The Unbelievers

Chapter 33

“I hate you, ahjussi.”

“…”

“I really hate you, I’m saying.”

He vehemently expressed his dislike, saying he hated him, truly hated him to death, hated him so much it made him shudder, cutting through the air sharply.

The person who heard these words of hatred rubbed his face dry. The dead skin on his face rubbed off onto his palm. Yoo Siwoon, resting his elbow on the car window and cupping his chin, looked at Director Nam who was driving.

“You must be happy, Director.”

“…Pardon?”

Director Nam’s hands, tightly gripping the steering wheel, twitched slightly.

“Eunseong says he wants to live with you. Would that be alright? There’s no guarantee something like today won’t happen again, can you handle it?”

“Ah, that… I think Eunseong is just saying anything because he’s angry.”

“Is that so? It doesn’t sound that way to me.”

“That’s how it sounds to me. He must have been under a lot of stress because of the exam period.”

Director Nam carefully exhaled as he made excuses for Eunseong’s unpredictable behavior. He glanced at Eunseong through the rearview mirror. Eunseong, completely oblivious to Director Nam’s hint to go along with his words, said:

“That’s not true. I’m not good at studying, what stress? I just guessed on all the tests. I just hate ahjussi. I left home because I don’t want to live with him.”

Eunseong angrily repeated, as if to make sure, that he hated him, really hated him, that he was going crazy with how much he hated Yoo Siwoon. His tear-stained eyes had turned red.

After a long silence, Yoo Siwoon quietly spoke as the car stopped at a deserted intersection with no other vehicles or people around.

“Even if you hate it, you have to live with me until we can find you a place.”

He spoke as if to say that being mature means enduring even things you dislike.

“Until when?”

“…”

As if thinking there was no point in arguing with such a child, his angry tone had already subsided, returning to his usual voice.

“I’ll prepare it as quickly as possible.”

“When exactly is ‘as quickly as possible’?”

“…”

Yoo Siwoon’s expression as he turned to look at Eunseong was contorted, reaching the limit of his patience. There was also a questioning look, as if wondering why Eunseong was provoking him so much when today’s incident alone was enough to make him angry.

“So when exactly is ‘as quickly as possible’?”

“Eunseong, the CEO was very shocked today. It took a long time to find you… he was very worried.”

“So what? What does that have to do with me?”

“I think it’s best to stop now.”

“Stop what? Why can’t I dislike someone who doesn’t even want to touch me? Why can’t I hate someone who hates even breathing the same air as me? Should I bow down and thank him for letting me sleep here, feeding me, and sending me to school? Who asked for that? Who decided to bring me here on their own? Whose decision was it! I want to go home! I’m going back! Find my dad!”

Eunseong shouted at Director Nam, who was subtly pressuring him to stop with his pointed tone, and also yelled at Yoo Siwoon sitting next to him. Panting, he poured out the emotions that had been building up, expressing in different words his fear that he might actually like Yoo Siwoon.

Only Eunseong’s heavy breathing could be heard after his outburst.

“Just… just let me leave. I don’t want to live here. I don’t want to be with you, ahjussi.”

“…”

Eunseong, who had practically begged, bit his lip. He straightened his body, which had turned to confront them, and turned his head towards the car window. His vision was blurred with tears.

They could never know, and should never know, how difficult and painful this was for Eunseong.

Thinking about a man who despises me, I’m… my body… is becoming strange.

What should I do, what are you telling me to do? How can I keep living in the same house, seeing his face every day?

He won’t accept it even if I say I like him, he won’t understand my feelings.

Moreover, he wasn’t just any man, but his relative.

His throat tightened as he kept swallowing to avoid crying. His chest felt painfully tight.

It was past 3 AM when they returned to Yoo Siwoon’s residence, driving on an almost empty road.

Already tired and exhausted, Eunseong became even more fatigued from the intense silent confrontation with Yoo Siwoon. Director Nam drove up the hill, passing through the security checkpoint. The car quietly stopped at the entrance of the mansion.

After checking Yoo Siwoon’s composed appearance, Director Nam turned off the engine and got out of the car first. With just the two of them left, the car became even quieter, as if choking off their breath.

Eunseong, deliberately turning his head away in protest, not wanting to look at him, stared out the car window and said:

“I want to live with Jung-eon.”

“…I thought you said you wanted to live with the Director.”

“I don’t want to. I want to live with Jung-eon.”

“Say something that makes sense.”

“Why doesn’t it make sense? Jung-eon said it’s okay to live together.”

“Let’s just get out. It’s very late.”

“…”

Yoo Siwoon got out of the car. He received Eunseong’s bag and school uniform from Director Nam, who was standing holding Eunseong’s luggage, and entered the house, receiving a deep bow.

When Eunseong didn’t get out of the car, Director Nam approached and opened the car door. Despite the silent pressure to get out, Eunseong stubbornly remained seated.

“Let’s get out now. It’s past 3 AM. The CEO is waiting.”

“How did you find me?”

Eunseong suddenly looked up at Director Nam and asked. Despite the unexpected question, his expression remained as unmoved as Yoo Siwoon’s.

“Get out quickly.”

“It was impossible to run away from the beginning, right? That’s why you just let me sell everything you bought me.”

“It’s late.”

“No matter where I run… it’s useless, right?”

“Yes, it’s useless. But getting off the taxi right away was a smart choice. Of course, telling the taxi driver your destination was a very stupid thing to do.”

Ah, hearing the reason why they found him so quickly, Eunseong felt all the strength drain from his body in despair.

“…Is ahjussi very angry?”

Eunseong asked, looking back at the empty entrance as if chasing after Yoo Siwoon, who had already disappeared.

“You just need to know that I’ve become very troubled because of you, Eunseong.”

He emphasized the word “very” as if pressing down hard with a pen. It was a polite but menacing threat to never do such a thing again.

Eunseong got out of the car and trudged towards the house. Director Nam spoke to Eunseong’s back:

“You’ll skip school tomorrow. Not taking the exam doesn’t really matter, does it?”

It was the moment Eunseong realized that saying he wanted to live with Director Nam, even though it was just empty words, was a slip of the tongue he shouldn’t have made.

∞ ∞ ∞

After lingering in front of Yoo Siwoon’s room, which gave off a chilly feeling as if blocking any approach, Eunseong returned to his own room and tried to sleep in the early dawn hours.

The next day, Eunseong, who had slept in until nearly noon, got up disheveled and sat blankly before pressing the button to open the blackout curtains.

The bright midday sunlight illuminated the room dazzlingly white. The lush, beautiful garden, which he had been sad about possibly never seeing again, spread out like a fantastic painting.

Frowning and rubbing his sleepy eyes with the back of his hand, Eunseong belatedly noticed a new phone placed on the table.

The phone, already set up, was the same model as the one he used before. Only Yoo Siwoon and Director Nam’s contact information was saved. If he had known this would happen, he should have reset and sold his old phone too. The only petty rebellion he could make against Yoo Siwoon was to subtly deplete his assets.

Still, perhaps because the commotion he caused yesterday was quite tiring, he didn’t dream all night. Sighing that it was a small mercy in an unfortunate situation, he lay back down on the bed holding the phone.

“Haaa…”

Last night’s disturbance had occurred because of his lie. He wanted to apologize to Choi Jung-eon and his parents. Not knowing his contact information, he installed a social media app and searched for all the names he knew. He searched for the school and found Choi Jung-eon’s account. As soon as he was about to send him a DM, a message arrived.

[It’s me Seo Eunseong sorry about yesterday did you do well on the exam?]

[Shit where are you save my number call me right now]

He called the phone number Choi Jung-eon provided. Before the connection tone could even ring once, Choi Jung-eon answered the phone.

“Hey! Are you okay?!”

The guy yelled. His ears hurting, Eunseong moved the phone away before bringing it back.

“You’ll burst my eardrums. I’m fine. I’m at home now. Just woke up.”

“What, what, your cousin’s house? Is that bastard really your cousin? My mom says he’s the CEO of a really big company, is that true? What do you have to do with a chaebol?”

“It’s a complicated situation.”

Eunseong vaguely brushed it off, not wanting to bother with an explanation.

“What complicated situation? Is that man really your relative?”

Choi Jung-eon asked in a voice of disbelief, as if he couldn’t believe it and was suspecting another lie.

“He is a relative. He’s my father’s cousin.”

It would have been better if he wasn’t a relative uncle but just a complete stranger. There were many problems, but the fact that he was a relative and blood-related was one of those many problems. Perhaps it was the biggest problem.

“I didn’t know either, but my father must have caused some trouble and was removed from the family register or something. Anyway, I guess I am part of a chaebol family.”

“What nonsense are you talking?”

“It’s true. My room has automatic curtains that open and close when I press a button, and I have a secretary. He takes me to school and picks me up. Ah, you saw him then too, I’m not sure if you remember. There’s an ahjussi who looks like an old fogy. I got scolded by that old fogy yesterday too. He’s the old fogy ahjussi who very politely says he won’t let it slide if I do it again.”

Choi Jung-eon gasped, saying he couldn’t believe it at all. Stuttering as if at a loss for words, he asked again:

“Don’t lie. But you lived like that, with your ass torn? A fucking poor bastard? Getting beaten up by customers while working part-time?”