Chapter 3.2

Chapter 3.2

The man raised his eyebrows and clicked his tongue. But he didn’t stop there. He grabbed her chin without giving her the slightest chance to resist and forced her to look straight at him. He squinted his eyes and scrutinized every detail of her face.

“Hmm.”

Despite only using a couple of fingers, his grip was rough and strong.

Hongju couldn’t even think to close her gaping mouth. She just sat there, her mouth open, unable to move. The man in front of her looked at her like a hungry beast. Her heart dropped, and she tried to inch away, groping the sofa for support.

“Wh-what…?”

“You look tempting.”

That’s what Eunsan had thought the moment he burst into the store and locked eyes with Hongju.

Her large, long eyes were slightly upturned at the corners, and her tightly pursed lips looked even more stubborn against her small, white face.

Yes, her eyes.

Even with her already large eyes wide open, she kept glancing sideways at Eunsan, pretending not to. Despite her image of being cold and aloof, her eyes, blinking nervously and full of fear, told a different story.

Whenever he pretended to turn his head, she would flinch and avoid his gaze. In short…

The tiny thing was unbelievably cute.

For the first time in a while, he was hooked.

“Fu.ck.”

She reminded him of a skittish cat. Like the stray cat, “Nabi,” who came to his office around lunchtime for snacks. Nabi was a tiny, pretty cat who hissed furiously every time she saw Eunsan, who was like a mountain. She was feisty everywhere she went.

“What… what are you doing? Let go!”

Eunsan licked his lips, watching her sharply pull her wrist away. He looked at the cat hastily fixing her cap and felt an odd hunger but decided to deal with urgent matters first.

He grabbed the blanket draped over Hongju’s shoulders and used it like a towel to wring out her wet hair. The look in her eyes, glaring at him with all her strength, only made his appetite grow.

But he set aside his hunger and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“Our Nabi got fu.cking soaked in the rain. Da.mn, it hurts my heart.”

“…”

“Here. Look.”

Eunsan, with a firm grip on Hongju’s shoulder, extended her arm and pointed it toward the kitchen. Madame Jang, who was standing at the counter, counting out cash and watching, raised her eyebrows.

He, along with Hongju, looked toward the hallway that bent towards Madam Jang’s side, precisely between Madam Jang and the kitchen.

With his back hunched over, he grabbed Hongju’s head with one hand and pulled her swiftly towards him. Their cheeks were almost touching.

Hongju, like a small animal pinned down by a predator’s paw, couldn’t even resist. She had a vague certainty that if she did, her head would immediately be crushed.

The predator who had caught his prey whispered leisurely.

“Did you go inside there after getting soaked by the rain? No.”

“…”

“Right? I knew our Nabi wouldn’t be the one,” the man said, bracing his thigh as he stood up and scratched the back of his head. He walked lazily towards the store entrance, not to leave but to casually reach out and lock the door with a click.

Returning, he took off his watch and shoved it into his pocket. He retraced his steps, wiping the scattered water droplets on the hallway floor with his shoe. In a nonchalant voice, he even nagged Madame Jang.

“Mop the floor. If customers slip and crack their heads, it’ll be a headache.”

“Eunsan, that’s not the point.”

… He had known from the start.

Without listening further, Eunsan turned down the hallway where the man had disappeared. The door opened and closed a few times as if it was about to break, then the sounds of things breaking and a scuffle followed shortly after.

The store, filled with all kinds of vulgar swearing and screaming, was noisy in a different way than the torrential rain pouring down outside.

The situation over there, which she could only vaguely guess, gradually began to become clearer. The distinct sound that was only heard when someone shouted.

Shortly after, there was the urgent sound of the door opening again.

“Hey, hey, hey, Eunsan, Lee Eunsan! I’ll explain everything. Fu.cking assh0le, let’s talk, let’s talk this out. Calm down first…”

“But I’m fuck!ng calm right now?”

Gisong, who was stumbling out, missed his step. He fell to his knees and rolled over, awkwardly bumping his cheekbone and shoulder against the nearest table leg. His lower face was already wet with blood, as if he already suffered a nosebleed.

As soon as he fell, Gisong turned over and scooted back on his bu.tt. Hongju watched him with a pained expression.

Gisong babbled as he frantically crawled on his hands, heels, and bottom, almost wailing as he saw the tall figure approaching him step by step.

“No, you’re not calm. Eunsan, your Hyung swears I won’t use the money for anything else again! You were really pissed yesterday, right? I know, da.mn it, I fuck!ng understand you! I promise. Never again! Okay? I’ll even cut off my own fingernails if I have to…”

But Lee Eunsan was solely focused on unbuttoning his shirt cuffs.

“Aha.”

Eunsan dusted off his suit pants. As he firmly rolled up his shirt sleeves and pinned them, a peculiar fervor lit up his eyes.

“That’s a good idea.”