BITM Ch28 (End)
by soapa“Doctor, are you going to lock up today too?”
Han Naeyung, who had dozed off, came to his senses. Lee Seolhwa, peeking her face through the half-opened office door, was grinning.
“I’ll do it.”
“Then I’ll head out first.”
Han Naeyung got up from the chair and left the office. The clock on the waiting room wall already pointed to 7 PM. Han Naeyung sat back on the sofa and watched Lee Seolhwa prepare to leave. She squinted her eyes, carrying a crossbody bag.
“Why are you looking at me like that, Doctor?”
“I guess I’m still half-asleep.”
“Should I pinch your cheeks?”
Han Naeyung shook his head.
“Don’t be so serious. See you on Monday. Have a great weekend.”
“Yes, have a great weekend.”
Han Naeyung turned to look out the window.
Even after Lee Seolhwa disappeared, he continued to gaze outside as if searching for someone. His phone vibrated in his coat pocket. Checking the caller, he felt a moment of emptiness but answered calmly.
“Yes, sir.”
“Naeyung, are you done with work?”
“I just finished.”
“Did you sleep well last night?”
“I didn’t take the medicine. And… thank you for the aroma candle you sent.”
“Let me know if you need more. I have a truckload of them.”
“Yes.”
“You’re putting multiple water cups under your bed as I suggested, right?”
“None of them spilled.”
“I was worried because you mentioned sleepwalking, but that’s good to hear. Make sure to visit next week. I want to see your face.”
“I will.”
Han Naeyung ended the call with his therapist and turned to look out the window again.
“I need to get counseling later.”
“Keep your promise.”
He kept his promise, but he couldn’t see Jin. Every day he waited, but the person who walked through the glass door was never him.
Jin had told him not to say anything and that they should act like strangers. Afraid of causing him trouble, Han Naeyung endured in silence, not even asking where he was.
Two weeks had passed. He went to Jin’s office to wait and even called out in front of the door, but there was no response. Driven by a maddening anxiety, he waited endlessly for him today as well. He sat on the sofa, gazing out the window.
Workers were replacing the lights on the ‘AZALEOS’ sign. Even now, he couldn’t understand how he managed to get released safely.
The more he thought about it, the more he feared that something might have happened to Jin because of him. Lost in these thoughts, Han Naeyung stared blankly out the window.
***
“Mr. Han, the search of your house is complete. No suspicious evidence was found.”
“……”
“Jang Seongjun has also confessed to all his crimes.”
“……”
“You said you don’t know Song Iljae, right? Nor Lee Kyungcheol.”
“……”
“Alright. This concludes the investigation.”
After being taken in from the building, Han Naeyung followed Jin’s advice and didn’t answer any questions. The man who introduced himself as Prosecutor Park Wisung smiled, saying he appreciated Han Naeyung’s cooperation.
“Is Jang Juntae… no, Jang Seongjun alive?”
For the first time, Han Naeyung spoke. Despite his pale face, his lips were vividly red.
“He’s annoyingly lucky. That place was an abandoned building, right? The thick underbrush underneath saved his life. Though he did lose a leg.”
One leg. Jaemin had died falling from the same place, but the bastard only lost a leg. He couldn’t forgive that. The bastard probably thought that losing a leg was punishment enough.
“It was difficult to find him because he was using a different name. Mr. Han, you’re very lucky. If we hadn’t been tracking him, you might have ended up like Song Iljae.”
However, Han Naeyung still didn’t know who Song Iljae was.
“Who is Song Iljae?”
“I should say ‘no comment’.”
Prosecutor Park Wisung scratched his head awkwardly. Through the witness protection program, Han Naeyung’s identity was revealed only to Prosecutor Park. He also learned that Han Naeyung was the adopted son of Han Seongkwon.
“He was connected to the case. From what I heard, Jang Seongjun refused his offer to make money by doing the same bad things again. Song Iljae kept threatening him, saying he would work in prostitution alone if Jang Seongjun didn’t join. So Jang decided to kill him.”
“He refused…?”
“Maybe he felt remorse.”
Han Naeyung glared at him coldly. Prosecutor Park scratched his head again, sensing his mistake.
“Prosecutor.”
“Yes.”
“How many years is Jang Seongjun sentenced to?”
Prosecutor Park Wisung wrote with his index finger on the desk.
Life imprisonment.
He nodded and smiled.
“I think you misunderstood me earlier. I’m quite strict. Reducing a sentence because of remorse is extremely disrespectful to the victim, don’t you think?”
Park Wisung stood up and extended his hand to Han Naeyung. Han Naeyung only offered a bow instead of a handshake.
“I’m sorry.”
Park Wisung, anticipating this, took a pair of white gloves from his pocket and placed them on the desk. Han Naeyung looked at him curiously before putting on the gloves and shaking his hand.
“Please speak well of me to Judge Han.”
Park Wisung whispered and winked. Occasionally, there were people like the prosecutor in front of him who exuded no particular scent. Although Han Naeyung hadn’t met many of these people, he could guess their nature. People who had never sinned against others. Park Wisung was one of those.
Han Naeyung limped out of the prosecutor’s office. The clothes someone had prepared for him fit perfectly. Han Naeyung looked around the corridor. Everyone seemed busy with their own tasks, not paying him any attention.
No one called out to him until he left the courthouse by elevator. He sat outside the courthouse for a long time, watching people go by. He couldn’t blink, hoping to catch a glimpse of Jin among them. He wanted to grab anyone and ask how Jin was after losing so much blood but ultimately couldn’t bring himself to do it.
***
After the workers left, the sign lit up. Han Naeyung stood up. The wound on his foot had healed enough not to impede his movement. At 10 PM, he locked the animal hospital and headed outside. Like yesterday, he went to Jin’s officetel today. As he walked, his vision blurred.
Jin, once a symbol of justice, must have done something a prosecutor shouldn’t have for his sake. His safe release proved that.
‘What should I do now? Should I wait for Jang Juntae, no, Jang Seongjun to come out and kill him?’
But he had no strength in his hands. Perhaps because he had already thrown himself once, everything felt empty.
Meow. A faint cat’s cry was heard.
A cat followed him, walking along a grassy stone wall. When Han Naeyung stopped, the cat meowed again. It was a small, tricolored cat, resembling the one he had seen on the bonnet that day.
Han Naeyung took off his gloves and reached out to the cat. The cat cautiously approached and rubbed its face against his hand, purring softly. At that moment, someone honked loudly. Startled by the unfamiliar noise, the cat fled from his hand.
The cat disappeared into the grass in a flash. He turned around, hoping to see the car that honked, but it was gone.
He felt shameless for wanting to see Jin so badly. He had tried to abandon him and lied repeatedly.
But even if Jin didn’t come, he had to go. He would apologize and confess that he had missed him terribly.
Even if Jin didn’t forgive him for lying until the end, knowing that Jin had been searching for him and Jaemin was enough. That the one they loved the most had done so was sufficient.
Han Naeyung went up to Jin’s officetel and rang the bell. There was still no answer.
“Nari…”
Even calling softly once, there was no response. He left the officetel and sat on a bench. There was no light in Jin’s room. He put his hands in his pockets and started walking again. He had gone to the pojangmacha several times, hoping to find Jin sitting there.
‘Did I hurt you so badly that you hate me now?’
He thought, looking down.
Woof!
Woof woof woof!
Han Naeyung looked up at the loud barking. An ugly bull terrier was wagging its tongue and flailing its legs in the air. Han Naeyung looked up further and saw a man pulling the dog’s leash with force.
Wearing a thin knit and cotton pants, Jin’s arm was in a cast. Despite having Jin, whom he longed to see, right in front of him, Han Naeyung couldn’t move.
“We missed each other.”
Jin’s awkward smile was as always. Han Naeyung’s eyes grew warm. Jin let go of Nari’s leash. With a howl resembling a cry, Nari ran towards Han Naeyung, causing him to stagger under her weight.
“Have you had dinner?”
It was the question he always asked whenever they met. This time was no different.
“I usually… don’t eat.”
Han Naeyung tried to speak casually but gave up.
“I’m sorry.”
Still looking at Jin’s arm, Han Naeyung spoke with his head bowed. Nari licked his cheek.
“It’s nothing serious. This.”
Jin walked confidently towards the hesitant Han Naeyung. He set down Nari, who was nestled in his arms, and handed him the leash instead.
“Mr. Han.”
Not calling him Jung Woomin or Han Naeyung, but the usual address, he liked the sound of it. Han Naeyung blinked away the tears welling in his eyes.
“Shall we go see the flowers?”
A warm sensation settled in his hand.
“We promised to take this one for a walk once everything was over.”
Jin was still the same and asked nothing. It was Han Naeyung who had silenced him. But he wanted to follow Jin’s words, being so selfish and shameless. He swallowed the bitter truths and forced a smile as he answered.
“Let’s go.”
Nari panted happily, pulling on her leash as if thrilled by the nighttime walk. Fallen spring flowers paved a floral path on the ground. Jin, matching his stride, called his name.
“Woomin-ah.”
Above, a warm light from the streetlamps, similar to that day, shone down. Jin continued, gazing only at the trees outside.
“From now on, let’s remember together. Let’s share our memories, our pains. Let’s live like that, the two of us.”
Perhaps he had always been waiting for someone to fill the lost half. In truth, he had been waiting for someone to be with him. The person he had longed for so much was now beside him, no one else.
“Gyo Jin Hyung…”
At Han Naeyung’s soft call, Jin took his hand. Han Naeyung’s gaze followed the falling magnolia petals. Walking alongside him, he asked quietly.
“Please tell me your name. The name you lived with after leaving us.”
Jin smiled bashfully. As he parted his lips, a sweet breath mingled with the spring breeze, carrying towards Han Naeyung. His breath also flowed towards Jin.
All living things in the world exhaled with the wind, and the air was thick with the scent of flowers.
