Chapter 29.2

Chapter 29.2

Heeju didn’t care to know him any deeper. This wasn’t supposed to be anything but f3c.king and feeling good. Letting a man as dangerous and unpredictable as him occupy her thoughts was already dumb enough. No need to be even dumber.

Grabbing a medical kit, Heeju stuck a thermometer into Gukhyun’s ear to check his temperature. He shifted his cigarette from his lips to his fingers, letting her do her job, but then—he let out a low chuckle.

“What?”

“It’s an erogenous zone,” he murmured. “My ear.”

Seriously, the guy couldn’t go a second without spewing dirty jokes. As if he hadn’t almost d*ed mid-s3.x.

Deciding to ignore his nonsense, Heeju unwrapped the bandage around Gukhyun’s shoulder.

“The wound itself isn’t deep, but I took precautions because of the tetanus risk. You might get muscle spasms or chills. If that happens, you need to tell me. That means it’s infected.”

“My personal doctor took care of it, so I’m sure it’s fine.”

“It’s not something to brush off. If you’re unlucky, it could lead to paralysis or even respiratory failure.”

“Damn. That’s a problem. I am usually unlucky. If I stop breathing, you gonna give me mouth-to-mouth?”

Gukhyun spoke about his injury like it was someone else’s problem, completely unbothered. His body was already covered in scars, and now he had one more to add to the collection. Heeju let out an unconscious sigh.

“You really are an executive, right?”

“Want me to pull out a business card to prove it?”

“Why the hell is an executive running around getting beat up like this?”

“Guess they put me in this position to do this kind of sh*t.”

“…….”

After checking the wound, Heeju tightened the bandage around his shoulder—roughly, without the slightest hint of kindness. Anyone else would’ve winced from the pressure, but Gukhyun just grinned, casually stubbing out his cigarette.

“Want me to tell you?”

Then, he jerked his chin toward the black water tank against the wall.

“Why I keep looking at that?”

“Do I need to know?”

“You’re curious. I’ll tell you if you gimme a kiss.”

He tapped his cheek with his index finger. Heeju hesitated for a second before pulling her hand away from his shoulder.

“No thanks. Not that curious.”

“Acting all cold now. You were the one begging for it first when we were f3c.king.”

“Speaking of that, no s3.x for a while.”

Gukhyun’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

“My d*ck’s working just fine.”

“No, it’s not.”

“You sure you checked properly?”

“Don’t pull that sh*t with me.”

Heeju ignored him and started tidying up the bandages and used gauze. She picked up the medical kit and turned to leave, but then—his low voice stopped her in her tracks.

“What do you think is worse? Parents who put out a hit on their own kid, or the thug b*stard who takes the job like it’s nothing?”

“…….”

Slowly, Heeju turned back around. Gukhyun was staring at the black water tank again, as if drawn to it by some invisible force.

“You know what an abandoned wastewater treatment plant looks like? At night, it turns pitch black. Just like that.”

“…….”

“It’s deep enough that a kid—one too small to even grow properly—would sink without a problem.”

“…….”

“The smell is f*cking unbearable. And the rotten water? It seeps into every hole in your body—your ears, nose, mouth—everywhere. They must’ve thought three days in there was enough to get the job done.”

He was talking about himself. Gukhyun was telling his own story, murmuring like it was just another distant tragedy, but Heeju couldn’t find a single word to say in response.

“A week later, that thug b*stard came back to check the body. But the kid who should’ve been long gone—sunk to the bottom—was still alive, hanging onto a mixer blade.”

Gukhyun let out a short laugh, like he couldn’t believe the absurdity of it.

“Kept slipping down ‘cause of the moss, but still clawing my way up like a f3c.king roach, desperate to survive.”

“…….”

“Looking at that thing reminds me of the black water from that night. Reminds me of what I have to do. It’s easy to forget.”

There wasn’t a single trace of emotion on his face. His voice was flat, detached, as if he were talking about someone else entirely. Then, all of a sudden, Gukhyun pulled his gaze away from the tank and looked at Heeju.

“The one who was so moved by that pathetic will to live that he faked my death with some other corpse and took me in—that was Kwon Jungman. The great man who gave me his last name. I owe him everything.”

“…….”

“I picked my first name myself. Not bad, huh?”