Mother Tape Chapter 4.2

“…Can’t you ever wake up quietly?”

It was Jaekwon.

He was not wearing a shirt. When he got out of bed, Wisoo realized he was not wearing any pants either, just his underwear. A warm darkness was flowing from him, more vividly than usual.

However, there was no time to be mesmerized by it. Because he was in a real hurry.

“I’ll take you.”

Jaekwon, who had yawned, grabbed Wisoo under the armpits and lifted him up in a flash. He carried Wisoo, who was twisting his legs together, all the way to the bathroom. In his urgency, Wisoo started to pull down his pants, but Jaekwon did not close the door for him.

“Ge, get out!”

Covering his lower body, Wisoo pleaded, looking like he was on the verge of tears.

“I’m worried you’ll fall.”

“I’m fine. I’m fi, fine, so…! I’m really, really in a hurry! That’s why I’m doing this, please….”

His pleading made him want to leave even less. Recalling Jaekwon’s sexual tendencies, pleading would only serve to provoke his twisted nature. Jaekwon crossed his arms and leaned against the door.

It was the limit.

Wisoo ultimately had no choice but to relieve his urgent need to urinate while letting out a tearless sob, heo-eong.

“You cry from down below instead of from your tear ducts.”

“Why are you really like this….”

Heo-eong, eong, every time Wisoo’s body jolted, the stream of his urine wavered. Jaekwon covered his mouth with his fist and swallowed his laughter.

After he was done, Wisoo splashed water on his bright red face. He was so embarrassed he could not lift his head. Beside such a Wisoo, Jaekwon unwrapped a disposable toothbrush and toothpaste and prepared them for him.

“I bought underwear too. I’ll go get it for you.”

“…Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. It’s payment for the good show you gave me.”

Wisoo was about to glare at him resentfully, but the quick man was already gone to get the underwear.

“I’ll leave it here. Call me if there’s anything you don’t know.”

There was a soft thud in front of the door. Wisoo had pushed the door slightly, afraid that Jaekwon might look again. At the same time, he was scared of closing it completely, so he left it a little ajar.

Standing under the pouring water, Wisoo was newly moved by the absence of the eye-straining, vivid emerald green. He was also glad that the tiles were not made solely of a stark white that could drive a person mad. They were ivory-colored and even had subtle beige decorations. Wisoo washed until his body was completely relaxed in the warm water, and during that time, his headache subsided somewhat.

When he came out with his hair wrapped in a towel, a shower gown was laid out along with underwear that looked like it had just been taken out of its packaging. He looked around and then buried his face in its plush texture.

“…This is nice.”

He murmured with his eyes closed.

He liked it here, not anywhere else.

❖ ❖ ❖

“What about Mr. Hwang Gujo?”

There were two bathrooms, one in the living room and one in the bedroom. Jaekwon, while getting a hairdryer, answered, ‘He’s in the living room one.’

Only then did it seem like he could faintly hear loud snoring from beyond the door.

Jaekwon had Wisoo sit at a very small tea table.

“I’ll dry your hair.”

“Wow. You’re being so nice to me today.”

Am I? Now that he says I’m being nice, I suddenly don’t feel like doing it anymore. Jaekwon scowled, and unaware that he was about to turn the hairdryer over and tell Mr. Seon Wisoo to do it himself, Wisoo chattered on.

“I guess it’s because I showed you myself peeing a little while ago.”

“……”

“Seeing you do this for me, I think I could… show you again next time.”

His shy expression was reflected in the dark window with the night view as its backdrop.

“…That’s not really my preference.”

“Really?”

Wisoo asked back, as if to say, then why did you watch? Now that he asked it like that, there was not much he could say. After all, he had watched with great satisfaction as Seon Wisoo was embarrassed.

Jaekwon, feeling drained, muttered, “Never mind….” To explain in detail would be sordid, and to just say he watched because he enjoyed seeing Mr. Seon Wisoo embarrassed was even stranger.

Jaekwon turned on the hairdryer, worried Wisoo might say something even more unnecessary. Wisoo entrusted his body to him quietly, like a puppy.

“You don’t see anything strange here?”

Jaekwon asked, having reduced the airflow slightly. Wisoo started with a hum… then nodded his head.

“No. I guess it’s because there are a lot of dogs and you’re here too, Mr. Jaekwon.”

“What do dogs have to do with it?”

“Why, you know that saying. That dogs drive away ghosts. They really do see them, those guys.”

“Ah…. So that’s probably why that white dog from earlier barked at you, Mr. Seon Wisoo?”

“That’s probably why.”

“Are you… used to that kind of thing?”

“I have to get used to it. What can I do.”

Wisoo’s body grew drowsy from the warm air. Jaekwon did not take his hands off the almost-dry hair, even though it did not need more drying, nor did he turn off the hairdryer. He merely turned the airflow down to its minimum.

“How was the alcohol. It was your first time drinking it.”

“It doesn’t taste good, but I can see why people drink it.”

“Why do you think they drink it?”

“Because you stop seeing what’s in front of your eyes.”

Jaekwon laughed along with Wisoo’s giggling words.

He had now turned the hairdryer off completely. He flopped down onto the chair that was right next to him. Jaekwon wrapped the warmed cord around his hand and looked up at Wisoo, who was sitting not on a chair but on the table. Since he was resting his chin in his hand, his sharp jawline appeared softly curved. On top of that, with his hair down, he looked much younger than his age. Wisoo, in turn, stared blankly at Jaekwon’s appearance from below, which was once again novel and different.

“Mr. Seon Wisoo, it’s really a shame.”

“What is?”

“It would have been nice if you were just something like a close younger brother from next door.”

“…That, that kind of thing can’t happen.”

“That’s right. The time we’ve lived without knowing each other is already much longer.”

Jaekwon fiddled with the loosely tied knot of Seon Wisoo’s sash.

“What I mean is, it’s a real shame that our first impression was so regrettable, and that the one person who always comes to mind when I see you, Mr. Seon Wisoo, happens to be the human I despise most in the world.”

“……”

Wisoo thought of Chairman Kwak’s ghost, left behind at the house, roaming around while dragging its leg. Dead, yet not seeing its son, chasing only a single obsession. The ghost that Kwak Jaekwon hated and loathed and found disgusting… the ghost that, according to his words, could not be separated from him.

It is a little bitter, but not disappointing. No one sees him as just Seon Wisoo anyway. At most, it would be just the Teacher.

Wisoo hesitated, then cupped Jaekwon’s cheek. Jaekwon raised a slightly startled gaze.

“It’s okay.”

“……”

“I’m not the kind of person who holds onto lingering feelings for things that can’t be, you see.”

His voice is brave, so why does it make a person’s heart feel so… strange. Jaekwon furrowed his brow slightly. Wisoo, thinking it was because he had touched him, removed his hand. The lukewarm body heat that quickly left feels strangely regrettable. Jaekwon was about to stroke that spot, but then thought it would just be erased again, so he left it and got up from his seat.

“Well, let’s still try to spend our days like today, when possible. Today, it was mostly a mess, but it was good in the end, right?”

“…Yes.”

That is right. It was mostly a mess, but there were more good memories. Wisoo recalled the sparkling chandelier before he met Kwak Jaekyung, the cold tea that smelled of flowers, the unique food and alcohol. And… the hand that had gauged his body size.

“Ah, the dessert!”

At that thought, Wisoo’s eyes widened and he let out a gasp.

Jaekwon, too, scowled and said, Ah, damn it.

“It won’t taste good tomorrow, will it…?”

“Well…. It’s in the garage, so it should be fine.”

Wisoo nodded his head limply. Jaekwon, watching him, got up from his seat. Then he pulled the knot of Wisoo’s waist sash to tighten it securely before leading him to the bed.

There were two large beds. Only after watching Wisoo lie down did Jaekwon go to his own spot and lie down.

“Mr. Hwang Gujo…. The bed is so big, why is he sleeping outside?”

“So you’re telling me to share a bed with him?”

Jaekwon made a face that openly showed his distaste.

“There’s my bed, too.”

Wisoo whispered. Before he could even finish his sentence, the lights went out.

“Did you not hear me?”

Wisoo asked, raising his voice a little more. Jaekwon turned his back with a flick and lay down, then replied in a tone that said he was dying of sleepiness and being bothered.

“Mr. Seon Wisoo, sleeping with a man you are not that close with while only wearing a gown will only lead to either getting close in a weird way or getting dog-like awkward, so just go to sleep.”

Getting close is fine, but getting dog-like awkward is not. Wisoo nodded his head and lay down properly.

He could hear the faint sound of a dog barking. It feels reassuring. The fact that it dislikes me must mean it dislikes other things too. No one will be able to come in. Janggun, I’m counting on you. Wisoo entrusted his night to the dog that had growled at him and closed his eyes.

It was a night he fell asleep more deeply and instantaneously than any other.

And the next morning, when Wisoo woke up in a daze, there was no one beside him. When he staggered out to the living room, there was a note saying that they had gone jogging with Hwang Gujo, and the box of desserts they had bought yesterday was sitting on the dining table.

❖ ❖ ❖

Jaekwon pulled the dessert box toward himself with a wet hand.

“Eat a little at a time.”

“I really was eating it sparingly.”

“I guess so. You did eat it like a little mouse nibbled at it. Still, if it’s your first time eating something like this, it’s right to just taste a little at a time.”

“…I was originally going to eat it when both of you came, but you were so late.”

“There’s no need to make excuses. I wasn’t scolding you.”

Jaekwon flopped down into a seat. A refreshing vitality could be felt from him, who had just come out of the shower. Like a flower in full bloom.

Hwang Gujo took a little longer to wash up than Jaekwon. Jaekwon took out the drinks he had put in the refrigerator. It was coffee for two people and an iced peppermint tea for one. He had picked it out after seeing that Wisoo barely touched the coffee he had bought for him out of habit last time.

“That one seems to have a different smell and taste.”

“I guess it’s like ramen. Ramen smells more delicious too, but the taste is a bit disappointing, isn’t it?”

“……”

“Alright…. Let’s try ramen next time, too.”

Jaekwon let out a hollow laugh at Wisoo’s silence. He tapped his fingers on the table before asking.

“That person, the Teacher, must have raised you since you were very young, Mr. Seon Wisoo?”

He is slowly getting the hang of it through repeated failures. When asking Seon Wisoo about the Teacher, he must not give the impression that he is directly digging for information about him. Rather, approaching it from the direction of wanting to know Wisoo had a better success rate.

Jaekwon took the fork Wisoo was fiddling with, cut a large piece of cake, and held it out. He flicked his wrist as if to say, it’s yours, so take it, and as Wisoo received it, he lowered his guard and answered.

“No. He started raising me in earnest from when I was six… seven years old.”

“That’s quite… early. Your parents must have had a hard time. Having to part with you, Mr. Seon Wisoo, when you were at your cutest.”

Jaekwon did not know whether children of that age were cute or not. He had no interest either. He was just saying whatever. Fearing that the flow of conversation would be cut off if Hwang Gujo came out now, Jaekwon hoped Hwang Gujo would sing for a little longer. It was that guy’s habit to hum songs he could not even understand whenever he showered.

“No. My parents sent me. They said I was hard to handle.”

“Hard to handle? Why is that. Mr. Seon Wisoo, you seem like you would have been an easy baby to raise.”

This was a genuine lie. Jaekwon had also experienced firsthand in a short time that Seon Wisoo had a fair bit of stubbornness.

“They said I was scary. The words I said most often after I started talking were probably, ‘I’m scared.'”

Wisoo giggled as he ate his cake, cutting it with the fork.

“I would talk about my grandmother who passed away before I was even born, and when we went to look at houses to move into, I would say there was an old man with his tongue hanging out. And then one time, there was an accident, too. They said I was hard to handle.”

He was speaking of it lightly, but it was by no means a light story. Jaekwon scowled and then barely smoothed out his expression. Then, he once again asked, feigning indifference.

“Don’t you miss your parents?”

Wisoo hesitated. Jaekwon once again took the fork from Wisoo’s hand and this time cut a different dessert and placed it on top. It was a pavlova topped with something like fruit puree. Wisoo chewed it with a crunch. It must be incredibly sweet. His lips soon relaxed into a gentle curve.

“I don’t even think of them much.”

Wisoo said, covering his mouth as he chewed the chewy yet crisp thing. It looked like frozen snow, but it tasted of summer. Sweet and refreshing.

“Anyway, the things I saw started to come to my mind more often. I was young, you know. I must have been more scared than I am now.”

“…So you’re not scared now?”

Sipping a tea that was likewise like an early summer garden, Wisoo shook his head. This one looks like summer but tastes sharp like winter.

“I am scared. That’s why I follow you around, Mr. Kwak Jaekwon, even though you dislike and hate me. I can’t help it. I’m a bother to you, aren’t I. I’m sorry.”

Jaekwon, who had been resting his chin on his hand, was so flustered he almost slipped with a thud. Fortunately, such an embarrassing thing did not happen. He was about to open his mouth, then cleared his throat with a hmm. He took a long sip of his coffee and corrected him.

“…I can’t say I didn’t dislike you when we first met, Mr. Seon Wisoo, but it’s not like that now. It’s not to that extent, so.”

So, what? So you can follow me around more?

It was a sentence he could not finish. Jaekwon swiped at his lips in a predicament.

Fortunately, at that very moment, Hwang Gujo appeared with impeccable timing.

“Wow, the water here is great. Korea’s water is definitely good. Look how smooth my skin is.”

“Not interested.”

“Maybe I should just live here. Sir, why don’t you become the new CEO here?”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

Hwang Gujo hummed as he drank his share of the coffee. Then he smacked his lips looking at the desserts spread out in front of Wisoo. Hwang Gujo had quite an appetite himself.

“Please, eat with me. Mr. Kwak Jaekwon told me to only eat a little.”

“Is that so? I guess it’s because he’s trying to save money now that he’s quit his CEO position. Then I’ll have some too.”

“You’re shameless, aren’t you?”

“Who told you to quit?”

Hwang Gujo sat down, making himself at home.

It was indeed a large amount for Seon Wisoo to eat alone. Recalling his recent predicament, Jaekwon decided to be grateful, just for a moment, for Hwang Gujo’s foolish side.

A fork approached him as he let out a sigh mixed with laughter. It was Wisoo’s. He had cut a piece of dessert and was holding it out, just as Jaekwon had done for him. Jaekwon stared at it blankly, then leaned his head forward and opened his mouth. The meringue that popped into his mouth was indeed delicious. It was by no means his type of dessert, but it was not something he could not eat at all with coffee. There was also the sincerity of the person who offered it.

Hwang Gujo said that he preferred a smaller room over a place that was too big and that he would move rooms. And Jaekwon and Wisoo decided to return home anyway. That house was, in a way, a symbol of Wisoo’s suspended time before returning to the Teacher. Not a place to return to forever, nor a place to live, but something like a long prison of postponement, with no valid reason to leave right now.

There was still time until checkout. Hwang Gujo, who was about to just leave, suddenly called out to Wisoo.

“The workbooks. I bought them, take a look. They’re yours, Mr. Seon Wisoo. I left them in the room.”

“That’s right. You have to take them, so take a look. If they look difficult or unnecessary, leave them behind.”

As Wisoo said, Okayy, Jaekwon and Hwang Gujo spoke about things Wisoo could not understand. Apart from the content, he could understand even less because they were speaking in English.

‘His voice changes. It’s fascinating.’

Jaekwon’s voice wrapped around the ears of the softly padding Wisoo.

Entering the room, Wisoo discovered a paper bag propped up against the wall. It was quite bulky. He took out the workbooks one by one to flip through them, when his gaze was stolen by a blinking light in the corner. It was his own cell phone, which Hwang Gujo had charged for him.

He crawled over on his knees and turned on the phone. While it was turning on, he lay on his stomach and shuffled through the workbooks that smelled of crisp new paper. He could barely make out the content inside. He could feel keenly, even in this short time, that reading books was no substitute for a formal education.

“……”

Wisoo’s mood plummeted, and he closed the workbook. It had quite a number of pages, so it made a thick thump sound. In the meantime, the cell phone turned on. There was no one to contact him anyway, so he was about to just put it in his pocket and leave, but it vibrated.

“Huh…?”

Since it had only ever been used to send a signal to someone that he was here, he had not dreamed of how it would react. Wisoo was so surprised he almost dropped the phone.

Who could have sent it? There shouldn’t be anyone who knows my number. Is this that thing they call a spam message? Even so, the thought that someone other than Kwak Jaekwon in this world—be it a computer or an advertiser—knew his number suddenly made Wisoo as happy as if he were floating in space. With a pounding heart, he pressed the pop-up. Below an unknown number, a concise text had arrived.

Mr. Seon Wisoo this is Kwak Jaekyung

The Teacher misses you

Shall we keep in touch?

“……”

He could not even scream. A nightmare worse than the dead was right here. The dead could not physically harm him, but this text was different. Wisoo was so startled he threw the phone as if it had suddenly become a snake.

“What was that noise?”

Jaekwon, who had been talking with Hwang Gujo in a low voice, asked. Wisoo fumbled to pick up the phone, shoved it into his pocket, and answered.

“Oh, it’s nothing! The workbook…! I dropped the workbook.”

Afraid that Jaekwon might come in, Wisoo hastily gathered up the workbooks as well. He did not even get to choose. In the process, he ended up getting a paper cut on his finger from the cover of the very last volume.

“Ah…!”

The skin split open as if a mouth had formed on his finger. Wisoo did not even think to tend to it and rushed out of the room in a fluster.

Then he came face to face with Jaekwon, who was just about to come in.

“Did you look through them all?”

He had come over because it seemed busy inside. But Wisoo’s expression was like that of someone caught in the act of stealing. Jaekwon slowly scanned him from head to toe. There did not seem to be anything suspicious, and there was nothing he could have done in this room. Besides, Seon Wisoo had a long record of pulling strange stunts.

Jaekwon, feeling somewhat uneasy, gave a slight nod.

“I’m going to check out. Let’s go.”

Wisoo nodded. His heart was pounding. It felt like there was a bomb in his pocket. Or maybe something like an insect with very many legs.

His feelings about the cell phone, which allowed him to contact Kwak Jaekwon and which everyone else seemed to have, remained the same, but it was remarkable how Kwak Jaekyung could make it unpleasant in an instant. He had no favorable impression of Kwak Jaekyung to begin with, but this had caused it to be thrown completely to the ground.

“How were the books?”

“They were difficult.”

Wisoo mumbled, even though he had not actually looked at them properly.

“You can take it slow. And think slowly about what you want to learn, too.”

Jaekwon replied, twirling his car key case by looping his finger through it.

The checkout and the room change happened almost simultaneously. Hwang Gujo and Jaekwon were speaking in English again. It was clear they were trying to exclude Wisoo. A summary of their conversation, which Wisoo could not understand, was roughly this: Find out if there were any deals going on between Kwak Jaekyung and the father, and if it was related to Hyegwang.

Hwang Gujo reminded him to remember that this was not their field.

‘If you stand out too much, you’re bound to get noticed.’

To that, Jaekwon retorted.

‘The son of the deceased Kwak Bonyoung entering the country after several years is already more than enough to get noticed.’

Besides, had not Jaekwon made what was practically a declaration of war in front of his family?

‘As long as I have that with me, I’ll be a subject of gossip even if I stay quiet as if I’m dead.’

That. The young omega who lived with Chairman Kwak until he died and was even with him at the very moment of Chairman Kwak’s death. No matter how much one tried to ignore it, was it not a provocative title that could not help but pique interest?

So, what he meant was that even if they were a foreign species, they had already drawn enough attention. Hwang Gujo looked at Jaekwon with a complicated gaze. Jaekwon was looking at Wisoo, who seemed somewhat dazed.

“I’ll take care of what you mentioned, sir, and contact you.”

“Okay. Let me know if you need anything.”

Jaekwon and Hwang Gujo did not exchange any particular farewells. Jaekwon approached Wisoo with long strides. Only then did Seon Wisoo, the center of the dirty scandal, seen by the public as nothing more than a cortesan, look at Jaekwon with vacant eyes.

Wisoo said something he could not make out and smiled faintly. Seeing that, Jaekwon also smiled his characteristic, seemingly mocking smile.

‘Something’s… strange.’

Hwang Gujo clicked his tongue with a tsk tsk sound, snatched the key card, and headed for the elevator.

Wisoo was pulled from his thoughts by Jaekwon’s voice asking why his hand was like that again.

“Ah, I got a paper cut.”

“Doesn’t it even hurt? Mr. Seon Wisoo, you make a fuss over strange things and are stoic about other strange things, aren’t you?”

“…You just made fun of me for seeing things again, didn’t you.”

“Yes. You’re quick-witted, too. Seeing as you’re not slow at learning, you’ll probably pass the exam soon.”

Wisoo smiled at Jaekwon’s teasing, which was annoying but not unpleasant.

“Let’s buy disinfectant and a bandage on the way. Did Hwang Gujo buy things like pencils?”

Jaekwon opened the paper bag held in Wisoo’s arms with his finger. He buried his head deep inside to look. Wisoo’s face felt ticklish from Jaekwon’s hair, so he crinkled his eyes.

“That senseless bastard. He didn’t buy anything like that.”

Saying they needed to buy that too, Jaekwon muttered about a bandage, a pen, and a notebook, then took Wisoo’s things and held them for him.

Still, the place where Hwang Gujo was staying was a fairly large city. It was worth getting away from the gloomy mansion. Jaekwon stopped at a large bookstore. It was because there was a place inside that sold writing instruments.

“These kinds are comfortable.”

Jaekwon picked up several notebooks and showed them to him. The notebooks he showed all differed only in the direction of the spring and the size; the inside pages were all the same, with yellow paper and a single red line drawn to divide the sections.

“Then I’ll get those.”

“As for pens, well, I’ll pick out the kind I used to use, but if there’s anything you want, put it in the basket.”

“What about money?”

At the mention of money, Jaekwon burst out laughing.

“There’s the stepmother’s trust fund, isn’t there. I’ll take it from there, so don’t worry.”

“You weren’t calling her stepmother before….”

At his grumbling question of why he was saying it again when he had not been, Jaekwon ruffled Wisoo’s hair roughly and then, instead of heading toward the pens, abruptly went to the corner that sold sketchbooks and pastels.

Wisoo watched Jaekwon’s large, hunched-over back, then took out the pens one by one. There was a piece of paper that people had scribbled on, so he discreetly drew on it. The designs and colors were different from the pens Kwak Bonyoung or the Teacher used. They were much more colorful and cute. Wisoo grabbed a whole handful of pastel-toned pens with characters drawn on them. His face was flushed with excitement. It was a look of pure delight for anyone to see.

“Excuse me.”

So at first, he did not hear the voice calling him.

“Excuse… me!”

“Hut.”

Startled by a tap on his shoulder, Wisoo dropped the handful of pens with a clatter. The commotion startled the person who had called him as well.

“Ah, sorry, sorry… I’m sorry.”

Wisoo, who was excessively startled, stammered as he grabbed the pens.

Wisoo intensely disliked being startled like this when he was unaware, whether it was unintentional or deliberate on someone’s part. It was because being startled was a daily occurrence, so his nerves were somewhat fragile. On top of that, it was also because the Teacher, knowing this, used to wake him up and drag him out at irregular intervals. No, that might be the bigger reason.

“It’s okay.”

Behind the person who had called Wisoo, two others who appeared to be friends giggled, saying, so cute. That sound did not reach Wisoo’s ears.

The person, who was crouching down with him to pick up the pens, kept glancing at Wisoo’s face before stating his business.

“Could I… possibly get your number?”

Wisoo’s heart dropped with a thud for the second time. He was about to hurriedly look around but instead lowered his head deeply. Are the Teacher’s people here? Was this person also sent by the Teacher?

A youthful voice cut through Wisoo’s complicated thoughts.

“No, I saw you from over there and you’re just so my type…. If it’s okay, could we keep in touch?”

It was brave. Wisoo finally regained his composure. His vision, which had narrowed drastically, widened again at the other person’s excited and trembling voice.

The first thing that came into view was a school emblem. The person was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, which were casual school wear instead of a uniform, and was carrying a large backpack. Wisoo knew some Chinese characters, and thanks to that, he could tell from the characters in the school emblem that the person was a high school student.

“No, I… I’m…”

At last, Wisoo smiled. Something he had only ever seen in dramas or books was happening to him. It was fascinating.

“I’m an adult….”

However, Wisoo’s attempt to utter a tactful rejection to the first time in his life he was being hit on ended in failure. It was because Jaekwon grabbed Wisoo’s arm tightly and pulled him up.

“Sorry. He’ll go to jail if he dates a student. Because he’s an adult.”

“An adult? Really?”

The person gasped, covering their mouth in surprise. It seemed the short-sleeved shirt and shorts he was wearing, which were similar to their casual school wear, had caused even more of a misunderstanding. What a waste, he looks really young, a voice like that was heard faintly, but clearly.

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. Go on now. And be careful around adults.”

Jaekwon sent them off with a gentle smile. On their way out, the kids kept shooting glances, this time at Jaekwon. Voices saying things like, He’s really handsome but a little scary, were also heard, but Jaekwon paid them no mind and turned to look sharply at Wisoo.

“……”

He slowly scanned Wisoo from the top of his head to the tips of his toes, then let out a hollow laugh.

“Mr. Seon Wisoo, you really know how to keep people’s eyes on you. Do you cause a lot of trouble on the sly?”

The man, who had let out a genuine laugh, dumped the pens Wisoo was holding into the basket with a clatter. Only after putting them in did he look again and see that they were pens of a charming design that Kwak Jaekwon would never in his life pay money for or have a reason to touch.

“…These.”

“I’m going to buy them.”

“……”

“I like them.”

Jaekwon rubbed his cheek roughly, then nodded his head.

“Alright. Well. If you like them….”

Muttering, on his way to the checkout counter, he put a diary with the same character drawn on it into the basket. For him, too, it was a completely impulsive act.

He paid with his own card, contrary to what he had told Wisoo. As he held out the heavy, metal card and waited for the transaction to finish, he turned around and saw Wisoo in the crowd, blankly looking around slowly at the ceiling, the wall decorations, and the displayed books.

“……”

The sight of Seon Wisoo among people was unfamiliar. It even looked like a depressing rock music video where only the surrounding passersby were in fast motion, and the protagonist was left standing helplessly in the center.

In any case, what was certain was that Seon Wisoo was the type of being who did not mix with people at all, and for that very reason, even though he was not dressed flashy, or looked flashy, or was particularly tall, he could not help but attract attention anyway.

‘An appearance and an aura that are even eye-catching. No wonder rumors would spread no matter how quietly he came and went from the house.’

Jaekwon, who had grumbled only in his head, received the paper bag as if snatching it and, without realizing it, approached Wisoo with hurried steps. Then he pulled on his wrist.

“You’re just perfect for getting lost.”

“I was thinking about something.”

Here he goes again, off in his own world, what’s he going to say now. Jaekwon nodded his head indifferently as he headed for the exit.

“I realized that next time, even if an adult who is actually my type asks for my number, I won’t be able to give it to them.”

An adult who is his type? The corners of Jaekwon’s mouth twisted in displeasure.

“Do you even have a type? And be precise, say someone your age, not an adult. And stop hanging out with old men.”

Wisoo shot a sharp look at Jaekwon from behind him, then let out a deep sigh.

“I told you I don’t like grandfathers….”

“Then grandmothers?”

“Forget it. I’m not going to say anything.”

“Alright. Don’t.”

“Hmph…!”

This person Kwak Jaekwon might have even worse social skills than I do. Wisoo, at a loss for words at Jaekwon’s reply, which never once went along with him easily, shook his hand off. The wrist Jaekwon had been holding was freed. Only then did he turn to look at him.

“I don’t know my own number.”

He said sulkily, explaining why he could not give out his number. Jaekwon was silent for a moment, then nodded his head with an, Ah.

“I suppose that’s true.”

“What’s my number?”

“Do you need to know?”

“I’m curious.”

Jaekwon stroked his chin. After pretending to think for a moment, he nodded his head.

“I’ve thought about it.”

“……”

“I don’t think you, Mr. Seon Wisoo, will ever need to know your own number in the future.”

Having said that, Jaekwon stubbornly turned his body away, as if he did not want to discuss this topic any further.

Wisoo, looking at the hard, wall-like back, muttered, “Tyrant…” before scurrying to catch up before he got more than a certain distance away from him.

“Even if you say mean things, Mr. Kwak Jaekwon, I will understand everything.”

Jaekwon dragged his feet slowly because of Wisoo, who was clinging to his back like a cicada. He let out a hollow laugh.

“I never asked you to understand.”

“Still, I’ll let it slide for you.”

“Yes…. Well. Thank you. In any case, you are my stepson according to the family register, so I must show you respect.”

Wisoo was about to bite Jaekwon’s back in a fit of anger but stopped himself. It was because the feeling of him being precious was much, muuch greater than the feeling of him being annoying, too much to bite and leave a wound. What kind of fool in the world would break the only thing they have?

❖ ❖ ❖

Wisoo’s anger, of course, subsided quickly. In the first place, he had not even been angry. It was already completely forgotten the moment he got into the taxi, but then Jaekwon rummaged through the paper bag and took out a sketchbook, pastels, and crayons, saying they were Wisoo’s.

“Play with these.”

“Are they mine?”

“Then would I play with them at my age?”

While age has nothing to do with hobbies, Jaekwon spoke with a needless grumble. He had bought them impulsively, but when he was about to hand them over, he felt strange anew at the fact that he had chosen and bought them for that person while thinking of that person. It was different from the clothes he had bought out of necessity.

“Wow….”

Wisoo stretched out his arms, received the gift, and examined it from all angles, then this time, he pulled it right up to his nose to examine it. He was about to smell it, so Jaekwon put his hand between his face and the crayons to block him. At that, Wisoo turned his head just like that. His hair, which cascaded down along with the movement, tickled the back of Jaekwon’s hand.

“Thank you….”

He smiled as if he was very shy and happy. Jaekwon felt an intuition he did not trust pierce his brain like an arrow at that smile.

This person is not at fault.

“Thank you so much, Mr. Kwak Jaekwon….”

Seon Wisoo, who was covered in a foul-smelling scandal and the murky misunderstandings and sinister prejudices that clung to him like sludge, was already showing everything like this, even though he had only taken just one step deeper than others.

With his whole body, he was saying, I am not at fault.

That night, Wisoo did not sneak into Jaekwon’s room. Jaekwon would probably think it was because Wisoo had many things to play with, like the diary and pens, but that was not the truth.

Wisoo waited until Jaekwon was fast asleep, then, trying his best to ignore the things that were chasing him, he went into the master bedroom on the first floor. It was an utterly unpleasant space, so it was sufficient for this kind of talk.

Wisoo sent a late reply to Kwak Jaekyung. Given the time, he wondered if he would get a reply, but a call came right away.

“He, hello?”

Wisoo whispered, having gone all the way inside the master bedroom, into the closet. Braving the heat, he even burrowed among the winter coats. The fact that they were Kwak Bonyoung’s clothes was not a problem in the current situation.

“Hello?”

—Ah ah, Mr. Seon Wisoo!

A twisted way of speaking, an excited voice, an unsteady tone. It was glaringly obvious he was not in his right mind.

—Are you asking how I got your number, Mr. Seon Wisoo?

The background noise was also tremendous. Wisoo covered his ears even though it was not coming from the space he was in. The noise originating from Kwak Jaekyung still did not subside. As was to be expected.

—With a little money and time, finding out your cell phone number, Mr. Seon Wisoo, is easy.

Kwak Jaekyung hiccuped with a kkeuk. He was dead drunk.

—That guy, Kwak Jaekwon, he’s just a lackey he drags around. The black-haired foreigner. In a backwater place like that, do you think it’s hard to find out if a person without even an ID card opened a cell phone line? And if you slip them some money, finding out your number, Mr. Seon Wisoo, from the person who opened the line for you, is not even a problem.

The drunk Kwak Jaekyung was also chattily kind. He was itching to show off what an amazing person he was.

However, Wisoo, after hearing the whole story, was instead relieved. His strength drained away. Time and money. So that was all it was.

“The Teacher didn’t send people after me, then?”

At the suddenly cold voice, Kwak Jaekyung asked back a beat later, “Huhng?”

“Still, since you’re Mr. Jaekwon’s cousin, I’ll give you a piece of advice.”

If Kwak Jaekyung were facing Wisoo’s current appearance in person, he would have sobered up. Wisoo’s hardened expression was quite chilly.

“It would be good for you to cut ties with the Teacher before it gets any deeper. Next time, you might end up offering up everything you have left with your own two hands.”

The Teacher is amazingly good at finding people’s weaknesses. That was not a talent or a blessing. It was the most cowardly and the most petty thing. And he swayed those weakened people to make them follow him.

—Is this the time for you to be worrying about me?

Puhahaha, Kwak Jaekyung burst into a roar of laughter.

—Mr. Seon Wisoo, you’re a person who is a bundle of things Kwak Jaekwon hates. It seems the kid has a bit of a soft spot, so he’s probably taking care of you because you look pitiful, but you talk nonsense, your reputation is filthy, and now what do you think will happen if I tell Kwak Jaekwon about the Teacher behind you, Mr. Seon Wisoo, and about this thing called Hyegwang that the Teacher made?

“……”

—That bastard Kwak Jaekwon, he loathes religion. But if he finds out that a guy who looks like he belongs to the occult or a cult to anyone who sees him is behind you, Mr. Seon Wisoo, and that you grew up there, how do you think that bastard will react?

Wisoo bit his lip hard. Even though he was hiding inside the winter coat closet, his body was trembling. Like a person kicked out of the house in the dead of winter.

—Now, have you figured out your place a little?

Kwak Jaekyung’s mocking advice, If you’re going to threaten someone, do it more properly, was left unfinished. Wisoo abruptly hung up the phone and chewed on his lip until it bled, then ran upstairs as if fleeing.

He could not get to sleep that night.

But when the day broke, he wiped the scab on his lip with water and smiled at Jaekwon brightly, as usual. Even saying, “Good morning.”

❖ ❖ ❖

Jaekwon left Wisoo, who was in the living room appreciating the books, writing instruments, sketchbook, pastels, and crayons laid out before him in a reverent posture, and went outside.

For some reason, he did not want to be in the garden today either, so he went out of the house altogether. The days had grown longer, so it was a time when it was still bright even at 8 in the evening. All the more so since it was a late afternoon, not yet evening, so the sunlight was stinging, and the taste of the cigarette became stale due to the increasingly hot weather. Jaekwon sought the shade and headed for the garage entrance. There, he reflected on a few scenes he had seen today. As if placing bookmarks in the time of a day, a few scenes came to mind with particular clarity and stillness.

Jaekwon creased the corners of his eyes as he wiped his lips, where the nicotine was stained and the taste of the capsule remained, with his thumb.

Just then, he heard the sound of footsteps and a voice approaching.

“No, I’m telling you. He still lives here.”

It was the housekeeper’s voice. Was today her day to come? Jaekwon had told her she did not need to come often, and it seemed she was thoroughly enjoying her much more relaxed leisure time, with her wages remaining the same as before, just as he had said. This lively voice he was hearing now was a testament to that.

“It’s incredible. There’s something I saw.”

“……”

Jaekwon exhaled smoke and flicked the ash. The ash that fell at his feet glittered on its own for a moment before sputtering out.

“There’s that rumor that it was death by bok-sang-sa, you know. I think it was that.”

She seemed to be lowering her voice for what it was worth, but due to a few hasty certainties—that the alley was quiet and that she had not yet passed the wall—her phone call had lost its caution.

“At that time, that young man was wearing something strange. That’s right…. Something risqué!”

Jaekwon flicked his cigarette away as if tossing it. He ground it out with his slipper and emerged from the shadows as if dragging his feet.

Because of the long days, four in the afternoon was still incredibly bright and sunny. In that intense sunlight, Jaekwon made a visor with his hand and held it to his eyes.

At the sight of her new employer emerging from within the large garage, the housekeeper’s face turned pale, and Kwak Jaekwon, instead of firing her, put his thumb and index finger together, brought them to his mouth, and drew a line from left to right. As if to say, zip it.

“Ma’am.”

Jaekwon called her in a languid voice.

“Be careful of the walls.”

Jaekwon tapped the wall with a fist, his index finger somewhat raised.

“Here. There are ears, you know.”

The housekeeper felt as if she would suffocate from his low voice and weary atmosphere. Hic, she nodded her head vigorously.

Even as she apologized several times, saying it was her mouth’s fault, Jaekwon tapped the wall, tok, tok. As if there really were ears there.

“Huh…? Mr. Jaekwon?”

And Wisoo, who had been sitting in the living room coloring a sketchbook with a black crayon, lifted his head with a start. Tok, tok tok. Wisoo rubbed his shoulder at the feeling, as if Jaekwon were tapping his shoulder. Then he whipped his head around.

“……”

On the landing of the stairs leading to the second floor, Chairman Kwak was standing. He stared at Wisoo, then smiled as if scowling.

Wisoo glared at him as if to kill him, then hunched over again and buried his face in the sketchbook. In that all-black space, he chose a navy blue and colored over it. It was a color he had chosen because it reminded him of Jaekwon, but no matter how much he colored, it was not noticeable. As if mocking him, saying, no matter how hard you try, it’s not going to get any brighter.

Soon, the sound of a door opening was heard. He looked back and saw Jaekwon coming in with the person who took care of the house. Although she was someone who had previously come and gone quietly, taking care of business quickly, it was the first time they had not run into each other for this long. As such, he should have been somewhat glad to see her, but the memory of when Chairman Kwak died was so vivid that Wisoo felt uncomfortable around her.

The housekeeper, too, seemed even more embarrassed to see Wisoo, perhaps because of what had happened outside.

“Well then, I’ll be taking care of things over there, so let me know if you need anything.”

“Ah. I need something now.”

Jaekwon, without giving Wisoo a single glance, followed her toward the kitchen. Wisoo, noticing that Jaekwon’s mood was quite strange, followed his back with his eyes as he went to the kitchen. He was surely aware of his gaze, yet Jaekwon stubbornly refused to look his way.

“Do you have pork?”

“I did bring some, is there something you’d like to eat?”

The housekeeper asked with a noticeably awkward gesture.

Her luggage was unusually large. It was so much that one would wonder why she had so much when she would be coming and going often. Jaekwon took the luggage from the housekeeper and placed it on the bar table. Inside were various ingredients.

“It’s, uh, brown. And it has potatoes and pork cut into cubes in it. I think it was crumbly and sweet and salty.”

“Braised pork and potatoes?”

“That sounds right. Please make that.”

When Wisoo half-rose to come over, Jaekwon, still not looking, raised his hand to stop him. Wisoo had no choice but to sit back down awkwardly at that firm refusal.

“I think Mr. Seon Wisoo would eat it well. You don’t need to make a large amount.”

The housekeeper was on the verge of dying from discomfort at her new employer, that is, the son of her former employer who had suddenly died while with that young man, suddenly speaking to her so solicitously. Still, she nodded her head diligently.

“Soy-braised beef would be good too, I think.”

Jaekwon leaned diagonally against her side as she washed her hands and prepared to cook. It is uncomfortable. So very uncomfortable. She rummaged through the luggage she had brought, took out the ingredients, and retrieved the knife she always carried with her. The hand washing the knife trembled for no reason. It seemed to be because of the persistently following gaze.

Jaekwon, who was quietly watching the housekeeper take out potatoes and spread them on the cutting board, asked as if it were a trivial question.

“But you carry your knife with you. It seems like it would be a hassle.”

“Ah. The knives here are dull, and he told me to carry this one separately….”

“Is that so? That’s unusual. I guess he was worried someone might use that knife for something other than cooking, wasn’t he?”

Tak.

The knife struck not the potato, but the cutting board with a thud.

The housekeeper turned to look at Jaekwon with a shrunken face. Jaekwon smiled brightly and turned his body. He headed toward Wisoo, as if the chilly atmosphere was not his responsibility. Toward that ‘young man wearing the risqué clothes’.

“Did you draw something?”

He asked casually, and then,

“Wow. Mr. Seon Wisoo, your taste is damn gloomy.”

He even made a casual joke.

And yet, the atmosphere in the house remained taut and precariously stretched, refusing to loosen. A silence that felt like it would tear hung in the air.

Wisoo gauged the strange atmosphere. Jaekwon let the housekeeper, who had finished cooking, leave early. The two of them were as if they had sufficiently adapted to each other without any special conversation, as usual, but at least Wisoo alone was very conscious of Jaekwon, pretending to be unconcerned.

After they even had dinner, Jaekwon brought out alcohol. He, who had been acting as if he had forgotten Wisoo’s existence the whole time, suddenly asked, as if he had only just realized his presence.

“Did you do some of the workbook?”

“I only looked at it.”

“Ah…. Come to think of it, there’s no desk.”

Jaekwon nodded his head, thinking of the structure of the house.

“I can’t just have you do it lying on the floor.”

Wisoo felt as if Jaekwon was somewhere else. It seemed like he was not listening even when he was hearing his words.

“…If I had my way, I’d want to smash it.”

He muttered and emptied his glass. Wisoo chewed on the prepared nuts with a crunch.

He is used to silence. But he did not get used to loneliness. The silence with Jaekwon brought with it loneliness, so it was difficult for Wisoo.

He got up from his seat only after a long while.

“Let’s go up.”

Wisoo, who had become dispirited from watching his mood, followed behind him. Jaekwon brushed his teeth in the second-floor bathroom and came out. In the hallway, Wisoo was crouched down, with a toothbrush in his mouth.

“……”

Jaekwon, who was looking at him with a strange expression, gave a slight nod. Wisoo went in with dejected steps, rinsed, and came out.

Jaekwon, who he thought would already be in the room, was still in the hallway. When he looked at him quizzically, he pointed to the room with the bed.

“I’ll sleep here today.”

“……”

“It doesn’t matter, right?”

“No. It doesn’t matter, but….”

Why the sudden change of heart? However, Jaekwon did not resolve Wisoo’s curiosity. Leaving Wisoo in the hallway, he went into the room and closed the door firmly. Wisoo walked with soft steps and stood in front of the door, then after a long while, he pressed his ear against the door.

With his eyes closed, it felt as if he could hear the sound of waves. He had never been to the sea, and there was no way such a sound could actually be heard, but Wisoo just imagined it.

And only after another long while did he enter the study where Jaekwon had been sleeping and lie down.

Soon after, he felt ‘them’ come in and crouch down in a circle around him, watching. Wisoo tossed and turned, then pulled the blanket over his head and forced himself to count numbers.

1, 2, 3, 4….

Ah. It’s been a while since I’ve taken the medicine with the four pills. Is it okay to do that? Won’t I get caught? If I get caught, I’ll be scolded…. Worrying about this and that, Wisoo finally managed to fall into a deep sleep. The path to sleep was, as always, bumpy and unkind, like an unpaved road.

At dawn, Wisoo’s eyes fluttered open. Someone had woken him up. When he opened his eyes, one of the least scary and clean dead things was looking down at him. It seemed to have woken him up. Wisoo pushed away the hand of what looked to be a middle or high school student and sat up.

The dead things were murmuring in the hallway. Usually, he would have thought, good, and left it at that, but since Kwak Jaekwon was here, he was concerned. He shot up in a flash, anxious that something might have happened.

The dead things were gathered in a huddle, unable to cross the threshold of the bedroom, trying hard to look inside. A sense of anxiety washed over him at their backs, which showed no interest even when he appeared. Wisoo slowly took a step. The dead things, for once, made way for Wisoo. Even that was unsettling.

As he walked between the dead things and approached the door, Wisoo wondered if he himself had become one of these dead things. That was how afraid he was of going to Jaekwon. But he managed to take a step, barely. And he stood on the threshold.

“……”

“……”

The days had grown longer, so the outside was already dimly white. It must have been around four in the morning. Jaekwon, who had kept the dead things awake until this time and finally woken him up, was sitting quietly on the bed in the messy room. In his hand was a dark green silk slip, reminiscent of the tiles in the first-floor bathroom.

“……”

Wisoo’s lips parted and then closed, unable to say anything. Almost simultaneously with his lips closing, a tear dropped from his eye. He did not even know he was crying.

Jaekwon, looking down at the slip in his hand, let out a hoarse voice.

“Is this yours, Mr. Seon Wisoo?”

“……”

“No. Let me ask something else.”

Jaekwon had a good memory and a keen eye. The size of the slip, no matter how he looked at it, was the size of Seon Wisoo’s body that he had estimated with his hands.

“Did Kwak Bonyoung make you wear it?”

“……”

“Did he make you wear it, and, as you said, Mr. Seon Wisoo, did he make you imitate our mother while wearing this?”

Jaekwon does not look at him. No, perhaps that is a relief. If he did, he would surely be disgusted. He would despise him. He would find him more repulsive than ever before. Tears just silently dropped from Wisoo’s eyes. If not for the tears, his expression was so stiff he would not have been thought to be a crying person.

The slip crumpled in Jaekwon’s hand. He pressed his forehead with his empty hand.

“…Did Kwak Bonyoung die while you were wearing this?”

“……”

“Alright…. I’ve heard your answer well, Mr. Seon Wisoo.”

He dropped the slip onto the floor with a thud. Then he got up from his seat. He walks straight ahead, looking elsewhere, as if Wisoo were not there, or as if he would thoroughly ignore him even if he were. Wisoo suddenly felt as if the time he had met Jaekwon’s eyes was in the distant past—he thought.

Jaekwon brushed past him. Not a single part of them touched, yet Wisoo’s body whipped around as if turned by the wind.

Wherever Jaekwon passed, the dead things hid themselves. And yet, Wisoo could not approach, as if the path before him were a field of thorns. Jaekwon’s steps quickened. He headed for the bathroom, and then the sound of him throwing up was heard. His heart sank at the sound of wook. Wisoo’s steps went backward, sideways, diagonally, and forward, then, unable to go anywhere, they just wandered, lost.

He’s really going to hate me. He’s really going to be disgusted by me. Now I’m really going to be rejected.

Wisoo finally began to let out a crying sound, heu-eu, heu. Of all things, because everything Jaekwon had asked was only the truth, if he had accused him by assuming something that had not happened, like when they first met, he would at least have felt wronged, but since he did not blame him and just asked for the facts, Wisoo could not even run away.

He became afraid of meeting Jaekwon’s eyes. Following the sound of the toilet flushing and him rinsing his mouth, even the sound of water stopped abruptly. Wisoo staggered and headed toward the stairs. Jaekwon’s face, who was just coming out of the bathroom, was soaked. When he raised his rough eyes toward Wisoo, Wisoo was not there, only the white ankles and feet he had seen when he first came to this house.

“Mr. Seon Wisoo!”

Jaekwon ran toward Wisoo, who was about to run down the stairs. Why did he do that? He did not know. His body just moved first.

In front of him, the large, fluttering white short-sleeved t-shirt that Wisoo always wore was shining blue in the dawn light. The legs running urgently were thin, and the white feet were not just pale but even bluish. Like that shirt.

And Jaekwon foresaw something that had not happened. He did not imagine it, but foresaw it, because that thing had actually happened before.

“Seon Wisoo!”

Jaekwon stretched out his hand, but Wisoo was faster. He was running down faster and he fell faster. He was not rolling forward, but spilling. The white t-shirt fluttered because of his arms, which were spread wide in a dizzying way. For a moment, everything seemed to be in slow motion to Jaekwon, but he too had slowed down with it, and there was nothing he could do to stop it in that time.

Wisoo fell to the floor with a loud thud. The empty sounds of teong, teong, echoed through the house. Jaekwon ran to him as if jumping down.

“Seon Wisoo, Seon Wisoo. Damn it, Mr. Seon Wisoo!”

Wisoo, with his deathly pale face and closed eyes, looked like a dead person or someone in a deep sleep. Jaekwon slapped his cheeks repeatedly. He also pressed his ear to where his heart would be. His heart was beating very slowly. Do people’s hearts normally beat like this? His breathing was as quiet as if it would go out. Do people normally breathe like this?

“Seon Wisoo…!”

He could not even think of the very simple task of calling 119. Jaekwon slapped Wisoo’s cheeks again urgently.

Then, suddenly, Wisoo’s lips parted and a sweet sigh flowed out, haaah…. Almost simultaneously, Wisoo’s pheromones, which he had grown accustomed to, were felt clearly, not like transparent glass but naturally like stained glass.

And Wisoo opened his eyes.

“……”

Jaekwon, who was about to call Wisoo, could not. Wisoo’s gaze was bewitching. He looked around the empty space, then found Jaekwon and suddenly smiled deeply. It was a blossoming smile, distinctly different from the gloomy, shy, and melancholic smile he used to have.

“Jaekwon-ah….”

The sound of him murmuring his name was so sweet it felt like it would rot.

“Jaekwon-ah….”

“…What is this now.”

He did not believe in anything irrational, unscientific, nonsensical, or surreal. But for that very reason, because Jaekwon knew Seon Wisoo and had him in his grasp, he could also believe that this was not Seon Wisoo.

“Jaekwon-ah…. You don’t have to take the medicine.”

‘Wisoo’ placed a hand on Jaekwon’s cheek. At that sound and gesture, Jaekwon felt a sensation as if his whole body was turning cold. It felt as if the nausea he had thrown up all of was about to rise again.

“Seon Wisoo.”

Jaekwon grabbed ‘Wisoo’ tightly. And he ground his teeth and muttered.

“Seon Wisoo. Stop this disgusting act and come to your senses.”

“Ouch….”

The grip was so strong that Wisoo groaned. Jaekwon squeezed even harder. He could apply force to a level that would not break a person’s bones, but was sufficiently painful. If necessary, he could also choke him. If only Seon Wisoo would come back to his senses.

Jaekwon laid Wisoo on the floor with a thud. Even in the process, he blocked his head with his palm so that it would not hit.

“Seon Wisoo. I told you not to pull this kind of stunt ever again. Do you want me to hate you?”

Jaekwon threatened him calmly. In fact, he too was at his wit’s end. He could be even calmer because he felt like he was going crazy, like he was about to lose his mind.

As the grip on his shoulder tightened, Wisoo groaned, ah ah, in pain, then threw his head back with a jerk. Only then did Jaekwon gasp, heok, and let go of his hand. But when the laid-down Wisoo opened his eyes again, this time his gaze was not bewitching but rough, ugly, and parched.

“Son of a bitch.”

A mocking tone, a curse thrown out of the blue.

“I told you not to appear in front of my woman.”

Kwak Jaekwon stared at Wisoo’s crookedly raised lips with wide eyes.

“I also told you not to appear in front of me again.”

“Kwak Bon….”

He bit his lip hard, which was about to ask if it was his dead father. Jaekwon’s eyes blazed as he swung his fist sideways. He punched the wooden molding on the wall that turned toward the stairs with a bang, not caring if his hand would be injured. A vertical line formed on his hand, and blood flowed. With that hand, he cupped Wisoo’s face hard.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Jaekwon’s gaze was not lacking in looking like a madman’s.

“I don’t play along with this kind of bullshit.”

“…Why?”

‘Wisoo’ sneered.

Why…? Because that’s the natural thing to do. Because it’s natural not to believe.

But from under that naturalness, something felt like it was about to burst out. At something rising like a wave of nausea, he pressed down on Wisoo’s chest with his other hand. His face is lifted up, and his chest is pressed down. Keok, Wisoo let out a dry cough.

“It would be better for you too, Mr. Seon Wisoo, to stop swaying people’s hearts with such a ridiculous method anymore.”

Jaekwon leaned his face toward Wisoo and threatened him menacingly.

“I don’t know if this method worked before….”

“Keok, keo-heok…!

“But now you’ve fallen into my hands. If you’ve come to me after being in someone else’s hands, you should be prepared to change to my ways.”

Jaekwon pressed and released ‘Wisoo’s’ chest, controlling it. But even in that touch, impatience was evident.

Their faces grew closer and closer. Soon, the tips of their noses were touching, and if he tilted his head, their lips would touch.

“This is the third time.”

Jaekwon’s voice, declaring war, was somehow damp.

“If it’s the third time, you should be punished now. Did I tell you? That my hobby is breaking things that have been painstakingly built.”

“Keuk, heok…. I can’t, can’t breathe….”

The voice of ‘Wisoo’, whose eyes were fluttering open, was gradually returning to Wisoo’s own. Jaekwon, who had been pressing his chest just right, removed his hand and with that hand, he grabbed Wisoo’s hair firmly.

“You don’t have to go out of your way to imitate my father, I’ve understood enough that that bastard was most obsessed with you, Mr. Seon Wisoo, in the end, and that you were with him at that end, so stop the bullshit and come back to me as the desperate Seon Wisoo.”

Because I don’t want to break something that’s already broken…. The last words entered Wisoo’s lips and were not heard by his ears. A tongue came in and entangled wetly. Anger was the flint, and the space around the two of them was filled with flammable material. The explosion was already beginning.

When did it start? Jaekwon crinkled his eyes as if some invisible sweat had gotten into them. With every breath, a dense, sticky scent filled his entire body cloyingly. When did it…. But by the time he realized it, it was already too late.

Every time he tilted his head, the two people’s tongues, entangled like snakes, were visible. Wisoo’s hands opened wide and then clenched repeatedly. As if he had been electrocuted, his whole body was tingling, and it felt as if the dawn was breaking not outside, but inside his body. It felt as if the sun would come out of his mouth through his navel. That sun was warming his body, which was always damp and cold, to the very nerve endings.

“Haah…!”

When their lips parted slightly, Wisoo exhaled a breath that was so sweet it seemed it would rot, a melting breath. Along with it, pheromones washed out from him as if a wave were rushing out. Jaekwon let his body be carried by it. Without waiting for Wisoo, he pulled Wisoo’s upper body up halfway, pressed it against his body, and kissed him.

Everything became dizzying. The world melted like a full-color paisley pattern. In the illusion of the house melting away, Wisoo wrapped his arms around Jaekwon’s neck. The two of them stayed like that for a long time, as if they could not be separated.

“…It’s hot.”

When their lips finally parted, Wisoo murmured with soaked eyes and lips.

“The house is melting…. Am I going crazy?”

Jaekwon did not even look around the house. The house melting. It was nonsense.

“Yes. It’s the normal you, Mr. Seon Wisoo. A little bit crazy.”

Wisoo let out a small laugh. Even with that small laugh, his body felt unbearably itchy. A shallow breath, haak, ha, flowed out.

“It really is melting….”

“That’s probably because you have a fever, Mr. Seon Wisoo.”

Even on Jaekwon’s neck and forearm, who was murmuring so calmly, veins were standing out. If it were not for the suppression chip embedded in his forearm, he would have already torn off all of Seon Wisoo’s clothes and fucked him like an animal without even loosening him up.

“It’s because you’re in heat, Mr. Seon Wisoo.”

“I am…?”

“You never do just one thing, do you. Did you know that you have an amazing way of escaping just when I’m about to get angry?”

Jaekwon stroked the top of Wisoo’s foot. Wisoo’s body trembled with a start.

“Then… Then….”

Wisoo, who moistened his rough, dry lips, looked up at Jaekwon. His wet eyes were full of stars.

“Then are you… in heat too, Mr. Jaekwon?”

If it were the usual… if it were the usual Kwak Jaekwon, he would have scoffed. No, do you think I’m crazy enough to be swayed by you? he would have said. If it had been anyone else, he would have asked if they had an emergency suppressant and then called 119. Because that is the right thing to do. Because he does not enjoy sex outside of play.

Veins stood out on the back of Jaekwon’s hand, which was holding Wisoo. He answered in a hoarse voice.

“Yes.”

“……”

“I was sure I was angry… but it seems it was heat, for me too.”

The usual…. Where had the usual gone? The word ‘usual’ (平素) has the commonly used meaning of ‘ordinary times’, but it also has the meaning of ‘days gone by’. They are days gone by. The usual responses Kwak Jaekwon remembered of himself had become days gone by. The way Kwak Jaekwon had lived. Now, all that was left was to break and dismantle. And so Jaekwon kissed Wisoo again and slid his hand up inside his t-shirt. He felt the perked nipple between his fingers, which went up without any obstruction. He pinched it hard and pulled as if to tear it off.

It is the work of breaking and dismantling. And so, everything will become a thing of the past.