The Unbelievers

Chapter 34

“So strictly speaking, my father and I aren’t chaebols, we’re just chaebol relatives. The real chaebol is the uncle you saw yesterday.”

“But what exactly is your uncle?”

“He’s my dad’s cousin. In terms of family relations, he’s my fifth cousin. But isn’t a fifth cousin basically a stranger?”

Eunseong subtly sought the opinion of the studious Jung-eon.

“If you put it that way, I might have a chaebol among my fifth cousins too. They say in Korea, everyone’s connected within eight degrees of separation.”

“That’s what I’m saying. For all we know, you and I could be relatives too.”

“That’s probably not the case.”

Jung-eon said, seriously considering it. Eunseong let out a small sigh. He curled up and turned over, holding his phone.

“…I’m sorry about yesterday. For lying. Did you get scolded by your parents because of me?”

“It’s fine. You don’t need to apologize.”

“Please tell your parents I’m sorry.”

“Shit, your uncle’s company sent a whole bunch of stuff to our house. Expensive fish, hanwoo beef set, alcohol, fruits… and some mushrooms that are apparently super expensive. My mom was so happy she took pictures and sent them to me. She said a whole truck came. Apologizing for causing trouble.”

“…Anyway.”

Eunseong felt somewhat embarrassed by the fact that Siwoon had cleaned up the mess he had made. He fidgeted with his hair for no reason.

“I guess that proves what you said yesterday wasn’t a lie. That he’s a real chaebol.”

“Yeah… he’s a real chaebol. Want me to send you pictures of my room? You’ll be really surprised.”

“No need. But why did you run away? Why did you flee like someone was chasing you?”

Jung-eon seemed unable to make sense of what he had seen yesterday. Eunseong had really fled the school as if being chased by someone, taking a taxi, then getting off because even that felt dangerous, taking the subway and bus, acting like someone evading pursuit in a movie.

“I had my reasons.”

“Are you sure everything’s okay? Are you really alright?”

Jung-eon asked seriously after a pause.

“I’m fine. Nothing happened.”

“If nothing happened, why did you run? Explain it in a way that makes sense. They’re not hitting you or abusing you, right?”

“No, it’s not like that.”

He was making reasonable suspicions. Without such a reason, there was no reason to run away from a room that Eunseong wanted to brag about by sending photos. Especially considering how Eunseong used to live, the gap between his current life and his previous one was as stark as heaven and hell. Eunseong wasn’t just poor before. He had also been exposed to his father’s ruthless violence.

“Is someone next to you preventing you from talking freely? If that’s the case, say you want to eat chicken. Say you want hot fried chicken. That’ll be our code from now on. Hot fried chicken. If you say hot fried chicken, I’ll ask some guys I know to take care of it, like last time.”

Eunseong couldn’t help but laugh at Jung-eon’s serious recitation of “hot fried chicken.” Suddenly, he did want to eat hot fried chicken.

“It’s not like that.”

“I’m really worried.”

“You’re more dangerous.”

“I’ll admit that.”

“Are you still in contact with those guys you know? Are you really trying to become a gangster?”

“Shit, are you crazy? But it doesn’t hurt to have those connections. Want me to introduce you?”

“Be reasonable.”

“How is that not reasonable?”

“…What about the exams? Did you mess them up because of me?”

“I was a bit distracted, but not enough to mess them up.”

Jung-eon nonchalantly said he did well on the exams.

“That’s a relief. I was worried. If you had messed up your exams because of me, your mom wouldn’t have let me off easy.”

“I was disappointed you left like that yesterday. But now I feel better.”

There was laughter in Jung-eon’s voice. Eunseong chatted quietly with him on the phone, talking about trivial things. As he tossed and turned, he startled. Siwoon was standing in the room, having entered at some point.

“Jung-eon, let’s… let’s talk later.”

“Save my number. I’ll contact you. Hey, and-“

Jung-eon was saying something, but Eunseong had to hang up before hearing the end. Eunseong put down the phone and hesitantly sat up in bed. He must have looked a mess. He self-consciously touched his disheveled hair as he looked at Siwoon.

“I knocked, but you didn’t seem to hear.”

“…What is it?”

“You should eat lunch.”

“I’ll eat on my own.”

“I’ll be outside. Come out when you’re ready.”

Eunseong was about to say he didn’t want to and wouldn’t eat, but Siwoon left without waiting for a response.

“Who made the mistake first… Who was the one who hated it when I asked to wipe my sweat because I was sick? Why are you angry at me?”

Faced with his cold reaction, Eunseong pouted his lips, feeling wronged, not even thinking about what he had done yesterday. Although things seemed normal, Siwoon’s attitude was colder than before, making Eunseong feel hurt despite being the one who had done wrong.

Grumbling, Eunseong got up, flapping the bedding, and went to the bathroom to check his face in the mirror.

“Oh no… What’s this?”

His eyes, which had cried all the way back in the car after being caught by Siwoon, were swollen like a frog’s. He was embarrassed to have shown such a sight to Siwoon. He washed his face repeatedly with cold water to try to reduce the swelling, then changed his clothes.

Reluctantly heading to the dining room, Eunseong saw Siwoon sitting at the end of the table and moved to the opposite end. Their meals were set at each end of the long rectangular table.

They were so far apart that not only could they not touch, but even if they spoke softly, they wouldn’t be able to hear each other. This was a rule that had to be strictly observed while living with Siwoon in this house.

He had to admit there were kind aspects. It seemed like Siwoon cared in his own way. However, Siwoon always drew a clear line at crucial moments.

Although he talked about Eunseong being the heir and about blood ties, there was a clear hierarchy between Eunseong and Siwoon despite their shared bloodline. If Siwoon was of the sacred bone caste, Eunseong was the son of a prodigal. Siwoon was vigilant about not letting Eunseong cross that line carelessly, and appropriately revealed it when necessary to remind Eunseong of his place.

The dining arrangement was the same. This wasn’t eating face to face. It was no different from eating alone while pretending not to know each other at the same table. The obsessive-compulsive disorder was just an excuse. He didn’t pay any attention to Director Nam or the bodyguards, and sometimes even put his hand on their shoulders. He was using the obsessive-compulsive disorder as an excuse to not allow Eunseong to cross that boundary carelessly.

As Eunseong sat down, a helper approached and poured water into his cup. Siwoon, who had been waiting for Eunseong to come out, finally picked up his utensils. Although he had no appetite, Eunseong also picked up his spoon.

“…I heard you sent something to Jung-eon’s house.”

“Of course I had to apologize for such a late-night intrusion.”

“If you knew I was at Jung-eon’s, you didn’t need to barge in like that at night. If you had come in the morning, there wouldn’t have been such a commotion.”

Eunseong unfairly blamed Siwoon for barging in late at night. Siwoon didn’t say anything about that part.

“I’ll arrange a separate house for you. I’ll soon prepare a place with security personnel and safe security measures.”

“What?”

Siwoon spoke coldly while continuing his meal, not rebuking Eunseong’s unrepentant attitude.

“You said you don’t want to live together.”

“…”

“The most important thing is to keep you safe. Once that’s prepared, you can live separately.”

“…Is that why you wanted to eat together?”

“Did we have anything else to talk about?”

“…”

After making such a fuss last night about not wanting to live with him, Eunseong was shocked into silence by Siwoon’s promise to let him live separately.

Siwoon looked at Eunseong for a moment, then lowered his gaze and ate indifferently. Eunseong soon came to his senses and pretended to be nonchalant as he spooned some soup. His hand trembled, causing the soup to spill.

Siwoon’s eyes were cold as he tried to fulfill his adult responsibilities. Eunseong couldn’t take his eyes off the stern face that rarely looked at him, and barely managed to put the tasteless soup in his mouth with shaking hands. Only the quiet sounds of utensils and chewing occasionally broke the silence.

“When will it be ready?”

“We’re working on it now.”

“So when will it be done?”

“At most, two to three weeks. At the earliest, within a week.”

Eunseong had thought it would take a month or two, but Siwoon firmly stated that he would be able to live separately within a week.

If before he had only maintained physical distance, now he meant to completely cut off his heart and attention.

Eunseong had been ready to get angry and say he’d leave immediately if it took a month, but faced with this unexpected answer of a week, he couldn’t argue further.

“…”

This is right. This is the correct decision. Separating as soon as possible was right. He shouldn’t have these feelings for Siwoon. He shouldn’t feel hurt or sad that Siwoon was promising to let him live separately after he had made such a fuss about wanting to live apart. He had to stop having inappropriate dreams about his uncle and feeling excited. He had to sort this out as soon as possible. That was the right thing to do.