Chapter 94: Story 10- Chapter 94.
“How do you do? My name is Woojin Choi.”
“I am Joowan Kim.”
Woojin was surprised by the place Joowan picked for them to meet. It was a quiet café outside the city; inside, there was only one barista. When Woojin first walked in, he was a little confused. The café was huge with a large garden attached to it, but it was completely empty inside. It was located slightly outside the city center, but not so far that it would be this empty. The café was also surrounded by many famous hotels and restaurants.
This could only mean one thing: Joowan must’ve rented the whole place for this meeting.
Joowan asked, “I think I will drink the flat white. What would you like?”
“Black tea please.”
Before the barista left with the order, he rolled up his sleeves and Woojin noticed an unusual tattoo on his wrist.
Enjoying the lovely aroma of black tea, Woojin studied Joowan’s tattoo carefully. Nonchalantly, Joowan rolled up his sleeve even more and showed it to him. Now that Woojin saw it closer, it looked familiar.
Joowan asked, “You know this logo, right?”
“… Hana Pharmaceuticals?”
“Yes.”
It was one of the pharmaceutical companies Woojin’s company invested in. It was involved in researching genetic disorders and Woojin knew the company studied his own family’s family illness. He remembered the logo from his father’s pill bottles.
Joowan said to him, “Attorney Myunghoon Bae also is an investor of this company. Did you know that?”
“… No, I didn’t.”
“I have known Eejun Bae since we were children. I am the youngest of my family, so I never attended the major company meetings.”
The CEO of Hana Pharmaceuticals had three sons. Woojin met two of them in the past, and he vaguely remembered being told that the third son lived abroad.
“You are the youngest?”
“Yes. I think you might have seen my older brothers.”
“I used to attend those company meetings once a year when I was younger, so yes. But I can’t remember them.”
“I will let them know.”
Joowan had a completely blank face. He acted like he was uninterested and that he was just answering out of politeness. Woojin became curious, “Why did you ask me to meet you?”
“Why do you think?”
Joowan gestured to the barista, who brought him a large envelope. The tattoo on the barista’s wrist was also the logo of the Hana Pharmaceuticals. Joowan opened the envelope and took out the photos. He spread them on the table and they were of Woojin at different ages. Each photo had dates and his age written on them.
Woojin looked at them indifferently and without interest.
“Mr. Woojin, you may or may not know me.”
“…”
“But I have been watching you for a long time.”
“…”
“Of course, it wasn’t because I wanted to.”
“Does that matter?”
“I guess not. I must be my father’s son after all. I have very thick skin just like him.”
Woojin learned recently that Hana Pharmaceuticals actively sold and purchased information. Woojin slowly looked through the photos until he saw one that looked brown and old. It was a photo of himself walking into the main entrance of his high school. And behind him, Shin Kim was walking into the school too.
“I will keep this, Mr. Kim.”
Woojin picked up the photo and Joowan nodded.
“Mr. Choi, Attorney Myunghoon Bae has been involved in this for a very long time.”
“…”
“This situation with Jihoon Kang and yourself.”
Joowan spat out Jihoon’s name like it was poison, and Woojin didn’t miss it. Joowan continued, “And your father Wootaek Choi and Jihoon Kang’s mother Dayoung Choi… They were both involved too.”
***
Shin Kim was planning on staying late at his parents’ home, but after dinner, he suddenly missed Woojin. Thinking of returning to his own home where he lived with Woojin made him feel happy. Shin felt that he now had a new family of his own.
When he stood up to leave, Minji looked at him in disappointment. Shin said to her, “Sis, you should find someone you love and form a family of your own too.”
“Oh, are you saying you found one for yourself?”
When Shin flinched in shock, Minji smiled. Her smile was wide and genuine. When she smiled, her eyes slanted down, making her look much younger, almost like a child. Shin loved her smile. Of course, when she nagged him, she turned into the devil.
“Tell Woojin hi.”
“I will.”
After saying goodbye to his mother, Shin walked out. He was about to walk to his car when his phone beeped. It was a text message from Woojin. It seemed that his meeting was over. When Shin called him, Woojin answered quickly.
“Hello?”
Slow and relaxed voice. Woojin did everything in a calm manner, but there were hidden details to him that only a few people in the world knew. Shin loved these details, and most of all, it was a fact that he was one of these very select people.
Shin smiled broadly and asked, “Where are you?”
“Near your home.”
“What?”
“You told me your parents’ address before, remember? I can actually see you right now.”
When Shin looked around, he saw Woojin leaning against the wall in the faraway corner. Woojin was wearing a coat and a scarf Shin got him to wear this morning. When Woojin spotted Shin, he hung up and waved at him.
At the beginning of their relationship, Shin never expected he would get to see Woojin like this. Shin murmured to himself, “I was afraid he would always remain doll-like…”
When they first met, and for a long time after, Woojin only had one expression on his face: blank. Before, when Shin woke up in the middle of the night, he secretly watched Woojin sleep. He also sometimes put his finger underneath Woojin’s nose to make sure he was breathing.
But nowadays, Shin realized how expressive Woojin became. His lover now knew how to frown, sigh, and pout. It was such a big change.
“How long have you been waiting, Woojin?”
It was cold outside, and Shin could see his own breath. Woojin smiled and looked up at Shin.
“I was just passing by. I didn’t mean to wait for you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Really. I wasn’t waiting here for long. I swear. I was just walking by when you just came out.”
Another big change in Woojin was that he now spoke what he felt and thought. It seemed that this particular change occurred after his session with Minji started. Woojin told Shin a few times that his big sister must be a very talented doctor.
Shin covered Woojin’s cold cheeks and said to him, “My sister misses you.”
“I will see her on Monday.”
“I am so jealous.”
“But we see each other every day.”
When Woojin looked down shyly, Shin couldn’t help but hug him tightly. They walked towards the parking lot and looking down at him, Shin noticed Woojin looked a little tired.
“Can I ask you what you talked about with Joowan?”
“Yeah.”
Woojin nodded and grabbed Shin’s wrist rightly. Woojin did seem very tired. Shin asked, “Did you eat dinner yet?”
“No.”
“I will make you something yummy when we get home.”
Woojin smiled and his cheeks dimpled adorably. He smiled frequently now, and Shin’s heart thumped every time he saw his lover happy.
It began to snow a little. The snowflakes looked like tiny stars under the streetlight. They walked in calm silence when suddenly, Woojin said to Shin, “It must’ve been a much longer time than I thought.”
“What is?”
“What happened in my past. What I experienced…”
“…”
“Because I learned today that I was no longer angry.”
“…”
“These things happened so long ago that when he was talking about it, I felt like I was listening to a story. Or something that happened to someone else and not me.”
“…Woojin…”
“Shin… He told me that neither my father nor Jihoon’s mother were ever sick.”