Romantic Gangster

#73

“Open the door and let me load them in so I can leave.”

“Don’t do that and get in for a moment. Let’s talk.”

“Don’t make me say it twice and just take these.”

The man sitting in the passenger seat seemed annoyed by Hyun-joon’s curt tone and got out of the car, glaring at him. Hyun-joon only looked at Baek Ju-seung’s face, who was smiling as if something was amusing.

“Hey, Taek. Take those bags from him.”

“Yes, hyung-nim.”

The man called Taek took the bags from Hyun-joon’s hands and walked towards the trunk. Hyun-joon turned around without any lingering feelings, as if his business was done.

“How long are you going to live like this? You still have some money left for now, and you’re adapting to living like this by going to work at this kind of job?”

The sound of the car door opening and closing was heard behind him. Hyun-joon slowly turned around at the disgusting voice that got closer to his back and met eyes with Baek Ju-seung, who had a cigarette in his mouth.

“I must have clearly told you back then. That I won’t live embarrassingly anymore.”

“So why is this an embarrassing thing to do? Do what you used to do. You don’t beat people to death, you don’t drink, and you don’t mess around with kids who say they’ll take your virginity, so why is that an embarrassing job, huh? Frying and delivering chicken or collecting money from those who borrowed it, isn’t that the same thing? What’s so different about it?”

He was talking as if he had some logic, but it was hollow inside. It was such a poor persuasion that even he, who wasn’t very educated, could immediately notice that it was bullshit. It was so absurd that he couldn’t help but laugh.

“You call that talk now? It’s fucking different. I’m not a thug, but you guys are fucking thugs. Do I have to spell it out for you? I don’t want to be a fucking embarrassing thug.”

Baek Ju-seung, who was smiling as if he knew something, mentioning Ji-woo, made Hyun-joon want to punch him in the face, but it wouldn’t be good to cause a scene in front of his workplace. Hyun-joon barely loosened his clenched fists and turned his steps. He repeated to himself that enduring was winning, but he didn’t understand it. It was too difficult to get rid of the thought of turning back and smashing that face right away.

“What were you talking about for so long? Do you know them?”

“No. Well… They were asking if they could order again next time, something like that.”

“Really? Did you say it’s okay?”

“Yes.”

“Good job, good job. You’re a lucky charm, a lucky charm. I knew business would be good because you have a nice neck, but I didn’t know it would explode like this. Hyun-joon. I’ll let you do whatever you want, so please keep coming for a long, long time. Let’s see each other for a long time.”

Hyun-joon, who squeezed out a smile that didn’t come out while looking at the owner who kept laughing as if he was happy to sell a lot of chicken, pressed his fingertips firmly against his throbbing temples.

“I’ll go to the pharmacy for a moment. I have a bit of a headache.”

“No, why do you have a headache? Do you have a cold?”

“It’s not that, but my head suddenly hurts a bit.”

“Okay, okay. Go quickly and buy some medicine.”

Hyun-joon, who politely bowed to the owner, left the store and headed towards the convenience store. It was true that he really had a headache, but the reason he said he would go to the pharmacy was because he felt like he had to see Ji-woo right away.

If they were guys who knew that he worked here, there was a high possibility that they also knew Ji-woo worked at the convenience store, so he couldn’t relax. He felt like he could only be at ease after seeing with his own two eyes that Ji-woo was doing well.

One step, two steps… At first, his feet that were walking fast started running after a few steps. Hyun-joon took in the brightly flashing convenience store sign with his eyes and opened the door wide, going inside.

“Welcome… Oh? Hyun-joon!”

Seeing Ji-woo’s eyes widen as he greeted him from the counter, Hyun-joon strode into the counter area as if it was natural.

“It’s not time for your shift to end yet, so why are you here? Is something wrong at the store?”

“I came because I missed you so much.”

As soon as he got close enough to touch, Hyun-joon hugged Ji-woo tightly. Perhaps because he was surprised, he could feel a faint sweet scent leaking out. As he buried his face in Ji-woo’s neck and inhaled deeply, the sense of stability he had longed for slowly accumulated in his anxious heart.

“I missed you too…”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Today of all days, time is passing so slowly. I organized and cleaned, but only 30 minutes passed… There aren’t many customers yet, so I was going to study, but I strangely couldn’t concentrate. So I was just thinking about you, and you really came.”

“If I had known, I should have come a bit earlier. I fucking missed you so much too. After going to work, I only thought about you until now.”

“Me too… Is it because we… did that?”

Hyun-joon burst into laughter at Ji-woo’s voice that got a bit smaller than before. Now that he saw Ji-woo, the mood that had been filled with irritation, anxiety, and worries was relieved and he felt like laughing.

“What is that?”

“…What we did yesterday…”

“So what did we do yesterday?”

Hyun-joon, who slightly released his body while still holding Ji-woo’s waist, met his eyes with a playful gaze. Ji-woo was so cute and pretty that he wanted to tease him more and more. He did that even more because he knew that if he persistently pretended not to know and asked, Ji-woo would be too embarrassed to say anything.

“Huh? What did we do? What did we do yesterday… We ate cheeseballs and slept warmly because you had a cold.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

“I’m not pretending, I really don’t know. What did we do yesterday? Kiss?”

Hyun-joon tilted his head and kissed Ji-woo’s lips with a smacking sound. There was a sweet taste.

“What? Why is it so sweet?”

Hyun-joon, who licked his lips that had touched Ji-woo’s and pulled away, tilting his head in wonder. There was definitely a slight sweetness, although very faint.

Hyun-joon lowered his head again and licked Ji-woo’s lower lip before sucking it in with a slurp. He liked the faint sweetness, so this time he put his tongue inside and tasted Ji-woo’s mouth here and there. It tasted like fruit, as if he had eaten candy or something.

“…Mmph…”

Ji-woo’s tongue, perhaps worn out from Hyun-joon’s tongue searching for the sweetness in his mouth rather than kissing, approached first and rubbed against Hyun-joon’s tongue. At that moment, Hyun-joon felt a strong stimulation that made goosebumps run down his spine. His lower abdomen churned and he felt strength suddenly fill his lower body.

Hyun-joon deeply penetrated while entangling his tongue and sucked on Ji-woo’s tongue as he wanted. The more he rubbed his tongue, the weaker the sweetness became, which strangely aroused him.

Perhaps it was because they went all the way yesterday, but the degree of excitement was a bit different from usual. Before, when they kissed and got aroused, he wanted to touch Ji-woo, but now he wanted to enter Ji-woo.

Looking at Ji-woo, who was breathing heavily like him, he was curious if he was as excited as him, and he also wanted to frantically exchange breaths like yesterday.

“Ha… Ji-woo, I want to do it again. Fuck, I’m really going crazy…”

Hyun-joon completely pushed Ji-woo into the counter and made him lean against it, then grabbed his chin again and deeply intertwined their tongues. Ji-woo, who was emitting the scent of castella in response to his pheromones, was so lovely that he kept losing his reason. He knew this was his workplace, and he knew he had to go back to work after coming here, but he wanted to ignore it all, which was troubling.

Then, the sound of the convenience store door opening was heard. Ji-woo, who was startled, quickly escaped from Hyun-joon’s arms and stood at the counter. Hyun-joon, who was looking down at Ji-woo’s reddened neck, glanced at the customer who had gone to the beverage section and lowered his head to kiss Ji-woo there with a smack. Even that small skinship made Ji-woo’s shoulders flinch.

“One Able.”

“Yes.”

Ji-woo quickly took out the cigarettes the man mentioned and placed the coffee he brought to the counter, scanning the barcode to tell him the price. The man placed his cell phone on the machine to complete the payment and immediately left the convenience store. Only after the man was completely gone did Ji-woo let out a sigh of relief and sat down on the chair.

“…That surprised me.”

“Why are you so surprised? What if they see? They’ll know we’re dating.”

Hyun-joon, who sat next to Ji-woo with a smile, fiddled with his silky hair. Now it was really time to go back. He saw Ji-woo, so he felt at ease, and facing his pheromones made everything okay, but if there was one problem, it was that he really didn’t want to leave Ji-woo.

“I really don’t want to leave. I always felt like this, but today it’s really bad. My feet won’t move.”

“Me too… I want to be with you.”

“Should I not go?”

Ji-woo thought for a moment. It wasn’t something to think about, but for a moment, he didn’t want to let Hyun-joon go so much that it became a dilemma.

“Huh? I thought you’d tell me to go quickly, but Seo Ji-woo is thinking about it.”

“…I know. I shouldn’t think about it, but it’s becoming a dilemma.”

“It’s because you like me so much. Because you fucking love me.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Ji-woo smiled and checked that no one was at the door, then lightly kissed Hyun-joon’s lips with a smack, smack.

“Now go quickly. The owner will be looking for you. If we endure a bit, it’s the weekend. From tonight until before going to work on Monday, we can stick together… Let’s endure a bit. Okay? We can do that, right?”

The hand patting his waist felt like it was comforting a child. Even though he was being treated like a kid, far from feeling bad, he liked it so much that he wanted to become Ji-woo’s child. Of course, then there would be too many things he couldn’t do, so it wouldn’t work out. Hyun-joon grinned and nodded in response to Ji-woo’s expectation.

He felt like he could cleanly forget the fact that the fucking thugs came looking for him and spend the remaining time in a good mood thinking about Ji-woo.

“Okay. I can do well. Whose boyfriend am I?”

“Hyun-joon is a good boy.”

“Whose boyfriend am I?”

“My boyfriend.”

“That’s right. Your boyfriend. Seo Ji-woo’s boyfriend. Seo Ji-woo’s.”

Hyun-joon, who kissed Ji-woo’s lips a few more times, left the counter. Ji-woo, who followed him out to see him off, was so pretty.

“Ah, but what did you really eat that made your tongue so sweet? Candy?”

“I ate mango jelly. It’s a new product, and the owner told me to try it because it’s delicious.”

“…Ah, shit. Why does saying you ate mango jelly sound so sexy? Buy one and eat it in front of me when you come after your shift ends later.”

“Don’t say weird things and go quickly.”

“You’re too much, Seo Ji-woo. You’ll do that because it’s Seo Ji-woo.”

“Okay, Lee Hyun-joon.”

Hyun-joon, who was halfway out the convenience store door, came back in when Ji-woo said his full name, held his face, and lightly pressed their lips together and intertwined their tongues. Then, looking at Ji-woo who was looking up at him in a dazed state, he asked again.

“Is it still Lee Hyun-joon?”

“…No, Hyun-joonie.”

“Yeah, that’s right. I love you. See you after work.”

“I love you too.”

Smack, smack. The slightly protruding lips touched twice more before Hyun-joon left the convenience store. With his ears turning red, Ji-woo waved goodbye to Hyun-joon, who was walking towards the chicken cafe. Although it was a shame to see him go, if he endured just three more hours, he could spend a long weekend with Hyun-joon.

‘That’s right. Your boyfriend. Seo Ji-woo’s boyfriend. Seo Ji-woo’s.’

Ji-woo, who recalled Hyun-joon’s words that he spoke with a grin, headed to the counter with an unconcealable smile on his lips.

Among the many people in the world, he liked that Hyun-joon was his. He felt like he could happily spend the remaining three hours with just that one thought.