Mother Tape Chapter 3.2

Jaekwon blinked and then closed his eyes, unfamiliar with Wisoo referring to someone as “mother.” Surely, in an era where creating humans in a laboratory was still impossible, there had to be either a mother or a father. Nevertheless, he found it strange. Most of all, the way Wisoo spoke about his mother as if she were a complete stranger.

“She wants to meet, so I’ll have to go to Seoul. I know what she’ll say, but still, I’m human too, you know. I feel bad about chasing the elders out like that last time, so I think it’s best to see her at least once.”

Wisoo chuckled, his face buried in his arms, which were resting on the sofa. When Jaekwon asked him with his eyes why he was laughing, Wisoo replied.

“When Kwak Jaekwon lies, dead people come and listen. They look incredibly scary, but they cup their chins and listen. Like a flower, you know?”

Wisoo brought his wrists together and rested his chin on them, forming a perfect flower calyx.

“They’re certainly very interested in me. Is it the first time they’ve seen someone lie? And this isn’t a lie. I’m telling you, I’m not lying.”

“It’s not sincere, though, is it?”

“It’s not a lie, either. That’s what’s important.”

Wisoo shuddered as he saw the dead, who were crying like crows, at Jaekwon’s words. It was a terrible sound and not a pleasant sight, but it was a rare, hardly visible sight, so it was intriguing.

“They seem to like Kwak Jaekwon….”

“Being popular with dead people isn’t appealing. I like living people. Look. Tell me, am I popular with living people or not? And will I live a long life or die young?”

Jaekwon was treating him like a fortune teller, physiognomist, or shaman, and Wisoo quickly frowned in displeasure.

“I can’t see those things. I told you, it’s not like that….”

“Try it properly. You never know.”

However, Jaekwon seemed to have found some amusement amidst his boredom. He pulled Wisoo onto his lap. Before Wisoo could react to the awkward position, Jaekwon held his face and made him look at him.

“So? Do I look popular?”

Jaekwon raised one corner of his mouth first. Until the balance of both corners of his mouth was restored, it looked like a sneer. However, his eyes crinkled and sparkled like a boy’s, concealing his cynical and cold demeanor.

Lost in thought, Wisoo watched him and nodded. Even knowing how obnoxious Kwak Jaekwon was and how well he could spank someone’s bottom.

“Yes. I think you’ll be popular. No, you are popular, Kwak Jaekwon.”

It’s impossible not to like this face. Maybe he already knew the answer. At least, no one could possibly dislike his appearance.

As if possessed, Wisoo brought his hand to Jaekwon’s cheek. As he hesitantly caressed it, his hand reached Jaekwon’s mouth, and Jaekwon turned his head slightly and bit it.

His fingernails pressed down hard. Jaekwon bit down harder and harder, as if to see how long Wisoo could endure it, until Wisoo let out a moan.

“Ow! That hurts!”

“You have to say something if it hurts. Don’t hold it in, tell me.”

Only then did Jaekwon release Wisoo’s hand. Then he put him down beside him.

“W-where are you going?”

Wisoo clutched his hand and called after Jaekwon’s receding back.

“I have to go to Seoul. Ugh… I really hate driving when the sun’s up.”

“Then let’s go together!”

Wisoo chased after him, jumping over the back of the sofa. Having consumed more sugar and salt than usual, and in appropriate proportions, Wisoo was uninhibited in doing things he would never normally do. As if his life had been completely devoid of control, rules, or teachers.

“No. Stay here and sleep. Why would I take Seon Wisoo to see my cousin? Do you even know my cousin?”

“No. But… still, let’s go together….”

Wisoo mumbled, hovering around Jaekwon.

“I’m scared to be alone….”

The laughter of the dead was more terrifying than screams. Wisoo saw it. The things that had been laughing with their mouths ripped open vertically or horizontally, suddenly closed their mouths as if they had never done so before and stared at him.

It would be natural. Living people have time for their emotions to gradually subside, to compose themselves, and to change their minds, but the dead have no reason or time for that. There was no transition or continuity, only disconnection and a cliff.

And the sight was so creepy and grotesque that Wisoo was trembling for the first time in a long time.

Jaekwon, who was picking out clothes, turned around absentmindedly and spotted Wisoo like that.

“What? Why are you trembling so much? It’s summer.”

“L-let’s go together.”

Wisoo pleaded, wrapping his arms around Jaekwon’s arm. His arm was very warm. Holding it made the eerie and strange house feel like an ordinary old house.

“I’ll be quiet…. Just let me stay by your side.”

Normally, no, at least if it were any other appointment, he would have refused without a second thought, but it was a call from a cousin he neither liked nor cared for. If he went, he’d probably just see Hwang Gujo, and he wouldn’t be at ease even while he was there. After all, he’d seen what Seon Wisoo had become and how he had been during the few days the house had been empty.

“…If you really behave yourself and don’t cause any trouble.”

Wisoo’s face brightened.

“Really! Promise!”

He jumped up and down like a child, holding out his little finger. Jaekwon pushed his hand away, telling him to stop this childish game without notarization or lawyers. Still, Wisoo happily followed Jaekwon around.

It was only when they reached the entrance that Jaekwon noticed that Wisoo was wearing the bathroom slippers given to him by the man from the collapsed wall house where the previous accident had occurred.

“Why are you wearing these?”

“I only have these or dress shoes.”

“…….”

Hwang Gujo seemed to have forgotten to buy him sneakers. He had nothing to say. He had forgotten about it too. Jaekwon, at a loss for words, rubbed his face.

He had a lot to say, but there was so much that he couldn’t say anything. Moreover, now that he looked, Wisoo’s clothes consisted of an oversized white short-sleeved t-shirt and elastic-waist pants, which were clearly being worn repeatedly. In contrast, the clothes Seon Wisoo had prepared for him were perfect in material, texture, design, and fit.

“Seon Wisoo….”

Jaekwon chose his words carefully with a serious expression.

“You are fucking useless.”

Wisoo’s face was painted with shock and dismay. At that expression, Jaekwon burst out laughing. With his drooping eyebrows, wide-open mouth, and disappointed eyes, he looked like a cartoon character.

“Well, it’s simple and nice. Nothing wrong with it.”

Jaekwon opened the door. He jerked his chin as if to tell Wisoo to grab the doorknob and go out.

“I want to see you walking around a hotel lobby in those worn-out bathroom slippers, so let’s go.”

Wisoo hesitated for a moment, unfamiliar with the outside world Jaekwon had shown him. When he had left this place before, once he had been with Secretary Shin. Secretary Shin had dragged him out as if restraining him, and once he had run out on his own, barefoot. And most recently, Kwak Jaekwon had probably carried him out.

This might be the first time he was going out with shoes on and of his own free will…. Wisoo gulped. The dead, prevented from approaching by Jaekwon behind him, shuffled their slimy feet and cried out, “Don’t go, don’t go.” To human ears, it would have been a horrible sound, a mixture of “Ma-ji-ga, Ma-ji-ga,” and the screeching of scraping metal, but Wisoo understood.

‘No. I’m going.’

And Wisoo had never, not even for a moment, liked that sound.

❖ ❖ ❖

“We need to buy you some clothes first.”

Having said that, Jaekwon parked the car in front of a clothing store and suddenly turned towards Wisoo. Then, without a word, he abruptly wrapped his hands around Wisoo’s shoulders, waist, pelvis, and even the inside of his thighs and knees.

“W-what are you doing?”

“Your clothes size. Lift your foot too.”

Before Wisoo could respond, Jaekwon grabbed his leg and lifted it. He placed his palm against Wisoo’s foot and then put it back down.

“Do you remember all of this?”

“Roughly. Let me see your neck.”

Jaekwon, who had been touching him silently until now, asked for permission before touching his neck. The moment Jaekwon’s hand wrapped around his neck, Wisoo seemed to understand why. Even without applying much force, it felt like his throat was being choked. There was a sense of intimidation.

Jaekwon might be doing this on purpose. He might be intentionally pressing a little harder, or it might simply be that his hands were thick, firm, and heavy. In any case, the important thing was that Wisoo didn’t flinch or avoid his hand out of fear. Rather, he extended his neck and even slightly lifted his chin to make it easier for Jaekwon to wrap his hand around it.

“Uh-oh. This isn’t good.”

Jaekwon said, winking.

“Don’t just let me do this.”

“You said you were just taking my measurements.”

“Even so.”

“I didn’t find it unpleasant, so I just let you.”

Jaekwon narrowed his eyes at Wisoo as if he were looking at something amusing.

However, unlike his intrigued gaze, his hand quickly withdrew.

Wisoo couldn’t believe it was over.

“You really remember all of this?”

“Trust me. I have a good eye. And like I said, I don’t lie.”

Wait here, Jaekwon said as he got out of the car. Wisoo, like a puppy left alone in a car while its owner was briefly away, craned his neck and peered around to see Jaekwon. He looked as if he were about to climb over to the driver’s seat.

They were already in the city. It was incomparable to where he’d been with Chairman Kwak. They hadn’t even fully entered Seoul, yet there were so many cars and the roads were so wide. Wisoo had avoided turning his head towards the road as much as possible since the navigation system had alerted him to the accident-prone area. Still, that presence, that chilling aura, could still be felt. Like a faint tickle on the skin.

He stared at the clock. When would he come back? Even though it felt like he had been waiting for a long time, time didn’t pass as quickly as he wished. After about ten minutes, Jaekwon came out without any shopping bags, his arms and hands full of clothes and shoes. On top of the pile of clothes draped over his arm were yellow socks.

“Hi. Did you wait long?”

Jaekwon greeted him casually as he got into the driver’s seat. Burying himself in the clothes that had been handed to him, Wisoo nodded.

“Try them on. They’ll fit.”

Wisoo put on the socks first. They were a yellow somewhere between lemon and forsythia. They were pretty.

“Why did you choose this color?”

“I wonder. I just thought of it. Try on the other things too. I’ll exchange them if they don’t fit.”

Wisoo changed clothes by the side of the road as the car was moving. Jaekwon didn’t look his way once while Wisoo undressed and dressed without hesitation.

As Jaekwon had said, he seemed to have a good eye and a good sense of touch. It was hard to imagine him gesturing in the air, saying things like, ‘the waist is about this much, the pelvis and chest are about this much’.

“They all fit well.”

“Your waist is a bit loose, isn’t it? Still, it’s fine like this. It’ll fit once you eat a lot and your belly sticks out.”

After a brief check, Jaekwon looked closely at Wisoo fully dressed, rather than when he was naked. Dressed like this, he looked like an ordinary teenager in his late teens, someone you might turn around to look at once on the street, rather than a strange person who said strange things about seeing strange things, whose very existence was strange. His actual age was early twenties, so he ended up looking younger than his age, a beautiful young man.

“I’ll explain as we go.”

Jaekwon rubbed his face. As soon as he opened the car door after leaving the clothing store, he realized anew that Wisoo’s pheromones, although transparent in color, were quite strong.

“I think I got used to it because we’ve been together constantly. Seon Wisoo’s pheromones are stronger than I thought. Enough to cause trouble at the hotel.”

“Really? Should I wear perfume?”

“No. It’s different. It’s not just about smell.”

Soon Jaekwon chuckled and asked back.

“Do you really know nothing about this, Seon Wisoo?”

“No one ever taught me…and I didn’t need to know.”

“Knowing is separate from needing…. No, forget it. For now.”

Jaekwon had given this a lot of thought before bringing it up. In fact, that was why he hadn’t even glanced at Seon Wisoo while he was undressing and changing.

He was uneasy about leaving him alone, and it was too much trouble to go back and leave him behind, plus he would be late for his appointment. It was impossible to get him a prescription or a pheromone regulating implant now.

Then there was only one temporary solution left. Not the inhumane method of locking Seon Wisoo in the car, but covering his pheromones with his own.

Actually… wasn’t this also inhumane?

But in terms of efficiency, it was the best option.

“It’s about 40 minutes until we arrive.”

“Okay.”

“For the first 20 minutes, I’m going to cover you with my pheromones. The reason it takes 20 minutes is because I’ll be adjusting the amount and applying it gradually.”

“Okay.”

It wasn’t as if Wisoo would understand even if he explained it to him…. Still, Wisoo answered obediently.

“For the remaining 20 minutes, you should recover. Then, my scent will prevent others from sensing your scent.”

“Is it okay if I smell like Kwak Jaekwon?”

“Even if people think I’m being rude, I’ll be leaking my scent little by little as well. Then we’ll look like a crazy couple who just got imprinted or just got married and are out of their minds.”

“Crazy couple….”

Wisoo chuckled and repeated Jaekwon’s expression.

Jaekwon checked Wisoo’s seatbelt and, while waiting at a traffic light, reached out and reclined his seat.

“Huh?”

Suddenly laid back, Wisoo’s eyes widened. However, his pupils couldn’t return to their original size. At least not for a while.

“It won’t hurt.”

Tell me if it hurts….

Jaekwon’s added advice felt distant, like a voice just before anesthesia.

After that, it was just the sensation of plopping into a blue inkwell. Plooop.

Wisoo’s world was mostly reddish-brown or completely gray. ‘Those things’ were reddish-brown, and gray was the walls. Rarely, there were the green tiles that Chairman Kwak had repaired. This blue was a first.

The scent of ink and a hint of musk enveloped Wisoo. It was ecstatic. Like floating on gentle ripples rather than being tossed in a storm, he bobbed up and down. Sometimes he felt suffocated, as if swallowed by the blue ink ripples, and then his breath would burst out as if they had spit him out. When he couldn’t breathe for a moment, his head felt light and euphoric.

“You’re getting high too easily.”

The waves whispered. At the sound, Wisoo closed his eyes and smiled faintly.

“It feels good….”

He didn’t know if he was just imagining replying or if he actually had.

“I feel so comfortable here….”

At the sound of “I don’t want to leave,” Jaekwon said, “That’s a shame.”

“You have to stay awake for the next 20 minutes.”

Unlike the time he heard the voice telling him to say if it hurt, this time all his senses sharpened as if he had been suddenly pulled up from underwater. He blinked, dazed and bewildered. They had already entered Seoul.

“If you stagger, people will suspect I did something to you. I’ll put your seat back up.”

Jaekwon told him to pull himself together and returned the seatback to its original position. Wisoo made a disappointed face at the emptiness that followed the excessive comfort. It felt like being suddenly thrown from warm water into a cold world.

“C-can’t we do it a little longer?”

“No. We can’t. Look, your tongue’s all loose.”

“No, it’s not… really. Just two more minutes….”

“Huh…. I don’t know if it works so well because it’s my pheromones or if you’re just happy with any alpha. Here, drink some water.”

Jaekwon didn’t listen to Wisoo. Having lived among people who never listened to him, Wisoo felt disappointed and sad as if this were the first rejection of his life. He took the water, but it didn’t look transparent, but like blue ink. Even if it had been real ink, he would have drunk it. Wisoo closed his eyes tightly and gulped it down.

“Oh, good job drinking.”

Jaekwon chimed in encouragingly.

After emptying the water, his head seemed to clear up. He didn’t like it. He felt abandoned.

“Kwak Jaekwon has a cool color, a cold scent, and a warm temperature.”

Wisoo murmured, pressing his forehead against the window.

“That’s the most unique description I’ve ever heard.”

“It was warm….”

“That’s a first too.”

“I must really like Kwak Jaekwon.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“Why?”

They had reached their destination. The current time and the arrival time coincided. Jaekwon turned the steering wheel and ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek.

“It seems like you’ve lived in such an unkind world, Seon Wisoo.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“So you might misunderstand and exaggerate even small things. As your guardian, I can’t neglect to prevent you from making such wrong choices.”

Compared to Jaekwon from a few days ago, who had left him at home and walked away without a second thought, this was significant progress. Wisoo smiled faintly at his lukewarm kindness.

They entered the hotel. A valet approached, adjusting his uniform.

It seemed he had been staying in a secluded place for a while. It felt like it had been a long time since he had seen so many people. So, Jaekwon spoke slowly and clearly to Wisoo.

“I can be a kind person, but I’m not a good person.”

“…….”

“Just like not lying doesn’t make you honest. The world…isn’t divided as simply as between the dead and the living.”

Jaekwon unbuckled Wisoo’s seatbelt. At the sound of “Get out,” Wisoo slumped his shoulders and got out.

The humid and muggy city air rushed into his nose. Naturally, his head turned towards the clean and cool Kwak Jaekwon. Wisoo became even more sullen when he saw that the people passing by were also glancing at Jaekwon.

He must be that desirable to everyone, even the dead, not just to him.