Seonwoo’s bare feet overlapped the dirty shoe prints. The not-yet-dry stains quickly dirtied his skin. The damp sensation seemed to travel up his soles and wrap around his entire body.
His heart pounded so much that he wondered if that sound, still audible without stopping even now, was actually coming not from beyond the door but from inside his chest. Seonwoo knew it was closer to a warning to pretend not to see rather than urging him to check quickly.
But action was faster than judgment. Seonwoo opened the door without hesitation.
The Vice Director was there, mercilessly swinging a golf club at Taejeong who had collapsed on the floor.
As if a fuse had blown, everything stopped in an instant. But that only happened inside Seonwoo’s head. The sound of rain heard from afar and the sound of his pounding heart remained the same.
Because his head couldn’t accept the scene unfolding before his eyes, his body also froze in place. It was only a few seconds, but to Seonwoo, that moment was distant enough to be intensely engraved in his eyes, in his memory.
“Did the rain wake you?”
An affectionate voice awakened his mind. Seonwoo rushed to Taejeong as if jumping from his spot. But before going far, his body swayed greatly as if caught on an obstacle.
What stopped Seonwoo were several hands. Four large men clung to Seonwoo alone. From the moment he opened the door, all his attention had been focused only on Taejeong, so he didn’t even know there were other people.
“What are you……”
Seonwoo couldn’t finish his words. The golf club that had been still once again cut through the air. The round head accurately struck Taejeong’s left shoulder.
Simultaneously with the sound of hard metal colliding dully, there was a sound of something twisting. Seonwoo’s face, who witnessed all of that before his eyes, was colored with horror. Seonwoo gasped as if he himself had been hit.
“……”
On the other hand, Taejeong didn’t even scream. His fallen back heaved once greatly, but no sound leaked from his mouth. Only his hand convulsing while clenching his fist with enough force to burst showed the pain that couldn’t be expressed in words.
Seonwoo, who witnessed raw violence, couldn’t maintain his reason. His heart pounded madly in case the golf club the Vice Director held would go toward Taejeong again. But no matter how desperately he struggled with all his might, his body didn’t budge.
Seeing Seonwoo’s desperate state, the Vice Director stopped swinging the golf club again and calmly extended his hand. Then the men released Seonwoo as if they had made a promise.
As soon as Seonwoo broke free, he crouched down and embraced Taejeong’s head. Even though the place that was hit was his shoulder, he instinctively tried to protect his head. In that posture, he felt an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.
But Seonwoo had never embraced anyone like this before. Then why did he feel such déjà vu? When his thoughts were about to fly far away, a low laugh caught Seonwoo’s mind.
“Are you going to get hit instead of him, Seonwoo?”
The Vice Director’s voice carried satisfaction unfitting for the situation. He didn’t hide his upturned lips either, as if pleased.
“Seonmin wasn’t such a devoted personality……”
“……”
“Was it your father who was like that?”
Seonwoo didn’t answer. It was because he couldn’t hear at all what the Vice Director was chattering about beside him. His two eyes, wide open with excitement, were directed only at Taejeong.
Taejeong was pressing his forehead to the floor while clutching his left shoulder. Cold sweat that flowed down from his forehead was pooling on the floor. His damp back was having small convulsions.
Suppressed groaning sounds enduring the pain continued as if about to break off. Saliva leaked between his lips bitten so hard that blood came out. Both eyes were wide open but unfocused. He was enduring the pain that had risen to the tip of his chin.
Seonwoo’s pupils moved rapidly. How badly was his shoulder injured? Were the bones broken? Seonwoo’s hands only wandered aimlessly over the broad back and couldn’t touch carelessly. As if synchronizing with Taejeong’s gasping sounds, Seonwoo’s breathing also became rapid.
He needed to call an ambulance. But he didn’t have his phone. He couldn’t even remember where he had last put it. As he turned his gaze to find anything that could help, he met eyes with the Vice Director. He had just been quietly staring at Seonwoo embracing Taejeong. The golf club used as a weapon was still held in his hand. Seonwoo’s Adam’s apple bobbed greatly. Seonwoo, who swallowed saliva enough to dry his mouth, said.
“He needs to go to the hospital.”
Why did you hit him? What did he do wrong to deserve being hit like this? If I hadn’t come, would you have kept hitting him? Among the many words that floated in his head, what actually came out of his mouth was just that one thing.
Despite being his own son, the fact that the Vice Director regarded Taejeong unfavorably was something Seonwoo had known well from the first day he came to this house.
But he thought at most he treated him as a disowned child. He never imagined that he would wield such merciless violence in front of Seonwoo, who, no matter how much wrapped up as family or household, was ultimately nothing but an outsider.
Whether Seonwoo witnessed the violence or not, it didn’t matter to the Vice Director at all. So emotional appeals were meaningless. Seonwoo somehow squeezed out a way to escape this situation with his confused head.
“The bones, seem to be broken.”
“Really? Should Ahjussi take a look?”
The Vice Director, who leaned the golf club against the desk and approached closely, tried to touch Taejeong. Seonwoo swatted away the hand coming precisely toward the shoulder.
“Take him to the hospital first.”
“Is Seonwoo asking that of Ahjussi?”
“……”
A brief silence flowed and Seonwoo slowly nodded his head. The Vice Director rubbed and withdrew the hand that had been swatted away.
“Alright, then. Ahjussi didn’t even take care of Seonwoo’s birthday present, so this much is nothing.”
“……”
“Take him.”
The men who had been standing quietly without presence moved. With rough hands, they forcibly lifted Taejeong and began moving him outside the study. As Seonwoo tried to follow behind as if possessed, a hand that grabbed his shoulder stopped him.
“Ahjussi would like it if Seonwoo waited at home.”
Two men moved Taejeong and the other two approached Seonwoo. Seonwoo’s body stiffened with tension at the ominous atmosphere. Then the Vice Director stroked Seonwoo’s head with his usual face.
“Don’t worry and wait. It’s my hospital, so how could I fail to save one child?”
The two men who grabbed his arms from both sides pulled Seonwoo. He clearly put strength in his center and resisted, but his body was dragged away to a futile degree.
The men who took Taejeong didn’t go to the entrance but went down to the basement. The Vice Director also headed there. Seonwoo stuck out his head while passing beside them, but couldn’t see anything because it was blocked by their large frames.
When they reached the front of the stairs, one person pushed Seonwoo’s back heavily. It seemed like he was telling him to decide for himself whether to go up on his own feet or be dragged. When he didn’t budge, his arms were pulled strongly as if they would be torn off. Seonwoo’s body was lifted absurdly simply.
As he was dragged up while his body was lifted, his insteps, heels, and all kinds of places hit the edges. There was no time to complain of pain. When he was dragged like that and entered the room, the door immediately closed. The sound of departing footsteps beyond the door couldn’t be heard. The presence standing in front of the door was vividly felt.
His arms and feet were tingling. But that wasn’t important. Even after entering the room, Seonwoo still felt like he remained in the study. The moment the golf club struck Taejeong seemed to repeat eternally in his head.
Then he saw light outside the window. Beyond the gate, a car was departing. Was Taejeong riding in there? Was it really going to the hospital? While lost in doubt, the car had already left.
When it disappeared from view, Seonwoo felt like the anxiety he had been suppressing while pretending not to know was bursting out all at once. It was the same feeling as when he was suddenly scared that something had happened to his mom.
Seonwoo needed to directly confirm with his own two eyes whether Taejeong was safe. Otherwise, this feeling would never be resolved.
He immediately opened the door. But as soon as the doorknob turned and a slight gap formed, strong force closed the door again. A firm voice was heard from beyond the door.
