Sentimental Shower

#021

He used to think kissing was just a ticklish act. Why bother with lips when you could just stick it in? But looking at this pretty thing, why did he keep wanting to bite and suck?

Yeon Tae-soo carefully, very carefully, reached out his hand.

His fingers touched the mask strap behind the ear.

Mr. Yoo inhaled. Yeon Tae-soo unknowingly held his breath too. The sensation of fine hair on his palm was ticklish.

Body heat transferred directly. How should he ask permission from this pretty one who hated taking off the mask so much? Would they allow it if he got on his knees and offered to suck them off right now? Would it work if he gave them a fortune? Probably neither.

That was the problem. He still wasn’t sure what the pretty one wanted.

Instead of asking for permission verbally, he gently touched the mask strap behind the ear. Promising himself that if there was even a slight sign of discomfort, he would stop, he could stop, he would bite his tongue and immediately take his hand away.

That’s when it happened.

Knock knock.

“Um, Big Brother…”

As soon as he heard the knock and the voice, Yeon Tae-soo clenched his teeth and closed his eyes.

Suppressing the rising anger, he forcibly removed his hand that didn’t want to let go. The fingertips that lost the warmth of the pretty one felt empty.

With no choice, he turned and opened the door. An employee stood there with a dumbfounded look.

“Big Brother, I’m sorry. It was urgent… Aaargh!”

As he raised his hand, the employee screamed in terror and ran away. Had he beaten the kids too much? Seeing the automatic reaction just from raising his hand, he thought he should beat them more moderately in the future.

“You bastard, come here. Won’t you come here?”

As he ran out into the hallway, other employees standing guard retreated in confusion.

“B-Brother, Big Brother, I’m sorry! Please spare me!”

Kim Gil-ho ran like mad, deeply regretting his decision, feeling a fear of death from the Big Brother he respected and who was like a benefactor to him, just for today.

***

The culprit’s face was already swollen from several hits. Yeon Tae-soo approached with a low laugh. Recognizing his face, the culprit crawled backward in terror.

“You dare to steal money? From a gambling house? This is the first time I’ve seen such an ingeniously stupid bastard.”

It was rare for someone to get caught stealing money at Eden. Who would dare to do such a thing? It was practically the heart of the back alleys in District 2.

As Yeon Tae-soo approached, twirling a jack knife, the culprit began to tremble.

“P-please, sp-spare me…”

“Spare you? You steal my money and ask to be spared?”

Yeon Tae-soo laughed again. His voice was very low, but his boyish laughing face with two different colored eyes glinted in the darkness. His blue eye, seen from below in the dark, looked like a machine’s light.

The culprit had heard rumors too. That Yeon Tae-soo might actually be an android.

But that was said by those who didn’t know Yeon Tae-soo at all. If they knew him even a little better, they would know how much he hated androids. There was even a rumor that this was why there wasn’t a single humanoid android in Eden.

And there was another rumor.

‘I heard he killed a ton of androids before.’

There was a rumor that he had massacred androids while working as a mercenary abroad in the past.

They said he lost his hand and eye to androids then. No one knew if it was true.

“I’m in a really shitty mood today. You picked the wrong day.”

Yeon Tae-soo held out his hand to the side, and a subordinate handed him leather gloves. After putting on the gloves, Yeon Tae-soo clenched his fist and cracked his knuckles loudly.

There was no chance for excuses. The fist came flying immediately. The leather glove was sharp enough to tear skin.

Between the leather glove and the black suit sleeve, a glimpse of a metal prosthetic hand was visible. No wonder it hurt so much being hit by that.

The fallen culprit barely managed to get up. Yeon Tae-soo came closer.

The culprit got goosebumps from the still-smiling face. He had never seen anyone with such an expression while beating someone. Why was he smiling so innocently?

The man, the culprit, curled up, clutching his head. It was almost an instinctive action. But he couldn’t block the incoming kick.

“What? Does it hurt? You know it hurts? Didn’t you take the money knowing you might get caught?”

The irritated laughing voice hit his ears. Maybe because he was hit, the sound seemed louder. A sound between “kuk kuk” or “kik kik”, a sound that seemed to tear between them. A low laugh tinged with eerie playfulness.

The kicks also seemed just like play. But the pain was certainly not playful. It was so painful that it was hard to breathe.

He needed to escape somehow and make excuses. It was true that he stole the money, but he needed to make excuses somehow to gain sympathy.

Still curled up, he barely looked up. But at that moment, the man was overwhelmed by tremendous fear.

Enormous fear covered his face. Yeon Tae-soo’s face, which had stopped laughing at some point, showed no emotion at all.

It would have been less bizarre if cruelty had shown, or even pleasure from violence.

It was a face devoid of anything. Rather, extreme boredom was visible. The brightly glowing artificial eye made him look like an android.

His body stiffened more from fear than pain. The man now seemed to see his own death before his eyes.

Just when he thought he was really going to die, the kicking stopped. His whole body seemed to be in pain. Even breathing was difficult, so the man just stayed curled up, not even thinking of running away. He barely squeezed out a voice.

“P-please… call the police…”

Yeon Tae-soo laughed out loud. The laughing sound rang sharply in the man’s ears, then suddenly cut off artificially, as if sliced by a knife.

“Why do all the guys caught here say the same thing? Who would I be doing a favor by calling the police?”

The quickly and lowly uttered voice still had no emotion in it. It was like talking to an inanimate object.

“Guys caught doing stupid shit in Eden never cross Eden’s threshold again.”

The man looked around. Even in the darkness, stains on the walls caught his eye.

Behind Yeon Tae-soo, the big guys moved busily and then the door opened. The corridor came into view. Unlike this dark place, when a part of the bright and glamorous Eden became visible, the man felt an inexplicable extreme anxiety.

Yeon Tae-soo’s subordinates approached and grabbed the man from both sides, dragging him away. As they went out the door, the sudden light hurt his eyes.

“Come on, open your eyes wide and look.”

When he opened his stinging eyes, the splendid sight of Eden entered the man’s view. Golden shining lights, lavish decorations arranged beneath them.

The man was standing on a railing. Below, he could see the first floor of Eden. Counting the floors, this was the 7th floor.

The square, brightly open first floor of Eden was glamorous at a glance. Hwatu, cards, mahjong tiles, and such things passing over the game tables glittered in the light.

Yeon Tae-soo approached and grabbed the back of the man’s neck, then pushed him to the outside of the railing. His weakened upper body swayed greatly. It seemed like he would smash his head on the marble floor below at any moment.

“Usually we handle this inside, but as I said earlier, I’m feeling a bit like shit today.”

Goosebumps rose at the quickly whispering voice from behind. The man’s body swayed precariously. The railing that came up to his waist didn’t seem like it could act as any kind of safety device.

“So I thought it might be good to properly show what happens when you steal from me.”

The moment he heard those words, the image of his head smashed on the shining marble floor below flashed through the man’s mind.

“Haa… How should I mess him up to feel better?”

The languid voice still carried no emotion. If you disregarded the content of his words, no one would believe he was angry.

“Gil-ho, bring some rope. We’ll hang him.”

“Yes.”

Yeon Tae-soo’s hand tightened its grip. The man inhaled in terror. Yeon Tae-soo seemed to intend to hang the man from the railing. Wouldn’t it be better to just fall?

While the big guy called Gil-ho ran to get rope, passersby glanced over. It was brief. Just dull gazes brushing past for a moment. Those who came to Eden don’t pay attention to anything other than their gambling results. Their already addicted brains couldn’t easily read their surroundings.

The man’s gaze was forcibly fixed, looking down at the first floor. The hwatu and cards passing over the tables caught his eye. The people’s cheers, curses, and exclamations also vividly pierced his ears.

Suddenly, an out-of-place sound cut through. Light, careful footsteps.

Then the hand gripping him loosened. The man slumped down, grasping the railing.

“Honey, why did you come? You should rest.”

It was a voice that sounded like it came from a completely different person than before. The man raised his gaze, gasping for breath.

“…I felt stuffy, so I was walking around a bit and got lost.”

“Oh dear, is that so? Hey, escort the teacher back to his room.”

At Yeon Tae-soo’s order, one of the big guys responded “Yes, Brother,” but Mr. Yoo shook his head.

“It’s fine. But what’s going on here?”

The moment he saw the masked man, the culprit couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh. It was an unexpected turn of events.

Hearing the laugh, Yeon Tae-soo turned around. His bright blue artificial eye glinted sharply.

Yeon Tae-soo stretched his hand to the side, and something flashed before their eyes. It took a moment to realize that a knife had been thrust right up to his nose.

“W-wait, w-wa-wait!”

The man’s eyes flashed with artificial light and flickered a few times. Seeing this, emotion filled Yeon Tae-soo’s eyes for the first time. It was anger.

“What the hell, you were a tin can?”