Small and Fragile Things - Chapter 12

There wasn’t a hint of hesitation when he plucked the cigarette from between her fingers and put it to his own lips.

“Surprised you didn’t smoke something else. Trying to grow up?”

He took a deep drag, then let out a slow, thick plume of smoke that drifted over Jihyun’s dazed face.

She should’ve felt annoyed, but since she didn’t, she figured she must really be drunk.

“If you’re done, I’m leaving.”

“No, no—wait! I remembered. I do have a favor to ask.”

“Say it.”

Even though the seat right next to her on the sofa was wide open, Muk-hyun perched instead on the edge of the table.

The way his shoulders and back stretched the suit tight made it obvious how broad he was. Her eyes slipped down to his thighs, thick as her waist—maybe even thicker.

Dragging it out as if she were savoring all the eyes sneaking glances their way, Jihyun finally spoke up, just before Muk-hyun’s stare turned sharp.

“I’ve been hanging out with Kim Sejin lately, you know? And that bastard—”

“Who’s Kim Sejin?”

“Oh, come on, you don’t know Kim Sejin? He’s that famous actor! Won an award at Cannes not long ago—anyway, turns out he’s got some… video.”

“So?”

“What do you mean, ‘so’? That perv filmed all kinds of sick crap, you know.”

“……”

“…Make it disappear.”

Muk-hyun, who’d been leaning forward, rubbed the scar on the bridge of his nose with a bent finger. A habit he only had when he was seriously irritated or so fed up he just wanted to crush everything.

If Jung Yoon had been here, he’d have known exactly what that meant. Jihyun just smiled sweetly instead.

The air around them grew heavier, like gravity had shifted, but Jihyun only swung her crossed foot, teasing him with that bratty grin.

“You can do it, right?”

It wasn’t new—getting called out whenever she felt like it just to be her decoration, cleaning up whatever mess she’d made this time. For Muk-hyun, it was routine.

If all he’d done was follow Chairman Choi’s orders, he’d never have earned the nickname Samu’s dog.

Compared to her, Choi Il-hyun was practically a saint. Sure, his requests bent the law all the way around too, but at least they didn’t leave Muk-hyun feeling this disgusted.

He’d been cleaning up after these siblings for years—first on the Chairman’s orders, then later because there was something in it for him. By now, he didn’t even have to, but he still did—so of course Jihyun took it for granted.

“You can do it, yeah? This kind of thing’s nothing for you, right?”

Muk-hyun had another reason for putting up with Choi Jihyun.

She was flashy on the outside and wild underneath, and she didn’t bother hiding her endless string of men. She treated her own vicious streak like it was just another pretty thorn on her rose stem. Naturally, she had zero patience—she couldn’t stand it when things didn’t go exactly her way.

In other words, if he didn’t help her, she’d make a huge, annoying scene.

“While you’re at it, make sure that bastard never crawls back in front of me again.”

“……”

“You will, right? You will, won’t you? Please?”

This was the kind of filth that filled every corner of the world Muk-hyun walked in. People who looked fine on the outside but were twisted all the way through inside—and yet none of them would ever admit they were rotten.

If there were even one decent person around to hold up as a mirror, maybe they’d have compared themselves, woken up. But there was no standard here.

Expecting Jihyun to act normal when she’d been raised by the Chairman was just nonsense.

“How far do you want me to go?”

Of course, Choi Il-hyun wasn’t any better.

If someone asked who was the most broken monster in this whole rotten circle, he’d probably be at the front of the line.

“Just want the video gone? Or—”

At least Muk-hyun could look at himself and call himself what he was. That was the only difference.

“Want me to cut his d1ck off and bring it back to you?”

He said it like it was nothing, but inside, it made him feel like a monster all over again.

“Where do you want me to stop?”

Just picturing the bl00d made his gut twist—because the worst part was, a part of him was almost looking forward to it.

***

Late at night, Muk-hyun headed for Seonidong.

Jung Yoon, who’d been waiting in the parking lot after wrapping up some other job, didn’t say a word about it. He could tell Muk-hyun was in a foul mood—best not to poke the bear.

He did find it strange, though. Normally, Muk-hyun would’ve wanted to be alone when he was like this. Yet tonight, even in this sour state, he was choosing to go see her.

And the surprises didn’t stop when they arrived in Seon-Idong.

Out of nowhere, Muk-hyun said they should get some barbecue. Then he dragged Yang Gi-seon out too—and even brought her along. When Jung-pal finished his business and joined them, the next thing they knew, the whole bunch was sitting down for dinner together.

“Damn, I needed this. My throat’s been dry as sand after that job—gotta wash it down with pork belly grease!”

“Jung-pal hyung. It’s pork. You gotta cook it through, man!”

“You ever seen me get sick from anything I ate?”

“You bragging about being a caveman now? Are you proud you skipped a few steps in evolution?”

The old couple running the joint just handed them the keys to the meat fridge and left them to it—perfect for the crew to relax. As the grill sizzled and the fat dripped down with a satisfying hiss, Jung-pal and Gi-seon bickered back and forth while Jung Yoon kept an eye on Muk-hyun’s face.

Something must’ve shifted on the way here—Muk-hyun’s mood was a touch lighter than before.

“You awake now?” Jung Yoon asked quietly.

Muk-hyun, who’d just emptied his glass, was looking at the woman sitting next to him.

“…”

“Hey, Bunny. You mad at me?”

He flicked her nose playfully, totally ignoring how Jung Yoon practically choked on air beside him.

“What, you pissed? Won’t even look at me, huh?”

Muk-hyun realized he felt a bit better than before—at least, not as close to rock bottom as earlier. He couldn’t say exactly why, and he didn’t care to figure it out either. He just thought—coming out here to Seon-Idong wasn’t the worst idea.

Bringing her out of that same spot she’d been glued to for days? That was just… an impulse he couldn’t explain.

“Come on. Let’s go out.”

It was less than a five-minute walk from the mansion to the barbecue joint. He’d remembered how happy she’d looked in the car once—thought maybe she’d like this too. But to his surprise, she’d trembled the whole walk over, like she’d been dragged to her doom.

“Where… where are we going? I… I like it back there…”

One look at her ready-to-cry face and he’d realized she’d gotten the wrong idea, though he hadn’t bothered to clear it up. He’d actually wondered what would happen if he just let her keep squirming.

“Uh, um…”

For those five short minutes, she’d probably spun out a thousand wild guesses in her head. She’d even grabbed his sleeve—he hadn’t offered it—and kept opening her mouth like she had something to confess, but in the end, not a word came out.

Was she so determined to keep her secret even cornered like that? He couldn’t decide if he should call that loyalty or just plain stupidity. He’d thought about pushing her to spill it all—but gave up. What did it matter?

Muk-hyun decided then—he wasn’t going to care anymore about whatever she was hiding. Knowing wouldn’t change anything.

I’m sending her back anyway.

By the time they’d made it to the restaurant, she’d looked pale enough to drop. But now, a bit of color had returned to her face. Those big eyes of hers were darting all over the place, trying to take everything in—she didn’t even notice people talking to her.

“Here.”

Muk-hyun dropped a perfectly grilled piece of pork belly onto her plate to snap her out of it.

“Eat.”

But she just sat there, fidgeting, like she wasn’t sure if she was allowed.

“You think I’d give you something you can’t eat?”

Sure, he had no right to complain about being called out for messing with her head—after all, he’d kidnapped her and kept her locked up. But did she expect him to feed her by hand too? He gave her a look, so she finally picked up her chopsticks—but her grip was awkward as hell.

“Man, this meat just melts in your mouth. Melts!” Jung-pal hollered, shoving three pieces in at once.

Next to him, Gi-seon followed suit with a huge bite, wrapping his pork in a handful of scallions.

Seeing that, she seemed to change her mind about the meat.

Muk-hyun took the chopsticks from her hand, speared the pork like a skewer, and held it out again.

“It’s good.”

“…”

“It’s hot—blow on it first.”

Nobody at the table could hide how startled they were at the sight. But all eyes were really on her reaction—because by now, everyone had guessed she’d probably never had grilled pork belly before in her life.