CHAPTER 45
Kija went into the kitchen to pour drinks. At the same time, he called their closest friend.
“Jun, sorry to bother you,” he said as soon as Jun picked up.
Jun’s voice was bright, almost cheerful. “Kija! What a surprise. I thought you were busy this afternoon. What, did you miss me?”
“Of course not. I want your money,” Kija replied dryly.
Jun laughed. “I knew there had to be a reason. What’s going on?”
He was still at the office, trying to wrap things up.
“Did you know Chung-Hee is in love with that beautiful boy, Noeul?”
Jun fell silent. Should he admit it? He wasn’t sure he should drag Kija into something Chung-Hee had deliberately kept private. But Kija was their closest friend, and if he was asking, something had clearly happened.
“Yes,” Jun said finally, so quietly it sounded more like a breath than a word.
Kija felt a brief sting of disappointment. Neither of them had trusted him with the truth. But wounded pride could wait.
“Do you know how harsh he is with him?”
Jun’s expression changed immediately. “What happened?”
“He came here furious. Grabbed Noeul, accused him of coming here because he was interested in me. Then he hit him.”
Jun went silent.
Kija glanced toward the living room, where Chung-Hee sat drinking. “In front of me,” he added. “He humiliated him, Jun. Noeul left a few minutes ago, and Chung-Hee is still here.”
“Keep him there.”
Jun was already gathering his things. “I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”
“One more thing,” Kija said.
Something in his voice made Jun stop.
“Call Noeul.”
“Why?”
“When he left…” Kija hesitated. “He looked half-dead. I don’t know where he might be, or what he might do.”
“Fuck.”
The word escaped Jun before he could stop it.
“Is he trying to push him back toward suicide?” Silence. Jun closed his eyes. Too late. The words had already escaped.
“Back toward suicide?” Kija repeated.
Jun regretted it immediately. He wasn’t someone who exposed other people’s secrets, especially something like this.
“I’ll call him,” he said quickly. “Just keep Chung-Hee there.”
“Jun.”
“Please.”
Kija understood from his tone that he wouldn’t explain further. “All right.”
“Thank you.”
Jun hung up.
Kija remained motionless for several seconds, phone still in his hand.
Back toward suicide.
So Noeul had tried to kill himself before. He hadn’t expected that. Those gentle, affectionate eyes had made Noeul seem almost carefree when they first met. Shy, perhaps. Melancholic beneath the surface. But Kija had never imagined the depth of what the young man was carrying.
His gaze drifted toward the living room.
Chung-Hee was driving the person he claimed to love toward the edge while destroying himself in the process.
Whatever had happened between them, whatever history connected their families, this could not continue.
And as his friend, Kija could no longer pretend it was none of his business.
***
Jun called Noeul. Once. No answer. Twice. Nothing. By the fourth attempt, Jun was already stepping into the elevator when the call finally connected.
“Noeul, where are you?”
There was a brief silence. Then Noeul answered, his voice barely holding together.
“Don’t call me again. I want to be alone. Go to your friend.”
Jun ignored the bitterness in his voice. “At least tell me you’re okay.”
A hollow laugh came through the phone. “I feel like shit, but I’m not going to kill myself, if that’s what you want to know.”
Jun stopped moving. Noeul knew exactly why he was calling.
“I’m going to kill Chung-Hee,” Jun snapped. “How can he keep treating you like this?”
Noeul closed his eyes. Jun was genuinely worried. Furious, even. But Noeul didn’t want to be the reason they fought, no matter how badly Chung-Hee had hurt him.
“It’s understandable, Mr. Han,” he said quietly. “He blames me for his brother’s death. Wouldn’t anyone in his position hate me?”
“No.”
The answer came so quickly that Noeul fell silent.
Jun stepped out of the elevator. “No, Noeul. It isn’t. And even if he hated you, that still wouldn’t give him the right to treat you this way.”
Something tightened in Noeul’s throat. He looked away, though there was no one there to see him.
“I don’t think hatred is all he feels for you,” Jun added.
There was the sound of a door closing before Noeul answered. Jun realized he was outside.
“That’s true,” Noeul said. “But physical attraction alone isn’t enough to heal a relationship, is it?”
Jun sighed. “It’s not just physical attraction.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Noeul…”
“If it were more than that, he wouldn’t torture me like this.”
Jun stopped beside his car. He had no immediate answer, because whatever Chung-Hee felt, Noeul was right about the part that mattered.
Love did not erase what his friend had done.
“He feels guilty about his feelings for you,” Jun said eventually.
Noeul exhaled slowly. “I know.” His voice sounded exhausted now rather than angry. “But honestly, Mr. Han, that doesn’t make it any easier to bear.”
Jun lowered his gaze. “No,” he admitted. “It doesn’t.” He unlocked the car. “Do you want me to come to you?”
Noeul didn’t answer immediately.
“I just got into the car,” Jun continued. “Say the word and I’m there.”
Loud music played somewhere in the background, so loud Jun could barely hear Noeul’s reply.
“No, thank you. I’d rather be alone.”
Jun tightened his grip around the phone. Every instinct told him not to leave Noeul alone, but forcing himself into Noeul’s space after everything Chung-Hee had done felt wrong too.
So he compromised.
“One last question.”
Noeul sighed. “What?”
“Where will you be? Just so I don’t worry.”
Another pause.
“The Neon Peacock. It’s a bar I usually go to. Duri Kaiser, a very good friend of mine, works there. He’ll take care of me.”
Jun memorized the name. “All right.”
He opened the driver’s door but didn’t get inside yet.
“Noeul?”
“Yes?”
“If I call again, please answer.”
Noeul was quiet.
“I’m not asking because Chung-Hee told me to. I’m asking because I care.”
Silence stretched between them. Then Noeul’s voice softened.
“Of course.”
A pause.
“Thank you for your concern.”
The call ended.
Jun remained beside his car for several seconds, staring at the dark screen of his phone. Then he looked at the names he had typed into his notes.
Duri Kaiser. The Neon Peacock.
He didn’t intend to go there. Noeul had asked to be left alone, and for now, Jun would respect that.
But he kept the name and address anyway.