“Ah…”
Despite covering my mouth, a sob escaped due to the pain rising from my ankle. If I had known it would be like this, I should have endured a bit longer until Hajin made a deal with Secretary Kim.
No, how could I have known? I’d already been a burden to Hajin once, and I didn’t want to be a burden again.
I calmly took out the phone I’d stolen from one of them and called Hajin.
I called several times until I heard the message saying the call couldn’t be connected, but there was no answer. Why wasn’t Hajin answering? If he knew I’d been kidnapped, he should answer any unknown call, so why…
Tears streamed down my face in resentment.
Still, Seo Hajin was my only hope. I’d try calling just once more, and if that didn’t work, I’d try Hahyun, and if he didn’t answer either, I’d call 119. After all, since the culprit was Secretary Kim, I might not have to go to prison.
I called again.
“Who is this? Tell me what you want.”
Hearing Hajin’s urgent voice, I finally felt relieved.
So he had been looking for me. He hadn’t been ignoring me.
“Ha-Hajin-ssi… hic.”
“Juwon? Juwon? Yoon Juwon.”
“…”
Hearing his voice calling my name, I choked up and couldn’t speak properly. My head was dizzy, and the pain from my ankle was getting worse.
“Stay conscious and wait. I’m on my way.”
Coming? How does he know where I am…
Just then, there was a loud noise from down the road.
“Fuck, where are you?”
I was instantly alert at the voice. If Hajin had come, I needed to be in a visible spot. I desperately tried to stand up to move towards where he was. But my ankle wouldn’t move as I wanted. I soon collapsed again.
If I couldn’t walk, I would crawl.
I put the phone in my pocket and started crawling on my knees, using my hands for support. Sharp rocks pierced my skin, and protruding branches scratched my forearms, but I couldn’t stop.
As I made it outside with all my strength, I heard the screeching sound of a car stopping. Please let that sound be from Hajin’s car… And the moment I confirmed the license plate, I collapsed right there.
“Juwon, Yoon Juwon…”
“Hyung…”
Though my vision was blurry and I couldn’t see anything, I could clearly hear the brothers’ voices. Having confirmed their voices, the tension released, and the consciousness I’d been forcibly holding onto started to fade. A cold hand touched my cheek, and I heard Hahyun crying.
“Hyung, Juwon hyung. Hic.”
Warm arms wrapped around my body.
“Sorry I’m late. The tracker wasn’t working properly… it took time to find you.”
“Is this the time to say that? Juwon hyung looks like he’s in pain. He seems hurt! What are we going to do? Fuck.”
I managed to open my eyes and look at the brothers. Both of their gazes landed on me simultaneously. I tried my best to speak.
“Thank you for coming. I was afraid… that you wouldn’t come… that I would die alone here.”
With Hahyun’s crying getting louder, I finally let go of the consciousness I’d been desperately holding onto.
In the distance, I faintly heard the sound of sirens.
* * *
When I opened my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling. Only after taking a deep breath did I realize I was alive. As I turned to my side, I saw an IV drip in my arm. I rubbed my eyes with my other hand, trying to regain my senses.
“Hyung, hyung… are you conscious?”
Looking to the side, Hahyun was watching me with swollen eyes. Though I was the one who was hurt, Hahyun looked more pained. How much had he cried while I was unconscious for his face to look like that? Hahyun clung to me and said:
“Thank goodness. Really thank goodness…”
I was curious where Hajin had gone, but fearing it would upset Hahyun, I didn’t ask and just patted his shoulder.
“I’m fine. I’m not that badly hurt.”
“How can you say that? You almost broke your ankle.”
I had thought my body felt heavy, and looking down, I saw I was in a cast up to my knee.
“They said the impact worsened your sprained ankle.”
“Yes, I ran hard. I thought I might never see our Hahyun again.”
Hahyun, who had been speaking with teary eyes, suddenly began to wail. Anyone seeing this would think I had died and come back to life.
“Stop crying. I’m fine, so why are you crying like this, hm?”
“How can I not cry? You were unconscious for three days. I was going to kill myself if you didn’t wake up today.”
I gently flicked his forehead and said:
“How can you talk about death so carelessly? It’s not like I have a terminal illness…”
Come to think of it, it was strange that I had been unconscious for three days just from an ankle injury. Did I have a seizure from the shock? As I looked at Hahyun quizzically, he stroked my head and said:
“What did you hit your head on? You should have protected your head above all else.”
Only then did I understand why I had been unconscious for so long. It must have been when I hit my head on the iron door trying to open it. I hadn’t felt the pain at the time…
“They said you had a concussion. Do you know how scared I was?”
“Am I in bad condition?”
“No. The tests showed no abnormalities, but it’s worrying when you don’t wake up.”
Just as I felt relieved at his reassurance, I belatedly started to worry about being in the hospital. I was still a wanted fugitive, wasn’t I?
“Isn’t it bad if people see me?”
“I was going to tell you about that. Goodness…”
Hahyun sighed as if he found it absurd. Had everything been revealed in that short time? Or had Hajin prepared for this in advance? I held my breath and listened carefully to Hahyun’s words.
“They say Secretary Kim killed Chairman Seo.”
So it had been revealed after all.
Since Secretary Kim wouldn’t have admitted his crime directly, and there was no way new evidence had suddenly appeared, Hajin must have suspected the culprit all along and had been preparing until now.
If he knew, he should have told me earlier…
“Hyung? You’re not surprised.”
Rather than me, Hahyun seemed more surprised by my calm reaction. After pondering what to say, I looked at Hahyun and gave a small smile.
“Of course. Who would know better than me that I wasn’t the culprit? Think about it. How strong Chairman Seo was. Would someone like that fall just because I pushed him a little?”
“Ah…”
Hahyun finally nodded.
“I thought it was strange too. Oh! They told me to call the doctor when you woke up.”
Hahyun rushed outside. A moment later, the doctor entered the room. I went to the examination room in a wheelchair and completed a few simple tests.
“The test results are all normal. Now that you’ve regained consciousness, you can be discharged once you recover your strength.”
“Thank you.”
Hahyun also bowed politely at my thanks. Not long after the doctor left, there was another knock at the door.
Thinking Hajin might have come, I turned my head to the right to check my appearance in the reflection of the glass window. The now-familiar face was reflected back. Apart from looking a bit haggard, it was still a handsome face.
Just then, the sound of the door opening was heard. Is it Hajin?
I turned my head eagerly, but there stood a person I had never seen before.
* * *
“Hello, Mr. Seo Hahyun.”
As the man opened the door and entered, he made eye contact with me and greeted me cheerfully. I searched my memory but couldn’t recall who he was at all, so I looked at Hahyun with a puzzled face.
Hahyun explained about him to me.
“This is the investigator. He’s been waiting for you to wake up to investigate something about Chairman Seo’s case.”
“Where is Hajin-ssi?”
Instead of Hahyun, who frowned, the investigator answered:
“Mr. Seo CEO is cooperating with the investigation. It’s such a big case that he’ll be busy for a while.”
“…Then why are you here?”
If Secretary Kim had been confirmed as Chairman Seo’s murderer, there was no need for an investigator to come here. Could it be that Yoon Juwon had other charges I wasn’t aware of?
As I opened my eyes wide in shock, Hahyun took my hand as if to comfort me.
“Hyung, you don’t need to be scared. They said it’s like a witness interview. I’ll stay by your side the whole time while you’re being questioned.”
At Hahyun’s words, the investigator placed his materials and tablet on the guardian’s table and sighed.
“Mr. Seo Hahyun, considering the witness’s condition, we’re already making a big concession by conducting the interview at the hospital rather than the prosecutor’s office. You need to step out during the questioning.”
It was a reasonable statement, but Hahyun pretended not to hear and just gripped my hand tightly.
“Hahyun, let’s step outside for now.”
“…No.”
Feeling too embarrassed in front of the investigator, I whispered in Hahyun’s ear.
“If you don’t go out now, once I’m fully recovered, Hajin-ssi and I will first…”
Before I could finish, Hahyun sprang up. Despite his expression showing extreme displeasure, he seemed intent on faithfully following my words.
“Yell if anything happens.”
“What could possibly happen when I’m with an investigator?”
Hahyun glared at the investigator.
“You never know. You shouldn’t trust anyone.”
“Okay, I’ll handle it.”
After barely persuading Hahyun to leave, cold sweat ran down my back. As soon as Hahyun left, the investigator sat in front of me, as if he had been waiting.
“Ask your questions freely.”
