DASH
*
Chapter 41
Jiheon wasn’t trying to pry, but he couldn’t help his curiosity. Seriously, though, what the hell did Kwon Jaekyoung owe that guy for? He couldn’t help but wonder why it was Jaekyoung, out of everyone, who would put up with all that hassle and get tangled up in that situation. There was no way he would borrow some money.
No, it wasn’t about money. Given Jaekyoung’s personality, there was no way he would go out of his way for someone and end up owing them. He wasn’t socially emotional enough to recognize that as a debt, even if he unintentionally ended up indebted to someone.
Jaekyoung helped because he genuinely liked the guy, but why did it have to turn into a debt? If he didn’t have those feelings, he probably wouldn’t have cared at all. He was the kind of guy who would say something like that. That was how Kwon Jaekyoung was.
‘Is he really… indebted to that guy? He’s not just making excuses because he wants to be with him, right?’
“What else are you thinking now?”
Jaekyoung chimed in like a ghost when Jiheon got lost in his thoughts.
“I’m not really thinking about anything.”
“Don’t lie. It’s written all over your face, hyung.”
“No, seriously, I’m not thinking about anything.”
Jiheon calmly stated, sneaking a glance at his face in the rearview mirror. He caught Jaekyoung letting out a sigh from the side.
“Don’t keep sighing. Your luck’s gonna run dry.”
Jiheon smiled and said in bewilderment.
Instead of responding, Jaekyoung propped his elbow on the window frame. He touched his forehead, as if deep in thought for a moment, and then let out another short sigh.
“Back when I was in Australia, that hyung came over for a filming.”
“Hey, you don’t have to tell me.”
Jiheon interjected, slightly caught off guard.
“I’m not all that curious. If you don’t wanna talk about it, just don’t. Seriously, you don’t have to.”
“No. I don’t want you getting the wrong idea, so I’ll tell you.”
“No, I’m not getting the wrong idea.”
‘Come on, Jaekyoung, please.’
Jiheon pleaded.
“I don’t really wanna hear it.”
He really meant it. Apart from what he was curious about, he didn’t want to know. He didn’t even want to hear the story directly from Jaekyoung.
“Listen up, hyung.”
But Jaekyoung was persistent. Jiheon sighed.
“Okay, okay. Let’s talk about it later. After the competition.”
“No, I’ll just tell you now. Listen up.”
Jaekyoung’s tone turned slightly angry; he clearly hated dragging this out until then.
“If you want me to focus on the competition, listen.”
It was almost like a threat. Of course, he wasn’t going to ruin the competition if Jiheon didn’t listen, but still, Jiheon found it hard to refuse at this point.
“Fine. Tell me.”
Jiheon finally gave in. Jaekyoung shot Jiheon a side glance, then refocused on the road ahead.
“It was in December, right before Christmas. The guy leading the filming team was someone I knew across the street, and he told me that hyung wanted to play with me. He said he would make a place for me to meet that hyung if I wanted to.”
‘Wow… that’s quite an unexpected first meeting.’
Jiheon was taken aback. He didn’t expect a movie-like first meeting, but the fact that it happened so spontaneously, to be honest, was quite a shock. The idea that Jaekyoung casually met a man like that. That young man who acted like he had no interest in anything but swimming.
“I told him I didn’t need it, but he insisted and even showed me a picture of that hyung. He said, ‘I’m telling you, he’s your type.’ So I checked out the picture, and I had to admit, he was definitely my type. He has similar height and physique, especially his eyes.”
‘Who the hell is he similar to……?’
Jiheon’s mind raced again. He refrained from blurting it out because he felt like he would catch on as he listened further.
He thought Jaekyoung might have forgotten to mention who the person Cha Seonghyeon was similar with since he was so immersed in his own words.
So, Jiheon just let him travel down memory lane without disturbing him. He had a pretty good hunch about who Jaekyoung was talking about anyway.
“But when I actually met him, he didn’t look similar at all. Looking at the picture, I thought he would look similar, but he wasn’t at all. Especially his atmosphere, it was just so different.”
By now, Jiheon had a pretty good idea of what Jaekyoung was talking about. If his suspicions were right, Jaekyoung had really made a big mistake… He had been so disrespectful. Even if Cha Seonghyeon slapped Jaekyoung on the cheek, there was nothing he could do about it.
“At first, I thought maybe it was the hair color. That hyung had brown hair at the time. I told him about it, and he said he would dye his hair black the next day. But he still didn’t look similar. So I told him, ‘I’m sorry, but no’.”
Ding, ding. Now Jiheon could understand even if Cha Seonghyeon would bite Jaekyoung’s thingy. He had gone as far as changing his hair color just to sleep with Kwon Jaekyoung. And in faraway Australia, he had even paid a visit to the salon to dye his hair. The famous celebrity, Cha Seonghyeon, went that far. And even after all that, he still ended up getting rejected.
“That hyung just laughed it off and said, ‘There’s nothing I can do if it doesn’t work either.’ So he asked me to hang out while he was in Australia. Either we hit the clubs or went shopping together.”
‘That’s probably when that picture was taken.’
Jiheon sighed inwardly.
“The hyung said it was okay and I didn’t need to feel bad about it anymore. But I’m human too. There’s no way I could do that. So when I met him not long after I returned to Korea, he asked me for a favor, and I agreed. That’s all.”
After hearing the story, Jiheon finally understood the whole situation. The reason Jaekyoung had spent time with Cha Seonghyeon and why he felt indebted to him. It must’ve been a similar context to when Jaekyoung had asked that guy to call him if he ever needed help.
Yes, the relationship between the two of them now made sense. However, this inevitably raised questions about Jaekyoung’s relationship with someone else.
“If you’re looking for someone who looks similar to that person, isn’t it better to give him a call? It’s better than hurting others for no reason.”
Jaekyoung paused for a moment at Jiheon’s words and then asked:
“……Who do you mean by ‘that person’?”
“I’m talking about Lin Han.”
“Who’s that?”
Jaekyoung’s reply left Jiheon utterly flabbergasted, making him shout, “What?!”
“Hold on a second. That’s his name, right?”
“Who are you talking about?”
“The first guy you had a scandal with. The Taiwanese water polo athlete. Wasn’t it Lin Han? Or is it a different name?”
Only then did Jaekyoung mumble, “Oh.”
He rubbed his chin and cast a half-lowered gaze to the side. His expression seemed to say, “Right, I almost forgot about that.”
In an instant, Jiheon realized. He couldn’t help but realize. It had nothing to do with Lin Han. Jaekyoung wasn’t even thinking about him from the start.
He found out something else at the same time. Earlier, Jaekyoung didn’t just forget to mention another person because he was so immersed in the story. He was intentionally leaving that part out.
“Well, obviously, he looks similar too.”
Jaekyoung later explained, a faint smile was on his lips as he covered them with his long fingers. It was the self-loathing smile Jiheon had once seen.
“In the beginning, I started talking to him because I mistook him for someone else. I was pretty drunk at the time, but he did look similar. He was even more similar physically because he was an athlete.”
Once again, Jaekyoung didn’t reveal who the other person he resembled was. Almost like he wanted Jiheon to ask, “Who the hell does he look like? Who are you talking about?”
This guy was waiting for Jiheon to ask him that.
If Jaekyoung wanted him to ask, Jiheon thought he’d better do that. After all, if the athlete wanted him to, it was his job to oblige. It wasn’t that hard.
But for some reason, the words wouldn’t come out. He was at a loss for what to say or how to ask. His mind was so complicated that he couldn’t even think of anything.
In the end, Jaekyoung broke the silence.
“Why aren’t you asking?”
“What?”
“About who he looks like.”
Jaekyoung seemed undeterred by hesitation now.
“Why don’t you ask about who I’m talking about?”
“I don’t know. Do I really need to ask?”
Jiheon responded in a calm manner.
“Hyung, you’ve always been quick to ask me things.”
“Have I?”
Jiheon mumbled as if it was someone else’s business. Despite his composed tone, his palms gripping the steering wheel were sweaty. The car’s air conditioning was blowing cold air, making it chilly, yet he was still sweating.
“I’m not really curious about that.”
Jiheon stated, gaze fixed on the white car ahead.
Seeing Jiheon not even looking his way, Jaekyoung smiled.
“Hyung.”
Jiheon’s grip on the steering wheel tightened.
“You’re very scared, aren’t you?”
Jiheon kept his eyes on the road, refusing to respond. Jaekyoung didn’t push him further, as if his words weren’t meant to elicit an answer.
Before he knew it, they arrived in front of the hotel.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, hyung.”
Jaekyoung unfastened his seatbelt and exited the car without waiting for Jiheon’s reply.
As soon as the passenger door closed, Jiheon immediately stepped on the accelerator. He opened both windows and let the air conditioning mix with the warm breeze that rushed in.
A strong scent of grass that he’d never smelled seemed to vibrate at the tip of his nose.
He knew it. It was all fake. A mind-bending illusion created by the brain due to excessive obsession.
He knew it, but he hated it. Or rather than hating, he was worried. And rather than worried, he was afraid.
Again, his hand clutching the steering wheel tightened. No matter how much he squeezed, the veins on his hands protruded, wriggling like they might burst through the skin. Unaware of this, Jiheon only loosened his grip when a tingling pain shot through his hand.
‘Calm down, let’s calm down first.’
Jiheon whispered to himself as he alternated between squeezing and releasing the steering wheel. Gradually, the agitation subsided. By the time the company building came into view, he had fully regained his composure.
With a composed mind, Jiheon began to contemplate when he could manage to take a half-day off.
It seemed that he would have to go to the hospital as soon as possible.
(end of volume 1)