#107
Idam’s heart sank.
When had Taemin followed him here? No, it could just be someone with a similar voice. Or he might have been hearing things. Idam made these desperate assumptions as he slowly looked behind him.
For a moment, he felt as if he had fallen into the sea as his eyes met with blue irises. The air of elegance was the same as well. It was neither someone else nor an auditory hallucination, but the real Taemin.
“Gasp!”
Startled, Idam quickly shook off Taemin’s hand. Then he nimbly turned to face him.
“How… how… you…”
Too shocked by the seemingly impossible situation, Idam’s body froze.
“I got on a plane right after I found out you had disappeared. Seeing as there’s not much difference in arrival time, I guess the plane you took was quite slow?”
“Ha…”
Idam hadn’t expected his assumption that he would search the island first to be so wrong. Had Im Hoyoung really teamed up with Taemin after all? But then again, Im Hoyoung’s anxious attitude seemed unnatural…
However, the fact that he was supposed to meet Hayun soon took precedence. He couldn’t waste any more time here. In the end, Idam started running, leaving Taemin behind. If Taemin were to see Hayun in this situation, Hayun could be in danger too. Right now, fleeing was the only way to survive.
“Ah, here we go again.”
Taemin frowned as he watched Idam running away, then immediately gave chase.
Earlier, when Taemin confirmed that Idam had disappeared with Im Hoyoung, he immediately left Jihwado on the next private jet. On the plane, he found out the route and estimated arrival time of the jet that had departed earlier. Although he had left later, he had increased his speed accordingly, and the plane that had gone ahead had been delayed here and there due to cloud cover.
Upon arriving at the airport, Taemin immediately deployed his staff to track down Idam and Im Hoyoung. Before long, Secretary Kang found Im Hoyoung and brought him to the sedan where Taemin was waiting. When Im Hoyoung saw Taemin, he trembled in fear. He looked like a child who had just witnessed a murderer.
‘No… I… Taemin… I… I did it because Rickdi told me to. I had no choice.’
‘Rickdi? Why is he suddenly getting involved?’
‘I don’t know. Shit… I didn’t do it because I wanted to.’
“Hah, you’re not just using Rickdi as an excuse, are you?”
“What excuse? He had dirt on me. I did it because I thought he’d ruin my life if I didn’t do what he said.”
Im Hoyoung went on to explain his pitiful circumstances. But Taemin couldn’t care less about what happened to his life.
‘I don’t have time for this now. Do you know where Yeo Idam went?’
‘I last saw him heading towards the east gate.’
Based on Im Hoyoung’s words, Taemin spread his staff to the eastern part of the airport. And soon after, he received news that Idam was at the meeting plaza and approached him. Idam’s face, which he was seeing after half a day, looked even more gaunt. So Taemin wanted to quickly take that fairy away, feed him first, then wash him and put him to sleep in a comfortable bed.
But this fairy, not knowing Taemin’s feelings, had taken flight. And so now, the chase had begun. People in the airport alternately looked at Idam and Taemin.
“Wow, what’s this? Are they some kind of relay runners? They’re so fast.”
“Is this a police chase?”
“Could it be a movie shooting?”
Some students in school uniforms even started filming the two.
* * *
Idam, who had been running at full speed, left the airport and entered a quiet alley where streetlights were twinkling. Although he had run well in various directions, a high brick wall now blocked his path.
“Haa… How… how…”
Idam’s face fell. By then, Taemin had caught up. Seeing that Idam could no longer move forward, his expression became relaxed. He extended his hand with a gentlemanly face.
“Mr. Idam, don’t waste any more energy. Come to me quietly.”
“…”
As the distance between him and Taemin gradually closed, Idam’s heart pounded. He didn’t know what Taemin would do to him if he got caught again. With his fear growing to its limit, Idam grabbed a slightly protruding brick and climbed over the wall. Then he immediately jumped to the other side. It all happened in an instant.
“Shit.”
Taemin knew Idam had good athletic ability, but he was taken aback by how skillfully he climbed the wall. Taemin immediately climbed over the wall as well.
But only maze-like alleys stretched out, and Idam was nowhere to be seen. Not even the sound of the fairy’s footsteps could be heard.
“Wow, this is driving me crazy.”
Taemin furrowed his brow deeply and searched every corner of the alley for Idam. Secretary Kang and other staff who had belatedly followed also searched, but Idam was not found anywhere.
* * *
“Huff, huff.”
Idam headed back to the airport. He was relieved that he had succeeded in shaking off Taemin.
Just earlier in the alley, after climbing over the wall, Idam immediately spotted a house with an open gate. He quickly entered and closed the door. It was a three-story Western-style house, and he hurriedly went up to the rooftop. From there, he could see the entire view of the alley clearly. Thanks to the streetlights and because it was early evening, lights were on in every house. He could also see Taemin wandering on the ground after climbing over the wall in pursuit.
Idam watched Taemin’s movements from the rooftop and moved to the opposite side. The houses were so close together that he could cross from one rooftop to another by climbing over the railings, and he repeated this process. By the time he entered the rooftop of a building, he had completely distanced himself from Taemin. So he ran down the stairs.
The unexpected encounter with Taemin had wasted too much time. Idam arrived at the meeting plaza with hurried steps.
“Idam!”
Hayun waved his hand and approached Idam. It was a welcome face he hadn’t seen in almost two months. Idam felt a lump in his throat.
“It’s been so long, Hayun.”
“Where have you been? I’ve been waiting and worried because you didn’t come.”
“Ah… Something came up, so let’s get out of here first.”
Idam was anxious, not knowing when Taemin might appear again. Hayun nodded and took Idam’s hand.
“I brought a car. We can use that.”
“A car?”
“Yeah. I rented one. It’s parked outside the airport, so let’s go.”
“Okay.”
Idam hurriedly moved his feet.
* * *
“He’s nowhere to be found.”
“We… we’re sorry.”
The large-bodied men bowed to Taemin. Taemin’s face was not just wrinkled but had become vicious. He kicked or punched the heads of the men in front of him.
“You fucking bastards, is this all you do while just taking your salaries?”
“We’re truly ashamed. Ugh!”
“Pl… please spare us, CEO.”
The burly men were like paper dolls in front of Taemin. Secretary Kang, who was watching them, also had a messed-up face. There was a bruise on his right eyelid, and about two of his front teeth were missing. He had already gone through a round of beating before the employees currently being beaten up.
“This is fucking annoying. Really.”
Taemin, who had been expressing his anger with a throbbing face, looked sharply at Secretary Kang.
“Give me a cigarette.”
“Ye… yes…”
Secretary Kang quickly took out a cigarette from his inside pocket and put it in Taemin’s mouth. And this time, he remembered to have a lighter, so he was able to light it. Taemin smoked the cigarette roughly and took out a phone from his pocket.
It was Im Hoyoung’s phone. He was currently locked in the sedan, and Taemin had confiscated it in case he might do something foolish with it. Taemin looked through the call log with highly sensitive eyes.
“There’s no trace of contact.”
He seemed disappointed, but soon he picked up his own phone and his expression turned mischievous.
* * *
The place where Idam arrived in Hayun’s car was a Western-style house with a distinctive red roof. It looked like it was easily over 30 years old. As they climbed the stairs, a rooftop room came into view, and Idam entered it with Hayun.
It was a narrow and old space. It reminded Idam of the house he lived in before meeting Taemin. Feeling a sense of familiarity, Idam settled down. Hayun took out strawberry juice from the refrigerator and placed it in front of Idam. Feeling thirsty, Idam quickly drank the juice.
“It’s really been a long time, Idam.”
“Yeah…”
“I missed you.”
“Me too.”
Hayun smiled at Idam’s response.
“I’m glad you managed to escape from that island safely.”
“Yeah…”
Idam thought that although he had suffered, he had also been lucky. Especially thanks to Im Hoyoung.
“Actually…”
Hayun opened his mouth with a heavy face and held out his phone.
“Ji Taemin sent me this message a while ago.”
“Huh? What is it?”
Idam felt ominous as he checked.
“What? He sent you a message like this?”
“That’s why I’m so annoyed. He’s trying to control you like some kind of pet.”
Pet…
For a moment, Idam wondered if his existence was like a pet to Taemin. But he quickly shook off this thought. At least pets are loved by their owners. But Idam had his feelings rejected, so he was worse off than a pet. Idam’s eyes welled up with tears at the sad feeling, but he swallowed them.
“I didn’t know the CEO sent such a message. Moreover, your number disappeared from my phone, and I couldn’t send texts or messages at all.”
“I thought so. Since you weren’t responding to any contact, I tried to contact Ji Taemin and asked around the company. But everyone avoided me, seeming annoyed.”
Hayun fanned himself as if trying to suppress his anger and continued speaking.
“Their attitude towards me suddenly changed completely. They started skipping work procedures and ostracizing me. It didn’t seem like I would see anything good if I stayed longer, so I submitted my resignation. And it felt uncomfortable to stay in the apartment, so I scraped together what little money I had and moved into this monthly rental.”
“…I didn’t know.”
While Idam was dealing with Taemin’s rut cycle, Hayun had been going through this humiliation.
Last time, when Taemin said he would give Hayun a job and arrange a place to live, Idam was happy. He thought Taemin was sincere when he said Idam was precious to him. And at that time, Idam had pushed for it, thinking it was good for Hayun. That had now led to this result. Feeling guilty, Idam felt like his whole body was being constricted.
“But you know what? Actually, I’ve experienced this kind of petty harassment a few times before. Even when I was working at Pungjeobcho, I was ignored a lot in the beginning. So if I wanted to endure it, I could have. But there was a fundamental reason why I made this decision.”
“Why? What else happened?”
Idam, feeling even more anxious, asked tensely.
“You. Do you know Rickdi?”
“Rickdi?”
Idam tilted his head. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn’t readily picture the face.
“He said he was Ji Taemin’s friend. He came from America, but he spoke Korean really well…”
“Ah!”
Idam clapped his hands at Hayun’s explanation.
“I know that person. I remember.”
It was someone he had seen at a gathering with Taemin’s friends before. As Hayun said, he was a foreigner who spoke Korean well, which was memorable, but there was a bigger reason.
At that time, Idam had run into Rickdi while trying to escape from an orgy party with Taemin’s friends that he didn’t want to participate in. At that time, Rickdi had said this:
‘You. It would be better for you to run away before getting more deeply involved with Taemin’s family. Those family members are not normal.’
Idam now felt like all the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place.
Should he have run away then? Then, the baby wouldn’t have been conceived either… Idam lowered his head with sorrowful eyes. Hayun’s phone on the floor came into view.
Just then, the phone started ringing. The screen showed that the caller ID was restricted.
“What’s this?”
Hayun answered the call with a puzzled look.
“Hello?”
[Jang Hayun?]
A low, cold voice pierced the ear.
[It’s me. Ji Taemin. Can you put Yeo Idam… no, my honey on the phone?]
Taemin’s voice, which came out of nowhere, was full of coldness.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
