“Whew.”
Lee Won let out a deep sigh and closed the last page. His eyes were heavy and he felt like he was going crazy, but he managed to do it. The highlighted part alone was quite a lot, but he got the information he needed anyway. The problem was how to legally embezzle the assets he had acquired as a result of various corruptions.
From what he had seen, it wasn’t impossible. The two people who were tied for the top spot could just shake their hands. Of course, there was a way. Lee Won decided to offer that as his last card and try other methods for now. The more cards he could use, the better.
“Whew,” Lee Won said, and the moment he raised his head, he blinked at the scenery outside the window. It had definitely started when the languid sunlight was coming in, but it was pitch dark now. Lee Won hurriedly checked the time in surprise and froze. He hadn’t realized it because of the chandelier that was brightly lighting up the study, but it was already past midnight.
The tram.
Lee Won got up with a start, lost in thought, but the result didn’t change. Even though he was busy, Lee Won barely managed to skip the documents and opened the study door and went out, but as soon as he did, he bumped into him violently.
“Oh.”
The man who was holding Lee Won as if he was about to fall down said.
“You always throw your whole body at me.”
When he raised his head at the voice with a smile, there was Caesar looking down at him with a faint smile.
Lee Won couldn’t react immediately due to the shock from the bump. Maybe he was still bewildered by the unexpected situation. Anyway, Lee Won looked up at Caesar with a blank expression and didn’t say anything.
Suddenly, the smile disappeared from Caesar’s face. Caesar’s gaze was fixed on his lips that had inadvertently parted. The gaze that was staring down at Lee Won had lost its usual sharpness and had become infinitely soft. For a while, they just stared at each other like that and didn’t say anything.
They just stared at each other in a quiet silence that was so quiet that even the sound of their eyes blinking could be heard. Suddenly, Caesar tilted his head. The arm that was holding his waist gently pulled him closer, and the silvery long eyelashes that were gently closed caught his eyes. The moment Caesar’s breath brushed between his slightly parted wet lips, he suddenly returned to reality.
Caesar, who had been off guard, readily let go of Lee Won’s hand that reflexively pushed his shoulder. The two looked at each other with surprised eyes. Of course, the reasons were different. Lee Won was embarrassed by his waist that felt empty, and he hurriedly opened his mouth.
“A little, in a hurry.”
Lee Won, who had stuttered without thinking, closed his mouth again. Other times, the butler would always tell him when to return. Was I too engrossed to hear? Caesar looked at him silently, frowning in frustration. His hand was pushed away by Lee Won and remained in the air. Caesar opened his mouth. He put his hand down next.
“You look quite busy, what’s going on?”
Caesar’s face, with a faint smile, was the same as usual. Thanks to that, Lee Won, who regained his senses, thought for a moment and sorted out the situation. The tram must have already stopped. When he thought about going home on his old scooter, his eyes went dark.
Even now, he barely managed to move while stopping in the garden several times. He held back a sigh that escaped him, but his worries were solved in an absurd way.
Lee Won, who had been walking hurriedly and leaving the mansion, stopped when he saw the scooter he had parked. What had previously been an ‘old scooter’ was now a ‘old scooter’, parked shabbily.
Lee Won was speechless at the scooter’s fierce battle death, barely hanging on to the wheels that had collapsed beyond recognition.
“Oh, it looks like there was an accident.”
Caesar, who followed slowly behind, said. At the suspicious gaze of Lee Won, who immediately looked back, he added casually.
“Maybe a cat got on it. What should I do?”
Caesar, who had been reciting it fiercely as if it were a line from a play, said with a bitter smile.
“I guess I have no choice but to stay here until I get a new scooter.”
Lee Won silently glared at him and clenched his fist. This shameless mafia…!
Lee Won felt his mind boiling over at the miserable end to his only means of transportation, which he had purchased with his own money. He wanted to walk, but reason prevented him.
Even if he went out into the garden, there was no tram. Lee Won was trapped without a chance. Lee Won, who had been counting numbers to calm his nerves, finally unclenched his fist and looked back after counting to 3245. When their eyes met, Caesar blinked. As if he had no idea about it at all. Yi-won held back his anger and opened his mouth.
“The overtime pay is sent to your account. Do I really have to tell you?”
When he asked sarcastically, Caesar gave a short smile.
“No, I know.”
You probably know how many moles I have on my body.
Yi-won thought to himself and walked straight into the mansion. Behind his quick steps, unable to contain his anger, the leisurely footsteps of Caesar mixed in.
The mansion was quiet. It was as if everyone in the world had fallen asleep, not a single breath could be heard. Yi-won’s rough footsteps broke the cool silence and rang out. There was only one choice. Yi-won furrowed his brow in annoyance as he headed back to the study.
Another sound of footsteps behind him grated his ears. It was Caesar’s footsteps. At the comfortable footsteps of the man following him, Yi-won couldn’t stand it anymore and turned his head away.
“Do you have something to say to me? Why are you following me?”
In response to Caesar’s sharp voice, which was sharp and nervous, he opened his mouth with a face that was completely different from his usual self.
“How much progress has the work been made?”
Yi-won hesitated momentarily in embarrassment at Caesar’s question. Suddenly, he felt embarrassed and turned his head away to answer.
“So-so.”
“I want to know the exact situation.”
Caesar’s request was natural for a client. Yi-won kept his mouth shut and walked to the study.
When the door opened, Caesar stopped dead in his tracks at the sight before his eyes. Seeing the back of the tall man, who was looking down at the floor without saying a word as if he didn’t know where to step among the scattered documents, Yi-won quickly took a step and passed him by. Yi-won, who was stepping between the documents as if it were a stepping stone, cast a glance. Caesar stood there with a frown on his face. Pushing the documents away with the tip of his shoe, he walked to where Lee Won was standing. After a few slow steps, Caesar faced Lee Won. Lee Won opened his mouth, staring at the only person he was currently craning his neck toward, as if he didn’t like the person.
“Sit down first, I’ll talk from now on.”
Caesar let out a short exclamation as he pushed the documents away from the sofa in front of him and made a place to sit.
“You’re alive. I thought you had to stand all the time.”
Lee Won glanced at the floor and pointed out.
“If you step on those documents, I’ll make you lie down for a few days.”
Caesar narrowly avoided the documents that were placed where he was about to step. Caesar, who managed to avoid the documents here and there and sat down in the place Lee Won had made for him, sighed loudly as if he was proud. Ignoring his shaking head, Lee Won took out the documents he had prepared.
“Read it first.”
When Caesar accepted the documents he had handed him, Lee Won quickly turned his head and found what he wanted among the many documents scattered around.
“This is a related document. This too.”
Lee Won, who had found the documents he wanted without a moment’s hesitation, soon handed Caesar a large pile of documents.
“First, we’ll focus on the real estate there. If a lawsuit is filed for this, the other properties will be tracked down right away. Do you want them all?”
Caesar placed the documents on his lap and looked at Lee Won.
“Then?”
Lee Won answered absentmindedly.
“The fight will be long, dirty, and difficult.”
It was only after that that he suddenly felt that there was another meaning hidden in Caesar’s words. Caesar smiled faintly and spoke again.
“What if you say not all of them?”
This time, Lee Won answered readily.
“It would be less painful than having everything.”
Caesar did not answer right away. He thought he was agonizing over a choice, but he was wrong. Caesar stared at Yi-won with a strange expression and asked.
“It seems you don’t have the confidence to get everything.”
Yi-won furrowed his brow quietly. Yi-won opened his mouth to Caesar, who was watching him, wondering what answer he would give.
“Yes.”
Caesar blinked in surprise at the unexpected answer. Yi-won continued with a blank expression.
“I don’t have the confidence to waste time dragging out the trial. I will only work as much as I need to.”
Only then did Caesar narrow his eyes as if he understood and twisted his lips.
“Just as much as is needed for Nikolai’s trial?”
“Yes.”
Yi-won gave the same answer this time, pushed the documents away with his foot, and sat down on the spot.
“If you have any questions, ask me. I’ll do my job.”
When I glanced to the side, Caesar was taking off his jacket with an indifferent expression. Sitting on the sofa in his best suit, looking through documents, anyone could tell that he was being absent-minded. Seeing him, I felt a little annoyed.
For some reason, I felt like I had taken up space for no reason. As the annoyance surged, my stomach started to hurt. Lee Won, who had been rubbing his stomach without thinking, realized later that he had starved all day. When he realized that, he got angry again.
Why on earth did this happen?
By now, he should have been sleeping comfortably alone in his bed, which was uncomfortable but comfortable. But after staring at documents all day, his scooter broke down and he was trapped inside. On top of that, he was so hungry that he thought he might faint.
It was better not to know. When I realized that I had been starving all day, I felt like I was going crazy hungry. I should have brought some chocolate with me.
Regret came rushing in, but he couldn’t ask for something to eat because he was really hungry. Lee Won gritted his teeth and chose to protect his pride. When he strained his eyes and opened the documents.
Gurrr ... “Wait, I’ll have the chef make something.”
Lee Won hurriedly followed Caesar’s appearance as he stood up.
“Why wake up a sleeping person?”
Caesar looked down at Lee Won as if he found it strange.
“It’s his job to make food whenever I want.”
Lee Won held back a groan. However, the sound in his stomach continued regardless of his will. Lee Won irritably brushed his flowing hair back and said.
“Leave it alone, I’ll make something simple.”
“You?”
Caesar asked as if it was unexpected. Lee Won asked back instead of answering.
“Where is the kitchen?”
Caesar glanced at him as if telling him to follow. Lee Won followed him with a reluctant expression.
As expected of a huge mansion, the distance to the refrigerator was far and far. I felt like I was going to starve to death on my way to the kitchen. I-won cursed the ridiculously large mansion while swearing inwardly.
After walking for a long time, I-won finally reached the kitchen that was big enough to fit his entire home and office, and only then did I-won let out a deep sigh.
Caesar, who was standing in the kitchen, looked back first.
“Feel free to use whatever you want.”
Seeing him speak leisurely while spreading his arms, I-won leaned against the table and walked around the kitchen. There was a splendid kitchen that was hard to imagine. All the kitchen utensils were French or German, and all the knives and forks were silver and the cutlery was antique.
The most surprising thing of all was the refrigerator. The several refrigerators that took up an entire wall of the wide kitchen were amazing just by looking at them. I-won took a step toward the refrigerator.
Anything that could be eaten right away was good. When he suddenly remembered the instant ramen that he could easily eat in 5 minutes in Korea, the gates of heaven opened before Lee Won’s eyes.
The refrigerator was filled with an enormous amount of meat and ham. There was beef, pork, lamb, veal, and even turkey. However, what surprised Lee Won the most was the price of the meat.
Every time he went to the supermarket, he would look at it with longing eyes, but he could never buy it. The expensive meat was piled up like a mountain there. Memories of him wandering around like a hyena looking for cheap meat in his tight budget flashed through his mind, and Lee Won completely forgot that he was locked in the mansion.
Caesar opened his mouth at him, who was staring blankly at the piled up meat and not moving.
“Is there anything you need?”
He felt like he could slaughter a cow right in front of him if he just said it. Lee Won barely managed to tear his gaze away from heaven and turned to look at Caesar. For the first time, Yi-won stared at Caesar with his eyes shining like stars.
“Can I use everything here?”
Caesar was surprised. Yi-won looked at him with a big smile on his face. The long eyes that curved like crescent moons along with the bright smile that bloomed like a flower brought about erotic imagination. Caesar nodded his head without realizing it, embarrassed for a moment.
“Okay.”
As soon as permission was given, Yi-won opened his mouth and smiled brightly. Leaving Caesar behind with his eyes wide open, Yi-won suddenly turned around and started picking out meat at a frightening speed. This, this, this, this, this.
When Caesar came to his senses, the countertop was already filled with meat. Finally, Yi-won took out a huge ham and only then closed the refrigerator door with a satisfied expression. Holding the ham with both hands, he looked around and took out a large kitchen knife in front of Caesar.
Lee Won, who had been looking at the sharp silver blade with a happy face, put the ham down in the empty space and immediately took the knife.
Thud.
The blade, which he had struck down vigorously, caught the middle of the ham and stopped, not moving. Lee Won frowned and put more strength into his hand to cut the ham harder. However, the blade was stuck in the thick flesh and did not move.
Why on earth is this happening? Lee Won got annoyed and grabbed the handle of the knife with both hands, but suddenly a long arm stretched out from behind him. When he turned around absentmindedly, Caesar was looking down at him with a strange expression.
Without saying a word, Caesar released Lee Won’s hand that was holding the knife and picked up the ham. Then, while Lee Won was watching, he took the huge ham and put it in the machine without saying a word and pressed the button.
Sseuung, sseuung, sseuung.
The machine started moving back and forth with a monotonous sound. Soon, thinly sliced ham was piled up in front of him. When the ham piled up, Caesar finally pressed the button again to stop the machine. He opened the cupboard again, took out a plate, and handed the piled ham to Lee Won.
“Okay.”
Lee Won, who was embarrassed by what he had done, awkwardly accepted the plate and immediately said as if nothing had happened.
“I’ll only make mine.”
Caesar said casually, as if he had already expected it.
“As you wish.”
When Lee Won glanced at him, he took a step forward and started looking for ingredients in the refrigerator. Lee Won soon turned around and opened the cupboards and drawers here and there to find the tools he wanted. Caesar returned to his seat without saying anything as he watched him busily moving around. Surely, it had to have been a mistake. Thinking nothing of it, he started cutting the black bread, when he heard a dull thud. When he turned his head, he saw Lee Won slicing a large piece of meat. Surprisingly, he didn’t even prepare the meat, but just put it in the frying pan. When Caesar blinked, Lee Won turned around nonchalantly and cut up another piece of meat. And that meat was also thrown into the frying pan in the same shape. While he was busy running around, cutting up all kinds of meat and throwing them into the frying pan, Caesar held something out. When Lee Won received the black bread he had cut himself, Caesar said to him.
“You should put some vegetables in it.”
“No problem.”
Lee Won simply refused. Caesar didn’t give up and shared his tomato with him, saying again.
“At least put this in it.”
“No problem.”
When Lee Won refused again, Caesar frowned.
“You’ll regret it.”
“I won’t.”
Lee Won readily said this and then cut up another piece of meat and threw it into the frying pan as if he was proud. Caesar didn’t offer any more and turned his attention to his sandwich.
After picking up the roughly cooked meat one by one with tongs, Lee Won turned around and tilted his head. What? It’s not cooked. Lee Won didn’t think too much and put the meat back on and turned on the frying pan.
Suddenly, he became curious about Caesar. He never used fire. The burner was ample, but for some reason, Lee Won felt uneasy and glanced back. Unexpectedly, Caesar was cooking as usual. He cut the lettuce with his own hands and put it down.
Lee Won inadvertently looked at the size of the lettuce, which was all the same size. Meanwhile, Caesar cut a round ham and placed it on top. Lee Won inadvertently admired the way he sliced the round tomato thinly, placing it on the side.
It was an unexpected sight. Who in the world could imagine that man standing in the kitchen and cooking? And so skillfully.
For the first time, Lee Won felt that Caesar was shining brightly from something other than his appearance. Caesar noticed Lee Won’s blank stare and raised his head. When their eyes met, he smiled brightly and said.
“I’m good at using a knife.”
He cut the tomato as if he was proud. Caesar, holding up a paper-thin tomato, smiled brightly beyond the red tomato.
“People can cut like this too.”
Lee Won soon nodded with a calm expression.
“Indeed.”
Lee Won turned around as if he was convinced and immediately focused on his cooking. The top-quality meats that he had placed haphazardly were burning black.
After some time, the two people who were faced with completely different sandwiches were silent for a while. Caesar’s sandwich looked delicious to anyone. Caesar quietly opened his mouth, looking away from the healthy dish with just the right amount of vegetables and meat.
“…I thought you were good at cooking.”
The subtle anticipation was shattered. The ham was not a mistake. Caesar, who was staring blankly at the unidentified food in front of Lee Won, asked.
“What did you make?”
“A sandwich.”
Lee Won answered as if it was obvious. If a sandwich is something that puts food ingredients between bread, then yes, it is. That could be called a sandwich. However, Caesar’s expression was not so bright.
The sandwich he was thinking of was ‘a dish with appropriate ingredients between bread.’ It was not ‘an unidentified object with anything stuffed between bread’ like Lee Won had made.
No, it wasn’t ‘anything.’ To be exact, it was an unidentified object with meat stuffed between bread. There were no vegetables. There was only meat. Beef on black bread, pork on that, ham on that, turkey on that, ham again, beef again, pork again, ham again, and after repeating that once more, finally
Black bread came out again. It was a sandwich with only meat, meat, meat.
“Is this food for people to eat?”
To Caesar, who asked with a displeased expression about the piled up meat, Yi-won confidently said.
“It’ll be the same anyway once it enters your stomach.”
Yi-won opened his mouth. He felt like he was going to die from hunger. He should take a bite first and eat the rest as he went. He lifted the sandwich with anticipation and saw the red meat between the bread.
“It’s undercooked.”
Yi-won said casually at Caesar’s disapproval.
“Meat should be rare.”
“That’s,”
There was no time to say ‘pork.’ Yi-won took a big bite as if he was proud. Yes, this is it. The meat juices filling his mouth, the soft texture, the savory aftertaste, the meat spreading through his nose…
The smell of game.
Yiwon stopped chewing and looked down at his sandwich. The taste of meat filling his mouth was completely different from what he had expected. Half-cooked, half-uncooked chunks of meat rolled around slippery in his mouth.
The various meats that had been clumped together here and there became lumps and stuck together stickily, and the bone fragments that had been cut wrongly cracked and broke between his teeth, and eventually the smell of all kinds of meat mixed together and paralyzed his nose.
… Ugh.
For a moment, his stomach felt like it was turning, but the moment he put his hand to his mouth, Yiwon saw it. Caesar’s face staring at him from across the table.
He was squinting his eyes and looking at Yiwon. As if he was going to wait and see if he really ate it. Yiwon absolutely could not spit out what he was eating in front of him. The lumps crunched in his mouth.
Yiwon slowly chewed the meat and picked up his plate. Caesar followed him silently as he left the kitchen carrying his sandwich as if nothing had happened.