Chapter 36: The Price of Proximity

‘He was right.’

Yoon Heesung and I lived in fundamentally different worlds. Had his mother not coincidentally come here to recuperate, had my mother not coincidentally been hired at the villa, and had Yoon Heesung and I not coincidentally transferred into the same class, we would never have met.

Our friendship was the culmination of countless chance encounters. If the timing had been even slightly off, we would have lived our entire lives without a single point of connection.

‘Even so.’

“His mother didn’t really put me here.”

“Even if she didn’t at first, she must have seen you lingering around and thought it was fine, so she let you stay. The order might be reversed, but it’s the same thing.”

‘If they hadn’t intended to keep me close in that house, would they have truly left me alone, as Yeon Hoyoung suggested? Would they have allowed me, someone with nothing, to loiter around Yoon Heesung and frequent the villa?’

‘Would his mother, who was so invested in her son, simply have watched me without interference?’

A torrent of belated questions swept over me. Suddenly, the ground beneath my feet felt precarious, as if I might be swept away at any moment.

My legs trembled even as I sat.

“Why… why does she assign people to Yoon Heesung?”

I barely managed to ask.

“Because he’s insane. Can’t you tell by looking at him?”

Yeon Hoyoung replied with a breezy tone. His answer was simple, brief, and impactful.

“His aunt always assigns people to him, whether they’re friends or not, because they say he needs someone close by to stay sane.”

“……”

“To be his friend. To build a bond or something like that.”

He continued with his preposterous claims.

“Also, Yoon Heesung absolutely despises kids like you. How many times do you think he’s dealt with those who latch onto him, pretending to be close?”

“……”

“He’s become quite adept at dealing with those types now. He can’t just half-kill them because his aunt and uncle wouldn’t stand for it, so he uses his head. You should take a hint and back off at the right time. Otherwise, you’ll face something nasty.”

“……”

“But you… I don’t know. From what I saw him do last time, you seem a bit different. Still, it’ll probably end up the same way. He’s truly messed up in the head. Normal people like you and me can’t understand him.”

Yeon Hoyoung’s words took root deep within me. Days ago, I would have angrily told him to stop speaking such nonsense. Now, however, only my heart pounded violently.

The pulsing sound echoed loudly, as if my heart were lodged in my ears. The thumping resonated like angry footsteps, creating the illusion that someone was ascending the stairs with each beat.

“Anyway… seeing you clinging to Yoon Heesung, completely oblivious, made me pity you enough to come all the way here myself. To tell you this.”

Yeon Hoyoung scratched his head vigorously.

“Just kidding. His aunt asked me to come see Yoon Heesung. I always listen to his aunt.”

“You mean his mother, right? Yoon Heesung’s mom.”

“Yeah.”

Yeon Hoyoung propped his chin in his hand. He mumbled, sitting hunched over.

“I don’t like Yoon Heesung, but I like his aunt. She’s always suffering because of him, having given birth to someone like that. I should at least help her.”

“……”

“But then, seeing his aunt keep putting kids like you next to Yoon Heesung like a ghost, I start to dislike her a bit too… I don’t know.”

“……”

“That’s how complicated life is. You can’t just abandon something you dislike immediately. There are always things that tie you down. You wouldn’t know about this, would you?”

Yeon Hoyoung feigned intelligence. Even as I found his calculating tone amusing, I had a feeling his words would linger in my mind for a long time.

That wasn’t all. Yeon Hoyoung’s other words swirled within me too. The cicadas’ cries outside sounded like the roar of waves in my ears. A rushing sound and a buzzing hum intertwined.

Despite it being midsummer, the surroundings grew eerily cool. It felt as if I had plunged into icy water.

None of Yeon Hoyoung’s words made sense. He was sitting there, writing his own absurd novel. Yet, at the same time, I found myself unable to challenge any of it.

I lacked the courage. As I replayed the events that had unfolded, Yeon Hoyoung’s words started to sound disturbingly true.

‘I’ll make him an idiot too.’

Yoon Heesung had said that, smiling. If Yeon Hoyoung’s words were all true, then what would become of me?

“I’m leaving. It’ll take ages to go up and see that bastard again.”

Yeon Hoyoung, having thoroughly ravaged my emotions, lightly brushed himself off and stood. I nodded silently, grateful for the chance to gather my thoughts alone.

I saw Yeon Hoyoung off to the front door.

“Hope I don’t have to see you again soon.”

Yeon Hoyoung joked. Amidst it all, I found myself thinking it was a relief Yeon Hoyoung was going to see Yoon Heesung. Otherwise, Yoon Heesung would have to spend his time alone in that vast, empty space.

Yeon Hoyoung turned the doorknob. Yet, the motion seemed strangely slow, like a video deliberately played in slow motion.

*Creak.* The rusty hinges shrieked, and the door slowly opened, creating a long, rectangular gap. Wind rushed in through the opening, producing a rough, grating sound.

It sounded uncannily like an animal’s cry.

It was a strange sensation. I had never thought such a thing while opening the front door before.

Moreover, the gap in the open door was as black and dark as an animal’s gaping maw, as pitch-black as midnight.

Simultaneously, an incongruous yet familiar fresh scent wafted in.

I slowly lifted my gaze.

Jet-black eyes met mine.

The color of those eyes was ominous, as if it would climb up my feet and cling to my entire body.

Then, a pale white finger crept out through the door’s gap. Though the sequence of events seemed to unfold slowly, as if to imprint itself upon my mind, it must have been instantaneous.

The spider-like finger seizing Yeon Hoyoung’s wrist as if snatching prey, Yeon Hoyoung’s wide, startled eyes unable to resist, his forearm slipping through the gap, and then the closing door—every scene was vividly etched onto my retina, like a photograph developed on a film.

“…Aargh!”

A pained groan followed as the front door slammed shut. It was the kind of door that would close with a deafening crash if not held until the end. My mother and I had often complained, ‘It’s so noisy, we should really put something there,’ yet we had left it unrepaired.

This time, however, there was no violent clamor that sounded like the door breaking. A thick body was caught in between. The same happened when it opened and closed once more.

*Thwack!*

Only a sound like a slab of meat being violently struck resonated.

“You… you goddamn bastard…!”

Yeon Hoyoung, his arm caught in the door, screamed and struggled, but the closed door remained unyielding. A chill ran down my spine. Blood splattered downwards, yet Yoon Heesung remained pristine.

His jet-black pants and shirt seemed like a premonition.

“Hey, let go!”

Yeon Hoyoung roared, straining his right arm. The door vibrated, threatening to open, but that was all. His exposed left arm was not merely red, but a deep purplish hue. It had already swollen ominously.

“Damn it, ugh, what is this…? *Hmph!*”

He pushed the door once more with his bulging right arm, but the opposing force was too strong. Just as the door seemed to yield, it slammed shut again with a sickening *thwack*, like flesh tearing.

“You crazy bastard, I’ve been letting you get away with too much… *Aargh!*”

As Yeon Hoyoung screamed again, the *thwack, thwack* sounds accelerated. With one arm already trapped, Yeon Hoyoung couldn’t exert proper force. The sound of his arm twisting mingled with his screams, making me feel nauseous, as if I might vomit.

If this situation was a dream, I desperately wanted to wake up immediately. Right now…

I belatedly snapped back to reality. I threw myself between the two, as if leaping into the fray.

“Yoon Heesung!”

I slammed my shoulder against the door. My shoulder felt like it would shatter, but I recoiled and pushed hard again. Yeon Hoyoung, his legs giving out, collapsed to the floor. I pounded on the door, calling Yoon Heesung’s name.

“Are you crazy? What’s wrong with you?”

But it was useless. Yoon Heesung, unperturbed by the desperate screams, repeated the same action several more times.

*Thwack, thud, thud…!*

“……”

Yeon Hoyoung soon ceased his resistance. His left arm was drenched in blood, and his right arm hung limply. He appeared half-unconscious. As if sensing this, the door burst open.

Yoon Heesung appeared through the gap. When he flung Yeon Hoyoung’s arm aside, blood splattered in every direction.

My palms, pressed against the floor, became sticky with the viscous liquid. I realized I had slumped to the ground.

My mind, pushed to its limits, gave up on thought. I froze like a broken machine, unable to move. All I could do was force my eyelids open, refusing to close them. Moisture welled in my dry eyes. I felt on the verge of tears.

‘I was scared. This was terror. Yoon Heesung was terrifying. I feared he would soon trap my arm in the door and break it just like that. The sight of Yoon Heesung’s clothes, pristine as if he had just stepped out, and the bright red blood pooling beneath his black sneakers, was horrifying.’

Yet, what truly terrified me was Yoon Heesung himself.

“You, why, why… Yoon Heesung, you…”

‘Why did he wear such an indifferent expression? A person was injured right before his eyes. He had caused the injury. He had trapped an arm in the front door and brutally crushed it. Yet, how could he look so calm, even bored? It was an expression similar to when he had once said a movie was uninteresting. A look of weariness, as if it were nothing at all.’

‘I felt like I would soon end up like Yeon Hoyoung.’

‘Yes. When Yoon Heesung had beaten Kim Youngseok, there was certainly fear stemming from that. I had been hit by others before, after all. I hadn’t been hit by Yoon Heesung, but I had been hit by other people.’

Cold sweat trickled down my back.