By Zephyria 
“From next time, you can just give your name. Don’t forget to book in advance.”
“Yes, yes.”
“It’s nice that you’re responding so readily for once. Since we’re out, we can buy a set of clothes and have a meal.”
“Let’s do that next time. Since I got a massage, I’m going to see my lover. I’ve been shut up at home for so long that it’s been a while since I’ve seen his face. Oh, and this is me running away from home, so don’t look for me until next week.”
“What…?”
Father’s eyes shook violently, as if he had heard something completely unexpected. He had said he didn’t expect me to respond readily. Did he really not anticipate that if I followed along this docilely, the next step would be to deviate? He’s lived a very easy life.
Turning my back on the bewildered Father, I waved my hand lightly and stepped out of the aesthetic shop, whose name was a mouthful. I quickly scanned the area and approached Lee Kyung-jin, who was waiting. As I climbed into the backseat and shouted, “Depart!”, Lee Kyung-jin started the engine without even knowing the destination.
“Go to Kwon Yi-kang’s apartment.”
The phone I had left for charging during the massage was fully charged. As soon as I turned it on, call and text notifications rang out in succession.
“Mr. Lee, it’s been a while. Did you rest well while I was shut up at home?”
Since I had come in the same car as Father, Lee Kyung-jin had followed in an empty car. Now that we were alone, I spoke to him, and Lee Kyung-jin glanced at my face through the rearview mirror.
“I was waiting in the annex.”
“Why? I was just at home; you should have rested.”
“Still, I didn’t know when you might go out.”
“Geez, do you really have to be so inflexible as to come to work? Was Chief Bae doing attendance checks or something?”
At my grumpy question, Lee Kyung-jin only smiled.
“I thought you were sick, so I’m glad you look okay.”
“Yeah, my heart was a bit sick.”
“….”
Not knowing how to respond, Lee Kyung-jin’s eyes wavered in confusion.
Why was his heart sick? Did something happen? Did he fight with his lover? But isn’t he going to his lover’s house now? Or was there some problem at home?
I burst into laughter, feeling as if I could see the gears turning rapidly in Lee Kyung-jin’s head.
“I just didn’t have any energy, so I lay down. Ah, seriously. Father is calling so much.”
Just when I thought I’d escaped the notification hell, Father kept calling. I had a fleeting bad thought about whether I should persistently reject the calls and just block him.
“Oh, I’ve run away from home. I won’t be back for about a week. Mr. Lee, either take a week’s vacation or just enjoy your hobbies in the annex.”
“…Pardon?”
“I ran away from home. They told me to go on a blind date this Saturday. That’s why I ran away to my lover’s place. How long has it even been since the funeral that they’re telling me to go on a date? Of course, the funeral had nothing to do with me, but people who are so conscious of others’ opinions are strangely indifferent in areas like that.”
After calling about five times, my father seemed to give up, and the phone went quiet. As if passing a baton, Lee Kyung-jin’s phone began to ring.
“Whether it’s Father, his secretary, his attendants, or Chief Bae—basically, if it’s anyone associated with Father, don’t answer. I’ve run away.”
“……Even so……”
“Then answer after you drop me off. After I’ve gone up.”
“……Understood.”
“Tell them I took your phone so you couldn’t answer. And if you do answer, tell them I’ve already left. They won’t know the unit number anyway, so it’s fine to tell them which apartment complex it is. If you keep your mouth shut about that too, only Mr. Lee will get scolded.”
I hoped he’d be touched by my consideration, but Lee Kyung-jin just laughed it off as if he were watching a child perform a trick.
“Isn’t this the timing to be touched? I’m even thinking of excuses for you so Mr. Lee doesn’t get scolded.”
“You are always so considerate, Young Master. That is why I am always touched.”
“Your face looks like you just find this funny, though?”
“Always…… whenever you do something that will get you in trouble, don’t you always think of an excuse for me too? It’s, how should I put it, refreshing and cute. Yes, it is touching.”
“Anyone listening would think I spend my whole life doing things that get me scolded.”
Pouting my lips, I searched for Kwon Yi-kang’s contact. I was afraid to check how many calls and texts Kwon Yi-kang had sent during the time I had turned off my phone and stayed shut inside the house.
Before the signal could ring more than a few times, Kwon Yi-kang answered and called my name in a blunt tone. “Cha Soo-kyung.” It seemed he was definitely not in a mood to say ‘Hello.’
“Yeah, it’s me, Cha Soo-kyung.”
―…….
As if lost for words at my brazen response, Kwon Yi-kang remained silent for a moment.
―You certainly have a talent for making people worry. Phone off, no contact. Do you act like this knowing full well that I’m worried? Or is my worry not even something worth your attention?
“I have something I’m curious about.”
I obviously thought he would worry. What kind of nonsense is ‘not even something worth attention’? I expected him to care and worry, but I just wanted to go off the grid for a bit. As a fellow man, can’t he understand that much?
“Do you prefer it if I greet you naked, or if I greet you while taking my clothes off?”
―……What?
“I’m on my way to your apartment right now. Do you have any monthly leave left?”
Instead of an answer, a low sigh poured through the phone. Though I couldn’t see him, I felt as if Kwon Yi-kang was reflecting on his life. Or perhaps he was recalling the karma of his past life.
“No leave left?”
―That’s the case.
“Tell me where your company is. I’ll go set it on fire. I’ll create a forced vacation for you.”
I was more than willing to do that. He said it wasn’t even his company, but his father’s. Since I wasn’t in that old man’s good graces anyway, I figured it would be a good opportunity to give him the finger.
―Just stay quietly at the apartment.
“Come quickly. If you’re late, I’m just leaving.”
Of course, that was a lie. Since I had already run away, I intended to hold out at Kwon Yi-kang’s apartment as long as possible, but if I admitted that readily, I feared I’d be scolded the whole time for being unreachable. I bluffed a bit to establish some leverage.
―Just be there.
“……You still haven’t answered. The former or the latter?”
Since I’d had a full-body massage and felt a bit guilty, I asked because I wanted to provide some service, but there was no answer. When I asked again urgently, a half-resigned response came back.
―The former.
I giggled at the sigh-filled voice and hung up.
∞ ∞ ∞
The blanket covering me was pulled down, and a hand touched my exposed shoulder. The ticklish sensation moved slowly from my shoulder to my arm, then back up to my shoulder and neck.
I shrank my shoulders and flinched, and when I slowly opened my eyes, I saw Kwon Yi-kang’s face looking down at me as he sat by the bed.
I had thrown off my clothes upon arriving at the apartment, but I must have fallen lightly asleep while lying in bed because it was cold. I stretched out wide and opened my arms toward Kwon Yi-kang.
“……Are you angry?”
No greeting, no words, no reaction. My open arms began to ache under the gaze that simply looked down at me in silence. As I let my arms flop onto the bed and asked, a short sigh escaped him.
“Whether I’m angry or in a bad mood, do you even care?”
“I didn’t want to do anything. Nothing felt meaningful. I didn’t know what I should do, and I didn’t know what I had left. ……So I just kept sleeping. Actually, I didn’t even want to breathe.”
Kwon Yi-kang gripped my wrist tightly. Like someone terrified that I might disappear this very moment. His tightly closed lips were tense, as if he were angry.
“But there’s a limit to just lying there. I don’t die easily. They bring rice and porridge at every meal, determined to feed me somehow. They stay on edge, watching to see if I’m sick. While not a single person knows how I actually feel inside.”
“You don’t even want to let them know how you feel. You keep it locked away, yet you hope others will understand? There are parts of you that aren’t honest even with me. You’ll admit that too.”
“…….”
He was certainly right. But it wasn’t the kind of thing I could honestly tell him.
That I am not Cha Soo-kyung. That I am a guy named Min Jae-hee. That my own body died and I am living in Cha Soo-kyung’s body. That I don’t know where the real Cha Soo-kyung is.
How could I explain and make someone else understand a situation that I myself didn’t understand?
“Are you going to keep being angry? Do you not want to forgive me?”
Even though he clearly knew I was trying to change the subject, Kwon Yi-kang turned a blind eye again. He kissed my forehead and the bridge of my nose lightly and stood up from the bed.
“Food?”
“I had a bit of porridge late this morning before I left.”
“Should we eat something light, or go out for a change? If you’re feeling lazy, we can order in.”
I grabbed the wrist of Kwon Yi-kang as he checked the time and took off his suit jacket. As I sat up, my naked body, which had been covered by the blanket, was revealed.
“It’s been almost a week since we last saw each other.”
“That’s because someone went off the grid without a word.”
He certainly has a way with words. Even though I said I was reflecting, he wouldn’t let it go easily. He was a man who secretly held grudges.
Standing face-to-face with Kwon Yi-kang, I hooked my finger into the tie tightening his neck. I slowly pulled down the knot of the tie and tugged one end. It fell to the floor with a thud, and I pushed it aside with my foot, meeting his eyes as I unbuttoned his dress shirt one by one.
I pulled the shirt out from his pants, unbuttoned the cuffs, and pushed the shirt off his shoulders. I undone the belt, lowered the zipper, and moved my hand over the revealed briefs.
“I want to eat you first.”