Min Hyun opened the door of his car and stepped out; today, of all days, his steps felt much heavier than usual. The underground parking of the GM Residential Area was filled with expensive, luxurious cars - mostly company cars whose owners never drive them themselves, the white artificial light was burning his tired eyes as he walked toward the elevator. Fourteenth floor; six more digits pressed into the passcode lock. The door opened with a familiar dinging sound and as he stepped inside his apartment, he was greeted with the activation of an automatic lighting system.
"I'm home."
The guy said those words with a somewhat heavy sadness, and the apartment replied with complete silence. Min Hyun opened the black wooden cabinet in the living room, took out a bottle of scotch, poured some into a thick crystal glass, and took a generous sip. Only when the liquor burned his insides like liquid fire, did he finally relax and let out a loud sigh.
He then took a pack of cigarettes from the shelf in the hallway, lit one up, inhaled a couple of times, and threw a look at the black door at the end of the narrow hall. As he walked toward the door, he put his free hand into the pocket of his pants, took out a small metal key, inserted it inside the keyhole, and opened the door with a light click.
"Hi there, Miss Yoon."
Min Hyun smiled and placed his big hand on the wall which replied with a rustling sound. Countless pictures of Yoon Se Ah decorated all four walls like some sort of perverse wallpaper. Some dated several years ago, while others were taken just a few days prior to him finally introducing himself to her. The pictures of her walking around her neighborhood, meeting friends and colleagues, visiting the central hospital, the nursing home, grocery shopping, going to the underground club... The deviant shrine which he was able to create in Yoon Se Ah's name would remind one of a sick obsession of a maniac that could not shake his prey off his wicked mind.
The guy leaned back on the wooden desk in the middle of the room, puffed on his cigarette for a while, then dropped it on the floor, pressed it with his right slipper, and sighed.
"I only just started but I am already too greedy, Miss Yoon. This is driving me crazy."
Min Hyun's phone buzzed with a strong vibrating sound; he tapped on its screen and pressed it to his ear.
"Father has something to discuss with us. Meeting at the Eden Hotel in an hour, don't be late."
The speaker on the other end of the line hung up not giving him a chance to reply. The guy looked at the time, then put the phone in his pants pocket, locked the room with the key, grabbed a change of clothes that was already waiting for him in the closet, and left the apartment.
"I'm off, don't wait up."
***
"Wow, really? Tell me everything!"
A rather short, skinny woman with a long pixie cut dyed bright red leaned on the bar counter and put on a wide, excited smile. The woman's name is Kang Da Hye - Se Ah's best friend who shared her interest in S&M relationships. The two of them met when they were at the university - one day Se Ah spotted Da Hye buying toys in an S&M shop but instead of judging or laughing at her, she joined her instead. And their friendship lasted ever since.
But that, perhaps, was the most prominent thing they had in common. Kang Da Hye's family owned almost every underground and host club in Seoul which made them ridiculously rich, and although Da Hye kept telling Se Ah that she should not feel intimidated by her wealth, Miss Yoon could not help but feel a thick invisible wall distancing them from one another.
"Let's have some equal exchange. You first tell me what you've been doing in Shanghai for the past 4 months, and I will tell you about my new boy toy."
Rumor has it that Da Hye's family is tightly connected to the Chinese mafia, hence their frequent flights to China but whenever Se Ah brought these rumors up, Miss Kang would only laugh and quickly change the subject, although she did not mind her friend jokingly calling her "Boss Kang".
"You're no fun, Yoon Se Ah! You know how things are... Daddy sands me to do some business there with our partners and I just stay longer for the entertainment, if you know what I mean."
She winked and burst into laughter.
"Everyone sitting at this counter knows what you mean, you're drunk already, Da Hye, give me your glass."
Se Ah snatched an empty martini glass from her friend's loosened grip and gestured for the bartender to put it away.
"So? Now's your turn, Yoon Se Ah!"
Se Ah sighed, sipped on her "Cosmopolitan", then brushed her hair away from her face, and looked at Da Hye.
"His name is Lee Min Hyun, he is a new intern in our department."
"What?! He works with you?! How did that even happen? You've been so careful so far!"
The girl's loud voice echoed through the bar's ambiance and Se Ah immediately felt dozens of eyes fixed on the two of them. She slapped her friend on the shoulder and sighed again.
"I know, I know... I don't even have the energy to start explaining. But he is younger and frankly speaking, quite a looker, too. Looking at his face during the play excites me even more than the play itself."
"Wooow, Yoon Se Ah! Sounds intriguing. Will you lend him to me? Pretty please?"
Da Hye started batting her long fake lashes, trying to look cute and innocent but Se Ah hesitated with her answer. While she has never been in an exclusive S&M relationship before and did not really care about the feelings of her subs, she was not sure if Min Hyun was ready to meet Da Hye just yet. Miss Kang was quite famous in the S&M community for being rather extreme and violent with her subs, few of them even demanded compensation after spending a single night with her, therefore, a green beginner like Lee Min Hyun would not be able to survive Boss Kang without an extended training period.
"He is a beginner, Boss Kang, you will kill him."
Da Hye pouted her plump lips, then let out a loud "tsk", and looked right into her friend's eyes.
"So? What makes you so anxious about him?"
"What do you think? He is like a ticking bomb to me. One wrong move and he will run wild telling everyone that kind and reserved Yoon Se Ah is a perverted sadist. I can't let him sabotage my career, I've created that reputation for a reason."
Miss Kang smiled.
"Right, for a reason... Look. Subs are usually soft and do not harm their dom's even when they part ways. I say you enjoy this adventure while it lasts and if he starts acting weird, send him to me, I'll take care of him for you."
Da Hye put on a somewhat ominous smile on her pretty face and slid a tiny pink plastic cocktail sword in the air in front of her neck. Se Ah followed her swift movement, then snorted, and shook her head.
"I guess I can rely on you in this matter, Boss Kang."
After a couple more cocktails, when Yoon Se Ah grabbed her purse and was ready to go back home, Da Hye offered to use her car with a driver, which Miss Yoon accepted quite willingly.
Sitting back in the passenger seat of Da Hye's new luxurious car, the woman looked out the window at the shiny smudges of the city lights and replayed her conversation with Biss Kang once again. Although it did feel as if she was simply paranoid, something about Min Hyun's persona was making her uneasy.
'Lee Min Hyun... Why do you make me feel this way? I... hate it.'