Episode 129
“I heard you bought a villa in Miami?”
Jeff, forcibly composing himself, brought up a different topic. It was news that had been reported and was known to those who would know, so Jeff had heard about it too.
“What’s with you, the workaholic? Now that you’ve finished filming, you’re going all the way to Miami for a vacation… Oh, shit. You bought it to fool around with your baby, didn’t you?”
When the term ‘baby’ came out of Jeff’s mouth, Mitchell clicked his tongue. He disliked it even more than when he heard it from David. It was also a little bit funny.
“It’ll be a while before we can enjoy it there. It’s being remodeled. But it should be finished before my birthday. I’m going to take my baby there for the first time on my birthday.”
Jeff quietly gritted his teeth at the repeated ‘baby, baby’. It seemed like Mitchell was deliberately using the pet name in front of him. As if to rub it in.
“I’m planning to leave early by myself the day before my birthday. I have a lot to prepare in secret for my baby. Actually, the villa is a gift for my baby. I want to surprise them. Whether it’s a birthday party or whatever.”
“What? Why are you giving a gift to that bastard on your birthday?”
“It’s about giving back to someone I’m grateful for. Like giving a gift to your parents on your own birthday. It’s quite a well-known gift culture. Don’t you know about this? You’re behind the times.”
Mitchell mocked Jeff, whose face had reddened, with a sneer. The person who once got angry at Geon-woo for preparing a baguette cake had long since disappeared.
“You’ve completely lost it, haven’t you? Over that person.”
Unlike Mitchell, who found it amusing, Jeff’s face twisted more as time passed. Even if he conceded a hundred times, he could barely get over Mitchell giving Geon-woo a villa as a gift. But going to the villa a day early to secretly prepare a party was enough to make his neck ache. Hearing about plans that were no different from couples’ cheesy events, his irritation rose due to aversion. And this was Mitchell, of all people.
“That’s right, I’ve lost it. Exactly. So, Jeff, this is the last time we’re meeting. That’s why I came out to tell you this.”
“You cold bastard. You’re ditching your friend because you’re infatuated with your lover.”
“Are you my bedmate or my friend?”
“Of course, I’m your friend. We just share a bed at night. But we’re still friends, right?”
“Before… when I thought I was dying from being alone, who was it that abandoned me to fool around with someone else? You said you couldn’t stop in the middle, so you didn’t come, even though it was less than a 5-minute distance. You never came, even until morning. Is that what a friend does?”
“Ah. This bastard, bringing up something from so long ago…”
Some might think Mitchell has a clean personality without holding grudges, but in fact, he tends to hold things deep inside for a long time. Especially events that left a strong impression in his mind, he never forgot. No, he couldn’t forget. While good things quickly scattered, bad things remained like scars, tormenting Mitchell.
“Jeff, you’re better off having someone who obeys your commands. Find someone like that. No, do you already have someone?”
He did. The blonde would be waiting for Jeff at the Los Hotel right now.
“You don’t think I’d live without doing that, do you?”
Jeff boasted.
“I thought so.”
“I’m trying so hard to get a lover like you, but they just won’t fall for me. It’s so frustrating.”
“I get angry sometimes too. When they’re not in front of my eyes.”
“See? Your lover and I are the same, aren’t we? We can’t always be in front of your eyes. We have social lives and our own lives, how can we adjust everything just for you? That’s killing your lover.”
At this, Mitchell laughed.
“Is that really killing them?”
“Of course!”
As Mitchell’s smile deepened, Jeff unconsciously closed his mouth. Sure enough, Mitchell overturned Jeff’s certainty as if to prove a point.
“They’re always by my side. They don’t try to leave me. Above all, it’s what they want. They say they’re doing exactly what I desire most. Even now, I barely managed to leave them behind when they wanted to come along. How is that killing them?”
“…”
“It’s keeping me alive.”
“…You crazy bastards.”
Had such a firm voice ever been this annoying? Jeff, muttering curses under his breath, lightly pushed Mitchell’s arm. The contact made him furious with the thought of wanting to touch other places too. Now he wouldn’t even receive Mitchell’s attention. Their relationship was about to be completely severed.
“Nothing more to say? I’m leaving first.”
Mitchell, having finished talking, opened the car door. Although Jeff had come all the way from New York to LA to see Mitchell, their meeting ended with just a few minutes of brief conversation.
“I won’t be able to contact you often from now on. My baby doesn’t like it. I really came out today to say goodbye. Take care. I’m going.”
Mitchell got out of the car and closed the door before Jeff could respond. Jeff raised his fist to vent his anger but quietly lowered his hand, realizing everything was expensive. He could only fume silently as he watched Mitchell walk away.
“That damn baby! Baby! Goddamn it…”
After venting his anger, Jeff finally drove towards the Los Hotel after a while.
As he entered the hotel lobby, the blonde appeared from somewhere. The blonde carefully stood next to Jeff, but Jeff didn’t even glance at the blonde who had been waiting for hours.
Jeff, holding the reserved room card, pushed the blonde following him into the room.
“Ah! Ugh!”
Standing at the entrance, he kicked the hesitating blonde’s back and then suddenly threw a punch. He brutally beat every part except the face.
When the echoing screams subsided, he grabbed a handful of blonde hair and dragged them inside. He threw the whimpering blonde onto the bed and roughly removed their pants. Even as he forcibly pushed into the bruised buttocks from the beating, he recalled the day Mitchell had mentioned.
His birthday, coming in about 20 days.
More precisely, the day before his birthday.
The day Mitchell leaves for Miami early, leaving that damn baby alone.
Jeff thought about that day as he choked the blonde beneath him.
***
“Hmm.”
Looking at my phone, I let out a long sigh. The photo on the screen showed Mitchell and me.
Everything was captured, from the café in front of the Seimon building to us walking on the street and getting into the car. We had been subjected to an incredible barrage of cameras, to the point where it would be strange if we weren’t exposed, and sure enough, articles had been published.
While paparazzi shots might be common for celebrities, Mitchell had relatively few photos taken without his permission. But now, photos of him with me were being prominently displayed in articles and on social media, so I couldn’t help but feel concerned.
Although I had my cap pulled down, people quickly recognized me. At first, there were speculations about who was with Mitchell, but soon my name was spread all over.
I had appeared in the media with Mitchell when I caught the serial killer, and we were almost in “Racing Instinct” together. People who knew might know that Mitchell and I were close, but we had never been exposed in such a private setting before.
And Mitchell’s expression towards me, even more so.
“He looks like he wants to bite me so badly he’s going crazy.”
For the first time, I felt that the expression “hearts coming out of his eyes” was appropriate for this situation. At the time, I was quite flustered and busy hiding under my cap and running away. Escaping from the café before people crowded around was the priority, so I didn’t have time to look at Mitchell.
But to think he was smiling at me like that.
“What’s so good that he’s like that…”
The video that appeared on social media was decisive. A 5-second video of Mitchell and me meeting at the café entrance and then hurriedly leaving.
Although it was a short time, Mitchell never took his eyes off me and seemed to be enjoying himself. He only looked at me, not paying any attention to the people around. Like a true actor, it looked like a scene from a movie.
“This guy is really funny.”
I shuddered from the unnecessary ticklish feeling. While laughing incredulously, I watched the video over and over again.
“…Huh?”
As I was happily reading people’s comments, I froze for a moment.
[Am I the only one who thinks Mitchell and Bae Geon-woo look good together?]
I found a comment in Korean. Korean always made me freeze, no matter when or where. Moreover, if it contained opinions about me, I felt intimidated regardless of the content.
But hadn’t I decided not to run away anymore!
Staring at the name ‘BB’, I clicked on that account. BB had commented on the original video of Mitchell and me, and even re-uploaded the video to their own account. The comments below made me a bit flustered.
[Looks like they’re aiming for Hollywood’s Best Couple Award.]
[What’s with Mitchell’s romantic gaze?]
[It’s making my mouth water.]
[Any more gossip?ㅠㅠ]
[Caring seme X Tsundere uke. I’ll have a taste of this.]
I stopped at a flashy gif of someone clapping. My head was spinning, and I pressed my temples.
“What are you doing?”
“Ah! You startled me!”
I almost dropped my phone at the sudden voice. I jumped up from my seat like a guilty person, and Mitchell, fully dressed from the dressing room, walked towards me while fastening his wristwatch.
“What were you looking at that made you so surprised?”
“I was looking at our photos.”
I held out my phone with wide eyes. Mitchell examined the screen quietly and then smiled, making a face similar to the photo.
“We look good.”
“Everyone’s going crazy right now. Even after two days. But didn’t you hate this kind of thing? Why are you suddenly doing something you never did before?”
