Chapter 96
Inbeom Yoon threw his phone on the floor. Geon-woo had once again not answered his call. He thought they had a good conversation earlier today, but it seems that wasn’t the case.
Inbeom Yoon had met Geon-woo by chance in Korea a long time ago, became close to him, and learned what kind of person he was.
Despite having some odd aspects, looking at Geon-woo’s handsome face made one forget about his quirks. No, the more you looked, the more you liked him.
When the drunk Geon-woo explained about his obsession, Inbeom didn’t believe it at first. He only thought about how nice it would be if someone like that liked him.
Perhaps because of this, Inbeom, with his heart warmed by alcohol, revealed his own secret. It wasn’t about his sexual preferences, which were attracted to both men and women.
It was a more serious and gloomy secret. He ended up telling it during a drinking session with a man he had known for only about a week.
He regretted it for a moment, but Geon-woo’s reaction mercilessly blew away Inbeom’s regret.
“So what? You’re okay, right? Then it’s fine… right? Me? I don’t really care either? It’s okay. It doesn’t matter to me at all.”
Inbeom was shocked by Geon-woo’s words. The hellish humiliation, guilt, and miserable days all became nothing.
It felt like a lifetime of worries had vanished.
Had there ever been someone like this by his side?
Inbeom wanted to hold onto Geon-woo. He thought that if Geon-woo was by his side, he could live like a normal person.
“Can’t you be obsessed with me?”
So he proposed first.
“Ah, this isn’t obsession, it’s interest. A bit of detailed interest.”
“Right. That. Can’t you do that for me?”
“Hmm… I’ve never done it this way before… It’s not something you do just because someone asks, it’s more like a feeling that suddenly hits you… Like being electrified… The bells of destiny? No, that’s not it either. How should I explain it…”
“Can’t you do it even though I can’t come to Korea anymore? I told you. I did something wrong, so I can’t come to Korea anymore. I can’t set foot here without my father’s permission. Don’t you feel sorry for me?”
“Hmm.”
“Do it for me. It’s not difficult, right?”
“It’s not difficult, but it needs to come from the heart…”
“Just do it for me. I’m begging you like this, can’t you do this one thing? I have to live on greasy food from now on. Even if I go to a Korean restaurant in America, it doesn’t feel like Korea.”
“That is a bit pitiful?”
“It would be okay if I could come to Korea whenever I wanted. But I can’t come to Korea at all. My father will never allow it.”
“Why did you have to cause trouble…”
“So be obsessed with poor me. No, give me detailed attention. To me. Okay?”
“Ah, okay. Okay. I’ll try it for now. I don’t know if it will work or not, but let’s give it a try. Let’s drink first! Eat and die!”
“Really?”
“Yeah! Pass me the bottle behind you.”
“You’re really going to do it. You have to come visit me in America often.”
“Okay, okay. But if it doesn’t work after trying, there’s nothing we can do.”
“…Yeah.”
“Now, pour me some drink!”
Although he was granted a half-hearted obsession, maybe because of the distance between Korea and America, Inbeom ultimately received no obsession from Geon-woo.
Just as phone calls repeatedly missed and contact became infrequent, Geon-woo made his debut and became the most successful actor in Korea.
It was difficult for Geon-woo, busy living the life of an actor, to visit a friend in America. Thus, the half-hearted promise made during that drinking session fizzled out.
Inbeom was disappointed that Geon-woo didn’t seek him out after fleeing to America, but he thought it must be fate that they were in the same LA.
After staying in Washington all this time, he had to move to LA due to increased work, and that’s when he saw Geon-woo. On the evening news, no less.
That day, Inbeom immediately had someone find out where Geon-woo’s house was, and also confirmed that he was neighbors with Mitchell, who was standing next to him during the interview.
After finding out that the two were living side by side on shared private property, his head started spinning. Afterwards, he tried every method to purchase Mitchell’s house, but ultimately failed.
“I’ll buy it for 10 times the price, and find you a similar house too.”
“I’ll say it again, the house is not for sale. Under any circumstances.”
“You can name any price…”
“I refuse.”
No matter how much money was offered or what other houses were suggested, Mitchell wouldn’t even listen to the contract details.
It was so unreasonable that even real estate agents were dumbfounded. The agent swore that Mitchell wouldn’t have given up the house even if offered all the other houses in LA.
But just because he couldn’t get the house next to Geon-woo didn’t mean there were no ways to meet Geon-woo. There were plenty of opportunities for staged encounters.
However, the relationship between Mitchell and Geon-woo was a problem. Geon-woo had fled to America after suffering all sorts of humiliation in Korea. He couldn’t possibly be mentally stable. An already crooked person going through such experiences couldn’t overcome it alone.
Inbeom tried to guess what kind of relationship Geon-woo and Mitchell had.
Geon-woo would have lived through his obsession, which could be called his lifeline, and Mitchell, who was presumed to be the closest to Geon-woo, would be the target of that obsession. He might be serving Mitchell, giving him everything he had.
“I thought money could do anything… I’m too late. Damn it.”
Inbeom muttered, glaring at his cracked phone screen. He wanted to keep Geon-woo, who knew his secret, by his side, but everything he tried failed.
For now, Geon-woo firmly pushed him away, refusing to meet, so nothing was going his way. It seemed as if even the air was preventing him from connecting with Geon-woo.
Just then, Mitchell appeared on the TV that had been turned on arbitrarily. It was an advertisement for a newly released car. It was an excellent advertisement with nothing lacking, from the expensive car to Mitchell’s occasional appearances.
What was more annoying was that the next beer commercial also featured Mitchell. Mitchell appeared in a triangle swimsuit and drank the beer refreshingly.
Naturally, his gaze fell on Mitchell’s crotch. He truly was a man who had everything.
Bang!
Unable to contain his anger, Inbeom Yoon picked up his phone and threw it at the TV monitor. He threw it so hard that the monitor shattered against the phone.
Panting, he muttered in a voice mixed with lamentation:
“You stole the Geon-woo that I completed.”
Completion. Inbeom Yoon firmly believed without a doubt that he had completed the current Geon-woo.
It was truly thanks to Inbeom that Geon-woo had set foot on American soil, lived there, became close with Mitchell who lived next door, and went further to become obsessed and follow Mitchell around.
He had completed the current Geon-woo.
Because all the series of events that happened to Geon-woo in Korea were Inbeom Yoon’s doing.
It was Inbeom Yoon who had brought Geon-woo, who had reached the peak, to rock bottom.
He had broken Geon-woo’s wings. He thought Geon-woo would fall to him when he fell with broken wings, but Mitchell had snatched him away midway.
When Geon-woo said he couldn’t make time because his schedule was too busy, Inbeom made sure he wasn’t busy, but in the moment he took his eyes off, Geon-woo had vanished. Even changing his phone number.
“Bae Geon-woo, you shouldn’t do this. It’s as good as me making you meet Mitchell.”
Still panting alone, he walked, stamping his feet, and picked up his phone. When he touched the screen, it turned on. It seemed properly broken, so he probably couldn’t check messages.
Breathing heavily, he forcibly suppressed his anger. Getting angry now would only hurt himself.
It was then that he thought about going to find Geon-woo again tomorrow. His heart sank at the vibration in his hand, but when he hastily checked, it wasn’t the number he wanted. He looked at the name on the distorted screen and answered the call.
“Why are you calling in the middle of the night?”
The caller was Inbeom Yoon’s real estate agent, with whom he had a close relationship for a long time.
– Hey, the house is out! Are you buying this right away? You’re going to buy it, right?
Excited, he blurted out words cutting off the beginning and end. Inbeom Yoon, sighing, replied gruffly.
“What?”
– Mitchell Cronenwirth, that house is on the market!
“What?”
***
I quickly bit my lip. My heart was pounding, wondering if Mitchell had heard the laughter that had burst out thoughtlessly. I stiffened my expression and carefully lifted my head to examine Mitchell’s face. His expressionless face looked like a good child waiting for my answer.
“Mitchell, of course, you’re the one receiving my attention. Only you. But we need to deal with Inbeom Yoon first, right? That’s why I’m saying I’ll try to resolve it through conversation. Frankly, over a glass of soju.”
At that, cracks appeared on Mitchell’s face that had been like a statue. As the hard plaster cracked, a vivid expression emerged.
“Didn’t I tell you to cut down on alcohol? And now you’re saying you’ll drink with that bastard Inbeom Yoon of all people?”
Surprisingly, he was smiling. His eyes, containing sparkling pupils, curved beautifully, and his elegant lips formed an arc. It was the greatest artwork of the era.
I was busy admiring his face and was a bit slow in assessing the situation. I should have known why Mitchell was smiling even at my suggestion that was jumping around like a goby fish.
“Uh…”
In the end, I just answered as things flowed. Mitchell fished me out as I was busy swimming and playing in his green eyes.
“Really?”
“…Yeah.”
“Even if I say I don’t like it?”
“…Well, that’s…”
When I couldn’t answer immediately, he raised one eyebrow and asked:
“Is it okay if you never see me again?”
“……”
He fished me out and threw me aside. This guy.
