BHB 112

After barely shaking off Choi Youngdoo’s group and getting into the car, they drove aimlessly without a destination. They couldn’t go to Lee Taegang’s house, and they couldn’t rashly take him to Do Young-jae’s house either. They were pressing the accelerator but had nowhere to arrive.

While driving along the Han River road, unable to find an answer to what they had done without a plan, Yeowon, still breathing heavily, looked straight ahead and spoke, “…Do you have somewhere to go?”

Just staying in Seoul seemed dangerous to begin with. Would people from that family, who knew what kind of person Choi Youngdoo was, be unable to find their own son in Seoul? They would surely find him, even if they had to send people out looking. Since they had even assigned surveillance, it meant they no longer intended to overlook things.

“Go to Gangwon Province.”

Yeowon, puzzled by his answer that came after a beat, turned his head once while driving. “Why there?”

“I know a place.”

A deep sigh escaped naturally at their sudden fugitive status. Though it was his doing, there really was no plan.

“What kind of place?”

“My cousin’s vacation home.”

He had never heard much detail about Lee Taegang’s cousins. Among what he had heard in passing, all he remembered was that they were incredibly wealthy. He seemed to have heard from Kim Myungjoo that while Lee Taegang’s family emphasized fame, honor, and intellect, his relatives’ family prioritized only wealth. Kim Myungjoo knew more about Lee Taegang’s family than he did.

“…Is it okay to just go like this?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

He worried whether it was okay to go without prior contact, or if their location would be quickly exposed, but anyway, Yeowon turned the steering wheel to change direction. It was better to buy a little more time than to stay in Seoul where they would be caught quickly. In any case, they would find them, but there was no immediate solution.

In the car heading toward their destination, only the heavy sound of the engine reverberated. A quiet silence settled with no words spoken. Yeowon, with one hand on the wheel and his elbow resting on the window ledge, stroked his chin as if troubled. Only the dark road was visible ahead. From time to time, he felt the urge to look at Lee Taegang sitting in the passenger seat, but he deliberately resisted. He strongly didn’t want to be enchanted by this situation.

It’s only temporary anyway. Once this matter was resolved, he planned to go back to how things were. To a life without him. He had been adapting well. He just needed to return to the time when he was adapting well. Yes, that would do.

Thinking like that, he suddenly drew a line, as if embarrassed by his own contradictory behavior.

“This doesn’t mean anything.”

Yeowon bluntly spoke, drawing a line, but the other’s reaction was quieter than expected. Despite his unfriendly statement that cut off both the beginning and end, he responded calmly as if he understood everything.

“I know.”

At his emotionless answer that held no expectations, Yeowon quietly bit his lower lip.

‘As if you know, damn it…’

“…Once this is resolved, I’m going back to how things were.”

Yeowon spat out a spiteful remark filled with impulse at his unexpected answer, but he consistently replied.

“…Okay.”

It was resignation in acceptance.

More spite arose toward him acting out of character, and Yeowon pressed his lips shut again. Since when did he listen so well? It irritated him more that the guy who used to only retort to whatever he said was now being so compliant.

Yeowon roughly pressed down on the accelerator as if throwing a tantrum, increasing speed. As they entered the highway, only the occasional headlights of the few passenger cars illuminated the road. But besides that, nothing was visible. The surroundings, wrapped in the pitch-black night sky, were all darkness. It was a night that called for chaos.

The place they arrived at, following Lee Taegang’s directions, was a detached house located deep inside Gangwon Province. Though called a detached house, it was a building that could almost be a resort if it were a bit larger. Moreover, across from the building, a wide beach stretched out. It felt like they had come to a vacation spot with spectacular scenery.

“Damn nice…” Yeowon, looking around, muttered quietly as he faced the sea breeze. 

The salty smell penetrated his nose deeply, but it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. It felt like his stuffy insides were clearing up, even if just for a moment. Having driven for nearly two hours, his whole body was stiff, and Yeowon sat on the terrace for a while to get some air. Though he wasn’t free from anxiety despite having come far from Seoul, he had to relax, thinking they had bought some time. After all, this was all they could do for now.

“Drink.”

A can of beer was placed on the glass table on the terrace. 

Yeowon looked up at Lee Taegang with a puzzled face. “…There’s even this?”

“Someone comes regularly to manage the place.”

Yeowon nodded as if finally understanding. “…Won’t we be caught quickly then?”

“It’s my cousin’s private property, so the adults don’t really know about it.”

He drank the beer in one go and replied in a flat voice. It was also somewhat surprising as this was the first time he had heard Lee Taegang refer to someone as “hyung” (older brother).

“Why am I hearing about this for the first time?”

“What good would it do for you to know?”

At his cold answer, Yeowon clicked his tongue bitterly. Then, letting out a hollow laugh, he turned his gaze back toward the beach.

“True. What do I even know about you anyway?”

It could sound sarcastic, but it was sincere. Through this incident, Yeowon deeply realized that he had known nothing about Lee Taegang all this time. All he knew were trivial things like his food preferences, his terrible temper, his manner of speaking, his habits. He didn’t know anything he actually should have known.

“…Ha.” Lee Taegang furrowed his brows and let out a sigh at his self-deprecating murmur. “…utiful.”

“What?”

“Fucking handsome.”

For a moment, wondering what he was saying, Yeowon twitched his eyebrows just like Lee Taegang.

“Fucking handsome, and fucking rich too.”

“…What are you talking about? Who… that cousin of yours?”

“Yeah.”

“…Ha, ridiculous. So that’s why you hid him?”

“……”

“I’ve been absolutely baffled about this for a long time. Isn’t the other person a man? Hey, I’m not gay. I’m not even interested in men to begin with, so why do you keep…!”

“That bastard has one.”

“…What?”

“That bastard has a male lover.”

“……”

“How can I trust a bastard who even has a male lover?”

Lee Taegang downed his beer with a face full of discontent. At the unexpected answer, Yeowon momentarily lost his words and swallowed dryly. So in the end, he was saying he didn’t introduce him because he was insecure. One way or another, that was his only intention.

…Really ridiculous guy.

Yeowon let out a scornful sigh and washed down his bewilderment with beer. And strangely feeling heated, he took another long drink of beer.

Once more, silence descended. But soon, as if to break that stillness, the phone in Yeowon’s jacket pocket vibrates repeatedly. When he absent-mindedly took it out and checked the screen, the name ‘Baek Seungha sunbae’ was displayed. It was a call he had to answer, having messed up and gotten fired from the job he had introduced him to. He was planning to apologize first, but the phone in his hand was snatched away by the other person. He pressed the end call button and held down the home key to turn off the power.

“If it reaches the ears of those people, they’ll track the phone immediately.” Lee Taegang made an explanation that wasn’t really an explanation, in a situation where he had been caught off guard.

“Keep it off.”

Then he tossed the powered-down phone back to him. At his rather audacious attitude, the corner of Yeowon’s eyebrow twitched.

“One phone call wouldn’t matter.”

“It shows up right in the records.”

Yeowon was still dissatisfied but had no choice but to stuff the phone somewhere out of sight. Noticing his irritated reaction immediately, Lee Taegang’s hand trembled as he gripped the beer can as if to crush it.

“What are you doing?” Yeowon instinctively asked, looking at the distorting beer can. 

Lee Taegang answered while rubbing his chin as if suppressing something, “What?”

“Why are you getting angry?”

“…You.” Lee Taegang, who had been restraining his words, hesitated briefly, then after a moment of silence, asked quietly, “…Don’t tell me you’ve been with Baek Seungha all this time?”

His struggle to hold back was evident, but he seemed to think he was controlling himself.

“Are you getting upset because you’re afraid I might have been?”

“…Forget it.”

Whether he didn’t want to hear the answer or was afraid to, Lee Taegang abruptly stood up and avoided his gaze. While he seemed to accept and care nothing about what his parents were doing, right now he was barely containing his emotions as if about to explode, ultimately crushing the beer can completely with one hand. With a crunch, the can, crushed beyond recognition, rolled on the floor.

“…There’s an empty room on the second floor. Sleep wherever you want.”

He suddenly spoke. With his face turned away, his voice, still restrained, squeezed out between his lips. As if he had said all he needed to, Lee Taegang slammed the villa’s front door and left.

Normally, this would have been a situation that would lead to another heated argument, but Lee Taegang diffused the situation by holding back his anger. Yeowon exhaled deeply and lightly struck his constricted chest with his fist. It was questionable how much longer they could endure in this state. Actually, he could leave right away, but his own inability to do so was contradictory.

There were many empty rooms on the second floor, and he chose one of them to sleep in. He waited for Lee Taegang until dawn, in case he might not return, before falling asleep. Only when he sensed the villa’s front door opening and closing while in a light sleep could Yeowon properly close his eyes. He had also been worried that he might be spotted if he wandered around aimlessly.

The sea scent, different from Seoul’s, naturally woke him up. Having opened his eyes in an unfamiliar place for several weeks now, his body felt tired. Raising his heavy body as if carrying several bags of grain, he quietly gazed at the dazzlingly spread sea beyond the window. The sea in the morning was sparkling to the point of blinding. While momentarily distracted by its beauty, he felt a presence behind him.