Chapter 81
I hid in the closet.
It was a closet full of women's clothes.
Beep beep-
Soon, I heard someone unlocking the door and entering the atelier. It was Kwon Suho.
"Kim Yoo-jung, why weren't you answering your phone today? Do you really want to die? Didn't I tell you not to see other guys or ignore my calls? Do you really have a death wish?"
I'd heard that Kim Yoo-jung noona and Kwon Suho were dating.
Everyone around said so. But is this the kind of conversation people in a relationship have?
And Kwon Suho seemed like someone who didn't hesitate to use violence against women. So, I became even more confused.
How can someone who treats women so carelessly be so popular? And why isn't Jung-seok, who gives his heart and soul to women, popular?
For me, this was harder to understand than ghosts.
"Kwon Suho. Are you thick-headed? I told you I don't answer any calls when I'm painting. Stop being such a pain."
"You were painting? All day since school ended?"
"Yeah. You know better than anyone that I'm not lying, right?"
Kwon Suho was a man who could judge people's lies with an uncanny sense.
Kim Yoo-jung noona seemed to know this well, as she appeared to be telling only the truth to avoid raising unnecessary suspicion from Kwon Suho.
This... what would happen if things went wrong and I was discovered hiding here?
Actually, I hadn't done anything wrong. I just modeled for a painting, right?
Why do I have to hide?
But it's uncertain whether the unhinged Kwon Suho could make such a judgment. And if he asked whether anything really happened between Kim Yoo-jung noona and me, the answer wasn't no.
The truth is, I'm the victim. I was the one who was unilaterally pounced on.
Nevertheless, I felt a strange sense of guilt about almost having an affair with a woman who has a boyfriend. The human heart is really funny.
In this situation, if Kwon Suho asked me, "What's your relationship with Kim Yoo-jung?", could I really say "We're nothing" without batting an eye?
Kwon Suho would notice that was a lie. I couldn't even imagine what would happen next.
So for now, hiding seemed like the right choice.
"This is what you've been painting all day? You're still drawing weird pictures."
"I told you not to judge my paintings carelessly. Anyway, I want to focus only on painting for a while. So could you leave?"
"Hey. I'm still your boyfriend, aren't I? I came here late at night, and you're just going to send me away? You're so cruel to me. Don't you feel sorry for me? Isn't it a girlfriend's role to comfort me warmly?"
"Get comfort from those great girls of yours. Are you in any position to say that when you sleep around with other women in front of your girlfriend?"
Even in this situation, it's getting more and more intriguing. It felt like I'd entered a makjang drama. Is this what fights between a delinquent third-generation chaebol and his girlfriend are like?
"Kim Yoo-jung. So that's how you're going to be? Fine. Well, you never liked me anyway. You agreed to date me. You were just using me."
"Watch your mouth."
"Am I saying anything untrue? I know you don't like me. Actually, you don't care whether I cheat or not, right? And then you put on that crying act. Are you really a psycho?"
"You're a real son of a bitch."
"You're the one who should watch your mouth. Calling a person a dog. You're the dog. I don't understand what women are thinking when they defy me. Do I look like someone who goes easy on women?"
"Bastard."
"You bitch!"
Thud, crash-!
I heard loud noises of things breaking and falling. It was intriguing until now, but now I'm starting to get scared.
"You bitch! Do I look that easy to you too? Huh? I don't understand why women think they won't get hit. I just don't get it!"
Thud thud-! Crash, bang-!
Oh, shit…
Should I go out and stop them? What should I do?
It was a complete mental earthquake.
If I rush out from here, can I stop the situation? It was clear that would only make things worse.
What if I were in Kwon Suho's position? My girlfriend had hidden another man in her closet?
This was a 10-year Nightmare Corridor sentence for both the man and woman.
"Hey. Open your eyes properly. Do you want to end up like Gu Hyena?"
Gu Hyena!
I never expected Kwon Suho to mention Gu Hyena's name. I suppressed my surprise and listened more intently.
"If I set my mind to it, making people disappear is no big deal. Kim Yoo-jung. It's fine if you want to rebel against society by playing artist, but be careful who you're dealing with."
"......"
"More importantly, why do you keep looking over there? What's over there?"
"...!"
Flinch-
I felt like Kwon Suho was pointing in my direction.
"Why are you so flustered? Is there something over there? There is, isn't there?"
"......"
"Not talking? Is it because you don't want to lie? There is something there. What is it? Shit. Did you hide a man or something? No, that can't be. You're a lesbian."
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Don't think about lying. I know everything. You like women, don't you? Did you think I wouldn't know? I asked you out knowing all that. I've never been with a lesbian before."
Thump, thump-
Heavy footsteps started approaching the closet where I was hiding. In movies, people always narrowly escape in these life-or-death moments!
Creak-
"...Who the fuck are you?"
Unfortunately, my life wasn't a movie. I had been discovered hiding in the closet.
"Suho hyung. Please listen to me first. I just came here to do modeling work because noona said she needed a model for her painting, and she told me to hide here, so I did. You know I'm not lying, right?"
I desperately wracked my brain to remove any words that might raise suspicion. What I just said was the clear truth.
Soon, Kwon Suho looked at me and smiled.
"Now this is a refreshingly funny guy. Wow. Kim Yoo-jung. I really didn't think you'd do this to me. Wow. It doesn't seem like a lie, but that doesn't mean I'm not angry, you know?"
Clench-
I saw Kwon Suho's fist tighten.
"You, let's start with you getting hit."
I was someone who could keenly sense bullying and violence. I instantly knew that rock-like fist was about to fly towards my face, so I moved first.
Swish-!
I headed for the trash can. The trash can where Kim Yoo-jung noona had thrown away the steak she'd grilled for dinner earlier!
Just as I rummaged through it and pulled out the meat, holding it up like a talisman towards Kwon Suho,
"Ugh, uwaaargh, guaaaaaargh! Damn it! Bleargh, bleeeurgh!"
Kwon Suho started vomiting as if trying to empty everything inside his body, dirtying the floor, and even struggled to breathe.
It was like an extreme meat allergy reaction.
"...Guhack!"
Kwon Suho finally clutched his throat and rolled his eyes back.
Is he dead? No, fortunately, he just passed out.
The dead meat had defeated Kwon Suho, considered the biggest troublemaker in Gaeryong City.
***
We tied up Kwon Suho tightly for now.
Tying up a third-generation chaebol. It was the kind of story that could make the news.
Shit. What do we do now?
As I was feeling lost in many ways, Kim Yoo-jung noona laughed.
"This is really funny. I don't even know what's happening. It feels like I'm having a nightmare."
I thought so too.
What should we do when Kwon Suho regains consciousness? Should we negotiate well?
The problem was whether I, now marked by a third-generation chaebol, could live a normal life from now on.
If Jung-seok were here, he might say, "Just get rid of him. Without a trace."
"Did you hear everything?"
Kim Yoo-jung noona asked me as she cleaned the floor. I nodded.
"Yes."
"Actually, I like women. I don't know why I'm like this. But I'm not even sure if I really like women. I can tell about other people just by looking at them once. But I don't know anything about myself."
Is it like sexual identity confusion or something?
The artist who prided herself on seeing through others was full of worries and anguish about herself. But everyone's probably like that. I was worrying so much about what I should do now that I thought I might get circular hair loss.
"You're just normal, that's all. Everyone has those kinds of worries. If you're a normal person."
Honestly, Kim Yoo-jung noona was largely to blame for how this situation turned out.
I was slightly mocking her by saying, 'You're not a special artist, you're just a normal person.' It was telling her to stop pretending to be an artist. But it seemed that message sounded different to Kim Yoo-jung noona.
"I'm... a normal person?"
"Yes. I'm certain. Noona, you're a normal person. So you can worry as much as you want, it's okay. So what do we do now? Won't it be a big problem when this hyung wakes up?"
"Right. Then, we just have to make sure he doesn't wake up."
Kim Yoo-jung picked up a plaster statue nearby. She brought it down on Kwon Suho's head.
Crash-!
Blood flows from Kwon Suho's forehead. I felt dizzy watching this.
I made a mistake.
Kim Yoo-jung was definitely not a normal woman. She was clearly a complete psycho!
Kwon Suho called Kim Yoo-jung a psycho, and his eyes were accurate!
"Noona, what if he really dies? We'll be in big trouble!"
"He'll try to kill us without caring about that. You know Gu Hyena? The girl who went missing at the beginning of the year and only her body was found. That was probably this bastard's doing."
"How... do you know that?"
"I don't know the details either. But he said it himself, didn't he? 'Do you want to end up like Gu Hyena?' This Kwon Suho is a psychopath. Since it's come to this, let's bury him, you and me. If we don't, we'll die."
Are you crazy? Me committing murder and hiding a body?
Even with my status window, that wasn't something I could cover up. But Kim Yoo-jung was almost certain.
In this situation, there was only one way.
"Noona, I'll take care of this."
"You? What are you going to do?"
"At times like this... it's best to get an adult's help..."
I picked up my phone. I didn't expect to contact her again in just a few days.
"Um... Teacher. It's Young-won. Something's come up... Could you drive to the address I'm about to give you? Yes. Noona, what's the address here?"
It's true that Kwon Suho's authority, backed by Osung Group, seems so powerful that no one could stop him.
But I knew from the Nightmare Corridor that there was a clear hierarchy between Hong Mi-ri and Kwon Suho. Ms. Hong Mi-ri, as a subordinate of the Cheon family, should be able to handle this well.
"The teacher says she's coming. Phew, we're saved. Noona. Don't get involved in this anymore. I'll take care of everything. You don't need to worry about it anymore. Really. Just stay put. Please."
Kim Yoo-jung isn't normal.
Remembering this fact, I vowed not to get tangled up with Kim Yoo-jung anymore. Watching me, Kim Yoo-jung chuckled.
"You're really funny. I've never seen anyone as unique as you. If I was going to date a man, I should have dated someone like you first."
I felt a chilling shiver.
Somehow, it felt like Jung Sojin was looking at me.