Chapter 2

The middle-aged man asked carefully. A faint hope was seeping into his face, which was drenched in sweat. The blonde man, Valentine, suddenly narrowed his eyes and smiled kindly. That smile alone created the illusion that the dark and dirty back alley had brightened. Accordingly, the expression of the middle-aged man bloomed. And the next moment,

"Wrong."

The blonde man murmured.

Phut-!

With a low sound, the middle-aged man collapsed. The blonde man walked over to the fallen middle-aged man and casually shot him once in the right cheek. Then he turned the body over with his toe and shot him once more in the back of the head. Phut, phut. Each time a bullet hit, the middle-aged man's body briefly convulsed.

The liquid slowly spread around the body of the man sprawled on the dirty floor. Blood should certainly be red, but due to the darkness in the alley, it appeared pitch black. The middle-aged man looked as if he was lying on a pool of black oil.

Whether it was the shock or the alcohol rising, Eugene's vision became blurry. His legs trembled, and all strength seemed to leave his body, making him feel like he would collapse to the ground at any moment. Only the thought that being discovered meant death kept him standing.

The blonde killer casually picked up the shell casings and put them in his pocket. Despite having just killed a person, not even the slightest trace could be found on his face. His calm demeanor sent a chill down Eugene's spine.

'Please leave the way you came in.'

Eugene prayed while holding his breath. Cold sweat ran down his back. But that was just a wish. The blonde man pointed his gun toward the darkness where Eugene was hiding. Even though it was too dark to see anything, he aimed precisely at the space between Eugene's eyebrows, as if he could see clearly.

"Hello?"

The blonde man, Valentine, greeted as if meeting a friend in passing. The gun pointed at Eugene moved slightly. It meant to come forward. Eugene walked slowly out of the darkness with both hands raised to the height of his head.

It seemed he hadn't seen through the figure in the darkness after all. When Eugene emerged from the darkness and revealed himself, Valentine slightly raised his eyebrows in surprise. Having just witnessed him killing someone without any hesitation, Eugene thought this expression was clearly theatrical.

Even if the other person were just an armed robber, it would be a life-threatening situation, but this was undoubtedly someone related to the mafia. It would be useless to babble about never revealing anything here.

His clenched jaw trembled. His legs inside his pants were also shaking. His mind had turned completely blank, but Eugene's face maintained its characteristic expressionlessness. Since childhood, Eugene had a tendency to become expressionless when surprised or experiencing sudden emotional changes.

Valentine, who was staring at the expressionless Eugene, suddenly tilted his head. Then, after scrutinizing Eugene's face as if he was going to devour him, he narrowed his eyes and smiled like an angel.

"Would you like to try guessing too?"

Valentine, who asked in a playful voice, rolled the lollipop in his mouth. Eugene looked at the rotating lollipop stick and slowly opened his mouth.

"...If I guess correctly, will you let me live?"

Was it because of the alcohol-soaked tongue? Or was the tongue numb with fear? The pronunciation was slurred.

"Yes."

Valentine's answer was cheerful.

Judging from what he had just seen, it was clear that whether he guessed correctly or not, Valentine would do as he pleased. But it was true that guessing correctly would increase the probability of survival. However...

Eugene stared at Valentine's mouth with his lips firmly closed. How could he possibly know what flavor the candy in there was?

What flavors do lollipops usually come in?

Chocolate. Vanilla. Strawberry. Orange. Lemon. Cherry...

Ah, thanks to the middle-aged man who just died, strawberry could be ruled out. So what would be the probability of guessing one correctly?

As Eugene stared at the lollipop stick as if to devour it, Valentine smiled slightly. After watching him for a moment, Eugene slowly approached Valentine. The blonde man, Valentine, did not stop Eugene from approaching him. Rather, he was staring as if to see what Eugene would do.

Eugene walked right up to Valentine. Seen from up close, he was incredibly tall, and Eugene had to tilt his head back to see his eyes. The beauty that had made him dizzy at first sight was even more radiant when seen up close. It was a face that would make one's mind go blank just by looking at it. Moreover, Eugene was intoxicated, having consumed an unprecedented amount of alcohol for the first time in his life.

Eugene reached out his hand very slowly and gently, as if extending a hand to a wary cat. Valentine watched Eugene without even blinking. The gun barrel was aimed at Eugene's temple, ready to fire at any moment.

Eugene wrapped one hand around the back of Valentine's neck to pull him close, while with the other hand, he pulled out the lollipop.

"That's cheating..."

Without hesitation, Eugene attacked Valentine's lips. And he licked the slightly stiffened lips that seemed surprised. The lips of the killer with extraordinary beauty were as cool as the night air. His tongue parted the cool lips and gently licked the soft tongue inside. He could feel and taste the sweet candy. Eugene didn't linger and immediately pulled his lips away.

As he stepped back, Valentine touched his own lips with his fingers. Eugene quickly spoke before the heated killer could put a bullet in his head.

"Cherry."

"..."

Though he gave the answer, Valentine just stood still, fidgeting with his lips. Eugene anxiously added:

"Since I didn't directly taste the candy, it shouldn't be considered cheating."

"..."

Valentine still remained silent. Eugene thought about how to twist his body to maximize his chances of survival if shot, rather than provoking him further. The probability of avoiding instant death and being taken to a hospital as well.

"...Are you Italian?"

Valentine, who had been caressing his lips for quite some time, suddenly asked. His voice, unlike before, was slightly lower and rougher. Eugene wondered if claiming to be Italian would increase his chances of survival. After a moment of thought, he just told the truth.

"Half... I'm mixed."

"Ah, that's fortunate."

Valentine said with a satisfied smile. It was unclear what was fortunate about that, but it seemed his chances of survival had increased. But that relief was short-lived.

"I've changed my mind."

Valentine once again pointed the gun at the space between Eugene's eyebrows.

"Suck me off, and I'll let you live."

Eugene didn't make the foolish mistake of asking what he needed to suck to be spared, as Valentine directly pointed to the object with his finger.

Eugene looked at the corpse lying in a pool of blood, the narrow night sky between buildings where not even stars were visible, and then at Valentine's crotch, which his finger was precisely pointing to, and took a despairing breath.

It truly was a goddamn unlucky night.