Chapter 34
Hahyun went out as if it really was nothing and came back with his hands full of something.
“What’s this?”
“Pasta. You did ask me to make it myself, but if I cook during the time I could be spending with you, I’d only be able to see your face for a little bit, and we’d have to go to sleep later.”
As I watched Hahyun while calming my startled heart, I felt pathetic for being so alarmed by the doorbell, and I was also annoyed at Hahyun for not quickly telling me it was just a delivery when he knew I was startled. So I took petty revenge.
“You know, Hahyun-ssi. I’m a bit disappointed.”
“Why, why? What is it about?”
“It’s nothing. A person’s heart can’t always stay the same. Even the most loved people become boring over time, right? So I should understand. What can I do?”
Hahyun looked at me with narrowed eyes.
“Hyung, stop joking around and speak clearly. I can’t understand what you’re talking about at all!”
If I pushed the wrong button one more time here, it seemed like Hahyun would really get angry.
“I clearly said I wanted to eat something you made…”
I frowned as I looked at the pasta Hahyun was holding.
“Well… I guess that’s how it is. It’s not like Hahyun-ssi has to do everything I want. Sigh… but still, it’s more than I expected…”
“More what?”
“You seem to change too quickly. It’s okay. I guess that’s just how people’s hearts are.”
Hahyun couldn’t say anything, his mouth hanging open. He seemed genuinely shocked. The hand holding the pasta trembled. He’d probably never experienced anyone doubting his sincerity toward Yoon Juwon before.
Good, now’s the chance to get what I want! It was painful to smell the delicious aroma, but I endured it.
“I don’t feel like eating anymore. Enjoy your delivery pasta alone, Hahyun-ssi.”
I went into my room and locked the door. He could probably pick the lock if he wanted to enter, but I symbolically locked it just to show I was angry. A kind of battle of wills, you could say.
Not long after I entered the room, I heard the door being pounded. However, it didn’t seem like he was planning to force it open—I only heard crying and knocking sounds.
“Hyung, I’m sorry. I was wrong. It’s not because my feelings have cooled down. I just wanted to spend a little more time with you… I’m sorry.”
The sound of sobbing seemed particularly loud today. He was obviously crying louder so I wouldn’t miss the fact that he was crying. Like I would with a real lover, I didn’t respond to his words.
“Please, hyung, are you going to leave me crying? How could you make someone you like cry like this?”
“I said I had feelings for you, not that I liked you, didn’t I? That’s why I said I wanted to see how things go.”
“…”
No sound came from outside. Did I go too far? What if the madman suddenly snapped and broke down the door? My heart sank momentarily.
“I just want to be alone for a while. Please give me some time.”
An urgent voice came from outside.
“Hyung, you still need to eat. I’ll make something quickly and bring it to your room. Don’t starve because of me—please eat.”
“I’ll think about it.”
I put my ear to the door. Judging by the silence, he must have gone to make pasta.
This seems like I’ve gone too far… My conscience pricked me.
Hahyun isn’t even forcing me to do anything… Why am I provoking a nice kid when I can’t even be properly mean to him… Nice? Am I calling Seo Hahyun nice?
This is all because the writer isn’t writing and is hanging out with madmen, causing his thinking to malfunction. I need to write before it breaks down further.
I turned on the new laptop. It made a pleasant sound as it powered up, being brand new. Okay, since things have come to this, I’ll freely write the story I couldn’t try because I was too conscious of producers’ reactions.
Genre: mystery or horror. Characters slightly unhinged like the Hajin-Hahyun brothers, a thriller with a murderer that isn’t too cruel and therefore not popular. While I was in the middle of writing, there was a knock at the door.
“Hyung, come out. I made the pasta really delicious. I’ve plated it artistically too, so please come out and eat.”
Just as I was about to open the door—both because I was hungry and because I felt sorry for Hahyun—I heard a rattling sound from the doorknob. Judging by how the sound was getting louder, it seemed like he was trying to force the door open. Was he angry?
“Hahyun-ssi, you need to take your hand off the handle for me to open the door.”
“Sorry. I thought you weren’t coming out…”
“Hahyun-ssi needs to trust the person he likes more. Did you think I wouldn’t open the door just because I was upset and angry for a moment? I’m hurt.”
“…Sorry.”
The moment I heard Hahyun’s answer, a tremendous realization flashed through my mind. The perfect way to handle Seo Hahyun was to become Seo Hahyun and return the words and actions he’d used on me. Ha, why did I only realize this now? If I’d known earlier, things would’ve been easier.
With a lighter heart, I opened the door. Hahyun was looking at me with a flushed face. His expression was strangely twisted to be considered just shyness.
“Hahyun-ssi, I was hungry…”
“Yes. You should go eat right away, right? Since you said you wanted to eat pasta that I made.”
His tone was kind, but his expression was cold. What was he fixated on now? Could it be that from the moment I locked the door, he’d been speaking kindly with that expression the whole time?
“How angry must you have been to lock the door on me?”
“…”
Now even his tone became cold.
“I told you. I needed some time alone…”
“How is that different from running away?”
“…”
“What’s the difference between hiding alone when I’m here and running away outside! I knew this would happen. I shouldn’t have trusted Yoon Juwon so carelessly, fuck. Like a fool, I trusted again and now this…”
If I didn’t appease Seo Hahyun somehow right now, he would spread his wings of delusion and feel the same pain as when I ran away. And I’d be the one to pay the price for it.
I became urgent and grabbed Hahyun’s arm, shaking it.
“Hahyun-ssi… Hahyun-ssi? Snap out of it. I’m right here. I’m Yoon Juwon.”
When I mentioned the name Yoon Juwon, his half-crazed eyes slowly began to return to normal. However, his expression was still so frightening that it seemed like he might bite me at any moment. The feeling of my throat tightening made it difficult to even speak.
“Juwon hyung… mine.”
Hahyun, muttering to himself, raised his hand and stroked my cheek. It was less intimate than his usual actions, but even that made my body stiffen. Afraid that showing any sign of avoidance or tension would cause trouble, I smiled so hard my entire face cramped.
“Yes. I’m Yoon Juwon. I’m sorry for making you angry. But Hahyun-ssi made me feel hurt too, so let’s call it even.”
Hahyun stroked my face in a daze for a while and then cried. I hugged him and comforted him. Hahyun spoke in a tearful voice.
“If you say you want to be alone, I’ll let you be alone, but don’t ever lock the door or try to run away from my side again. I don’t know what will happen to me if you do.”
It was a threat, but I quietly laughed at the thought that at least some level of communication was getting through. Even a madman wasn’t completely unreasonable.
“Let’s go now. I have a lot to show you today.”
“Okay.”
***
Hajin finished his main tasks and summoned Secretary Kim. It was easy to predict that the cunning old man had deliberately engineered Hajin’s return.
“You seem busy these days.”
“Yes, as the season approaches… you understand the situation, don’t you?”
“I’ve heard it’s not just because of that.”
“What do you mean…”
Secretary Kim’s wrongdoing wasn’t limited to tailing Hahyun. According to reports from people secretly planted, these days he was busy meeting shareholders under the table and making promises he couldn’t keep to pull them to his side.
“Are you going to keep pretending not to know? You don’t think I’ve been quiet because I don’t know, do you?”
Secretary Kim’s brow furrowed. Even though it was clearly visible that he couldn’t manage his expression because something was bothering him, he continued to feign ignorance until the end.
“If you tell me why you’re acting this way, I’ll answer honestly.”
Hajin said with a bitter smile:
“Secretary Kim, as someone who’s known you for a long time and as Hahyun’s brother, I’ll just make one request.”
Secretary Kim’s expression relaxed.
‘He must be relieved. He probably thinks the shareholder issue hasn’t been discovered.’
“Yes, go ahead.”
“As you know, Hahyun is unstable. If you keep bothering him, I won’t just stand by. Since you’ve seen Hahyun’s condition with your own eyes, I won’t say much more.”
“I was thoughtless. I was just trying to look after him in my own way…”
“I understand. But if the other person perceives it as surveillance, there’s nothing that can be done.”
“Yes.”
“Then, can I ask you to take care of the rest of the work? As you know, there are many designers I need to meet.”
“I’ll accompany you.”
“While I appreciate your kindness, you’re now an executive, Secretary Kim, so it would look better to others if you don’t do secretary work anymore.”
Hajin ostentatiously summoned Park Hyunwoo, who’d been assisting with work since before Hajin became CEO, and sent Secretary Kim out. Secretary Kim left, not hiding his displeasure as he glared at Park Hyunwoo.
