Winter season volume 4

Minor Cold: A Little Chill (1)

It felt as though something sharp was repeatedly jabbing him in the head. His whole body throbbed as if someone had beaten him. The pain was particularly bad around his mouth and neck, where even the slightest movement brought a stinging, burning sensation.

 

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

 

The regular sound of a second hand came from somewhere close by. There were times when the ticking of clocks frightened him, so he had long since removed every analogue clock from his room. Where was this sound coming from?

 

Rather than finding it irritating, he thought he might fall asleep again if he continued listening. Yet something felt subtly wrong.

 

*…Asleep?*

 

*Was I sleeping?*

 

The sudden awareness of his surroundings made I-hyeon slowly open his eyes. He stared blankly at a view he could never have seen from his own home.

 

Beyond the window, small buildings huddled beneath the hazy air, their green rooftops showing. Cars and buses looked no bigger than fingernails, and the bare roadside trees had been reduced to thin, skeletal lines. He could see it all at once.

 

His head was as foggy as it might have been the morning after drinking himself senseless. His senses seemed to take longer than usual to process what they were telling him. That was why it took him a while to recognise this strangely familiar place.

 

“…Ah.”

 

Plain, functional furniture and unremarkable grey bedding. A bleak room without a single decoration, only a small clock on the bedside table.

 

Realising he was in the guest room of Gu Seung-hyuk's officetel, where he had stayed for several days before, I-hyeon frowned in confusion and closed his eyes. But he did not need to search his memory for the reason he was lying there. The things he had momentarily forgotten came rushing back.

 

Gu Jin-hyuk had put him in a car, saying it would be their last meeting, and taken him somewhere. There had been countless masked men waiting there. His body had been all but stripped bare, and a black silicone ball had pressed down against his tongue.

 

Simply remembering it made him feel as though he was being strangled again, even though nothing was around his neck.

 

“Hah… hah… ah…”

 

The rattle of the chain that had dragged at his neck and the sharp sting of the whip scraping across his naked skin remained horribly vivid. He could still picture the dozens of filthy gazes watching him as he trembled in terror. Yet there was one memory more vivid than all the rest, so deeply engraved upon him that he knew he would never forget it.

 

*Thank you.*

 

The hand that had picked up the blindfold dropped by the men leading him away. Those eyes, chillingly devoid of feeling.

 

I-hyeon hurriedly threw off the covers and turned towards the side of the bed. All he could think about was getting out of there at once.

 

Clatter! Bang!

 

But almost the moment he put his feet on the floor and stood, he grimaced and grabbed his arm. Pain throbbed along the inside of his wrist, making him bend it instinctively. At the same time, something crashed to the floor: a long metal IV stand and a drip bag still more than half full of pale-yellow liquid.

 

I-hyeon looked at the tubing running to his wrist, bit down on his lower lip, and raised his other hand without hesitation.

 

“…Ngh.”

 

He swallowed the short groan that escaped as he pulled the needle out in one motion. Blood immediately began to well from the puncture. Without even thinking to apply pressure, he hurried through the door and found himself in the same bare living room he remembered.

 

There was one difference. Two enormous men stood by the front door, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

 

They seemed to have tried to dress inconspicuously, but their faded tattoos extended over the backs of their hands, and their builds were impossible to disguise. It was easy enough to guess that they worked for Seung-hyuk.

 

I-hyeon frowned at the way they stood across the entrance. Clutching his wrist, he walked towards them.

 

“I'm going out for a bit.”

 

They were each at least one and a half times his size in both height and breadth. Standing before them was like facing a wall. Blood was no longer merely seeping from his wrist; it was running down his arm. Perhaps that was why he felt so dizzy that his eyes kept closing.

 

*I need to stop the bleeding and lie down somewhere. How much would a taxi cost?*

 

He was turning these thoughts over when he noticed that neither man had moved an inch. He looked up in puzzlement. They kept their eyes fixed straight ahead as they answered stiffly.

 

“Please tell us if there's anything you need. Otherwise, we can call the team leader for you.”

 

*Surely not.*

 

An awful suspicion seized him. He glared at the men and tried to slip between them, but the gap closed immediately and someone seized his shoulder.

 

Frowning, I-hyeon stared them down and repeated more firmly, “I said I'm going out.”

 

“I'm sorry, but you can't leave.”

 

“Move.”

 

He was outnumbered, outweighed and hopelessly outmatched in strength. There was no getting past them. The thought that Seung-hyuk had locked him inside Seung-hyuk's home, exactly as he pleased, sent heat rising up I-hyeon's throat and face.

 

I-hyeon pushed against their bodies with his open palms, but they did not budge. Their stance remained unchanged. He ground his teeth.

 

“I said move!”

 

“Our boss ordered us to keep you here, sir. I'm sorry.”

 

He shoved and punched them, but none of it did any good. Anger, injustice, irritation and humiliation came at him from every direction until his eyelids felt heavy.

 

All the while, blood continued to leak from the inside of his wrist. Every time he clenched his fists and swung his arms, the blood running towards his elbow dripped onto the floor.

 

“…Hah.”

 

It was only after his blood-drained face had turned deathly pale that I-hyeon accepted the futility of struggling against people who showed no reaction at all. He staggered a step backwards, but the men merely flinched. Neither left his post.

 

I-hyeon bit the inside of his blood-tasting lower lip and glared at them for a long time. Then, rather than return to the guest room, he went into the living room. He sat on the rug below the sofa, drew up his knees and rested his forehead against them.

 

He was starting to shiver and his mind felt muddled. Even so, something hot kept rising in his throat, almost more than he could bear. The breath he could not force out climbed past his nose and gathered behind his eyes. Within moments his eyes were brimming and the tips of his lashes were wet.

 

But I-hyeon buried his burning eyes against his knees and slowly steadied his breathing. He did not want to cry over Gu Seung-hyuk any more.

 

He felt foolish, even furious with himself, for allowing an old feeling he could not put to rest to drag him this far. He did not want to be shaken by that man again.

 

I-hyeon left the blood dripping from his wrist to stain the rug and swallowed the sob building inside him.

 

Murmured voices carried from the entrance. One of the men appeared to be speaking to someone on the phone, although I-hyeon could not make out what he was saying. He caught only fragments—*Tae-sik*, *Dr Nam*, *before he gets back*—and could infer nothing from them.

 

Meanwhile his consciousness was beginning to fade. I-hyeon tried to think of a way out, but in the end he could not resist the sleep dragging him down like a swamp. He closed his eyes and slumped into it.

 

“Mr Kwon I-hyeon, could you wake up for a moment?”

 

A hand gently shook him between the shoulder and back. I-hyeon jerked awake and lifted his head defensively. Standing over him were the man called Tae-sik, who was always at Seung-hyuk's side, and a middle-aged bald man wearing round horn-rimmed glasses.

 

“Er, first we'll stop the bleeding, then put the rest of your drip into your other arm. Let's go into the bedroom.”

 

The man, who carried what looked like a doctor's bag, stepped back to give him room to stand. I-hyeon merely lowered his forehead to his knees again.

 

It seemed as though there was a delay between moving his head and his vision catching up. Even that tiny movement brought a wave of dizziness. He closed his eyes as the apparent doctor let out a loud sigh above him. Tae-sik spoke.

 

“Can't you just treat him here?”

 

“Curled up like that, I won't be able to find a vein. His circulation won't be good either.”

 

The doctor's response was troubled but firm. Tae-sik frowned. Seung-hyuk had ordered him to make sure I-hyeon finished at least one whole bag of fluids; he could hardly leave matters as they were. Besides, the exposed skin of I-hyeon's neck looked almost translucent with pallor.

 

“You heard him. We can't do anything with you sitting like that. Go and lie down in the bedroom.”

 

It was too level a tone to be called irritable, yet I-hyeon could detect the faint annoyance in Tae-sik's voice. He had no particular grudge against the man. Somehow, though, it struck him as absurd.

 

*Since when did this man start speaking politely to me? I'm sure he spoke casually when we first met.*

 

His head was too hazy to want to move at all. Tae-sik frowned down at him, then jerked his chin towards the men at the entrance.

 

“Oi. Come and give him a hand.”

 

At a single word from Tae-sik, the burly men who had been guarding the door like boulders approached. They reached towards I-hyeon's arms. But at that moment a faint, half-strangled voice came from him.

 

“Don't touch me.”

 

“I told you not to touch me.”

 

It was the feeblest threat imaginable, but their hands stopped in mid-air. They looked towards Tae-sik, unable to bring themselves to reach any farther. Tae-sik pressed his fingers to his throbbing temple and frowned.

 

“Mr Kwon I-hyeon, if you keep sitting here like this—”

 

“Did Gu Seung-hyuk tell you to lock me in here and stop me leaving?”

 

The limp voice interrupted him.

 

“Did he tell you to use force if I made a fuss about getting out?”

 

His voice fell away at the end, making the questions sound more like statements. The self-mockery in it was so faint that they had to strain to hear. There was something pitiful about it.

 

Tae-sik opened his mouth, then closed it again. A heavy silence settled over the apartment.

 

I-hyeon murmured, “…Where is that bastard now?”

 

Tae-sik sighed deeply. Even a short sentence seemed to exhaust I-hyeon; he needed treatment as quickly as possible. Tae-sik approached and bent at the waist, adopting what he hoped was a coaxing tone.

 

“You're in a bad way right now. Why don't we talk after you lie down and finish the drip, at least?”

 

By Tae-sik's standards, he had made himself as gentle and unthreatening as possible. I-hyeon did not respond. His back and shoulders merely rose and fell with his shallow, wheezing breaths.

 

Tae-sik was considering whether to force him to lie down when I-hyeon raised his head and spoke in a hoarse voice.

 

“No.”

 

“Call Gu Seung-hyuk.”

 

The fever-flushed face had a peculiar quality to it, rather than simply looking haggard or wretched. Tae-sik frowned and glanced sidelong at the other men, just in case. A barely audible voice continued.

 

“Tell that bastard to come here and speak to me himself.”

 

As soon as he finished, I-hyeon lowered his head and rested his forehead on his knees again. Even sitting still, he felt heat rising inside him. He closed his eyes and hugged his legs.

 

Tae-sik looked down at the blood smeared across I-hyeon's clothes and skin, the frail body made even smaller by the way he was curled up, and the flushed face drawing rapid, shallow breaths. It was a sight that might provoke some rather strange feelings. Tae-sik knitted his brows.

 

Beep-beep-beep-beep. Click.

 

He thought he had only closed his eyes for a moment, but he must have fallen asleep. Whether it was sleep or a brief loss of consciousness, he could not say. When he opened his eyes, the scene had changed.

 

*Has some time passed?*

 

There had still been daylight, however late in the afternoon it was, when he last remembered looking. Now the floor-to-ceiling living-room windows showed a city sparkling at night. The posture in which he had hugged his knees had also come undone.

 

The arm that had finally stopped bleeding lay limp against the floor, while his head was tilted to one side, barely propped against the sofa. It was far from comfortable, but he had no strength to move. Heat seemed to burn even behind his eyelids and his limbs felt as though sandbags had been tied to them.

 

Then he heard the heavy sound of the front door closing. Only now did I-hyeon realise the noise of the keypad had woken him. He could not summon the will even to turn his head or straighten himself. He simply closed his eyes and breathed shallowly.

 

“Was everything dealt with?”

 

A dining chair scraped back behind him, followed by the hurried sound of someone standing. He had expected the voice to move towards the entrance, but Tae-sik was coming closer to the living room.

 

With an effort, I-hyeon opened his heavy eyes. In the black window opposite he could make out the reflections of two men. Gu Seung-hyuk stood beside Tae-sik, his head turned downwards. I-hyeon could almost feel his gaze on his cheek without looking at him.

 

As he slowly raised his head and swallowed a rising sigh, Tae-sik began speaking above him, sounding as though he were making excuses.

 

“Ah, his temperature seemed to go up suddenly, but he wouldn't let anyone lay a hand on him, so—”

 

Thud.

 

The flustered explanation was cut off by a dull impact. Seung-hyuk had punched Tae-sik in the face.

 

I-hyeon's fingers twitched in shock. Tae-sik quickly straightened, clasped his hands behind his back and bowed his head. Seung-hyuk spoke with icy anger.

 

“Kwak Tae-sik. If he was in this state, you should've tied him down and treated him. Are you fucking joking?”

 

“…I misjudged the situation. I'm sorry.”

 

“Where's Dr Nam?”

 

“I had him wait in the car. I'll bring him straight up.”

 

Tae-sik bowed and turned, but Seung-hyuk did not unclench his jaw. He gripped the jacket in his hand, holding something back so fiercely that the muscles stood out along his face.

 

He was struggling against an emotion he could not name and could not exhaust with a single punch. He jerked his chin towards the men by the front door.

 

“Take them all out with you.”

 

After hurriedly bowing to the back of his head, they left in quick steps, as though afraid his anger might land on them next.

 

Silence filled the apartment once everyone else had gone. I-hyeon's breathing became even more distinct. Seung-hyuk gazed at the flush around those long lashes for a moment, then turned towards the kitchen and its breakfast bar.

 

Scrape. Clink, clink.

 

Glasses struck one another. Fabric rustled against fabric. By the time the scent of Seung-hyuk's cologne, which had seemed to saturate the air, began to fade, I-hyeon could finally draw a breath. The huge living-room window reflected the apartment in its entirety.

 

Seung-hyuk had tossed his jacket over the back of a dining chair. Now he took a bottle of whisky from a cupboard, gripped its neck and poured generously into a glass. He lifted it straight to his lips.

 

The golden liquid shifted with each pronounced movement of his Adam's apple. I-hyeon watched him and opened his mouth.

 

“Who the hell are you to keep me prisoner?”

 

Clink. The ice in Seung-hyuk's glass struck the sides as it melted. Seung-hyuk kept his face turned away from the living room. I-hyeon had not wanted his voice to shake, but it had. He bit his lower lip, tightened his stomach and spoke again.

 

“This is false imprisonment. It's a crime.”

 

Only his dry voice echoed through the vast living room. Yet as soon as he had said it, bitter laughter threatened to escape. Would something like this even count as a crime to Gu Seung-hyuk?

 

He glared at Seung-hyuk's reflection in the window. His nose began to sting. Clenching his fist, he forced out a breath and added faintly,

 

“You and your brother are exactly the same.”

 

Anger and resentment tangled thickly in his voice, leaving its ending damp. Seung-hyuk gripped his glass and set it down on the table almost as if throwing it. Then he strode towards him.

 

He reached I-hyeon in a few steps and seized the arm hanging limply at his side. Yet he could not bring himself to haul him upright. His eyes only flashed.

 

“Get up and go to bed.”

 

I-hyeon was sick to death of the terrible day, of having his arm held in someone's hand, of a body laid low by something as simple as this. All he wanted was to go home to an empty house, wash and crawl beneath his duvet. The fact that he could not even do that felt monstrously unfair.

 

He swallowed the sobs surging up his throat and clamped his mouth shut to keep from crying. Then he shook Seung-hyuk's hand off, braced himself on the sofa and struggled to his feet.

 

“…I'm going home.”

 

The sudden change in height made his head swim. I-hyeon closed his eyes tightly, opened them again and tried not to show it. Without looking at Seung-hyuk, he started towards the door. He had taken only a few steps when someone seized his wrist. He shook his arm to break free, but the grip held.

 

At that very moment, Seung-hyuk's face twisted savagely. The heat coming through I-hyeon's skin was anything but normal. Seung-hyuk caught his other shoulder and pulled him around. I-hyeon resisted fiercely, but his thin body was turned with little effort.

 

“Let go… I said let go!”

 

Seung-hyuk held him even more firmly as he twisted and fought. I-hyeon's eyes, fever-bright and furious, glared at him. If Seung-hyuk released even one of the arms he was gripping, I-hyeon looked ready to do anything to escape.

 

Gritting his teeth, Seung-hyuk glared back with eyes scarcely less fierce. Then, as though left with no other choice, he bent and pressed his forehead against I-hyeon's.

 

Their eyes stopped less than a handspan apart. I-hyeon's nails dug into the centre of his clenched palms, and he bore the pain while staring straight back at Seung-hyuk.

 

There was a considerable difference in the temperature of their foreheads. One was burning with tears he could not let out; the other was sinking beneath uncontrollable anger.

 

Their faces were mirrored in each other's dark pupils. When I-hyeon's eyes, until then blazing with defiance, began to fill with tears, a tightly suppressed voice emerged between his thin red lips.

 

“I don't want to spend another minute, another second with you… so let me go.”

 

I-hyeon wrenched his arms with renewed strength, determined to free himself, but it was nowhere near enough.

 

Seung-hyuk drew back his head and dragged I-hyeon by the arm. Veins stood out in his neck as he exhaled, struggling for patience. Unable to keep his balance, I-hyeon stumbled after him.

 

The room Seung-hyuk led him towards was not the small guest room beside the kitchen. They went farther, to the door behind the living room that had always been closed. Seung-hyuk pushed it open and forced I-hyeon down onto the broad bed in the middle of the room. It must have been his own bedroom; his scent rose from the bedding.

 

I-hyeon collapsed onto the duvet and tried to sit up, but his strength failed. Seung-hyuk watched his chest heave helplessly for a moment, then left the room, taking out his phone and calling someone.

 

After struggling for so long in his already ruined condition, I-hyeon was exhausted. The room spun the moment he lay down. He knew he should use Seung-hyuk's absence to get away, but his body would not obey.

 

He struggled to breathe through the burning in his throat and laid his comparatively cool arm across his eyes. Strange patterns swam in the white and black flashes of his vision.

 

As he stared at them and tried to steady his breathing, footsteps sounded outside the room, as if several people were approaching. He sensed someone enter.

 

His consciousness seemed to switch off for an instant, then come back. I-hyeon shook his head and struggled to lift himself.

 

“…What are you doing?”

 

Opening his eyes, he saw Dr Nam moving busily at his side. The man had spread a large mat over part of the bed and laid out various medical instruments. Without warning, he inserted a thermometer into I-hyeon's ear. Startled by the sudden intrusion, I-hyeon twisted his head away, but Seung-hyuk pressed his shoulders firmly down from the front.

 

“Thirty-eight point eight. That's better than earlier. First we need to bring the fever down. I'll add something to reduce your temperature to the drip you were on before. Let's keep an eye on you until you've had a bit more sleep.”

 

The doctor delivered this without stumbling over a word. Then he inspected the purple bruising on I-hyeon's arm, frowned and drew the other arm towards him.

 

He tied something like a long tube above the elbow. A moment later, I-hyeon felt a prick on the inside of his wrist. Seeing the needle lodged in the pale skin brought him fully to his senses.

 

He did not know whether the liquid flowing through the tube would lower his fever or merely replace fluids. Either way, he did not want to spend hours lying in Gu Seung-hyuk's house, let alone on his bed. If he needed a drip, he would rather walk into an emergency department himself and climb onto one of its cold beds.

 

While Dr Nam prepared tape to secure the needle, I-hyeon wiped a hand over his face, then pulled it out without hesitation.

 

Bright red blood began to seep from the middle of his pale arm, just as it had before. Dr Nam's eyes and mouth flew open at the sight, and he hurried to intervene.

 

“No, no! Why would you pull it out with your hand again? You already have trouble stopping the bleeding. If it's uncomfortable, you must tell me! Pulling needles out like that can tear a blood vessel, do you understand?”

 

The damp gauze pressing against the wound hurt more than expected. I-hyeon frowned and turned his head away. Then, without warning, his collar was seized and his breath caught.

 

“Kgh…!”

 

He looked up sharply into Seung-hyuk's blazing eyes. Seung-hyuk was breathing hard, as though holding something back.

 

“Kwon I-hyeon. I can see you've decided you want to die, but it isn't happening today.”

 

“Cough…!”

 

“Both wrists, the backs of your hands, the tops of your feet—even your neck. There's no shortage of places to put a needle. So you decide.”

 

Seung-hyuk loosened his fist the moment I-hyeon grimaced and began coughing, but his gaze remained fierce. He clenched his jaw hard enough to make the muscles twitch and continued in a low voice, forcing his anger down.

 

“Either lie still and take your fluids, or keep throwing a fit and bleeding all over the place until you've punched holes in every bloody vein you've got.”

 

Dr Nam looked up at Seung-hyuk with reproach in his eyes. I-hyeon's body had gone rigid, making the bleeding worse, and the doctor was trying to deal with it. But he did not dare say anything to Seung-hyuk. Instead he glanced pointedly at Tae-sik, who was standing behind them.

 

Tae-sik, who had been pressing his fingers to his brow at Seung-hyuk's unusually threatening behaviour, quickly stepped to his side and bowed.

 

“Boss, why don't you leave this to the doctor and step outside for a moment?”

 

“…”

 

“We've had word that they may have found the bastards who took the drugs from the lounge basement.”

 

Even that failed to loosen Seung-hyuk's grip. Dr Nam's resentful expression deepened. Tae-sik noticed and moved closer, lowering his voice near Seung-hyuk's ear.

 

“Now is the right time. Gu Jin-hyuk is busy dealing with the aftermath of the banquet. The sooner we move, the easier it will be.”

 

Seung-hyuk shut his eyes, his face contorting, and let out a sigh. At last, his fingers loosened around I-hyeon's collar.

 

Dr Nam seized the opportunity to press I-hyeon's shoulders down as he coughed and struggled for breath. Seung-hyuk watched him lying there, drained of strength, his face colourless. Seung-hyuk clenched his fists. Then, as if he could no longer bear his own anger, he spun round and stormed out.

 

“…Phew.”

 

Dr Nam breathed a sigh of relief over his medical bag. His face relaxing, he checked I-hyeon's wrist and took out a fresh needle and some tape.

 

“You absolutely mustn't pull this one out,” he warned him several times. He connected the drip with practised speed, packed away his equipment, and bowed to I-hyeon, who was blinking slowly, before hurrying out with Tae-sik.

 

Click.

 

The door closed and silence filled the room again. High above, round drops of fluid fell one by one inside a glass bottle.

 

With Gu Seung-hyuk gone, making any more trouble would only hurt I-hyeon himself. He could not resist the heat that seemed to be dissolving his body little by little, or the exhaustion that had been growing since he opened his eyes. He slipped back into unconsciousness.

 

──── 📘📘 ────

 

“I think you need to see this.”

 

Seung-hyuk, who had shut himself in the study after leaving the main bedroom, looked up when Tae-sik appeared in the doorway carrying a tablet slightly larger than his palm. Tae-sik approached him without another word and set it on the desk. A messaging app was open on its screen.

 

The first thing Seung-hyuk saw was a photograph of a woman holding a blonde doll beside her face for a selfie. Boxes bearing the logo of a famous toy brand formed the background. The thick waves of her light-coloured hair, the slightly upturned eyes and full lips were familiar.

 

[Shall we go on a date? It's been ages.]

 

Seung-hyuk read the message below the picture and raised an eyebrow. It looked like some kind of social-media spam advert. He studied the glimpses of scenery around the woman, then slowly parted his lips.

 

“…Han Chae-yun.”

 

Saying her name aloud drew an irritated sigh from him. While they had been preparing their work together, he had occasionally remarked that she was more ambitious than she looked. Even so, he had not thought her bold enough to cause trouble on this scale.

 

It was rather impressive to learn that the drugs from the lounge basement had not been moved elsewhere by Gu Jin-hyuk after all, but had fallen into the hands of a third party involved in the same plan. Impressive or not, it made matters more dangerous and inconvenient.

 

“…Have you been in touch?”

 

At Seung-hyuk's questioning glance, Tae-sik scrunched up his nose. He took out his phone, selected a contact and raised it, putting the call on speaker.

 

*The person you are calling is unavailable. Please try again later.*

 

“I tried. She says she'll only speak to you, boss.”

 

Seung-hyuk's face tightened at the needless complication. But he forced his frown away, took out his own phone and made a call.

 

“You're later than I expected.”

 

After only a short ring, a voice came through that was more than relaxed—it was positively carefree. Seung-hyuk could almost picture her looking down at her long nails with her head tipped to one side.

 

Her excessive confidence made him run his tongue along the inside of his cheek. He clicked it against his teeth, then asked flatly,

 

“There's something I'm curious about. Did Gu Jin-hyuk get you into Director Park Hae-young's new film, or was it whoever's backing you?”

 

Chae-yun broke into a pleasant laugh. His reaction was exactly what she would have expected from Gu Seung-hyuk: remarkably unconcerned for someone who had just received such unwelcome news.

 

She wondered what information had shaken him so badly at the hotel last time that he had rushed away. Then she answered smoothly.

 

“I auditioned and got the part on my own. Ah, Seung-hyuk. I'd be a little hurt if that's really all you think of me.”

 

She deliberately drew out the ending, affecting disappointment that was plainly put on. Seung-hyuk tapped his fingers against the desk and twisted his mouth.

 

“As if. When I think how long ago you stole the goods and how brilliantly you've kept up the act ever since, I'm almost impressed.”

 

“Didn't you see what the doll in the storage room was wearing? It was the green dress I wore every time I met you. I left it as a little hint.”

 

“I'm a bit old to be lifting a doll's dress and looking underneath.”

 

“I did my best. You'll have to understand the rest, darling. I've got rather a lot riding on this too.”

 

“So. You've had all this time to do your sums and run through every possible scenario, and this is the conclusion you've reached?”

 

He was telling her to stop the pointless chatter and get to the point. Chae-yun caught on at once. She gave a thoughtful hum, perfectly unruffled, and replied lightly,

 

“Well, that's how it worked out.”

 

“…”

 

“How about a glass of wine in a little while?”

 

Before she had even finished, Seung-hyuk's eyes lifted. There was only a wall in front of him because of the turn in the corridor, but he stared at it as if he could see the main bedroom door beyond.

 

He slowly ran his tongue over the roof of his mouth, checked the time on his wrist and answered without hesitation.

 

“Not today.”

 

“Not today?”

 

Her voice was full of disbelief. After a short silence, Chae-yun let out an incredulous laugh and tried again.

 

“Seung-hyuk, I'm telling you I've got the goods you've been searching everywhere for—the ones that belong to Gu Jin-hyuk. You do understand that, don't you?”

 

Of course he knew. He had spent months searching while Chairman Gu hounded him over them. She was right that he needed to contact her before Gu Jin-hyuk or the chairman did. It was precisely why she had been confident enough to call.

 

“Still can't.”

 

Yet Seung-hyuk could only think of I-hyeon, who lay a few steps away behind that door, tormented by fever and nightmares. He rubbed a hand over his increasingly strained face.

 

“Wow. There have been rumours that Gu Seung-hyuk's attention is somewhere else these days. What, are they actually true?”

 

Fortunately, Chae-yun sounded more intrigued than offended. Apparently delighted by the gossip she had heard from somewhere, she began adding one remark after another. Seung-hyuk let her go on until she was nearly finished, then replied calmly.

 

“Any day but today. Fix a date and send it over. And when you come, bring every bastard who helped you plan this from behind the scenes. We'll talk it all through once, without going back and forth.”

 

His lowered voice was cold rather than merely calm. His stare at the wall towards the bedroom was equally icy. Recognising that his mood was sharper than usual, Chae-yun responded with an actress's practised nonchalance.

 

“You've worked out that much already? That's our Director Gu. Always so quick. Fine, then. I'll arrange a time and send the details to Mr Tae-sik. See you.”

 

Seung-hyuk ended the call the instant she finished and tossed his phone onto the desk. Leaning back in his chair, he pressed hard at his temples with a frown. Tae-sik knew his boss well enough to recognise his mood from that gesture alone and spoke more cautiously than ever.

 

“I think it's the Seungri gang. There must have been some dealings between them and Ms Han Chae-yun while we were preparing everything.”

 

Seung-hyuk knew perfectly well that people working towards the same goal did not necessarily think alike. Still, he had let his guard down a little. Looking back, his handling of the operation had begun to grow careless from the moment he decided to involve I-hyeon in his new plan.

 

“We'll know more after we talk to them—”

 

“Gu Jin-hyuk?”

 

“Ah…”

 

Momentarily startled by the sudden change of subject, Tae-sik hurried to answer.

 

“I don't think he's in any position to worry about us yet. There's the fire, of course, but apparently the police investigation also brought up the names of some very important people. He's busy keeping the press quiet and placating them. He'll be occupied for a while.”

 

“Has he worked out that we were behind it?”

 

“Not yet. But I think it's only a matter of time.”

 

Seung-hyuk swept a hand irritably through his hair. If Gu Jin-hyuk found out that the fire had been set deliberately, triggering the alarms and driving everyone out of the lounge so Seung-hyuk could get Kwon I-hyeon out, he would not take it lying down.

 

The more he considered it, the more advantageous it seemed to strike first, before Jin-hyuk could discover the truth and retaliate. He remembered the laptop he had taken from Executive Director Im at the pawnshop, now locked in the safe at the side of his study.

 

Originally, he had intended to take more time and arrange a perfect trap from which nobody could escape. Now he feared that the entire plan might be thrown into disarray because of one Kwon I-hyeon. Seung-hyuk tilted his head back with irritation, shut his eyes and swallowed.

 

Several scenes flickered through the light falling across his face. I-hyeon kneeling before Gu Jin-hyuk, taking his cock into his mouth. I-hyeon standing before the assembled men in nothing but a white shirt and a ball gag, his body trembling. I-hyeon's eyes full of hurt and venom as he shouted at Seung-hyuk. And, finally, a memory from the distant past that Seung-hyuk never wanted to recall.

 

He wanted to seize that slender neck and keep pushing until I-hyeon's pale face turned blue. At the same time, he wanted to hide him away where no threat could ever reach him. The two impulses raged at opposite extremes.

 

He had never experienced anything like it and did not know how to control himself. The feeling was too tangled to express in a word or two. Like a lump of mud, it left dirty smears everywhere it touched.

 

“Ah, fuck…”

 

Tae-sik stared at the red stain on Seung-hyuk's shirt cuff as the long sigh filled the study. It must have got there while Seung-hyuk was moving I-hyeon. Tae-sik wondered whether he even knew it was there, but kept his mouth shut and his posture unchanged.

 

“Kwak Tae-sik.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

The low voice broke the silence just as Tae-sik was about to offer to make himself available if anything was needed. Seung-hyuk's voice was so dry it sounded cold.

 

“Ask Dr Nam how long he thinks it'll take for Kwon I-hyeon's fever to come down.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

“Have him stay nearby tonight, just in case. If anything happens, tell him to call immediately.”

 

“Of course. Are you going somewhere?”

 

Seung-hyuk had risen from his chair, looking as though he had made a decision. Tae-sik looked at him blankly. Seung-hyuk cracked his neck from side to side and answered sharply.

 

“He says he doesn't want to spend even a second with me. We'd better accommodate the invalid, hadn't we?”

 

“…Ah, yes. Shall I book a hotel?”

 

“Forget it. I'm going to the office.”

 

Tae-sik bowed towards the back of Seung-hyuk's head as he left with nothing but his phone.

 

Everything his boss ordered and did contradicted the cold expression and tone he wore. Tae-sik had no idea what was going through the man's mind. Frowning, he turned away without another word.

 

──── 📘📘 ────

 

“Fuck… I really need to move this bloody office.”

 

The old brown building, which must have been nearly forty years old, had dreadful insulation. No matter how long they ran the heaters and warm-air blowers, the air became pleasantly mild at best, never properly warm.

 

During the day he barely noticed it, thanks to the hulking men filling the place. It was only in the early hours, when the office stood empty and grew chilly, that he thought perhaps it really was time to consider moving.

 

He had spent the night dozing under a single blanket on a hard leather sofa whose covering was peeling away. Now every part of him ached. With an arm across his forehead, he exhaled a long sigh. A phone began vibrating steadily on the table beside him.

 

Without even looking, Seung-hyuk felt around for it and answered.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Yes, boss. Ms Han Chae-yun has asked if you'd like to have lunch at Dawon in Danchang-dong at twelve today. What should I tell her?”

 

He glanced at the wall clock. The hands had passed ten only a little while ago. If he hurried, he could just about make it. He answered carelessly.

 

“Tell her fine.”

 

“Understood. Are you still at the office? I'll bring your clothes over.”

 

Seung-hyuk slowly pushed himself upright on the sofa. He rolled his arms and shoulders to loosen the stiff muscles, then asked a question instead of answering.

 

“Kwon I-hyeon?”

 

“He finished a whole bag of fluids and slept through the night. Doesn't seem to have woken yet. Shall I wake him?”

 

“Leave him.”

 

Seung-hyuk could still see him lying without strength in the middle of that enormous bed, his face ghostly pale. When I-hyeon woke and realised his fever had come down a little, he would undoubtedly start another fight about going out.

 

Before trying to explain his present conflict with Gu Jin-hyuk, Seung-hyuk wanted to get some food into him. He spoke to Tae-sik again.

 

“I'll make my own way there. You go and get that woman who does the cooking and housework.”

 

“Ah, you mean Mrs Park?”

 

“Yeah. Tell her to come in and make some soft food a sick person can manage.”

 

“Yes, understood—”

 

The call ended before Tae-sik could finish. Seung-hyuk looked down at his phone and saw his own face reflected in its black screen. He had not charged it the night before; apparently the battery had died. With a frown, he pushed it into his pocket and took out his car keys.

 

Beep-beep.

 

He parked in the officetel car park and went upstairs. Something about the corridor felt unsettled even before he reached the door. He approached in steady steps, entered the four-digit code and heard the cheerful click of the lock opening.

 

Seung-hyuk pushed the door open. The first thing he saw was I-hyeon's back, facing away from the entrance, and Tae-sik standing with a hand on his shoulder and an awkward expression.

 

Seung-hyuk raised one eyebrow.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Ah, you're here. I tried to contact you, but you weren't answering—”

 

“Oi, Gu Seung-hyuk.”

 

An agitated voice cut across Tae-sik's explanation. I-hyeon knocked the hand from his shoulder, turned and glared at Seung-hyuk with a furious frown. When Seung-hyuk merely looked down at him in silence, his face twisted further.

 

“What the hell are *you* trying to do to me?”

 

“Have you actually lost your mind?”

 

The drip seemed to have done him some good, and there was more colour in his face than yesterday, although he was still pale. Marks around his exposed neck were almost the same red as those staining his eyes. Under the loose short-sleeved shirt someone had put on him, slender arms showed purple bruising.

 

Seung-hyuk reached towards I-hyeon's forehead to check whether the fever remained. But before his palm could touch the soft skin, I-hyeon knocked it away.

 

“Don't touch me.”

 

Seung-hyuk looked once at his hand suspended in the air, then lowered his eyes to I-hyeon. I-hyeon met his gaze without flinching. His glare was fierce, his expression set and hard, with not a trace of its usual softness. He clenched and released his jaw, then continued coldly.

 

“Move. I need to go home, get washed and get to work.”

 

Seung-hyuk gave an involuntary snort. He had laughed before he could stop himself. Was it ridiculous or admirable that I-hyeon intended to go to his part-time job looking like that? Nothing good would come out of his mouth if he answered, so he turned away.

 

Then he spotted the housekeeper standing in the kitchen and raised an eyebrow. Her hands were clasped near her chest, her face anxious as she watched them. The table before her had been neatly laid with white rice, egg soup and other mild dishes. Seung-hyuk caught her eye. Looking distressed, she shook her head from side to side.

 

He had intended only to shower and change before going straight out. Instead, he took off his shoes and entered, catching I-hyeon by the wrist and leading him towards the dining table. I-hyeon twisted and struggled, but Seung-hyuk pulled out a chair and looked down at him.

 

“Sit down. Eat something first.”

 

He ignored the furious stare and took the seat opposite. At his signal, the woman hurried away.

 

Seung-hyuk would have to get ready and leave soon if he wanted to reach his appointment on time, which made Tae-sik, watching the whole thing, distinctly uneasy. Standing behind I-hyeon, he kept trying to catch Seung-hyuk's eye. His boss paid him no attention whatsoever.

 

Seung-hyuk picked up his neatly arranged chopsticks, slowly raised his eyes and gestured towards I-hyeon, who was still standing beside the chair.

 

“I said we'll talk after you've eaten. Sit.”

 

He began eating from the dishes with an air of finality. I-hyeon's tightly clenched fist only grew tighter. Seung-hyuk's apparently relaxed, unhurried attitude made his anger burn hotter. Frowning so deeply a crease formed between his brows, I-hyeon spoke in a composed voice that radiated cold.

 

“…Do I look like I could sit opposite you and swallow a meal?”

 

“I'm eating. Why shouldn't you be able to?”

 

“I don't have time for this. Go and open that door right now.”

 

The ends of I-hyeon's reddened eyes had been drawn sharply upwards, presumably to look angry. But the expression seemed less frightening than provocative. Perhaps Seung-hyuk's own judgement was so clouded that he simply saw it that way.

 

He deliberately picked at different dishes, pretending to eat. His mouth was too dry for the food to go down properly. I-hyeon, meanwhile, stood biting his lips until they reddened and glaring at him, clearly with no intention of sitting or picking up his chopsticks.

 

In truth, Seung-hyuk did not feel like eating either. He gave up stirring the food around and set his chopsticks down with a sharp clack.

 

Tap.

 

Frowning slightly, he turned aside and felt inside his jacket for a packet of cigarettes. He put one between his lips and lit it with a purple disposable lighter bearing the name of a karaoke bar. He tossed the lighter onto the table. It slid to a stop before a plate that had not been touched.

 

Tae-sik had already quietly taken himself and the guards away. The kitchen, like the rest of the apartment, had fallen silent. Seung-hyuk stared towards the empty living room rather than I-hyeon's eyes.

 

“Do you know something?”

 

“…”

 

“People with power can control both people with money and people with prestige.”

 

“…What?”

 

“People who have prestige but neither money nor power go around boasting about how frugal and honourable they are.”

 

I-hyeon frowned at the unexpected turn of conversation and pressed his lips together. He had no idea what Seung-hyuk was talking about. Whether he noticed or not, Seung-hyuk took a long drag and continued.

 

“But there are people who've got more money and time than they know what to do with, and no prestige or power.”

 

His gaze into empty space looked both defiant and vaguely self-mocking. I-hyeon watched him tap the table with the cigarette held between his index and middle fingers.

 

“There's only one thing people like that can do. Use everything money can buy to gather up people with influence and status…”

 

“…”

 

“And bind all those new connections together with secrets they can't afford to let out.”

 

I-hyeon's fingertips twitched. He had begun to guess where this introduction was leading. Knowing what might come next, however, did not make remembering what he wanted to forget any easier. He reached for the back of the chair beside him and gripped it hard.

 

“Every few months, Gu Jin-hyuk holds a private banquet. He invites people who know too much and have plenty to lose. Ostensibly, he gives them somewhere to indulge desires they can't openly admit to…”

 

Seung-hyuk tilted his head and ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek. His lowered eyes and furrowed brow almost made it seem as if he was hesitating over what to say next, although that was hardly possible.

 

I-hyeon remained silent. Seung-hyuk rubbed the end of his eyebrow with one finger and went on.

 

“You can guess the rest. Bring in outsiders, turn them into entertainment, take drugs among themselves. Same old routine.”

 

Tap, tap, tap. The sound of Seung-hyuk's fingertips against the table was exceptionally clear in the silence. I-hyeon watched white ash scatter from the end of the cigarette and blinked slowly.

 

He remembered the men who had changed his clothes with the ease of people who had done the same thing countless times. The masked men who had laid hands on him without hesitation to frighten him, then subdued his struggles in one swift movement. They had worn the practised competence of fishmongers slicing open a wriggling fish and removing its guts.

 

Then there had been the seemingly professional stage equipment. A table lined with instruments he had never seen before. Dozens of people seated as naturally as though they were watching a play in a small theatre.

 

And the men who had masturbated quite openly while watching him whimper under the blows of a thin whip against his naked body, entirely unconcerned by the people around them.

 

*So it wasn't the first time they'd done something like that.*

 

Disgust made him shut his eyes, and he heard the cold clink of chains in his memory. Above it came Gu Seung-hyuk's voice, speaking about these things as if they were nothing.

 

“That's roughly what the gathering was. Now that it's been ruined that badly, he'll be absolutely out of his mind with rage.”

 

“…”

 

“So stay here until I've made sure that bastard can't pull anything.”

 

But as Seung-hyuk spoke with such intimate knowledge of Gu Jin-hyuk's affairs, I-hyeon's racing thoughts began to slow. One by one, his scattered thoughts disappeared. The scenes that had been playing against his will, like advertisements at a cinema, grew hazy. Only one question remained clear in the fog.

 

“Kwon I-hyeon. Did you hear what I said?”

 

*Gu Seung-hyuk, who moved so naturally through the waiting area behind the stage.*

 

*Gu Seung-hyuk, who knows every detail of what Gu Jin-hyuk does.*

 

*Gu Seung-hyuk, who told his brother so casually at the restaurant that he'd chosen someone especially to his taste…*

 

“Kwon I-hyeon.”

 

*Did you know all of it?*

 

“…Gu Seung-hyuk.”

 

I-hyeon's voice rang through the room, low and desolate. Seung-hyuk had been watching his face for some time, but I-hyeon only stared blankly at the floor to one side. His red lips moved slowly in the silence.

 

“Was the thing you were looking for the drugs Gu Jin-hyuk was going to hand out there?”

 

*There's something I'm looking for. In two weeks he's holding an opening party for VIPs, and I need the password he'll have with him that day.*

 

“…What?”

 

“And you knew Gu Jin-hyuk brought outsiders to those parties to use as entertainment…”

 

His voice faded with every word until the sentence dissolved into a swallowed whisper. He looked as if he could scarcely believe what he was saying.

 

I-hyeon swallowed the breath he had drawn because he no longer trusted himself to let it out. His eyes shook as he spoke.

 

“You knew from the beginning?”

 

*He seems to like boys who look like you. Pale and thin, with a bit of fight left in their eyes. He takes them to play with until he's bored, then throws them away. Did you really think he'd leave you alone when you're standing beside me?*

 

I-hyeon slowly lifted his head. For once, Seung-hyuk's eyes were a little wider than usual. Smoke curled upwards from the cigarette between his fingers. Neither man moved as they looked at each other.

 

The fact that neither could say a word only unsettled I-hyeon further. It was as if the silence itself confirmed every accusation he had made. Nausea rose with something hot and violent in his chest.

 

“…Gu Seung-hyuk, answer me.”

 

“Did you know this was going to happen from the start when you told me to get close to Gu Jin-hyuk?”

 

I-hyeon gripped the hem of his clothes with trembling fingers, but it did no good. He shivered as he fought the sensation of the ground giving way beneath him.

 

“Was that why you showed me those things in the Nexus basement at the beginning?”

 

“…”

 

“So I'd know what to expect? So I could prepare myself?”

 

Even to his own ears, his voice shook terribly. His face had twisted beyond his control. He could not imagine how he looked.

 

And yet he stayed. Some fragile thread of hope remained that Seung-hyuk might offer an explanation, some excuse. But Seung-hyuk sat there as though he, too, were stunned, unable to answer.

 

The meaning of that silence seemed painfully obvious. The clock's second hand ticked with unbearable clarity. I-hyeon closed his eyes in despair, unable to understand why it felt as if his whole world were collapsing.

 

“You…”

 

“You must have hated me that much.”

 

He whispered the words between ragged breaths.

 

“You really hated me that much.”

 

His distant past and everything that had happened since meeting Seung-hyuk again flashed before his eyes. To think it had all been leading to this ending… absurdly, he wanted to die.

 

He had not always made the right decisions, but most of what he had done had been to protect Gu Seung-hyuk. Now it seemed Seung-hyuk had intended from the beginning to reduce him to this state. Everything I-hyeon had done felt invalidated. Resentment, regret and rage ran wild beyond his control.

 

He exhaled as though releasing a breath he had been holding for years. Seung-hyuk belatedly reached for his arm, but I-hyeon stepped back out of reach.

 

There was now too much distance between them for Seung-hyuk to touch him while seated. Seung-hyuk stubbed out his cigarette and was about to rise when the front door opened. Tae-sik came inside, his brow creased with difficulty.

 

“Boss, I'm sorry, but you really need to leave now.”

 

The words were directed at Seung-hyuk, but it was I-hyeon who turned towards them. While his attention shifted, Seung-hyuk reached out and caught his thin wrist. Tae-sik looked increasingly distressed that his boss was ignoring him and murmured “Boss” again.

 

I-hyeon closed his eyes weakly.

 

“Gu Seung-hyuk.”

 

“If I have to look at you for even another moment, I think I'll genuinely want to die. So please, just let go of me.”

 

His lashes trembled as his voice faded. Seung-hyuk's grip tightened instead. Seeing that he had no intention of releasing him, I-hyeon gave a laugh so faint it could barely be heard.

 

“…You won't even give me that?”

 

His voice was so bitterly self-mocking that even a stranger would have felt their heart drop. Seung-hyuk rose to his feet and released his hand at once. He knew he should not walk away now; he should say something. But faced with I-hyeon looking more precarious than ever, he could not offer excuses that he himself could not believe.

 

He had no way to explain that every event since their reunion had, in fact, arisen from his own choices. He pushed his chair in, stepped back towards the entrance and wiped a hand down his face.

 

“All right. Fine. Just stay here for now.”

 

“I'll go out, so you stay here.”

 

I-hyeon remained standing with his eyes closed. He did not answer. Seung-hyuk stared at him stubbornly, then frowned, clenched his fist and walked towards the door.

 

There were footsteps and the sound of shoes being put on. Then the front door opened and slammed shut, leaving the apartment quiet.

 

Only then did I-hyeon slowly open his eyes.

 

He could not believe Seung-hyuk had ordered him to get close to Gu Jin-hyuk despite knowing exactly what happened to people who became involved with him. No matter how terribly they had parted nine years ago, I-hyeon had never imagined that the hatred could remain so fierce. And all that time he had struggled to protect Seung-hyuk without knowing any of this. The realisation struck like a blow to the back of his head.

 

“…Ah…”

 

His stinging eyes grew hot. Before long tears were running down his cheeks. Once they began, no matter how often he wiped them away with the backs of his hands, they would not stop.

 

Perhaps the reason it hurt so much to believe that Seung-hyuk had knowingly pushed him into the pit was that I-hyeon had secretly harboured a hope that things might end differently this time. He felt pathetic for having stayed by Seung-hyuk's side without knowing anything.

 

Could time heal a body and mind this badly torn apart? Even if some miracle closed all his wounds, he would probably carry the scars for the rest of his life.

 

The head he had been holding upright with such effort fell helplessly forwards. Round droplets marked the floor between his feet.

 

By the time Seung-hyuk was nearly at the appointment, the short winter day was almost over. Entering a district known for its large Korean-Chinese and Chinese communities, he found that shop signs written in Chinese did indeed outnumber those in Korean. It had been a long time since Tae-sik had driven into territory managed by the Seungri gang of his own accord. He watched the surroundings sharply as he drove.

 

After several major crossroads, they turned onto a narrow road and came upon a three-storey building that looked like a miniature Chinese fortress. A large sign above the ground-floor doors bore the Chinese characters for *Dawon*.

 

Tae-sik stopped the black saloon in the spacious car park. Passers-by on the road glanced towards it. He got out, went round the bonnet and headed for the rear passenger door, but Seung-hyuk had already opened it himself and stepped out.

 

“Boss, are you sure you'll be all right going in alone?”

 

Tae-sik followed as Seung-hyuk walked straight towards the building. He spoke more carefully than usual. Seung-hyuk had said nothing during the journey, only stared out of the window with a dark expression. Tae-sik worried about whether he would be able to have a proper conversation inside, but he could hardly say that openly. He pressed his lips together and hurried after him.

 

“It's fine. Stay here.”

 

Those were Seung-hyuk's first words since the drive began. He jerked his chin towards Tae-sik, then opened the door without hesitation.

 

The building had an open central space, with the second and third floors visible from the ground floor. That made the interior seem even larger than it had from outside.

 

There were more people seated at the scattered tables than Seung-hyuk had expected. They were not the families and couples one would usually find in a restaurant. Most were large, hard-faced men who plainly belonged to this world.

 

*What a fucking performance.*

 

Hostile stares came at Seung-hyuk from several directions as soon as he entered. Their owners seemed to know exactly who he was, and looked ready to grab the nearest thing that could serve as a weapon. The menace was stronger than he had anticipated. Seung-hyuk simply shoved his hands into his pockets, his expression frighteningly blank.

 

“This way, please.”

 

Just as he was wondering how much longer he would have to endure the attention, a woman in a black cheongsam approached. Her hair was pinned up. She bowed, then pressed the button for the lift without even asking why he had come.

 

He followed her to the third floor and round a corner to a private room set deep inside the corridor. As they reached the sliding door, attendants on either side drew it open smoothly.

 

The interior was lavishly decorated with red fabric shot through with gold thread. Two people were seated at the large central table.

 

“Ah, Seung-hyuk, you're here?”

 

Chae-yun, seated on the right, looked up first. She recognised him and greeted him with a bright smile, her voice remarkably cheerful and confident for someone who had engineered this mess.

 

Seung-hyuk moved his gaze past her and found a stranger where he had expected to see someone else. When their eyes met, the man's foxlike, upward-slanting eyes curved into a long smile.

 

Seung-hyuk raised one eyebrow and pulled out the chair before him.

 

The man across the table appeared to be in his early to mid-thirties. His sharp eyes and high nose gave him a cold look, yet his smiling face was polished and handsome enough. Despite Seung-hyuk's icy stare, he showed no timidity or hesitation as he extended a business card.

 

“Just as handsome as they said. Lovely to meet you. Here's my card. Yeo San. Yeo, and just San—one character for my given name.”

 

The black card was embossed in gold. The name of the three-storey Chinese restaurant and the man's own name appeared side by side, with the title *Proprietor* beside it. Seung-hyuk examined the card and spoke.

 

“Didn't know the Seungri lot had got into the restaurant business.”

 

“Ah, today I'm merely here on behalf of President Do.”

 

“You know how terribly busy the man is.”

 

Seung-hyuk frowned at the playful wink, then rose straight from his chair and turned to Chae-yun.

 

“Han Chae-yun, tell President Do that we're both busy men. He can stop wasting our energy on pointless power games and contact me when he's actually decided he wants to do business.”

 

Chae-yun's eyes widened at the coldness in his voice and his unusually dismissive manner. Seung-hyuk paid her no attention. He had already turned towards the door when a pleasant, low voice called from behind him.

 

“Oh, whoa, whoa. Hang on, hang on.”

 

“I haven't come here to play games either.”

 

Seung-hyuk turned. Yeo San was still seated, both hands raised as if surrendering. He smiled with his lips but lowered one eyebrow crookedly, rested his elbows on the table and propped his face on his interlaced hands.

 

“Seems to me you're the one who needs to discuss how this little game with the dolls is going to end, Mr Gu Seung-hyuk. Am I wrong?”

 

Seung-hyuk's brow tightened. He studied the man openly; Yeo San deliberately made his eyes curve even more with a cheerful smile.

 

Seung-hyuk disliked the whole performance. But if President Do had appointed this man as his representative, he was unlikely to be as easy to deal with as he looked. Seung-hyuk rubbed between his brows and sat down again. Yeo San uncrossed his hands and leaned back.

 

“There we are. Sensible decision. So, what do you say—have you eaten? Our chef used to work at the Blue House, so he's good at everything, but his stir-fried dishes are especially—”

 

“What do you want?”

 

The interruption rendered Yeo San's efforts at small talk useless. He opened his eyes wide and drew his lips into a straight line.

 

“Ah, straight to business?”

 

“…”

 

“You don't look impatient, but you really are. Well, fine. Straight to it, then.”

 

He did not seem offended at having been cut off. He merely smiled again and stood. Chae-yun seized the pause to pick up her handbag and rise as well. She offered a composed, practised smile and nodded a farewell.

 

“You two talk. I'll wait outside.”

 

Chae-yun kissed Yeo San lightly on the cheek and left. At the same time, he went to his jacket hanging on the wall and took out a small box, no bigger than a fist. Whistling briefly, he returned to the table, set the box in front of Seung-hyuk and went back to his seat.

 

Seung-hyuk watched him with a clicking tongue, then opened the box without hesitation. Inside lay the head of a Barbie doll, its hair chopped into a short bob.

 

The disembodied head against the glossy red cloth was rather eerie. Seung-hyuk lifted it casually and pushed a finger into the hole where its neck should have been. If they were about to have the conversation he expected, something would be hidden inside that hollow space.

 

Rustle.

 

Sure enough, his fingers met plastic. His mouth lifted crookedly as he caught the material with a fingernail and pulled out a tiny resealable bag. Inside it was brown powder made up of relatively large crystals.

 

He opened the seal, held it briefly to his nose, then raised his eyes to Yeo San. The man grinned.

 

“Thirty kilos of B&B.”

 

“We'd like to distribute it under Taeseong's name.”

 

Seung-hyuk gave an involuntary snort. He set the bag down, leaned back in his chair and brushed back his hair. Yeo San, who had been observing his every movement, continued.

 

“Frankly, if we distribute this ourselves, all we'll do is give Taeseong an excuse to cut our heads off. So we thought we'd pay our taxes voluntarily.”

 

Their eyes met across the table. Seung-hyuk's gaze was sharper and more persistent than expected, but Yeo San merely shrugged.

 

“You could say Chairman Gu's retired from the front line altogether… and Director Gu Jin-hyuk seems to want to keep his own hands clean.”

 

“…”

 

“I heard our Director Gu here handles this sort of thing.”

 

His bright smile was infuriatingly smooth. Annoyed for no particular reason, Seung-hyuk picked up the overturned doll's head.

 

“It's not the only thing I handle.”

 

He rolled the head in his palm, speaking almost to himself. Then he clicked his tongue and looked up at Yeo San with a cold stare.

 

“You aren't afraid Taeseong will cut your heads off. You just don't have a distribution route, do you?”

 

“The police have been cracking down on drugs for a while, so your couriers and dealers will be losing their heads one by one. Gu Jin-hyuk's reduced supply enough that now would be the perfect time to release it onto the market. Trouble is, what you're holding is stolen property you can't account for.”

 

Yeo San smiled with his mouth slightly open, showing no sign of surprise at the exposure of his weakness. His eyes curved as if to say *you caught me*.

 

“Ah… busted.”

 

He lowered his mouth at the corners, rubbed his temple with an index finger and jerked his chin towards the bag in Seung-hyuk's hand.

 

“We'll give you thirty per cent.”

 

“…”

 

“In exchange for using Taeseong's distribution network.”

 

Seung-hyuk listened without speaking, pressing his thumb into the doll's blonde hair. Its soft texture recalled the feeling of someone's black hair passing between his fingers. Then I-hyeon's face as he had last seen it at home flashed through his mind. His grip tightened.

 

Yeo San watched the doll's head deform in his hand, then said cheerfully,

 

“All right, you need some time to think?”

 

“…”

 

“That's fine. My number's on the card. Call me there.”

 

Yeo San was about to stand when Seung-hyuk dropped the doll's head onto the table with a sharp tap. The noise was louder than expected. Yeo San looked at him in puzzlement. Seung-hyuk rubbed the corner of his mouth with one hand and slowly raised his eyes.

 

“Why not distribute it yourselves instead?”

 

“Hmm. I think I just explained why that's rather difficult—”

 

“Using Taeseong's distribution network.”

 

The blunt interruption made Yeo San look straight into his eyes. Seung-hyuk continued.

 

“Online and offline. All of it.”

 

Silence dropped instantly over the room. Yeo San, who had half-risen, slowly lowered himself into his chair again. His eyes shone with far greater interest as one corner of his mouth lifted.

 

“Now that's an interesting proposition.”

 

“…”

 

“You want us to take over Taeseong's distribution network? Why?”

 

The unexpected offer had thoroughly captured his attention. He leaned forward without even realising he had dropped the polite form of address.

 

Seung-hyuk smiled crookedly at him, replying with an indifferent tone as though the answer were obvious.

 

“Isn't it obvious? Since ancient times, people planning a rebellion have made secret alliances with rival states beforehand. Think of this as collateral, if you like. Depending on what you do, you might be able to take even more of the spoils.”

 

Yeo San had been leaning well forward as he listened. Now he slowly settled back in his chair, his eyes still bright. Seung-hyuk clicked his tongue lightly.

 

“I've got my hands on some rather useful ingredients…”

 

“As someone who runs a restaurant, you'll know better than most that things like this taste best when they're fresh.”

 

From inside his jacket Seung-hyuk took out a small tablet and tossed it towards Yeo San. It held only information from Executive Director Im's laptop that was safe enough to disclose.

 

Yeo San merely raised an eyebrow and stared down at it without touching. Seung-hyuk spoke again.

 

“It's always been frustrating, dividing everything between just two of us. It's not as though this is such a huge market.”

 

“…”

 

“The Seungri gang ought to live up to its name.”

 

Yeo San continued gazing at the tablet, which displayed a page of a white document. Seung-hyuk drove his point home.

 

“I'm planning to tear Taeseong apart a little. How about it? Enough to whet your appetite?”

 

Yeo San's eyes shot up to meet his. Seung-hyuk held his gaze and twisted his mouth into a broad, crooked smile.

 

“Discuss it with President Do and get back to me.”

 

“You've got my number, haven't you? If you don't, get it from Han Chae-yun.”

 

Seung-hyuk rose and picked up his jacket. He was heading towards the door when he turned back as though something had just occurred to him.

 

“Oh, and perhaps you should be a bit more selective about the customers you let in.”

 

“…”

 

“How do you expect to keep a restaurant open with the dining room looking like that?”

 

He raised an eyebrow, indicated the floor below and delivered the comment without concern.

 

Tae-sik, waiting outside with a grim expression, immediately fell into step behind Seung-hyuk when he emerged. He cautiously addressed his boss as they walked.

 

“Did the negotiations go well? I'm not sure showing them the documents was the right decision.”

 

“They need a chance to work out whether they're better off contacting Gu Jin-hyuk or joining us. If President Do has surrounded himself with people who've got a brain between them, they'll contact us on their own.”

 

“I see.”

 

“And if they can't work out something that simple, there's no point involving them in the first place.”

 

Seung-hyuk stopped beside the parked car, narrowed one eye and took out a cigarette. Tae-sik quickly lit it for him, then hesitated as though he had something to say.

 

“What?”

 

Seung-hyuk noticed and raised an eyebrow. Tae-sik pressed his lips into a straight line. After a moment's thought he glanced at his boss and spoke.

 

“I'm not sure whether I ought to say this, but…”

 

Remarks that began like that rarely ended well. Still, it was something that needed to be addressed at least once. Tae-sik watched carefully in case Seung-hyuk was in as foul a mood as before and silence would be wiser. Thankfully, his edge seemed to have softened a little.

 

“You weren't planning to make contact with the Seungri gang quite this quickly, were you?”

 

“…”

 

“Is it because of Mr Kwon I-hyeon?”

 

Seung-hyuk drew deeply on the cigarette, then exhaled a long stream of smoke. His angular jaw twitched; he had clenched his teeth without realising.

 

The reason he fell silent at Tae-sik's question was that if he put a hand over his heart and asked himself honestly, he could not bring himself to answer no.

 

He had originally intended to spend more time preparing the documents from Executive Director Im to bring down Chairman Gu. The plan to join forces with another organisation and dispose of Gu Jin-hyuk was likewise supposed to be carried out carefully, with no mistakes.

 

But his actions while getting I-hyeon out of the lounge had created a situation in which there was no telling where Jin-hyuk's anger might land.

 

If it turned on Seung-hyuk, as it always had, he could deal with it by revealing his cards one at a time. The problem was that Jin-hyuk might now direct that anger at I-hyeon instead. He could not begin to imagine what that man might do to Kwon I-hyeon, who already looked so dangerously close to breaking.

 

“…Hah.”

 

Seung-hyuk had long known what went on at the gatherings Gu Jin-hyuk called banquets. He had simply avoided attending most of them. He did not particularly want to become entangled with Jin-hyuk's connections, and he preferred taking part himself to sitting around with a group of ageing people pretending to watch a refined musical performance.

 

He had been right in thinking Jin-hyuk would take a liking to I-hyeon when he pushed the two together. But he had never consciously connected I-hyeon with those gatherings.

 

After all, he had told I-hyeon to try to win over Gu Jin-hyuk on an impulse made up of equal parts anger and spite.

 

Even if he gave I-hyeon a task, he had intended only to use him to obtain the password. And he had been too busy tormenting himself with rage and regret whenever he saw Jin-hyuk and I-hyeon grow too close.

 

But what use were any of those excuses now?

 

As he traced events back one by one, belated regret and self-loathing began to rise. Questions pushed their way through the gaps.

 

*Can you honestly say you never thought, not even once, that Gu Jin-hyuk might use Kwon I-hyeon that way?*

 

*Even when you ignored all those chances to tell I-hyeon to stop and call the whole thing off, you never imagined this might happen?*

 

Seung-hyuk bit down on his cigarette filter and grimaced. It had occurred to him that somewhere, without admitting it even to himself, he might have anticipated this outcome.

 

Was it possible he still hated I-hyeon for what happened nine years ago? Had the hostility never really faded? Had he wanted to destroy him like this, to exact revenge?

 

The thought struck like a blow to the back of his head, sending a chill down his spine. A sharp wind slipped inside his collar, but his head remained numb.

 

*No. Surely not. Before Kwon I-hyeon appeared again, that was something I'd buried completely in the past.*

 

He sank into those unanswerable thoughts for so long that the cigarette burned down towards his fingers. The sudden heat made him frown and throw it away. Only then did he notice Tae-sik waiting with the rear car door open. He rubbed his face in irritation and climbed inside.

 

“Where shall I take you?”

 

Seung-hyuk was about to say the officetel automatically when he remembered I-hyeon still there. He closed his mouth. The image of I-hyeon panting that he did not want to see Seung-hyuk's face any more filled his mind, leaving a bitter taste.

 

It had been a dry, exhausted face without a trace of moisture, yet somehow it had looked as if he was crying. Seung-hyuk clenched a fist and looked out of the window. From the front came another cautious call.

 

“…Boss?”

 

“The office.”

 

He finally answered, released his grip and rested his head against the seat. Tae-sik saw him in the rear-view mirror. He considered asking once more whether a hotel would not be better, but thought better of it and silently turned the wheel left. The black saloon glided out of the car park.

 

The traffic was heavy, so they took a different route from the one they had used earlier. They drove slowly past a long row of shops. Purely by chance, Seung-hyuk noticed a branch of a porridge restaurant chain between an optician's and a chemist's.

 

“Kwak Tae-sik, hold on. Pull over there.”

 

He pointed towards the outside lane. I-hyeon had eaten nothing since yesterday, and the instruction left Seung-hyuk's mouth before it had even passed through his thoughts.

 

Tae-sik looked at him in puzzlement but pulled up beside the pavement and switched on the hazard lights. He met Seung-hyuk's eyes in the rear-view mirror.

 

“Is something wrong?”

 

“Wait here a moment.”

 

Seung-hyuk opened the door and strode away before Tae-sik could reply. He went straight to the porridge shop he had spotted. There were only two or three occupied tables inside. After a cursory glance around, he placed an order, and before long he was handed a shopping bag neatly packed with plastic food containers.

 

He was checking his cigarette packet as he walked out, but then changed direction instead of returning to the car, heading for a convenience store.

 

“Welcome.”

 

Unlike Kwon I-hyeon, who had worked diligently throughout his convenience-store shifts despite earning a mere ten thousand won an hour, the worker here kept tapping away at his phone, apparently indifferent to customers.

 

Only when Seung-hyuk took a bottle of sports drink from the fridge and set it on the counter did the worker put the phone aside.

 

“Marlboro. Red.”

 

The indifferent order made the worker glance up at his face. He took out the cigarettes and dropped them onto the counter without much care.

 

“Seven thousand three hundred won.”

 

Seung-hyuk was reaching for cash without thinking when something in the refrigerated display caught his eye. It was the section stocked with triangular rice balls and packaged meals.

 

The sandwich on the top shelf had familiar packaging. Looking more closely, he realised it was the same kind I-hyeon had brought home during his previous stay at the officetel.

 

He remembered I-hyeon silently nibbling away at a sandwich like a little hamster. Seung-hyuk ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek, then added the sandwich to his purchase and tucked it into the bag.

 

“You're back, boss. You could've just asked me to get all this.”

 

“Drop me at the office, then take this to the officetel.”

 

“Yes, understood.”

 

Seung-hyuk handed over the shopping bag. Tae-sik carefully shut the rear door, got behind the wheel and fastened his seat belt.

 

The black saloon sped along roads that were unusually clear. The car shut out the noise outside, making the interior relatively quiet. It was not long before a phone suddenly began to vibrate.

 

Tae-sik frowned at the buzzing against his chest. Then he checked the name on the screen and glanced at Seung-hyuk through the rear-view mirror.

 

“I'll take this call.”

 

Seung-hyuk waved a hand to tell him to suit himself. Tae-sik put in an earbud and answered. He seemed eager to end the conversation, responding with curt repetitions of “Yeah”, “Yeah” and “No”. Then a brief curse slipped through his teeth. Startled by his own reaction, he hastily checked the mirror and ended the call with “Wait there for now.”

 

“…”

 

Silence settled over the car again, making the abrupt conversation stand out all the more. Tae-sik worked his lips, trying to decide how to pass on what he had just heard.

 

“Who was it?”

 

Seung-hyuk, who had been tapping at his phone in the back, spoke first. Tae-sik frowned involuntarily, smoothed his expression and answered.

 

“Well… boss. That was Sang-cheol, one of the men guarding the house. I think you'll need to stop by.”

 

Seung-hyuk's eyes changed at once. His face hardened, his brow tightened, and his stare in the mirror made Tae-sik break into a cold sweat. He hurried on.

 

“Mr Kwon I-hyeon went into his room after you left earlier. Apparently they haven't heard a sound since he shut the door, and he hasn't come back out…”

 

“Maybe he's sleeping.”

 

“It seems the lads made some kind of mistake. They're a bit worried.”

 

“…Mistake?”

 

Tae-sik's voice trailed off uncertainly, though he had done nothing wrong himself. Every time he glanced in the mirror, Seung-hyuk's expression looked fiercer. At the word *mistake*, it turned savage.

 

While Tae-sik anxiously waited for instructions, Seung-hyuk's icy voice filled the car.

 

“What mistake?”

 

“…”

 

“Turn the car around.”

 

It took less than twenty minutes for the hastily turned car to reach the officetel. Seung-hyuk opened the door as soon as it stopped and stepped out.

 

He went straight into the building, took the lift upstairs and threw open the front door. The first things he saw were two men with ashen faces, bowing their heads in a panic.

 

He left dealing with them until later and walked straight to the closed guest-room door.

 

Rattle, rattle.

 

“Kwon I-hyeon.”

 

He tried the handle, but it only rattled uselessly. He put his face near the door and called I-hyeon's name. His own voice echoed back from the panel.

 

He knocked and called again and again. Nothing answered from within.

 

*If I have to look at you for even another moment, I think I'll genuinely want to die.*

 

The words I-hyeon had said before Seung-hyuk left suddenly came back to him, making the back of his neck go cold. He remembered the scars that had been carved so terribly into those thin wrists.

 

His knocking grew faster. His voice grew louder. Tae-sik had finally caught up and entered the apartment.

 

“Kwon I-hyeon, either open the door or answer me before I break the lock!”

 

Behind him, Tae-sik was ordering someone to find a key, but Seung-hyuk kept pounding. The longer it went on, the more dreadful possibilities crowded his mind.

 

Clenching his fists to control his anxiety, he looked around for something he could use to break the handle. He had just spotted a fire extinguisher standing in the corner of the balcony and was about to go for it when—

 

Click.

 

The door that had remained firmly shut despite his constant pounding opened a fraction, barely enough to slip a finger through. In the gap appeared I-hyeon, his eyes and the tip of his nose red, his face twisted.

 

He bit his lips until they flushed and glared at Seung-hyuk with all the force he could muster. His voice was hoarse.

 

“You think everything I say is a joke, don't you?”

 

“Come out for a moment. Let's talk somewhere with a bit of space.”

 

Seeing how unwell I-hyeon looked, Seung-hyuk pushed back his untidy hair as though forcing himself to be patient. He pulled the door open and reached for I-hyeon's narrow wrist. But I-hyeon violently shook his arm free, his voice cutting through the air.

 

“Don't lay your hands on me!”

 

Only then did Seung-hyuk take in his appearance properly. His face had gone so bloodless that he looked on the verge of collapse. Even his hand on the door handle shook, yet he was doing everything he could to keep his defences sharp.

 

More emotion than Seung-hyuk had seen earlier clung to him. His eyes wavered with anxiety. Seung-hyuk tilted his head back.

 

Whenever an unbearable impulse rose in him, he had a habit of staring up at the ceiling and running his tongue along the roof of his mouth in an attempt to suppress it. Relief and uncontrollable rage had surged up together the moment he saw I-hyeon was alive.

 

Only after his prominent Adam's apple had moved heavily up and down several times did he lower his head. Without looking at I-hyeon again, he turned towards the entrance.

 

“Boss.”

 

Tae-sik sensed the dangerous shift in Seung-hyuk's mood and quickly held an arm out in front of him. But Seung-hyuk's eyes were fixed on a man beyond Tae-sik, who stood fidgeting and staring at the floor.

 

Seung-hyuk knocked Tae-sik's arm aside and approached the bulky man. The whites beneath his pupils showed as he glared up from under his brows. The man immediately brought his hands together and lowered his head.

 

“Name.”

 

The voice was so cold it seemed devoid of temperature altogether. The huge man's thick hands began shaking. He appeared to be trying to speak, but only trembling breaths came between his moving lips.

 

Seung-hyuk watched him, slowly closed and opened his eyes, then drove a fist into his solar plexus. The man doubled over with a choking gasp. Seung-hyuk repeated himself.

 

“Name.”

 

“Kim—cough—Kim, Kim Sang-cheol. Cough, cough…”

 

He barely managed to get the words out between fits of coughing. Clutching his stomach, he still could not recover his breath. Realising he would be in no state to explain anything, Seung-hyuk turned to the other guard. The man straightened immediately, visibly terrified.

 

Seung-hyuk addressed him instead.

 

“Tell me what happened.”

 

The other guard jolted. He sensed that a wrong answer could land him in Sang-cheol's position, but before he could decide where to begin, Seung-hyuk's remaining patience ran out. He swung his fist into Sang-cheol's abdomen again.

 

Thud!

 

“I told you to tell me what happened.”

 

“It—it wasn't anything important!”

 

The man had blurted that out not because the huge Sang-cheol had staggered sideways from the blow, nor because it had sounded as if something had burst inside him. It was simply the look in Seung-hyuk's eyes, rage burning so fiercely it might consume him too, that had made the man instinctively freeze with terror.

 

Seung-hyuk gave an incredulous laugh at the claim that nothing important had happened. Apparently they had imagined he would not notice the shame, humiliation and revulsion clinging to I-hyeon's eyes, where until earlier there had been nothing but anger and defiance.

 

The laugh turned into a breathless sound low in his throat. He rubbed a hand down his face and unfastened his wristwatch.

 

“Boss, why don't you go inside and let me deal with this? There's no need for you to dirty your hands over the junior lads.”

 

Tae-sik, who had been watching from behind, finally stepped in. Seung-hyuk placed the watch in his hand and jerked his chin for him to move aside.

 

Tae-sik frowned, clearly at a loss, but stepped away. At once Sang-cheol dropped to his knees and bowed his head.

 

“Director, I was wrong. It'll never happen again, I swear. Please forgive me just this once.”

 

He rubbed his palms together, pleading desperately. Seung-hyuk sneered down at him with his head crooked.

 

“Why the fuck are you asking *me* to forgive you?”

 

In a low voice, Seung-hyuk seized Sang-cheol's hair with his left hand and tilted his head sideways, then slapped his cheek hard with his right. The sharp crack sent Sang-cheol's face to one side. Seung-hyuk pulled him upright by the hair again.

 

“Oi. Look straight ahead.”

 

“Argh… yes…”

 

Smack!

 

“Ngh!”

 

“I told you to look ahead.”

 

Smack!

 

Each time Sang-cheol's face turned from the blow, Seung-hyuk forced it back into position. Eventually he simply held the man's hair fast and kept striking him. Every swing of his arm produced a sharp sound, almost like something tearing.

 

“Nngh… argh!”

 

After only a handful of slaps, Sang-cheol's face barely resembled a human one. His lips were split, one cheek swollen grotesquely and dark purple bruising already spreading across it. With every blow his unfocused eyes rolled upwards. Even at a glance, he was in a serious condition.

 

His colleague, kneeling beside him, squeezed his eyes shut. Then, as though making a decision, he bit his lip and hurriedly dropped fully to his knees.

 

“D-Director… I'll tell you what we said.”

 

He placed his clenched fists on his thighs and bowed his head. Seung-hyuk's hand slowly dropped.

 

Even having that murderous gaze move from Sang-cheol to him made the man feel unable to breathe. But he feared that if he stayed quiet, Sang-cheol might really die. Trembling, he forced the words out.

 

“It wasn't… wasn't anything much. We were just talking among ourselves and he happened to hear it…”

 

“…”

 

“We didn't mean to say anything bad about him on purpose…”

 

He stopped to gauge Seung-hyuk's expression, then looked down, miserable. Seung-hyuk stared at him and spoke.

 

“I'll decide whether it was anything much after I hear it.”

 

“Tell me exactly what you said. Don't change a single word.”

 

Terrified by the lethally cold voice, the guard glanced about and began to stammer.

 

“W-What makes that person so…?”

 

Smack!

 

Seung-hyuk abruptly struck Sang-cheol again while the man was speaking. The guard's eyes widened, and he clamped his mouth shut. Seung-hyuk sighed briefly, then turned his cold gaze back towards him.

 

“I said *exactly*. Not one word different.”

 

“W-What makes that fucking rent boy so special… that the boss has fallen head over heels and it's come to this? Doesn't seem anything special apart from having a tight arse…”

 

“…And?”

 

“Looks like the type to scream every time he gets fucked… so he must be bloody sensitive. Probably plans to empty the boss's pockets while he's got the chance… So fuck, why don't we even get one go at—”

 

“Ha…”

 

The stream of crude mockery stopped dead under Seung-hyuk's laugh.

 

He tipped his head back, covered his eyes with a hand and gave a bitter chuckle. The murderous quality coming off him now was beyond anything before. The man clenched his fists.

 

“Ah… hah. Fuck…”

 

For a moment Seung-hyuk stood laughing in disbelief. Then he dropped his hand and released Sang-cheol's hair with a shove. It looked as if he was turning away, but instead he began kicking the man where he lay.

 

Each strangled sound from Sang-cheol's mouth resembled something heard at a slaughterhouse. The guard kneeling nearby and Tae-sik both went pale.

 

Sang-cheol could no longer even cry out. He only coughed blood. His colleague could not bear to watch and closed his eyes in despair.

 

Sang-cheol had already lost consciousness. Still Seung-hyuk went on attacking him, as if blind to everything around him. He kicked and struck him over and over. Nobody dared stop him. They could only hold their breath and watch.

 

Then Seung-hyuk hauled the limp man up by his collar and drew back his fist again. An almost screaming shout came from behind him.

 

“Stop it!”

 

His fist froze in the air, stained with his own blood and Sang-cheol's. I-hyeon had rushed out of his room, seized his wrist and pulled his heavy body away from the man.

 

“Have you gone mad? You're going to kill him!”

 

Breathing hard, Seung-hyuk let I-hyeon pull him upright. Only then did he turn his head and look down at the man beside him. I-hyeon's face was twisted with shock and terror.

 

I-hyeon had been staring down at Sang-cheol, panting in horror. Now he raised his head and looked up at Seung-hyuk. The glare in his dark eyes was wet and sharp, shaking violently.

 

“Gu Seung-hyuk, are you doing this on purpose? So I'll feel guilty?”

 

Seung-hyuk had not thought of that at all. He had simply been overwhelmed with fury at the people who had reduced I-hyeon to that state, and struck out.

 

Seeing I-hyeon look on the verge of tears, Seung-hyuk finally loosened his fist. Tae-sik quickly signalled to Sang-cheol's colleague. They lifted the bloodied, unconscious man and carried him out. I-hyeon and Seung-hyuk stood staring at one another until the apartment fell abruptly quiet.

 

I-hyeon's ragged breathing sounded painfully distinct.

 

“Hah…”

 

Relief mingled with horror at having almost watched someone die. I-hyeon covered his eyes with a hand. Seung-hyuk gritted his teeth as he watched him, then spoke in a low, hoarse voice.

 

“I'll have the lads wait outside the building from now on. There won't be any bastards saying that kind of shit in front of you again, so don't pay attention to every little thing they—”

 

“What's it got to do with you?”

 

“What?”

 

“Whether I take it to heart or get hurt by it, what's that got to do with you? Why would you go that far?”

 

I-hyeon glared at him through reddened eyes, then forced out a breath and opened his mouth.

 

“Do you like me?”

 

The quietly spoken question froze Seung-hyuk's unusually disjointed explanation at once. He could do nothing but stand there staring into I-hyeon's eyes.

 

I-hyeon looked up at him, his face contorted with pain, and continued.

 

“Of course you don't. You're the one who said just seeing two men together makes you want to throw up.”

 

“Or did fucking me a few times somehow change your mind?”

 

“Kwon I-hyeon, shut your mouth.”

 

Each sentence that belittled I-hyeon further drained the colour from his face. Seung-hyuk noticed and spoke sternly, but I-hyeon merely shut his eyes like a man who had given up everything.

 

“I don't care what you think or what you do. If you want to fuck me, I'll let you. Just please leave me out of everything else.”

 

“Kwon I-hyeon!”

 

“I'm really…”

 

He breathed out the whispered words. At the same moment, a single tear ran down his cheek.

 

“Sick of all of it.”

 

The tear dropped from his chin to the floor. Seung-hyuk watched it fall and clenched his fist so hard that his nails marked his palm.

 

Watching I-hyeon silently shed tear after tear, Seung-hyuk wanted, for the first time in his life, to turn back time.

 

Thirty minutes. A month.

 

No. Nine years.

 

──── 📘📘 ────

 

Seung-hyuk came out of the little shower room in the corner of the office, rubbing his hair with a towel. He raised an eyebrow at an organisation member who was just preparing to lie down on the sofa. The man had been wriggling around to find a comfortable position. When he noticed Seung-hyuk watching, he leapt upright and spoke in a fluster.

 

“Ah, boss! Didn't know you were here. See, I had a fight with my girlfriend this morning and she told me not to come home… When I asked if she'd at least give me my wallet and phone, she nearly slapped me. Tch. I'll buy her something nice tomorrow morning and try going back then. Mind if I get some sleep here just for tonight?”

 

He scratched the back of his neck, looking sheepish. An unexpectedly thick gold ring shone on his left ring finger. Seung-hyuk went silently to the desk, took out his wallet and handed the man two fifty-thousand-won notes.

 

“Don't sleep there. Go to a motel. That sofa creaks enough already without you finishing it off.”

 

“Wow. Thank you, boss!”

 

The makeshift shower room had been installed separately after they moved in because the men so often came back covered in dust and dirt. Somehow, since then, the office seemed to have become a refuge for everyone who was avoiding going home.

 

Seung-hyuk glanced at the man hurrying to collect his belongings and leave, then crossed towards the pile of shopping bags and boxes stacked haphazardly in one corner.

 

Click.

 

“Boss, are you sleeping here again tonight?”

 

Tae-sik came in through the door just as it closed. He glanced after the man who had left, then turned his attention to Seung-hyuk, who was pulling a flamboyant grey leopard-print shirt from a box bearing a luxury brand's logo.

 

Seung-hyuk's black hair was still damp from his shower. Tae-sik frowned.

 

“If you won't go home, at least stay at a hotel. This isn't exile. What are you doing living here day after day?”

 

It sounded more like a scolding than a genuine question. Seung-hyuk merely snorted instead of answering. He shrugged, tore the tag off the shirt and slipped his arms through the sleeves. Then, after a sidelong glance at Tae-sik's disapproving face, he lowered his eyes to fasten the buttons.

 

“Kwon I-hyeon?”

 

“…The same as before.”

 

“The same how?”

 

“Shut in his room all day. Can't tell if he's sleeping or what. Hardly seems to eat. I asked the housekeeper today, and she said he's eaten next to nothing again.”

 

Seung-hyuk frowned at Tae-sik's indifferent report. His hands paused over a button, then resumed.

 

Tae-sik addressed him again, watching him straighten his clothes without a word.

 

“Wouldn't it be better just to let Mr Kwon I-hyeon leave and put people on his tail?”

 

*Let Kwon I-hyeon leave.*

 

It was not as if Seung-hyuk had never considered it. Since I-hyeon realised he was effectively confined, he had grown more haggard with every passing day.

 

But something about Gu Jin-hyuk's silence was strange and unsettling. Even with all the trouble following the banquet, he had made no move at all.

 

That was precisely why Seung-hyuk had brought I-hyeon home.

 

He wanted only to keep him somewhere safe until he could work with the Seungri gang to corner Jin-hyuk. He had never intended to imprison him.

 

Even if I-hyeon did not seem to see it that way.

 

“If you can't let him out, why not go over there and see how he is? Try talking to him, at least. At this rate you'll end up killing him.”

 

Seung-hyuk swallowed a rising sigh as he remembered the last time he had seen I-hyeon at home. Merely picturing that pale, tear-streaked face made his fingertips turn cold.

 

And when he remembered I-hyeon's anguished voice asking whether Seung-hyuk could possibly love him, his own breath seemed to catch. Something rose violently from deep in his stomach.

 

Still, Tae-sik was right. He could not leave I-hyeon in that state indefinitely. After a little thought, Seung-hyuk wiped a hand over his face, picked up the coat draped over his chair and started walking.

 

“Let's go.”

 

By the time they reached the officetel, evening had long passed. A tiny fingernail moon shone with unusual brightness in the middle of the black sky.

 

Seung-hyuk stood outside smoking as he looked up at it, then stubbed out the cigarette and took the lift home. On the sixteenth floor he entered the code and opened the door. The first thing he saw was I-hyeon in the kitchen pouring himself a glass of water.

 

Thud.

 

The sound of the door opening and closing echoed clearly through the apartment, but I-hyeon kept his eyes on a point along the kitchen shelves. He finished his water, placed the empty glass in the sink and turned without hesitation. He looked ready to walk straight back to his room. Seung-hyuk spoke quickly.

 

“Kwon I-hyeon.”

 

I-hyeon walked on as if he had heard nothing. To reach the guest room, he had to pass Seung-hyuk and Tae-sik in the entrance, yet he did not spare them a glance.

 

Seung-hyuk watched him, then caught his slender, pale arm as he passed.

 

“Let's talk.”

 

The low voice rang through the stillness. There was no reply. I-hyeon only looked down at the wrist Seung-hyuk was holding.

 

He flexed the fingers of that hand once or twice, then raised his head to stare into the empty space beside Seung-hyuk.

 

“Go on. I'm listening.”

 

That cold, minimal response, drawing such a clear line between them, made something surge up inside Seung-hyuk. He clenched his fist. There were too many things he wanted to say, and he had no idea where to begin.

 

Then he saw those black eyes refusing even to look at him, and a face more gaunt than it had been a few days ago. Frustration and irritation rose together. He frowned before he realised what he was doing.

 

“I stayed away because you said you didn't want to see me. What's the problem now?”

 

“And why aren't you eating? Some kind of protest? Or do you think I told them to put poison in your food?”

 

His displeasure sharpened his voice. I-hyeon continued staring elsewhere without an answer. Seung-hyuk covered his eyes with a hand as if exhausted.

 

When he spoke again, his voice was low with suppressed anger.

 

“People have been talking about Gu Jin-hyuk's lounge party going up in smoke. There weren't even any drugs this time, and then a fire broke out because of lax management. They're asking whether he was trying to pull something on them, whether he was insulting this lot compared with the guests from the last gathering.”

 

“Don't you think it's odd he hasn't contacted you or me when he's been hearing all that? He must have realised ages ago that I did this because of you.”

 

He rubbed the hand down his face and sighed softly.

 

“…I'm working on a plan to bring Gu Jin-hyuk down. But there's no telling what he'll do when he snaps. So I'm asking you to stay here until it's finished. No longer than that. It isn't such a difficult favour, is it?”

 

“Kwon I-hyeon.”

 

When he gently tugged at I-hyeon's wrist, the black-haired head finally turned. I-hyeon raised his eyes to meet Seung-hyuk's, and the grip around his wrist tightened.

 

“Is that everything you wanted to say?”

 

The voice was quiet and flat. The eyes meeting Seung-hyuk's held nothing at all. No anger, no irritation, no sadness. Just emptiness.

 

The increasingly gaunt, pale face, the bruises and injuries, the red scab by his lip where it had split from being struck—all of it made I-hyeon look even more desolate.

 

“Then let go of my arm. It hurts.”

 

“…I said let go.”

 

Seung-hyuk's face twisted at the way I-hyeon acted as though his only goal was to escape his hand. Worry over I-hyeon's condition and anger at the situation that had caused it boiled together.

 

Seung-hyuk had spent days sleeping badly at the office as well, leaving him more on edge than usual. Still clutching I-hyeon's wrist, he suddenly pulled him towards the kitchen.

 

“Gu Seung-hyuk! Oi, Gu Seung-hyuk!”

 

“You clearly don't understand what I said. Then at least let me see you eat while I'm here.”

 

“I don't have an appetite. Let go.”

 

“Are you a primary-school child refusing his dinner? Eat whether you've got an appetite or not.”

 

He pulled out a chair, made I-hyeon sit and threw open the fridge. He took out one of the containers of porridge.

 

As Tae-sik had said, nobody seemed to have touched it. The tuna porridge inside was just as it had been. Seung-hyuk put some into a bowl, heated it in the microwave and set it on the table. I-hyeon frowned and lowered his eyes.

 

“…My stomach's upset. I'll eat later, so go.”

 

“Eat. I'm not leaving until you've finished all of that in front of me.”

 

The finality in his voice forced I-hyeon to pick up a spoon. Every time he swallowed a small mouthful of porridge, his face tightened, as though he were forcing down something repulsive.

 

Seung-hyuk stood leaning against the fridge, about three paces away, watching with a frown.

 

Clink.

 

The spoon striking the bowl was the only sound in the silent kitchen. The stillness finally broke when I-hyeon, who had been picking slowly at his food, put down his spoon and began retching.

 

He clapped a hand over his mouth, leapt from the chair and ran to the bathroom.

 

Bang!

 

The door slammed in front of Seung-hyuk as he hurried after him. Water gushed into the sink, followed by the sound of I-hyeon gagging violently.

 

He sounded as though he was painfully bringing something up. Seung-hyuk rattled the handle and banged on the door, but it remained shut.

 

“Kwon I-hyeon! Kwon I-hyeon!”

 

For a long time the sounds of vomiting and coughing continued. Then, at some point, they stopped. When only the running water remained and he could hear no movement from I-hyeon, Seung-hyuk's heart dropped.

 

He was calling I-hyeon's name and pounding again when the door finally opened with a click. His shoulders heaved with relief.

 

“Oi, Kwon I-hyeon. Are you all right?”

 

I-hyeon emerged with wet, reddened eyes and water glistening on his hands and around his mouth. He pushed away Seung-hyuk's hands as they caught his shoulders, returned to the kitchen and sat in front of the bowl. Then he picked up his spoon and began eating the porridge again.

 

“What the hell are you doing?”

 

Seung-hyuk snatched the spoon and bowl away. Only then did I-hyeon slowly raise his wet eyes. With the same unreadable expression, he spoke.

 

“You said you wouldn't leave until I'd eaten it all.”

 

Seung-hyuk's grip tightened. The hand holding the bowl shook as if he might shatter it. His heart dropped and his vision reeled.

 

Barely containing the emotion surging inside him, he bit his lip, took the bowl to the sink and set it down. The sharp clatter rang through the kitchen.

 

Seung-hyuk braced both hands on the sink and lowered his head. It felt as though all the blood was draining from his body. He swallowed hard and spoke in a voice strained with suppression.

 

“I'll go, fuck. I'm going, so…”

 

He gritted his teeth until the muscles under his jaw bulged and wiped a hand over his face. When he continued, he sounded a little calmer.

 

“Let me call Dr Nam and give you one bag of fluids. Just promise me that. Then I'll leave.”

 

“Kwon I-hyeon.”

 

“…All right.”

 

I-hyeon answered the quietly spoken name. Apparently that was enough. Seung-hyuk straightened, searched his jacket and tapped at his phone. When the call connected, he spoke.

 

“Kwak Tae-sik, you're downstairs, aren't you? Leave the keys in the car and come up.”

 

The kitchen was so quiet that I-hyeon could hear Tae-sik's surprised “Right now?” from the phone. Seung-hyuk turned towards I-hyeon, seated with his eyes lowered, and added,

 

“Call Dr Nam and get him here immediately. You stay and watch until Kwon I-hyeon's finished the drip, then report to me.”

 

Tae-sik had barely got out “Ah, yes, understood” when Seung-hyuk ended the call. He picked up the coat draped over the chair and left through the entrance without looking at I-hyeon again.

 

Beep-beep-beep-beep.

 

Four short notes sounded before the lock clicked shut. Only then did silence settle over the apartment once more. I-hyeon, whose arms had been resting on the table, leaned back in his chair and let his hands fall.

 

His eyes kept straying to the sink where Seung-hyuk had stood. Eventually he turned away, stared at the empty place where the porridge bowl had been, and simply closed his eyes.

 

──── 📘📘 ────

 

*Don't…! Don't do it!*

 

Hands in white gloves began creeping over different parts of his body like snakes. The smooth touch sliding across his skin sent goosebumps down his spine.

 

I-hyeon twisted and writhed, trying to escape the pitch-black darkness where not a single glimmer of light could be seen. But all he could hear was the horribly cold rattle of chains.

 

He was terrified of the force binding him so tightly he could not take a step, and of the darkness in which he could see nothing. Fear rose from beneath his feet, passed his throat and began lapping at the underside of his lips.

 

He lifted his head with all his strength, his chest heaving as he tried to take even the smallest breath. Then his eyes snapped open, and bright ceiling lights filled his vision.

 

*Hah…*

 

*It was a dream.*

 

Even after realising that none of it had been real, his body felt weighted down. Several times he had fallen asleep only to wake again. Whenever he finally slipped into something resembling deep sleep, the same sort of nightmare came for him.

 

White masks floating in the air. The rattle of chains. A long, long whip. The images surrounded him in his dreams, appearing in no particular order.

 

I-hyeon sat upright in bed, covered his face with both hands and sighed deeply.

 

He could barely remember the last time he had slept properly. In faint hope, he shook the bottle of tablets on the bedside table. The container that should have held his sleeping pills was empty. It made no sound at all.

 

Lack of sleep had left his mind foggy, yet every sensation reached him too sharply. Even the rough feeling when he blinked and the rapid beating of his heart while he sat still made him uncomfortable.

 

There was only one method left to him at times like this, so he got unsteadily to his feet.

 

Click.

 

Although he expected the apartment to be empty, I-hyeon opened his door cautiously out of habit, careful not to make a noise. But he stopped the moment it opened and tightened his grip on the handle.

 

He had expected a dark, unlit apartment. Instead, the kitchen lights were on. And the man sitting at the dining table looked up in surprise when he saw him. It was Tae-sik.

 

I-hyeon belatedly released the handle, avoided Tae-sik's eyes and walked on.

 

Only the pendant light above Tae-sik illuminated the otherwise dark apartment. As I-hyeon passed behind him, he glanced at the laptop Tae-sik was using. White documents filled the screen, and he could not tell what they were about.

 

Abandoning any interest in the man, I-hyeon stopped at the fridge and pulled open its heavy door. The sudden bright light made his eyes ache.

 

He forced his frown away and searched for the beer the housekeeper usually kept stocked. But the huge fridge was largely empty. There were vegetables and a few other things, but not a single can of beer.

 

He frowned and opened several drawers before belatedly remembering that the woman had been on personal leave for the past few days and had not visited the officetel. He rubbed his eyes in irritation.

 

There was no chance of sleeping again without either pills or alcohol. He checked the time. It was only four in the morning.

 

He sighed and turned away. Then his gaze caught on the bottles in the cupboard covering one wall.

 

The shelves were packed with whisky bottles bearing various labels. Most were still at least two-thirds full, but a round bottle at the most convenient height was nearly empty. I-hyeon approached almost without thinking, hesitated, then turned towards Tae-sik.

 

“Would it be all right if I drank a little of this?”

 

Tae-sik had been watching him. He was startled to be addressed so suddenly, but narrowed his eyes and answered as if it were nothing.

 

“Go ahead. He probably won't notice anyway.”

 

I-hyeon hesitated even after hearing the permission, then opened the cupboard and lifted out the near-empty whisky bottle. He fetched a mug and poured all that remained into it.

 

Without pausing, he raised the mug to his lips. A pungent, medicinal smell struck his nose, but he swallowed the lukewarm whisky without so much as a grimace.

 

It was Tae-sik who frowned at the sight. He had already risen from his chair and now caught I-hyeon's arm, pushing the mug down.

 

“Why don't you sit and drink it slowly before going back in? That's not really something you should knock back in one go.”

 

He opened the freezer and dropped some ice into I-hyeon's mug. Plop. The instant the cubes hit the amber liquid, little cloudlike swirls spread through it.

 

Even if he drank it all and went back to his room, he would not fall asleep immediately. I-hyeon rubbed the back of his neck, remembering the nightmare he had just had. Then he nodded and pulled out the chair opposite Tae-sik's.

 

Tap-tap-tap.

 

Tae-sik's fingers moved quickly across the laptop keyboard. The tapping was the only sound in the quiet. With it as background noise, I-hyeon drank his whisky slowly. The tension that had kept his body rigid seemed to ease a little.

 

Then Tae-sik's voice unexpectedly cut across the steady keyboard sounds.

 

“Can't you sleep?”

 

“Sorry?”

 

I-hyeon answered without thinking, startled by the question. Tae-sik raised his head and continued.

 

“You seem to come out and drink beer every night these days.”

 

“Ah…”

 

He had never particularly tried to hide it, but hearing someone else say it made him feel as if an embarrassing weakness had been exposed. Tae-sik watched while he drew the sound out. The keyboard had stopped, and the silence left behind was uncomfortable. I-hyeon turned the mug in his hands and spoke.

 

“I've been taking sleeping pills for a long time, but I've run out. And as you know, I can't exactly go out to get more at the moment.”

 

“Give me the hospital and doctor's names, and I'll get them for you.”

 

“They say I have to go in person to get a prescription. A friend tried collecting them for me once and came back empty-handed.”

 

Tae-sik gazed at I-hyeon's face as he took another indifferent sip of whisky. Even to his eyes, I-hyeon was very different from the person he had first met.

 

He had been thin then, but seemed to have lost more weight since. The sharper lines of his face made his naturally sensitive air more pronounced.

 

His eyes, with their pointed upward corners, always seemed alert for danger, but their dark pupils had sunk into a lifeless stillness. The contrast produced a strange impression. And yet that distinctive clear, almost translucent quality remained about him, still drawing people's eyes.

 

I-hyeon met Tae-sik's dissatisfied stare with a blank expression, then sighed and swallowed the rest of the whisky in one go. As he stood, he murmured that he would go back to bed.

 

He put the mug in the sink, turned and closed his bedroom door. Silence returned to the kitchen.

 

Left alone, Tae-sik rubbed his face in irritation. After a little hesitation, he picked up his phone and selected a contact. The call connected after only a few rings. Apparently the person on the other end was awake at this hour too; his voice sounded perfectly clear.

 

“What is it?”

 

Tae-sik considered several more times whether he should tell Seung-hyuk any of this, then finally spoke.

 

“Mr Kwon I-hyeon doesn't seem to be sleeping well. He's apparently been drinking several cans of beer every night. There wasn't any today, and he looked rather distressed about it, so I gave him a glass of your whisky.”

 

There was no response from Seung-hyuk. But Tae-sik knew he would be listening closely, so he continued.

 

“He says he used to take prescribed sleeping pills. Perhaps we should send one of the lads to the hospital with him tomorrow. I can take him myself if you're worried.”

 

Seung-hyuk laid the document he had been reading on his desk and leaned back in his chair. He pressed his fingers to his temples while he thought. At the other end of the call, Tae-sik remained utterly quiet.

 

Important appointments were lined up over the next several days, and Tae-sik could not easily be spared. That made the decision awkward. Still, if Tae-sik thought the situation serious enough to telephone at this hour, it must look fairly bad even from the outside.

 

“Find someone around his age to take him. No, wait—not someone his age. Someone quite a bit younger. Send one of those lads. Put about three more men on him quietly from behind.”

 

“I'll arrange it.”

 

“Anything else?”

 

Perhaps it was the hour, or perhaps what he had just heard, but Seung-hyuk's voice sounded even lower than usual. Tae-sik noticed and spoke almost reproachfully.

 

“Boss, how long do you plan on living like this when you've got a perfectly good home? Surely you can both stay there if you avoid arguing with Mr Kwon I-hyeon. It's time you came back.”

 

Tae-sik rarely said things of this sort. Seung-hyuk could imagine how long he must have been holding the words in. Instead of frowning, he gave a faint, humourless laugh.

 

“Kwon I-hyeon says he doesn't want to see my face.”

 

“Even so, if you were the one to—”

 

“That's enough. Hang up.”

 

The call ended with that curt, almost-farewell. Tae-sik frowned and lowered his arm. The bright phone screen still glowed in his hand.

 

Could the vicious, ill-fated bond between those two ever be broken by human effort? Tae-sik looked towards the closed guest-room door and turned off his phone.

 

──── 📘📘 ────

 

The door that had remained shut all morning finally opened around lunchtime. I-hyeon rubbed his eyes as he came into the living room. He looked exhausted, as if the drink had done little to help him sleep.

 

Massaging a stiff shoulder, he walked towards the kitchen. Then he glanced up, spotted a tall man standing by the front entrance with his hands clasped, and flinched.

 

Ever since Seung-hyuk had beaten two guards half to death, no outsiders had entered the apartment apart from Tae-sik and the housekeeper. Seeing a stranger there startled him all the more.

 

I-hyeon stepped back half a pace and glared at him like a wary stray cat with its fur standing on end. The man smiled awkwardly and bowed his head.

 

“Good afternoon, sir. I'm Baek Woo-seok. I'll be accompanying you on your outing today.”

 

“…Outing?”

 

The man's face grew uneasy at I-hyeon's complete surprise. Every thought showed immediately in his expression, making him look barely old enough to have graduated from secondary school.

 

I-hyeon stared at Woo-seok, catching a faint glimpse of the Seung-hyuk from the distant past in his youthfulness. Mistaking the stare for something else, Woo-seok hurriedly took out his phone and called someone.

 

“He says to take this.”

 

The screen of the phone held out to him showed *Team Leader Kwak Tae-sik*. I-hyeon took it, and Tae-sik's familiar, level voice came through.

 

“Ah, you're awake. If you don't want to sleep any more, wash up and go to the hospital with Woo-seok.”

 

“…You're saying I can go out?”

 

“Only as far as the hospital. You'll go in Woo-seok's car and come straight back.”

 

I-hyeon blinked slowly. He had not mentioned his medication as a ploy to get permission to go out, so he felt puzzled before he felt pleased. Tae-sik seemed to interpret his silence differently.

 

“The boss has approved it, so you can go.”

 

I-hyeon had vaguely assumed that every movement he made was being reported to Gu Seung-hyuk. Even so, hearing it stated so directly left a sour feeling. But he was glad of the chance to leave, however briefly. He quietly agreed and returned the phone.

 

When he had changed clothes and emerged from the bedroom, Woo-seok was ready to go. Leaning against the mirror beside the entrance, he was spinning his car-key ring around one finger. The moment he saw I-hyeon, he bowed almost ninety degrees again.

 

He opened the front door and led the way to the underground car park. There, just as upstairs, he opened the rear passenger door with exaggerated care.

 

The car left the car park smoothly and drove for some time before stopping at a crossing. Beyond the windows, I-hyeon could see leafless trees and people bundled up in thick clothes. Winter seemed to have deepened while he was unaware of the seasons passing. A woman with her scarf wound to her chin hurried across the road.

 

Compared with them, I-hyeon was dressed far too lightly. He wore only a thin coat over a jumper. But the plan was to drive to the hospital and drive straight home. He had seen no reason to put on anything heavier.

 

“Something interesting out there?”

 

Woo-seok asked casually from the driver's seat as I-hyeon stared through the window. I-hyeon merely shook his head, rubbing the sleeve of his coat, which looked even thinner when he compared it with what the people outside wore.

 

The hospital he usually attended was not far from his old neighbourhood, so the journey did not take long.

 

Woo-seok parked in the last available space in the outdoor car park. The moment he got out, he hurried to follow I-hyeon. They were about to go through the entrance of the commercial building housing the clinic when I-hyeon stopped him.

 

“Excuse me.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“I'll just get my medicine and come back down. You can wait here.”

 

Woo-seok scratched his cheek, looking troubled.

 

“The team leader said I'm not to leave you for even a moment.”

 

“It's a psychiatric clinic. Patients and their families don't usually like other people coming in and waiting around. I'll have to come back out this way anyway. There's no reason for you to trail up and down when you can stand here.”

 

I-hyeon's voice remained flat and calm. Woo-seok frowned. Tae-sik had repeated the instruction several times, so he could not simply decide to ignore it. After thinking for a moment, he rubbed his chin and answered.

 

“I'm afraid I've got orders. I can't do that. If you insist, I'll wait right outside the clinic door.”

 

I-hyeon frowned, dissatisfied, but realised there was no point arguing. He nodded and stepped into the lift with him.

 

The lift stopped on the third floor. As promised, Woo-seok waited outside the glass door bearing the psychiatric clinic's name and bowed to I-hyeon. I-hyeon nodded unenthusiastically and went inside.

 

Woo-seok watched through the glass as I-hyeon checked in and sat down to wait. Satisfied, he relaxed his stiff posture and took out his phone.

 

He leaned against the wall by the entrance and alternated between watching fashionable videos on his phone and checking on I-hyeon. After repeating that several times, he saw I-hyeon's name called.

 

Once he had watched I-hyeon enter the consultation room, Woo-seok let down his guard a little and concentrated on his videos.

 

He spent some time watching compilations of celebrity gossip and comparing the stories with what he already knew. Eventually the thought occurred to him that quite a lot of time had passed.

 

*Do psychiatric appointments usually take this long?*

 

He checked the time. I-hyeon had been in the consulting room for twenty minutes. He had clearly said he was only collecting medicine he'd taken before.

 

Anxiety rose suddenly. Woo-seok shoved open the glass door marked *Psychiatry*, strode to the reception desk and leaned across it. The waiting patients and the reception staff all looked startled by his noisy entrance.

 

“Excuse me, can I help—”

 

“Is Kwon I-hyeon still in his appointment?”

 

“Mr Kwon I-hyeon?”

 

The receptionist frowned and gave Woo-seok a sharp look at his rudeness and his rather intimidating clothes. But she must have recognised some genuine urgency in the way he clenched his fists and struggled to catch his breath. She leaned towards a colleague and asked something quietly, then answered him.

 

“I'm sorry, but Mr Kwon finished his appointment and left some time ago.”

 

“Wh-when?”

 

“About fifteen minutes ago.”

 

Woo-seok went white. He looked around the clinic and only then noticed another exit at the far end of the surprisingly spacious waiting area. He rushed to it and found a fire-escape stairwell immediately beyond.

 

He ran down to the ground floor and discovered that it led to a door on the opposite side of the building from the car park. He banged his head against the wall. His vision darkened with despair.

 

He remembered hearing about a senior colleague who had made an unfortunate remark in front of I-hyeon a while ago and ended up in hospital with injuries requiring twelve weeks of treatment.

 

He looked around, but there was no sign of anyone resembling I-hyeon. He had to tell Tae-sik he had lost him before any more time passed. Woo-seok took out his phone with trembling hands and called.

 

“T-Team Leader… I think I've l-lost Mr Kwon I-hyeon.”

 

He had tried to sound composed, but his trembling voice betrayed his terror.

 

Tae-sik had briefly left a private room while he and Seung-hyuk entertained guests. At Woo-seok's report, he sighed and covered his eyes with a hand.

 

“What do you mean? Explain it properly.”

 

“He said he'd go in for his appointment alone, so I waited outside the clinic. I think he slipped out through another door.”

 

It was at least fortunate if I-hyeon had gone of his own free will. But they could not be certain what had really happened. They had to find him quickly.

 

“Hah… All right. Search the area. Ask if anyone's seen him.”

 

“Yes, understood.”

 

As soon as he hung up, Tae-sik dragged both hands down his face. The dread and helplessness Woo-seok had felt before calling were now his own.

 

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he slid open the elegantly decorated room divider and went back inside, bowing a full ninety degrees. He approached Seung-hyuk, who was pouring drinks across the table from a media executive and a member of the National Assembly, and knelt beside him.

 

“Boss, Mr Kwon I-hyeon has disappeared.”

 

Seung-hyuk's expression did not change. But the alcohol he was pouring overflowed the glass and spread across the table. Tae-sik frowned and leaned closer to his ear.

 

“I'll get the lads looking around the area for now.”

 

“Goodness, wasting such fine liquor…”

 

Even at the politician's half-teasing reproach, Seung-hyuk's face remained set. He put the bottle down sharply and raised his wrist to check the time.

 

The media executive and the politician looked up, puzzled by the sudden coldness in contrast to the convivial mood a moment earlier. Seung-hyuk stood without paying them any attention and bowed.

 

“I'm sorry to say this when we're entertaining such distinguished guests, but an urgent matter has come up and I have to leave. I'll contact you to rearrange our meeting. Please enjoy the rest of your time here, and we'll discuss business another day.”

 

Tae-sik squeezed his eyes shut at Seung-hyuk's reaction and hurried to his feet. He belatedly regretted not delaying the news until the meeting was almost over, but it was too late.

 

Seung-hyuk offered the barest farewell and stormed through the door. Tae-sik bowed once more to the two incredulous men, slid the door quietly shut and rushed after him.

 

“Where is it? The hospital.”

 

Seung-hyuk was walking rapidly towards the car park. Tae-sik followed, unable to hide his dismay.

 

“Boss, that wasn't the sort of meeting we could just walk out of. I'll send the lads to look for him, so perhaps you should go back and at least finish the conversation—”

 

“I asked where Kwon I-hyeon's hospital is.”

 

He kept his eyes straight ahead as he bit out the words. Tae-sik pressed his lips together and gave the location. Seung-hyuk's face darkened. The neighbourhood was riddled with narrow, secluded alleys where someone could be attacked without anybody noticing.

 

Seung-hyuk quickened his pace, thinking that he ought to have kept Tae-sik personally beside I-hyeon until the entire operation was finished.

 

When Tae-sik drove them to the clinic, Woo-seok hurried over, bowing his head repeatedly. He was deathly pale except for his cheeks and nose, flushed from running around searching.

 

He approached as Seung-hyuk got out of the rear seat and bent so deeply that it looked as if he might strike his head on the ground.

 

“I-I checked the nearby buildings, hah… all of them, but he… he doesn't seem to be… hah…”

 

His words came in broken pieces from breathlessness and fear. Seung-hyuk had no interest in Woo-seok's trembling. He turned towards Tae-sik, who had got out of the driver's seat, and frowned.

 

“Have you sent the lads out?”

 

“Yes. His phone's off, so they're even asking people on the streets if they've seen him.”

 

Seung-hyuk clenched his fist and walked straight past Woo-seok into the block behind the building. His dress shoes struck the tarmac faster and faster until he was almost running.

 

As he searched, the worst possibilities unfolded in his mind.

 

*Gu Jin-hyuk. Fuck. Has he finally gone after Kwon I-hyeon?*

 

Someone else might have thought his reaction excessive. But anyone who had watched Gu Jin-hyuk for years would understand. The man had a record of destroying countless people in the service of his pride and his appetites. It was strange enough that he had remained quiet for so long after being humiliated at his own gathering.

 

Seung-hyuk searched everywhere with his teeth clenched. Eventually he slowed, breathing hard. He let out an almost inaudible sigh, took his phone from his pocket and brought up a number. For a moment he hesitated.

 

*I'd hoped I'd never have to call this number.*

 

But with his face set, he took out his cigarettes and dialled.

 

“Hello?”

 

As he lit the cigarette, a clear male voice, slightly higher than average, sounded from the phone. It was bright and pleasant, but with a faintly cold edge. Seung-hyuk was unfamiliar with it and said nothing for a moment. The man repeated himself, sounding puzzled.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Ah.”

 

Seung-hyuk's voice emerged low and rough. He wondered whether he should pretend it was a wrong number and hang up. But finding I-hyeon mattered more. He exhaled a short stream of smoke and spoke through a frown.

 

“Is Kwon I-hyeon with you?”

 

It was hardly a suitable way to begin a call with a stranger, but when had Seung-hyuk ever been particularly concerned with etiquette? After a moment's silence, the other man responded warily.

 

“Who is this?”

 

“Just answer the question. Is Kwon I-hyeon with you or not?”

 

He had no time for an interrogation, and the other man's refusal to answer annoyed him. His voice dropped into a growl. Apparently the man on the other end was equally offended.

 

Just as Seung-hyuk was about to say something more, there was rustling as if the man had stepped aside. Then he heard a faint voice nearby asking, “What? Who is it?”

 

“Ah, Cha Do-hyeon, hang on a second. No, for fuck's sake, how can I tell you whether Kwon I-hyeon's here if I don't know who you are? Who the hell are you?”

 

The other man's tone was angrier now, and he had dropped any pretence of politeness. Seung-hyuk's frown deepened. He had obtained the number through a background check after seeing how close this person had seemed to I-hyeon at the barbecue restaurant.

 

He had called because he believed this was I-hyeon's only friend, but it seemed to have been the wrong choice. He had no time to argue like this and nothing he could say in answer to *who are you?*

 

Fortunately or unfortunately, while Seung-hyuk was deciding to end the call and grinding out his cigarette, he heard the other man speaking indistinctly to his companion.

 

“I don't know either. What the hell's Kwon I-hyeon doing these days? He's been off the radar for weeks, and now I'm getting calls like this. Has he borrowed money somewhere and got people chasing him?”

 

Seung-hyuk raised an eyebrow and ended the call at once. I-hyeon was not with his friends. The suspicion that Gu Jin-hyuk might genuinely have done something came rushing back.

 

Grinding his teeth, Seung-hyuk hesitated longer before calling Jin-hyuk himself.

 

After a long ring, an unexpectedly cheerful voice answered.

 

“Well, well. Who's this? Isn't it my little brother?”

 

“Have you taken Kwon I-hyeon?”

 

“Mr I-hyeon? No. We weren't the ones who took him away, Seung-hyuk. That was you.”

 

The easy, natural response did not sound like a lie. Besides, if Jin-hyuk had really taken I-hyeon, he would undoubtedly have called Seung-hyuk first. Even so, Seung-hyuk spoke in a low, warning voice.

 

“Don't even think about doing anything to him.”

 

“What kind of thing? I don't have any more feelings to spare for Mr I-hyeon. If I decide to do something, I'll go after you, not him.”

 

“…”

 

“But if you keep behaving like this, I might change my mind. So, Seung-hyuk, stop pushing your luck and stay where you are. There's a limit to anyone's patience.”

 

It sounded like empty threats from a man who could not yet act. But he might also have been plotting something behind the scenes. Seung-hyuk gritted his teeth and hung up.

 

Revulsion and anxiety surged together. He ground the cigarette end beneath his heel with savage force. Jin-hyuk's laughing voice seemed to linger in his ears. Without realising, his fingertips had begun to tremble.

 

Evening was falling. The sky and everything beneath it had turned blue, while the red crosses atop church steeples dotted about the district glowed as though burning in mid-air.

 

Seung-hyuk pushed his disordered hair back and looked up. Before long his phone vibrated. It was Tae-sik, reporting that they seemed to have searched the entire vicinity but had found no sign of I-hyeon.

 

*If he's not around here, he must have gone somewhere else. Where would Kwon I-hyeon go?*

 

He could not think where to search next. Apart from I-hyeon's home and workplace, no other places came to mind.

 

Only then did Seung-hyuk realise that he knew almost nothing about the Kwon I-hyeon he had met again after nine years. A sudden, unbearable frustration gripped him. He kicked a discarded can, his face twisting, and turned round.

 

That was when he noticed a steep flight of steps leading into the residential streets behind him.

 

Looking upwards, he saw an area crowded with old buildings and faded slate roofs. At the end of a wall whose paint had peeled away, there seemed to be a small resting place, lit by more streetlamps than the surrounding area.

 

He had no idea whether I-hyeon would be there, but from that height he would at least get a view over the neighbourhood. He began climbing without hesitation.

 

The houses with their gates opening directly onto the steps looked bound for redevelopment and forced evictions before long. The route from the stairs through the alleys was gloomy, lit only by sporadic streetlamps. Then he emerged from the darkness, and the illuminated city spread out beside him.

 

But Seung-hyuk saw something else before he noticed the view.

 

I-hyeon was sitting on a bench ahead of him.

 

Relief that nothing had happened to him engulfed Seung-hyuk at once. His wildly leaping emotions calmed in an instant, leaving room for anger to rise.

 

He was angry at Woo-seok for handling his job so incompetently, and at I-hyeon for running away deliberately without the slightest idea of what Seung-hyuk would be thinking.

 

To bring the boiling feeling inside him under control, Seung-hyuk stopped rather than approach. From where he stood, he could see I-hyeon, but I-hyeon couldn't see him. He was able to watch him without being noticed.

 

I-hyeon sat in nothing but a thin coat, a cigarette between the fingers of his right hand. He must have been there for some time, smoking one after another. Between his trainers lay what looked like half a packet's worth of cigarette ends.

 

But it was I-hyeon's expressionless face as he gazed down at the city lights that held Seung-hyuk's attention longest.

 

Those clear eyes, which had once betrayed every feeling, now revealed nothing. I-hyeon merely smoked with a face utterly drained of life. He was so different from the person Seung-hyuk knew that Seung-hyuk clenched his jaw.

 

*When was the last time I saw him smile? When did he start looking at the world with those eyes?*

 

His face was so empty, blank almost to the point of hardness, that Seung-hyuk could not bring himself to go any closer. His lips moved without producing a sound.

 

*Kwon I-hyeon. Who did this to you?*

 

*Could it possibly…*

 

*Have been me?*

 

A sharp winter wind slipped into his collar, but I-hyeon sat perfectly still, as if he could feel none of the cold.

 

Seung-hyuk clenched his fist, wanting to crush something in his hand. Then he loosened it and turned away from the bench towards the steps leading back down.

 

“Kwak Tae-sik. Kwon I-hyeon's sitting halfway up the hill in the neighbourhood behind the clinic. Send whoever's closest to get him.”

 

“Yes, boss.”

 

He had called and given the order without any introduction, but Tae-sik answered as calmly as ever.

 

“Tell them to bring a long padded coat when they go.”

 

“Of course. Are you going to the office again tonight?”

 

Seung-hyuk thought of the face he had just seen and ran his tongue over his dry mouth.

 

“I'll see. And send the lad you had watching Kwon I-hyeon earlier to an address I'll text you. Tell him to bring the car and drive me.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

Seung-hyuk ended the call and walked on, massaging his shoulders and neck. He desperately wanted the alcohol he had left unfinished while entertaining those guests earlier.

 

The wind was cold enough to sting his nose, yet his insides burned. Even now he could think of nothing but Kwon I-hyeon in that thin coat. And all he could do was run away from him like this. Seung-hyuk rubbed his face in frustration.

 

──── 📘📘 ────

 

A message appeared in the organisation's group chat: I-hyeon was at a small park halfway up the hillside neighbourhood, and whoever was nearest was to go straight there.

 

Determined to make up for his mistake, Woo-seok ran up the stairs as soon as he saw it. He hurried towards I-hyeon, who was sitting blankly on the bench.

 

“Hah… how… hah… can you come all the way here by yourself?”

 

He bent with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. An apologetic expression appeared on I-hyeon's face almost at once.

 

Woo-seok had plenty more he wanted to say about making a promise not to do anything foolish, then doing exactly that. But when he saw I-hyeon's strangely transparent face, as though it had been soaked in water, it was difficult to get angry.

 

With a long sigh, he said, “We've had men searching everywhere for you. Come on, let's go,” and draped the long padded coat he had brought over I-hyeon's shoulders.

 

“Team Leader, I've found Mr Kwon I-hyeon and got him into the car.”

 

After ushering I-hyeon inside and turning the heater up high, Woo-seok rang Tae-sik faster than anyone else could have done to report back. He hoped finding I-hyeon himself would earn him forgiveness for losing him in the first place. Tae-sik, however, calmly passed on Seung-hyuk's order.

 

“Take Mr Kwon I-hyeon home, then go to the address I've texted you and pick up the boss.”

 

“What? The director? Me?”

 

“I'll call an ambulance straight away. Just try to avoid getting hit in anything vital.”

 

The call ended, but Woo-seok remained frozen with his phone at his ear. The news had struck him like a bolt from the blue.

 

If he followed Tae-sik's instructions, he could easily end up like the senior colleague who had been hospitalised not long ago. His trembling gaze found I-hyeon quietly watching the scenery outside the window.

 

*Right. Well, if I'm screwed either way, I've got nothing left to lose.*

 

Woo-seok settled into the driver's seat and spoke as casually as he could.

 

“Er, sir… I've got something else to do. Would you mind if I stopped somewhere on the way…?”

 

The nervous lift at the end of his sentence sounded suspicious even to himself. Thankfully, I-hyeon did not seem to notice. He merely nodded without speaking. Woo-seok secretly let out a breath and started the car.

 

It sped along roads that had grown dark. The car began to slow only when they reached a district where several expensive imported cars were parked along the street. Despite the satnav directly in front of him, Woo-seok craned his neck to inspect the buildings. At last he stopped in front of one finished in luxurious marble.

 

He repeatedly compared the street-address plaque by the entrance with the text on his phone. Then, as though reaching a decision, he turned towards I-hyeon.

 

“Er… sir…”

 

I-hyeon found it strange that Woo-seok kept calling him *sir*, but said nothing and raised his head to meet his eyes. Woo-seok smiled awkwardly, shifting his gaze about, and looked distinctly nervous.

 

He put his phone away, hesitated and finally asked very carefully,

 

“I'm terribly sorry, but could you possibly go upstairs and bring someone down for me…?”

 

“…”

 

“As you know, I lost you today. If I go back, I'm going to get into serious trouble. I'd really like to stay out of the way if I can. Is there any chance you could help…?”

 

The boyish face, with lips pressed together and eyes deliberately welling in an appeal for sympathy, looked even younger than before. He probably had not meant to manipulate I-hyeon, but I-hyeon knew he had knowingly caused the man's predicament. He felt a pang of guilt.

 

I-hyeon fidgeted with his fingers, sighed softly and raised his head.

 

“…I only need to go upstairs and bring the person out?”

 

“Yes, yes, that's right. Go to the bartender wearing a gold badge and he'll tell you who it is. If the person is drunk, just help him down here. And sir, if you run away somewhere else again, I really will die. Please, just this once, I'm begging you.”

 

He had never intended to escape again. He had only wanted a moment to breathe. But Woo-seok seemed to have developed something close to a trauma over the matter. Feeling guilty about what he had put him through, I-hyeon nodded silently and got out.

 

Inside the building lay a corridor floored in black tiles. It reminded him of the old Nexus. Even the glossy gold doors, reflecting his figure like mirrors, recalled the place.

 

He got into the lift, pressed the floor Woo-seok had told him and leaned his head sideways against the wall, closing his eyes. Perhaps because he had sat outside in such thin clothes for so long, or because the cold he had not completely recovered from was still lingering, he felt chilled even indoors.

 

A light chime sounded. I-hyeon raised his head and stepped out into the luxurious interior.

 

The place was decorated in dark black tones, punctuated with elaborate lighting. A few people sat scattered about. I-hyeon walked past them without hesitation towards the bar.

 

As he drew closer, he began to notice the people sitting there. At the far end was a long-haired woman in business casual clothes, seated alone. In the middle sat a broad-backed man wearing a shirt and waistcoat, slowly swirling a glass in his hand.

 

I-hyeon's steps slowed at the sight of his back.

 

His eyes fixed on the back of the man's head. The white shirt and precisely tailored waistcoat were rather different from Gu Seung-hyuk's usual style, yet something about the figure was strangely familiar.

 

He hesitated several paces away, uncertain whether he should approach, whether he should even confirm the man's face. Then the bartender noticed him. He made a small gesture towards I-hyeon and bowed to the man seated in front of him.

 

“I think someone's come to collect you, sir.”

 

The man set his glass down. I-hyeon could not take his eyes off him as he turned.

 

His body rotated slowly. The partly obscured face came fully into view, and I-hyeon found himself looking straight into dark eyes clouded by drink.

 

Seung-hyuk, whom he had not seen for some time.

 

I-hyeon froze. Seung-hyuk, on the other hand, gave a small snort of laughter and turned back towards the bar as if nothing had happened. Then he tipped the whisky bottle over his glass again, though only ice remained inside it.

 

The bartender alone looked uncomfortable, his eyebrows drawing together with concern. He quickly recovered and addressed I-hyeon.

 

“Why don't you sit down beside him for a moment?”

 

I-hyeon had expected that the person Woo-seok wanted him to collect would be someone awkward to deal with. He had not imagined it would be Seung-hyuk. He was at a loss whether to turn round and go back out or sit next to him for a while. After hesitating, he found himself drawn towards the empty stool beside Seung-hyuk.

 

“Can I get you something to drink?”

 

“Just water, please.”

 

“Water. Of course, one moment.”

 

The bartender gave him a warm smile and moved farther inside. Without anyone between them, Seung-hyuk's presence felt even larger. He was drinking without saying a word to I-hyeon.

 

It was not the first time I-hyeon had seen him drink, but today there was something different about him. I-hyeon had nothing he wanted to say first either. He kept his mouth shut and rubbed his fingertips together.

 

“Now I'm even seeing fucking things.”

 

After a while, Seung-hyuk's low mutter broke the silence. I-hyeon turned to look at him, but Seung-hyuk continued staring straight ahead as though oblivious to his gaze.

 

The bartender returned and set down a cool glass of iced water, beads of condensation forming on its surface. He offered I-hyeon an awkward little smile and moved away to another part of the bar. They were alone again. An ice cube shifted softly in the glass.

 

The quiet jazz playing in the background might as well not have been there. All I-hyeon's attention was fixed on the man beside him.

 

Thoughts tumbled through his mind: what had happened to the guard Seung-hyuk had beaten almost to death that day; whether Seung-hyuk had treated the broken, bleeding skin across his knuckles.

 

But weighing on him more heavily than any of those questions was the knowledge that Seung-hyuk had ordered him to approach Gu Jin-hyuk while knowing what might happen. Now that I-hyeon knew, he could not imagine treating him as he once had.

 

He kept his mouth shut and traced the slippery surface of his glass.

 

How much time passed like that? The silence between them felt both endless and fleeting. At last I-hyeon decided he could not bear it any longer and ought to leave. Just as he took his hand from the glass, Seung-hyuk emptied the whisky remaining in his own.

 

He rested the side of his head against one hand and turned towards I-hyeon.

 

“Looks so fucking real.”

 

His dark eyes were even more unfocused than before. He must have been drunk. His voice had dropped so low it was almost hoarse. He reached a hand towards I-hyeon's face but could not bring himself to touch it. The hand fell back to his side.

 

He stared at I-hyeon for a long time, then slowly opened his mouth.

 

“Oi, Kwon I-hyeon.”

 

Even while convinced he was seeing things, Seung-hyuk looked only into I-hyeon's eyes. I-hyeon, caught as if in a trap, could not look away from those dark pupils either. As they held one another's gaze, Seung-hyuk's dry voice continued.

 

“They say misery's contagious.”

 

“I think I might have passed mine on to you.”

 

Almost as soon as he finished, a little breath escaped his lips. It might have been a bitter laugh at himself, or a smile tinged with a sorrow deeper than anything I-hyeon had heard from him before. I-hyeon forgot to move and simply stared.

 

Seung-hyuk looked away, tipped his head back and covered his eyes with one hand. Then a helpless laugh threaded through his next words.

 

“But no matter how I think about it, the fact that that's all I've ever given you is so fucking awful…”

 

“…”

 

“It's so fucking awful I can't stand it.”

 

Something churned up from deep inside I-hyeon. He clenched his fist. Seung-hyuk's prominent Adam's apple bobbed heavily.

 

A moment later he let his head fall forwards again and staggered to his feet. I-hyeon stood hurriedly too, but could not bring himself to approach. He gripped the back of his stool tightly instead.

 

Seung-hyuk took his wallet from his inside pocket, carelessly set several banknotes and cheques beneath the glass, and turned towards the lift. The bartender approached I-hyeon, who remained standing there, and asked kindly,

 

“Aren't you going after him?”

 

Instead of replying, I-hyeon bit his lower lip hard and looked down at the place Seung-hyuk had occupied.

 

An empty whisky bottle. An empty glass standing on top of the money.

 

He wished the confused feelings filling him could vanish entirely, leaving him as empty as that glass, with nothing inside at all.

 

I-hyeon lowered his head and buried his face in both hands.

 

To be continued in Volume 5.