By Zephyria I managed to relax the frown that had involuntarily formed, smoothing out my expression. I furtively grabbed the torn medicine packet from the corner of the table and slipped it into my pocket.
Showing weakness to the enemy was a reckless move. It was like baring my neck. Life had taught me only such things: hide and conceal. And if caught, get angry.
Just as he had recognized me, Lee Hyeon-seong strode purposefully toward me. His flawless appearance seemed to reflect his life: sharp, relentless, and therefore, heartless.
He stopped abruptly in front of me, scanning me from head to toe. I thought I heard a clicking of his tongue. Without the slightest hesitation, Lee Hyeon-seong spoke first.
“I don’t think we need to exchange pleasantries. It’s too late to pretend to be friendly, so decide now. Should I speak informally or formally?”
He was already speaking informally, yet he pretended to ask politely. He was always like this. Except with Gyeoul.
“We know each other well enough. Speak informally.”
“Okay.”
Lee Hyeon-seong took off his coat and placed it beside him, then sat down across from me. After all these years, it was unlikely that awkward classmates would meet for a belated reunion.
This was a meeting with a clear purpose.
“I ordered mine in advance.”
“CEO, I’d like to order.”
Ignoring me as if he hadn’t heard, he went about his business. He acted as if I were an object, not a person.
The habitual revulsion that welled up gradually subsided. As the shield around me disappeared, I felt overwhelmed, as if I had been thrown naked into a battlefield. …I definitely took my medicine earlier. Anxiety crept in, and I began to fidget with my fingernails.
After concisely placing his order, pointing at the menu, he turned his impassive gaze to me. I had always disliked that look. When it wasn’t Gyeoul, he was endlessly cold, often looking at people as if he were evaluating them.
I pretended to be calm and picked up my glass. My fingertips trembled slightly. As I moistened my throat, he threw a question at me, so dry that any sincerity was impossible to find.
“Are you desperate?”
There was no attempt to ease the atmosphere.
Lee Hyeon-seong loosened his tie, his gaze fixed directly on me. In the noisy space, his voice was particularly clear. There was nowhere to retreat, and I knew he wouldn’t be favorably disposed toward me…
You were right. I was cornered enough to cling desperately to a rotten rope.
“…No. I’m desperate.”
At my answer, he gave a distorted laugh, then lowered his head and swept his hair back. He didn’t say a word, but it was clear anger.
Making deep eye contact, Lee Hyeon-seong spoke deliberately, as if dissecting an opponent in court, searching for weaknesses. His sharp gaze was still evaluating me.
“I’ve known for a while that you’re a son of a bitch, worse than an animal.”
“…”
“But I didn’t expect you to be even lower than that.”
“…That’s right.”
“That’s right? A bastard who knows that still contacts me and crawls all the way here?”
His voice, subtly excited with anger, slowly subsided.
I had braced myself for this level of criticism. It was weaker than I expected. Even knowing I would be insulted like this, I had crawled out here, as he said. That’s how desperate I was. Something had become more frightening than death.
Just as he knew me, I knew him. Lee Hyeon-seong wasn’t the type to act without Gyeoul’s permission.
Ha. A short, hollow laugh followed, gradually swelling to a huge size. My body stiffened as if trapped in the jaws of an angry beast.
I rubbed the sweat from my hands on my pants. I had to pull myself together.
“Then why did you leave the note?”
“You’re really something else, you know that?”
Lee Hyeon-seong crossed his arms and leaned back comfortably. He stopped laughing abruptly and closed his mouth as if lost in thought. His gaze shifted. He seemed to have forgotten to blink, staring silently out the window.
Silence settled over the table, where simple snacks and alcohol were placed. As if he had reached some conclusion, Lee Hyeon-seong turned his face back to me with a subtle expression.
I didn’t miss it, taking it all in. Believing there would be decisive evidence.
“What were you expecting? To get some news about him from me? You thought if you went to him with that information and put on a pitiful face, he’d be easy enough to win over?”
He recited calmly. The emotionless sentences made it seem as if they were composed only of truth.
“…You don’t think that way.”
“What do you know? What sane person waits a year for a cheating lover unless he’s a pushover? You’re the one who trampled on his reputation. Aren’t you?”
I don’t want to hear it.
Even in the mental hospital I had walked into to survive, I couldn’t bring myself to confess and ran away again. I didn’t want to reveal to the world what a pathetic bastard I was. It felt like the moment I said it, everyone would know.
A bad guy lacking morality, ranting and raving with inferiority, was better. It was less pathetic. Anything would be better than the memory of dating a pathetic guy who couldn’t even take care of himself.
Lee Hyeon-seong was the only person around who objectively remembered when we were ‘us.’ This was probably the last time we would ever meet, so this was my only chance.
My breathing faltered.
“How much do you know?”
Even as I spoke, my fingers tapped on the table. I couldn’t have a conversation unless I was moving some part of my body. He swirled the ice in his glass a couple of times, then took a sip of his drink.
He drank the strong liquor without batting an eye.
“More than you think.”
“Then…”
“Want to hear a fun story? Our company handled a stalking case last year. The guy was so vicious and wicked that I helped with the research. He would go to the client’s house and stare at it all night, break in and lie naked on the bed with his legs spread. He was crazy.”
Lee Hyeon-seong stared intently into my eyes, not hiding his disgust for the other person. Apart from being disgusting, I frowned at the completely irrelevant story. I hadn’t come here to waste time with such unnecessary talk.
Just as I was about to tell him to stop, Hyeon-seong continued a little faster.
To calm my growing anxiety, I picked up the glass in front of me. I had chosen a drink that appealed to me from the menu, but I didn’t know it would come in a triangular glass like this. I think it was called a Manhattan.
…I chose it because Gyeoul might be there.
Half-listening, I brought it to my lips. Even just wetting my lips, I barely managed to suppress the grimace at the harsh alcohol scent.
“The other side claimed that they were in the Dating phase and had agreed to be Sex partner, so they had spent the night together. Well, that claim was also questionable. They were actually old friends. But as the situation became unfavorable, they immediately submitted a doctor’s note stating that they had delusional disorder as evidence.”
“…”
I paused, my body stiffening. I had heard that story somewhere. Of course, the progress was different. The one I heard was definitely a fresh and ticklish Dating phase, I think. My heart slowly began to pound.
There was a dull noise as the glass hit the table.
“The lawyer for that side took him to get tested, just in case. He persuaded him that it would be good to get a reduced sentence. But the result actually came back that way. That he was so serious that he needed immediate treatment. The perpetrator really thought he was Sex partner with the victim.”
“What does that…”
“The client said he didn’t know he was that kind of guy either. They were so close that he would sometimes pick up his friend when he was drunk.”
“…”
“Why are you making that face? Isn’t it interesting?”
As if he had finished the story, Hyeon-seong took a break and drank his share of the liquor. There was a smile on the corner of his lips. As if he found it very interesting.
My vision was dizzy. As if I were drunk from just one sip. Kwon Yi-tae, you stupid bastard. I took medicine and then drank alcohol. I hadn’t drunk alcohol while receiving treatment, so I didn’t think of it right away.
This time, knowing full well, I groped for the glass again. I downed an even larger amount than before.
“It’s not fun. Stop, I think I’ve heard enough.”
I barely managed to answer. My tongue was stinging. My breath was hot. Apart from not being able to drink at all, my breathing was constricted. Despite the moderately warm indoor temperature, cold sweat formed on my forehead. Whether it was a delusion or not, a pain like needles stabbing my stomach washed over me.
“Only the ending is left. Don’t you want to hear the rest? I don’t like stories being cut off.”
“…”
He wore an indifferent expression again, as if he had never smiled.
“Unfortunately, both the civil and criminal cases were terminated due to lack of the right to prosecute. There was no heir to take over the responsibility. A son who had gotten a job at a large company at a young age and was the pride of his mother was handed over to the court for stalking the same man. It was unbearable.”
“What are you trying to say?”
My defense mechanism kicked in, and I asked sharply. The world was now undulating up and down like waves. The chemical reaction exploded even more than I had expected.
“What’s interesting here is that the client raised the possibility that there might be other victims besides himself.”
“…”
“What do you think? Do you think that other person is really a victim?”
In the dim light, the beast bared its white teeth.