CH 5.1

The place they arrived from outside the city center was the beach. A large yacht was waiting in the marina. The only customers who patronised Paradiso were wealthy people, so the young men were not afraid even in front of the super-luxurious scene. Methadone looked at the yacht that could not be fully comprehended at a glance.

“When a Korean spends 1,000 won, they say that 500 won goes into the Taeryung group’s pocket. How impressive. By the way, we’re not going to get kicked out for not having Cocaine, right? It’s the first time I’ve been on a business trip without Cocaine. I’m scared! Huhuhu.”

As Methadone pretended to cry, Marijuana tapped him on the shoulder.

“Cheer up! Be proud of your voice that perfectly complements everything from classic to trot!”

Morphine clicked his tongue at their antics. And he clung to Hashish’s side and groaned.

“Honestly, what is the difference between Cocaine and us? They always praise healer, healer, but don’t we have an extraordinary voice too? I think so.”

Hashish rebuked Morphine.

“You want me to tell you what’s different? No matter how much we sing until our throat bleeds, we can’t cure Chairman Kim’s cirrhosis. Kim Kyunghwa, who had breast cancer and almost ended her acting career, we can’t even save it, and even when Assemblyman Kang was stabbed with a knife…”

“Ah, fine! Fine! I get it already.”

Morphine grunted.

“But it’s really fascinating. Regardless of whether you’re sick or not, if you listen to Cocaine’s song just once, you can’t stop. Sometimes when I see those people, they look like drug addicts. Perhaps the best thing about us is that we have been immune to it as we’ve heard it since we were young, right?”

Hashish replied with a grin.

“There are people who aren’t.”

“Who would that be?”

“There is. Such a guy.”

Hashish left only a cryptic answer, and he walked forward. Then, when he bumped into Yaba who was walking in front of him, he glared at him harshly. After the mask incident, he often looked at him with that kind of gaze. It was like he was trying to find fault somehow. Yaba also responded with cold eyes.

“Crazy bastard.”

Hashish walked away after jeering at him.

The young men put on masks and costumes and followed the guide. When they entered the cabin, they could see the luxurious interior and the people who filled it. By day they were gentlemen and ladies, but now they were so drunk that they didn’t even know where their legs were. Young men in Venetian masks lined up in the center of the cabin. A woman in a red dress approached with tipsy steps. It was Kim Kyunghwa who saved her breasts thanks to Cocaine. She widened her unfocused eyes and looked at the masked eunuchs.

“What about Cocaine?”

“He didn’t come today because he caught a cold.”

“What?”

In response to Hashish’s answer, Kim Kyunghwa snorted and poured out the remaining alcohol. And she shouted at the people.

“They said Cocaine didn’t come because he caught a cold!”

The crowd booed. As the excitement subsided, the performance began centered on Hashish’s solo. However, the stage without the main character did not attract anyone’s attention. Hashish wasn’t a healer, but he’s a pretty good singer, and the chords laid out by the eunuchs made his voice stand out even more. A colourful melody spread all over the place. One by one, the people who were bored began to listen to the song. Yaba’s eyes wandered, trying to find Cha Yiseok as he sung.

When the Aria ended, the audience looked as if they were being washed away by the currents of emotion. Although they were surprised by the beautiful sound that came from the adult men, they would not have felt the magic that only a healer could exude. The Paradiso youth sang a few more songs and then mixed in the party.

“Hashish has a voice just like Andreas Scholl. How could it be so pure? When you speak, your voice seems to be different… Take off your mask. I want to make sure your face is as clean as your voice.”

“Sorry. Taking off the mask is against the rules…”

Women who were enamoured with the boy sopranos showed their lust without even knowing that they were eunuchs. Hashish was annoyed with the women, and the rest of the eunuchs were busy flirting with women.

“It is a pity to rot in a place like this. Do you guys have any plans to officially debut as countertenors? There’s someone I know very well about…”

“Thank you for your words.”

A castrato was a real castrated singer, and the countertenor reproduces the castrato’s voice by practising hard without being castrated. They were fake. The only sound the eunuch singers made was the real singing and from real pain.

Meanwhile, Yaba was busy looking for the bathroom. He couldn’t stand the desire to take a shower, but it had to be his own room to cover his body with this pile of flesh. Aside from taking a shower, he wanted to wash the hands that were caught by a woman a while ago.

He didn’t forget to look around in case Cha Yiseok was there. However, he was nowhere to be seen. There was no Cocaine, it seemed that he just rented a yacht and enjoyed himself elsewhere. The second part of the show is left, but Yaba just wanted to leave. Then someone approached and talked to him. It was Cha Yiseok’s friend. Cha Yiseok called him Sungjae.

“Where’s Cocaine? It looks like he isn’t here.”

As Yaba walked past, Sungjae blocked the path and asked again.

“Why can’t I find Cocaine?”

“You can’t find him because he is not here.”

“Why didn’t he come?”

“A cold.”

“How do you manage to be unprofessional?”

Sungjae muttered with a regretful face. Cocaine, cocaine. Yaba was sick and tired of it. Cocaine, who erased all existence without lifting a finger, Cocaine, who makes one invisible. That’s why he longed for the name to be ruined. Yaba shook off the hand and turned around. Again, against his will, a hand wrapped around Yaba’s arm and his body was turned. Sungjae asked with an expressionless face.

“But why are you talking in informal speech?”

“I usually talk informally to anyone.”

“What?”

Yaba shrugged his arm out of the other’s grasp and walked through the crowd. A bug crawling on the fat crawled up through the pores. He pulled the arm warmer out and scratched his forearm.

All of a sudden, he tripped over a stretched leg and nearly fell. He barely leaned on the bar to center himself. The moment he moved his gaze along the long legs, the bugs stopped moving. Yaba’s breathing also shrank.