About three days had passed since Hyeseong came to his aunt’s house. Actually, for someone who had come impulsively, Hyeseong was doing quite well in terms of eating and living.

 

Perhaps because he strangely felt at ease, he always slept in late in the mornings, and after waking up, he ate a late breakfast that doubled as lunch with his aunt and uncle. Afterwards, he spent time with his uncle watching the news and chatting about what was going on in the world.

 

From time to time, men who called themselves his uncle’s best friends would come to visit, and Hyeseong would chime in with a word or two on the various conversation topics that popped up. Then the men would widen their eyes and start asking this and that, saying his uncle had raised an incredibly smart kid.

 

Hyeseong had just come to greet them, but he was caught in an instant. Hyeseong sat next to his uncle and soon melted into the conversation. Eventually, it even led to him counseling the men on their concerns.

 

“No, so I’m saying I’m trying to decide whether to keep or sell that stock.”

 

“That stock is a blue chip, so it wouldn’t be good to sell it right away. Just leave it for now.”

 

“Ah, I see. That’s right, isn’t it?”

 

Starting from the trendy stock market talk these days.

 

“When I said that, my wife got angry at me! So now we’re in a cold war.”

 

“Don’t they say a fight between a married couple is like cutting water with a knife? And even if you fight, you’ll be the one losing more, Uncle. You said you couldn’t even have lunch before coming today. Just lower your head and apologize.”

 

“That would be the best thing to do after all, right?”

 

To advice on marital fights. His aunt yelled at them, asking what they were doing seating a young kid, but Hyeseong was enjoying it in his own way. Being like this reminded him of the things that happened in the Taeseong office in the past.

 

Back then, he used to gather with black-faced uncles like this and counsel them on their concerns. Doing that often made him tired and fall asleep quickly, and when he opened his eyes, he was always leaning on that person’s shoulder.

 

“Hyeseong-ah, you’ll become a star in this neighborhood. A star.”

 

When Hyeseong received praise, his uncle’s face bloomed with joy as well.

 

After spending time like that, when his aunt and uncle went out to work in the fields, he followed them. They insistently told him to rest at home, but he couldn’t do that. In the end, Hyeseong had no choice but to say that he felt like he had to do something to feel less troubled.

 

Then the two nodded their heads reluctantly. His aunt’s fields were much larger in scale than Hyeseong’s. Hyeseong’s was just an impulsive choice to escape to the countryside, while the two had come here for the purpose of full-fledged farming, so it was natural.

 

Hyeseong followed his uncle around and heard various advice and know-how about farm work. There was a reason why a veteran was impressive. Hyeseong was able to learn ways to do the work he had struggled with before more easily and efficiently.

 

After working like that and returning, his aunt would make dinner. Today’s menu was curry. The savory aroma of curry tickled his nose. Hyeseong assisted on the side and told his aunt that the first meal he had after moving was coincidentally curry as well.

 

Even while doing that, he had to constantly make an effort not to think of the person he had shared that curry with. After finishing the meal, he helped his aunt cut fruit in the kitchen.

 

His skills weren’t very good, but he wanted to help in any way he could. As he carefully peeled an apple with a knife, he accidentally cut his index finger slightly, causing blood to flow out.

 

“Oh dear, I told you that you don’t have to help! Let me see, are you okay?”

 

“Yes. It’s just a small cut.”

 

Hyeseong scratched his head a bit embarrassedly. His uncle also expressed concern and told him there was ointment and bandages in the bedroom, so he should put them on before coming out.

 

Hyeseong pressed a tissue to stop the bleeding and opened the first-aid kit. As expected, because of his sensitive skin, the flesh around the cut quickly swelled up.

 

<How hard did you bump into something for it to swell up like this?>

 

At that moment, a familiar voice suddenly touched his ears and disappeared. Hyeseong’s hand slightly paused.

 

<It’s swollen a lot. It’s because you don’t look in the mirror.>

 

Why was he thinking of the gentle and worried voice that person, who wasn’t even here now, had said to him in the past? Hyeseong blankly stared at the first-aid kit.

 

<How does getting cut by a knife become no big deal?>

 

It was like that back then too. Pretending to treat Hyeseong who had cut the back of his hand with a knife, Ihyeok had frowned that handsome face of his and knelt in front of him, applying medicine to the wound.

 

“…”

 

Before he knew it, Hyeseong’s cheeks were damp. He had tried so hard not to think of him for nearly three days. But as if mocking him, Ihyeok would come to his mind at any time and greet him. The problem was that the situation had changed a lot from before.

 

When he quit his job and came down to the countryside, even if memories of Ihyeok came to mind, he could just smile slightly and brush them off. But not now. Because it had ended in the worst possible way, with nothing resolved or tied up in this situation, thinking of that person was a completely different issue.

 

Hyeseong wiped his tears and sniffled, but he held his breath so that the two people outside wouldn’t hear. Blood was still seeping from the wound, and it hurt terribly.

 

* * *

 

It was late at night. Ihyeok, who had come out of the house, drove the car somewhere.

 

After turning the steering wheel a few times familiarly, the entrance to a quiet park came into view. A shabby and deserted park he had visited once before.

 

Ihyeok parked the car haphazardly and got out. He leaned his body against the car body and rubbed his tired eyes. These past few days, to be exact, since the day Hyeseong had disappeared, he hadn’t been able to get a wink of proper sleep.

 

How could he close his eyes and sleep comfortably when he didn’t even know where Hyeseong was and what he was doing now?

 

“Hyung!”

 

Then, a familiar figure appeared in the distance. As expected, Deok-soo, who was again covered in flashy and cheap clothes today, approached Ihyeok, panting.

 

“Oh my, I’m sorry for being late. Hyung… I mean, Boss.”

 

Haha, Deok-soo quickly corrected the way he addressed him. Hadn’t he been told to change it before because Hyeseong disliked being called that? Deok-soo smiled but felt like he had made a mistake. He was worried that he might receive another stern order, but strangely, Ihyeok didn’t say anything.

 

“Never mind that, what about the thing I told you to look into?”

 

“Ah, just a moment…”

 

Deok-soo took out a notebook from his errand bag. While doing so, he glanced at Ihyeok. His mood today was completely different. He hadn’t styled his hair up like usual, and even though it was a weekday and this was the time they would have met after work, Ihyeok was wearing a light jumper instead of the suit he always wore.

 

And above all, that face. It looked so haggard that it seemed like he would collapse with a single touch, but on the contrary, it also had an atmosphere that he would beat someone up if provoked incorrectly.

 

“Hmm, first of all, Hyeseong hyung’s phone is still turned off.”

 

For some reason, Deok-soo cleared his throat with the thought that he shouldn’t make a mistake.

 

“I tried to ask a company I know to track the location, but since the phone is constantly off, that wasn’t possible.”

 

That was something Ihyeok had roughly expected as well.

 

“So, Ihyeok hyung… I mean, Boss, I looked into the places you mentioned.”

 

Deok-soo preciously flipped through the notebook page by page.

 

“Park Dohyun is definitely not it. Since his house is in Seoul, I immediately followed up on that side. But it doesn’t seem like Hyeseong hyung particularly visited there.”

 

“Then what’s next?”

 

“I checked Hyeseong hyung’s card usage history, and on the day you mentioned, he bought a ticket at the terminal.”

 

Terminal? So he really moved to a completely different area? Ihyeok’s expression was getting darker and darker.

 

“But, this ties together!”

 

Deok-soo quickly continued.

 

“You told me to also look into the location of Hyeseong hyung’s family, right? But that place is Sokcho, Gangwon-do.”

 

Deok-soo widened his eyes and looked at Ihyeok.

 

“Terminal, Sokcho…”

 

“What do you think? Isn’t that the most likely possibility now?”

 

It certainly was. With Hyeseong’s personality, he wouldn’t have gone to a completely unknown place. So Ihyeok had instructed Han Deok-soo to find out about Hyeseong’s only family’s house along with Park Dohyun, and it seemed this was the correct answer.

 

“Should I go and take a look?”

 

“No need. I’ll go, so just text me the address.”

 

“Okay. But nothing happened to Hyeseong hyung, right?”

 

Deok-soo asked worriedly while tapping on his phone. Suddenly, Ihyeok’s sharp gaze landed on him.

 

“No, I’m just worried! Since you said he disappeared, I thought something might have happened…”

 

“It’s because of me.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“Hyeseong disappeared because of me.”

 

Deok-soo gulped. He had a feeling that he shouldn’t ask any further.

 

“Um… Hyung, should I give you a cigarette?”

 

Ihyeok’s expression right now was exactly like that. A face that craved a cigarette. Deok-soo smiled awkwardly and slightly shook a cigarette pack from inside his clothes.

 

“No need.”

 

Ihyeok glanced sideways and soon shook his head. Hyeseong was a sensitive kid, so he would immediately notice even if he smoked a single cigarette.

 

“I’ll send you the compensation separately.”

 

Ihyeok opened the car door.

 

“Oh, where are you going?”

 

“Sokcho.”

 

The car door slammed shut, and Ihyeok’s car drove out of the park like crazy.