ANTITOXIN Chapter 36

Goosebumps broke out along Seolwon’s spine as he realized anew what kind of light the other man was viewing him in. It felt exactly as though he had become a herbivore left completely naked in front of a well-fed beast.

It was just as his lips parted to say something else.

Buzz—

The vibration of a cell phone was heard. It was a sound coming from Cha Jaeyi. Halting, Cha Jaeyi glanced at the phone screen and asked for his understanding.

“I’ll take this. Keep eating.”

As long as he could escape from his attention, anything was welcome. Seolwon promptly lowered his gaze and purposely focused on his gukbap.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

A voice different from just moments ago flowed from Cha Jaeyi, who had picked up the call. It was a voice that was subtly dry and infused with an implicit chill.

After listening intently to the person on the other end for a moment, Cha Jaeyi opened his mouth again.

“يعني هالزبالة قرر يبصق بوجهي، صح؟ حلو. قله —قوله يطلع. العقد ما يتغير. إذا يبي يغير يتحضر ياخذ رصاصة. وأنا مشغول الحين — ألعب مع واحد غريب بس وسيم.”

It was a different language from last time. Last time it sounded like Russian, but this time… he didn’t know. It definitely wasn’t English… Arabic? Turkish? It was a pronunciation so utterly unfamiliar to Seolwon that he couldn’t even grasp what country’s language it was. Because of that, he couldn’t understand a single word. He could only guess through the nuance that it was roughly about work.

At any rate, being able to speak multiple foreign languages was a fascinating ability to Seolwon, who didn’t even understand English very well. Perhaps because of that, a sudden curiosity arose. Cha Jaeyi’s nationality, that was. Until now, he had naturally assumed he would be Korean, but looking at him now, from his hair color to his eye color… it seemed the possibility of him being mixed-race wasn’t entirely zero. Although the sob story he had spun last time about Russia or whatever was a lie, it wouldn’t be strange even if he had actually been born and raised over there. The reason his fortune couldn’t be read might also be because of that.

But did the noona have that hair color too?

Suddenly calling to mind the spiritual entity presumed to be Cha Jaeyi’s older sister, Seolwon flinched and looked around his surroundings. However, she was not to be seen this time either. He still couldn’t make a judgment on whether she was purposely hiding her form, or whether she wasn’t visible because her energy was weak due to it being broad daylight full of yang energy. Naturally, for Seolwon, it was more comfortable for her not to be visible. However, since he had just become curious about the child’s appearance, there was a slight sense of regret.

“Yes, yes. Mr. Joongsik. Stop nagging and let’s go talk over there. I’m hanging up. See you later until you’re sick of meee.”

After a moment, he ended the call. Judging by how the other party’s agitated voice could be heard faintly, it seemed that side hadn’t finished speaking, but it appeared he had hung up at his own whim.

Turning off the cell phone screen and placing it face down on the table, he pointed with his chin toward the earthenware pot in front of Seolwon.

“Are you all done eating?”

He wasn’t all done eating. Both the soup and the rice were still half remaining. In fact, his stomach wasn’t fully satiated either. However, Seolwon, who wanted to quickly end this uncomfortable and burdensome meeting, nodded his head without hesitation, saying, “Yes.”

“I’m not all done eating yet, so wait.”

“…”

However, the terribly self-centered Cha Jaeyi did not move according to Seolwon’s wishes.

Lifting his spoon again, he resumed his meal. Having become awkward, Seolwon had no choice but to start clearing away the remaining food as well. Cha Jaeyi let out a smirk as if he had known it would be so.

“Oh, you’re here?”

After ending the meal, which had been longer and more uncomfortable than any other, the one who welcomed Seolwon as he safely arrived at the workshop was Park Moonhyuk.

“When did you arrive?”

“Not too long ago. What about food? Did you eat before coming?”

“Yes.”

“Good job. Don’t skip meals thinking it’s a hassle, and make sure to eat well from now on too. …But what is that in your hand?”

“Ah.”

The thing that aroused Park Moonhyuk’s curiosity was a small paper bag that Seolwon was holding. Seolwon dropped his gaze toward the paper bag along with him.

Cha Jaeyi’s voice naturally came to mind.

‘Here, a gift. Just giving a number is too ordinary. As a rule, a person should play according to how they look.’

Even though Seolwon had said he could go alone, he had insisted on dropping him off, and those were the words he had spoken while giving him the paper bag—precisely, the cell phone inside the paper bag. Saying that giving a number was too ordinary, so he was just giving him a cell phone instead. Just as he said, truly… it was an act that quite suited his extraordinary appearance. To put it another way, it was a terribly self-willed behavior.

Though he wasn’t pleased with it, Seolwon, who had ended up taking it under duress because he couldn’t refuse, sighed and mumbled.

“A leash.”

That was how Seolwon felt about it. The cell phone Cha Jaeyi gave him didn’t feel like a product of goodwill or liking, but merely felt like a leash fastened around him. It was even more so when considering the final words he had added.

‘For your information, I hate it when there’s no contact. I hate it even more when my messages are ignored.’

It had been the same when he reluctantly received it, but thinking about it again, it felt absurd yet laughable, causing Seolwon to let out a smirk without realizing it.

At any rate, he was a peculiar human being. Whether in a bad sense or a good sense.

1—5

Should he have found a way not to receive it after all?

Buzz—

“…”

Since then, Cha Jaeyi would send messages whenever he was bored. Just like now.

‹ Jaeyi ›

Hellooo What’re u up to

Messages with such useless content.

Checking the message, Seolwon put down his brush and let out a sigh. It was because a sense of obligation that he had to reply within one minute at the latest assailed him. On the very next day after receiving the cell phone, he had unintentionally ignored a message he sent while absorbed in his work, only to be subjected to a terrible interrogation over the phone.

‘Didn’t I say I don’t like being ignored? If you couldn’t remember it due to an intelligence issue, I’ll understand. Otherwise, did you intentionally ignore me because you wanted to get attention? Then shall I go over there right now? To give you some attention. For your information, it takes about twelve hours.’

When he explained that he didn’t know because he had it on silent, he even received criticism asking if he didn’t know that there was a wonderful function called vibration. At any rate, Seolwon, who was able to escape his interrogation only after explaining earnestly, had now, a week later, developed a habit of checking immediately whenever the vibration rang. It was because it felt like he would really storm all the way here to give him attention if he didn’t.

While pondering what to write, he was in the middle of typing a reply saying simply that he was working. Another new message popped up. To be exact, it was a selfie he had sent at his own whim.

In the photo, Cha Jaeyi was drawing a V-sign with his hand while wearing sunglasses. With a straw bitten in his mouth, it seemed he was enjoying some leisure time at a place like a cafe. The fascinating thing was that although half of his face was covered by the sunglasses, his playfulness-laden eyes seemed to be vividly visible. However, there was a part that caught Seolwon’s attention even more than that. It was the exotic scenery unfolding in the background. He didn’t know exactly where it was, but it was certain that it was overseas.

But as he kept looking at it… it caught his eye that something was stained on the white shirt collar. It was a smudge so small that one wouldn’t notice it without looking closely. He was able to discern the identity of the smudge immediately.

“It’s blood…”

Yes, it was blood.

Presumably, he too had done some work. A quite cruel kind of work that ordinary people would find hard to even imagine.

This was why. Because he was this kind of human, he couldn’t ignore him even though it was uncomfortable.

In fact, a few days ago, he had gone to visit President Kim’s office. It was because contact couldn’t be reached at all. The office door was firmly shut. And as soon as he faced the closed door, he was able to know. No, he was able to see.

President Kim within the visions that flashed past was trapped in water, suffering. Speculating on it, it seemed he had drowned, after all. It was obvious who would have made him that way.

In order to avoid ending up in the same plight, he had no choice but to dance to Cha Jaeyi’s tune. It probably wouldn’t last long; at some point, that interest would naturally drop away as well. However, he was curious. Whether that interest toward him, which carried a sexual nuance, was sincere. Or whether it contained another intention that he couldn’t read…

Seolwon finished completing the text he was writing and sent it to him.

I’m working.

The ‘read’ text pops up immediately beneath the message.

The reply came back in less than a minute.

Where is the proof

“What is he saying…”