Chapter 131
I murmured in a dazed voice, as if in a dream.
“Why… the boss…?”
Upon hearing my murmur, Baek Hawon let out a laugh, as if the air had been deflated.
“He promised.”
“…”
“To send the most skilled person.”
I looked the man in front of me up and down again.
My gaze moved from his long legs up to his hands, which were casting a shadow.
“Why?”
The silver watch on his wrist sparkled like a gem in the pouring sunlight. His eyes, too, reflected that same shine.
“Do you dislike it?”
Although he seemed like he was one with the darkness, under the sunlight, he shone in a way that made it hard to look away.
Baek Hawon clenched his hand, which had been casting a shadow over me, into a fist and drew it back.
As soon as the shade disappeared, I automatically furrowed my brows from the harsh sunlight pouring down.
“If you don’t like it, take the car and go with that kid.”
I hastily shook my head as I followed the hand of Baek Hawon, which had already moved far from me.
“Ah, no? I’m actually relieved and happy that the boss is coming with me.”
I added an awkward laugh to my strained voice.
I couldn’t understand why Baek Hawon wanted to go to an amusement park like this.
Could it be that he wanted to make it a condition for me to come with him…?
As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I was interrupted by the scene in front of me, and my thinking stopped abruptly.
“…You’re not seriously going to drive, are you?”
Baek Hawon turned his gaze toward me after receiving the car keys from Jiwoon. Then, he opened the driver’s side door with a visible gesture.
I looked alternately between the car keys in his hand and the driver’s seat with trembling eyes.
“You’ve only ever ridden in cars with someone else driving, haven’t you?”
Baek Hawon tilted his head with a teasing smile.
“Not at all.”
I swallowed the truth I couldn’t bring myself to say out loud.
“I’ll ride in the back with Ivy.”
Without answering, Baek Hawon climbed into the car first. It was indeed the driver’s seat.
I took his silence as an agreement and sat next to Ivy after glancing at the closed driver’s side door.
As I sat in the back seat, I saw Baek Hawon undoing the cuff of his shirt with one hand, his hand gripping the steering wheel.
I leaned my head against the window.
Would Angel know? That the person the boss had assigned as the organization member was the boss himself? He probably wouldn’t even imagine it.
“You really don’t need to take me there. You’re busy, aren’t you?”
“I’m going with you so that no busier tasks come up.”
Baek Hawon’s brief and straightforward reply left me without anything to say.
The car smoothly started moving. I kept my head resting against the window, watching Angel’s house slowly grow distant.
I couldn’t tell whether I felt reassured or uneasy. It certainly felt like the safest amusement park in the most brutal way.
Just as I let out a silent sigh, I spotted someone on the second-floor terrace.
From far away, I could tell immediately. It was Yugyeom.
I wasn’t sure if our eyes had met, but he was definitely looking at the car.
‘See you tomorrow, Yeonbyeol.’
The whisper that had made my heart drop lingered in my ear.
I pulled my head from the window and couldn’t take my eyes off Yugyeom, who was precariously leaning against the railing.
Just as I felt certain our eyes had met, Yugyeom seemed to smile in a strange way.
***
“Wow!”
Ivy’s gaze flickered rapidly, unable to stay focused on one thing for more than five seconds.
Cute character-shaped balloons. Lollipops as big as Ivy’s face. Fast-moving rides and countless people.
The strength in the hand gripping mine had been steadily growing stronger since we got out of the car.
It felt like she was clinging to me out of anxiety.
“Ivy, what do you want to do first?”
At that moment, I heard the screams of people riding the attractions, and I almost shouted my question.
“That one!”
Ivy, who had been looking around, pointed firmly at something.
Turning my head in that direction, I saw Angel standing exactly where Ivy had pointed.
“Brother!”
Ivy let go of my hand and ran toward Angel. He lightly picked her up with one hand.
I watched as Angel handed Ivy the pink cotton candy he had been holding.
“Boss, I’ve got a question.”
I turned my head to Baek Hawon, who was standing beside me.
“Did you know that the person who shot me when I escaped from Utopia wasn’t Yugyeom?”
Baek Hawon’s eyes, looking at me, didn’t waver. I didn’t need to hear his answer to know.
He knew. He knew that Yugyeom wasn’t the one who had shot me. I was the only one who hadn’t known.
It seemed like he hadn’t said anything because I hadn’t asked, but he didn’t seem to have any intention of hiding it.
He probably wouldn’t have told me unless I asked first.
“Do you know who it was?”
“No.”
Baek Hawon swept his tousled hair back.
“If I knew, I would’ve told you.”
It didn’t feel like a lie. Though I had expected it, a sense of frustration clogged my chest.
I pressed my clenched fist against my chest, trying to ease the discomfort, and turned my head again.
Ivy’s face was full of joy, likely because she liked the cotton candy. Angel’s face, looking at her, was also filled with the same warmth.
Seeing the two of them made me feel at ease. Without shifting my gaze, I asked,
“Are you going to ride the rides too, boss?”
I had thought maybe he was just going to take us there, but I abandoned that idea when I saw Baek Hawon buying tickets for both Ivy and me, as well as for himself, and entering the amusement park with us.
Baek Hawon silently gazed at me for a moment, as if he was considering something, and then spoke.
“No.”
At his brief answer, I couldn’t help but ask.
“Why?”
Baek Hawon looked at me as if to say, ‘Why are you asking that?’
I blinked in a daze, not even realizing what I had asked, then fumbled to explain.
“Well, I mean… we’ve come all the way here, and it would be strange not to ride anything, right? You’ve paid for everything.”
Baek Hawon didn’t respond with much. He just continued to stare at me with an unreadable look that made it hard to meet his eyes.
“Have you ever played at an amusement park, boss?”
Why was I even asking that?
Would he think I was crazy if I said I felt some regret in those eyes when he looked at me, as if he had longed to be here?
I felt silly for thinking maybe, just maybe, the reason he came all the way here was because he had wanted to experience an amusement park.
“What I mean is… when would we ever come to a place like this again? Since we’re here, we might as well ride something, right? I heard they’re doing fireworks too.”
Although I knew we’d probably end up being the most uncomfortable pair to enjoy a ride with, I couldn’t stop myself from saying whatever came to mind.
After a long silence, Baek Hawon suddenly chuckled.
“You won’t regret saying that, will you?”
His voice, mixed with a laugh, made my breath catch.
“Just from being in the same car together, you already look uncomfortable.”
Baek Hawon was looking at me directly. I couldn’t say anything in response, and just met his gaze.
Could it be… that he wasn’t going to ride the rides because he thought I’d be uncomfortable? The situation was so unexpected that I was at a loss for words.
Baek Hawon calmly looked at me, his expression slightly amused, and then grinned.
“Go ahead. I’ll keep my promise.”
I knew that it was better for me to go quickly, but I couldn’t bring myself to take a step.
My heart was moving in a direction opposite to my mind.
“…Let’s go together.”
I don’t know. Why did this man look so lonely among so many people?
Maybe it was because I had a past with him, or maybe it was just that I couldn’t turn my back on him.
I reached out and grabbed the hem of Baek Hawon’s shirt. Baek Hawon, caught by my touch, looked at me with slightly widened eyes.
“I don’t know when we’ll be able to come again, and maybe today will be the last time.”
Our gazes met directly. For a moment, it seemed like his face stiffened.
In the briefest of moments, the lazy smile on his face disappeared without a trace.
But soon, it softened again. It was only now that I realized his expression had changed a lot from when I first saw him.
It was as if I were looking at a completely different person, his eyes now holding something entirely different from before.
“Wasn’t the promise to guarantee the safest protection? I need to be right next to you to protect you.”
He said it in a deliberately light tone, almost teasing.
Baek Hawon lowered his gaze. His eyes landed on the hand I was holding onto.
Baek Hawon, with eyes as dark as an abyss, stared at my hand before finally speaking.
“I… I…”
The end of his words, spoken like a sigh, disappeared into the noise surrounding us. He didn’t pull away from my grip.
