TWB 10

Tossing and turning, Hee-shin slowly opened his eyes. As if by habit, he fumbled at his bedside and grabbed his phone. While checking the time, he frowned upon discovering a stranger’s face in the darkness. He bolted upright and switched on a nearby lamp, turning the room orange. Just then, his phone battery died.

“…….”

Beside him, Im Gyeong was lying face down, sleeping as still as a dead mouse. Shirtless and wearing only pants, not even the sound of his breathing could be heard. Recalling the memories of last night, Hee-shin’s expression stiffened, and he climbed out of bed. He hurried to the bathroom and looked in the mirror; his hair was a tangled mess. After a quick wash, he stepped outside.

By the time he reached the living room and grabbed his jacket, the sun was just about to rise. Empty liquor bottles rolled around on the table. He remembered they had polished off three bottles of hard liquor. Im Gyeong had mostly been the one talking, and Hee-shin had been the listener.

Im Gyeong had casually shared the story of how he had moved to Japan after his parents’ divorce when he was young. He seemed to have babbled something in Japanese every now and then, but Hee-shin couldn’t remember the details. He said it had been difficult during elementary school because he was a Zainichi Korean, and that he had cried a lot.

Thanks to that, he had come to know the guy named Im Gyeong a little better. Until yesterday, he had been filled with hostility, but after waking up, his feelings toward him had dulled. Once they married, wouldn’t he be family anyway? He couldn’t trust him completely, but he decided not to hate him too much either.

To put it bluntly, it wouldn’t be a bad thing if Im Gyeong became an ally.

Im Gyeong didn’t wake up even by the time Hee-shin grabbed his car keys and left. By the time he drove out of the parking lot, the sun had risen. Arriving home, he hurriedly prepared for work. Then, standing in front of the sink, he inadvertently discovered a mark on his neck.

“Huh?”

What is this? Did something bite me? There was a faint red mark on the left side of his neck, and he couldn’t figure out what it was.

There was no way there were mosquitoes in this weather.

“…….”

Looking closer, it looked exactly like… a hickey. Only he and Im Gyeong had been there last night. He hadn’t called any women over, and even if he had, there was no way he would have rolled around with one. Was it a lip mark? After checking the other side, he stood there with a vacant expression. He searched every corner of his body to see if there were any other marks, but he found nothing similar.

-Stop looking. Even for a man, looking at yourself like that is a turn-on.

Why on earth did that brazen face come to mind?

“Haha. Am I crazy? What a fucking thought.”

He shook his head to clear it and squeezed a generous amount of toothpaste onto his toothbrush. While brushing his teeth and taking a cold shower, he slowly retraced his memories of last night. He hoped he hadn’t made any mistakes. As for the mark on his neck, nothing came to mind.

After washing up and drying his hair, messages began to arrive one by one on his charged phone.

-Oppa, are you sleeping? Your phone was off.

-Can you send me more money? Mom is sorry….

-Prosecutor. Choi Yoon-oh’s warrant request has been dismissed.

While he was sighing and reading them, a message arrived from Im Gyeong.

-You ran away? I wanted to have breakfast together.

Ran away? He just woke up and left for work. Does he think he and a guy with a silver spoon are the same? He let out a hollow laugh and was about to put the phone down when it rang. After debating whether to answer, he pressed the call button and brought it to his ear.

-Did you get home safe?

“Yes.”

-Do you want to come back?

“I have to go to work.”

He put it on speakerphone and started tying his tie, then suddenly caught sight of his face in the mirror. His gaze slowly shifted to the left side of his neck. A seed of suspicion grew, but he wasn’t certain. He might have rubbed it in his sleep. Or a bug might have bitten him. Though, he didn’t think bugs that bite people lived in that expensive penthouse.

-Are you listening?

“Go ahead.”

-How about dinner this weekend? There’s someone I want to introduce you to.

He thought of an excuse in his head. There was no need to be prickly, but there was nothing to gain from hanging out frequently. His plan was to play along moderately and buy time until he found the person who had been tailing him. Just as he was about to say he had a prior engagement, Im Gyeong beat him to it.

-It won’t be a bad meeting. Trust me.

He hesitated for a moment. He didn’t trust Im Gyeong. And yet, the words “trust me” made his heart waver slightly. In fact, hadn’t Im Gyeong helped him yesterday? When he asked who it was, Im Gyeong said he’d find out once he came. That also meant it was someone famous enough for Hee-shin to know.

Even though he didn’t give an immediate answer, Im Gyeong waited leisurely.

“…I’ll think about it.”

He could hear a pleased laugh over the receiver. After a short greeting wishing him a good day, he hung up. Hee-shin stared at the disconnected call, finished tying his tie, and let out a low sigh.

Then, he opened the refrigerator to see if there was anything to eat. He took a piece of bread from the freezer and roughly heated it in the microwave. The bread, frozen for a long time, had lost all its moisture and was crumbly. It felt a bit bitter, as if the bread were a reflection of his own life.

Entering the lobby, Hee-shin stopped in his tracks upon spotting someone. Before he could pretend not to see them and avoid them, the other person waved first. “Hee-shin! Son!” A few people’s gazes shifted toward them. With a sigh, he grabbed his suddenly visiting mother and pulled her outside.

“What’s wrong with you? My wrist hurts. Hee-shin.”

Once they were outside in a secluded spot, he let go of her wrist.

“What are you doing here?”

“I took the first bus….”

“Why did you come?”

At her son’s cold attitude, his mother showed a look of disappointment.

“…Can’t a mother even come to see her son?”

He knew better than anyone that it wasn’t simply about that. Her worn-out clothes and shoes, and the cheap bag she was holding, caught his eye. Even after taking so much money, his mother’s appearance hadn’t changed a bit from a few years ago. He would have felt less resentful if she had at least spent it on luxuries.

In his frustration, a chilly tone escaped him involuntarily.

“I’ll send you money, so please go back.”

“It’s not always about the money….”

“Then what is it?”

“…Stop by sometime. Your father is looking for you.”

Ha, a sneer escaped him involuntarily. Because he could feel that she still loved a man who beat her every day, cheated, put her in debt, and now expected her to nurse him. He wondered if this could even be called love. If this was love, he decided he would rather die than ever experience something like it. He held that thought for a moment.

“Go. I’ll send more money.”

“Don’t be like that, go see your father—”

“Stop with the ‘father’ talk, please!! Aren’t you sick of it? Why the hell is a man like that my father!”

Unable to contain his anger for a moment, he shouted, causing passersby in the distance to glance over. Feeling that any further would only result in harsher words, he led his mother toward the car.

“Let’s go. I’ll drop you off at the terminal.”

“I can just take the bus.”

He forced her into the passenger seat and started the engine.

His mother remained silent throughout the drive, but as they approached the bus terminal, she spoke cautiously.

“…Do you still hate your father?”

He didn’t answer that question in the end. Hate? He just wanted the man to disappear from his life. It was the same when the man was clinging to life on a ventilator, unconscious. Rather than pity, he had prayed for him to die quickly so that he could be freed from this tedious agony.

But it was clear that God did not exist. Because while God granted everything else, He did not grant that one wish. Then again, what insane god would grant a wish to kill one’s own parent?

After arriving at the bus terminal and buying her a ticket, he let his mother sit in the waiting room for a moment. Then, he took out a cash advance. As he folded the cash in half and stuffed it into her worn-out bag, his mother looked apologetic but did not refuse. He hated her lack of shame to the point of nausea, yet he also felt pity for her.

“Go. It’s almost time for your bus.”

“When are you coming down?”

“I’m not going.”

“Min-hye misses you too.”

His mother used his younger sister as a hostage again today. When the father didn’t work, the repertoire was always similar. Min-hye misses you. Hyung is acting even stranger lately. His older brother and Min-hye had always been weights around his ankles.

“Make sure to come when you have time. Okay?”

Ignoring his mother’s voice, he returned to the car.

However, after getting in, he couldn’t start the car and buried his face in the steering wheel.

…Fuck. I’m so sick of this.

Instead of driving, he eventually got out and stopped by a nearby convenience store. He bought cigarettes. As he lit one and took a puff, his head spun. That only lasted a moment; his body soon adapted, and the harsh smoke pushed relentlessly into his lungs.

Meanwhile, a text arrived from his mother, saying she was sorry and that she didn’t have the face to see him.

Looking at it with a heavy heart, he smoked a few more cigarettes before standing up.

He sprayed plenty of deodorizer before getting into the car, but the pungent smell did not fade easily.