The Night Of The Untraced Chapter 7

With a start, the finger that was about to input Muheun’s number stopped. It was because Seohyun and her friends were whispering while looking somewhere. Narrowing his eyebrows with an inexplicable sense of unease, Jinwoo, who had been hanging onto Seungjoo, also exclaimed in admiration.

“Wow, if only I looked like that for a day, I wouldn’t have any wishes left.”

“……”

Well, of course not. It’s not like there’s only one handsome person in the world, and they haven’t even contacted him yet. He said he would come at a time that suits the end of the morning, but he didn’t say he would be waiting at the main gate.

“Is he from our school?”

“At least it’s not our department.”

“Yeah, we don’t have such seniors.”

Seungjoo slowly, very slowly, lifted his gaze. Holding the phone tightly in his hand, unable to even dial the number, he frowned and looked at the main gate with deeply furrowed eyes.

Under the glaringly blue sky that made your eyes sting, Inyeong stood in front of the main gate, tall and slender.

“Let’s ask him to go for drinks together.”

“Would you go if it were me?”

Ah… Kim Muheun.

“……”

Despite the distance not being very close, it was still noticeable. It was clear that the person standing far away was Muheun. Firstly, it was the glances wandering around him in the vicinity, and secondly, it was his tall stature, larger than others.

He was just standing there normally, but his figure in a simple white T-shirt was unmistakably outstanding among the crowd.

“Why is he standing there?”

I always wonder, but he’s strangely attention-grabbing. Apart from his good looks, there was a peculiar aura about him.

No, isn’t it strange that a man that big with piercings and tattoos doesn’t stand out?

“Seungjoo, what’s wrong?”

“……No.”

Anyway, I should go talk to that person who’s attracting so much attention right now….

“Can’t pretend not to notice.”

It was an apologetic thought, but I wanted to just turn my back and leave through the back gate. Not because receiving attention was embarrassing, but because of an instinctive feeling that something troublesome might happen. From a very young age until now, there have been too many annoying memories associated with him.

Kim Muheun, Kim Muhyeon, Kim Muryeong. The three siblings next door with particularly noticeable appearances had quite an impact on Seungjoo’s daily life. Although they didn’t do anything directly, friends who found out about their existence often bothered Seungjoo. Asking about their relationship, urging for introductions, or even asking Seungjoo to pass on messages expressing a desire to become friends with them.

At least Muryeong attended the same school and was the same age, so there was less pressure from him. But Muheun and Muhyeon, as there were no chances for them to meet, often clung to Seungjoo. Well, to be precise, they bothered Muryeong as well, but he managed to evade them skillfully, leaving Seungjoo as the prey.

So eventually, Seungjoo stopped mentioning the existence of his older brother and sister altogether.

“Seungjoo, why are you so late!”

It seemed like his steps slowed down as he pondered. The friends who had rushed ahead couldn’t bear it any longer and urged him on. Jinwoo had already complained three times for Seungjoo to walk faster.

The problem was, the moment his friends called out to Seungjoo, Muheun turned his head slightly.

“……”

“……”

Their gazes met sharply. Seungjoo found himself rooted to the spot without realizing it. Jinwoo, who still had his arm around his shoulder, also widened his eyes in confusion.

“Huh? Isn’t that guy looking at us?”

Yeah, no. I wanted to say that, but of course, I couldn’t. Geez… I just swallowed the sigh of annoyance rising up to my throat. Whether he knew Seungjoo’s feelings or not, Muheun always smiled softly and acted aloof.

“Seungjoo.”

“……”

All the friends’ attention focused on Seungjoo. Those who had been chatting away and not paying attention suddenly widened their eyes and became alert.

Jinwoo was the first to speak up.

“……Are you acquainted with him?”

What should I say? Of course, there was a predetermined answer.

“Just a familiar senior.”

“If he’s just a senior….”

Jinwoo trailed off, rolling his eyes. Then, he was startled and asked Seungjoo.

“Oh, the one you said you made a mistake with last time?”

His voice slightly raised. In a panic, Seungjoo hurriedly covered Jinwoo’s mouth, but before that, Muheun, who had been watching them, let out a low chuckle. Damn, he must have heard even without supernatural hearing. No, in this distance, maybe Muheun heard it even if they spoke normally.

“Eugh!”

“……”

Seungjoo lightly flicked Jinwoo’s hand away, forgetting to release him. He casually licked his lips. He had been pretending not to notice Muheun all this time. It was more embarrassing to be caught revealing that he had been paying attention all along. Well, it wasn’t Jinwoo’s fault.

“Haha! Oh, Seungjoo!”

“Uh, sorry.”

Seungjoo apologized insincerely while wiping his hands on Jinwoo’s clothes. Even though he didn’t spill anything, if he had, eventually, it would have been him saliva on his clothes, so Jinwoo stepped back in horror. His reaction was so amusing that Seungjoo giggled and told his friends.

“Hey, I’m going ahead.”

“Huh? Where?”

“Just gotta go.”

Now that things turned out like this, wasn’t it a good excuse? Seungjoo gave Muheun a nod as if he had refused a drinking invitation due to prior arrangements.

“See you tomorrow.”

Fortunately, this time, Seungjoo’s friends didn’t hold him back. They just bid farewell with a perplexed expression, telling him to be careful as he cautiously approached.

Up until then, Muheun had been waiting for Seungjoo with an ambiguous smile.

It took about 30 minutes to walk from school to home. Taking the bus would have been closer, but even after walking to the bus stop, it would have taken another 10 minutes. Since Seungjoo found it troublesome to squeeze into crowded public transportation, he preferred to walk whenever it wasn’t too late.

“Weren’t you planning to hang out with your friends?”

Walking home with Muheun, Seungjoo was asked as soon as they left the university area. Once again, Muheun attempted to take Seungjoo’s bag, but failed. When his arm was injured before, it was Kim Muryeong who did that, so why did the family members of this house have such an obsession with bags, Seungjoo couldn’t fathom.

“Just doing some errands.”

It felt pointless to exchange unnecessary words when they both knew the circumstances. There was a high chance of seeing ghosts at night. It wasn’t a situation to go out and have fun, and even if it were possible, Seungjoo had no intention of drinking from Monday onwards.

And if they went to drink, then should they wait until the promise was over?

“From now on, I’ll contact you, so don’t wait at the main gate.”

“Why?”

“Because… you might be delayed.”

Actually, there was hardly any chance of being late, but Seungjoo said that. It was much better for Muheun to wait from his side than to make Muheun wait. And being there like before made people stare too much.

“Hyung is busy too.”

Muheun, who used to visit his hometown only three times a year at most, was always busy, not neglectful of his home. It seemed like he didn’t even have enough time to sleep. From what Seungjoo vaguely heard.

“Even if I’m busy, I have time to pick up our Seungjoo.”

“Then save that time and take a leisurely walk in the mountains…”

It was a very affectionate remark, but Seungjoo mumbled with a sulky face. It wasn’t empty words, but he didn’t really expect that much affection. If he had time like that, it would be better to invest it in taking a leisurely walk, waiting for Muheun alone.

“But Seungjoo…”

“Why, again.”

Seungjoo replied curtly, feeling an inexplicable sense of crisis. Muheun’s slightly teasing tone was a sign that he was about to play a prank.

As expected, he asked in the same tone.

“Am I just ‘an acquaintance’ to you?”

“……”

For a moment, Seungjoo was speechless. It wasn’t that he said something wrong, but he felt momentarily embarrassed. After all, he said it without any real intention just to avoid trouble. Of course, there was no reason for Muheun to cling to it, but…

“Then what am I to you?”

“Um……”

Muheun hummed for a long time, squinting his eyes. It was clear that he couldn’t come up with a suitable expression when the question was thrown back at him. Well, there weren’t many expressions he could use publicly anyway.

“Well, aren’t I like a close older brother who lives next door?”

After much deliberation, Muheun came to this conclusion. Talking so nonchalantly about something that happened about 10 years ago, something that might have happened. If it were someone who didn’t know him, it might have been taken as a joke, but if it were someone who knew him even a little, it would have been considered disgusting. Given Kim Muheun’s personality, he wouldn’t care about such things. Even if I had said I didn’t know him, he would have just laughed it off as if it were amusing.

“Are we close?”

“Then are we not close?”

Muheun widened his eyes with a disappointed expression. It would be a response to find it disgusting for someone who had never seen him before, but for someone who knew him a little, it would be considered disgusting. Given Kim Muheun’s personality, he wouldn’t care about such things. Even if I had said I didn’t know him, he would have just laughed it off as if it were amusing.

“It’s disappointing. Hyung even changed your diapers.”

“When did I ever tell you that?”

Seungjoo retorted with an incredulous expression. It wasn’t a made-up story, but it was a childhood memory that he couldn’t even remember. Even if he didn’t know, Muheun probably wouldn’t remember it vividly either.

“At that time, you peed on hyung’s face…”

“Ah, crazy!”

At Muheun’s coarse swearword, Seungjoo grimaced and took a step back, feeling repulsed by Muheun’s satisfied expression as if he got the reaction he wanted. Of course, it was useless since Muheun was already approaching.

“See, we’re just acquaintances, right?”

There was no need to respond to the question mixed with laughter. Why wouldn’t they be? He didn’t want to just be acquaintances, he wanted to be complete strangers. It frustrated Seungjoo even more to know he shouldn’t react but still found himself getting irritated.

Even after that, Muheun continued to tease Seungjoo gently. Bringing up memories from their childhood, he recounted stories about how well-behaved Seungjoo used to be but had changed as he grew up, even saying things that their parents wouldn’t dare. While 80% of the reason for the change was because of Muheun, even he didn’t know himself that well.

“You’re going to marry Hyung when you grow up.”

“Wow, that’s really nonsense. Did I really say that?”

Seungjoo, who had been ignoring it all along, finally snapped this time. He clearly stated that he wasn’t the type to act like that even when he was young. Even getting hugged was something that Muheun had to coax him into, and he barely tolerated it.

“Really. Seunghee heard it too and cursed at me afterwards.”

“…You’re providing evidence that can’t be cowardly confirmed.”

While there was no way to prove it, there was certainly credibility, especially the part where his sister cursed at him. Considering her fiery temperament, it wouldn’t be strange if he accused him of coaxing her brother into something when he wasn’t around.

“You’ll probably find videos if you look around, right?”

“Why would you even look for that…”

Seungjoo quickly changed the subject, fearing that Muheun might actually find such videos. Muheun certainly wasn’t the type to make up things out of thin air.

Seeing that Seungjoo was genuinely uncomfortable, Muheun chuckled softly and changed the topic.

“So, are you closest with the friend who smokes?”