Chapter 41
“Herick.”
Herick, who had been sitting at an angle by the window smoking a cigar, turned his head. Theo stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall, watching him.
“Go home already.”
“What do you even like about that violent bastard?”
Herick asked with a frown.
“And what do you like about that vicious old man?”
“At least I have a reason anyone could understand. He killed my father.”
“Hunter’s killed over a hundred people. Your father was just one of them.”
“That’s exactly why I’m grateful.”
Herick chuckled at Theo’s flippant response: Aren’t I lucky that out of billions of people in the world, my father happened to be one of those hundred?
“Michael is the only person among those billions who can comfort me.”
“How romantic.”
“Romantic? It’s more like a curse.”
Oh. Theo, who had been sneering with a shrug, opened his eyes wide. Negative words about Michael coming from your mouth?
“I’m not an idiot, Theo.”
I’m not lacking in rational thought. I just get swept up by emotions sometimes. Herick said, putting the cigar back in his mouth.
“Good to know you’re aware of that.”
Theo replied. Then he sat at an angle by the window across from Herick. A gentle breeze touched both their hair.
“Remember the day I first came to this neighborhood?”
Herick, who had briefly closed his eyes as his bangs fluttered in the breeze, suddenly looked at Theo.
“No, I only heard rumors. That some snotty kid and his family had moved in next door.”
“…I don’t know why those rumors spread, but I came here alone. No family.”
“What? Weren’t you eight years old?”
“I was an eight-year-old orphan.”
“Orphan?”
“Yeah, and Hunter was the sponsor of that poor little orphan.”
What?! Theo leaned forward, eyes full of curiosity. Hunter was sponsoring you as an orphan? So Hunter was the one who brought you to this neighborhood?
“No. I came looking for Hunter. I figured any man who would pour that much money into someone as unremarkable as me had to be some kind of defective pedophile.”
“Pretty fearless for an eight-year-old.”
“I snuck a gun off a drunk priest, planning to shoot if I had to.”
I had nothing to lose. Herick shrugged.
“When I ran into Hunter holding Michael, I thought my assumption was right. So I pointed the gun at him, but when I saw Hunter smiling like he didn’t have a care in the world, I realized my mistake. I’d picked the wrong opponent.”
“Then what?”
“Surprisingly, he set up a house for me and gave me plenty of living expenses. In exchange, he asked me to be Michael’s friend.”
“Wait, that’s way too much for just being someone’s friend. It’s like he’d sell his soul if you promised to take care of the Ghost kid for life.”
“Yeah. At first, I thought it was strange too. Why would he treat that child like something so precious? Was there some special reason I didn’t know about…?”
Herick paused and beckoned to Theo with his finger. Theo, startled, pulled his head back slightly before cautiously moving closer.
“And a few days later, Michael told me. That the person who orchestrated the massacre of my family was none other than Hunter.”
“…What?”
“My eldest brother was a money launderer who got caught trying to double-cross Hunter’s organization, and as payback, the whole family was shot dead. My idiot brother tried to escape with me—just a newborn at the time—but got caught and killed. I was left alone on the street, then rescued and sent to an orphanage.”
“Ghost told you that?”
“Yeah.”
“And you just believed it?”
“…Theo.”
Herick glared, eyes wide.
“Do you think I’m the kind of idiot who would believe something that outrageous without questioning it?”
I doubted it every way possible, but in the end, everything Michael said turned out to be true. Herick’s voice dropped low, intensely serious. Theo, who was about to clean his ear in disbelief at what seemed like another cult-follower moment, suddenly sensed something different. At least there wasn’t a trace of madness in Herick’s eyes.
“So do you hate Hunter?”
“Why would I?”
“You said Hunter killed your family.”
Herick shook his head.
“They were all going to die anyway.”
“Michael told you that?”
“Yeah. Even if Hunter hadn’t killed them, I would’ve ended up killing them all myself eventually.”
“What? Why?”
After thinking for a moment, Herick continued.
“Why else? In the end, it must’ve been because there was something wrong with me.”
“…”
Theo scratched his head vigorously and was about to speak again when suddenly there was a thud from beyond the door to the left. That’s the room where Hyungoh is lying down. Theo and Herick briefly glanced at each other before heading toward the room together.
“…What happened?”
Hyungoh was crouched on the floor, clutching the back of his head. Seeing Herick and Theo enter, he tried to get up awkwardly but ended up stumbling and plopping down on the bed.
“It’s… really dizzy. I’m starting to think Herick is amazing.”
Hyungoh said, rubbing the back of his head. At that, Herick frowned in displeasure. Don’t try to lump yourself in with me.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. Actually, I don’t remember much about yesterday.”
“Yesterday? That was three hours ago.”
“Was it? By the way, where’s Michael?”
“Probably sleeping. Apparently he gets violent if he’s not put to bed by now.”
He already seemed plenty violent to me. Theo recalled what Marsha had told him and shook his head as if to say, what can you do?
“You should stay here tonight. Michael needs to see you when he wakes up.”
Herick said. Hyungoh stared at him blankly.
“What are you looking at?”
Herick frowned again. Ignoring his irritation, Hyungoh stared at him for another moment before suddenly turning to Theo.
“Theo, could you bring the pillow from my room? I can’t sleep well without it.”
“What? No way, that’s too much trouble.”
“Here.”
Hyungoh tossed his house keys to Theo. Oh, and my uncle left his sweater in the living room. You know, the one he always wears. That sweater that smells like him. Theo, who caught the keys with one hand, twitched his lips at those words. Geez, what a pain. He backed away.
Herick gave Theo a sidelong glance like he was watching a pervert hurry out of the room, then turned back to face Hyungoh.
“You lie with such commitment.”
“You caught me. Actually, I sleep fine without a pillow.”
Herick sat in the chair beside the bed and nodded. So what is it, what do you want? Hyungoh sat up straight and pointed to the window.
“The window was open, so I happened to hear everything.”
The conversation between you two, I mean. Hyungoh said. Herick’s eyes turned sharp when he noticed the window was wide open.
“So?”
“I just wanted to hear more.”
“Ha.”
When Herick stood up from the chair, showing signs of leaving, Hyungoh quickly said:
“A curse, you said, Herick.”
“…What?”
“You said being dependent on Michael is like an inescapable curse.”
Herick stopped in his tracks and narrowed his eyes. When he didn’t respond, Hyungoh continued with a confident expression:
“I think I might be able to solve Herick’s problem.”
