Chapter 42: The Uninvited Guest

“Are you going to be stubborn again?”

‘Who’s truly being stubborn here?’ Still, while I could disregard my mother’s words, Yoon Heesung’s were impossible to ignore.

“I told you to pack your things.”

Yoon Heesung commanded me once more. Obediently, I went into the room and stuffed my uniform and books into my bag. Yoon Heesung, seemingly unwilling to even step foot in the shabby house, stood guard at the entrance.

It was ironic that, in the end, Yoon Heesung was the only one left by my side. Whatever his purpose, whatever form it took, he was the one protecting me now.

My stomach churned unpleasantly, though I hadn’t eaten anything.

There was only one reason I couldn’t refuse Yoon Heesung’s bizarre excuse about wanting to re-wallpaper the room.

It was because I was afraid of him.

Neither my mother, nor the madam, nor even I, who had flinched at the reddish marks whenever I passed the entrance, served as a sufficient reason.

‘Do all children raised doted upon in wealthy homes turn out like this? Lashing out at others without reason? Even resorting to violence?’

Yoon Heesung’s image in my mind steadily shifted. The Yoon Heesung I had come to know in the past few days felt more substantial than the one I’d known for two months.

Despite his peculiar quirks, I had thought he was kind, but as Yeon Hoyoung had said, he was a madman. I remained constantly on edge, fearing Yoon Heesung might suddenly strike me, much like Im Namwoo, I was terrified of him.

Part of me wondered if he intended to do something like that with me, yet Yoon Heesung didn’t lay a finger on me. He merely kept me within his sight. That’s why I found it even harder to fathom what went on inside his head. Just as one cannot know the depth of water by only looking at its surface, I could not grasp Yoon Heesung’s true intentions.

I avoided speaking to Yoon Heesung as much as possible. After a week, I returned home immediately.

During that time, Yoon Heesung had been absent from school, only to reappear the day after I went back home. Perhaps he had some semblance of awareness, as he didn’t come to pick me up in the morning.

However, he moved his seat to the one behind mine.

“You, swap seats with me.”

At his single command, the student behind me hastily gathered their belongings and stood up. Yoon Heesung had usurped my back-row seat.

Contrary to my expectation that he would do something significant, Yoon Heesung was simply quiet. All I heard from behind me was the occasional rustle of turning pages. Naturally, he ate lunch with me. We didn’t converse, but he remained by my side. Until the very last period ended, Yoon Heesung merely exuded a constant presence, remaining utterly silent.

And so, we never exchanged a single word at school, yet we were perpetually together.

‘I truly cannot understand what goes on in his mind.’ Every day felt like hell.

****

Supplementary classes began, and with them, the monsoon season.

Even on days like today, when it wasn’t raining, the sky remained overcast, as if ready to unleash a deluge at any moment. The clammy humidity made my uniform trousers cling to my legs, and my shirt stuck to my skin.

“It seems you all are confident you’ll do well on the Suneung, judging by the number of students in supplementary classes.”

Our homeroom teacher, who had come in for roll call, clicked their tongue as they looked at us. It seemed they were displeased by the low participation in the supplementary classes, which were starting today.

“There will be no closing remarks during supplementary classes. Everyone, clean up after class and leave on your own.”

“Yes.”

With the late monsoon, summer vacation began. For the first two weeks, supplementary classes were held, and students could attend if they wished, or not. They were free of charge. There was no reason not to sign up. And more importantly, I had seen Yoon Heesung circle ‘did not apply’ on his form.

Upon reflection, Yoon Heesung was someone who originally disliked coming to school. His answer of ‘just because’ when asked why he didn’t attend might have been genuine.

‘He wasn’t even being bullied in the first place…’

Now that I knew everything, it was an absurd misconception.

I disliked that supplementary classes had no self-study periods and only ran in the mornings. After the fourth period, the teachers would send all the students out of school.

Returning home under the midday sun was equally unpleasant. The sunlight was scorching, as if it would roast my skin. Only the occasional puddles, not yet fully evaporated, reminded me that it was monsoon season.

Today was no different. After class, I walked silently, staring at the ground. I imagined my hair sizzling under the sun. Walking in such weather was exhausting. ‘I need to get home quickly, to the house with a fan, to the shaded house.’ Wiping the sweat trickling down my chin, I walked diligently.

When my phone vibrated, I checked the screen with a growing sense of unease, wondering if it might be him.

Fortunately, it wasn’t Yoon Heesung, but it wasn’t a welcome contact either. It was an annoying call.

“—Yunwoo, it’s Mom.”

“Oh. Mom. Why?”

The requests were mostly similar. In fact, they were practically identical.

“—Have you eaten?”

“No. I’m about to.”

I answered vaguely, and my mother probed further.

“—Where are you now?”

“On my way home.”

“—Home? After school?”

“After the villa.”

I lied. The madam rarely visited the villa anyway. Even if she did, Yoon Heesung and I used separate buildings, so how would she know if I’d been there or not?

“—Why are you leaving so early? You should have stayed longer with Heesung.”

“He’s busy studying now. He’s in his last year of high school, you know.”

Yoon Heesung and studying—an unbelievable combination. But I remained firm, and my mother, though appearing skeptical, let it pass.

“—Alright. Then… be careful going home. And make sure to eat.”

I hung up without replying. From now on, I should just ignore her calls. This was one of the good things about being far away.

Yet, Yoon Heesung’s complete lack of contact suddenly struck me as odd. I had worried he might drag me away without warning, just as he had with the wallpaper excuse, but he hadn’t. He hadn’t visited my house, and since he hadn’t applied for supplementary classes, he hadn’t come to school either. Thanks to this, several days had passed since I last saw his face.

‘Perhaps it’s for the best,’ I thought. I didn’t know how to treat Yoon Heesung anymore.

I returned home and poured water into a pot. While waiting for it to boil, I tore open a cup ramen. After quickly eating, I opened a book before my mind could wander.

‘I need to study…’

I wiped the table once with a dishcloth and placed the handouts from the supplementary class on it. I moved my pen for a long time, and when I finally came to my senses, the world was bathed in the mellow glow of twilight.

It seemed it didn’t take as long as I thought to get used to things. Not long ago, not going to the villa was unimaginable. To adapt so quickly felt almost hollow.

To forget the strange emptiness, I busied my hands again. With every movement of my pencil, my shadow moved with it. It was then, as even the long shadow seemed to take on a yellow hue, that the doorbell rang.

“…”

I froze, unmoving. The doorbell stopped. And then, a few seconds later, it rang again, ‘Ding-dong.’

I didn’t move. I even held my breath. The ‘Ding-dong, Ding-dong’ of the doorbell then began to quicken.

‘Ding-dong-ding-dong-ding-dong.’

It sounded as if he knew I was inside and was urging me to come out. Sweat beaded on my hands. The pen I was holding slipped and clattered onto the book.

I tiptoed quietly to the front door. Standing in my socks, I carefully pressed my ear against the door, waiting for the person on the other side to speak first. Fortunately, they didn’t keep me waiting.

“Wham! Bang!”

He knocked like he was pounding with his fists, and his voice quickly followed.

“Is anyone home?”

“…”

“I definitely heard something.”

Cold sweat trickled down my forehead at the familiar voice. It grazed my cheek and dropped. The sweat drop on my instep felt like hydrochloric acid, and I startled, backing away. Then, startled by my own movement, I froze again as before.

“…”

The outside was quiet. Through the poorly soundproofed front door, the same voice spoke again.

“You are in there, aren’t you?”

“…”

“Why pretend you’re not when you are? If I come in, you’re going to be in real trouble.”

I had only seen him once. But in that single encounter, he had profoundly imprinted himself upon me, and it wasn’t something easily forgotten.

‘What if I just run away, saying I can’t repay him?’

‘I’ll chase him down and rip his stomach open.’

He was the man who had visited our house before we moved, the one who had threatened my mother by bringing up Lee Sunwoo.

‘Why… is he here?’

It wasn’t the time to argue why he was here when a new contract had been signed and payments were made monthly. As soon as I heard his voice, the terror of that day resurfaced.

Rubbing my hands together, I took a few more steps back. As if he could see my actions clearly, the man spoke.

“Open it.”

“…”

“Don’t waste time, just open it.”

A voice I hadn’t heard before, suggesting he wasn’t alone, spoke from beside him.

“Boss, I could have come alone. Why bother coming all the way here?”

“Hey, punk. How could you come all the way here alone? Do you want me to see you make a fool of yourself?”

“Bang!” The sound of a foot kicking the front door was deafening. I flinched at the booming noise. I would have believed the door had been knocked off its hinges. From the other side, the man clicked his tongue.

Then he said something to the man beside him. There was only one set of retreating footsteps. The man lightly kicked the door, as if to make it clear he was still guarding the entrance.

He feigned concern, as if I were truly pathetic.

“Such a disobedient young punk. What are you going to do?”

“…”

“Do you think I can’t open it?”

The man was now trying to force the door open. At his words, I belatedly sprinted further inside. This was no time to hesitate; I had to hide before he got in.