Vi-villa… For some reason, I got goosebumps from the ominous feeling in his tone. Hahyun, who had been watching me closely, chuckled and said:
“I won’t tie you up like before, so don’t be afraid. I told you. I don’t want hyung to hate me.”
“Same here.”
Hajin, who had just been driving, chimed in. While I could understand Hahyun’s actions due to his severe separation anxiety, I couldn’t believe Hajin was also participating in today’s kidnapping. I spoke with partial resignation:
“Did you really have to do this?”
“Yes.”
“Why? Because you don’t trust me?”
“No, because I couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing you for a month without the guarantee that you’d be mine.”
I closed my mouth at his words, which were similar to what I had been thinking. I too couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing either of them for a month. But would anything change because of this? It was just a repetition of what had happened before…
My head hurt.
As I leaned against the window, watching the constantly changing scenery outside, all kinds of thoughts ran through my mind. What if these crazy brothers put a knife between us and threatened me to quickly choose one person? I would have to choose someone, even if I didn’t want to. If I chose one person, the other might become so depressed that they might do something with that knife.
To avoid such negative thoughts, I banged my head against the window. If I didn’t do this, I felt like I might go crazy too.
About an hour after we started? Hajin parked the car at a rest area and asked if there was anything I wanted to eat. I snapped back, asking if he thought I could eat anything in this situation. Hahyun, the least recognizable among us, said he’d take care of it and got out of the car.
Only Hajin and I were left in the car. This might be the only time to get a proper answer.
“Tell me what you’re planning to do when we get there. Otherwise, I’ll scream loudly that I’m being kidnapped.”
Hajin chuckled. It was a laugh filled with confidence that I could never do that.
“Not planning to do anything is our plan.”
“…What does that mean?”
“It means we’ve found an ending that’s not bad for either you or us.”
“Without my consent?”
“No, respecting your opinion…”
Hajin trailed off, as if he realized his words didn’t make sense.
“You ignore everything I say and kidnap me, yet you claim to respect my opinion?”
“…I’ll explain everything when we get there. I’ll apologize too.”
“You know, Hajin-ssi, you really make people flustered sometimes? When Hahyun acts like this, you should stop him. If you just go along with it…”
In the middle of my sentence, Hajin sighed and banged his head against the steering wheel. Even in this situation, I was so concerned about his behavior that I stopped talking. Hajin spoke in a faltering voice:
“…It wasn’t Hahyun who suggested it.”
“What?”
“I was the one who suggested kidnapping you. Hahyun said he might be hated forever and that he wouldn’t have any more chances… but I told him to trust me and come along.”
I froze with my mouth wide open. I didn’t understand what Hajin was saying or what I should add here. My mind just felt completely blank.
“You’ll understand why I did this once you hear what we have to say.”
“Sigh… Hajin-ssi. This is too—”
As I was sighing and trying to speak, there was a knock on the car door. Looking outside, I saw Hahyun with his hands full and even something held in his mouth, kicking the door. When I quickly opened the door, Hahyun immediately handed me a potato.
“Ah, hot. It wasn’t that hot when I held them one by one. But carrying all of them together made it really hot.”
While Hahyun was shaking his hands to cool them after putting the food on the seat, I took a bite of a hot bar. I was surprised that it tasted good even while being kidnapped.
“Hurry up and get in. We should eat something better after having a quick bite here.”
“No! I have no such intention. I’m going to listen to your explanations first. So don’t think you can just deceive me and get away with it.”
“Alright.”
“Yes…”
The two men glumly responded while eating the rest area food Hahyun had bought. After finishing the food, the car started moving again. Immediately, Hahyun stuck close to my arm and leaned on my shoulder.
“Seo Hahyun, get your head off.”
“Can’t I stay like this for a bit? Just one minute…”
“No.”
I was about to let it be, knowing he would insist even if I refused, but Hahyun seemed to know he was in the wrong today and removed his head without much resistance.
Hajin gradually increased speed, and the scenery outside the window was rapidly passing by.
* * *
After getting out of the car, I looked around. I had imagined the villa would be a wooden house in the forest, but it wasn’t. The brothers’ villa was located by the seaside, not far from the city. Perhaps because of this, there were numerous hotels, cafes, and pubs of various sizes built to capitalize on the ocean view. How much would it cost to build a house like that in this area?
“Hyung, what are you doing? Let’s go in.”
Hahyun tugged at my arm. I quickly came back to my senses and returned to reality. This wasn’t the time to be admiring the scenery.
I had an important decision to make for my future. I followed the brothers, who had gone in first, into the building. As soon as I entered, my mouth gaped open at the enormous size. Moreover, the building, surrounded by glass walls, appeared as if there was no boundary with the sea, and the interior design was as clean as a luxury resort.
However, I didn’t have the peace of mind to calmly look around this place. To think that my first-ever trip would be like this…
“Hyung, Hajin hyung says to come over there when you’re mentally prepared.”
The place Hahyun pointed to was a small room at the end of the corridor. It was strange that they asked me to come to a room despite having a spacious living room, but I agreed. Hahyun entered the room first. I stood there blankly, staring at the sea, before slowly moving. As I approached the room, my mouth dried up and my feet grew heavier.
What should I ask the brothers in that room? What will they tell me in that room?
I placed my hand on the doorknob. After swallowing dryly and taking a deep breath, I opened the door. Unlike my expectation that it would be a special room, it had an atmosphere similar to any other room, except for the sea view through the window and a table and chairs placed in front to enjoy the scenery.
Ridiculously, the brothers were kneeling in a position where I could see them clearly. Hahyun had his arm pressed to his ear with his hand raised, and Hajin had a serious expression with his hands on his knees.
I shouldn’t, but the situation was so funny that I couldn’t help but laugh.
If they were going to do this, why kidnap me in the first place… As soon as I sat on the chair in front of them, Hahyun began to speak.
“Hyung, first, I’m sorry for bringing you here without saying anything.”
I nodded to indicate he should continue, as Hahyun looked at me as if waiting for a response. Hahyun awkwardly swallowed and continued:
“I wanted to do as you asked, but I just couldn’t because I was too anxious. How could I be apart from you for a whole month, with neither of us by your side?”
I deliberately hardened my expression, pretending to be angry, and spoke firmly:
“I don’t know. The opportunity is already gone. I didn’t know you would disrespect my opinion like this until the end. I can’t help it if my feelings cool down.”
The two remained silent as if they had agreed beforehand, as if they had honey in their mouths. What? Did they really bring me here without any plan? If so, that would be truly disappointing…
Unable to bear the heavy silence that had settled between us, I decided to reveal my true feelings first. It was directed at Hajin, who hadn’t opened his mouth since entering this room.
“So what’s the conclusion? Do you want to maintain our relationship without choosing anyone in the end?”
Despite my question, Hajin only hardened his expression without giving any answer. With anxiety and impatience, I bit my nails, waiting for Hajin to speak. But even after a considerable amount of time had passed, Hajin didn’t seem to have any intention of speaking. My chest felt like it would burst from frustration.
“The current relationship doesn’t work. It’s unstable. You two will continue to be anxious, as you have been until now, and I can’t possibly choose one person while being with both of you. How could I? If I choose one person, I’d worry about the other.”
At my words, Hajin’s tightly closed mouth opened.
“Choose both.”
