Chapter 122
The bone was cracked and required surgery. It was excruciatingly painful, and on top of all the suffering, he had to drop out of the film.
The cause of all this unjust and difficult hardship was Inbeom Yoon, the man who had always coveted a place by Geon-woo’s side.
In truth, Geon-woo hadn’t identified the culprit. He had forcibly buried the memory of that day. Whenever someone slightly suspicious came to mind, he deliberately cut off the thought.
He tried to recall only good things.
For example, things like Mitchell.
Just thinking about Mitchell was enough to drive everything else away.
He tried to avoid hiding under the covers with sadness and misfortune. Knowing that the deeper he dug, the more it would hurt only himself, he instinctively recalled only good things.
So, things like Mitchell or rather, just Mitchell!
Geon-woo walked past Inbeom Yoon, who stood rigidly like a corroded statue abandoned by the seaside, and approached Mitchell. Although he usually tried not to make contact with Mitchell when others were around, this time seemed to be an exception.
Hesitantly stretching out both hands, he glanced at Mitchell’s expression. It was to seek permission for what he was about to do, and fortunately, a gentle smile as warm as sunshine appeared on Mitchell’s face. Before Geon-woo’s extended arms could reach him, Mitchell stepped forward and embraced Geon-woo. The warm hug melted them both. The rusted statue was of no concern to them.
“It wasn’t me! It wasn’t!”
No one responded to Inbeom Yoon’s shouts. The one who already knew the truth and the one who didn’t want to hear the facts had no interest in Yoon.
Mitchell nuzzled his face against Geon-woo’s neck. While stroking his back, he firmly placed his hand on Geon-woo’s waist.
Then he made eye contact with the stiffly frozen Inbeom Yoon. With his head lowered and eyes raised, Mitchell’s emerald-colored eyes stared directly at Yoon.
His mouth was hidden by Geon-woo’s shoulder, but he was surely smiling.
Only then did Inbeom Yoon realize that Geon-woo’s feelings weren’t one-sided. The way they pulled each other closer was so sticky that even if he wanted to deny it, he couldn’t.
He saw it with his eyes and recognized it with his mind, but Inbeom Yoon couldn’t easily accept it.
Surely Mitchell was a perfect heterosexual. What on earth had Geon-woo done to Mitchell? How had he seduced the heterosexual Mitchell!
Geon-woo was also problematic. Despite liking women, he was obsessed with desiring a man.
But damn it, why wasn’t it me!
Unable to calm his excitement, Inbeom Yoon could no longer bear it and fled the scene. He hurriedly ran away from the two who seemed oblivious to his presence, as if he had blocked his eyes and ears.
Even as he started the car, drove down the hill, and passed through the iron gate, his fingertips were still trembling and he couldn’t breathe properly.
How long had he been driving? Only when he reached a beach where no people were in sight did he stop the car and open the trunk.
As he pushed aside the luggage, he also checked his surroundings. After carefully making sure there were no suspicious people around, he pulled forward a box of miscellaneous items. He removed the towels piled on top, but…
“Damn it!”
The baseball bat was nowhere to be seen.
***
It had been quite a while since Inbeom Yoon had disappeared, fleeing. Geon-woo’s first attempt to break free from Mitchell’s embrace failed. No matter how much he squirmed, it was useless.
“Let me go.”
“No.”
The second attempt was also cleanly rejected. For whatever reason, Mitchell wouldn’t let Geon-woo go. He held on tightly as if to prevent Geon-woo from being swept away by Inbeom Yoon. Be it body or heart, or anything else.
In the end, Geon-woo was only able to break free from Mitchell’s embrace after hitting his side hard enough to make a thud.
“Ow.”
Mitchell, squeezing his eyes shut and placing his hand on the spot where he was hit, laughed while shaking his shoulders.
“That really hurt?”
He seemed to be fine with being hit.
“What if I couldn’t breathe because you were hugging me so tight? I thought I was going to die.”
“Sorry.”
“You don’t need to be sorry.”
Feeling awkward, Geon-woo slipped his hand under Mitchell’s clothes and gently rubbed the side where his fist had landed. When Mitchell met his gaze, Geon-woo finally offered a sheepish apology.
“I’m sorry too. For hitting you.”
“It’s okay. But your punch is strong?”
“…Do you perhaps like being hit? Should I hit you? Is that your preference…?”
“Geon-woo.”
Mitchell’s hand, which had started at the nape of Geon-woo’s neck, moved up to ruffle his hair. The touch was gentle, but the even softer hair swayed, creating a comical bird’s nest.
Geon-woo, using words Mitchell had said before, made a strange “hehe” laughing sound and moved his hand that had crept under Mitchell’s clothes. He caressed Mitchell’s back, then traced his erector spinae muscles with his fingers. With his hair in disarray, he grinned like an idiot while feeling up someone else’s body.
“From where did you hear?”
When Mitchell asked, Geon-woo looked up somewhere at the ceiling and calmly answered.
“Something about a brand name? From there.”
Thanks to the broken front door, eavesdropping had been possible. The front door wouldn’t close properly if left alone. It required a certain technique to close it tightly without gaps.
Inbeom Yoon, not living in this house, naturally didn’t know this technique, and he didn’t have the leisure to notice that the door hadn’t closed completely. He was just focused on conversing with Mitchell, which benefited Geon-woo.
Becoming a bird that hears daytime conversations, Geon-woo recalled Inbeom Yoon’s surprised face after learning the truth.
“Was that bastard really the culprit?”
“Yeah.”
“How did you find out?”
“Brandon told me.”
The answer came immediately. Geon-woo nodded quietly, and Mitchell observed his reaction. He stroked Geon-woo’s back in the same way, preparing for any anger that might burst forth. Although Geon-woo usually laughed or acted nonchalant no matter what happened, that was just on the surface. No one knew how much Geon-woo’s insides might have been burned black from holding onto the unjust incident.
“That’s a relief. That the culprit was found. I might have kept feeling uneasy otherwise.”
Unlike the worried Mitchell, Geon-woo didn’t seem to mind much.
“Are you okay?”
When Mitchell threw out this question loaded with various meanings, Geon-woo, who had broken free from the embrace, hugged Mitchell again.
“Do you pity me for getting beaten up by someone who calls himself a friend?”
“……”
“Is that why I’m on your mind?”
Even at this moment, all Geon-woo cared about was Mitchell’s feelings.
It was similar to people who dedicate 24 hours to social media. They live fabricated lives aimed at an unspecified majority, but Geon-woo wanted to reveal the big and small events of his life only to Mitchell and be evaluated by him.
For instance, he wanted to receive a ‘like’ from Mitchell. He wanted attention and affection, he wanted hearts. Even at a moment like this when Inbeom Yoon was revealed to be the culprit.
Of course, Inbeom Yoon had long been erased from Geon-woo’s mind.
“Anything is fine.”
When no answer came despite waiting, Geon-woo continued to say what he wanted to say.
“But I’m curious about something. It’s fine if you care about me because you pity me or feel sorry for me, but what will you do if I become really cool? No, let’s leave out my good looks since that’s already a given. How do you think you’d feel if I became so successful that there’s no one who doesn’t know me? Would you still care about me then?”
The gym assault case had been dropped by the police. He didn’t know the details of the investigation process, but it was obvious given that there had been no contact until now, when his wounds had healed and he had no problem walking.
However, out of the blue, Brandon had stepped forward and informed Mitchell about the culprit’s identity. It was more likely that Mitchell had asked Brandon for help rather than Brandon investigating voluntarily.
He had injured his leg and was receiving plenty of attention from Mitchell. Geon-woo even used his broken leg as a device to wrap Mitchell around his finger.
He didn’t feel bitter or think his situation was pitiful. There was only one thing that mattered.
“Mitchell.”
So he asked.
He was quite curious about how Mitchell’s attitude would change if he reached a position high enough that he no longer needed to depend on Mitchell.
“Will you keep thinking about me?”
Mitchell, who had distanced himself, brought Geon-woo’s hand that had been stroking his back to the front. After interlocking both hands, he looked down at Geon-woo with calm eyes.
Geon-woo had planted the seedling very well. He would suddenly visit Mitchell’s vast plains, recklessly plant seedlings containing his ideologies, wishes, and thoughts, and then run away.
Because he acted like an innocent farmer, Mitchell left the seedlings Geon-woo had planted alone. When he came to his senses, the field was completely covered in Geon-woo’s colors. The world of Mitchell, the land-rich man, had been dyed by Geon-woo’s seedling attack.
And he liked it.
To think he had entered his territory without knowing.
Mitchell was extremely pleased with Geon-woo’s seedling planting that had started again after a long time. Geon-woo, who used to come and plant seedlings without thinking, was still the same even after time had passed.
Mitchell, who had been brushing back Geon-woo’s bangs and pinching his soft cheeks, confessed the truth to the innocent farmer.
“That’s beyond my will now.”
“Huh?”
“I can’t stop thinking about you anymore either.”
