Chapter 76
Right now, Si-yul couldn’t leave Hyun-se. It wasn’t a matter of his feelings. Hyun-se wouldn’t let him go, and more importantly, if he left, Yuwon would be in danger. Si-yul could be banished to an island, but if Hyun-se removed the security guard he had assigned to Yuwon, a truly problematic situation could arise.
Perhaps unknowingly, a part of Si-yul was desperately trying to find ways to stay with Hyun-se even for one more minute. Or it could be close to self-rationalization.
Whatever the reason, Si-yul made a decision. He would stay by Hyun-se’s side. He thought that when time passed and Hyun-se was about to get married, or after the marriage if Hyun-se changed his mind, it wouldn’t be too late to leave then.
Or maybe before that time came, he would be the first to…
Outside the dark window, snow was falling heavily. The snowflakes drew diagonal lines following the biting wind. Si-yul leaned on the window frame and stared down absently. Cars lined up on the road with their red and yellow lights on, like Christmas tree lights. The flow of traffic was sluggish due to the heavy snow.
Si-yul stared blankly at his reflection in the glass. His hair had grown quite long. He fiddled with the hair covering his nape, then brushed back his bangs that had come down almost to his eyes. When he went out, he’d have to cut his hair first.
Unconsciously, he spread his hand, and his well-trimmed nails caught his eye. Hyun-se had done this for him too. He had restrained Si-yul, who was screaming that he hated it and not to touch him, and trimmed each nail carefully with nail clippers.
Looking at just his fingers, which were thick and rough like bear paws, one wouldn’t think he could do such delicate work, but he had trimmed them perfectly into crescent moon shapes without any rough edges.
Hyun-se could be this gentle.
And equally cruel.
Si-yul chuckled, then quickly made a tearful face. Lately, his emotions were like a wildly fluctuating graph. Even when he thought he shouldn’t be like this, when he saw or thought of Hyun-se, depression and wry laughter followed each other like a madman.
“…Pull yourself together.”
He rubbed his face roughly, dragging himself back to reality from his wandering memories. Hyun-se was outside the door. Seeing the snow, he hadn’t left the house. Though he could work in the study, he spread his laptop and documents in the living room like a guard dog. Disgusted by the sight, Si-yul had closed the door completely.
He had confronted this enough by now. If it was an unbreakable wall, compromise could be one of the best methods. Si-yul decided to resign himself for the time being.
Even though it was the door to his own room, he couldn’t bring himself to open it. Reluctantly, he knocked three times. Compared to before when he had pounded on the door until his fists were bruised, his demeanor had softened considerably.
Hearing approaching footsteps, he stepped back. The door opened. Si-yul looked only at the floor, twisting the hem of his shirt in his hands. His palms were sticky.
“I won’t leave. Like you said… I’ll stay home.”
He got straight to the point. Hyun-se crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe.
“How can I believe that?”
Just from his posture, Si-yul could tell that Hyun-se’s trust in him was less than a rat’s tail. But he hadn’t done anything wrong. Si-yul felt a surge of emotion and suddenly lifted his head.
“Why can’t you believe me?”
“Because Kwon Si-yul is good at lying.”
There were quite a few things that pricked his conscience, starting with Tae-joo, so he couldn’t argue about when he had lied. He was about to deny it, but meeting Hyun-se’s gaze, he quietly turned his head away.
“…You said Yuwon would be in danger if I left.”
“…”
“Anyway, you won’t let me leave, and Yuwon is involved, so that’s why.”
Hyun-se just looked down at the top of Si-yul’s head. Si-yul knew without looking that his gaze was full of suspicion and distrust.
“I feel suffocated. Please let me get some fresh air.”
Though he didn’t seem particularly willing, Hyun-se turned sideways, making enough space for Si-yul to squeeze through. Si-yul came out into the living room without looking at Hyun-se. Even this was his first outing in a long time. It was his first step out after being confined to his room, partly by choice and partly by force.
“I mean it. Even if I go out, I’ll come back here. …I don’t really have anywhere else to go anyway.”
Si-yul added, hoping to regain even a little trust. Hyun-se came close and hugged Si-yul tightly from behind. He buried his cheek in Si-yul’s hair and wrapped his arms around his waist. Si-yul raised his hands as if to remove the arms wrapped around him like chains, but then curled his fingers in the air and lowered them.
“Don’t go anywhere even when the Kwon Yuwon matter is over.”
“…”
“This is our home.”
Our. It was time for wry laughter among depression and laughter. But depression struck a beat faster, and Si-yul could neither cry nor laugh. Even though the body heat he had longed for was comforting, Si-yul couldn’t feel the warmth. Unlike his warming skin, inside he felt as cold as if covered in a thin layer of ice.
* * *
No matter how many times he called, there was no answer. Tae-joo sent what must have been his umpteenth text message before lowering his arm holding the phone.
With no contact from Si-yul, he couldn’t focus on anything. Even though his mother clicked her tongue, telling him to at least go out, he had no motivation to do anything. He had always been busy drinking and having fun, but now he had lost interest in all of that.
He had also tried contacting Hyun-se, but of course, there was no reply. Even if he called, Hyun-se rejected it, and naturally, he didn’t read the texts. Compared to the past when Hyun-se would respond at least twice out of ten times no matter how busy he was, now it was complete and thorough ignoring.
It couldn’t be that Hyun-se, of all people, would treat him like this. The anger from having his messages ruthlessly ignored, and the sense of betrayal from knowing that Hyun-se and Si-yul were already in that kind of relationship, had Tae-joo tossing and turning at night recently. He would wake up suddenly and greet the morning with rising indignation.
He hadn’t wanted to resort to this if he could help it. But he didn’t like the sight of himself lying around just waiting for contact, which was so unlike his temperament. Tae-joo finally got up and prepared to go out. His mother, who was drinking tea in the living room, brightened up asking if he was finally going out, but he didn’t act cute asking for pocket money as usual.
He immediately grabbed his car keys and headed to the building where Hyun-se’s office was located. It was an office in a building owned by Hyun-se, standing prominently on prime real estate.
He took a deep breath in front of the door and got on the elevator with the determination of a general invading enemy territory. He wasn’t sure if Hyun-se would be in the office. If it were the past, he would have at least asked Hae-jung, Hyun-se’s right-hand man, but for some reason, his whereabouts were also unknown.
He arrived at the office safely. The secretary, despite clearly recognizing his face, threw out a single indifferent word to wait in an extremely businesslike manner. Sitting on an expensive sofa waiting, Tae-joo continuously tapped the floor with his foot, not hiding his anxiety and dissatisfaction.
Finally, the secretary, who had been busy working between her laptop and phone, called Tae-joo. Hiding his sweaty palms in fists, Tae-joo entered the office. Hyun-se, sitting at his desk and uncharacteristically wearing glasses, didn’t even lift his head despite someone entering.
“Hyung.”
After the secretary left, he called Hyun-se quietly. But Hyun-se didn’t take his eyes off the monitor. His expression was so natural, as if he didn’t even recognize Tae-joo’s existence. He wasn’t even surprised by Tae-joo’s sudden appearance without notice. Either he had anticipated it, or it wasn’t even worth being surprised about.
“What.”
At least he asked. Tae-joo was about to sit on the sofa nearby but changed his mind and stood in front of the desk with his arms crossed. Until Hyun-se’s eyes looked this way. At this unprecedented silent protest, Hyun-se let out a long, silent sigh and took off his glasses.
“What did you do with Si-yul hyung’s phone?”
Even though he was clearly looking down at Hyun-se, when their eyes met, a chill ran down Tae-joo’s spine. Trying to hide his agitation, he deliberately set his jaw firmly and didn’t avoid Hyun-se’s gaze.
“It’s none of your business.”
“Why not? Hyung, are you keeping Si-yul hyung locked up?”
“Since when did Kwon Si-yul become your hyung? Did you have a half-sibling I didn’t know about?”
“That’s not what I mean!”
Even when Tae-joo shouted, slamming his hand on the desk with a loud bang, Hyun-se didn’t even flinch. He just leaned back deeply in his chair, resting his elbows on the armrests. He held his glasses carelessly, the temple pieces almost touching his lips.
“Did you really confine Si-yul hyung? You were the last one to take him away that day.”
“What good does it do you to know that?”
“Of course it matters! Hyung, is it really true?”
They say ‘what if’ kills a person, and Tae-joo had asked thinking ‘surely he wouldn’t do that’, but Hyun-se gave no clear yes or no answer. He just smiled ambiguously. Tae-joo had never seen Hyun-se’s smile look so vicious before.
“Hyung, this isn’t right. Let Si-yul hyung go. Give him back his phone too. This is a crime. I don’t want to have to report my own flesh and blood with my own hands.”
Reading the answer in that smile, Tae-joo expressed his opinion calmly, but with shock. Despite his long-winded persuasion, Hyun-se just listened leisurely.
“It’s better for you and for Si-yul hyung. And you’re getting married, hyung. In our world, it might not be unusual to have a lover while being married, but Si-yul hyung isn’t that kind of person. He’s an ordinary person. A beta. You’re an alpha. Do you think people with different traits can get along well? Si-yul hyung doesn’t suit you.”
Hyun-se’s smile twisted subtly, but Tae-joo didn’t notice. Believing that Hyun-se was being persuaded, he kept talking earnestly. After pretending to listen attentively to the one-sided speech, Hyun-se pushed his chair back and stood up. He put on his coat from the coat rack and picked up his phone from the desk.
“I have a prior engagement. How long are you going to keep talking?”
“Did you hear what I said? I’m telling you to let Si-yul hyung go.”
“Mind your own business. This isn’t something for you to interfere with.”
