Chapter 136

Snatch.

Just as the man was about to bring the glass to his lips, Yeonhoo shot out a hand and stole it away.

The man turned toward him half a beat too late.

By then, it was already over.

Gulp, gulp....

Yeonhoo had thrown the entire contents back in one go.

What the hell? Why does this taste like this...?

After draining it, Yeonhoo set down the empty glass and started coughing.

He had expected nothing more than brutally strong liquor, but instead there was something unpleasantly thick in it, almost like little bits of something he could chew. His face twisted on its own.

“Mo Yeonhoo?!”

“Why the hell did you drink that?!”

“Yeonhooo, when did you get here?”

Seunghwan and the others all stared at him in shock.

“I just....”

Yeonhoo tried to answer casually, then paused.

Wait.

What was this?

“...felt like drinking.”

His stomach suddenly felt fucking awful.

He had the distinct sense he might start dry-heaving, but Yeonhoo forced the corners of his mouth upward.

Seunghwan and his friends exchanged glances, then eventually shrugged.

Yeonhoo watched them for a moment before turning his head.

His eyes met the man’s again.

“......”

The man looked mildly surprised, but the expression vanished almost instantly, his face going blank again.

“Now give it back.”

At that, Seunghwan burst out laughing.

“That doesn’t count. You weren’t the one who drank it.”

And with that, Seunghwan deliberately dropped the watch in his hand into a glass full of hard liquor.

Plop.

“Drink this and I’ll really give it back. How about it?”

Seunghwan smirked as he held out the glass with the watch submerged inside.

And in that instant, Yeonhoo saw it.

For the first time, panic crossed the other man’s previously unmoving face.

Won’t the watch break if he leaves it in there like that?

It looked fairly old.

And he had dropped it straight into liquor.

Unless it was rinsed with water and taken in for repair quickly, the inside could corrode.

But more than that—

His expression....

He was staring blankly at the watch like someone whose soul had left his body.

Seunghwan, however, had no intention of waiting.

He took a few steps, then stuck the hand holding the glass out the window.

What the hell is he doing?

Then he started shaking it over the densely wooded area outside as though he might drop it at any second.

“What’s so great about this piece-of-shit watch anyway? Honestly, something like this—uh.”

His grip seemed to suddenly slip.

Even Seunghwan looked startled.

—Snatch!

The person who caught the falling glass was neither the man nor Seunghwan.

It was Yeonhoo.

He staggered, nearly went down, then barely managed to catch his balance. By then, the back of his hand was already soaked in liquor.

“Seunghwan! How’ve you been?”

Seunghwan opened his mouth to say something, but Yeonhoo beat him to it.

Still holding the glass, Yeonhoo slung an arm around Seunghwan’s shoulders.

He could feel the other man’s stare boring into him, but Yeonhoo deliberately looked away and met Seunghwan’s eyes instead.

“Mo Yeonhoo, what the—”

Seunghwan raised his voice, clearly annoyed that Yeonhoo had blocked him.

But one sentence changed his expression instantly.

“Seunghwan. Wasn’t there something you wanted me to do for you?”

“...Ah! Right!”

Then he grabbed Yeonhoo’s hand.

“Hey, hey. You’ll ask your mother for me? You said it’d be hard last time.”

There was an event Seunghwan had been pestering him for an invitation to.

The problem was that the host was Yeonhoo’s stepmother, whom he wasn’t particularly close to, so Yeonhoo had never intended to ask her for the favor.

“I can ask. But I have a condition.”

“What?”

“This.”

Yeonhoo gave the glass a light shake and smiled brightly.

“I’m taking this.”

He intended to use the favor as leverage to get the glass out of here.

“That?”

“Yeah.”

But apparently the bad blood between Seunghwan and this man ran deeper than Yeonhoo had expected.

“...Why do you want that?”

Seunghwan’s tone, warm only a moment ago, sharpened.

Someone else might have been startled.

Yeonhoo simply kept smiling as though nothing was wrong.

“Hm? It just looks kind of fun.... Everyone wants it so badly, now I want it too.”

As if to say, I’m on your side.

“And I’m curious what it tastes like.”

With his naturally innocent face, Yeonhoo gave a stupid grin and drank from the glass containing the watch.

At last, Seunghwan burst out laughing.

“Why the hell are you drinking that?! Mo Yeonhoo, you crazy bastard! Hahaha!”

“Huh? Why shouldn’t I?”

“It’s filthy, dumbass.”

“Whoa! You’re right! There’s a watch in it.”

There was no trace of intent or malice in Yeonhoo’s smile.

He looked not merely harmless but downright stupid.

Even Seunghwan, who had been suspicious, relaxed after seeing that expression.

And the instant Yeonhoo’s eyes met the man’s, who had been silently watching the entire performance—

“Ah, but I think my stomach’s kind of messed up.... I’m gonna use the bathroom.”

The moment Yeonhoo saw those glass-like eyes, his stomach abruptly cramped.

Still smiling, Seunghwan nodded as though to say go ahead and put a cigarette between his lips.

Yeonhoo waved brightly at him, pretending nothing was wrong....

Whoa. What the hell?

The instant he turned around, his expression collapsed.

I’m gonna puke....

Whatever that mystery liquor had been, it was definitely a problem.

His stomach burned like it was on fire the entire way to the bathroom, and his head pounded like it might split open.

Worst of all, the floor seemed to pitch and roll beneath him like there was an earthquake.

He felt as though he might face-plant at any second—

“Hey!”

Thud!

Just as he started to fall, someone grabbed his shoulder hard.

Oh. This guy....

It was the strikingly handsome man from earlier.

Even through Yeonhoo’s blurred vision, that beautiful face stood out with unnatural clarity.

“You—”

“Ugh.”

Yeonhoo had no time to look at him properly.

His face going white, he immediately shoved the man away and ran.

A loud crash sounded behind him, but Yeonhoo had no time to turn around.

Puke. I need to puke. Puke. Puke. Puke!

His mind contained nothing but the need to empty this insane stomach of his.

Yeonhoo sprinted into the bathroom, glanced at the mirror without thinking, and froze.

Am I even human right now?

Normally, even when he drank, he never turned this red.

Right now, though, he was crimson all the way to the top of his head.

There was no time to stare at himself.

“Ugh... ugh.”

He was really going to puke...!

Right, the watch!

Even with vomit already rising into his throat, Yeonhoo remembered the watch.

He dumped it out of the glass into the sink and turned the faucet on full blast.

Rooooosh—!

Bang!!

Then, just as he rushed toward the toilet to finally throw up, the door flew open with a loud crash.

Someone grabbed Yeonhoo by the shoulder and slammed him against the wall.

“...Ow, fuck.”

What the hell?

That really fucking hurt.

“Where’s the watch?”

This guy again.

“Where the fuck is the watch?!”

The ridiculously handsome man from before.

But right now, Yeonhoo was in no condition to explain either the man or the watch.

“I-I’m gonna, puke....”

“What?”

“I said I’m gonna puke...!”

“Tell me where the watch is.”

This lunatic would not let go of his shoulder!

At this rate, Yeonhoo was obviously going to throw up all over the clothes he liked.

So he clamped one hand over his mouth and frantically pointed toward the sink with the other.

“Mmgh, over—ugh... over there!”

Only then did the man let go of his collar.

Yeonhoo immediately lunged for the toilet and retched.

Fuck, fuck... I’m dizzy. What the hell is this?

His stomach was a mess and the whole world had turned into another dimension.

Yet almost nothing actually came out, and his body just kept getting hotter and dizzier.

Yeonhoo was still clinging to the toilet and panting when the man yanked open the stall door and came inside.

What now? Is he going to thank me for saving his watch?

Instead—

“What the fuck are you?”

Yeonhoo got grabbed by the collar again.

His body lifted slightly as the man hauled him up, shouting with unmistakable fury.

“Why the fuck did you put it in water on your own?!”

“......”

“Answer me. You and Seunghwan Lee planned all that together, didn’t you? Fuck, you people can never just leave anything alone.”

I really didn’t.

Yeonhoo wanted to answer because it was unfair.

But he couldn’t.

The whole world is fucking spinning. I feel like I’m dying.

Even while the man yelled at him, Yeonhoo was too busy dry-heaving over and over.

And with his collar being held like this, his stomach only felt worse.

Desperate, Yeonhoo tapped at the hand gripping him and tried to explain.

“No, I—”

“Fuck off.”

The man only snarled the words.

You have to let go of me first if you want me to fuck off....

Which only made Yeonhoo feel even more wronged.

But then—

“Why did you... why would you....”

The moment Yeonhoo saw the man’s utterly devastated expression, his mind went blank.

Until seconds ago, his face had been full of nothing but rage.

Now his eyes—

“Why....”

He looked as though he might start crying at any moment.

There was something so painfully upset in his face that Yeonhoo found himself staring.

Then, without even realizing it, he spoke.

“If alcohol gets inside, it can dissolve things and break the movement....”

His voice was barely more than a mumble, but the man seemed to hear it.

He froze and looked at Yeonhoo.

“And if there was sugar or anything in that drink... the gears inside could all get sticky.... I just rinsed it with water first....”

Still dangling from the man’s fist, barely able to breathe and panting hard, Yeonhoo stubbornly kept explaining.

His pale, round face had turned bright red from the alcohol and was scrunched up like a steamed bun, his swollen eyes squeezed nearly shut.

“Take the strap off and hurry... ugh... dry it, pull the crown out, seal it with desiccant, and... ugh... you might still be able to save it... blegh....”

Even while steadily gagging between sentences, he kept right on explaining.