BL Novels

Darkness engulfed them as night descended, its shadows overpowering the daylight. Beside him, the window shimmered with the gentle radiance of the moon. The world was calming down and tucking in for the night, but his was just beginning.

Jaesung chugged the rest of the wine in his glass, face sour as it went down. For being expensive wine, it sure tasted like ass.

“Quit fooling around.” The empty glass disappeared from his hand and substituted itself with a chilled cup of water.

“How am I supposed to gather the courage to talk to Luis if you won’t even let me have a drink?” Jaesung whined as he glared at his unfortunate companion. As always, Giovanni looked annoyed.

“Do you ever stop talking?”

“Can you answer my question?”

Giovanni let out a sigh. “One drink.”

Without even waiting to thank him, Jaesung leapt toward the alcohol table, only to be pulled back by his shirt. “Ow, the hell?”

“Listen and don’t interrupt me.” Giovanni released him so abruptly that he nearly toppled forward. “Benito didn’t get to where he is today by luck. He’s intelligent enough to know Luca is testing him, and one wrong move will probably have him six feet under.”

Jaesung nodded slowly, albeit a bit confused. Was he praising Benito while simultaneously mocking him?

“But don’t mistake that intelligence for stupidity. Surrounded by the enemy, even Luca can’t save you if Benito decides you’re worth the risk of death. A wild boar will always turn aggressive when threatened.”

Was his goal to alert or intimidate him? It seemed to Jaesung that it was a combination of both, and this didn’t help his confidence at all. It had the opposite effect, in fact.

“Uh, thanks for your encouragement…”

Giovanni nodded, as if he truly thought that was the pep talk he needed before diving into the enemy’s bed. Literally.

The drink table was a wooden one in the room’s corner. Many alcoholic drinks, from beer to vodka to scotch and mixed drinks were strewn about, haphazardly and without order. Most of the brand names didn’t ring a bell, so he picked up the first bottle he saw and poured it. No one told him he’d have to study his liquor before coming here.

With a deep breath, he downed most of his first glass. The liquid was sour going down.

“This shit is nasty! Who drinks this crap?”

Suddenly, a hand appeared from behind and took his drink. “This particular one is quite expensive. You made a good choice.”

Jaesung whipped around to see the man of the hour. “Luis.”

“I finished my business earlier than expected, so I thought I’d come here to find the man I’ve had trouble getting out of my head since this morning.”

Jaesung encountered the person he had been trying to find all night, who spoke strangely sweet words without embarrassment.

When their eyes met, his heart skipped a beat.