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Soldiers stood guard in full uniform in front of Haekyung’s house. Above the tall wall, several CCTV cameras were positioned, emitting menacing red lights as if they were on display. We passed through the sturdy-looking gate and walked for a while before entering.
Unlike the bloody exterior, the neatly tended garden was adorned with autumn flowers in full bloom. The mansion, consisting of several buildings, bore the marks of long age. However, as they were traces of people’s caring touch, it felt more antique and cosy than old. Upon stepping into the warm interior of the house, a beautiful middle-aged woman greeted us. I guessed that she was Haekyung’s mother and offered her an awkward greeting.
“Hello.”
“Are you the friend Haekyung was coming with?”
“Yes. My name is Kim Euijin.”
Haekyung’s mother smiled elegantly and welcomed me for coming over. I was led by his mother’s hand and turned back to his father and older sister, who were sitting on the living room couch, to greet them. After some light questions, I found myself without much else to say. The discussion soon shifted to something concerning their family and continued for a while, so I just sipped on the beautifully coloured tea.
“Your friend must be bored. Haekyung-ah, how about the two of you head up to the second floor?”
As soon as the teacup in front of me was emptied, Haekyung’s mother filled it up again and spoke to Haekyung. Only then did Haekyung, who was saying something about his sister’s boyfriend, look at me.
“Euijin-ah, are you bored?”
“Huh? No, I’m alright,” I answered in the confusion of the moment, and Haekyung went back to talking with his sister. Small jokes were passed around, and everyone burst into laughter. I couldn’t quite understand it as it was a joke involving the context of a situation I was unaware of, but I quietly laughed along with them anyway.
“Haekyung’s friend, you’re quite handsome, aren’t you? Does S.E. recruit people based on their looks these days?” His sister asked in a joking tone to their father. I found out who his father was not too long ago. S.E.’s commander, Lieutenant General Jung Kyungwon. I had heard through rumours that he was very fastidious and intimidating, but he didn’t seem to be that way at all at home. Haekyung’s father replied, “As long as they’re tall, it’s all good,” and cackled.
“I heard about you from Lieutenant Colonel Baek. Is there perhaps anything making your day-to-day life uncomfortable?”
There were more things making me uncomfortable than there were stars in the sky. Pay cuts, outing bans, forfeiture of free time, strange experiments that continued regardless of time and occasion, strained interpersonal relationships, being forced into a job I didn’t want, etc. But what was the best response when a lieutenant general asked a recruit about their troubles? I straightened my back, which had already been straightened stiffly this entire time, and answered, “There’s nothing.”
Haekyung’s father laughed nicely. I wondered whether or not I should laugh along with him. It seemed better to just stay still. Haekyung’s father looked at Haekyung with soft eyes before turning his gaze towards me soon afterwards and saying, “Since you’re here as Haekyung’s friend, feel free to be comfortable.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t be nervous.”
“Okay.”
Telling me to feel comfortable would render me unable to do so, and telling me not to be nervous would make me nervous. I had maintained a rigid posture for over an hour, causing my neck and shoulders to feel stiff. However, unlike my condition, the atmosphere inside the house was very harmonious. After we finished our meal, which was full of Haekyung’s favourite dishes, we had fruits as a dessert and even made songpyeons. While the family members seemed accustomed to it, it was my first attempt, so I ended up making trash instead of rice cakes.
“Isn’t there a saying that you have to make pretty songpyeons to have a pretty daughter?”
Haekyung’s sister laughed as she looked at the songpyeon I made. I bashfully laughed along with her.
“Like me?”
Haekyung presented the songpyeon that he had meticulously crafted. Unlike me, he had made a songpyeon so perfect that it could’ve been an example that came straight out of a cookbook. Well, his daughter would probably have no choice but to look pretty, regardless of the way he made his songpyeons.
“It seems our mom has no talent for making songpyeons, huh? The state of her daughter is totally…”
Haekyung’s sister became pissed at his joke, and laughter burst out from here and there. It wasn’t funny, so it was hard to laugh along. The corners of my mouth were twitching.
“Hey, then what about your face? Men should be handsome, not pretty. Like your friend.”
I wished they wouldn’t make me the subject of discussion, compliment or regardless. I didn’t want the attention to be focused on me. Anyhow, even if I were called handsome in front of Jung Haekyung, I wouldn’t be able to take it as a compliment. I just wished that time would tick faster as I polished up my already ruined songpyeon again and again. The more I polished it, the more of a mess it became.
That night, I had indigestion. My insides felt stuffy and nauseating. No one treated me poorly, but I felt more uncomfortable than ever. It wasn’t just because the commander was there. Listening to conversations I couldn’t understand amidst the gentle and harmonious atmosphere and sitting there awkwardly—it made me feel unfamiliar and uneasy. It was a relief that there was a bathroom attached to the guest room. The sight of me wrestling and grabbing onto the toilet wouldn’t be broadcast live.
The problem was the morning of the next day. I somehow found myself sitting in front of the table, which was prepped with meals lighter than the ones from yesterday evening. I had been dragged down by the bright Haekyung, but even just catching a whiff of the smell of food made my insides turn upside down. I tried to drink some water first, but it was no use. As I continued to dawdle, not raising my spoon, Haekyung’s mother carefully asked, “Is the food not to your liking?”
“No, my stomach just feels a bit upset…”
“Really? Then should I make some porridge?”
Haekyung’s mother rose from her seat, as if she truly intended to prepare some porridge. I quickly held my spoon.
“It’s okay. I’ll eat a little bit.”
Having everyone’s gaze focused on me at this serene table felt burdensome. I managed to eat a few spoonfuls of rice, picked up some of the side dishes in front of me, and ate them. Although I didn’t want to eat anymore, leaving my seat prematurely would be impolite, and it seemed rude to sit in a daze without touching my meal. I barely got rid of the food in front of me, basically shoving it down my throat almost.
Thankfully, we didn’t eat any fruits or anything. I returned to the guest bedroom on the second floor and spat out everything I ate in its entirety into the toilet. Haekyung, who had even followed me to the bathroom, patted my back as he asked in a kind voice, “Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Then lie down a bit.”
I did a quick rinse of the mouth, was led out of the bathroom by him, and laid down on the bed, but it wasn’t an issue that could be fixed by simply lying down. If I continued in this state, then I’d have to eat lunch again. Haekyung’s sister wanted to go eat outside. I had never dreaded mealtime so much.
“Do you want some digestive medicine?”
Haekyung took out a white pill. I swallowed it along with some water. I had already expected it, but there wasn’t much effect.
“Should we prick your finger?”
Haekyung stood up, saying he’d fetch a needle. I knew it wouldn’t be of much use, as even if the indigestion I was currently experiencing subsided, it would return once I ate something else. Even if I managed to somehow eat lunch, there were still six days left of vacation. Honestly, I even heard that guests were supposed to come over starting tomorrow. I had heard that people were expected to visit the homes of elderly relatives or whatever on Chuseok Day, but if it was Haekyung, he might ask me to accompany him. I grabbed his wrist.
“Haekyung-ah.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m going home.”
“You can’t.”
“Huh?”
“There’s no one home, you know.”
“I think I’ll feel a bit better if I go home.”
“I think you’ll feel worse, though?”
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“Maybe it’s because I’ve come to an unfamiliar place after so long. I want to go home.”
“Then I’ll go too. How can I send you off alone?”
I swallowed my curses. The conversation was unfolding exactly as I had expected. I had no intention of taking him away from his family, who were so delighted to see him.
“I think I have indigestion.”
“Yeah, I think so too.”
“.…..”
“Should I ask mom to make you some porridge?”
“No, I won’t be able to eat anything.”
“If you don’t eat anything, then everyone will worry. Will that be okay?”
I raised my head. I stared at Jung Haekyung. His face displayed genuine concern as he looked at me. That pretty face of his was filled with regret. However, something was weird. I couldn’t quite pinpoint what the weird part was. My head ached in pain, and my insides felt nauseous, making it difficult for me to think clearly.
“Everyone will worry, just as you said… I think I’ll feel better if I go home. Haekyung-ah, you stay here.”
“According to the rules, I can’t send you off alone, you know that, right?”
“…I’ll stay at home. I won’t go anywhere.”
“I’ll come too.”
“Then… should I go back?”
“I’ll come too.”
Sometimes, when conversing with Haekyung, we would find ourselves repeating the same questions and answers over and over again, but enduring that repetition was challenging in the present moment. Later on, I’d speak to Haekyung as if I were begging him to please let me go to places alone. Haekyung worried about me, and I was in a situation where I rejected that concern. He pushed back my hair, which was sticky with cold sweat, and wore a difficult expression. The face I would normally think of as pretty appeared distorted at that moment.
I was utterly exhausted. Suddenly, my insides churned again. I ran to the bathroom again and vomited whatever was in my stomach, but only watery liquid came out. Tired, I gave up on persuading Haekyung. I felt sorry for his family members, but it seemed like returning with him would be the better option. I couldn’t just let myself lay sick with indigestion at a friend’s house during the holidays. I tried to tell Haekyung, who had still followed me into the bathroom and was carefully patting my back, that I wanted to go back, but he suddenly said something strange.
“Kiss me.”
“What?”
Haekyung tapped his lips with his long fingers. As I blankly stared at him, he pulled those lips up.
“If you kiss me, I’ll let you go.”
“What are you talking about…?”
“If you don’t want to, then there’s no helping it.”
Haekyung lightly stood up. I quickly grabbed his wrist.
“What are you saying, seriously?”
“Just the lips. You know, it’s like a greeting.”
Haekyung sat in front of me again. He tilted his head a bit, as if to pester me. Unconsciously, I found my gaze drawn to his lips. Moist, plump, red lips. I shifted my gaze to the floor, feeling as though my face were heating up.
“Hm?”
Haekyung came closer to me. It seemed as though, if he just came a little closer, our lips would really touch. However, he didn’t do so and stopped. Haekyung’s face was close enough for me to be able to count the number of eyelashes he had. Amidst the throbbing pain in my head and the churning of my insides, he filled my sight with his long eyelashes, clear brown eyes, red lips, and his words as he told me he’d let me go home, that it was no different from a greeting, and that all I needed to do was move an inch.
“I, just threw up, though…”
I shook my head, trying to push back the thoughts that had sunk into a slough. Haekyung cupped my face with his hand and brushed my lips with his thumb.
“It’s okay.”
“.…..”
“You’re not going to go home?”
“.…..”
“Should I make you some porridge?”
His white finger continued to rub my lower lip. I squeezed my eyes shut and stopped breathing for a moment. I brought my lips to his. His lips were much softer and warmer than I had expected, and when I tried to hurriedly pull back, something wet licked my lips. When I opened my eyes, I saw the red tip of his tongue grazing past my lips. I hurriedly tried to move back in my crouched-down state and ended up falling backwards. Being out of breath, I began to cough. Haekyung laughed out loud.
“Cute. Is this your first time?”
Seeing his lips move, I was reminded of what I had just done, and even my ears felt hot. Nonetheless, Haekyung approached me once more. He was smiling brightly, but I felt incapable of moving my body. He approached me as if to kiss me again and quietly whispered in my ear, “Me too.”
The moment I barely managed to grasp the meaning of his words was the moment I realised I had been played and started to come back to my senses a little. I jumped up and tried to leave the bathroom, but Haekyung was blocking my path.
“Why? Did you not like it?”
I liked it though—mumbled Haekyung as I passed by him. As we descended to the first floor, Haekyung’s mother, who was about to call us downstairs, greeted us. When I struggled to control my expression, Haekyung said, “Eujin’s father is at the airport. It seems like he managed to somehow find some time to come and visit his son.”
Upon hearing Haekyung’s words, his mother smiled and said, “Gosh, really?”
With little to say, I simply nodded a few times. Then, Lieutenant General Jung Kyungwon, still sitting on the sofa, turned back and said, “That’s good. You should hurry and go see him.”
I bid my farewell and attempted to leave Haekyung’s house. However, his mother gently grabbed my arm and said, “We have a reservation at a nice restaurant for lunch, so would you like to invite your father to join us?”
As my body froze up in surprise, Haekyung placed an arm on my shoulder and forced our eyes to meet.
“Shall we?”
What did this bastard just say? When I blatantly stared at him, a strange silence overtook the living room. I chewed on my lips. At that moment, Lieutenant General Jung Kyungwon said, “He should spend some time with his family after being apart for so long, it’s the holidays after all.”
It was only then that I was able to leave Haekyung’s house. It was a task as exhausting as the time I escaped from S.E. As soon as I stepped out of the front door, I took out my phone to try and call for a taxi. However, Haekyung lowered the wrist that was holding the phone, still wearing that pretty smile.
“I’ll take you there.”
“No thanks.”
“Let’s go.”
I didn’t want to go with Haekyung. His words and actions were weird. They’ve been weird ever since he told me to come over to his house, and they became even weirder after I arrived. However, not caring about my opinion, Haekyung grabbed my wrist and headed for the parking lot. Part of me wanted to go alone at that moment, but I didn’t want to argue with him. I didn’t want to think about how tiring a process I’d have to go through if I tried to stop him from doing what he wanted to do. I got in his car. It was late in the morning, so the city roads were more free than they usually were. We reached my house in Jacho-dong not long after, but Haekyung had to park perfectly before getting out of the car. For some reason, I felt anxious.
“You can go now.”
“Want to eat some ramyeon?”
“I don’t even want to smell it.”
“I’ll eat it.”
Haekyung’s words seemed ridiculous, but it was also possible that he was just thinking of this as one of his missions. I painstakingly tried to think that way. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be capable of explaining why he was being like this. I didn’t want to reply, so I didn’t tell him to leave anymore. When I used fingerprint recognition to get on the elevator, Haekyung said, “Is the fingerprint of the caretaker who comes to your place also registered?”
“.…..”
“Is the fingerprint of the caretaker who comes to your place also registered?”
“.…..”
“Is the fingerprint of the caretaker who comes to your place also registered?”
What the hell was this? He seemed ready to keep questioning me until I answered him. I briefly replied, “…I don’t know.”
“Want to register mine too? Hold on.”
Even though we had reached the 7th floor, Haekyung wouldn’t get off the elevator. I couldn’t get off either, as he began to touch a bunch of things. What was he trying to do this time? I gave up and leaned my body against the elevator wall. Soon afterwards, Haekyung looked at me as if he had figured out the operation method and said, “This is it. It says it needs a master key in order to register a new one, so that would be your fingerprint, right?”
“.…..”
“This is it. It says it needs a master key in order to register a new one, so that would be your fingerprint, right?”
“…I don’t know.”
Haekyung forcefully pulled me over and used my fingerprint recognition. Then, he brought his own finger to it and started manipulating a bunch of things again. Afterwards, my face was suddenly pushed in front of the machine. My iris was identified out of nowhere. I hadn’t done this since the first time I registered, so was this kind of thing necessary as well? While I was in doubt, Haekyung’s iris was identified as well, and he touched the machine a few more times.
“It’s all done.”
Haekyung smiled contentedly and grabbed my hand. Only then was the open button pressed, and we were able to get off the elevator. When we stood in front of the front door and I opened the cover of the door lock, Haekyung lowered my hand and said, “I’ll open it. Ta-da.”
When Haekyung used fingerprint recognition and entered the passcode, the front door opened. How did he know the passcode too? I felt my thoughts grow complicated, but I didn’t want to engage in any more conversation with him.
“You can just go for today.”
“I don’t know if I should go. Don’t you have anything else to say to me?”
I didn’t want to exchange any other words with him, but I was afraid of him repeating the exact same question without getting a single thing wrong again, so I just answered, “I’ve got nothing to say. See you later.”
Haekyung laughed as he turned around. It was only then that I could close the front door and retreat into the house. This house had never felt as cosy as it did today. I let out a deep sigh as I crawled into my bed. Then, I slept as if I were dead. I didn’t want to think.
I slept, woke up, slept again, and repeated the cycle. I would wake up out of thirst and drink a glass of water before drifting back into sleep, and then I’d wake up out of hunger, boil a pack of ramyeon, and eat it before sleeping again. Time passed quickly. Maybe it was because I had suffered at the hands of so much training and experiments that even though I slept and slept again, I still felt sleepy. During the moments of wakefulness, I’d think of Haekyung, so I tried to get some more sleep. The more I thought about why he was being like this—if it was just nothing more than a joke, if it was right for me to feel strange about this, if I was reacting too sensitively—the more my thoughts grew complicated.
Just like that, I continued to pass the time by sleeping the days away until I finally turned on my phone. There were no missed calls or messages. As I lay on the bed, I stared blankly at the screen before sitting upright in surprise. Today was the day I needed to return to work. I had until 18 o’clock on October 7th to report back, and it was currently 10 in the morning. I had no idea what kind of charges Director Baek would use to hassle me if I didn’t return on time. While thinking that, considering it was a disciplinary situation, there could even be additional punishments, my movements began to hasten on their own.
I took a quick shower and put on some clothes. When I attempted to open the front door, it wouldn’t open. The handle wouldn’t budge at all. Finding it strange after a few tries, I examined the locking mechanism. The door lock looked strange. It was squashed, as if the iron had melted. Then, it was no wonder the handle wouldn’t move. It couldn’t be that a fire had started somewhere and only the locking mechanism had taken the brunt of the heat, so it was obvious who had done this. I knew only one person capable of melting iron. Only one person had come to my house. Jung Haekyung. What was he up to this time? My head throbbed and ached.
I contemplated giving Haekyung a call before deciding not to. Regardless of the reason, I still didn’t want to see him yet. Who do I contact when the door’s broken and I can’t get out of the house? 112? 119? I chose 119 and pressed three buttons. Then, just when I was about to hit the call button, I thought of what Director Baek had said. She said that they weren’t on friendly terms with the police. Then, what about 119? Were we not friendly with them either? If 119 was mobilised to come and open the door to my house, would Director Baek hear of it? I think she would. Would she think of this as S.E.’s shame as well? I think she would. Director Baek’s words about allowing me to go to the lab even on weekdays kept echoing in my mind. That woman was a woman who’d attain 150% of what she said.
I placed my phone in my pocket. I contemplated for a bit before picking up the intercom. I thought it’d be alright if someone from the maintenance office came since it wasn’t a government organisation. However, the intercom wouldn’t connect. No matter how many times I used fingerprint recognition, the only thing that would pop up was that it was an unregistered fingerprint.
“…Crazy…”
Then, it dawned on me that Haekyung had done something in the elevator. I didn’t know the specifics of what he had done or how, but anyway, it was clearly his doing.
I glanced at the clock again. 11:30. It took at least three hours from here to S.E. The faces of Director Baek and Haekyung flashed alternately through my mind. Who would be better? At the end of my contemplation, I called Haekyung. He answered the phone before it could even ring three times. Then, as always, he called my name in a kind voice.
─Euijin-ah.
“.…..”
─Euijin-ah.
“…What did you do?”
─Do what?
“To the door.”
─Oh, you just noticed it now?
“Are you messing with me?”
─You’ve been obediently staying at home, huh?
“…Come over to my house. Open the door.”
─It sounds sexy since it’s an order.
“…Quit it with the bullshit, please.”
─Even so, I want to hear a plea.
“……”
─Even so, I want to hear a plea.
“Ha… please come over.”
─Haekyung-ah, please come pick me up. In a cute way like this.
“…Seriously, why are you being like this?”
─There’s nothing I can do if you don’t want to.
The call was hung up. I threw my phone. That bastard was weird. Had Jung Haekyung always been such a crazy bastard? What was he trying to play with me? Unable to win against my anger, I kicked the door with my foot, creating some banging noise, but there was no one to hear it. I was the only one living on the 7th floor, and the security and soundproofing were very thorough. I approached the window. Still, it was too high for me to leap down. It wasn’t as if I were Spiderman, so I couldn’t go down by scaling the walls either. Even though I was a moron who couldn’t get out of my own house, I couldn’t seek help from any other government organisation either because I was an ability user affiliated with S.E.
I opened the fridge, took out a water bottle, and opened it. I gulped down the water since I was burning up, but then I realised that even the caretaker hadn’t shown up. I had vaguely assumed they didn’t come because they were resting for the holidays, but now it appears to be connected to the fingerprint recognition not working properly. Grinding my teeth, I looked over to the clock. The short-hand was approaching 1. Calling Haekyung again, leaving another record of desertion, and meeting Director Baek every evening. I had to choose which of those three was the better option again. I picked up my phone again before the short hand reached 2. I had thrown it a little hard earlier, but thankfully it wasn’t broken. I called Haekyung. However, he wasn’t picking up. Nervous, I kept trying to call him. Still, even though his name piled up in heaps on my call record, Jung Haekyung wouldn’t pick up the phone.
“Ha…”
I sat down and put the phone down for a bit. Then, along with the vibration that made the floor buzz, Haekyung’s name popped up. I hurriedly picked up the phone.
─Euijin-ah.
“…Haekyung-ah, please come pick me up.”
─Okay, Euijin-ah.
The call was disconnected again.
I sat on the floor for a while. When I checked the clock again, I heard a grating sound. The handle, which had remained immovable no matter how much I tried to turn it, fell to the floor with a clack. Then, the door swung open with a boom! sound. Haekyung opened the door. By force. Entering the house, he caught sight of me sitting in the middle of the empty living room and said, “Were you waiting?”
I nodded my head. It was true that I was waiting. There were many things I wanted to say, too. I had to leave first, though.
“Let’s hurry and go.”
I passed by Haekyung and tried to leave. However, he grabbed my wrist.
“Are you angry?”
“Yeah.”
“I did it because I was angry too.”
“About what?”
I subconsciously let out a sharp voice. What was there to be angry about when he was acting as he pleased? Haekyung tapped his own wrist. It was the watch I had given him.
“I told you that I didn’t want to make any exchanges with you, don’t you remember?”
“……”
“I told you that I didn’t want to make any exchanges with you, don’t you remember?”
“Ah, stop it!”
“It was cute seeing you act all restless about when to give it to me, but I still hate it.”
“Hate it? If you hate it, then don’t accept it, why’re you acting so fucking insane?!”
“Why are you cursing?”
“Wouldn’t you curse as well if you were in my position? I just gave it to you because I wanted to! So you can give me something burdensome, but I can’t do the same?”
“Yeah. You can’t.”
“…What?”
“You should only accept what I give you.”
“……”
“You should only accept what I give you.”
“Hey, you son of a bitch…”
“Don’t curse.”
“……”
“Don’t curse.”
“…Stop it, please…”
Haekyung seemed crazy. I covered my face and lowered my head. Haekyung’s voice was pouring down from above my head.
“Your feelings behind giving me this are special, so I’ll accept it this time, but don’t do it again in the future.”
“…What are you talking about…?”
“I said I’d fill you up. Don’t you remember?”
“…I don’t know…”
“I’ll be the one to decide the things you give me. I’ll let you know over time.”
“…Ah… you…”
Afraid that Haekyung would repeat the same words again, I replied with just about whatever. Haekyung smiled with his eyes curved. As if to tell me to do just that.
orcinus comments:
happy late chuseok everyone! I’d make fun of Euijin for being bad at making songpyeons, but I’m also horrible at making them…
That warning about that line being meant literally scares me
Woah and the crazy officially starts…
CRAZYYYY
TYSM for the chapter.
My feelings where like 📉. Okay he had family, then suddently the repeating se tences and then the sussy retina scan and the door got me waving 🚨🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚨🚩🚩🚩🚩
BITCH THE RED FLAGS ARE UP THE RED FLAGS ARE UP I REPEAT THE MF REDS FLAGS ARE UP GET OUTTA THERE 🗣️🗣️🗣️🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩
How the fuck did Jang Haekyung turn out like this?? Even if his family’s not as picture perfect as it seems and the military didn’t always treat him like a star, surely nothing could’ve corroded him to this extent? Is there something wrong with the genes?