Payback - Chapter 28

t/n: need to catch up with the manhwa so lemme speedrun this… i’ll try lmao

Buildings with people leaving and lights out were like corpses. It might be because the silence of the high lobby and the unusually cold air felt eerie like a dead person. But, why was the madman at work again at this hour after everyone had left work? That question arose in my head but I was relieved that I didn’t have to go to Alice’s Labyrinth and meet the boss. When we first met, it was at the company, so it was not strange, but if he was a shareholder, it was eerie. I was stuck on the fact that he was particularly close with Director Yoon and being deeply involved in the company’s affairs. I couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but it seemed like it was a big problem.

There was this, but as usual, there was something about him that made me nervous, so as always, I went to the rooftop where he said to come in a combat stance. Today, I tried to prepare my heart so that I wouldn’t be surprised this time, but it was useless. When I finally found him, I was stuck in an unexpected situation.

A man was lying on a bench asleep. I got closer because the lighting wasn’t bright enough, but it was certain, it was the madman that was there. What, why was he sleeping here? The fighting power that had built up inside me abated absurdly, and my energy vanished. Even as I looked down right over his face, he didn’t move, with the exception of the breathing, as if he was in a deep sleep.

Without realizing it, I looked around him. He wasn’t hiding a camera and testing me again, was he? However, only a slightly chilling cold wind occupied the dark rooftop. An empty space, just like the lobby. However, strangely, it didn’t feel empty. The feeling of being filled with something unknown. I lowered my eyes and stared at the guy who made me feel that way. One leg bent and touched the bench, but the other leg was dangling and sticking out of the bench.

How was he sleeping in such an uncomfortable position. As my surprise disappeared, my gaze went to his face with the first thought that came to mind. It was my only chance to observe him defenseless, but his face, which always had an eerie smile and made me uncomfortable, looked different when he was sleeping. Come to think of it, he was pretty good looking. When we first met, I mistook him for a celebrity. I looked down at his face as if I was seeing it for the first time, and for a moment I thought, ‘Huh?’ and something popped into my head.

That’s weird. Why do I feel like I’ve looked down on his face from above before? I turned my head and looked at him more closely. Then the faint feeling grew stronger. It really felt like I’ve had experienced…

Tap.

Heuk!

Suddenly, something grabbed my wrist like a noose. I quickly raised my upper body, which had been half bent, but I could not overcome the pulling force, so I was immediately dragged down. Fortunately, I put my free hand on the back of the bench before falling unsightly on him.

This punk, as expected, he wasn’t sleeping, was he?

A mixture of shame about being caught looking at him and anger about being deceived made my face heat up.

“Let m…”

Let me go! The words should have come out of my mouth as I struggled to shake off his hand, but couldn’t come out when I saw the madman holding me while lying down. He still had his eyes closed. Then, as I tried to pull my wrist out again, his eyelids lifted slowly. His hazy eyes blinked a few times, like someone just waking up, and then focused on me.

“…It was you?”

I was startled by the husky-sounding question as if he was half-asleep, and his arms lost strength. So he felt it while he was sleeping and reached out instinctively? While wondering if this bastard was a monster, he slowly got up and stood on his feet. He was still holding my wrist, so I took a step back and tried to shake it off, but an indifferent voice stopped me from moving again.

“The gaze made my face tickle.”

He murmured and looked down at me with eyes completely awakened.

“I’m glad it’s you.”

I frowned at the low voice that seemed to be whispering.

“Then keep on sleeping. I’ll keep looking at you.”

“Hmm, that’s a good idea. So it’s true that you texted me that you missed me.”

Text? Ah shit, it must have been the boss. How the hell did he send that?

“I didn’t send it. You didn’t send that strange nonsense that you missed me too, did you?”

“Did a text like that get sent? Hmm, show me. I may have sent it.”

I didn’t have the energy to respond to him who was having fun, so I turned around. But as I stepped forward, he dragged me back. When it became a funny situation to be dragged like that, I firmed up my leg, endured it and spat out.

“Ofa ub bo wf.”

Dea atf rwlilcu ues ugjyyfv ws tjcv rb ragbcuis atja P mbeivc’a offi la. Fgut! P aegcfv ws tfjv ab tlvf atf wbjc atja mjwf ogbw klatlc. C rboa nblmf kjr tfjgv lc ws fjg.

“Pa’r pera atja P kjca ab ub abufatfg, rb vbc’a rageuuif.”

I wondered if I had heard the wrong thing because it was a soothing voice that didn’t seem like it belonged to that punk, so I forgot about my anger and asked.

“Where are we going?”

Instead of answering, he pulled me to his side and started walking forward.

“Sleep.”

——

Beep~ It was only after the door closed with an electronic beep behind my back that I knew for sure where I arrived. It was only about a 10-minute drive away from the company, so there was no time to register what was happening. I was proud of my rough driving while working as a courier, but I couldn’t help but be nervous because he kept changing lanes and driving fast urgently. Eventually, I scolded him to go and drive properly, but he looked at me and asked me briefly.

‘Scared?’

I was scared for the car, but he really slowed down after. I was at a loss for words because I became more vigilant at seeing how different he was from his usual appearance. I just looked at him with a watchful eye, startled, and he brought me here without saying anything. His house. I couldn’t take my shoes off when I saw the inside of the house in the automatically lit front door light. Did he really bring me home? Unable to move due to suspicion, he entered first, walked down the narrow hallway, and turned around.

“Don’t be afraid, I won’t attack you.”

It was different this time too. It was not the usual teasing or cold tone, it was just soft and soothing. I was confused to the extent that I forgot to be pissed off, so while I observed quietly, he tilted his head.

“You have something to say to me?”

Something to say? It was then that I remembered that I had to tell him about the screenplay.

“How did you know? I have something to say.”

An annoyed expression crossed his face for a moment, but then a friendly voice was heard.

“You came to the company and even followed me here while being docile unlike your usual self for that reason.”

He finished his speech to the point where it felt like it was a bit fast, and he added languidly. The reason why he was so weird tonight.

“Come fast. I’m sleepy.”

———

He said he was sleepy but looked no different than usual on the outside, holding a small bottle of water and slumping down on the edge of the sofa where I was sitting. Spacious interior with a good view and expensive interior materials. The interior, where I felt awkward because I was not used to it, was rather comfortable with books and scripts piled up on the table. Judging from his personality, he seemed to be neat, but when I checked that the office and the house were equally messed up, I felt strangely that the boundaries were strangely loosened. The madman noticed my gaze looking at the cluttered surroundings and explained.

“Isn’t it nice that it feels human?”

“…You must be really sleepy.”

He put the bottle of water to his lips and grinned.

“Even if it’s someone like me, if I don’t sleep for three days, I get tired. So, what do you want to say?”

He emptied about half a bottle of water at once, and asked the question without wasting time. Was he actually sleepy? After looking at him for a while, who looked completely fine, I brought up the screenplay I had looked at.

“I showed it to my manager. And because there was something I needed, I contacted the director… I felt I had to tell you.”

I couldn’t bear to use the word ‘permission’ because it hurt my pride, but I was a little worried. Anyway, I had been using his screenplay as I pleased. To be honest, there was the precedent of the incident with 200 million won per cigarette, so I was preparing my heart. From what I had seen, he had never seemed to let anything pass. However, the words that came into my slightly nervous ears were insignificant words.

“Is that all?”

“…”

Was it just the effect of him being sleepy? It wasn’t a big deal anyway, even though I was suspicious, I nodded in relief.

“That’s all.”

It would have been great to stop here and just leave, but unlike my usual self, I opened my mouth to ask something. A question that would make me regret that I did a useless thing after letting it out.

“Why aren’t you angry? I took the script you said to only look at in the office and showed it to my manager.”

Instead of answering, he closed the bottle of water and stared at me blankly. And he opened his mouth only when I was starting to feel frustrated.

“You are misunderstanding something. Didn’t you ever think that what you did was commendable?”

“What?”

Astonished, I asked back, but he let out a short laugh and mumbled words that didn’t make sense.

“Well, you’ll find out later how great a thing you’ve done.”

I knew he wasn’t one to talk nonsense, so I tried to silently guess what was great, but I couldn’t think of anything. Was it because the movie was going to be successful? But although it was interesting, it didn’t seem like it was going to be very popular because it didn’t have a funny element. Rather, the feeling of the film was a little boring, like the director’s first short film. I was not an expert, so maybe I was wrong, but well… I tilted my head when I heard his question.

“By the way, did you think I would get mad about it?”

“Yes.”

When I answered without hesitation, he grinned.

“Why would I? How much do I adore you.”

When I heard that nonsense again, I felt strongly that he was making fun of me. So I purposely put a curse word that I had used before in my mouth.

“It must be because you are a psychopath.”

For a moment, I thought the smile on his lips had disappeared, but then he nodded seriously.

“That’s true.”

As was the case last time, it was admirable to see him calmly accepting the profanity. How many times has he heard curses against him?

“But I’ve been treating you pretty well, haven’t I?”

The brazen punk raised his arm over the back of the sofa as he leaned towards me.

“By the way, you always do something unexpected. You had such an honest side.”

“I just hated the feeling of being in debt.”

“To the point of being so sincere.”

Watching his smile deepen, my gaze became more stern. However, the feeling of displeasure turned into oddity at the subsequent question.

“Have you ever sincerely cried?”

I questioned what he was talking about with my eyes, and he spoke lightly.

“I never felt that it was really sad if someone cried. But seeing someone cry only once, I vaguely felt a sense of sadness. It really makes me numb here.”

He put his hand on his heart. I moved my gaze to follow his moving hand, but the words he heard were not well received. What sadness that makes the viewer’s heart ache? When I lifted my head, I met his indifferent eyes without emotion.

“Unfortunately, I lost that person. But when I first met you, I got a feeling when I heard you say the word revenge indifferently. If you sincerely express your feelings, I think my place will react again.”

That’s impossible. I’m a bastard who didn’t feel sad even when his younger brother was stabbed in front of him. I shook my head, hiding the reaction from within.

“You’re mistaken.”

“You just think that. I am becoming more and more convicted.”

I frowned at those words, then suddenly remembered what he had said before.

“Is that person… the one who pissed you off before?”

In addition, he was the first male partner. At the time I first heard it, I felt pity because I thought that person would die if he got caught by the madman, but that wasn’t the case.

“That’s right. That’s the guy. The one who screwed me over.”

Seeing him smile with genuine joy, I felt that the person I didn’t even know was pretty amazing. He slept with the madman, wept bitterly, screwed him over, and ran away. I couldn’t even do those even if you ask me to do just one. That guy was still worth finding even after 5 years, but the opposite came to mind when I thought about it. No, doesn’t this mean that the madman hadn’t been able to find him for 5 years?

“I can’t find him.”

His eyes narrowed slightly as he spoke, feeling a bit woeful.

“I will be able to find him. Because I definitely saw it.”

“Saw what?”

Then he muttered to himself.

“I saw. When he turned around to put his pants on.”

What on earth was he talking about? I was worried that he might have become more insane because he couldn’t sleep, but he got up and motioned for me to follow him. Why? As I held back my defiance and sat down, he quickly spat out as if it were bothersome.

“If you’re done, keep your promise.”

“What promise?”

“You said you would watch over me sleeping.”

“…”

“What are you doing? I said I’m sleepy?”

Damn it, if he found the one who broke his heart 5 years ago, would he let me go? … Was I supposed to find him?

t/n: funny how jay is so sentimental while yoohan couldn’t give less of a fuck LMAO they’re such a comedic pair honestly