I’m Not That Obsessive

Chapter 59

Although Junman suddenly called and asked to meet, I didn’t want to. I didn’t know what kind of crude story he might bring up to bother me, so a phone call was enough. No, even this was overwhelming.

“How did you get my phone number?”

– That’s not important right now. I’m being pegged as an arsonist!

“Did you set fire to my house?”

– Are you crazy? Why would I? With all my friends there, why would I do such a thing?

“Then, there’s no need to worry, right? Why are you doing this to me? It’s not like I tipped off the police.”

– That’s why I’m asking you to say that it doesn’t seem like I did it! Before they lock me up!

“Okay. I’ll tell them there’s no reason for you to do such a thing. You won’t be accused of arson, so don’t worry about that. I’m hanging up.”

– Wait! Just a moment!

“Speak quickly. I’m busy.”

– Geon-woo. I really, really don’t want to do this, but… could you send me about 30 million won? Ah, no, I mean, 10 million won. Just send me 10 million won…

I hung up before even listening to the end. After spending other people’s money like water, now he’s casually asking for 10 million won as if it’s the name of someone’s pet dog.

I immediately blocked the number and turned off my phone. I should tell Mitchell to quickly wrap up the fire incident and close the iron gate soon. Before the pest we just got rid of comes buzzing back.

Sighing deeply, I looked up and met Mitchell’s eyes. Since he was filming, his gaze quickly shifted away as soon as the camera turned to him, but it was clear he had been looking at me, even if just for a moment.

‘Cute guy.’

Just as I was feeling satisfied watching Mitchell diligently desire me, I quickly turned my head. It was an instinct following a feeling of being watched.

“What…”

A man wearing a black hat pulled low was looking at me. When he met my gaze, he quickly turned away and left the building. It’s probably just a coincidence, right? Maybe our eyes just happened to meet, and he had other business to attend to outside.

He seemed to be a staff member of our film crew, at least. I didn’t think much of it and went back to admiring Mitchell.

“Good work.”

The filming finally ended well past midnight. I drove, and Mitchell collapsed in the passenger seat.

With all the physical action scenes in this movie, body management was crucial, but because of me, the number of days Mitchell couldn’t rest properly was increasing.

I thought about foods good for nourishment and decided to give him a massage when we got home. Or maybe it would be good to buy a vibrating massager or massage chair at this point.

“Is this what they call being a supportive partner?”

I glanced at Mitchell, who had fallen asleep, while shrugging my shoulders. It seemed like I needed to do some shopping soon.

***

Mitchell glared at the clock. It was well past 1 o’clock, but Geon-woo hadn’t arrived.

Before 9 AM, he had put him in a taxi headed for the gym, but there was still no word. He said practice would take about 2 hours, so there should have been plenty of time to arrive at the filming location.

Today was an outdoor shoot, not on set. Although he had given the address in advance, the taxi driver might be having trouble finding the place. He stared at the clock for a long time, thinking of all sorts of possibilities.

Mitchell had to admit it. The compass that used to regulate his mood had completely settled in Geon-woo’s direction.

In the past, he hadn’t specified anyone. Anyone human was fine, but now it had to be Geon-woo. No matter how much he tried to deceive himself or pretend not to know, in the end, it was Geon-woo.

His head started to throb because Geon-woo wasn’t by his side. He felt suffocated because Geon-woo, who used to observe him, had disappeared. As something unknown began to choke him, despair that had been lurking above his head came crashing down. Mitchell lowered his head.

“…”

There didn’t need to be conversation, nor any special actions. Just having Geon-woo sitting next to him allowed him to enjoy the ordinary happiness that everyone wants. But now, the person who gave him that ordinary thing wasn’t by his side.

“Mitchell, are you okay? You look unwell?”

As he took deep breaths and touched his neck, a friendly staff member came to check on Mitchell’s condition.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

“Sit down for a bit. It’ll take at least another thirty minutes to set everything up. Or you could have lunch now.”

“Yeah. I’ll be in the car. Call me when it’s done.”

“Okay.”

Mitchell dragged his heavy body towards the car. People were crowding around where lunch boxes were being distributed.

Mitchell was planning to eat lunch after filming the car explosion scene. That is, he wanted to eat with Geon-woo when he arrived.

As he passed by, he looked at the menu. It was a different catering company from yesterday, but the menu was similar to what they had eaten. Mitchell thought about looking into whether there were any companies that offered Korean food.

After another ten minutes or so, the person he had been waiting for finally appeared.

“What’s this? You’re not filming?”

Geon-woo stood in front of Mitchell, who had been leaning blankly against the SUV. His black bangs were disheveled from running, revealing his round forehead. Today, Geon-woo’s refreshingly curved eyes instantly cleared away the stuffy air that had been surrounding Mitchell.

“Why are you so late?”

Mitchell asked without making eye contact with Geon-woo. He twisted his stiff neck hard, making a cracking sound.

“Ah, I met someone I know at the gym. Someone I had met in Korea was working out there.”

“A close friend?”

“No. We knew each other for about a week? He suddenly left for America. But then I came here and met him. Isn’t that really amazing?”

“It is amazing. So why were you late?”

“Ah, I was late because I had lunch with him. You’ve eaten, right? It’s almost 2 o’clock now.”

“I ate.”

“That’s good.”

“You don’t usually make friends easily.”

“That’s right. I don’t have friends.”

“Then why? Are you trying to become friends with him?”

“No. Ah, his name is Inbeom. Inbeom Yoon. Anyway, I’m not that close with Inbeom even now. We just had a meal together. He offered to buy. But I am a bit grateful to Inbeom for fending off some troublemakers.”

“Troublemakers?”

“You mentioned it before too, remember? You said there were a lot of troublemakers at DK Gym? Actually, I didn’t say anything, but it really was like that. They were so territorial from the first day. I felt self-conscious even drinking water, and they assigned me a locker at the very bottom, which was really annoying. There were plenty of empty ones! Ugh… But they don’t do that to Inbeom. I’m sticking close to him to benefit from that too.”

Mitchell just nodded instead of replying.

“Oh, right. Mitchell. I got a call from the police station earlier. The fire incident, it seems it’ll be wrapped up soon. Junman was a prime suspect, but while there were suspicions, there was no physical evidence.”

“What about the oil container?”

“They say there were no fingerprints at all. They suspect it was arson using oil to start the fire, but the flames might have started from fireworks too. Seems my brother’s friends brought some fireworks. Also, I told them I don’t like the house site being left unattended due to the investigation, and I’m bothered by people coming and going on our private property. I said we should be able to live properly even if they don’t catch the culprit. So they said they’d wrap it up as quickly as possible.”

“That’s good. I was annoyed by people coming and going too.”

“Right?”

In the middle of their conversation, a staff member called for Mitchell. As filming was about to resume, Mitchell rubbed his face and started walking.

“Do you have somewhere to go?”

When Mitchell asked Geon-woo, who was following him, Geon-woo looked at him as if he’d heard something strange and asked back.

“Where would I go? I need to keep watching you now.”

“Okay.”

Mitchell firmly squeezed Geon-woo’s nape once before letting go.

Even though his mood had soured when Geon-woo wasn’t in sight, his anger disappeared like it had been washed away at Geon-woo’s words about continuously watching him. Now, he couldn’t even get angry at Geon-woo over trivial matters.

This was clearly love.

It might not quite fit with the clear, beautiful, and sacred ‘love’. It was closer to a sticky, messy emotion.

But whether you call it adoration, affection, attachment, or passion – all the loving words in the world seemed to fit. Mitchell’s feelings were definitely ‘those things’.

***

Just before filming began, Director Robert said something to Mitchell that didn’t really need to be said. The director meant to look after Mitchell, but thanks to that, a small secret was revealed.

“Mitchell, you haven’t had lunch yet, right?”

Mitchell quickly checked Geon-woo’s expression first. As expected, Geon-woo was frowning with his mouth wide open.

Mitchell thought it might be for the best. He imagined Geon-woo sniffling, promising never to eat alone again. Of course, he wouldn’t actually cry over something like that, but a sorry and clingy Geon-woo wouldn’t be bad either.

So Mitchell avoided Geon-woo’s eyes that were seeking an explanation. The filming that usually progressed at a normal pace seemed to drag on that day.

“Why did you lie to me?”

As soon as they got in the car after filming, Geon-woo demanded. Mitchell’s expectation that Geon-woo would be apologetic had missed the mark.

Geon-woo drove the car quickly while scolding Mitchell. Although they had grabbed a sandwich in between, they both knew it was far from enough.

Geon-woo drove almost recklessly in search of a restaurant. All the while, he didn’t forget to scold Mitchell.

“I asked why you lied! If you hadn’t eaten, you should have said so. Why did you lie!”

He seemed more upset about the lie than about the meal itself. Mitchell tried to calm down the fuming Geon-woo, thinking this reaction was typical of him.

“I won’t lie anymore. But I was waiting to eat with you. I wanted to eat together when you arrived. Well, it ended up like this. Ah, I’m hungry.”

It felt like tears might spill if he touched Geon-woo’s eyes right now. Mitchell was satisfied like a well-fed beast, seeing Geon-woo react exactly as he wanted.

“…We’re going now. Just wait a bit. I won’t eat with anyone else again. I’ll only eat with you. Or I’ll take you along with me. I’m really sorry.”

Geon-woo chewed on his lips as he searched for a restaurant. He felt deeply guilty for causing Mitchell to skip a meal because of him.

Of all things, to make him skip a meal! A meal! He felt like the worst criminal.

The car sped down the road like an ambulance carrying an emergency patient. All the while, his eyes darted around looking for a good hospital – no, a good restaurant. Not realizing that the ’emergency patient’ was happily smiling at him.