I snapped back to my senses under Baek Sahyun’s scrutinizing gaze. I had almost lost my composure to him the moment we met face to face.
“Oh, oh right. Sahyun. What brings you here?”
But I was so flustered by the sudden encounter that I couldn’t even imitate Nam Heejae’s way of speaking. I don’t know why the casual greeting I blurted out felt so embarrassing.
They were supposed to be friends for ten years, so this seemingly submissive tone wouldn’t suit them, sigh. I deeply regretted it, but it was already spilled water.
I swallowed dryly while watching Baek Sahyun. I wanted to determine if my un-Heejae-like speech had aroused his suspicion.
If Baek Sahyun was as perceptive as I feared, he might immediately realize that someone else was possessing this body. But strangely, Baek Sahyun didn’t respond aggressively and simply spoke.
“I told you in the text that I’d come. You always liked this hotel, Heejae. Maybe because of the high ceilings.”
Oh, so the way I just spoke still counted as Heejae-like? I felt relieved that I hadn’t aroused Baek Sahyun’s suspicion, but at the same time, I grew concerned.
‘So I just need to keep acting the same way, right?’
Baek Sahyun was such an unpredictable guy.
Besides, “Excessively Brilliant” was full of scenes where Nam Heejae was beaten by Baek Sahyun, but there were few scenes of them having normal conversations, making it difficult to get a grasp on how to act.
Anyway, I asked in a much more natural tone than before, as if I were actually friends with Baek Sahyun.
“Yeah… so what’s the reason? Why did you come looking for me?”
Baek Sahyun chuckled leisurely and then strode into the room. His steps were so quick that I had to hurriedly follow him. Baek Sahyun bluntly stated four syllables.
“I was bored.”
“Huh?”
Does he think that’s a valid explanation? I grew concerned that he might be hiding a club or knife in his embrace.
He came because he was bored? Give me a break. Since when have you ever visited Nam Heejae because you were bored? His excuse was so poor that I couldn’t help but give him a distrustful look. But despite my burning suspicion, my mouth moved compliantly.
“Sure… That can happen. Isn’t that what friends do, come over unannounced when they’re bored and demand to be let in?”
I mumbled the last part, and Baek Sahyun turned his head with a smile. His slanted eyes were beautiful. Maybe because he was a novel character, his face was breathtakingly gorgeous no matter how many times I looked at it. The handsome Baek Sahyun asked.
“Have I ever behaved badly toward you, Heejae?”
“……”
“Hmm?”
“……”
“When did our relationship become so distant?”
Despite my intentions, my wariness melted away in the warm and gentle atmosphere. This was probably also part of his calculated behavior, but anyway, it was nice to see such a handsome guy being so kind. Instead of living as a gay madman obsessed with men, he should have become a celebrity.
If I were Baek Sahyun, I would have gone to an entertainment agency right away to show off my exceptional looks. Wouldn’t that have been more positive in many ways, without ruining someone else’s life?
While I was thinking, Baek Sahyun whispered affectionately.
“Don’t be cold, Heejae. It hurts when a friend treats you poorly.”
That made me remember.
‘Manipulating others at will, like the tongue in one’s mouth.’
This was a method that Baek Sahyun often used in the novel. Wasn’t Chae Eunwoo’s life ruined after falling for this tactic?
Baek Sahyun first completely removes the other person’s tension, and then enjoys attacking when he sees a weakness.
So knowing his obsessive personality and violent tendencies, I had no choice but to belatedly put my guard up. You never know. This bastard might be planning to hit me from behind and kidnap me the moment I let my guard down.
‘No way. I don’t want to be beaten to death by that bastard.’
Clutching my chest, which had started to pound with fear, I kept a close watch on Baek Sahyun. He slowly looked around the bed and bathroom before calling me in a low voice.
“Heejae.”
When my response was delayed, Baek Sahyun called again. This time too, he called my name, just my name.
“Nam Heejae.”
The only difference was that he added the surname.
“Y-yeah, what? What is it?”
Damn it. The last syllable trembled pathetically. I felt a subtle self-loathing since I could see how pitiful the situation was. But Baek Sahyun, not paying attention to my disgraceful behavior, asked in a gentle tone.
“Have you met Eunwoo by any chance?”
“……”
“You’ve been slow to answer from earlier. I wonder why.”
Thanks to that, I began to feel anxious. If Baek Sahyun’s “ruin Nam Heejae’s life” plan had started, I needed to establish a solid defense strategy. So the real match was starting now.
Feigning calmness, I said.
“I did get in touch with him. He said he had trouble getting home, so we shared a hotel room for a bit.”
If I acted like the original owner of this body, I would obviously meet the same end, so I had to find my own new solution. And the answer I found after much contemplation was honesty.
“You know that I’m pretty close with Eunwoo too. It pricked my conscience not to help him.”
This was because Baek Sahyun didn’t dislike honest people. Not that he particularly liked them either, but at least he evaluated them more generously than those who made lame excuses.
“I didn’t have any ulterior motives. He had nowhere to go, and I felt sorry for him, that’s all.”
“……”
“Seeing his face turn pale blue, my compassion just surged. You know that feeling, right?”
I finished my last sentence and observed Baek Sahyun’s expression.
I had rambled a bit, but it was a fairly decent explanation. I strongly emphasized that while I did help him, there was no impure intent. This should be enough for even Baek Sahyun to understand.
But it was a disaster. Shadows fell across Baek Sahyun’s face.
“…He had nowhere to go? Chae Eunwoo?”
He was showing an unexpected reaction that I hadn’t anticipated. He was asking as if he was genuinely puzzled.
“Are you sure, Heejae?”
I had expected him to be coldly sneering, but he was asking with his brow deeply furrowed.
So I had to concentrate to try to gauge his intentions. But of course, my stupid brain wasn’t likely to function properly.
‘Baek Sahyun, surely this isn’t some high-level strategy to confuse me?’
Perhaps he was trying to verify the truth. Whatever it was, it felt equally unsettling, so I tried to organize the key points as best I could.
“Listen. Eunwoo had injured his ankle badly, whether he’d been in a fight somewhere or what. I couldn’t just leave him outside when he couldn’t even walk, so I helped him first. It’s a kind of civic duty. An extension of the moral education I’ve received since childhood.”
“How did you help him? Did you carry him on your back?”
Ah, shit. Fearing that I might have triggered his jealousy, I hastily emphasized.
“Carry him? I called an ambulance. An ambulance.”
“I think you carried him.”
“I said I didn’t. Why would I carry him around for anyone’s benefit?”
“You like Eunwoo, don’t you?”
“……”
“You care about Chae Eunwoo.”
But Baek Sahyun didn’t easily back down from his questioning. This is serious. It was time for a more dramatic explanation. After clearing my throat, I drove the final nail in.
“It’s not like that, really. It was truly out of compassion. His ankle was completely broken. …And he kept crying, saying that you broke it, so it was hard to ignore. How could I ignore it when a friend’s name was mentioned?”
“Who broke whose ankle?”
Bull’s eye. I had successfully changed the subject.
Right. You probably think you can maintain your innocent image by pretending it wasn’t you. But I’ve already read the book to its conclusion, and I could clearly see through Baek Sahyun’s insane temperament.
“Well, it must be nonsense, of course. Sahyun, are you the type to go around shattering people’s ankles?”
All of it, including the fact that he was suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder.
So if I gave the impression that I knew the truth, Baek Sahyun would not dare to make a move carelessly. At the very least, he would have to determine how much I knew before acting.
But Baek Sahyun quickly regained his composure. He muttered as if it was absurd.
“Why would I bother breaking an ankle that doesn’t even look worth breaking.”
“……”
“Maybe if it was your ankle, that would be different.”
At those words, I gaped. Baek Sahyun glanced at my feet, or rather, my ankles, with a contemplative look. When I tensed up and stepped back a few paces, he twisted his lips into a smile.
A smile that seemed unhinged. Knowing Baek Sahyun’s true nature well, I could instantly sense it. This bastard seems to be angry right now. So how should I handle this?
Damn it! Things were going wrong. According to my intuition, they were.
