IH Ch 95

Chapter 95

The memory from that time was vividly engraved in his mind. Ever since, whenever Dohwa looked at Hwang Jae-i, he subconsciously tried to confirm those things.

Hwang Jae-i, who disliked being around people and found social interaction uncomfortable. Yet, he allowed small animals to approach him without hesitation. Was he actually someone who got lonely easily? It was a thought one might be laughed at for saying out loud, but the image of him among the birds remained in his memory for a long, long time.

As Dohwa briefly recalled the past, he glanced at Jae-i.

“……”

None of the videos or images he had seen in the audiovisual room could capture even a tenth of Hwang Jae-i’s real-life appearance. Not his features, nor his hair, nor the vivid color of his eyes—none of it was accurately reproduced.

“I saw you a lot there.”

“……”

“I think I saw you more than I saw myself.”

“Why did you have to see me that much?”

“……”

“Was I your target?”

Jae-i was sharp. Just letting this moment pass wouldn’t be the end of it. There was a chance he remembered every word Dohwa had said up to now without forgetting a single thing. Dohwa opened his mouth.

“You were my objective.”

After stating it calmly, Dohwa looked at Jae-i. He was curious to see how Jae-i would react to his words. As he kept watching, Jae-i finally removed his hands from the steering wheel. Leaning back in his seat, he tapped the wheel a few times with one hand and let out a dry laugh, as if it was all absurd.

Would he get angry? The Jae-i he had always known would often change completely after laughing like that—into someone truly terrifying. Would he do the same this time, too? Dohwa felt heavy at the thought. However, Jae-i simply wiped the smile from his face and said nothing more. With a hardened expression, he stared straight ahead for a while, then turned to look at Dohwa.

“What kind of drug?”

“…Huh?”

“What kind of training did they give you there, and what drug did they give you?”

“……”

Why was he asking that? Dohwa had expected him to glare at him with a face full of revulsion, saying things like, “How could you?” or “I feel betrayed.”

Dohwa blankly looked at Jae-i before answering.

“It’s the kind that artificially induces an awakening. Something like that.”

He answered vaguely, as if brushing it off, but Jae-i’s expression turned grim.

“There are side effects to that.”

“……”

There were. A lot of them, and of various types. But that was all in the past, and by now, he had grown used to them. Besides, after awakening, he no longer needed to take the drug.

Dohwa pressed his lips together. His refusal to speak made Jae-i’s face even darker. He grabbed Dohwa’s chin and pressed one of his cheeks. It didn’t hurt, but his lips pouted from the pressure. Dohwa frowned and looked at him, wearing the expression of someone stubbornly refusing to speak. Jae-i finally spoke.

“You—”

Honk—

A loud honk rang out from behind. Both of them turned around at the same time. A large truck came into view. Even though there were still many empty spots in the rooftop parking lot, the driver furiously flicked his turn signal as if demanding them to move. Then a man got out of the truck, hurried to the driver’s side, and banged on the window.

“Hey, move the car. This is the only spot in the building where freight trucks can park. If I leave it somewhere else, the landlord goes ballistic. Yeah, your car’s nice, but move it down to the first floor or something, okay?”

Though his tone was snappy, his urgency made it clear he really had no other choice. As the man leaned in and said he thought someone was inside, Jae-i scowled and started the engine.

The man stepped back, using both arms to wave them toward the exit as a guide. Jae-i drove off in the opposite direction. Quickly exiting the parking lot, he paid the parking fee automatically at the entrance and entered the road.

Jae-i’s face remained stiff as he drove. Watching that expression from the side, Dohwa wondered if this meant the conversation was over. It had ended awkwardly, but if he pushed it further, things might only get more difficult—for himself.

At that moment, the car pulled into a nearby drive-thru coffee shop. As he reached the ordering window, Jae-i took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on. He rolled the window down slightly and ordered a strawberry juice, an iced Americano, and five chocolate chip cookies. Then, he slowly drove around the building.

Two minutes later, the exterior door of the building opened, and their order was brought out on a long tray. Jae-i rolled the window down farther than before, took the bag with the coffee and cookies, and quickly rolled the window back up.

“Drink this.”

He placed his own drink in the side pocket and handed the bag with the strawberry juice and cookies to Dohwa.

“……Thanks.”

His throat had been parched anyway.

Dohwa unwrapped the straw and gave Jae-i a glance.

“Here.”

While driving, Jae-i accepted the straw and inserted it into his own coffee. Then, he handed a new straw to Dohwa. Taking it, Dohwa peeled off the wrapper again and inserted it into the strawberry juice, taking a large sip. The drink was rich in pulp and just sweet enough—it was really delicious. It was the kind of thing one shouldn’t gulp down. Concentrating on savoring it slowly, he once again felt Jae-i’s gaze. Jae-i was watching him.

“So, you being discovered by me back then—was that part of the mission?”

“……”

Dohwa looked at Jae-i. With a hardened face, he was focused on driving. He looked calm, but his expression could change depending on Dohwa’s answer.

“You already know it wasn’t.”

“……”

“It wasn’t like that.”

Jae-i simply kept driving. Then, upon seeing the building where he lived appear in the distance, he finally opened his mouth.

“So you’re saying it was just a coincidence that you were there like that?”

“……You’re the one who showed up out of nowhere. You dragged me away by the back of my neck before I could even say anything.”

“……”

“Even when I went to the Association, you’re the one who took me without asking.”

Everything Dohwa said was true. Even if Dohwa had other intentions, he hadn’t acted on them. It had all been Jae-i’s doing.

Dohwa had just been dragged along by Jae-i, made mistakes, failed to get a proper meal, curled up on the cold floor to sleep, and had to endure Jae-i showing up every night. During that time, Dohwa hadn’t done a single thing wrong or with any bad intent.

He started to feel unfairly treated. He didn’t even know how Dohwa felt.

“I was locked up there because I didn’t listen. If I was really up to something, I wouldn’t have just stayed quiet all that time.”

He had wanted to hold his tongue because he didn’t know how Jae-i might respond, but the words came out in a pout. Hearing himself say it only made him feel more disappointed. If Jae-i was going to act like this now, he should have just interrogated him from the beginning. After all that, giving him nice food and pretending not to care about his identity—what was the point if he was going to act like this now? If it were anyone else, he would have shoved them away when they were sucking on his chest like they were about to peel his skin off.

“……”

The sweet juice suddenly started to taste bitter, and Dohwa let out a heavy sigh. Then he opened the bag and looked at the large cookies inside. With generous chunks of chocolate, they looked delicious.

Normally, he would have glanced at Jae-i before eating. But this time, Dohwa picked up the biggest one and took a huge bite. It was warm, as if freshly baked, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The chocolate melted naturally and spread out in his mouth…

As he chewed, Dohwa held out the cookie to Jae-i. Still driving, Jae-i glanced past the cookie and looked at Dohwa. In a small, sheepish voice, Dohwa said,

“It’s really good.”

“……”

Then, using the back of the hand holding the juice, he brushed away the crumbs from his mouth. Jae-i thought that if it had been anyone else, he would’ve been seriously annoyed. But instead, he just bit into the cookie. Crumbs fell. Knowing that would happen, he still took it comfortably. Following the signal, he drove into his building.

He parked the car right in front of the elevator and took his coffee. After the sweet cookie, the bitter coffee entered his mouth. The coolness going down made him realize how thirsty he had been. He drank nearly half of it in one go, then lowered the cup and spoke.

“Why did you disobey so much that you ended up locked in a place like that?”

“……”

“You should’ve just followed orders. If you had…”

…you wouldn’t have gotten those tiny scars on your back.

He recalled the first time he saw Dohwa’s bony back. The diagonal marks that had covered it were now gone. Over time, they had faded while they lived together, and the day before, Jae-i had applied a potion all over him.

Letting out a long, heavy sigh, Hwang Jae-i muttered as if talking to himself.

“I knew you were disobedient and weird, but still—”

He never imagined he’d say something like this to someone else. In the world Jae-i had lived in until now, being odd, defiant, and rude was something only he did. Even he couldn’t understand himself sometimes, but now, someone capable of overpowering him had appeared. That person was Dohwa.

Feeling queasy and dry in his throat, Jae-i almost drank more coffee but stopped. He let out yet another sigh—he’d lost count by now—and mumbled,

“You should’ve just done what you were told.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“……”

Jae-i froze and slowly turned his head to look at Dohwa. Sitting sideways in his seat, Dohwa quietly looked at him and gave a faint smile.

“When you keep making me do things I don’t want to do, how could I just obey?”