Formless Chapter 79

Heewoon nodded and closed his eyes. Gangwoo patted his shoulder with a steady rhythm. With his eyes closed, sleep came. Just before he fell asleep, he heard a voice chuckle, saying, “You’re not really a child, are you?”

The next day, Gangwoo went out early again.

Having drunk alcohol after a long time, he must have been slightly tipsy yesterday. Thinking about it calmly again, it seemed Gangwoo was indeed busy. And to say he kept him at home just for sex was a bit… he had been kind. Heewoon recalled the hand that had patted his shoulder until he fell asleep yesterday.

Even if it wasn’t cheating, Seo Gangwoo’s attitude was too questionable. He wanted to know why. Curiosity surged. It was a feeling he had momentarily forgotten.

He searched Gangwoo’s study but found nothing special. All the important information would be on his phone, but stealing his phone was out of the question.

Frustration kept building up.

It was that evening. He had dinner with Gangwoo, who came home early for once, and afterward, Gangwoo received a call. It was the same as yesterday.

Except that he went out.

From the moment Gangwoo started getting ready to leave, Heewoon was fidgety. The accumulated frustration swelled up.

“Go to bed first. I’ll be a bit late.”

Words Gangwoo uttered as he tied his tie. At that moment, the things that had been building up in his heart finally burst forth in the form of an impulse.

Heewoon immediately called a taxi. A taxi was quickly caught. The taxi driver called as soon as Gangwoo left.

“Ah, yes. I’ll be right out. Please wait there.”

Heewoon, standing by the window, confirmed that Gangwoo had exited the main gate and ran outside. He hadn’t forgotten to grab cash.

He dashed across the yard and opened the main gate as silently as possible. Gangwoo was just getting into his car. It was an imported car with a driver, not one he drove himself. Recently, Seo Gangwoo usually rode in that car.

After Gangwoo’s car drove away, Heewoon immediately ran to the taxi. He urgently closed the door, gripped the backrest, and told the driver.

“Please follow that car! I’ll give you double.”

The driver readily nodded.

Images seen long ago overlapped like a déjà vu. The sleek, shiny black car sped along the outer road. Heewoon swallowed hard.

His heart pounded at the thought of chasing after them. It was different from fear.

Lately, he only saw Seo Gangwoo at home, but now he was chasing the Seo Gangwoo outside.

However, in truth, he hadn’t seen him much even at home lately. Perhaps an hour a day, at most. Now, perhaps someone else knew Seo Gangwoo much better than he did. Heewoon grew anxious.

The fields passed by outside the window, and the driver glanced at him in the rearview mirror. Everything was similar to that time. He thought that if that was the beginning, now might be the end.

“…”

Heewoon gritted his teeth and glared at the windshield.

How much time had passed, Gangwoo’s car stopped. The driver and Gangwoo got out of the car. Heewoon crouched inside the taxi and watched Gangwoo. Even after getting out of the car, the tall figure stood still in that spot. Heewoon waited nervously.

Finally, Gangwoo moved. Watching his back as he entered a shabby building, Heewoon handed the taxi driver several 50,000 won bills.

“Keep the change. Thank you.”

Heewoon glanced at the taxi driver’s car turning around and approached the building entrance. Although it was a completely different place, it looked very similar to the dark, cold factory.

The entrance led to stairs. There was a door next to the stairs. He tried to open it slightly, but it was locked. It seemed to be an office for a construction company, but it looked fairly ordinary from the outside. Although it was strange that it was in such an isolated place, not in the city center.

Heewoon moved his steps to the second floor. The second floor had a long corridor, and several rooms lined the corridor. The fluorescent light was bluish, making it look a bit scary. Heewoon took a step into the corridor, hunching his shoulders slightly.

Thump—

The sound of Heewoon’s footsteps echoed in the empty corridor. The sound seemed too loud, so he stopped for a moment, then walked again. He had come out only in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, just as he was dressed at home, and felt a bit chilly. Rubbing his goosebump-covered arms, Heewoon carefully took his steps. His destination was set. The very end of the corridor, the conference room.

It was because the sturdy-looking silver door, half-open, was visible as soon as he entered the corridor. As he approached the conference room, his steps became even more cautious.

Heewoon pressed himself against the wall next to the open door. Sounds were heard.

“If you act like this, we can’t work together anymore, Mister Park.”

He immediately recognized it. It was Seo Gangwoo’s voice.

“I had no idea at all. I just stamped it as given.”

A slightly older voice was heard, followed by Gangwoo’s low chuckle. Goosebumps appeared, and Heewoon pressed and stroked his arms.

“I expected it. It’s all, Mister Lee Sang-moo’s fault, isn’t it?”

“…That’s right. But rather than a fault, I’d say it’s closer to a mistake…”

“A mistake…”

Gangwoo muttered. Soon after, a thud was heard.

“Kuh-heugh—”

A sound mixed with rough breathing was heard. At that moment, Heewoon slid down the wall to sit and peered into the room.

He saw an old man sitting at a table, men in suits standing around him, and Seo Gangwoo standing in front of them. And on the floor next to him, a man lay sprawled, a bloody mess. Judging by the man clutching his stomach and bending his body like a shrimp, Gangwoo seemed to have just kicked him.

“It’s problematic if you make a mistake in a matter involving billions of won, Mister Lee Sang-moo.”

“Kugh… eugh…”

Heewoon looked at the nervous-looking old man, then at the man lying on the floor again. The man, who couldn’t speak properly or even stand up, had clearly suffered severe assault. Just watching it made Heewoon feel pain, so he covered his mouth.

“It’s even more problematic if you take bribes and don’t keep your promises.”

Gangwoo glanced at the old man. The man’s Adam’s apple twitched as if he were swallowing.

“Even if it’s a mistake, our position becomes quite awkward. The kids are also very angry.”

His nonchalant voice continued.

Scrape, scrape. A heavy object scraped the floor. Heewoon moved his head this way and that as he couldn’t see well. Finally, the identity of the sound came into his view. It was an object that did not fit a conference room at all.

“It seems impossible to just let this pass.”

An axe stained with brown splotches. Heewoon covered his mouth and gasped for breath. A man dragging the axe stopped.

“Eugh… P-please save me…”

The bloody man’s limbs trembled. The men in suits sat on the man’s body and stretched out one of his arms.

Gangwoo watched it impassively. Heewoon realized how terrifying Gangwoo was, something he had momentarily forgotten. He felt he needed to go home quickly.

Heewoon, who tried to stand up, lost strength in his legs and hit his knees hard on the floor. Thump, a sound was made. More than the pain, he was afraid that this sound might have been heard inside the conference room.

So he scrambled up, almost crawling. His heart was pounding like crazy. Seo Gangwoo, then and now, seemed to have not changed at all.

He was running down the corridor in terror.

Bang—!

The sound of a thick door closing echoed heavily in the corridor.

His sneakers, which had reached near the stairs, hesitated and stopped. Heewoon gasped for breath. The sound of his heart pounding was so loud that he doubted if what he had just heard was the sound of a door closing. In fact, he didn’t want to believe it.

Heewoon took a step, inhaling a trembling breath. That was when it happened.

“Stop.”

A low voice echoed in the corridor.

His mouth went dry, and a chill ran through his entire body. He had witnessed crime scenes many times, so he wasn’t worried about that, but not having said anything bothered him. The last time he was kidnapped, his leg was broken for having gone far away without saying anything.

“Were you bored?”

Gangwoo walked slowly, asking casually. Heewoon couldn’t look back and stood as if rooted to the spot, only twitching his fingers. He thought Gangwoo had deliberately left the conference room door open. Uh-huh. A low rumble in his throat was heard right behind him.

“Aargh!”

Heewoon screamed. It was because Gangwoo had gripped the back of his neck hard. When he hastily turned his head, Gangwoo was staring at Heewoon with a blank expression.

“You’ve been cutting me off since yesterday.”

His voice was quiet, but Heewoon’s back tensed up. It might have been due to the strong grip on the back of his neck.

“S-sorry.”

“Don’t do it again.”

Gangwoo’s expression softened considerably. However, the hand gripping the back of his neck remained. Heewoon, with hunched shoulders, grabbed Gangwoo’s arm. It was as hard as a log.

“I’m sorry for following you. Let, let go. It hurts.”

Gangwoo, instead, pulled Heewoon towards him.

“Why don’t you ever improve, sunbae? Who follows so closely when tailing someone?”

“Ah…”

“Do you know how funny it was watching you dash off and get into a taxi?”

Gangwoo twisted the corner of his mouth. Surprisingly, he didn’t seem particularly upset. Heewoon groaned, trying to escape Gangwoo’s hand.

“Go in this way.”

“Why, why… Aren’t we going home?”

Heewoon whimpered slightly as he was dragged by Gangwoo. Gangwoo chuckled and closed the door. It was a lounge-like place.

Gangwoo finally let go, so Heewoon rubbed the back of his neck with his palm. It was clearly marked with bright red fingerprints. Heewoon, wrinkling his nose, belatedly realized that Gangwoo was staring intently at him.

Sitting on the wide table with a blank expression, he looked similar to how he had appeared a moment ago. Heewoon hesitated, backing away, and asked.

“…Why?”

“I did say you could follow me, but now that you actually did, I feel a bit strange.”

Oh. Seo Gangwoo had once said he could follow him. Although it had been mixed with a bit of a joke. Heewoon relaxed a little.

“Judging by your expression, you seem to have forgotten that. So I can get angry, right?”

“Huh?”

“You were running around restless at this hour without permission.”