Chapter 128
“To pay respects to the elders.”
“Elders… who are they?”
“The people your father ran away from.”
Eunseong’s heart sank instantly.
“…You’re saying we’re going to greet those people?”
“Yes.”
“Is that okay? I heard I was necessary for some succession structure… You said before that they would fight over me, that I would have to do things I don’t want to do, that I would have to do dangerous things. That’s why my father ran away with me.”
“…That’s right.”
Yoo Siwoon was responding with low, plain “yes, yes” answers that seemed halfhearted. Eunseong, who had been drowsy despite waking early and drinking coffee, suddenly became fully alert.
“Do you want me to do dangerous things?”
“…Yes.”
“What?”
“…”
Yoo Siwoon picked up his coffee cup, slowly took a sip of the brown liquid, and with the same deliberate motion carefully set it down. He moved with such caution that not even the sound of the ceramic touching the surface could be heard. There was a shadow over his handsome face.
“Are you serious? Are you really saying that right now?”
“Yes, I’m serious.”
“Yes, yes—why do you keep saying ‘yes’ over and over since earlier!”
“…”
“I’m scared. You said I didn’t have to do things I don’t want to do. You said you’d take me to New York, that we’d raise a dog there and go for walks… we agreed to that.”
The burst of anger from questioning and shouting shrank pitifully into fear.
“We will do that.”
Eunseong couldn’t understand what he was saying. His heart sank as he belatedly noticed that the tension spreading across Yoo Siwoon’s grim expression reflected a solemn determination. Not knowing what was happening or what Yoo Siwoon meant made it even more frightening.
Eunseong had never seen the family elders his father had to flee from. He had only heard about them, to the point where he initially doubted they even existed. But now Yoo Siwoon had suddenly woken him at dawn and was saying they would meet them today.
If the family elders were normal, decent people, his father wouldn’t have abandoned such a good background and run away with him. His father had said his family wasn’t normal, that they were crazy. He’d said Yoo Siwoon was the only one who could protect Eunseong from these crazy family members, and had sent Eunseong to him.
In Eunseong’s mind, he vividly imagined himself being dragged into some dangerous gangster den.
“That’s what we’ll do. Just as you said. After this is over, I’ll take you to New York. The plan has just changed a little.”
“…Can’t we just not go? Why do we have to meet those people? I’m not interested in company management or anything like that.”
“Something came up. I need to resolve it first.”
“I don’t want to. If it wasn’t a big deal, if it wasn’t something serious, my father wouldn’t have hidden away with me. There’s something wrong with those people. My father told me before that they’re a crazy family.”
The more Eunseong thought about it, the less he wanted to go. As he was about to stubbornly refuse, Yoo Siwoon tried to soothe him in a gentle tone.
“Don’t worry about that. They can’t touch you.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I’m here.”
This time, his eyes weren’t lying. Yoo Siwoon answered as if stating an obvious, undeniable fact.
“They absolutely cannot do anything to you. Nothing at all.”
“…”
“Except for me, no one can lay a hand on you.”
His tone seized Eunseong with powerful force. Yoo Siwoon’s gaze wasn’t childish or impulsive, but cold to the point of being ruthless. It wasn’t just a determination to keep his promise. It was a blood-soaked declaration. He was certain that he would never allow such a thing to happen.
Yoo Siwoon was looking at Eunseong with eyes that made it impossible to refuse further. Taking another sip of coffee and setting it down, he continued:
“At first, I thought the only way to protect you was to avoid them completely. I was determined never to hand you over to them.”
“…But, but why did you suddenly change your mind?”
“Because I believed I could never become one of them.”
“…I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“My becoming one of them… is the surest way to protect you and love you.”
“…”
“Let me continue to love you.”
Yoo Siwoon’s eyes flickered desperately. They were eyes quietly persuading Eunseong, who was looking at him with nothing but an instinctive aversion.
“I don’t really understand what you mean.”
“…”
“But I’ll listen because it’s you saying it, ahjussi.”
“…Good.”
Eunseong nodded slightly, agreeing to do as he asked.
In a way, he thought it might be for the best. Though he didn’t understand what was happening, meeting those frightening elders might finally clear away some of the vagueness that had been scattered like fog. It would end the maddening cycle where Director Nam would tell him to ask Yoo Siwoon, and Yoo Siwoon would tell him to ask Director Nam, ultimately forcing Eunseong to give up getting answers.
Eunseong also thought that rather than living anxiously and nervously worrying, it would be better to definitively resolve the family issues before they left anyway. Thinking that Yoo Siwoon felt the same way, he didn’t ask anything more.
Outside, the fog was still thick. Eunseong got into the car that Yoo Siwoon opened for him, watching his back as he walked.
“Isn’t Director Nam coming with us? Yesterday I noticed he seemed to be staying in the staff quarters.”
“…”
“I think you mentioned before that there was some… family event today. Director Nam always tells me in advance when he and ahjussi will be away.”
“Did he?”
“You and Director Nam always go together, don’t you? On family event days.”
“That’s right.”
“But today Director Nam doesn’t need to go? Is it okay if just we go?”
To Eunseong’s question, assuming Director Nam had responsibilities at family events too, Yoo Siwoon just nodded in response, answering consistently with nothing but nods.
He got into the driver’s seat and started the car. He looked back at Eunseong and checked with his eyes if he had fastened his seatbelt. Eunseong had made it a habit to fasten his seatbelt when getting into a car.
“Drive carefully. I really can’t see anything. If someone suddenly jumps out, we could have an accident.”
The fog was that thick. Yoo Siwoon pressed the hazard light button. As they approached the entrance with the barrier, there seemed to be twice as many guards as usual today.
After passing through the barrier and leaving his residence, the car entered the road. Other cars were also flashing their hazard lights, letting each other know their positions in the fog where one couldn’t see even a foot ahead.
“It feels like we’re in a dream.”
Eunseong looked out the window with wonder, observing the display of red lights flashing at regular intervals in the distance. Fortunately, there wasn’t much traffic in the early dawn.
Yoo Siwoon looked at Eunseong, who was yawning widely from being woken early, and asked:
“Are you tired?”
“What? No.”
Eunseong, whose Adam’s apple was visible as he yawned, shook his head sheepishly.
“Sleep a little. I’ll wake you when we arrive. It’s quite a long drive.”
“This is the co-pilot seat. I won’t sleep; I’ll assist you.”
Yoo Siwoon smiled as if finding Eunseong’s determined statement endearing.
“I need to make sure you don’t get drowsy, so I’ll keep an eye on you.”
Despite saying this, Eunseong kept yawning. Having stayed up late watching Yoo Siwoon because of his chilly mood yesterday, and having only just fallen asleep before being woken at dawn, his eyelids kept growing heavy despite his efforts to stay awake. The heater warming his legs also encouraged his drowsiness.
“Don’t fight it, just sleep a little. I’ll wake you when we arrive.”
“…Then, I’ll sleep just a little bit, really just a little.”
Yoo Siwoon showed him where the button was to recline the seat. Eunseong reclined the passenger seat and lay back comfortably. After watching him drive for a moment, focusing on the road ahead, he fell asleep without even realizing it.
When he opened his eyes, the fog that had obscured everything like a thousand ghost veils was gone, replaced by a dim, gloomy landscape outside the car window.
“Mmm…”
As he stretched his stiff body, Yoo Siwoon’s jacket that had been covering his upper body slipped down. Yoo Siwoon was resting his arm on the steering wheel, leisurely watching Eunseong. The car had already arrived somewhere and was parked.
Blinking his eyes at Yoo Siwoon, Eunseong belatedly came to his senses, hurriedly raised his seat and sat up.
“Have we arrived already?”
“Couldn’t you sleep last night? Why did you fall into such a deep sleep?”
“…You should have woken me.”
“You were sleeping so soundly I couldn’t wake you.”
Eunseong rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, embarrassed that Yoo Siwoon had been staring at him while he slept, waiting for him to wake up.
He handed the jacket that had been covering him back to Yoo Siwoon. He took it and put it on, pushing his arms through first. His scent had permeated Eunseong and was also lingering subtly in the car.
“Are we there?”
“Yes.”
Eunseong looked around. This was the place where the family event would be held—the family he belonged to but had never actually seen.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
