On the one-lane road leading to the villa, a car was seen kicking up dust as it drove. Since there was only one scheduled visitor, Dominic leisurely turned around and headed for the front door.
Dominic was parking his car in front of the house as Juliet opened the door. Dominic waited for Juliet to close the car door and walk towards him before speaking.
“You’re on time this time.”
“I apologized for that day.”
Juliet scolded him, looking uncomfortable.
“I barely managed to free up today. I was with her the day you called too.”
“It must have been hard convincing your fiancée.”
Juliet replied stiffly to Dominic’s words as he leaned against the panel with his arms crossed.
“I didn’t convince her.”
Before a question could be asked, he spoke first.
“I told her I had a business trip, so me being here is a secret.”
Dominic stared at Juliet for a moment, then chuckled.
“You’re a bad groom.”
“It’s a white lie.”
Juliet responded curtly to Dominic’s joke.
“Sometimes you need to clear your head like this. That way, you can be more faithful to each other.”
Juliet, passing Dominic in front of the door, glanced up at Dominic and said.
“Keep that in mind.”
Dominic muttered, watching him enter the house, leaving even advice with extra energy.
“Yeah, I will.”
Juliet, who didn’t hear the low voice, headed to the living room as if nothing had happened. He plopped down on the sofa without asking for permission, but his nervousness was evident.
Dominic left Juliet alone, who couldn’t stop his restless behavior, leaning his elbows on his thighs and constantly looking around, and sat on a single sofa with a homemade cocktail.
“I didn’t expect you to come so willingly.”
Because you threatened me. Juliet held back what he wanted to retort and simply shut his mouth. Instead, as he looked at him with resentment, Dominic smiled.
“Relax, didn’t I tell you? I wanted to congratulate you.”
“I said I was fine.”
“I’m not fine. I have to do what I have to do to feel satisfied.”
He added casually.
“I need to end things properly this time.”
No matter how many times he asked, the answer was the same. Juliet didn’t know what Dominic was planning, but he had no choice but to go along with it for now.
“Okay, thank you.”
Juliet, who spoke in a listless voice, soon became serious.
“Just in case, there’s a GPS tracker on my car. If I go missing, the police will come right away.”
It would be better to say it in advance in case of any possible danger. Of course, if Dominic really had no ulterior motives, Juliet would be embarrassed, but being embarrassed is much better than something bad happening. As he warned, hoping that he was just making a fuss, Dominic narrowed his eyes and laughed silently.
“Do you think I’m going to kill you or something?”
Juliet turned his head away instead of answering. In any case, he made it clear that he didn’t trust this man. Seeing his unwavering vigilance, Dominic spoke as if he had thought of something.
“There is one thing I want.”
Of course. Juliet, who immediately tensed up his whole body, pricked up his ears. What on earth is he going to say? Or maybe it’s not words but actions?
He glanced at Dominic’s hand, but one hand was holding a cocktail glass and the other was empty. Maybe something else…
“There’s still one last game left.”
Juliet was stunned by the unexpected words. What did I just hear?
“…What?”
Juliet reacted after a pause.
“Last… what?”
“Chess.”
Even though he clearly heard it, he couldn’t help but doubt his ears. Chess? Suddenly? Out of the blue? Dominic continued, seeing him bewildered.
“The score is still 2 to 2. Have you forgotten the conditions? I said that whoever wins 3 games first wins.”
“Yeah, I know. Of course, I remember.”
Juliet stammered as if he was at a loss for words, then frowned and asked.
“What does that matter now? We agreed to the transfer and even signed a contract with the law firm, wasn’t it all over?”
Dominic unexpectedly chuckled at Juliet’s question, who was clearly flustered. He had no idea what that laughter meant. Dominic opened his mouth, watching him confused.
“Juliet, as you know, I’m a person who’s bored to death with my life.”
Juliet took a deep breath and barely suppressed his voice.
“Yeah, I know.”
As he repeated what he said in a low voice, Dominic continued to mutter.
“That doesn’t mean I’m stupid enough to waste my life on trivial things. All I want is chess. One last game.”
The weary tone made it sound like he was serious. Juliet hesitated, unsure whether what he felt was right or wrong.
“…Why is that important?”
When he asked carefully, Dominic answered without hesitation this time.
“Didn’t I say? I don’t like not finishing things properly.”
He had no trouble with any questions. Juliet felt uneasy but couldn’t ignore it. In any case, this man is definitely not someone to be taken lightly.
But.
Juliet soon changed his mind. If this man was going to do something to him, he would have already done something. There’s no reason to bring up chess.
Maybe he’s serious.
Believing this man might be a more foolish choice than believing a crocodile. But he’s already come this far, and he can’t back down now.
“You’re just saying we’ll play a game? There’s really no other reason?”
Dominic nodded briefly to the carefully asked question.
“No, I don’t want anything else anymore.”
He said the same thing when he transferred, and he actually did. Dominic gained nothing by coming to H&J. This man says the same thing every time. He doesn’t want anything.
Except for one thing.
Juliet, who had thought that far, finally nodded.
“Okay.”
Dominic raised his cocktail glass as if toasting and emptied the remaining alcohol in one go. Juliet expected him to go get the chessboard when he saw Dominic getting up, but he was wrong.
“Before that.”
Dominic paused on purpose and then smiled.
“Shall we have dinner first?”
Surprisingly, the table was full of food. Juliet was speechless for a moment at the variety and fancy plating. There’s no way this man would cook himself. As if Dominic saw through Juliet’s question, he said.
“I can at least warm up the food.”
I knew it.
Juliet understood. He probably ordered it from a restaurant and brought it here. Then the taste would be guaranteed. As he was relieved, Dominic pulled out a chair and gestured to Juliet. As if telling him to sit down. Juliet felt strange. He must want to chew him up and spit him out, but he didn’t act rudely.
Well, he was a man who had such basic manners.
When he thought about it, he was a strange person. He was arrogant and spewed out all kinds of harsh words without hesitation, but his actions were extremely polite. Maybe that’s this man’s last line. As he thought that, his vigilance eased a little. There’s nothing he can’t handle. If this man doesn’t lose his manners until the end, the range of actions he can take is limited. But there were two assumptions, ‘until the end’ and ‘if he doesn’t lose his manners’.
“Thank you.”
Juliet decided to agree with him for now. It wasn’t that difficult because he had some guilt about what he had done, so he thought he should do this much.
“Is Representative completely bald?”
That was the first thing Dominic said after they started eating. Juliet, who was about to eat a salad, was so embarrassed that he coughed. What did I just hear?
Juliet blinked and looked at him, but Dominic continued as if nothing had happened.
“All the executives have hardly any hair left. Be careful, you might have to pluck all your hair out to become an executive.”
“No way!”
Juliet burst out laughing without realizing it. He tried to change his expression quickly, but it wasn’t easy. Juliet, who had hurriedly closed his mouth, soon broke it down and said.
“Pretend you don’t know, Representative is very sensitive about his hair. You might be hated.”
Dominic unexpectedly chuckled at the joke.
“Thanks for the advice. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Juliet nodded and said, “Okay.” The tension between the two had disappeared. To the point where he could taste the food.
“It’s delicious.”
When Juliet, who put the chicken dish in his mouth, exclaimed, Dominic said he was glad.
“If you want, I’ll tell you where the restaurant was. It would be a good place to go on a date.”
For those words to come out of his mouth. Juliet was surprised again and looked at Dominic. He felt sorry for him as he continued to eat as if nothing had happened, but he couldn’t say anything. It was just one word, but it only lingered on the tip of his tongue. In the end, Juliet closed his mouth again and continued eating.
The food was impeccable. Except that everything from the Amuse-bouche to the dessert was all set at once. Dominic simply explained the reason for this.
“I don’t want to keep going back and forth to get food.”
Thanks to that, the conversation continued without interruption. Dominic didn’t bring up any topics that Juliet would be uncomfortable with. Just ordinary weather talk, talk about the recent trial that was a hot topic, and small episodes that happened in college. Juliet, who initially refused to talk, only returning words in monosyllables, gradually softened and was soon laughing and talking.
Just like before.
That day felt so long ago. It hasn’t even been two months.
Because of his guilt, Juliet focused more on his time with him. It was a good thing that he had this opportunity. Thanks to that, he was able to end things well with Dominic.
“Why?”
Juliet realized that he was staring at him when Dominic suddenly asked. No, he stopped moving and paused for a moment, trying to gloss over it.
“It’s strange.”
Juliet paused and then opened his mouth as if he had made up his mind.
“I thought you’d want to kill me.”
Unexpectedly, the time they were spending together was so comfortable and he didn’t feel any hostility. It’s only natural that he can’t understand something that can’t happen. It was an extremely rational guess, but Dominic dismissed Juliet’s point.
“People think I must have committed murder.”
“Haven’t you?”
Juliet was boldly joking with Dominic. Hey, wait. Don’t cross the line too much. A small cry was heard from within him, but the sound was so small that he ignored it as if he hadn’t heard it. The conversation with Dominic would be the last now. That fact didn’t stop him.
“Well.”
Dominic skillfully avoided Juliet’s question.
“Killing someone is not as easy as you think. Hiding the body is also tricky, and thanks to the development of science, it has become difficult to avoid the police’s investigation network.”
I never thought I’d get such a realistic answer from this man. Juliet blinked in wonder.
“You must be frustrated, wanting to kill but not being able to.”
It was a pretty fresh discovery that even a man who thought everything was possible had something impossible. Dominic casually pointed out at Juliet’s words.
“I didn’t say I couldn’t kill you.”
Juliet paused and stared at his face. A sense of tension suddenly came over him. Dominic continued, thinking urgently about whether there was a variable he hadn’t thought of.
“If you kill yourself, the police can’t do anything, right? I’ll take care of the body.”
“Ah…”
Juliet, who finally understood, relaxed his shoulders. Dominic added, knowing that he had been wary for a moment.
“If you have no intention of killing yourself, you don’t have to imagine that I’m going to kill you. That won’t happen.”