IH Ch 30

Chapter 30

At the center of that round object was something that resembled an eyeball, with a thin membrane sliding down and back up again. As Dohwa flinched, Jae-i turned around and let out a short “Ah.” Then, without a second thought, he reached out, grabbed the object with one hand, and crushed it with a cracking sound. Dohwa, watching it crumble in Jae-i’s large hand, tried to stop him in alarm.

“Was it okay to break that?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

“……”

“I hate being watched by things like that. It’s uncomfortable and annoying.”

Speaking calmly, Jae-i tossed it into the sink. It clattered and clanged, then sparked with a crackle as it shattered.

“……”

Was it really okay to just leave it like that? What if it exploded? As Dohwa worried, Jae-i took what was in his hand and put it back into the fridge. Then he opened the door to the fridge next to it. Inside were neatly arranged cakes and pastries. It had struck him before, but again, Dohwa was impressed. They were visually stunning, and they looked like they’d taste amazing too. He swallowed slightly.

His eyes, reflecting the fridge’s light, sparkled. Just as a shadow seemed to settle over those glossy, glass-like eyes, a single finger lightly tapped beneath one of them. Surprised by the unexpected touch, Dohwa raised his head. There stood Jae-i, his finger still raised toward Dohwa’s face, watching him.

“……You’re going to eat this instead of the meal?”

Dohwa wondered if that was why he’d put what he was holding back. But Jae-i didn’t answer. He just kept staring. The dull yet intense gaze made Dohwa uncomfortable, so he turned his head away and pointed at a cake adorned with grape-like jewels.

“That one.”

Even without finishing the sentence, his intention must have been clear, as Jae-i leaned forward slightly. He stared at the cake Dohwa pointed to, and perhaps because his eyes had softened, his impression seemed to change. Still chiseled in appearance, but now he exuded a languid decadence.

“……”

When his eyes were sharp, he gave off a tense air that made him hard to approach, but now he seemed more manageable. Jae-i reached out. Without giving Dohwa a chance to stop him, he took several cakes at once and placed them on the dining table behind them. Dohwa watched until the fifth one was set down, then clung to Jae-i’s arm as he continued to grab more.

“Stop. Are you going to eat all of that?”

They were just palm-sized slices of cake, so with Jae-i’s build, it was nothing. But come morning, it would be a problem. If he woke up with no memory and thought Dohwa had eaten them all—

“We’re eating together.”

“……”

“You like them too, don’t you?”

Looking down at Dohwa hanging onto his arm, Jae-i gave a bright smile.

He had smiled before, but never this brightly. The corners of his mouth lifted, and his eyes crinkled into crescents, giving him a completely different look—cheerful and playful, finally resembling his actual age. Dohwa let go of his arm. Immediately, like an unbridled colt, Jae-i reached back into the fridge and pulled out a whole strawberry cake from the depths.

As the round cake was set on the table, Dohwa walked over. While he stared blankly at it, Jae-i took out two large cartons of milk, placed them on the table, fetched spoons, and pulled out the chair next to him.

“Wow.”

“……”

Though his mind told him this couldn’t be right, his body moved on its own. Dohwa sat next to Jae-i and accepted the spoon handed to him. Jae-i also opened a carton of milk and placed it in front of Dohwa before pushing the large strawberry cake toward him.

“Let’s eat.”

“……”

Dohwa hesitated and looked at Jae-i.

“You eat first.”

He had never seen a cake in that round shape before. It felt too imposing to just dig in. Even imagining it made him nervous, and he tried to push the cake back toward Jae-i, but Jae-i replied nonchalantly.

“Eat.”

“……”

Jae-i rested his chin on his hand and stared directly at him. It seemed like he would keep watching until Dohwa took the first bite. Resigned, Dohwa picked up his spoon. Unsure where to begin, he scooped around the strawberry placed temptingly at the center.

Looking at the strawberry embedded in the snowy-white cream, he opened his mouth slightly and took a bite from the middle. Sweetness bloomed on his tongue. He licked the cream from his lips and took a bigger bite, this time with both strawberry and cream. The rich aroma that spread in his mouth made him close his eyes. He inhaled deeply and then exhaled, chewing slowly and savoring it.

There were things like this in the world. A reality that couldn’t be fulfilled just by seeing or hearing. Even after chewing ten times, he continued to chew, and finally opened his eyes again. Still dazed, he turned his head. Jae-i was sitting just as before. His persistent gaze felt hot and intense.

During the day, he’d treated Dohwa like a pebble on the road. Dohwa fought the urge to hide behind his hair again and spoke.

“……Were you always like this?”

Was he always so different between day and night?

He had met people who seemed fine one moment, only to flip like a switch and act deranged the next. At first, Dohwa wondered if Jae-i was like that. But he wasn’t. The Jae-i at night truly seemed like a different person. Though he appeared normal, maybe something was broken inside. Or perhaps this was his true self.

“I thought I knew you well enough by now, but maybe I didn’t.”

He had to see Jae-i for most of the day in that confined room.

In the endless footage he had watched repeatedly—so much that he could replay it with his eyes closed—Jae-i was always angry. A man who fiercely rejected anyone who approached. Dohwa had assumed getting close would be near impossible. And yet—

Dohwa slowly reached out toward Jae-i.

Just like Jae-i had done earlier, he gently tapped beneath Jae-i’s eye. But Jae-i didn’t scowl or raise his voice at the touch. The Jae-i from the footage wasn’t there. The person sitting before him felt like someone else entirely, and yet…

“Chew ten times for every bite.”

Even though he’d looked at Dohwa like he was disgusting when he ate too fast, he still made sure to give him food. Though Dohwa had made a mistake right after arriving, Jae-i had let him wash, given him clothes to change into, and fed him. He had even let him taste desserts, and—

Maybe there really was a side to Hwang Jae-i the world didn’t know. Maybe this was his true nature, one he’d never had the chance to show.

“……”

Silently watching Jae-i, Dohwa pushed the cake toward him and invited him to eat together.

A loud explosion shook the floor and walls. Startled, he sat up and looked around in confusion.

Where was this? Who was he? As panic set in, another tremor rattled the space. From far off, he vaguely heard shouting. Terrified, he got down to the floor. Barefoot, he ran to the iron door and reached up. A cry tore from his throat.

‘……Dad!’

He had gone so long without speaking, he almost forgot how. Even so, he banged desperately on the metal door, calling out. With no mother left, the only one who could help him now was his father.

‘Dad! Dad! Please help me!’

He must have instinctively known that if he couldn’t escape, he would die. So he poured all his strength into pounding on the door, shouting his presence, calling the one who had hidden him away here.

His throat, unused to speaking, grew hoarse quickly. It felt scratchy and raw. A strange smell filled the air. Stale and heavy. He didn’t know it was smoke from a fire. He just stood on tiptoe, wondering what was happening. More explosions followed, shaking the floor and walls. A shockwave threw him from the door, and he tumbled to the floor.

‘……!’

The blow to his head left him too dazed to stand. Struggling to stay conscious, he barely opened his eyes. The door blurred into two, wavering before him.

Something’s not right. As he kept watching, the door split in half. Cleanly sliced, it parted left and right and slowly toppled toward him. Though the door was twenty centimeters thick, it fell quickly once it gave in.

Boom!

‘……!’

The thunderous crash made his ears ring, and he flinched.

Thanks to it splitting, he hadn’t been crushed. If the door had fallen whole, he might have been flattened beneath it. That odd thought passed as he lifted his heavy head.

The door, always closed unless his father came, now stood wide open. Beneath a flickering red light, someone stood.

‘Dad?’

He thought it was him—but quickly realized it wasn’t. The figure was too small.

The shadowed figure had an odd shape. It stood upright with arms hanging down, but its hands were long—thinning as they extended downward, tapering into sharp, blade-like tips near the feet.

He only realized that detail later. At the time, he didn’t grasp how strange the figure looked.

‘……Please help me.’

He didn’t know who it was, but he hoped they would get him out of there.

Struggling to rise, he knelt. Just like he had once before, he clasped his hands together and begged. Please, save me. Please help me. It hadn’t worked before, but maybe this time it would. His vision swam, his head ached—but he didn’t know it was from the smoke. He kept repeating his plea.

Then, the shadow moved. Like dancing, it stepped back, and Dohwa panicked, crawling after it.

‘Don’t go. Come with me. Don’t leave me.’

Struggling to his feet, he chased the retreating shadow.

The cracked walls leaned and crumbled, and the floor was littered with debris. His feet throbbed with cuts from the shards, but he limped on, never stopping.

Exposed ceilings sparked from severed wires and caught fire, but he never hesitated. Voices rang out behind him—Intruder! Lock it down! Blow everything up! But he didn’t want to go that way.

He muttered again and again—just a moment, come with me, don’t leave me—on the verge of tears. The shadow kept moving, sometimes near, sometimes far. He crawled up broken stairways like climbing cliffs, forced his way through blocked passages, and chased for a long while.

‘……!’

Another massive tremor knocked him off balance, and he fell—but still reached forward. He didn’t want to be left alone. Didn’t want to lose that shadow. And then, something cool but firm gripped his hand tightly.

Startled by the strong pull that yanked him upward, he looked up.

He was pushed toward an opening above. He didn’t know what was happening, but the light that streamed through—so different from the darkness he’d known—drew him up. Struggling, desperate, he climbed out into the light. And as the crisp air cut his skin, goosebumps rose all over him.

A cold air sharp as a blade.

A breeze that rushed into his nostrils.

And—

“A survivor!!”

The distant shout echoed, and a flood of bright lights made him shut his eyes tight.

Sitting beside the tunnel, he raised his hand to shield his eyes—then quickly turned back. He bent down, peering into the hole he had emerged from. But below, there was no one. The one who had guided him, who had held his hand, was gone. Only darkness remained.

So many lights rained down on him. People rushed in. The noise pierced his ears. Tense in body and soul, something deep inside him snapped. All the repressed resistance and emotions he had bottled up exploded—and right then, he awakened.

It was around the time Hwang Jae-i was five years old.