By Zephyria 
“Damn it.”
Jin Seok-young violently tugged at his hair. With his stubborn mind, he couldn’t figure out a single way to resolve this situation.
First, would it be better to let Han Seung-jae know that he had found Seo Dong-hu? If he did, Han Seung-jae would surely tell him to bring him back. Wasn’t he a man who trusted only what he could see with his own eyes? Jin Seok-young wasn’t stupid enough to miss that.
However, Seo Dong-hu was already a dead man. Moreover, there was no way Han Seung-jae would come all the way here just to confirm Seo Dong-hu’s face. Though it was uncertain if he would even recognize him if he saw him.
“What should we do, Head of Department Jin?”
“Fuck. What do I do?”
The question circled between Secretary Go and Jin Seok-young. After messing up his hair in a frenzy, Jin Seok-young stepped out of the building and got into his car. This wasn’t a matter he could decide on his own. Sitting in the driver’s seat, Jin Seok-young took a short deep breath and, as he always did, sought help from Jin Tae-won.
“Hyung, listen.”
[What? Aren’t you at Seon-yu’s house?]
Jin Seok-young felt as if a dagger had flown and plunged into his chest without warning. He needed to confirm that as well, but there was a more urgent matter first.
Jin Seok-young anxiously wiped his face and spoke.
“I did find Vice President Seo.”
Jin Seok-young pressed the phone tightly to his ear.
[Hand him over to Director Han. And whether you roast him or boil him, wash your hands of it. It’ll only be more of a headache if you get involved.]
Jin Seok-young gazed at the building visible through the car window. The more he looked, the more his face turned a ashen grey.
“The thing is… Vice President Seo is dead.”
[What on earth are you talking about? Did you confirm it properly?]
Just by hearing Jin Tae-won’s tone over the phone, Jin Seok-young could clearly envision him knitting his brows. If he had been right in front of him, Jin Tae-won might have actually seared his thick skull with a cigarette this time.
“I checked several times! His face was barely recognizable. Fuck, if he was going to die like this, he should have just been caught by me. Then he wouldn’t have died!”
[Stop talking nonsense.]
Jin Seok-young leaned his upper body against the steering wheel as if to calm his rising anger. His voice flowed out a bit lower.
“What do I tell Director Han? I was about to contact him saying I found him, but I called you first.”
[Get a proper grasp of the situation first, then call me back.]
* * *
Haseon Hospital.
Seo Yi-kyung, who had been lying in the hospital bed, fell asleep for a while after Jin Seon-yu left and then woke up. He had merely lain there and talked a bit with Jin Seon-yu, but even that seemed to have been physically taxing.
Having woken up repeatedly due to pain around his chest, Seo Yi-kyung suddenly turned his head and stared at the chair next to the bed. It was where Jin Seon-yu had been sitting a short while ago. However, Seo Yi-kyung was thinking of Han Seung-jae, who had occupied that spot.
He didn’t know if Han Seung-jae would come to the hospital again. In fact, knowing the man he knew, there was a significantly high possibility he wouldn’t. He was a man who held no lingering attachments to anything. He couldn’t understand why he had seen such a man the moment he opened his eyes.
Seo Yi-kyung picked up the pocket watch touching his fingertips and looked at the dial. It was already a little past 5 o’clock.
Suddenly, he thought he heard the sound of a door opening and looked toward the entrance. However, no sound of footsteps followed from beyond the curtain.
‘Was it an illusion?’
He must have misheard. There was no way Han Seung-jae would come at this hour…
With a sunken expression, Seo Yi-kyung pressed the button to raise the top of the bed. Perhaps it was because of the ring on his finger that he became more conscious of his lingering attachments.
After staring out the window for a moment, he turned on the phone Jin Seon-yu had left behind. It was to push Han Seung-jae, who kept coming to mind, out of his head even just a little.
A message from Jin Seon-yu appeared on the powered-on screen.
[I’ve arrived home. Don’t worry, I didn’t get nagged by Hyung. Also, tell me everything you want to eat. I’ll buy it and bring it when I come.]
Seo Yi-kyung moved one hand to send a reply saying he was fine. As he did, he recalled the rice porridge he had eaten with Jin Seon-yu. It had no seasoning at all. It was likely because it was tailored to Seo Yi-kyung’s ailing body, but for both Jin Seon-yu and Seo Yi-kyung, the time spent holding the spoon was longer than the time spent actually eating.
Jin Seon-yu had likely noticed how much Seo Yi-kyung struggled to eat.
While fiddling with the phone and waiting for Jin Seon-yu’s message, which always came instantly, Seo Yi-kyung’s eyes fixed on a headline at the top of a news article.
『Woorim Construction Vice President Seo Dong-hu, Attacked by an Unknown Assailant.』
As he slowly moved his finger, the article unfolded. Seo Yi-kyung didn’t even blink as he read through it. For some reason, his heart beat faster.
The article stated that he had been attacked by a robber.
Seo Yi-kyung felt his mouth go dry. He traced back the last image of Seo Dong-hu he had encountered. His eyes had been bloodshot, and he smelled of alcohol. The suit he wore was crumpled as if he had worn it for several days. That Seo Dong-hu had arrogantly grabbed Seo Yi-kyung by the collar, acting as if he would swing his hand at any moment. Such a man had been taken down by an assailant.
‘Seo Dong-hu is dead?’
Buzz— Because a message arrived from Jin Seon-yu, a startled Seo Yi-kyung dropped the phone. When he picked it up again, the window with the article he had been reading had disappeared.
Seo Yi-kyung pushed aside Jin Seon-yu’s message and searched for the article. However, it said the post had been deleted.
“It’s gone.”
Seo Yi-kyung repeated the action. Was it because the article he was reading had vanished that he couldn’t believe it? Or was it the fact that Seo Dong-hu was dead itself?
And he couldn’t understand why, of all things, the word ‘assailant’ made him think of Han Seung-jae.
Just then, the door to the room opened and the sound of steady footsteps followed. Along with that, the voice of the attending physician was heard from beyond the curtain.
“Director Han, aside from the person I mentioned this morning, no one else has entered this room. Truly. He was just so stubborn this morning.”
“Stubborn?”
The refined footsteps stopped. The attending physician seemed to quickly correct his words.
“Ah, no. Not stubborn, but he needs to rest, yet he insisted on bringing that person. I wanted to say there was no other way, but my words came out wrong. I apologize.”
Seo Yi-kyung looked at the shadow leaning across the floor before lifting his head. Similarly, Han Seung-jae revealed himself, looking inside as he spoke.
“I heard you were sleeping.”
Seo Yi-kyung felt a chill around his chest where Han Seung-jae’s gaze landed. Simultaneously, the attending physician peeked out from beside him and showed the tray he was holding.
“He was sleeping just a moment ago when I brought dinner.”
The attending physician stepped backward and left after seeing Seo Yi-kyung awake. This was because stability was the first and second priority. Seo Yi-kyung’s recovery was closely linked to the physician’s honorable future. That was why the physician put all his heart and soul into nourishing Seo Yi-kyung’s body.
After hearing from Secretary Park that Han Seung-jae was arriving, he had hurriedly accompanied him while bringing dinner. After the physician fixed the table to the bed, he placed the tray on top of it. A bowl with a lid sat there.
“Go tend to your work.”
The physician’s hand, which was about to open the lid, paused. As he turned around, Han Seung-jae took off the coat he was wearing. The physician reflexively tried to take the garment.
“It’s fine, just leave.”
Han Seung-jae passed the physician and draped the coat over a chair. The physician bowed behind Han Seung-jae’s back and left the room.
Han Seung-jae reached out his long arm. Seo Yi-kyung looked at his cold profile. Since there was little change in his expression, it was hard to guess his inner thoughts. Perhaps he had overthought it and reached an absurd imagination. As Seo Yi-kyung slowly lowered his gaze, he saw that the suit Han Seung-jae was wearing was impeccably neat. However, there was a scratch on the finger of the hand opening the lid of the bowl.
“The food is pathetic.”
Han Seung-jae narrowed his eyes as he looked at the rice porridge, which was neither porridge nor water.
“Did you eat something like this this morning too?”
But for Seo Yi-kyung’s sick body, it had to be easy to digest and neither too salty nor too sweet. Nevertheless, it didn’t satisfy Han Seung-jae. He took a seat opposite the bed where Seo Yi-kyung sat.
Seo Yi-kyung blankly gazed at Han Seung-jae, who was dressed in a dark suit. Their eyes met, and Han Seung-jae asked.
“You have a face that looks like it has something to say to me.”
Seo Yi-kyung gripped the phone with the darkened screen.
“Seo Dong-hu.”
Han Seung-jae listened quietly without interrupting. Seo Yi-kyung’s dry lips slowly parted.
“Did you do it, Seung-jae?”