The Unbelievers

Chapter 49

“I apologize. I’ll go right away and move Eunseong.”

“If he asks for me, tell him I’ve gone on a business trip abroad.”

“Understood.”

Director Nam, who had been watching Siwoon with a heavy heart as he tried to fulfill his responsibility to Eunseong by any means necessary, bowed and left the office.

Director Nam headed straight to Siwoon’s residence. Eunseong was packing his belongings alone. Although Siwoon had bought him enough clothes and shoes to fill a truck, Eunseong said he wouldn’t take them. He was only packing his bag with money and textbooks and workbooks, even though he didn’t study. It looked more like he was throwing things around rather than packing them.

“Shouldn’t you at least take your clothes? If you end up buying all new ones, you’ll still be using the CEO’s money.”

Director Nam’s words hit a nerve. Eunseong turned to look at him with annoyance, but then replied in a deflated voice.

“…Then I’ll just take the clothes.”

“Take everything you’ve been using. Buying new things would still be using the CEO’s money.”

“…”

Eunseong stopped packing and got up to fetch the bag where he kept his money. He took out the money, put it on the floor, and said,

“Could you give this to ahjussi? And please tell him I’ll pay it all back later.”

“…”

Is it really not resonance?

Is he just emotionally attracted to Siwoon, mistaking his care and protection for affection, as Siwoon said?

Despite Siwoon’s warning, Director Nam couldn’t shake off these thoughts and observed Eunseong.

If it were resonance, unlike what he had heard, Eunseong didn’t seem to be experiencing any painful sensations. He might be too young for that, and in any case, Director Nam had only heard about it and had never actually seen the ‘Great Rift’ before, so he didn’t know anything for certain.

The prophesied being known as the ‘Great Rift’ showed no outward signs. Eunseong’s mother, whom he had only seen in photos, had been quite beautiful, and Eunseong’s handsome face, which resembled his birth mother, couldn’t be proof of his status as that being.

On the surface, Eunseong was just a pretty male student. The fact that he was noticeably pretty, not just averagely so, was perhaps the only remarkable thing about him.

Director Nam had only heard about the mark Eunseong possessed. He hadn’t seen it with his own eyes. It was the only evidence that Eunseong was the ‘Great Rift’. He could only surmise based on the fact that Seo Jeong-gi, who had learned about Eunseong’s mark, had run away with the child, and even this assumption alone could put Eunseong in danger.

There was no clear sign of resonance visible in either Eunseong or Siwoon. The overly rational Siwoon didn’t believe in the existence of the ‘Great Rift’ itself, nor in things like marks or resonance. Moreover, being ascetic, he would have been wary of having such feelings for Eunseong and wouldn’t have even considered it. Although Siwoon’s reactions were different from usual, which was suspicious, there was no sense of pain from either of them that would suggest resonance, as Siwoon claimed.

There was no disagreement that Siwoon was handsome enough to make someone fall for him, and perhaps it was natural for Eunseong, who had suffered at the hands of his father, to develop feelings for Siwoon, who tried to give him everything he wanted. Eunseong just looked like an innocent boy who liked Siwoon, as Siwoon had said.

Director Nam knew that, whether he believed it or not, Siwoon also had an inherent desire to confirm if Eunseong was indeed that being. However, he also knew that Siwoon’s reason was firmly suppressing such urges.

“The CEO is very worried about you, Eunseong.”

“I can take care of myself. No one needs to worry about me.”

“I’m not just saying this, I really mean it. Really, truly… I mean it sincerely.”

Such vague words were unlike Director Nam. Eunseong looked at him with confusion. His eyes were full of discontent, as if asking what he was supposed to do about it.

“I’m sure he does. Because we’re relatives.”

“…That’s right.”

“I know that too. That ahjussi and I are relatives.”

“That’s good that you know. You have a good relative. Live with gratitude.”

“…”

Eunseong glared at Director Nam. If he knew how much Eunseong’s heart was breaking, he wouldn’t dare say such things.

Eunseong had shown his feelings openly and been rejected. It might have been the natural response as an uncle, but it was the first time Eunseong had liked someone, the first time he had wanted to get close to someone, and he was shut down and ignored before he could even properly confess.

He knew it was wrong, but there was no need to react so strongly. Siwoon even spoke as if Eunseong was mistaking his feelings for something else. Eunseong felt ashamed at Siwoon’s touch as he patted him, saying he was just confused and that these feelings would soon be forgotten. Even now, he wanted to see Siwoon. He wanted to throw the money in his face.

Director Nam, who had been observing Eunseong as he packed his bag with his lips tightly pressed together, brought in an employee to help with the rest of the packing.

Even though it seemed like a lot, Eunseong’s belongings, which wouldn’t even fill a one-ton truck, were quickly organized with the helping hands.

Eunseong got into the car driven by Director Nam, resting his chin on his hand and looking out the window glumly. He showed no excitement about the new place he would be living. His face was full of discontent and looked sullen.

“When will ahjussi come to see me after I move?”

“The CEO has overseas schedules, so he won’t be in Korea for a while.”

“What? When is he leaving?”

“The day after tomorrow, no, tomorrow.”

“Are you really saying I should stay there alone?”

“I’ll be there. Didn’t you say before that you wanted to live with me?”

“But you don’t come every day, do you?”

“I’ll go every day. Don’t worry about that.”

“I’m not worried…”

“The CEO asked me to take good care of you before he left.”

Eunseong, who had been sitting listlessly but had leaned forward to question Director Nam, leaned back and exhaled in disbelief.

“What business trip… I know he’s deliberately avoiding me.”

“Does the CEO have a reason to do that?”

“That’s because I…”

Eunseong, who had been sitting sullenly, was about to tell on Siwoon but realized that if he said such things, it would make things more difficult for Siwoon, so he backed off.

“What about the CEO?”

Director Nam, who had been focusing on driving safely, stopped at a red light and asked.

“Did ahjussi ask you to find out what I’m thinking?”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because it’s strange that you keep asking me things. You’re not usually interested in me, Director Nam.”

“You’re mistaken. Taking care of you is the most important part of my job.”

“That’s why I don’t like it.”

“…”

“That’s why I don’t like ahjussi. Because he keeps confusing people… making people misunderstand.”

Eunseong’s sulky face was twisting with regret. He tried to hide his expression from Director Nam by looking at the receding streets outside the car window. He didn’t realize that his emotional face, on the verge of tears, was reflected in the window. To anyone looking, he appeared not as someone resonating with Siwoon, but simply as a boy who liked Siwoon.

Was Siwoon right after all?

Was it really impossible?

Director Nam tilted his head in confusion and gently pressed the accelerator at the green light.

Even when they arrived at the nearly 80-pyeong penthouse with only one unit per floor, Eunseong showed no signs of being impressed. Having moved from a place surrounded by an elegant hanok and beautiful gardens, this place might have seemed a bit shabby in comparison. Even so, it was an excessively large house for Eunseong to live in alone, and he seemed both worried and burdened by this fact.

“This is the security key. You shouldn’t give it to anyone.”

“You don’t need to tell me such obvious things.”

“It’s obvious, but I’m emphasizing it because it’s very important.”

Director Nam handed over the security card and introduced the penthouse. Each room had an emergency phone directly connected to him. If anything happened, Eunseong just needed to pick up the receiver and press a button to contact Director Nam and the security team immediately.

“I’ll be an adult after taking the college entrance exam. There’s no need to go this far.”

“But you’re not an adult yet, are you? Are you an adult now, Eunseong?”

“…Not now, but…”

“I’ll show you how to set the alarm. Make a note of it. You must set it without fail before going to bed.”

Director Nam, who had even shown Eunseong how to set the alarm for the entire house when going out, wrote down the steps for setting the alarm in numerical order and stuck it on the wall, as Eunseong wasn’t taking notes.

“You said you were going to attend a cram school.”

“I’ll take care of it myself.”

“I wish you’d understand by now that as a member of the Seongha family, you can’t just do everything on your own.”

“…”

Eunseong felt suffocated. Everything from start to finish was control and restriction. When living with Siwoon, it felt like he was being protected within Siwoon’s boundaries, but in the current situation of living alone, all of Director Nam’s instructions felt like unbearable interference.