Wednesday, 15 August 2007

• Chapter 05 Edited

  Coffee Prince Original Novel
  Chapter 05
  Translated and Edited by Eva S.L.
  Available for downloading at http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1PP0XDDS
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Chapter Five

  It Won't Do to Disappoint the Witch

  
  

  
  
  

  < Part 1>

  
  

  A Valentine's Day party for singles.

  
  

  More like a desperate attempt by single people to participate in the national holiday for couples. Well, whatever it was, Choi Han Kyul couldn't miss this chance to raise his notoriety. He knew most of the faces at the party. There were some guys who weren't even single. If married men insisted they were single, it was the special law of the day not to try too hard to find out the truth.

  
  

  “Obba, don't you know her?”

  
  

  Damn it. It was Pak Do Hun's younger sister.

  
  

  “You know, Sang Won Construction Company's youngest daughter. Weren't you two supposed to go on an arranged date?”

  
  

  Do Hun must be taking his younger sister around everywhere he went. That half-wit.

  
  

  “Hi. My name's Jang Mi Suk.”

  
  

  Han Kyul looked at the seemly girl who had just greeted him and was momentarily moved. If she hadn't been the girl his mom was planning to set him up with this weekend, he might've made a move. But she was a train carrying the label, “for arranged marriage use only,” and he wasn't about to take the risk of throwing himself onto the tracks. Not to mention she was close to Pak Do Hun's leech of a sister, so no, thank you very much. He could easily imagine what those two girls had gossiped about. So he figured he'd kill two birds with one stone and smiled, pleased with himself.

  
  

  “I fell for your little act, didn't I? I wasn't in the right frame of mind to figure it out at the time. It makes me sad that you'd go so far to keep me away from you, but I understand. I've heard time and time again that you're a free soul. It seems like you misunderstood me. I don't want to cage you up. So how about using me instead? It's better than having strange rumors floating around the arranged marriage circles. If the adults find out, it's going to be bad for you.”

  
  

  The leech kept rubbing up against him, and he flinched in disgust. No, this wasn't a leech. This was an anaconda. The lawless animal of the Amazon that swallowed anything and everything up whole.

  
  

  “Don't worry about Mi Suk. I'll figure something out.”

  
  

  Putting on the gay act had to be better than being stuck with this anaconda. Han Kyul began to plan his “One show, two kills” operation. He was going to get rid of two women in just one act.

  
  

  Han Kyul tsked at En Chan, who was gasping for breath from running. If he himself had walked blindfolded into a closet and pulled random clothes from its hangers, he couldn't have come up with an outfit like that. A seriously washed out pair of jeans, a mud colored corduroy shirt, an indigo jumper obviously a size too big. It wasn't as if the kid was still going through puberty, why couldn't he wear clothes that fit him? And what in the world was that hat all about?

  
  

  “Ahjussi! I was going to let it slide, but...” En Chan hissed as soon as he arrived. Han Kyul ignored him and whipped off the neighborhood watch cap. Using the gap as En Chan started, Han Kyul grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the wall. In that split second, En Chan's arm whipped between them and pressed into Han Kyul's ribs. Han Kyul was surprised at the unexpectedly quick reflexive block, but he didn't let it show. His ribs hurt from the arm digging into it. He put on a fiercer expression to mask the pain and shoved his face into En Chan's.

  
  

  “You listen, and you listen good. If you don't act well this time, it's over. You got it?”

  
  

  “Let go.”

  
  

  “Answer me first.”

  
  

  “I'll give you your money back. Just give me some time and I'll give you your money back so count me out of this fucked up show.”

  
  

  “This fucked up show ends today. If we make it definite today...” Han Kyul's eyes suddenly flashed as he heard the words he himself had carelessly thrown out.

  
  

  Yes! That was it! He'd make it definite today. He would come out in front of all these people. There was no way these blabbermouths were going to keep quiet, and rumors would spread everything. If those rumors somehow found their way into the old man's hear, there'd be hell to pay, but they wouldn't be able to find a woman to marry him off to for years! All right! Lucky chance!

  
  

  “Do you promise? After today you're going to rip up that contract?”

  
  

  “So do it right, kid, got it?”

  
  

  Han Kyul let go of En Chan's collar and pushed him inside. But he soon let out a sigh of despair. Judging from En Chan's actions, he just couldn't be sure of tonight's success. According to Han Kyul's aesthetics, En Chan's fashion sense was no better than that of Future Boy Conan. If he said that he was going out with this kid, all they were going to do was snort. There had to be some kind of standards, goddamn it!

  
  

  “No choice but to trust his pretty face will take care of it....”

  
  

  Han Kyul decided to bet his pot on the kid's pretty boy aura and went up onto the stage. His heart raced and an excitement he couldn't figure out took over his entire body. He was torn between the excitement that something very interesting was going to happen and a strange nervousness.

  
  

  “I've gotta have a drink.”

  
  

  All eyes went to the bar where Han Kyul and En Chan were sitting. Of those, a pair belonged to Pak Do Hun's anaconda sister.

  
  

  “Hey, drink up.” Han Kyul handed him a tequila. En Chan, who was also wrapped up in atmosphere, dumbly took the shot. Han Kyul clinked glasses with En Chan and poured the shot into his mouth. He needed to borrow the strength of alcohol to overcome his nervousness. The kid was probably nervous as well. Han Kyul recalled the incident in Seattle when his next door neighbor, Dick, had suddenly attacked him with a kiss. The sensation itself could be said to have been nice. The only thing was, the kisser had been a six-foot-three muscle head. If Han Kyul hadn't knocked him down and become friends with him, he probably couldn't have understood homosexuality at all. But understanding it and experiencing it are two very different things.

  
  

  En Chan, who had downed the tequila in one shot, was clasping his throat. His usually white face had gone purple. Han Kyul put a lemon in the kid's mouth.

  
  

  “Kegkh!”

  
  

  “You can't dress. You can't drink. Is there anything you're good at?” He was tsking away when an image floated up in his head. Hmm. Yea. A 540-degree roundhouse kick. That, you're pretty good at.

  
  

  Just then, someone tapped Han Kyul on his arm. When he turned around, Pak Do Hun was standing there with an look of curiosity on his face.

  
  

  “Who is this?” asked Do Hun, indicating En Chan with his chin. Han Kyul simply replied,

  
  

  “My slave.”

  
  

  “Huh?”

  
  

  Do Hun was just about to ask more when a voice rang through the speakers through the microphone.

  
  

  “All right, everyone. Now that we've all greeted each other, let's liven it up a little with the main event. And the main event is: Kings! Why don't we have the host and hostess of tonight's party, will Pak Do Hun and Pak Ye Rang, the incorrigible sibling pair, come up on stage? They will be tonight's Tyrant and the Witch.”

  
  

  Red-faced youths went wild with whistles and cheers. The sibling pair who had reached the stage called out a man and a woman from the crowd. To Han Kyul's knowledge, the man had a fiancée and the woman, he had never seen before. The Tyrant's demand was a lap dance.

  
  

  The woman ran away shrieking but the man pulled her back. He said he would do the dancing instead. It was different from what the crowd had expected, but the atmosphere grew hot. The man gyrated his hips in front of the woman in the chair and went closer to her. He undid his shirt buttons one by one and requested the woman's hand on his bare chest. He flicked his tongue as if to lick her lips, and then rubbed his narrow buttocks against the woman's lap. Lewd shouts came from here and there, and the air grew hotter and hotter. People could be heard swallowing. When Han Kyul looked over, En Chan said,

  
  

  “W-water. Is there any water?”

  
  

  Ha, looks like this kid's getting excited at a thing like that. Ah, youth.

  
  

  “They only sell alcohol here.”

  
  

  The man and woman hugged lightly as they came down the stage. They tried hard to keep their manners, but they were exchanging looks that held the promises of the coming night.

  
  

  Right then, a naughty voice flowed from the microphone.

  
  

  “The man I want is... Choi Han Kyul.”

  
  

  Loud applause and a swarm of eyes. Han Kyul didn't move but smiled coldly at Pak Ye Rang.

  
  

  “Oh, I'll mention a rule here. The Witch may not participate in the game.”

  
  

  “What? What kind of rule is that?”

  
  

  “The Witch has to be wicked through and through. It's no good if she falls for a guy and becomes all sappy.”

  
  

  “Yea, that's true, it's no fun if the Witch acts nice.”

  
  

  “Keke that's too bad.”

  
  

  “All right, the man is Choi Han Kyul. Now choose the woman, Miss Witch.”

  
  

  Ye Rang, who had been looking around with a sulky pout, suddenly rested her gaze somewhere. All the eyes in the room flew to where she was looking at. Han Kyul saw that at the end of that gaze was Jang Mi Suk. No way... Just then Ye Rang smiled suggestively and said,

  
  

  “The second participant doesn't necessarily have to be a female, right?”

  
  

  There was dead silence for about a second. Then loud cheers and a mischievous atmosphere took over.

  
  

  “Now that's a real Witch!”

  
  

  “It's Choi Han Kyul's welcome back home show! Hey! How 'bout a strip show?”

  
  

  “That man over there.” Ye Rang pointed at En Chan. And she declared, evilly, “Kiss!”

  
  

  In response to Ye Rang's look of “Go ahead, let's see if you can,” Han Kyul threw a look of “thank you.” Weren't things working out better than he'd planned? This was a hundred times better than introducing a shabbily dressed idol-star-like pretty boy and saying, “I'm gay.” Since it was a game, it wouldn't seem forced. But he had to leave an impression. He wanted people to wonder, “Hey, is that guy really gay?” and then not provide them with a direct answer. That was the best way for rumors to get spread.

  
  

  A rigid-faced Han Kyul said in a low voice to En Chan,
  
  "Show time."
  
  As Han Kyul took the stage, the crowd went wild with clapping and shouting. Han Kyul looked toward En Chan. He hadn't moved. He was looking at him with an expression that all but shouted, "Are you completely insane?!" Han Kyul took the mike and delivered a critical blow.
  
  "Come here."
  
  "Oho, that's hot, Han Kyul!"
  "What, are they really doing it?"
  
  The reaction from the female crowd was explosive.
  
  "Oh my God, look at him, he's absolutely adorable. I just want to bite him!"
  "Look at those soft cheeks! I feel like I've seen him somewhere before. Hey, do you think he could be from Dong Bang Shin Gi?"
  
  "Who's that kid? I've never seen him before?"
  "I dunno. Looks like he's Han Kyul's squeeze."
  "Squeeze? What, is it a girl or a guy? Damn, he's too freakin' pretty."
  
  Somebody gave En Chan a push. Suddenly, hands from all around began pushing at him. Watching En Chan approach, Han Kyul felt a wave of apprehension himself. The only experience he had kissing men was that one time when Dick surprise attacked him. He wasn't sure he'd be able to pull it off.
  
  His heart began to beat faster. Goddamn it, he couldn't take his eyes off of those lips. Shit. What if I throw up?
  
  “I'd rather give your lips to that boy than give it to Mi Suk. But are you really going to do it? You're going to lose your appetite.”

  
  

  If it wasn't for Ye Rang's snide comment, he was planning to settle for a kiss on the cheek. But that look on her face, that look that said, “I know it's all just an act” made him realize something. If he didn't do it right, he'd never get rid of this anaconda. It made him determined. I'm going to get rid of you. I'm going to do it right in front of you. Open your eyes wide and watch carefully, you anaconda.
  
  En Chan got on the stage. He looked as if he'd just shat his pants. For some reason, Han Kyul wanted to burst out laughing. This situation was just too unbelievable and too ridiculous. He felt like he was going to go crazy. "Are you serious?" said the look on En Chan's face. In reply, he said aloud,
  
  "Close your eyes."
  
  All right, I'm just going to do it. He grabbed En Chan's head. He pressed his lips against En Chan's, who had gone completely rigid.
  
  "What the!"
  "Oh my God, they're doing it!"
  "Crazy motherf-"
  "What, are you serious? They're really doing it?"
  
  Even as the wolf whistles pierced his ears, Han Kyul found himself thinking,
  
  Huh. This kid's unexpectedly soft and smooth.
  
  Han Kyul didn't know it, but his hand was naturally wrapping around En Chan's waist and pulling his body toward him. The hand holding his head was strengthening its grip. En Chan's body began to bend as he pulled his body forward and dipped his head back. Han Kyul didn't even realize he was beginning to turn his head and that their lips were meeting perfectly like well tuned wheels. He increased the soft movements of his lips.
  
  The room couldn't have been more silent if someone had dropped an unpinned grenade. Everyone was frozen in shock from the unexpected passion and length of the kiss.
  
  Han Kyul was completely immersed in what he was doing, oblivious to the situation. Suddenly, En Chan eyes were wide open and bulging. It was only then, as their eyes met, did Han Kyul realize that he had put his tongue in En Chan's mouth.

  
  

  
  
  

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