Hahyun hardened his lips and sharply pushed my hand away.
“Don’t try to persuade me. I’ve been having a much harder time than you think, hyung.”
“…”
“Working against my will has been too painful. I’m tired of checking my phone all the time. I can’t bear it anymore. I can’t help it if you come to hate me.”
Did I ask for too much?
I just suggested that we do our own work like normal people and spend time together during our free time—was that so serious? Feeling somewhat wronged, I looked at Hahyun’s face. Pain, anxiety, and fear flickered across his features.
Hajin said that Hahyun’s abnormal obsession wasn’t because of me, but I knew that the person who had made Hahyun like this was Yoon Juwon. That’s why I felt guilty. At some point, I had stopped distinguishing between Yoon Juwon and myself, and I had begun to feel as if the past mistakes he committed were my own.
It probably started after I met Hajin in that dream.
Looking at Hahyun with pity, I slowly opened my mouth.
“Hahyun, I’m sorry.”
At this contextless apology, Hahyun slowly closed and opened his eyes. Tears that had been hanging at the tips of his wet eyelashes fell one by one.
Wiping his tears with his sleeve, Hahyun said:
“I know, I’m the strange one. I know it’s wrong to be so insistent. But I don’t know how to stop. Even when I tell myself not to, before I know it, I…”
Hahyun stopped speaking, but I felt I knew what the unspoken words were. Yes, perhaps asking someone like Hahyun to commute five days a week was too cruel.
As I hugged and comforted him, I casually put forward a compromise.
“Hahyun, would you give me one day a week of complete freedom? Can you do that for me?”
Hahyun’s chest heaved as he began to sob uncontrollably. After crying for a while, as if coming back to his senses, he repeatedly said, “Yes, I’m so relieved,” and hugged me so tightly I could barely breathe.
“You already know, don’t you? No matter how much I say no, if you tell me to do something, I have no choice but to endure it. That’s why I felt like dying earlier.”
Hahyun squeezed his arms so tightly that my body felt increasingly constricted. When I squirmed, he separated from me and looked down at me.
“I still have dreams. Dreams where you suddenly change and tell me that you never actually liked someone like me, that you were just pretending, so I shouldn’t be mistaken.”
Trying not to be disturbed by Hahyun’s anxiety, I feigned calmness and asked:
“How often do you have these dreams?”
“…Every day.”
I slightly lowered my head to hide my expression, and then heard even more shocking words from above:
“Actually, whenever you’re not beside me or not in contact, I constantly hear hallucinations. That Yoon Juwon hates me, that he wants to run away, that he never liked me, and that the reason I can’t reach you now is because you’ve already escaped…”
Hahyun’s body, pressed against mine, was trembling. My heart, already weakened, almost made me tell him that he didn’t have to go to work if it was too difficult.
“I know they’re delusions, but I can’t stop them.”
“Hahyun.”
Even though I called his name, he didn’t seem to hear as he slowly pressed his hand over his own heart.
“I’m scared. Scared that I’ll go even crazier and you’ll hate me.”
“I won’t hate you. That will never happen. I know what state you’re in… and I’m not just accepting everything unconditionally. You’re getting better little by little, so someday you’ll be completely better.”
“What if I don’t get better?”
When I sighed and ran my hand through my hair, Hahyun, watching me, immediately changed his words.
“No, I won’t do that. I’ll endure it. Please don’t give up on me, hyung.”
How could I give up on someone who jumps at my slightest movement? I wasn’t that kind of person. Having grown up without my parents’ attention, I always craved attention, and even reading my friends’ writings was actually because I wanted their attention.
“How could I give up on someone I love?”
Hahyun fell into my arms. I hugged his still-trembling shoulders tightly and said:
“Is it okay to ask for one day of freedom each week?”
“Just one day. Any more would be too much.”
When I didn’t answer, Hahyun, checking my reaction, immediately changed his words.
“No, more is fine too. Not two days, but…”
What am I going to do with him? Once the situation is settled and Hajin becomes less busy, I should take him to the hospital. He might not listen to Hajin, but he listens to me.
“In return, I’ll stay right by your side when you’re at home. Because I like you too.”
Only then did Hahyun’s trembling quietly cease.
* * *
Kim Cheolwoo had to taste another defeat in front of the large, ornate gate. People who had been desperate to curry favor with him when he had power had changed their attitude since the video broke, as if they’d never behaved otherwise.
Still, Kim Cheolwoo hadn’t lost hope. Those who had already received summonses and completed their prosecution investigations hadn’t faced major consequences, and since congressmen and company chairmen were involved, he expected they would find a way to handle it. However, since he wasn’t confident they would ensure his safety as well, Kim Cheolwoo was thinking of preparing his own lifeline.
“Filthy bastards, only nice when they were taking money.”
Just as Kim Cheolwoo cursed at the firmly closed door and got into his car, the secretary sitting next to him said with a pale face:
“Director.”
“What? Did you see a ghost? What’s the matter?”
“About what you instructed yesterday. You told me to find out separately, so I did, and…”
“Yes, is there any new information?”
Kim Cheolwoo showed interest, his eyes widening.
“Prosecutor Lee Woohyun, who’s in charge of the case, is currently investigating something completely different.”
“Something different? What?”
“They say it’s the murder case of Chairman Seo.”
Kim Cheolwoo relaxed his tense expression as if it were nothing.
“That’s because I threw out some bait to get Seo Hajin locked up.”
“I don’t think it’s because of that. I heard they’re secretly conducting an autopsy on Chairman Seo’s body…”
“What?”
Kim Cheolwoo’s face turned from blue to white. It couldn’t be, but if they had noticed and were taking action…
It would be like falling into a swamp from which he could never escape. Backed into a corner, Kim Cheolwoo thought he should play his last card that he had prepared for today. There was no other way to escape this crisis.
* * *
“Take care.”
“Hyuuung, a week seems to pass so quickly. Going from heaven to hell…”
This could turn into another hour-long farewell. I pushed Hahyun’s back and gave Hajin a look to take him away quickly. But Hajin winked at me, reminding me of the intimate moment we had last night. Seeing me blush all the way to my ears, Hahyun narrowed his eyes.
“You exchanged looks with him again, didn’t you?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did!”
“No, I didn’t. Look carefully at where your hand is right now before you talk.”
I removed his hand, which had moved from my shoulder to my chest, as I spoke. Hahyun grinned broadly.
“Hyung, oh, did you blush because of me? That’s a relief. Hyung, wait just a little bit. I’ll come back quickly.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t open the door to just anyone. No, actually, don’t open the door to anyone who comes.”
“I get it!”
Hahyun, who had turned to leave but still couldn’t seem to tear himself away, turned back and added:
“Even if a pitiful person comes, ignore them. I worry because you’re so kind.”
“I won’t open it! Absolutely not!”
Even though I had no reason to open the door to strangers since I was a wanted person, Hahyun was especially nagging today. Still, seeing the backs of the brothers heading to work together in their suits filled me with an inexplicable sense of pride. It was like the feeling of turning someone irredeemable into a good person. Since that wasn’t entirely wrong, I felt justified in this feeling.
After the car left, I came out to the living room where sunlight was pouring in through the large glass windows. I lay down on the sofa intending to read a book and then take a nap, but I fell asleep immediately.
How long had I slept? When I opened my eyes, everything around me was hazy. The thick smoke obscured my vision to the point where I couldn’t see anything in front of me. I pinched my cheek wondering if I was still dreaming, but it hurt.
‘Is this really happening?’
I jumped up from the sofa. The smoke that had gathered at the ceiling came into my nose, making me cough.
‘What’s going on? Is there a fire?’
I hurriedly looked for my phone. I was about to contact 119 (emergency services), but realizing my status as a wanted person, I called Hajin instead. As the ringtone sounded and I waited for Hajin to answer, my head grew increasingly dizzy.
Just as the ringtone ended and I heard Hajin’s voice calling my name, someone was approaching me through the smoke. I gripped the phone tightly in my hand as if it were a lifeline.
No matter how many times I closed and opened my eyes, my vision wouldn’t clear. It was definitely a face I’d never seen before. Had someone deliberately set the house on fire? If so, I couldn’t feel any heat, and the person standing in front of me didn’t seem afraid of fire.
A large man who appeared to be approaching me. I was going to tell him I wasn’t Yoon Juwon if he asked, but the man seemed to know me well and skipped the verification process. With quick hand movements, he blindfolded me and handcuffed my hands.
“Are you the police?”
It didn’t seem like it, but I asked anyway. No answer came from the man. At that moment, I thought I was going to die.
