Cheongyeon’s hands trembled, making it impossible for him to search through the bin any longer. Although Cheongyeon had experienced various challenges and adventures in Cheonghwa Town, he didn’t have the courage to touch a dismembered body. However, he couldn’t give up, especially if trash from the captain’s smuggling ship was thrown into this bag.
As he was about to approach the bin again, Cheongyeon’s heart sank. Smack! With an unexpected stumble, the bin toppled over, accompanied by a loud thud.
“Ah, I must be drunk.”
Distracted by the sight of the severed wrist, Cheongyeon didn’t even notice who came out from the back door.
Suddenly, a man squatted down, sneering, “A thief?” It seemed like he might have misunderstood Cheongyeon as a thief rummaging through the garbage. Cheongyeon quickly stood up and lowered his head.
“I’m a janitor.”
He hoped the man would lose interest and leave. The man, who slowly stood up, playfully raised Cheongyeon’s cap with a quick motion. Immediately, his face was revealed with that light touch. Cheongyeon finally looked at the tall man.
He was a man with such a flashy appearance that the piercings in his ears were not even noticeable. Wearing a suit as extravagant as his face, he didn’t bother with an umbrella, even though his expensive suit was damp from the rain.
“Name tag?”
As Cheongyeon was about to come up with an excuse, his eyes widened considerably.
Because in the man’s suit pocket was…
“I don’t have a name tag.”
He looked skeptical. The man raised the corners of his mouth, wondering how he interpreted the gaze fixed on his chest. Cheongyeon tried to hide his agitation somehow.
“I… I got hired as a part-timer today. They said there was too much garbage.”
A strong scent of alcohol clung to the man. His eyes were somewhat languid, indicating that he had drunk quite a bit. Perhaps it wasn’t much different from his usual state.
“Name?”
“Since there was too much trash…”
So, he got a job as a daily cleaner, he continued. Cheongyeon’s sole focus was on that dried flower in the man’s pocket.
“Name.”
“The trash…”
Cheongyeon’s only interest was that flower.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
‘If he’s this drunk, I might be able to snatch it and run away…’
Dea la kjr j vfierlbc tf mbeivc’a qea lcab jmalbc. Jtfbcusfbc xcfk atlr wjc nfgs kfii. Rb, jcsbcf ilnlcu lc Jtfbcutkj Kbkc kbeiv gfmbuclhf tlw.
“Memx, rb sbeg cjwf lr ‘Kgjrt’.”
Vevvfcis, atf wjc fzafcvfv tlr tjcv abkjgvr Jtfbcusfbc’r jyvbwfc. Pa rffwfv jr lo tf kjcafv ab rtjxf tjcvr, yea yibbv kjr vglqqlcu ogbw tlr tjcv. Ktf wjc wjvf jc fzjuufgjafv fzqgfrrlbc bo gfugfa jcv tfiv bea tlr tjcv lcab atf ojiilcu gjlc.
“Now that the cleanup is done… I’ll get going.”
Suddenly, he took out the dried flower from his pocket. Cheongyeon naturally turned to that hand.
“Hey, pretty Trash.”
The man smiled with a face soaked in raindrops.
“Is it you? The one I got stood up by.”
The man was none other than Tae Muwon from Peira.
Uttering incomprehensible words, Muwon suddenly held out the dried flower. His eyes looked as if he was asking why he wasn’t taking it.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about… If it’s trash, should I throw it away?”
Cheongyeon asked, staring back at him.
But as he cautiously extended his hand, Muwon quickly withdrew the flower. Cheongyeon’s heart pounded madly. He thought he could accept it as if it were just a dried flower to an ordinary person.
Cheongyeon casually bowed as though he didn’t care if Muwon was not going to throw the flower away.
“Well then, my work is done, so I’ll go.”
However, Muwon’s hand approached and Cheongyeon stiffened his body. Thump, thump, thump, his heart raced again. This time, Muwon was precisely offering the dried flower. Cheongyeon accepted the flower with a nonchalant expression, intending to secretly take it with him once Muwon disappeared.
“Don’t mess around.”
As he moved his steps towards the bin with the flower in hand, he blocked the way and stood in front.
He took something out from the inside pocket of his flashy suit. The lid of a Zippo lighter opened in his hand, and a flame, unextinguished by the rain, flickered fiercely. One might think he intended to light a cigarette, but there was no cigarette in sight.
“!”
He immediately started setting the petals on fire.
“Hold it tightly.”
Due to Cheongyeon’s trembling hand, the flame missed the petals. He created a makeshift umbrella with his hand over the flower to shield it from the rain. Bending his tall figure, he tilted his head sideways.
He stared intently at Cheongyeon with a smiling face. The acrid scent of oil permeated the air, and the wet petals shriveled up in the flame.
Cheongyeon couldn’t breathe while he tightly clenched the stem. Under the motionless eyelids, the other man’s gaze dissected Cheongyeon’s reactions meticulously.
‘Is he… suspecting me as a smuggler?’
When he was about to burn the second petal, the hand holding the stem seemed to tremble without restraint. Nevertheless, it was fine. With Muwon in front of him, there was no one who wouldn’t tremble.
“If someone sees us, they might think we’re up to something naughty, isn’t that right?”
Cheongyeon, who was covered by Muwon’s body, only raised his eyes and looked directly at him.
“Even though we’re just playing with fire.”
By the time the flame reached the third petal, his gaze was still fixed on Cheongyeon’s face. The flame-dried petal shriveled up and disappeared without a distinct shape. That short time felt like an eternity to Cheongyeon.
Snap, he closed the lid of the Zippo lighter. Then, straightening up, Muwon suddenly spoke to Cheongyeon.
“Enough playing.”
Cheongyeon was about to ask “what?” but held back, biting his lips. Instead, he bowed his head slightly.
“…Then, have a good night.”
Picking up the fallen hat on the ground, he shook off the moisture. Cheongyeon turned around as if he were a janitor who had finished his work.
“But why work part-time at a garbage dump?”
Muwon’s voice coiled around like a snake around Cheongyeon’s ankles. He knew he should look back again because nothing good would happen if he ignored it.
“Apothecary-”
Cheongyeon’s shoulders trembled. This time, it was hard to hide his agitation. From the beginning until now, it felt like he was constantly taking an exam; ‘Please provide an answer that will satisfy Tae Muwon. If you’re incorrect, it may cost you your life rather than a deduction of points’.
It was an exam with his life on the line.
“It is difficult to put food on the table by just running an apothecary. So, I also work part-time at a pub.”
If he wanted to reveal himself by dragging him in, there was no way out. After all, there was no employee who hired him as a janitor.
“At the Dandelion Pub.”
Muwon remained silent, standing still. It was a stalemate. But then, Muwon suddenly frowned.
“Fuck, how absurd.”
Was it a wrong answer…
“Are you asking me to help you increase sales?”
It seemed like he was quite drunk. Otherwise, there was no way Cheongyeon’s words would be interpreted like that.
“No, it’s not like that. It’s not a place worth coming to, it’s a cheap pub.”
“…Cheap, huh.”
Golden eyes scanned Cheongyeon from top to bottom as the man mumbled. At the tense moment when he was waiting for Muwon’s reaction, he suddenly turned around. He only walked towards the open back door. Cheongyeon finally let out a long sigh of relief. It was fortunate that he lost interest.
While hastily searching for the bicycle he had parked, he noticed the stem in his hand. How nervous must he have been to not even realize he was holding it all this time?
Carefully, he placed the stem in the basket and only then sat on the saddle. Creak, the sound of the door opening again was heard. Startled, he looked up, and Muwon was standing outside, already soaked, but holding an umbrella.
Splish, splash, ripples appeared everywhere Muwon passed. His reflection in puddles fragmented into pieces with every step.
Cheongyeon had a feeling that he shouldn’t show his back to him, so he just put his foot on the pedal. Muwon quickly narrowed the distance with strides as long as his height.
‘He might think it’s strange seeing me keeping the stem.’
Fortunately, he had put the wet hat on the stem, but…
When Muwon was about to reach him, Cheongyeon closed his eyes for a moment. However, he just passed by Cheongyeon without paying any attention.
“Ah.”
As if he had forgotten something, Muwon turned around.
“I like cheap stuff.”
He added with a smirk.
“I like it even better if it’s something that’s expensive but looks cheap.”
KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Aww noo why did he burn it
Clearly a cheeky man and I have a huge soft spot for this type
ahhhhh ya estoy enamorándome de Muwon…por muy descarado que sea, gracias por la traducción ❤️
Um is that flower important?? I’m a slow reader 😭😭