Chapter 58
“Huff, huff…”
“Still 10 minutes left.”
When he put the sneakers on me, I thought he’d come up with some new plan to take me outside. But the place he led me to was the exercise room.
My body, which had been completely inactive, was screaming that it was dying after just 10 minutes on the treadmill.
“Huff, gasp. I’m, seriously, huff… dying here.”
“Stop being dramatic. Just 8 more minutes.”
If he was going to do this, he should’ve at least fed me first. Doing cardio on an empty stomach made my head spin and my vision blur.
I gave Hajin desperate looks, begged him to have mercy, even threatened that if he kept this up, it might not be fun anymore—but he didn’t even blink.
“Five minutes.”
Only after enduring five intervals where each minute felt like an hour did the cursed treadmill finally stop. The second Hajin pressed the stop button, my body lurched forward and I nearly face-planted.
After catching my breath, which had risen all the way to my throat, I asked him,
“Why the sudden exercise?”
“The doctor said if you don’t exercise around this time, you’ll lose all your muscle mass and even daily activities might become difficult.”
Was he preparing for when my case would be resolved and I could go outside? Had he already thought that far ahead? Just as I was about to admire Hajin’s thoughtfulness, suspicion crept in.
It felt like Hajin must have some other motive.
“Really?”
“No, of course that’s a lie.”
I was even more annoyed thinking I’d almost fallen for his blatant lie, delivered with a completely straight face.
“Then why are you making me do this?”
“Obviously for your health.”
“I’m already healthy…”
I stopped mid-sentence, remembering that until recently, I couldn’t eat properly or walk on my own.
“You can’t exactly claim you’re healthy, can you?”
“Look, Hajin, you might not know this, but excessive exercise can actually harm someone who’s frail.”
“You call 20 minutes of slow walking excessive exercise?”
My mouth snapped shut at his factual assault.
“We’ll do this every morning. If I’m busy, Hahyun will supervise you, so make sure you exercise.”
He’s already recruited Hahyun too?
“And, hold on…”
Hajin pulled a phone from his pocket and handed it to me. It was a smartphone that looked expensive at first glance. It seemed odd that someone who didn’t trust me enough to even cut off the home internet would suddenly gift me a phone.
“Use this to take pictures of what you eat every day and send them to me.”
What followed was equally confusing.
“What are you doing? Not taking it?”
“Why are you suddenly giving this to me?”
“I told you. So you can send me pictures. Hahyun and I are going to get busy, and we can’t relax if we can’t contact you.”
“Then why didn’t you give it to me until now?”
“Why are you being so dense today? Back then, you were always looking for ways to escape, but now you don’t want to run away, right?”
I nodded in agreement as I took the phone. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d held a smartphone—the feeling of it nestled in my palm was nice.
“Th-thank you.”
So this is what they call the carrot and stick approach.
Hajin grinned. Somehow his smile looked devilish, but I was already happy enough just knowing I could freely use the internet at home.
***
Since the day Hahyun slept on the floor with his back to me, I’d been on guard, not knowing when he might suddenly snap. But strangely, he stayed quiet for an entire week.
Hahyun didn’t use Hajin as leverage to demand progress, nor did he throw childish tantrums for attention. Most surprisingly, he didn’t cry in front of me. However, his behavior made me even more anxious.
What’s he planning now…
I sat on the sofa, staring at Hahyun’s profile as he played a game on his phone. Hahyun doing other things while I was right next to him was another recent change.
What is it? What could it be? Has he finally given up on me?
I hoped that was the case, but it didn’t seem like it. On days when Hajin couldn’t supervise my exercise, Hahyun would step in and nag me to go work out.
Ring ring.
The phone sound startled me. I quickly checked mine, thinking it was for me, but my screen was blank.
Well… who would contact someone who’s both missing and a wanted fugitive? And Hajin said he was busy…
“Hello?”
I heard Hahyun’s voice.
“Seo Hahyun, the guys from the New Department are going out. Want to join?”
Hahyun couldn’t be bothered to hold the phone to his ear, so he put it on speaker. That’s why the voice on the other end was so clear.
Is he treating me like I’m not even here?
“Nah. A senior hanging out with fourth-years would get criticized. You idiot.”
“Hyung-nim, please.”
“Gross. Hang up.”
“Oh, fuck, stop playing hard to get and just come. I told you if you don’t show, it’s not happening.”
“Yongwoo, how long are you going to chase girls? For someone who’s not good-looking and isn’t the son of a building owner, studying is your only option if you want to survive, you know?”
“Wow…”
The person on the other end seemed so shocked they couldn’t continue. Even I, just overhearing, felt hurt, so I could only imagine how the person on the receiving end felt. I thought he was just a cute, bouncy puppy, but… his personality was something else.
“I’m gonna record this and spread it to all the girls. If I post ‘The Real Seo Hahyun’ on the bulletin board, it’ll get insane views.”
“Whatever. I’m really hanging up.”
Despite the other person hurling curses, Hahyun ended the call without hesitation. Then he went right back to his game like nothing happened.
Even though I was in the same space as him, I felt strangely isolated.
“Was that a friend?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you close?”
“Not really.”
“What game are you playing? Is it fun?”
“Not particularly.”
The conversation wouldn’t flow. But I was afraid to ask what was wrong because I suspected he’d just say, ‘What’s wrong with me?’ While I debated whether to retreat to my room, feeling uncomfortable despite having done nothing wrong, Hahyun suddenly put his phone down with a thud and looked at me.
His serious expression was completely new, making my heart pound. I didn’t even know Seo Hahyun could make a face like that.
“I helped you exercise, you ate—is there anything else you need?”
His tone conveyed irritation, which stung a little.
“No… Why?”
“If you don’t need anything, I’m going out for a bit.”
“Mm. Don’t worry about me, just go.”
That’s what I said, but I wanted to ask where he was going. Was it for that phone call? No, he’d turned that down, so it couldn’t be. But then again, why should I care what Seo Hahyun does? I should be grateful he’s not obsessing over me…
“You have a phone, so contact me if you need anything.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Hahyun got up and went upstairs. Left alone in the living room, I thought about going to the home theater in the basement, but curiosity about where Hahyun was headed kept me rooted to the sofa.
A moment later, when I saw Hahyun coming back down, I gaped at his appearance—completely different from usual. He looked incredibly handsome in semi-formal clothes he rarely wore even for work.
Without realizing it, I stood up from the sofa and approached him. And I finally asked the question I’d been holding back.
“Where are you going?”
“I have plans.”
“Have fun.”
“I might be late.”
With just those words, Hahyun headed outside.
***
Being alone in the empty house made me feel like I was going to develop depression. What was there to feel bad about in a house where the brothers weren’t around to torment me, with abundant food and entertainment? I wasn’t even the type who usually enjoyed socializing, but my mood kept plummeting.
It’s because I’m too comfortable.
People start having unnecessary thoughts when they’re content. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be this depressed just because Hahyun was acting a bit different than usual.
But even after going down to the basement to watch movies, play games, and sing songs to lift my spirits, nothing felt enjoyable.
“Why is everything so boring today?”
While muttering meaningless words to myself and fiddling with my phone, I got a text from Hajin.
[Seo Hajin: At least sit still, Juwon.]
“Gasp! How did he know? Did he install cameras?”
As soon as I said it, I realized—this was the living room. Of course there were cameras running.
[Me: Stop monitoring me and do your work.]
[Seo Hajin: You’ve been restless like a puppy that needs to pee ever since Hahyun left, that’s why.]
I felt slightly called out but played it off.
[Me: I have not.]
[Seo Hajin: Fine, let’s say that’s true. Send me a photo of what you eat later. 💋💋]
