Chapter 68

“Song Naru, you—!”

“You threw away the alcohol. Yu Gyu-yeon, you threw it away!”

Gyu-yeon, sprawled on the floor, blinked his eyes shut and open. It was brief, but a fierce edge could be felt.

Something cool touched the base of his neck. Gyu-yeon looked down in alarm. What touched his neck was none other than a metal chopstick.

Gyu-yeon pushed Naru’s arm away and sighed. Naru was still loudly insisting that the alcohol had been thrown away.

His soft, genteel voice was so gentle that even when he shouted it didn’t sound like shouting. If one had to compare, it was like a little puppy yapping.

“Get up, let’s go home.”

“The alcohol’s gone, Gyu-yeon.”

“I didn’t expect you’d be this fine and yet drunk…”

“I’m not drunk, Gyu-yeon.”

“…”

“Gyu-yeon. I’m not drunk. Me.”

Oh my — this is ridiculous.

Naru stubbornly insisted he wasn’t drunk. His face looked the same as always, but his speech and voice were far from normal.

Gyu-yeon stood up and lifted Naru as if supporting his body. His thin legs trembled like a newborn calf.

He hadn’t noticed while he sat, but seeing him standing made it clear he was drunk.

So it really was just the face that was fine.

“Everyone, get up, we have to go.”

“Ah, you bastard boss!”

“…Damn it.”

Gyu-yeon, trying to wake Seo-yeon, almost let out a string of curses. He wanted to check on the staff before going home, but none of them cooperated.

Naru, who had been clinging to Gyu-yeon’s side, was now sat snugly beside Geon-hu.

His round head rested gently against Geon-hu’s left shoulder.

“Song Naru!”

“Ugh…”

“Naru.”

“Hm?”

Gyu-yeon, shaking Seo-yeon awake with one hand, called Naru’s name. Juggling the staff and keeping tabs on his lover, he was flustered.

Naru, who hadn’t reacted to his full name, immediately looked up at Gyu-yeon’s affectionate voice.

Gyu-yeon gave a short chin gesture, as if telling Geon-hu to move away. The deep frown made his face look even harsher.

“Get up a bit.”

“Don’t mess with Naru! Boss, you son of a bitch!”

“…”

“Our Naru is all cute and squishy! That rude boss just scooped them up! You bastard!”

He wanted to wipe them all out.

Gyu-yeon exercised extreme patience and endured Seo-yeon’s rude talk. It was impressive he had somehow guessed they were dating.

“Yesss?”

“Why did he suddenly answer again?”

“Did you call him a son of a bitch?”

“…Sit quietly.”

“Yesss.”

Naru immediately answered Seo-yeon’s shout. He seemed to have responded to the word ‘bastard.’

Gyu-yeon kept Naru sitting quietly and then took care of the employees one by one. Once awake, they walked like zombies into taxis.

The last ones left were Geon-hu and Seo-yeon.

Gyu-yeon took care of Seo-yeon first. Lifting her arm was a struggle because she was acting up.

In the end, he picked Seo-yeon up by force and moved like he was carrying luggage. Finally, he shoved her into a taxi and slammed the door.

Company dinners were always tiring. That’s why he usually just gave the card and left, but today he couldn’t, since Naru was with him — and that was unfortunate.

He suddenly craved a cigarette. But Gyu-yeon had no time to smoke.

Screee.

“Just leave Song Naru like that.”

He knew it. When he returned to the shop, Naru was sleeping, leaning against Geon-hu’s back.

It had officially been only two days since they became a couple. It was the blissful early stage, but reality was brutal.

“Hey, won’t you move?”

“Don’t touch me.”

“Don’t touch you or her, just stand up.”

“No.”

Gyu-yeon’s troublemaker lover wouldn’t listen. He usually ignored instructions, and after drinking it got worse.

Was he going to have to use strength again?

Gyu-yeon wrapped his arms around Naru’s body. He squirmed as if he didn’t want to be hugged, but he lifted him by force.

“Don’t, don’t lift me!”

“We have to go home.”

“I’m not going.”

“…What if I buy you fish-shaped pastry on the way?”

“…”

Fish-shaped pastry. Gyu-yeon pulled out his secret weapon. Naru fell for the simple trick beautifully.

Why was fish-shaped pastry his ace? Because Gyu-yeon rarely bought street food for him.

Gyu-yeon never ate food sold on the street. So Naru couldn’t either by association.

“Is it red bean fish-shaped pastry?”

“I don’t know, whatever they’re selling.”

“Is it red bean?”

“Wait a moment, let me send off Do Geon-hu first,”

“Can I eat red bean fish-shaped pastry?”

After putting Naru in the car, Gyu-yeon securely locked the door. While sending Geon-hu off and calling the designated driver, it would be a problem if Naru suddenly bolted.

Regardless, Naru obsessively clung to the question of whether he could eat red bean fish-shaped pastry. It bordered on mania.

As he turned to go back into the shop, Geon-hu, now awake, rubbed his eyes and came out. He seemed to have sobered up.

“I’ll get you a taxi, so wait.”

“Hyuah, thanks. If it weren’t for you, I probably wouldn’t have made any money. You know how my brother is…”

It was one drunken rant after another. Geon-hu was relatively tame; compared to Seo-yeon he was an angel.

Instead, his grumbling didn’t stop. Half of it was cursing his brother Do Geon-hyuk. Gyu-yeon half-listened and hailed a taxi.

“Hyung, you’re lucky, that one — they looked good with Song Naru…”

“Go in.”

The moment the door closed, the taxi left. Perhaps because it was dawn and traffic light, it picked up speed.

Gyu-yeon only then returned to his own car. After moving about frantically, he felt drained.

He opened the back door and sat beside Naru. He planned to rest until the designated driver arrived.

Naru, who had been looking forward to the fish-shaped pastry, was sound asleep. Tonight his soft snores were louder than usual.

“Oddly enough, you.”

Gyu-yeon gently nudged Naru’s head toward him. His briefly wobbling head settled safely on his broad shoulder.

As they rested in a comfortable silence, someone knocked on the window. It was the designated driver Gyu-yeon had called.

After handing over the car keys, he immediately closed his eyes. He felt like he might go mad from exhaustion.

The atmosphere in the car grew cozy. Especially the two of their breaths, out of sync, sounded endearing.

The car stopped at his home after driving through the dark city. Gyu-yeon snapped awake the instant the car halted.

He handed money to the designated driver and took sleeping Naru into his arms. One arm hung uselessly in the air, unable to fully support him.

Gyu-yeon adjusted his hold so as not to wake Naru and stepped into the elevator.

Beep beep, clunk.

Finally they were home. Gyu-yeon placed sleeping Naru on his bed, then quickly washed up and came out.

It didn’t feel like long, but thirty minutes had gone by in that short span.

He entered the room and silently looked down at defenseless, sleeping Naru. He looked uncomfortable since he hadn’t changed his clothes.

Should he just change him into something else?

Gyu-yeon returned with comfortable clothes and gently turned Naru over. Because he was sleeping face down, it was hard to undress him.

“Ugh…”

“…”

Startled by the groan, he stopped what he was doing. Gyu-yeon quickly took off his top and dressed him in the clothes he had brought.

The small white dog-logo T-shirt suited Naru well.

He gave up on changing his pants and lay down beside him. He figured changing his pants now might wake him.

The phone’s light pierced the darkness and flashed. It was three in the morning. Even if he slept now, waking up in the morning would be hard.

Gyu-yeon forced his eyes shut. His head throbbed from drinking too much.

My head’s gonna hurt tomorrow, haah…

Sleep wouldn’t come for some reason. Gyu-yeon had no choice but to stay awake.

“S—save me, ugh, I’m sorry, it was my fault.”

“…?”

“Ugh, it hurts, don’t hit me…”

He thought it was a good idea to close his eyes for a bit, but suddenly he heard Naru’s voice.

Her pleasant voice trembled pitifully.

It sounded like he was being tormented by someone in his dream; fear was mixed into his tone.

He begged for help, begged them not to hit him, even pleaded that he was at fault.

Gyu-yeon snapped his eyes open and checked Naru’s condition. He had been sleeping fine in the car, but suddenly he was breaking into a cold sweat and in distress.

“Song Naru, wake up for a moment and then go back to sleep.”

“Ugh, don’t leave me, I—I’m sorry.”

Gyu-yeon hurriedly shook him to wake him, but it was useless. He was already deeply immersed in the dream and couldn’t regain himself.

Naru kept crying and begging. Watching him with worried eyes, Gyu-yeon remembered something and gritted his teeth.

Surely not, it can’t be.

He recalled that Naru had a Previous owner. Gyu-yeon prayed it wasn’t that man’s dream.

“I—I’m sorry, Master, I don’t want to be punished…”

“…”

His heart felt like it dropped to the floor. The sickening sinking feeling was unpleasant.

Gyu-yeon gently hugged the whimpering Naru. It felt like he’d glimpsed his past, and it left him uneasy.

How much hardship had he endured under that man’s hand to be in such agony?

Gyu-yeon couldn’t even dare imagine. Even though it was just a dream, he felt unbearably sorry at how much pain Naru showed.

Gyu-yeon pulled Naru’s head closer and hugged him tighter, then began patting him back. His steady pats gradually quieted his cries.

Gyu-yeon wanted, by any means, to find that Previous owner and tear him apart.

How badly must he have abused the child…?

He gently brushed Naru’s hair aside, kissed his forehead briefly, and pulled away.

Worry filled Gyu-yeon’s face. If Naru could see it, he’d be upset on his behalf.

Song Naru was the kind who, no matter how hard things were, always cared about others’ feelings first.

Even during the abuse, would he have tried to understand that man’s emotions more than his own?

If it were Naru, he probably would. He’s inherently kind and gentle, bright and quirky though he may act.

After considering the possibilities, Gyu-yeon closed his eyes tightly. The thought that such a small body had endured torment broke his heart.

Stop thinking about it.

He hugged Naru tightly and inhaled a comforting scent. It was Naru’s unique smell.

Their breaths synchronized and intertwined. Gyu-yeon focused on his small breathing and drifted to sleep.

It was a night of sorrow and heartache.