Chapter 111

Did he mention he became officially affiliated with Korea while I was gone?

True to his word, Bale Taylor’s attire and hairstyle had subtly transformed into a distinctly Korean style. Even the sunglasses resting on the table were a domestic brand.

He was a guy who maintained his concept in the strangest, most specific ways. And…

Maybe this isn’t as bad as I thought.

Bale Taylor’s personality and abilities were undeniably dangerous, but conversely, that made him an incredibly useful pawn. His power was genuine. An ability user capable of placing binding restrictions on S-Rank Hunters was a rare and valuable card to possess.

Should I just leave him be for now? As long as he didn’t actively harm Kwon Haeju, he was certainly a useful asset to keep around.

Feigning complete innocence as if he hadn’t just been crushing the man’s skull with murderous intent moments ago, Nam Shin-hoo smiled casually.

“Keep my words firmly in mind. And, though it’s a bit late, welcome to Korea. The more S-Rank Hunters affiliated with the nation, the better. I expect you to work properly from now on without trying any funny business.”

“…”

“Your answer?” Nam Shin-hoo prompted.

“Uh, I also… thanks. For welcoming me?” Bale Taylor stammered.

“Good boy.”

Looking utterly exhausted, Bale Taylor shook his head. He muttered in a small voice, “Why are Korean Hunters all like this?” before grumbling to himself again, but Nam Shin-hoo easily ignored him.

Meanwhile, having finished washing his face, Kwon Haeju approached the two of them. His damp, pitch-black bangs clung to his smooth forehead, making his thick eyebrows and striking blue eyes appear even more vivid and piercing.

“What were you discussing?” Kwon Haeju asked smoothly.

“I was just telling him I look forward to working with him,” Nam Shin-hoo replied.

“…It seems our personalities match better than expected?”

Kwon Haeju’s expression was razor-sharp as he scanned the highly unlikely duo. It was glaringly obvious exactly what he was thinking. And Bale Taylor effortlessly read that exact same murderous expression.

The American Hunter’s shoulders slumped entirely. He hadn’t even been in this house for thirty minutes, yet he looked as if he had been subjected to three straight days of psychological torture.

“Can I just… go now?” Bale Taylor pleaded weakly.

“I assume you don’t need me to see you out,” Nam Shin-hoo noted.

“Yeah. Just please let me leave.”

Rising without an ounce of strength, Bale Taylor practically staggered out the front entrance. The heavy thud of the iron door clicking shut echoed from a distance.

“What is wrong with him?” Kwon Haeju asked, tilting his head.

“No idea. Guess he was just really tired.”

Approaching Nam Shin-hoo’s side, Kwon Haeju gently pulled his hand, guiding him to sit together on the sofa. Moisture still lingered on his fingertips. Having likely washed with cold water, a cool, refreshing scent radiated from his skin. Nam Shin-hoo reached up and brushed the younger man’s bangs back, fully revealing his flawless forehead.

“You’re really handsome,” Nam Shin-hoo stated simply.

“Do you mean that?”

“Of course. Haven’t you heard that countless times?”

Given Kwon Haeju’s devastating looks, he should have been so sick of hearing he was handsome that it merely registered as a generic, meaningless greeting. However, his reaction entirely defied expectations.

Visibly mulling over Nam Shin-hoo’s words, the back of Kwon Haeju’s neck flushed a brilliant, searing red.

“…”

Pushing Nam Shin-hoo gently back against the sofa cushions, Kwon Haeju abruptly buried his face deep into the older man’s chest. It was an action clearly driven by a desperate desire to hide his own flustered expression.

No way… Is he actually feeling shy right now?

Bearing the full weight of the massive man sprawled atop him, Nam Shin-hoo stared down in disbelief. The body heat that had previously cooled in the cold water had already skyrocketed back to its usual scorching temperature. Through the thin fabric of his clothes, Nam Shin-hoo could distinctly feel Kwon Haeju’s sculpturally solid musculature—the exact same body he had clung to all through last night.

As the intimately familiar body heat washed over him, vivid memories of yesterday’s intense encounter inevitably resurfaced.

It had been a very long time since he had shared physical intimacy with anyone. After regressing to his twenty-eight-year-old body, he simply hadn’t possessed the mental bandwidth to properly relieve his desires, and even in his past life, he had been far too consumed by the looming threat of Nuckelavee to afford such luxuries.

And last night’s encounter… for something initiated so hastily out of sheer, desperate necessity, it hadn’t been bad. No, ‘not bad’ was a massive understatement. It had been overwhelmingly positive.

Basking in the long-forgotten warmth of human contact felt incredibly good, and the sensations that had initially been purely agonizing had eventually blossomed into something almost excessively sweet.

Of course, he had to be extremely careful with the rings.

Nam Shin-hoo cautiously twisted the silver band adorning his finger. A ring that perfectly fit his digit without ever being sized harbored far too many suspicious qualities. He still couldn’t accurately discern its exact activation conditions; sometimes it transmitted emotions flawlessly, while other times it remained entirely dormant.

But one fact was absolutely certain.

Yesterday, right in the middle of their intense physical connection, the exact second the two rings collided, Kwon Haeju’s climax had violently transferred directly into his own nervous system. Of all the possible moments for the artifact to activate.

‘I knew it was blatantly a couple’s item, but still.’

He hadn’t expected such a catastrophic, overwhelming effect. It was undeniably a dangerous artifact that required extreme caution. Most importantly, Nam Shin-hoo absolutely refused to let Kwon Haeju discover this specific function.

Why?

‘Because it’s humiliating as hell.’

That was his brutally honest sentiment, one that made his cheeks burn hot every single time he recalled last night. His pride as the older, supposedly more experienced man simply wouldn’t tolerate the humiliation of losing his mind and being completely swept away by a guy so much younger than him. Especially when Nam Shin-hoo theoretically possessed far more life experience and maturity.

Nam Shin-hoo gently stroked Kwon Haeju’s thick, curly hair. Softer than straight hair, it felt exactly like petting a large, affectionate dog. If it weren’t for the unpredictable rings, this would be the perfect, cozy atmosphere for the two of them…

“Mmm…”

Right until the rings had collided, Nam Shin-hoo had actually been able to moderately enjoy the encounter. Which meant that as long as he ensured the metal bands didn’t physically touch, everything would be fine.

“Kwon Haeju.”

“Yes?”

“You don’t have any other schedules for the rest of the day, right?”

“No.”

Still burying his face in Nam Shin-hoo’s chest, Kwon Haeju’s muffled voice vibrated against him. The warm breaths escaping his lips pleasantly tickled his skin.

Nam Shin-hoo gently caressed Kwon Haeju’s flushed cheek. As he slowly dragged his hand down the column of the younger man’s neck, Kwon Haeju abruptly snapped his head up. His striking blue eyes wavered beautifully in the light.

“Then should we head upstairs?” Nam Shin-hoo murmured.

Though the sun was still shining brightly outside, Kwon Haeju’s bedroom was equipped with excellent, heavy blackout curtains.

***

In the heavy silence, broken only by the faint ticking of the clock and low, rhythmic breathing, a pair of piercing blue eyes glowed in the dark.

Having awoken from his slumber, Kwon Haeju carefully traced the skin of the man sleeping beside him. The sweat-dampened flesh clung softly to his fingertips.

It felt exactly like a dream. Nam Shin-hoo’s body, which he had obsessively bitten and sucked until just moments ago, was covered in vivid red marks that remained glaringly obvious even under the pale moonlight. Yet, he knew it wasn’t a dream. Kwon Haeju’s actual dreams were never this sweet.

The same applied to Nam Shin-hoo. He was always plagued by horrific nightmares, constantly suffering and tossing in his sleep. Gently, Kwon Haeju used his fingertip to smooth out the slight crease forming between Nam Shin-hoo’s brows.

While he still seemed to be suffering from bad dreams, his agony wasn’t nearly as profound as it used to be. It had been this way ever since Nam Shin-hoo returned. He had no idea where the man had been or what he had endured during that missing time, but the Nam Shin-hoo who had returned after four years was noticeably more stable than before.

Unlike Kwon Haeju.

During that time, the only one who had continuously regressed and remained violently trapped in the past was Kwon Haeju himself. That was precisely why, even though he had clearly noticed Nam Shin-hoo was lying, he couldn’t bring himself to interrogate him. He was terrified that his own fragile mask—the one desperately pretending he was a functioning, normal human being—would be violently ripped away.

He was terrified that the incredibly perceptive Nam Shin-hoo would read the pitch-black fragments of madness swirling in his eyes. Because his internal abyss was infinitely darker and more sinister than Nam Shin-hoo could ever comprehend.

Kwon Haeju slowly rubbed his own eyes, which had permanently turned blue after his treatment. Nam Shin-hoo had never once asked about the change in his eye color. It was almost as if he already knew that receiving treatment from that specific Healer wouldn’t return his appearance exactly to how it was before.

‘There are so many things I need to investigate.’

Nam Shin-hoo possessed highly classified intelligence strictly guarded by the United States, alongside impossible knowledge of future events. Just how vast was the scope of his knowledge?

What exactly was Nam Shin-hoo thinking? How much of the impending future did he actually know?

Out of the countless words whispered from those gentle lips, which ones were lies, and which were the truth? Was his promise to remain by his side the only genuine truth among them?

Despite harboring an endless sea of questions, he had helplessly succumbed to Nam Shin-hoo’s persuasion without even securing the magical contract. The promise that Nam Shin-hoo would stay by his side, rather than Choi Kanghyeon’s, had simply been too intoxicatingly sweet to resist.

‘If it’s just for a little while, it should be fine. Just for a short while…’

For four agonizing years, Kwon Haeju had made the exact same vow every single day, meticulously preparing for this exact moment. He had sworn that the moment Nam Shin-hoo returned, he would weaponize his own life as a shackle to imprison him forever. He had even forced Bale Taylor’s transfer to Korea for that explicit purpose. Yet, when reality finally arrived, he had completely crumbled at a single, lie-laced coaxing from Nam Shin-hoo.

From the very beginning, Nam Shin-hoo was an opponent he could never hope to defeat. His feelings were too old, too deeply fossilized within his very core.

Kwon Haeju continued his continuous, gentle caresses. He softly pressed against the long eyelashes and soft lips.

“Mmm…”

As Kwon Haeju’s trailing fingertips drifted below his collarbone, Nam Shin-hoo shifted in his sleep. Following the touch that grazed his sensitive skin, Nam Shin-hoo blindly reached out, resting his hand atop Kwon Haeju’s and naturally patting it in a comforting rhythm. Without even opening his eyes.

“…”

That effortlessly affectionate gesture violently twisted Kwon Haeju’s insides.

Having shared his body, he knew. While this might have been Nam Shin-hoo’s first time engaging in physical intimacy with another man, it was glaringly obvious he had possessed other partners in the past. He showed zero aversion to another person touching his body, and his movements in seeking and responding to pleasure were undeniably experienced.

For someone as popular and constantly at the center of attention as Nam Shin-hoo, it was only natural. Of course it was… At the very least, during the four years Kwon Haeju had spent desperately searching for him, no one had ever stepped forward claiming to be Nam Shin-hoo’s lover, meaning there hadn’t been any long-term, serious partners.

Bowing his head, Kwon Haeju pressed a light, fleeting kiss against Nam Shin-hoo’s lips.

It was pathetic, but he couldn’t stop the suffocating jealousy. Whenever he stood before Nam Shin-hoo, he felt inexplicably reduced to a helpless child. Despite being a mere four years younger, and having now reached the exact age Nam Shin-hoo was when he disappeared, Kwon Haeju still felt like a pathetic loser utterly paralyzed by his own scars, entirely incapable of doing anything.