SMW 100

Now you’re going to use force? I was about to kick him in the leg just like yesterday when a desperate excuse reached my ears.

“The hospital… Yes. It’s true that I looked into it behind your back because I felt like I would go crazy if I didn’t at least know your exact condition. But after that, I absolutely never monitored you separately or dug into your background. I just asked the police officer next door to please let me know if anything dangerous seemed likely to happen to you.”

“How am I supposed to believe that? The words of a guy who spent ten years digging into my background.”

Choi Seol’s face froze, turning pale in an instant.

“That’s…”

“President. I think you need to come out for a moment.”

Just then, an unfamiliar man’s voice drifted in from the living room outside the bedroom. Simultaneously, Choi Seol’s lips, which had been about to offer another excuse, snapped shut. The timing was truly impeccable.

“Why don’t you go. Sounds like they’re calling you.”

“….”

There was no answer. The hand [visit our site]gripping my arm remained. Knowing unauthorized copywhy he was hesitating, I let out a sigh and shook the arm he was holding.

“I’m not running away. I don’t even know the streets of this neighborhood, and where on earth would I go in this state? I’ll wait here quietly, so go quickly.”

“…Alright. I’ll be back.”

Only then did the strength leave Choi Seol’s hand. As he turned toward the door, suppressing his anxiety, his shoulders seemed a bit slumped. The way he had held onto me without letting go reminded me of our first meeting at the hospital. I had reassured him just in case, and I was inwardly bewildered that it still worked.

He should have recovered all his memories by now; is there something else to be anxious about? Of course, there’s the possibility that he never lost his memories in the first place. I really couldn’t understand why he hadn’t contacted me once until now if he was going to act like such an unstable child.

Although the meeting he had wanted so badly had finally happened, I had only used it to vent my anger; none of my questions about Choi Seol had been resolved. Just as I was feeling bitter that a proper conversation hadn’t even begun, Choi Seol returned quickly. His expression wasn’t great either.

“I think I’ll have to head out.”

“Now?”

“There’s an executives’ meeting this afternoon. I’m the one who called it, so it’s a bit awkward to cancel.”

Unless Choi Seol was the owner of a corner store, “executives” meant a gathering of high-ranking people from a conglomerate. The fact that he was the one who convened it sounded quite surreal. At the same time, I felt a bit slighted. However, I couldn’t throw a tantrum at someone going to work, so I nodded obediently.

“Then it can’t be helped. Go ahead.”

“Let’s get you dressed too. Do you want to shower first?”

A suit case was suddenly thrust in front of my sullen eyes. While it was true that I had no reason to stay in this house once Choi Seol left, this was a bit unexpected.

“What’s this?”

“Clothes for you to wear.”

“What about the clothes I wore yesterday?”

“I’ve set those aside separately.”

“Then give me those. Why suddenly a suit?”

At my bewildered look, Choi Seol wore an expression as if he were unsure how to explain.

“As you know, this is the residence of the H.S. Chairman, so not just anyone can enter freely.”

Suddenly, I felt a surge of irritation.

“Sounds like you’re saying I’m just ‘anyone.’”

“…I misspoke. Let’s just say a civilian.”

Choi Seol corrected himself quickly, but it didn’t make me feel any better. Regardless, I roughly understood what he meant.

“So, the problem is that a civilian like me entered a place where ‘anyone’ can’t just enter, right?”

“There’s no particular problem with you having entered this house. The real problem is when you become known to certain other people. Officially, the H.S. Chairman is recuperating at home. Outside visitors are strictly screened, except for those involved. If they find out that a civilian with no known face has been coming and going, they might try to uncover your identity by any means necessary.”

“What would they want with my identity?”

“Once they find it out, they’ll use it for something useful, I imagine.”

The sheer seriousness in his voice gave me a sudden chill. I wanted to ask who those people were that might dig into my identity, but I was too scared to ask.

“Did I enter some incredibly dangerous place?”

“You don’t need to be that scared.”

“You’re the one who just scared me!”

I wondered what he was talking about after speaking with such a grave expression. However, Choi Seol reassured me as if it were truly no big deal.

“I just wanted you to be visit our siteaware. You just need to avoid [visit our site]being stolen contentnoticed until you leave this place.”

“And wearing a suit makes that possible?”

“Most of the people who visit here are dressed in suits. We’ll be moving by car, but I want to prepare for any unforeseen situations.”

It’s not like this is Mission Impossible. I continued to look at the suit case in Choi Seol’s hand with an uneasy gaze.

“So that’s why Baek Hee-won told me to wear something that looks as much like a suit as possible.”

“….”

I was muttering whatever came to mind, and Choi Seol’s silence was strangely grating. Come to think of it, I had never explained to him how I ended up here.

“It was thanks to Baek Hee-won that I came here. Since I was just wasting time at home, Noona gave me Baek Hee-won’s contact info and told me to go see you, so I tried it, and he actually picked up the phone…”

“I know, so you don’t have to explain.”

Choi Seol interrupted me and replied calmly. I tilted my head.

“Know what? Don’t tell me you again…”

“I didn’t dig into your background.”

Choi Seol quickly brushed aside my suspicion.

“Among the secretaries, only Baek Hee-won knows my schedule in real-time. Moreover, he’s the only person who could easily pass the security of this mansion and bring you all the way to the rear garden of the main building, so I could roughly guess that much.”

“….”

“…It’s true.”

“Who’s saying it isn’t? You seem awfully defensive.”

At my prickly attitude, Choi Seol’s expression stiffened.

I wondered if I had been too harsh, but honestly, it had been ten years. It was an undeniable fact that he had dug into my background without my knowledge, and if he hadn’t fixed that nasty habit until recently, Choi Seol was a man who had no excuse. And if he had put my heart through such agony on top of that, he was truly a bastard.

Therefore, I had no intention of softening my heart unless he explained this matter properly.

“Alright. I’ll explain properly.”

Yes. A proper explanation, right?

I looked at Choi Seol.

“Explain what? What’s there to explain?”

“Everything you’re curious about, everything you suspect. Especially including that damn stalking behavior.”

Choi Seol put particular emphasis on the last sentence. To an outsider, it would look like an innocent person was feeling quite wronged. Looking at him like that, I wondered if there was some story behind it. Then again, his entire life was a bundle of stories.

“Will you really tell me everything?”

“Yes.”

“Promise? To tell me everything without hiding a single thing.”

“…I promise.”

The brief hesitation was a bit suspicious, but I felt better just knowing there was progress in the conversation. I took the suit case from Choi Seol’s hand.

“Then I’ll go shower and change. Oh, if you’re busy, you can leave first. Just tell me how to get out and I’ll be careful. And while I’m out, save your contact info in my phone. The lock password is the same one I told you before, so you should be able to unlock it. That way we can meet after you get off work.”

“….”

“Why no answer? You’re not telling me to wait stolen contentoutside [visit our site]indefinitely visit our siteuntil you contact me, are you?”

“No, it’s not that… Ha, right. I’m the bad guy for making you misunderstand.”

It definitely seemed like his self-reproach time, but why did I get the feeling that there were insults toward me mixed in?

Since it was too ambiguous to protest, I just stared at him, and Choi Seol approached. He then took out a card and pressed it firmly into my hand.

“I have to attend the meeting, so for now, go to my house first. I’ll go straight there as soon as I’m finished.”

“Your house?”

“It’s the address we intended to go to when we came up to Seoul before. If you hadn’t woken up by evening, I was planning to move you there even while asleep. I can’t leave you alone here.”

I blinked.

“Do you live there now?”

“I’ve lived there ever since I returned from the US. I went back there even after… breaking up with you.”

“…I see.”

My chest ached slightly at the word ‘went back.’ Perhaps Choi Seol felt the same, as [stolen content]his expression dimmed for a moment [Read on Read BL Novels]before he continued after a pause.

“If you like it here, you can stay. Even if the layout and atmosphere are different, if you find a hanok more comfortable, just stay here. I’ll come back here after the meeting. Instead, I’ll assign one of my people to you, so if anything happens, contact them immediately…”

“No. If you’re not here, there’s no reason for me to stay. Besides, you hate this house.”

Choi Seol had been displeased with the idea of stepping foot in this house from the start. He had only come in because Executive Director Kang had brought up my condition. If Choi Seol had been alone, he would have left this house even if it meant getting soaked in the rain.

“Sorry.”

At my subdued apology, Choi Seol furrowed his brows.

“Why are you sorry?”

“Because you were trapped in this house for over a full day because of a cold I didn’t even know I had. And you even had a doctor from the hospital come on a business trip in a downpour… I felt like I was being a nuisance.”

“You’re not a nuisance. If I’d set my mind to it, I could have taken you out of this house. I was the one who chose to stay here last night. As for the doctor, as I said yesterday, we have a contractual agreement where they come whenever called in exchange for our support of the hospital. So you don’t need to worry about it. Yesterday, this house wasn’t that bad.”

Anyway, he’s saying it’s all because of me.

It was true that I felt a sense of distance seeing this unfamiliar side of Choi Seol, but seeing him still think of me this way made my heart soften involuntarily.

I looked at the card Choi Seol had pressed into my hand.

“Alright. I’ll go to your house. This is the entrance key to that house, right?”

“I’m giving you that just in case you need it. For the house, just enter the password. I’ll text that to you along with my contact info.”

Looking again, it was actually a credit card. An all-black, quite luxurious design. I quickly handed the card back to Choi Seol.

“I don’t need this. I have money too.”

“I don’t need that either. I have to pay back my debt. Since it seems you intend to return the bank account anyway, I plan to pay it back at a high price, including interest. I lived off your meager savings, so it’s only natural I do that. Don’t you agree?”

Choi Seol smiled and completely enveloped the hand I had used to offer the credit card. Perhaps it was because I was going to his house, but he looked happier than I’d seen him since waking up. Truly, whether he was twenty-seven or seventeen, I felt I could never win against that face.

“Alright. I’ll keep this too.”

Once again, my heart ended up softening.