Ningbo. Ningbo.
A map of Zhejiang Province, including Shanghai, in China, came to Lee Young-jin’s mind.
Ningbo is located approximately 219 kilometers south of Shanghai in Zhejiang Province. Even if you take the Hangzhou Bay Ring Expressway and cross the Hangzhou Bay, it would take at least three hours.
“Like this?”
“No.”
Seo Seung-hyun glanced at Lee Young-jin with a mysterious smile.
“Take your time and think about it. It will take at least twelve hours to get to Ningbo.”
“Twelve…”
Seo Seung-hyun chuckled at the speechless Lee Young-jin.
“It would be great if we could go directly from Pudong. As a second option, taking a limousine to Ningbo would be good. Unfortunately, even that’s not possible, so what can we do? If we go the other way, we only need to go to Seoul.”
He didn’t know that they would really end up going the other way.
Seo Seung-hyun responded sincerely and at the same time, he extended his arm and gently touched Lee Young-jin’s chin and cheek simultaneously. The dry and firm fingertips went from the temple to the cheek, then to the cool sweat on the back of the neck, and slowly returned to the lower lip before gently retreating. Seo Seung-hyun smiled again.
“But it’s a relief that the journey won’t be boring. Don’t you think so?”
***
A languid dull pain.
As Lee Young-jin regained consciousness, he felt the familiar rumble of a machine engine. It was as if a soft, suffocating sensation, like a thick duvet, was weighing down his entire body. Clarity slowly returned to his hazy mind as a glimmer of light flickered in. His eyelids lifted as if someone had pulled them up.
He lay on his side, loosely stretching his limbs and pulling the blanket up to his belly button. His limbs were damp with sweat and there was a sensation of lukewarm mucus flowing inside his loosely spread legs.
He glanced around with his eyes, still rolling in their sockets. He caught sight of the white sheets. The multiple layers of bed covers were also white. The white sheets seemed endless, like the sea stretching out into the horizon. After a while, he managed to spot the edge of the bed.
Lee Young-jin barely grasped the situation.
He was on the sea.
He remembered arriving at the coastal dock after a one-hour limousine ride. Then they immediately boarded a yacht. There were no identity verification procedures, and no need for a passport. The sleek yacht, resembling a submarine, floated gently up and down between the rough waves, revealing only a blurry off-white silhouette. Seo Seung-hyun confidently pulled Lee Young-jin along. With hesitant steps, he was guided and pushed into the illuminated interior of the yacht. To Lee Young-jin, who had only seen small white sailboats occasionally floating on the Han River, the cabin resembled more of the first-class cabins of the Titanic or the suites of luxury hotels.
“Now you’re finally awake.”
A low voice interrupted Lee Young-jin’s recollection. Automatically, he raised his upper body. No, he tried to. A large hand pressed his forehead, pushing him back onto the bed with a soft thud. His startled heart pounded loudly. The hand on his forehead remained there for a moment without releasing him. He could feel the dry and rough texture of the fingertips and the size and thickness of the knuckles. Lee Young-jin looked up, following the hand, to the forearm, which connected to the wrist bone, and stared at the end. Thick eyelids with dense eyelashes blinked several times.
Seo Seung-hyun was looking down at him.
His slanted lips formed a distinct smile.
Lee Young-jin wriggled his body slightly, attempting to sit up again. Seo Seung-hyun finally removed his hand from his forehead, allowing him to struggle to lift his head. With effort, he wobbled and managed to raise his upper body.
Seo Seung-hyun sat on the edge of the bed, his buttocks resting on it. Behind his shoulders, a long window with a dense square grid was smoothly connected like the beak of a marine creature. The view outside was dark. Faint lines rose and fell repeatedly beyond the window. Black waves. For a brief moment, Lee Young-jin’s gaze was captivated by them.
“The waves are rough.”
Seo Seung-hyun spoke again.
Only now did Lee Young-jin realize that with each rise and fall of the white foam, his entire body gently swayed along with the room.
“No seasickness?”
Seo Seung-hyun tilted his body slightly and peered into Lee Young-jin’s face. Lee Young-jin looked at him, then slowly turned his head sideways.
Behind Seo Seung-hyun’s straight eyebrows, he saw a smooth and sophisticated wall and ceiling. Embedded in the ceiling were rectangular LED lights with an empty center. Dim light cast shadows on his face.
“You fainted for a moment.”
With a mysterious smile, Seo Seung-hyun swept his index finger from Lee Young-jin’s chin to his neck, trailing down to the nape. The dense skin still had a slight sheen of sweat, making it slippery. Lee Young-jin instinctively tightened his neck halfway. From the point where the Alpha’s fingertips touched, a faint shiver spread through his entire body in an instant.
“Are you okay?”
Narrow eyes, filled with a hint of laughter, looked at Lee Young-jin. The hand that was resting on the nape of his neck moved slightly lower. The soft tip of a well-groomed fingernail gently pressed on the hollow between his collarbones, where sweat had pooled. Lee Young-jin’s shoulders hunched. The touch became deeper. The hand slid down between his collarbones, grazing the erect nipple that still stood firmly. Gripping the swollen edge of the areola tightly, the nipple protruded sharply.
“Ah…”
A moan, as if in agony, escaped Lee Young-jin’s lips.
His sluggish body trembled faintly.
“Did I faint for a long time?”
He managed to form a coherent sentence.
“About an hour.”
Seo Seung-hyun removed his hand from Lee Young-jin’s chest and stood up. Lee Young-jin’s gaze followed him. Lee Young-jin, completely soaked and sprawled on the bed naked, contrasted with Seo Seung-hyun’s perfectly dressed back. Despite the few strands of hair slightly tousled and falling below his forehead, a quick sweep with his fingers restored its pristine neatness.
Naturally, memories from a few hours ago came to mind. Lee Young-jin had stepped into this luxurious bedroom and had to strip off all his clothes. In contrast, Seo Seung-hyun was immaculately dressed, wearing a shirt, vest, tie, and even a tie pin, not even loosening his wristwatch. Looking like he could attend the most conservative meeting without a problem, the Alpha casually undressed Lee Young-jin and then covered him, still in his expensive suit, not caring as they soaked in sweat and bodily fluids.
Lee Young-jin interrupted his reminiscing and slowly sat up. As he did, the trembling vibrations became more pronounced. He glanced under the bed. He saw a sleek wooden floor arranged in a grid pattern. The walls were a light ivory color, almost white, with LED lights embedded here and there on the ceiling, creating a very soft and muted crimson hue throughout the room.
In the middle of the bedroom stood a gray leather sofa, a glass table, and a short bar and display cabinet beside them. Seo Seung-hyun approached the bar, bending down to open the refrigerator inside, and spoke.
“We still have to cross the East China Sea. It will be a while before we reach Ningbo, so rest a little longer.”
Lee Young-jin turned his head again and looked out the window.
Outside the dark window, a white line rose high and then dropped down. And each time, the room rose and sank along with it.
He lowered his feet under the bed. The blanket, which had been wrapped around his throat and down to his abdomen, clung to his ankles. His feet almost tangled, nearly causing him to tumble under the bed. He pulled it up, clumsily covering himself, and stood up, walking towards the long window behind the headboard of the bed.
Outside the window, the white line constantly rose and fell, repeating the motion.
A white line.
A tall wave that stirred up white foam.
The entire room swayed up and down with the waves, occassionally shaking from side to side. Large droplets of water, bounced off from the surface of the water, hit the window with a thudding sound. Directly in front of the window, a sleek and elongated hull extended. The pointed bow dipped beneath the rough sea surface, then resurfaced.
Lee Young-jin stared absentmindedly out the window.
The sea.
The black waves evoked longing and pain within him simultaneously.
Accompanied by an inevitable sense of unease.
Seo Seung-hyun had managed to escape Shanghai through the sea route. Choosing the alternative of traveling by land to Ningbo or utilizing the airline route from Pudong Airport, he opted for circumnavigating the East China Sea on a yacht for one simple reason: to evade pursuit. Whether it was the Korean prosecutors, the Chinese authorities, or perhaps both. If not, it could be someone else, more menacing and outside the bounds of law.
In his escape plan, Lee Young-jin was nothing more than a hindrance.
Although he didn’t know how long this “task” that required Lee Young-jin’s “further assistance” would continue…
Perhaps its end would be in this place, in the midst of these turbulent waves of the East China Sea.
Lee Young-jin glanced at the distant, vast black sea.
That’s when it happened.
“Don’t worry, it won’t sink.”
At the sudden voice, Lee Young’jin’s shoulder twitched.
He slowly turned around. Seo Seung-hyun stood right in front of him, only a few centimeters away. Seo Seung-hyun smiled faintly and extended a glass towards him. Moisture formed on the surface of the thin glass, slowly rolling downwards.
“Here.”
Seeing the moisture on the glass, a thirst-like sensation stirred in his throat. Lee Young-jin slowly reached out both hands to receive the glass. Their fingers intertwined. Seo Seung-hyun didn’t let go. The glass paused in mid-air. Seo Seung-hyun’s lips curved mischievously as a sly smile emerged. He pressed the glass against Lee Young-jin’s lips. Lee Young-jin looked awkwardly down, staring at the glass. Seo Seung-hyun once again pushed the glass towards him, tilting it. The water flowed into his mouth, moistening his lips. Eventually, Lee Young-jin opened his mouth. A small gap formed between his lips, allowing the droplets of water to trickle in.
The sound of moist lips touching glass. The sound of the Adam’s apple swallowing. A few drops that couldn’t flow into the mouth collected under the slightly concave area of the lower lip, then slowly trickled down to the tip of the chin.
The thick forearm, connected to the hand holding the cup, wriggled subtly inside the folded shirt sleeve.
In an instant, a massive wave silently overturned a gigayacht weighing 5,959 tons and spanning 119 meters, as if it were a mere leaf.
The feet of Lee Young-jin, which were touching the ground, slightly wavered as he lost his balance. The cup tilted and water spilled out. Water droplets overflowed from his lips and rolled down his chin and neck, while Lee Young-jin’s right foot took an unconscious step backward. However, before the other foot could follow, Seo Seung-hyun grabbed his chin firmly.
The cup fell to the ground.
The lips descended.
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