Can Murder Be a Workplace Accident? Chapter 10.5

“Are you going?”

“Where? Home?”

“Why are you changing the subject? To Seohyeon, to that bastard Kwon Hyuk, are you going to go?”

Namgung Tree’s eyes glittered with rage.

“How much did you hear?”

“Shouldn’t you be asking what I saw?”

“What did you see?”

“From you and that bastard rubbing lips.”

If so, that meant Namgung Tree had been hiding almost from the very beginning. He panted, looking extremely agitated. Glaring once at the ground, once over his own empty shoulder, and finally once at Min Isak’s face, Namgung Tree opened his mouth as if he had made up his mind.

“You said it last time, right? That you’d let me have you once when I wanted.”

“I did. I did say that, but… you don’t mean you want to do it here, do you? In the recycling collection area?”

Just what was he talking about. Namgung Tree was spouting trash-like nonsense that couldn’t even be recycled.

He had blurted that out in a fit of anger to draw a line with him, but… that was just an expression. It didn’t mean he was willing to have sex at the funeral of a master he hadn’t gotten along with, and in a garbage area at that. Even animals wouldn’t do that.

“Am I a dog? Who said they’d screw right here, right now?”

Namgung Tree shrieked. Seeing the tips of his ears turn red, it seemed he was embarrassed by his own words too.

“Then why did you bring that up right now?”

“Kiss me instead of sex. Kiss me like Kwon Hyuk, no, kiss me exactly like Kwon Hyuk did!”

“Pardon?”

What was this nonsense. Namgung Tree was throwing a tantrum like a child. He was acting like a three-year-old, not a thirty-two-year-old adult man.

“I thought you didn’t do it with anyone. So I held back and held back even though I wanted to… But you do it with Kwon Hyuk. But not with me!”

His eyes spinning, Namgung Tree strode toward Min Isak. Too dumbfounded, Min Isak just stared blankly at his face. By the time he came to his senses, Namgung Tree’s tongue was already churning inside Min Isak’s mouth.

Inside the funeral hall, Namgung Tree was being harassed by the old-timers’ outdated talk. The news they brought up as the “latest trend” were things that were popular back when the old men were in their prime.

This was the state of things because the old-timers didn’t even realize they were old and still acted like they were young. A few months ago, when he had bitched that Gallery Spring’s exhibition proposal was old-fashioned, he’d gotten slapped by Printemps Kim, and if you thought about it, it was all because bastards like these were occupying the top positions.

The taste of the alcohol was completely ruined.

Namgung Tree filled his own glass, which no one else was pouring for, and idly glanced at the funeral hall entrance. Min Isak, who had gone out to see someone off a while ago, still hadn’t come back in.

He was about to get up, thinking he should follow, but then he remembered being asked to stay put until these people left, so he gritted his teeth and endured. Kwon Hyuk had also gone out for a smoke and hadn’t shown up yet.

He fiddled with the cigarette pack in his pocket, just waiting for Min Isak to appear quickly. Just then, the entrance of the funeral hall became noisy.

A short woman in a black two-piece suit with a cream-colored scarf was entering. It was Lee Yanghee. She was near the shoe rack, still with her shoes on, chatting amicably with the person who had left with Kwon Hyuk.

“The nerve on that one.”

The old-timers all clicked their tongues in unison.

“That’s a skill in itself. Otherwise, how would she have gotten to that position?”

“Is it alright for you to be sitting here?”

His face, which had soured at the sight of Lee Yanghee, soured even more at the elder’s question. It seemed the elders also knew what had happened between Lee Yanghee and Gallery Spring.

“Thank you very much for your consideration.”

Namgung Tree got up from his seat without hiding his foul mood. He had sat long enough. He wanted to have a smoke, find Min Isak, and go home.

The smoking area was already full. Moreover, most of the people who had come to smoke were figures from the art world.

“He was such a wonderful person.”

“He was like a pillar of Korean art history.”

They spouted words commemorating Jeong Nak-yeong. Why were they all cut from the same cloth! For Namgung Tree, who knew his dark side, it was extremely uncomfortable to listen to.

“It would have been better if he had lived a little longer.”

He decided to find another smoking area. With an unlit cigarette in his mouth, he went around to the back of the building and saw Min Isak being dragged away, his arm caught by someone.

The cigarette in his mouth fell to the ground with a soft thud.

Min Isak’s face was deeply grimaced. It hadn’t been long since his cast was removed, so he still needed to be careful, but the kidnapper was carelessly pulling his arm.

Namgung Tree chased after them, running urgently. The kidnapper dragged Min Isak into the recycling collection area, and by the time he arrived, panting, the two were kissing.

The kidnapper’s back looked familiar. How could he forget the figure he had stared at while holding his breath, hidden in the Gallery Spring bathroom?

He should run out right now, grab him by the scruff of his neck, and land a punch on that detestable, slick face, but his body wouldn’t move, as if under a spell.

Kwon Hyuk and Min Isak began to talk in low tones. In his haste, his foot, which had started to dash out, slipped. His toe kicked a coke can.

Clang…!

The sound of kicking the thin aluminum can sounded like a cannon shot. Namgung Tree cursed inwardly and looked for a place to hide.

He couldn’t understand why he wanted to hide, but at the same time, he felt that he couldn’t face Min Isak with a clear conscience. If he was caught like this… it would be embarrassing.

“Meow—”

He hurriedly made a cat’s cry. Fortunately, the two were fooled. It was a brilliant performance. If he ever quit being a director, maybe he should try becoming a voice actor specializing in animal sounds.

Just as he was about to get lost in other thoughts, unbelievable words struck his ears.

“Come to Seohyeon.”

“I’ll think about it if it works out.”

Whether Kwon Hyuk became the director of the Seoul Museum of Modern Art or not was none of Namgung Tree’s business. At best, he would be a salaried director with a term of about two years.

Namgung Tree was someone who looked down on worldly positions. He also found the old man who swaggered around calling himself the former Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism pathetic.

Since the establishment of the Republic of Korea government, there must have been hundreds of people who wore the minister’s badge. Did he have to treat every single one of them with respect? He was honestly curious about who would bow to whom if you gathered all the people who had held a minister’s seat and locked them in a room.

Since Namgung Tree thought this way, he didn’t care if Kwon Hyuk became a director or a minister. However, the fact that he would gain the power to take Min Isak away was another matter. Min Isak also hadn’t clearly refused Kwon Hyuk’s offer.

It was a shock. Namgung Tree had never once thought that while Min Isak might dislike him, he could leave Gallery Spring. Ever since Min Isak had refused Lee Yanghee’s offer, he had erased the very possibility that he could go to a better position than his current one.

Because of his educational background and the nasty rumors surrounding him, Namgung Tree had been looking down on Min Isak without even realizing it. He had been arrogant in his heart, thinking that no one but himself could take him in.

“Let go of me, ugh, let go… of me!”

Min Isak struggled in Namgung Tree’s arms. The thought that he might not be Min Isak’s only savior, and a sense of betrayal toward him for fudging his answer to Kwon Hyuk, prompted the kiss.

If Kwon Hyuk had Min Isak’s kiss, then he had to have it too. He grabbed both his cheeks in one hand, squashing them to force his mouth open, and unceremoniously shoved his tongue in. Min Isak resisted even more fiercely than when he had been grabbed by Kwon Hyuk.

“…Ut.”

In the end, he got his tongue bitten by Min Isak.

“Ptoo…!”

He spat on the ground. The clear, viscous fluid was slightly mixed with a tinge of red.

“Get off me.”

Min Isak pushed away Namgung Tree, who was standing there bewildered. Namgung Tree, who had been tilting his head with a sense of déjà vu, suddenly frowned. His mouth tasted metallic. When he dabbed his tongue on the back of his hand, a bright red liquid smeared off slightly.

“I’m not going to Seohyeon. I can’t go.”

Before Namgung Tree could get angry, Min Isak blurted out the conclusion first. It was as if he knew why Namgung Tree was anxious and had forced a kiss on him.

“Why didn’t you say that to Kwon Hyuk? Aren’t you lying to me right now?”

It was the answer he wanted, but his heart felt twisted. It would have been better if he had answered Kwon Hyuk just as clearly.

Namgung Tree retorted with a lisp. It was unavoidable because his tongue had been bitten, but it wasn’t a pleasant sound. He covered his mouth and raised an eyebrow, pressing for an answer.

“…”

Min Isak glared at him, panting heavily. At his crazed gaze, Namgung Tree had a hunch that he had just crossed a line he shouldn’t have.

To paint a picture, it was as if white flames were blazing from Min Isak’s entire body. He was reminded of the time in the director’s office when he had choked him and sneered that he couldn’t even study abroad.

Min Isak had had a seizure back then.

At the same time, the things Namgung Tree had seen at Min Isak’s house came to mind. The bags of psychiatric prescription drugs rolling around on his desk. The cutter knife that had gleamed eerily.

He had come to a difficult place on an already difficult day, and he had pushed Min Isak too far.

“…I’m sorry. I went too far.”

Namgung Tree forced down his boiling emotions and curiosity. And he apologized, something truly rare for him. As someone who knew what a swan looked like, constantly paddling beneath the water’s surface, he shouldn’t have done that.

“I didn’t consider your position. You’re not me, and you might need to ask for Seohyeon’s cooperation from time to time for work…”

As a private individual, Namgung Tree might not care whether Kwon Hyuk became the director or not, but as Director Namgung Tree, he shouldn’t think that way. From now on, his bond with Kwon Hyuk would change into a different form, and what kind of impact that would have on the gallery was unknown.

To put it bluntly, if they got on Kwon Hyuk’s bad side, Seohyeon could snatch up all the artworks that Gallery Spring had intended to purchase.

Even if Kwon Hyuk didn’t become the director, he shouldn’t be treated poorly. He held information on the art world’s key figures in his hands. Namgung Tree was inexperienced, Printemps Kim was scorned as a nouveau-riche old hag with only money, and Min Isak was an untouchable.

Considering their positions, he could also understand why Min Isak couldn’t rashly refuse. Rather, the fact that he hadn’t said he would go, that he hadn’t eagerly grabbed his hand, was as good as a refusal.

“I’m sorry.”

Namgung Tree hugged the heavily breathing Min Isak. Min Isak pushed against his chest with both hands, but he hugged him even tighter and patted his back. A brief sound of scuffling continued between them.

“I’m sorry. I was really in the wrong.”

Trapping the misbehaving hands that were hitting him here and there between his own body and Min Isak’s, Namgung Tree whispered into Min Isak’s ear.

“But when I saw you kiss that bastard Kwon Hyuk, I got angry.”

“Why would that make you angry?”

When Min Isak retorted sulkily, Namgung Tree also replied in a sullen tone.

“I don’t know either.”

After hearing the answer, he was silent for a while. Enough time passed for about twenty deep breaths. Min Isak forgave him by lightly kicking Namgung Tree’s shin.

“Hey!”

“…I’m sorry for biting your tongue too. Did it hurt?”