My Bloody Valentine - 104

Chapter 104

Junho quickly walked past Taeshin, who was sitting lazily on the sofa, looking like an addict deeply immersed in drugs. Junho headed to the wardrobe and began picking out a suit for Taeshin. Taeshin’s muttering voice could be heard from behind him.

“I thought I would see it today…”

He wondered if he would finally see the child’s features he had seen in his dreams. Every night, he went to sleep with expectations, but for several days in a row, disappointment and emptiness had awakened him from his dreams.

When he woke up, he couldn’t gather his thoughts for a while. He had become so deeply immersed in the emotions of the people in his dreams that it took him time to get out of it.

The dreams were very vivid. It felt like watching scenes of a movie, one scene at a time each night. The emotions of the protagonists were so touching and intense that Taeshin even began to wonder if he had a talent for writing third-rate novels.

“Have you eaten? Did you eat something?”

Taeshin shook his head. The last thing he ate was whiskey the night before, and he couldn’t even remember what he ate before that.

Taeshin stared out the window with bloodshot eyes. Junho, watching him, looked utterly devastated.

A man who seemed like he could have everything in the world was breaking down like this. Junho couldn’t help but regret not keeping him close.

Confirming that there was a little time, Junho grabbed the phone and instructed them to bring the quickest-to-make, easy-to-digest meal.

Soon, room service arrived. They brought a porridge filled with fresh abalone, but Taeshin only took a couple of bites before heading straight to the bathroom to vomit. Since there was nothing in his stomach, only bile came up.

Eventually, Taeshin left the hotel on an empty stomach. Though he put on a suit and got into the car, he still wasn’t feeling well. Not even a diagnosis could define his symptoms.

His cheeks were sunken, and there were dark circles under his eyes. He looked anything but normal.

Junho, sitting next to him in the backseat of the sedan, couldn’t shake the feeling that the rumors of Taeshin being a drug addict would soon spread to the Cheongsong Construction headquarters.

When Taeshin, who had been staring into space with blurry eyes, finally seemed to focus for a moment, he asked Myeongseop, who was sitting in the passenger seat:

“Is it time?”

There was no need for further explanation. These days, the only thing Taeshin asked Myeongseop was that.

“Well… Today is the day for departure.”

“…Ah, so today is the day.”

Today, Han would leave for the United States.

“Yes, the flight is at 4:50 PM.”

“…”

Taeshin smiled lightly for some reason.

“Why?”

“Because it seems like a good thing.”

“…For Lee Han?”

“I must have really messed up for that to happen.”

Junho looked at Taeshin’s bitter smile with deep concern. As Taeshin took out a pill bottle from his pocket and swallowed it without water, Junho turned his gaze to the window.

The dark clouds in the sky seemed ready to pour rain at any moment, growling threateningly. It was the worst of situations. Though the weather was bad, it wasn’t bad enough to delay the flight.

Taeshin’s gaze also lingered on the sky where the sun could not be seen.

Soon, you will fly up there somewhere. To a place I cannot even touch.

It was a simple matter of letting go of my hand and watching it fly away.

Ironically, admitting that he loved Han led to the conclusion that he had to let him go. It seemed like the only rational and natural thing to do, before he ruined everything even more, before he suffocated him with his own hands.

Now that Han was at least physically going somewhere he couldn’t easily reach, this crazy feeling should settle down. Or, there was no other way, so it had to.

Drip. Drip. Raindrops hit the window one after another, shattering. The sound of heavy rain hitting the window added to the sound of the quiet engine in the car.

It was the season of suffering.

❖ ❖ ❖

Time passed quickly and harshly.

In the meantime, Han had gotten his passport made and applied for a visa. Other than that, he stayed at home, doing nothing, letting time pass.

Through Soyoung’s mediation, he met Haejun. When Haejun came to his house, he knelt before him and apologized in tears as soon as he saw Han.

The way his hand rested on his thigh was awkward in some way. Han didn’t notice his finger, which had a joint missing, until later, and then he cried just like him.

For some reason, he didn’t feel resentful toward Haejun, who should have been the one to blame. If it weren’t for Haejun, there would have been no reunion with Taeshin. Although it had now become a painful memory, Han didn’t regret meeting Taeshin.

His relationship with Soyoung wasn’t bad either. However, calling her was always difficult for him. He always either called her “Excuse me,” or gently grabbed her sleeve.

And now, Han was standing in front of the huge electronic board at the international airport, for the first time in his life.

UA858, QR859, OZ242, KE634…

The Code-Like Complicated Words Quickly Appeared and Quickly Disappeared.

Suddenly, the face of a man whose thoughts were as hard to understand as a code flashed through Han’s mind.

In fact, the mention of a code or anything like that was merely an excuse to think of him. For the past month, Taeshin had never left Han’s mind for even a moment.

“It’s already out. The article, and the airport photos are up too.”

“That was fast. Are the photos good?”

The sound of a conversation between manager Yoon Seung-a and Soyoung broke Han’s thoughts.

Han quickly tore his gaze away from the electronic board and followed after them. The only people in his group were Soyoung and Seung-a. Unlike before when there was always a large team of staff around her, it was now extremely small. This reflected Soyoung’s mindset as she prepared to start anew in a foreign place.

They entered the first-class lounge side by side. It was quiet, comfortable, and, most importantly, it had partitioned areas that ensured privacy.

“Wow, our actress’s photo turned out really well. Han, do you want to see it?”

“Ah… yes.”

Han, who had just sat down, took the pad Seung-a handed him and looked at the screen. It was a picture of Soyoung in a stylish jumpsuit and sunglasses.

The cool image didn’t look like an airport photo at all; it looked more like a photoshoot. Even the people surrounding her at the airport seemed to be part of a well-designed scene, as if they were props for a photoshoot concept.

Seung-a and Soyoung chatted excitedly.

“The brand is going to love this. There are already comments asking where the clothes are from, it’s crazy.”

“Really? That’s good.”

After finishing looking at the photos, Han was about to hand the pad back to Seung-a but suddenly felt a slight discomfort and placed it back on his lap. He looked at the photo again.

With his eyes narrowed, Han zoomed in on the corner of the photo where the people gathered around Soyoung were shown.

“…!”

There, Han recognized a familiar face. It was one of Taeshin’s men. He had seen him a few times and remembered him. Moreover, he was wearing a black suit in the middle of summer—there was no mistaking it.

Was it really just a coincidence that one of his bodyguards was at the airport at this time?

What if something happened to Taeshin?

What if someone was coming to kidnap me again?

Han’s mind was filled with these fleeting thoughts. Unaware of his troubled state, Soyoung began to tell him about what was coming up.

“The article is going to be released in about two weeks. It was written really well. Han, you should rest for a month or two and think about what you want to do or learn. After the article fades and people’s interest dies down, we can start with language school. How does that sound?”

“…Yes.”

Han answered with a somewhat troubled expression and looked down at the passport with his photo and name engraved on it, as though it belonged to someone else. He was a little disappointed, thinking he should have been more excited.

Seung-a quickly spoke up, trying to divert Soyoung’s attention to cheer her up.

“Still, unnie, it’s such a relief that you’re going to the U.S. at this time.”

As she said, if Soyoung were still in Korea, she would have been an easy target for the media. Reporters would have swarmed in front of her house, invading her privacy. The timing of her move overseas was perfect.

Soyoung nodded, acknowledging this, and spoke with a bitter smile.

“It feels weird to think I won’t be here for a while. There were more horrible things that happened in this country than I care to admit… it’s strange. But it’s my homeland, after all.”

It was a simple remark, but to Han, it felt different.

When he thought of the time he spent with Taeshin, there had indeed been far more terrifying, painful, and horrible experiences than good ones.

So why, even when freedom was right before me, couldn’t I stop thinking about Taeshin? Even at this very moment, as I try to leave.

At that moment, Seung-a stood up, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

“Unnie, didn’t you say you were going to buy something at the duty-free shop? Let’s go.”

Han was still lost in his thoughts, wondering why Taeshin’s man was there.

Then, without even realizing it, a thought took over Han’s mind.

‘I wish he would kidnap me again, just once more.’