“So what’s your relationship with Mr. Curtis?”
Theo sat on an empty hospital bed with a dispassionate face and crossed arms, carefully scanning David and the two agents standing behind him who were seated opposite.
“Who’s Curtis?”
“Mr. Michael Curtis who is currently in a coma. Are you saying you don’t know each other?”
“Michael Curtis?”
The combination of an unfamiliar surname and a familiar first name almost made him ask who that could possibly be. Ah, did Enya change Michael’s identity to avoid any connection to Gostin?
“Of course, Michael and I know each other well.”
“But just now you asked who Curtis was…”
“I was just momentarily confused about the surname. We were very close, after all.”
We were inseparable. At this added remark, David tilted his head suspiciously and examined Theo’s expression. Despite his affectionate words, his eyes were utterly devoid of emotion.
“First of all, I express my regret about the unfortunate accident that happened to Mr. Curtis. It’s truly unfortunate that glass debris from the explosion happened to pierce his abdomen.”
“Well, no need to express regret. I guess that guy’s lifespan was just meant to end there.”
“…Didn’t you say you two were close friends?”
“Of course.”
“…”
David, who was looking at Theo in bewilderment as he answered nonchalantly, whispered something to the agents behind him.
This is such a pain in the ass. Theo scratched his head vigorously and exhaled an irritated sigh. Following Herick, who had finished his interrogation hours ago, now he too was facing FBI agents, and he was already sick of it.
Although he complied with the investigation willingly, knowing Enya would have taken care of anything suspicious, he was more than displeased with their aggressive obsession to catch the large mafia organization.
This is not the time for this. His face crumpled instinctively as he suddenly thought of Hyungoh sitting in Michael’s hospital room, looking completely out of it.
As soon as the persistent interrogation ended, he left the room without even saying goodbye. The sound of agents calling out in confusion behind Theo as he strode away reached his ears, but he casually ignored them.
“…What the hell.”
Pushing aside the security guards standing at the door, Theo entered Michael’s hospital room and rolled his eyes irritably, apparently displeased to see Herick right in front of him.
“Where did Hyungoh go? Why is only you here?”
“He seemed to need some time alone.”
“So you chased him out?”
“What nonsense. He said he was going out for some fresh air for a while.”
“Where did he go?”
“How would I know that? He’s probably somewhere in the hospital.”
Theo’s expression darkened instantly as an unpleasant feeling struck him. He remembered Hyungoh from 11 years ago, unable to cope with reality and wanting to run away.
“…How can you be sure he’s still in the building?”
“What?”
Herick’s expression also gradually hardened as he was about to question back. Just as he realized the seriousness of the situation and tried to get up, he saw Michael sleeping peacefully and straightened his posture again.
“No, Choi wouldn’t have left.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Think about it, idiot. Choi carried Michael, who’s much bigger than his small body, out of the hospital determined to save him somehow. If he wanted to leave, he would have done so then. Choi isn’t low on intelligence like you, and surely he wouldn’t try to escape from here with FBI agents roaming around?”
“…You have such a lovely way with words.”
Theo rubbed the back of his neck and glanced down at Michael. Perhaps thanks to the soft, subtle lamp on the table, there was some color returning to his pale white face. His long eyelashes covering his eyes and slightly parted lips showed no movement, making him look like a well-crafted doll.
“Ghost is finally living up to his name.”
“What do you mean?”
“Being so pale and just lying there, he really does look like a ghost.”
“…You really have the nerve to say such things in front of a patient. If you’re going to look for Choi, get out now. He’s definitely somewhere around here.”
“You’re so prickly.”
Theo, who had left the room, trudged down the quiet corridor. While other floors had patients and nurses actively moving about, this floor was eerily quiet as if isolating virus-infected patients.
Where could Hyungoh be? Surely he hadn’t already booked a flight ticket and returned to Korea? Though he knew it would be impossible time-wise, impatience got the better of him.
“If only you had followed my advice.”
If he had just returned to Korea, he should have lived in hiding for the rest of his life. When he saw Hyungoh, whom he thought was living well in Korea, kidnapped by Joy, a sadistic torture device developer, he couldn’t help but be surprised. No, he felt anger rising within him unknowingly.
Once he stepped into the gutter, everything around him became more desolate than he could have imagined. That’s why Theo had looked up flights to Korea countless times over the past 11 years. Rather than wanting to see Hyungoh, it was a kind of lingering attachment, but the act itself provided some comfort.
One day, as he looked down at his hands stained dark red, he felt for the first time the urge to keep Hyungoh by his side. Hyungoh’s wishes didn’t matter. The madness of needing to keep him close—whether by imprisonment or breaking his legs—grew stronger.
As he struggled to understand why he felt this way, Michael’s words suddenly aimed at him like a sharp spear.
You envy Choi’s morality. Unlike your mental world, which was broken from the start, Choi is upright and unwavering, so you follow him more readily. You want to feel like you’re not the madman who stood by and watched your father’s death, but a normal person who doesn’t harm others.
He couldn’t admit it at the time, but looking back, Michael was right. He had only wanted to use Hyungoh for his own purposes. To escape the wretched pit and live even a little normally. He was tired of being vigilant every night when the sun went down, constantly feeling for his gun, and he was nauseated by the endless suspicion and probing for weaknesses even among allies.
But that doesn’t mean your past disappears.
That was another fact he didn’t want to admit, but couldn’t deny. Theo suppressed his madness even through self-harm. He vowed numerous times not to drag Hyungoh into the sordid, filthy darkness anymore.
But perhaps he couldn’t stop it completely.
“Huh.”
As his pace slowed down through the corridor, he turned his gaze sideways and spotted Hyungoh sitting on the windowsill.
He really did stay. Hyungoh, who had been staring blankly through the window, turned his head as if sensing a presence. His hollow eyes and parched lips accentuated his haggard appearance, but his pupils still emitted their own clear light.
