Kill Your X Chapter 65

“Gyujin. How are you feeling today?”

My mother asked with a worried face. The excuse that the mark on my cheek from my father’s slap was due to a bedding allergy had backfired. It was questionable whether she had truly fallen for the excuse, but my mother would never, ever bring herself to ask, ‘Did your father hit you?’ For my mother, who revered her spouse, such a statement was taboo.

“I’ve been fine for a while now. Aren’t you having a harder time, Mother? You’ve been skipping your weekly flower arrangement class, right? And your gatherings with your friends, too.”

“I know. I really don’t know what’s going on. It’s not the first or second time your father has been involved in a rough case, but he’s never targeted our family before. Maybe it’s because that Detective Nam has nothing to lose. It just goes to show the difference in class, even among fellow police officers.”

My mother, who rarely spoke ill of others, was particularly harsh towards Detective Nam. At the same time, she firmly believed that this current quarantine was genuinely for the safety and protection of our family.

Seeing my dispirited state, my mother moved to the seat next to me. A faint sigh escaped me at the gentle hand patting my back. Because she would be the one hit hardest when all the truth came out.

“Still, I like being able to spend time with my son. This kind of leisure will end once you get married someday, won’t it? Other mothers say that constantly calling a married child to come home is one of the causes of family discord among young people these days.”

I’d be fine, and then moments like this would make my head spin. It seemed my father hadn’t yet told my mother that I like men. Perhaps he planned to keep it a secret forever.

“Father is still not coming home, right?”

“That’s right. He’s been eating and sleeping at a place he got near the police station. You know, there’s just as much work after an arrest as there is before catching the culprit. The suspect they caught seems to have more than one or two charges against him, from the looks of it. You have no idea how shocked I was watching the news.”

Just then, a related video played on the living room TV. Surprisingly, a familiar face appeared in the interview footage.

‘Conscientious Confession of KNT Entertainment’s Star Actor’.

The large text written at the bottom of the screen naturally made my lips twist. It was a shame I couldn’t swear more harshly in front of my mother.

“I’m really going to lose my mind.”

A man sat in front of an artificial background that seemed intentionally staged to look dark. The area under his eyes was hollow as if he had stayed up for several nights, but his distinctively glamorous appearance was unbroken.

[Well, that is to say….]

Ma Yubin put on an expression that evoked pity. It was such tremendous acting that anyone who didn’t know the truth would inevitably be deceived.

[Mr. Seo frequently dragged the agency’s actors to parties and offered them drugs. I was no exception. Since that happened even to someone with my seniority, it must have been even worse for the rookies who don’t have much experience yet.]

[Mr. Ma Yubin, you relatively recently renewed your contract with KNT Entertainment. What was your reason for doing so, knowing there were serious problems within the company?]

At the host’s sharp question, Ma Yubin burst into tears.

[Really, the contract renewal… it was conducted in a very coercive atmosphere for me. Some people might think that because I’ve worked with this company for a long time, I would be in a position of power, but the reality is the exact opposite. At first, I signed without knowing any better because it was a big and famous company, but I never dreamed the background was like that….]

Ma Yubin sobbed, saying that other actors at the agency were likely in a similar situation. He was so sorry, he said, for not being able to stop such an unjust situation as a Sunbae.

Next, the screen changed. The location shown as evidence, though blurred, was a place I recognized instantly. Club Jerome.

[The owner on paper is someone else, but anyone who’s in the know knows that the real owner is Mr. Seo. The reason he specifically bought a club for sexual minorities was probably for security. Using the security of a club with a specific orientation as a shield, they held secret parties among themselves. At first, they’d lure in scapegoats by pretending it was a wholesome gathering, and then, at the next party, they’d reveal their true colors.]

Ma Yubin claimed that the KNT actors had no choice but to keep their mouths shut even after witnessing the crime scene, for fear of disadvantages in their future activities.

[I knew it was wrong, but I was too scared to reveal it. The company is practically Mr. Seo’s personal playground, and the agency’s actors have no power whatsoever. I know that the rookie actor, Mr. Kim, who was sacrificed this time, realized these facts early on and was trying to figure out a way to escape. And then, hic, in the end, it turned out that way….]

The impact that the not-so-long interview video had on the world was enormous. The top actor, who had always appeared perfectly put-together, coming out in a disheveled state and pouring his heart out became a huge issue in itself.

Even without clear evidence that Seo Seunghan was the mastermind of this incident, people all too easily sided with Ma Yubin as he launched a preemptive strike and waged a media campaign. Conversely, Seo Seunghan became the villain of the century overnight. Victims of similar private gambling schemes that had spread not only in the entertainment industry but also in general society came forward one after another for interviews, and public opinion deteriorated beyond control.

Furthermore, LGBTQ+-exclusive clubs like Jerome also took an undeserved beating. The reason was that their characteristic exclusivity made them ideal for criminal use if one was so inclined. The disapproving gaze of the majority of the public, who looked down on sexual minorities, also contributed to the negative public opinion.

When I picked up the remote and turned off the TV, my mother looked at me quizzically.

“Father will take care of it well, I’m sure. You should stop worrying about this now too, Mother, and get some rest.”

“Alright. Should I really get some restorative medicine for our Gyujin? You say you’re fine, but you don’t look well to me. It’s not like you’re the type to get sick often, either.”

“I think it’s because I’m cooped up at home all the time that I feel even more drained. And I keep having useless, stray thoughts. I really didn’t have any problems when I was commuting to work regularly. It’s already been several days; can’t we dismiss the bodyguards soon and I can go back to the library?”

“Well. I’m still worried, but I’ll ask your father.”

“Yes. I can’t be stuck at home forever just because it’s dangerous. Being in one place might actually make me an easier target. And Father hasn’t been appointed as the Police Chief yet; what if he gets caught up in some weird scandal for overreacting already? Looking at past confirmation hearings, they bring up all sorts of things to tarnish a candidate’s reputation.”

“Oh my, I hadn’t thought that far.”

“Please tell Father about my condition for me, too, Mother. You know I’m not the type to go around causing trouble.”

My mother squeezed my hand, promising she would.

“Maybe it’s because I’m not married yet, but sometimes it seems Father still sees me as an immature child.”

I had said it just to play along, but a meaningful smile appeared on my mother’s face.

“There is a bit of that. Once your father’s promotion is finalized, I’ll find a young lady who’s a perfect match for our Gyujin again.”

“…Yes. Well.”

How long could I keep the secret? The imminent future left a bitter taste in my mouth. Today might be the last time I receive my mother’s affectionate gaze as her son.

✽✽✽

Permission to go out was granted with difficulty a few more days after that. He had given in for now due to my mother’s repeated requests, but as if something was still bothering him, my father called me directly for the first time in a very long while.

―You want to leave the house now. Surely you’re not hiding some other ulterior motive, are you?

“An ulterior motive? The reason I want to leave is exactly what I told Mother. If you really don’t believe me, I said it’s fine to assign a bodyguard to me separately. Didn’t you hear about that?”

It was a bluff I’d thrown out, somehow feeling he wouldn’t go that far, and thankfully, it worked. After a displeased tsk, my father lowered his voice and launched into a long nag.

―Song Gyujin, listen carefully. If you go around spouting strange nonsense again, you’ll be thrown straight into a mental hospital. I’ve told you several times, you shouldn’t delude yourself into thinking I’ll let you off until the end just because you’re my son.

“Father. Please don’t worry too much. I’ve done a lot of reflecting while I was at home. I’m truly sorry for causing trouble. You must have been very upset because of me, right?”

I poured all my energy into feigning a polite tone. It was something that wasn’t particularly difficult in my social life, so why did I have such strong resistance to it with my father?

―You act like that knowing you’re sorry? When I think about who you’ve been secretly meeting, my eyes fly open even when I’m sleeping.

“Getting involved with someone from the Kumto-pa was truly a mistake. They approached me by hiding their identity from the start, so I had no way of knowing. Anyway, I’ll be careful not to cause any more trouble. If I was going to say anything, I would have called the police station long ago. I have a phone right here in my hand.”