Chapter 41: The Explanations

“……”

The story—long if you count it long, short if you count it short—was over. To be honest, I only understood the last sentence.

After racking my brain like crazy to interpret it, I figured out that Jung Saebin was saying: if he seems strange, the other four are just as strange, and rather than him thinking that way, it’s how ordinary people would see them.

But the reason he thinks that way is because their way of getting angry is different? Like a drinking habit—do they have some strange habit when angry?

Judging by his attitude, he seemed to think he’d explained it very diligently—but sorry to say, the more I heard, the more confused I became. I firmly pushed away his face, which had been gradually creeping closer after he finished speaking. This bastard tries to make physical contact at every opportunity. Confirming there was enough distance between us, I opened my mouth.

“How do they get angry to make you say that?”

“Huh?”

“You said their way of getting angry is different, so I’d think of them the same way ordinary people do.”

Staring at me with a dissatisfied expression, Jung Saebin—having apparently given up—lay down properly beside me and fell silent again.

“You’re not going to tell me?”

I let out a deep sigh, tapped his arm, and asked—but the damn bastard didn’t move an inch. Playing asleep again? One minute passed, two minutes, ten minutes… Earlier it had thankfully ended quickly, but this time it dragged on.

Is he actually asleep? I turned to my side to check—and there he was, eyes wide open, watching me from the corner of his eye. Annoyed at feeling like I was being made fun of, I made a sour face—and he rolled his eyes.

“Hop-Hop, do you like blood?”

“No.”

“Then what about people?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Hmm, then family?”

After that came: siblings? Friends? Pain? Studying? Enduring? And whenever I asked him to explain why, he’d just keep asking completely unrelated questions.

I wondered what kind of preliminary skirmish this was—but I answered most questions sincerely. Well, “sincerely” is a stretch—they were mostly yes/no questions anyway. After a few exchanges, Jung Saebin stopped asking and let out a “Hmm—” sound. Curious what he meant, I turned my head to look at him—and he was looking back at me. His expression, rarely blank, stared at me as if observing before he spoke.

“Seonwoo has no interest in anything except what he likes.”

“…Isn’t that normal? I’m kind of like that too…”

Wondering if that was wrong, I scratched my head and asked back—Jung Saebin shook his head.

“No, no. He really has no interest. And what he likes, he really likes.”

Even hearing it again, it still sounded like something everyone does. What’s different or wrong about that? My thoughts must have shown on my face—Jung Saebin let out a “Pfft—” laugh like a sigh.

“That’s why Seonwoo doesn’t want. He simply likes.”

“Huh?”

“Normal people, when they like something, they start wanting it. But not him. Seonwoo has never wanted anything.”

“Why?”

“Because from the start, he never needed to want. The moment he decides he likes something, it becomes his.”

That is a strange way of thinking. Considering something yours the moment you like it. Is it because he’s never failed to obtain what he likes?

Even as I thought that, I tilted my head again. It was certainly arrogant and terribly self-centered thinking—but still, it didn’t seem sociopathic. So I asked once more.

“It’s a bit different from normal people, but is that enough to call him a sociopath?”

“Because he has no interest. He only likes what he likes, and has absolutely no interest in everything else.”

As he said that, Jung Saebin flicked my nose with his index finger.

“Seonwoo, who likes Hop-Hop’s nose, will treat you well. He’ll make sure he can see your nose every day. If he’s lucky, he might come to like the mole next to your nose, or even the eyes that come into view along with your nose. Rarely, though.”

I scratched my nose tip, which had suddenly become ticklish. Jung Saebin, seeing that, flicked my nose again as soon as my hand dropped. I rubbed my nose tip again, frowning.

“I understand his way of thinking is… different. But I still don’t get why you’d call him a sociopath.”

“If you said you’d never show him your nose again, Seonwoo would use any means to take just your nose. The reason he’s nice to you is simply because a living, moving nose shows more sides of itself. So if Hop-Hop were hanging off a cliff begging Seonwoo to save you, he’d smile and just neatly cut off your nose, wouldn’t he?”

This time, it hit me with chilling clarity. Maybe because my nose was the example—I shuddered. I instinctively felt for my nose to make sure it was still attached—chills ran down my spine.

Whoa, so that’s how it is. I thought he was just a nice guy because he always smiled and treated me well. The occasional discomfort I’d felt was real. Suddenly recalling his kind moments, the example felt unsettlingly plausible.

He must have heard about me from Min Seonwoo—but was that not a joke? I should never go hiking with Min Seonwoo. Being stuck on a cliff would be terrifying and exhausting enough—losing my nose on top of that would definitely hurt like hell.

I made a firm resolution, nodded slightly, and looked back at Jung Saebin. He was fiddling with the corner of the pillow.

“This feels nice. Give it to me.”

“No. That’s the only one I have. Just keep talking.”

“Tch. There’s another pillow right there. Liar.”

I glared at him as he tried to veer off again and urged him on.

“What about the other hyungs?”

Jung Saebin pouted in protest and didn’t answer. Annoyed by his expression, I curled my index finger and thumb as if to give him a noogie—but he covered his mouth with his own hand.

“Hu and Ho are actually annoyed by playing pranks.”

His hand-muffled voice made it hard to understand—but the content was interesting. Those guys who are always playing pranks actually hate it?

“Pretending to be cool and laid-back, they hate losing. The prideful ones figured it out too quickly—people better than them. They were smart, so they caught on fast. So they started lying, started acting. Looking for fun because they’re bored, and even when it’s not fun, they pretend it is to relieve stress.”

“So that’s why they’re pretentious. That’s really unexpected—they always seemed like they were genuinely having fun.”

“Ding! Wrong! That’s Seonwoo. Seonwoo lives only seeing what he likes, so he mostly enjoys things. Some people might think his constant smile is fake, but his is real.”

“That’s—really enviable, honestly. Living only seeing what you like.”

“Hu and Ho, everything is acting. They always perform in front of others, especially when there are many people. Unless it’s just people they’ve known since childhood, every expression they make is an act. You have no idea how much they’ve practiced it. Smiling, crying, getting angry—everything they show to others is manufactured. I heard this once—even while having a natural conversation, they hide keywords only they know in each word to handle the next situation.”

I was speechless. So smart people also do useless things like this.

I was impressed, but also curious why they’d go that far—though I stayed quiet. I felt like if I dug any deeper, I’d never recover from this mind-break.

Instead, I recalled the times I’d spent with the twins, trying to remember their expressions. Huh, all that vividness was acting? Come to think of it, they were weirdly alike—even for twins. It’s not like a cartoonist deliberately drew them that way—behaving so similarly was definitely strange. Do all twins do that? Probably not… The more I thought, the more curious I became—but I quickly shook my head.

Jung Saebin, even while talking, still seemed unable to let go of the pillow corner. I sometimes fiddle with that too when I’m sleeping—what if it gets worn out? That won’t do! I snatched the pillow away with a rather harsh gesture, tossed it aside, and lay back down properly.

Jung Saebin whined beside me, but since it was mine, I didn’t feel bad. I stretched his cheeks.

“Keep talking. Why is Taehyuk hyung human scum?”

“Don’t leave. I’ll keep talking.”

“Ack! Why did you lick when I let go!”

I pressed my palm against his clothes, rubbing vigorously and making gagging sounds. I really have a weak stomach. Annoyed at him humming happily like he’d just had the time of his life, I considered pinching his nose—but held back.

I rubbed my skin until it stung, my lips twisting, then moved away from him. Without realizing it, I’d been lying with my shoulders, arms, and thighs pressed against him.

Just let my guard down for a moment… Thinking that, I raised my hand to sniff myself just in case—Jung Saebin continued in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Taehyuk has been killing people since he could walk.”

The problem was that the content was anything but matter-of-fact.

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