I Became the Lousy Side Top - Chap 104
It didn’t take long for Jaewoo to come to a conclusion: Mujin couldn’t be trusted. Of course he couldn’t, not after everything he had done so far. But he couldn’t keep him in the dark either. He couldn’t live his life always waiting for Mujin’s next scheme.
Jaewoo closed his eyes tightly for a moment. The inside of their restaurant was a complete mess. Just this morning, he’d been looking around at the renovations and thinking about how happy he was with everything. Who knew his life would change in just a few short hours?
Hyunjin seemed to notice something. His eyes darted over towards Jaewoo and he quickly spoke up.
“Don’t.”
“But Hyunjin…”
“Absolutely not.”
Hyunjin’s hand was shaking as he held Jaewoo’s arm. Despite that, Jaewoo refused to change his mind. They needed to resolve things with Mujin before they could move on.
“What if I told you that I’m Seo Jaewoo?”
“That’s not possible.”
“Are you sure?”
“You’ve got guts, but that’s not enough to change my mind.”
Did Mujin think he was acting bravely? Anyone would lose their temper and yell in these circumstances. Who could be calm when the life they were trying so hard to build was in danger of being destroyed?
“You said that if Seo Jaewoo returned alive, you wouldn’t do anything stupid anymore.”
“You’re not Seo Jaewoo.”
Apparently, Mujin wasn’t the sort of person to believe in possession or reincarnation, although now that Jaewoo thought about it, that made sense. Most people didn’t believe in such things. But Jaewoo was confident that he could prove himself by using his memories of the time he’d shared with Mujin.
Who could possibly eavesdrop on, remember, and then make use of a conversation between the two of them? Knowing Mujin, there was no way he’d ever let an enemy plant a bug in his apartment.
Slowly, Jaewoo began to speak.
“Do you remember the day I peeled a mountain of garlic in the living room?”
“…I remember that day, but you weren’t there.”
“You asked me why I was doing that myself, and I told you it tasted better that way.”
“…Did you?”
“Do you remember the beginning, when I kept making you fermented soybean paste stew?”
Mujin rubbed his hand over his chin. He seemed like he was trying hard to appear unaffected, but he couldn’t completely hide his agitation.
As Jaewoo continued talking, Mujin’s expression became more and more serious. This stranger was speaking about things that Mujin hadn’t mentioned to anyone, not even Hyunjin. Memories that he had buried deep in his heart began to seep to the surface.
When Seo Jaewoo had died, Mujin hadn’t shed a tear. That was just the kind of person he was – even if he felt like he was crumbling to pieces on the inside, he’d never show it. So why was his vision suddenly blurring?
Across from him, Jaewoo stopped speaking. He’d reached the end of their past together. Mujin’s time with Jaewoo hadn’t exactly been short, but it hadn’t been long either. To have it summed up in just a few minutes felt appropriate, somehow.
‘Think logically.’
It was impossible for someone who’d died to come back to life. If all it took was willpower, then shouldn’t everyone Mujin had killed in the past come back as well?
‘The dead can’t return.’
He knew that. He knew that, but…
Mujin covered his eyes with his hand. Before he knew it, the tears had begun to flow down his face, slowly at first, then faster and faster. They soaked his gloves and fell to the ground with a steady pitter-patter sound.
“Did Hyunjin tell you that?”
At those words, Hyunjin shook his head.
“I didn’t know any of it.”
That made sense. Mujin knew that he’d never told Hyunjin about those things, but… was it possible that Jaewoo had? He tried desperately to organize his shaky thoughts.
‘No, that’s not possible.’
Seo Jaewoo had loved Hyunjin, and in order to protect him, he’d hidden all of his interactions with Mujin. Would he really have told Hyunjin about their time together? The answer was obvious.
“You’re rea–”
Mujin was so choked up that for a moment he couldn’t speak.
“…You’re really Seo Jaewoo?”
Mujin lowered his hands and looked Jaewoo in the eyes, tears pouring down his cheeks. Jaewoo didn’t say anything further, but Mujin could tell.
‘He’s really back.’
It felt like the darkness that had been smothering him this entire time had been blown away. Unthinkingly, Mujin took a step forward. The rubble from the restaurant shifted beneath his feet, but he paid it no mind as he continued on. When he was a few feet away, Hyunjin shifted, blocking his path. Before, Mujin would have forced his way past him, but instead he stopped and simply stared at Jaewoo.
Why had he only noticed it now? Even his tiniest actions were just like Jaewoo’s. Mujin let out a helpless laugh.
“Enough.”
Hyunjin growled and raised his arm, like an animal protecting its young. If Mujin took a single step forward, he was ready to attack. But now that Mujin knew everything, he had no intention of getting any closer.
Before, Seo Jaewoo had threatened Mujin using his life as collateral. At the time, Mujin had thought that he was being ridiculous and had ignored it. He’d thought that even if Jaewoo said he’d rather be dead, he would never go through with it.
But it was different now. Mujin had already experienced Jaewoo’s death once before; he couldn’t risk it again. He would do anything if it meant that Jaewoo would be safe.
“Seo Jaewoo.”
Mujin made the decision to suppress his desires. It went against all his instincts – just the thought of the person he wanted being in someone else’s arms made him feel sick. But it was better than Jaewoo dying.
There was so much he wanted to say, but his lips refused to form the words. All he could do was call his name helplessly.
“Jaewoo. Jaewoo.”
The tears still hadn’t stopped. Mujin’s vision gradually became blurrier and blurrier. As he was fruitlessly calling his name, Jaewoo stepped closer and held out his hand without thinking. That was the problem with Jaewoo, and what had made it impossible for Mujin to ignore him – he might grumble and he might rage, but he always extended a hand whenever it was needed.
“Don’t die.”
“Who said I’m going to die?”
Now that sounded like the Jaewoo he knew.
“If that’s settled, could you please tell your subordinates to leave now?”
When Mujin finally looked around the restaurant, his subordinates were staring at him blankly, their weapons held loosely in their hands. Mujin had never let anyone see him cry before now. As Mujin looked back at them, strangely unconcerned, Dongsoo took the initiative.
“Forget everything you saw here today! If I find any of you bastards spreading rumors, I’ll kill you myself.”
At those threatening words, the subordinates looked down at the ground, not daring to make eye contact.
“Leave.”
With that single word from Mujin, they fled.
Only the three of them – Mujin, Hyunjin, and Jaewoo – were left in the restaurant. Hyunjin was still eyeing Mujin warily, and Jaewoo was little better. Looking at the two of them, Mujin found a chair that was still in decent condition and sat down.
“Why are you sitting down?!”
“I think I need to rest for a while.”
As Mujin wiped away his tears, Jaewoo hesitated, looking like a cat with its fur standing on end. Then, as Mujin watched, he began cleaning up the mess inside the restaurant. Hyunjin helped as well, but the damage was so great that they didn’t seem to be making much progress.
“Shall I help you too?”
Jaewoo instantly spoke up, his tone sharp.
“You wrecked our restaurant and now you want to help us?”
“That’s about right.”
“It’s fine. I just want to salvage what we can.”
“There doesn’t seem to be much to salvage.”
“Whose fault is that?”
“It’s yours.”
Jaewoo’s hands clenched around a fallen piece of wood. Mujin continued.
“Back then, why did you leave my side?”
At this point, Hyunjin interjected with an unpleasant expression on his face.
“Watch your mouth. Jaewoo was dating me.”
“Yeah, I was.”
Mujin laughed out loud.
“Have you gone crazy?”
“I’m better than I have been in a long time.”
“It doesn’t seem like it.”
“It’s true.”
Mujin felt refreshed, like a festering wound had finally been lanced. As the pressure that had been building inside his head finally subsided, his senses returned. Mujin watched the two of them as they cleaned the inside of the restaurant, thinking to himself.
‘Seo Jaewoo is in love with Yoo Hyunjin.’
Mujin wasn’t sure how strong that love was, but it was alright. He had no intention of abandoning his pursuit. A lifetime was long, and Mujin was incredibly persistent. If he wasn’t, he would never have been able to climb the ranks to his current position.
‘I won’t do anything to make you despair anymore.’
So he’d let Jaewoo continue loving Hyunjin. Let him become so attached that even if he wanted to leave, he couldn’t. Then, someday, he might be able to be with Jaewoo again. The road to get there might not be easy, but he had no intention of giving up.
Mujin stood up and walked towards the door.
“I’ll be back later.”
“Don’t you dare!”
“I’ll even bring you a bouquet to commemorate your grand opening.”
“We don’t need that!”
Jaewoo screeched after Mujin’s retreating form. A second later, Mujin heard the sound of something pattering against the ground, and he looked over his shoulder to see Jaewoo throwing salt towards him1. Even seeing him do that made him happy.
“Don’t come here ever again!”
“Jaewoo, I think that’s enough salt.”
“No, I need some more. I want to make sure he never comes back again.”
Would that really stop him? Hyunjin knew Mujin would be back. He was still as insidious as a snake, and while he’d looked happy when he left, Hyunjin could see the lingering obsession lurking behind his eyes.
‘Why is Jaewoo like this?’
Why was he loved by so many people? Before, Hyunjin had never really had anything he could call his own. Now that he finally had someone to love, he couldn’t help but be displeased at the idea of someone always looking over his shoulder.
‘Power and money.’
For the first time in his life, Hyunjin wanted more. Before this, he’d only wanted to live a simple, happy life, but the world didn’t seem to want to let that happen.
“Anyway, what do you think we should do about this? I’ll have to call the interior design company again.”
“It can’t be helped.”
Seeing that Jaewoo was feeling depressed, Hyunjin wrapped his arms around him from behind. Jaewoo’s body fit in his arms a little differently than before, but since Jaewoo had told him this was his original body, even that change was a good one.
“Jaewoo, I really like you.”
“I like you too.”
When he glanced over, Jaewoo’s ear was red. Hyunjin resisted the urge to nibble on it.
“I love you.”
“Me too.”
How could you not love someone like that? Hyunjin lowered his head and buried his face in the back of Jaewoo’s neck. Since they’d been living in the same house, Jaewoo’s hair smelled of his own familiar shampoo. The sensation was so good that Hyunjin couldn’t help but smile.
