I was still covering my face with both hands, worried that there might still be a ghost nearby and that our eyes might meet. I really did not want to face it again, so I curled up as small as possible and shut my eyes, when suddenly, someone approached me.
‘A ghost!’
I trembled in fear, but then a voice came from above my head.
“Baek Eun-Seong.”
It was a man. I had no idea why he was calling the name of a minor villain played by my favorite actor.
“Baek Eun-Seong, lift your head.”
Was he talking to me? If this had been before I saw the ghost, I might have humored the man’s odd hobby, but now the situation was different. If I lifted my head only to find the ghost right in front of me again, this time I would really die of a heart attack or something.
“I can’t lift it….”
“There’s no such thing as ghosts.”
“I’m scared….”
It was easier just to be honest. Luckily, the man did not press me further. But then suddenly, there was a warm, soft sensation at my nape, followed by a sharp bite.
I was so startled that I clutched the bitten spot with my hand and lifted my head in shock.
“Baek Eun-Seong, look.”
“……”
“Do you still see it?”
I shook my head. It seemed he was trying to show me that there really were no ghosts.
“Right?”
But did he have to bite my nape for that….
It was absurd, but still, I was relieved that I wasn’t alone.
“That was the first time. I’ve never seen anything that scary before.”
“How did such a coward manage to pull off those stunts until now?”
Was he talking about night work? How did he even know I was in Fine Arts? Could it be—was he a senior from my school?
I had just enrolled and had not even memorized the faces of my peers, let alone seniors. The man looked too much like a working adult for me to imagine he was a senior in the same department.
“I don’t think I can do (night work) anymore….”
“Better that you realize it now.”
So he was the one letting me stay here because he was a senior.
Suddenly, I felt moved. I might not have much social sense, but I knew how to recognize kindness, and I wanted to express my gratitude.
“Thank you….”
“Why would I deserve that from you?”
“For staying by my side.”
“Don’t repeat it. I won’t overlook it a second time.”
What exactly was I not supposed to repeat? The part where my legs gave out after seeing a ghost? Well, even I thought I was a nuisance. Why had I suddenly become someone who could see ghosts? Was my body weakened from working part-time? If it happened again, could I really keep myself from panicking?
“I don’t have confidence….”
“Baek Eun-Seong.”
“But I’ll try.”
The man’s sharp demeanor softened slightly.
But why did he keep calling me Baek Eun-Seong?
I was curious, but I didn’t feel like asking.
Maybe it was just how fans were. They even poured affection on minor villains. Perhaps because I had so few things I had ever been passionate about, the man looked impressive to me.
Even if his word choice was rough, he was a caring senior and my landlord. If I talked with him properly, maybe I could even negotiate a more reasonable rent.
‘If I ask him to make it 25… no, 30 including utilities….’
Even that much would let me breathe easier….
“What.”
As I glanced over, trying to figure out how to start the conversation, the man noticed and asked. Caught unprepared, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“Y-your name is….”
“What?”
“Your name, may I ask what it is?”
“……”
The man’s brow furrowed.
“You don’t know who I am?”
“This is the first time we’ve met….”
“……”
His expression grew more severe. Had I spoken with this senior without realizing it before? I hadn’t even gone to OT because I overslept, so I didn’t know my peers’ faces either….
He did have a face you wouldn’t forget after seeing once, but I also knew myself—I forgot quickly after turning away. So I hurriedly asked,
“Have we met before?”
“…We haven’t.”
Then what, I was right to not know him.
“…So that’s why you were wandering around without fear. I made a mistake leaving you a warning.”
The man muttered, and I wondered if he was speaking to me.
“Yes?”
“I’m saying I’m surprised at how much dumber you are than expected.”
“I hear that sometimes.”
I couldn’t deny it. My thinking was slow, so I never had the best academic performance. Still, my practical skills were good….
I never stood out enough to be bullied, but my homeroom teacher did once scold me to get my head screwed on tighter.
The man twitched his eyebrow and, looking displeased, said,
“You’re nothing like the reports. Was your rowdiness all just an act?”
“Rowdiness?”
“I heard you were excluded early on from inheriting Baekseung Group’s successor position. That wasn’t true, was it? Well, you were the only legitimate heir Baek Chairman had, after all.”
At first I wondered what he was talking about, but then realized he meant Baek Eun-Seong from Please, Obsession. The Baekseung Group heir, stripped of succession for his delinquent behavior. The only thing backing his nasty personality was money.
And because Kang Ji-a once extended him a kind hand, she had to endure his pathological obsession.
Gaslighting, total control over her, isolating her by ruining everyone around her. Kang Ji-a eventually learned that OUN’s president laundered money through art deals, and at the same time heard that Cha Gil-Do was searching for an unknown artist to use in undermining OUN.
Desperate to escape Baek Eun-Seong, Kang Ji-a proposed a deal. Cha Gil-Do, intrigued, told her that if she could prove her ability, he would take Baek Eun-Seong off her hands.
Kang Ji-a proved herself, and Cha Gil-Do kept his promise.
‘Though they said to the heroine that Baek Eun-Seong had been sent abroad….’
That marked the start of Cha Gil-Do cutting Baek Eun-Seong cleanly out of the script, and from there, being drawn first to Kang Ji-a’s paintings, then gradually to Kang Ji-a herself.
But why was this man reciting the background of Please, Obsession’s “Baek Eun-Seong”? It was starting to scare me.
It had already felt strange when he kept calling me Baek Eun-Seong. Could it be….
“Is your name perhaps Cha Gil-Do…?”
“So you’re not completely stupid.”
“……”
Oh no… he was way too immersed.
I was worried he might threaten to kill me like Cha Gil-Do did to Baek Eun-Seong. I had memories of being beaten a few times already, after all.
I was sure he’d be offended, maybe even hit me again, but before anything irreversible happened, I had to say it. Swallowing dryly, I spoke.
“I really mean this for your own good.”
“……”
“There’s a mental clinic near the old city intersection called Jung○○. Would you like to go with me?”
“I’m already considering admission.”
“No, I don’t think you need to go that far….”
“Are you anxious?”
“(That you’ll over-immerse…) …A little?”
“Even so, your circumstances won’t change.”
Did that mean even if he got admitted, I could keep living here?
His tone was sharp, but he was kind. I had never received such kindness before….
Maybe that was why, even though he was probably just saying it casually, I felt embarrassed.
As I scratched my cheek, the man asked,
“Why are you smiling like that?”
I must have smiled without realizing, relieved.
“It just makes me happy….”
“You find happiness in anything.”
“Seems so.”
For a moment, it looked like he smiled too, but he quickly turned his head away.
Anyway, what time was it now?
I had been stuck inside so long I had lost track. Actually, what day was it today? It felt like at least a day had passed since I entered this place, but I wasn’t sure. I was a little anxious, since I had to deposit my tuition as soon as my part-time pay came in.
“Um….”
The man turned at my call.
“Where’s my phone?”
“Why.”
“…Huh?”
His sharp reply startled me into asking back. He looked down at me seriously. I couldn’t tell if his face was always like that, or if he was actually angry.
“It’s not like anyone’s looking for you anyway.”
Well, that was true, but still….
“I just wanted to check the date….”
“The 14th.”
“Huh? Isn’t it the 11th?”
“It’s the 14th.”
“……”
“You slept like the dead for three days. If you hadn’t woken today, I’d have buried you already… what’s wrong?”
That meant the tuition payment deadline had passed. While it was still possible to apply for installment payment until the end of the semester, that wasn’t the issue. If I didn’t pay on time, my scholarship would be cancelled.
‘Looks like I’m stuck with part-time jobs again next semester….’
With less time for night work, I hadn’t even completed my piece. At this rate, I wouldn’t even be able to apply for next semester’s scholarship.
“Baek Eun-Seong.”
My body swayed as his voice reached me. I looked up, and there he was again. Suddenly, something welled up inside me.
It was not because my scholarship had been cancelled. It was because he kept calling me by that villain’s name.
“Please don’t call me that.”
“If I don’t call Baek Eun-Seong by Baek Eun-Seong, then what?”
“Dong-Yoon.”
“What?”
“My name is Kim Dong-Yoon. So please stop with that villain’s name….”
The man suddenly held out his palm in front of me, then stood up. He picked up his phone, quickly called someone, and said,
“Bring the psychiatrist immediately.”