The music blasting out from the stage ricocheted off the walls, echoing back on itself until it degraded into an unpleasant, droning hum. Add the sound of running water from the faucet, and it was enough to make him want to clamp both hands over his ears.
Unfortunately, both hands were already occupied—with a soggy scrubber and a slick plate. With no room to move, Ihyeon settled for lightly biting his lower lip instead.
The mountain of dishes was finally nearing its end. They’d only held fruit or crackers at most, so compared to pots caked with grease, it wasn’t hard work. The problem was their unnecessary size—too large to hold comfortably in one hand. After rinsing the suds off the plate he’d been washing, Ihyeon clenched his fist once in the air and opened it. Only then did he notice the dull ache.
A glance around showed no more dishes left. Once he dealt with the bag of food waste sitting in the corner of the prep counter, today’s work would be more or less wrapped up.
“Haa….”
Letting out a short breath, Ihyeon picked up another plate from the sink. He dabbed dish soap onto the scrubber and wiped down the black glass surface. A familiar voice drifted in from behind him.
“Ihyeon. They’re saying to hurry up and come down to the hall for a bit.”
When he turned his head, he saw a man leaning at an angle in the kitchen doorway. It was Subin—the coworker Ihyeon was closest to here.
At his words, Ihyeon reflexively looked up at the wall clock, then sighed instead of answering. Six-thirty in the morning. Even if he went straight home, he’d barely get a few hours of sleep before having to get up again. There was no way an unexplained summons would be welcome.
On top of that, year-end scheduling had pushed closing back by an hour. Even if he finished cleanup as fast as possible, it would be a stretch to leave before seven. If they gathered in the hall before clocking out, he’d end up overlapping with office workers on their morning commute.
“…Now?”
Riding the same bus as morning commuters while reeking of cigarettes wasn’t exactly pleasant, even for Ihyeon. Standing among clean, well-dressed people while soaked in fatigue and alcohol always brought up a vague, reasonless sense of shame or helplessness.
He wasn’t the type to be easily swayed by emotion, but there was no denying his mood had soured.
“Yeah. They said to send the part-timers home and have just the staff come down. Didn’t sound like it’d take long.”
“Did something happen downstairs?”
Planning to at least finish what he was doing, Ihyeon scrubbed faster. In the meantime, Subin stepped closer, into the kitchen where Ihyeon stood.
“Not really. Apparently the club owner’s suddenly coming by. The manager’s losing his mind, wiping and cleaning everything.”
As he spoke, Subin pressed right up against Ihyeon’s back. Ihyeon leaned slightly forward toward the sink to avoid him, but Subin just grinned like he found it cute and flicked Ihyeon’s pale earlobe.
“…There was an owner here?”
“You know how people say the guards on B3 and the entrance are gangsters? Probably someone connected to that.”
The fingers pressing insistently into his soft earlobe slid over the rim of his ear, then down along his cheek and the back of his neck. The sensation made his fine hairs stand on end, like a bug crawling over his skin, and Ihyeon twisted away slightly. Subin soothed his waist with his other hand.
“Want to rest for a bit after this is over?”
The insinuating voice tickled his ear. Ihyeon shook his head, pushed Subin’s face away, and resumed scrubbing where he’d stopped.
“No. I’ve got another shift later.”
At the firm answer, Subin jutted out his lips slightly. Still unwilling to give up, his hand roaming Ihyeon’s waist slid slowly downward.
“You still doing that sundae-guk place job? I told you, hyung can just give you spending money.”
“……”
“Working nights is tiring enough already. How much do they even pay you? I can cover that easily.”
Despite the whispering temptation, Ihyeon’s hands never faltered. Watching the foam wash away with a blank expression, he slotted the last plate into the drying rack and shook his hands dry inside the sink.
Subin, his face full of expectation, was openly groping Ihyeon’s ass. Only after wiping his hands on a dry towel did Ihyeon turn and grab Subin’s solid wrist.
“Hyung. You know.”
“…….”
“I don’t take money like that.”
The calm but decisive response made Subin click his tongue and pull his hand back. He laughed awkwardly, scratched the back of his neck, and stepped away.
“Alright, alright. I was just worried you might be having a hard time.”
“…….”
“You done with the dishes? Want to go down together?”
“No. You go ahead. I’ll just take out the trash and come.”
When Ihyeon jerked his chin toward the bundles of cardboard stacked in the corner, Subin looked reluctant. Still, he gave Ihyeon’s shoulder a couple of pats and smiled easily.
“Sounds like the owner’ll be here any minute. Just do it quick and come.”
“Okay.”
Subin flashed him a grin and turned away. Ihyeon watched his back as he left the kitchen, then pressed his lips together.
Subin was someone he occasionally spent the night with—easygoing about sex, never prying into personal matters. That was exactly why Ihyeon didn’t want to leave behind anything that could turn into unnecessary feelings or trouble. Was I too blunt? The thought crossed his mind, but after reconsidering, it felt like he’d handled it at an appropriate level.
Clearing Subin from his head, Ihyeon picked up the food waste bag he’d set aside earlier. Once he dumped in the unorganized fruit peels and leftovers, the large bag filled up fast.
He hesitated, remembering the order to come down quickly, but leaving food waste sitting on the prep counter felt wrong. After a brief moment of consideration, Ihyeon grabbed the tightly tied bag along with the stack of boxes for recycling and headed up the stairs to the back door.
Creeeak.
The moment he shoved the frozen door open with his body, a sharp wind tore through his hair.
Just before dawn, the dry, bluish early-morning air snapped his drowsy mind awake. I should’ve thrown something on, he thought belatedly, but it felt awkward to go back inside now, so he quickened his pace instead.
The trash area was attached to the outdoor parking lot behind the building. As he rounded the corner at a brisk walk, a black sedan was pulling into the lot. Near the white glare of its headlights, pale smoke curled in the air.
It was a car with a well-known emblem. The moment the wheels stopped, the large guards Ihyeon had seen coming and going lined up in formation. Planning to just dump the trash and head back in, Ihyeon stopped without realizing it.
There was no doubt the person in the car was the new owner Subin had mentioned earlier. Judging by how tense the hulking guards looked, the person stepping out would probably have a similar presence. Not wanting to get caught up in anything, Ihyeon edged back into a dark shadow and waited quietly for them to disappear.
His breath burst white in the air. The joints in his fingers holding the trash bag stung with cold. As the sharp wind pierced through his thin shirt and Ihyeon shivered, hunching his shoulders, the lights slicing through the darkness shut off all at once.
The men lined up bowed their heads in unison, like perfectly trained soldiers. Ihyeon bit his lip without meaning to.
It was something he’d only ever seen in movies. He knew it was strange to be watching like this, yet he couldn’t tear his eyes away.
Click. Breaking the artificial stillness, the driver’s door opened. Someone stepped down onto the ground. Backlit, all he could see was a black silhouette.
“Good morning!”
A thick ankle wrapped in black socks appeared, then vanished beneath neatly falling slacks. A moment later, rising above the open car door wasn’t the bulky shape he’d expected, but a broad, solid upper body like that of a field-sport athlete.
Someone hurried over and hovered at the man’s side, bowing repeatedly. The man receiving the greeting didn’t even turn his gaze that way.
Then, from the opposite side, a passing beam of light briefly washed over his face before vanishing. In that fleeting profile, the first thing that stood out was a sharp, clean nose. Watching him silently from the darkness, Ihyeon unconsciously ran his tongue over his dry lips.
This isn’t what I pictured…
If not for the massive men bowing stiffly with their heads down, he might have mistaken the man for a celebrity dropping by the club. The thought flickered through Ihyeon’s mind, so random he let out a quiet scoff at himself and adjusted his grip on the trash bag.
“An honor to meet you, Manager Gu. I’m Kim, the general manager here—”
The voice of the club’s top manager echoed faintly. He seemed to keep talking, rubbing his hands together, but the man offered no response and simply walked toward the building entrance.
Despite the number of people present, all that could be heard were the man’s heels clicking and a few muted voices. Everyone was dressed in black, and from a distance they looked like part of the night itself.
“I heard Manager Gu would be visiting Nexus and immediately—”
A red floral-patterned shirt swayed at the center of the night. The sight felt oddly detached from reality, and with each sharp click of those shoes echoing louder than they should have, Ihyeon forgot where he was standing and froze.
Only after the man who looked to be the owner disappeared fully beyond the building did the hulking guards slowly lift their heads. Apparently displeased with the sudden summons, they began chatting in bored tones. Some pulled out cigarette packs and clustered in a corner; others rubbed stiff necks, stretching.
Even then, Ihyeon kept staring blankly at the spot where the man had stood. The sharp wind scraped over his exposed fingers and the backs of his hands.
“Hey, you idiots. Quit screwing around and disperse already!”
At someone’s shout, a guard approached the car left standing alone. As the approaching figure and its long shadow stretched toward him, Ihyeon snapped back to his senses and shuddered.
Is it the cold? A delayed chill crawled over his entire body. Biting down on the inside of his cheek to steady himself, Ihyeon tightened his hold on the trash bag and moved quickly.