It felt like his ears were rotting off. Unable to listen any longer, No Eunjae slung an arm around each of the two guys’ shoulders and yanked them close. Being taller than average and built solid enough that people didn’t casually pick fights with him came in handy at times like this.

“If you’re that jealous of Hajin hyung, go suck a dick yourselves. But fuck, with faces like rotten soy-marinated crab, you’d have to pay just to beg someone to let you near their cock.”

“N-No, that’s not what we meant......”

The sudden hostility made them flinch. They awkwardly exchanged glances and backpedaled, saying they hadn’t known Eunjae and Cha Haejun were close.

“We’re all selling our bodies for money here. At least keep some lines intact. Watch your mouths. Whether your life’s long or short depends on this little tongue of yours. Got it?”

“Yeah, of course!”

After hammering it in a few more times, he let them go. The rumors about Haejun died down quickly after that. Whether they were only being careful in front of him or genuinely lying low, the threat had worked.

From then on, Eunjae started sticking to Haejun more persistently. He wanted to know him better. Wanted to see what would happen if light ever returned to those eyes.

Not that mask-like smile—but a real expression, something that came from the inside. Why he cared so much, he didn’t even know. He just did.

In the end, he never got to see it. They lost contact. They hadn’t even exchanged numbers. Haejun never left so much as a crack for anyone to slip into.

And then, as if by coincidence, they met again as neighbors. An encounter he hadn’t expected—and one he was absurdly glad for. Maybe it wasn’t a connection meant to snap that easily. Maybe the sky had given him another chance.

To see joy seep into those hollow eyes at least once. To be the one who made it happen.

...That’s what he’d thought.

“......”

Eunjae stubbed out the cigarette he’d finished down to the filter. He considered heading back in—it was freezing—but hesitated, wondering if those fucking moans were still going.

Just ten more minutes. He decided to wait it out, sat down on the bench, and pulled out his phone.

He was mindlessly scrolling through short videos when he heard footsteps. At this hour, it was usually drunk idiots, so he didn’t bother looking.

Then someone strolled casually into the smoking area. No stagger in the steps—clearly not drunk. The figure slipping into his peripheral vision was taller than him. Eunjae wasn’t exactly short himself, so he lifted his head slightly, curious how much taller.

The face drawing on a cigarette looked familiar.

Eunjae narrowed his eyes—and sucked in a sharp breath.

Was there some rule that enemies met on narrow bridges and uncomfortable people met in smoking areas? Even in an open-air space, the mere fact that the man stood beside him made the air feel heavy.

He’d once seen this man walk confidently into the place where Cha Haejun lived. The obscene moans that had dragged him out of sleep earlier were probably that bastard’s handiwork.

Better not get tangled up and end up bleeding for it. He was about to leave when a ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ voice came from behind him.

“Stay a bit longer. I’m out of fuel.”

The man flicked a Zippo lightly in the air before slipping it back into his pocket and looking down at Eunjae.

Eunjae forced an ambiguous smile. He could’ve easily lied and said his lighter was broken too. But something about that faint smile on the man’s face made his legs stiffen.

After a short hesitation, he pulled his lighter out. It wasn’t like the guy was asking to borrow money. No point puffing up his pride over a spark of fire.

He flicked it. The man dipped his head and brought the tip of his cigarette to the flame.

A sculpted nose. Lips wrapped around a cigarette. The firelight flickered over his cheek. Whatever lay beneath the surface, the exterior alone was refined enough to steal anyone’s breath.

“I heard you’re quite close with Cha Haejun.”

Eunjae had been staring absentmindedly. The follow-up made his face go pale.

The man’s features weren’t particularly sharp, but there was something about him that made eye contact alone suffocating. Maybe it was the low voice, like a beast scraping its throat. Maybe the sheer physical dominance.

“Yeah... I guess.”

“You worked at the same place.”

“Enough digging into me. Why don’t you introduce yourself first?”

It felt like the man was extracting information unilaterally. Eunjae cut him off firmly. He might have been shrinking inside, but he kept his expression neutral and lifted his chin.

“Cha Haejun’s client.”

There was nothing to boast about in paying a man to do that. Yet the guy answered plainly, with no attempt to hide it. As casually as mentioning washing his face or eating a meal.

“Oh. And what business does Haejun hyung’s client have with me?”

Eunjae was generally kind to others. But in front of this man, caution came first.

It wasn’t just because he’d ruined his sleep.

The man was playing with Haejun. It was obvious, even to someone uninvolved, that he held Haejun in his palm and toyed with him at will.

A host and a client were always unequal. But in their case, the imbalance was extreme. That’s why it grated. Those empty eyes from that day still lingered in his mind.

What more could this man possibly want to take from someone who didn’t even have a straw left to clutch?

Just as he tilted his head, trying to read him, the man spoke.

“Until the contract ends, he’s mine. I don’t like others touching what belongs to me.”

“We’re just friends. You’re misunderstanding.”

“No guarantee you’ll stay just friends.”

“Even if we were dating, I don’t think it’s your place to interfere.”

He couldn’t understand how someone who paid for sex felt entitled to chain down Haejun’s entire life.

“Don’t you think this is overstepping?”

He tilted his head and shot back. The man slid the cigarette between his fingers. The corner of his mouth twisted at the same angle as Eunjae’s head.

“Overstepping, huh.”

“You’re a client, right? Then act like one. Why are you clinging and meddling in Haejun hyung’s private life?”

He was openly mocking him.

Suddenly, the man grabbed Eunjae’s wrist and yanked him forward.

The force was abrupt. Eunjae tried to pull free, but the grip was stronger than he’d imagined. He’d spent years lifting weights; he was confident in his strength. But in front of this man, he was nothing. His arm trembled. The hand trapped in that grip drained white.

The man casually tapped ash onto Eunjae’s open palm.

There was an ashtray right beside them.

“No Eunjae.”

The ash burned faintly against his skin. He couldn’t even get angry and ask what the hell he was doing. Some instinctive alarm was blaring inside his skull.

Under that steady gaze, the back of his neck prickled. Despite the freezing air, cold sweat dampened his spine.

“I once saw someone lose his wrist for coveting what wasn’t his.”

The man tightened his grip. Bone pressed against bone. Eunjae swallowed hard. The jutting wrist bone felt like it might shatter like tofu.

“The guy who did it said an axe’s easier than a saw.”

He spoke like he was recounting something he’d merely heard. But it felt like a firsthand memory. The image of him bringing down a sharp axe on someone’s wrist flashed vividly in Eunjae’s mind.

“So tell me. Who’s overstepping?”

The man ran a thick thumb over Eunjae’s bleached-white wrist and smiled faintly. So alluring it almost made him forget they were both men.

Eunjae’s face, however, drained of all color.

Goosebumps crawled over his entire body. This wasn’t some petty thug’s empty threat. Just like Haejun, this man lived in a world completely different from his own. He could probably slice off a wrist as easily as snapping a cigarette in half.

Then, without warning, he pressed the burning tip of his cigarette into Eunjae’s palm.

The flesh sizzled.

Eunjae nearly screamed, but the man was watching. The second a sound slipped from his mouth, it wouldn’t be his palm getting burned—it would be his tongue.

He trembled violently and swallowed the cry. The man smiled as if impressed, then finally let go.

A red band circled Eunjae’s wrist. It would definitely bloom into a dark bruise in a few hours.

“Thanks for the light.”

The man even folded Eunjae’s fingers shut himself. The cigarette butt remained in his hand.

He wanted to shove the bastard away and shake his hand clean. But his body was frozen solid.

The man patted his shoulder twice and left the smoking area. Only after the footsteps completely faded did Eunjae unclench his hand. He shook it violently, scattering ash and the crushed cigarette to the ground. When he brushed away the remaining ash with his thumb, a round burn mark was seared into his skin.

“Fuck......”

Like a mouse frozen before a cat, he hadn’t resisted at all.

Only after the man was gone did his body move again. His injured palm throbbed, but what burned worse was the humiliation of how he’d shaken in front of him.

“Should I just grab him and run?”

He clenched his fist, breathing hard. For a moment he wanted to take Cha Haejun and bolt somewhere far away. Not for Haejun’s sake—but to spite that man.

“......”

But he let the thought go. As if warning him, the mark on his palm caught his eye. Even exposed to the freezing air, the pain wouldn’t cool.

Eunjae valued his life. He knew when to leave while the applause was still ringing. He knew to stop before crossing a line. If he stepped any deeper into Haejun’s world, it wouldn’t end with just a crushed wrist. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

He inhaled deeply, held it, then exhaled slowly. After squeezing his eyes shut and opening them again, his decision was made.

He wasn’t completely free of lingering attachment. But he couldn’t risk becoming half-crippled over it.

“No choice.”

He was about to start another part-time job soon anyway. Naturally, the time he’d bump into Haejun would decrease.

Suppressing the stubborn regret that kept rising, Eunjae dropped heavily onto the bench.

The burn on his palm was deeper than he’d thought.

It looked like it would take a long time to fade.