Clap - 68

Jaemin couldn’t easily come up with an answer. He couldn’t even tell if this was a dream or reality.

“Don’t you want anything?”

Ichan asked in a rather gentle tone. Jaemin let out a hollow laugh. When they were shoving a chopstick into his p3nis and sucking him, they were so kind as to ask what he wanted to eat? It didn’t make sense. He must have been dreaming.

Seeing the thoughts running through Jaemin’s mind, Ichan gently rubbed his brow.

“It’s okay. Just say whatever you want.”

Jaemin’s eyes widened. The deliberation didn’t last long. What he wanted to eat was something he thought about constantly, at all times. His stomach was always empty, after all. But he wasn’t sure if Ichan would actually listen. Still, it wasn’t that hard to say. Jaemin licked his dry lips.

“⋯⋯Meat.”

“What kind of meat?”

At the following question, Jaemin’s eyelashes stood straight up. Meat. What kind of meat… What kind of meat was it… Jaemin’s nose wrinkled as he thought.

“Well… It’s the kind that rich people slice with knives and eat on TV.”

Jaemin said this while staring blankly into the air, as if imagining a scene from a fantasy movie.

“Do you want to eat steak?”

Ichan asked, immediately understanding. Jaemin quickly nodded. Steak. He had never seen one. Places that sold such things didn’t even let people like him, the clueless ones, serve. The only meat he had eaten was cheap pork belly from when he worked at an all-you-can-eat barbecue restaurant.

“What cut do you want?”

Ichan asked a lot of questions today. They weren’t difficult questions, but to Jaemin, they were harder than math problems.

“⋯⋯.”

Jaemin’s lips curled inward. A cut? What kind of cut? Is there a specific cut for steak? Like pork belly? No, then they could just call it that. Why call it steak?

Jaemin didn’t respond for a while. Ichan chuckled and pinched Jaemin’s soft cheek, as if he found him cute, before letting go.

“You wouldn’t know how you want it cooked, right?”

“⋯⋯.”

Jaemin remained silent again. The silence meant yes. Ichan slowly stood up. His huge shadow, as big as Namsan Mountain, swallowed Jaemin.

“Wait. I think there’s ribeye in the fridge.”

Ichan gently patted Jaemin’s head before leaving the bedroom. When his broad back disappeared and the shadow was gone, Jaemin muttered,

“⋯⋯Crazy bastard.”

He whispered as quietly as possible, so maybe Ichan wouldn’t hear.

Today was a little weird. Of course, every day in this luxurious prison, every moment, every hour, was strange, but today it felt particularly so. How should he explain it? Should he say that the kidnappers were being too kind?

Jaemin wasn’t sitting on the bed, but on the kitchen chair. After being trapped under the countertop not long ago, it was his first time outside. And not in Ihyun’s or Ichan’s arms, but sitting properly in a chair.

Just like when he showered, his ankles were tied, but it wasn’t as heavy as the shackles. His legs dangled happily without feeling uncomfortable.

Not only that, Jaemin was holding a spoon. Not a metal spoon, but a child’s fork-spoon. You know the kind, where a fork-like trident is at the end of the spoon. It’s made for kids who can’t use chopsticks.

Jaemin wasn’t a child, and he could use chopsticks just fine, but he grabbed it since they forced it into his hands. Still, it was nice to eat something he wanted. Compared to when Ihyun fed him spoonful by spoonful, this felt like heaven.

On the table was a piece of meat that perfectly matched the steak Jaemin had mentioned. Thickly sliced meat with grill marks like a net. Unfamiliar vegetables—or were they fruits? Some looked like bamboo or cacti (asparagus, actually). Anyway, there were grilled cherry tomatoes and overcooked onions that kept their shape.

“⋯⋯.”

Jaemin swallowed his saliva at the amazing sight. As soon as his mouth was empty, more saliva pooled in his molars.

Ihyun and Ichan, who had been watching Jaemin, smiled.

Ihyun took a knife. The thick, jagged knife gleamed dully. Jaemin curiously stared at it, his eyes full of wonder like he was watching a circus.

When the knife cut through the edge of the meat and sliced about 10 centimeters with a rough sound, bl00d started to seep out, and the plate was soaked.

Jaemin, who had pulled his head back, stared at the plate. At first, he didn’t realize it was bl00d. Was it oil? Or maybe seasoning? Then, when the steak was cut into a bite-sized piece and the cross-section was revealed, he realized it was bl00d.

Jaemin’s eyes widened in shock.

“Bl00d, bl00d⋯⋯.”

These crazy bastards must eat their meat raw. He had already known they were crazy, but he didn’t expect them to eat meat like this. The food he’d eaten before seemed fine… Or was it? Could it have been drugged?

At Jaemin’s reaction, Ihyun raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Oh, Jaemin, can’t you eat it rare?”

“Rare⋯⋯?”

Jaemin replied in a confused tone. The word wasn’t in Korean, and it felt unfamiliar.

“Well… it means not fully cooked.”

“Why would you eat meat not fully cooked?”

Disgust was written all over Jaemin’s face. It wasn’t even like they were beasts—why would they eat meat undercooked? It was bad for your health. Don’t those doctors know this? Jaemin scooted backward, moving away from the table.

Seeing this, Ihyun silently laughed. This was entirely their fault. Jaemin would eat it, but they had cooked it the way they liked. They had been careless.

“Ichan, we have to cook it again.”

“Ha⋯⋯.”

Ichan grimaced with distaste. It was good meat, but now it looked like it was going to be eaten well-done. He stood up, carrying the plate, and before heading to the stove, he handed Jaemin the bacon fries and sausages he had made, thinking Jaemin might like them.