The Predator’s Thumb

A sharp gasp escaped Yi-seo’s throat. He read it again, hoping he had misread the number, but the digits remained stubbornly unchanged.

‘Isn’t it too cheap? To think my down payment is only 500 million won.’

‘That’s ridiculous…. I never agreed to this…. You didn’t even discuss this with me.’

‘Then what’s this signature? I even got your thumbprint right here.’

Tap. Tap.

Cha Gye-won’s long finger pointed to the thumbprint on the first page. It was the one he had taken from Yi-seo’s hand earlier that afternoon. Yi-seo glared at the smiling man with pure resentment.

When Yi-seo reached out to snatch the contract, Gye-won’s arm lifted effortlessly. It was well out of reach.

‘Oops, not so fast.’

‘But… but proceeding with the contract like this is….’

Cha Gye-won reached into Yi-seo’s hair and gave it a sharp tug. Yi-seo’s sentence cut off into a muffled groan.

‘CEO, I noticed you have quite a bit of debt…. Can you handle it?’

‘Ugh.’

The hand digging into his hair was iron-clad. His scalp burned, and a pained whine escaped him.

‘I’m not like those small-fry thugs. I’ll peel the very scalp off your head to get my money back. Do you have the confidence for that?’

‘N-No….’

‘Exactly.’

Gye-won relaxed his grip and began to stroke Yi-seo’s head instead. The thin strands of hair felt soft and messy between his fingers.

‘Ah….’

Only then did Yi-seo realize why he felt so uncomfortable around Cha Gye-won—why his shoulders instinctively hunched in his presence. It was instinct. The primal instinct of prey sensing a predator with the same cold eyes.

Be under one’s thumb.

“Baek Yi-seo?”

A cheerful voice broke his train of thought. Shim Chan, with his uniform sleeves rolled up to his forearms, leaned in with his trademark mischievous grin.

“Hyung….”

“What’s this? It is Baek! If you’re here, you should’ve called me over!”

Yi-seo let his shoulders slump even further. Shim Chan was one of the few people Yi-seo could actually act like a child around. Chan always called him “Baek.”

“I thought you were busy. How have you been?”

“You’re asking that now? You haven’t shown your face in forever, you punk.”

Clatter.

Despite the blunt words, Chan set down a plate of neatly sliced fruit.

“Eat some snacks. How are you even thinner than before?”

“Mmm….”

He popped a green grape into his mouth. The sweet and sour juice flooded his palate, slightly calming his turbulent heart.

“I’ve been busy with work…. Sorry, Hyung.”

“Forget it. How’s business? Is it going well?”

Chan didn’t seem genuinely upset. Right before college graduation, Seung-ju had essentially “ghosted” Yi-seo to end the relationship. During that time, Yi-seo had met Chan while seeking advice on a community site, and Chan knew his situation inside and out.

They had first become close the day Chan told him to come to the bar for a proper counseling session.

“Same as always…. How’s Tae-hwa Hyung?”

“He’s good, man.”

The two had been dating since high school, nearly ten years now. Whenever people teased them that they were basically a married couple, they both just nodded in agreement.

“Did Kim Seung-ju contact you?”

“Hyung!”

Yi-seo slammed his fruit pick down. His appetite vanished instantly. Chan, knowing what had happened, loathed Kim Seung-ju and made a point of asking about him whenever Yi-seo seemed to be moving on.

“Look at that temper…. I’m only asking because you look like death warmed over! Whenever it involves that bastard, you get all mopey and can’t focus on work.”

“That was ages ago!”

“If it’s not about him, then why are you getting mad? You’re acting like someone with a guilty conscience.”

“Ugh, forget it! I’m not talking to you!”

Yi-seo huffed, grabbed his jacket, and made a show of leaving. As he stood up from the bar stool, Shim Chan pulled him back down.

“Aww, did I hurt your feelings? Did our little Baeky get all grumpy?”

He made a square shape with his mouth and used an exaggerated, high-pitched voice. It was infuriating how he never missed a chance to tease him.

“Seriously!”

Chan clutched his stomach, laughing at the fuming Yi-seo, before finally looking at him with a serious expression.

“Alright, alright. What is it then? Why the long face? You only visit me when something’s up.”

“…….”

“Sit down. There are no customers today anyway.”

“Sigh….”

“Tell me. If I listen to all this and it turns out to be nothing, I’m actually going to kill you.”

Yi-seo opened and closed his mouth several times. No matter how close they were, the words “I think I slept with Cha Gye-won” wouldn’t come out easily.

Finally, he decided to omit the name.

“Hyung, do you remember the day I came to the bar three years ago?”

“How would I remember? You were in and out of here constantly back then, crying your eyes out because you got dumped. Ugh. Only I would put up with that.”

Yi-seo quickly cut him off before he could start teasing again.

“No! The day I got really drunk.”

To be honest, when he heard Gye-won’s story, it wasn’t as if he had no memory of such a day.

Normally, Yi-seo enjoyed drinking and had a high tolerance. He could handle two bottles of soju easily, and after years in the industry, he could stay sober even after three. But there was exactly one day when he had been completely blackout drunk.

“You know. That time you gave me that vodka.”

“That happened more than once. You used to come here and drink my whole stock.”

“You’re the one who poured it for me!”

Chan would always pour more even when Yi-seo said he was done. Yi-seo huffed in indignation, while Chan burst into another round of laughter.

“That gift your friend brought back from the Czech Republic! The one that was 88 or 89 percent? You kept pouring it for me on the rocks. Don’t you remember?”

It was some kind of Absinthe whose name he couldn’t even recall. His mistake had been showing off by trying something with such a ridiculous alcohol percentage. Only then did Chan snap his fingers in realization.

“Oh, man, of course I remember! They say that stuff could knock out a bear, but you didn’t even go down. You’re a total madman, you know that?”

‘Didn’t go down,’ my ass. There was no way he had survived something that could fell a bear.

The last thing he remembered from that night was stumbling out of the bar, trying to look fine after two glasses. He thought he might have vomited as soon as he stepped outside.

“……I think I slept with someone that night.”

And that “someone” might actually be Cha Gye-won.

Yi-seo’s sigh deepened. Having seen him in person for just a day, Gye-won was different from the rumors. He was far bolder and more dangerous. His scalp still throbbed where it had been pulled. When his neck was grabbed, it felt as though those massive hands were truly going to crush him.

‘I can’t do this.’

Goosebumps broke out on the back of his neck. Those flashing eyes were as fierce as a jackal’s. Regardless of the company, he wanted to cancel the contract immediately.

“Good for you. I’m jealous. Seriously, looks are everything. See? Even after drinking that, you managed to reel someone in.”

Chan spoke lightheartedly, completely unaware of Yi-seo’s internal turmoil.

“What am I going to do?”

“Please. You’ve had a few one-night stands before. It’s not a big deal.”

He had. The feeling of betrayal by Kim Seung-ju had led to a long period of wandering. But the more people he met, the more he realized it was all futile.

“No, seriously, what do I do….”

As they talked, the vague memories became clearer. He had woken up in a hotel the next day. A hazy, fog-like memory surfaced of his frantic state—waking up with a murderous hangover in a luxury hotel suite he’d never seen before. He hadn’t even known such rooms existed. Overwhelmed by the guilt of the blackout and the sheer opulence of the room, he had fled without even checking who was in the bed next to him.

“It must be true….”

The more he tried to deny it, the more the pieces fit. The room had a desk and a sofa; it was bigger than his entire apartment. How many people in the world would rent a room like that for a single night?

“You’re going to dig a hole and crawl into it at this rate. Stop it. Don’t be so petty.”

“I should have at least checked his face before I ran.”

Yi-seo whined. How could he have known the price of his negligence would snowball like this? Looking back, there was no reason for Cha Gye-won to lie to him.

“What are you so worried about? Huh? It’s all in the past. It wasn’t three days ago, it was three years ago.”

Exactly. That was his point. Why was Cha Gye-won digging up something from three years ago and making him so anxious?

“I ran into the person I slept with.”

“……By chance?”

“Sort of….”

Yi-seo avoided the eyes of the suspicious-looking Chan. If Hyung knew it was Cha Gye-won, he’d probably faint. Yi-seo was impressed with himself for even staying conscious.

“It happens. Take this chance to start dating.”

“……I’m not dating anyone.”

“…….”

Shim Chan cared deeply for Baek Yi-seo. He was a rare, straightforward person. However, in Chan’s eyes, Yi-seo was frustratingly passive. He was calm and unbothered by most things, which meant he often didn’t even realize when he was being dumped or stabbed in the back.

Take Kim Seung-ju, for example. When that bastard returned after three years of ghosting, Yi-seo had taken him back without a word. Chan had tried to stop him, but Yi-seo wouldn’t listen.

Sure enough, in less than a year, Seung-ju had dumped all the debt and the company on him and vanished again. That was three years ago.

“Are you still on that bullshit? Good god. Should I build you a monument for your chastity?”

“Ugh! I’m not waiting for that bastard! I’m just sick of dating!”

“Oh, please. Anyone listening would think you’re a dating expert. You’ve only ever had one real boyfriend.”

“Hyung!”

“Ah! Hey! Now that I think about it, that day… was actually crazy.”

Something suddenly occurred to Shim Chan. There was another reason that day stuck out in his memory.