120.
#What Are You Going to Do There?
“When you contact the author, ask him about Tanzania for me.”
Jeff shook his head at Dawoon’s casual tone. He marveled at how unplanned Dawoon could be.
The word “unplanned” sounded unfamiliar, making Dawoon chuckle again. Until now, Dawoon had lived a more rigidly structured life than anyone. He had never done anything impulsively. He could only take a step forward after much deliberation.
“This is a bit of a personal question, but what’s your relationship with the author?”
Dawoon paused while putting on his jacket at Jeff’s question.
“Considering the age difference, you’re not friends, and since you just graduated college, you’re not part of his filming crew either. But he’s covering all your expenses here. He even had everything bought for you, down to your clothes.”
Jeff’s eyes narrowed further. He looked Dawoon up and down, finding it very suspicious.
“Don’t tell me…”
A faint wrinkle appeared between his brows as he seemed to think of something.
“Are you in that kind of relationship?”
At his last words, Dawoon let out a sigh. It was absurd that Jeff thought he might be Choi Seon-gyeom’s lover, especially since Dawoon was a man, not a woman. Or did he perhaps emit some pheromone that attracted men? Otherwise, how could someone easily think of such an unlikely relationship between men?
“It’s not the kind of suspicious relationship you’re thinking of.”
Dawoon didn’t care if Jeff misunderstood, but unlike himself, Choi Seon-gyeom was a well-known author. Rather than causing him trouble, it was better to firmly deny it in advance.
“If you’re not lovers, why is he taking care of everything for you?”
Jeff still couldn’t understand. Even so, Dawoon couldn’t give him an answer. Because he was Choi Seon-gyeom’s son. That sentence wouldn’t come out as sound. Not only was he still unable to accept his relationship with Choi Seon-gyeom himself, but he also thought it might be awkward if rumors spread about the unmarried Choi Seon-gyeom having a son.
“Ask the author.”
In the end, he passed the answer on to Choi Seon-gyeom. Whatever he answered, it didn’t matter.
“Can I ask him now? I think I need to contact him anyway to book the plane tickets.”
Jeff asked, showing his phone. Dawoon nodded, allowing him to do so, and went to sit by the window. Part of him was curious about how Choi Seon-gyeom would answer.
Telling Dawoon that he was his father and acknowledging it to others were different matters. Not everyone accepts the truth as it is. Even if someone acknowledged Jeong Dawoon as their son, some would deny it, some would reject him for being someone’s son, and others would try to curry favor. Such reactions were all too familiar to Jeong Dawoon, who had been Jeong Seo-hoo’s son.
So if Choi Seon-gyeom revealed their relationship, Dawoon was curious how Jeff would react.
“Whoa, really?”
Jeff’s voice jumped as he spoke with Choi Seon-gyeom. Then he looked at Dawoon with wide eyes.
“Wow… I never imagined. Is it true?”
Seeing him double-check in disbelief, it seemed Choi Seon-gyeom had truthfully said that Dawoon was his son.
“When on earth did he have such a grown son… But is he really the author’s son? They don’t look alike at all!”
Jeff, who had been struggling to accept it until the end of the call, put his phone in his pocket and approached Dawoon. He then carefully examined Dawoon’s face. He seemed to be looking for any resemblance to Choi Seon-gyeom.
“He says I take after my mother.”
Dawoon answered indifferently, and Jeff nodded with an “Ah” sound.
“Your mother must have been beautiful.”
Dawoon laughed weakly at the honest assessment. Did he resemble her? He wasn’t sure himself, but everyone said so. When he was young, his father… Jeong Seo-hoo often sat Dawoon on his knee and said he was the spitting image of his mother.
As Haram was born and grew up, Dawoon realized even more that he had no resemblance to his father. Haram grew to look more like Hayun, and Grandfather would be pleased, saying Haram looked exactly like their father when he was young.
So Dawoon had wondered why only he didn’t resemble his father, thinking that if he had, maybe Grandfather and the relatives would have been kinder to him. Now that he thought about it, it was natural that he didn’t resemble them. Since not a drop of blood was shared, since they were complete strangers, there was no way he could have resembled them.
“Anyway, I understand now. Why the author wanted to take care of everything for you.”
Jeff nodded, seeming to comprehend.
“He insisted that you shouldn’t be uncomfortable in any way. He said to give you whatever you want.”
Jeff rattled on. Dawoon half-listened to his words. Although Choi Seon-gyeom had said to ask Jeff for anything he needed, Dawoon hadn’t requested anything beyond the bare necessities of food and lodging. It wasn’t comfortable to be indebted to Choi Seon-gyeom either. It was only because he had no choice for now, because he needed his help to escape from Hayun, that he was relying on him.
“What are you going to do in Tanzania?”
Fortunately, Jeff’s interests were shallow and broad. Once one curiosity was satisfied, the topic quickly changed.
“Volunteer work.”
“What?”
Jeff frowned, wondering what this sudden talk was about.
“I saw it on the internet when I was in Korea. There are Koreans doing volunteer work in orphanages, medical fields, and such in Tanzania.”
“Ah… That’s not usually an easy job… The weather is terribly hot, and the sanitary conditions there are incomparable to here. Even though it’s Africa, it’s a world of difference, you know?”
Jeff seemed displeased with Dawoon’s intention to do volunteer work in Tanzania. Dawoon stared at him blankly, wondering why it mattered to Jeff what he wanted to do. Jeff scratched his head with a frown before speaking.
“I have to go with you to Tanzania. If you’re volunteering, I have to do it too, you know.”
So that was the problem. Dawoon couldn’t help but smile at the childish complaint.
“Did you just laugh? This isn’t a laughing matter! What if you catch some infectious disease there? How am I supposed to explain that to the author?”
Dawoon just smiled and shook his head as he stood up, amidst Jeff’s continuous grumbling. Jeff’s complaints continued for a while longer until Dawoon assured him he didn’t have to join in the volunteer work.
***
Arriving in London a day later than originally scheduled, Hayun had to spend several days fulfilling his planned itinerary. Leaving the hotel early in the morning and returning, it was already past 9 PM. From then on, he would receive reports about Dawoon from Director Park.
Even so, there was no progress in the reports. People had been deployed to search in South Africa, but with no phone to track and no credit card usage, they were relying solely on Dawoon’s photo for the search. Such analog investigation methods were unlikely to yield results. They couldn’t even tell if Dawoon was still in Cape Town or had moved elsewhere.
Hayun’s nerves grew increasingly on edge as days passed. People at the London branch whispered that they hadn’t known Jeong Hayun was such a cold person, finding it difficult to even approach him. More and more people complained that he was very different from what they had heard through rumors.
As soon as the week-long London schedule was completed, Hayun ordered tickets to be booked for South Africa.
“It’s already late, sir. Perhaps it would be better if you rest and move tomorrow morning…”
“I said to find the earliest ticket right now. Did you not understand me?”
Hayun cut off Director Park’s words. Director Park took a deep breath and bowed his head. For the past week, Hayun hadn’t slept properly for a single day. As a result, fatigue was increasingly visible on his face day by day, and his nerves became sharper. Director Park thought it would be too much to fly in this state and had recommended at least one day of proper rest, but it wasn’t accepted.
Going to South Africa immediately wouldn’t provide any clear solution. Dawoon’s whereabouts were still completely unknown. Hayun must know this fact, yet he insisted on going there right away. It was a judgment he would never have made in his usual state.
Jeong Hayun was different from usual. The fact that Jeong Dawoon had disappeared from right in front of him made him visibly anxious and restless. He wasn’t sleeping properly and barely touched his meals. At this rate, it seemed he might collapse before long.
To think that Jeong Hayun, who had seemed like an iron man, might collapse. It was unimaginable just a few days ago. But watching him recently, Director Park couldn’t shake off such worries. That’s how precarious Jeong Hayun looked.
“Wait a moment.”
As Director Park was about to leave the office, Hayun stopped him.
“How is Haram doing?”
Even in this situation, he’s still concerned about his young brother, Jeong Haram.
“He’s feeling down, but he’s coping more calmly than expected.”
Hayun frowned at the report about Jeong Haram’s condition back in Korea.
“What about contacts on Haram’s phone? Are you checking all of them?”
After Jeong Dawoon’s disappearance, they had installed a cloning program on Jeong Haram’s phone to monitor it in real-time.
“Still no contact from Dawoon?”
What Jeong Hayun was curious about wasn’t his young brother’s well-being, but whether there had been any contact from Jeong Dawoon.
“No, sir.”
Director Park swallowed a sigh as he answered.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
