By Zephyria Choi Won-joon woke up earlier than Lee-eum from some point on. Unlike before when he looked tired, his face was so radiant it was almost glossy. That meant he was sleeping soundly, and that his insomnia had improved. If that was the case, didn’t that mean he didn’t need me anymore?
When I came out, he was wearing Young-shik’s exclusive teddy bear shirt with the apron he wore yesterday as a set. What on earth was he doing? Was this a new way to torment me? Choi Won-joon, who was setting the table, smiled brightly at Lee-eum.
“You’re awake? Go wash up and eat, Darling.”
I didn’t even have the energy to respond from the morning, so I turned around as I was. I came out after washing up, and before I knew it, even stew was on the table. After ladling some out for me, Choi Won-joon took off his apron and hung it on the side. Lee-eum glared at the apron. I’m definitely going to burn that thing.
“I don’t know if the seasoning is right.”
Lee-eum couldn’t pick up his spoon.
“I’m sorry. I don’t have much of an appetite in the morning…”
“Just eat a little.”
He even put the spoon in my hand, so I had no choice but to scoop up some stew and take a bite. But what do you know? It was delicious. Did he perhaps buy it somewhere? I looked at the sink, and the leftover ingredients were rolling around, a mess.
“How is it?”
“It’s good. Yesterday was completely salt soup,”
Lee-eum trailed off mid-sentence. I pretended not to notice and put rice in my mouth, and Choi Won-joon deboned a piece of hairtail for me. Lee-eum thought he was good at deboning fish, but Choi Won-joon’s skill was exceptional. After putting the fish on the rice, he smiled.
“Enjoy your meal.”
This was strange. How could his cooking skills improve so much overnight? Curious, I asked how he made the stew, and he said it was nothing difficult. He just followed the recipe on the internet.
“I originally have a great learning ability. In everything.”
“But why were you like that yesterday?”
Choi Won-joon replied in an indifferent tone.
“I just dumped a ton of salt and sugar in.”
“……”
“You ate it well, though.”
He smiled, and Lee-eum stared at him in disbelief.
“Did you do that on purpose? Why?”
“I was curious.”
“About what? How much salt a person has to eat to die?”
“You saw my mother, right? She’s great in every way, but she’s terribly bad at cooking. Not often, but whenever my mother cooked, my Hyungs and I would make all sorts of excuses and run away. But Father would eat it and say it was delicious.”
“……”
“I really looked down on Father. To go that far to please Mother? But then when you made me soup the other day, I realized. It wasn’t the taste of the food that was important to Father, but the fact that she made it for him, and that he was grateful and found it lovely.”
“Well, that’s because you’re a couple, so it’s natural…”
“People call that love.”
Lee-eum was flustered, and Won-joon continued.
“And yesterday, I saw potential.”
“What potential…?”
“The potential that you might love me.”
“Haha, wow… That’s the least funny joke I’ve heard this year.”
“Your face is red.”
“It’s because I’m angry…”
“You’re not foolish enough to not be able to distinguish between anger and embarrassment, are you?”
“……”
Choi Won-joon deboned another piece of fish and placed it on the plate, and Lee-eum belatedly nitpicked. Usually, that’s just politeness. Let’s say you go to your boss’s house and your boss makes you a meal, but it tastes awful. Can you honestly say that?
Choi Won-joon just smiled as he listened to Lee-eum’s words. Lee-eum also knew. A boss is someone you have to be mindful of, but Choi Won-joon wasn’t.
Caring about someone’s feelings without considering gains and losses means you care about them, and caring about them means you don’t want to be hated. And not wanting to be hated means… As his face gradually contorted, Choi Won-joon placed a piece of white fish on the rice and met his gaze affectionately.
“Eat a lot. After eating, let’s go get that bastard.”
❖ ❖ ❖
After parking the car in the hospital parking lot, Lee-eum checked on Choi Won-joon sitting next to him. He had suggested coming together first, but once they arrived, he asked several times if he was okay. Even in front of the hospital room, he hesitated, wondering if this was really the right thing to do.
“Why are you making that face?”
“I think I asked you for too much. If it’s too hard, tell me now.”
The trauma was a major incident, and it even caused insomnia, so it would be a lie to say he wasn’t worried. The police officer guarding the front of the hospital room saluted Lee-eum and briefly reported the situation from the previous night.
After receiving the report and going inside, Park Eon-soo was sitting on the bed, comfortably watching TV. He greeted Lee-eum happily, but his expression changed strangely when he saw Choi Won-joon behind him.
“Detective. You’re here early in the morning.”
“Not for an investigation, I just had some business at the hospital and stopped by.”
“Ah, I see. By the way, how long is that person outside going to keep doing that? I feel bad that he’s suffering so much because of me.”
He was worried about others when he was in a dire situation himself. Park Eon-soo spoke nonchalantly, but his eyes darted to Choi Won-joon every now and then, as if spying on him.
“Who’s the person next to you? He’s quite the handsome man. Why does he look familiar? Are you an actor?”
Lee-eum turned to face Choi Won-joon standing behind him. He was looking at Park Eon-soo with the same indifferent gaze as usual.
Or was he wrong? Had he misjudged after all?
Lee-eum moved a little closer to Park Eon-soo. One of his hands was in handcuffs, and the other held the TV remote.
“The doctor says you’ll be able to leave the hospital soon, so stay put until then. Don’t do anything foolish.”
“What do you mean by foolish? I’m dying just being here. I’d rather go quickly, sincerely apologize to the victim, and be punished. I guess the saying that you can’t live with sin is true.”
Lee-eum was about to say something to Park Eon-soo, who was smiling shamelessly, but he pressed his lips shut. After turning around and coming outside, Lee-eum took Choi Won-joon away from the hospital room and asked cautiously.
“How is it? Do you remember?”
Instead of answering, Choi Won-joon fumbled at his chest pocket of his jacket.
“Ah, I left my cell phone in the hospital room. Can I go get it?”
Lee-eum didn’t ask any further and nodded. Go ahead. The police officer guarding the entrance looked at Lee-eum, and at his gesture to let him in, he stepped aside. Choi Won-joon then opened the door and disappeared inside, and Lee-eum, left alone, watched the entrance with a somewhat nervous expression.
Park Eon-soo’s eyes widened slightly as he saw Choi Won-joon enter the hospital room. Wondering what was going on, Won-joon went to the window and picked up his cell phone.
“I almost left this behind.”
Park Eon-soo chuckled.
“You should take better care of it. You’re still young, you shouldn’t be getting forgetful already.”
Won-joon sighed softly.
“I know, right? I wasn’t like this before. I used to be very bright when I was young, but after experiencing something bad, my head went a little crazy.”
Park Eon-soo was still smiling.
“Oh, really? That’s unfortunate. Can you leave now? I’m tired.”
“Yes, of course. Rest well.” Choi Won-joon headed for the door, but suddenly stopped, turned around sharply, and snapped his fingers. “Ah!” Then, he strode up to Park Eon-soo and smiled brightly with a welcoming face.
“Right?”
Park Eon-soo’s eyebrows twitched.
“What are you talking about…?”
“What else? You’re the one who kidnapped me.”
Park Eon-soo’s face hardened, but he scoffed and muttered. “What nonsense.” He reached up to call a nurse, but Choi Won-joon grabbed his arm to stop him.
“Your face has changed a lot. That’s why I couldn’t find you. Long time no see. How’s your younger brother? Did you bury him well?”
Lines formed on Park Eon-soo’s forehead, and Won-joon continued with an excited expression.
“You cut him up with a chainsaw, so it must have taken quite a bit of effort to clean up. It’s late, but I’m sorry. I didn’t do it on purpose. I had no choice, I was just trying to survive.”
Park Eon-soo’s cheeks trembled, but he tried to maintain his composure.
“Stop talking nonsense and let go of me. Are you on drugs?”
“You know what? Thanks to you guys, I developed insomnia. I’ve spent billions of won on treatment. I even went abroad and had electric shocks to my head. But I still couldn’t fix it, until our great Detective Kim Yi-eum fixed it. The power of love is amazing. So what can I do? I have to do whatever he asks.”
“What is this crazy bastard saying…” As Park Eon-soo tried to shake off his hand, Choi Won-joon instead twisted it with force. Park Eon-soo screamed in pain as his joint was bent, and Choi Won-joon covered his mouth with his large hand.
As Park Eon-soo thrashed in agony, Choi Won-joon’s eyes took on a fierce murderous intent.
“I’ll definitely get you out of here.”
“……!”
“By hiring expensive lawyers, as soon as possible.”
Then, he whispered in a chilling voice.
“Look forward to it. I’ll show you exactly what kind of son of a bitch Choi Won-joon, who you tried to kill, has grown into.”
Just before his eyes completely flipped, he let go, and Park Eon-soo clutched his neck, rolling around and coughing. “Fuck!” After cursing roughly, he glared at Choi Won-joon as if he would kill him, but he couldn’t hold his gaze for long and trembled, looking away.
Choi Won-joon, who was admiring the scene, wiped his hands with a wet wipe and smiled gleefully.
“So, if you want to live, run away. With all your might.”