Is this what they mean by suffocating? It feels worse than that—like he’s being strangled to death. He unbuttons the collar of his shirt and lets out a small sigh when the car window slides down with a whirr. The breeze makes it a bit more bearable. Soo-hyun glances at the driver’s seat. Yang Ho-beom drives himself, and sitting right next to him is pure torture.

“Want me to open it more?”

He asks while looking at Soo-hyun, so Soo-hyun shakes his head. He heard Ho-beom is some kind of CEO, but why is Yang Ho-beom driving himself? If he’d just had an employee do it, Soo-hyun wouldn’t have to sit right next to him, hearing even his breathing. Opening the window doesn’t make the stuffiness go away. He digs through his pocket for cigarettes and looks at Yang Ho-beom.

“Can I smoke?”

When Soo-hyun uses formal speech, Yang Ho-beom smiles gently.

“Drop the formalities. I’m younger than you.”

“Really? Then can I smoke?”

“No.”

Ah, this bastard isn’t even joking. Soo-hyun stuffs the cigarettes back into his pocket, and Ho-beom offers him gum. He remembers Chairman Yang saying that Ho-beom was trying to quit smoking. That must explain why he’s always chewing gum. Soo-hyun gestures that he’s fine and turns his head to look out the window. The streets crowd with people. While he’s watching passersby, the car stops in front of a hotel in the city center.

“Get out.”

A valet appears, bows respectfully, and quickly takes Ho-beom’s keys. Soo-hyun, who exits a bit late, follows him while looking around. Why a hotel in broad daylight? Not understanding what’s happening, he follows Ho-beom inside, and passing through the revolving door, he sees many foreigners in the lobby.

The staff greet Yang Ho-beom respectfully. “Welcome, Director.” Only then does Soo-hyun realize that this hotel belongs to Yang Ho-beom. Standing in front of the elevator, Ho-beom motions for Soo-hyun, who stands a bit away, to come over. Just his index and middle fingers flicking—like calling a dog.

Reluctantly, Soo-hyun moves beside him, and the elevator doors open. As soon as they get in, Ho-beom presses the top floor—the penthouse level. The elevator moves quickly. Soo-hyun watches the numbers change and glances at Yang Ho-beom.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’m envious that someone your age owns a hotel like this…”

Ho-beom laughs.

“Is that so? Others say I’m obnoxious. That I’m just playing boss because I was lucky enough to be born to my grandfather.”

Soo-hyun laughs. Underneath must lie envy and jealousy. This is why they say you need to be born lucky. While some people own hotels on the most expensive land in Seoul at age twenty-four, others can’t even pay their rooftop room rent.

When they reach the PH floor, Yang Ho-beom takes out a card from his pocket. After opening the door and entering, Soo-hyun can’t close his mouth. The entire front consists of glass, offering a clear view of the city. The interior spans so spaciously it can’t even compare to the rooftop room where Soo-hyun used to live. Plus, there’s a private swimming pool on the side. The pool also offers a panoramic view of Seoul.

Too embarrassed to openly express amazement, Soo-hyun tries to act nonchalant, when suddenly Yang Ho-beom starts unbuttoning his shirt. Soo-hyun’s eyes widen.

“What are you doing?”

“Taking a shower. I feel grimy after being out.”

You’re disgustingly neat. He takes off his shirt completely and starts unzipping his pants, so Soo-hyun frowns and turns his head away. He hears Ho-beom snickering. As Soo-hyun turns his head, he catches a glimpse of Ho-beom entering the bathroom and notices a large tattoo on his back. It looked like a dragon.

Soo-hyun takes the opportunity to explore the place while the owner is away. At first glance, he hadn’t noticed, but looking closer, it’s quite messy. Empty bottles and several glasses scatter on the table in front of the sofa. Was there a party? As he walks across the floor, he feels something under his foot and looks down. There are crushed white pills that he can’t identify. This guy does drugs too.

And from under the sofa, a piece of fabric sticks out. Wondering what it is, he pulls it out to reveal a flimsy women’s slip. And condom wrappers scattered here and there. Soo-hyun frowns as he looks at them all.

Yang Ho-beom approaches with only a towel wrapped around his lower body—Soo-hyun doesn’t know when he came out. When he asks whose slip it is, Soo-hyun stands dumbfounded. How many women must come here that he doesn’t even know who left it behind?

“Don’t you have someone who cleans for you?”

“I did, but she died.”

He says it so casually that it sounds like he’s saying “she quit.” When asked why she died, Ho-beom points somewhere at the window. It was a spot where the rooftop of the opposite building was visible. He draws a diagonal line in the air with his finger, then puts it to his head and makes a “bang” gesture like shooting a gun. Soo-hyun’s mind freezes momentarily. Before he can ask if what he’s thinking is correct, Yang Ho-beom adds:

“They probably thought it was me. What an idiot.”

Soo-hyun’s mouth hangs open. Is this possible in the 21st century, especially in Korea where firearms are prohibited? Not believing it, he looks at the window, but there’s no trace of anything. This bastard must be messing with him.

“I usually entrust cleaning to someone reliable, but after that incident, no one’s willing to do it yet.”

Suddenly, Soo-hyun doesn’t want to stay here any longer. What if someone still targets Yang Ho-beom’s head from across the street? Of course, if Yang Ho-beom died on the spot, that would be great, but he doesn’t want his head blown off by mistake. Without realizing it, he slowly moves toward a pillar, and Yang Ho-beom snickers.

“You think that will save you?”

Soo-hyun doesn’t want to stay here.

“Forget it, just show me where I’ll be working.”

At those words, Ho-beom twists open a bottle of water and nods toward where Soo-hyun stands.

“You’re already here.”

Huh? Soo-hyun tilts his head. Where? As he looks around, the color drains from his face. Involuntarily grimacing, he looks at Yang Ho-beom again. As Yang Ho-beom turns around, a large dragon on his back opens its jaws wide, holding a magic pearl and flashing its eyes. Soo-hyun follows him, protesting.

“Hey, Mr. Yang Ho-beom. I mean, Director Yang Ho-beom.”

Following him leads to a dressing room. It resembles a showroom with mannequins and all.

“So you’re telling me to be a cleaning person?”

As he asks incredulously, Ho-beom unties the towel around his waist. In that moment, Soo-hyun couldn’t believe his eyes. F*ck, his d*ck is huge too. Is that size even possible? He’d seen guys who got implants to increase their size, but none were that big. Doesn’t it usually shrink after showering? Unable to take his eyes off it, Ho-beom snickers.

“Like what you see?”

Flustered, Soo-hyun’s ears turn red as he glares.

“What?”

“I heard you sleep with men too.”

Soo-hyun pressed his lips shut. After glaring, Ho-beom calmly puts on his underwear and slips his arms into a wrinkle-free, perfectly ironed shirt that fits his body perfectly. More than that, what he just said bothered Soo-hyun.

“Who told you that?”

“You think I brought you here without knowing anything? Want me to tell you more?”

“…”

“I heard your debts were because of a man too. What was his name again?”

He narrows his brow, seemingly trying to remember. Soo-hyun’s fists clench.

“Say one more word and I’ll—”

“Relax. I’m not into men.”

At Ho-beom’s words, Soo-hyun gave a rotten smile.

“Good. You’re not my type either.”

At that, Ho-beom snickered. Good thing. Soo-hyun suddenly wondered how much this guy knew about him. Given that he already knew this much when he came to get him, he probably knows most things. Could he possibly know about things from even longer ago? He’s afraid to ask. Instead, Soo-hyun changed the subject.

“Still, I don’t want to stay here. If it were cleaning guest rooms, maybe…”

“I can’t let an employee with sticky fingers into guest rooms.”

If he can’t trust him that much, Soo-hyun doesn’t understand why he’s having him clean here.

“Think of it as easy work. I don’t come here often. I do invite friends for parties sometimes, but that’s very rare.”

When Soo-hyun keeps his mouth shut, Ho-beom makes a more enticing offer.

“I’ll pay you well. With hazard pay added.”

With an offer like that, there was no reason to consider further. After all, didn’t he come here to work? Surely no other madman would shoot at them. Or maybe it was a lie Yang Ho-beom made up from the beginning. He does have a talent for messing with people.

When Soo-hyun silently agrees, Ho-beom extends his hand.

“Then I look forward to working with you.”

When Soo-hyun just stares at it, Ho-beom grabs his hand. Caught off guard, his hand shakes up and down. His hands are as big as his height and his d*ck. Lucky bastard has everything big.

“Cleaning starts today. An employee will come later to show you what to do.”

Yang Ho-beom appeared so friendly that it was hard to believe he was the same person who nearly broke Soo-hyun’s neck last night. What did he discuss with the old man? But that wasn’t important. Whatever his true intentions, whether this persona was fake or not, it didn’t matter—as long as Soo-hyun got paid.