Episode 127
After getting out of the car, I naturally lifted my head. After parking in the ground-level parking lot, I glanced at the high-rise building that looked about 30-40 stories tall and headed towards the café across the street.
The high-rise building is Seimon’s LA branch. It was the second largest after the headquarters in Manhattan, New York.
The reason I came here is because of Mitchell. Mitchell had some business at Seimon and asked me to pick him up, saying he didn’t have a car to return. To think he called me instead of his many staff members!
It seemed my consistent efforts had paid off. Mitchell wants me anytime, anywhere. Now it seems like Mitchell can’t live without me.
Well… that might be a bit of an exaggeration.
I entered the café and ordered a drink. I sat by the window and stared at the building across the street. Seimon’s neat and splendid building was well-proportioned, just like Mitchell.
“But did I come too early?”
Even after finishing my drink and waiting for about thirty minutes, it was still far from our agreed meeting time.
It was because I started preparing to go out as soon as I received Mitchell’s call. I quickly showered, put on the dark gray t-shirt and jeans Mitchell bought me, white sneakers, a metal watch, and even a black cap, then rushed out.
I was so touched by his request to pick him up that I arrived an hour early, but waiting for Mitchell wasn’t boring at all. As I sat there with my cap pulled down tight, quietly looking at the building, the appointed time soon approached.
Just as I was thinking about getting up, Mitchell called.
“Mitchell-.”
– Did you wait long?
He’s asking if I waited long when he called 15 minutes earlier than our originally agreed time. It seems he noticed my slight whining just from the way I stretched out his name a bit. Sometimes Mitchell seemed like he could read minds.
“No. Are you done with work already?”
– Yeah. I’m about to leave now.
“I’m at the café in front of the Seimon building. I’ll bring the car around…”
– No. I’ll come there.
“Huh? You’re coming here?”
– Just wait and see.
“Oh… okay, sure.”
Even after hanging up, I couldn’t understand. On a weekday afternoon, most seats in the busy café were taken. While it wasn’t crowded, people were constantly passing by on the street.
As I looked around, I became worried about whether it would be okay for Mitchell to come here.
Would he cover his face? A mask? No, wearing a mask in America is treated as potentially criminal behavior. At best, he might wear a hat, but could Mitchell’s looks really be hidden by just a hat? There are plenty of people who would recognize him just from his back view.
No matter how I thought about it, to avoid causing a commotion, it would be better for me to pick him up right in front of the building. Just as I was about to get up from my chair to call him again, I witnessed an unbelievable sight.
Mitchell was walking out of the main entrance of the building. He was striding down the street with that precious face of his completely exposed.
Of course, he’s human too. Walking on the street is his freedom.
But still.
Throughout his solitary walk, everyone’s eyes remained fixed on Mitchell. It was the same when he crossed the road and entered the café.
People couldn’t take their eyes off Mitchell, murmuring as if they had encountered a walking jewel.
People who had been watching carefully started to get up from their seats. As they began to approach Mitchell, saying they were fans and asking for autographs and photos, I quickly walked over and stuck close to Mitchell.
“Let’s go.”
Just in case, I pulled my cap down further and carefully tugged on Mitchell’s arm. I tried not to make it look like I was forcing him.
“Why? It’s nice with lots of people around.”
Mitchell said something nonsensical but turned his body according to my wishes. Meanwhile, there were clearly over a dozen people holding up their phones. Photos of Mitchell and the two of us were being saved on people’s phones.
We left the café and headed straight for the parking lot. I hurried my steps, almost running, but Mitchell remained leisurely.
‘It’s nice with lots of people around?’
For a moment, I pondered Mitchell’s words. It suddenly occurred to me that I might have been inconsiderate, not taking Mitchell’s condition into account.
Mitchell basically likes people. Rather than liking them, he feels secure having them around. This sudden behavior might not have been a simple deviation, but an outburst of Mitchell’s suppressed desires.
Is Mitchell not satisfied with just me?
Oh no. This seems to be my fault.
As soon as we got in the car, I quickly left the parking lot. While most people maintained their manners, some had followed us out of the café. Looking in the rearview mirror, I saw some familiar faces. Mitchell’s bodyguards were preventing people from approaching.
“Did we leave too hastily?”
When we got onto the main road, I said something I didn’t really mean. But Mitchell was busy slipping his hand under my t-shirt and feeling around. His hand, which had been moving around, finally touched my chest.
“No.”
After a simple answer, he just yawned. He leaned his head comfortably against the headrest and even closed his eyes. The hand that had been fondling my chest was now resting on top of my pants belt.
Looking at him like this again, it seems like there wasn’t much meaning behind his earlier behavior. Maybe I was overthinking things.
Anyway, Mitchell was hard to figure out. What on earth was he thinking in that head of his?
***
Mitchell thought of Geon-woo as an investigator. In his imagination, Geon-woo acting out a scene from the movie was incredibly sharp and professional. On the other hand, Geon-woo as a non-actor was somehow ticklish.
“What are you looking at?”
Geon-woo, who had parked the car in front of the house, stared at Mitchell with his arm resting on the steering wheel. After turning off the engine, he didn’t move for a while and just stared at Mitchell, prompting Mitchell to ask out of curiosity. Mitchell, who had taken a short nap on the way, faced Geon-woo with a refreshed expression, his fatigue gone.
“Just looking. Thinking about how handsome you are, Mitchell.”
Even while saying something cheesy, Geon-woo’s expression remained unchanged.
“By the way, Mitchell, do you want to have a party or something?”
“A party?”
Mitchell, a former party enthusiast, frowned as if encountering an unfamiliar word.
“I was wondering if you wanted to see a lot of people gathered around, bustling. You like people, don’t you?”
Mitchell finally let out a small exclamation. He smiled lightly, recalling old memories, and reached out to cup Geon-woo’s cheek.
“It’s not so much that I like bustling crowds, but I like people looking at me. I like not being left alone.”
He believed that if someone looked at him, his existence wouldn’t be forgotten. Mitchell, who thought that losing affection was the same as being forgotten in memory, actually experienced difficulty breathing when he was alone.
Conversely, just feeling the gaze of others made him feel not alone even when he was by himself.
“I don’t particularly like parties. I just don’t like being alone. I hate being confined even more.”
Indeed, his glass-walled second house reflected Mitchell’s dislike of being confined.
“I feel kind of sorry now.”
As soon as Geon-woo heard Mitchell’s inner thoughts, he apologized without even realizing it.
“For what?”
Although it wasn’t necessary to say, Geon-woo revealed his crude plan without a hint of lie.
“I once thought about confining you. Because I didn’t want to lose you to someone else.”
He talked about his growing desire for Mitchell. He almost did something terrible to Mitchell, who would obviously be miserable if left alone.
“Being confined with you wouldn’t be bad, Geon-woo. Whether confined or not, you just need to look at me.”
Mitchell lightly pinched Geon-woo’s cheek and quickly let go. The soft flesh turned red briefly before returning to its pale color.
“I’d like you to look at me all day long, except when sleeping.”
Mitchell wanted to be the object of Geon-woo’s voyeurism.
The desire that couldn’t be satisfied by the gaze of many was completely filled by Geon-woo’s gaze alone. This was also the decisive reason why Mitchell felt love for Geon-woo.
“But people talk about this being emotional deprivation or whatever… It’s different, isn’t it? It’s not like that.”
Although Geon-woo couldn’t distinguish what was different, he nodded anyway. He enjoyed hearing Mitchell’s inner thoughts so much that he unconditionally agreed with everything he said.
“Mitchell, I’m going to be with you continuously. I’ll follow you around all the time, except when sleeping. I’ll only think about you, only imagine you. My eyes will only see you.”
Looking at Mitchell all day long. It’s what Geon-woo does best and wants to do for life. What could be an easier request than this?
The excited Geon-woo grabbed Mitchell and grinned at him. Mitchell also curved his eyes filled with Geon-woo and continued speaking.
“I was thinking we could officially do something about thinking about each other.”
“How?”
“I decided to take the role of Logan. To occupy the seat next to you.”
