#168
“But Han-sol, what are you doing standing there? I don’t think you were waiting for me…”
He asked quite kindly while making eye contact with Lee Han-sol, who was holding a food tray.
“Looks like you just ate. Are you going to put that away?”
“Jung Yi-dam, you…”
Lee Han-sol’s voice wasn’t friendly at all. The man, Jung Yi-dam, paid no attention and answered as he pleased. An affectionate tone.
“Yeah. I thought I would die wanting to see you, Han-sol.”
“…The characters here are so uniform. They all never change. This guy is consistently a weirdo.”
“That’s right, you’re the same too. Still pretty.”
Lee Han-sol wrinkled his face as much as possible at those words. Not only were they offensive words touching on his complex, but the grinning, drawling attitude made his teeth clench.
“You crazy bastard. Seriously disgusting. Ugh, ughhh.”
“Yes, still cute like this too.”
Jung Yi-dam smiled brightly at Lee Han-sol, who looked like he was about to throw up. It was a smile so bright it seemed unreal. With an expression befitting the protagonist of a romance game beloved by all, he strode forward. Then he snatched the food tray from Lee Han-sol’s hands and carelessly put it down somewhere. What’s with this guy, Lee Han-sol grumbled inwardly, and before he could assess the situation, Jung Yi-dam grabbed him and pulled him into an embrace. Tightly, as if he had truly been burning with longing all this time.
A gentle voice, like reciting poetry, whispered:
“How could you make a call, say what you want to say, and then hang up? It’s cute even when you do such ignorant, ill-mannered things, but it’s still disappointing. I’ve been waiting for this day to meet you again…”
The rest of Jung Yi-dam’s words, which were about to continue with “waiting for you, Han-sol,” weren’t completed because of Ki Baek-woo. Coming up from behind, Ki Baek-woo pushed Jung Yi-dam away forcefully.
“Get your filthy hands off.”
“Ah.”
“Don’t touch hyung carelessly, before I kill you.”
Dark eyes full of hostility, a rigid jaw. Ki Baek-woo glared at Jung Yi-dam without blinking. He held Lee Han-sol tightly, as if he had reclaimed something stolen. His arms were stiff with an emotion that could have been anger or jealousy. It was a blatant attitude, as if he had no intention of hiding his wariness.
Lee Han-sol, who had been quietly observing the tension building regardless of his wishes, said:
“Shit, anyone watching would think I’m the protagonist of a romance game. I have a lot to do, so both of you stop acting up. Before I turn everything upside down.”
***
After leaving the commotion behind and roughly tidying the hospital room, the three sat down together. Lee Han-sol was on the bed, while the other two each pulled up a chair and sat down. Silence descended among the three, seated in a triangle.
What should I say first, should I tell Jung Yi-dam to treat Ki Baek-woo first, or should I talk about the gate first…? While Lee Han-sol was contemplating these questions, Jung Yi-dam, who had been rolling his eyes around, abruptly interjected.
“I knew this would happen.”
“What?”
“See, I was right, wasn’t I?”
The cold face that had been having a staring contest with Ki Baek-woo just moments ago was nowhere to be seen, and Jung Yi-dam seemed excited again, as if he was having fun. Lee Han-sol found Jung Yi-dam’s sparkling gaze directed at him unpleasant. He thought they were exaggerated, excited, and disagreeable eyes.
“Right about what? If you talk nonsense again, you’ll get hit by me.”
“I told you before. That you, Han-sol, could do it. Remember what I said?”
“What are you saying? It’s annoying.”
“Why are you pretending not to remember? I clearly told you then that you would somehow manage to do it. Do you remember what you said? That it would never happen, you were so angry. Your face was bright red, insisting it would never happen even if you died, it was honestly so cute and pathetic. Because it was obvious this would happen eventually. I already knew it then. I predicted everything. But do you know how ridiculous and laughable it was to see you stubbornly denying it? If I were just a bit more of a scumbag, I might have gotten hard then…”
Because you were that cute. Jung Yi-dam quickly looked Ki Baek-woo up and down, then giggled, “Hehe, hehehe,” like a pervert. Ki Baek-woo’s tightly clenched fist trembled as if he wanted to knock Jung Yi-dam down right then and there. If it weren’t for Lee Han-sol’s warning to stop acting up, he would have already lunged at him. But Jung Yi-dam approached Lee Han-sol as if he didn’t care what Ki Baek-woo did. He patted Lee Han-sol’s shoulders with both hands as if encouraging him, then gripped them tightly.
“I knew you would do it. Because you, Han-sol, are an amazing person who knows what love is, because you proved love to me. I never once doubted that you would succeed…”
“……”
“No matter what Ki Baek-woo did to you, no matter how badly he was broken, I was already certain from then that you would eventually love that guy again, that you could do it…! And look at this. You two are together now…!”
Jung Yi-dam rambled on his own. His voice grew louder, as if excited. It was impossible to tell whether what intoxicated him was his own narcissistic monologue, his sense of control over Lee Han-sol who hadn’t deviated from his expectations at all, or Lee Han-sol’s feelings for choosing Ki Baek-woo in the end, and thus the emotions connecting the two.
“You acted like you’d never see him again, so what are you doing here with that bastard? Han-sol, shall I guess why you called me out like this? You don’t like that Ki Baek-woo is in that state. You can’t bear to see that guy hurt. Because you love him! Who would like seeing the person they love in pain…! That’s why you needed me. Even though you told me to go to hell, even though you hated me that much. Yet you contacted me first because you wanted to treat Ki Baek-woo so badly! Because there’s no pride in love! How about it? Am I wrong? No, right? I’m accurate?”
Lee Han-sol realized that Jung Yi-dam was talking about the conversation they had on the day he first visited his house, amid tense atmosphere.
Jung Yi-dam, who had suddenly appeared and babbled about destroying the system, saying if Lee Han-sol wanted revenge, he should love Ki Baek-woo again. You can do it, Han-sol. That’s what he said then. Lee Han-sol remembered his eyes gleaming with confidence.
That day, Lee Han-sol got angry at the unbearable truth, got into a physical fight, and killed Jung Yi-dam. Actually, he hadn’t really meant to kill him, but he forcibly did. After that, trembling with fear, he swore he wouldn’t love Ki Baek-woo again even if he went to hell. He yelled that he would never give Jung Yi-dam, who had made him like this, the peace of death. Jung Yi-dam, you have to suffer with me forever. You have to be a hundred times more miserable than me.
He was desperate then. Jung Yi-dam clearly remembered that desperate Lee Han-sol, and he struck at the core with a mocking face.
“What did you say then? You said you were already done with Ki Baek-woo. You said you could never love him again. That you didn’t want to, and couldn’t! Because your heart was empty and had no emotions left! You acted like you would never have anything to do with him again! Despite that, look at this now.”
Jung Yi-dam suddenly gazed somewhere in the air with ecstatic eyes.
“Love is indeed irresistible… That’s the source of the world and the only purpose for humans to live. Without love, there’s no value in living. That’s not living… it’s a luxurious waste of oxygen. The only thing of value in this world is love. The reason for my birth…!”
How about it, Han-sol? I was right, wasn’t I?
I was right, he muttered in a wavering voice. He looked as if he was filled with emotion, like someone who had become a pioneer. His gaze, which had been groping the empty air, settled on Lee Han-sol once more. His eyes became secretive.
“You’ve shown me love again. You’ve proven to me how far love can go. You did it for me… Because that’s what I want. Because I want to see it, right?”
Lee Han-sol was disgusted by Jung Yi-dam, who had started his love sermon as if he had been waiting for it. Thinking, of course this crazy love-obsessed guy would do this, he pushed him away. “Get lost! Don’t touch me, you crazy bastard!” He twisted his whole body irritably.
Ki Baek-woo seized that gap.
“…What are you saying? That hyung, what about me?”
In front of Ki Baek-woo, who was staring at him with tense eyes, Lee Han-sol suddenly realized. He hadn’t had time to think about it in detail because he’d been so anxious about the immediate situation, but Ki Baek-woo had come to know about past events because he had recalled his memories on his own. He hadn’t been accumulating memories from the beginning like Lee Han-sol, nor did he know the true nature of this world. Because of that, Lee Han-sol belatedly recognized that what Ki Baek-woo knew was only fragmentary, relying on his memories.
“Hyung, what are you two talking about? When did you have such a conversation?”
Ki Baek-woo seemed to have become anxious immediately at the realization that there was something he didn’t know. He was chewing on his lips with a pale face. You keep biting like that, so the scab on your lip still hasn’t fallen off. It’s not even a big deal. Lee Han-sol clicked his tongue inwardly and reached out to tap Ki Baek-woo’s lower jaw.
“Stop biting your lip.”
“Why doesn’t hyung love me… Hyung, tell me. What does that mean?”
“It’s nothing. Just to summarize roughly… something like a way to destroy the system? So by twisting the main story… ah shit, how do I explain this? It’s too long. Anyway, about not loving you… you don’t need to worry about it.”
“……”
“That was just posturing. I couldn’t do it, so I’m already like this with you.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
