The subject of their conversation was suddenly changed. Zhenya was clearly bored by Taekjoo’s plain preferences. But even so, the question was too out of the blue. Taekjoo looked at Zhenya questioningly, and Zhenya responded by nudging his chin back at Taekjoo.
“You’ve been calling your mother diligently and giving her a daily play-by-play.”
“Is that all? I thought you’d have some other reason. Why are you so curious about it anyway?”
“If you admitted to being a mama’s boy, then there would be nothing left for me to be curious about.”
“My mother is simply overprotective.”
Taekjoo sighed in resignation. He had never told anyone about his family history. Even Mr. Lim had only pieced together Taekjoo’s personal life through observation and guesswork.
And then there was Taekjoo, having a heartfelt conversation with Zhenya, of all people. It wasn’t because of the liquor. More likely, Taekjoo just felt free and unburdened since Zhenya was someone he’d never have to see again after the mission.
“Her father, her husband, and her eldest son. Every man in her family served in the military, and they all died in the line of duty. I’m the only flesh and blood she has left, so she’s worried a lot. She doesn’t want me to drive because South Korea has a high rate of car accidents. Does that give you an idea of how protective she is? She’s been like that ever since my father passed away, and it’s only gotten worse with time. And after my brother died, she put me in a house arrest.”
Taekjoo was joking, but Zhenya’s expression turned serious.
“All men die but once.”
Is that supposed to be comforting? Taekjoo wondered. Whatever Zhenya did, nothing was ever ordinary. All men die—tell that to a mother who couldn’t sleep or eat, worried sick about her only surviving son, and see how reassured she feels. Looking at a man whose actions, thoughts, and sentiments were out of the normal range, Taekjoo became curious about his family as well. How much do parents need to neglect a child for him to turn out this way?
Taekjoo had emptied his glass before he knew it. He waited for a bit, but Zhenya simply sat still. Taekjoo could’ve poured himself another glass like he had earlier, but he didn’t. He simply tapped the table with his empty glass. Ah—only then did Zhenya realize what was happening. He poured Taekjoo tequila to the brim. Taekjoo downed the glass in one go and licked the back of his hand. He smacked his lips at the lack of the usual taste.
“A slice of lemon would’ve been nice.”
“Oh, is that how you like it? You should’ve let me know ahead. It would be no trouble for me to prepare a slice of lemon and women for you.”
Zhenya grinned cheekily as if something amusing had just come to mind. He also kept brushing his own collarbone.
“Quit it, and tell me about you.”
“About what?”
“The usual, obvious stuff. Your family, or your interests, something along those lines.”
“Hmm, if you insist. I have many siblings, which is an advantage because I don’t have to attend to my parents’ every whim. When I’m bored, I look for women. I’m not interested in watching others and jacking off. It’s pathetic.”
After mocking Taekjoo twice, a grin of satisfaction appeared on Zhenya’s face. Taekjoo returned the plastic smile.
“Do your parents know you’re running around town doing things you do?”
“What did I do?”
“You’ve been killing everyone that’s ever bothered you.”
“I think there’s a misunderstanding here. I don’t beat innocent people to death. Haven’t I already told you that all my offenses are self-defense?”
“Let’s make one thing clear. What you’re doing is over-defense.”
“If I attack someone who harms me or is planning on harming me, then it’s self-defense. If I were a weaker man, they wouldn’t be the ones dead—it would’ve been me.”
He had the audacity to position himself as the innocent victim, as if he defended himself out of true need, because he had no other options. He killed a man for being a bit loud. He killed another man for following someone around. And he was arguing that the killings were justified, which was nonsense. He might start killing people for stepping on his shadow.
Taekjoo clicked his tongue, but he was not going to waste time lecturing someone like Zhenya—it wouldn’t work anyway. As long as he didn’t cause Taekjoo trouble, it didn’t exactly matter what he did. Lecturing and nagging only make sense when there's care and affection behind them.
The atmosphere had turned cozier, so Taekjoo started bringing up more private topics.
“You don’t seem like you need money. Why are you participating in something like this, then?”
“I already told you.”
“Yeah, you did. You chose to be a part of this purely for the blueprint. Once it is in your hands, you’ll be able to produce a weapon of unprecedented power and swim in money. But the more I think about it, the more I couldn’t understand. Seems to me you're already swimming in money as it is—even without the blueprint.”
“You can never have enough money.”
“It’s all useless when you’re dead. What, are you dreaming of becoming an immortal? Or do you love money so much that you don’t care if it costs you your homeland and your safety?”
“My, I didn’t know you were so interested in me.”
“I’ve never met anyone like you. Usually, I can guess the reason behind people’s actions—they did it because of this, because of that. But you, I simply can’t figure you out. You have a lot of money. You can have whatever you want. Then why would a maniac like you—oops, excuse me. The truth slipped out before I could stop myself.”
Zhenya was just described as a rich psycho, and instead of getting offended, the man snickered. He gave his predictable response to Taekjoo’s curiosity.
“Because it looks fun. When something’s interesting, I don’t think. I just do. The sad part is that it doesn’t happen often.”
This wasn’t some extreme sport. This was a matter of life and death, and he used fun and interest as his excuse. It would have been more reasonable, more human, for Zhenya to say that he did it for the money. Well, Taekjoo was in the wrong for expecting reason and humanity from someone who casually ripped another human being apart.