Chapter 8

“Hey, Gyuyeon! Over here!”

The pounding music made the walls vibrate, a relentless bass that rattled in the skull. Naru, a step behind Gyuyeon, hunched his shoulders with every heavy thud.

Why were there so many people?

Clinging to the hem of Gyuyeon’s jacket to keep from being swept away, Naru barely caught the voice calling out over the noise. He wouldn’t have noticed if it were any other word—but the sound of Gyuyeon’s name snapped his attention instantly.

He turned his head. A tall man with a bright smile waved them over.

Gyuyeon walked toward him. Naru tugged on the hem of his jacket, reluctant, but the movement went unnoticed.

“All the guys are here. What about him?”

“Behind me.”

Geonhyuk, his arm casually draped around Gyuyeon, spotted Naru peeking out from behind. He’d expected some gaudy, spoiled brat, but instead saw a delicate-faced boy.

His eyes widened, glittering with a malicious kind of curiosity.

“Hey.”

“…”

Normally, Naru answered readily when spoken to, but this time he stayed silent. He wasn’t good with words, but his instincts warned him something was wrong.

Geonhyuk’s gaze was too sharp, his smile too friendly. Naru turned his head away deliberately. He wasn’t going to answer.

A man who greeted with kindness, but whose eyes were filled with malice—why was Gyuyeon friendly with someone like that?

The music blared on, but for a moment, the world around Naru felt eerily quiet.

Geonhyuk, ignored outright, only smirked and led Gyuyeon into the private room. Suspicion lingered in Naru’s chest as he followed.

“Gyuyeon, you’re here?”

“Who’s that behind you?”

“Do you need to ask? Isn’t it obvious?”

Inside, more than a dozen men and women sat around the table, glasses clinking. They welcomed Gyuyeon with a chorus of voices.

He, uninterested in their warmth, walked in without hesitation. Arriving late didn’t matter—he took the center seat like it was his by right, dragging a bottle of whiskey in front of him.

“Uh… Gyuyeon…”

Naru hesitated. He should have sat beside him right away, but under the weight of everyone’s stares, his feet refused to move.

This wasn’t the outing he’d imagined. He thought they’d share food, maybe stroll together—not be shoved into a noisy room full of strangers. For the first time, resentment stirred in his chest.

“Oh my, he’s cute. Look at that face.”

“Cute? Pathetic, more like.”

A woman with sharp, catlike features pointed at Naru, her voice dripping disdain. The men glared with hostility, while the women whispered about how ‘pretty’ he was.

Naru hated it all.

He’d seen this before—his old owner had used this very method. Letting him out for air, dangling hope, only to humiliate him in front of strangers.

The first time, he’d run away and cried until his throat was raw. After enduring it again and again, all that was left was numbness.

So, sitting down among them, he placed his hands neatly on his knees and lifted his chin. If he didn’t react, if he simply endured, it would pass.

Gyuyeon glanced at him, then downed his drink in one go. He’d brought him here to humiliate him, but watching Naru’s resigned expression, he felt something unpleasant coil inside.

“Hey, you. Don’t just sit there—liven things up a bit! No manners at all, huh?”

“Forget it. They’re probably just sizing up who’s richest here.”

“As if it matters to the poorest bastard. Pfft, ha!”

The men closest to Naru sneered openly. Their comments grew nastier—about money, about family, about nothing they had any right to know.

Naru let it wash over him as usual, silent. But the more he endured, the more Gyuyeon burned.

He wanted to see tears, anger, anything—but Naru’s calm silence made him furious.

“…!”

And then—Naru’s eyes shifted. He looked at Gyuyeon. Their gazes locked.

For just a moment, Gyuyeon felt as though a needle had pierced straight into his heart. There was something fleeting in Naru’s eyes, a wistfulness that shimmered before vanishing.

Naru looked away quickly. But the damage was done. Gyuyeon felt as if he’d been struck from behind.

‘Damn it. Why do I feel like this?’

No matter how much he drank, the unease wouldn’t leave.

“I… I’ll go to the restroom.”

The voice was steady, but softer than usual.

When Naru stood, he hesitated at the row of crossed legs blocking his way. The deliberate challenge made his chest tighten.

Thud!

“Ugh…!”

A foot jutted out, nearly sending him sprawling. He only avoided hitting the floor by clutching the table.

Gyuyeon unconsciously set his glass down. His eyes followed Naru’s retreating figure without him realizing.

Naru left without a word, ignoring the mocking laughter at his back. The sight of him walking away made Gyuyeon uneasy. But not seeing him was worse.

“…I’m losing my damn mind.”

“This is less fun than I thought, Gyuyeon.”

“…Shut up.”

Geonhyuk, lounging beside him, smirked at the door. They’d expected drama—tears, anger, anything. But Naru had given them nothing, and now the game bored them.

Gyuyeon’s sharp glare cut him, but truthfully, he felt the same. Crying, anger—that would’ve been easier. But ‘that look’? That resigned, fleeting softness? It made his chest ache.

He started to rise, intent on going after him. But Geonhyuk moved first.

“I’ll bring him back.”

“Why you?”

“Why not?”

Tension thickened. Gyuyeon didn’t want to let him go. And Geonhyuk noticed.

Say no, Gyuyeon thought. Just say no.

But he couldn’t. Couldn’t reveal why. Couldn’t admit it even to himself.

Right. Naru isn’t anything to me. He’s not my boyfriend—he’s barely not an enemy.

Grinding down the thought, he gave no answer.

Geonhyuk smirked and left the room. Gyuyeon’s gaze hardened like steel as he watched him go.

---

Naru squeezed through the crowd, finally reaching the restroom. The smell of alcohol and sweat clung to the air, making him frown.

He hadn’t really needed the restroom—it was just an excuse to escape. But guilt forced him inside anyway, where he washed his hands for no reason before heading back slowly.

Maybe he shouldn’t have memorized the way. Maybe getting lost would’ve been better.

“You said you were going to the restroom. Why are you standing out here like this?”

“…”

“You’re still wary of me. Can we talk a moment?”

The unwelcome voice made him stiffen. Geonhyuk.

He grabbed Naru’s wrist without hesitation and shoved him against the wall. The ease of it made clear—this wasn’t his first time.

Naru’s usually soft eyes sharpened, glaring.

But Geonhyuk only found it amusing.

“What was your name again?”

“…”

“You don’t even know your name?”

“Naru.”

“Haha. Like a puppy’s name. Fits your face.”

It was meant to be teasing, maybe even a compliment, but it made Naru’s skin crawl.

He wrenched his hand free and stepped back, eyes blazing. ‘I hate you. Get away from me.’

Geonhyuk stepped closer, fingertips brushing Naru’s cheek. Naru slapped his hand away with a snap.

“I’ll tell Gyuyeon everything.”

Slick bastard. She kept the thought to himself. Saying it out loud might earn him a blow, and that would be worse.

Geonhyuk burst out laughing. Telling Gyuyeon? What a joke. If anyone, Gyuyeon was the last person who’d care.

While he laughed, Naru slipped past and stomped back to the room. But his anger went unnoticed, which only deepened his frustration.

“Oh, he’s back.”

“Took you long enough. What kind of restroom break lasts twenty minutes?”

The same men from before sneered, but Naru ignored them. His eyes went straight to Gyuyeon.

He wanted Gyuyeon to notice. To see he’d been wronged.

But instead, Gyuyeon looked even darker than before.

Naru frowned. ‘What happened while I was gone? Did they bully him? Did someone say something to him?’

Absurd as it was, he believed it. He thought ‘they’ had hurt Gyuyeon.

“Hey, light it up.”

“…Me?”

“Yes, you. Who else?”

One of the men tossed him a lighter.

Gyuyeon’s jaw tightened.

Naru obeyed, stepping forward. But the lighter wasn’t familiar—different from the simple ones he’d seen before. Fumbling with it, he grew more flustered under their stares.

“Useless,” the man snapped, slapping his hand.

Smack!

The lighter slipped and clattered to the floor.

Clatter!

The sound was drowned out instantly—by glass shattering.

A glass had been hurled at the man’s head. It missed, exploding against the wall instead.

Naru froze, eyes following the trajectory back.

Gyuyeon. His brows were knotted, fury carved deep in his face.

Naru’s eyes widened. ‘So it was him. He’s the one they’ve been bullying. That’s why he’s angry.’

She turned to the man again. The villain who dared harass her owner.

Her teeth itched.

“Aaaaaaaaah!”

“Song Naru!”

Snap!

He lunged and sank his teeth into the man’s arm. Not a warning bite—he drove his canines deep, refusing to let go.

The room erupted, but Naru only tightened his jaw.

And then—calmly, almost serenely—he looked up at Gyuyeon and smiled.

‘I did good, right?’

Blood on his lips, teeth gnashing flesh, yet his eyes curved sweetly, innocent and strangely beautiful.