“Since you took care of me until the end, your role as hyung is over now. If you want to live, you should run away. Those bastards will come looking for me soon.”
Jae-young pushed away Seung-kwon’s hand without hesitation.
As he turned around to leave, Jae-young suddenly stopped.
“By the way, hyung.”
He half-turned to face Seung-kwon.
“Did you really think I would love you if I opened even a sliver of possibility to men?”
“…Do Jae-young.”
“Why?”
“Why did you think that?”
His straight gaze was filled with a hurt expression. I guarantee that in the nine years he had known him, he had just realized that he could make such an expression.
He pondered what words to say and how to say them. After confirming that he was always at the end of that gaze in every photo, he reflected on why he hadn’t noticed his feelings all this time.
He had overlooked it. That a man could love another man. So to Jae-young’s eyes, it only appeared as a hyung’s blind affection for his dongsaeng. Even though they weren’t real family.
Jae-young met Seung-kwon’s gaze without brushing off even a speck of it.
“I respect you. I liked you, as a dongsaeng. I was happy working with you, and even though I complained most of the time, I was happy. But it’s not more than that. The one who needs to forget isn’t me…”
“…”
“It’s not me, it’s you.”
From the beginning, our scenario had a predetermined end. Since our goals were different, things going wrong was inevitable.
“When you meet Ju-yeon noona, tell her I’m sorry.”
“…”
“The reason noona approached Chairman Jang was because of us, right? Because we kept getting emotional, she was worried things would go wrong.”
They didn’t trust each other and hushed their anxieties. As they kept more secrets, their hearts eventually transformed into distrust, leading each to pursue their own gain.
“Don’t come looking for me anymore. I never want to see you again.”
He turned away coldly and walked away.
Retracing his steps, Jae-young stopped in front of the car Seung-kwon had left behind. He got into the driver’s seat and stared ahead. He could see Seung-kwon standing at a distance, blankly looking in his direction.
“…That idiot.”
Honestly, it would be a lie to say his heart didn’t ache. They had spent years together and built up affection.
But Jae-young honked the horn without hesitation. Beep! The horn sharply cut through the air.
Seung-kwon, who had been standing still, lowered his head. A motion followed as if he was covering his face with one hand.
A long sigh escaped before he knew it, soothing his heart. Gripping the steering wheel, Jae-young bit his lower lip firmly.
His saliva went down heavily. He could see Seung-kwon, who had raised his head and was trying to approach him. He immediately changed the gear position.
After turning the car around, he glanced at the rearview mirror. He looked at Seung-kwon who had stopped walking, then focused on the front. Only after turning the steering wheel to the side and leaving that space could he step on the brake.
“Haa…”
Dropping his head, Jae-young let out another deep sigh. His gaze jumped to the passenger seat. He took the paper containing Sa Gong-hyun’s past actions and tore it to shreds.
After throwing the remains of the paper into the console box, he stepped on the accelerator again. From the not-so-clear sky, rain began to fall drop by drop.
Even he didn’t know what he was thinking as he drove. He wondered if they had heard the news that he had run away. He suddenly became curious if they were coming back in anger.
Jae-young, who had been aimlessly wandering on the road, turned the steering wheel. The place he had driven to without stopping was Gangwon Province.
“What was around here…”
After searching for a store he remembered on the navigation system and wandering on the road for quite some time, he was finally able to turn off the engine.
Perhaps because the region was different, there was no trace of rain, and the sun was also setting.
Jae-young, who had parked the car carelessly, got out. The mansion, like something from a movie, was a place Jae-young had visited before.
Sa Gong-hyun’s villa.
After grabbing and shaking the closed iron gate, Jae-young estimated the height of the gate by eye.
“Ah, I don’t want to waste energy.”
Letting go of the gate and needlessly turning his hand, Jae-young stepped back a step or two.
Just as Jae-young was taking a stance to run toward the gate for a running start,Â
“…Who’s there?”
A seemingly surprised voice was heard from beyond the gate. Jae-young brightened and stuck to the gate.
“Do you remember me? I’m Do Jae-young. I came here with Hyun-ssi before.”
It was an elderly man who managed the villa. When Sa Gong-hyun’s name was mentioned, the caretaker began to hesitate.
“Can you open the door for me?”
“…”
“If you call Hyun-ssi… ah… if you know Manager Jo’s number, you can also call Manager Jo.”
“…Please come in for now.”
Click—
The lock on the front gate immediately released. Jae-young, who entered right away by opening the door, grinned broadly.
“Grandfather, do you happen to have any food inside? I haven’t eaten anything all day, so I’m hungry.”
“…There are sandwiches in the night duty room. Should I get those for you?”
“Sandwiches? Is that really dinner? Does delivery work here? Want to order delivery with me? Do you have any delivery menus or a phone? Oh, and could you also let Director Ju know that I’m here? You forgot my name, right? It’s Do Jae-young.”
“Ah, yes…”
“You can speak comfortably with me. Where’s the office?”
The caretaker looked bewildered at the rapid-fire questions. Since he vaguely pointed toward the office, Jae-young rubbed his stomach as he moved in that direction.
He thought it was fortunate that he could enter without having to use force.
Jae-young was finally able to lie down with a full stomach after eating dinner with the caretaker. After chatting about this and that with the caretaker, he got a drink and entered the villa.
The interior was pleasant, as if it was always kept clean even on days when no one visited.
He took off his shoes and put on slippers with familiarity. He took a rocks glass from the cupboard. Jae-young, who casually pulled out a bottle of whiskey from the liquor display, leisurely walked on.
He was humming a tune and then poured whiskey into the glass. As he lay down on the sun bed, his body quickly became languid.
“I wonder how much trouble he’ll cause when he comes.”
The dark sky was filled with stars that were difficult to see in Seoul.
It had already been two hours since he had been gazing at the night sky and drinking. Although he’d been savoring it, just wetting his mouth, he’d been drinking continuously enough that he was getting tipsy.
Assuming he boarded a plane immediately after receiving the news, it should’ve been time for him to arrive by now. And then from the airport to Gangwon-do…
“…He’s too late.”
He grumbled complaints first without even thinking about what he had done. His eyes kept closing from fatigue.
He missed him. With the alcohol taking effect, it seemed like his childishness was unnecessarily increasing. Jae-young, who put his glass down on the rattan table, raised his upper body.
He held up both hands and made a rectangular frame with his thumbs and index fingers. Just as he was capturing the night sky in his hands as if taking a picture, he sensed someone behind him.
Jae-young turned his head as he was. It was Sa Gong-hyun. Sa Gong-hyun, who should have been stepping on the gas with fire in his eyes by now, was standing before him.
The question of why he had already arrived here must have dissolved in the alcohol.
“Do Jae-young!”
Sa Gong-hyun could be seen approaching with large strides, as if he were angry.
In his hand was a severely crumpled tie that he must have stretched several times because it was annoying to have it tightening his neck, and eventually removed.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
