LUST - Prologue

That day, it was raining unexpectedly.

Being a naturally rundown neighborhood, the area was quiet on rainy days. The few shops that were open were mostly off-limits to those under 19. Besides that, there was a soup restaurant, a beauty salon, a barbershop, and occasionally a clothing store—that was all.

In fact, it was a neighborhood where customers were shared, as those visiting the red-light district would go to eat soup and get haircuts. Although it used to be bustling with men coming for prostitution at night, even that had become quiet lately.

When winter came, the alley entered a slump. At the tail end of winter, in a quieter neighborhood than usual, Na-yeon rubbed her chilled body and put away the roughly written household account book. The front desk was also deserted. She was about to go to her room early today.

This was a motel with seven rooms, including the farthest one where she stayed. It was actually closer to an inn, but it clearly had a sign that said “motel.” Two years ago, her father had put up the sign himself. She remembered him saying, “If motels can put up signs saying they’re hotels, why can’t we?” That’s how her father’s inn became a motel.

The raindrops grew thicker. It looked like it would pour down any minute. Then, she saw a familiar figure walking in the dim light. It was Mi-ju, a long-term resident of the motel who worked at the hair salon at the end of the alley.

“Na-yeon.”

Mi-ju handed over a black bag, saying she had received it from a customer, and smiled brightly. The bag smelled of fresh tangerines.

“Eat this. For our Na-yeon.”

“Unnie, did you drink?”

“Please postpone my room rent payment by two days. I’ll get the money then.”

“Is this a bribe?”

“Yeah.”

Mi-ju, who was laughing, took out a tangerine and wiped it roughly on her sleeve before handing it over. It looked like she would fall and break her nose before even entering her room if she went in alone like that. She was staggering as if she could fall anywhere.

Na-yeon put the tangerine that Mi-ju handed her on the desk and supported her. She opened the door with the key in Mi-ju’s hand, hurriedly went inside, roughly spread out a blanket, and laid Mi-ju down.

It was called a motel, but most of the people staying there were locals. To be precise, they were people who worked at restaurants, bars, or factories in the neighborhood, or those who didn’t have a proper place to stay. Among them were people who had taken refuge here to escape debt collectors. Most of the long-term residents of the motel were among them.

This neighborhood used to be bustling with businesses. It’s just that as the red-light district grew, the remaining shops all changed their names.

“Why did you drink so much?”

“I drank because I was lonely. Why?”

“How much did you drink?”

“I confessed and got rejected? I even drank a lot to build up the courage.”

Mi-ju said matter-of-factly with a sad smile.

“…I’ll listen to everything when you sober up tomorrow, so go to sleep.”

“Doesn’t our Na-yeon have someone she likes? You’re pretty and have breasts as big as watermelons, yet you’re wasting your good years. This youth without a lover to touch you.”

“What are you saying? You say all sorts of things when you’re drunk. Just go to sleep. And I’m not lonely.”

“Not lonely? Look in the mirror. There’s just a workaholic who’s worn out from life.”

Na-yeon just laughed it off and tucked Mi-ju back in, pulling the blanket over her.

“Don’t waste your good years, go out and meet this guy and that guy. You need to meet people to develop an eye for good guys later. A destined love? It’s not going to pop out of nowhere. You have to keep meeting people. You’re not still hung up on that Ha Tae-min jerk, are you? Because of that trash…”

“…Just go to sleep. I’ll enjoy the tangerine.”

The smell of alcohol emanated from Mi-ju, who was smiling. Na-yeon finished tucking her in and got up. She thought about opening the window, but gave up and just turned around because of the sound of rain falling outside the door.

As she came out of the room and picked up a tangerine that had rolled onto the floor, a man in a black suit entered the motel as if he were going to break down the door. It looked like the old, creaky glass door would crack.

“Are you looking for a room?”

She cautiously asked the man, who was scanning the motel with a displeased look. He didn’t seem like a guest who had come to stay for the night.

He was a man who blended well with the dark night, so much so that he seemed like someone who worked in the underworld. As if to prove Na-yeon’s hunch, the man abruptly stretched out his rough hand in front of her nose.

“Have you seen this person?”

In the man’s tattooed hand was a photo. Na-yeon shook her head. The man, who seemed suspicious, crumpled the edge of the photo a little and held out another photo.

“Then what about this bastard? Do you know him?”

This time it was a familiar face. It was CEO Sung of Shimshan Corporation, the owner of a not-so-small financial company, who often stayed at the motel with his younger brother, Director Sung. He had just taken a room today, saying he would stay for the night. The man, who used to frequent the samgyetang restaurant in front of the motel, had been coming to the motel frequently lately.

“Do you know anything?”

The buzz-cut man, who noticed her hesitation right away, questioned her roughly when she paused for a moment. She had a bad feeling. The moment she realized that the premonition would come true, men in black clothes poured into the motel. Their appearance was not unfamiliar.

“If you hide him, you won’t be safe either.”

She had seen gangsters before. They would sometimes come looking for someone, carrying photos like this and asking questions, or demanding CCTV footage. But there was no security camera in this old, small motel, which people mostly sought out to be alone.

“What are you doing? Search.”

Before she could even answer, she heard the sound of doors being smashed by the men’s kicks. The shabby motel could not withstand the onslaught of the ruthless men. The screams of the guests echoed from inside the forcibly opened rooms.

The buzz-cut man, who was looking for CEO Sung, kicked open the door to the room where Mi-ju was lying down. Na-yeon was startled and tried to approach the man, but she was stopped before she could get close. After roughly searching the room where Mi-ju was lying, the man narrowed his eyes when he confirmed that CEO Sung was not there. He looked like he was about to grab Na-yeon by the neck and strangle her.

“Boss! He’s here!”

When one of the gangsters who opened the door to CEO Sung’s room shouted, the buzz-cut man, who had been narrowing his eyes, soon entered the room. CEO Sung was dragged out, half-naked and by his hair.

“Our dear CEO Sung was hiding here.”

The buzz-cut man smacked his lips, sneering. CEO Sung knelt down and clasped his hands together.

“P-please spare me. I didn’t mean to do this. I, I, I…”

“We were going to do this in good faith, but you stabbed us in the back like this, huh? You signed the contract, CEO Sung, didn’t you? Don’t worry, we’re taking good care of your brother.”

The well-built CEO Sung was dragged out of the motel by the buzz-cut man, still being held by his hair. Na-yeon’s heart was pounding. The tangerine was crushed and mangled on the floor. Before she could calm her startled heart, Na-yeon, who was looking beyond the motel door, met eyes with a man leaning against a black sedan, smoking a cigarette. Cold eyes under dark brown hair, the brief eye contact sent a shiver down her spine.

The man was undoubtedly higher up than the black-clad men who had dragged CEO Sung out. The atmosphere he exuded was ruthless, but unlike the other men who were casually looking around, he didn’t act carelessly or waste energy showing off his power to intimidate others. Nevertheless, the man’s overwhelming presence seemed to crush her whole body.

Even the people standing next to the man, holding an umbrella for him, didn’t seem ordinary.

The hem of his pants, with perfectly aligned seams. A white cigarette was burning red between the man’s fingers. In his other hand, he held a pair of leather gloves. It felt like she would end up like that if she wasn’t careful. Dry saliva went down her throat.

Through the wide-open door, the dying groans and painful voice of CEO Sung were faintly heard. Her legs were shaking. The man, who had been smoking and silently watching the inside, stepped on the cigarette with his shoe. Then he approached her.

Instinctively, she stepped back, but there was nowhere to go.

“Do you do business here?”

“Excuse me?”

She realized that he was talking to her only belatedly. It was a calm and gentle baritone.

He was tall, so she had to look up at him. His sharp chin was tilted towards her. His eyes slowly scanned Na-yeon’s eyes.

Her body trembled slightly. She nodded slowly, but her mouth wouldn’t open. Was he judging truth from falsehood? Even after she answered, the man just stared at Na-yeon as if he were going to tear her eyes out and examine them. His eyes were sharp, but the man’s languid, drooping eyes created a strange atmosphere.

“Don’t take that bastard anymore.”

“Why…?”

It was a genuine question. Powerful gangsters like them could simply refuse customers if they didn’t want to take them, but powerless people like her couldn’t even do that. If they demanded a room, she had to give it to them, even if she had to make one up.

The man, who seemed accustomed to getting a “yes” no matter the reason, looked taken aback by Na-yeon’s question.

“Why, are you losing business?”

It wasn’t that… Na-yeon chewed on the words she couldn’t bring herself to say. She looked down at the crushed tangerine on the floor, blinking. It was as if she would become a pulpy mess like the tangerine if she didn’t answer properly.

“Then have the door fixed again.”

The man took out his wallet from his back pocket and casually handed over a few checks. Before she could even receive them, the papers fell to the floor. From the start, the man had no intention of placing them neatly in her hand.

Was it the price for smashing the door? Even if she replaced all the doors, there would be plenty of money left. Na-yeon stared up at the man, forgetting to count how many zeros were on the checks or how many there were.

“Use the rest to buy snacks.”

The corners of the man’s lips turned up gently. His languidly curved eyes looked like he was smirking. His shoes brushed past Na-yeon as he walked. A heavy, subtle scent of the man’s perfume wafted through the air.

“Boss, why to that woman…”

The buzz-cut man, who seemed to be his subordinate, looked puzzled at the large sum of money given to Na-yeon.

“Leave her alone. Look how wide her eyes have gotten from being surprised. It’s your fault, you look so uncouth.”

“Yes?”

“What are you standing around for? Let’s go.”

His subordinate, bowing as if to touch his forehead to the ground, opened the back door of the sedan. The man, who got into the car, looked so calm and composed that it was hard to believe he had just dealt with someone brutally.

The fear that had surged up to her throat quickly dissipated. The motel, which had been turned upside down, was eerily quiet.

Na-yeon looked down at the checks lying on the floor. Her hands were trembling so much that she couldn’t even pick them up. Eun-ju, a resident who had peeked out of her room, glanced at Na-yeon with a pale face. She was clutching a phone with a cracked screen, trembling, probably dropped during the chaos.

“Na-yeon, are you okay?”

“…I don’t think I’m okay.”

Na-yeon just stood there, feeling her heart pounding uncontrollably.