That was the only answer Hae-yul could come up with, but it was plausible enough. Of course. The other person was a kidnapper — it was entirely possible. With his whole body in this much of a wreck, he had clearly been beaten up.
But why was I hit? Did I do something to deserve it?
That part he had no memory of. The man, who had been observing Hae-yul’s troubled expression with quiet amusement, spoke up.
“Let’s go eat.”
“Did the ghost of someone who starved to death possess you or something? Why are you so insistent about eating? …I think I need to change clothes first, though — where are my clothes?”
“I personally wouldn’t mind seeing Ju Hae-yul in a robe over breakfast, but since that would be uncomfortable for you, I’ll go get your clothes.”
The man said this nonsense without batting an eye at Hae-yul’s complaint, then went to the walk-in closet attached to the bedroom, retrieved his neatly folded clothes, and handed them over.
“I washed the clothes Ju Hae-yul was wearing.”
“Thank you.”
So this was the day he’d live to say thank you to a kidnapper. Well, still — not only had the man left his clothes intact, he’d even washed them. That was genuinely worth being grateful for. Hae-yul shakily got to his feet and was about to change when he noticed the man’s gaze and stopped.
“I’m going to change.”
“Go ahead.”
“Are you just going to keep watching from there?”
“Is that a problem?”
“Obviously it’s a problem, isn’t it?”
At Hae-yul’s retort, the man’s brow furrowed slightly, then smoothed out. He gave a nod and turned his back. How generous of the man — Hae-yul was so moved he nearly shed tears.
Oh honestly, I’m so moved I could cry.
He silently rained complaints on the man inwardly, finished changing, then grabbed his phone from the bed and slipped it into his pants pocket.
“Done.”
“Alright. Let’s go.”
Hae-yul followed the man — who turned and walked out of the bedroom the moment Hae-yul finished dressing — with a sour look on his face. He was taking careful, cautious steps on his unsteady legs when the man, who had already gotten some distance ahead after leaving the bedroom, suddenly turned around and came back toward him.
“Need some help?”
“Hm? With what?”
“Walking.”
The man replied in a flat tone to Hae-yul’s reflexive question. Hae-yul’s eyelashes fluttered rapidly in disbelief.
“Why?”
When Hae-yul threw back a questioning reply, the man paused.
“Hmm…….”
The man slightly furrowed his brow as if thinking, then arrived at an answer without much difficulty.
“Because Ju Hae-yul looks like he’s struggling.”
By now the man’s gaze had drifted to Hae-yul’s arm hanging awkwardly at his side near his waist and to his finely trembling legs. Hae-yul blinked a few times, then replied.
“I’m not a child. I’m fine. And isn’t it a little strange to be accepting that kind of help from a kidnapper?”
“You really don’t need my help?”
Hae-yul was about to snap an irritated reply at the man asking again when their eyes met.
“The dining room is over there. It’s just that… at the rate Ju Hae-yul walks to the dining room, we’re going to miss mealtime.”
The man said this offhandedly and added quietly,
“As I mentioned before, I get irritable when I miss a meal.”
Hae-yul’s eyes squeezed shut. He let out a sigh and ultimately had no choice but to ask the man for help. He felt like he’d fallen right into the man’s trap — but what else could he do? Hae-yul twitched his cheek at what was essentially a veiled threat, but obediently accepted the man’s assistance and walked all the way to the dining room.
This was, to the last, a strategic retreat in order to advance one step further.
* * *
“Eat slowly, and eat plenty.”
The man slid a plate heaped with rolled egg omelet, seasoned perilla leaves, soy-braised meat, and more in front of Hae-yul, then ate his own meal with perfect composure. He was well aware that Hae-yul was sitting there with a sour expression, hesitating, but made no particular show of it.
He simply offered one remark in a mild tone.
“We can only have a conversation once Ju Hae-yul eats.”
“……”
Hae-yul stared at the food with an expression of pure exhaustion, then picked up his spoon and scooped a mouthful of rice. Then he forced it into his mouth. This kidnapper played people with the most natural ease. They’d only exchanged a few words, and already Hae-yul had the impression that this was a man who dealt with people without hesitation.
How was he supposed to console himself over the miserable fact that even his kidnapping had to happen at the hands of a kidnapper this cunning and shrewd? Hae-yul shook his head slowly and mechanically chewed his rice.
Even so, whenever a question surfaced —
“Um, so how exactly do you know my name?”
He asked it immediately, without holding back. And the man would answer with a face full of unhurried ease, consistently.
“Eat first.”
For someone who kept emphasizing mealtimes, the man showed no particular interest in actually eating… Hae-yul kept sneaking glances at the man’s rice bowl, which hadn’t decreased by a single grain, and mumbled.
“Where is this? Is this your home?”
“Chew slowly and thoroughly.”
The man replied to Hae-yul’s continued questions without the slightest sign of annoyance — even if what he said had nothing to do with what was asked. He even poured a glass of water and handed it over himself. The man was being so warm and kind it was almost enough to bring tears to Hae-yul’s eyes.
At last, Hae-yul finished emptying his bowl and set down his spoon. He carefully wiped the corners of his mouth with a tissue from beside him. The time had come where he could reasonably expect a proper answer instead of being told to eat.
“I’ve finished eating, so let’s have a real conversation now.”
Hae-yul set the tissue gently to the side and began asking the questions that had been piling up one by one.
“I asked before, but — how do you know my name?”
The man glanced back and forth between Hae-yul’s completely emptied bowl and Hae-yul’s face — where the wariness had half-crumbled now that he’d eaten — then opened his mouth.
“That’s obvious — because Ju Hae-yul told me.”
“Me? Why would I? No, wait — when? I have absolutely no memory of that. Why would I give my name to someone I don’t even——”
Hae-yul asked in a flurry, thrown off by the man’s answer.
“…I figured you might not remember, but it seems you really have no memory of what happened at all.”
“Was there… more that happened?”
“Which is probably why you thought I was the ‘deranged, out-of-their-mind lunatic’ who kidnapped Ju Hae-yul.”
“That was——”
With each answer the man gave, Hae-yul’s face grew progressively paler. The more he heard, the more he felt a cold sweat breaking out. What on earth had yesterday’s Ju Hae-yul been up to? Had he really done something that warranted getting hit? And so the man, unable to hold himself back, had beaten him?
Then is the cozy bed and the excellent meal some kind of compensation?
Hae-yul failed to answer and just moved his eyes, so this time it was the man who asked a question.
“Ju Hae-yul, do you remember my name?”
“Your name? No, I don’t — that’s why I was about to ask earlier. Wait, did you tell me your name too?”
He had no memory of it, but if they’d even exchanged names the night before, then the man hitting him was probably just a delusion of his own making. In that case, wasn’t it rude to have been told someone’s name and not remember it?
Hae-yul quickly wiggled the fingers resting on his thigh, trying to recall the man’s name. But no matter how hard he racked his brain, nothing came to him. Even the man’s face felt entirely unfamiliar to him now — there was no way he’d remember a name.
The man watched Hae-yul press his lips together with an embarrassed look, then spoke.
“Kwon Gyo-eon.”
“Kwon Gyo-eon…….”
“Yes. Kwon Gyo-eon is my name.”
“Oh, right. Um… Kwon Gyo-eon. Did I perhaps do something to——”
Hae-yul asked carefully, watching Kwon Gyo-eon’s expression, his voice slightly trembling. When he saw a bitter smile flit across Kwon Gyo-eon’s lips at his question, a dread of what the coming answer might be settled over him.
“Ju Hae-yul.”
“…Yes. Yes.”
“You jumped me.”
At that answer, Hae-yul forgot to blink, forgot to ask back in a dazed voice, and simply stared blankly at Kwon Gyo-eon.
