At his firm words, Lee Jiwoo’s lips jutted out in a pout. He sighed and asked.
“What are you curious about? I’ll tell you if you hold my hand.”
Why does he keep asking to hold hands in this situation? It’s not like they’ll wear out, and if it’s just to get an answer, I could gladly offer him my hair instead of my hand—no, even my head of hair if he wanted to grab that.
But there was one thing I needed to confirm first.
“You’re going to pick and choose which questions to answer, right?”
Lee Jiwoo looked at me blankly with an expressionless face before responding.
“No, I’ll answer everything honestly.”
The few seconds of silence felt uncomfortable, but if I kept questioning him, it would never end. When I held out my palm, Jiwoo placed his hand on top of it like a well-trained puppy. Then he intertwined our fingers and gripped tightly.
“You said it seems like your cousin hyung sent me drugs, right? But you still don’t know for sure why he sent them.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you and your cousin hyung on bad terms?”
If it wasn’t just cursing at each other or getting into fistfights, but having someone tail the other, plant spies, and even send drugs, that already went beyond what could be called family.
It couldn’t simply be explained as just being on bad terms.
“I guess so. I don’t really think of it that way, but hyung really hates me.”
Jiwoo answered right away without hesitation. It didn’t seem like he was lying.
“Why does your hyung hate you?”
I naturally expected it to be about money—inheritance, assets, and such—but what came out of his mouth was unexpected.
“Because he thinks I killed our mom and dad.”
“…Your cousin hyungnim’s parents—you?”
“No, I mean I killed my mom and dad.”
What the hell is he talking about? Seeing my shock, Jiwoo opened his mouth without even being asked, for once.
“There were circumstances, so hyung lived with us at our house since he was young.”
The circumstances seemed similar to mine. I also ended up living with my cousin Seogong’s family.
“Hyung was like a model student straight out of a drawing, and he had a warm personality, so my parents liked him. Everyone around him liked him too. He was like the kind of son every parent dreams of, I guess.”
“……”
“I was the complete opposite. My cousin hyung’s name is Lee Sihu, and it’s unfortunately similar to mine, so there were probably people who thought he was the real son. We went to almost all official events with hyung, after all.”
This was the first time I’d heard such a drama-like story, so it was awkward to offer consolation carelessly. What kind of huge misunderstanding would make someone think their son killed his parents? How exactly did Jiwoo’s parents pass away?
Unable to laugh or cry, I just opened and closed my mouth like a goldfish when Jiwoo added.
“For the record, I didn’t kill my mom and dad.”
Of course he didn’t. What kind of child kills their parents? Besides, Jiwoo seemed a bit eccentric at most, but he didn’t look like an evil person.
“Have you tried talking to your cousin hyungnim about it? That you didn’t do that…”
When I asked carefully, Jiwoo nodded.
“I’ve told him several times, but he doesn’t believe me.”
“Why not?”
Is there some kind of decisive evidence that points to Jiwoo as the culprit?
“Do you know the story of the boy who cried wolf?”
Suddenly? But I felt like I knew what Jiwoo was going to say without even hearing it.
“Because you lie a lot normally, your cousin hyungnim doesn’t believe what you say?”
“Yeah. I guess that’s why they say you should live honestly.”
Even though it was clearly a serious situation, Jiwoo was endlessly casual about it. So I was confused about how to take this.
No matter how much someone lies normally, this is about people dying… And Jiwoo is their son, yet he doesn’t believe him? Just because he lies a lot normally?
Were things bad between him and his parents when he was young?
“Anyway, I’ll go check it out.”
Jiwoo let go of my hand that he’d been gripping tightly. Then he went into the room and opened the closet. Watching him rummage through my clothes as he pleased and pull out outerwear to put on, I asked.
“Will they answer if you ask them?”
At my question, Jiwoo turned his head to look at me.
“I mean, if your cousin hyungnim did it secretly, won’t he hide it and say he doesn’t know anything…”
“I’m not going to ask.”
Jiwoo tilted his head. I tilted mine too and asked.
“Then how are you going to check?”
“You haven’t even removed the tags yet?”
Jiwoo, now fully dressed in outerwear, scanned the inside of the closet and sighed. The clothes Jiwoo had bought me in bulk not long ago were hanging there. Seeing him change the subject, I guess this is something he doesn’t want to answer.
“I’ll contact you soon, so don’t go out for a while and just stay home. It’d be uncomfortable for you too if Choi Gunho keeps following you around. The chances are low, but it might be dangerous. If there’s somewhere you absolutely have to go, go with me.”
Jiwoo said as he walked past me toward the front door. I followed behind him.
“I’ll let it slide for today, but I absolutely have to go out tomorrow.”
“Where to? Then I’ll come with you.”
“The hospital. It’s the day my sibling gets discharged.”
At my words, Jiwoo hesitated. Then without even thinking about it, he immediately changed his tune.
“Just go by yourself.”
“Why? You said it’s dangerous for me to go out alone.”
“You’ve been fine up until now. You’ll be fine. Choi Gunho is human too, so he probably won’t attack you when you’re with your sibling who’s being discharged.”
“…Those people attack too? Not just surveillance?”
“Sometimes they stage accidents disguised as coincidences.”
Jiwoo, who had finished putting on his shoes while speaking casually, straightened up. He looked at me as I frowned deeply with an anxious expression and said.
“Really, just sometimes.”
“Ah, yes… Really just sometimes…”
“If I go see hyung today, they’ll probably withdraw immediately. When they get caught, they usually disappear.”
I sighed and asked just in case.
“Is there anything I can help you with? Things to do or things to be especially careful about?”
“No. Just act normal. Make sure to answer when I call.”
I nodded and hesitated for a moment. I remembered that yesterday was the anniversary of Jiwoo’s parents’ death. But since I’d confirmed it from a text I’d secretly seen when Jiwoo fell asleep drunk, I couldn’t let on that I knew.
“Then be careful. If you’re going to drink again, make sure to eat some snacks with it. Oh, wait. Take this.”
I put all the medicine I’d bought at the pharmacy earlier into a bag and pressed it into Jiwoo’s hand.
“Keep it at home and take it when you need it. Still, if you drink too much, even medicine won’t help, so moderate yourself. This is painkillers, and this you should take one before drinking and another one before you go to bed when you get home…”
I doubted he’d remember to take them even after explaining, but just in case, I gave him a rough explanation. Jiwoo just stared at me blankly without saying anything until I finished. After watching Jiwoo stand there dumbly for about five seconds without leaving, I asked.
“What? Do you have something more to say?”
“Can I kiss you?”
It was truly unexpected, completely out of the blue. Without realizing it, I made a disgusted face.
“No, you can’t.”
“If you’re not even going to let me kiss you, why are you being so nice to me?”
“What does that have to do with this? Anyway, goodbye.”
“Then at least give me a hug as a last—”
“What do you mean ‘last,’ are you deploying overseas or something? We’re going to see each other in a few days anyway…”
Grumbling, I just hugged his shoulders. I was about to pull away quickly, but Jiwoo hugged my back tightly. Then he precisely fit his face into the hollow where my neck and shoulder connect and rubbed around like crazy.
Goosebumps rose all over my skin, but I endured it. Right now I’m working…
“I’ll contact you right after meeting hyung. It won’t take more than a few hours.”
“Okay, I’ll wait.”
“And I’ve been thinking, how about we exchange gifts next time we meet?”
I have no idea what kind of childish thing this is again. Just from his usual spending, he seems to have tons of money—can I even buy a gift that would satisfy Jiwoo with my measly wallet?
“If it’s hard to choose a gift, let’s just designate them for each other.”
Every time he talks, his lips pressed right against my neck move and it tickles to death. But isn’t this basically a kiss at this point? Ugh, fuck. Making money is really fucking hard.
“Sure, what do you want?”
Did he have something he wanted from me from the start? Otherwise there was no reason for him to suddenly say that. And specifically suggesting we designate gifts too.
I had some money that I’d received from hyungnim and grandfather, so I had some leeway. As long as Jiwoo didn’t ask for something outrageous, up to around 500,000 won…
“Your hair.”
“……”
It was an outrageous request.
