The part of the garden that was under construction was a mess. Torn up grass, broken pavers, plants broken at the stems; the entire days work was ruined. It made Andy’s heart sink all the way into the pit of his stomach.
When Andy had been told that the site had been vandalized, Andy was expecting maybe a few broken pavers, upturn plants, that sort of thing done by a group of punks looking for kicks and giggles. But he wasn’t expecting a disaster. It was like someone had purposely set out to destroy the work that Andy and his team had done.
Kids looking for a way to cure their boredom didn’t do this. Now, this was savage.
And Andy couldn’t help but feel that he was being targeted.
“Don’t touch anything” Eric warned Andy as he saw Andy knelt down to inspect more of the damage.
Andy managed to put on a brave face and said “ Shouldn’t take a long time for me and the guys to fix this”
Eric didn’t look all that convinced, but he didn’t say anything as he cast a glanced around the garden. Eric seemed to be mulling something in his head.
Then, a police officer joined them, and Andy guessed that he was the lead officer in charge. He spoke a few brief words to Eric while Andy rose to his feet, looking around the destruction place with a sense of awkward vulnerability. Eric must have sensed this, no, he did sense it, Eric was always be able to tell when something was bothering Andy.
“It looks like a targeted attack” the officer known as Kim Dongwan explained, tilting his head slightly in a motion for them to follow him. “A truck at the parking lot also had sustained damage” said Dongwan.
…A truck at parking lot???
Andy felt that his heart beating faster but not in a nice way. Cold sweat started to form on his forehead. He had already sent his crew away, so only his truck should have been left.
A small voice in the back of his head reasoned that maybe it wouldn’t be his truck; maybe it belonged to someone else. And he held onto that small bit of hope. But the moment he saw the damaged truck, surrounded by police tape and uniform policemen, that hope was immediately crushed.
Yeah, it was his truck.
The windows were smashed, the windscreen shattered and the tires punctured. But what really made Andy feel sick to the stomach was the fact that the words ‘’ and ‘leave’ was scratched at the side of the truck.
Now he knew that he was indeed the target.
“Is this yours?” Dongwan asked him, no doubt noticing the gardening equipment in the back.
“Yes, it was mine” Andy said softly, bowed his head.
“I see” Dongwan tone was full with concern. “Looks like you might have been the initial target.
Andy didn’t need Dongwan to tell him that, he already knew.
“Just be safe, we should place you under police guard” Dongwan suddenly said, pulling out his phone, seems ready to make the necessarily phone call.
But Andy snapped his head up, looking at Dongwan.
“Dongwan-shi, listen –“
“There’s no need” Eric suddenly interjected, his tone firm and absolute. “ He’ll stay here, at the hotel”
“Huh? What?” Andy uttered as he abruptly turned his attention to Eric who was next to him, looking up at him in complete surprise.
“No, you can’t –“ Andy started to protest, but Eric silenced him with a sharp glance, those eyes as piercing as ever.
“Yes, I can”
Andy shook his head. “ But that would be too much trouble for you, Hyung”
“It won’t be” Eric said before he turned to Dongwan, granting him a brisk ‘I’ll talk to you later’ look. He then grabbed Andy by the wrist and proceeded to him from the parking lot.
And Andy stumbled behind him, over his feet and over his words. “But Hyung -“
“I said it’s fine” Eric once again cut him off. “If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have offered you. Look, I’ll you to your new room where you can stay.”
Andy wanted to protest more, but he didn’t have the energy to do so. And besides, Eric could be very stubborn when he wanted something done his way. Or determined, as Eric preferred to call it. Stubborn sounded to childish, Eric used to complain when Andy joked about his stubborn streak.
A weary and sad smile made its way upon Andy’s lips as he allowed Eric to lead him.
…No, he didn’t want this. He was causing Eric trouble again. Dammit. Was there anything he could do without screwing up?
They travelled the rest of the way in silence. Andy had many thought running in his head. He didn’t know who was targeting him, or why did that person do that.
Then, Eric stopped pulling Andy’s arm and Andy realized that they have reached to his new room.
“I’ll have the maids deliver your belonging later” Eric said as he turned to face Andy, still keeping a grip on his arm. Andy looked at Eric for a split second before quickly lowering his gaze to the floor.
“I’m sorry for the trouble” Andy said with remorse. “ The crew and I will fix everything up in the morning”
“It’s okay. Not your fault Andy”
“Yes, it is” Andy muttered bitterly under his breath. “ Its always my fault”
Eric grabbed Andy by the chin, forcing Andy to look up at him. Eric didn’t say anything and all rational thoughts had fled from Andy’s mind. Although, one thought remained, which wondered if Eric was going to kiss him again?
Well, Andy wasn’t going to be disappointed if Eric did that. But Andy quickly scolded himself for being selfish again.
“Hyung?”
Eric simply stared into Andy’s eyes for a few uncomfortable moments before he closed his eyes and sighed deeply. “You still lack any self-worth, don’t you?” Eric asked as he removed his hand from Andy’s chin.
Andy gave him a questioning look. “What do you mean?”
Self-worth? Youre only allowed to have self-worth when you were actually worth something.
“Tomorrow I’ll increase security for the hotel” Eric suddenly stated. Ignored Andy’s question. “If they show up again, we’ll catch them. So, don’t worry about it, okay?”
It was a bit hard not to worry about it. “I’m not worried about me, it’s…”
…It was just he didn’t want to be a bother all the time. But, it seemed to be the only thing he was actually good at.
“What?” Eric’s voice pulled Andy out of his thought.
“Nothing” Andy said as he scratched the back of his neck. “Just mumbling to myself”
“Well, night I guess. And thank you” Andy said as he closed the door to get away from the sudden awkwardness.
Andy waited by the door for a few moments, listening with his forehead pressed against the door. He could still hear Eric. Could hear him breath, hear his clothes ruffle as he moved away. Then, he hear Eric’s footsteps move away from the door and slowly fade away, until true silence was left.
When Andy was certain that Eric was gone, he lifted his head back, only to bash his forehead against the wooden door, literally beating himself up.
He finally pushed away from the door, his hand plunging into his pocket to pull out his phone. He had to let Minwoo know about what happened. He needed new supplies so he and his crew can work on what vandal’s destroyed.
After the second ring, Minwoo picked up. After the usual greetings and Andy apologizing for ringing relatively late, he got straight to the point.
“The garden was vandalized” Andy explained quickly as he sat down on the edge of the bed, resting his elbows on his knees and lowered his head in a tired manner. “We need extra supplies”
“Of course, I’ll organize it right away” Minwoo immediately stated and the shuffling a paper was heard. “What do you need?”
Andy felt a tear roll down his cheek, slipping along his jawline before falling to the floor silently. What did he need? What did he truly want?
Everything
But what did he deserve?
Nothing
There was a moment of silence before Minwoo’s concerned voice drifted through. “Are you alright?”
“…Yeah” Andy answered back as he fell back onto the bed, looking up at the ceiling. “I’ll talk to you later”, And he hung up before Minwoo could say anything in return.
Andy closed his eyes, willing the tears of frustration and weakness to flow freely. Tomorrow, he’ll work extra hard to ensure that the garden is complete at the scheduled time. He had caused Eric enough grief already. So, it was the right thing to do, he’ll leave Jeju for good, leave Eric to live his life to his full potential.
No matter how much it would hurt..