#163. One, two. 6
Woojin, who had been drawing lines on his body with a red Mercury marker, stopped moving.
The humming stopped and the smile disappeared.
Woojin finally closed the cap of the Su-seong marker pen and opened his mouth.
“It’s not fun. It’s not fun.”
“You crazy bastard. If you’re going to kill me, kill me quickly.”
Woojin chuckled.
“I want to do that too. If I had completely taken control of this body, you would be dead. Your body would not have been found.”
The guy in my head was blocking it.
“You crazy kid, you need to stop talking nonsense… … .”
Woojin pulled his middle finger and pecked his forehead.
Taaak!
As Woojin turned and went out to the living room, his rough voice came into his ear.
“Where are you going, you little punk! Kill me! Kill me!”
Kwang.
Woojin closed the door and looked at the mirror hanging in the living room.
At that moment, a voice resonated in my head.
[Are you satisfied now?]
Woojin's face, or rather, one corner of his mouth unconsciously went up deeply.
“I was never satisfied.”
[I think you have plenty of time to play.]
“It’s not enough. Leave it to me. Shinwha Group? The seat where the chairman is sitting. I’ll put you there. What do you think?”
[Do you think that's something only you can do?]
The unconscious nodded slowly while looking at the mirror.
“You can do it, but you’re too slow.”
[Slow… … . It’s not up to you to judge. It’s up to me. People are people, so they can’t help but be selfish… but you’re too selfish. That’s why you’re not ordinary.]
"ha ha ha!"
The unconscious laughed, tilting its head back.
“Hey, what? Ordinary? You think you’re ordinary? You think you can be? The very thought of thinking that way is just plain stupid. It’s just wasting your talent. We can be anything we put our minds to, you idiot.”
[… … .]
Unconsciously, he crossed his arms leisurely and looked at the mirror again.
“Do you think this face is ordinary? I think it’s very handsome. Shall I define ordinary? Humans always react and move according to desire and need. That’s why humans work. To get money, that piece of paper. And they always want it. Over and over. They long for more money, and they want to be happier. It’s the same with meeting the opposite sex. Isn’t pursuing that ordinary?”
[I told you. Humans are selfish, but you are even more selfish. The reason is simple. You are desire itself. That is why I can control you. You are nothing more, nothing less, an accessory that makes up a part of my brain. Don't feel sorry or resentful. That is how it was.]
The unconsciousness screamed.
“Who saved you!”
Kwajik!
The unconscious fist landed right in the mirror.
The mirror split open like a spider web.
In between, the unconscious gaze appeared eerily.
[You could say that it was me too. Don't think that I will disappear just because I don't call you. You will always be inside me, and I will often let you run around inside my fence. Then… … .]
“Fuck!”
The unconscious mouth that had been shouting closed.
At the same time, the fierce gaze disappeared without a trace, and the puppy-like eyes returned.
Woojin had returned.
Woojin, who was looking at his wounded fist, wrapped his hand with the bandage on the table.
And then I opened the door to the room where Kim Man-pal was and went in.
He was looking at Woojin like he was crazy, to the point where his pupils were shaking.
He was making a fuss in the living room, talking to himself… … .
Woojin opened his mouth.
“I wasn’t interested in you, but… … I needed to show it to my subconscious.”
There was a need to satisfy some of the unconscious desires.
“You crazy kid.”
“That’s just it. I think our relationship ends here.”
As Woojin approached him, Kim Manpal flinched while still tied up.
* * *
Bam!
The front door of the villa where Woojin was was wide open.
“Woojin!”
The ones who came in urgently were detectives Kim Tae-hyun and Choi Ki-cheol.
Woojin, who had been sitting in the living room, woke up.
“Are you here?”
Kim Tae-hyun asked urgently.
“What? What happened?”
“Are you hurt?”
Choi Ki-cheol asked excitedly, looking at the bandage wrapped around Woo-jin's hand.
“It’s okay. He’s in his room.”
At Woojin's words, Choi Kicheol hurriedly headed to his room.
A middle-aged man was lying on the bed, bound with rope as if handcuffed from behind.
The feet were tied up as well.
Choi Ki-cheol approached him and immediately looked at his face as if matching it to the photo on his cell phone.
As Woojin said, it was exactly like the wanted person's face.
He was an escaped criminal who had kidnapped a child and forced him to work as a slave years ago.
“Senior! That’s right, it’s Kim Man-pal!”
Kim Tae-hyun let out a dumbfounded laugh at Choi Ki-cheol's words coming from the room.
“I thought it would boost Detective Kim’s performance rather than calling the police.”
“Woojin, I told you that you don’t have to do that. But Woojin, how… … .”
Kim Tae-hyun trailed off as if he was puzzled.
This was Woojin's old house.
And the fugitive is in there with us.
At that moment, Woojin opened his mouth as if to answer his curiosity.
“The child that man kidnapped. That was me.”
"uh?"
“Shin Woo-jin, who was locked in the warehouse. That kid was me.”
Kim Tae-hyun's eyes widened.
It was an incident that any decent police officer could recall.
Woojin continued speaking calmly.
“I thought you would come to me after hearing the news that Mr. Kim Man-pal, who had attempted suicide and been taken to the hospital, had run away. That’s why I waited.”
“That… …. The child who was kidnapped was you?”
"yes."
Kim Tae-hyun ran his hands through his hair as if he couldn't believe it.
“Wait a minute, Woojin, wait a minute.”
“I hope it’s not said that I caught it. Not even my name.”
“Don’t worry about that… … . Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute. What the heck. You were the one who was kidnapped… … . Hey… … .”
Kim Tae-hyun said that Woo-jin looked different than usual.
The past times I spent with Woojin seemed to pass by like a film.
'This is so delicious.'
'So I think that person is the culprit.'
'Would you like to go eat beef? To Number Nine.'
'I want to try everything. I even want to make a sand castle at the beach.'
'Can I have cold noodles too?'
Those words and images come across so sadly.
Those kind puppy-like eyes suddenly look sad.
At that time, Choi Ki-cheol brought Kim Man-pal out of the room.
“That bastard locked me up! Isn’t that a crime!?”
Choi Ki-cheol frowned and urged Kim Man-pal to walk faster.
“What the hell is this guy talking about?”
That's how Kim Man-pal passed Woo-jin, led by Choi Gi-cheol's hand. No, at that moment, Kim Man-pal pulled up a large phlegm from his throat.
“Eat this.”
At that moment, he grabbed Kim Tae-hyun's hand by the collar and covered his mouth.
Kim Tae-hyun's eyes were red, as if he was overcome with emotion.
“This fucking old man.”
Kim Tae-hyun's hands were trembling as he exerted so much force.
Woojin put his hand on his arm.
“Detective Kim.”
At Woojin's attempt to stop him, Kim Taehyun looked straight at Kim Manpal and barely managed to speak.
“Let’s go. Ki-cheol, take me first.”
“What about you, senior?”
"me?"
Suddenly, Kim Tae-hyun forced himself to smile.
“I’ll eat with Woojin and then go in.”
And then he looked at Woojin and continued speaking.
If I said more, tears would fall from my eyes.
“With beef.”
* * *
The pork rib restaurant where Woojin and Kim Taehyun were sitting was bustling with people.
“I told you I’d buy you beef.”
“If you eat it too often, you’ll get sick of it.”
“Cold noodles?”
“Are you okay?”
“Oh, right. Didn’t you say that your younger brother isn’t worried about you? And your older brother got promoted. Hahaha!”
“Then I will order it cold.”
“You can order both.”
“I’m not that cruel. Oh, Detective Kim. Mr. Kim Man-pal, I think you kidnapped another child besides me. I saw you reburying a body that wasn’t completely decomposed in the mountains.”
It was something the beast had dug up.
"okay?"
“There’s a high chance that he was kidnapped and killed before me. I should have told the police when I was rescued. I wasn’t in my right mind at the time. I remember it clearly now. Do you want to come with me?”
Kim Tae-hyun immediately shook his head.
I didn't want to have to recall the memory of Woojin being kidnapped.
“Just tell me the approximate location.”
“Then, I’ll draw it on paper like a map.”
"okay."
“The meat is here.”
When the employee was about to place the meat on the grill, Kim Tae-hyun said.
“I’ll grill it. Give me two bowls of cold noodles.”
“Yes~”
That's when Kim Tae-hyun grabbed the meat tongs.
“Detective Kim.”
"uh?"
“I'll grill it.”
“It’s okay. I’ll cook it for you so it’s delicious.”
“That’s because it doesn’t taste good when Detective Kim cooks it.”
Kim Tae-hyun laughed awkwardly.
“Ah… … is that so?”
“It’s not that it’s tasteless, but the meat tastes ordinary. I’ll grill it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
Kim Tae-hyun, who was smiling nonchalantly, placed one arm on the chair.
It was because he didn't want to show his emotions unnecessarily and make Woojin uncomfortable.
Suddenly, that thought occurred to me.
The 'ordinary' that Woojin talks about.
Maybe it's because you've been stuck there for so long that you want to be ordinary…
Although Kim Tae-hyun pretended to be calm on the outside, he kept looking at Woo-jin furtively.
I didn't know what to say, and it was difficult to treat Woojin like I usually did.
Kim Tae-hyun rubbed his face as if he was washing his face dry.
What words of comfort should I give?
“I think it’s edible.”
Kim Tae-hyun smiled, revealing his teeth.
“Really? Let’s see what our little brother is capable of.”
Kim Tae-hyun, who picked up a piece of rib and brought it to his mouth, closed his eyes and shook his head.
“As expected, Woojin, how do you cook it so that it tastes this good?”
“Pork is composed of 70-75% water. The rest is mostly protein, and although there are differences depending on the breed of pig, gender, age, feeding conditions, nutritional status, and health, the quality is also determined by the internal and external water-holding capacity. The degree of aging. So when grilling meat, considering these factors, recognize the level of fat, muscle protein, myofibrillar protein, and meat matrix protein, and connective tissue protein… … I’ll eat the grilled one first and then tell you.”
Kim Tae-hyun waved his hands vigorously.
“No, no!? You don’t have to explain. I know what you mean! Hurry up and eat.”
Of course I didn't know what he was talking about.
However, it seemed to mean that if you understand the aging process and the ingredients of pork ribs, you can cook them more deliciously.
“Oh my… … .”
Only then was Kim Tae-hyun able to smile unconsciously at Woo-jin’s admiration.
Woojin said, picking up a piece of meat with his chopsticks.
“I wish you would smile like that. Just like other people, talking to each other normally. If Detective Kim feels sorry for me and finds it difficult, then I’m not an ordinary person.”
