Chapter 16: Rebound
Dohyuk frowned.
“You’ll feel bad thinking it’s all a scam, and anyway, as long as you don’t trust me, it’s impossible for me to sever your ill-fated connections.”
Ah. Dohyuk seemed to understand what Yeon meant.
“Even if you believed me, you’d still feel uneasy.”
That was true. Though he didn’t care about some red thread, the fact that its end meant the death of both of them wasn’t exactly pleasant.
But the human heart was strange. After hearing everything, beyond fear and displeasure, Dohyuk found himself disliking how Yeon seemed to be trying to distance himself, wanting to somehow break their connection despite calling it an unbreakable fate.
“No.”
Dohyuk made up his mind and answered briefly before picking up his phone to call Director Choi.
“Bring some clothes.”
Dohyuk’s gaze swept over Yeon from top to bottom.
“Something plain and ordinary. Suitable enough to take him around with me.”
Though he hadn’t mentioned who would wear the clothes, Director Choi seemed to understand who Dohyuk meant by “take around with me” and immediately said he understood.
“Without asking, I’m sure the only clothes you brought are those long flowing ones.”
Yeon’s eyes trembled faintly, as if Dohyuk’s reaction was unexpected. Though he still appeared expressionless to others, Dohyuk was gradually beginning to notice his subtle changes.
“Why…?”
“Why am I not sending you back?”
Though Yeon didn’t understand, the answer was simple for Dohyuk.
“You said we’re destined to be entangled anyway, right? If what you say is true, it means that even if I send you back now, we’ll just become entangled again elsewhere, in a different way. You even said if you die, I’ll die soon after? Then rather than having my fate controlled by you somewhere I can’t see, it’s better to keep you in front of me where I can control you.”
Dohyuk checked the time and stood up. He had just stopped by home to change clothes, but it had taken longer than expected.
“Don’t overthink it. Just do what you were originally going to do. But throw away the clothes you came in and that blindfold, and be plain and inconspicuous. Right by my side.”
As if he had finished what he needed to say, he entered the dressing room next to the bedroom. Left behind, Yeon exhaled a long breath.
How did it come to this…? Actually, he had told everything straightforwardly because he wanted to break their connection, even forcibly. He hadn’t expected Dohyuk to choose to keep him close despite not believing him.
It felt like they were walking the same path again. No matter how much he struggled and tried to escape, he always failed to deviate from the predetermined path.
***
The driver kept glancing at the back through the rearview mirror. He seemed curious about Yeon sitting next to Dohyuk.
“Excessive curiosity brings trouble.”
Only after Director Choi warned him with a passing remark did the driver clear his throat and concentrate on driving. Director Choi understood the driver’s feelings. It was unusual for Kang Dohyuk to be traveling with someone in the seat beside him. Especially during business hours, with a shaman who had nothing to do with work.
Originally, though Madame had asked not to separate the shaman from Dohyuk, Director Choi had thought it was absolutely impossible. Dohyuk traveled in a separate car even from his parents. He was a man who thoroughly rejected others’ approach.
Yet this shaman had convinced Dohyuk in just three days. Did he have some special ability because he was a shaman? Director Choi, working under Dohyuk, also tended not to believe in things that couldn’t be explained by science, but this time he truly wondered if something like divine energy existed.
“You might be uncomfortable, but I think you should eat something now.”
Director Choi handed two lunch boxes to the back seat. They were short on time for lunch because Dohyuk had delayed at home.
Yeon took the lunch boxes and passed one to Dohyuk, but he just glanced at it once disinterestedly and turned his head away. Since Dohyuk didn’t open his lunch box, Yeon also just placed his on his lap and stared out the window.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
At Dohyuk’s question, Yeon turned to look at him.
“Because Kang Dohyuk-ssi isn’t eating either.”
“Don’t worry about me.”
This was a familiar scene to Director Choi. He prepared every meal for Dohyuk, but nine out of ten times, Dohyuk wouldn’t even touch them. He showed so little interest in eating that one might wonder what he survived on. Despite this, he worked twice as hard as others and never lost focus. His stamina was almost monstrous at times.
So even now, Director Choi just assumed Dohyuk wasn’t in the mood to eat.
“You can go ahead and eat.”
Director Choi also encouraged Yeon to eat his meal regardless of Dohyuk. However, Yeon didn’t budge. While Dohyuk was stubborn enough, this one seemed just as tough. Thinking about the two of them traveling together from now on gave him a headache already.
“Eat. You didn’t have breakfast either. Don’t faint while following me around and get in the way of work.”
At Dohyuk’s words, Director Choi inwardly sighed. It would be nice if he could phrase things more pleasantly… But then again, expecting that from Dohyuk was too much.
“I’ll eat if Kang Dohyuk-ssi eats too.”
At the stiff reply, Dohyuk exhaled so deeply that it came out as a “ha” sound. As if he would eat a meal just because of that…
Click. Surprised by the sound of a lunch box opening, Director Choi checked the back seat through the rearview mirror. Dohyuk opened his lunch box and gave Yeon a look as if to ask if he was satisfied now. In response, Yeon silently opened his lunch box and picked up his chopsticks.
That didn’t mean there was any warmth between the two. Throughout the meal, neither Dohyuk nor Yeon exchanged a single word. In the quiet car, not even the sounds of picking up food and chewing were audible. Only the aroma of food indicated that the two were eating.
Even after the meal, the car continued driving for quite a while. When the scenery outside the window changed from gray buildings to green foliage, Yeon finally wondered how far they were going. He had heard the headquarters building was in Yeouido, but judging from the surroundings, they definitely weren’t heading to Yeouido.
“Where…”
He turned to Dohyuk to ask where they were going, but closed his mouth without finishing. Dohyuk had his arms crossed and eyes closed.
Was he sleeping? No, maybe he just had his eyes closed. Hadn’t Yeon suffered last night from assuming Dohyuk was asleep and letting words slip?
But soon he could tell that Dohyuk had fallen into a light sleep. He would react immediately to any movement, but he was indeed asleep. The numerous threads surrounding him stopped undulating and settled calmly. Thanks to this, the ill-fated connections were clearly visible.
In just one day, they had grown more ominous. What on earth was he doing to have someone harbor such malice toward him? He’d heard Dohyuk worked at an investment company—did dealing with money create many grudges? But even so, they were just lending money, so why? Was it possible he wasn’t an investment company but a loan shark?
Kang Dohyuk appeared to be a perfect elite businessman, but the men guarding the villa looked more like gangsters than bodyguards. Several gangster-like men were also following in cars behind them. One shouldn’t judge people by appearance, but the energy they emanated was far from ordinary. At the very least, they were quite different from the bodyguards Yeon had seen before.
After wondering if he might really be a loan shark, Yeon dismissed it as a pointless thought. Muryeong was not a place just anyone could approach. All the clients Yeon had met were people frequently seen on the news.
Whatever his profession, why should Yeon care? If he wasn’t a famous figure in politics or business, it would be problematic for Muryeong, but it didn’t matter to Yeon. After meeting Kang Dohyuk, Muryeong’s requests had become meaningless. Now he just had to protect him because he was Kang Dohyuk.
Carefully moving his hand, Yeon grabbed a black thread emitting a damp, sinister energy around Dohyuk. A reaction strong enough to make him wince sent a groan down his throat. Taking a deep breath and concentrating, white light formed between his fingers. Simultaneously, the black energy flowing from the thread seeped into Yeon’s hand.
Tap. His eyes widened at the force grabbing his wrist. Dohyuk, who had awakened at some point, was holding Yeon’s wrist with a frown.
“What is this?”
His deep, low voice flowed heavily through the car. Director Choi turned around, wondering what was happening, but when Dohyuk gave him a look, he faced forward again as if nothing had happened.
“That light forming in your hands, I’ve always been curious how you do it, but what was that just now?”
Yeon realized that Dohyuk must have seen the black energy seeping into his hand. The white light that cut or blurred connections was Yeon’s innate ability. However, whether cutting or blurring, there was always a rebound. That rebound seeped directly into Yeon. He tried to control it within reasonable limits, but when absorbing too many ill-fated connections at once, the impact could leave him unconscious for days.
“Explain.”
Having personally experienced that this man wouldn’t stop until he found out what he was curious about, Yeon was troubled. He didn’t want to explain how his ability returned to him as harm.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He answered, turning his gaze away.
“…You’re clumsy.”
Though Dohyuk showed his displeasure, fortunately he didn’t probe further. He probably hadn’t seen it clearly enough to be certain.
Yeon, keeping his gaze toward the window, took such deep breaths that his chest heaved. Though his eyes were fixed on the rapidly passing scenery, his mind was in turmoil.
The ill-fated connections entangling Dohyuk were powerful enough to harbor killing intent. To deal with those connections, harmful energy far beyond what had just briefly seeped in would pour out. He didn’t want to show that to Dohyuk.
Because he didn’t know how Dohyuk would react if he knew… He desperately needed time when Dohyuk was asleep.
“We’re arriving soon.”
After about two hours of driving, Director Choi announced they were reaching their destination. Yeon raised his eyes to check the road signs.
Welcome to Daejeon Metropolitan City.
The signs indicating they were now in Daejeon were passing by outside the window.
