TTDOTO 7.2.1

“Wake up.”

Jae-an opened his eyes to a cold voice raining down from above his head. He had kept his eyes shut, but he hadn’t slept. It was because of the horrific pain blooming from his ankle, which had only worsened as time passed. Jae-an barely managed to lift his face, which was soaked in cold sweat.

The bruise near his lateral malleolus had turned pitch black as the sun rose, and his ankle had swollen so much that its contours had vanished. Even the slightest movement sent pain radiating from his ankle, leaving Jae-an unable to move from where he leaned against the wall.

“Take it.”

Seo Jae-rim reached out his hand. Jae-an didn’t want to take it, but to get dressed and go to the hospital, he had no choice but to rely on his support to move. Leaning heavily on Seo Jae-rim’s arm, he stood up and limped to the sink.

When Jae-an reached for his toothbrush, Seo Jae-rim moved first. Applying toothpaste to the brush, Seo Jae-rim held Jae-an’s cheek and began brushing his teeth for him.

“Your molars are quite small, too.”

Muttering to himself, Seo Jae-rim demanded that he stick out his tongue. Ultimately, Jae-an’s teeth and tongue were thoroughly scrubbed by Seo Jae-rim’s hand. Immediately after, Seo Jae-rim pressed Jae-an’s neck toward the sink, cupped his palms to hold water, and meticulously washed his face.

After taking out a towel and drying his face, Seo Jae-rim even spread lotion over Jae-an’s cheeks. Right before leaving the bathroom, Jae-an slowly stopped in front of the toilet.

“I need to… pee.”

“Sure.”

When Seo Jae-rim’s hand naturally moved toward his waistband, Jae-an recoiled in shock, pulling his body back. In his panic, he accidentally stepped on the floor with his injured foot.

“Ugh…!”

“Be careful. You’ll hurt yourself.”

Seo Jae-rim gently wrapped an arm around Jae-an’s staggering shoulders. Jae-an was sickened by how he acted as if he were worried now, when he was the one who caused the injury in the first place. He pulled Seo Jae-rim’s hand from his shoulder and responded coldly.

“…I can do it myself.”

“You might end up losing the use of that leg if you do.”

It was an ambiguous expression—one couldn’t tell if he was truly worried or if he was threatening to break the other leg if Jae-an didn’t behave. Since every word now sounded like a half-threat, Jae-an eventually dropped his head in resignation, and Seo Jae-rim gently pulled down his loose loungewear pants and underwear.

“Go ahead.”

He then stepped back as if showing consideration. Jae-an relieved himself while Seo Jae-rim watched, and before Jae-an could stop him, Seo Jae-rim wiped the tip of his member with neatly folded toilet paper and pulled his underwear back up.

After sitting Jae-an on the bed, Seo Jae-rim brought out clothes and helped him change. Because his shoe wouldn’t fit over his swollen foot, Jae-an had to move almost entirely supported in Seo Jae-rim’s embrace after they left the house.

Seo Jae-rim took Jae-an to a surgical clinic he had visited before. The doctor who had sutured his wrist last time acted as if he understood the situation, asking no personal questions and quietly conducting the examination.

The X-ray results confirmed a fracture. According to the doctor’s explanation, only the lateral malleolus on the outside of the ankle was broken, and fortunately, the ligaments were not damaged, so treatment could proceed with a full cast instead of surgery to insert metal pins.

Looking at the X-ray, sorrow welled up again. He resented Seo Jae-rim for mercilessly breaking his ankle. Yet, throughout the consultation, the man sat there with a bored expression, showing not a hint of remorse.

On the bright side, after receiving a painkiller injection and having the cast applied, the pain subsided enough that he could walk on his own with crutches. After finishing the payment, Jae-an and Seo Jae-rim headed for the surface parking lot where the car was.

The scorching sun beat down as they stepped out of the hospital building. Trying to use crutches with a cast on a summer day that was hot enough even without them caused beads of sweat to form on his forehead. Seo Jae-rim silently matched his pace with the slowly walking Jae-an, and upon reaching the car, he took the crutches for him and opened the passenger door.

While Jae-an struggled to settle into the passenger seat, Seo Jae-rim placed the crutches in the back, got in, and started the engine.

As usual, Jae-an kept his eyes on the window. However, Seo Jae-rim took a different lane instead of the one leading home. Jae-an thought they were taking a detour for a drive, but when familiar roads were no longer in sight, he slowly straightened his slumped body. Sensing Jae-an’s heightened anxiety, Seo Jae-rim spoke.

“I’m planning to get lunch before we go back.”

“Oh, okay.”

Despite saying they were going to a restaurant, Seo Jae-rim’s car moved further and further away from the city. Jae-an glanced out the window with uneasy eyes.

Before long, the car left Seoul and sped down a quiet expressway, passing through several tollgates. As they exited the highway junction and followed a winding road, houses gradually disappeared, leaving only solitary pensions that looked like they might not even be in business.

Seo Jae-rim’s sedan sped down a one-way road where it would be impossible to avoid an oncoming car. By the time the car finally stopped in an empty lot after a long drive, Jae-an’s palms were soaked with sweat as he gripped his seatbelt.

Turning off the engine, Seo Jae-rim got out of the car without a word of explanation. Jae-an watched as he walked around the front of the hood with a hardened face and approached the passenger side. Instead of getting out, Jae-an scanned the surroundings. There were only trees everywhere; not a single sign for a restaurant or even a small corner store was visible.

“Are we… really going to eat?”

Reading the expression laced with anxiety, Seo Jae-rim let out a laugh as if it were absurd and swept back his bangs. Shadows of leaves created by the hot summer sun cast a gloom over Seo Jae-rim’s face.

“Why?”

“There aren’t… any restaurants.”

Seo Jae-rim stood with his hands on his hips, shifting his weight without answering. Watching Seo Jae-rim’s reaction, Jae-an cautiously added,

“You’re… still mad at me…”

“So you think I’m going to do something bad to you here?”

With a bored voice, Seo Jae-rim leaned in and pressed the seatbelt buckle, and the belt retracted with a sound like a snake slithering. Leaning against the door, Seo Jae-rim held out his hand.

“Hold onto me instead of the crutches until we reach the even path.”

Jae-an couldn’t judge if getting out was the right move. But there was nowhere to run. He grasped the scar-covered hand with his own sweat-drenched one.

Occasional squirrels roamed near the tree-lined path. Jae-an flinched hysterically even at the sound of cicadas echoing from afar. In a place like this, it felt like someone could be killed and buried in secret without anyone ever knowing.

“We’re here.”

Seo Jae-rim pointed toward a narrow path. Jae-an steeled himself and craned his neck, desperately searching through the trees. His eyes, stained with fear and suspicion, finally discovered a shabby sign peeking out from behind the leaves.

「Du-me Garden – Specialized in Lacquer Chicken Baeksuk」

Reading the words, Jae-an exhaled with a sense of dejection. Seo Jae-rim, who had been watching Jae-an’s expression with his head tilted, spoke with a loose smirk.

“You need to eat restorative food for your bones to heal.”

“Ah… okay.”

“And if you bury a person in a place reachable by car, you’ll get caught. So there’s no need to be scared.”

He then lightly added a piece of information Jae-an didn’t want to know. Jae-an felt like he might start hiccuping but forced a nod and followed Seo Jae-rim into the restaurant.

As soon as she saw Seo Jae-rim, the elderly owner smiled brightly. Watching Seo Jae-rim joke about how it had been a long time, Jae-an felt like a fool for no reason.

A three-person portion of lacquer chicken and neat side dishes filled the wooden table. Seo Jae-rim diligently pulled the meat apart and moved it to Jae-an’s plate. Seo Jae-rim’s hands were significantly faster than Jae-an’s eating speed. Before long, Jae-an’s plate was piled high with well-cooked meat.

Looking at the accumulating meat as it cooled, Jae-an’s stomach felt even worse. He pushed his plate toward the middle and said,

“You eat some too.”

At Jae-an’s words, Seo Jae-rim tore into a chicken leg from the pot. Even before, Seo Jae-rim hadn’t been a picky eater and ate everything cleanly. Looking at him now, it seemed that particular appetite hadn’t changed.

In the past, Jae-an felt full just watching Seo Jae-rim eat. Perhaps because he had felt so sorry for the starving Seo Jae-rim who used to swallow swiss rolls at his house, seeing him eat with gusto had been Jae-an’s happiness.

But now, that appetite—which didn’t subside in any situation—looked grotesque. How can he swallow that so easily? Did he not remember how, just last night, they had coupled mindlessly while drenched in rain, and how he had ruthlessly broken Jae-an’s leg only a few hours later?

The intensity of the violence was increasing. His actions were unpredictable and erratic. What on earth are you thinking? What will become of us?

Watching Seo Jae-rim dip the firm leg meat into salt, Jae-an spoke in a weak voice.

“…Is it good?”

Seo Jae-rim lifted his head. Swallowing the meat slowly while maintaining eye contact, Seo Jae-rim looked at the heaped plate and gave a light nod.

“Stop with the moping. Eat, quickly.”

Jae-an picked up his chopsticks and chewed the meat. Forcing himself to swallow the meat, which had no taste or temperature to him, Jae-an ultimately left the remaining food in the bowl.

***

Waiting behind Seo Jae-rim as he opened the front door, Jae-an felt an indescribable sense of wrongness and looked up. This was because, at the end of the usual eight-digit passcode sound, another electronic beep was heard.

That sense of wrongness became clear once he stepped inside. Jae-an discovered another door lock installed on the entrance. Seeing the door lock installed in the opposite direction of the original one, Jae-an’s eyes narrowed.

He had gone all that way for lunch just so he could have this installed while Jae-an was away. Seo Jae-rim was checking if the lock worked properly. Ignoring Seo Jae-rim, whose eyes sparkled as he applied a master key, Jae-an put his crutches in the foyer closet and went inside first.

Now that he had a full cast, he could move on his own, though it took a long time. After changing his clothes, Jae-an sat at an angle on the bedroom sofa in his pajamas. Jae-an, who had been closing his eyes without doing anything, looked up at Seo Jae-rim as he followed him into the room.

When Seo Jae-rim did nothing and simply stared at him, a subtle discomfort spread across Jae-an’s face.

“Do you want to…?”

Though he furrowed his brow in repulsion, Jae-an’s hand went to his waistband. He moved unconsciously, knowing his situation—that he had to strip whenever he was told to.

“No. Not particularly right now.”

“I see.”

Fumbling as he lowered his hands, Jae-an closed his eyes. He had been about to sleep because there was nothing to do. Seo Jae-rim rummaged through Jae-an’s bag in the dressing room and brought out a workbook.

“Do you want to solve some problems?”

Jae-an’s reluctant gaze met his once again. Furrowing his brow as if it were the most absurd suggestion, Jae-an shook his head.

“Forget it.”

“It’s been a long time since you did any tutoring.”

“That was just… because I wanted to go for walks.”

Hugging a sofa cushion, Jae-an closed his eyes again. Perhaps the painkiller was wearing off, as his ankle throbbed and his body felt lethargic. He even thought it was a relief that his leg was broken. Because his body hurt, the hallucinations blurring his vision were less visible.

As he tried to sleep for a bit, borrowing the lethargy spreading through his body, he felt Seo Jae-rim sit on the edge of the sofa. Too annoyed to open his eyes, Jae-an didn’t move until Seo Jae-rim clasped his hands and shook them gently. Jae-an spoke with his eyes closed.

“What…”

“Aren’t you bored?”

Jae-an opened his eyes again. Seo Jae-rim hadn’t taken his eyes off his face for some time. He didn’t know why he was being so bothersome.

“I’m sleepy.”

“Is there anything you want to do?”

“No.”

“Shall I buy you some books? You like reading.”

“Forget it.”

Jae-an continued to refuse in a monotone voice. Even though reading books with headphones on while listening to his favorite songs had been a long-time hobby, he currently had no desire even to read words.

Jae-an had a vague idea of why Seo Jae-rim was being such a nuisance.

It was likely because Jae-an hadn’t gotten angry at the fact that he had installed the door lock in reverse. Seo Jae-rim had wanted to suppress him as he got angry, despaired, and felt sad, and then mock him while punishing him. Since he showed no reaction, Jae-rim was instead testing him by observing every single action.

He hadn’t particularly intended to provoke him. He simply wasn’t genuinely angry. But he felt that if he left things like this, the man would continue to be annoying. Looking around the room, Jae-an pointed his finger toward the cabinet.

“Lend me that tablet over there.”

“The tablet?”

“Yeah. To play some games.”

Seo Jae-rim brought over the tablet that had been charging, like a servant. Opening the tablet, which had no lock screen, Jae-an downloaded a game. Shortly after, the sounds of a game echoed.

It was a piece of music familiar to Seo Jae-rim, as it was something Jae-an often played on his phone. It was a game where you had to match at least three blocks of the same color to pop them.

Holding the tablet, Jae-an pressed the screen and asked,

“An ad popped up…. Can I pay for it?”

“Yes.”

“Why aren’t you going to the office?”

“I should go. But I just… don’t want to go.”

Jae-an spoke with his eyes fixed on the screen.

“You can go, Jae-rim-ah.”

He felt Seo Jae-rim looking at him. But Jae-an didn’t take his eyes off the flashing blocks.

“Even if you don’t install things like that, I won’t run away anymore.”

“…….”

“That’s why I don’t feel anything even when you install them.”

In the hospital, he had simply found the environment where he was isolated alone among hallucinations to be unbearable; now, he had neither the strength nor the will to flee.

「Level Clear!」

Simultaneously, Jae-an cleared the level. A loose smile hung on Jae-an’s lips as he tapped the tablet quickly to maintain a combo. His eyes were empty, but it was a smile that looked relieved for some reason.

Instead, Seo Jae-rim’s pupils wavered. He hadn’t expected to face a compliant Lee Jae-an who said he wouldn’t run away. Seo Jae-rim spoke while slowly scanning Jae-an’s transparent eyes to see if they contained a single lie.

“The cleaners will be coming in the afternoon.”

Jae-an’s shoulders rose as he let out a small sigh, as if other people visiting wasn’t very welcome. But he suppressed his discomfort and nodded.

“I see.”

“Then stay put. I’ll be going to work.”

Seo Jae-rim gently ruffled his light brown hair and stood up. Even after getting into the car, he watched Jae-an through the CCTV as he focused on the game for about an hour before driving to the office.

He belatedly handled the tasks he had abandoned immediately after hearing that Lee Jae-an had fled the hospital. During that time, his golden eyes returned dozens of times to the screen transmitting the CCTV footage.

Jae-an, who had been holding the tablet for several hours, had eventually fallen asleep in that same position. Even when the cleaners entered the room, Jae-an did not wake once and kept his eyes tightly shut. His motionless appearance looked exactly like that of a corpse.