PAX 25

For a while, I just stared at Ahn Yutan.

Ahn Yutan pulled the knife out from the sun visor.

“Should I rip it off and peel it?”

I swallowed a sigh and quietly took off one combat boot.

“A man acting so timid.”

Ahn Yutan chuckled and stuck the knife back behind the sun visor.

“Now it’s my turn. Extinction (Jeol-myeol).”

“Anchovy (Myeol-chi).”

“Lethal dose (Chi-sa-ryang).”

After thinking for a moment, I took off the left combat boot as well.

“You’re so fucking bad at this.”

Ahn Yutan pressed at his torn lips and laughed gleefully.

“2 to 0. Your turn.”

“Magnesium (Ma-geu-ne-syum).”

Ahn Yutan seemed to be racking his brain for a moment, then took off his T-shirt. The bruises and wounds that must have come from our scuffle just a moment ago were clearly visible, and there were also scars that looked very old in various places.

Ahn Yutan wiped his face with the discarded T-shirt and threw it into the back of the car.

“Son of a bitch (Gae-sae-kki).”

I had to think for a second whether he was talking to me or if this was part of the word chain game. Though it could have been both.

“Meal (Kki-ni).”

“Your dad (Ni-ae-bi).”

“That’s not a single word.”

“Your dad (Ni-ae-bi).”

Ahn Yutan was only looking forward. I sighed briefly and looked forward as well.

“Emergency exit (Bi-sang-gu).”

“Ex-boyfriend Heo Yonghee.”

I looked at Ahn Yutan again. Ahn Yutan still had a twitching smile on his face, still looking forward. Perhaps because of his face, which was bruised and swollen in various places, he looked even more malicious.

On one hand, apart from that wicked intent or this situation, I was a bit surprised that Ahn Yutan still accurately remembered all three syllables of Yonghee’s name.

“Hurry up. If you can’t do it, take something off.”

I turned my head forward.

“Joyful (Hui-hui-nak-rak).”

“Bleach drinking.”

“King crab.”

“Wrap and suffocate (Rap gamgo jil-sik).”

“Restaurant (Sik-dang).”

“Does your current boyfriend run a restaurant?”

“Crow (Kka-ma-gwi).”

“Is your current boyfriend’s dick small, too?”

“Premature death (Yo-jeol).”

“Is it a passionate love? Toward the small dick?”

I’m exhausted.

I took off my T-shirt.

“Yes, yes, 3 to 1. Whose turn is it now?”

“I’d like to stop at a rest area.”

“Why?”

“I have to go to the bathroom.”

Ahn Yutan reached out to the back and groped around, grabbed an empty plastic bottle, and threw it onto my lap.

“Don’t break the mood when it’s finally getting good, just take care of it in there.”

I looked down at the plastic bottle.

I didn’t really need to urinate. I was trying to run away at a rest area. Even if it was just a one-time escape, I wanted to get away from this absurd word chain game at the very least, but it seemed useless.

“We’re playing until one of us is completely stripped. Who is it? Isn’t it your turn?”

“Calcium chloride (Yeom-hwa-kal-syum).”

Ahn Yutan giggled and pulled down his pants.

Do they really have to do that while driving? They could just take off a shoe.

No. I think it’s better to focus on stripping him down first. Then the game would end, right?

Ahn Yutan was wiggling his butt while pulling down his pants when a ringtone sounded and text appeared on the monitor next to the steering wheel.

‘FUCK FACE’

Ahn Yutan, who muttered something like a small curse, pressed the call button.

“What.”

—Where are you.

It was Ahn Juik’s voice.

“On a drive.”

—Where.

“Where would I be driving? On the road, obviously? Logically speaking?”

—Did you go there?

“Where?”

—Nagon.

“Why would I go there when there’s nothing worth scavenging?”

—Some of the Guardians said they saw you.

“I thought they did eye exams when they hired them, but I guess not? If there are any bastards who need to wear glasses, get them out immediately.”

—It’s not just today; they’ve been talking about it every few days.

“Then get them out every few days. Why are you keeping bastards with blind eyes?”

Ahn Juik was quiet.

I don’t know why I have to listen to this conversation from up close, and I don’t really know why Ahn Yutan opens up this kind of conversation with his father to me. Is it because he knows I won’t go around spreading it? Or does it not matter even if I spread it? Or does he want me to spread it?

—Don’t keep picking fights.

Ahn Juik said stiffly and hung up.

Ahn Yutan drove for a while in silence with his pants pulled down to his thighs.

Suddenly, I had a thought. Maybe Ahn Yutan’s talk about killing his father and whatnot is just some empty-headed spite.

Because he cannot receive the love he craves from his father, he is saying nasty things and acting nasty, begging for attention. Like an immature child who causes trouble for no reason while hiding their true feelings.

So, the plan to kill Ahn Juik during the physical fitness test is just empty talk; he won’t be able to execute it when the actual day comes. It felt like I could vividly see the embarrassing ending where he suddenly gets cold feet or becomes afraid, hesitates, and gets overpowered by Ahn Juik.

And after that happens, he’ll fall even further away from Ahn Juik’s care and love, and he’ll live with a more miserable heart than now. Ahn Juik might tighten surveillance so his son can never come near him again, or he might even send Ahn Yutan further away, as if exiling him somewhere abroad.

So, maybe I don’t have to take Ahn Yutan’s immature “attention-seeking plan” too seriously. I can just play along half-heartedly, enjoy the embarrassing ending, and that will be the time to share a real goodbye.

A child’s tantrum because they aren’t loved—it makes me feel a bit pitiful, but well, what can you do? Considering Ahn Yutan’s behavior, it’s not like Ahn Juik’s feelings are incomprehensible.

Although the atmosphere in the car became a bit awkward thanks to the previous call and the silent Ahn Yutan, it was good that the word chain game was over. It would be nice if we could just go quietly like this. Or, if he suddenly changed his mind and dropped me off in the middle of the highway, that wouldn’t be bad either. I can find a way back somehow.

“Face grease (Gae-gi-reum).”

Ahn Yutan said.

At first, I thought he was just cursing at Ahn Juik to himself, but after seeing his side profile smiling triumphantly for some reason, I realized the word chain game was still ongoing.

And I realized again that I was thinking too much, all on my own. Things like the attention and affection he craves from his father… that doesn’t fit a person like Ahn Yutan. There’s no way there’s a complicated and pathetic story like that. He’s probably just a pure, degenerate piece of shit.

I quietly took off my pants. I don’t know any words starting with “reum.” I could try to get by with something like “dignified (Neum-neum-hada),” but I figured the best strategy was just to let Ahn Yutan win consecutively so I could end the game quickly after I was all stripped.

“Tree (Na-mu).”

I threw out an easy word on purpose.

“Free (Mu-ryo).”

Right. Keep doing that.

I took off one sock. Ahn Yutan chuckled.

“Early evening (Cho-jeo-nyeok).”

I took off the other sock.

I decided to keep going with easy words.

“Apple (Sa-gwa).”

“Target (Gwa-nyeok).”

Good. That’s it.

I hesitated before taking off my underwear, the last piece of clothing I had on, and looked at Ahn Yutan.

“Should I just take this off? It’ll touch the seat?”

“You have to put something down and sit on it, you uncivilized bastard. What’s with that lack of manners in someone else’s car?”

I wonder what kind of manners it is to play a stripping game while driving on the highway….

I sat on my pants and took off my underwear.

“Ah, it’s over.”

I mixed in a little bit of feigned disappointment.

“Study Hangeul a bit. You’re the first person I’ve ever met who’s this bad at word chain.”

“Yeah.”

Ahn Yutan glanced at my body and looked forward again. I thought he would ramble about something else, but for some reason, he was quiet. Then, he soon turned the music up loud.

It was uncomfortable to be sitting completely naked inside someone else’s car while driving on the road, but I was relieved in my own way that I didn’t have to play that exhausting game or listen to him talk. If I could get even a moment of this peace, being stark naked was nothing.

🎈🤍

Ahn Yutan’s car went down into the underground parking lot of the apartment complex. Next to the spot where Ahn Yutan parked, there was a purple Porsche. Since Ahn Yutan had told me to put my clothes back on by the time we got close to the toll gate entering Seoul, I had already returned to my normal appearance.

I got out of the car and got on the elevator. The parking lot and the elevator were both spacious and clean. I could feel that this was an apartment on the relatively high-end side.