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Chapter 54.

I said to my mother, “There is one way to make sure Woojin Choi never returns to Korea.”

“What’s that?”

She asked for the sake of being polite, not because she was interested. I replied, “Well, we can get rid of the one person he is attached to.”

I don’t want you to come back, Woojin.

You should’ve died that night.

Jihoon watched his mother patting Woojin’s face. It was such a sinister scene that Jihoon wondered if this was just a very bad nightmare.

Jihoon said to her, “Mom, I don’t hate Woojin.”

His mother, who looked just like Woojin Choi, slapped Jihoon. His cheek began to bleed, but his mother didn’t help him. Her lips were so red. Her long black hair reached her waist beautifully. She was a beautiful pale porcelain-skinned mother.

Mother and Woojin Choi.

“…!”

Jihoon suddenly woke up from his nightmare. He was panting anxiously. It had been a long time since he last had this kind of dream. Jihoon looked through his nightstand and brought out three pills. Underneath his nightstand, Jihoon always kept five bottles of water there. It was one of the results of the OCD side of him. He opened one of them and swallowed the pills with the cold water. Even with the water, the pills still tasted bitter.

Suddenly, a man walked into his bedroom and asked, “You take medication too?”

“You shouldn’t be entering my house like this, especially without my permission.”

“Oh, how cold.”

The man sat down on the bed and grinned. When Jihoon frowned, still smiling, he stood up and sat down on the nearby sofa.

The man said to Jihoon, “You asked me to tell you anything I find out about Woojin Choi, remember? You said to let you know ASAP, no matter where you are.”

“… What?”

“Woojin Choi left his home very early this morning.”

“To Shin Kim’s condo?”

“No, he just left. He packed a bag and left.”

Jihoon’s hands began to shake. He just woke up from a nightmare, but another nightmare was starting again.

***

Shin parked his car in the basement parking lot and was on his way up to his office. His cellphone beeped, letting him know that a message had arrived. Normally he would’ve checked it immediately, but the elevator was full. He was going to get off soon anyway, so he didn’t take it out to look.

Yesterday, Woojin and Shin didn’t end up having dinner together. Woojin returned to his own home. Shin was worried; he wanted to see Woojin as soon as possible this morning and check on him. He walked to Woojin’s office, but he saw that Woojin’s seat was empty. Shin looked down at his watch.

Only 10 minutes till work hour was going to start.

Shin wondered, ‘Is he sick? Maybe he doesn’t feel well.’

He finally took out his cellphone and checked the text. It was from Eejun Bae.

-Mr. Shin Kim. Did you get to work yet?

Shin had already completed and sent his report on their recent business trip. Was there something wrong with the paperwork? Just then, Jihoon Kang ran into his office.

“Mr. Shin Kim,” Jihoon’s voice shook. When Shin frowned, Jihoon took a deep breath and asked, “Have you been in contact with Woojin Choi? Did you talk to him this morning?”

“Pardon?”

“I guess not.”

Shin’s body was filled with ominous tension. He took out his cellphone and called Woojin Choi. Jihoon was already leaving the room, so Shin followed him, his phone still on his ear.

Jihoon asked angrily, “What are you doing?”

“Just wait a minute.”

Shin thought he had seen the rough side of Jihoon already, but the way Jihoon looked right now told him otherwise. Jihoon looked… sharp and almost cruel.

Shin asked, “Why did you ask about Woojin Choi? What is happening?”

“I just can’t get a hold of him. Let me go.”

Jihoon definitely looked very different. Dark and harsh. Shin had never seen him like this before. He frowned and Jihoon continued to huff and stare at him.

Jihoon said to Shin angrily, “I never liked you. From the very beginning, I knew you were a bad idea.”

“…”

“I will talk to you later, after I talk to Woojin. I need to go now…”

“…”

“I can’t handle you right now, Mr. Shin. I am furious, and I might end up killing you.”

Shin felt his heart falling to the floor. He couldn’t reach Woojin’s phone either.

***

Woojin hated the game of hide and seek. Even as a child, he would watch the other kids playing the game with an unhappy face. He pretended to ignore them.

Woojin’s mother left him alone, but one day, his father asked Woojin, “Why don’t you like hide and seek?”

Woojin resembled his father a lot, but Woojin’s father had no interest in his son. He was a very distant man, to his son and to even his own wife.

But Woojin’s mother loved her husband nonetheless, including his distant nature. It was one of the things Woojin couldn’t understand. His mother’s blind love and devotion to his father. It wasn’t just his mother that was strange. Woojin knew his father was also not quite normal.

To his father, Woojin replied, “I am concerned that the other kids might not be able to find me.”

His father nodded immediately. He nodded as if he understood exactly what Woojin felt.

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