Into The Thrill

"Perfectly missed the eye. It's a four-week orbital fracture. He'll need cosmetic surgery because a lot of tissue was torn, but there won't be any damage to his vision."
"......"

"Are you disappointed?"
He asked. Haewon had hoped for and expected blindness, and ironically, he felt a sense of relief hearing that Lee Jinyoung's vision would be unaffected. Haewon shook his head.
"The impact was near the eye. This is attempted murder."

Hyun Woojin circled his own face with his finger, indicating that any injury to the head, whether it be the eyes or nose, was considered that severe. It implied an intent to kill.
"......"
Haewon simply bowed his head.

"Why did you have to go that far?"
Haewon looked up from the steaming coffee and met Hyun Woojin's gaze. He didn't know what position Hyun was taking in this discussion, but suggesting that Haewon should have just "taken it easy" was unpleasant to hear from both an aggressor's and a victim's standpoint. It suggested that he should have just let it happen without {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} making a fuss.
Silently staring back, Hyun's eyes lingered on Haewon's face as if admiring a painting.

"You look like you'd enjoy spreading your legs for a man."
"......"
"Right?"

Haewon didn't deny it. He just continued to look at him. Hyun chuckled.
"Ah, did I go too far?"
"My hand."

"......"
"He tried to break my fingers."
"Some people value their fingers more than their lives."

Hyun nodded as if understanding, then stood up. The steam from the coffee slowly dissipated.
"Drink your coffee."
Haewon picked up the takeaway cup. His hand was stained with blood. He slowly sipped the now cooler coffee.
He was released from the police station at five in the morning. Hyun Woojin supported Haewon's shoulders, draped in his jacket. The warmth from his large hand was felt distinctly, contrasting with his cold appearance.

Hyun's grey car was parked in the station's lot. He opened the car door for Haewon, who climbed into the passenger seat. As Hyun was about to close the door, Haewon looked up at him.
"Ah, my violin."
Hyun looked down at him with a puzzled expression.

"I left my violin behind."
"......"
Without a word, Hyun went back into the station. A few minutes later, he emerged, Haewon's violin in hand. It was a Guadagnini, worth millions in insurance and over a billion in value, specially procured by a professor through a European music foundation dealer.

Made from wood that had survived the Ice Age, the violin's density and depth of sound were comparable to those of a Stradivarius or Guarneri.
Hyun carefully placed the violin in the back seat, and only then did Haewon breathe a sigh of relief. Hyun got into the driver's seat and started the car, saying,
"The violin is untouched, so don't worry."

"Is it really okay to just go like this?"
Haewon wondered if it was really okay to just leave in Hyun's car, considering he had just been involved in a serious incident. Hyun pointed to his face and reminded Haewon that he had called it attempted murder. Despite the fact that he had avoided the eyes, he had severely injured someone. Haewon thought he might be sent back to a holding cell, yet here he was, sitting in Hyun's car.
"It was a mutual fault, settled as self-defense. Took some time because he wouldn't agree to the terms."

Hyun pressed the accelerator. The car smoothly exited the police station's parking lot and followed another vehicle on the road.
"Is that even possible?"
"Not usually. But it is because it's me."

"......"
"Don't worry. As long as I'm alive, he won't come near you."
Perhaps thinking Haewon's silence was due to the fear of being nearly assaulted, Hyun added. His voice carried a convincing tone. Although Haewon didn't know exactly what Hyun had said, he trusted him because of that persuasive voice.

This authoritative tone also brought back the insulting words Hyun had casually thrown at Haewon. It reminded him of how Hyun had treated Taeshin, assuming it was fine to treat him the same way because they were friends.
It was as if Haewon belonged to a category of people Hyun could treat carelessly, just like he had treated Taeshin. Calling him over for this situation might not have been a wise decision. Just as Haewon knew Hyun's secrets, now Hyun knew some embarrassing private details about Haewon.
"Where did you say your home was?"

"......"
Now that he had made Lee Jinyoung useless, Haewon was again without a place to go. He should have just accepted that watch. According to Hyun, he should have just gone along with it. Then both he and Lee would have been happy, and Haewon would have had a place to stay.
"Earlier, that man was saying some strange things."

Hyun turned to look at Haewon, his right hand on the steering wheel and his left hand resting on the window sill, playing with his forehead and hair. He glanced at Haewon.
"He said Mr. Moon Haewon was playing games with him."
"......"

"Said he took you in thinking you were a runaway college student, and you didn't even pay him back properly and acted too high and mighty."
"......"
"You're twenty-nine, right? A friend of Taeshin's?"

"Twenty-eight. Taeshin was just a year ahead, but I called him informally."
"What's the difference between twenty-eight and twenty-nine? You're almost thirty and still claiming to be a college student, do you really think you look that young?"
He stared intently at Haewon's face, assessing, then looked ahead.

"You look young."
He murmured to himself. The intent of the question was directed elsewhere.
"Do you have nowhere to go?"

"No."
"Then why were you at that guy's place? Who did you want to play with?"
"I was there because I had nowhere else to go."

"But you said you have places to go."
"I do have places. I just don’t want to go there."
"Why stay there if you have other places? Don’t you know it's more dangerous to act without thinking?"

He might have wanted to ask if Hyun was staying at the home of his deceased fiancée’s family, acting as a son-in-law. It wasn't his place to get involved, nor Hyun's to interfere. Perhaps because Haewon was a friend of Taeshin's, or maybe because Hyun now knew of the humiliating incident, his choice of words continually flirted with crossing boundaries, agitating Haewon's already uneasy mood.
"Thank you for your help. I had no one else to contact."
Haewon politely warned him not to cross the line. Then he provided the address of the officetel that might now be in the name of his six-year-old half-sibling. Hyun's car turned left at an intersection.

"Isn't that a bit sudden to ask a favor of someone you hardly know? Couldn't you have contacted me sooner?"
"I just remembered the business card you gave that day."
"It's been a while since I gave you my card. Did you just remember it in jail?"

"Should I have called the day after receiving a prosecutor's card, feeling obliged like Taeshin?"
"......"
Haewon knew about the relationship between Taeshin and him, having heard it despite his dislike for such gossip. Hyun, caught off guard by the unexpected attack, shut his mouth. He just drove quietly, exactly what Haewon wanted. By silencing him, Haewon focused ahead.

His car stopped in front of the officetel. Haewon took off his jacket and handed it to him. He accepted the jacket and slipped his arms into it.
"I was too harsh earlier. I’m sorry. I misunderstood."
"What misunderstanding? The misunderstanding that people who like spreading their legs for men tend to hang out with others like them?"

"……."
He viewed Haewon as no different from Taeshin. Haewon had lied, saying he was a runaway college student, and had been living off an unknown man’s charity. He had nearly been assaulted due to his inability to pay him back and had no one else to turn to. He had to contact a stranger who had only given him a business card out of politeness a month ago. Hyun Woojin found Haewon's situation laughable.
He wet his bottom lip with his tongue. A faint reddish hue appeared. It was past 5 AM, now 5:30. The sun still hadn’t risen. The first light of dawn was submerged in a particularly deep darkness. It was the time when people who had been asleep would start to stir. There wasn’t a single shadow of a passerby on the streets. Everything was peacefully asleep in the early morning.

His gaze, filled with awkwardness, turned to Haewon as he asked.
"Did Taeshin say something?"
"Do you know why I hated Taeshin?"

"……."
"He would call me, and I’d have to listen to every little detail of his personal life, things I didn’t want to hear. I hated it. But it was worth listening to him. I can see that, with you apologizing, I can say it was worth it."
"How much do you know?"

"Why does it matter how much I know?"
"You seem to have misunderstood me."
"What misunderstanding? The one where you told a man who almost got raped to just spread his legs? I didn’t misunderstand anything."

Haewon spoke exactly what he heard and saw, nothing more, nothing less.
"So how much do you know?"
"So why do you care about how much I know?"

"How much do you know?"
"Why should I tell you? Are you asking for a report from your subordinate?"
"I just want to break your fingers."

"……."
"At least act like you’re listening when someone talks."
His hand lightly tapped Haewon’s cheek. The hand that had wrapped around his shoulder was warm, just as the hand that brushed his face was. It was soft.

But this kind of threat was a first. This kind of seemingly threatening behavior was also new. He had only tapped Haewon’s cheek, but it made Haewon’s heart drop. It was a startle he hadn’t even felt when Lee Jinyoung had tried to break his fingers.
Haewon also realized that he wouldn’t be allowed to go up to his officetel like this. Hyun Woojin seemed to read everything in Haewon’s mind. As he shifted the gear to park, the lock that had automatically unlocked with the shift made a click sound and clicked back into place.
Hyun Woojin’s hand, which pressed the lock button and blocked the escape route, gripped the steering wheel. A gentle smile appeared on his handsome face. His hand was so warm it felt like it could almost cut through. He asked in a polite tone.

As if this were the last chance.
"How much do you know?"
"More than you think."

"Could you be more specific?"
"You’re asking a rude question for someone I’ve barely seen a few times. You should have asked me in advance."
"You’re misunderstanding me right now."

"What’s there to misunderstand?"
Haewon only spoke what he heard and saw, nothing more. There was no room for misunderstanding between him and Hyun Woojin. But it sounded like Hyun Woojin thought there had been misunderstandings between Haewon and Taeshin.
"Do you think I’ve been playing with Taeshin?"

"……."
"I didn’t play with Taeshin. I told you earlier. A person who doesn’t calculate, who doesn’t think, is dangerous. Taeshin was that kind of person. Too innocent, too honest, to the point it was burdensome."
"So you felt sorry for him and slept with him once?"

"……."
Hyun Woojin’s eyebrows twitched as if he had no idea how much Haewon knew. He soon closed his lips tightly. Realization dawned on him that Haewon knew everything, even things he wasn’t supposed to know. His face grew cold, and his chest expanded as he took a deep breath, then slowly settled again.
Hyun Woojin was objectively and subjectively handsome. His voice matched his appearance, and his appearance suited his status. His tightly sealed lips and impassive face exuded a sense of urgency, as if anyone who dealt with him carelessly might be torn apart. He wasn’t bothered at all but made others anxious and exhausted.

Had Haewon not known that he had a relationship with Taeshin, he might have recognized that his appearance and demeanor would have stirred up desires to engage physically with him at least once. Those who incite desire always remain calm. But right now, it was different. He seemed uncomfortable. Haewon knew that by not answering, he was making him uncomfortable.
"Did Taeshin say something?"
"Why does it matter what Taeshin said? What matters is how you feel about Taeshin."

"I told you I didn’t think that way, but since you don’t believe me, I’m asking."
"Why does it matter whether I believe you or not?"
Haewon thought about how his life had almost been ruined by a man like this, but he was still persistently asking what Haewon thought of him.

Hyun Woojin turned his head completely toward Haewon, glaring at him with sharp eyes.
"A twenty-eight-year-old who lied about being a college student, almost ended up going to jail for attempted murder after playing with a foolish guy, and I saved you, took you to your house nicely, but instead of thanking me, you’re treating me like a thug and misunderstanding me. And this is all before dawn when I had to wake you up from your sleep."
"……."

"Whether I did it out of pity or not, whether it was once or twice, it meant I was sincere. People like me, who are kind, aren’t that common."
"……."
His attitude toward Taeshin’s death at the funeral was serious. He wanted to know why Taeshin had killed himself. He said he needed to know in order to ease the guilt of not answering the phone that day, to be able to say sorry. Haewon didn’t think Hyun Woojin had played with Taeshin. When he said he liked him, it might have been out of pity and compassion.

"Do you understand what I mean?"
"……."
As he claimed to be kind, he hadn’t ignored Haewon’s phone call that rang early in the morning. He had rushed over immediately, even though they weren’t close and he took time to recall who Haewon was after hearing his name.

And he had taken Haewon out of that situation. He had listened to the circumstances and forced Lee Jinyoung to make a deal. Haewon had nowhere to go, no money, and ended up returning to the officetel that was to be transferred to his six-year-old stepbrother.
For Haewon, he hadn’t asked for anything in return. Haewon quietly opened his mouth, answering the question Hyun Woojin demanded.
"...I can’t ask the dead what they meant, but if you say so, I guess that’s how it is."

His face at Taeshin’s funeral had been calm with sorrow. His posture when he bowed in front of the portrait wasn’t fake.
The hand that had wrapped around Haewon’s shoulder had been warm. There was no such thing as a bad man with warm hands. If his hands were warm, then his heart was warm. It was a widely accepted fact, a principle, a truth.