The Mission and the Monster

“Whew…”

A curse escaped him the moment he released his lower lip, which he had been biting to suppress his surging instincts. Just because he was sitting at a desk didn’t mean his raging arousal would simply subside.

As soon as he arrived in Korea and paid his respects to his grandfather, he had bolted to Gallery Won. When he saw Tae-rin leaving the main hall for the sub-exhibition hall, he was already half-erect; by that count, he’d been in this state for four hours. When she slapped Jung Se-hyun’s cheek, he reached a full, hard peak. When he couldn’t hold back and spoke to her, their eyes met. At that moment, he had nearly come right then and there.

Thanks to the two rounds of release in the shower, the tension in his cock had loosened for a moment, but it was literally only for a moment. Just thinking about those eyes—glaring at him with pure annoyance—forced the blood to rush south again.

“Ha…”

His hand was rough as he frustratedly wiped his face.

Thirteen years ago, she had been the subject of Jae-hwi’s first nocturnal emission. Tae-rin, at nineteen, was the one who had led him—a boy whose growth was slower than his peers—into manhood.

Since that night, Jae-hwi had stayed hard thinking of her. On nights she appeared in his dreams, he would soak his underwear without even touching himself, and the times he had masturbated while whispering her name were countless.

To Jae-hwi, becoming erect at the thought of Tae-rin was an act of God—unavoidable. He let out a dry laugh at himself; even he knew he was an absurdly crazy bastard. He was smirking, teeth gritted, when his phone buzzed.

He grabbed it before the first vibration even finished, but his eyes sank with disappointment.

“What.”

— “Gu Jae-hwi, are you seriously not coming? It’s a party to celebrate your return to Korea. How does it make sense for the guest of honor to skip?”

“Stop calling me.”

— “This is the first time I’ve called!”

“Don’t. Call me one more time and I’ll kill you.”

— “He says he’ll kill me. f*ck, I’m terrified.”

The bastard was a lawyer, yet he couldn’t say a sentence without “f*ck” whenever he drank. Jae-hwi frowned at the sound of So Woo-jin’s drunken giggles and sank deep into his chair. The antics of the only person he could call a friend made him let out a weary chuckle, loosening his tension.

“Hey, So-Byun (Urine).”

— “…I told you not to call me that, you son of a b*tch.”

“If you don’t like it, quit being a lawyer (Byun-ho-sa). How much can you even make doing that anyway?”

— “…f*ck. Are you at home? You’re at home, right?”

“If you hate that too, change your last name. Take your mother’s name, Bae. Bae-Byun (Bowel Movement).”

— “Gu Jae-hwi, just you wait!”

The guy, who probably couldn’t even stand straight, screamed that he was coming over to kill him. Usually, Woo-jin would tuck his tail if Jae-hwi so much as narrowed his eyes, but alcohol seemed to give him a surge of courage. Jae-hwi just sat there, listening to the stream of colorful curses coming through the phone.

He did it because he had to. The stiff, painfully swollen tension in his crotch finally began to ebb away. Listening to the screeching voice wasn’t pleasant, but for a man who needed to remain “pious” while waiting for a specific call, it was an effective deterrent.

The sharp vitriol poured into his ear like a rapper’s flow. His fingers, which had been tapping the desk to the beat of the insults, stopped abruptly when he caught a repetitive mechanical beep between the curses.

Recognizing the call-waiting signal, Jae-hwi’s head turned slowly. Finally, he saw the eleven-digit number on the screen.

11:52 PM. A call arriving eight minutes before midnight. An unknown number—not the one he had saved earlier.

Jae-hwi instinctively knew it was Tae-rin. At that realization, his dying erection snapped back to life instantly.

Without hesitation, he took a deep breath and tapped [Accept].

“Yes.”

— “Gu Jae-hwi.”

He felt a thrill as she spoke his name. Hearing her low, steady voice filled him with a mix of awe and ecstasy. It was just three syllables, but his cock twitched so hard a bead of pre-cum escaped. He leaned back in his chair, basking in the afterglow of her voice, a deep smile spreading across his face.

“Wow… you remembered?”

— “Forget what you heard earlier. I’m hanging up now, assuming you’ll do exactly that.”

“Wait, wait a minute. We haven’t seen each other in forever. Is that really all you have to say?”

— “I have nothing to say to you.”

“Why not? You should ask how I’ve been, or if I did what you told me to do. You should check.”

— “…What I told you to do?”

“To crush that annoying Gu Jae-kyung.”

— “…”

“You told me to swallow GH and then come find you. You said you’d see me then.”

Jae-hwi grinned as he stared at the electronic signature box at the top of his tablet screen. GH Electronics, Executive Director / Head of Management Planning. That was the rank and title Jae-hwi had secured for his return to Korea after thirteen years.

Thirteen years ago, in the spring, Jae-hwi—who was being homeschooled at the time—had first met nineteen-year-old Won Tae-rin when she visited with Gu Jae-kyung.

“Ah, so you’re the Gu Jae-hwi I’ve heard so much about?” “Hello…” “Yeah, hi.” “Um… are you my big sister’s friend?” “No. Gu Jae-kyung and I will never be friends as long as we live.” “…” “But you, how old are you? You’re cute.” “I’m… seventeen…” “What? Not twelve? There’s only a two-year difference between us?” “…Yes. I really am seventeen.”

That day, Jae-hwi, who couldn’t take his eyes off the girl tilting her head at him, had fled to his room the moment Gu Jae-kyung appeared. From that spring through the summer, he met Tae-rin a few more times when she visited and they talked.

By autumn, at seventeen, he entered the Munich Institute of Technology and left for Germany. From then on, he called and messaged her whenever he had a spare moment. Once Tae-rin turned twenty-two and left for the U.S. to study, they exchanged emails.

But before long, contact was cut. She had always said she had no intention of playing with a kid, and as soon as twenty-year-old Jae-hwi shed his “child” label, she drew a sharp line.

[ I’m too busy to reply to your email bombs. Go play with kids your own age. ] [ That’s no fun. They’re all boring. ] [ Look around. Alcohol, drugs, s*x, parties. There are plenty of fun things. ] [ You only recommend bad things to me. I like Won Tae-rin more than any of that. Shall we meet? I’ll go to the States. ] [ Don’t be arrogant, you’re just a kid. ] [ There’s only a two-year difference. ] [ It’s a whole two years. ] [ Weren’t your parents two years apart? I heard your mother is two years older than your father. ] [ I don’t like younger men. ] [ You’ll like younger men later. In many ways. ]

Waiting for her reply, twenty-year-old Jae-hwi couldn’t contain his impatience and sent one more email.

[ Then will you see me when I’m older? ] [ Depends on how you do. ] [ What do I have to do? ] [ Crush that annoying Gu Jae-kyung. ] [ If I do, will you see me? ] [ I don’t deal with just anyone. Come find me when you’ve swallowed GH. I’ll see you then. ]

That was the end. After throwing down the mission, Won Tae-rin never replied to another email. The only sign she gave was the “read” receipt on his persistent messages.

For about a year until she deleted the email address, Jae-hwi lived his life checking those receipts obsessively. It wasn’t even a text message, just an email, yet he felt euphoria from that tiny bit of attention and worked himself to the bone to follow her orders.

Since that unforgettable summer day when he was seventeen, Won Tae-rin had become the first and only goal of Gu Jae-hwi’s life. It was only natural.

— “…You took it? GH?”

“I came back to Korea after seeing my grandfather revise his will and have it notarized. Gu Jae-kyung won’t have anything left besides the distribution arm he currently holds.”

— “Ha…”

At her long sigh, Jae-hwi relaxed his body. He set the phone on the desk and switched to speakerphone. He leaned forward, resting his cheek against the smooth wood grain of the desk.

Hearing her breathing in the silence felt chillingly good. Jae-hwi closed his eyes like a dog waiting for praise. He curled his lips into a smile, and unable to resist the itch at the base of his tailbone, he tensed his muscles. The position caused his legs to crush his aching erection, but even that pain felt heavenly right now.

— “Wills can be changed at any time.”

“…”

— “I trust that what you heard earlier won’t leak out.”

At her cold tone, which signaled the end of the call, Jae-hwi bolted upright.

“So. Are you going to see me, or not?”

His voice was raw and low. His arched eyebrow betrayed his dissatisfaction.

— “I won’t.”

“You won’t? Why?”

— “Is it a two-year difference between us?”

“Yeah, so?”

— “Turns out you were right.”

“What…?”

— “You said I’d like younger men more later on.”

“And?”

— “I’m too busy meeting men even younger than you. Goodbye.”

“…Won Tae-rin!”

Jae-hwi growled her name in a fit of heat, but the call had already disconnected.

“Crazy bastard…”

Tae-rin put her phone down and propped her elbows on the desk. She pressed her fingertips firmly against her throbbing temples.

She never imagined that the little boy who had once acted like a leech would reappear with such a massive frame—and with eyes that had become even more obsessive.