# Chapter 43
As Seowoo was about to turn around and leave the kitchen, he let out an “Ah!” and reached his hand out toward Dohyun again. Dohyun blinked and looked up at him.
“What is it?”
“The letter, you should give it to me.”
“This? Why?”
His blinking eyes closed and opened even more slowly. His expression showed complete bewilderment. Upon seeing that innocent look, Seowoo’s brow automatically furrowed.
“Since it’s a letter addressed to me, I should take it.”
“I already showed it to you. What, do you want to keep it or something?”
“So I’m supposed to leave it with you? It’s my letter, after all.”
“It’s not really a letter… Anyone can see it’s just a reflection written to ease his own conscience. Well, I don’t mind if you want to take it, but I just don’t get it.”
Without further argument, Dohyun handed over the envelope. Seowoo narrowed his eyes as he snatched the envelope with a deft hand.
He had thought Dohyun was leaving on a surprisingly pleasant note, but of course not. He was the type who couldn’t rest until he added some sarcastic remark.
Seowoo felt ashamed for having genuinely enjoyed himself even for a moment.
“So, I’ll be the one to judge whether it’s sincere or not.”
His voice was overly forceful and his pronunciation slurred because he was clenching his teeth so tightly, but his anger was unmistakably clear.
“Should I shut up?”
Dohyun placed his finger over his lips, mimicking a zipper. The moment Seowoo saw that playful gesture, heat rushed straight to the top of his head.
“I’m going somewhere I can’t hear you, so talk or don’t, do whatever you want.”
After snapping back, Seowoo turned and walked away. Dohyun lightly shrugged his shoulders and picked up his fork again.
❖ ❖ ❖
“…So that’s why you suddenly wanted to go to the bookstore.”
No matter whether Woojae was sighing or not, Seowoo’s gaze remained buried in the open book.
Although they had come to the café to talk comfortably while reading books, Seowoo had clearly prioritized the book, barely touching the cake he’d purchased. Woojae picked up his fork and took a big bite of red velvet cake.
“Now the puzzle pieces are falling into place. I thought Seo Dohyun might have hidden something in the bookstore.”
“Anyone would think I never read books.”
“Come on, I know you like books. It’s your longstanding hobby. What I mean is, it’s rare for you to go to a bookstore! These days, everyone orders books online.”
The problem was that delivery would take at least two days, and if he was unlucky, Dohyun might see it. Other books didn’t matter, but this one was different.
The book Seowoo held in both hands had “The Room with a Piano” written in a unique font on its spine. Woojae glanced at the book from the corner of his eye.
“How is it? Is it interesting? You seem really focused.”
“I can’t find where the passage Seo Dohyun quoted appears.”
“What did Seo Dohyun say?”
“What was it again? Something like ‘to lie well, deceive yourself first’? That was the nuance.”
“And he recited it at that exact moment?”
Woojae opened his mouth wide, as if newly impressed. It wasn’t pure admiration, but rather mixed with perplexity and sarcasm.
“It can’t be that he lied about having read it. Wow, so he actually memorized that passage? CEO Seo is truly one eccentric guy.”
“Don’t people usually have a hard time remembering book passages?”
It was too unusual to simply attribute to “liking books.” It wasn’t even a one-line famous quote from a globally recognized bestseller.
Woojae nodded in agreement and held up three fingers.
“First, you’d have to be an avid reader; second, you’d need to have read that specific book dozens of times; and third, you’d have to have mulled over that particular passage repeatedly. But these three factors don’t match Seo Dohyun’s image at all.”
“At first I thought he was talking nonsense. I thought he was someone who’d never touch a book.”
Living with Seo Dohyun had revealed many traits that didn’t match his image. Cooking, reading—judging by the impression these words give, wouldn’t you think Seo Dohyun would have avoided them his entire life?
“But of all passages, he chose one about lying properly. Doesn’t that bother you?”
“That’s what I’m saying. I figured it was just a passage he liked, but why did that specific quote pop up at that moment? Even drama directors don’t orchestrate things like that.”
“He couldn’t have planned it, right?”
Though casually asked, the question carried significant weight. Seowoo was about to respond nonchalantly but suddenly closed his mouth.
He had considered this thought before. What if, truly, he had deliberately chosen that sentence from that book?
But soon, Seowoo consciously erased his suspicions and shook his head.
“He couldn’t have read the book in that time. It doesn’t make sense.”
“If it wasn’t intentional, it’s like the goddess of fortune is buffing him at every moment. You must have been shocked. Couldn’t control your expression, could you?”
Woojae laughed playfully. For someone like Seowoo, whose lies showed on his face, managing his expression in sudden situations wasn’t easy. It would have been somewhat better if he had been tense, like when working. But since they were at home, in a relatively relaxed state, it wasn’t easy to react calmly to an unexpected situation.
“I didn’t have time to think about my expression then.”
“True, you’ve never been good at that. I’m sure Seo Dohyun noticed?”
“But for someone who found it strange, he didn’t say anything.”
After placing a bookmark on the page he was reading, Seowoo quickly flipped through the book.
“But this pianist…”
“Pianist?”
“Oh, a character here. The passage Seo Dohyun recited, the narrator is a pianist. He said the character’s ending was impressive, so I’m curious how intense it was.”
Since Dohyun’s quoted dialogue was by no means meek, Seowoo had already figured that the narrator, the pianist, was no ordinary character. True to Seowoo’s expectations, the pianist was engaging in all sorts of activities befitting a thriller protagonist.
Since it’s written in first-person, it’s not explicitly stated what “activities” the pianist was involved in. One can’t really tell if he actually killed someone, assaulted someone, or just how bad his actions were.
But his words and actions—advocating for bending rules, deceiving the law, and disregarding morality—were problematic by anyone’s standards. This man was the main cause of problems, even instigating the protagonist to commit murder.
Inferring from the dialogue, this pianist seemed to be a killer himself. In other words, he was literally a bad guy.
“Anyone can see he’s the villain. It’s not a work with narrative tricks or too many characters.”
“If he’s an outright villain, the ending must be intense. They usually either kill them off or have them severely punished for poetic justice.”
“Right, that’s normally the case. But it was intense because he didn’t die. Seo Dohyun also said he expected him to die when reading it? I thought so too. Judging by his actions so far, he deserves at least the death penalty.”
Seowoo, who was flipping through the pages so quickly it was more like skimming than reading, suddenly paused.
“Ah, here it is.”
The pianist, referred to as K in the story. His fate appeared in the epilogue.
The reason it was in the epilogue was because by the time K’s fate was revealed, the protagonist had already died. So the first-person perspective could no longer be maintained.
The villain doesn’t die, but the protagonist who was manipulated and seduced by the villain does die? Their fates seemed too contrasting. Seowoo narrowed his eyes and read the sentences on the final page.
“K’s life remained completely unchanged. People still sought him out constantly, the lights remained bright, and the piano still sat in the room.
K found it increasingly difficult to endure this unchanging daily life. He couldn’t bear it without changing everything. One day, K quietly yet naturally disappeared from everyone’s surroundings.”
“…With this description, isn’t he practically dead?”
“What does it say?”
“I want to see too.” Woojae thrust his head forward and snatched the book. After skimming through the epilogue section, Woojae tilted his head side to side in confusion.
“Couldn’t he have just gone to the countryside?”
“I never would have thought of that. You’re optimistic.”
“How would they describe a famous pianist who died as ‘naturally disappeared’? He probably went missing, moved to the countryside, or at the very least retired.”
“The innocent protagonist died, but they end it with retirement for the guy who was even worse?”
As Dohyun had said, it was a work that made you wonder “why did they do that?” For Seowoo, it was an ending that went beyond puzzling—it left him feeling somewhat unsettled.
“I still don’t understand why he retired.”
“It’ll probably be explained if you keep reading. Didn’t you say the protagonist died? Maybe he felt so guilty that he retired, something like that?”
“No way. This guy committed so many bad deeds in the first 150 pages. If he was the type to retire because his conscience was heavy, he would have lived decently from the start.”
“Maybe the person he felt guilty about was special?”
“He wouldn’t just give his conscience to anyone.” Woojae replied jokingly as he handed the book back.
“It’s interesting. Hurry up and finish it, hyung. You’re reading faster than I expected.”
“But is it really okay for me to just read while we’re together? Aren’t you bored?”
“You talk to me just fine even while reading. Why, are you worried I’ll get bored? Should I do an impromptu interview right here? It’s quiet, and the café would make a good background for photos.”
Pushing away the phone that suddenly appeared in front of his face, Seowoo playfully grimaced.
“Hey, I already have interview schedules piling up. I’m at the point where lines automatically come out whenever I see a camera.”
“Ah, are you getting love calls from everywhere because of your new project? I should have become an entertainment reporter instead of a social affairs one.”
“When are you going to break that habit?”
“I’m serious about this.”
Woojae laughed playfully. At that moment, the phone in his hand suddenly vibrated loudly. After checking the caller, Woojae slightly narrowed his brow and immediately stood up.
“Oh, hyung. Just a moment. Let me take this call.”
Seowoo nodded at his apologetic gesture. Woojae quickly walked toward the bathroom and disappeared.
Seowoo propped his chin and looked out the window. Having come to the city center, there were quite a lot of people passing by. While absentmindedly gazing, one person among the crowd immediately caught Seowoo’s attention.
“…Huh?”
Having spent a long time together, their habits were impossible to forget. It wasn’t just about appearance. The walking style he had observed throughout their working relationship, the clothing style he had criticized as strange—they clearly indicated who it was.
The person who had just passed by was definitely Jinhyuk.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
