My Soft Rice Cake 62

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“Uh, I must’ve really lost my mind yesterday. I wasn’t thinking straight—I was completely drunk.”

The frantic voice pulled everyone’s attention back to Park Ki-cheol.

“Yeah. H-Hoon… I—I was out of my mind. A total psycho. Yeah, a fucking psycho.”

Stammering his way through the words, Park Ki-cheol suddenly began hitting himself on the head with the palm of his hand—whack, whack.

“You dumbass! What kind of person does that?! Huh?! You absolute scumbag!”

His expression, his voice, even the way he moved—everything about it was staged. Go Hoon could tell immediately that Park Ki-cheol was putting on a performance.

Who does he think he’s fooling with this crap? The irritation was bubbling up, but before anything else, he figured he needed to stop the guy. It wasn’t exactly a good look to just leave him flailing like this.

And if his mother heard the commotion from outside the room, that’d be even worse.

“That’s enough. Stop and get up.”

Go Hoon’s voice was cold. He followed it up with a steely gaze as he looked down at Park Ki-cheol.

“You know I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.”

The person who deserved his apology was someone else entirely.

Kim Yeo-jin. More than anyone, Park Ki-cheol owed her a sincere apology. Whether she’d actually accept it was another story, but regardless, he needed to own up to what he did. Not with this ridiculous little act in front of Go Hoon—this wasn’t about him.

“O-Of course I’m going to apologize to Yeo-jin. I was actually just debating whether or not I should call her, and then you guys showed up…”

Rambling excuses, Park Ki-cheol slowly got to his feet. He gave an awkward laugh and reached out to grab Go Hoon’s arm.

“H-Hoon… you’re not gonna report me, right? Huh? You know it was just a mistake, right? You know that…?”

The moment he heard that, disgust flared in Hoon’s chest.

Why was he acting so pathetic? That question answered itself almost immediately.

He was scared. Scared that Go Hoon might report him to the police. That was what this was about—not remorse, not guilt. Just fear. He wasn’t reflecting on what he’d done.

Go Hoon clenched his jaw. Being face-to-face with him made his skin crawl.

“I’ll be leaving now.”

“Huh? Hey—H-Hoon…! You’re seriously just gonna walk away like that? Say something! Go Hoon!”

He heard his name being called behind him, but he ignored it and walked out of the hospital room. He had briefly worried about bumping into Park Ki-cheol’s mother—how was he supposed to look her in the eye?—but fortunately, the hallway was empty.

Exhaling sharply, Go Hoon picked up his pace. Step, step—he could hear someone else’s footsteps behind him. Still, he didn’t slow down. His mind was racing.

Park Ki-cheol only remembered bits and pieces of what happened last night. If he ever found out what went down after he passed out… he’d realize it wasn’t Kim Yeo-jin or Go Hoon he should be afraid of. He had the wrong idea entirely.

Go Hoon passed the elevator and headed toward the emergency stairs. For some reason, he felt like he couldn’t breathe. The air in the hospital felt heavy, like it was pressing down on his throat. He needed to get out—fast.

He pushed the door open and began descending the stairs, only for Bae Jung-yoon to suddenly grab him from behind.

“Where are you going?”

“Let go.”

He tried to pull his arm away, but Bae Jung-yoon wasn’t going to let him go that easily. He pushed Go Hoon up against the wall of the stairwell landing and stood in front of him, blocking his path.

Go Hoon tried to push past him, but Bae Jung-yoon stuck out his leg and blocked him again. Go Hoon shot him a sharp, warning glare.

“Move.”

“No.”

“I said, move.”

The two stood locked in a tense stare.

“Why are you suddenly so angry?”

Bae Jung-yoon narrowed his eyes, genuinely confused. Go Hoon’s fist clenched tight.

He wasn’t angry at Bae Jung-yoon. He was just confused. What was his motive for bringing him here? What was he trying to accomplish? What reaction was he hoping to see when he made Park Ki-cheol kneel in front of him?

Still silent, Go Hoon suddenly asked,

“Park Ki-cheol doesn’t know, does he?”

Did Bae Jung-yoon know?

“…….”

That he was the most human—and at the same time, the most inhuman—person Go Hoon had ever met.

Which was why Go Hoon couldn’t pin him down. Couldn’t approach him lightly. It felt like a massive question mark was looming right in front of him.

Go Hoon didn’t know exactly how Bae Jung-yoon had manipulated Park Ki-cheol or scared him into submission. But one thing was clear:

Bae Jung-yoon had lied to him. There was no way he’d told Park Ki-cheol the truth about how those injuries happened. He must have buried that part and just hammered home the guilt—driving in his mistake while concealing the full story.

On top of everything, Bae Jung-yoon had tested him too. He wanted to see whether Go Hoon would keep the secret to himself in front of Park Ki-cheol—or if he’d tell the truth.

“About what?”

But Bae Jung-yoon blinked innocently, putting on the face of a clueless child.

“What is it that Park Ki-cheol doesn’t know?”

With a faint smile, he stepped closer—one step, then another—until he was right in front of Go Hoon. Then he leaned down and whispered low, voice laced with mischief.

“…Oh, you mean the part where I stabbed him in the back?”

His pitch-black eyes glinted under the dim lighting. Go Hoon stared at him. They locked eyes for a few long seconds before Bae Jung-yoon straightened with a bright, casual expression and nodded.

“Yeah. I didn’t tell him.”

He confessed to lying with unnerving ease.

“Why? You thinking of telling him yourself? That it was me who fucked up the back of his head?”

His eyes bored into Go Hoon, tracking every microexpression. It made Go Hoon’s skin prickle.

He swallowed hard. Letting his guard down for even a moment felt dangerous—like Bae Jung-yoon might devour him whole if he blinked. His Adam’s apple bobbed visibly, and surely Bae Jung-yoon noticed—but he didn’t say anything. He just kept studying Go Hoon’s face in silence.

“Hoon.”

His voice softened suddenly, almost affectionate, as he reached out a hand.

“If you were going to speak up, you should’ve done it earlier. Back when Park Ki-cheol was kneeling in front of you.”

His fingers brushed Go Hoon’s cheek. They were colder than usual, unsettlingly so.

“Is it really that important—that I’m the one who hit him?”

A tangle of emotions twisted inside. Could he really pretend he hadn’t seen any of it? The fact that he was even hesitating already answered that question.

“You’ve already made up your mind to cover for me, haven’t you?”

Go Hoon said nothing. Bae Jung-yoon answered for him, as if reading his heart like an open book. He knew exactly which way the scale had tipped.

“You knew. And you still stayed quiet. Because you were scared I might get reported.”

Even while resenting how Bae Jung-yoon had manipulated everything to his advantage, Go Hoon couldn’t help worrying—what if something happened to him? And the reason was painfully simple: because Go Hoon had been the reason Bae Jung-yoon acted in the first place.

“So, Hoon… let’s just keep what happened yesterday between us. Quiet.”

Go Hoon didn’t say a word. In response, Bae Jung-yoon gently brushed his thumb beneath Go Hoon’s eye.

“Why do you still look like that? I brought you here to make you feel better.”

A dry laugh escaped Go Hoon’s lips. To make him feel better? Was that really what he thought? That watching Park Ki-cheol kneel and grovel would somehow satisfy him?

Park Ki-cheol. Yeah, Go Hoon hated him. After what he’d done to Kim Yeo-jin, the guy more than deserved to be beaten. Seeing him on his knees should have felt satisfying.

But it didn’t.

Something just didn’t sit right. How could it? He’d seen the guy collapsed, bleeding. He’d seen his mother, holding his hand and whispering thanks. That image lingered, made it impossible to feel good about any of it.

There was one thing Go Hoon had to ask Bae Jung-yoon.

“You said you knew. That Park Ki-cheol kept bothering Yeo-jin.”

“Yeah. I knew.”

Once again, Bae Jung-yoon admitted it easily. No hesitation. No regret.

Seeing that, Go Hoon hesitated. But it must’ve shown on his face—because Bae Jung-yoon beat him to the punch.

“You’re wondering why I didn’t do anything, right?”

Go Hoon didn’t answer. But they both knew silence meant yes. Bae Jung-yoon gave a flat, almost bored reply.

“Was that supposed to be my responsibility?”

It was a surprisingly cynical response for him.

His responsibility? Technically, no—he wasn’t obligated to do anything. But still… Kim Yeo-jin had asked him for help.

And that’s what stuck with Go Hoon. Even if just once, in passing—shouldn’t he have at least asked her if something was wrong with Park Ki-cheol?

“Was I supposed to care more about Yeo-jin?”