Chapter 101
Inbeom Yoon was in a particularly good mood today. Even though he still hadn’t heard from Geon-woo and there was no sign of their relationship improving, he couldn’t contain his excitement.
It was because of the phone call with Mitchell.
He hadn’t expected Mitchell to contact him so easily, nor to tell him such things.
In fact, Inbeom had spilled an implicit secret in his haste.
“What kind of relationship do you two have? An object of interest? I know a bit about that. Is Geon-woo perhaps obsessed with you, Mitchell?”
He had a strong desire to boast to Mitchell, who claimed to be close to Geon-woo, that he wasn’t the only special person in Geon-woo’s life.
He thought that just revealing this would help soothe his wounded pride, but Mitchell’s answer was shocking.
– Geon-woo has put me in his circle of interest. He follows me around all day. I don’t know how to handle this situation.
At that moment, Inbeom felt like he had encountered the divine. To hear such words from Mitchell, whom he had been most wary of!
He wanted to meet Mitchell immediately to discuss this. But Mitchell said he was in New York for work.
They immediately set a date to meet, and now all that was left was to actually meet. Since Mitchell was troubled by Geon-woo’s aggressive behavior, it was only a matter of time before the two would be separated.
Inbeom hadn’t known that Mitchell had such a story hidden. He had been a bit confused by Mitchell’s hostile attitude towards him, but it seems Mitchell had his own worries all along.
They set the appointment for a few days later, so surely he could wait until then.
If he could comfort Geon-woo after being rejected by Mitchell and then fill the empty space by Geon-woo’s side, everything would be perfect. Inbeom felt relieved. Today, he felt like drinking the beer that Mitchell advertised.
***
I stood fidgeting in front of the front door before sitting on the wooden fence. I fiddled with my T-shirt and fixed my hair blowing in the wind. The numbers on my phone screen changed excruciatingly slowly.
After a long period of patience, the iron gate finally opened.
“He’s here.”
I quickly went out to the street. As Mitchell’s car slowly entered, I hurried towards it. My leg was still uncomfortable, but it was getting better.
“Mitchell.”
As Mitchell appeared through the lowering window, I called out to him almost on the verge of tears. Mitchell, whom I finally met after being apart for a night, was wearing comfortable clothes different from yesterday and even sunglasses.
As I clung to the car door, Mitchell reached out through the window and hugged me tightly. Although the door was between us, I didn’t care about this piece of metal.
Mitchell, embracing me, lightly kissed my cheeks and lips. I buried my face in Mitchell’s neck and stood still. It had only been a little over a day since we were apart, but I had missed this guy terribly.
Without Mitchell, I was truly a worthless being. I couldn’t do anything alone.
“Mitchell, don’t leave me from now on.”
I thought yesterday’s awful show wasn’t my intention, but on reflection, it seems it might have been. My subconscious wanted Mitchell and caused a scene.
If I do strange things, Mitchell will look at me even once more, and if I act ridiculous, he’ll look at me again to laugh at me.
I could do anything to get Mitchell’s attention. Of course, the pattern was different from my usual obsession, but I didn’t have the energy to care about that.
“You’re not answering?”
I asked again, clinging to Mitchell more tightly.
“I won’t go anywhere without you from now on.”
“Really?”
It had only been two days. If I had known I would miss this guy’s embrace this much, I should have pretended to be crazy and clung on till the end.
“Yeah. But you have to follow me wherever I go too.”
“You’re asking the obvious. I’ll follow you even to hell!”
I answered loudly and pulled my face away. I compensated for the sad times by taking in Mitchell’s face that I hadn’t seen for a while.
Mitchell tapped my cheek lightly and grinned. The deep pupils in his elongated eyes sparkled beautifully as they looked at me. I could see them even though they were hidden behind sunglasses. This is what they call the eyes of the heart.
The superpower you see when you have Mitchell.
“Do you want to really dance today?”
…Of course, getting what you want doesn’t mean you won’t be in trouble.
***
As soon as I came out after washing, the phone rang. Mitchell, who had roughly put a towel on his head, picked up the phone to check the caller.
Mitchell made eye contact with Geon-woo, who was sitting on the bed, as he answered the phone. He reached out and gently pinched Geon-woo’s lips before bringing the phone to his ear.
“Hello.”
– Mitchell, are you at home now?
Just as the conversation was about to start, Geon-woo grabbed Mitchell’s arm and mouthed ‘Who is it?’ Mitchell answered the other person by name instead of directly answering Geon-woo.
“Yeah. Mark. I’m at home now.”
Hearing the name, Geon-woo nodded as if satisfied. Mitchell, who had taken off his robe, stood drying his hair roughly in his underwear.
Eventually, he climbed onto the bed and sat down, and Geon-woo immediately took his place between Mitchell’s legs. After lying down using Mitchell’s thigh as a pillow, he picked up his own phone. He was browsing SNS. The search term was ‘Mitchell’.
Mitchell continued the call while stroking Geon-woo’s back. He looked at his own face that appeared on Geon-woo’s phone, then snapped back to attention at Mark’s question.
“That guy, Bae Junman or whatever, isn’t he following you around these days?”
Mark knew Junman as Mitchell’s stalker. Mitchell, who had no intention of correcting the misunderstanding, answered nonchalantly.
“I don’t know. It seems like I haven’t seen him lately. Why?”
“I was wondering if the guy who damaged your gate was up to something again.”
Mitchell had told Geon-woo that his driver Jack had crashed into the delivery locker booth due to poor driving skills, but that was a lie. It was Junman who had done it.
Junman had struck the iron gate with a hammer he’d gotten from somewhere and damaged the delivery locker booth. The iron gate was sturdy enough not to be damaged, but the locker booth was completely destroyed. It was simply an act of venting anger.
If it weren’t for Walker, who was monitoring nearby, they wouldn’t have known who did it. Walker captured all of Junman’s misconduct on camera and passed it to Mitchell, and Mark happened to find out about it too.
This is why Mark mistook Junman, who had smashed Mitchell’s property, for a brazen stalker.
They didn’t even report it to the police. As they returned to their daily lives as if nothing had happened, Mark found Mitchell’s decision strange.
Mitchell was known for being extremely gentle yet persistently ruthless at the same time. It was unusual for someone known to settle scores once crossed to let this incident slide quietly.
“At least install some CCTV. How can such a big house not have a single CCTV?”
Mark gave what he thought was the best advice.
“It’s fine.”
But Mitchell shook his head as if he didn’t even need to consider it. For now, it was better not to have any for the future.
“Did you call just for that?”
“No, not really.”
“Then?”
“Did you go to New York?”
“Ah… yes, I did. I just arrived a little while ago.”
“How was it?”
“It was fine. Thanks.”
“That’s good. I’ll take my fee in the form of an expensive steak.”
“Is that enough? I can buy you something better. Just say the word.”
At Mitchell’s words, Geon-woo lifted his head. He blinked, looking at Mitchell. The content of the conversation had piqued Geon-woo’s curiosity.
‘What does he mean by giving Mark something better?’
Of course, Mitchell didn’t explain everything to Geon-woo. He forcibly turned Geon-woo’s head away as he looked up at him and continued the call.
This made Geon-woo sulky. He fumbled with Mitchell’s briefs and then pulled them hard. Mitchell didn’t particularly push away Geon-woo’s mischievous hand as he wrapped up his call with Mark.
“Mark, sorry, but let’s talk again tomorrow. I’m a bit out of it right now.”
“Why? What are you doing?”
“I haven’t eaten a single meal until now. I’m starving.”
“Until this time? What have you been doing without eating? Go eat quickly.”
“Okay. I’ll call you back tomorrow.”
“Alright. Enjoy your meal.”
“Yeah, I’ll eat well.”
Although it was a farewell to Mark, Mitchell said it while looking at Geon-woo. He hung up and tossed the phone carelessly. Even then, he only looked at Geon-woo.
Geon-woo, rolling his eyes, quietly put down his own phone. On the screen was Mitchell with his upper body bare. It was a scene from a movie.
“Um… by any chance, when you say you’ll eat well, do you mean me?”
Geon-woo asked the obvious question with an awkward smile. Just in case.
“What else could I eat deliciously besides you?”
“Hahaha.”
Geon-woo always forgot that he shouldn’t mess with Mitchell. He always forgot that he would be quickly retaliated against if he fooled around.
It was the same now. Mitchell pulled down Geon-woo’s underwear to his thighs and grabbed his buttocks. Just like Geon-woo had done to him moments ago. Even though he was being tormented like this, it was obvious he would forget again tomorrow.
Yet he diligently climbs up. Geon-woo was always a person who enjoyed clinging to Mitchell. He was thirsty for Mitchell’s attention.
***
I lay on the sunbed in the front yard, using my phone. There were a few scripts at my feet, but I only glanced at them briefly. I didn’t like any of the works.
It wasn’t because all the roles were supporting characters. I just didn’t like them.
I know I’m not in a position to be picky, but still, how come the filming locations are in England, San Francisco, France, and Thailand!
All the filming locations are long-distance. All the works chosen by the agency were like that. Even though San Francisco is in the US, it’s too far from here in LA.
I was grateful to the agency staff who wrote the filming locations at the beginning of the scripts. But does the staff know that thanks to that kindness, I didn’t even flip through the scripts?
I was planning to reject them all. I couldn’t live apart from Mitchell.
‘Isn’t there a script where I can film while staying close to Mitchell?’
