Work Text:
Dongsik jolts when he hears a knocking on his door. He isn’t expecting a guest. His head runs through a list of people who might be visiting him and then runs through a much shorter subset of the list in which the people feel the need to be let in before barging in after the third knock. It’s a very short list. Is it Oh Jihun?
“Lee Dongsik-ssi,” a voice calls out for Dongsik and it’s not Jihun.
In fact, Dongsik doesn’t seem to recognize the voice.
Dongsik cautiously opens his door. He looks through the crack and sees a man that he doesn't expect at all.
“Good afternoon,” the man says with a short bow and a nauseating smile. “I’m Kwon Hyuk, we’ve met before.”
Dongsik remembers him. It’s the prosecutor.
“Nice to meet you, Prosecutor Kwon Hyuk, but I don’t think we have anything to talk about,” Dongsik says and moves to close his door. He has been able to remotely moved on lately, he doesn’t want to go back this close to anything.
“I’m Han Juwon—” the prosecutor grips the door tightly. He catches how Dongsik stops at the mention of the name and Kwon Hyuk widens the door gap while there’s a chance. “I’m Han Juwon’s… acquaintance. I don’t come here as a prosecutor.”
Dongsik’s brain moves a hundred kilometers per second and at the same time completely stops. He eyes the man, calculating the stance that he is in. What does this person have to do with Han Juwon? Is he a threat?
As if Kwon Hyuk can sense the question, he offers a smile and says, “I’m only here for a talk, Lee Dongsik-ssi. About our Han Juwon.”
The way Kwon Hyuk addresses Juwon makes Dongsik uncomfortable. There’s a feeling beneath him that is borderline feral. Borderline territorial. Our Han Juwon, Dongsik repeats in his head, what is this punk trying to do?
Driven by the urge to know exactly what this man wants to talk to him about, Dongsik steps out of the way and gestures to Kwon Hyuk to get in. He closes the door behind him and directs the man to sit on the sofa while he sits across from him.
The moment they settle in their own seats, the smile leaves Kwon Hyuk’s face and he attacks directly, “Lee Dongsik-ssi, what are you trying to do to Han Juwon?”
“Who are you again?” Dongsik asks, trying to determine if he needs to kick this man’s ass or just hang in there.
Kwon Hyuk falters for a fraction of a second. To the commoner's eyes, it must have been unnoticeable, but, of course, Dongsik notices.
Kwon Hyuk regains his composure quick enough and answers, “As I said, I’m his acquaintance.”
“And I’m his partner,” Dongsik says. Then, a second later, “Ex-partner. But, still, why does an acquaintance need to know what I want to do to Han Juwon?”
Kwon Hyuk’s eyes study Dongsik’s for a moment. He looks like he’s considering. Contemplating. Then, he exhales and says, “He might not think of me like one, but he’s like a brother to me. I was his tutor and I stayed around afterward.”
Dongsik squints. He doesn’t know this. But, then again, what does he know about Han Juwon’s life? Only a bit. A painful bit.
Dongsik decides that if this person came over to Manyang just to ask him this question, maybe he is not to worry too much about. At least, in terms of Juwon, they might be on the same side. “Nothing,” he says, “I haven’t been in contact with him. We met once in a while but that’s it. What brings you to this question, Kwon Hyuk-ssi?”
“A little birdie told me someone is sniffing around for Han Juwon,” Kwon Hyuk says. His eyes are back to his initial level of alertness. “It says that and I quote, Lee Dongsik wants to be updated about Han Juwon and he says that Han Juwon can’t know about it.”
Dongsik didn’t see it coming. It is exactly what he said. It seems that he should have said that no one can know about it. Dongsik smiles that kind of smile that he uses to throw his enemy off-balance, “Oh my, Prosecutor Kwon Hyuk, what kind of a trap did you use to get a birdie that talks like that?”
Kwon Hyuk shrugs, “I have my ways.” He then leans forward and says, “Now, Lee Dongsik-ssi, what do you want to do to Han Juwon?”
Dongsik lets the smile stay on his face. He just huffs a little laugh, shrugs, and says nothing. He doesn’t need to answer. At least not until this man shows him what his true intention is.
Kwon Hyuk’s face is now devoid of any formality. “Do you, perhaps, want to plot some kind of revenge to the son of the person who—”
“That’s not it,” Dongsik is quick to deny. “He doesn’t have anything to do with my sister’s death, why would I plot some kind of revenge on him?”
Kwon Hyuk slowly studies Dongsik’s face again. A hint of relief flashes through and he leans back, showing his diplomatic smile again, “Then, what is it, Lee Dongsik-ssi? No one asks a police officer to be his informant for nothing.”
Dongsik breathes and asks back, “What do you want to do to him?”
“Excuse me?”
“That little birdie won’t give you that information if you didn’t sniff around for Han Juwon too. So, Prosecutor Kwon Hyuk, what do you want to do to him?”
“That is none of your business.”
“And what makes you think my intention is your business?”
“Because, Lee Dongsik-ssi,” Kwon Hyuk says with a smile still on his lips, “I’d like to know if I have to… take care of you or not.”
It’s weird. For a flashing second, Dongsik sees Han Kihwan in Kwon Hyuk. Only, if Han Kihwan is devoid of any emotion, Kwon Hyuk seems to be filled with it. It is masked. It is concealed. But it is there.
“Are you going to kill me?” Dongsik asks, bracing for the answer.
“I hope I don’t need to,” Kwon Hyuk answers.
Dongsik smiles. He understands this. Maybe this man is really not a threat. Not for him, at least. They are in the same boat, it seems. “What is your reason for not contacting him directly, Prosecutor Kwon Hyuk?”
Kwon Hyuk seems to be taken aback. He then shifts his gaze away. “He won’t answer my calls.”
Dongsik nods. It does sound like Han Juwon. “He is fine,” Dongsik says, with as much of an assurance he could muster in his voice.
Kwon Hyuk looks at Dongsik again. Questions in his eyes.
“Our motives are the same, Prosecutor Kwon Hyuk,” Dongsik stands up and walks to the window. He looks out. The sun is setting. “Or, at least, I hope that they are.”
Kwon Hyuk digests the words. “You’re trying to watch over him?”
Dongsik nods.
Kwon Hyuk lets it sink. Then, he laughs. “God, that kid. He really makes people worried left and right, doesn’t he?”
At that, Dongsik shakes his head. “No,” he says, “I’m not worried of him. He’s fine by himself. I know he is. He’s capable. He’s smart. He’s… strong.” He turns to look at Kwon Hyuk. A smile is adorning his face. It looks fond. “I’m doing it for myself. Because I can only stop being restless if I know he is, in fact, fine. It is for me. For me.”
Kwon Hyuk feels a wash of cold. Something that resembles embarrassment.
“It’s nice to know someone cares about him, Kwon Hyuk-ssi,” Dongsik says, with arms linked behind his back and shoulders leaning forward a bit as if he were ever so slightly bowing, “But I hope you know that he’d be absolutely fine by himself. He doesn’t need any more people to underestimate him.”
Kwon Hyuk swallows. He’s sure, now. It is an embarrassment that he’s feeling.
Dongsik stands up straight again and looks directly at Kwon Hyuk’s eyes. “And if he is not fine, I will be there for him. I will stand next to him and fight with him. If he allows me to. So, there’s no need for you to dirty your hands like that, Kwon Hyuk-ssi.”
Kwon Hyuk feels the pang in his chest. There’s a sentence that Dongsik didn’t say out loud but rang clear as if he screamed it right to Kwon Hyuk’s ears. You should have known better. He nods. He should have known better.
“You’re right,” Kwon Hyuk says. “It seems that he’s in good hands now. That’s— that’s a relief.”
Dongsik moves to say something but Kwon Hyuk raises his hand.
“If your reason is that because you need the assurance that he is fine, my reason is that because I need to know that he is not alone.” Kwon Hyuk stands up. “He seems like he’s alone, but now I know for a fact that he’s not. I can stop worrying now.” Kwon Hyuk walks over to Dongsik. “I’ll take my leave now. From this vicinity and from… Han Juwon. He never likes me anyway. But if my help is ever needed,” he takes out a card from his pocket and gives it to Dongsik, “call me. I owe Juwon this much.”
Dongsik receives the card and watches Kwon Hyuk walk out the door.
Silently, Dongsik wonders, does Juwon know how many people care about him?