CH 18.4

Yaba was taken to the hospital by Cha Yiseok and forcibly given an IV drip. Cha Yiseok put Yaba outside and had a secret conversation with the doctor. He never told him what he was talking about. As the glow of the sunset left on the hillside emitted its last light and disappeared, the city’s breathing became steeper. They went out between the buildings and entered the outskirts and drove for a while again. Blurred afterimages of headlights passed over the black river.

After he entered the three-laned road, Cha Yiseok turned the wheel and entered an unfamiliar road. It was a dark forest road with only bare trees. Yaba got up and looked around. He looked nervously at his coldly sharp profile.

“W- why are we here?”

“It’s a shortcut.”

“You’ve never been down this road before.”

“So I’m going through it today.”

“Why?”

Cha Yiseok gave only a brief glance and looked forward again.

“I’m going to finish it quickly and have dinner with you.”

Yaba’s blood felt like it was swept away. Did corpse lovers eat human flesh too? They might think of it as aged frozen pork. Yaba bit his lip and rolled his eyes around. His body temperature dropped and his fingertips trembled. Even if he pushed him out of the car now, Yaba didn’t have a driver’s license.

Even if he ran away after twists and turns, it was only a matter of time before he could track his location with a chip because he was in cahoots with Giha. The singers watched Yaba being dragged earlier, so they will all be witnesses, and Cha Yiseok will be the first to be suspected. But it was clear that he would bribe the eunuchs and the police with money and power. Whatever method he considered, the result was the same.

Yaba tensed his back and gripped the doorknob. If he slowed down even for a moment, he was ready to run out of the car. However, while passing through the winding forest road, the other person never stopped, and when he came to his senses, he saw the villa. Before getting out of the car, Cha Yiseok held out the antidepressant he had brought and forced Yaba to eat. He made Yaba who held out until the end open his mouth, shove the pill in, let it melt, and then swallow it. It was all atrocities committed by his tongue.

When they entered the room, Cha Myunghwan was alone. Cha Yiseok sat on the chair by the bed and leaned back. Cha Myunghwan asked.

“Why did you come so early today?”

“Cocaine’s condition is not good, so he said he would finish early and rest.”

There was no warmth in Cha Yiseok’s eyes looking at Cha Myunghwan. He will be cold even to his own blood and flesh. Will Cha Myunghwan discover the true face of his half-brother someday?

“Well, it’s a good thing anyway.”

Cha Myunghwan’s eyes turned to Yaba. He was getting thinner, but his squinted eyes were grotesquely sharp.

“Last time, you tore up the music list. You said if I have time to write such things, look back at my life at least once.”

“…”

“So I looked back on my life as you said. Until my head exploded.”

Today, Cha Myunghwan had a strangely rigid atmosphere that was different from Cha Yiseok. Cha Myunghwan continued speaking with a face that did not expect an answer.

“Okay, what are you going to sing today?”

“Albinoni ‘Adagio’, Gianni Schicchi ‘O’ my beloved father’.”

“What’s the occasion? Tp sing those songs…”

“I think you must have threatened your dad badly to marry you like Lauretta.”

Cha Myunghwan gave a dark smile as if it was ridiculous.

“It’s because I haven’t had a leisurely youth enough to be hung up on marriage. What’s the big deal about marriage? If the conditions are right, just do it roughly. In any case, if Lauretta isn’t allowed to get married to Rinuccio, she will jump into the river and die. Gianni Schicchi is absurd, but it is clear that it is a beautiful aria with a solemn heart melted.”

“Begging and getting married like that, those were in the good days. At first, everyone is like that, thinking that they will die if they can’t be together, but if you have a sagging belly and wrinkles, it’s obvious that there would be an affair. Lauretta would be jealous of Rinuccio’s mistress after finding out about the affair and poison Rinuccio. Even if she’s taken all the fortune, Lauretta’s lover will then run away with only money, and she would go crazy and go to a mental hospital after feeling betrayed. Then the kids will be in and out of jail, roaming the streets. It’s better not to marry than to produce only useless criminals.”

So, take good care of your wife too. Yaba swallowed the words that were about to pop out of his throat. This was because Cha Myunghwan had a face that looked like it would break even with the slightest shock.

With what kind of heart are you walking to death?

He suddenly wanted to ask. It was strange. After talking with Cha Myunghwan, he felt a little lighter. He looked deeply into Cha Myunghwan. A high-density gaze passed through. When he turned his head, he was entangled with Cha Yiseok’s gaze. His lips had a neat smile, but his eyes were like metal digging deep into his throat. Yaba averted his eyes and avoided his gaze. Cha Myunghwan raised his hand and signaled to start. Among the songs that Yaba had prepared, Albinoni’s “Adagio” was the first to be sung.

Ahhh~~~

It was originally a performance song, but apparently it was made into a scat song and singers liked to sing it. A solemn and gloomy melody melted into the space. Cha Myunghwan took a deep breath and closed his eyes. At the end of “Adagio”, he sang “O My Beloved Father” without a pause.

O mio babbino caro, mi piace e` bello, bello

Oh my dear papa, I love him, he is handsome, handsome

vo`andare in Porta Rossa a comperar l`anello!

I want to go to Porta Rossa To buy the ring!

Si`, si ci voglio andare! e se l`amassi indarno,

Yes, yes, I want to go there! And if I loved him in vain,

andrei sul Ponte Vecchio, ma per buttarmi in Arno!

I would go to the Ponte Vecchio, But to throw myself in the Arno!

Mi struggo e mi tormento! O Dio, vorrei morir!

I am anguished and tormented! Oh God, I’d want to die!

He raised his voice from the depths and resonated into the dry space. Cha Yiseok had no expression throughout the song. He gazed at Yaba skillfully with eyes like fine pencil lines. I don’t know why he feels naked, or why he feels violated in his eyes. His breath was suffocated. The voice didn’t come out properly. The hour passed so quickly that he now forgot why he was singing here. Yaba sang two songs and then immediately turned around. Cha Yiseok stood up without a word.

He went straight to the exit, but the door to the left opened. Chairman Cha walked through the doorway, and someone followed a step later. It was Chairman Kim. Yaba took in a breath and froze on the spot. Cha Myunghwan kept his head down and kept his silence. Chairman Cha stared at Cha Yiseok and Yaba in turn with stern eyes. Beneath the wrinkled eyelids, curious eyes flashed. Chairman Cha slowly turned his head toward Chairman Kim.

“How is it? Chairman Kim.”

“I’ve never seen the boy’s face, but I remember his voice even in my dreams.”

Chairman Kim narrowed his wrinkled eyes and shook his head.

“I assure you, that voice is absolutely not Cocaine’s.”

Cha Yiseok’s lips hardened. Yaba’s legs staggered as if falling to the soft floor. At that moment, the doorknob that Yaba was holding slid out of his hand and the door opened. A whistling wind blew in and shook the feathers of Yaba’s mask. A stranger came in and bowed.

“He has arrived now. Chairman.”

“Bring him in.”

Chairman Cha gave a brief command, and the man shifted his body. Someone came in from behind the man. Clink, there was the sound of crystal bells. Cocaine had just arrived, and the cold wind was blowing on his collar. And the golden mask, the swaying white feathers… Cocaine, who came inside, found Yaba standing in front of him and stopped. Cocaine eyes reflected under the mask shook with embarrassment and confusion. Clear eyes soon reached Cha Yiseok beyond Yaba.

“Executive Director Cha, how…”

What did he say he would do if things went wrong?

He was distracted by the tinnitus in the vacuum-like space. Yaba looked up and faced Cocaine.