Irresponsibility Chapter 1.3

“Yes…”

The doctor quietly replied to the chin gesture pointing at his glasses.

Doctor Lee Hyunkyu first met Baek Geonhyuk in the military. It was a relationship that was not long but deep, and it has continued to the present.

And in the past, and now. Baek Geonhyuk consistently had a side to him that got on people’s nerves. Whenever that happened, he would think to himself. If only he was not my sunbae, if only he was younger than me, if only he was bad at fighting…

Damn it, if only he was bad at fighting.

I would have flipped him over. Lee Hyunkyu glanced sideways at Baek Geonhyuk’s thick forearm.

“How is his physical condition?”

“The swelling has gone down a bit. I think we will have to check the condition of the cast next week.”

“Really? I should check it out at dawn.”

It seemed he was the type who would not be satisfied until he saw it with his own eyes. It is not like he has only been seeing injured people for a day or two, and he knows very well that bones do not set in just a few days.

“What are you going to do if you run into him? You are not helping at all, so just back off and stay put.”

His inner thoughts slipped out inadvertently while he was thinking.

“Back off?”

It has been a while since I heard that word, he muttered, looking at him, and a chill ran down his spine. Lee Hyunkyu hurriedly started walking.

“I will be leaving now. Good luck with your work.”

“Yeah, I will back off.”

The reply that came from behind made his departing steps even faster. Lee Hyunkyu disappeared in an instant.

Baek Geonhyuk smiled slightly and turned his gaze back to the room. He watched for a moment, then approached cautiously, silencing his footsteps. Even when he stood in front of the door, he could not feel any presence from inside.

However, that did not mean he was certain he was sleeping. Even when awake, Joo Yeoun held his breath and did nothing.

He did not touch the meals that were brought to him, so Lee Hyunkyu took care of his meals whenever he visited. He said that every time, he would just shove food into his mouth in terror, making him worry that he would get indigestion.

Baek Geonhyuk, who had been standing still by the door, headed to the living room only after a long while had passed. He sat on the sofa as quietly as possible and fixed his gaze on the turned-off TV screen.

He had reported Joo Yeoun as deceased.

If the fact that he is alive becomes known, he would not be able to avoid disciplinary action. They might even try to eliminate him, thinking him to be an impure element. Are they not the kind of people who are swift in such matters?

However, he had no regrets about his decision to smuggle Joo Yeoun out.

He did feel unfamiliar with himself for choosing to disobey an order. It is not like he had always been righteous in the past.

There had always been times when orders conflicted with justice.

When he was first deployed on missions, he followed orders without hesitation. His own thoughts were not important. Because he was a soldier.

After about four years, he began to have doubts. There was even a time when he received a light disciplinary action for voicing those doubts to a superior.

From his eighth year, he became numb. The order, himself, something that was sacrificed because of it. He carried out orders while being precisely aware of all of them.

Did that accumulation of time become a sense of skepticism? Did he come to take out his faded sense of justice?

Even when he tried to find a reason, only those jet-black eyes he had faced in the interrogation room came to mind. It was insufficient to explain it as skepticism, or as a sense of justice. It just felt as if there was no other way but to save Joo Yeoun.

As a result, Joo Yeoun became Baek Geonhyuk’s responsibility. He had to care for and protect him.

The problem was that in order to protect Joo Yeoun, he had to confine him. If the higher-ups found out he was alive, they would try to deal with Joo Yeoun separately, so for the time being, he had to be a dead man and not be seen by anyone.

From Joo Yeoun’s perspective, it would naturally be difficult to understand. Besides, right now, conversation itself was difficult, so there was no opportunity to properly explain the situation.

‘Uwaaah…!’

Baek Geonhyuk smiled bitterly as he recalled the sight of him screaming in terror.

Although he was receiving help from Lee Hyunkyu, Joo Yeoun was entirely his responsibility. When his physical condition improved, it would be right for Lee Hyunkyu to wash his hands of Joo Yeoun. Lee Hyunkyu was only taking care of the patient for a short while due to his insistence; he should have no connection to this matter at all. The same went for the other team members.

So, at the very least, he should reach a level where he does not scream at the sight of him.

“……”

Baek Geonhyuk quietly got up and stood blankly in front of the door. The house where the two lived was filled only with silence.

*

Joo Yeoun sat in the narrow space between the nightstand and the wall, curled up. He would stay like that the whole time, and if he heard a noise from outside, he would crawl under the bed.

It was not a rational action. His body moved first, and when he occasionally came to his senses, he would be scared of his own behavior. Like, I think I am being strange right now.

However, he could not even hold onto such thoughts for long. I am scared. What if they come again? It hurts. It hurts, I am scared… His mind would quickly be filled with fragmented thoughts.

After trembling like that, when it grew dark outside, he would fall asleep curled up as he was. It was not a comfortable sleeping arrangement, and because he could not sleep deeply due to being on guard, he would wake up even to the faint light just before dawn.

“……”

Joo Yeoun stared blankly at the window located high up on the wall.

How long had he been like that? It did not seem like much time had passed, but the sun was already up. The long, horizontal window was filled with the blue sky.

It was dazzling. Yeoun, who blinked, let his head drop. His hand in a cast came into view. His breath suddenly quickened, and he bit his lip hard and turned his head away.

Perhaps because he had gotten some sleep, he was able to think a little today. Like, what is it like outside that door?

It had been quiet before he fell asleep yesterday, too. Is there someone outside the door?

Joo Yeoun hugged his knees. They were not hitting him now, but if he opened the door without permission, they might hit him. He might even be dragged back to that place again. Judging from past events, any cruel imagination could become reality.

Joo Yeoun, who had been curled up, suddenly raised his head. It seemed there was a small clattering sound. There is someone outside.

Is it the doctor?

The doctor wore glasses, and a coat… and, and… he smells of disinfectant.

As if to ignore other possibilities, Yeoun desperately tried to recall the doctor. But it was difficult because he could not remember his face well.

Knock, knock—.

Then, he heard a knock. At that moment, he remembered the doctor’s voice he had forgotten.

He always says, ‘I am coming in. It is the doctor.’

But this time, he did not hear those words.

“!!!!”

Joo Yeoun, with his eyes wide open, frantically crawled under the bed. His arms and legs, which had been curled up for a long time, did not move as he wished, so he struggled and barely managed to hide his body.

I think he is already inside. He is going to find out I am here. Yeoun, on the verge of tears, retreated a little further back. A sharp pain shot through his rib area, and the rims of his eyes turned red.

“I brought breakfast.”

It is that man’s voice. Joo Yeoun covered his mouth and held his breath.

But the voice spoke again.

“It is really dusty under there. Come out.”

It seemed to mean, come out while I am asking nicely.

Joo Yeoun, who squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them, moved his stiff arms. The legs of the man standing next to the bed came closer and closer.

The man had large feet, too. If he got kicked by feet like that, his ribs would be completely broken. How painful would that be? Yeoun vividly remembered the gasping sounds that had come from his own mouth.

But there was no other way. If he did not listen, he might get hit even more.

As he fumblingly stuck his head out from under the bed, a shadow fell over him. That man was looking down at him.

“Hic…”

Drip, drop. Tears fell to the floor. He was so scared that his body would not move an inch. Lacking even the courage to lift his head, Yeoun remained prostrate and panted quietly.

A keen gaze fell on the small back of his head peeking out from under the bed. Does it hurt? Baek Geonhyuk muttered, bent his knees to sit down, and tilted his head.

“Heek!”

He was only trying to check his complexion, but Joo Yeoun gasped and his body trembled violently.

Thump. The back of his head hit the bed frame.

Baek Geonhyuk clicked his tongue lowly. It seemed like he had hit it quite hard, but if he reached out his hand to help needlessly, he would probably hit his head again.

“If you come out and eat breakfast, I will leave.”

“……”

You have to eat breakfast. At the repeated words, Joo Yeoun moved a little. Baek Geonhyuk moved back that much more, and when Joo Yeoun had completely emerged from under the bed, he stood by the door.

Joo Yeoun, who was sitting on the floor with his head bowed low, flinched and looked towards the door. His gaze, which had briefly touched the large frame, quickly moved away as if burned.

Only after seeing Joo Yeoun nervously glancing this way and putting a spoonful of porridge into his mouth did Baek Geonhyuk leave the room. He deliberately made the sound of the door closing as well.

After being outside the door for a while, he heard the faint sound of a bowl clinking. It seemed he had put down his spoon. It would be nice if he ate a few more spoonfuls.

Still, he was a little better today. He did not faint, and he was aware that he would be coming in. It seemed he understood his words quite well, too.

“Or maybe not…”

Baek Geonhyuk muttered quietly. The teardrops that had fallen in a cluster on the floor came to mind.

*

Joo Yeoun recovered slowly. Both his body and his mind.

By the time the swelling on his face had subsided and it was time to remove the bandage wrapped around the pinky finger of his left hand, Yeoun was also able to grasp the situation to some extent.

‘Just give us the information on the people who asked you to transport the drugs, and you can go home right away.’

They were chasing a drug cartel.

However, they were probably not the police. Considering what he had gone through, such as kidnapping and torture, it was more likely they were on the opposite side. They were clearly people who could not operate out in the open.

Despairingly, that was all Yeoun knew. He had no idea who they were, or why he had been moved to this house instead of the interrogation room.

The doctor would occasionally say.

‘We are trying to protect you, Mr. Joo Yeoun.’

It was a statement that was utterly untrustworthy. If it had been only the doctor, he might have believed that he had saved him, but that man was also there. Both his kidnapping and his torture were likely the man’s will. The word protection and the man do not go together.

He gradually got a grasp of this house as well. It seemed there was no separate lock on the door. When the doctor and that man came in, there was no sound of a lock being opened.

He also checked beyond the door every time it opened. Although it was not completely visible due to being obscured by a corner, it was an ordinary living room with a sofa and a TV.

He had thought it might be a place for confinement because the window in the room was the type that only opened halfway outwards, but surprisingly, everywhere he looked had the form of a typical home. The long and narrow transom window also seemed to be a simple interior design choice.

Joo Yeoun got on the bed and looked out the window located high up on the wall. All he could see was the blue sky and rice paddies. It seemed to be about the fourth or fifth floor, and since the opening of the window was narrow, it looked impossible to escape this way.

That means he has to go out the door… Yeoun’s gaze turned to the door.

He was scared.

These days, Yeoun was most afraid of the sound of a knock. Because when he heard a knock, they would come into the room. They were not hitting him now, but he did not know when they might change.