“And… you never tormented me the way the other kids did.”
With each word Munyeong let out, Yeon Haejeong couldn’t hide his bewilderment. It wasn’t that Yeon Haejeong didn’t remember that time — but it hadn’t been anything significant enough to warrant this kind of gratitude from Munyeong. Still, seeing how deeply those moments had stayed with the other person, Yeon Haejeong brushed the corner of his lips. In contrast, what came flooding back to Yeon Haejeong were only the words he himself had hurled at Munyeong.
‘Know your place.’
‘Who do you think likes who.’
And that wasn’t even all of it — idiot, moron, pathetic bastard, worthless piece of trash — every vile thing imaginable had spilled out of his mouth. Not once had he ever been kind to Munyeong.
“And now… you even paid off my debt for me.”
“…I didn’t pay it off for you.”
“You let me live in that nice house too.”
That had only been a pretext he’d made up to keep him there by force. Yeon Haejeong dragged his hand slowly down his exasperated face.
“…And now….”
“…….”
“……You carried me to the hospital barefoot when I was sick.”
Munyeong quietly continued, looking down at his bare feet — not a thing on them. Despite being someone precious, as Yeon Haejeong himself had said, his feet were scratched and raw. Yeon Haejeong seemed not to have noticed himself; with a somewhat startled expression, he subtly tried to hide his feet.
“……Do you not think about how I tried to force myself on you earlier?”
Yeon Haejeong deflected, firing back with a displeased expression. With every word out of his own mouth, his conscience twisted a little more. It had become an occasion to retrace his own misdeeds — and because of that, another wave of regret came crashing in.
“……You were angry. That’s why.”
“…Shit, does being angry make it okay? If some other bastard got angry and tried to rape you, would you say the same thing?”
At Munyeong’s lenient attitude, Yeon Haejeong snapped loudly. The guilty one picking a fight — that was exactly what this was.
“…But you wouldn’t have gone through with it.”
“…What?”
“……Even if I hadn’t collapsed… you wouldn’t have gone through with it.”
“…….”
“…I know.”
“…….”
“……To me, you’re not that bad a person.”
Munyeong opened his mouth, nervous yet calm.
“So, again….”
“…….”
“…I guess I can’t help but start to like you again.”
The face of Munyeong, having finally brought out the feelings he could no longer hide, was composed and gentle. Munyeong had ultimately come to accept with humility the emotions that had been revived within him. He knew that the more he turned away and ran, the more cowardly and ugly it looked. He had tried to avoid it, had tried to run — and yet here he was, right back where he started. Munyeong laid it out, like a confession, like an admission.
“What…….”
Unlike Munyeong, who seemed to have set everything down, Yeon Haejeong froze once again. The confession had come so naturally, like water flowing — he looked as though he’d been shot, stunned beyond words.
“…Wh-when did you ever say… it wasn’t like that.”
He stammered, his face stiff and wooden. Yeon Haejeong lost focus in his eyes, looking like the biggest fool in the world. He knew somewhere in his head that he had to say something, but the words wouldn’t come easily — his lips kept moving, opening and closing without stopping. And just as he was about to part them —
“…I―.”
“I’m sorry for kissing you.”
“…What?”
At the sudden apology, Yeon Haejeong’s brows lifted in puzzlement.
“But. ……Don’t worry.”
At those cryptic words, Yeon Haejeong’s eyes slowly began to harden. Munyeong, in contrast, smiled faintly.
“I know myself well.”
“…….”
“…My place.”
Yeon Haejeong’s words died in his throat.
“It’s not like I’m saying this because I want something more….”
“…….”
“Just like you said.”
“…….”
“How could I dare…. What right do I have.”
“…….”
“So… don’t be any kinder to me.”
Munyeong said it with a smile that stretched wider than necessary, as if to mask the awkwardness.
“…If you keep being kind to me… and I end up making things difficult for you — what then.”
“…….”
“Clinging to you without any sense of occasion…… what if I do that.”
Those long, curved eyes looked as though they were about to cry. But his mouth was smiling more widely than ever. Smiling even harder as if to brush off any embarrassment, he was reassuring Yeon Haejeong.
Yeon Haejeong barely managed to exhale, a heavy sigh escaping him. Yeon Haejeong, who had been completely unable to move, only then came to understand. The words he had spewed all this time, the cold and cutting words with which he had blamed Munyeong — they flashed through his mind in rapid succession. Never in his dreams had he imagined that those sins would come back to him this way. For the first time in his life, Yeon Haejeong felt despair. Looking at that smiling face, he felt the weight of his own sins and hopelessness — and a hollow, empty laugh slipped out of him. A dark and gloomy sound settled heavily over everything.
**
Secretary Ju, who had come into Yeon Haejeong’s office to inform him of the Vice Chairman’s summons, fixed her gaze carefully on her boss — who was lying sprawled in his chair with both legs propped up on the desk.
Yeon Haejeong was sunk deep into his chair, a metal file folder placed over his face to cover it. The reason Secretary Ju was watching him with such careful attention was that the sight of Yeon Haejeong holding that exact same position for hours on end looked far from ordinary.
Just a few days ago, he had been wearing his heart on his sleeve — grinning ear to ear, broadcasting I’m in a good mood with his entire being. Now, only gloom permeated the air around him. A heaviness had settled thick around him.
“Um… Managing Director?”
Secretary Ju called out softly, but there was no response. Still, unable to simply give up, she cleared her throat loudly — once, twice — making her presence unmistakably known, and then opened her mouth again.
“Managing Director.”
At the second call, he responded — without changing his position at all.
“…Talk.”
His voice was markedly displeased. On top of that, it was rough, cracked even.
“The Vice Chairman is calling for you.”
She relayed her business, but again there was no response. Secretary Ju swallowed a sigh and added,
“…He said if you don’t come right away, he’ll come himself.”
With that additional explanation, Yeon Haejeong finally lifted the file that had been covering his face and revealed it. It was his characteristically expressionless face — but the atmosphere was far from ordinary. A voice pitched low, eyes cast in darkness, a haggard complexion. Something had definitely happened — Secretary Ju was certain of it.
But to see and pretend not to see, to hear and pretend not to hear — that was the most important unspoken rule of a secretary’s work. Secretary Ju stood demurely, as though she knew nothing at all, watching Yeon Haejeong’s movements. Staying quietly in place, inwardly hoping he would get up right away and go to the Vice Chairman — a little while later, Yeon Haejeong slowly began to push himself up.
Then he shot a disgruntled look at Secretary Ju, still standing motionless, and asked in an irritated voice,
“…Why aren’t you leaving?”
“I was waiting to escort you.”
