Irresponsibility Chapter 2.5

“I’m really good at it.”

“……”

“You can watch me fix it if you want.”

Joo Yeoun looked at him with wary eyes, then strained his neck and spat out the words.

“N-no, I don’t want to.”

It was a word he had uttered with firm resolve, but the man didn’t seem to care much. Saying, “So you don’t,” he readily turned away.

He didn’t know when it had been brought, but there was a door lying next to the room’s entrance. It wasn’t something that could have been brought in without making a sound.

The man lifted the door. The handle of the toolbox was hung on the fingers of the hand holding the door. He knew the toolbox was quite heavy, but he acted as if the weight was nonexistent.

“Ah.”

Thud, as the top of it hit the doorframe, the man glanced up and re-gripped the door. Joo Yeoun stared blankly as the slanted door passed through the doorway. Then, around the time he turned his head, he was startled and started walking.

A lunch box was placed on the dining table. It seemed he had finally escaped from the instant porridge.

Joo Yeoun pulled out a chair and stared at the lunch box. This lunch box, he had seen it before.

‘Think carefully. Today is the last day I will treat you like a human being.’

Thud. The lunch box that had been placed on the table, reflecting the fluorescent light. The food, illuminated by the white light, had not looked appetizing at all.

After that lunch box, he had been dragged to another place. There was no clock, and meals weren’t given on time, so it felt like time was standing still forever….

Joo Yeoun gnawed on his lip and sat down in the chair. He didn’t have the slightest appetite, but he picked up the spoon out of a sense of duty.

Wheeeeing—.

Just then, the sound of a power drill was heard.

Joo Yeoun, who had become faint-hearted these days, was startled even by that sound. The spoon that slipped from his weak right hand fell to the floor with a clang.

“……”

Joo Yeoun fixed his gaze on his own hand. He was staring blankly at the hand, still in the shape of holding the spoon, and was about to clench it into a fist.

“Should I call Lee Hyungyu?”

A low voice was heard from behind.

This time, Joo Yeoun jumped in surprise. He even screamed, “Aaaah!”

Whip, he turned his head to look, and the large man standing behind him slightly raised his hand. He opened his palm as if to reassure him, but his palm was so big. Seeing the calloused palm made his heart pound even harder.

“I heard something fall.”

Joo Yeoun squeezed his eyes shut then opened them. He felt a sense of resentment towards the man for no reason.

“Heueu, y-you suddenly sp-spoke….”

“Sorry. I’ll be more careful.”

Even though he was the one who had overreacted, a compliant apology came back. Joo Yeoun lowered his head deeply and kept his gaze only on the floor.

“Does your hand hurt?”

At the question asked in a low voice, Joo Yeoun shook his head. He had a slightly gloomy expression with his mouth tightly shut. Baek Geonhyuk let his gaze linger for a moment on the downturned corners of his mouth before bending his waist.

As he reached out to pick up the spoon that had fallen under the table, a white foot flinched and moved to the side. His gaze naturally followed. The tips of the toes were a rosy red, and blue veins were visible on the pale white instep.

His own hand was right next to it, so the contrast was inevitable. The hand, which looked particularly dark, was covered in calluses and small scars.

A hand worse than a foot. Having made his assessment, Baek Geonhyuk picked up the spoon and straightened his body.

He gently placed the spoon in the sink and brought out a new one. He placed it in front of Joo Yeoun and asked.

“Was it loud?”

He hadn’t expected an answer, but Joo Yeoun’s pupils darted around, and his lips moved.

“…A, a little.”

It was a small voice, but the words were clearly audible. A short laugh escaped before he could catch it.

Whip, Joo Yeoun lifted his head and looked up at him. He was full of wariness. Baek Geonhyuk stared blankly at that face and then suddenly opened his mouth.

“You look like something.”

Something small…. He started to say, but it didn’t come to him clearly.

As anxiety gradually filled his clear pupils, Baek Geonhyuk composed his features.

“I was being inconsiderately loud while you were eating. Right.”

Even though he had removed it from his face, he couldn’t help the lingering laughter in his voice.

Joo Yeoun, who had been hesitating, lowered his head deeply and fiddled with the spoon he had brought him. His gaze was drawn to the slender fingers like a magnet.

“Eat slowly.”

Leaving behind a rather gentle voice, Baek Geonhyuk turned away.

Click. The master bedroom door closed. After that, the sound of the power drill was no longer heard. Occasionally, a clattering sound would faintly leak out, but it was so small and distant that it was confusing whether it was a sound from outside the window.

Baek Geonhyuk came out around the time Joo Yeoun put down his spoon.

Joo Yeoun cautiously observed him. It wasn’t as easy to chew as porridge, and after eating only porridge all the time, he couldn’t even eat a third of the regular meal. He hadn’t said anything when he left the porridge, so he probably wouldn’t say much, but he was a little concerned.

However, he just glanced at the lunch box and said, “It’s done.” In response, Joo Yeoun got up.

Unlike when he came out hesitantly, his steps back to the room were quick. This was his space too, and being here made him feel much more at ease.

Yeoun, who had let out a sigh, turned his head towards the bathroom. A smooth white door was visible. When he approached, grabbed the doorknob, and opened it, it opened smoothly.

Yeoun’s gaze landed on the hinge. He hadn’t heard the sound of a power drill, but screws were in place. That meant that he had left the power drill and used only a screwdriver. He had made an easy job difficult.

Yeoun recalled the black, large hands. He clearly remembered when those hands had approached his neck, but today, for some reason, another memory came to mind first.

The way he had picked up the spoon that fell at his feet. Me, who had been tense, thinking he would grab my ankle at any moment, the man’s indifferent face, and the low voice that asked, ‘Was it loud?’ as he put down the spoon.

Yeoun took a step back. It wasn’t as if doing so would make the outside sounds any clearer, but he listened intently and stood there for a while.

*

He should not fully trust the man.

He was a person who had received an order to kill him. If it was discovered that he had let him live, couldn’t he be ordered to kill him again?

At that time, he might dutifully carry out the order.

Therefore, he needed insurance. For example, something like a cell phone.

He was also very worried about his parents. How great the shock would be if their son, who was in a different region, suddenly went missing. It pained his heart to think that his family would be desperately searching for him.

Of course, even if he found a means of contact, he would not contact his parents right away. Although he didn’t fully trust the man, he didn’t completely distrust him either. He couldn’t ignore the risk that letting his parents know of his life or death could bring them harm.

So it was insurance. Just having a cell phone would make him feel much more secure. He would be able to look up various information, and if need be, he could call the police.

As soon as Baek Geonhyuk left the house, Joo Yeoun cautiously came out of his room.

‘Watch TV if you’re bored.’

Given what he had heard in the morning, it wouldn’t seem suspicious to turn on the TV. Joo Yeoun looked around and found the remote control on the TV stand.

The TV turned on. Yeoun stood and stared at the screen showing a commercial. How long had it been since he watched TV? He thought for a moment and then awkwardly pressed the remote control buttons.

Commercial, movie, variety show, commercial, commercial….

The constantly changing screen stopped on the news.

“Not this one….”

Muttering, Yeoun changed the channel a few more times.

— It is expected that attire will become much lighter starting next week. As the daytime temperature rises to 17 degrees….

The channel stopped on the weather forecast. Joo Yeoun sat down awkwardly in that spot and kept his eyes on the TV for a while. And he found out a few things.

— Our region will be rather mild.

[Jeonnam Province high 16 degrees, low 12 degrees]

This place was in Jeonnam Province. Looking at the map pointed to by the weather forecaster’s hand, Yeoun was lost in thought. Jeonnam was quite a distance from Seoul, but from his own perception, it hadn’t felt that far when they were moving.

After being forced into the car, a cloth had covered his face, and at some point, a hand grabbing his arm had made him get up, and after walking for some time, he was in that investigation room. It seemed there was some kind of sleeping drug on the cloth.

To even use drugs. The more I know, the more vicious they are. I guess that’s all there is to say about a group that kidnaps and tortures.

The thought that he should be more wary of the man and not trust him completely came to him again.

— We hope you enjoy the full bloom of spring.

“……”

He also found out that it was already April. He had been kidnapped at the end of February.

A whole month had passed. Joo Yeoun’s complexion darkened as he kept his eyes on the TV.

In a month, his family might have noticed his absence. Even if they had been lucky enough not to have noticed until now, it was only a matter of time.

No matter how he thought about it, it was such a terrible thing to do to his family. Wouldn’t it be okay to let his family know of his life or death without those higher-ups that the man had mentioned knowing? If he told them to absolutely not tell anyone else….

First, let’s find something before he comes back. Yeoun, who had been sitting in an awkward posture in front of the TV, got up. Then he glanced at the camera attached to the corner of the living room.

The thought that the man might be watching him through that camera gave him the creeps. He understood to some extent why the CCTV was installed, but….

“……”

Joo Yeoun’s gaze landed on the living room window. The gaze that lingered for a moment on the cold railing quickly returned.

Anyway. The feeling of being watched was not a pleasant one. He needed to find something, but he couldn’t freely search the house.

If there were any means of contact like a cell phone or a laptop in this house, it would surely be in the man’s room, but going into that room would look suspicious no matter how you looked at it. So Joo Yeoun just opened the TV stand for no reason.

There was no particular gain, so he headed straight to the kitchen. Glancing at the camera that was pointed towards the entrance, Yeoun opened the cupboard as naturally as possible.

The first one he opened was empty, then a few dishes, and in the next compartment, instant porridge was stacked. Looking at the containers stacked neatly by color, Joo Yeoun’s face wrinkled slightly.

Does he have a strange personality….

Yeoun recalled that the man’s blanket had been folded at sharp angles.

A soldier? It was a thought that came to him in an instant. When he recalled the investigator’s tone and attitude, it seemed like an even more plausible guess.

But how in this day and age could a soldier seize and torture a citizen? To do something like that, you’d have to be a criminal organization like a gang or terrorists.

Then an ex-soldier? When he recalled his sun-tanned skin and sturdy body, it seemed like a credible guess.

Joo Yeoun occasionally walked around, glancing at the CCTV. He predicted that the places that could be seen by the CCTV were the living room, kitchen, entrance, and the entrance to the man’s room. He searched meticulously in case there were CCTVs in places the man hadn’t told him about, but there didn’t seem to be any. Should he be grateful for them protecting his privacy in their own way?

As a result of searching the house, excluding the man’s room, there were no major gains. He had found nothing. Really, nothing.

“What, what does he eat….”