Chapter 163 – One, Two – Part 6

Chapter 163 – One, Two – Part 6

Woojin, who had been drawing lines on his body with the red water-based marker, stopped.

The humming stopped, and the smile on his face vanished.

Woojin then closed the cap of the water-based marker and opened his mouth.

“It’s not fun. It’s not fun at all.”

“You crazy bastard. If you’re going to kill me, do it quickly.”

Woojin let out a small laugh.

“I want to. If I had completely dominated this body, you would be dead. You wouldn’t even have found your corpse.”

The guy in his head was stopping him.

“You insane bastard, there’s a limit to your bullshit…”

Woojin flicked his middle finger, giving him a ‘honey-bomb’ on the forehead.

Thwack!

As Woojin turned to leave for the living room, his voice reached his ears roughly.

“Where are you going, you bastard! Kill! Kill him!”

Bang.

Woojin closed the door and looked at the mirror in the living room.

Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind.

[Are you satisfied now?]

Woojin’s face, no, one corner of Unconscious’s mouth, curled up deeply.

“I’ve never been satisfied.”

[I think you’ve had enough time to play.]

“It’s not enough, far from it. Leave it to me. Shinhwa Group? That position where Chairman Lee sits. I’ll put you there. How about it?”

[Do you think you’re the only one who can do that?]

Unconscious slowly nodded, looking at the mirror.

“You could do it too, but you’re too slow.”

[Slow, huh… You’re not the one who makes the judgment. I am. Humans are bound to be selfish because they are human… but you are too selfish. That’s why you’re not ordinary.]

“Hahahaha!”

Unconscious threw his head back and laughed.

“Hey, what did you say? Ordinary? Do you think you’re ordinary? Do you think that’s possible? Just having that thought is stupid. It’s like letting talent rot. We can be anything we want if we just set our minds to it, you foolish bastard.”

[……]

Unconscious casually crossed his arms and looked at the mirror again.

“Do you think this face is ordinary? I think I’m quite handsome. Should I define ordinary for you? Humans always react and move based on desire and urges. That’s why humans work. To get money, those scraps of paper. And they always want more. Constantly. They crave more money and wish to be happier. Meeting a partner is the same principle. Chasing that isn’t ordinary?”

[I told you. Humans are selfish, but you are even more selfish than that. The reason is simple. You are desire itself. That’s why I can control you. You are nothing more, nothing less, than a component that makes up a part of my brain. Don’t be disappointed and don’t feel wronged. That’s how it always was.]

Unconscious yelled out.

“Who saved you?!”

Crunch!

Unconscious’s fist went straight into the mirror.

The mirror cracked like a spiderweb.

Through the cracks, the Unconscious’s eyes looked eerie.

[I can say that was also me. Don’t think I’ll disappear if I don’t call you. You’re always within me, and I’ll often let you play within my fence. Then…]

“Son of a bitch!”

The Unconscious’s shouting mouth closed.

At the same time, the sharp gaze disappeared without a trace, replaced by dog-like eyes.

Woojin had returned.

Woojin, looking at his wounded fist, wrapped his hand with the bandage on the dining table.

Then he opened the door to Kim Manpal’s room and entered.

His pupils were shaking as he stared at Woojin like he was truly insane.

Making such a commotion talking to himself in the living room…

Woojin opened his mouth.

“I wasn’t interested in you… but I needed to show the Unconscious.”

He needed to satisfy the Unconscious’s desire in some way.

“Crazy bastard.”

“That’s just how it is. I think our connection ends here.”

As Woojin approached him, Kim Manpal flinched, still tied up.

* * *

Bang!

The front door of Woojin’s villa burst open.

“Woojin!”

Kim Taehyun and Detective Choi Gicheol rushed in.

Woojin, who had been sitting in the living room, stood up.

“You’re here?”

Kim Taehyun asked urgently.

“What? What happened?”

“Are you hurt?”

Choi Gicheol asked excitedly, looking at the bandage wrapped around Woojin’s hand.

“I’m fine. He’s in the room.”

At Woojin’s words, Choi Gicheol hurried towards the room.

A middle-aged person lay on the bed, tied with ropes as if handcuffed behind their back.

Their feet were also bound.

Choi Gicheol approached him, immediately comparing the photo on his cellphone to the man’s face.

Just as Woojin said, it was identical to the wanted fugitive’s face.

He was the escapee who had kidnapped a child years ago and made them live like a slave.

“Senior! It’s Kim Manpal!”

At Choi Gicheol’s words from the room, Kim Taehyun let out a bewildered laugh.

“I thought it would be better for Detective Kim’s record than calling the police.”

“Woojin, you don’t have to do that. But Woojin, how…”

Kim Taehyun’s voice trailed off, as if puzzled.

This was Woojin’s old house.

And the escapee was inside with him.

Then, Woojin opened his mouth as if to answer his question.

“The child that person kidnapped. That was me.”

“Huh?”

“Shin Woojin, who was trapped in the warehouse. That child was me.”

Kim Taehyun’s eyes widened.

It was an incident that most police officers would remember.

Woojin continued calmly.

“When I heard that Mr. Kim Manpal, who had attempted suicide and was transferred to the hospital, had escaped, I thought he would come looking for me. So I waited.”

“That… you were the child who was kidnapped?”

“Yes.”

Kim Taehyun ran his hands through his hair as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Wait, Woojin, just a moment.”

“I’d prefer it if it wasn’t mentioned that I caught him. Or my name.”

“Don’t worry about that… Ha, just a moment, just a moment. What is this… You were the one who was kidnapped… Ha…”

Kim Taehyun saw Woojin differently than usual.

The past times he spent with Woojin flashed before his eyes like a film.

‘It’s damn delicious.’

‘That’s why I think that person is a criminal.’

‘Do you want to go eat beef? At Number Nine.’

‘I want to try everything. I want to build sandcastles on the beach too.’

‘Is cold noodles possible too?’

Those words and images came to him so sadly.

Those innocent, dog-like eyes suddenly looked sad.

Just then, Choi Gicheol brought Kim Manpal out of the room.

“That bastard locked me up! Isn’t that a crime?!”

Choi Gicheol frowned and hurried Kim Manpal along.

“What nonsense is this old man spouting?”

Kim Manpal was led past Woojin by Choi Gicheol’s hand. No, at that moment, Kim Manpal loudly cleared his throat.

“Eat this.”

At that instant, Kim Taehyun’s hand grabbed him by the collar, covering his mouth.

Kim Taehyun’s eyes were already red, as if overwhelmed with emotion.

“You fucking old bastard.”

Kim Taehyun’s hand trembled, indicating how much force he was applying.

Woojin put his hand on his arm.

“Detective Kim.”

At Woojin’s restraining action, Kim Taehyun barely spoke, looking directly at Kim Manpal.

“Let’s go nicely. Gicheol, take him away first.”

“What about you, senior?”

“Me?”

Suddenly, Kim Taehyun forced a smile.

“I’ll have dinner with Woojin and then go home.”

And he looked at Woojin and continued speaking.

If he said any more, tears would surely fall from his eyes.

“Beef, please.”

***

The Pork Rib Restaurant where Woojin and Kim Taehyun were sitting was bustling with people.

“I told you I’d buy you beef.”

“I get tired of it if I eat it too often.”

“Cold noodles?”

“Are you sure?”

“Oh, come on. I told you, a younger brother shouldn’t worry about his older brother, right? And your older brother got promoted. Hahahaha!”

“Then I’ll order the water cold noodles.”

“You can order both.”

“I’m not that cruel a person. Oh, Detective Kim. It seems Mr. Kim Manpal kidnapped another child besides me. I saw him reburying a body in the mountains that hadn’t fully decomposed.”

It had been dug up by an animal.

“Really?”

“It’s highly likely that they were kidnapped and murdered before me. I should have said something when I was rescued by the police. Back then, I wasn’t in my right mind. Now I can remember it clearly. Do you want to go together?”

Kim Taehyun immediately shook his head.

He didn’t want to make Woojin relive the memory of being kidnapped.

Just tell me the approximate location.

Then, I’ll draw it on paper like a simple map.

Okay.

Here’s the meat.

As the server was about to put the meat on the grill, Kim Taehyun said,

I’ll grill it. Two cold buckwheat noodles, please.

Yes~

Just as Kim Taehyun grabbed the meat tongs.

Detective Kim.

Huh?

I’ll grill it.

It’s fine. Your brother will grill it deliciously for you.

It’s because it doesn’t taste good when Detective Kim grills it.

Kim Taehyun smiled awkwardly.

Ah… Is that so?

Rather than not tasting good, the meat taste becomes ordinary. I’ll grill it.

Why didn’t you say so sooner?

Kim Taehyun, who had been smiling nonchalantly, rested one arm on the chair.

It was because he didn’t want to make Woojin uncomfortable by showing his emotions.

Suddenly, that thought came to mind.

The ‘ordinariness’ that Woojin spoke of.

Could it be that he was trapped there for so long that he yearned for ordinariness so much…

Even though Kim Taehyun pretended to be calm on the outside, he kept glancing at Woojin, as if stealing a look.

He didn’t know what to say, and it was difficult to treat Woojin as he normally would.

Kim Taehyun rubbed his face as if he was dry-washing it.

What words of comfort should I offer?

“I think it’s okay to eat it now.”

Kim Taehyun smiled, showing his teeth.

“Oh really? Shall we see our younger brother’s skills?”

Kim Taehyun picked up a piece of ribs, brought it to his mouth, closed his eyes, and shook his head back and forth.

“As expected, Woojin, how do you grill it so deliciously?”

“Pork is composed of 70-75% water. The rest is mostly protein, and while it varies depending on the pig’s breed, sex, age, feeding conditions, nutritional status, and health, the quality can also be determined by its internal and external water-holding capacity. And also the aging process. Therefore, when grilling meat, considering these factors, you need to understand the meat’s right path, myofibrillar protein and sarcoplasmic protein, and connective tissue protein… I’ll tell you after I eat the grilled meat.”

Kim Taehyun waved his hand vigorously.

“No, no!? You don’t have to explain. I understand what you mean! Come on, eat, eat.”

Of course, he didn’t understand what he meant.

However, it seemed to mean that if you understand the aging process and the composition of pork ribs, you can grill them more deliciously.

“Oh wow…”

At Woojin’s exclamation, Kim Taehyun was finally able to manage an unconscious smile.

Woojin picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and said,

“I wish you would smile like that. Normally, exchanging stories like everyone else. If Detective Kim feels pity or awkward around me, then I wouldn’t be an ordinary person, would I?”