Wind hit his face. It was different from the stuffy sensation that rushes out when you open a sealed space. Cool air was coming in from somewhere.
Inside the room wasn’t dark. It was brighter than the hallway, so his gaze naturally turned toward the direction the light was coming in from. The curtain was pulled to one side and the window was wide open.
Beyond the window frame, it was completely open without any obstacles, and Taejeong was sitting perched there.
“……”
The moment Seonwoo saw that sight, he calculated the height of this house. It wasn’t high enough to die instantly from falling. He knew well from having gone down himself. But the situation was different from that time. Seonwoo had been trying to escape, not attempting suicide.
Besides, he couldn’t tell if Taejeong’s side also had grass laid out or was just a stone floor. It was only the second floor, but if he unluckily fell head first, who knows what could happen.
But Seonwoo didn’t clumsily try to provoke Taejeong. He kept his mouth shut so as not to blurt out useless words like “what are you doing there” or “come down right now.” It was when his mind was spinning tightly, his gaze fixed on Taejeong’s arm wearing the brace.
Even though he heard the door opening, Taejeong, who had been looking only outside the window, turned his head.
Even though he was basking in sunlight, there was no vitality at all in his face. It was enough to make even the viewer’s heart feel parched. It wasn’t because of the dark circles that had descended darkly under his eyes or his lips that were full of only cracked marks without any color.
It was because of his eyes. His gloomy impression was always the same, but at least there had been emotion in them. Whether contempt or anger, he used to show raw emotions whenever he faced Seonwoo.
But now there was nothing. Hollow eyes with unfocused gaze swept over Seonwoo’s stiff face once, then let out a sneer.
“What. Afraid I’ll commit suicide?”
Seonwoo was still expressionless and had no reaction. However, for a moment, it seemed like a chilling feeling passed through somewhere in his chest. He reached behind his back to close the door. The key he threw down carelessly fell to the floor, then was kicked by Seonwoo’s foot and rolled somewhere.
“What have you been doing?”
Two feet without socks walked with big strides. Even sitting perched on the window frame, Taejeong’s eye level was higher than Seonwoo’s. Seonwoo looked up and pressed close to Taejeong, interrogating him.
“What the hell did you do after leaving the house?”
He hadn’t come all this way to console him. The Vice Director had said it. That Taejeong had been doing useless things. Throughout the taxi ride, only those words kept coming to mind.
“You were fine for a whole month, so why were you suddenly dragged back? What have you been doing?”
“……”
“If you left, you should’ve lived quietly. Why did you get dragged back and get beaten up…”
“Shut your mouth.”
It was before Seonwoo’s words could even finish. A hand that shot out grabbed Seonwoo’s jaw crushingly. His lower lip was pressed down by the hard palm, so if he forced himself to continue speaking, it would be like rubbing his own lips.
“Stop flapping your trap. Before I kill you.”
“……”
Taejeong threatened while putting strength into his hand. Seonwoo staggered and was pushed back. Because of the posture, Taejeong naturally came down from the window frame. Seonwoo continued stepping backward while pretending to push the arm away and applying force. That way, he pulled Taejeong toward himself.
“I need to know the reason, don’t I?”
When he had put some distance from the window, Seonwoo said. He kept talking, not caring that his lips were being rubbed against Taejeong’s palm.
“You’re not a pervert, so you keep getting beaten up? Is one shoulder not enough?”
“What’s it to you?”
“……”
“Whether I get beaten until I really become a fucking cripple or not, what’s it to you?”
“Because I—”
The pressure on his jaw made him almost choke on his saliva for a moment. Seonwoo exhaled and spoke again.
“Because I said I’d fix you.”
Because Taejeong’s hand was large, not only his jaw but his cheeks were pressed, making his pronunciation clumsy. Seonwoo had absolutely no such intention, but his mumbling voice sounded exactly like he was worried about Taejeong.
At that moment, the hand gripping his jaw fell away, then immediately tried to swing a fist. But it stopped in midair before reaching Seonwoo.
“Ah… I told you not to hit the head…”
The violence happened in an instant. As Taejeong lowered his fist, he simultaneously kicked Seonwoo’s stomach. There was no time to block it. Seonwoo made a choking sound and sank down, clutching his stomach.
His two trembling hands fumbled at the spot where he was hit. He was just kicked with a foot, but he thought his stomach had been punctured. Seonwoo reflexively swallowed the saliva that had instantly pooled in his mouth. It was fortunate he was hit in the lower abdomen; if the position had been even a little higher, he would have vomited.
“What I’ve been doing? I’ve been doing nothing but fucking regrettable shit… That’s why my arm’s fucked up now…”
Taejeong knelt on one knee and closed the distance. He grabbed the collar of the body that kept collapsing forward in front of him and lifted it up.
“Your life is also fucked, so who the hell are you to fix anyone?”
“……”
“Know your fucking place…”
This time, Taejeong’s words were cut off. The sound of flesh strongly hitting flesh echoed. With his collar still grabbed, Seonwoo hit Taejeong’s cheek. He deliberately hit with his palm, not his fist. Because that would feel shittier.
“Seeing you take your anger out on me, I guess you’re doing fine.”
“What?”
“You can’t say shit to the person who made you look like that, but you’re throwing a fit at me right now.”
His stomach throbbed so crazily that it felt like a groan would leak out. Seonwoo was gritting his teeth trying to hold it back. So when the punch landed, he felt his teeth shake.
Taejeong, who was hit on the cheek just the same, only had his head turn, but Seonwoo’s entire body toppled to the side. His face was only hit once, but his vision flashed. His body never had a healthy day.
“You throw a punch first because you have nothing to say? Ignorant bastard.”
Seonwoo’s vision wasn’t secured so he couldn’t even see Taejeong’s face properly, but his mouth kept running. His collar was grabbed again. Thinking he’d pass out immediately if he got hit one more time here, he made the first move.
“So just tell me and it’ll be over.”
“…….”
“Just what the hell were you getting beat up so obediently for?”
“…….”
Even after going this far, Taejeong only tightened his grip on the collar without answering. He seemed like he’d speak out of anger, but he didn’t open his mouth until the end. Stubborn bastard. Even after getting hit in the face and stomach without getting an answer, Seonwoo was gradually getting irritated too.
“Keep hitting me. I’m not leaving until I hear the reason.”
“Ha…….”
With a deep sigh, the hand gripping his collar dropped. Though he couldn’t see, he could feel Taejeong moving away. A moment later, his vision returned. Taejeong was sitting on the edge of the bed, washing his face dry with the hand that had assaulted Seonwoo.
“You psycho bastard…….”
It was a voice suppressed as if crawling on the floor. The rage that had been boiling toward Seonwoo until just before disappeared without a trace, and only resignation and helplessness could be felt. He had returned to being a person who had given up on everything. Seonwoo was watching that appearance closely.
“Why are you so desperate to know?”
“Because you’re going to such lengths to hide it, it’s suspicious.”
“…….”
Taejeong shut his mouth tight like someone whose vital point had been struck. Once closed, that mouth wasn’t easy to open again. Seonwoo changed his question.
“It won’t work with just words, is that it?”
“…….”
“Then take your anger out on me until you’re satisfied. I don’t care what it is.”
Sitting on the floor, Seonwoo comfortably stretched out both legs, then slightly adjusted his posture. His stomach still throbbed. It felt like his internal organs had shrunk in half.
“……You don’t care what it is?”
“Yeah.”
Seonwoo answered indifferently. What Seonwoo expected was simple violence. Getting beaten until he passed out and was carried to the hospital, or otherwise he was prepared to break a bone just like Taejeong.
But what Taejeong said after a long silence was a demand he couldn’t have imagined.
“Then come here and try sucking my dick…….”
For a moment, Seonwoo wondered if he’d heard wrong and looked at Taejeong.
