LM 100

He drove hastily. Crossing the uncrowded roads without coming across any hindrances, he arrived near the inn. It was the same dilapidated area he saw last time.

Signs with separated consonants and vowels, low and shabby buildings that might as well have melted into the ground, narrow alleys, and except for a single convenience store, no lights were on late at night. Even the sparsely placed streetlights were dim, failing to fulfill their role properly.

Entering the convenience store to order cigarettes, he glanced to the side. Among the drinks lined up in the refrigerator, one particularly caught his eye. He turned toward it and took out a bottle. It was a sickeningly sweet drink he hadn’t known existed and wouldn’t drink even if he bought it now.

He had no particular intention of giving it to anyone. Yet he placed it on the counter. Even as he put it in his pocket while leaving, he couldn’t understand why he had bought it.

Throwing it in the car, he entered the alley. The inn was halfway up the slope. It wasn’t time for Kwon Siyul to return home yet. He stood like a totem pole in front of the building and unwrapped a new pack of cigarettes.

One, two, and then the third. Even though he smoked slowly, deliberately letting the ash grow long, Kwon Siyul didn’t come. Whenever a shadow fell or footsteps passed by, he would turn his head toward the incoming person.

Isn’t this like a dog waiting for its owner?

He was aware that his behavior was ridiculous. If so, it wasn’t too late to turn back now, but thinking that if he waited just one more minute, if he smoked just one more cigarette, Kwon Siyul might enter the alley, so he kept putting it off.

Cursing himself inwardly for being stupid, he took out a new cigarette. This would be the last one he’d smoke here. If that small head didn’t appear even after finishing this, he would leave right away. He would delete all the photos on his phone, stop this stalker-like behavior, dispose of the officetel, and then…

As he was thinking through this series of steps, his ears perked up. The approaching footsteps sounded familiar. He looked up while deeply inhaling the smoke. Kwon Siyul entered the dim alley. The black hair, the faint wisteria scent, the incredibly fair skin that seemed to glow even in the dark alleyway—all remained the same.

His face was revealed under the faint streetlight. He pressed his eyelids firmly with his fingertips, then saw him. The gaze didn’t last even a few seconds. With a tired look, he lowered his eyes and tried to pass by.

As if seeing an inanimate object and thinking nothing of it.

“Shall we talk for a bit?”

He wanted to grab that arm. He clenched his fist and held back. The flowery scent that had been seeping into his nostrils faded and eventually disappeared. He regretted that. He wanted to grab his shoulders and tell him to at least release that scent if he wouldn’t speak. No. He should have kindly said that he bought a drink Kwon Siyul liked in the car, so he should at least wet his throat before going.

Withdrawing his scent was Kwon Siyul’s answer. It was a rejection. Resolutely suggesting it would be better to end things here.

Reluctantly, he brought up the matter at hand. Kwon Siyul just tilted his head to one side. Every time those lips said it didn’t matter anymore, every time they said not to worry about it, his nape felt chilly and it was as if someone had pressed a cold blade to his palm. But what stung as if cut wasn’t his hand.

“Kwon Yuwon.”

He didn’t want to bring up this name. He had thought about quietly finishing the job and returning him to Kwon Siyul’s side, but he hadn’t intended to use it as bait like this. As expected, Kwon Siyul, who hadn’t budged at his proposal, flinched and reacted the moment he heard Kwon Yuwon’s name being spoken out loud.

The conversation ended shortly, making the time he had waited seem pointless. Kwon Siyul brushed past him and went inside. The creaking, slamming old iron door became the wall between them.

If there had been any lingering scent, he would have inhaled it like cigarette smoke, but there was nothing in the air. He didn’t want to mix his scent with the emptiness. Especially because he didn’t know what vile smell his scent might give off in Kwon Siyul’s direction.

He returned to the car without gaining anything. Suddenly feeling very tired, he leaned his head on the headrest and closed his eyes. He opened his eyes while inwardly chanting a hundred times to just wrap it up, that it was over now, that there would be no more entanglement.

But of all things.

Of all things, his eyes fell on the drink he had bought from the convenience store. The owner of the drink wasn’t him, but Kwon Siyul. Just sitting quietly in the car, it looked like it had been abandoned without fulfilling its purpose.

‘I fell in love with it the moment I first tasted it. It’s a whole new world.’

He said he fell in love with it at first taste.

‘You’ll see. Soon you’ll be looking for only this, Mr. CEO. I guarantee it.’

He had confidently predicted that he would become addicted to this drink.

He had made him look for it all the time, made it catch his eye even when he wasn’t looking for it, and then Kwon Siyul pretended not to know him. It was an irresponsible attitude. He wanted to throw a tantrum, demanding that he bring him back and take responsibility, at least return him to the way he was before. Had he wasted the time as he had spent it with him? Listing the things he wanted to do—they were all things a child under ten would do.

Kwon Siyul made Woo Hyunse pathetic and miserable.

He grabbed the steering wheel and buried his head in it. The scent he had been holding back bloomed like leaves. But there was no spring to receive it. Even if it bloomed, it would only wither and dry up.

Kwon Siyul straightened his back, which had been bent over wiping the tables, and glanced at the second floor of the building across the street. He hoped it was a misunderstanding, but as expected, the same person as before was sitting by the window, looking down at him.

When he met his gaze head-on, the other person looked away first. He sipped the coffee in his hand and pretended not to notice, but Kwon Siyul knew. It was the gaze that had been following him for the past few days.

At first, he thought it was his overreaction. But as the period of time grew longer, he couldn’t help but notice that someone was watching him. On the main street leading to the inn, near the barbecue restaurant, and in the building across from the cafe.

Who on earth?

He was curious about their identity. He even considered going over and asking them directly. Whether it was someone Woo Hyunse had assigned or someone related to Kwon Yuwon. Because other than those two, there was no reason for anyone to be following him.

But he had only brought up Woo Hyunse’s number on his phone—he hadn’t pressed the call button. He didn’t have the courage to hear his voice directly. He was sure that if he just heard him say, “Hello,” the questions he needed to ask would only circle around in his throat before rushing back inside.

The other person didn’t seem to have any intention of harming him—they were just circling around. So in the end, he tried to ignore it.

Today was his day off from his evening part-time job. He hurried home after finishing work at the cafe. Just as he entered the narrow alley where the inn was located, someone standing in front of the door looked toward Kwon Siyul as if they had been waiting for him all along.

“Are you Kwon Siyul?”

“Who are you?”

He knew already a stranger was tailing him, and the man dressed neatly in a suit was definitely a stranger. Kwon Siyul looked at the man, hiding his chin in his pilling muffler. His eyes were full of wariness.

“Ah, there is someone who wants to see Kwon Siyul. Would you mind coming with me for a moment?”

“I’m asking who you are.”

Shouldn’t he reveal his identity first? But the man didn’t seem to have any intention of introducing himself or easing any of Kwon Siyul’s wariness—he remained expressionless throughout the encounter. Kwon Siyul took a step back, fully prepared to run away if necessary.

“It’s about Woo Hyunse.”

The foot that had been stepping back stopped. But just because he heard Woo Hyunse’s name didn’t mean he could readily trust the man in front of him. Kwon Siyul stared at the man in silence, and then finally opened his mouth.

“Then it has nothing to do with me.”

“It will only take a moment of your time. We’re not bad people.”

“Us. There’s someone else besides the name of the man you mentioned?” Kwon Siyul rolled his eyes, quickly searching for a place to escape. The uphill alleyways were a complex maze of narrow passages like an ant’s nest, so if he hid well, he could safely shake him off. He took a step back and turned his body, but two men had already appeared, blocking the entrance to the narrow alley.

Kwon Siyul turned his head to look at the man in the suit. The man’s face was still expressionless.

“We’re not trying to harm you. We just need to have a brief chat with you.”

“If that’s all, just do it here and be done with it.”

“The person who sent us wants to see Kwon Siyul in person.”

Seemingly bored with the ongoing argument, the man gestured to those standing at the alley entrance. Two men took large steps and approached. Kwon Siyul stumbled back, and they reached out as if this were a hunt. He tried to run away, but he was a step too late. The men snatched Kwon Siyul’s arm.