The Unbelievers Chapter 28

The veins in Choi Jungeon’s eyes bulged as he demanded an answer, as if it weren’t entirely a lie that he hadn’t lived a sane life since Eunseong vanished.

“Did you chase me all the way here just to bully me?”

“Of course.”

“…Thank you.”

“What?”

“Thank you. For chasing after me anyway.”

Whether he had chased him to bully him or to hit him, if Eunseong hadn’t met Choi Jungeon today, he wouldn’t have known where to go or to whom he should turn. He would have faltered from the moment he stepped out of the school gates and likely been caught by Manager Nam. It was no different from leaving home impulsively without any plan. It didn’t matter where it was. As long as Yoo Siun wasn’t there, it was fine. Anywhere he wouldn’t have to see Yoo Siun again was fine.

“Don’t try to play the beauty card on me. I was seriously so pissed off for a month I thought I’d go insane.”

Choi Jungeon scratched his head out of embarrassment and replied bluntly. Eunseong stared at him for a moment before shifting his gaze to his bag.

“Can you get in touch with your old man?”

“No… not since that day. It says the number is no longer in service.”

“Where are you going to go? It’s not like you can find a job with room and board right away. What can a high schooler do while wearing a uniform?”

“…That’s true. I should buy some clothes first.”

Choi Jungeon’s point was valid. Wandering the streets in a school uniform, no matter where it was, was something that stood out. Looking down at himself in a uniform with a color that popped even in this neighborhood, Eunseong murmured feebly.

“Don’t do that; let’s just go to my house. For now.”

When Eunseong looked at him, Choi Jungeon kept his head stiffly facing forward as he spoke.

“I can’t do that. I might cause trouble for your family. Who knows what those people might do. You said it earlier. They aren’t ordinary punks. They aren’t people to be taken lightly.”

Hiding in Choi Jungeon’s house wasn’t a problem that could be easily solved. It was something that could cause harm to his parents as well.

“Think about it. Have you and I even exchanged contact info this whole time? How the hell would those bastards know you’re with me?”

“Still…”

“Common sense says there’s no way for them to find out, right? Even the National Intelligence Service would find that hard.”

“…”

Just as Choi Jungeon said, Eunseong had never exchanged contact with him since moving, nor had he ever mentioned his existence to Yoo Siun or Manager Nam. Of course, on the first day he went to that house, he had snitched on Choi Jungeon, calling him a kid who bullied him when Yoo Siun asked if he was a friend, but Yoo Siun wouldn’t even remember that by now.

Even if Yoo Siun were to dig through all of Eunseong’s high school classmates, Choi Jungeon wasn’t even in the same class; moreover, even if he did remember, he was the kid who bullied him, so he wasn’t a person likely to be on a list of suspects. If Eunseong had intended to cut ties because he had been bullied throughout high school, Choi Jungeon was the first person he would have cut off and never wanted to see again.

“Stay at my place for the time being. I’ll talk to my mom and dad.”

“Talk sense. If your parents find out, they’ll want to contact my dad right away. Since my dad can’t be reached, they might even report it to the police.”

“I’ll take care of making up a story, so don’t worry. My mom is on vacation today and tomorrow so she’ll be home, but don’t mind that either.”

“…”

Choi Jungeon countered roughly, telling him not to talk back. It wasn’t that Eunseong was pretending to agree; he did have a desire to lean on him for a moment. He hadn’t come out with any set plan. It was something that happened impulsively.

At first, because he couldn’t trust his cousin, he was determined to leave that house if he saw any strange sign. He didn’t know when it would be, but thinking he would need money, he had meticulously sold off the things Yoo Siun gave him.

But from a certain day, the suspicion that Yoo Siun was trying to use him, or the resolve to leave, began to fade and erode like a heart worn down by the wind. Eventually, he grew to want to settle within the fence of that man he shouldn’t give his heart to—to settle within his arms.

Eunseong grew to want his skin to touch the man who wouldn’t even come close to him. He grew to want to press his lips against the man who avoided him like someone who would catch a disease if they touched. He dreamed of him while sleeping and reached a climax by making him the object of his sexual desire.

Clutching the bag, he buried his face into it desperately. Eunseong asked in a tired voice.

“How much further do we have to go?”

“Twenty-four stops left.”

“Okay…”

While he was clutching the bag anxiously, he felt a weight land—thud—on his shoulder. Lifting his face slightly, his eyes met Choi Jungeon’s, who was putting an arm around him.

“I’m tired as hell after running around since morning to catch you. I’m gonna sleep a bit.”

Having said that, he leaned his arm and face entirely on Eunseong’s shoulder. Because he suddenly leaned half his body weight, Eunseong’s upper body tilted. Choi Jungeon’s face came into close contact with the nape of Eunseong’s neck and his ear. His skin felt cool at the intake of breath as the boy inhaled his scent.

“…Do I not smell?”

“What?”

“I’m asking if I don’t smell.”

“What kind of smell.”

“Just… a bad smell.”

“I don’t smell anything like that.”

Choi Jungeon sniffed loudly and buried his nose in the nape of Eunseong’s neck, smelling him like a dog. A lady sitting opposite them smiled as if they were cute, thinking they were just playing around.

“In the past, my dad often told me… that I was dirty. Lately, I sometimes think that I might really be dirty.”

“Is that a father? Is that something to say to a son? Even if you did smell, which you don’t. Fuck, and how many times do I have to say it. There’s no smell—no, only a good smell. Even though you sweated while running earlier, you smell good. Don’t be like this in a public place. I’m not that far gone yet.”

Choi Jungeon, who had stood up excitedly and rambled on, soon ducked his head back to the nape of Eunseong’s neck and whispered softly.

“…Don’t you hate it?”

“What.”

“Never mind, nothing.”

Is it not… unpleasant for guys to be like this?

He couldn’t bring himself to ask, but as if Choi Jungeon understood what Eunseong was trying to say, he continued to inhale Eunseong’s scent while pretending to sleep with his nose buried there, as if it were absolutely not the case. A strong force entered the arm hugging his shoulder. The arm wrapped around his shoulder soon gripped Eunseong’s bicep tightly.

I should find it unpleasant for guys to do this…

Even more so with my relative…

Eunseong was thinking of Yoo Siun instead of the presence of Choi Jungeon, who was sitting stuck to his side with an arm over his shoulder, sniffing him.

Eunseong and Choi Jungeon got off the subway and transferred to a local bus. They paid the fare only in cash. It seemed Choi Jungeon noticed there was money in the bag, but he didn’t try to take it away like before. To Eunseong, the money in the bag right now was practically his life.

They headed toward the apartment where Choi Jungeon lived. Standing in the elevator, Eunseong bit his lip in anxiety. To anyone’s eyes, this was a runaway. No matter what justifiable reason was given, it was a natural step for any sensible parent to contact Eunseong’s guardian first.

Choi Jungeon abruptly told Eunseong the password for the door lock and told him to memorize it. When he entered the numbers as told, the lock clicked open. He opened the front door and entered first. Eunseong followed Choi Jungeon inside hesitantly.

“I’m home from school.”

Choi Jungeon, who was a delinquent only at school and played the role of a diligent student at home, greeted with a nonchalant voice that made it impossible to imagine he had gone all the way to Seoul to chase someone down using information he had secretly stolen from the teacher’s office as soon as exams were over.

“Is that you, Jungeon? Exams should have ended early, so why are you so late?”

The ordinary three-bedroom newly built apartment was neatly organized. The master bedroom door opened, and Choi Jungeon’s mother, dressed in comfortable clothes, came out but stopped when she spotted Choi Jungeon and Eunseong standing beside him. Eunseong gave a deep bow in greeting.

“Hello.”

“Oh, oh, Jungeon’s friend is here. Are you going to study together?”

“Yeah, ah, I’m hungry. You go into the room. That’s my room over there.”

Choi Jungeon pointed to the door visible in front of the entrance. Eunseong bowed again to Choi Jungeon’s mother with a look and entered the room.

Choi Jungeon’s room was messy, typical of a boy his age. Clothes he had shed like skin were thrown randomly on the floor, and on the bed, a blanket was bunched up along with leftover snack wrappers.

Eunseong sat on the edge of the bed. Even so, the traces of studying remained clearly on the desk.

There was a murmur of voices outside, and not long after, the door opened and Choi Jungeon entered. Seeing the state of his room, he realized his mistake and started clearing away the scattered things.

“Ah, fuck, that seriously startled me.”

The existence of underwear stuffed under the bed was noticed because Choi Jungeon swore. After grabbing the crumpled laundry and rushing out, he returned with a vacuum cleaner and hurried to clear the trash off the bed. While Choi Jungeon was cleaning, Eunseong stood blankly in the corner with his bag still on.

Choi Jungeon, having opened the window to ventilate, finished a rough cleaning of the room and finally stopped his frantic moving.

“…What did you tell your mom? About me.”

“I told her the truth. That your father ran off with gambling debt and that moneylenders are chasing you. That you had nowhere to go, so I had to let you sleep at our place for a few days. That I’m a friend with that kind of loyalty.”

“And she didn’t say she’d report it to the police?”