The Unbelievers

Chapter 31

Choi Jung-eon waved his hand dismissively, gesturing for Eunseong to move to the inside of the bed. Eunseong moved inward on his knees as if crawling, following Choi Jung-eon’s lead.

He opened the closet and took out another pillow. He tossed it on the outer side and plopped down on it. The bed springs bounced. A space just big enough for Eunseong to lie down appeared next to Choi Jung-eon.

Eunseong carefully laid down on the bed, squeezing between the wall and Choi Jung-eon. Choi Jung-eon, who had been lying with his back turned, suddenly got up and turned off the light.

“…Haa, it was really a variety-filled day.”

He mumbled as if sighing, and as he turned his back and lay on his side, the bed bounced again. Eunseong, lying flat on his back facing the ceiling, turned his head to look at the back of Choi Jung-eon’s head before straightening it again.

Will he be searching for me…?

What is ahjussi doing now?

Or maybe he’s relieved that I’m gone, able to put down the bothersome and heavy duty of having to protect me.

Thinking that he would never again smell the aroma of the drip coffee he drank every morning, Eunseong felt a bit sad. It was also regrettable that he wouldn’t see the beautiful garden again.

The telescope they had looked through together, the scent and body temperature of the man who had come close to adjust the angle.

The feeling of the hand that had urgently grasped his hand to stop him from touching the nest.

He should have taken in everything a little more. He should have just removed the SIM card instead of throwing away the phone. There were quite a few photos saved on it.

The sunlit garden, a bird sitting on a branch that had woken Eunseong up, and even a distant photo of Yoo Siwoon’s back as he got into his car to leave for work. With these belated thoughts, he regretted leaving the house so suddenly without any plan.

While his mind told him it was for the best that he had no photos of Yoo Siwoon and would never see him again, one side of his heart ached with regret.

As he was lost in these various thoughts, he felt a gaze scratching at his cheek and turned his head, blinking his eyes wide. At some point, Choi Jung-eon had turned towards him, resting his head on his arm, staring intently at Eunseong’s profile.

Light from the building across seeped through the window, dimly coloring the room. In Choi Jung-eon’s face, hidden by darkness, only his two eyes shone brightly, examining Eunseong’s face in detail.

“You’re so damn pretty.”

“…”

“You’ve gotten even prettier since I last saw you. What I said earlier is right. Those bastards must have polished you up to turn you into a prostitute.”

“Jung-eon.”

“Yeah?”

“If you knew my true self, you’d be shocked. Then you wouldn’t like me anymore.”

“What true self? Is it different from what I see on the outside when you’re naked?”

Eunseong looked at him. Though he seemed ignorant, he was quite perceptive. Or maybe all his thoughts were just connected in that direction. Just as Eunseong was now. Just as Eunseong’s mind was now filled entirely with thoughts of Yoo Siwoon. And all those thoughts drifted towards lustful directions. Now he understood how his classmate’s sudden outburst of wanting to have sex during self-study had come about.

“It’s different.”

“I’m really curious.”

“…Would you still like me even if I were a monster?”

“What is it? How are you a monster? Is it really small? Right? It’s really small? As small as a pinky?”

Choi Jung-eon’s voice was filled with secret curiosity.

“I don’t think it’s that small.”

“That’s probably just your own thought. Want to see mine? It’s really big. When I go to the bathhouse, the old men stare at it so much. It swings when I walk.”

Choi Jung-eon glanced down at his crotch blatantly, then looked back up at Eunseong, raising his eyebrows as if boasting.

“The size isn’t the problem.”

“Then what’s the problem? Is something else different…? Where?”

He raised one shoulder and sat up to look down at Eunseong. A large shadow fell over Eunseong’s upper body.

Eunseong looked up at Choi Jung-eon, lost in thought. Keeping such a big secret alone was heavy and painful. The urge to tell him suddenly surged.

He wanted to hear that not having testicles wasn’t a big deal, that the thing on his skin was okay, that there were probably over a hundred people like that in the world, that it wasn’t some rare painful disease so why worry unnecessarily, and lighten his heart. The veil of night had a magical power to make one reveal all hidden shame.

“You know, actually…”

Just as Eunseong was about to speak seriously, raising his upper body slightly like Choi Jung-eon, Choi Jung-eon’s throat gulped as he swallowed. At the same time, a sharp bell sound rang out. The intercom ringing at 2 AM shattered the quiet air of the living room. They both startled, their shoulders jerking.

“…What is it?”

Choi Jung-eon got up first, and Eunseong also raised his body. Before he could turn on the room light, the living room became noisy. His parents seemed to have woken up from the sound too.

What is it? Who is it? Who on earth is it at this hour? Is it the downstairs neighbor again? This isn’t the first or second time, are they crazy?

Grumbling and fearful voices could be heard. Choi Jung-eon also opened the door and went out to the living room. Eunseong was about to follow him but hesitated.

No way…?

It can’t be.

It’s not possible.

He had thrown away his phone and gotten off the taxi right away. Even if they searched the entire country, it was impossible to find out where Eunseong had gone this quickly. It was impossible even for the police, and as Choi Jung-eon had assured, impossible even for the National Intelligence Service.

“What is it? Who’s there?”

“…What is this? Who are you?”

Choi Jung-eon’s father pressed the intercom button and spoke. Eunseong, his heart trembling with anxiety, went out to the living room and glanced at the face on the screen. Even from a distance, the figure casting a dark shadow in front of the camera was clearly visible. It was Yoo Siwoon.

“I apologize for the late hour. I’m Seo Eunseong’s guardian.”

The surprised Choi Jung-eon and his parents all turned to look at Eunseong at the same time. Eunseong’s face, having already recognized Yoo Siwoon, had turned pale.

Choi Jung-eon’s father quickly exchanged glances with his wife.

“This isn’t just waking someone up in the middle of the night, what are you talking about? Who are you? What student? There’s no such person in our house!”

Choi Jung-eon’s father, firmly believing that Eunseong was being chased by nasty loan sharks, showed some quick thinking and spoke irritably in a sleepy voice. He was angry about being woken up in the middle of the night by someone who had rung the wrong bell.

“I know he’s with student Choi Jung-eon. Open the door. Otherwise, I’ll report this as abduction of a minor.”

Eunseong’s hands began to tremble. Yoo Siwoon’s voice was different from usual. It was a cold and sharp tone he had never heard before. His voice carried an irritation towards Choi Jung-eon’s father for lying.

Choi Jung-eon’s father turned off the intercom and looked at his wife in confusion.

“What should we do? What on earth is going on?”

“Don’t open it. You know who it is, don’t open. Let’s call the police. Eunseong is being chased, that’s right. I saw it.”

Choi Jung-eon grabbed the phone his mother was holding, not knowing what to do. On the screen, Yoo Siwoon’s brow could be seen furrowing fiercely. He rang the bell again.

Just as Choi Jung-eon was about to press the intercom talk button and shout that he would call the police, in place of his confused parents:

“I’m calling the police.”

Yoo Siwoon said he would call the police first.

“What, how can a loan shark be so brazen? Isn’t this illegal debt collection?”

Choi Jung-eon’s mother hastily cut off the intercom connection. She seemed to finally sense something was off and turned to look at Eunseong. Eunseong, who had been standing looking at his feet while tightly gripping the hem of Choi Jung-eon’s oversized T-shirt, raised his head at her accusing gaze.

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

“For what? What are you sorry for?”

“…I lied. I, I ran away from home.”

“What?”

“Hey, Seo Eunseong, don’t lie. I saw you being taken away, what nonsense are you talking?”

“…I’m sorry, Jung-eon. I ran away from home.”

Choi Jung-eon’s father, with a look of dismay, quickly pressed the intercom button to open the main entrance door.

“Eunseong is lying right now. I told you I saw Eunseong being taken away? If you run away from home, you do it quietly, why would you run?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Eunseong spoke in a small voice, squeezing his eyes shut and then opening them. Ignoring Choi Jung-eon’s shouts, his parents looked angry at having believed a child’s words without any suspicion and being played. As the doorbell rang, his mother immediately opened the door, pulling her cardigan tight over her curlers.

The one who entered as the front door swung open was Yoo Siwoon. He spotted Eunseong standing in the living room. There was no change in his expression. He seemed annoyed, angry, and also as if he had no particular thoughts.

He wore the expression of an office worker worn out from overtime, silently finishing up extra work. There was only the feeling that protecting Eunseong from something was a bothersome duty assigned to him. However, the boring sense of obligation that he had to fulfill once given the task slightly distorted as he saw Eunseong who had caused trouble.