Chapter 72
The knife in Yuhwa’s hand was lodged next to his face. Taejun, without blinking an eye, instead burst into laughter.
“Aren’t you still here, chasing after me?”
Taejun’s household had been intertwined with the Baekcheon family for generations. Yet, he spent his days closely following the heir of Utopia, so it wouldn’t be strange if he were to be kicked out at any moment.
“Indeed. When will you completely let go?”
Taejun chuckled, the whiskey glass filled to the brim. It seemed like it could spill over any moment, but it hadn’t yet.
“Oh, I miss Yugyeom.”
“…Idiot.”
It was a kind of madness that sometimes made Yugyeom seem pitiful.
“You called for him but didn’t even come to meet him.”
A new voice interrupted their conversation.
“I was scared to come up.”
Taejun immediately recognized the owner of the voice, but Yuhwa didn’t until she turned her head. When Yuhwa confirmed the face, she furrowed her brow.
“Cut it out. Can’t you fix that rude way of speaking? Talking informally to adults.”
“It’s a habit. I’m an adult too.”
44 retorted casually as he sat down on the floor, leaning his back against the sofa. Yuhwa clicked her tongue, looking at the back of his head.
“Don’t meet people in person if you can help it. You give away too much by staying holed up in your room with your computer.”
44 looked up after turning his head.
“You don’t exactly exude refinement either.”
Though his face was hidden under a black hat that was pulled down, his mouth, protruding sharply, betrayed his lack of manners.
“I’ll punch him as soon as I’m done with work. Or maybe now?”
Taejun stopped Yuhwa from getting up.
“Endure it, because you’re an adult.”
Taejun chuckled and released her wrist. Memories flooded back of the times when he had held that hand, and it hadn’t escaped unscathed.
“It’s hard to find a polite kid like our Yugyeom.”
He said with a proud look on his face, as if boasting about his child. For a moment, he seemed like a proud father.
Taejun picked up the knife Yuhwa had thrown from the sofa.
“If I kill you now, it might be annoying later, don’t you think?”
The knife, spinning in his hand, stopped.
“Let’s kill when it’s no longer necessary.”
The tip of the knife pointed at 44, as if it could fly off at any moment. Taejun smiled mischievously as 44 wrinkled his face.
“…Did you forget about the person present?”
Taejun didn’t understand why 44 reacted like that.
Giving up on his expectations, 44 turned on his laptop. Sitting hunched over, he seemed bored as he stared at the monitor.
Quickly losing interest, he turned his attention to the photos on the table.
“Do you recognize anyone?”
“Isn’t that the deceased casino owner?”
“No, the casino owner is the man with the torn mouth next to him. That’s the suicide culprit. Well, it’s probably Baekcheon, though.”
44 was silent for a moment as he stared at the photos.
“Why? Do you know them?”
Taejun asked. His eyes sparkled with interest, as if he had forgotten he had a son.
“No.”
44 replied shortly, putting the photos down.
“There’s no reason for me to know a dead scumbag who got used.”
There was a hint of disgust mixed with the sneer in his voice.
“Baek Ha-won won’t be a problem. She’s not here because of her new company. She’ll be back tomorrow night.”
“Even the gods are helping us.”
Taejun, who had stood up, approached 44 and picked up the photos from the table.
He only selected photos of Yugyeom. Among them, the one he chose to show was a photo of Yugyeom and a woman facing each other.
“She won’t be able to escape this time.”
Taejun smiled, wiping away the face of Yugyeom from the photo. His long fingers followed Yugyeom’s gaze in the photo.
“We need to bring Cha Yeonbyeol first.”
His gaze rested on the smiling face of the woman.
“This time, she won’t be able to run away.”
Taejun twisted his lips and smiled.
Last time’s incident in the parking lot was just an appetizer. This time, she wouldn’t be able to escape for sure.
“It’s finally getting interesting. It’s been too boring lately.”
The time he spent preparing was long.
“Where do you think I’ll sting next time?”
“You know already.”
He was as excited as he was angry at that moment. He had to make an effort to hide the excitement he felt in front of the man who warned him.
When they left the restaurant, a beautiful picture had already formed in his mind.
The picture was about to be completed.
“Shall we toast?”
Taejun filled the three untouched glasses with wine. After handing one to Yuhwa, he handed one to 44 as well.
“Thanks to you.”
After sending a text pretending to be Yugyeom to Yeon-byeol, he also prevented Ha-won from coming to rescue her. He had achieved many other important things as well.
“After this is over, your wish will also be fulfilled.”
44 accepted the glass. His other hand was tightly clenched.
Under the low voice, the glasses of the three clinked.
“For the most perfect death.”
***
Sleep wouldn’t come. In fact, I briefly fell asleep, but I had a nightmare. My whole body was sweaty with cold sweat.
My chest felt too tight, so I ended up going outside. The rooftop garden was still lit even in the early morning, so it wasn’t too scary to walk alone.
“It’s just a dream.”
I murmured to reassure myself, wrapping my trembling hands around each other. It had been a long time since I had a nightmare.
As I walked along the outside, I saw someone in the distance. They were staggering as if drunk.
I was about to turn back, fearing it might be troublesome, but when I blinked, the person was gone.
What the… a ghost?
A creepy thought made me freeze in place. I hesitated for a moment before deciding to confirm it for myself and cautiously approached.
Luckily, it didn’t seem to be a ghost. I felt relieved when I saw the person lying on the bench. Since it wasn’t a ghost, I decided I should leave.
“Eek! It’s a mosquito!”
The familiar voice grabbed my ankle.
“…?”
The face flailing its arms in a comical manner was also familiar.
Our eyes met.
“Huh, what? Am I seeing things?”
“Is that you, Chan?”
You’re not mistaken. It really was Ichane. Just on the verge of becoming a dog.
In the original work, Chan’s drinking habit is described several times. He drinks until he passes out, and when he’s drunk, he’s not considered human. It’s just easier to think of him as a dog.
Chan suddenly stood up and then hesitated before sitting back down on the ground. The fact that he sat on the floor instead of the bench was the problem.
I wrinkled my nose at the smell of alcohol emanating from him.
“How much did you drink?”
I pulled his arm, but he didn’t even flinch. I ended up plopping down on the bench.
“Hey, hey. Snap out of it.”
I tapped Ichane with my foot. He shivered as if cold, rubbing his arms.
“I’m perfectly fine.”
His reply sounded pretty coherent.
“Ugh, I might as well sleep here.”
“Your mouth’s not moving.”
“…It’s fascinating how well you speak.”
For someone who’s become a dog, he sure speaks well. I gave up cleanly on the guy who was now lying on the ground.
A chilly breeze blew. The scenery below my feet was so beautiful it was surreal.
But it was better than being alone. I couldn’t understand how I always bumped into him in the strangest places.
We sat in silence for a while. Heavy thoughts vanished into the wind without a trace.
An amusing thought crossed my mind, as if I’d caught Chan’s honesty bug.
“Chan. You won’t remember this tomorrow, will you?”
I leaned over and tapped his waist. Chan’s large eyes locked onto mine.
I poured out questions to gauge his level of sobriety.
“What’s your home password?”
“Don’t touch the sore spots of a homeless person, dammit.”
“What’s the one thing you want to say to Yugyeom?”
“I have too many, can I pick another hundred?”
“Do you hate me?”
“I absolutely hate you. I hate you so much. More than a spider. Hate you as much as Yugyeom.”
The answer came immediately, and there was only one thing I could say.
“…You son of a bitch.”
Drunk Chan was so honest it was dangerous. I straightened my waist and sat down again.
“You shouldn’t drink anywhere.”
For every drink he had, it seemed like we lost a person.
“Sob, sob!”
Suddenly, Chan burst into tears. His wailing was so loud and startling.
“I tried so hard! But that bastard does whatever he wants! Why me!”
Chan screamed, burying his face in his knees. Feeling like I should comfort him, I awkwardly patted his back.
After crying for a while, Chan suddenly stood up. At this point, I thought I wouldn’t be surprised by anything he did.
Fortunately, nothing more surprising happened. Chan complained about being cold, trembling and tapping his buttocks.
“Did you break up with your girlfriend?”
Chan raised his head abruptly.
Huh. Really?
“Like Yugyeom…”
Muttering with a frown, he seemed to be either feeling bad or showing sympathy.
“But doesn’t Yugyeom also not handle alcohol well?”
Seeing Chan, who had become a dog due to drinking, reminded me of the day when Yugyeom came to my room drunk.
There was no answer, so I turned my head. Chan was looking at me with a strange look in his eyes.
It seemed like he was looking at me with pity or something, as if he thought I was pathetic.
“But he never gets drunk no matter how much he drinks.”
…What?
