The woman who'd thrown the water set down her cup and crossed her arms.
“Hah, it is you. Kim Cheolsu.”
Water dripped from my head.
Getting splashed with water even here.
I watched the droplets plinking onto the floor, then lifted my head.
“...Pardon me, but who might you be?”
“Who? Would it ring a bell if I said I'm Kim Hyunsu's daughter?”
“Kim Hyunsu...”
Just as the woman said, hearing the name brought it back.
The person before me was the daughter of an executive on the association's side. I'd approached her on the Boss's orders.
Honestly, I barely remember.
It had been going well, then the Boss suddenly told me to drop it, so I did. It was around the time the woman had stepped up to marry me against her family's objections. She must have taken quite a hit after I bolted.
It might only be a few years ago from the present standpoint, but by my own memory it was over a decade past.
I don't think I even saw her for a month. She still remembers me?
When my silence dragged on, the woman scrunched up her face.
“It was because of my dad you got close to me, wasn't it? You trash.”
Correct.
“That's not true.”
“No matter how hard I dug, nothing turned up. Kim Cheolsu was a fake name too, wasn't it? What's your real name?”
Avoiding her gaze, I casually mapped out an escape route.
I'm screwed.
To think I'd run into her here, of all places. I just wanted to play dumb and leave.
But I had a feeling this woman would chase me all the way to the hotel room somehow.
“Answer me. What in the world happened?”
“I was sorry. Back then...”
I had to come up with one. A plausible way to sever this woman's lingering attachment without exposing my identity.
“...”
“Back then, what?”
Nothing came to mind, so I just rolled my eyes. The other party's voice kept rising. People's stares were gathering.
Why isn't Jang Yijung back yet? That guy's bathroom story is definitely a lie. He's probably gone off to some corner to call the association head.
Blaming the absent Jang Yijung didn't change reality.
As I dithered, stalling for time, a familiar head of red hair caught my eye.
!
Yeom Hajae?
The other party seemed to spot me too, his eyes going wide. Looking at that dumbstruck face, a good idea came to me.
“You, you're not gay, are you?”
There was a moment Luru came in handy after all. I strode right up to Yeom Hajae.
“Are you running away?!”
“Hyung?”
Yeom Hajae looked flustered too, but I shamelessly grabbed his wrist and tugged him along. Back in front of the woman, I said,
“The truth is, I'm gay.”
“!”
“!!”
As if to make a point, I draped an arm around Yeom Hajae's waist.
“Back then I prepared for the marriage because I had no choice, on account of my parents, but I realized it just wasn't right for me after all.”
“Y-you absolute lunatic...”
“I truly was sorry, to you.”
The trembling woman stepped in close and slapped my cheek hard.
“You con artist! Drop dead!”
Then she shoved through the crowd that had gathered one by one and stormed off. The onlookers, realizing the situation was over, drifted away while stealing glances our way.
I let out a sigh of relief.
She won't come looking for me again now. Wrapped that up fairly amicably, all things considered.
“Hyung...”
Belatedly, I unwound the arm around his waist. He'd stayed so still I'd briefly forgotten I was holding onto a person.
“Startled you, didn't I? Sorry for the sudden imposition.”
“No, I'm... are you the one who's all right, hyung?”
Yeom Hajae was the one fidgeting nervously, of all things.
But why is he still on about “hyung”?
“What you said just now...”
“If it made you uncomfortable, I'm sorry. It was a lie, of course. I just figured she'd keep chasing me if I didn't do something like that.”
“Ah.”
Yeom Hajae pressed his lips shut. You'd think he'd be curious about the circumstances, but he didn't ask.
“...”
“Eek!”
Yeom Hajae, who'd been silently watching me, suddenly went wide-eyed.
“?”
“B-blood! You're bleeding!”
At the fuss he was making, I wiped my face, and blood came away on the back of my hand.
Did her nail scratch me when she hit me?
I needed to use my face, so this was a problem. I grabbed a tissue off the table and dabbed at the cut. While I did, the flustered Yeom Hajae rummaged through his coat and pulled something out.
“I've got medicine and bandages, so let me patch you up with these for now.”
“Thank you. You're well prepared.”
You've probably got a knife stashed in that coat too.
“Still, just in case, please make sure to get it properly treated later.”
I had no such intention, but I agreed to keep the conversation from dragging on. When I sat in a chair and lifted my head, a finger coated in ointment came toward me.
It was shaking like a vibrator, trembling all over.
Is it really fine for a swordsman to have hand tremors?
As I was thinking the useless thought, Yeom Hajae carefully rubbed beneath my eye.
I shifted my gaze from his finger up to Yeom Hajae's face. Our eyes met at once.
His slipping finger jabbed me right in the eyeball.
“Ugh.”
“S-sorry.”
He hurriedly stuck on a bandage to finish up and scrambled back.
“...”
“...”
With just the two of us left, the incident at the association came to mind. Going by how he called me hyung, Yeom Hajae seemed to remember that day too.
At the time, I'd been an outright intruder. Yeom Hajae must have caught on to that fact. And yet I sensed no hostility from him.
Did he not find it suspicious?
No, maybe he's already filed a report and is stalling for time...
Either way, I couldn't read what was going on behind the other party's expression in this state.
To squeeze out some information while I was at it, I forced the silence to break.
“Are you out on a vacation?”
Yeom Hajae was wearing a black jumper and jeans. A casual outfit, unlike usual.
He didn't seem the type to leisurely take vacations, though.
As expected, he shook his head.
“No. I came for work.”
“...”
“I'm alone, so don't worry.”
Was my eye-rolling that obvious? I smiled awkwardly.
“Once again, I'm sorry about earlier.”
“It's really fine. In exchange, could you grant me one favor?”
“Huh?”
“It's...”
After hesitating for a long while, Yeom Hajae finally opened his mouth.
“Tell me your phone number...”
“Sure. That's no trouble.”
“!”
I'd thought he was about to ask something difficult. It was a burner phone anyway. I jotted the digits down on a tissue and handed it over.
Carefully accepting the crumpled tissue, Yeom Hajae crinkled his eyes into a smile.
“Thank you. For trusting me... I'll do my very best for you, hyung.”
“Huh? Sure...”
What's he going on about?
I couldn't make out the intent behind him acting this friendly. From Yeom Hajae's standpoint, I should belong in the criminal category.
And besides...
I was hardly in a righteous position myself, having snuck in, but Yeom Hajae, who'd bawled like a baby in front of me only to act like nothing had happened, was no ordinary one either.
“Ah, I'd better get going.”
Yeom Hajae, who'd kept staring at me uncomfortably, suddenly rose to his feet.
“You're waiting for your companion, right?”
“Yes. Seems they're taking a while.”
Yeom Hajae's eyes swept over the table.
The tabletop was a cluttered mess.
The dessert Jang Yijung had left half-eaten, the shopping bag with the gift box inside, even a paper cup marked with red lip prints from the strawberry jam.
“You'd do well to be more selective about the women you see...”
“...?”
Unable to grasp his meaning, I frowned. Realizing he'd been rude, Yeom Hajae flinched in alarm.
“Ah! S-sorry. Please, be sure to answer when I call.”
Even on his way out, he kept glancing back and waving.
What an unsettling guy.
I sat watching his departing figure when a familiar set of footsteps approached from the side.
“Did you take care of your business?”
“Yeah.”
What was he doing in the bathroom, coming out so quickly.
Were you on the phone with the association head?
Swallowing the urge to interrogate him, I got up from my seat.
“...Let's head back.”
“I'm not done eating yet.”
“We'll take it to go.”
“...You hurt?”
“It's nothing.”
Was Korea always this small? Now I couldn't even wander around freely for fear of running into someone.
Jang Yijung and I returned to the room. Jang Yijung lay rolling around on the plush bed, clutching the bag of bread.
After a leisurely stretch of time, evening came quickly. The sun was already setting.
About time to head out, I suppose.
I pushed myself up off the sofa.
First I went over to the vanity, rubbed some wax into my hands. As I was working on my hair, my eyes met the face reflected in the mirror.
“Going somewhere?”
Those murky eyes held nothing but pure curiosity.
Seeing it, even with all my excuses prepared, a different thought surfaced. Would it be better to just gloss over it? It seemed like he'd let it slide easily enough...
Knock knock knock knock.
In the middle of my brief deliberation, someone rapped on the door.
Four knocks. The signal to come out.
“Looks like you'll have to eat dinner on your own, Yijung.”
“Hm? Why?”
Jang Yijung tilted his head.
If I disappeared for a long stretch, I'd get suspected anyway. And hiding the fact that I was working from someone on the same side would be odd too. I switched on the hair dryer.
“It's time for work.”
“...Didn't you say it was a vacation.”
That was just something I said. As if I'm crazy enough to take a spy along.
Knock knock knock knock.
Awfully impatient.
“I'll go alone. They're people I know. And...”
I had the excuse I'd prepared, too.
I set down the hair dryer and picked up the shopping bag resting on the vanity. The thing I'd bought earlier in the day.
Carrying the box, I perched on the edge of the bed where Jang Yijung lay. He looked up at me, bewildered.
Outside the window, the sunset was bleeding down. Looking at that vacant face washed in red light, I smiled.
“This is a gift. Happy birthday.”
