Chapter 104
A sharp silence swept through and disappeared in an instant.
“…Yes. Hang up.”
I snapped back to reality at Mitchell’s voice.
“What nonsense did my brother say?”
Mitchell walked towards me, glancing at Brandon as he came out of the bedroom. He sat down next to me and immediately put his arm around my shoulder.
“Brandon, I’m sorry, but there are no secrets between us. We tell each other everything.”
Although he said it was for an important call, the reason Mitchell left me alone was because he trusted me. He knew that whatever Brandon said, I would tell Mitchell everything.
I didn’t want to betray Mitchell’s trust either. So I unfolded each part of the conversation that had just happened.
“Brandon says he loves you too much.”
At my words, Brandon maintained his smile, but Mitchell’s expression crumpled. I thought it was because he was embarrassed, but that wasn’t it at all. Mitchell calmly asked again.
“I already know that. What else?”
He already knows?
I looked back and forth between the two of them, wiggling my toes. Had I ever seen a family where expressions of affection were so natural? I felt envious all over again.
“What else?”
Of course, I intended to tell Mitchell about Brandon’s last words. I was just debating whether to do it now or not. As I hesitated for a moment, worried that Brandon might be upset, Mitchell spoke first.
“That I shouldn’t leave you without your consent, right?”
I opened my eyes wide at Mitchell’s words. Mitchell casually repeated to me exactly what Brandon had said.
“That’s all I heard. I don’t know what was said before that.”
I glanced at Brandon. He was still smiling, looking at me with the most peaceful face among the three of us.
“That’s all.”
I looked at Brandon after taking my eyes off Mitchell, who was nodding. Since there was nothing more to see or measure, I brought up what I had wanted to say since earlier.
“Brandon.”
As I called his name, I felt Mitchell’s hand playing with the nape of my neck. Hoping that this hand would never leave, I continued speaking.
“I have no intention of leaving Mitchell without Mitchell’s consent. It’s not because of you, Brandon. From the beginning, I had no intention of leaving Mitchell.”
I let him know that it wasn’t an unreasonable request at all. I also needed to point out that the point was misplaced.
“You should say such things to Mitchell, not to me. Ask him not to leave you without your consent.”
I believed that I would never leave Mitchell, and that he felt the same way. A broken bone becomes stronger than before when it heals, but a person’s heart rarely does. Mitchell chose me to avoid breaking again, and I intend to never let go of such a Mitchell. I believed in Mitchell’s deficiency.
Also, it’s right to say that there’s no more target after Mitchell. I couldn’t imagine anything after Mitchell. Just thinking about transferring everything I had done for Mitchell to someone else made me feel sick.
So if Mitchell ever leaves me, I might as well disappear from this world. Hmm. Yes, yes. That seems possible. Rather, thanks to Brandon’s question, my mind felt clearer.
After finishing this brief thought, I met Brandon’s eyes again.
“So, you’ve got the wrong person. It’s not me, it’s Mitchell. Your brother is in big trouble now. Because it’s me, of all people, who has stuck to Mitchell.”
Since it wasn’t a serious conversation at all, I smiled as brightly as I could. Like a flower petal turning towards the sun, perhaps? I might look like the silly village idiot laughing for no reason. Anyway, I tried to be as friendly as possible.
I didn’t expect him to laugh along, but Brandon’s smile had completely disappeared. He was glaring at me with narrowed eyes.
Feeling Brandon’s gaze as somewhat fierce, I slightly turned my head. Mitchell was covering his face with one hand and his body was shaking. He seemed to be laughing.
That was a relief. At least one of them was laughing.
“Didn’t I tell you?”
Mitchell hugged me a bit tightly. He spoke in a cheerful voice while looking at the still frozen Brandon.
“That he would be much crazier than you think.”
This is about me.
“Geon-woo…”
Brandon wiggled his fingers.
“I think I brought up an unnecessary topic. Mitchell sometimes does overwhelming things, and I think Geon-woo is no different. Maybe that’s why you became interested in each other. I hope you continue to have a healthy relationship.”
For a moment, I thought I was being scolded by Brandon. It felt like being lectured by a far superior adult.
But why does it feel so good?
“I’ll be watching.”
“…Yes.”
As I nodded, Brandon stood up.
“I should go. I came here by forcibly making time.”
He smiled as he adjusted his clothes. He looked a bit different now, and this expression seemed to be Brandon’s real smile. It seems he had been treating me with a business smile until now.
“Geon-woo, it was really nice to meet you. I mean it.”
Brandon extended his hand to me for a handshake. I took Brandon’s hand without hesitation and met his eyes.
“It was really nice to meet you too. See you again.”
After a brief farewell between the brothers, Brandon left the house. We went to the door to see him off. There seemed to be at least five or six people who had come with Brandon in two cars.
As soon as they left, I looked up at Mitchell. Mitchell was humming a tune.
“Take this.”
Then he took a business card out of his pocket and handed it to me.
“It’s Brandon’s number. If you ever have any trouble, contact him and ask for help. He’ll probably help with most things.”
“…”
“Of course, tell me first. Only if I can’t help.”
I nodded and put the business card in my pocket.
“I didn’t make any mistakes with Brandon, did I?”
“You didn’t make any mistakes. And even if you did, so what? It’s okay.”
“Yeah. But Mitchell, did you tell your brother I was crazy?”
I asked very politely and respectfully. With wide, bright eyes, I expressed my curiosity about why he had set me up.
“Hm? Go on. It’s good that you talked about me to your family, but did you introduce me as a crazy person?”
“It’s not wrong, is it?”
Yes… well… it’s not wrong, but I have a social reputation to maintain, you know.
“Even so, won’t your parents worry if they hear that your closest friend is crazy?”
“My mother said we’d be a good match.”
“…Ah, she’s an open-minded person…”
I scratched my head and walked through the front door Mitchell had opened.
Although I was a bit flustered by the sudden meeting, it was nice to greet Mitchell’s family. If I was going to be by Mitchell’s side for life, whether I wanted it or not, it was better in many ways to maintain a good relationship with Mitchell’s family.
Perhaps because I was somewhat nervous, I sprawled out on the sofa. Meanwhile, Mitchell came out of the kitchen storage.
“You drank a lot.”
I was caught with empty cans and wine bottles. It was because I hadn’t cleaned up before the helpers came. Still, I could be proud because I had a reason for drinking.
“I drank because I was miserable without you. You understand, right?”
Mitchell really did understand. He nodded and didn’t say much after that.
“I looked at the script the company gave me, but it doesn’t really suit me.”
When I suddenly changed the topic, Mitchell walked over to me. He sat at my head and used his leg as my pillow.
“Is it not good?”
“Yeah. It’s not that the script is weird… it’s just too far.”
“Far? Far from home?”
“Yeah. The filming location is too far.”
“Really? That’s unfortunate.”
His tone didn’t sound unfortunate at all.
“Should I not make movies?”
“You should. If there’s a good one, you should make it.”
“Hmm.”
There were more than a few suspicious points, but I let it slide.
“I want to see more scenarios. I can tell David, right?”
“I’ll tell him for you.”
“Okay. Can you tell him quickly? I want to stop being unemployed now.”
“You were enjoying staying at home before… Do you dislike being unemployed now? Or do you simply want to make movies?”
“Of course I want to make movies. But I dislike being unemployed more. I feel like I should work.”
“Why?”
“I just feel like I’m becoming too incompetent.”
“Aren’t there things you can do at home? There’s a lot of remote work these days. If you want to keep working in movies, instead of acting, ah, scriptwriting might be good too. Want to try it? I’ll get you a teacher. Study scriptwriting at home. Don’t go out anywhere.”
“…”
“It’s just trouble for you if some guy clings to you. Just stay quietly at home. Eat the food I bring, sleep with me, swim, sleep, take walks, sleep…”
“Hey, I think there’s too much sleeping with you…”
“Anyway, just stay at home. Meeting people is all the same anyway. You only need me, right? Don’t go out.”
“…”
“Why are you looking at me like that? I’m joking. Can’t an actor like you tell the difference?”
It’s not a joke.
This guy Mitchell 100% dislikes me going outside. He wanted to confine me in this house.
“I’ll tell David to look for good scenarios.”
Mitchell got up with a relaxed smile. I wondered where I’d seen it before, and it resembled Brandon’s business expression. Still, as brothers, their immediate behaviors and smiles were similar. It seemed they had influenced each other as they grew up together.
“I’ll let you make movies.”
Huh?
The tone was a bit strange. He’ll ‘let’ me make movies? Then what about other things? Hearing words with subtle restrictions hidden in them made me feel suffocated.
Ah, this is, this is obsession.
I suddenly realized.
Mitchell had shown attempts to constrain me awkwardly before. But this was the first time he had tried to bind me so tightly.
But why do I feel a thrill throughout my body?
It feels suffocating, as if my neck is being tightly squeezed, but at the same time, it feels good, like wearing a cozy scarf.
I wonder if my half-masochistic tendencies are influencing this. I was indeed a person who enjoyed pain.
“You’ll let me make movies? Okay. Thank you.”
I lowered myself to match him and did as he said. I was ready to enjoy his obsession.
I realized it clearly.
Compared to Mitchell, I’m not that obsessive.
Compared to Mitchell!
