“Hunter.”
Theo called his name cautiously, as if afraid he might run away. His slow, deliberate steps resembled those of a detective carefully approaching a suspect to avoid provoking them.
Hunter sighed. Despite looking down, his eyes remained intense as they turned toward Hyungoh.
“How do you manage to ruin my plans like this every single time?”
It was a mutter that didn’t sound like one meant to be private. Hyungoh was dumbfounded by how genuinely angry he appeared.
“What do you mean?”
“What do I mean? If you wanted to mess with me so badly, you could have found another way. I could have overlooked most things cutely, but this…”
“What…?”
Is he that upset about meeting Theo? Hyungoh couldn’t understand. It must have been a long time since Hunter had seen Theo too, but there wasn’t the slightest hint of happiness in Hunter’s demeanor.
Why is he acting like this? Theo has been wanting to see his uncle so badly. Hyungoh worried that Theo might get hurt by Hunter’s blatant display of displeasure.
“…Sharp as ever. You seem to have a good sense of what I might do next?”
Theo smiled viciously at Hunter, who was grimacing. Hyungoh unconsciously mirrored Hunter’s expression at Theo’s unfamiliar laugh.
“Theo?”
“Ah, good job. Thanks to you, I finally got to meet him.”
Theo patted Hyungoh’s head and suddenly pulled out his phone.
“Yeah. Bring everyone to that hotel I just texted you about.”
Hyungoh couldn’t adapt to his completely changed attitude. Hunter noticed Hyungoh’s anxiously shifting eyes and said:
“You’ve become quite naive while I haven’t seen you. No, why is it that you’re so cautious about trivial things, but can’t be when caution is actually needed?”
“Who is Theo… talking to on the phone?”
“Who do you think?”
Hunter let out a hollow laugh. It reminds me of that day 11 years ago. The day my perfect plan fell apart. Hunter recalled Michael’s mansion in chaos.
“Hunter.”
Taylor, who had been observing the situation, called out to Hunter. Understanding his gaze, Hunter firmly shook his head.
“No, don’t get involved.”
“But you’ll be caught.”
“That’s better than escalating this.”
Taylor reluctantly nodded.
“…Taylor understands Korean?”
“There’s nothing better than a foreign language others can’t understand as a means to convey secret messages.”
Hunter and Hyungoh whispered. After hanging up the phone, Theo noticed Taylor sitting between them.
“Well, who do we have here.”
Taylor Scofield. There was venom in Theo’s voice.
“I had a lot of fun thanks to that business card with just a name on it.”
“It’s a magical business card only good people can see.”
Taylor smiled brightly. It seems only the name was visible to your eyes, what a shame. Theo snorted after thoroughly examining his neat appearance. Not even funny.
“You should teach your lackey some humor, Hunter. Both his looks and his way of joking are too gentlemanly.”
“And you’ve become her faithful dog, Theo.”
It suits you well, I must say. Hunter didn’t hesitate to mock him. Veins bulged on Theo’s clenched fist.
“Indeed. My life has become more interesting because of it.”
“Interesting, huh? I envy you. Fortunately, you don’t have a leech following you around to the point of annoyance.”
“Instead, I’ve been dealing with the headache of an old man who keeps causing trouble without considering his age.”
A cold atmosphere flowed between Hunter and Theo. This isn’t the picture I expected. Hyungoh gave Taylor a look asking for an explanation. But Taylor just slightly shrugged his shoulders without offering any helpful words.
“Why are you just sitting there? Planning to be caught without resistance?”
That’s not like you, Hunter. Theo provoked him. Hunter glanced down through the window. Several black cars were lining up at the main entrance.
“How about letting Taylor go?”
Hunter suggested. Taylor raised his eyebrows and turned to look at him.
“Unlike us, he’s an ordinary person. We don’t want things to get messy unnecessarily, right?”
“The fact that he’s involved with you is proof that he’s not an ordinary person.”
“The fact that you didn’t know much about this guy’s background is precisely the evidence that he’s an ordinary person.”
You knew his name and face, but couldn’t find him all this time, right? Hunter spoke as if he had obviously known that Theo had been investigating Taylor’s background. He must have been harder to find because he’s just an ordinary citizen with nothing special about him.
“Ha, then there’s nothing to worry about. I was thinking of cutting off his limbs and throwing them to stray dogs as a snack.”
As you said, what big deal would it be if one not-so-special guy disappears? Theo said in an excited voice.
“There are many eyes watching in this hotel, Theo.”
Hunter approached Theo and put his hand on his shoulder. When Hunter touched him without warning, Theo flinched and wiped the smile off his face.
“I’ll go quietly, so let’s avoid any further commotion.”
As soon as Hunter finished speaking, dozens of people rushed into the room as if they had been waiting. Theo glanced at them with a sour expression. A hotel employee passing by with a cleaning cart peeked into the room with a suspicious look.
“Leave that blonde guy behind.”
Theo scratched his head vigorously and ordered the men in clean suits. Hyungoh was bewildered as he watched them approaching him and Hunter.
“Theo!”
Theo glanced back at his shout and had a rather unfamiliar expression. The dark, gloomy energy that surrounded him when they first reunited was circling around him again.
“Is this why you helped me?”
Hyungoh didn’t want to believe it. What is this? Caught by the mafia again. First Gostin, now Cenaline? This isn’t some mafia package tour. What am I going to be subjected to while being dragged around this time?
You said you wouldn’t sell me out. Hyungoh felt betrayed. I never thought Theo would stab me in the back.
“Don’t make that expression.”
Theo replied with a blank face.
“Surely you weren’t expecting only help from me, like you did as an ignorant youngster?”
It was a cold response. Only then did the eleven-year gap hit Hyungoh deeply.
Am I the only one who couldn’t move on from the past? Hyungoh became solemn. My uncle is right. I thought too carelessly.
I shouldn’t have trusted anyone.
His head throbbed. It was a pain he had grown accustomed to by now. What’s the point of trust and hope when I’ll just end up being used?
Hyungoh’s eyes grew cold for a moment. He thought about how similar situations kept repeating. Unintentionally getting involved, being used, enduring nothing but hardship, trying to escape, but getting caught again soon after.
Hyungoh pressed firmly on his forehead. The disgusting sensation he had buried deep in his mind was slowly revealing itself.
