The Unbelievers

Chapter 95

Director Nam knew that Master Manpo would betray Yoo Siwoon for money.

“Have him killed,” Yoo Siwoon said coldly to the hesitant Director Nam. Director Nam barely nodded, then turned away with a grim expression and took out his phone to make a call.

From the half-heard conversation, it seemed the response was that they would throw the man who was about to board the smuggling vessel into the sea.

Yoo Siwoon was recalling Yoo Seongil’s question in a daze.

“Do you know what it feels like to meet your wife?”

The image of Yoo Oseon, frenzied and ecstatic, appeared before Yoo Siwoon’s eyes.

“That child! It was that child! It was him! The pale and decaying knight on horseback comes with the sound of thunder!”

Yoo Oseon rejoiced, dancing. With rolling eyes. With shaking limbs. A moment of pure ecstasy struck Yoo Siwoon’s spine like lightning.

“Do you know what it feels like to meet your wife?”

“My wife is alive! Where is that child! Where is that child! I must meet him right now! I must meet my wife! The goddess and prophetess! As I believe, so shall it be!”

That child… Seo Eunseong is the Great Gap.

With his eyes closed, his back sunk deep into the car’s backseat, habitually touching his rough knuckles, Yoo Siwoon opened his eyes when he felt the car stop. The window rolled down, and a security officer approached, carefully checking the faces of Director Nam in the driver’s seat and Yoo Siwoon in the back.

The mere fact that Yoo Oseon had managed to approach this place made Yoo Siwoon feel like he was losing his mind.

The employee, unaware of any threat, simply checked inside without greeting and stepped back with a hand signal. Soon the barrier moved up.

As Director Nam raised the window again, he moved his foot to the accelerator. Glancing at Yoo Siwoon in the rearview mirror, he said, “You got some rest.”

“…”

Though he thought he had just closed his eyes, quite a lot of time had passed. Perhaps he had dozed off briefly. He was indeed tired.

The car stopped in front of his residence. Director Nam got out of the driver’s seat first and came around to the back. Even after Director Nam opened the door, Yoo Siwoon remained sitting in the car for a while.

Director Nam didn’t rush him. He was aware that Yoo Siwoon was different from usual. Yoo Siwoon slowly extended his legs to the ground and raised his body, which felt heavy.

At that moment, Director Nam’s phone vibrated. He turned away from Yoo Siwoon as if asking for permission and took out his phone from inside his jacket. After checking the text message, he reported to Yoo Siwoon.

“…Master Manpo has been taken care of.”

The ship that had left Incheon would be crossing the dark Yellow Sea by now. Master Manpo had become fish food in the Yellow Sea.

Director Nam looked worriedly at Yoo Siwoon, who gave no response.

“Are you alright?”

“…It’s what we always do. There’s no reason I shouldn’t be fine.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. You seem different from usual today, sir.”

“Do I?”

Yoo Siwoon asked with a strange tone, as if wondering how he appeared that way, but in truth, he was very different from usual. No, it wasn’t just different—he was in an unsound state of mind. He just wasn’t showing it outwardly.

The image of Yoo Oseon raving with certainty that Eunseong was “the Great Gap,” his existence now confined in a morgue freezer, wouldn’t leave his mind. Yoo Seongil’s question asking if he knew what it felt like to meet one’s wife kept echoing repeatedly.

What drove Yoo Siwoon mad was the fact that he vaguely knew the answer to that question he didn’t even want to acknowledge. He was increasingly understanding that feeling more clearly as time passed. No, he knew it more precisely than anyone else. Yoo Siwoon was the only person in this world who knew what it felt like to meet one’s mate.

“Director.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what it feels like to meet your wife?”

“…What do you mean?”

Unable to grasp what Yoo Siwoon was talking about, Director Nam now looked at him with eyes that showed concern for his boss who was saying truly strange things.

“Normally, it would be natural not to understand what nonsense I’m speaking.”

“…”

“Why am I…”

“…Sir?”

“You’ve worked hard until this late hour. Go home.”

Yoo Siwoon, who had been saying something, patted Director Nam’s shoulder as the latter looked at him quizzically, and took a step. Then he suddenly turned his head toward him. Director Nam, who was about to say goodbye, politely assumed a posture of waiting for orders, asking what was the matter.

“Director, do you use any kind of perfume?”

“Me?”

“Yes, like skin toner or lotion. Do you apply anything special?”

“I do apply something after washing my face. Why do you suddenly ask that?”

Director Nam sniffed, trying to detect his own scent, wondering if he smelled bad, but there was no smell.

“Do I smell unpleasant?”

“No. It’s just that you don’t have any particular scent. It seems he can’t distinguish between you and me.”

“You’re really strange today, sir.”

“I suppose so. I am a bit strange today. Good work.”

Yoo Siwoon gestured for him to go in and not worry about his odd remarks, then turned away.

The house was enveloped in silence. There was no sign of Eunseong, who usually sat on the sofa with the TV turned up loud when Yoo Siwoon returned home.

Though it was past midnight, Yoo Siwoon didn’t head to his room but walked to Eunseong’s door. Knock, knock—he knocked and waited. When there was no response from inside, he was about to raise his hand to knock again when the door clicked open.

The door was only half open, and only half of Eunseong’s face was visible.

“You’re back.”

“…”

When there was no reply to his awkward greeting, Eunseong raised his downcast gaze. His eyes met Yoo Siwoon’s. He was staring intently at Eunseong’s face. It was a fresh gaze, as if looking at someone he was meeting for the first time.

After staring penetratingly for a long time with an unfamiliar gaze, Yoo Siwoon coolly spoke.

“Have you eaten dinner?”

“It’s past midnight now.”

“Is it that late already?”

“Yes, it’s past twelve. And you’re late again today.”

“…”

“…Well, good night.”

“Why are you avoiding me?”

Eunseong had said good night and was about to close the door. Yoo Siwoon’s hand abruptly grabbed the doorknob. It seemed like the door would open wide if he pulled with just a little force. Eunseong gripped the doorknob tightly with both hands and exerted force to prevent Yoo Siwoon from opening it arbitrarily.

“Avoiding? Who… who’s avoiding?”

His fidgeting gestures clearly showed he was avoiding Yoo Siwoon. Eunseong couldn’t look at him directly and only stared at his chest while mumbling.

“You had no problem crossing the 38th parallel you told me not to cross, but now why are you avoiding me?”

“It’s not the 38th parallel, it’s the military demarcation line. Who calls it the 38th parallel these days?”

Even as he retorted sharply, Eunseong couldn’t look at him. Since Yoo Siwoon was holding the doorknob and wouldn’t let go, the door wouldn’t close despite Eunseong’s pulling. Only then did Eunseong raise resentful eyes. From the beginning, Yoo Siwoon had kept his gaze fixed on Eunseong without wavering.

“I asked why you’re avoiding me.”

“Just… just because.”

“Just because?”

“It’s my feeling.”

Eunseong had been acting distant ever since the last incident. He didn’t follow Yoo Siwoon around saying they needed to kiss at least once a day, nor did he come out in the morning or show his face to Yoo Siwoon. As Yoo Siwoon said, he had been avoiding him.

Gazing at Eunseong steadily, Yoo Siwoon asked in a low voice.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“…”

“I guess I did something wrong.”

“…”

“What is it?”

“…”

“That day… did you dislike it?”

Eunseong shook his head, saying no. His earlobes turned red, recalling that day. Yoo Siwoon didn’t take his eyes off the flushing cheeks and asked again.

“Is it because I said strange things to you that day…?”

That night, on the bed, Yoo Siwoon had pressed himself against Eunseong’s lower body and said he wanted to impregnate him. He thought it would be regarded as just obscenities spoken carelessly in excitement. Yoo Siwoon didn’t even remember saying such things. He couldn’t believe he had said such things, but he also couldn’t assert that he hadn’t said such crude words. That day, Yoo Siwoon was excited and half out of his mind. He couldn’t be his true self.

He didn’t know if his consciousness had been invaded by the existence of “the Great Gap,” like Yoo Seongil or Yoo Oseon. Like them, he was only now becoming aware of his own feelings about what it felt like to meet one’s wife, what it felt like to meet a companion in this life who might never exist until death. He was realizing with a shudder down his spine that others were targeting “the Great Gap” and that he could lose it to someone else.

Yoo Siwoon’s fingertips were trembling faintly, but Eunseong didn’t notice.

Eunseong shook his head weakly, indicating that wasn’t it either. As he did so, he opened the door a little wider, which had seemed like it would never be opened further, revealing himself completely.

Yoo Siwoon’s eyes scanned Eunseong carefully. Growing anxious, Eunseong brought his hand to his mouth and bit his nails. As the sleeve that had been covering the back of his hand was pulled up, revealing his wrist, a bruise was visible.

“…”

From how forcefully Yoo Siwoon had grabbed and pressed that day, a dark bruise had formed on Eunseong’s wrist the next day.

Eunseong had been deliberately avoiding Yoo Siwoon to hide the bruise mark from him. Though the ink-like color was gradually fading, the mark—the trace of powerlessness from being forcibly gripped and released by someone—still remained darkly.