Free Web NovelThe waiting room was waiting in name only—really, it was just a storage room. Haejun propped a fallen mop back upright, then sprawled across a worn-out sofa with the bottom completely torn open. His eyes never left his phone. Most of the messages coming in were ads, a few from Yohan, and the rest were people begging for extra lives in games.
He was in the middle of sending Yohan some pointless bullshit when a new message arrived. Figuring it was just another ad, he was about to ignore it—then he saw the notification banner and shot upright. freёweɓnovel.com
Before the content, the sender’s name hit him first.
Lee Kangjoo.
[See you tomorrow]
The phone buzzed again immediately. Another message followed—location and time. Some hotel, some room number, be there by a certain hour. Haejun stared at the screen over and over, hand pressed to his forehead, wondering if he’d read it wrong. It could be spam, or someone impersonating him, or some kind of phishing scam. He checked the name again, memorized every letter, reread it until his eyes hurt.
“......Holy shit.”
It was real.
Haejun collapsed back onto the sofa. Pale dust puffed up and a musty smell filled the air, but his mind was completely glued to the message Lee Kangjoo had sent.
“It’s real.”
He couldn’t just lie there. He had to reply. Haejun typed out a short sentence, deleted it, typed it again, erased it again. The line he finally settled on was this:
[Yes, understood]
As dry as Lee Kangjoo’s message. He hesitated for a long moment before hitting send, then added a smiling emoticon at the end.
That was it. There was no further conversation.
* * *
Haejun’s head was a full-blown disaster zone. He remembered why he’d gone looking for Lee Kangjoo in the first place—because he was terrified that if something that big got shoved into his precious hole, he might actually die.
And yet here they were. Lee Kangjoo had set the date, booked the room, named the time. He was standing at the edge of a cliff with nowhere left to run.
While eating, half-chewed food spilled out of the corner of his mouth. He didn’t even notice. Yohan, sitting across from him, yanked out a few tissues and shoved them over. They were printed with late-night food delivery ads and café promotions.
“Disgusting bastard.”
Haejun stared blankly at the tissue. In the end, Yohan pulled one knee up onto his chair and roughly wiped Haejun’s mouth himself. The sting made Haejun finally grab the tissue and finish cleaning up.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“What about me?”
“You. You’re not normal today.”
“I’m never normal.”
“That’s true, but today you’re especially not.”
Haejun chewed the food left in his mouth like a cow working cud. His mind was completely occupied with how he was supposed to deal with Lee Kangjoo tonight—he didn’t even notice Yohan staring at him funny.
“Hey. How do you sleep with a guy?”
Yohan spit water straight out of his mouth. He turned his head just in time, barely avoiding soaking the table. What the fuck is wrong with him? Haejun shot him a glare, but Yohan just coughed, eyes wide, staring back.
“What?”
“No, I mean—”
“You insane fuck. Ever since you got your cherry popped by that old man, you’ve lost it?”
“Don’t talk crazy. No! It’s not that. Someone I know asked me. I was just curious.”
Whatever pride he had left wouldn’t let him admit he was about to get fucked by a man. Yohan wiped the spilled water off the floor with a tissue, then laughed like he couldn’t believe this shit.
“How would I know.”
“You’ve never done it?”
“I haven’t gone that far yet. And I won’t. But I’ve heard things.”
“Heard what?”
Haejun perked up immediately. Yohan picked up his spoon, scooped a big chunk of the now-cold tuna kimchi stew, mashed it into his white rice, and shoved it into his mouth.
“They say it’s fucking amazing.”
“Amazing?”
Haejun blurted it out in shock. Sure, he’d come from that old man’s filthy hands before, but that was thanks to the geezer’s absurd level of experience. A medical rod and Lee Kangjoo’s cock weren’t even remotely comparable. Would it even go in?
“They say you lose it completely.”
Yohan emphasized it, lips curling crookedly like he didn’t quite believe it himself.
“That’s even possible?”
Haejun leaned forward, genuinely curious. Yohan slammed his spoon down on the table with a sharp clack.
“But why the fuck am I # Nоvеlight # having this conversation while I’m eating?”
He looked truly irritated. Haejun backed off before he gave anything away, rambling about some divorce program he’d watched last night, about which couple did what to who. His mouth kept moving nonstop, but inside, his head was still packed solid with worries about Lee Kangjoo.
After the meal, Haejun shared the gummy vitamins he’d stuffed into his pocket with Yohan. When Yohan asked where they came from, his heart skipped, but there was no way he could say Lee Kangjoo’s name. He brushed it off, saying a customer had given them to him, and saw Yohan off as he left for a delivery.
* * *
Even after clocking in, Haejun couldn’t take his eyes off his phone. He kept hoping Lee Kangjoo would change his mind and cancel the appointment.
That didn’t happen.
Even the usual ad texts were quiet today.
Naturally, he didn’t get picked. He put on his usual charm, smiled sweetly, acted cute—but there was no fooling sharp customers. People weren’t generous enough to open their wallets for a host whose mind was clearly somewhere else.
So Haejun spent the time getting nagged at by the Boss, kicked a few times, and listening to other hosts say shit like, “Hyung, I heard Hajin can’t even get it up anymore. Poor thing,” and other lovely comments.
Time crawled by, slow but steady—and somehow still faster than usual. He got distracted for just a moment, and suddenly it was almost time to meet.
Haejun straightened his legs from where he’d been sitting in the hallway. The Boss had been leaving early every day lately, so even if Haejun disappeared, he probably wouldn’t notice. There was always CCTV, sure, but if he got questioned later, he had plenty of excuses. Threw his back out. Aunt got rushed to the ER. With the Boss’s shitty personality, he’d get kicked a few times, but that was manageable.
“Oh, hyung. Where you going?”
Just as he was slipping out, Lucid’s new ace—fresh off running two tables back to back—grabbed him. The kid had been all country bumpkin and baby-faced at first, but after a few months, he’d filled out. Like the Boss said, he must’ve been working out—his shoulders and back were broader than when he’d first joined.
Haejun didn’t know his name. He’d been told the real one, but it vanished from Haejun’s memory almost instantly.
“Looks like today’s a bust.”
“They say two more teams are coming later.”
“My body’s not great.”
Haejun muttered weakly, kneading his shoulder. The kid slung an arm around him and leaned in, whispering like they were sharing a secret.
“Hyung, but seriously—are you really impotent now? Is that rumor true? I even heard you’re switching sides, you know, not that way anymore.”
Haejun, a little shorter, lifted his eyes sharply. But with eyes that naturally drooped, it didn’t carry much menace.
“Which crazy fuck started that bullshit? Bring him here. Fuck.”
Apparently finding Haejun’s angry outburst cute, the kid covered his grin with his fist. When Haejun raised a hand like he was about to grab his collar, the kid finally cleared his throat and fixed his expression. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
“Hey, I’m just saying. Everyone here knows you like women. They’re just jealous because you’re cute and running their mouths. Don’t let it get to you.”
“Tell them to eat shit.”
Haejun flipped him off and turned away. He’d wasted time on pointless chatter. He hurried up the stairs, calling a taxi as he went.
Truth was, cold sweat ran down his back. He was scared the rumor that he was meeting Lee Kangjoo had already spread. But that couldn’t be it. If anyone knew, the Boss would’ve snapped his ankle first thing.
“If you really switch lanes, tell me first, hyung! I’ve got money!”
The kid shouted, hand cupped to the side of his mouth. Luckily, the hallway was empty—only muffled music and shrill laughter leaking from rooms. Still, Haejun scolded him with a sharp “Hey!” like an old man and left the place.
* * *
Haejun stood under the running water for a long time. He washed his hair, scrubbed his body more thoroughly than usual, but he didn’t want to leave the bathroom. His head felt foggy, his thoughts drifting, like even his toes were floating off the ground.
He was about to meet Lee Kangjoo.
The image of an arowana’s massive body flashed through his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut. His hand moved on its own toward his ass. Just thinking about it made his cheeks clench tight.
