Chapter 44
"So. What happened when you got caught trying to run away?"
"They locked me in a room and beat me. If I passed out, they beat me awake. And if I passed out again, they beat me awake again. After that, I couldn’t really try running away anymore."
Hongju spoke of his painful past like it belonged to someone else. Instead, it was Doksu who grimaced.
"I knew he was a psycho, but damn. Guppping’s even more fucked up than I thought."
Hongju let out a faint smile, as if it was amusing to hear someone else curse on his behalf. “Fucked up psycho,” he murmured quietly under his breath. Watching him smile like he didn’t even know how to, Doksu swallowed his sympathy. His phone vibrated in his pocket, long and steady.
[Nearby.]
He shut the screen again and kept talking to Hongju.
Screeeech—! In the quiet dawn, the sound of tires scraping the pavement echoed down the empty road. Spotting the familiar car, Doksu slowly straightened from where he’d been leaning back. A tall, imposing figure stepped out from the driver’s seat.
"You got here quick."
Mu-gyeong turned his head at Doksu’s call, then ran his gaze up and down Hongju, who was blankly staring at the table.
"What’s wrong with him?"
Doksu mimed tipping a glass and extended his hand. He knocked on the table like it was a door, and only then did Hongju’s eyes slowly lift. "Fucked up psycho," he kept mouthing silently, over and over—his lips moving but making no sound. Doksu met his gaze and spoke in a teasing tone.