Hospital Visit (2)
Dongdong answered with unshakable dignity.
“It is not as though anyone who is handsome and capable is automatically worthy of praise. It is because Mr. I-dam is handsome and capable that he is worthy!”
“What in the world does that mean?”
“How could Your Highness possibly understand a heart that has fallen so helplessly, so thoroughly, into fandom?”
“Fandom… You mean this fellow did something for you, Seobyeok?”
“He gave me laughter, did he not?”
“Laughter?”
“Just look at him. Is he not truly adorable? Merely seeing him makes my whole face bloom with a smile, and hearing his voice alone fills me with happiness. How could I not become a fan?”
Even after Dongdong’s explanation, Neoul still could not make sense of it.
“When you watch my videos, do you not laugh? In the comments, humans say their gums blossom the moment they see me.”
“Um… well… Your Highness is, after all, the son of our lord….”
Dongdong avoided his eyes as he went on.
“Truthfully, I do not quite know myself. As I kept watching the broadcast, he kept catching my eye, and before I knew it, I found myself following only Mr. I-dam with my gaze. It is not something I chose; it is more like heaven itself appointed him to me.”
Neoul relayed that to Myeong I-dam.
“He says… he likes Myeong I-dam’s voice, Myeong I-dam’s haughty little expressions, and Myeong I-dam’s line of dance.”
“…….”
“In the end, he says he likes Myeong I-dam because he is Myeong I-dam.”
When he heard that, Myeong I-dam was so deeply moved that he sniffed hard again, his nose turning red. Neoul, curious about the letter’s contents, glanced at the envelope and asked, “What did the letter say?”
“It’s a secret! It’s my letter, so I’m the only one who gets to see it!”
Myeong I-dam snatched up the envelope from the bedside table and hid it away. Neoul looked at him in disbelief.
Honestly, how important could it be?
“Are you a child? You’re more childish than my seven-year-old younger brother.”
Myeong I-dam must have realized, even on his own, that his behavior was childish, because he only blustered harder in embarrassment.
“What! It’s my heart, okay!”
The contents of the letter were nothing he couldn’t have shown.
It said they had worried about him terribly. That they were glad he had woken up, and hoped he would recover soon.
That although he had to leave Idol Travel under unavoidable circumstances, they would support what came next for him. And that, if possible, they hoped they could keep cheering him on and walking beside him as he went forward.
That was all.
The letter, written without even bothering to follow formal conventions, did not even contain the sender’s name. The handwriting was such a mess that he had to read each sentence two or three times before he could barely make it out.
But the sincerity had been pressed into every line.
And it was the first fan letter Myeong I-dam had ever received in his life.
A small warmth sent by an anonymous fan.
Feeling that warmth, Myeong I-dam suddenly found the whole situation unbearably unfair.
Will I ever get another chance? Will there really come a day when I can show this anonymous fan what comes next for me? If I hadn’t drunk that antifreeze-laced water, this person wouldn’t have had to worry like this in the first place.
“Damn it, you’re so annoying!”
“……?”
And just like that, he ended up taking out his frustration on poor Neoul.
It wasn’t that he truly resented Neoul. Nor did he regret jumping in to save him.
But when he saw Neoul’s dazed face, he couldn’t help feeling a surge of petty irritation. He hated this hard hospital bed and the smell of disinfectant, too. And whenever he thought of the fan out there, stamping her feet in worry, how was he supposed not to get mad?
“Hey. What did Kim Ji-rok have against you for him to do something like that?”
“Was I the cause of this incident?”
“Yeah! That bastard put antifreeze in your water because he was trying to kill you.”
“Did I do something wrong?”
At Neoul’s bewildered question, Myeong I-dam snapped back to himself with a start.
“No! That’s not it! Kim Ji-rok’s the insane one.”
“Hmm. In any case, it seems the culprit was indeed Kim Ji-rok.”
“Uh…? Huh? ‘Indeed’? You knew it was him?”
Neoul gave a slight nod.
“From that day onward, Kim Ji-rok’s stench grew even stronger.”
“Ah, right. You’re not human.”
After obsessively digging until he had confirmed that Neoul was a mermaid, Myeong I-dam had promptly forgotten it again, as if it were of no real importance.
Now that he had remembered, a flood of questions spilled out of him.
“You said souls smell rotten? Was that not just a figure of speech, but an actual smell? Is it some kind of superpower? Why did it get stronger? Does the smell level up every time they do something bad?”
Neoul tilted his head at the barrage.
“Rather than growing stronger whenever one does ill… the outcome is the same, yet if I speak precisely, it is somewhat different.”
“Different?”
“Yes. To carry out the thought of harming another is to have already harbored great malice within one’s heart, is it not?”
“I guess so.”
“A soul that harbors malice is bound to rot. When a soul rots, it festers, maggots breed, and it gives off a foul stench.”
“M-Maggots…?”
“Indeed. Kim Ji-rok had lived in malice by nature, so his soul was already long spoiled. But from that day onward, his malice swelled sharply, and he rotted even further. In conclusion, the stench deepened as well.”
“Ah. I get it.”
Myeong I-dam nodded. Neoul pressed at his throbbing temples and complained.
“The smell is so vile it nearly makes me seasick.”
“Yikes. That’s rough. Must be a pain.”
Only Neoul could smell it; no one else would ever be able to sympathize. Even the viewers had, up until the drug scandal surrounding Gye Tae-seok broke, gone on and on about how Neoul was rude and antisocial.
But on second thought, it wasn’t entirely a bad thing.
“Still, that’s pretty useful….”
Myeong I-dam’s eyes lit up at the thought of such a practical superpower.
“You could screen out anyone who might cause trouble ahead of time. If they stink, you just don’t associate with them.”
“I was already planning to do exactly that.”
“Good. Smart thinking. But what about Gye Tae-seok? He was only using the drugs on himself, so he was hurting only his own body. It’s not like he had malice toward other people, right?”
Myeong I-dam asked this with a puzzled tone.
“Of course, it did cause serious harm to the two people who went to Gye Tae-seok’s place for the reaction video… Still, drugs are illegal in our country, but legal in some others. I was curious what standard you were using.”
“Ah. Ha On-ha sent me an article, but….”
Not long ago, Ha On-ha had sent Neoul a link to an article, along with a bizarre chick emoji wearing a weirdly horrified expression, as if to say he couldn’t even believe it.
Neoul took out his smartphone and showed Myeong I-dam the article Ha On-ha had sent.
Just from the headline alone, it was a disgrace.
“Ugh. Never mind. I don’t want to see any more.”
Myeong I-dam, horrified, shoved aside Neoul’s hand holding the phone. Then, after hesitating for a moment and glancing around, he spoke again.
“Actually… Kim Ji-rok came by yesterday.”
“What?”
Kim Ji-rok had come here?
“Wow. That bastard’s insane. He was threatening me.”
Myeong I-dam let out a hollow laugh and remembered what had happened.
* * *
“Hi. Myeong I-dam. Are you feeling any better? Hello, ma’am. I came because I was worried about I-dam and wanted to visit him in the hospital.”
“Oh my, how kind of you. Welcome.”
Kim Ji-rok came in with a broad grin, even carrying a case of drinks. Myeong I-dam’s mother, knowing nothing, welcomed him warmly.
Myeong I-dam went pale and frantically searched the blanket for his smartphone.
How did that bastard even find this place?
Police: 112. Ambulance: 119. No, this is a hospital already. Forget 119, then—just call the police at 112….
No, should I turn on the recorder?
With trembling hands, Myeong I-dam switched on the recording app and hid his smartphone under the blanket.
If I’d known he’d come looking for me, I should’ve testified and filed for a restraining order a long time ago. Why did I hesitate?
But he worried that without clear evidence, his testimony might not be believed.
Besides, he was afraid of Kim Ji-rok’s retaliation. Afraid that the malice aimed at Neoul would be redirected straight at him.
Even if it had all been an accident, he had knowingly drunk the suspicious water himself, whereas Neoul, Kim Ji-rok’s actual target, hadn’t drunk any of it at all.
Even if everything went well and Kim Ji-rok were punished, the sentence probably wouldn’t be severe. He might get off with a suspended sentence. Even if he did serve time, he’d probably be back in society and wandering around freely in a year or two. How many cases like that were there?
And once a criminal like that gets out, the first thing he’ll do is get revenge, won’t he?
Myeong I-dam didn’t yet have the strength to protect himself or his family. And he wasn’t sure he could build that kind of strength in just a few years, either.
So even after his body had recovered a little, he still hesitated to speak up. Even to his own mother, the person closest to him.
“Aigoo, my I-dam has a friend over, but I don’t have anything proper to serve.”
“Oh, no, it’s fine. Really.”
“No, no. I’ll go buy some snacks. You stay here and keep I-dam company.”
She was going out?
Terrified, Myeong I-dam grabbed his mother in a panic.
“Mom, don’t go.”
If you leave me alone with him, your son might die…!
“Our I-dam was so mature all this time that I was almost hurt, and now he’s acting like a little kid again. There’s egg tarts being sold just up front. Do you like egg tarts?”
“Yes. I love them.”
“All right. I-dam, Mom will be right back. Play nicely with your friend~”
“Wait, Mom!”
He’s not my friend! He’s a psychopath! Save me!
Myeong I-dam screamed inwardly, but his mother shut the door and left anyway.
For a moment, silence fell over the hospital room with only Kim Ji-rok and Myeong I-dam left inside. The window was closed, and yet Myeong I-dam’s spine crawled so badly that he had the eerie illusion a cold wind was blowing from somewhere.
Ah. The air conditioner was on.
“Don’t come any closer.”
Myeong I-dam glared at Kim Ji-rok. Kim Ji-rok stood there with his hands shoved in his pockets and jerked his chin toward the ceiling.
“Don’t worry. I just came to ask you something I was curious about. There’s CCTV in here.”
“Yeah. There is. It works perfectly. Brand-new model. The performance is really good.”
Kim Ji-rok gave a thin, oily smile and nodded. Then he asked bluntly, “Did you see it?”
“…….”
Myeong I-dam swallowed.
Should I say I didn’t, or should I not?
But by hesitating even for a moment, he might as well have admitted that he had.
Kim Ji-rok narrowed his eyes.
“You did. Sneaking around like a rat.”
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I-dam. I know you’re unstable right now, but isn’t that a little rude for you to be talking back to your hyung?”
Veins rose at Kim Ji-rok’s forehead. So focused on keeping his guard up, Myeong I-dam hadn’t even realized he was speaking casually.
“…I don’t know what you mean.”
“Good. You won’t know it in the future either. Not you.”
Kim Ji-rok strode up to the bed and held out a hand. Myeong I-dam, terrified, reached for the call button, only for Kim Ji-rok to seize his wrist.
“Your phone. Give it here.”
“Why do you want my phone…?”
“Hand it over.”
In the end, Myeong I-dam had his smartphone snatched away by Kim Ji-rok. And with it, his recording was exposed.
“I knew it. Low words should be heard by birds, not by rats. Hm?”
Kim Ji-rok canceled the recording file, then checked what else was on the device. After confirming there were no photos or videos in the album that could serve as additional evidence, he returned the phone.
“As long as you keep your mouth shut, there won’t be any problem. But if your tongue gets itchy and you start squeaking… well, then I won’t know what’ll happen. What I might do.”
“…….”
“Your mother seems like a good person. You should be filial and protect her. Isn’t that right?”
It was a threat—if Myeong I-dam exposed the truth, Kim Ji-rok would take it out on his mother.
* * *
“So you weren’t able to secure any evidence? And you weren’t planning to testify either?”
Neoul asked.
“No. I did secure it.”
Myeong I-dam grinned and lifted his smartphone.