Chapter 50: Not Yet
Late at night, Director Choi called for Lee Seojin. Seojin tensed up at the request to come out for a moment since Choi was in front of his apartment building, wondering if Choi had discovered that Yeon was there.
He was also concerned about leaving Yeon alone. He worried that Yeon might escape while he was gone. But he couldn’t invite Director Choi up to his apartment either. Feeling anxious about what to do with Yeon as he paced restlessly in the living room, Yeon spoke first.
“You can go. I won’t return to Muryeong until the request is complete.”
Yeon had guessed half of Seojin’s concern correctly but missed the other half. Seojin was afraid that Yeon might contact Kang Dohyuk personally, not Muryeong. Still, he had no choice now. He had to believe Yeon’s promise to stay put and go meet Choi.
“It won’t take long.”
Yeon nodded at Seojin’s instruction to stay put. As soon as Seojin left, Yeon let out a deep sigh. After speaking with someone on the phone, Seojin’s emotions toward him had become even sharper. The yellow thread from Seojin that reached him was vibrating with such strong emotion that it wasn’t hard to guess who had called. It must have been either Kang Dohyuk or Director Choi relaying Dohyuk’s message.
Seojin was anxious about Dohyuk finding out that Yeon was here. He probably wouldn’t mention anything about Yeon even now when meeting him.
It didn’t matter to Yeon. He wasn’t eager to meet Dohyuk right away either. He had a strong premonition that everything would be different when they met again. He wouldn’t be able to maintain even the surface-level client relationship they had before. Had only his feelings changed? No, just as his emotions could no longer maintain their composure, Dohyuk would be the same. The red thread binding them had grown thicker and more vivid than before.
***
A black sedan was parked in the alley. Seeing the car, Seojin unconsciously gulped. It was the car Kang Dohyuk rode in. So Director Choi hadn’t come alone; Dohyuk had come himself. For a moment, Seojin was touched that Dohyuk had come to see him, but as he guessed the reason, his heart turned cold.
He hadn’t come to see him. It was because of Yeon, that shaman—Dohyuk was personally moving for his sake.
Director Choi, who had been waiting in front of the car, spotted Seojin and opened the back door. It was a signal for him to get in. Seojin took a deep breath, steeled himself, and entered the backseat.
As expected, Dohyuk was sitting there. The moment he turned his head to look at him, Seojin’s mouth went dry as if it were burning. He was colder than usual. Seojin realized from Dohyuk’s changed gaze that before, he had merely been indifferent.
“You betrayed me.”
His heart sank at the quiet statement.
“No! How could I possibly betray you, Managing Director—no, Sunbae!”
His voice grew louder in urgency. Dohyuk frowned, seemingly displeased with this reaction.
“How much does Kang Sunhyuk know about Muryeong?”
“He has no interest in Muryeong at all. He only wanted to bring that person. Since he has no interest in shamans themselves, he didn’t even ask about Muryeong’s activities.”
Noticing that Dohyuk placed significance on Muryeong itself, Seojin quickly answered as if making an excuse. Dohyuk’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t add anything further. He seemed to be gauging whether Seojin’s words were true.
Though Dohyuk’s gaze was ice-cold, Seojin felt somewhat relieved. He was reassured by the fact that what mattered to Dohyuk was Muryeong, not the shaman. It seemed he had been overly sensitive after all.
“What about Yeon?”
Just as Seojin thought the subject might be dropped, Dohyuk turned away from him and asked. Seojin bit his lower lip hard.
“Executive Director Kang Sunhyuk has him.”
At that answer, Dohyuk exhaled briefly with a “ha.” Director Choi, sitting in the front seat and looking back, also frowned and shook his head. There was blame in his expression, as if asking why Seojin had left Yeon alone with Sunhyuk despite promising to watch over him.
“Executive Director Kang seems unexpectedly friendly toward that person, so I don’t think you need to worry too much…”
“Friendly?”
Dohyuk cut off Seojin’s words and furrowed his brows, as if that bothered him even more.
“When you say Kang Sunhyuk has him, does that mean he’s at Sunhyuk’s house?”
Seojin hesitated before answering “Yes.”
“His mother lives there too, doesn’t she?”
“I heard that the madam is taking good care of him.”
This was true. Kim Yumin, who was particularly prone to loneliness, was happy just to have someone—shaman or not—around all day.
“I see.”
Dohyuk knew about her personality too. Among Kang Mansik’s women, she was the most insignificant and the most ordinary. But that also meant she wouldn’t pose any threat to Yeon.
“Give this to Yeon.”
Dohyuk held out a phone to Seojin. Seojin looked back and forth between the phone and Dohyuk’s face.
“It’s the one he used before. Take a charger along with it.”
Even as he spoke, Dohyuk frowned as if he found this ridiculous himself.
“…Yes.”
“I won’t overlook it a second time.”
This was a warning that though he was letting it slide this time since Sunhyuk had no interest in Muryeong, he wouldn’t forgive Seojin if his work was disrupted because of the information Seojin had leaked. Seojin swallowed hard and said he understood.
“You can go.”
Dohyuk gestured for him to leave, as if their business was finished. Seojin quietly got out of the car, but his feet wouldn’t move away. Yet he didn’t have the courage to turn back and question Dohyuk either. The phone in his hand felt as heavy as a stone.
Only after entering the apartment building did he look down at the phone. It was the same model that Kang Dohyuk used. When he pressed the button, it lit up brightly. The battery showed 100%, suggesting it had been deliberately charged.
A phone that Kang Dohyuk had prepared for that shaman… This fact made him want to throw and smash the phone. Only after repeatedly taking deep breaths that made his chest heave could he regain his rationality.
He turned on the power again and checked the apps installed on the phone. There was nothing installed beyond the basic apps. Only two numbers were saved: Director Choi’s direct line and Kang Dohyuk’s.
Was it really just for emergency contact? Was that person that special to Dohyuk?
Shaking his head to ward off negative thoughts again, he checked the external memory slot. “Ah,” a short groan escaped him. Something else of the same size was inserted in the place where an external memory card would go. It was probably a tracking device.
So that’s how he had been tracking Muryeong’s location. He chuckled derisively, thinking that while Dohyuk seemed to treat that shaman differently, in the end, he was still using him just the same when needed.
Before climbing the stairs, he unconsciously looked back. Dohyuk had gotten out of the car and was leaning against it, taking out a cigarette.
You should have just used him. You should have treated him as just a tool to get what you wanted. Like you did with me, like you did with Baek Hyeri… If only you had gone that far and no further… Then I wouldn’t have had these wicked thoughts.
It was all Kang Dohyuk’s fault. Despite noticing Seojin’s feelings, he had pretended not to know for so long, and now he wanted to keep someone of uncertain identity, a shaman, by his side.
***
Yeon went out to the veranda to get some fresh air, feeling stifled. This place felt more suffocating than staying at either Kang Dohyuk’s or Kang Sunhyuk’s homes. Perhaps it was because of the feelings Seojin harbored toward him. Though he was enduring it and pretending not to notice, receiving someone’s malice was uncomfortable.
In comparison, he wondered if Kang Dohyuk’s nerves were made of iron. So many people harbored ill will toward him, yet he remained unfazed. He idly wondered if such a life made a person increasingly desolate.
His wandering gaze fell on a black car parked in the alley. It was a car that Yeon knew well. Lee Seojin emerged from it. So Dohyuk had come after all. Since Seojin had only been gone from the house for a few minutes, they hadn’t talked for long. Even when Seojin had visited Dohyuk’s house before, Dohyuk had only discussed essential business briefly before sending him away.
Truly a man without a shred of consideration—what was so appealing about him? But then again, Yeon was in no position to criticize Seojin. Despite knowing Dohyuk’s nature better than anyone, he too couldn’t sever their connection and that’s why he was here now.
Just as Yeon was about to go back inside, thinking it was time for Seojin to return, the car door opened again and Kang Dohyuk emerged. Rather than having unfinished business with Seojin, he stood there taking out a cigarette. Despite the darkness, the street lamp made the dispersing cigarette smoke visible.
From this distance, his face wasn’t clearly visible. Yet from the moment Yeon saw him, his heart began to beat rapidly. Thump, thump, the beats grew stronger until it felt like his heart would burst through his ribcage.
Why… It had only been two weeks since they’d seen each other, so why was his heart leaping so wildly?
He appeared to be doing well without any problems. His cold demeanor remained unchanged, but he didn’t seem to have any injuries. Yeon chuckled bitterly at the moment he felt relief about that.
His gaze shifted to the red thread entangled around his finger. What was this connection that kept swaying him every time? Why, despite all his struggles, had he been helplessly drawn to Dohyuk since meeting him?
He must have been staring intensely without realizing it. As if sensing his gaze, Dohyuk looked up. Yeon reflexively jerked back, escaping from his line of sight. If caught, Dohyuk would probably come up here immediately. Given Dohyuk’s personality, it seemed absurd that he would be so fixated on someone as insignificant as himself, even if Yeon had saved his life, but Yeon knew him.
Just as Yeon’s attraction wasn’t normal, Dohyuk’s obsession couldn’t be explained logically. In their previous life, and the life before that, he and Dohyuk had always been repeating the same pattern like a hamster wheel.
It would have been better if they had never met. If only they had never crossed paths, as Dohyuk had said in their previous life, “Let’s not meet in the next life.”
But they had already met, and fate had begun to interlock again. If so, Yeon had only one choice left. He wanted to protect Dohyuk from all the ill fate that threatened him.
That’s why he couldn’t meet him yet. Until he severed the ill fate connected to Kang Sunhyuk, he had no intention of returning to Dohyuk.
