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#Side 2. 5 years later (5)
Eventually, Dawoon boarded the plane to New York. Sitting in first class, looking out the window at nothing but white clouds, he swallowed a sigh.
Why am I sitting here?
Ostensibly, the purpose was to film in New York. However, he was on this plane alone, leaving all the staff behind. He could do the filming alone. It wasn’t about setting up for proper landscape shots, but just capturing the streets of New York or the small everyday scenes in the suburbs. He made various excuses, but in the end, filming was just a side note, and his mind was elsewhere. He thought it wouldn’t be right to bring all the staff along when he might not be able to do proper filming, so he said he’d go alone for reconnaissance.
Hayun’s business trip was scheduled for three days. It wasn’t a very long time. Three days would barely be enough to explore all of New York City. Although he had been there a few times before and had decided on some places he wanted to film, it wasn’t enough time to just walk around aimlessly and discover eye-catching locations as he usually did.
Nevertheless, his mind kept wandering to other places.
From New York to the school Haram attended was nearly a 3-hour journey by public transportation. It would take just over an hour by car, but even that wasn’t a short distance. Above all, to go by car, he would have to ask Hayun to lend him one. There was no particular reason to hide it from him, but he didn’t want to tell him either. He just felt complicated. He wasn’t sure if he still wanted to meet Haram or not.
More accurately, he wasn’t confident if it was okay to meet. He was also afraid that if they met, Haram might pour out resentment. He didn’t know if Haram was still unaware of his relationship with Hayun, or if he knew. He could ask Hayun, but he was scared to hear the answer.
If Haram knew everything, wouldn’t he despise them? Wouldn’t he think it was disgusting for brothers to do such a thing?
All the negative thoughts he had when he first entered into this relationship with Hayun resurfaced. His chest felt tight at the thought that Haram might think the same way.
Perhaps that’s why he had fled to London. Thinking it might be better not to know.
“What are you thinking about to make such a serious expression?”
Hayun, sitting in the next seat, asked. Feeling embarrassed that it was still so obvious, Dawoon brushed his cheek with his hand and turned away.
“Nothing.”
He could feel Hayun staring at him intently, but he didn’t look back. He didn’t want to reveal how disturbed he was just from hearing about Haram after such a long time. Letting go of Haram was enough. He didn’t want to worry Hayun too.
***
On the first day after arriving in New York, while Hayun went to work, Dawoon wandered around New York City with just his camera. Most places were already too well-known to many people, so there weren’t any spots he particularly wanted to film. At this rate, it seemed he would just waste time and go back. He felt he had made the right choice coming alone without the staff. He would have wasted everyone’s time unnecessarily. He had only captured small city scenes while passing through Little Island, The Vessel, Central Park Zoo, and towards the New York Museum.
“Can I use the car tomorrow?”
Returning to the hotel, thinking he might go to the outskirts of New York tomorrow, he asked Hayun for the car.
“Are you going to drive yourself?”
He had gotten his license two years ago, but there were hardly any occasions to actually drive. In London, whenever he wanted to go a bit far, Hayun would provide a car with a driver. When Dawoon refused, saying not to use company resources for personal matters, Hayun even hired a personal driver unrelated to the company. Hayun didn’t like Dawoon driving himself to the point where it made Dawoon wonder why he had gotten a license at all.
“I want to go to the outskirts a bit. I won’t go far.”
Surely he wouldn’t try to provide a personal driver even in New York? Just in case, he emphasized that he wouldn’t go far. He meant that he could drive that much himself, but Hayun narrowed his eyes with a strange expression.
“Do you have a specific place in mind?”
“Not really. If you let me use the car, I was going to look into it now.”
He rarely moved with a specific destination in mind anyway. He would usually decide on a general city and then wander around, filming places that caught his eye. That’s why he often discovered places others didn’t know well, and that was the reason Dawoon’s YouTube channel became famous.
“If it’s just the outskirts of New York, come with me.”
“I thought you were on a business trip.”
“I’m going for business. I’ll drop you off nearby, and from there you can wander around as you like.”
Did he really have business in the outskirts of New York? Dawoon looked at him with eyes full of doubt, but Hayun didn’t avoid his gaze and maintained a calm smile. He was so good at lying smoothly that Dawoon couldn’t fully trust him.
“It’s true.”
As if telling him not to doubt, Hayun lightly kissed Dawoon’s forehead and smiled brightly. It didn’t seem like he was making it up since he wasn’t saying he would follow Dawoon around all day, but that he had business to attend to. Thinking it didn’t matter if that was the case, Dawoon nodded.
***
The next day, they left the hotel early in the morning with Hayun. On the first floor, Director Park was waiting with the car. Seeing Director Park moving with them, it seemed Hayun really did have some business to attend to.
The car left New York City and drove straight in one direction. After about an hour and a half, Dawoon realized they were going quite far and checked the road signs visible outside the window.
Wallingford. Muttering the somewhat familiar letters in his mouth, he realized it was the area where Haram’s school was located.
“Hyung.”
When Dawoon called, Hayun, who had been working on his tablet PC in the next seat, turned to look at him.
“Don’t tell me we’re going to Wallingford?”
Hayun nodded at Dawoon’s question as if asking what the problem was.
So he had planned this from the beginning. But why? Dawoon really couldn’t understand what Hayun was thinking.
“Exactly where are we going?”
“Choate Rosemary Hall.”
At the unhesitating answer, Dawoon couldn’t even sigh. He was speechless that the destination was actually Haram’s school.
“Why there?”
When Dawoon asked with a hardened face, Hayun smiled as if it was no big deal.
“I know what you’re thinking, but it’s a misunderstanding. We’re not going to see Haram. I haven’t had direct contact with that kid for the past 5 years either.”
So it meant they weren’t going to meet by appointment.
“It’s really just a coincidence that I have business at that school.”
Hayun added one more thing. Could such a coincidence exist? Wasn’t it closer to intentional rather than coincidental?
“To be precise, it’s the old man’s request.”
Dawoon unconsciously frowned at the words referring to Chairman Jeong as “old man.” Even if there had been various issues and they were at odds with grandfather, he was still Hayun’s paternal grandfather. Dawoon didn’t want them to become more estranged because of him.
“I guess the older he gets, the more he worries about his younger grandson. He wants me to look after Haram.”
That was a natural wish. Originally, Hayun was Haram’s legal guardian. It was even more frustrating that while saying he was going to the school at grandfather’s request, he had no intention of meeting Haram. Still, Dawoon couldn’t force him to meet. Hayun also hadn’t said a word about Haram to Dawoon. Hayun and Dawoon were accomplices. So Dawoon had nothing to say even if Hayun said he wouldn’t meet Haram.
“Drop me off before we reach the school.”
“Even if you enter the school, you won’t run into him.”
Hayun said that since the school was large, the chance of running into Haram without an appointment would be like finding a needle in a desert. Still, Dawoon didn’t answer. He couldn’t ignore even the slightest possibility.
Of course, he had a desire to see him. Just because he had turned away for 5 years didn’t mean longing hadn’t accumulated. To Dawoon, Haram was more than just a brother. After their parents passed away early, he had thought he needed to take care of him. In the end, it was Dawoon who let go first, so he couldn’t carelessly say he wanted to see him.
Still, he wasn’t mentally prepared. He didn’t know what expression to make if he met Haram. It was still… too early.
“Alright.”
Hayun didn’t force anything again. He just said he hoped there would be places Dawoon wanted to film.
***
After parting with Hayun, Dawoon walked around various parts of the Wallingford area for a while. Compared to New York, it felt like a quiet countryside village. The houses lined up in well-organized areas made viewers feel relaxed.
As he walked, he came across a small church where a wedding was being held. Come to think of it, it was Saturday. Since he didn’t have a regular job with set working hours, he had forgotten it was the weekend.
His gaze stopped on the newlyweds smiling brightly as they received blessings from the guests in front of the church. He couldn’t take his eyes off the scene of people loving ordinarily, marrying ordinarily, and receiving blessings ordinarily. While feeling that the sight was so beautiful, he also felt a strange sense of regret and turned away.
His legs were aching from walking for so long. Fortunately, there was a cafe not far from the church. He ordered a cup of coffee and sat by the window, taking out his phone. As he was looking at the map app to see if there were any other places worth exploring nearby, he heard the murmur of several customers entering.
One of their voices sounded somehow familiar, and as Dawoon raised his head, he froze in place.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
