By Zephyria Song Hae-seop didn’t know what kind of expression I was wearing right now. It felt like I was stuffing bugs into my mouth and chewing them.
The elegant threat, delivered without a single curse word, was intensely etched into my mind. Especially the part about not living a life where I remained important to someone made me feel like my existence was being denied, and I even felt a surge of emotion. I knew that Kwon Tae-hee was the kind of man who could pack malice into a face devoid of any ill intent, but it felt even more poignant because it had been a while.
What does he know so well about me… Then is Seo Jeong-won living a life where he remains important to someone? Aren’t we both in the same boat? If we’re talking about not having a single decent person around, Seo Jeong-won’s life is even more pathetic than mine. I wanted to scrub my ears raw, ears that hadn’t missed a single word of Kwon Tae-hee’s voice.
“Are you protesting because you’re upset?”
“Huh? Me? No, no. Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not upset.”
“Then what are you doing? Get up.”
As Song Hae-seop’s Pheromone poured out due to uncontrollable shame, Kwon Tae-hee wrinkled his nose and showed a sign of displeasure. That expression made him even more ashamed than any direct words about the smell.
“Then I’ll trust that Song Hae-seop will continue to do well.”
“……”
“It’s best not to do anything foolish. You’re not stupid enough to think there are no eyes watching.”
Kwon Tae-hee warned him as if to make sure he remembered clearly until the moment he got into the car. Song Hae-seop bowed obsequiously and repeatedly said he would do well.
Unlike when he came here, they rode in two separate cars. Song Hae-seop watched the car in front of him getting further and further away and sighed deeply. He wanted to hide the fact that he was involved, but in the end, he was found out. Things were seriously twisted. How could he know everything and come looking for me in less than a day? Was I too careless?
It seems like going to Seo Jeong-won’s house last night was a mistake. As soon as I saw Kwon Tae-hee, I should have left immediately, but I was too complacent about the situation.
“Haa…”
Even though I tried to hold it in, a sigh came out involuntarily. What’s easy about betrayal? I could only think that I was going crazy.
After several days of agonizing, Song Hae-seop came to a conclusion. There are too many things in the world that can’t be helped. Like how I’ve been co-opted by Kwon Tae-hee and am reporting every little thing Seo Jeong-won does, that kind of thing. This is what you call something that can’t be helped.
Song Hae-seop, who was biting his nails and organizing the message to send to Chief Jung, was startled by the sudden voice and trembled.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I scare you?”
“Huh? No, no. Why?”
Song Hae-seop, trying not to look suspicious, turned his phone over and forced a smile.
“Vitamins. I wanted to thank you for buying them for me… If you tell me how much they cost, I’ll—”
“Oh? Ah, it’s nothing. What… What’s there to be thankful for? You, you said you forgot to bring them. I went to buy some digestive medicine and remembered, so don’t worry about it… And it wasn’t much. More than that, I had something to talk to you about anyway, so this is good. Sit down.”
I felt a pang of conscience that I had never felt before. Kwon Tae-hee had packed the vitamins and sent them to the cafe. He said that if he sent the same ones I was eating at home, Seo Jeong-won might be suspicious, so he chose ones from a different pharmaceutical company with the same ingredients. He also added a request to make sure I took them well. That couldn’t have been a request, it was a threat. Thinking that, I pulled Seo Jeong-won, who was about to sit on the floor, up.
“Why do you keep sitting on the floor when your body is heavy?”
“Ah.”
“You know the thing you brought from home that time? Tae-hee’s. I sent the item after checking its condition and saying I’d pay you, so… I think we need to prepare for the next step now. Do you have any place in mind?”
At Song Hae-seop’s question, Seo Jeong-won blinked and shook his head.
“I don’t have any place like that, I just… I just want to be far away from here.”
He was showing his naivety here. It’s not always good to just get far away. Of course, if he wasn’t pregnant, getting far away would be the best way, but he’s currently carrying a small life in his belly. We have to prepare for the worst. Then we have to go to a city that has some scale.
“So I’ve been thinking about it a bit too? There’s a reason why you can’t go far away from here.”
“Why…”
“Jeong-won is pregnant now. But there are hardly any hospitals that can handle Omega births the further you get from the city. Think about it, what if labor suddenly starts and you have to drive for two hours… Ugh, just thinking about it is terrible. What if something happens to the baby?”
I haven’t heard from Kwon Tae-hee yet about which area to take him to. Of course, when he asked for my opinion, I tentatively suggested taking him to my hometown since I was involved anyway, but I’m not sure if he’ll listen.
“There has to be a hospital where you’re staying.”
“…Ah, I guess so. Then I’ll think about it some more. Somewhere not too far, but a decent place.”
Seo Jeong-won quietly agreed. He just wanted to get far away, but he shouldn’t do that when he thinks about the baby. It seemed right to listen to Song Hae-seop’s words, even if it meant risking being caught by Kwon Tae-hee.
“And the hospital we’re going to tomorrow is… a private hospital.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you. Thank you so much, Hyung.”
“Thanks… What thanks. Don’t say things like that.”
Song Hae-seop waved his hand, feeling a throbbing pain in his chest. He felt so uncomfortable that he briefly thought about telling him that Kwon Tae-hee knew everything, but he soon realized that he could die from that momentary choice and shut his mouth.
“I said I’d help you. So… it’s okay.”
It was clearly something I started for fun, but when the fun disappeared, Seo Jeong-won in front of me just felt like a burden. I’m sorry, but I wanted to get him out of my house as soon as possible.
¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸
Song Hae-seop took Seo Jeong-won to the hospital, having received the address in advance and even made a preliminary visit. In order to completely deceive Seo Jeong-won, who firmly believed that he had made a reservation through illegal channels, he decided to see a doctor at 8 o’clock, one hour earlier than the usual consultation time.
“What if there’s a problem later because of me…?”
“It’s okay, that won’t happen.”
“Hyung is really amazing. How did you even find a place like this…?”
Seo Jeong-won kept exclaiming in admiration as he went up to the hospital. In fact, because it wasn’t a normal reservation, he vaguely imagined a run-down obstetrics and gynecology sign hanging on an old building. Not a newly opened obstetrics and gynecology clinic in a clean building like this.
“An acquaintance… an acquaintance Hyung found out for me. I’ll… I’ll say hello to that Hyung separately. I really didn’t do anything, so stop thanking me.”
Song Hae-seop glanced at the CCTV on the ceiling, pretending not to look. The thought of Kwon Tae-hee, who had arrived earlier than them and was sitting in front of the monitor in the building’s control room watching this scene, made him clench his teeth. Only Seo Jeong-won, who didn’t know whose mouth he was going into, was carefree. Or maybe, judging from the way his eyes, revealed between his mask and hat, were carefully looking around, he was just as anxious.
“Aren’t you uncomfortable? Take off either your hat or your mask, Jeong-won.”
“Yes? Ah… What if I did and…”
“It’ll take more time to find you here. Tae-hee probably doesn’t even know Jeong-won is in Seoul right now. He’s probably having a hard time not knowing that you’re with me, so I think we’re being too careful.”
Seo Jeong-won shrugged his shoulders, startled by the slightly irritated voice. He looked so pitiful that it was uncomfortable to watch.
“Ha, sorry.”
“Yes? Ah… It’s okay. Hyung is right. Other people would probably find this appearance of mine more suspicious.”
Seo Jeong-won replied quietly and took off his mask and hat. The moment Song Hae-seop saw him brushing his flattened hair and smiling softly, he had to feel the chest pain again.
“I wasn’t getting angry at Jeong-won.”
“I know. And it’s okay even if you were getting angry.”
“……”
“I’m a stranger. You’re not helping family, and you’re not getting anything in return from me, so it’s natural for you to be annoyed. But I’ll definitely repay you someday. Really. Thank you for helping me, Hyung.”
Seo Jeong-won, who had been moving, slowly stopped and bowed deeply. Song Hae-seop contorted his face as if he was about to cry. He frowned and nudged Seo Jeong-won’s arm, telling him not to say such things.
“Instead of repaying me, later… if I do something wrong, just forgive me once.”
“Yes?”
“Just let it go once, just understand that it could happen. That’s how I think of Jeong-won right now. So just… just let it go.”
Seo Jeong-won met his eyes at the desperate voice. Over the past few days, Song Hae-seop had been helping him in every way. He sold Kwon Tae-hee’s things for him to raise money, and he was meticulously looking for a place for him to stay as if he was looking for a house for himself.
He didn’t show any signs of being annoyed, even though it would have been annoying, and when he tried to give him some money in the name of living expenses along with his thanks, Song Hae-seop got angry instead. He didn’t know what he could do to make him need to be forgiven by him, but Seo Jeong-won willingly said he would.
“Thank you.”
“I’m more grateful. It’s already almost 8 o’clock, Hyung.”
“Ah, yeah. Let’s move.”