“It’s okay. You’ll get to leave this house too.”
“…What bullshit is that?”
“They said they’ll send you to your mom.”
“…”
Silence flowed. Even after a while there was no answer, so Seonwoo turned his head to look. Taejeong had a completely dazed face. However, there was no fear. Then that was enough. Seonwoo buried his face in the blanket again.
“That’s good. Now you won’t have to see my face.”
He was sincere. After living in this house, he’d suffered seeing all sorts of unseemly things, but the same was true for Taejeong. Seonwoo didn’t deny that just as he’d been swept up by Taejeong, Taejeong had been equally swept up.
Seonwoo curled his body into a ball. With his face buried in the blanket full of Taejeong’s scent, he mumbled. Wake me up later.
ლ
He was hungry. It was natural since all he’d eaten after waking up early in the morning was juice. Though he’d chewed large chunks of strawberry and banana, the feeling of fullness didn’t last long.
So when he arrived at the rest stop restaurant, he ordered two menu items. He ate his fill, but Seonwoo greedily ordered a hot dog for dessert.
After giving a bite each to Mom and Dad, the amount seemed like not much, so without much thought he ate all of that too. He occasionally drank the coffee Dad gave him so he wouldn’t choke.
From the time they departed the rest stop, the premonition wasn’t good.
It wasn’t simply the level of feeling full because his stomach was full. The solar plexus area was blocked tight to the point of constricting, so there was no mistaking it.
Before long they stopped on the highway shoulder. Seonwoo suffered outside the car emptying out his entire stomach. His complexion was pale as he barely managed to recover and got back in the car. Whether he was properly carsick, he was even breaking out in cold sweat.
Seonwoo lay down in the back seat as if collapsing. Then instead of going back to the passenger seat, Mom also got into the back seat. She laid Seonwoo on her lap and gently stroked his head. The car started moving again. Wind brushed past through the slightly lowered window gap. His stomach still churned.
[Should I go slower? Son?]
Dad asked. Seonwoo shook his head and mumbled to just go. He wanted to hurry and arrive at the accommodation and lie down. Yet the car was still going slowly. It was so slow on the highway that he could feel other cars passing one after another.
Mom, who had picked up the lap blanket, rolled the blanket up. The rolled-up blanket was like a cushion. Seonwoo hugged what Mom handed him with both arms.
But strangely, the outside was soft while the inside was hard. The texture was different from a real cushion. However, that firmness was oddly calming, so Seonwoo strongly pulled it close to his chest. Then something tickled his chin. It was a fluffy lump-like sensation.
Go to sleep. I’ll wake you when we arrive. Mom, who said that, stroked his head. Seonwoo, who had been closing his eyes while hugging the blanket, suddenly felt puzzled.
[Mom, when did you get up? Is it okay for you to be doing that? Shouldn’t you be the one lying down? I’ll move over. You lie down, Mom.]
It was the moment he said that and sat up. Everything around him disappeared. He’d clearly been in the car, but there was nothing in all directions. Even the blanket he’d been holding in his arms.
Seonwoo fumbled his hands here and there. There was nothing his hands touched. The seat next to him was completely empty. Confused and dominated by the thought of ‘what the hell is this’, at some moment his eyes opened.
“…”
He was curled up lying on his side. His whole body was sticky. The blanket touching his skin was damp with sweat. As he sat up, cold sweat dripped from his forehead.
Taejeong wasn’t on the bed or in the room. Only dim silence filled the space. Seonwoo roughly wiped his sweat with the back of his hand and approached the window. When he pulled open the blackout curtains, the sunset was glowing outside.
“I said to wake me up…”
Seonwoo grumbled while looking at the reddened sky. Taejeong hadn’t listened to the end. Moreover, he’d gone somewhere alone and wasn’t even a trace to be seen. Seonwoo sighed and walked toward the door.
Then he heard a strange sound from somewhere. He immediately looked back. Though it was an extremely faint sound, he didn’t ignore it. Living in this house, Seonwoo had unknowingly become sensitive to sounds.
However, the surroundings were only quiet. Seonwoo’s gaze scanned the room and stopped at one place. The bathroom. As if drawn by a magnet, he headed there.
The bathroom with the lights off was darker than the room. Something large was crouched sitting in front of the toilet.
Pale hands were gripping the toilet. With head lowered, the face couldn’t be seen. The moment he heard retching sounds again, Seonwoo came to his senses.
“Why are you like this?”
He immediately raised Taejeong up. Taejeong weakly lifted his head. Bloodshot red eyes turned toward Seonwoo. Wet eyelashes were visible. At the unusual state, Seonwoo grabbed Taejeong’s arm.
“Get up. You need to go to the hospital.”
However, Taejeong didn’t budge. No matter how much strength he put in, only the arm lifted while the body didn’t move.
“I said you need to go to the hospital?”
Irritation was buried in the voice that had subtly grown louder. It was as if he believed that somehow things would be resolved just by going to the hospital. Even though nothing had ever been resolved there, Seonwoo stubbornly clung to it. Because what Seonwoo could do for Taejeong was only taking him to the hospital and being by his side.
“They’ll do something somehow. There are doctors at the hospital. Whether it’s injections or surgery, they’ll take care of everything……”
“Which doctor.”
It was a voice so low it seemed to crawl along the floor. But it was a clearer voice than ever.
“The father who made me like this?”
Taejeong, who said that, suddenly started shaking his head from side to side. He even made a bizarre sound, jerking his shoulders and going “hik hik.” Only a moment later did Seonwoo realize it was the sound of laughter.
Though drooping hair covered his eyes, only the corners of his mouth were clearly visible. Taejeong was laughing so hard his mouth split enough to reveal his canines.
“……”
At such an abnormal action, even Seonwoo shut his mouth. He instinctively felt that something was seriously wrong. Idiot, dumbass, stupid bastard…… He muttered curses not knowing who they were directed at anymore. Then he jerked his shoulders again and giggled with laughter.
Just watching it felt like his throat was going dry. Seonwoo swallowed dry saliva and bent down. He knelt on one knee on the bathroom floor and reached out toward Taejeong. He was going to tell him to come to his senses.
But there wasn’t even a chance to open his mouth. A large hand came and grabbed his collar. A shout mixed with resentment followed. Taejeong shouted as if vomiting out what had been weighing down his chest for so long.
“It was our father who made your family like that, you idiot!”
To Seonwoo, it sounded exactly like a scream. His ears rang from the sudden loud shout right in front of his nose. Taejeong had an expression where it was unclear if he was in pain or relieved. However, he was looking straight into Seonwoo’s eyes without avoiding them.
On the other hand, Seonwoo frowned and moved his eyes here and there. He wasn’t surprised or angry. His head just sank coolly. It was so absurd that he became calm instead.
Seonwoo thought Taejeong had completely lost his mind. After enduring and enduring until now, he had really gone crazy and now couldn’t even distinguish between reality and delusion.
It was a truck driver who caused the accident. It was even written in the news article that he had been drowsy driving due to excessive work. When he was hospitalized, he had also seen a photo that some detective had presented.
He didn’t take it in properly so he didn’t remember the exact features, but he had definitely confirmed the culprit’s facial features. It was definitely a different face from the Vice Director.
“Hey……”
Instead of removing the hand gripping his collar, Seonwoo lightly grabbed Taejeong’s arm.
“It’s because you’re always holed up in your room. Look. It’s because you don’t meet people and keep staying alone in this dark place.”
Seonwoo wasn’t trying to mock Taejeong. Everything came from sincerity. What he’d seen wasn’t just one or two things. This house, the people, everything surrounding Taejeong was abnormal. It was an environment where he would have gone crazy long ago.
