Chapter 81
“Are you sure you don’t need to go home?” Tae-geon said, turning to the passenger seat as they stopped at a traffic light.
“Aren’t you going to contact your parents?”
“…”
“They must be worried.”
At Tae-geon’s words, Hyeon-woo, who had been staring blankly ahead with a dazed expression, twisted the corner of his mouth.
“…You knew that and still did it?”
As Hyeon-woo turned his head towards Tae-geon, his gaze was filled with deep contempt. Hyeon-woo felt intense hatred towards Tae-geon, who now pretended to care after confining him in a place without a speck of light and treating him worse than an animal.
“Why? Now that you’ve broken me, you can’t stand the sight of me? You want to get rid of me where you can’t see me?”
“…”
“It would only benefit you if I disappeared like this. I’ll stick to you like a leech and torment you for the rest of your life.”
“…”
“Even if it kills me, I’ll die right in front of your eyes.”
“…Alright.”
Tae-geon, who had been silent, responded.
“That’s a good idea. Do that.”
Hyeon-woo’s fists trembled with uncontrollable anger at Tae-geon’s clear and nonchalant response.
Instead of returning to his parents, he decided to stay by Tae-geon’s side. He had already been reported as missing. It was clear who was behind it. They probably wanted to keep him locked up in that cramped prison to use him whenever they pleased, trying to erase his existence from the world.
At one point, he had wanted to leave Tae-geon’s side, not wanting to show his deteriorating state. There was a time when he wished to be remembered only in his shining, brilliant form, but not anymore.
…Well. This might be for the best.
A strange light flickered in Hyeon-woo’s eyes. It would be better for his parents to believe he was missing rather than knowing how terribly broken he had become.
Because from now on, he needed to become even more devastated than he was now.
Hyeon-woo was prepared to burn himself to drag Tae-geon into hell. He felt he couldn’t die peacefully until he witnessed Tae-geon’s despair. When he closed his eyes, he saw the baby that had turned to ashes in the darkness. The vow he had etched into his heart with tears of blood dominated Hyeon-woo’s psyche.
I will never forgive you.
I will pay back this pain, this suffering, to you in full.
His heart, which should have crumbled to ashes, was still beating, fueled by revenge. The obsession to bring Tae-geon down acted as the driving force sustaining Hyeon-woo.
“Bastard.”
“…”
“Scumbag, liar, selfish prick, fake. Hypocrite.”
Hyeon-woo glared at Tae-geon, who was gripping the steering wheel, with vicious eyes. He felt infuriated by Tae-geon’s relaxed expression, twisting the corner of his mouth as if mocking Hyeon-woo for knowing only those few insults.
“I’ll pay you back in kind.”
“Looking forward to it.”
Tae-geon replied indifferently and stepped on the accelerator without hesitation as the traffic light turned green.
He could feel Hyeon-woo’s eyes burning with anger towards him. At this, Tae-geon felt deeply relieved.
Whenever he recalled the moment when Hyeon-woo’s skeletal body, visible through the hospital gown, trembled uncontrollably like an aspen tree and poured out heart-wrenching sobs, Tae-geon felt suffocated as if he were about to die.
He had been afraid that Hyeon-woo might disappear just like that. When he faced Hyeon-woo’s empty and dry eyes, devoid of anything after shedding what seemed like endless tears, Tae-geon felt a terror that made his heart sink.
So any emotion was good. Whether it was hatred or anger, it didn’t matter what it was. It was proof that Hyeon-woo’s heart was still beating. The more intense, the better. Because that obsession would be the pillar supporting Hyeon-woo.
So what a fortunate thing this was. Tae-geon was genuinely grateful for this moment when Hyeon-woo’s eyes were burning with hatred towards him.
If it can make your heart beat, I’ll endure whatever it takes.
If praying for my misfortune is your reason to live, I’ll gladly become miserable.
Please, just hold on like that. Stay by my side. Don’t disappear.
Tae-geon prayed over and over in his heart.
They couldn’t return to the apartment they had shared. As the succession process intensified, people involved in it frequently visited the place looking for Tae-geon.
Since Hyeon-woo didn’t want to withdraw his missing person status, they needed to find a new place where he wouldn’t be noticed by people. Kwon Hak-gyu provided a location for this purpose.
Hak-gyu, feeling responsible for ruining Hyeon-woo’s life, was tormented by guilt and a sense of debt towards him. The only request Hyeon-woo made of him was for a quiet place to hide.
He had tried several times to persuade and coax Hyeon-woo to return to his parents, but Hyeon-woo, with eyes like he had sold his soul to a demon, seemed deaf to any words.
Hak-gyu had three sons, and the officetel where his eldest son had lived before getting married and moving out was still undisposed. Hak-gyu readily offered this place to Hyeon-woo, which was originally intended for his youngest son who had recently returned from studying abroad in England after becoming obsessed with underground music.
*
Ju-on’s face lit up as he was drying his wet hair after a shower, hearing his father’s words that Tae-geon would be staying at that officetel for a while, so he should clear out his belongings in advance.
“Tae-geon hyung?! For how long? How long will Tae-geon hyung stay?”
If it was Tae-geon hyung staying there, Ju-on thought there was no need to go through the trouble of cleaning up. He had been meaning to visit to greet hyung upon his return to Korea anyway, but had been putting it off as the place where he was staying was quite far from here.
Hak-gyu, reading his son’s ulterior motive to frequently visit the officetel under the pretext of the instruments and equipment he had brought in, and thus bothering Tae-geon, quickly added that busy Tae-geon wouldn’t have time to hang out with him, and it would be mainly Hyeon-woo staying there, so he should forget about it. At this, Ju-on’s face immediately scrunched up.
“…Han Hyeon-woo? …Why is that ill-mannered jerk there?!”
Ah! How annoying! Is he still sticking to hyung like gum?
He couldn’t leave his precious belongings in the same space as that guy. Ju-on hurriedly put on his white padded jacket and left the house. The sunlight reflecting off his white clothes made Ju-on’s fair features stand out even more.
When Hak-gyu used to visit the mansion to treat young Tae-geon, Ju-on would occasionally accompany him. Although Ju-on, born as a late child, had two older brothers, he grew up in greater loneliness than an only child due to his brothers’ obvious avoidance of him.
At first, he thought it was alienation due to the age gap of over ten years, but after his head had grown enough to understand what it meant that his birthday was the same as his mother’s death anniversary, Ju-on’s tendency to feel left out worsened. The sense of guilt that he deserved to be hated tormented him.
“Ju-on, our youngest, you know your brothers love you, right?”
“Your brothers are sorry, really sorry.”
Even now, when his brothers got drunk, they would often make phone calls full of apologetic drunken ramblings, like a confession. Although he now understands that they were too young at the time to consider their younger brother’s position, five-year-old Ju-on couldn’t understand that. Young Ju-on gradually began to lose interest in everything.
The only thing that interested Ju-on in this boring world was Tae-geon. Ju-on felt a thrilling vicarious satisfaction from Tae-geon, who hated the world with an even more cynical attitude than himself.
His father said it was all because of a mental illness and that it was his role to cure it, but Ju-on secretly admired Tae-geon.
There was one troublemaker who kept him in check, and that was the damned Han Hyeon-woo. He always occupied the spot next to Tae-geon hyung, whom Ju-on admired, and often teased him smugly.
“Kwon Ju-on, no matter how much you follow us around, it’s useless. This is my place.”
It was irritating how he always said things that grated on Ju-on’s nerves, with eyes like those of Baekseolgi, the prettiest puppy from grandmother’s white dog’s litter. Ju-on, who had been fuming, seized the opportunity and hit the back of Hyeon-woo’s head.
Thwack!
“Ouch! Damn it, Kwon Ju-on! Come here!”
“No!”
“I swear, if I catch you, you’re dead!”
As the other wasn’t the type to just take a hit, Ju-on and Han Hyeon-woo grew up as sworn enemies, bickering like this.
Ju-on, who was one year younger than them, applied to the same elementary, middle, and high schools following Tae-geon. However, around the time of high school admission, he became obsessed with underground music and went to study abroad in England, so he couldn’t be with them anymore after that.
Although he has grown significantly since leaving Korea and now has a build well above average, during middle school, Ju-on was smaller than his peers, unsociable, and his manifestation was delayed, often making him a target for bullying.
Nevertheless, he was quite popular due to his handsome face, which irked the alpha classmates who frequently bullied Ju-on for what they saw as unwarranted attention-seeking.
That day too, he was cornered in a secluded spot of the old building, enduring the blows raining down on his shoulders and head.
“Hey, isn’t that Kwon Ju-on? Hey, Kwon Ju-on!”
A familiar voice calling his name was heard from somewhere. Opening his tightly shut eyes, he saw Hyeon-woo, who had been standing next to Tae-geon in the distance, quickly approaching.
Damn it, of all people to catch me like this, it had to be that jerk. Ju-on deeply bowed his head to the ground, his face flushed with shame.
“It really is Kwon Ju-on.”
“…”
“What’s this, are you a loser? Why are you getting beaten up? Where’s all that energy you used to have when you came at me?”
Hyeon-woo picked up Ju-on’s bag that had fallen to the ground and dusted it off. The alpha boys, who had frowned at the sudden intruder, exchanged glances as they recognized Hyeon-woo’s face. It was impossible not to know this face, famous in many ways in this area, always paired with Tae-geon.
