“How many people do you think saw the bloodstain before you discovered it?”
Director Hwang asked with a sigh.
“No one.”
“How do you know?”
“This place is so quiet and run-down that you can hear the door creak all the way at the counter. But after that guy left, no one came out of the room, and I cleaned it up right after I saw it, so… nothing.”
“How many minutes did it take you to go upstairs after the man left?”
“Uh… about five minutes?”
“You didn’t have time to clean, so why did you go up so suddenly?”
“When that bastard went up, I heard some thud, thud noises. And then he suddenly bolted out like crazy, which seemed suspicious. I may be dumb, but I’ve got some street smarts. I went up to check if everything was okay. You know, a sense of duty as an inn employee.”
Director Hwang seemed to study Seonwook’s face for a moment.
“You seem calm for someone who just saw a corpse.”
Seonwook smirked.
“What’s so special about a corpse? When I was little, I lived near a reservoir, and a lot of people drowned there. It was just part of life. Dying was normal, and so was seeing dead bodies.”
“……”
“And compared to a bloated corpse in the water, that one was cute.”
Director Hwang, who had been looking down, nodded slightly.
“They say none of the CCTV cameras here work. Is that true?”
“Yeah.”
“Let’s keep what you saw and experienced today between us.”
“What exactly?”
Director Hwang looked up and met Seonwook’s gaze.
“Do I need to spell it out?”
“Like I said, my bag strap is short.”
Director Hwang let out a small sigh.
“Everything that happened from the moment that man entered until I left here.”
“Hmm…”
“Can you do that? Just think of it as a secret between you, me, and your boss. That’s fine, right?”
“Yeah.”
“The moment this gets out, your life will be shorter than your bag strap.”
“Oh… wow, what a metaphor. Do you write poetry?”
Ignoring Seonwook’s question entirely, Director Hwang stared into his eyes and spoke firmly. Seonwook nodded.
“Yeah, I got it.”
After a brief nod in return, Director Hwang turned away, and Seonwook quickly stepped in front of him.
“Hey, wait.”
Director Hwang, slightly frowning, took a step back.
“Uh… ah, thank you. For that time. Let me buy you a meal.”
“With your salary?”
Director Hwang seemed genuinely amused.
“What’s my salary got to do with it? Do you know how much it is?”
“It’s obvious what you’d earn working in a place like this.”
“How expensive of a meal are you talking about… Do you have an expensive taste?”
“More refined than what you eat, at least.”
Director Hwang tried to leave, and Seonwook blocked his path, and they pushed against each other for a moment.
“I have money.”
“Having it and having a lot are different.”
“So how expensive are we talking… I mean, I’ll save up and buy it for you.”
“By the time you’re seventy?”
“Will that work?”
“By then, I’ll probably be dead.”
Director Hwang finally pushed past Seonwook and opened the door with a bang.
“Wow, you’re really realistic. How old are you?”
Seonwook followed him.
“You’re not as tough as you seem.”
Director Hwang ignored him and headed straight for the counter room door.
“What food do you like? When’s good for you?”
Just as Director Hwang opened the counter room door, Seonwook slammed it shut again.
“Ah, wait a sec.”
Director Hwang, his usually composed brow now more furrowed, stared at Seonwook.
“Are you done?”
“I—I love you!”
Director Hwang flinched back.
“……Are you high?”
“After we met, I looked for you like crazy… Ah!”
Seonwook stopped mid-sentence, startled.
He had blurted out that he loved him just to grab his attention, but now that he said it, it felt true.
Yes, he had fallen in love at first sight. He just hadn’t realized it because he’d never been in love before.
The moment he saw him, hadn’t the “proper poem” flowed out? Isn’t that what love is? Something that effortlessly stirs the artistic soul.
“Wow… it’s love. It is love! See? I told you we were fate, right? I looked for you every single day, going to that underpass and the station, and then we suddenly meet again. You know about the red string of fate? The red string? Don’t you feel like we’re connected by that?”
Director Hwang stared at Seonwook with an expression of sheer horror.
“If you don’t want that string to strangle you, step back.”
“Do you know how cool that moment was for me? Even though I’m a total pushover who gets beaten up all the time, no one had ever saved me like that in a moment of crisis. I fell for you at first sight.”
“Move.”
“Just meet me once.”
“You want more?”
Seonwook’s cheek burned again.
“Please, just once.”
As Seonwook staggered, clutching the wall, Director Hwang opened the door and left.
“Hey—”
Seonwook followed him out just as Director Hwang opened the inn’s front door.
“It’s over. Those people will clean everything up themselves, right?”
Deokman’s voice came from outside.
“Yes. I apologize for the inconvenience.”
Director Hwang’s voice had already returned to its usual calm.
Deokman came inside and closed the door.
“Ah… fuck, that was sharp.”
Seonwook stood by the counter room doorframe, licking his lips in disappointment.
“Hey, did you tell him everything straight?”
Deokman asked, walking toward the counter.
“Of course.”
“Well, if you’d hesitated, you wouldn’t have gotten a single bone out of it.”
Deokman shoved Seonwook aside and entered the counter room, sitting down in the chair. He didn’t even glance at the bloodstain on Seonwook’s T-shirt or the split lip.
Of course, even if he had seen, he wouldn’t have cared or worried.
“Fuck, what a pain.”
Deokman clicked his tongue and opened the game screen.
“But who is that guy?”
“Huh? Who?”
“The one who just saved my ass.”
“Oh, he’s Director Hwang.”
“I’m asking for his name. And his job.”
“Ugh, why are you so slow?”
Deokman leaned toward the monitor, clicking the mouse and muttering to himself.
“What’s his name?”
“Mu… something… I don’t know. He’s just Director Hwang.”
“Director isn’t his name.”
“Damn it, stop stuttering.”
Deokman scowled and pounded the keyboard.
“Where does he work?”
“Ugh, stop getting in my way. Go sleep or something. I have to stay glued here until that mess is cleaned up.”
“Where does he work?”
“Shut up. Why aren’t you leaving?”
“I’ll go.”
Seonwook, resigned, gathered his things from the desk and went into his small room, closing the door.
The faint scent of Director Hwang still lingered in the tiny space.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
