IWDAR Chapter 34

Wooyoung went to the nearest restroom and carefully washed his hands, examining his reflection in the mirror. The housekeeper’s words about contacting Tae-uk lingered in his ears. He recalled the man’s heavy silence in response to his question from a few days ago.

 

‘If I say I’m interested in you, Han Wooyoung, wouldn’t that explain everything?’

 

Wooyoung realized for the first time that a person’s voice could sound so alluring. He self-consciously pressed his cold fingertips against his flushed cheeks. He then smoothed down his messy hair. 

 

He looked a little dejected, still feeling foolish, but the thought of having dinner with Tae-uk tonight lifted his spirits.

 

Arriving at the dining room, Wooyoung was surprised to see a table laden with food, despite the housekeeper’s claim that she would only serve him broth. He looked at her in confusion as she placed a bowl of rice in front of him.

 

“I only put in a ti~ny bit of rice, really just a little. If your mouth gets lonely while you’re eating the broth, you can have a bite.”

 

Woo-young scratched his cheek at the portion of rice that looked no different from his usual serving. Still, the housekeeper’s consideration warmed his heart. 

 

He carefully scooped up the clear broth with his spoon and tasted the exquisitely flavorful stew. His face lit up with delight.

 

“Wow, it’s delicious!”

 

“Right? The CEO sent over some incredibly good Hanwoo beef earlier today. Thanks to that, I was able to prepare this properly.”

 

The housekeeper beamed, adding more side dishes to his plate.

 

“I heard that Wooyoung had a tiring day. I think he wanted to give you a boost.”

 

“The CEO said that? That I had a tiring day?”

 

Wooyoung, who had been gulping down the broth as if it were his first meal, looked at the housekeeper with surprised eyes. 

 

She nodded casually, then sighed with a weary look.

 

“It makes sense that you’d be tired. Judging by the fact that he’s making you starve until dinner, it seems they’re not ordinary people.”

 

“So, when is the CEO coming?”

 

Unable to contain his anticipation, Wooyoung asked, wanting to share this delicious stew, made especially for him, with Tae-uk.

 

“Ah, he said he’ll be a little late tonight and told you to eat by yourself.”

 

“Ah……”

 

 The housekeeper didn’t give him the answer he wanted.

 

“Then let’s eat together before you leave for the day, Auntie.”

 

Wooyoung forced a smile, but he felt like a fool for having bothered to check his appearance in the mirror earlier.

 

｡ﾟ•┈꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱┈•  ｡ﾟ

 

After days of relentless news about fine dust and yellow dust, the forecast finally predicted rain. 

 

People hoped the downpour would wash away the polluted air quality, but Tae-uk’s expression was dark. 

 

On rainy days, the evil spirits clinging to him became more agitated. Because of this, Tae-uk habitually felt his mood sink whenever he saw cloudy skies. Thanks to Wooyoung’s power, he hadn’t encountered any distressing situations lately, but this was a learned response from long ago.

 

Looking at the humid air and dark sky, Tae-uk recalled the concert rehearsal he had just visited. The concert, held at the performance hall that Tae-uk had invested in and successfully completed, featured a popular female solo artist under On Entertainment, known as the “Nation’s little sister.” 

 

It was a large-scale performance commemorating her 10th debut anniversary, attracting investments from numerous companies, hence Tae-uk’s personal visit.

 

All rehearsals were, naturally, live. Even as the artist’s bright voice resonated through the vast stage hall, Tae-uk saw it. A dark-faced man, hanging upside down above the stage, glared at him. 

 

It wasn’t difficult for Tae-uk to instinctively recognize it as something that shouldn’t exist. The problem was that he could clearly hear the singing voice resonating from the stage, yet this thing was visible to him. 

 

The man, grotesquely hanging with his limbs twisted, seemed constrained by something and only glared at Tae-uk, unable to cause any harm. Yet, its mere presence was far from pleasant, a fact he knew all too well.

 

Red warning lights flashed in Tae-uk’s mind. It was instinctual.

 

“Shall I take you straight home, sir?”

 

“……Yes.”

 

Tae-uk replied to his driver, tearing his gaze from the sky.

 

Although it was long past rush hour, traffic was heavy due to the rain. Tae-uk remained silent and motionless during the longer-than-usual commute.

 

Even after two years of employment, the driver still felt suffocated whenever he was with Tae-uk. He felt that even if he became more accustomed to serving Tae-uk with time, he would never feel comfortable with the man’s presence in the back seat.

 

As usual, the radio remained silent, the driver focusing solely on the rain outside.

 

“How long will it take?”

 

“Excuse me…?”

 

“The arrival time.”

 

The driver was slightly puzzled by Tae-uk’s question, as he hadn’t usually shown much concern about his commute time before.

 

“The rain is heavy, so it will take about 10 minutes longer than usual. Traffic is quite congested.”

 

“I see.”

 

The abrupt end to the conversation made the driver involuntarily glance at Tae-uk through the rearview mirror. 

 

The moment he met Tae-wook’s dark eyes, he involuntarily tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Every encounter with that heavy gaze made him shrink.

 

‘But it feels like he’s not looking at me…’

 

He felt that Tae-uk was looking slightly upwards. The driver’s intuition was correct. 

 

Tae-uk wasn’t looking at him. Above the rearview mirror, outside the front windshield, something black was sliding down. Mixed with the rainwater, it resembled murky exhaust fumes or thick, diluted ink.

 

The black mass spread across the windshield, but the driver continued driving, seemingly unaffected.

 

Bang!

 

The black mass slammed against the windshield.

 

Crash!!

 

Two wide-open eyes glared at Tae-uk through the clumped mass. The bloodshot whites of the eyes were grotesque.

 

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!!!

 

‘The shaman said the evil spirits are incredibly enraged right now. The situation is far more dangerous than you think.’

 

His grandfather’s warning came to mind. 

 

Tae-uk, who hadn’t been free from those ‘dangerous situations,’ had recently been experiencing peace and tranquility for the first time in a while. 

 

Since meeting Wooyoung and having the boy near him, the instances of seeing strange things or falling into danger had noticeably decreased. Doh-hoon had also recently relaxed a bit, believing the habitual dangers were no longer life-threatening.

 

But was that just a fleeting moment? 

 

Or, as his grandfather warned, were the enraged spirits harboring resentment? Whatever the reason, it wasn’t a pleasant situation for Tae-uok.

 

‘I thought I had already accepted it…’

 

Unable to use its limbs, the malevolent being relentlessly slammed its forehead against the windshield. It appeared tightly bound, much like the dark-faced man glaring at him from the concert hall earlier…

 

Thud! Thump! Thump! Thump!!

 

The windshield, smeared with red blood. The evil spirit, panting with torn skin. The glaring gaze. The anger, disgust, and hatred contained within.

 

When faced with something repulsive, humans instinctively recall something beautiful enough to forget it. 

 

For Tae-uk, it was Han Wooyoung’s voice. The boy’s beautiful singing, his calm tone when calling his name, the clear sound of his laughter. And—

 

‘So, before I leave this place, please let me know exactly what you want.’

 

‘You’re not still sober, are you? There’s no time to waste. We need to copulate before this month is over.’

 

“The road is clearing up now. It seems we’ll arrive a bit sooner than I mentioned.”

 

“……Is that so?”

 

Tae-uk answered the driver and slowly closed his eyes.

 

‘What am I hesitating about?’

 

Tae-uk suddenly felt utterly weary of it all.