Vol 1 Ch 25

“When did you decide to run away?”

 

“Just now. On a whim.”

 

Mok Seongha answered, looking down from the cable car.

 

The man would act like a child, but then occasionally show a side you’d never expect. After ditching the bodyguards, the first thing he did was turn off Kim Jinkyung’s phone. He said it was to prevent location tracking.

 

“But can they track your location just by knowing your number?”

 

“It’s possible. But you have an app installed, so they don’t even need to go that far.”

 

“What? What app?”

 

“A location tracking app.”

 

Having no memory of installing such an app, Kim Jinkyung was horrified and tried to turn his phone on to check.

 

“Don’t. They’ll catch us right away if you turn it on.”

 

“…We’re going to get caught anyway.”

 

“We have to give them a hard time before we get caught. That’s how we’ll get suspected.”

 

Kim Jinkyung’s head throbbed. He was sure he would be the one to get a talking-to from Secretary Kang. A silent talking-to, of course. …He was already scared.

 

“By the way, when did you install an app on my phone?”

 

“While you were sleeping.”

 

Mok Seongha answered confidently, without a hint of hesitation.

 

“I mean, when I was sleeping?”

 

“The day after you ghosted me and didn’t answer my calls because you were having sex with some guy.”

 

“No, I told you, we just slept…. …I’m deleting it later.”

 

“Do whatever.”

 

Mok Seongha replied nonchalantly.

 

…He’s just going to install it again.

 

Kim Jinkyung let out a short sigh and turned his gaze outside the cable car. The people below looked dizzyingly far away.

 

“Do couples ride things like this?”

 

Mok Seongha asked abruptly.

 

“I don’t know. Maybe they do.”

 

At Kim Jinkyung’s answer, he tilted his head.

 

“You’ve never been on one?”

 

“We just walked around.”

 

When he’d come to the amusement park on school trips, his only memories were of walking around here and there, frantically riding the attractions.

 

“What did you do if you didn’t even ride the cable car? Is your type an ugly beggar?”

 

Hearing that from the handsome rich bastard who was his type made his stomach churn, but Kim Jinkyung tried his best not to show it.

 

“What did you do while walking around?”

 

“We just walked.”

 

“Why on earth would you just walk? Why even go on a date then?”

 

“……”

 

“Did you not even hold hands with those guys?”

 

…There was no guy to hold hands with.

 

Kim Jinkyung swallowed the words he couldn’t say and pointed to Mok Seongha’s pocket.

 

“Just memorize your vocabulary.”

 

“I memorized them all. Everything written here.”

 

Mok Seongha said, showing him the word list.

 

He probably wasn’t just saying it. His memorization skills were truly astonishing. Perhaps because his head was so empty, the speed at which he absorbed new knowledge was incredible.

 

“Then did you not bring anything else?”

 

“Like they’d be suspicious of me if I brought a book on a date.”

 

“Still, bring something next time. No, I’ll pack it for you.”

 

Mok Seongha stared at Kim Jinkyung.

 

“…What is it?”

 

“You’re really like a teacher.”

 

“What’s ‘really like a teacher’ supposed to mean?”

 

“You treat me like a child.”

 

Mok Seongha let out a short laugh. His gaze drifted and lingered on the man’s handsome profile.

 

The words “really like a teacher” made his conscience prickle. …A teacher shouldn’t be doing this.

 

“Anyway, when do you think we’ll get caught?”

 

Kim Jinkyung muttered, looking at the lights visible below the cable car.

 

“We’ll be caught soon. They’ll track my location with the chip implanted in my body.”

 

Mok Seongha tapped the back of his neck with his finger.

 

“What? Really?”

 

When Kim Jinkyung freaked out, Mok Seongha lowered his head and pushed it toward him.

 

“Look. There’s a surgery scar.”

 

“Where? I don’t see it. Hold on…. …Here?”

 

Kim Jinkyung asked, lightly pressing the area that looked like a scar with his fingertip. At that moment, Mok Seongha burst out laughing.

 

“Ahahaha.”

 

“……”

 

“Hey. You should really watch your organs. You might get them all harvested if you’re not careful.”

 

“Were you joking?”

 

“Of course. It’s not like I’m a pet, getting a chip implanted. Hahaha.”

 

Mok Seongha laughed as he straightened up. Kim Jinkyung’s cheeks flushed red.

 

“You’re really gullible.”

 

Mok Seongha teased, looking at Kim Jinkyung. A playful glint of laughter danced in the man’s eyes.

 

“…I can’t just start by doubting what other people say.”

 

“From now on, start by doubting. Don’t trust anyone.”

 

Mok Seongha said, gazing at Kim Jinkyung with his chin propped in his hand. His cold tone felt like it was making his skin tighten. His mouth went dry.

 

“…You laugh like that, too. I’m surprised.”

 

Kim Jinkyung deliberately dropped his gaze and changed the subject.

 

“So I don’t laugh in my daily life?”

 

“You usually don’t laugh out loud.”

 

“Because there’s nothing to laugh out loud about.”

 

Mok Seongha replied indifferently, looking down at the trees decorated with light bulbs. Every time the light swept past, the deep-set contours of his eyes were revealed.

 

He felt for him.

 

He wasn’t sure if that was the right expression, but it was true. Kim Jinkyung found himself strangely soft-hearted when it came to him. This was a man who lived in a palace-like mansion, enjoying a level of wealth that someone like him couldn’t even imagine, yet he just felt a sense of pity.

 

“You can make some from now on.”

 

Kim Jinkyung continued.

 

“You can make friends, and… even if marriage isn’t the premise, you could meet someone nice.”

 

His own place wouldn’t be there, but he genuinely wished for the man’s happiness.

 

“Friends?”

 

A twisted smile hung on Mok Seongha’s lips.

 

“Who would see that and want to be friends with me? I’d be lucky not to get shot.”

 

“Who would shoot you for something like that? They might be surprised at first, but….”

 

As he spoke, Kim Jinkyung felt a sense of déjà vu and closed his mouth. Hadn’t they had a similar conversation before?

 

“…Have you been shot before?”

 

Instead of answering, Mok Seongha casually lifted his shirt.

 

“Find it. The gunshot wound.”

 

“……”

 

“It should be around here.”

 

Mok Seongha gestured toward his back, pulling his shirt aside. Kim Jinkyung said, “That’s enough,” and made him pull his shirt down. At that, Mok Seongha laughed out loud again.

 

“Hahahaha.”

 

His heart was in a tumult.

 

There was an English idiom, ‘have butterflies in one’s stomach.’ It literally meant swallowing butterflies, a phrase used when one felt excited or queasy. When Kim Jinkyung first read that expression in a novel, he couldn’t understand it at all. The thought of swallowed butterflies fluttering around in his stomach was so grotesque it gave him goosebumps.

 

“Hahahaha.”

 

When Mok Seongha laughed, it felt like flowers bursting into full bloom. It was as if he could hear the rustling of a sprawling, swaying flower field. Standing in such a field, he thought he might unknowingly swallow a butterfly or two.

 

His stomach felt queasy and ticklish.

 

“…Should I do it for you? Be your friend.”

 

It was the first time at his age that he had offered to be someone’s friend. The moment he said it, regret washed over him.

 

“No, thanks.”

 

Mok Seongha rejected him flatly.

 

I shouldn’t have said it. Why did I have to say something so cringey….

 

“You’re my teacher. Why would I be friends with my teacher?”

 

The most polite of all ruffians said so. Kim Jinkyung forced an awkward laugh and said, “Right,” averting his gaze.

 

“And for now, we’re dating anyway.”

 

Mok Seongha pointed back and forth between himself and Kim Jinkyung and smiled.

 

No. That’s a dead cat. No matter how beautifully its eyes shine like golden jewels or how glossy and pretty its fur is, that cat will not be resurrected.

 

Kim Jinkyung inwardly recited Schrödinger’s dead cat and stared blankly out the window.

 

The cable car moved slowly along the rope.

 

***

 

“Welcome back.”

 

Kim Jinkyung’s shoulders flinched at the heavy words from Secretary Kang, who was waiting at the entrance. Secretary Kang’s cold gaze swept over the two of them.

 

“…What is that.”

 

“A headband.”

 

The man replied in the coldest, heaviest voice in the world.

 

“I mean, why is the Young Master wearing something like that….”

 

“Don’t all couples wear things like this?”

 

After getting off the cable car, Mok Seongha had seen a couple wearing animal ear headbands walk past him and asked what they were.

 

‘Couple headbands.’

 

Kim Jinkyung had answered without much thought. If he had known that five minutes later he would have one on his own head, he would never have answered that way.

 

“Did you buy that trash and dare to put it on the Young Master’s head?”

 

“I didn’t buy it.”

 

Kim Jinkyung’s chest burned with the injustice of it all.

 

“Did you turn off your phone and disappear just to buy that trash?”

 

They were discovered by the bodyguards while buying the headbands, taking pictures, and eating ice cream. It had been less than two hours since they had vanished to do something “suspicious.”

 

“Why? Is it weird?”

 

The man, who was as tall as a door, asked while wearing an animal ear headband decorated with flowers.

 

“You look very cute.”

 

Secretary Kang snapped a photo with his phone before continuing.

 

“However, turning off your phone and disappearing is absolutely not allowed.”

 

“Why not? It’s cute.”

 

Mok Seongha asked, brazenly tilting his head up.

 

Of all the things he could have chosen, Mok Seongha had picked animal ears with flowers. Kim Jinkyung, of course, had chosen nothing. He hadn’t wanted to wear any headband at all. That had been the problem. Mok Seongha had nonchalantly paid for another identical one and forcibly placed it on Kim Jinkyung’s head.

 

‘How is it?’

 

The moment he saw Mok Seongha looking in the mirror with the flashy headband on his head and asking that, only one thought crossed Kim Jinkyung’s mind.

 

…Is he insane?

 

It was the same now.

 

“Why is it not allowed?”

 

Mok Seongha retorted, thrusting his pink animal ears forward without a shred of shame or hesitation.

 

…He’s insane. Crazy. Why does it suit him so well? It’s so pointless. …Hah. Pointless.

 

Kim Jinkyung sighed and turned his gaze to the side. His eyes met Secretary Kang’s.

 

“A person who should know better, why would you do such a thing? If an accident had happened….”

 

Secretary Kang trailed off, glaring at Kim Jinkyung. It was an accusation, asking what the hell he had been doing.

 

“Well, I…”

 

“I was the one who said let’s go.”

 

Mok Seongha cut in again.

 

“The teacher just did as I said. I was the one who turned off the phone, too.”

 

“…Haaah.”

 

Secretary Kang let out a sigh.

 

“I just really wanted to try going on a real date. I’m sorry. I’ll do it again.”

 

“Yes, you will never… what?”

 

Secretary Kang’s eyebrow twitched.

 

“I’m going to bed. I’m tired. If you have anything to report to the Chairman, report it as you see fit.”

 

“Yes. Understood.”

 

Mok Seongha walked past Secretary Kang without a care and strode on.

 

“…Good night.”

 

Kim Jinkyung awkwardly bowed his head to Secretary Kang. As Secretary Kang shot him a murderous glare, Mok Seongha wrapped an arm around Kim Jinkyung’s shoulders and pulled him into his room.