Garam yanked the cupboard open so hard the door slammed against the wall. Clothes, books, the half-empty bottle of cologne Gyu always left on the shelf everything went flying into the open suitcase. His face was tight in cold calmness.
"What… what are you doing?" Gyu's voice cracked. He grabbed Garam's wrist.
Garam jerked free, "Don't touch me."
Gyu pulled his hand back, heat rising in his cheeks. The rejection still stung, even after all this time. Gyu stepped in front of the suitcase anyway and stood there, stubborn.
"Are you sending me away?" his voice shook but held. "Whatever you're doing, I won't accept it. I won't go. You can't force me."
From the doorway Kaven watched with a confused expression then a crooked smile makes its way on his face.
"So you didn't like the idea of him coming with me. That's why you're taking him yourself?" He asked, his tone mischievous.
Garam's sudden packing had triggered something in Kaven's mind. Every time Garam did something harsh to Gyu, it somehow ended up protecting him in the end.
"Get out," Garam said flatly.
Kaven raised both hands in surrender,"You could have told me i would not have come here to get him." He added impishly, still smiling at Gyu. He mouthed "It's okay", gave a small thumbs-up, and left. There was a time he would have stayed and argued. Not anymore. After what happened in this room last time, he knew Garam wasn't pure terror. Still, watching Gyu's horrored face was harder than he expected.
Gyu didn't believe the silent reassurance from kaven. He knew Garam's anger better than anyone.
A black mask landed against his chest.
"Put it on."
Garam zipped the suitcase, caught Gyu's wrist, and pulled him out of the room. Gyu wanted to shout, but the thought of the other boys hearing kept him quiet. He sat in the passenger seat with his hands clenched on his knees.
Back inside, Kaven stretched out on his bed and stared at the ceiling. The whole day kept replaying...especially the last few minutes. He turned onto his side.
*Maybe it's better this way. If they stay together a little longer, maybe whatever this is between them will finally dissolve. I hope Gyu won't look so sad anymore.*
Gyu still didn't trust Kaven's words. But when the car turned onto the familiar road that led to Garam's house, a thin, foolish hope rose in his chest. *Maybe he's taking me home after all.*
The hope died the moment the car sped past the turning. Gyu twisted around and watched the gates of the house disappear behind the trees.
"Garam… where are you taking me?" His voice had gone thin in pure terror, "Are you taking me somewhere I can't come back from?"
No answer. Only the sound of the engine echoed.
"Listen to me. Just this once." Gyu tried to keep his voice steady. "I have something very important to finish here. I can't leave yet. Please… let me out." He pleaded.
He had been in this position before. Years ago, when Garam still treated him as *her * with that same careful intensity, he used to be impulsive. With Gyu (his sister) he was always calculated, always three steps ahead. But he has no compassion for him and for this Gyu chose his next words carefully not wanted to cross a line.
"I didn't do anything here to deserve this. You've already saw me how I'm fairing here." He said, but the car only went faster.
Panic rose sharp in his throat. He yanked the door handle. Locked.
"Open it. Let me out."
He slammed his palm against the window. The sound was swallowed by the rush of air outside. In desperation he lunged for the steering wheel and wrenched it hard to the right.
In a fraction of a seconds Garam's hand closed around both of his wrists and shoved them away like they weighed nothing. Gyu struggled, but Garam had always been stronger in every way that mattered and he remained helpless against him.
Garam's eyes met his. Cold. Sharp enough to shoot.
"Are you scared of that thief who already got out?" Gyu heard himself ask though he is in denial for it to warrant this action.
Something moved across Garam's face too fast to name and was gone. His grip loosened just a little.
"Garry… Garryyy…" Gyu called out the old name soft, almost gentle, finally taking the last measure to make him audible.
Garam's eyes widened as if someone had slapped him awake. He slammed the brakes. For a few seconds every emotion seemed to cross his face at once.
"You can't call me that," he said, pressing each word deliberately.
"Then when do you ever listen?" Gyu shot back in the same tone. "Talking to you is like talking to a wall. Even a ghost would answer better."
"You want to understand something? Then look."
Garam pulled a photograph from his pocket and held it out. Gyu took it. The face was familiar, the same person he had been searching for.
"That damn thief didn't say a word, but this fell from his pocket. The police kept it. Tell me doesn't it look like you."
"It's not me…" Gyu said, cutting him off instantly though the words felt uncertain even to him.
"Wherever you go, the madness follows. I told you to leave immediately. But you never listen. And now, because of you, the whole hostel is under the eyes of ransom seekers."
"What do you think he was really after? Don't give me that crap about money." Garam's voice dropped lower.
"That picture... Who do you see when you look at her?"
Gyu stared at the photo. He knew the face. Then a pair of eyes flashed in his memory... eyes he had seen before. Something cold slid down his spine. He urgently needs to inform someone for their safety but Garam's next word broke his trance.
"You and that picture look the same. He wasn't after you. He was after this face." He leaned in and look intensely in Gyu's eyes,"...And I don't want him anywhere near you!"
"Are you… doing me a favour?" Gyu asked, confused. In all the years he had known Garam, this didn't feel like something he would do. Wouldn't Garam be glad if he simply disappeared?
Or... were these the signs Kaven had been talking about? A thin, dangerous hope stirred again.
"Whatever you want to believe," Garam said. He didn't deny it. The question seemed to catch him off balance. He drew a slow breath. "Go back to wherever you came from."
The last of Gyu's hopes shattered.
"Where?" fear slid down his skin.
"Your real place. Where you belong."
Gyu's heart dropped to his stomach. Garam's voice had gone almost quiet.
"I have nowhere that belongs to me except our family." Gyu murmured softly, almost small.
"That's My family." Garam almost shouted but kept his voice thin.
"It's mine too. Hana calls me her son. Appa already put my name in the register." Gyu retorted.
"That's because you—" Garam bit the rest off, his jaw tight... he is not here to fight.
"Garam, we've never really talked about this. I want to. Can't you just… speak to me calmly for once?" Gyu pleaded, his heart was beating too hard. Outside the window, airport signs had started to appear.
"I can't forgive her. And I can't forget." Garam's voice dropped into something colder. "And it's because of you." He pointed at Gyu. "They don't remember her the way they should. Because of you. But I do. I won't accept whatever they try to put in her place."
The same old wound. They always started with something that almost felt like care and ended here at the word replacement. Gyu still didn't know how to step past it.
"I hate you," Garam said. "The same way I hate her. She called you her son? Then go back to her... because if you don't…" He leaned closer. His eyes were ice.
"…before that killer reaches you, I'll kill you myself." his eyes hardened.
"Don't try me "