaceful workplace with little fuss, and violent accidents were rare compared to the other places.

Seon-joo, who was lying curled up on the sofa in the waiting room, gave a long yawn. He hardly slept because he was looking for another job in the morning. He hated to see his clothes crumpled and his hair out of shape, but he couldn’t help it when he sits and dozes off and his body tilts to the side on its own.

As I was about to fall asleep, the door opened. People who were killing time by using their cell phones or napping like Seon-joo turned their heads as if they would be called. The toadlike employee looked around the waiting room and focused his eyes on Seon-joo.

“Jiho hyung! The kid from last time came again. What was their name…Ah, Kim Soo-chan! Looking for you hyung.

Seon-joo forehead crumpled in an instant. If it was Kim Soo-chan, he had met him as a guest the other day, he didn’t care if it would it’s a woman or a man, but as soon he met him he knew that guy was an alpha. He boasted that he is an alpha till he was deaf. Seon-joo let out a sigh and stood up.

“You’re popular, Kang Ji-ho.”

Kang Yeong-ho whistled and teased Seon-joo. He was a person who had been territorial as he had come in three months before him, and then he had a drink with Han Seon-joo and behaved like best friends of ten years.

“Popular. Will you hyung, go instead? I will yield.”

“Deal. That baby alpha. What kind of stupid alpha pup comes to Club L full of betas? He will die looking for an omega like that.”

“I know right, did he drink a little too much?”

“Cheer up.”

Kang Yeong-ho, who didn’t take his eyes off his phone, threw it like it was nothing. It was fortunate that there was some sincerity buried in the consolation of cheering up. As usual, Seon-joo just laughed.

Customer is the law. If I get snotty and refused but the customer would yell at the manager asking if I was playing with him, my salary would be cut right away.

I can go and pour myself a drink and say goodbyes after the chatter. However, when I think of the hand that secretly touched the back of my back and butt the other day, I felt as if my light steps are sinking down the hallway as if I had stepped into the swamp.

Tips are generous, so let’s take comfort in that. Seon-joo stood in front of the door after repeating his mother’s and brother’s names in his mind ten times.

After fixing his collar and tidying up his dishevelled hair, he raised the tips of his lips. As his cheeks were pushed up, a dimple appeared to prick his left cheek. When the tips of his eyes were pulled down like an eye smile, a plausible expression appeared. Putting on his mask, Han Seon-joo opened the door.

“Sorry. Have you been waiting long?”

In a friendly, kind manner, so that the customer can feel relaxed and welcomed. It was the voice the boss always emphasized. I realized a long time ago, that if one doesn’t smile, one won’t get paid. It’s been a while since I’ve been dealing with customers while creating a personality I didn’t have, so this kind of smile and voice came out just as sharp, as a private officer’s official name.

“Why are you so late? I thought I would die from waiting. Hurry up and sit down”

Kim Soo-chan, who was sitting on the sofa moved his hips and called for Seon-joo. His eyeballs gazing at Han Seon-joo were glistening like oiled go balls. In my experience, people who looked like that always have had accidents. Meanwhile, his cheeks are red like of a boy who fell in love for the first time. Seon-joo smiled brightly, hiding his disgust.

It wasn’t just Kim Soo-chan in the room. Another person was sitting at the head of the table.

Unlike Kim Soo-chan, who was dressed in a suit, the man wore only a thick hoodie and baggy black training pants. As he leaned back on the back of the sofa and sipped his drink, he felt Seon-joo gaze and raised his head. His eyes were half interested, half curious.

Kim Soo-chan wasn’t particularly small, but compared to a man in a hoodie, he was like a wild boar in front of a Siberian tiger. Even though it was a loose-fitting hoodie, the wide shoulders, and forearms with muscles like stones were noticing at first glance.

“Ah, this is Kwon Hee-seong, my friend. I brought him because he wanted to see you. You don’t have to worry about him”