“……”
As if deciding to completely ignore Eunchan’s words, Miro pretended not to hear and pressed his body closer to Eunchan. Because they were sitting side by side in the back seat, Eunchan couldn’t even avoid him. Having no choice, Eunchan offered his shoulder to Miro who kept pressing close.
“Lean on me.”
When he told him to lean with that pale complexion, he readily brought his head over. Even though his curled-up body must be uncomfortable, he didn’t refuse once.
“Please turn down the air conditioner.”
Rather than the cold air conditioner breeze, he had the window opened so hot air could come in. Eunchan looked down at Miro’s face once. Long eyelashes cast shadows around his eyes. He really is pretty… His skin is white too, and his features are distinct. What use is it for a man to be this pretty?
Of course, there were many uses for it. Even just at the hospital, the staff would smile and frequently come in to take care of him, talk to him. Eunchan turned his head to look out the window. The asphalt road was burning under the sunlight.
First, go and look at the footage and draw a rough composite. Then, if possible, secure footage from surrounding shops. Unless they’re police, people won’t easily give it up, but since the boss was a former detective, he could cover it with connections.
They’ll probably hover around and come to harass. It would be okay to ambush and pounce. If I borrow the boss’s old car and stay up all night with Hyungsik…
But what about the lawyer? I’d made up my mind to go down and even packed my bags, but now that the work was postponed and I was about to go, my mind changed. I don’t want to go. I really don’t want to. There were no good memories. No, the memories of living with grandmother were good, but it’s been quite a while since grandmother passed away and her grave wasn’t even made there.
Has the village changed a lot? Is that house still there? Where and how is hyung living? He had a pretty face, so did he become a celebrity or actor? Looking at Miro’s pretty face naturally made him think of hyung.
Not having a single photo taken together, hyung existed only drawn from memory. Eunchan looked at the cars passing quickly by the side. Hometown, Muan. The depressing boyhood. Days he didn’t want to return to, that he didn’t even reminisce about.
Eunchan closed his eyes.
* * *
“Is this the right place?”
“Yees.”
The taxi couldn’t enter all the way in, so they had to get off at the entrance to the residential area. Since the security guard checked their identity at the entrance, Eunchan briefly regretted coming in his patient gown.
Though it was central Seoul, the structure wasn’t complicated. Rather, because the gaps between houses were large, it felt more like a new town in the outskirts. Eunchan made a shade with his hand to cover his eyes, then looked up at the high-rise houses built under the sunlight. They’re all splendid. There wasn’t a single house with the same design. Probably famous architects built them one by one.
Eunchan decided to look for the security office first. There’s no way a place this nice wouldn’t have CCTVs.
“Do you want to go home?”
Since he had to get footage from the surroundings anyway, he’d have to walk around for a while. Miro wouldn’t be much help, so Eunchan asked while pretending to be considerate.
“No.”
However, the answer that came back was firm. After shaking his head, Miro smiled brightly and approached Eunchan even closer with quick steps. Eunchan gave up and took care of Miro as he walked toward the building in front of the main gate. Though it must clearly be the security office, they were using a building that looked like a small company. It’s way better than our backward company? Passing through the automatic door and entering inside, cold air wrapped around his body. Feeling the hot sweat dry, Eunchan fluttered his thin patient gown.
Security team, guard team, fire team, facility management team… Looking at the rooms divided by department, Eunchan first headed toward the guard team. He walked quickly and tried to slightly distance himself from Miro, but gave up at Miro’s action of approaching just as much again.
“Excuse me.”
He knocked on the opaque glass door and opened it. Inside, two men in security uniforms were sitting comfortably, apparently waiting with CCTVs and walkie-talkies in front of them.
“Hello, what can we do for you?”
At the stranger who appeared wearing a patient gown, the staff showed momentarily flustered faces but quickly erased it and greeted Eunchan with kind smiles.
“I’d like to check the CCTV.”
“Excuse me, but do you happen to reside here?”
“Yes.”
As if they knew all the residents’ faces, they threw a suspicious question at Eunchan. Eunchan answered immediately. Of course not, but since the person standing behind him resided here, it was a correct answer. Miro was blankly watching the screen, his gaze captivated by the rotating CCTV.
“What’s your address?”
“What’s your address?”
At the question, Eunchan turned around and tossed the question to Miro as is. Only then did the staff’s gazes shift to Miro wearing small clothes and a hat.
“Aren’t you A-52-nim?”
“Yes, yes.”
One staff member who recognized Miro’s face at once immediately acted familiar. Miro nodded his head and then stood close behind Eunchan who was standing confidently in his patient gown.
“You said you wanted to check the CCTV?”
“Yes, let’s see the footage from the 21st.”
“Just a moment.”
The 21st when he was attacked. Since it happened near the house, it must have been caught on camera. Standing next to the staff member sitting in front of the computer looking through videos organized by file, he snuck a peek at the monitor.
“This is a patrol city, right?”
“Yes, we patrol divided into four times: morning, afternoon, evening, and late night.”
“Didn’t you see any suspicious people?”
“Well. We don’t accept suspicious people from the entrance in the first place.”
In Eunchan’s case, he could enter because resident Miro was there, but outsiders would probably have a hard time. Eunchan first took note of the staff member’s words.
“By any chance, do you have any other dates besides the 21st?”
“Why? Don’t you have that day?”
“The CCTV company must have touched the circuit wrong when they inspected last time, it’s been under repair since last week.”
“It’s not like there’s only one camera, isn’t there another camera?”
“The A-52 area is in a remote location, so there’s only one. The resident also said it felt more like being monitored and that it was more comfortable without CCTV…”
Really? Eunchan turned his head to look at Miro.
“I, I don’t know about that…”
“He says he doesn’t know about it.”
“Then the previous owner probably said that.”
“No, there’s a new owner, didn’t you ask them?”
“We don’t really know who’s newly moving in.”
“How much does installing one camera cost that you won’t even install it for them?”
The security is absolute shit? Eunchan pushed his hair back and got angry. It was a shitty housing complex, so it would be difficult to secure footage if not here. The shops were far away and they hadn’t seen any suspicious people either. This is going to be harder than I thought. Eunchan exhaled harshly. All that’s left is stakeout. Eunchan looked back at Miro.
“Let’s go home.”
Judging that nothing would come from staying here longer, Eunchan gave up quickly.
“Yees.”
“Install several cameras. And patrol more strictly. There’s a criminal wandering around here.”
“What?”
The staff, surprised by Eunchan’s words, asked back what that meant, but Eunchan didn’t answer. Instead, he grabbed Miro’s wrist and walked out quickly. He needed to go home and talk more with Miro. Since it’s been about 1 or 2 years since the stalker appeared, maybe try to pick dates before that and request the footage again…
“Miro-ssi.”
“Yees.”
“Is your house far from here?”
“A, a little?”
“I’m thirsty, hungry, and want to wash up.”
Feeling dejected made him more tired. Since he’d only briefly brushed his teeth and washed his face in the morning, his body felt uncomfortable. The alcohol from yesterday wasn’t completely gone yet. Last night’s bed was uncomfortable, and he didn’t like hospitals either. Moreover, he wanted to take off this patient gown he was wearing right now quickly.
“Let’s, let’s go quickly. Us.”
At the urging, Miro smiled and grabbed Eunchan’s hand. It’s not far, shall I carry you on my back? Go sleep a bit. Like someone anxious to quickly get him into his house, he continued to whisper stuttering words in Eunchan’s ear.
The fact that it was in a secluded place must have been true, as even after walking and walking, Miro had no intention of stopping. Eunchan, exhausted by the hot sunlight, was walking while only looking at the asphalt ground, while patient Miro—perhaps originally having good stamina—walked ahead energetically, grabbing Eunchan’s arm.
“The house is fucking far…”
I think there should be a bus stop inside here. Eunchan wiped away sweat with his free arm and exhaled heavily. At least it was fortunate that the patient gown was made of thin material, that they didn’t encounter any residents, and that he had energy thanks to eating a good breakfast.
“We’ll ar, arrive soon.”
Looking back at Eunchan who clearly showed signs of exhaustion, Miro became impatient. He seemed worried that Eunchan would say he’s tired before arriving and return to his own home. Eunchan followed, dragging his feet behind Miro’s back full of anxiety.
Though it was difficult, there was an unexpected harvest. Inside the complex were places where he could get footage more than expected, like a library, fitness center, and convenience store. Eunchan drew a map in his head and drew in each shop and building.
“Are you ti, tired?”
“No.”
His stamina must be good, unlike his appearance. With skin that looked like it had never run once under the sun and a patient with no vitality whatsoever, he took care of Eunchan with peaceful breathing.
“We’ll come out if we just tu, turn this corner.”
The fact that it was on the outskirts was true. At Miro’s words, Eunchan, squeezing out strength, peeled his legs that had stuck to the ground once again.
The most secluded place in the complex. It was a house where shrubbery and trees were thick like a forest. Eunchan looked up at the tall tree sticking out above the high gate and made a small exclamation of admiration. The view is killer. Though it was hot summer, the temperature was cool because sunlight didn’t shine through.
“You didn’t get scammed when buying the house, right?”
I don’t think the stalker appeared for no reason. Even to me, who has no spiritual sense, the lot seemed inauspicious. Eunchan looked at Miro’s back as he energetically climbed the stairs and opened the gate.
