Even if he explained about the possession, there was no way they’d believe it. No, if they did believe it, that would be troublesome in its own way. It was unlikely, but what if they demanded he produce ‘the real Baek Seungyeon’? What could Seungyeon answer to that?
The paths Seungyeon could choose here weren’t many. Setting aside telling the truth, all that remained was just being misunderstood as a piece of trash slut as is.
Seungyeon pressed firmly between his brows with a distressed face. The encounter with Go Won resonated in his heart to the degree that all the previous events felt like jokes.
He didn’t know if Go Won had also investigated like Jung Sanho, but he knew Baek Seungyeon’s past. So that’s why he’d harassed him with such words. Even thinking about it again made his teeth grind.
Even so, to touch someone like that, and insult them in a place where others can see, saying things like ‘worn-out’? Is he showing off that a gangster isn’t a gangster for nothing, or what?
“What a terrible bastard.”
At this point, it seemed like to become a Specific Person, one had to basically be equipped with rudeness. With only differences in degree, from Jung Sanho to Yoon Taerim to Go Won, not a single one seemed sane.
Seungyeon, who’d thoroughly messed up his hair, abruptly stood up from his seat. Right, what’s there to life? So what if others treat you like trash? As long as I’m not, that’s all that matters.
“Right, so what if I’m a slut?”
Even a dirty past was ultimately something that had passed. If he tried his best to wash it, he could at least pretend to be clean. To others, a clean rag and a dirty towel are about the same. No, in the first place, doesn’t a rag have a past of once being a towel? If he insisted the fundamental nature is the same, who could say anything?
Most of all, if he just didn’t run into Go Won from now on, everything would be resolved. There wasn’t really any point of contact, and there was no reason to deliberately seek him out, so he could just naturally cut ties like this and live pretending to be strangers forever. Even if he was a Specific Person, as long as he held onto Jung Sanho well, he didn’t need anyone else.
“Oh crap, right, Jung Sanho!”
Seungyeon exclaimed and turned his head. It belatedly came to mind that he’d completely abandoned Jung Sanho. Since he was in a place not far from the department store, he could just go back, but Go Won might still be there. After agonizing, Seungyeon cleanly came to a conclusion.
“Not going. No, can’t go.”
I can’t do something as idiotic as walking into a tiger’s den on my own feet. It was just moments ago that he’d resolved not to face Go Won. Even if a knife came to his throat, he absolutely couldn’t go. What kind of trouble would happen if I ran into that bastard again?
I’ll just make a good excuse to Jung Sanho later and it’ll somehow work out. Seungyeon trudged toward the bus stop. He hurried his steps to shake off the bone-chilling encounter.
*
[How could you just leave me there alone and go? If you’re a person, you should have something called common sense. Are you seriously crazy? I searched the fucking department store looking for hyung, what about my effort and the employees’ efforts? If your fingers aren’t broken, why didn’t you answer the phone and why didn’t you contact me? Are you playing with me right now, hyung? I’m honestly really disappointed. I didn’t know hyung would come out like this. If you’re an adult, you should act like an adult, but how can there be absolutely no consideration for the other person? How can a person be so—]
No matter how much he scrolled down the screen, the text didn’t end. With a solemn face, Seungyeon carefully read the content. Summarizing Jung Sanho’s anger, rage, and irritation-filled text into one line, it was this:
‘I’m angry.’
It seemed closer to ‘I’m sulking’ rather than ‘I’m angry,’ but anyway, the gist was that. He was sulking because he was left alone. He was sulking because there was no contact. Anyway, he was sulking.
“Is it because he’s twenty?”
Whether it was because he was young or his original personality, he had good energy and a fiery temper. Of course, that’s understandable. If it were the opposite case, even Seungyeon himself would probably have gotten angry. If the person you were with completely disappeared without a word, you’d be surprised and flustered.
But no matter how much he thought about it, Jung Sanho was too extreme. Seungyeon wanted to protest. It wasn’t that he didn’t contact him, he couldn’t. Feeling like he should leave word that he was going, he took out his phone only to find the battery dead. Without a phone, after wandering around several times trying to find his way, he barely arrived home and plugged in the charging cable just now. As soon as he turned on the screen, there were 57 missed calls and 253 long text messages. His head became dizzy for a moment at the overwhelming numbers. For reference, Seungyeon arrived home about 1 hour and 30 minutes after leaving the department store.
So Jung Sanho had called 57 times and sent 253 texts in 1 hour and 30 minutes. It meant that for 90 minutes, he’d almost constantly been calling, sending texts, and calling again without rest.
At this point, this wasn’t because he was twenty years old, it just seemed like Jung Sanho’s personality problem.
Seungyeon took a deep breath and pressed the missed number to make a call. Whatever criticism pours out, I’ll apologize and resolve it nicely. Since he couldn’t tell Jung Sanho he ran away scared of Go Won, he’d just have to make an excuse that he met someone he knew and unavoidably returned first. Having prepared even a scenario, he listened to the ringing tone.
However, even as time passed, Jung Sanho didn’t answer the phone. Did he get tired after 1 hour and 30 minutes too? Right, he’s also human, so after doing this much, he’d be tired. In the end, Seungyeon left a text without being able to call.
[I’m sorry. I suddenly ran into someone I know and had to rush ㅠㅠ Call me back when you have time]
If I did this much, won’t Jung Sanho understand? Seungyeon put down his phone and came out to the living room.
His mom, leaning against the sofa, was folding laundry while watching television. As soon as he sat in the next seat, a cold gaze pierced down.
“What now?”
“No, I just. I just came to help Mom.”
Seungyeon quickly snatched up the laundry. After staring at Seungyeon for a while, his mom interrogated him in a cold voice.
“What are you up to? Did you cause some trouble again?”
“What are you talking about? It’s not like that.”
Without much thought, he’d come to help in case Mom was having a hard time, but Mom herself was full of distrust. Seungyeon swallowed his grievances and subtly changed the subject.
“Oh right. Mom, I saw noona at the department store earlier.”
“Sehee?”
“Yeah, she said she came for work. She’s stopping by the house this weekend to pick up something.”
“Really? But why did you go to the department store?”
The arrow suddenly turned from the topic about his noona to Seungyeon. Holding a towel, Seungyeon blinked his eyes.
He’d gone to the department store because of Jung Sanho. While finishing folding the towel, he answered in a casual tone.
“A friend just asked me to go shopping together, so I tagged along.”
“You’re not doing something weird again, are you?”
Mom, who’d turned her whole body to sit, looked Seungyeon up and down. Criticism that this bastard caused trouble again overflowed from her eyes. It was a natural reaction given Baek Seungyeon’s splendid track record.
“About a month ago, wasn’t it, you were going around singing about buying some watch. You didn’t buy it without having money, did you? Be honest with me. Where did you get another loan? Huh?”
“No, what watch? It’s not like that. What does Mom see me as…”
“It’s because of what you’ve done until now! Seungyeon, you already spent a lot on hospital bills and whatnot this time, if you cause trouble again, Mom is really in trouble! If you reach out to your noona again this time, I’ll really go out and die—!”
Seungyeon quickly covered his excited mom’s mouth.
“Mom really has no words you won’t say. Don’t say things like that even as a joke, okay?”
At his uncharacteristically serious expression, Mom also shut her mouth tightly. Only after Seungyeon repeated about five times that he absolutely wouldn’t do such things anymore did she reluctantly nod. While organizing the folded clothes, he rubbed his forehead.
“Reaping what I sowed, I guess.”
It’s because of what Baek Seungyeon did that everyone can’t trust me. He couldn’t blame Go Won either. When even Mom distrusted him, seeing him positively would be stranger.
No, wait. Even knowing Baek Seungyeon well, Jung Sanho liked him to death. Looking at that, it seemed Baek Seungyeon hadn’t lived completely in vain. Of course, even that was a relationship that started to commit fraud…
While he was stuffing socks into the drawer, the doorbell rang from outside. Seungyeon raised his voice.
“I’ll get it.”
Seungyeon, who’d closed the drawer, hurriedly approached the intercom. In the intercom with poor resolution, the visitor’s chest area was visible. Because they were too close, their face wasn’t visible.
“Who is it?”
At Seungyeon’s question, the visitor approached even closer to the door. An extremely agitated voice rang through the intercom.
— Come out while I’m asking nicely.
Recognizing the owner of the voice bundled with viciousness, Seungyeon’s body flinched.
“…Jung Sanho?”
