A Contracted Gangster Who Has to Die to Survive - Chapter 49

I clutched my chest, trying to calm my racing heart.

No way. I must have seen wrong in my half-asleep state. That was the only logical explanation.

Rubbing my still-groggy eyes, I turned my head slightly for a closer look.

A hallucination? Yeah, right.

Sleep fled my body instantly.

Sure, I had gone to bed without anything on since I’d washed my only set of underwear. But Taejoon, he had underwear. So why wasn’t he wearing any?!

“What are you staring at so intently?”

“Hrk…!”

I should have looked away. Should have closed my eyes.

But I was frozen, unable to move, like a deer caught in headlights. The moment I heard Taejoon’s voice, my entire body tensed, and I forgot how to breathe.

“Woo Kyung?”

Oh god. To Taejoon, I must have looked like some pervert who got his kicks from staring at naked men while they slept.

“…Ah. Uh, you mean that? I, uh, I just… sleep like this. It’s a habit.”

Taejoon spoke as if it were nothing.

Finally, I released the blanket I had been gripping tightly and turned away—very, very slowly. Taking a deep breath, I stretched my arms long and exaggeratedly.

“Ahh… Well, uh, anyway! I—I slept well! That’s right! Had a great sleep! Haha! Nothing to see here! Not like I was looking or anything, nope! Hahaha!”

“You looked.”

His response was blunt.

“…You totally looked.”

“…Hhhngh. I’m so sorry. I’m really, really sorry.”

He must have been angry. No—angry wasn’t enough. He was probably disgusted, offended, furious. And who could blame him? Waking up to find someone staring at that? Yeah, I’d be horrified too.

“I didn’t mean to look, I swear—”

“You even lifted the blanket.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, mentally repeating I’m doomed. I’m so, so doomed.

He had every right to call me a pervert.

Maybe if he scolded me, I could at least explain myself. But instead, Taejoon’s voice was lazy, almost teasing. It made my skin crawl in the worst way.

“So… what’s your review?”

“…Huh?”

“How impressive was it?”

My brain short-circuited.

Was he expecting a detailed description?

My mind involuntarily filled with phrases—large, well-proportioned, a strong shape, healthy color, elegant lines, magnificent volume…

I swallowed them all. No. No way.

There was no way in hell I was going to say any of that.

“Ah, well! Would you look at the time! I should get ready for work! Or was it rest? Haha, anyway! Well then, sir, I hope you have a very peaceful morning! I’ll be heading back to my room now!”

I hastily bowed while still sitting on the bed, then tried to retreat as cautiously as possible, making sure not to disturb the mattress too much.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Before I could escape, a firm grip latched onto my wrist and yanked me forward.

I barely caught myself, finding my face mere inches from Taejoon’s.

His smile was calm—too calm.

“I’m the one who should be embarrassed. So why are you running away?”

“S-Sorry! I swear, I didn’t do it on purpose!”

“No need to apologize.”

Phew. He wasn’t mad.

“Instead, since you saw mine, it’s only fair…”

“…Huh?”

“…That you show me yours.”

What?!

I nearly choked on air. My eyes stung with the sheer absurdity of what I was hearing.

Taejoon was making an absolutely ridiculous demand—just because I had accidentally seen his, he wanted to see mine?!

I clutched the front of my robe tightly and shook my head in panic.

Taejoon, still smirking, gestured toward my robe with his chin.

“Go on. Open it up.”

Was this a joke? His expression was playful, but his tone and actions… seemed deadly serious.

“P-Please, let’s calm down. I completely understand how you must be feeling, sir—”

His grip wasn’t forceful, just firm enough to make it hard to pull away. Every time I freed one hand, he caught the other. It was like watching a cat toying with its prey.

“If you understand, then make it fair.”

“L-Let me explain first!”

I rushed to get the words out before he could interrupt again.

“I know this looks bad, and you probably won’t believe me, but I swear I wasn’t trying to peek! I woke up and saw you next to me, and I was just so surprised that I sat up. And then—then the blanket slipped off, and I was only trying to pull it back up for you! That’s it! I feel terrible about this—seriously, so awful, and I—”

I barely stopped to breathe as I frantically tried to explain myself.

Taejoon, the bastard, took advantage of the pause to smoothly interject:

“So… are you going to show me or not?”

“ABSOLUTELY NOT! NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS!”

Taejoon remained silent for several seconds after hearing my answer.

In the dim light, I could clearly see his half-lidded eyes, the slightly raised angle of his chin, the prominent veins lining his strong neck, and the slow bob of his Adam’s apple.

Amidst the suffocating silence, Taejoon’s face was the only thing in sharp focus.

“…Is that so? What a shame.”

He let out a dry chuckle before releasing my wrist. Then, he dropped his head onto the pillow and closed his eyes.

“If you’re not going to show me, just go back to sleep.”

Sleep?

How could I possibly sleep next to Taejoon when my heart was pounding out of my chest?

But I had no choice. If I said I couldn’t sleep, he might start insisting on his ridiculous demand again.

So I lay flat on my back, staring at the ceiling, my hands neatly folded over my chest like someone preparing to be laid in a coffin. Then, I squeezed my eyes shut.

Even my breathing became cautious—I didn’t want to risk disturbing him. I was so tense that I couldn’t even turn my head, and soon, a thin layer of sweat formed on my clenched palms.

It seemed like he was letting it go for now, but he could change his mind at any moment. He was unpredictable like that.

But, contrary to my expectations, Taejoon did nothing.

“…What time is it?”

Instead, he sounded like he couldn’t sleep either.

“Uh, I think it’s about 5:10 a.m.”

“…Is it still raining?”

“Yes, it hasn’t stopped.”

The ordinary conversation helped calm my nerves a little.

“So the golf game must be canceled.”

“The rain’s too heavy… It’ll probably be postponed until tomorrow. But if it rains all night again, they’ll cancel it completely.”

“…Good.”

He had gone through the trouble of removing his cast early just to meet with Director Yoon for golf, but it seemed like he wasn’t fully recovered yet and had been worrying about it.

The weather was still at its worst.

Thunder rumbled through the sky, roaring loud enough to shake the earth. Each time, the lightning lit up the curtains like a camera flash.

I hated the rain.

I wasn’t scared of thunderstorms to the point where I couldn’t sleep, but I had always despised rainy days.

Taejoon, who had been lying on his stomach, propped himself up slightly and looked at me.

“…Are you that scared?”

“Huh?”

I must have flinched at the sound of thunder. He clicked his tongue softly, then buried his face back into the pillow.

At the same time, his arm draped over my chest, his hand resting gently on my opposite shoulder.

“You’re not a kid. Just go back to sleep.”

His touch wasn’t heavy, but somehow, it felt like it was pressing down on my heart rather than my shoulder.

Breaking the long silence, I cautiously spoke.

“…I just don’t like the rain. I’ve never liked it. I have some bad memories associated with it.”

I hesitated before continuing.

“But did you know? There are places in the world where it barely rains.”

Taejoon didn’t have to answer. It didn’t matter if he was awake or not—I just wanted to say it out loud.

“There are countries where it only rains once or twice a year. And even then, just a little bit… I think I’d like to live somewhere like that.”

After a brief pause, Taejoon responded.

“What about cold places?”

“Does it thunder when it snows?”

“No.”

He added that while it wasn’t impossible, the chances were very low.

“That’s interesting. Now that I think about it, snowy days are usually quiet.”

As the conversation drifted into a lull, Taejoon seemed to have finally fallen asleep. My own eyelids grew heavy.

I focused on the steady sound of his heartbeat. Before I knew it, the shallow drowsiness deepened, pulling me under.

By the time I woke up to the sound of a phone alarm, the morning light was already filling the room.

After sleeping a bit longer, my head felt clearer, and my body was in peak condition.

Taejoon had woken up earlier than me. Judging by the sound of running water, he was in the shower.

Stretching out with a long yawn, I got up from the bed.

Following the alarm sound, I wandered around the room, searching for my phone.

I remembered putting it in my jacket pocket last night… Where had I hung it?

The sound was coming from inside the dressing room.

I didn’t remember putting it there, so Taejoon must have moved it.

I retrieved my phone and silenced the alarm. That’s when my eyes landed on Taejoon’s jacket, hanging neatly beside my clothes.

I needed to find the medicine.

Since the golf meeting had been replaced with a set visit today, that meant I would be seeing Park Ha-hyun.

I cautiously peered out toward the en-suite bathroom. Through the frosted glass, I could see Taejoon’s silhouette, his head tilted under the shower as he washed his hair.

Perfect.

If he was washing his hair, that meant I had at least five minutes.

My hands trembled slightly as I reached into the inside pocket of his jacket.

It felt wrong, like I was committing some kind of theft.

But the pocket was empty.

“…Huh? Where is it?”

I was sure I had seen him put it there.

I quickly checked the other pockets, but they were empty too.

Had he moved it to his pants? No, I was certain he had placed it in the jacket. I saw it with my own eyes.

Just then, a low, weighty voice fell over my shoulder.

“…Is this what you’re looking for?”

I nearly jumped out of my skin.

I spun around so fast I almost fell. It was a miracle I didn’t scream.

At first, I didn’t even recognize the person standing there. I blinked several times before my brain caught up.

“…M-Mr. Kim?”

Kim Si-jang.

Why was he in Taejoon’s room?

More importantly—why was he holding the medicine in his hand?

I’d been caught.

I was so screwed.

Kim’s cold, piercing gaze locked onto me.

“Woo Kyung,” he said, voice firm and measured.

His grip on the small bottle tightened.

“What exactly, is it that you do?”

Support