Chapter 98
I rubbed my sleepy eyes and looked down at my bare legs.
Hehehe.
I couldn’t help but laugh. My underwear had been removed again. It was evidence that Mitchell still desired my body, so a silly smile escaped me from the morning.
“Sleepy.”
8 o’clock. It was still early morning for me, so my eyes kept closing. Just then, a delicious smell came from somewhere, and I heard movement in the living room. Diligent Mitchell was busy preparing breakfast again…!
I quickly got up and left the bedroom. It seemed this guy was cooking again, but this time I had to stop him no matter what.
Or he might be trying to serve that unidentifiable food made with kimchi from yesterday for breakfast.
“You’re up already?”
Mitchell, dressed in a black shirt, dark blue tie, and suit pants, turned to look at me. It wasn’t his usual outfit for going to the filming set.
“What’s this? Where are you going?”
After yesterday, just seeing Mitchell in a suit brought up lewd thoughts. If only he’d unzip right there.
“I told you yesterday. Didn’t you hear?”
“Sorry, I must have heard it while half-asleep. Where are you going?”
“To New York.”
“What? What about the filming?”
“There’s none today. Tomorrow’s filming starts at night.”
“When are you coming back from New York? What are you going there for?”
“For work. I’ll arrive back in LA on tomorrow evening’s flight.”
“Why are you only telling me this now!”
“I told you yesterday. You just didn’t hear it.”
“What about me? You’re not leaving me behind, right? You have my plane ticket, right? I’ll be good. I won’t interfere with your work at all.”
Mitchell shook his head without even looking at me. He put side dishes on the table and took out a heated lunch box from the microwave. The strange soup made with kimchi had disappeared without a trace.
“I’ll contact you so often it’ll be annoying, so just stay at home.”
“I don’t want to.”
“It can’t be helped. The schedule is too tight for me to take care of you.”
“Who asked you to take care of me?”
“Anyway, it’s not possible.”
“…It feels like the world is collapsing.”
Mitchell, who didn’t understand my feelings, just laughed.
“Are you going for business?”
“Among other things.”
“I hope it fails.”
“Hahaha.”
Mitchell ran his hand through his hair and walked towards me. I wanted to hit those lips that were laughing so happily.
“Geon-woo. You trust me, right?”
“I do. But trusting you and wanting to be with you are different things.”
“Do you like me that much?”
“Go to New York alone and try to stop liking you.”
“Ease up on the glare.”
Mitchell pressed my face with his palm. I had been glaring at him with all my might.
“Sandy will bring food later. Eat that and get some rest.”
Sandy is the house helper who comes twice a week. She usually doesn’t handle food, but it seemed Mitchell had asked her to.
“I want to eat the kimchi stew you made.”
I blurted out something I didn’t even mean, that’s how desperate I was.
“I can make that for you anytime.”
“I can’t sleep alone without you. Will you still go?”
“Wow, I like that statement.”
“I’m not saying it for you to like it, it’s just a fact. I can’t sleep without you. So take me with you. I’ll get ready quickly.”
Still naked, I quickly went into the dressing room to put on clothes. But Mitchell didn’t leave me alone.
“Geon-woo.”
He called me and just stared. The caught wrist, the hand caressing my back, even the look telling me to stop being stubborn.
Sigh… When this guy suddenly gets serious, I become infinitely weak.
“Okay. Okay, I get it. Instead, I want to be at the airport tomorrow.”
I finally gave up. I couldn’t stop him from going, and I couldn’t go with him, so I thought I’d at least greet him.
“It’s okay. I’ll be driving my car anyway, so you don’t need to come.”
“I’m starting to get angry, you know?”
“Let’s do it when I get back. What you like.”
“……”
Even as I despaired at becoming a slave to those acts, somehow I couldn’t say I disliked it.
“Stay quietly at home. Don’t go anywhere.”
“……”
“I’ll be back. I need to leave now to catch the flight. Other staff will be waiting at the airport.”
Mitchell picked up his suit jacket and headed for the garage door. I followed him, dragging my feet, still holding onto his belt.
“Don’t you have luggage?”
Mitchell, who had opened the garage door, pointed at the car. Then he put the suit jacket on the passenger seat and closed the door.
“It’s all loaded.”
Our diligent Mitchell had already loaded his luggage into the trunk. He had also cleaned up the traces we left yesterday.
“I’m off.”
“Go ahead.”
I showed my disappointment openly and didn’t even make eye contact with Mitchell.
“Eat your meals properly.”
“Don’t say things like that if you’re not going to come feed me.”
“Stay quiet.”
“I’ll be noisy.”
“Try not to go out if possible.”
“I’ll go out if it’s not possible.”
“……”
Sparks flew from his gaze. Of course, I don’t know for sure since I wasn’t looking at Mitchell. It just felt that way.
I fidgeted with my hand holding Mitchell’s belt and then spoke.
“Have a good trip.”
As I lowered my tail, Mitchell sighed. Then he kissed my forehead, and left light kisses on my cheeks and lips. Neck and chest, stomach. Finally, he bent his knees and kissed my lower part. It was a clean kiss without any lust.
Mitchell stood up and this time hugged me. After staying like that for a while, I had no choice but to hug him back.
We didn’t say anything special. A moment later, Mitchell’s car left the garage.
***
As soon as Mitchell exited the iron gate, he called Walker. Walker had been resting for a few days, but he was planning to watch over Geon-woo again during the two days Mitchell would be in New York.
“Walker, where are you?”
– I’ve just arrived.
“I’m counting on you for these two days.”
– Of course. Go with peace of mind. I’ll keep a close watch.
“It’s not surveillance.”
– Ah, sorry. You called it appropriate attention, right?
Geon-woo’s manner of speaking had somehow passed from Mitchell to Walker.
“I’m heading straight to the airport now. It’s getting late. You don’t need anything right away, do you?”
– No. The new camera you bought is fantastic.
“That’s good. Well, contact me immediately if anything happens.”
– Yes. Understood.
Walker was probably hiding somewhere on the single road leading to the iron gate, but Mitchell didn’t acknowledge it. After ending the call, Mitchell finished his greeting by briefly scanning the forest with his eyes.
Walker was a trustworthy person.
Mitchell had Walker do this job because their relationship with Geon-woo had been discovered. Since Walker had seen them coming out of the narrow cleaning closet, rather than silencing him, Mitchell chose to draw him into this relationship. He pulled the person holding the bomb entirely to his side.
Knowing that Walker was a long-time fan, it was easy to use his fan loyalty.
If he keeps the secret and handles the work faithfully, that’s good enough, and if he doesn’t keep the secret, he can be cut off immediately.
Although somewhat extreme methods might be used, Mitchell didn’t need to worry too much. He always has many people around him. Usually, his family members handled the dirty work, so Mitchell generally didn’t have to take action himself.
He was planning to assign someone to Geon-woo anyway, and unexpectedly found a loyal observer through this incident.
Mitchell talked on the phone with Geon-woo the entire way to the airport. He continued talking for hours without hanging up, even until right before boarding the plane after completing check-in.
Geon-woo spoke in a dejected voice at first, but later returned to his usual self. He became gloomy again as the boarding time approached.
Geon-woo was someone who completely exposed his feelings while simultaneously hiding them tightly. Some things are too obvious, but others overturn expectations. He’s the unpredictable type who could go in any direction.
Mitchell didn’t trust Geon-woo.
That’s why he assigned an observer and was sorting out Geon-woo’s surroundings one by one.
Mitchell wanted Geon-woo’s love, but conversely, he himself didn’t call it love for Geon-woo. It was an insufficient word to compare to Geon-woo. Emotions were meant to disappear.
Unless it’s a lifeline.
It makes sense if it’s an existence like air or water that you’d die immediately without. Mitchell needed Geon-woo to live.
This goes beyond simply wanting something; it’s a matter of survival. Just being without Geon-woo makes it this hard to breathe. Then isn’t this more than love, which is merely an emotional game? Of course, this is separate from wanting to have Geon-woo’s heart.
Throughout the flight, Mitchell watched videos of Geon-woo on his phone and even watched a Korean movie featuring Geon-woo. Although it wasn’t the real thing, just seeing Geon-woo moving on the screen was somewhat helpful.
Upon arriving in New York like this, Mitchell turned on his phone to call Geon-woo. While checking the incessantly ringing notifications, he found something mixed in like an impurity among Geon-woo’s messages.
[Hello, Mr. Mitchell. This is Inbeom Yoon. I have something to talk about in person. If it’s difficult to make time, a phone call is also possible. I’ll be waiting for your contact.]
Mitchell, who had been quietly looking at the message, smiled slightly.
‘Got you.’
Inbeom Yoon had come looking for the trap on his own.