Chapter 159
“Did Director Nam know about my clone phone too?”
“I made it for the CEO.”
“…”
Eunseong’s eyes stiffened in surprise before collapsing in despair. Director Nam pulled up a chair, sat in front of him, and casually asked:
“How did you know about the clone phone?”
“…”
“Whose phone is it? Tell me. How did you know your father’s urn was empty?”
“I was searching through ahjussi’s study… looking for something and saw my clone phone.”
Director Nam felt intensely irritated with Siwoon for carelessly leaving such things in his study. It would cause unnecessary misunderstandings. And to make matters worse, the urn was empty, so it was reasonable for Eunseong to suspect he was lying.
“Whose phone is it?”
“Jung-eon’s… I borrowed it from Jung-eon. In case there was another clone phone.”
Eunseong hid the phone behind his back as if afraid it would be taken away.
“I won’t take it from you.”
“…I think I misunderstood. Ahjussi changed after we visited to pay respects to the elders…”
“Changed? The CEO?”
“Ahjussi changed. He doesn’t care about me anymore… he’s only absorbed in work, he promised we’d travel but lied… ahjussi is a liar.”
“I’ll look into what happened with your father’s urn. I haven’t had a chance to ask the CEO yet, as he seems too preoccupied right now. There must be some reason… I’ll find out where your father is.”
“…Are you saying he’s alive?”
“…”
“Is my dad alive?”
“…I don’t know about that.”
Director Nam avoided Eunseong’s gaze.
Eunseong knew he was dead. Not just dead, but killed by Yoo Siwoon.
He had clearly seen Siwoon putting his body in a freezer. On the phone that Director Nam had promised not to take away, there was video footage of Siwoon following his father into the building to kill him, and also footage of him carelessly putting the dead body into a freezer. Though only the back view was visible, Eunseong, who had been familiar with the wolf tattoo protruding from above his turtleneck, couldn’t fail to recognize him.
He wanted to show it. He wanted to ask how they would lie about this. But Director Nam was also in on it. Of course he had to be part of it, that was only natural… but Eunseong felt like he was losing his mind as the last hope he had been clinging to crumbled away.
He couldn’t do anything alone, and Director Nam, whom he had trusted, was Siwoon’s man. He couldn’t be on Eunseong’s side.
No matter how much he denied and rejected it, what became clearer with time was only that Eunseong was trapped somewhere, being strangled according to their plan.
“…Why are you crying?”
“…Because I’m sad. Because I can’t believe it.”
Siwoon had been deceiving Eunseong, and Director Nam had been deceiving Eunseong too. The fact that there was no one in this world he could trust… the fact that he had firmly believed and relied on them made Eunseong feel like a complete fool, so stupid that he could go crazy.
He even felt resentment towards his already departed father who had sent him away, thinking he would be safe with Siwoon, without knowing this would happen. His father had died because he trusted Siwoon, and because Eunseong trusted Siwoon, he was now receiving unbearable wounds.
“Have you eaten something? Your face… it’s really become half of what it was. You’ll disappear at this rate.”
“Why do you keep trying to feed me?”
“You’ve been starving yourself, shouldn’t I be worried?”
“…”
Because I need to get pregnant…? Because I need to give birth to a child who might become the god who came through the side path?
Eunseong was being thoroughly used.
By the people he trusted. By the person he loved.
“Are you saying the CEO is lying because of your father’s empty urn? What did you mean by the word ‘lie’ that you wrote on your hand and showed me then? Who is lying and how?”
“…”
“Have you decided not to talk again?”
“…”
“Did someone perhaps tell you something… did you hear something?”
“What kind of thing?”
“…Something absurd, truly absurd.”
Director Nam’s expression became grave. It was a suspicion that Eunseong had noticed something. Otherwise, there would be no reason for such an intense reaction to the empty urn. His rejection of Siwoon was also strange.
“Something absurd? What is that?”
Eunseong wanted to ask if he was talking about Siwoon killing his biological parents and adoptive father to possess him. Or if that supposedly absurd thing was that Eunseong could bear children, that he was a prophesied figure who had been pursued and managed by them since birth, and which of the two would be less shocking.
“…It’s nothing.”
“I want to lie down.”
“Is something really wrong?”
“…What do you mean, is something wrong?”
“Your body… is it different from usual? Or are you just so shocked that the CEO lied that you don’t want to eat anything? Why are you acting like this?”
Eunseong just stared at him as he examined him seriously. Then, just like when he was listening to Detective Lee Joon-seung talking about cults and murder with a serious face, he suddenly burst into laughter. With eyes full of tears, he erupted in ticklish laughter.
At the sight of Eunseong laughing, Director Nam froze in confusion, wondering for a moment if Eunseong had lost his mind.
“How is my body different? How should it be different?”
Eunseong asked as if finding his words amusing.
“Eunseong?”
“What, do you want to know if I’m pregnant?”
“…”
Director Nam, belatedly understanding Eunseong’s words, startled violently and jumped up. The chair tumbled backward as he rose in agitation. Backing away hesitantly, he stared at Eunseong, who was looking up at him intently, with horror.
“I’m a male, how could I be pregnant? Does that make sense? Does… Director Nam, do you think that makes sense? I’m asking if that makes sense!”
Eunseong shouted. Then, shuddering as he became aware of the mark of prophecy on his body, he suddenly retched as if rejecting it with his entire being. As acidic stomach fluid rose, Eunseong covered his mouth and ran into the bathroom.
He locked the bathroom door and buried his face in the toilet. Tears and waste poured out together. The water he had just drunk came back up as acidic fluid. His esophagus burned as if on fire. Physiological tears from the reflux flowed down, blurring his vision.
Urgh, uweeeck!
The sound of knocking on the bathroom door seemed distant, as if coming from far away. Eunseong, hugging the toilet and retching, thrashed about trying to shake something off as if a disgusting snake was coiling around him, and stripped off his clothes. He took off everything, including his underwear, and turned on the shower. Ice-cold water that would chill him to the bone poured down on his head.
Eunseong was on all fours on the bathroom tiles, letting the stream of water hit him as he scrubbed and washed between his legs, the place where blue scales appeared when touched. He scrubbed it with a towel until his skin was sore and red.
That was the very evidence – the place Siwoon had loved and cherished, obsessively clung to and caressed. Evidence that Eunseong could bear children, that Eunseong was the very figure mentioned in the prophecy.
So that’s why Siwoon had said he loved Eunseong when he saw this. They had said they were destined to be a couple.
That’s what it meant.
The noise of knocking on the door grew louder, pounding, and then with a loud bang, as if the foundation was collapsing, the bathroom door burst open. Siwoon rushed in.
“Eunseong!”
He picked up Eunseong, who was on all fours on the floor, turning blue from the cold water pouring down on him. He wrapped the naked body haphazardly with a towel. Eunseong’s limbs were trembling violently.
Siwoon urgently carried Eunseong out of the bathroom. He placed the shivering Eunseong on the bed.
He wrapped the naked body tightly in the bedding and tried to thaw Eunseong’s frozen body with his own body heat. His hands busily stroked various parts of Eunseong’s body, trying to generate warmth. Eunseong just stared blankly at the bewildered Siwoon, his purplish lips trembling.
“Eunseong… what on earth is… are you okay? Huh? Hah, please.”
Siwoon hugged Eunseong, then let go, then touched him, rubbed him, held him, floundering in confusion.
While drying Eunseong’s wet hair by rubbing it with a towel, he checked Eunseong’s face. Eunseong was staring at him vacantly as if he couldn’t feel the cold.
“Eunseong, are you conscious? Look at me. Are you conscious?”
“…Ahjussi.”
“Yes, are you okay?”
His concern wasn’t a lie. Siwoon wasn’t just concerned; he was in an almost panicked state, on the verge of losing his reason. He was afraid of what might happen to Eunseong.
The blue-tinged lips moved. Siwoon momentarily stopped all movement and concentrated all his nerves to hear what Eunseong was saying in a small voice.
“…What did you say?”
“Am I… am I your broodmare?”
“…”
“Am I… your broodmare.”
“…”
“Can’t you hear me?”
“…”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
