Hidden Vice 51

I had many questions, but something about Kwon Yikang’s subdued mood made me hesitant to speak up, so I just walked alongside him.

The hanok building was larger than I had initially estimated by sight, and even a casual walk around its perimeter required quite a lot of time.

“Are you upset?”

“No.”

“You’ve been quiet this whole time. …Did I cause trouble by speaking rudely?”

“It wasn’t rude.”

“I was confrontational with your father. I don’t even know why I act like this. I fight with my grandfather too and get hit for it, but still, I can’t just sit quietly and listen. Adults don’t like being talked back to. If I had just kept my mouth shut, things would have been at least somewhat okay, but I had to run my mouth and make your father angry too. I should reflect on this, even if it’s a bit late.”

“Don’t reflect on anything. You didn’t say anything wrong.”

With his arm around my shoulder pulling me closer, Kwon Yikang kissed me on the cheek. Since it was right on the spot where I have a mole above my cheekbone, I burst out laughing.

“You really love that mole.”

“It looks delicious.”

“Whenever I spend a day with you and look in the mirror, one of my cheeks is always red, as if I only put makeup on one side. Because you keep sucking on it so much. At this rate, my face is going to have mismatched colors.”

“That would be cute too.”

“How can you say such things about someone else’s face?”

“I mean it.”

He playfully stuck out his tongue and licked the spot as he spoke. Seeing him in a better mood made me feel happier too. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulled him down, and rubbed my lips against his.

“Now that I think about it, I’ve never actually given you a gift.”

“A gift?”

“You said you haven’t received anything from me except for a few meals.”

What gift is he suddenly talking about? I tilted my head, then quickly realized he was referring to what I had told his father earlier.

“It’s not like I’ve given you anything either, so whatever.”

“Since I haven’t given you anything from head to toe, should I get you a full set from head to toe?”

Starting with a suit, then a tie, tie pin, cuffs, watch, shoes, socks, ring, even underwear—a complete set. As I listened to him list these things in a low voice, I wondered why anyone would need such useless things.

“Or is there something else you like? Should I buy you a car? It would be nice if you had a favorite brand or item.”

“I do have something I like.”

Things I like and am interested in: cash, assets, stocks, real estate, buildings, jewelry, gold bars. Anything that can be converted into money.

Unable to say this out loud, I just trembled my eyebrows. Somehow, I felt this wasn’t something I should tell Kwon Yikang. I pressed my lips tightly and shook my head, to which he whispered, “Tell me,” as if coaxing a child.

“No way. My taste is unique.”

“I’ve known you had unique taste since you said you liked me for being gentle, so don’t worry about it.”

“Why, what, how is that? What’s unique about that? It’s only natural to be captivated by someone like you who spreads kindness everywhere.”

“I’m grateful that you’re captivated. So what’s this unique taste?”

It seems Kwon Yikang doesn’t let conversations drift elsewhere and won’t be satisfied until he gets the answer he wants. A standoff continued between me, pressing my lips shut and shaking my head, and Kwon Yikang, determined to coax and persuade me into answering.

“Is it some sexual preference that’s hard to express in words?”

“No, it’s not. What do you take me for?”

“You said that’s what you wanted from me. You said it so confidently that I thought that’s what you liked the most.”

“That was just a joke to make you laugh. Are you going to keep bringing up what I said earlier?”

Annoyed that he kept mentioning what I had said to spite his father, I lightly kicked him in the shin. He pretended to jump in pain and made a fuss, though it couldn’t have hurt.

“Are you scolding me for not giving you anything?”

“I’m scolding you because you deserve it.”

“Then I’ll give you what you like as an apology. So what is it?”

Since it was obvious he would keep asking every time we met, I finally mumbled quietly, “Gold bars.”

“What?”

“Gold bars! That’s what I’ve been collecting lately.”

“…Is it for tax evasion?”

“No, it’s not. It’s something I’m preparing for my future.”

“Why do you need that for your future?”

Kwon Yikang had a genuinely perplexed expression. I’m sure he would be. With wealthy parents who will pass down assets to him, and no siblings to share it with, Kwon Yikang would definitely not understand. Moreover, he’s probably their biological child whose soul hasn’t been switched.

“My inheritance is uncertain, the hospital definitely won’t be my share, and when my father passes away, my brothers will fight over the inheritance until their backs break, leaving me with nothing. Actually, I don’t even need to wait until my father passes away. Something could happen right now that gets me kicked out, or I might need to flee in the middle of the night. In that case, I need something to live on. Fortunately, I’m currently living on the cards my fathers gave me, so I’m preparing in advance.”

“…That seems like excessive worry.”

Kwon Yikang’s expression was as confused as if he’d just heard the world would end tomorrow. Since I wasn’t really looking for understanding, I just shrugged as if I’d made a light joke.

“Excessive worry is better than no worry at all. Even if I don’t know whether or when the sky will fall, I’ll dig my shelter in advance.”

I don’t want to live without food or a place to sleep anymore. I’ve had enough of that as Min Jaehee; there’s no need to experience deprivation as Cha Sukyung too. It’s good if such circumstances never arise, and since gold doesn’t disappear, there’s no harm in accumulating it.

Hmm, Kwon Yikang hummed deeply, lost in thought, and then nodded. It wasn’t a story within his realm of understanding, so how did he accept it so quickly? Curious, I looked at him as he organized his thoughts and spoke.

“Then I should dig another hole for you.”

“…Huh?”

“Having two shelters would be more reassuring, wouldn’t it? Though it’ll probably be a hole you won’t need anyway.”

Now I was confused too. What exactly does this hole mean? I asked with my eyes, but either he lacked the ability to communicate through eye contact, or I did, as he just smiled contentedly.

“I’ve learned something good. Do you only like gold bars? Or anything made of gold?”

“Just anything that can be converted into money?”

“So luxury goods would count too.”

“No, not luxury goods.”

I firmly shook my head. This is why rich young masters who know nothing about the world don’t get it.

“The price of secondhand items gets marked down first thing. That’s why gold is better.”

“Okay. Now I understand.”

While I was still completely confused and had nothing figured out, Kwon Yikang came to a clear conclusion by himself. What exactly did he understand? Despite my questioning, he just smiled refreshingly like someone who had just returned from the bathroom.

I became increasingly confused. It was obvious he didn’t understand, but since he was organizing his thoughts and seemed happy, I didn’t think it was necessary to check if he truly understood properly.

As I gave up trying to understand Kwon Yikang, another desire welled up.

“I’m hungry.”

“Should we head back to Seoul and get something to eat?”

“Let’s eat here, spend the night, and leave tomorrow.”

“…Huh?”

The person who had been smiling so refreshingly now had an expression of incomprehension again. Even the change in his expression was cute, so I kissed him with a light “chu” and smiled.

“Do they serve something like a nine-course meal here? I’ve never seen one before.”

“Unfortunately, it’s just a regular dining table. I should take you to a traditional Korean restaurant sometime.”

“This place is just a hanok on the outside, huh? Is the floor really ondol? I heard lying down on an ondol floor is really good for your back.”

“Every room has a bed.”

My disappointment grew exponentially. With slumped shoulders, I turned around.

“Let’s just go get something to eat.”

“Were you really planning to eat and stay overnight here?”

“Why would I lie about that? I’m hungry. Hurry up and ask for food.”

As I clung to Kwon Yikang’s arm and urged him, he hid his reluctant expression and nodded.

We went back the way we came. Along the way, Kwon Yikang asked a man we encountered to prepare a meal and led me somewhere. After walking winding paths diligently, taking off our shoes, and entering the building, we still had to walk down long corridors for quite some time.

“It would be a disaster if someone got lost here. First-time visitors must wander around a lot.”

“It’s not as complex as it seems. I’m taking shortcuts now, but if you look around carefully, the structure is simple. There are also guides at various points.”

“Come to think of it, why are there so many people here? There seem to be more than the employees at our house. And they’re all wearing suits.”

This is really a strange house. In response to my comment, Kwon Yikang just smiled.

The place where we stopped walking was a dining room. Perhaps because we had asked for food in a hurry, the employees were busy setting up, moving plates around.

“Maybe we should have come a little later.”

“What does it matter? We can wait.”

To avoid disturbing the table setting, we sat side by side at the end of a long table, and I fiddled with Kwon Yikang’s hand.

“I… eavesdropped earlier.”

“With your ear pressed against the door.”

“I listened, but I couldn’t understand anything. Everything being discussed was incomprehensible…”

Kwon Yikang’s expression became a bit tired as he rubbed his eyelids. As he let out a small sigh, I interlaced my fingers with his, holding his hand.

“If there’s something you want to ask, you can.”

“It’s not something I absolutely need to know, right? If it’s important, I’ll naturally come to understand it eventually.”

“To be honest, I’d prefer if you didn’t know anything.”

“If it was such a secret conversation, you should have been more thorough with security.”

“That doesn’t seem like something someone who eavesdropped like a thief cat should say.”