# Chapter 42
Once again, in the sinking silence, Seowoo, whose lips had been moving slightly, carefully called out to Dohyun.
“Seo Dohyun-ssi.”
“Ah, now that I think about it, I had something to give you today.”
Acting as if he hadn’t heard Seowoo’s call at all, Dohyun abruptly cut off the conversation and changed the subject.
He picked up the document envelope that had been placed on the corner of the table and held it out. Seowoo, who took it reflexively, blinked his eyes.
“…What is this?”
“I said it’s a gift, didn’t I?”
Dohyun gestured with his chin toward the envelope as if telling him to open it. With narrowed eyes, Seowoo alternately looked at the envelope and Dohyun’s face. The timing, as well as the person giving it, made it all very suspicious.
Slowly opening the envelope, Seowoo grumbled.
“Even if you say it’s a gift…”
Inside the envelope was a single sheet of paper. Not just any paper, but one completely filled with handwriting from beginning to end.
The crooked handwriting was striking at first glance. Seowoo furrowed his brow.
“Is this for me?”
“Read it and see.”
The writing, pressed onto an A4 paper with a pencil, was crude for anyone to call it a proper letter. Wouldn’t anyone who decided to write a proper letter use stationery and a pen? Still suspicious, he skimmed the first line.
“Hello, Actor-nim. This is Kang Euntaek.”
“Kang Euntaek? That student?”
“Quite a gift, isn’t it?”
The face of the student he’d seen earlier that day came vividly to mind. No, why would this student write such a letter…? While Seowoo couldn’t stop his mouth from falling open, Dohyun was smiling so pleasantly it seemed excessive.
“I mean, how is this a gift? Didn’t we resolve everything earlier today? Did you perhaps make him write an apology letter?”
“An apology letter? It’s not like I’m trying to extract money from him—why would I make him write an apology letter? Having him write a hundred pages of ‘I’m sorry, I was wrong’—he wouldn’t genuinely reflect even if I did that. Why would I bother with something so troublesome? It’s obvious what kind of response I’d get anyway.”
Indeed. That indifferent expression, showing complete disinterest in whatever Euntaek might have written, was genuine. Well, if he had actually obtained an apology letter, there would be no need to lie to Seowoo about it.
Seowoo read the letter to the end. It was truly more of an apology letter than a simple note, filled with nothing but profuse apologies.
He wrote that he never intended to frame Seowoo, and that stealing the money was just a momentary impulse. When he was caught, he said he unconsciously framed Seowoo out of anxiety, and he deeply regretted it.
“I will become a wonderful person like you, Actor-nim, and repay you tenfold.”
It didn’t seem like Seowoo had done anything to be called a wonderful person. He thought he had scolded the boy enough when they had met face to face. From Seowoo’s perspective, the letter was full of thanks to the point of embarrassment.
“…He gave this to you?”
“Would I have received it? He was a kid who couldn’t even look me in the eye out of fear. I think he asked one of the staff members to deliver it. I went and got it.”
Although the filming crew had wrapped up early because of the incident, Seowoo had left the set with Dohyun even earlier. It was because Dohyun had been making a fuss, constantly worrying about Seowoo’s mental and physical state.
So he had no way of knowing what happened after they left the neighborhood following the apology.
“Did you hear what happened to this student?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like, whether they called the police, what they decided about the money, things like that.”
“Ah, you’re curious about the student’s punishment. I can understand that.”
Despite saying he understood, Dohyun’s gaze narrowed as if wondering why Seowoo would ask about such a thing. His eyes swept over Seowoo’s face as if trying to guess his thoughts.
“As soon as we left, they returned the money to the homeowner as it was. They said he took the bag from the wardrobe without knowing how much was in it. Apparently, he was begging tearfully, but well, that’s not my concern.”
Indeed, Euntaek had been dropping tears during his conversation with Seowoo. He had only repeated how sorry he was, so the scene the homeowner witnessed was probably similar.
“So there was no need to call the police, obviously. Couldn’t you tell at a glance? No matter what the kid said, everyone was busy shielding him more than we were, saying things like ‘he couldn’t have done that’ or ‘he must have had his reasons.'”
Though he was certainly explaining the situation, there was something irritating about his pointed tone, which seemed strangely sarcastic. Like earlier that day, there seemed to be something that didn’t sit well with him.
“They must have forgiven him. Since he’s still a student.”
“He’s not five or six years old. Isn’t it pathetic to use the excuse that he’s a student at sixteen? That’s almost old enough to be beyond the Juvenile Law, you know.”
“No one would think he did it out of ignorance.”
“If he knew what he was doing, that makes it all the more unforgivable.”
Dohyun reached out and snatched the paper and envelope from Seowoo’s hand. Following Dohyun’s nimble movements with his eyes, Seowoo spoke in a disgruntled voice.
“They forgive him because they believe he won’t do it again, don’t they?”
“Yes, I suppose that’s true. I told you, didn’t I? It’s all about reputation. They believe in themselves that his bad behavior must surely be a mistake because he’s shown more good behavior up until now. How can anyone know whether it was just a slip-up or something hidden that was finally revealed?”
Dohyun responded in an even tone while returning the paper to the envelope. Seowoo’s eyes, which had been following him, became even sharper.
It wasn’t as if Seowoo always tried to see the good in people. Moreover, it wasn’t a small item but a large sum of money that was stolen, so it was truly unacceptable behavior and definitely a crime.
But Dohyun’s reaction was excessively cynical. As if good people didn’t exist in this world. According to his strict standards, it seemed like ‘good people’ didn’t exist at all.
“Why are you so crooked?”
“Me?”
“You’ve been saying nothing but twisted things since earlier.”
“I was just saying what I really wanted to say.”
It was certainly what he wanted to say. The man who usually carefully watched Seowoo’s expression when saying nonsensical things just to irritate him wasn’t even looking at Seowoo now. Even his tone was light and cheerful.
“How do you live, being so suspicious of everyone? Isn’t it exhausting?”
“Is it exhausting to only trust those who are trustworthy? It’s no different than investing in advance the cost you’d otherwise spend on later sadness and regret.”
“I mean it’s exhausting to measure emotions as costs. If you want to trust someone, you trust them, and if you don’t, you don’t. Does the human heart move like currency?”
“Yes, it would definitely be very disadvantageous if you couldn’t treat your heart like currency. You’d waste it, like Seowoo-ssi.”
The more they talked about this topic, the more stifling it felt. Even though he wanted to argue that human hearts and emotions couldn’t be measured that way, he felt so drained that he didn’t even feel like speaking.
Instead of answering, Seowoo put his fork down on the table.
“Are you done eating?”
Dohyun glanced over. There was still about half of the pasta left in Seowoo’s dish.
“You were eating well at first.”
“We’ve been having appetite-killing conversations.”
“I thought it was quite a beneficial conversation.”
Without insisting that he finish eating, Dohyun just smiled faintly. That was actually appreciated at the moment. Even if he had told him to eat, Seowoo would have had to refuse.
“…Anyway, thank you for preparing all this. I’ll get up now.”
“Ah. Seowoo-ssi.”
At the calling voice, Seowoo, who had been about to pull his chair back, glanced at Dohyun. With his usual shallow smile, making eye contact, Dohyun slowly opened his mouth.
“‘First learn how to lie to yourself. You need to be able to lie while looking in the mirror. If you can’t deceive yourself, it will only be a failed lie.'”
“…”
What the hell is this nonsense? He couldn’t grasp what kind of reaction was expected from this statement. It was a sentence without context or meaning.
Why is he suddenly saying something like this? Was my lie caught? Is it showing on my face? Is this a warning? Or is he really just talking nonsense without reason?
A slow, very quiet silence flowed between them. Seowoo wasn’t even sure what expression he was wearing.
“‘The Room with a Piano.'”
“What?”
“It was quite a memorable passage. There were parts I sympathized with too. I was wondering what Seowoo-ssi thought about it. You said you liked it, right?”
Belatedly, his head went blank as if struck by a hammer. It’s true that he did say he liked that book. He did say that, but…
He never imagined the conversation would turn to quoting passages from the book like this. There was no way to know without having read the book. Even if one had read it, if they didn’t really like it, it wouldn’t be easy to recognize it immediately upon hearing.
“You like it enough to memorize passages?”
“Of course. The fate of the pianist who said those words was quite interesting too. Considering typical genre conventions, they usually die at the end.”
The pianist’s fate? His mouth itched to ask how it ended, but he absolutely couldn’t ask. If he couldn’t even remember the ending of a book he claimed to like, it would be suspicious beyond doubt and anyone would see he was lying.
Dohyun smiled and placed Mi-hyun’s book, which had been on the table, back into Seowoo’s hands.
“I was pleased to hear we like the same author.”
“…That’s interesting.”
It was interesting, indeed. So he really does read books. He had been half-skeptical earlier, but now he had no choice but to believe it. It seemed he didn’t just read, but read extremely diligently.
Moreover, it was also incredibly coincidental to Seowoo that the author of the signing event he had randomly visited today was Kim Mi-hyun. This was even more mysterious than simply having the same favorite author.
Looking up at Seowoo, who was rising from his seat with an odd expression, Dohyun playfully rested his chin on his hand.
“Let me borrow it if it’s good.”
“…You can buy your own copy. You’re rich enough.”
“Why would I keep two copies of the same book at home? Just lend it to me. What’s the point of being family?”
“I keep telling you we’re not family…”
“Then I’ll borrow it using my authority as CEO.”
Is he really serious about this, or is it just his usual nonsense? Either seemed possible.
When Seowoo narrowed his eyes, Dohyun smoothly raised his lips into a smile.
“So lend it to me before I abuse my power.”
“Fine. What a person…”
As if he hadn’t been irritated when he put down his fork earlier, Seowoo pushed up his lips and burst into laughter. It was a natural smile, made without consciousness.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
