Though Hui-myeong was ignorant of worldly affairs and naive, he wasn’t foolish enough to believe that Geum-gang, who appeared after 10 years, would become his savior. When even Do-ha, who was dying for him, was getting married, how much could he expect from anyone?
‘Let’s say I solve the escape funds from hyung first.’
Hui-myeong planned step by step while lying down. He firmly believed that it wasn’t impossible, just that he’d never done it alone. Because methods would somehow come up. The destination was America, or the Philippines. It could change depending on the amount of money he could obtain.
‘How do I buy plane tickets?’
While pondering, suddenly the story he heard from the table next to him at the department store a few days ago came to mind.
‘No, really, Mrs. Ma always goes to Korean Airlines headquarters to buy tickets.’
At headquarters, he could buy plane tickets with cash instead of a credit card. For hotels too, he could pay in cash upon arrival at the destination. If those two things were solved, it would be half successful.
‘Let’s find my passport first.’
After Do-ha left for work, Hui-myeong led his sick body and searched the house. But no matter how much he looked, there was no passport. Even if Do-ha was ghostly, it should be somewhere in this house, but strangely enough, it wasn’t visible.
‘It must be somewhere.’
Since the fever didn’t easily drop, Hui-myeong didn’t have the energy to put into finding his passport either. Time kept flowing, Do-ha’s wedding date was approaching, but still the passport wasn’t visible.
Hui-myeong gradually became anxious.
***
Hui-myeong’s health returned the day before Lee Do-ha’s wedding. His body had felt considerably lighter since the day before, but he couldn’t just fake illness indefinitely. Dr. Oh had already reported that Hui-myeong’s fever had gone down, and Do-ha had been fairly lenient with him for being sick.
Having accurately gauged his patience, Hui-myeong clung to him with a beaming smile the day before the wedding, claiming his body had miraculously recovered. In the end, the two headed to the hotel they had promised to visit.
Hui-myeong sang, ate melon bingsu, and indulged in plenty of sweet desserts. He was still anxious about not having found his passport, but Hui-myeong deliberately acted cheerful. He wanted Do-ha to let his guard down until the very end, to never even imagine that he would leave. Only then would the surveillance become lax.
He thought Do-ha was obediently letting him eat whatever he wanted, but as soon as they entered the room, Do-ha tore off all his clothes.
At times like this, he was truly a bastard. To be so voraciously devouring another man’s body the day before his wedding. Grinding his teeth at the thought that there probably wasn’t another groom like Do-ha, Hui-myeong suffered all night long.
Thinking this was the last time, he partly wanted to treat him even better. Though it would be difficult at first, he also wanted to bless Do-ha’s future, where he would live better without Hui-myeong. Even if it wasn’t a natural separation, he had no doubt it was the right choice.
Watching Do-ha rampage all night, Hui-myeong hoped on one hand. He wondered if Do-ha was doing this all at once because he wouldn’t be able to seek him out as often from now on, and whether that meant he might let him go easily. Though it was probably a foolish thought.
Hui-myeong was the first to wake up after receiving the morning call from the hotel counter. He ordered coffee, toast, and an omelet through room service. As usual, breakfast was his responsibility.
While waiting for room service, Hui-myeong quietly got out of bed and showered. Because they’d had sex until the moment they fell asleep, his entire body was covered in semen and saliva. The places Do-ha loved were a mess with kiss marks and bite marks, and just standing under the water made his legs tremble. Still, he wanted to wash up before eating breakfast.
This feels… really strange.
Hui-myeong carefully thought through his plan for after sending Do-ha to the wedding venue today. Once he goes to the wedding hall, Hui-myeong would search every corner of the house again to find his passport. If he still couldn’t find it, the internet said he could report it lost and reapply.
While resolving the passport issue, the wedding would end, and he would wait obediently until Do-ha went to the airport. The moment he boarded the plane, Hui-myeong would pack all the valuables in the house and go to Geum-gang to borrow money. After confirming the amount, he would go to Korean Air headquarters to book a flight and head to the airport.
They said if you issue an emergency passport, you can get it even on the same day.
He would somehow resolve the passport issue and while waiting for the plane, he would look up transportation methods from the destination airport to the city center, and decent accommodations.
I’ll need to save money.
Since he didn’t know how long this fugitive life would last, he should avoid taking taxis as much as possible and search mainly for motels or guesthouses. Hui-myeong had already gathered rough information about several cities in the Philippines and Oklahoma, which had relatively low costs even in the US. Though he’d never been to either place, the more information he found, the more confident he became. He was even somewhat excited at the thought of solving something on his own.
I just need to resolve the passport and money issues.
Even though it was a plan with no particular obstacles, he somehow felt his energy drain at a certain point.
Was that love too?
Though it had been stained with violence from the start, after they’d grown accustomed to each other, there were only two cases when Do-ha laid hands on Hui-myeong. One was when Hui-myeong tried to run away, and the other was when Hui-myeong rejected his love and shuddered in disgust.
A few weeks ago, when he’d been slapped, it was for a similar reason when you thought about it. He’d screamed for Do-ha to choose—either don’t get married, or if you’re going to get married, let me go. That’s when the slap came flying. It probably sounded to Do-ha like he wanted to get away from him.
Don’t delude yourself into thinking you have any right to choose in our relationship.
What were Do-ha’s eyes like back then? Were they the eyes of someone betrayed by their lover? Or was it the violent discipline shown when a well-behaved pet dog tries to bite its owner? Or maybe both.
Despite spending so much time together, Hui-myeong couldn’t understand what Do-ha was thinking. If you love someone, don’t hit them, or if you don’t love them, don’t even pretend to love them. Do-ha was always selfish.
Will he be sad when he comes back from his honeymoon and I’m gone?
Sad? He’ll be furious. If caught, wouldn’t he really break or cut off his legs this time?
Don’t waver!
Hui-myeong shook his head violently, shaking off the thoughts. It wasn’t right to become sentimental about Do-ha. No matter how desperate his love might be, it wasn’t more valuable than Hui-myeong’s freedom.
Hui-myeong turned off the faucet with a deep sigh. If he didn’t break out of the shell, he would be forever trapped inside it and degenerate. If Jung Hui-myeong in his thirties wanted to live a different life from now, he absolutely had to get away from Do-ha.
After making this resolution, he put on a bathrobe and went out, and Do-ha, who had been lying face down on the bed naked, drowsily opened his eyes. With only his buttocks barely covered by the sheet, he looked far too decadent for a groom getting married today.
“Mm, Myeong-ah. You already showered?”
Do-ha said while grabbing Hui-myeong’s hand in front of him. His voice was still heavy with sleep. It made sense since they’d only slept for two or three hours at most after having sex all night.
Uncharacteristically, Do-ha often acted petulant in the morning. More precisely, it was because he liked this time when Hui-myeong prepared breakfast and woke him up. Because he liked the attention Hui-myeong gave him, he wanted to hold him and roll around in bed a little longer.
“Yeah. Breakfast will be here soon. You should shower too. We need to eat together.”
“Hah, what time is it?”
“Almost 8. They’re picking you up at 9, right? Oof!”
When Do-ha pulled the hand he was holding, Hui-myeong tumbled onto the bed in his bathrobe. He familiarly wrapped his arms around Hui-myeong’s waist and buried his nose in his neck.
“Mm, Myeong smells good.”
Thump thump. Why was he being so affectionate again, making his heart flutter? It wasn’t even surprising anymore how he clung to him like it was the first time after holding him all night.
“I-I just showered.”
“Should I postpone the wedding to next week?”
Do-ha said with a faint smile.
“…Huh?”
Even though he knew it was a joke, goosebumps ran down Hui-myeong’s spine. It seemed like Do-ha would really do that.
