Finally, Chahyun had fallen asleep. Yeonwoo, his body messy with bodily fluids, got up.
He had taken two sleeping pills, but throughout their intercourse, Chahyun showed no signs of falling asleep, making Yeonwoo believe they were ineffective. He wondered if he should reschedule or devise another plan.
However, after the third climax, as Chahyun embraced Yeonwoo's waist and momentarily closed his eyes, he soon began to breathe evenly in sleep.
Though the pills worked slower than expected, considering Yeonwoo usually fell asleep first after sex, the effect of the sleeping pills was evident.
Yeonwoo stared briefly at Chahyun, who was now deeply asleep on the sofa, then got up to tidy himself and put on his clothes. He then entered the bedroom to grab his phone, cards, identification, and a few pieces of clothing, stuffing them into his bag.
After also grabbing a hat and a mask, Yeonwoo was fully prepared to make a quick escape.
All that was left was to leave. Before exiting the apartment, Yeonwoo checked again to make sure Chahyun was still asleep.
His face, with its distinct features, appeared peacefully closed in the dim light. The effects of the sleeping pills seemed strong as Chahyun remained undisturbed by Yeonwoo's movements around the apartment for several minutes.
Unlike the turmoil inside him, Chahyun looked utterly peaceful. Yeonwoo found himself drawn to his side one last time.
He wanted to take one last look at Chahyun.
"..."
So this is how it ends.
His chest felt hot. He resented Chahyun for deciding to be with someone else after four years together, but believed it was right to let him go, blaming himself for being inadequate.
"Take care."
Yeonwoo mouthed silently. And just as he was about to turn around,
"Hong Yeonwoo?"
Chahyun's deep voice echoed in the living room.
Startled, Yeonwoo froze. Chahyun was groggily opening his eyes and looking up at him.
"Where are you going?"
Damn, I need to get out fast.
Yeonwoo turned to leave swiftly.
Thud!
But as he took a step, his arm was grabbed. Chahyun had quickly caught him from the sofa, even in his drowsy state.
Despite the effects of the sleeping pills weakening his body, Chahyun looked up at Yeonwoo, who was trying to leave with a bag, with shocked eyes.
"Where do you think you're going, Hong Yeonwoo!"
"Let go."
Panicked, Yeonwoo struggled to free his arm. Normally, Chahyun wouldn't have budged, but the drugs made his arms and upper body sway significantly.
The force of the motion was so great that the hat Yeonwoo was wearing fell to the floor.
"Fuck, what's... why is my body..."
Yeonwoo was confident a few more shakes would free him from Chahyun's grasp.
"Let go!"
"No, you can't go."
Chahyun clenched his teeth and clung on. However, as Yeonwoo pushed with all his might, Chahyun's grip finally loosened.
Quickly picking up his hat from the floor, Yeonwoo ran to the front door.
"Hong Yeonwoo!"
The sounds of struggle echoed in the living room again. Just as Yeonwoo was about to stretch out his foot, Chahyun managed to grab his left ankle.
His forward motion halted, and Yeonwoo fell down. It was the same sequence as before.
No, if I get caught now, it's really over.
Yeonwoo's entire being was seized with fear.
"Ah!"
He struggled with all his might, but Chahyun, despite being hindered by his limbs, held onto the ankle until the end.
"It hurts! It hurts, Baek Chahyun!"
Yeonwoo cried out as if he was having a convulsion, and Chahyun flinched, finally releasing his grip completely.
"Ah, sorry..."
In that moment, Yeonwoo managed to get up. During the brief instant he stood, the face he saw on Chahyun was one he had never seen before—stricken with fear.
"Haah."
Yeonwoo put on his shoes and opened the front door. Behind him, the sounds of Chahyun struggling to stand up using the table could be heard.
Before Chahyun could catch up, Yeonwoo ran down the hallway like mad.
"Hong Yeonwoo!"
"Hah, hah."
"Bro! Don't go, please. Yeonwoo bro!"
The calls echoed down the hallway, but soon the front door closed and all sounds were cut off.
The corridor was filled only with Yeonwoo's heavy breathing and the sound of his footsteps on the stairs.
He had escaped. He had really done it.
As expected, there was no one guarding the door. Now no one could stop Yeonwoo.
Having dashed out of the apartment complex, Yeonwoo didn't stop moving his legs.
"Hah, hah. Hoo..."
Relief and a sense of release overwhelmed him, but a nagging guilt weighed down his steps. He was tormented by the image of Chahyun's fear-stricken face, thinking he had hurt his ankle.
...Idiot. It was the uninjured left foot that was caught.
The desperate voice that had called out to him still echoed in his ears, but it was too late to go back now.
***
He stopped running before his ankle could give out.
Since he wasn’t planning to use his card for a while, Yeonwoo first withdrew some cash from the convenience store near his place. Then he headed into the subway station.
Even though it was still early morning, the underground shopping center had already opened. He bought a new hat and an outer layer, changed into them, and kept moving.
Then he got on the subway to get out of the neighborhood as fast as possible.
He’d run out blindly, but Yeonwoo couldn’t help feeling bitter about it. He wasn’t someone who should have to run away. He hadn’t done anything wrong—he was in this situation because he was trying to get away from an ex-lover.
Now in a busy part of the city, Yeonwoo looked up at the slowly brightening sky, then pulled his cap low over his eyes and started walking quickly.
Soon enough, flashy motel signs began appearing on either side of the alley—motels, inns, weekly rentals, and so on.
He needed to find a place to stay for a while. Hotels that required ID were immediately out of the question—they’d be the first place Chahyun would check.
It might be illegal for a lodging to share a guest’s information with someone else, but that wouldn’t matter to Chahyun. He was, after all, the youngest son of the Huiseong Group chairman.
And if he were someone who gave a shit about laws or basic decency, he wouldn’t have locked his lover up at home in the first place.
That left only the kind of places where you could stay without ID—places with poor conditions.
Yeonwoo had stayed in more than a few of those kinds of places with his mother when he was younger, so he had at least a vague idea of where to go.
“Can I stay for a week here?”
After looking around the alleys for a bit, he stepped into a place that looked like it housed a lot of day laborers.
“Sure.”
The man at the counter, busy playing Go-Stop on his computer, glanced at Yeonwoo and gave a half-hearted answer.
Yeonwoo straightened his neck so he wouldn’t come off as timid. He pulled his cap even lower.
“How much?”
“A week is 120,000 won. Room with a bed and a window is 150,000.”
“I’ll take the one with the bed.”
Yeonwoo took out the money from his wallet. Only then did the man, who hadn’t taken his eyes off the screen the whole time, turn around and rummage through a drawer.
What if he asks for ID? Yeonwoo had deliberately chosen this place because it seemed like they wouldn’t.
He glanced around nervously.
“Here. The key.”
After he paid, the man handed over the room key without another word.
“Thank you.”
Relieved, Yeonwoo took the key.
“Is the bathroom shared?”
“Yeah. Kitchen’s that way.”
The man vaguely pointed in a direction with his hand. Yeonwoo nodded and walked down the hallway toward the rooms.
The room was barely three pyeong wide. The only furniture was a bed and a small desk. The yellowed wallpaper smelled faintly of mold.
The blankets were neatly folded, but who knew when they were last washed.
“…Can I really sleep here?”
He did vaguely remember sleeping in places like this when he was a kid, but now, he wasn’t sure he could handle it.
Yeonwoo dropped his backpack onto the bed with a sigh.
What was Chahyun doing right now? He’d probably already started looking for him.
Hyung! Don’t go, please. Yeonwoo hyung!
The image of him struggling to sit up kept flickering through Yeonwoo’s mind. Guilt made his stomach churn.
Maybe slipping him sleeping pills had been too much? What if he gave him too much?
One pill had seemed too weak, so he’d put in two… but what if it ended up hurting Chahyun somehow?
“Goddamn it. I can’t stop worrying…”
Yeonwoo gripped his head and groaned. Chahyun’s face still wouldn’t leave his mind.