TWELVE 99

“It’s not that I liked the person who played the actor, but the role itself was good, the role.”

“What about that role?”

“The fact that she was good at her job and warm to her people?”

This was the chance for a comeback. I felt it in that split second.

“Just like you, Seoin.”

“…Am I like that?”

“You’re better, much better.”

Only then did Gi Seoin appear satisfied. Cold sweat ran down my spine. Wow, was this some kind of pop quiz?

Having luckily escaped an unpleasant situation, I moved quickly and brought the cake. Gi Seoin, who stood up a moment later, went to the beverage refrigerator and looked inside.

“What do you want to drink?”

“What do you think goes well with cake?”

“Champagne. But no alcohol. Have some carbonated water.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

Honestly, I was craving a beer, but it was obvious Gi Seoin wouldn’t allow it, so I decided to drink what he chose. Since the cake would be sweet, carbonated water was better than a sweet drink anyway.

“You said there was a line even though you reserved it? It must be a famous shop.”

I took the cake out of the box and placed it on the table. Gi Seoin set out the cups, carbonated water, forks, knives, and plates as he spoke.

“You have to reserve a year in advance.”

“Ah… Uh, what? A year?”

I have to wait that long? I looked at the fellow in surprise.

“Then did you reserve this last year too?”

“There are exceptions.”

“And you’re one of them?”

Gi Seoin nodded his chin.

“Thanks to you, I’m getting to try a cake you have to reserve a year in advance.”

“You’ve tried it.”

“Eh?”

I had a suspicion.

“Was the cake you brought me before from this shop too?”

“Yes.”

“Wow…”

Not knowing that, I used to give almost all of it to Grandmother, saying, “As expected, I can’t eat much cake because it’s too sweet.”

“The taste was okay, right?”

“Uh, yeah. I really enjoyed eating it.”

Since I didn’t want Gi Seoin to feel disappointed, I told a white lie. I suppose even if he catches a lie of this level, he’ll forgive me?

It struck me anew that we had been practicing matching each other’s pace since a very long time ago. In ways like him gifting me a very sweet cake when I can’t eat sweets, and me trying a cake I normally wouldn’t even touch.

— Currently, a large crowd has gathered at Bosingak for the ringing of the Bell of Peace. At Jeongdongjin in Gangneung, another famous sunrise spot…

“Whoa, look at the people.”

Seeing the crowd filling the screen made even me feel suffocated.

“Do you want to go to a place like that?”

Gi Seoin asked, and I shook my head.

“No. Just looking at it makes me feel stuffy. You know I hate crowded places.”

“I didn’t know you hated them.”

“Actually, it’s true I haven’t been to crowded places very often.”

Except for public transportation during commute hours, that is. Come to think of it, I wondered if there wasn’t a good reason for so many people to gather like that.

“What about you, Seoin? Shall we go to a place like that to see the sunrise next year?”

“I’m not fond of crowded places either.”

“Then we chose well with this place.”

As expected, I liked this place where I could stay comfortably with Gi Seoin.

— Now, the Bell of Peace will ring shortly! Please shout along with us, everyone watching. 10, 9…!

It began.

“8!”

I shouted the chant along with them and looked at Gi Seoin.

“7! You do it too. 5…!”

“5.”

Laughter burst out at the sight of the fellow muttering numbers like a robot.

“Puhaha, 4…!”

The fellow laughed as if imitating me.

3, 2, 1.

“Happy New Year, Seoin.”

Gi Seoin smiled like a flower, and light flickered over the fellow’s face.

“Look over there.”

The fellow grabbed my shoulders and turned my body toward the window.

Outside the window, fireworks exploding over the Han River scattered like jewels and embedded themselves in my vision.

The temperature of the fellow hugging me from behind was tender, and the voice reaching my ears seeped into me as if it would last forever.

“I’ll love you this year too, Woo Seungkyung.”

It was the start of a year so ecstatic it was almost frightening.

I was speechless as soon as I heard the news.

“I’m the victim, and it’s not like I, the victim, testified that hyung is innocent, so how did he get out!”

Gi Seoin was just delivering the news, and even though he wasn’t at fault, my voice rose without me realizing. I let out a sigh and touched my forehead, then looked at the fellow and apologized.

“I’m sorry. I got angry hearing such a thing suddenly…”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s understandable.”

Gi Seoin, who wrapped his arm around my shoulder and stroked it, took me to the dining table and sat me down. He hadn’t even been able to change his clothes since coming home from work.

Fatigue was cast like a shadow over the face of the fellow sitting opposite me. It was his first week since moving back to Cheongcheon. Just re-adjusting there would be overwhelming enough.

Normally, I would tell him to wash up and rest first, but I absolutely couldn’t let what I just heard slide.

I’m told that Jeon Juseok, who was incarcerated, has been released. Even though he hasn’t stood trial yet, and it’s not like I testified that the fellow was innocent. On the contrary, I said that the fellow was a ringleader of this incident as well.

“Tell me what happened. I’m okay.”

In truth, I wasn’t okay at all. Imagining Jeon Juseok roaming the outside freely made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. It felt as if the fellow might find me and brandish a knife at any moment.

Gi Seoin, who gently covered the back of my hand with his, opened his mouth.

“It seems the perpetrators arrested with him testified that Jeon Juseok was uninvolved. They said he was just bait to lure you, and that they threatened him into doing as he was told.”

“Why, on earth?”

Gi Seoin didn’t seem to know that far either.

“I, the victim, say he’s involved, so why do they listen to the perpetrators?”

“I don’t know yet either, but…”

The fellow grabbed my hand with his other hand as well.

“I’ll find out. I won’t let you be wronged. I promise.”

Was Gi Seoin making a promise to me because he knew something else? I wondered how he could be so certain. If he was overextending himself just to comfort me, I hoped he wouldn’t.

“The reason I’m angry is because of the police who let hyung go, not because of you, Gi Seoin. You know that, right?”

“I know.”

“So don’t overdo it. You must be busy with work at Cheongcheon anyway…”

“I’ve never overdone it.”

“You always say that.”

“Because it’s true.”

“Even so, promise you won’t overdo it.”

I playfully glared at the fellow.

I was grateful that he tried harder for my sake than for his own affairs, but on the other hand, I hoped he wouldn’t push himself to the limit just for my sake. Because seeing him break because of me would be more unbearable than falling apart myself. For that reason, I didn’t want to end up hating myself again.

At any rate, life always took a steep dive just when you thought things were flowing peacefully. A sigh burst out.

“But really… the more I think about it, the angrier I get. Why hasn’t the police even called me once? Is this allowed?”

“That’s because I asked them to contact me instead.”

“Ah…”

Since Gi Seoin was handling my defense in this case, that was possible. I understood at once.

“Then, if more news comes in from now on, tell me every single bit without leaving anything out.”

Feeling that the fellow might pick and choose what news to deliver for the sake of my mental health, I decided to extract a promise.

“Promise me.”

“Okay.”

The fellow immediately hooked his pinky with mine.

A messy mix of gratitude and guilt that couldn’t be fully expressed in words choked my breath. I buried my face in Gi Seoin’s shoulder.

And that day, I had a dream where Jeon Juseok was knocking on the door.

It was the moment the fellow was about to plunge a blade into my chest.

“Ah, aaagh!”

“Woo Seungkyung.”

I woke from the dream as if having a fit. Startled by the touch reaching me, I pulled my body away, only to see it was Gi Seoin.

“Did you have a dream?”

I couldn’t answer because I was out of breath and just nodded my head.

“Come here.”

Perhaps I looked unstable, as the fellow hugged me. Fear still completely enveloped me.

I’d rather have a nightmare where a ghost appears. That wouldn’t actually happen, but a nightmare where Jeon Juseok plunges a knife into me could become reality.

It had been five days since I heard the news that Jeon Juseok was released. I suffered from nightmares every single night without exception.

“During this psychiatric appointment…”

On a weekend morning, the sky seen through the window was brilliant. Outside, the winter wind would sharpishly graze the cheeks, but the home belonging to Gi Seoin and me was nothing but cozy. Even so, my insides were turning cold with anxiety.

“It seems the sleeping pills I’m taking now are useless. I’m thinking of asking to increase the dosage.”

Lately, the symptoms of my panic attacks had improved surprisingly well, so I had reduced the medication. While Gi Seoin returned to Cheongcheon and went to work, I lived out my own daily life quite stoutly.

Because of that, I felt self-conscious, thinking he might take it negatively if I said I was increasing the sleeping pill dosage again.

But Gi Seoin nodded his chin as if agreeing immediately.

“Okay. If you feel you need it right away, I’ll try to move the appointment forward.”

“Is that possible?”

“Since it’s the weekend, the earliest would be Monday.”

“That’s something at least. Thank you.”

When Gi Seoin says he’ll do it, even things that seem impossible become possible. I changed the appointment date saved on my phone to next Monday. I finished off the bit of breakfast that was left. Fortunately, the food went down well.

I suppose I can’t help the dreams, but while awake, I tried my best not to think about Jeon Juseok. It was much easier when I was with Gi Seoin. Just looking at the fellow made other thoughts disappear.

Since it was the weekend, Gi Seoin was also in comfortable clothes. I heard that other lawyers often went to work even on holidays, but the fellow always brought his work home on purpose. It was purely because of me.

Since the fellow, for whom I am always the top priority, was focusing on something else, I didn’t want to disturb him, so I tried not to talk to him as much as possible. Now was such a time.

Rather, it wasn’t a bad time. Because I could look at Gi Seoin to my heart’s content.

I don’t know the first thing about art, but looking at Gi Seoin, I felt I could understand why people were crazy about art. Beautiful things never grew tiring. Just looking at him allowed me to confirm the emotion called love. To me, the fellow was that kind of being…

What broke the brief peace was the sound of the doorbell.

“…Is there someone coming?”

I immediately thought of Jeon Juseok, and it was only after that Gi Seoin shook his head.

The fellow, who had put down his file folder, stood up.

There was no way it was Jeon Juseok. Because we had moved…

From where I was, I couldn’t judge who the person on the intercom screen was.

“Who is it?”

At my question, Gi Seoin, standing in front of the intercom, looked back at me.