Chapter 76: Chapter 76

“Hey, did you work late? You don’t look so good.”

Jihoon came up to Woojin, who was sitting quietly at his desk and working. He put on his jacket as Woojin took his glasses off and looked up at him.

Jihoon was looking at Woojin as if nothing was wrong. He looked good. Eating well, wearing expensive clothes, and doing horrible things to others.

Jihoon Kang.

Woojin replied, “I took a day off yesterday.”

“Oh, that’s right. Did something happen?”

There was no trace of guilt on Jihoon’s face, making Woojin feel nauseous. It was just like the last time when Shin was in an accident. All Jihoon did was come up to Woojin with a blank face and tell him about it. It was clear that he knew everything. Who Shin Kim was, how he got hurt, and even how Woojin was going to react. When Woojin made a scene and insisted on returning to Korea to see Shin, Jihoon wasn’t surprised at all.

Ever since then, Woojin had been under Jihoon’s watch. Years and years of being spied on by him… Woojin was sick of it. He bit his lip so hard that his teeth hurt. Woojin slowly stood up. The work hour was almost over so everyone was getting ready to go home.

Woojin replied, “I would think you know what happened better than I do.”

“Hmm?”

His fists trembling, Woojin stared at Jihoon. When they were children, Woojin used to be afraid of him for no good reason, but not anymore. Now, his fear of losing Shin was greater than anything.

Woojin screamed, “… Why… why did you do it?”

“…”

Yeonwoo, who was about to say goodbye, jumped in shock. Thankfully, the team leader and the chief were out on a meeting, so it was just Jihoon, Woojin, and Yeonwoo in the room.

Jihoon replied, “What are you talk…!”

SMACK!

Before he could finish his question, Woojin punched him in the cheek. It was an instinctive move; an act of violence.

The very first time in his life for Woojin.

The room suddenly quieted. Woojin knew he should have done it a very long time ago, but when he was young he didn’t want to do this because he never wanted to be like Jihoon. He also was too young and too weak.

But things were different now.

Jihoon looked at him in shock, rubbing his cheek. Woojin said to him angrily, “I should have done this a long time ago.”

Jihoon’s eyes wavered and his cheek quickly turned red and puffy. He asked in a trembling voice, “What do you mean by that?”

Woojin clenched and unclenched his fists. Tasting blood on his lip, Woojin replied, “You are just like her. You don’t care about anyone.”

“… Woojin Choi!”

“Why do you hurt people around me, instead of me?”

Suddenly, Jihoon’s eyes turned sharp and cold, but Woojin continued, “Wouldn’t it be easier just to kill me?”

“…”

“Or did she tell you to make me suffer?”

“…”

“Does she enjoy that? Taking important people away from me?”

Woojin’s body shook but he did his best to say the words clearly. He had to say this now, both to Jihoon and himself as well. Hiding and running away wasn’t going to work anymore. Waiting and hoping the problems would disappear… he had to stop it now.

Shin taught him that.

“You are just like that woman.”

“…”

“But I am not going to let you do that anymore. I won’t just stand still or run away.”

His body continued to shake, but he didn’t fall. He turned around and walked away as calmly as he could. His hand hurt and his heart was pounding uncontrollably, but this was necessary. The moment he ran away last time, he almost lost everything.

Now, he had to fight. He had to hold on to what was most important to him.

Not Shin Kim, not his memories, but…

Himself.

***

“Gosh, it’s so cold.”

Siwoo took off his gloves standing in front of the door to his condo. It was dead winter, and his body shook as he tried to key in the passcode to unlock the door.

Just then, someone grabbed his shoulder from behind and said his name, “Siwoo Jung.” Was this his unlucky day? It was freezing outside and the voice that said his name belonged to someone he missed so much but could not have.

Siwoo opened the door and walked in without looking back. He knew this was the smart thing to do. He had to ignore him or else he would give in and find himself in this man’s arms.

Joowan begged him, “Siwoo, turn around. Please look at me.”

“I want you to leave.”

Joowan grabbed his shoulder again, but Siwoo resisted turning around. He feared that if he saw Joowan’s face, he would end up crying. When they were dating, Joowan was a perfect partner. He was never forceful and always understanding. Even when Joowan asked Siwoo out, he was very polite. His exact words were, “I would like to see you again later, if that would be okay with you, of course.” It made Siwoo laugh at the time.

It had been many weeks now since Siwoo broke up with him. He hoped that when this year ended and he faced the new year, the excruciating pain would ease. Hopefully, the memories that were killing him would slowly fade away.

“… Siwoo…”

That was all. All Joowan did, all he ever did after their breakup, was to call out Siwoo’s name. Never reaching out to stop him. Never turning Siwoo around and forcing him to face him. Joowan’s thoughtfulness now worked against him.

Siwoo bit his lip, his back still toward Joowan, and closed the door behind him. He stood against the door silently, afraid he might do something he would regret. Tears rolled down from his eyes uncontrollably as he whispered, “Bastard… why do you just keep saying my name and not hold me? Why won’t you make me take you back?”

Siwoo didn’t wipe away his tears. He remained like this for a long time until his head was pounding. Then suddenly, he made a decision. He turned around and opened the door. Why didn’t he do this a long time ago? But there was no point in regretting the past now. It was snowing outside but Siwoo barely noticed it. He ran out to the alley and frantically looked around. When he didn’t see Joowan, he continued to run with clear desperation.

Just then…

“Siwoo Jung.”

He heard his name from behind. This was his last chance. Yes, the very last chance. He was going to tell Joowan that they should get back together. He wasn’t going to demand anything. He was going to just say that he was annoyed with him for lying, but everything was okay now. They would just go back to how they were. Without wiping his tears away, Siwoo turned around.

But the man that was standing behind him wasn’t Joowan.

“… are you ok, Siwoo?”

Jihoon Kang.

Jihoon was standing there.