Chapter 173
After leaving the backyard, Mitchell sat me down on the bed for a moment.
He found a cloth from somewhere and carefully secured my swollen ankle. He tied it skillfully, making sure it wouldn’t move but also wouldn’t be uncomfortable.
It seemed he had drunk quite a bit, as the scent of alcohol still lingered on his breath. I was sober, and it felt like the first time Mitchell was drunk while I wasn’t. I sniffled and lightly tapped Mitchell’s cheek. He looked up at me as he finished tying the knot.
“Did you drink?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“I was upset.”
“…”
“I understood why people drink.”
Mitchell turned his back to me with a somewhat self-deprecating smile. There was a lot I wanted to say, but I didn’t bother putting it into words.
“Get on.”
As I climbed onto his broad back, Mitchell easily stood up and walked to the front door. The door that had been firmly closed all this time opened easily.
“The door was broken throughout the filming. I got trapped on the very day it was fixed. Such bad luck.”
I complained about the bad timing. I felt relieved as we left the set where I had been trapped for two days.
“Yeah, why did you fix the door?”
I was struck speechless by Mitchell’s words. It wasn’t me but Nathan’s action in the script, yet Mitchell talked about it as if it were reality. At first, I was bewildered, but I quickly accepted it and retorted.
“Mitchell, you broke it. I wanted to fix everything you broke. That’s why I fixed it.”
“…”
“Originally, it was left wide open for anyone to come and go. But now I’ve fixed it so only I can come and go.”
Mitchell’s shoulders shook. I couldn’t tell if he was laughing or the opposite. I deliberately didn’t ask and didn’t check his face. We didn’t say anything until we could see the house after a long, winding road.
The gently blowing wind completely dried my tear-stained eyes. We slowly moved towards the bright light on the dark path. Although a long silence continued, it felt like we had shared more conversations than ever before.
When we finally entered the house after entering the building entrance and taking the elevator, Mitchell opened his heavy mouth. As if he had organized his thoughts during that long period of silence, he spoke calmly.
“With you, I could close it… I could wait for you wholly even in a closed room.”
Because you’ll definitely come back.
***
I looked up at the sky and let out a big sigh. Maybe because it was before the last shoot, I felt relieved yet regretful, and all sorts of thoughts rushed in.
Looking back, all sorts of things had happened. The time when Mitchell and I accidentally bumped lips during a short action scene because our movements didn’t match (they say they’re keeping the edited footage to release someday as fan service). The time when Mitchell accidentally threw a prop and broke a camera lens (apparently Mitchell bought a better, more expensive camera equipment as compensation). The time when Director McKenney rolled down a hill and was hospitalized for three full days, and so on.
And the incident I could never forget was when I got locked in the empty set. That’s when Mitchell and I confirmed our feelings. Not just vaguely guessing, but properly confirming.
After that day, our relationship grew closer, and thanks to that, I even visited Mitchell’s family home. I participated in Mitchell’s family event. Even though I didn’t talk to them directly, I could feel it. That they welcomed me.
Also, while I was trapped in the set, I indirectly experienced the trauma that had been tormenting Mitchell. Because I learned about the hardships Mitchell had gone through, I came to understand him a little more.
Looking back, it was quite a remarkable experience for me, who wanted to know everything about Mitchell inside out.
The expression “remarkable” might be harsh for Mitchell, but at least it was for me. I was the one who would embrace and love even Mitchell’s misfortunes. So I needed to know everything about you. I would know and hold onto you, Mitchell, more firmly.
Let me emphasize once again, I have a bad personality. I’m not kind. That’s why I can accept anything, any emotion, to have Mitchell.
“Mr. Bae, are you ready?”
“Ah, yes! Let’s go.”
I smoothed down the collar of my black suit and walked towards Logan’s house. Our handsome Logan was already waiting, wearing a white sleeveless t-shirt and jeans. His languidly relaxed eyes were as warm as early spring sunshine.
I wanted to run to that man who was greeting me with a silent raised eyebrow and kiss him right away. Even though I’ve become quite good at holding back, on days like today when my heart feels particularly ticklish, my actions tend to come first. In the end, I walked over to him and quietly whispered in his ear, cupping my hand.
“Let’s do it after we finish today.”
At the same time, there was a click sound. It was a photographer capturing the filming scene. He smiled at us as if he had caught a good shot.
It wasn’t the first time something like this had been captured. Our affectionate daily life would spread outside, but we didn’t particularly restrict it. Mitchell even put his arm around my neck, brought our faces close together, and asked for another photo to be taken.
He didn’t seem to be thinking about the aftermath that would follow. Neither did I.
Moreover, we always rode in the same car to and from the set. We also rested together in the trailer and always had meals together. Although it might look like the ordinary daily life of two men at a glance, many people looked at us with strange eyes because of the dating rumors.
Mitchell was often asked about his relationship with me by reporters or interviewers. He didn’t publicly acknowledge our relationship. He dismissed it, saying we were just very close friends. He joked that thanks to fans who found our relationship interesting, he never had a dull moment these days.
And then, as soon as he came to the set, he would wink at me or engage in somewhat excessive skinship, so tsk-tsk, how could there not be gossip?
For my part, I chose silence without clarifying my position separately.
On that day when I rode in Mitchell’s sports car, I also talked to someone other than the person presumed to be Mitchell’s father. It was a man who claimed to be a reporter from a famous weekly magazine, and he also came to request an interview with me while getting soaked in the rain. I couldn’t help but give him an umbrella because he looked so pitiful, and we had a brief conversation.
“If this movie ends successfully, do you plan to continue your next project in Hollywood?”
“Nothing has been decided yet.”
“Then do you perhaps plan to return to Korea?”
“No.”
“So you’re saying you’ll continue to settle in America?”
“I’m sorry, but I have some urgent business…”
“Just one last thing. What made you turn your back on your home country?”
“Pardon?”
“Did you flee to America because you were concerned about public opinion in Korea?”
“Excuse me, reporter.”
“Or is it because of the unrealistically high enthusiasm for education and conflicts in a competitive society, the danger of being a divided nation, the evils of the entertainment industry, and so on? There seem to be many reasons. I’d like you to tell me specifically. What’s the real reason you chose America?”
I couldn’t tell him that the real reason was Mitchell. If I misspoke even a little, it seemed like he would write some nonsensical article about Korea, so I quickly retracted my answer.
“I do go to Korea. Why wouldn’t I? It’s my homeland.”
I just said that and got in the car, but I suddenly became someone aiming for a comeback by returning to Korea. After that day, I vowed never to open my mouth carelessly again unless it was a scheduled interview.
As for my relationship with Mitchell, I consistently played dumb instead of lightly joking about it, which created an even more ambiguous picture. Surprisingly, Mitchell liked my behavior.
I was also secretly satisfied with Mitchell, who was going around saying strange things as he pleased. I didn’t care whether Mitchell caused trouble by running his mouth. I just found him cute for being so eager to talk about our relationship.
“Shall we go in now?”
I snapped back to reality at Director McKenney’s words. Mitchell, who had stood up, patted my back and moved to the opposite side.
Today is the last day of filming for “Mirror Match”.
