It was more than four years ago when a group of Peira’s opponents had attempted to assassinate the Tae Muwon. They had no doubt that if they pushed back in groups, even Tae Muwon would die. What was the result? Annihilation. He killed every single one of them, even those who cried surrender. His reasoning was that by setting an example, others would not bother. True to his word, there were no more people attacking Muwon. Everyone knew their life would be wasted.
Cheongyeon felt sick to his stomach at the thought of cleaning up several corpses. Muwon pushed past the twins and the drunks and approached a long, narrow bar table. This was where patrons sat in rows, chatting to the owner, while those inside poured beers or made snacks.
‘Why is he coming to…’
In the absence of the owner, Cheongyeon was manning the bar table. He was devastated and had forgotten that his intuition wasn’t the best. It seemed that Muwon hadn’t quite gotten over his suspicions.
He was wickedly persistent. If he had been falsely accused, he would have burst into cries of injustice.
Across the bar, Muwon sat down in front of Cheongyeon, unbuttoning his full-length suit to reveal a plain black shirt, unlike the colourful jacket that covered it.
“Apothecary.”
“…Yes.”
Cheongyeon answered lamely, and Muwon crinkled his brow in disbelief.
“Not doing business again?”
“…No. Welcome, what can I get you?”
“Beer.”
Was he really here to drink? Cheongyeon swallowed hard. He must have heard the men mocking him, but he didn’t show any reaction.
He wondered if he hadn’t heard, but that was unlikely. The twin brother, who hadn’t read the silence that had fallen at Muwon’s arrival, had broken a toothpick and mocked his genitals.
Turning around, Cheongyeon poured him a drink from the beer tap, feeling a chill down his spine the whole time. His hand trembled slightly as he scooped the foam off the top of the beer glass. Then he realised that the amount was a little low, so he filled it up again to avoid getting scolded.
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.
The other guests were in a hurry to get out of the restaurant. Alas, they couldn’t do that because they had to go to Cheongyeon to pay the bill. They could have left without paying, but that would have attracted the attention of Tae Muwon, and no one wanted to risk the repercussions of such an action.
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Although he wasn’t sure about physiognomy, Cheongyeon had to admit that Muwon was the most handsome man he had ever seen in his life. People often gazed at him in awe, as if they had come face to face with a mythical figure.
He drained his beer in one swift gulp and slammed his glass down.
“Is it because of the location that the business is not doing well?”
“Yes?”
“It’s your fault for being lazy and indifferent when customers come in.”
But Muwon was an evil spirit whom no one could never know what he would do.
Even if Cheongyeon didn’t unjust about the smuggling of the Boksu flower, he couldn’t accept being called lazy. He didn’t waste his days with hangovers like the people in the pubs, and he didn’t just live as he could. No one knew, but he’s a pillar of Cheonghwa Town, and he was proud of it, and he’s kept his own line.
“That was just because I was surprised, and I’ve never been lazy.”
Cheongyeon blurted out. Muwon raised the corner of his mouth with a look of disbelief.
“Well, I should be surprised if you were swearing at me.”
There were other people who were actually cursing at Muwon, but the arrow was flying at Cheongyeon. Even though he knew he should shut up, he continued.
“I’ve never done that before.”
Muwon then swiped his empty beer glass with his hand. Normally, he’d refill his glass, but for fear of being criticised again, he poured the beer into a new glass, carefully setting it down so it wouldn’t spill.
“I wonder if you were only lazy the day after you took the stem.”
Cheongyeon clicked his tongue. His nerves were on edge as Muwon kept setting up traps with his words.
“As I said, I thought it was trash and threw it away.”
When he replied dryly, Muwon raised his gaze to stare at him.
Absorbing the cheap orange light of the Dandelion Pub, Muwon’s golden eyes shimmered like an ocean dyed by the setting sun. Although there were many different ethnicities living on each continent and in Cheonghwa Town, none of them had such golden eyes. Of course, he couldn’t be sure, as there might be people with similar eyes somewhere on a continent he hadn’t visited. However, his brother, Tae Cheonoh, had ordinary brown eyes.
“And… Speaking of the day after, I got caught in the rain and didn’t feel well, so I opened the store late.”
Cheongyeon added more lame excuses to Muwon, who didn’t take his eyes off him. It didn’t seem like he’d caught his in a lie, given that he hadn’t mentioned his part-time job as a cleaner since this morning.
“Ah.”
“What?”
When Cheongyeon didn’t understand, Muwon mimed opening his mouth to say “ah” himself. A blood-red tongue could be seen peeking out from his lips. As if his eyes weren’t beautiful enough, his tongue was too. Cheongyeon opened his lips to follow his lead, though he was reluctant.
Muwon’s hand shot out from nowhere, grabbing his by the nape of the neck faster than he could step back. He pulled Cheongyeon towards him, his upper body pressed against the wooden table. As he looked up at him in surprise, a finger slipped into his mouth.
“…Mmph!”
His words asking what he was doing were muffled. The tug on his tongue made the root of his tongue tingle. The slippery, wet tongue thankfully slid off his finger quickly. But however hard he tugged, it was painful.
Clamping his hands over his mouth, Cheongyeon’s fears were quickly overwhelmed. With the nape of his neck still held, his body was pressed against the table. The other customers, who had been nervous, were now watching with interest. The twins, who were supposed to be guarding the place, were busy looking away.
“Open up.”
If he didn’t do as he was told, he feared his tongue would be pulled out. Cheongyeon slowly lowered his hand. Then, even more slowly, he opened his mouth.
Muwon stuck his middle and index fingers into his mouth at once. The two fingers filled Cheongyeon’s mouth. Contrary to what it looked like on the outside, his knuckles were extremely rough. It felt like sandpaper rubbing against his tongue.
He forced down a wave of nausea as the fingers reached the base of his uvula. His physiologically bloodshot eyes grew moist. Realising that there was no one to help him, Cheongyeon looked up at Muwon. Unlike his hands fumbling in his mouth, Muwon’s eyes were calm as though he was checking something.
“I was wondering how long your tongue was since you kept blabbering on.”
He pulled his hand away, and a long thread ran from Cheongyeon’s mouth to Muwon’s fingers. He rubbed his wet fingers across Cheongyeon’s soft lips.
“It’s normal.”
Seeing his cheeks flushed with shame and pain, he smiled loosely. Then, as if his business was done, he released his neck. Straightening up, Cheongyeon wiped the corner of his wet mouth with the back of his hand.
Muwon shoved his hand into his beer glass. Rinsing his drool-covered hands roughly, he splashed the beer on the floor. A large stain formed on the bar floor.
‘Crazy bastard…’
Cheongyeon wanted to spit at him, but he didn’t have the courage to do it. To his bewilderment, the scent of Boksu flowers filled his mouth. He unconsciously swallowed the saliva that gathered in his mouth as he smelled the fragrant flowers.
Muwon placed his empty beer mug back on the bar table. There were more than a few customers here who drank alcohol like water. Cheongyeon poured a new glass overflowing with beer, hoping that Muwon would get drunk quickly and leave. Then, he called out nonchalantly.
“Does anyone else want to order a beer?”
“Oh! I want one beer!”
One of the customers who hadn’t been part of Muwon’s backbiting bravely raised his empty beer glass, and everyone turned to look at him. Cheongyeon had the courage to stand in front of him, but Muwon didn’t seem to care what the customer said or did.
Yupp really don’t like ml
Well, you did warn us that the ML was an asshole. I’m curious though if he ever sweetens up a bit for the MC, or if he treats him well and protects him. I hope it’s something, hah hah.
well lets pray together
oh,oh…that sounds like we will be in for a LONG rollercoaster of emotions…i consider myself dully warned
😅
Crazy! 😧