103
Hadad quietly entered the hospital room and placed a large bouquet of flowers in Yeon Ji-ho’s arms. It was a lavish bouquet with red roses at its center. Yeon Ji-ho dropped it to the floor as soon as he received it.
He then hurriedly tried to press the nurse call button. If he said an unknown person had come to visit and asked for them to be thrown out, even Hadad wouldn’t be able to do anything. He couldn’t do it because Hadad reached out before Yeon Ji-ho could.
“Hmm, ‘Set’?”
Hadad discovered the phone lying on Yeon Ji-ho’s blanket and simply picked it up. With a slippery smile, Hadad called Set’s name and swiped the phone screen with his thumb in a very familiar gesture. He began reading the conversation between Set and Yeon Ji-ho.
Yeon Ji-ho, who had turned pale, kicked off the blanket and tried to snatch the phone from Hadad. However, his vision turned black, perhaps due to the sudden movement. Just as the startled Yeon Ji-ho managed to stand up by grabbing the bed guard:
“Oh my, Ji-ho. You should be careful, especially in your condition.”
With a gentle voice, Hadad wrapped his arm around Yeon Ji-ho’s waist. Though he couldn’t see clearly, Yeon Ji-ho guessed it was Hadad’s touch and was desperate to escape from his hands.
Hadad didn’t particularly try to stop Yeon Ji-ho. Instead, he just muttered while skimming through the conversation on the phone.
“I wonder what kind of mischievous prank our god wanted to play this time.”
Hadad, with his lips curled up crookedly, soon stopped reading the screen and tossed the phone onto the blanket. Yeon Ji-ho hurriedly picked up the phone and checked it all over to see if it was broken or if Hadad had done anything to it.
On the screen, Set’s last message was displayed:
“Set: Ji-ho” 7:55 PM
“Set: Is it cold there?” 7:56 PM
“Set: Ji-ho?” 7:59 PM
Though he wanted to reply immediately to the messages looking for him, now wasn’t the time. Yeon Ji-ho put the phone down on the bed and stood barefoot directly in front of Hadad. The bouquet remained discarded at his feet.
“…What’s your reason for doing this?”
“Hm? Ji-ho, what did you say?”
“You must have a reason for doing this to me.”
During Set’s absence, Yeon Ji-ho had never had a proper conversation with Hadad. At first, he refused to talk because he disliked him, and a little later, he kept his mouth shut for fear of being swayed by Hadad’s skilled conversation. And after more time passed, he was busy hiding out of fear that Hadad might harm his child.
But today, courage welled up inside him. Maybe it was because he now had a means of communicating with Set. Though he wasn’t sure if it was really possible, Set had said he would somehow come to his side, so today, Yeon Ji-ho could stand properly before Hadad.
“If what you wanted was to escape because that place was boring, you’ve already achieved that by coming here. So why do you keep tormenting me?”
“Hmm… Is that so? Was it like that? Didn’t I tell you before?”
Hadad smiled as he saw Yeon Ji-ho meeting his eyes for the first time in a long while. In fact, he wanted to reach out and gently embrace Yeon Ji-ho’s shoulders right away.
“Ji-ho, you are the protagonist of this place.”
“That, so why…”
“Don’t you really understand? Ji-ho, think about what the ‘genre’ of this place might be.”
Yeon Ji-ho already knew that he too was a protagonist like Hadad because of him. Perhaps this place was also a world within a novel, just like where Hadad had been.
But why should any of that matter?
At first, it was a shocking story that made him want to vomit. The place he lived was a novel? Then, what about his parents? The kind neighbors next door? The kids who bullied him throughout his school years? Were they all characters in a novel too?
Then at some point, he understood everything. Or perhaps he reached enlightenment. Even if this place was really inside a novel, for Yeon Ji-ho, this was his real world.
“You see, Ji-ho, in a novel,”
Hadad began speaking in a generous voice, as if teaching something to a younger sibling.
“There are things that are absolutely necessary to reach the perfect ending.”
Yeon Ji-ho was also aware of the three commonly discussed elements of a novel: character, event, and setting. Just as he was recalling these, Hadad, as if he had already pierced through Yeon Ji-ho’s thoughts, added with a low laugh:
“But that differs depending on the genre.”
“…Genre?”
“Ji-ho, shall we talk about something else for a moment? After coming to this world, I’ve heard, seen, and learned many things. Ah, I didn’t steal or commit any crimes. I was able to easily obtain money by selling a few accessories attached to my clothes.”
Yeon Ji-ho wasn’t curious about how Hadad had been living since coming to Korea. However, he patiently listened to all of Hadad’s words in order to hear what he wanted to hear.
“Here, when lovers go on ‘dates’, they watch movies. Haha, it’s really interesting. In Asterra, young couples usually watched plays when they met. I suppose it’s a similar principle.”
“Can’t you talk a bit more briefly?”
Hadad shrugged at Yeon Ji-ho’s cold words. He didn’t seem to have particularly taken Yeon Ji-ho’s words to heart.
“Movies have many genres too. Romantic comedy, action, thriller, horror. Among these, do you know what needs to be done to see the ending in a superhero action movie?”
“Defeat… the villain.”
“Haha, correct answer. Hmm, Ji-ho, I like romantic movies. Shall we go watch a romance movie together next time?”
A superhero action movie can only reach its conclusion by defeating the villain.
Yeon Ji-ho focused only on this statement, ignoring all of Hadad’s unnecessary words. Then suddenly, a question crossed his mind. If this place was really inside a novel, what would the genre be?
And at that moment, Yeon Ji-ho’s eyes widened as if they would tear. Seeing that he seemed to have realized something, Hadad began to smile as if he was melting.
“Do you understand a little now?”
“…”
“Ji-ho, if we were to consider this place as a movie, it would be a romantic comedy.”
Romantic comedy. Or romance.
All those romance movies must, without fail, have love to reach their conclusion.
“Ji-ho is the protagonist of this place, and I…”
Hadad smiled coolly and poked the center of his own chest. The neatly worn tie swayed weakly.
Yeon Ji-ho finally understood. He realized. If this place was also a novel, and if he wanted to see the end of this novel…
“I am another protagonist who will soon fall in love with Ji-ho.”
That he, as the protagonist, must fall in love.
Hadad’s smooth smile suddenly became terrifying to Yeon Ji-ho. He suddenly seemed to find his tie suffocating and loosened it as he took a step towards Yeon Ji-ho. Startled, Yeon Ji-ho stepped back and bumped into the bed, sitting down with a thud.
Hadad didn’t miss this opportunity and began to approach with long strides. Just as the surprised Yeon Ji-ho was about to crawl away on his knees across the bed, Hadad moved faster. He grabbed Yeon Ji-ho’s chin and pulled him strongly towards himself.
Yeon Ji-ho found himself face to face with Hadad’s green eyes. No matter how much he tried to pull his head away, he couldn’t escape Hadad’s grasp.
“Ji-ho. Don’t think about it too hard.”
He felt like a bird tightly bound in a snare. It felt as if the trap around his neck would completely crush his entire body if he moved even a little. Yeon Ji-ho barely managed to grab the bed sheet to control his trembling body.
“Love is really not a big deal, you know.”
While being forced to look into his terribly shining eyes, Yeon Ji-ho’s breathing began to quicken. The fear he had been suppressing began to seep out little by little. Yeon Ji-ho gasped for breath, but Hadad didn’t let go of his cheek.
At that moment, something touched Yeon Ji-ho’s fingers. Yeon Ji-ho, who had been gripping the bed sheet, slowly extended his fingers and picked it up. It was the phone.
It was unclear whether Hadad hadn’t noticed, or if he had noticed but didn’t care and left it alone. Either way was fine. Yeon Ji-ho gripped the phone with his trembling hand to suppress the shaking.
“So now, let’s fall in love.”
Huh?
As soon as Hadad finished speaking, Yeon Ji-ho swung the phone he was holding. The moment the phone struck Hadad’s head, Yeon Ji-ho didn’t miss the brief instance when Hadad staggered and crawled across the bed to press the nurse call button.
The nurses would rush in soon. If he could just hold on until then, just for a very short while…
“Ji-ho.”
His hair was grabbed. No matter how much he struggled to escape, it was as useless as swimming in choppy waters. As Yeon Ji-ho’s vision began to blur, the last thing he saw was…
“I really wanted to love you, Ji-ho.”
The sight of him biting the back of his neck.
