I’m Not That Obsessive

Chapter 57

“Hey, Junman. What’s this all about?”

Seongju, who had been holding back, finally expressed his dissatisfaction. The trip they had come to enjoy was ruined after just two days. Not only had they caught the attention of the American police, but they had also nearly had their passports confiscated.

Fortunately, such a misfortune didn’t occur, but they were advised to suspend all plans and wait at their accommodation until the cause of the fire was determined.

It wasn’t a forced order, so they could move around, but after experiencing such an incident, no one could enjoy sightseeing happily. Especially not in America, far from Korea.

Of course, being innocent, they would eventually be cleared, but when people experience unexpected unpleasant situations, it takes time to recover. Everyone was in that state.

Seongju didn’t blame Junman directly, but he wanted him to take some responsibility. Even though Junman had already paid for the hotel rooms, Seongju wanted more.

“I think it’s okay to go out and eat nearby? Junman, why don’t you treat us to a meal?”

From now on, Junman had become the group’s wallet. If he used to be a strict and arrogant wallet before, now he was everyone’s wallet to use as they pleased.

“Shit, are you all beggars inside? How can you eat now?”

“Of course, you bastard! We missed breakfast, and now we’re skipping lunch too?”

“Ah, damn it.”

“I texted the girls to come out in 30 minutes. You know they’re not in a good mood, right?”

“Fine! Fine! Who said I’m starving you?”

Unlike the men sharing a room, they had booked separate rooms for the women. Not wanting to swallow his pride, Junman had deliberately splurged. Despite the five-star hotel being ridiculously expensive, he didn’t dare show it.

In the past, no matter how much he spent, Geon-woo would cover everything. That’s why he could maintain his position among his friends, but now he had neither Geon-woo’s support nor money left.

Junman was desperate for money. To avoid becoming penniless, he needed to calculate every expense from now on. Curses naturally erupted at this uncharacteristically shabby situation.

Junman and the rest of the group left the hotel together and ate at a nearby restaurant.

Junman, feeling out of sorts, couldn’t swallow his food. He went out alone and sent a message to Mark.

[I want to publish the article about Mitchell’s sexual harassment right now. If you can’t do it, I’ll find another reporter. Please reply immediately.]

He copied and sent the translated English sentence, but there was no reply even after a few minutes. His hands were sweating from desperation.

Should he call and tell him to check the message? He could only glare at his innocent phone, with nothing else he could do.

“That fucking bastard… Setting a fire? It’s telling Geon-woo to get off his land.”

Junman was convinced that Mitchell was behind this fire.

Actually, Mitchell had come to find Junman and told him to come out at 11 PM last night!

“Come out quietly. Don’t tell anyone.”

But the person who made the appointment didn’t show up, and damn it, there was a fire. Smoke started rising from across the street, and then flames spread with the wind. At the same time, his friends who were drinking in the house rushed out.

At first, the fire wasn’t too severe, and they could have contained it early by using the garden hose or throwing water on it.

But even as they realized the fire was spreading, no one stepped up.

“Hey, what’s this? Suddenly?”

“Do something about it.”

“Shit, are you telling me to put out the fire? It looks fucking dangerous.”

Everyone hurriedly grabbed their belongings and came out, waiting for the fire to extinguish itself. The flames weren’t actually that big, so Junman thought it would stop on its own.

By the time they realized there was a smell of oil, it was already too late. In an instant, the fire that had engulfed the entire second floor exploded, covering the mansion.

Recalling last night’s events, Junman scratched his head vigorously. The most annoying thing was that the police were suspicious of him.

One damn friend had blabbed something weird to the police.

“Why were you outside at that time?”

He explained that he had gone out alone because of his appointment with Mitchell, but Gyeongsu revealed all of this to the police. He was the only one out of the eight who spoke English well. He had been jealous of Junman’s spending and had feelings for Kim Yoon, but lost her to Junman.

Of all people, it had to be him. Because of Gyeongsu’s testimony, only Junman was in trouble. To be precise, it was Junman who the police advised not to leave the hotel. They said this to everyone, but they specifically repeated it to Junman.

The friends who were all together inside the house could provide alibis for each other, but Junman, who had wandered outside for dozens of minutes, had no alibi.

Moreover, an empty oil can was found near the house, so the investigation focused on arson. Junman was burning up inside too.

So he absolutely had to catch Mitchell.

“Ah, why isn’t there any reply!”

Earlier, he had met Mark, but he just kept saying to wait. Since he wanted to make the report anonymously, Mark seemed to be cautious, worried it might be buried as false news.

Junman considered just revealing his face and coming forward, but he soon shook his head. He hated the idea of his face becoming known for such a sordid affair.

Anyway, the situation wasn’t good. There was no evidence that Mitchell had come to him and said such things. Damn it, no evidence!

What I once happily thought of as a blessing – that such a mansion had no CCTV – has come back to haunt me. If I had known this would happen, I should have at least taken a picture of the phone screen Mitchell showed me. There was clear evidence that he had even translated into Korean, telling me to come out at 11 o’clock!

In truth, even if there was evidence, the logic that agreeing to meet at 11 o’clock implies being an arsonist doesn’t hold up. It was simply a desperate attempt to grasp at straws. The problem was that even this straw was ineffective.

Junman nervously bit his nails while fiddling with his silent phone. Just as he was considering whether to look for another reporter, his phone vibrated.

Finally, a message from Mark arrived:

[Junman, I know the Mitchell sexual harassment story is a lie. Mitchell was filming all night that day. There are over fifty people who can testify to Mitchell’s alibi. I don’t understand why you’re telling such lies.

And do you know how serious arson is in the United States? Just stay quiet for now. You know the police consider you a prime suspect, right? Your situation has become very unfavorable.]

“These bastards…”

***

I didn’t want to do anything, so I sprawled out on the sofa. I had just showered and was glaring at the ceiling in my shorts.

Mitchell was busy preparing a meal in the kitchen. Nothing fancy, just heating up a packed meal and taking drinks out of the fridge.

“Geon-woo.”

I got up at Mitchell’s call. The packed meals Mitchell bought always tasted different, so I didn’t get tired of them, but I missed Korean food. On days like this when I felt uneasy, I particularly longed for home.

While I tried to convince myself that the fire wasn’t a big deal, my body disagreed, killing my appetite. The familiar smell of the packed meal felt particularly tiresome today.

I dragged myself sluggishly to sit at the table. As soon as I felt Mitchell’s gaze, he grabbed my chin and lifted it.

“Tell me why you’re feeling bad right now. Don’t leave anything out.”

Mitchell spoke as if he could read my mind. What a precious guy. How did he grow up so well? It seems my persistent efforts have paid off.

“Without leaving anything out?”

“Yeah.”

“There are three reasons. The first is…”

Mitchell pulled up a chair and sat next to me. He rested his chin on his palm and observed me.

“I don’t like that you keep worrying about various things because of Junman. I feel sorry too.”

“Second.”

“I’m anxious about something happening to you. You need to always be you, but I’m worried that I might be the cause of something bad happening to you. Well, more accurately, it would be because of my family…”

“Third.”

“…I don’t want to eat the packed meal.”

Silence fell at my comment about not wanting to eat the packed meal. The first and second reasons were valid and plausible. They were all serious matters.

However, being depressed because I didn’t want the packed meal might have seemed like a childish complaint about food.

“On the contrary, I’m in a very good mood right now. For three reasons.”

In front of my gloomy face, he smiled more brightly than the rising sun.

“What are they?”

“First, I’m glad that you’re not upset about the house burning down.”

“Second.”

“I’ll always be me, so there’s no way anything bad will happen to me, but it makes me feel good that you’re worried about me.”

“Then what’s the third?”

“I don’t want to eat the packed meal either. Let’s go out. To eat something delicious.”

Mitchell stood up. I also got up awkwardly, following Mitchell, but he suddenly stopped as if he had forgotten something. Then he rushed towards my chest.

“Let’s just have a taste of this first.”

He sucked and licked my chest. He squeezed my chest with his hand and bit the protruding part with his lips.