Mother Tape Chapter 1.3

“Who? My mother?”

“Yes.”

Jaekwon let out a mix of a sigh and a laugh.

“You’re really not listening, Seon Wisoo-ssi. I told you, saying things like that only makes me feel bad. You’ve heard you’re stubborn quite a few times, haven’t you?”

“No. I’m hearing it for the first time from Kwak Jaekwon-ssi.”

“Strange. Don’t you have any friends who would tell you that?”

“No. I don’t.”

Wisoo answered with wide, innocent eyes.

Jaekwon turned his head and looked at Wisoo askance.

“No friends and no family. Only a teacher.”

“Teacher?”

“Yes. Mostly.”

The word ‘mostly’ caught his attention, but Jaekwon let it slide. He wasn’t curious enough about this person to pry. He had no intention of getting further involved.

“Is your teacher a man, too?”

“Yes.”

“And an alpha?”

“That… I don’t remember.”

Wisoo was certain Jaekwon wouldn’t believe this either. He would think he was lying. It was rather upsetting that he was becoming a liar in Jaekwon’s eyes, even though he hadn’t told a single lie. It was because Wisoo liked Jaekwon.

“You seem to be surrounded by a lot of unknown men, Seon Wisoo-ssi. Older men, at that.”

“How did you know they were all older…?”

“I guessed.”

“You have good instincts.”

“It’s more like I’m good at reading context.”

Jaekwon judged even the smallest details with common sense.

Wisoo trailed behind Jaekwon as he stood up and walked away.

“I’m twenty-two years old.”

“Yes.”

“And you, Kwak Jaekwon-ssi?”

“I’m not twenty-two. As you can see.”

“Mid-twenties?”

“Wrong, but I’ll say you’re right. It does make me feel good. Excellent lip service. I’d give you a tip, but all I have is dollars right now.”

“You don’t have to give me a tip.”

Jaekwon’s stride was so long and his pace so fast that Wisoo had to practically scurry to keep up. Even while Jaekwon was washing his hands, Wisoo continued to chatter. He was incredibly happy that someone was letting him talk like this, about such useless things, and even responding, albeit perfunctorily, and listening.

“Well, you must have received quite a bit of money. For a ten-year lease.”

“I told you, I didn’t receive any money.”

At the clear and crisp reply, Jaekwon turned around. He didn’t believe him again. Wisoo quickly became dejected under Jaekwon’s gaze.

“It’s true…”

“Who said anything?”

“You don’t believe me, do you?”

“I don’t need to believe you.”

“I don’t sell my body, and the company takes the money.”

“That company is terrible. I’ll help you if you want to report them to the labor board.”

However, Wisoo closed his mouth tightly at the perfectly reasonable suggestion.

Jaekwon dried his hands on the tea towel. Realizing the silence, he turned around to see that Wisoo’s expression wasn’t good. His complexion was so pale that it wouldn’t be surprising if he vomited any moment.

“Are you afraid of reporting them?”

“…How old are you? Do you have a lover? Did you study business administration?”

His valiant attempt to change the subject was admirable, but the result was dismal.

“Are you trying to scam even your dead lover’s son?”

“I’m telling you, it’s not like that…”

“Well, since we’re on the subject, let me ask. You know nothing about me, Seon Wisoo-ssi, so why do you want to be with me?”

He was about to close his mouth again.

Wisoo hesitated for a moment, but as Jaekwon was about to leave without waiting, he hurriedly grabbed him.

“You’re clean!”

Jaekwon stopped at Wisoo’s nonsensical remark.

“You’re clean. Your surroundings are… clean and quiet. And dark.”

“What are you talking about…”

Jaekwon chuckled and shook his head. When would Hwang Gujo arrive? The conversation continued endlessly, but it was devoid of substance. And Jaekwon was uncomfortable around Seon Wisoo. The pheromones that Seon Wisoo exuded without any consideration for the members of civilized society, the thought of Seon Wisoo and the old man entangled every time he looked at the house, the strange relationship between Seon Wisoo and his deceased biological father… everything made him uncomfortable.

“People have residue, and things are attracted to that residue, but you don’t have any of that, Kwak Jaekwon-ssi. You’re clean, quiet, and…”

“You said dark. That’s the first time I’ve been called gloomy. Especially to my face.”

“Not gloomy!”

Wisoo thought of the concept of sound sleep, something he had never personally experienced. He recalled phrases describing sound sleep from the countless books he had read. Those phrases suited Jaekwon.

“You have a cozy warmth that makes me want to snuggle into.”

At Wisoo’s excited voice, Jaekwon made a dubious expression.

“As I said, you’re not my type, Seon Wisoo-ssi…. I don’t think you could adapt to my sex style.”

“That’s not it…!”

Frustrated, Wisoo retorted sharply.

“No matter what I say, you connect it to that? Like Freud?”

“What? Fr, what?”

Jaekwon burst out laughing at the name he hadn’t expected to hear from Wisoo.

Wisoo, feeling the air in the house become refreshingly clean, like he had chewed on mint, at the sound of Jaekwon’s laughter, his eyes sparkled. Even Jaekwon’s laughter was perfect, just like the aura he exuded.

As he laughed, Jaekwon suddenly recalled the bookshelf, unexpectedly full for the desolate second floor that Gujo occupied.

“Were the books on the second floor yours, by any chance, Seon Wisoo-ssi?”

The books lacked uniformity. There was a mix of fiction and non-fiction, and the fiction was so diverse in subject matter and nationality that there was no discernible favorite author, and the same applied to the non-fiction.

“I… didn’t buy them with my own money, but they are mine.”

“There were a lot of difficult books. So, if I had to guess your major, Seon Wisoo-ssi, would it be psychology? Psychoanalysis? Something like that?”

Wisoo remained indifferent to insults like ‘stepmother’ or ‘selling his body.’ However, at this trivial, personal question, his face suddenly hardened. He pressed his lips together so tightly that he was practically biting them.

“I just read them.”

“You can just read them, why are you so upset?”

“I don’t have a major.”

“Are you upset because you don’t go to college? Don’t be so sensitive about that. You have so much more to be upset about, Seon Wisoo-ssi.”

“…….”

Jaekwon was taken aback by Wisoo, who suddenly became dejected like a puppy with its tail between its legs. He was better off being brazen; this way, he looked like an older person thoughtlessly making a younger person cry. Jaekwon, unskilled at comforting, added roughly,

“Who said something? If someone said something, they were wrong. Is college that important?”

“…….”

“You must have been a good student in high school. Seeing how disappointed you are.”

Perhaps it was karma for his thoughtless attempt at comfort. Wisoo’s expression worsened. Jaekwon, thinking ‘Why is he so dejected?’, frowned and asked slowly, with a dawning realization,

“Are you, by any chance, a middle school dropout?”

It was a pure, simple question, without any malicious intent.

However, Wisoo’s face crumpled like a child’s, whimpering, “Nooo…”

Wisoo was on the verge of tears, and Kwak Jaekwon was dumbfounded.

“You know middle school education is compulsory, right?”

“…I dropped out.”

So, he was an elementary school graduate. Jaekwon, having heard of it but encountering it firsthand for the first time in his life, rubbed his cheek awkwardly.

“Well, you must have had your reasons, Seon Wisoo-ssi. I respect that.”

“It wasn’t my decision.”

Wisoo lifted his head abruptly and protested. His eyes were burning with intensity. It was quite something, and unexpected.

“If it wasn’t your decision, whose was it?”

“…….”

“Family? Or that trash company?”

“…….”

Jaekwon’s hand, rubbing his cheek, became rougher.

Those bastards…. The way he muttered made him seem like a decent adult, and despite his hurt feelings and exposed complex, Wisoo found it a bit funny.

Seeing the choked laughter escaping him, Jaekwon asked, bewildered,

“Is now the time to laugh? You should really report them, Seon Wisoo-ssi.”

“Reporting them…”

Wisoo muttered weakly.

“Regardless of whose coercion it was, I was the one who signed. I even wrote a pledge saying it was my own decision. So, all that’s left is my name, written with my own hand, and me, who has to take full responsibility for the consequences.”

“So, it’s your fault, Seon Wisoo-ssi?”

“How can you interpret my words…!”

“How can I interpret them? I heard them clearly.”

Jaekwon remained indifferent throughout.

“Witnessing someone die and doing nothing is considered aiding and abetting suicide. Wouldn’t someone who drives someone to the brink and prevents them from coming back be even more culpable than aiding and abetting?”

However, precisely because he was always so indifferent, Wisoo could sense how displeased he was now. He wasn’t angry because it was Seon Wisoo. If it weren’t his father, anyone would be this upset after hearing this story. He can be mean, yet kind. Wisoo stared at Jaekwon in amazement.

“I’m sorry, Seon Wisoo-ssi,”

Jaekwon apologized flatly.

“The son of the deceased Kwak Bonyoung, at least the one standing before you now, should have been a kinder and more compassionate person.”

As if on cue, Jaekwon’s phone rang. Wisoo, hearing the voice accompanied by the repulsive noise in his ear, easily guessed the caller. It must be Hwang Gujo.

‘You’re going to be left alone again, aren’t you?’ 

The voice pouring into his ears was filled with glee. If it could even be called a voice…

“Yeah. Did you get the replacement car?”

It was indeed Hwang Gujo. Kwak Jaekwon hadn’t intended to stay overnight in the first place. He handled matters quickly and efficiently to minimize wasted time.

“I’m leaving.”

Jaekwon glanced at Wisoo and ended the call.

“If you’re thinking about reporting them, I’ll help you. That much.”

“…….”

“But our relationship isn’t the kind that has the potential to develop into something where I would help you with anything and everything.”

Jaekwon ran a hand through his hair, as if uncomfortable and tired of talking.

“I’ll contact Secretary Shin.”

Patting Wisoo’s shoulder encouragingly, Jaekwon was slightly surprised to find him thinner than he appeared. However, their relationship was truly awkward, with no room or need for improvement. It might have been different if his father were alive. But the old man was dead, and Jaekwon had even defied his last wishes, turning them to ash and placing them in a cold charnel house.

As Jaekwon turned to leave, Wisoo uttered a curse-like remark.

“Even if you can’t catch Kwak Jaekwon-ssi, they’ll use the people around you to keep you here!”

“Who? The dead people?”

Jaekwon chuckled as he put on his shoes and waved his hand.

“Then I hope you’ll put in a good word for me, Seon Wisoo-ssi. Since you can talk to the dead.”

“You don’t even believe me!”

However, Wisoo’s last words didn’t reach Jaekwon.

As soon as he left the house, Jaekwon lit a cigarette. The menthol capsule popped, leaving a sweet, cool taste on his lips. He licked his lips and walked slowly down the alley. Hwang Gujo said he had just passed the tollgate, so it would take a while for him to arrive, but he couldn’t stand being in that house.

It seemed Seon Wisoo was the type who became more uncomfortable to be around the more he interacted with him. A being he had never encountered before, one that required a new category for classification.