novel
| ← Ch.055 | Ch.057 → |
Chapter 56.
Siwoo said to Shin, "But Shin..."
"What?"
"You know that guy who was with Woojin Choi..."
"You mean Jihoon Kang?"
"Yeah, that man. I told you I saw him before, right?"
"I really don't want to talk about him right now, Siwoo."
These days, Jihoon Kang was on edge and it showed. Before this, he looked like a typical "nice guy, " so Shin couldn't tell where this side of him came from. Lately, Yeonwoo had been coming to Shin and Minjae often feeling upset because of Jihoon. She told them that he had been out a lot for "work." She also said he sometimes looked like he wasn't himself.
Compared to Jihoon, Shin Kim was extremely calm. This seemed to annoy Jihoon. Whenever he got a chance, Jihoon tried to pick a fight with him.
Siwoo asked, "Why don't you want to talk about him?"
"He has been very annoying to me lately."
"That man apparently knows Joowan. Did you know that?"
"..."
"That guy has been making reservations at Joowan's restaurant some times."
Shin's eyes widened as Siwoo continued, "And the strange thing is, he always comes alone. Then he eats with Joowan."
"What?"
"Yesterday, I went to the restaurant without telling him. One of the servers told me that he went to eat dinner. I assumed that he was having a business dinner. You know, with an investor or something. So I waited for him."
"..."
"But then, that man came out."
Siwoo's hands trembled as he continued, "I thought it was strange, so I looked up the reservation history and found a name that seemed to repeat often."
"..."
"Once a month, at the same time every time. He would come."
"..."
"And when I think back, I am pretty sure Joowan told me he had a meeting on those dates and times."
***
"Sir, there is a call from a client company inquiring about our product."
One of the interns in the marketing department informed Shin. It was almost the end of the year, so everyone was very busy.
Chief Seulgi was out for a meeting all morning and was busy all afternoon writing up the relevant reports. She complained about the amount of work dumped on this department.
Shin asked, "For me?"
The intern nodded and replied, "I tried to answer him but I just couldn't understand. I don't know what to do."
"Alright. Transfer him to me."
Shin massaged his temples as the intern said yes. There was a quiet beep and Shin's phone began to ring. Shin leaned back and answered the phone. He glanced at the window and saw that it was snowing very hard. It was a very snowy cold winter. Shin hated snow. He was hoping this winter would be milder than the last one, but it wasn't the case.
"Thank you for your call. I am Shin Kim from the marketing department."
"..."
There was no answer on the other side of the phone. The silence lengthened, and Shin coughed. He often got a call like this; pretending to inquire about the product but actually trying to solicit his business.
Shin sighed and said, "Well then, I'm hanging up. Th..."
"Mr. Shin Kim?"
"That's right."
Shin suddenly frowned. The man sounded young and for some reason... creepy.
Shin asked, "What were you inquiring about?"
"Woojin Choi."
... Shin's ear began to ring as the man continued, "I know where Woojin Choi is."
***
Yoonil explained, "... Simply put, it's a genetic disorder."
Eejun asked, "You mean mental illness?"
Eejun chewed on his cigarette and knocked on the wooden table. Yoonil watched Eejun for a while before turning towards Woojin who was on the bed. Eejun's eyebrows kept going up and down before he also turned to where Woojin was.
Woojin looked very pale and weak. He was looking up at the ceiling and his eyes weren't focused. Eejun slowly stood up and walked to Woojin. When he looked down at Woojin for a long time, Woojin, whose face remained blank, said to Eejun, "Get your face out of my way."
"How cruel you are, Woojin. If I didn't find you, you would be dead by now."
"..."
"You almost STARVED to death, Woojin. Can anything be more ridiculous than that in this situation?"
"..."
"The best you could do was run away to Grandfather's villa?"
"I didn't run away."
"Woojin, you don't have this mental illness. I keep telling you, but you won't listen. You didn't inherit it."
"Jihoon Kang?"
"He doesn't know where you are yet. I didn't tell him?"
"Shin?"
"... Do you really think I would tell him?"
"Yes."
"Wow, did you see that, Dr. Yoonil? How did he know?"
"... So you did?"
"Nope."
Woojin sighed deeply and lifted his wrist. The blue veins were visible underneath his pale skin.
Woojin said quietly, "For your information, I wasn't thinking about dying."
"I know."
"I just got lazy about eating. And I came here because I needed some time to think."
"I know."
"Then..."
"Then you had a seizure. I know that too. When you want to be alone, at least let someone know where you are."
"Shin found out."
"About what?"
"That I am Jin Yoo."
Eejun realized that Woojin was being unusually talkative. The medication must've kicked in. And of course, his blood sugar level rose just now.
Eejun inhaled deeply. He raised his hand to push back Woojin's hair, but then pulled back, remembering how Woojin hated to be touched.
Eejun replied, "You need to remember that you almost died in the past."
"Do you think that is why I am always so close to death?"
"... Dr. Yoonil, Woojin is talking nonsense now."
Woojin replied, "Whenever I open my eyes, I wish Shin was here with me."
Eejun blinked a few times and sighed. Woojin continued, "I think this could be considered an obsession."
Eejun replied, "If this is an obsession, how did you manage to stay away from him for this long?"
"I thought that maybe he was just a dream."
The only good dream Woojin ever had in his life. An old dream he thought he could never have...
"Woojin."
"Yes, Eejun?"
"You sound too nice right now, so it's actually creeping me out..."
"Bastard."
"Gosh, you are so amazing! Anyway..."
"..."
"Shin Kim didn't get hurt because of you."
"..."
"So just... rest now."
Eejun covered Woojin's eyes with his hand. To his surprise, Woojin didn't push him away. Instead, he placed his own hand on top of Eejun's. Woojin whispered, "Shin..."
"..."
"Don't leave me, Shin."
"... Ok."
Just then, Shin walked into the room quietly. He motioned Eejun to remain quiet.
Shin frowned angrily as he whispered to Eejun, "Let's go out to talk."
"Alright."
Woojin was asleep. Shin watched him for a long time before nodding to Yoonil. Eejun and Shin left quietly.
Before closing the door behind him, Shin saw the curtain dancing around the slightly opened window. It reminded him of the time when Woojin visited him at the hospital after the hit and run.
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