Chapter 13
Weekend morning. Beside me, I could see Do-ha asleep, clutching a pillow to her chest with all four limbs. Looking at Do-ha hiding her body behind the pillow through barely open eyes, I got peevish for no reason.
When I snatched the pillow she was holding, her small hand grabbed at it, then soon let go limply.
I poked a finger into her pouty, puffed-out cheek.
"..Mmng, are you going to work?"
"Heh, no. It's the weekend, Do-ha."
"Then, uh, where're you going?"
"Yeah, I have something to take care of."
With no phone, no calendar, no way to check the date, I supposed it was only natural. It had already been nearly a month since Do-ha came home.
There had been all sorts of things, but Do-ha was gradually adjusting to this life too. I never wanted to lose this moment, which was so precious to me.
So if I wanted to protect Do-ha, I couldn't just sit idle. To keep our happy daily life undisturbed by anyone.
Just a few days ago, I got a message from an unknown number while I was working.
- Is this Lee Yu-bin?
Whether socially or professionally, no one dared address me like that, so it wasn't that I hadn't expected it. It had just come a little sooner.
- Yes, who is this?
- Hello. I'm Do-ha's friend Min-ha, though I'm not sure if you know me. Do-ha hasn't been reachable, so I contacted you in case you knew anything.
The reply came almost as soon as I'd read it. I waited a moment before answering.
- I'm not sure. I haven't been able to reach Do-ha for a while either.
- You don't know anything at all?
- No.
- Are you serious?
My eyebrow twitched slightly. I couldn't clearly see the intent behind contacting me, and even though we'd never met, the way she openly probed at me made me let out a hollow laugh.
The childish back-and-forth—like a spear against a shield, each side stubbornly digging in—was already getting on my nerves.
- No, I don't know. She suddenly stopped answering me too, a few weeks ago, so I have no idea.
- Could we meet and talk?
It was an invisible battle of wills, the tension swelling as we both hovered near the line. In the end, the woman was the first to get to the point.
It was truly annoying, but I couldn't just ignore it either. Backing off here would only raise more suspicion, so I was the one who readily proposed a meeting place first.
- Then shall we meet at the café in front of Exit X at XX Station?
*
The ice was slowly melting. This wasn't the mood to be leisurely sucking down a drink, so the woman watching me from the chair across the table sat with her arms openly crossed, her eyes full of wariness and tension.
"You're the one who kidnapped Do-ha, aren't you?"
At the words that jabbed straight in, I buried my sweating conscience and acted nonchalant.
"Ha, what on earth are you talking about?"
"Don't think you can just brush this off. You know it's a crime, right?"
God, this was the problem with people who had no pride. She was just some friend Do-ha had met in college, yet she'd probably had feelings for Do-ha at least once. She'd probably played the friend while thinking about Do-ha and masturbating alone.
"...Ms. Kim, was it? I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You're impossible to talk to. Do-ha contacted me and said she was being confined by you."
"You're seriously delusional. Go to a psychiatric hospital."
"Hey!!!"
Clatter. The table shook. Every eye in the café turned toward us at once.
"Sit down first. Calm down a little."
"Ha, calm down, my ass. Forget it. I'm going to report this to the police, so just know that."
If she actually did that, things would go much more smoothly. I'd already taken care of things on that end, so wouldn't she just make herself look like a paranoid lunatic? Seeing how emotional and stupid she was—so much like Do-ha—I supposed birds of a feather really did flock together.
Min-ha wasn't exactly hard to read. With that tiny brain of hers, there were only so many buttons to push.
"Haha... Now I understand why Do-ha avoided you so much, Ms. Kim."
"Wh-what did you say?"
"Do-ha told me. She said you kept trying to make plans with her even though she was busy, and that you were a real nuisance in all sorts of ways."
Of course, that last part wasn't true at all. I'd just seasoned what I'd learned through the hacking code I'd planted on Do-ha's phone with a little MSG and exaggerated it. But so what? Watching the woman's pupils tremble in front of me was too funny.
"..Don't make up lies like that."
"Well. Think whatever you want to believe. Oh, but it's true, of course."
"Bullshit. Coming from a criminal, that's rich."
What an insolent bitch. I'd thought so ever since she'd whispered in Do-ha's ear to break up with me. Even though we'd never met, she had no manners at all.
Do-ha had surely been badly influenced by having trashy friends like this. Do-ha, keeping a low-class woman like this as a friend, honestly.
"Hmm... So, Ms. Kim, you think I kidnapped Do-ha?"
"Yes."
"Then shall I show you our home?"
"..What?"
"No, come on. You're getting suspicious about something really weird. If you want, I'll show you."
In the end, it was psychological warfare. No matter how much she ranted about kidnapping and crimes, it was clear this woman had no evidence. If she did, why would she be sitting here leisurely across from me right now?
The woman was startled for a moment by my brazen performance, then, sure enough, broke into a sweat with eyes full of suspicion.
"How am I supposed to trust you.."
"Hm.. Then what do you want me to do? You've mistaken a perfectly normal person for a criminal. Do I look like I have time to waste?"
Now the initiative in the conversation was mine. Well, whatever choice the woman made, there was no outcome she wanted.
After hesitating for a moment, the woman opened her mouth.
"..Fine then. Show me."
*
Now we'd reached the front door. Trying to break the icy atmosphere, I made small talk as I entered the door code.
"Hm, the house isn't tidy, so it's a little embarrassing."
"..."
The woman, who gave no particular reply, was visibly tense.
Beep-beep.
The door opened, and the woman, without even taking off her shoes, stepped straight into the living room and wandered around the house, calling out.
"Do-ha, Do-ha? Are you here?"
What a sight. Why did Do-ha keep such an annoying bitch around as a so-called friend?
If someone else saw her throwing open every door in the house and rummaging through it without hesitation, they'd think she was the homeowner.
As time passed, anxiety crept across the face of the woman who couldn't find a single clue.
After about an hour, her increasingly sweaty, flustered expression was worth watching.
"Thanks to you, the house is a wreck."
"..Wh-where did you hide her?"
"Haven't you done enough by now? There's a limit to how much trouble you should cause. Heh. Would you please leave now?"
The woman looked bewildered. She'd acted with complete confidence before, but now she seemed to have no idea what was going on. She was embarrassed at suddenly finding herself cast as someone who'd jumped to a baseless conclusion and caused trouble.
"Hah... wh-what? Th-this... ob-obviously..."
"Shall I recommend a psychiatrist I know?"
"Fuuuck..."
Unable to contain her emotions, the woman vented to herself, raking both hands through her hair in frustration. Tsk. She clicked her tongue, grabbed her bag, and headed for the front door.
I kindly opened the door and saw her out to the doorstep. Get the hell out already.
I thought I'd done well to have bought a newly built apartment not long ago. Setting up an empty house with furniture and belongings in just a few days had been, thinking back on it, truly enormously annoying.
But anyway, it was done now. I wanted to go home quickly and unleash all the stress that had built up from dealing with that woman on Do-ha. What had she done on her phone to cause this mess? I'd have to warn her more firmly so this kind of thing wouldn't happen again.
I felt refreshed, like someone who'd finished an annoying task. I smoked a chain of cigarettes in front of the house for the first time in a while. Around the time I'd burned through three, I checked the time and stubbed them out with my shoe, then, ah, before going inside, I didn't forget to take the deodorizer out of my bag and spray it.
"Do-ha, I'm home."
"Y-you're back?"
I scooped up Do-ha, who was crawling toward me on all fours to lick my shoes, and jumped onto the sofa. Because right now, I had to kiss her.
"I-I missed you... hehe. I love you."
"Mm, me too~"
I whispered love to Do-ha, who was saying nice things while watching my mood, and kissed her.
"Pfft, Do-ha. Listen. Do you know who I met today?"
Maybe because I was touching her chest and it felt good, she looked up at me with narrowed eyes and a lewd, breathless face.
"I met Min-ha today."
At those words, Do-ha stopped.
"..M-Min-ha?"
"Yeah, she suddenly contacted me a few days ago."
"Wh-what do you mean, she contacted you?"
"Curious?"
Do-ha flinched. Her eyes dropped downward.
"N-no.. I'm not curious."
"Pfft. She said I kidnapped you. Hm? Isn't that hilarious?"
"Heh... hehe, y-yeah, it's... it's funny."
Do-ha, rigid with tension in my arms, studied my expression for a moment, then laughed along with me. She was desperate.
"Heh, really funny. Going on about crimes and whatever, what does she know about us? Do-ha loves me, that's why we're together like this, right?"
"Hehe, heh, r-right, heh, heh."
Pretending not to notice her awkwardly smiling face growing a little wet, I hugged her tight, and Do-ha buried her face in my shoulder. Buried under my laughter, Do-ha's sobs couldn't be heard.