Chapter 143
Voices of several people could be heard beyond the tent. Junman, who was curled up, closed his eyes and opened his ears wide. Since it was a place where people frequently came and went, he grew tired trying to distinguish each voice individually.
The words from outside were clearly audible, but they were all in English, so he couldn’t understand the content.
With a zip, Raul entered the tent. Raul was of mixed heritage, born to a South American father and a Korean mother.
Thanks to this, he also spoke Korean. Although his pronunciation wasn’t fluent, it was grateful enough just to be able to communicate. Moreover, he had even saved Junman from the devils.
That day, Junman had escaped from the warehouse and sprinted to the adjacent park. With each step, pain shot through his entire body, and he collapsed on the dirt floor before he could go far.
As he lay behind the bushes catching his breath, someone approached. Thinking that the guys who had assaulted him had finally caught up, he started crying first.
It was the first time in Junman’s life that he had cried so much that his face was wet with tears and snot. He usually wasn’t very tearful, but the two people in the warehouse had made Junman utterly weak. He didn’t want to be dragged back to the warehouse where the two devils lived.
Junman grasped the grass and dirt with his trembling fingertips. If that could be considered an attack, he was trying to make a feeble resistance, even if it meant throwing dirt.
“Are you OK? Um… Are you Korean by any chance?”
But then he heard Korean. The owner of the voice was a man with tanned skin and Asian-like features. As soon as he realized it wasn’t a devil, Junman burst into tears again while lying face down. After that, he fainted on the spot.
“Are you alright?”
At Raul’s question, Junman snapped back to reality. Recalling the horrific events from a few days ago sent chills through his entire body.
“I’m fine.”
Raul was no less than a lifesaver. Although he was homeless and living in a tent, this tent was the safest place in the world for Junman.
The recovery of his facial wounds was slow, and the bruises and muscle pain throughout his body were still present even now, days later. Still, he looked much more human than on the first day when he was covered in blood. Thinking about what he had been through made his eyes sting again.
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing.”
Raul smiled as he watched Junman repeatedly bowing his head. Although Junman expressed his gratitude, in fact, Raul’s kindness had a hidden purpose.
What connected the two was an unidentified client.
Someone had requested Raul to monitor Junman. It was a simple request to report where he moved and what he did. As a homeless person in urgent need of money, there was no reason to refuse the request.
Although he had lost track of Junman a few times, he had otherwise faithfully carried out his assigned task. At one point, Raul had wondered why the request was made to him, who wasn’t a professional. But he soon agreed, thinking that they might be using him, a Korean-speaking illegal immigrant, as a disposable card. Whatever the reason, he just needed to collect the money.
As the situation changed and he ended up living together instead of secretly tailing, he was planning to ask the client for a slight increase in compensation.
Junman, unaware of the details, deeply relied on Raul, while Raul was secretly carrying out his request. Although he had a separate purpose, he had indeed ended up doing Junman a favor.
Junman was afraid to meet people and stayed cooped up in the tent. Until he confirmed their voices, everyone looked like a devil to him.
Whenever he felt overwhelmed, he thought of his younger brother. Perhaps because of his current situation, he often thought of the brother he had hated so much. He seemed to miss him too. But his pride was hurt, and he could never ask for help.
Around evening, as the sun was setting, Junman, who was holed up in the tent as usual, drew in a sharp breath.
He had heard the devil’s voice. His fingertips trembled, and it felt like his healing wounds were bursting open again.
“To our valued customers who have visited the event venue today…”
It was coming from Raul’s phone. An interview from the annual event at the New York Saint Hotel was playing.
It was a voice he could never forget. Junman was certain. It was definitely the devil. The devil was there.
Junman’s face, which was initially terrified, slowly contorted with anger.
***
I often thought Mitchell was a jerk. He was top-tier globally, and among the top-tier, he belonged to the highest rank, so it would be easier to count what he didn’t have rather than what he had.
Although I clearly knew that his earnings were not insignificant, when I actually encountered his wealth face to face, I couldn’t help but react like an idiot.
“I can see… the park.”
Central Park was visible at a glance. Mitchell’s second home was the top penthouse of a 131-story building in Manhattan, New York.
“Yeah. You can see it.”
Unlike me, who was gaping, Mitchell’s reaction was utterly indifferent. Even while unpacking his bag, he didn’t once glance out the window.
The view of New York from a high-rise building! Excited by the thrilling feeling, I asked Mitchell various questions.
“Have you been here before?”
“I suppose I must have?”
Mitchell immediately answered my foolish question. Of course, he must have visited after buying the place… Wait, hold on.
“Was your trip to New York last time to check this out?”
Mitchell, who had taken a drink from the refrigerator, looked at me and gulped it down. All the luggage except for valuables had been unpacked, and the helper who would take care of the housework in New York had already fully stocked the refrigerator.
“One moment you suspected I went to see Jeff, and now this.”
Mitchell put the drink bottle down on the table with a clatter. Although his glaring eyes were not ordinary, the gesture of coming to me and wrapping his arm around my waist was nothing but affectionate.
“Well, you know…”
“I came to look at the house. There were several other good places besides this one. Time was tight, so I had no time to meet anyone.”
“Ah-haha. I see.”
I had faith that he hadn’t met Jeff, but hearing it like this made me feel like I had overreacted.
Although I felt wronged, I hugged Mitchell tightly. It was because I couldn’t bear to see Mitchell’s expression mixed with a bit of annoyance and dissatisfaction any longer. I also admired the breathtaking view, glancing to the side.
“Is this really our home? Mitchell, I’m truly so moved…”
“Our home? It’s my home.”
“…Huh?”
I pulled my face away from his chest where I had been nuzzling and asked again.
“This is my home, I said.”
“Ah. Ah. Right. That’s right. Yeah…”
I couldn’t argue because it wasn’t wrong. I had been living as if Mitchell’s things were my things and his money was mine, so I naturally used the word ‘our’. I felt a little hurt by Mitchell’s suddenly changed attitude and pulled away from his embrace. But Mitchell didn’t let me go.
“This is my home.”
He repeated and emphasized the same words. For a moment, I felt like getting annoyed, but Mitchell continued.
“The one below is your home.”
“What?”
“The floor right below is your home. It’s not under contract yet, but I’ve prepared the necessary documents, so you just need to sign…”
“What are you talking about? You mean it’s really my home?”
“Yeah. Of course, you’ll only be staying here, so that place will remain empty.”
“Mitchell!”
Words that were neither exclamations nor curses kept spilling from my mouth. Although I couldn’t compare it to the LA house that had burned down, even just in terms of price, there was a difference of several times. Even if he was giving it to me out of guilt for burning down the house, it was too much.
“Why, why? We could just live here together, you know.”
“I found a way for us to come and go comfortably while having our own homes. Having floors above and below turned out to be simple. I thought about having side-by-side houses like in LA, but I’ve grown to dislike open spaces now. I prefer a stable yet independent space.”
He explained that it was a small precaution, as we would continue filming together and as the time we spent together increased, naturally, the attention we received would increase too. It might seem strange for me to come and go from Mitchell’s house as if it were my own.
For secret frequent meetings. No, to be together continuously.
“Still, suddenly giving me a house like this…”
“It’s a gift.”
“What kind of gift? I know you’re rich, but who gives a house as a gift?”
“My birthday…”
“What?”
“Anyway, just think of it like that. There’s actually one more, but we’ll probably only use that for vacations. The filming has been moved up now.”
I was inwardly amazed. I was surprised at my own deductive skills. I had caught on to the meaning of Mitchell’s vague words from earlier.
Mitchell’s birthday.
And the other gift he mentioned was the Miami villa.
So, Mitchell had gifted me a house and a villa for his own birthday. After scolding me so much for buying someone else’s gift on my birthday, he was now doing exactly what I had done.
Unlike my modest gift, Mitchell was gifting a house and a villa, which would be a huge difference.
“Mitchell, you…”
“Enough of that. But how can you say you don’t know what it’s like because you’ve never fallen in love? Think about it. How do you feel now? Doesn’t it feel good? What thoughts come to mind when you look at me? What kind of emotion do you think that is?”
“…”
I was silent for a moment at his pressing questions. It seems I had lost my mind because of the gift.
It sounded like Mitchell was craving for my love.
