Page 147 of Scarbound

“Jun, sorry to bother you,” he said as soon as Jun picked up.

Jun’s voice was bright, almost cheerful. “Kija! What a surprise. I thought you were busy this afternoon. What, did you miss me?”

“Of course not. I want your money,” Kija replied dryly.

Jun laughed. “I knew there had to be a reason. What’s going on?”

He was still at the office, trying to wrap things up.

“Did you know Chung-Hee is in love with that beautiful boy, Noeul?”

Jun fell silent. Should he admit it? He wasn’t sure he should drag Kija into something Chung-Hee had deliberately kept private. But Kija was their closest friend, and if he was asking, something had clearly happened.

“Yes,” Jun said finally, so quietly it sounded more like a breath than a word.

Kija felt a brief sting of disappointment. Neither of them had trusted him with the truth. But wounded pride could wait.

“Do you know how harsh he is with him?”

Jun’s expression changed immediately. “What happened?”

“He came here furious. Grabbed Noeul, accused him of coming here because he was interested in me. Then he hit him.”

Jun went silent.

Kija glanced toward the living room, where Chung-Hee sat drinking. “In front of me,” he added. “He humiliated him, Jun. Noeul left a few minutes ago, and Chung-Hee is still here.”

“Keep him there.”

Jun was already gathering his things. “I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”

“One more thing,” Kija said.

Something in his voice made Jun stop.

“Call Noeul.”

“Why?”

“When he left…” Kija hesitated. “He looked half-dead. I don’t know where he might be, or what he might do.”

“Fuck.”

The word escaped Jun before he could stop it.

“Is he trying to push him back toward suicide?” Silence. Jun closed his eyes. Too late. The words had already escaped.

“Back toward suicide?” Kija repeated.

Jun regretted it immediately. He wasn’t someone who exposed other people’s secrets, especially something like this.

“I’ll call him,” he said quickly. “Just keep Chung-Hee there.”

“Jun.”

“Please.”

Kija understood from his tone that he wouldn’t explain further. “All right.”