The Unbelievers Chapter 58

“I have a business trip scheduled for next week, so I won’t be able to come by for a few days.”

“When?”

“From next Wednesday to Friday. It is a trip the CEO is also attending.”

“I’m not curious about what Mister does with his life. Same goes for you, Manager.”

“Still, since we see each other every day, I thought you might worry if you didn’t see me for a day or two, so I’m telling you in advance.”

“Why would I worry about him?”

“I’m talking about me, not the CEO.”

“… I dislike you even more, Manager.”

“You have so many things you dislike, Eunseong, you must be full.”

Yoo Siun was busy avoiding the subject whenever Manager Nam brought up Eunseong, and Eunseong grew angry at the mere mention of Yoo Siun; it was impossible to tell what exactly had happened between the two.

“Then I will report to the CEO that you have decided on London. I prepared materials for about ten other places; it is a bit of a waste.”

“Leave them here and I’ll look at them later.”

“Since you’ve decided, there is no need to look further. I was planning to recommend this place anyway if you chose somewhere strange.”

One could say it was a relief not to waste any more time. Manager Nam tucked the various catalogs, materials, and the tablet spread out on the table into his briefcase.

Since the entrance exam was over, Eunseong’s school was holding shortened classes. It was usually lunchtime by the time he returned from school. The busy life of going between school and private academies had ended, and now he had more time alone. Perhaps because that weighed on his mind, Yoo Siun had asked Manager Nam to have meals with Eunseong when he dropped him off after school.

Manager Nam looked at Eunseong with a heavy heart, knowing the boy had no idea how much attention Yoo Siun was devoting to him, nor could he guess how much Siun had given up.

Then, wondering if he himself was starting to believe in those nonsensical prophecies like the Seongha cultists, he quickly shook his head.

It was not a thought for a mature adult to have. Prophecy aside, even he felt a sense of regret, so how much more so for Yoo Siun, the person directly involved? For someone pushed to the periphery and tasked with cleaning up the group’s filth, it was only natural to feel greedy.

In fact, Eunseong liked him regardless of the resonance. And even while Yoo Siun said it was impossible, his heart’s attraction toward Eunseong was clearly visible.

He had heard that the “Great Rift” had evidence on his body. Manager Nam had seen Eunseong in short sleeves and in shorts. Once, Eunseong had even taken off his shirt in front of him, saying he wanted to try on a newly bought shirt right away, but the Manager had not discovered the mark mentioned in the prophecy.

Because of that, he had a habit of observing Eunseong meticulously; Eunseong had grown used to the persistent gaze checking for something and no longer showed much reaction, no matter how intensely he stared.

“You aren’t hurting anywhere, right?”

It didn’t stop at meticulous observation; asking the same question every day now felt like a daily routine.

“Do you want me to be hurting somewhere?”

“Heaven forbid. I am checking your condition.”

“You ask the same thing every day. Don’t you get tired of it?”

“Even if I’m tired of it, it’s work, so I have to do it.”

“… .”

Eunseong offered no reply.

“Are you truly alright without us having a meal together?”

“It’s just more comfortable to eat alone while watching YouTube or something.”

“Then I shall be going. Contact me immediately if anything happens.”

He packed his bag, stood up, took a final look around the interior of the house as if checking one last time, and left.

As soon as the door closed, Eunseong sighed.

Ever since Yoo Siun’s visit the other day, the symptoms of thinking about him had worsened. Despite being rejected like that, he thought of the person he must not like and dreamed of him nearly every other time.

The instances of his underwear getting wet were also becoming more frequent. The symptoms were growing so severe that there were times his body heated up like an uncontrollable rut.

A few days ago, while being dropped off in Manager Nam’s car, he had secretly taken Yoo Siun’s zip-up shirt that was lying in the backseat. When he hugged the shirt that was steeped in his scent and rubbed his cheeks against it, his face would flush red, and a sensation of needing to urinate—as if his bladder would burst—would rush over him even though he had already gone.

As those days passed, he wasn’t hurting anywhere, but his body had no energy. A sense of helplessness, wanting to do nothing, weighed down his entire body; in truth, he didn’t even want to eat today.

If Manager Nam had insisted they eat together, claiming it was part of his job, he would have been truly annoyed. Perhaps sensing his feelings, the man had looked at Eunseong lingeringly before leaving.

The eyes he had met before the elevator doors closed wouldn’t leave his mind.

Something was wrong. A terror rushed in—the feeling that something wrong was plummeting in an even worse direction.

Eunseong had been preparing for a second escape ever since that day. He couldn’t be as careless as the first time. He intended not to act on impulse. Manager Nam and Yoo Siun said they were going on a business trip soon. That time when they would be away was the last opportunity to make a move. He had to end these emotions that the man called “not right.”

The day after he resolved to leave the house, Eunseong obtained a spare mobile phone from a classmate who was going to throw it away. A phone was essential no matter where he went. He sold a few more pieces of clothing and sneakers.

His initial plan was to buy a train ticket heading to the place geographically farthest from Yoo Siun, where his reach would be difficult. On second thought, thinking that the area beneath the lamp is the darkest, he felt it might be better to hide in the crowded city of Seoul, and the matter of a job was also a problem. Dropping into a countryside village without a single young person and loitering about would be a more conspicuous behavior.

In just one month, Eunseong would no longer be a teenager. He would be an adult. He didn’t even feel greedy to become the successor of a conglomerate family. If he stayed here, Eunseong could never escape Yoo Siun; every time they met, he would live like he was on a daily rollercoaster between hope and despair, unable to distinguish whether the man’s eyes held thirst for him or loathing. He refused a life that was shaken by someone else.

If Yoo Siun clearly disliked him, it felt like he could give up. What made it hard for Eunseong was the illusion that the man seemed to feel the same way he did.

Eunseong was learning anew every night since that day, as he recalled Yoo Siun’s eyes, that nothing makes a person suffer quite like hope. He was realizing why the word “torture” is often added to “hope.”

The security, which had been no different from surveillance since his first runaway attempt, had gradually loosened over the months as he merely went back and forth between the academy and home; it grew even laxer as the days passed after the entrance exam. They didn’t know what Eunseong was planning, nor did they care to know. It was the same on the day Manager Nam and Yoo Siun were said to be leaving for their business trip.

It had been snowing since morning. It was the first snow, and a heavy one at that. The road to school began to get blocked. After the entrance exam, the senior classrooms had become so idle that some kids didn’t even show up. Even if he said he couldn’t make it because of the heavy snow, it seemed the homeroom teacher wouldn’t care one way or the other, but Eunseong, sitting in the backseat of the car, was checking the time on his phone and acting anxious. The bodyguard driving saw the restless Eunseong through the rearview mirror and asked what was wrong.

“Ah, I have something I’m in charge of at school today. I have to get there quickly.”

“It looks like it’s going to be congested; can’t you call and say you’ll be late?”

“The other kids don’t know how to do it except for me. Will it be a long delay? It might actually be faster to walk; from here, it won’t even take ten minutes on foot.”

Just as Eunseong claimed, the car was indeed caught in a traffic jam near the school. News of multiple accidents due to the heavy snowfall in downtown Seoul happened to flow from the traffic broadcast the guard had turned on.

“Then will you just walk from here? There should be an umbrella there.”

He had intended to subtly urge him by pretending to be even more restless, but the guard spoke to Eunseong first quite readily.

“That would be better, right? It’ll be faster just to walk than to go by car.”

“I’ll turn on the blinker. Check carefully and get out safely.”

He turned on the hazard lights. It was just as Eunseong opened the car door and put one leg down on the ground.

“Student Eunseong.”

“… Yes?”

Startled, Eunseong flinched and looked back at the guard. The man gave a faint smile and spoke.

“Take the umbrella. Your clothes will get wet if you get hit by the snow.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

Eunseong gripped the umbrella that was lying where the man pointed.

“Then, have a good day.”

“… Yes. Drive safely.”

When Manager Nam had lost Eunseong, Yoo Siun had rarely shown such anger. The two of them, who seemed like close associates, had never revealed their hierarchy as clearly as they did then. The troubled face of Manager Nam, who felt apologetic for failing his responsibility, was still vivid in his memory.

He felt that the hardship the guard would face if he disappeared would be just as bad, if not worse, than what Manager Nam had experienced. In the worst-case scenario, he might even lose his job.

He felt sorry toward the man who had always treated him kindly. Hesitating for a moment, Eunseong squeezed his eyes shut. He gripped the umbrella tight and stepped out of the car. Only when he closed the car door did the car in front begin to move forward little by little. Even so, it was a distance that amounted to very little on foot, so Eunseong soon overtook the car.

Holding the umbrella, he walked slowly along the snowy street. A wind laced with a chill dug into the nape of his neck, making his back feel cold. His body began to shiver. Whatever the reason, it was weather that made him realize anew that there is no act more foolish than running away in winter.