chapter-5
1017 Words
“And you?”
“I was looking for them.”
“For seven years?”
“Yes.”
Juhan stared at him.
“Did you find them?”
Taejin's answer was almost a whisper.
i found one.”
“Who?”
“My father.”
Juhan's eyes widened.
“Your father killed Taehyun?”
“No.”
Taejin looked toward the rain-covered window.
“My father knows who did.”
Before Juhan could respond, the lights suddenly went out.
The apartment fell into darkness.
Juhan froze.
“Taejin?”
No answer.
“Taejin?”
A hand covered his mouth.
He tried to scream.
A whisper touched his ear.
“Don't move.”
It wasn't Taejin.
Juhan's blood turned to ice.
Someone else was inside the apartment.
And whoever it was had been listening to everything.
Juhan stood completely still.
The stranger's hand remained over his mouth.
His heart hammered against his ribs.
He tried to move.
The grip tightened.
Then a voice whispered beside his ear.
“Don't make a sound.”
Juhan recognized the voice.
The man from the street.
The one with the scar.
Juhan's eyes widened.
The lights remained off.
Somewhere across the apartment, glass shattered.
Then Taejin's voice echoed through the darkness.
“Let him go.”
The stranger laughed softly.
“You always were protective of him.”
Juhan felt the hand disappear.
He turned.
The man was already moving toward the balcony.
Taejin rushed forward.
The stranger jumped over the railing.
Juhan gasped.
Taejin reached the balcony seconds later.
There was no one below.
“He's gone.”
Juhan hurried toward him.
“Who was he?”
Taejin looked down at the street.
“Someone who shouldn't have found you.”
“That isn't an answer.”
Taejin turned.
“It's the only one you're getting tonight.”
Juhan's frustration exploded.
“No!”
Taejin looked at him.
“You've lied to me since I met you.”
“I know.”
“You knew my mother.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about the accident.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Taehyun.”
“Yes.”
“And now someone is breaking into your apartment because of me.”
Taejin didn't deny it.
Juhan pointed toward the balcony.
“This is your life. Your enemies. Your secrets.”
He swallowed.
“And somehow I'm in the middle of it.”
“You've always been in the middle of it.”
The words made Juhan go silent.
Taejin walked toward a wall.
He pressed his hand against a small panel.
A section of the wall opened.
Juhan stared.
Behind it was a narrow staircase leading downward.
“What is that?”
Taejin looked at him.
“The truth.”
Juhan hesitated.
Then followed.
The staircase ended in a hidden room.
It was unlike anything else in the apartment.
The walls were covered with photographs.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Juhan stopped.
Photographs of himself.
At sixteen.
At eighteen.
At twenty.
At twenty-two.
At twenty-four.
Outside his university.
At cafés.
At train stations.
Walking home.
Sleeping.
Juhan's stomach twisted.
“You've been watching me.”
Taejin didn't deny it.
“For how long?”
“Seven years.”
Juhan stared at him.
Seven years.
Seven years of photographs.
Seven years of surveillance.
Seven years of obsession.
“You're insane.”
“Maybe.”
Juhan walked closer to the photographs.
One showed him leaving a university building.
Another showed him sitting alone in a café.
Another showed him laughing with someone.
Juhan recognized the person beside him.
His old friend, Minseo.
His eyes narrowed.
“When was this taken?”
“Last year.”
“You were watching me then?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Taejin didn't answer.
Juhan turned.
“You don't get to say you were protecting me anymore.”
Taejin's face remained expressionless.
“I wasn't only protecting you.”
The admission hurt more than Juhan expected.
“What were you doing?”
“Making sure you were still alive.”
Juhan stared at him.
“You thought I was going to die?”
“No.”
Taejin looked at one particular photograph.
“You were going to be killed.”
Juhan's blood ran cold.
“When?”
“Last year.”
“By whom?”
Taejin pointed at the photograph.
A man stood in the background.
Juhan didn't recognize him.
“He was following you.”
“What happened to him?”
“He disappeared.”
Juhan looked at Taejin.
“You killed him?”
“No.”
“Then where is he?”
“I don't know.”
A loud noise suddenly came from upstairs.
Both men looked toward the staircase.
Taejin immediately moved in front of Juhan.
“Stay here.”
“No.”
“Juhan.”
“I've had enough of being kept in rooms.”
Taejin stared at him.
Then he handed Juhan a small key.
“If something happens, use this.”
“What does it open?”
“The door behind the bookshelf.”
“Where does it lead?”
“Outside.”
Juhan looked at the key.
Taejin climbed the stairs.
Juhan followed.
They reached the living room.
Nothing seemed disturbed.
Then Taejin noticed the photograph on the floor.
The old photograph.
The one of Juhan and Taehyun.
It had been torn in half.
Across Taehyun's face, someone had written a single word.
LIAR.
Juhan stared at it.
Then his phone rang.
His mother's number.
He answered immediately.
“Mom?”
Her voice was shaking.
“Juhan, listen to me.”
“Where are you?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because they're listening.”
“Who?”
She began crying.
Then she whispered:
“Taejin's father is alive.”
Juhan looked at Taejin.
Taejin's expression changed.
His mother continued.
“And he knows where you are.”
The call ended.
A second later, Taejin's phone rang.
He answered.
A man's voice came through.
Cold.
Calm.
Familiar.
“Son.”
Taejin froze.
The voice continued.
“I think it's time you brought Juhan home.”
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