It's Just A Picture (BL)
Chapter 243: I’ll compensate you with money

Chapter 243: I’ll compensate you with money

Dongwoo’s story went back about four years ago. He met Shinwoo a year after he graduated from college. He had applied to a company as a photography assistant. It was a small company but Dongwoo did not have big wishes or big plans so he decided to finally do something about his desire for photography.

Though he had been accepted, he got fired that same week.

He sat in front of his small studio, resting his head on the door, and sighed.

"I blew it." He said to himself.

It was a mistake on his part but such a mistake could be overlooked, yet they did not hesitate to take him off the team because of it.

"Mixing the cables is such an amateur thing to do." He kept muttering to himself. "What do I do now? Do I apply to another company?"

"Hey there!" A person’s voice startled him and he looked up with a start.

He saw the person looking at him at the side and tilted his head.

"Can... Can I help you?" Dongwoo asked.

"Well, not exactly." The stranger answered. "Rather, can ’I’ help you?"

"Huh? Excuse me?"

The stranger walked towards him, squatted down, and stared at his face. Dongwoo felt a bit uncomfortable since he was so close and nervously averted his gaze.

"What... What are you doing? Who are you?"

The stranger stared at him for a while and smiled.

"You look okay." He said, confusing Dongwoo even more.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about, but..." He got up. "...I’ll get going now."

"Wait," He caught Dongwoo’s arm but Dongwoo instinctively smacked his hand off. "Ouch?"

"Sorry, but you grabbed my hand without warning, and I... I get defensive so, please don’t do that again." He opened his door and was about to close it when the stranger said,

"So, you’re just going to leave me like this?" He asked.

"I’m sorry but I can’t help you with anything." Dongwoo said.

"Not even an ice pack?" The stranger asked, pointing at his bruised hand. "I help you without warning but you were a bit too harsh with the smack. So, I’ll just take an ice pack from your refrigerator. I don’t live around here, you see. And before I get home, my hand might be all swollen."

Dongwoo pursed his lips. He didn’t mean to hit so hard but he just had to touch him.

He was so sensitive that period, having gotten out of yet another failed relationship. His defense mechanism and reflexes were heightened and he did not let any man get too close to him.

He looked at the guy who had approached him all of a sudden. He was suspicious, especially how he was acting so nice to him.

"Wait here." He shut his door in the stranger’s face and then rushed to get an ice pack.

He opened his fridge and discovered he did not have a single ice pack. In fact, his refrigerator was turned off.

He didn’t use it unless necessary to avoid adding unnecessary expenses to his electricity bill.

"Ugh!" He exclaimed and walked out.

Dongwoo slowly opened his door and peeked at the stranger, praying that he had given up and left but he was outside, waiting and smiling too.

"So, um... I don’t have any ice packs." He said.

"Oh, really?"

"I’ll compensate you with money." He said, taking out his phone and immediately regretting his decision. He was already short on cash. How was he going to cope with compensating something like this?

"Hm, that sounds nice." He said and got closer to the door, placing his hand on the door frame and pushing down Dongwoo’s phone. "I don’t need money but I’ll accept your compensation, some other time."

"What?" He looked at him confused.

"My name is Song Shinwoo by the way. And you?"

"I don’t need to tell you, right?"

"Then how am I supposed to know the name of the guy who’s indebted to me?" He asked with a cheeky smile.

Dongwoo gave him his name and reluctantly exchanged numbers with him, and from then on, Shinwoo always found a way to disturb Dongwoo, painting it as a friendly visit.

Since Dongwoo didn’t have a job yet, and only worked part-time jobs, he rarely had time to go out. And because of that, he didn’t have the chance to compensate Shinwoo.

And he could even give him an ice pack as compensation. It was frustrating not knowing when he would finally decide to come for his compensation.

He finally landed a job at another photography company but the director always looked at him with weird eyes. He was a pervert for sure but there was nothing he could do.

He couldn’t even report it if he wanted to keep his job.

And even if it wasn’t for his job, what would he say? ’My boss has eyes on me. He stares at me weirdly’

People would immediately take him as gay and that he was the one who tried to seduce his boss to get a permanent position in his studio.

They would look at him weirdly and they would talk and that was one thing he could not afford.

Yet, it seemed like even when he tried to avoid such a thing from happening, it found another way to get to him.

And that was the time his boss tricked him into putting his dick in Dongwoo’s mouth, and he froze up, biting his dick in the process.

And then he was accused as the one who crawled up to suck his dick when he was asleep.

Dongwoo was so shocked and shaken. He didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t stop shaking and his head was spinning.

At that time, after Dongwoo had cried his eyes out in his apartment, Shinwoo knocked on the door.

Somehow, what happened got on gossip news, and though Dongwoo was on it, his face was mosaiced. He wasn’t a star so there was no need to release his picture.

Besides, the news was enough to attract viewers so no need to show the face of a nameless nobody.

Dongwoo opened the door and saw Shinwoo.

Shinwoo noticed he had cried and asked,

"You know you didn’t do it so why are you crying your eyes out and shaking like a leaf? You should say the truth to the people and not just hide in your place."

Dongwoo looked up at Shinwoo. He wouldn’t understand.

No one would. And he had no plans on explaining to anyone.

"I’m... Fine."

"Say that to someone else." He said and stepped closer to him to stare at his face.

Dongwoo tried to look away but Shinwoo caught his chin and turned his gaze to him.

"Alright, let’s say you’re fine." He said. "What are you going to do now?"

"Leave me alone," Dongwoo said and sniffed. He pushed Shinwoo’s hand down and looked away.

"Hm, you’re gay, aren’t you?" Shinwoo asked and Dongwoo flinched. Was that really the time to be asking such a thing? He turned to glare at Shinwoo who immediately raised his hands in his defense. "Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to say you’re the kind of person that they’re talking about. I just... Have quite the interest in you, but didn’t know how to say it, since we’re both guys and I didn’t know if you could be into guys."

Dongwoo’s eyebrows furrowed and not in a nice way.

"You know, you’re the kind of person I’d like to date."

"Should you really be saying such a thing to me at this time?" Dongwoo asked. "Yes, I’m gay. That doesn’t mean I’ll date you."

"Wow, that’s quite harsh. But what if I say..." He stepped closer and Dongwoo retreated his steps. "I have to date you, by all means."

Dongwoo closed his eyes for a moment.

Why was he being so forceful?

"I don’t have anything you want." Dongwoo said. "I can’t have sex with you. I can’t be a good lover. I can’t..." He clenched his fists. "I can’t do anything for you so why do you want to date me?"

"So I can look at your face up close." He answered, white weirdly and Dongwoo tilted his head, confused.

"Are you messing with me?" Dongwoo asked.

"No, I’m serious." Shinwoo said. "We don’t have to have sex to be in a relationship. You’ll probably open up to me when you’re ready but before that, allow me to feast my eyes on your body, your face, and your expressions. All of it."

The look in his eyes made Dongwoo think of a maniac. It was scary but when he blinked, it was gone and Shinwoo was smiling.

"Come on. It could be fun."

Dongwoo gave it a thought.

He didn’t like Shinwoo as a lover. And he didn’t really entertain the idea of having a lover. Not now, at least. Not when he was still trying to recover from what happened the previous day and his awful break with his last lover in the year that just passed.

"I tell you what," Shinwoo held his hand and Dongwoo flinched. "Let’s start with a few days of probation dating."

"Huh?"

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