When Kwon Gyo-eon’s eyes met Hae-yul’s, he offered a harmless smile and took three or four steps back. It seemed like he was considerate enough to give him space to check the state of the robe — but…
“How does it look?”
Unlike before, when it had been as good as not wearing anything at all, Kwon Gyo-eon was now wearing the robe neatly and properly. Except…
Hae-yul’s gaze, which had landed on Kwon Gyo-eon’s waist, gave a small tremor. The sash tied around his waist had been knotted into a loose, barely-there bow.
“I don’t really know much about these things, so I’m asking — is the sash normally tied into a bow that loose? Like it might as well not be tied at all?”
“Doesn’t it look nice?”
“It does look nice, but it seems like it would come undone easily. Doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose of tying it?”
“Well, if you’re really that curious, would you like to try undoing it yourself?”
Is he in his right mind right now? Hae-yul fixed Kwon Gyo-eon with a sharp look at the absurd suggestion. At that, Kwon Gyo-eon covered his mouth with one large hand, his shoulders shaking. After laughing for quite a while, he said with the amusement still plain on his face,
“That was a joke.”
“Could you please refrain from that kind of joke?”
“Sorry. I’ll be more careful from now on.”
His apologetic expression was so visibly full of delight that it didn’t inspire much confidence. Hae-yul narrowed his eyes and walked past him toward the living room.
Kwon Gyo-eon offered Hae-yul the wide sofa and settled himself into the single-seat sofa beside it. Whether he had noticed Hae-yul scrutinizing the state of his robe with a sharp eye, he smoothed the slightly parted front of the robe closed and gave a quiet smile.
Hae-yul averted his gaze, pretending not to see the smile playing at the corner of Kwon Gyo-eon’s mouth.
“We have a lot to discuss.”
“Discuss? …Oh.”
At Kwon Gyo-eon’s words, Hae-yul recalled the issues he had pushed to the back of his mind and let out a quiet sigh. First and foremost, he wanted to deal with the matter of Kim Myeong-gyu. Hae-yul thought of Kim Myeong-gyu glaring at him with his swollen wrist clutched in his hand.
“Then I’d like to talk about that guy first. You said there was nothing to worry about, but it’s my problem — I can’t just leave it at that.”
“That guy… would you happen to mean Kim Myeong-gyu?”
“Oh, yes.”
At Hae-yul’s answer, something in Kwon Gyo-eon’s eyes dimmed slightly. He seemed vaguely displeased about something, which left Hae-yul tilting his head in puzzlement.
“What’s the matter?”
“How much of an age gap is there between Kim Myeong-gyu and you?”
“Hm — no, actually. Six years. I thought it was four, but it turned out to be six. He tricked me with that compatibility nonsense. The absolute nerve of him…”
Kwon Gyo-eon’s brow furrowed slightly.
“There’s no need to keep calling someone like that hyung. You can just call him Kim Myeong-gyu, comfortably.”
“That’s fine with me, but… anyway — what’s going to happen to Kim Myeong-gyu?”
“Well. We’ll be tying in everything we can, so the punishment won’t be light.”
“Oh…”
“All you need to do tomorrow is draw up the power of attorney. Everything else will be handled through the lawyer. I’ll take care of it so there’ll be no chance of you running into Kim Myeong-gyu, so you don’t need to stress over it too much. That said, if you want to know how things are progressing, I can keep you updated along the way — shall I do that? Though personally, I’d recommend against it, since hearing about it will only add to your stress.”
Hae-yul blinked at the lengthy explanation Kwon Gyo-eon had laid out. Kwon Gyo-eon was intending to handle the matter with Kim Myeong-gyu more seriously than Hae-yul had expected. To the point where it was hard to understand why he was going this far for something that didn’t even involve him directly.
Even if he’s interested in me, isn’t going this far a little much? On top of that, Kwon Gyo-eon seemed to be hoping that Hae-yul wouldn’t bother himself with the matter of Kim Myeong-gyu.
“Um… In that case, I’d just like to hear how it turns out in the end…”
“Of course. For the sake of your mental health as well, I think that’s the better way to go.”
“…Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Even though Hae-yul was essentially handing the whole thing off to him, Kwon Gyo-eon seemed genuinely pleased about it. He nodded with a satisfied expression, as though Hae-yul’s decision was exactly what he’d been hoping for.
“Then let’s move on to the next item.”
The word was strange enough to make Hae-yul question his own ears. The conversation they were having didn’t seem serious or weighty enough to warrant a word like “item.”
But when he glanced at Kwon Gyo-eon’s expression, it was quite composed and earnest.
“It’s about your part-time job.”
“Actually, speaking of that — I need to contact my boss to let him know I’m taking tomorrow off, but my phone is broken. I forgot all about it in the chaos. Could I borrow your phone for a moment?”
“As it happens, I was just about to bring up something similar. I’ve already sent a brief message to the study café letting them know it would be difficult for you to come in tomorrow. They were understanding about it.”
“What?”
Hae-yul blinked, hearing that Kwon Gyo-eon had already spoken to the study café owner.
“When did you even do that? You were with me the whole time.”
“That’s right. I was with you the entire time.”
Kwon Gyo-eon’s lips curved upward, seemingly quite pleased with that fact, as he added,
“It doesn’t have to be done in person. I sent a message.”
“…Oh. Thank you.”
“It was the natural thing to do. That said, there are some things I need your consent on. And I’d appreciate it if you’d consider them positively.”
“My consent?”
What would Kwon Gyo-eon need my consent for when it comes to the part-time job? Unable to figure it out, Hae-yul tilted his head, and Kwon Gyo-eon explained helpfully.
“To build a stronger case against Kim Myeong-gyu, we need more objective evidence. Just as you discussed with the psychiatrist earlier — evidence to support the claim that what happened today caused you significant fear, and that it has made it difficult to continue your livelihood.”
“Evidence meaning…”
“It would probably be most fitting to say that you felt too afraid another incident might occur, and that you ended up quitting your part-time job as a result.”
Hae-yul’s lips parted, then closed again. For Hae-yul, his part-time job wasn’t simply a means of earning money. It was something closer to a way of feeling that he was truly alive in this world. He had thought that once he graduated from university, a proper job would take on that role instead.
On top of that, he’d never gone without working a part-time job during all his time living in the goshiwon after leaving the orphanage — so it was difficult to even imagine what things would look like after quitting.
Whether Kwon Gyo-eon had picked up on his hesitation, he suggested in a gentle tone,
“The semester starts soon, doesn’t it? Think of it as looking after your health before classes begin.”
“Quitting right away is a bit… Could I have a little time to think it over? I feel like the owners would probably understand if I took about two weeks off first.”
“It can be hard to decide on the spot. I understand. Then let me know once you’ve made up your mind.”
Fortunately, it seemed Kwon Gyo-eon understood this time. He folded his arms across his chest and studied Hae-yul steadily. His dark eyes seemed to be assessing Hae-yul’s state for a moment before drifting elsewhere.
Hae-yul, who had been holding himself stiff for no reason under that gaze, finally let out a quiet breath.
“Now I’d like to talk about your living situation.”
The topic he had been somewhat bracing himself for had come up, and Hae-yul swallowed drily.
“Your living situation is also one of the pieces of objective evidence, just like the part-time job. The fact that you had to leave your comfortable home can serve as proof that what you experienced was frightening enough to disrupt your daily life. And since the incident with Kim Myeong-gyu happened near the goshiwon, it carries no small amount of significance.”
Kwon Gyo-eon’s expression had turned faintly sour as he said the words “comfortable home,” and Hae-yul nearly took offense. Compared to this place it may be small, but it had still been a cozy space for him.
“Feeling threatened enough to change your place of residence will work in your favor in court. And even if you say you’re fine now, anxiety can set in later. So I think it would be best for you to move out of the goshiwon — what do you think?”
As Hae-yul listened to Kwon Gyo-eon, a question suddenly came to him. One he hadn’t been clear-headed enough to have earlier.
Kwon Gyo-eon knew that Hae-yul lived in a goshiwon. He even seemed to already know which goshiwon. And at the very moment Hae-yul was about to get struck by Kim Myeong-gyu, he had appeared like a savior and rescued him.
Was this also something he had blurted out while he wasn’t in his right mind that day? Knowing the workplace was something he could just barely rationalize — but there was no way he would have told him he lived in a goshiwon too…
Could he possibly have followed me?
Hae-yul’s gaze on Kwon Gyo-eon cooled for a brief instant.
“Could I ask something? How did you know I live in a goshiwon? Did I tell you that too? Even if I did, I don’t think I would have told you the exact location.”
“Hmm.”
Kwon Gyo-eon’s expression became unreadable as he studied Hae-yul, as if measuring something. But only for a moment — he shrugged at Hae-yul, who was watching him with a suspicious look, and replied in his usual easy manner.
“I found out the day I dropped you off at the alley by the convenience store.”
“What?”
He had specifically asked to be let off at the convenience store because he hadn’t wanted to show Kwon Gyo-eon which goshiwon he lived in.
But even if Kwon Gyo-eon had waited and watched until he walked away instead of leaving immediately, it still didn’t add up. There was a fair distance between the convenience store alley and the alley where the goshiwon was — unless someone had physically followed him…
…Don’t tell me he actually followed me?
The look in Hae-yul’s eyes as he stared at Kwon Gyo-eon went flat in an instant.
