“Cha Jaehyun, snap out of it.”
In the brief moment when there was no time to do anything, disaster unfolded before Dojun’s eyes. Just one minute ago, Jaehyun had been pouting and complaining that it was unpleasant to be treated like a toy, but now he lay collapsed before him.
Opportunities to witness someone bleeding profusely and dying right before one’s eyes are rare. The same was true for Dojun. When his body trembled and then even that trembling stopped, Dojun instinctively knew something terrible had happened.
To him, Jaehyun had been nothing more than a toy. He had thought he would quickly lose interest after playing with him a few times, but that had been a grave miscalculation. The more he met with Jaehyun, the more his inexplicable thirst only grew.
The way Jaehyun would do dirty things behind closed doors, then blush as if embarrassed when similar situations arose, acting as if nothing had happened—that stirred Dojun’s heart. It was a rather troublesome emotion he had never once felt in his entire life.
That troublesome emotion began to snowball. Now he even found himself thinking he wanted Jaehyun to show him—and only him—that eye-smile he so easily showed to others.
He wanted to monopolize him. He even questioned whether it was normal to have such feelings for a toy. At first, he wanted to cut out this ticklish feeling that irritated him and disturbed his composure, but he came to the conclusion that it was impossible.
‘How foolish.’
After focusing all his attention on Jaehyun, he realized that Jaehyun had buried his awareness in the ground. Not just Seo Hanryul, but even that bastard of a secretary. Jaehyun seemed completely oblivious to the true intentions of the snake-like people circling around him.
Even today, he had driven all this way because of Jaehyun alone. It was irrational behavior that even he found difficult to understand.
“…Even if I cry, I won’t cry in front of you.”
Watching Jaehyun say everything on his mind without any regard, Dojun thought about what kind of punishment to give him.
If he kissed him like last time, would his face turn red like a beet again this time too?
While having these pathetic and unproductive thoughts that would normally make him shudder—thoughts so unlike his usual self—Jaehyun suddenly pushed his body away forcefully with both hands and took the falling flowerpot in his place.
If not for Jaehyun’s response, the flowerpot would have fallen right on the crown of Dojun’s head. Jaehyun, who took the hit from the flowerpot that was even full of soil, collapsed helplessly onto the cold ground.
Have I ever been this foolish? Dojun’s mind went blank.
The flowerpot must have hit him squarely, as blood wouldn’t stop flowing from Jaehyun’s head area. His eyes rolled back as his whole body trembled faintly, then suddenly all movement stopped and his eyes closed.
As he closed his eyes, it was as if the world had stopped—everything became silent. Dojun brought his ear to Jaehyun’s mouth, but couldn’t even hear his breathing.
“…A person was hit by a flowerpot and collapsed. The bleeding won’t stop.”
“Sir, please stay calm and tell us your location.”
“Noeul Orphanage. Quickly… please come quickly. A person is dying.”
He felt he couldn’t delay any longer. While wiping away the profuse blood covering Jaehyun’s face, he calmly called 119.
No matter how much he wiped the blood, it showed no signs of stopping. The blood he couldn’t wipe away began flowing onto the concrete floor. Before long, with both hands soaked in blood, Dojun couldn’t tell how severely distorted his own face had become.
* * *
‘No.’
Jaehyun, who had said he’d be back in a moment, didn’t return. Hanryul, who went outside to find him, encountered a horrific scene behind the building.
Red liquid was pooled profusely on the ground. There was a shattered flowerpot, Jaehyun lying collapsed, and Dojun and Woojin moving busily beside him.
As he approached closer, someone’s jacket—he didn’t know whose—was draped over Jaehyun’s body. Jaehyun had his eyes closed peacefully, as if unaware of what had happened. The sight of him lying there so quietly, like someone who had decided to close their eyes forever, was terrifying.
“Who did this?”
At first, no thoughts came to him, then gradually anger began to rise. When the thought occurred that one of the two people must be the culprit, rational thinking became difficult. He wanted to kill the culprit who had made Jaehyun like this right then and there.
“Can’t you see this is an emergency situation? If you have the energy to argue, go inside and bring towels and cold water. Bring as many towels as possible.”
“Did you do this?”
“Don’t make a scene and quietly bring them. If the children see this, they’ll be greatly shocked, so we need to resolve this quietly among ourselves.”
Facing the scene up close, Hanryul had no choice but to obediently follow Woojin’s words. Judging with the handful of rationality he barely managed to recover, he thought Woojin’s response was correct. Looking at Jaehyun more carefully, blood seemed to be flowing from every opening in his face—it appeared to be quite a serious condition.
“I brought them. You called 119, right?”
“Stop stating the obvious and help me. We’re going to roll up towels and place them under the Young Master’s shoulders. I’ll lift his upper body, so Hanryul-ssi, please insert the towels. You must do it carefully.”
“…Understood.”
Hanryul began obediently following Woojin’s instructions. When will the ambulance arrive? Hanryul felt his blood run dry.
‘Damn bastard.’
After finishing the emergency treatment, Hanryul’s eyes fell on Dojun’s face. Unlike the composed Woojin, Dojun’s face was severely rigid. Seeing that expression, he instinctively knew Dojun was the culprit.
The day he encountered Jaehyun and Dojun in the elevator, Hanryul had overheard their conversation and followed Jaehyun at lunchtime.
That bastard of a CEO was tormenting Jaehyun as if it were amusing. Jaehyun was docilely accepting Dojun’s malicious pranks, and he looked very uncomfortable.
He’s not the type to endure like that, yet he was foolishly unable to take any action and was being victimized by Dojun. Though he couldn’t understand that scene, Jaehyun never told him about the situation he was in.
That bastard, I knew it from Bangkok. You’ve been treating Jaehyun like an object, and you finally went through with it. He wanted to rush over immediately and strangle Dojun, but since checking on Jaehyun’s condition was the priority, he couldn’t take any action.
“We’ll be loading the patient now. One guardian can come along, so anyone accompanying, please board quickly.”
“This person is the guardian. Hanryul-ssi, please get on quickly.”
When the ambulance arrived, Woojin showed kindness that Hanryul hadn’t even thought of. Woojin calmly let Hanryul board, then only gave a brief word that he would follow. Normally he would have said he’d be the one to board. Woojin’s generous attitude bothered him, but there was no time to question it now.
They had to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. Jaehyun was hovering between life and death. Hanryul left the two men behind and hurriedly boarded the ambulance.
* * *
“You should come with me. I’ll drive.”
“I have my own car, so is that really necessary?”
“Looking at your complexion, you don’t seem fit to drive, so just ride with me.”
Han Woojin. A hyena-like guy with quite a good head on his shoulders, circling around Cha Jaehyun. He was the one who first proposed to Dojun that they go together. Dojun had no desire whatsoever to ride in the same car with Woojin, but as he said, it seemed difficult to drive, so he accepted the proposal in a half-given-up state.
“This isn’t something to say in front of someone I’m meeting for the first time, but something interesting happened recently.”
“…”
‘He should just drive quietly.’
Silence flowed inside the car carrying Dojun. After driving at high speed for a while, Woojin broke the silence and spoke first. Dojun found Woojin, who suddenly opened his mouth, very irritating.
“There was something very important to me. I left it in the car for about 5 minutes. In this very car. When I came back, only that thing had disappeared without a trace. …I’m an idiot for leaving something so important in the car. You know what’s even funnier?”
“…”
Woojin used rough language he would normally never employ. Vulgar and self-deprecating language. Dojun also thought Woojin’s attitude was very strange and awkward.
“When I came back 30 minutes later, the thing I’d been searching for so desperately had returned intact. It doesn’t even have legs—quite a curious thing, don’t you think?”
“You’re quite good at saying things I don’t want to hear upon first meeting. Let’s just go quietly. I didn’t sit next to you to listen to a stranger’s complaints.”
“…I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it would be better to stay still.”
Amusing bastard. He knows full well that I investigated his background. Dojun thought it was absurd that a mere secretary was threatening him. What could a secretary possibly do even if he noticed he was being followed?
“Was this why you suggested we ride together? To pull this ridiculous stunt? Show some manners.”
“You’re the same. You must think Cha Jaehyun is pathetic. …The situation is changing. If you use such dirty tricks, you’ll have to fight against Daejin now.”
“Stop with the presumptuous talk.”
“…If you’re really a smart person, stop. Just stay still, I’m telling you.”
He had certainly followed Cha Jaehyun quietly enough that no one should have noticed. But the secretary knew he had been followed, and that Dojun was the culprit who had broken into his car.
So it’s not wrong to say he’s got some brains. However, it was amusing that this secretary, who carried around Cha Jaehyun’s weaknesses, was now lecturing him.
“Cha Jaehyun is quite pitiful. His secretary doing strange things behind his back. Right? He doesn’t even know the black heart of the guy who sticks around pretending to be loyal—I don’t know who should be cursed.”
“That’s right, I’m a bastard. But from my position, having a rat-bastard tailing this bastard and breaking into his car is quite an awkward situation indeed. …Whatever you’re thinking, it would be best to stop.”
“Pick your opponents before throwing a fit.”
“Stop with the sarcasm. I’m the one holding the steering wheel.”
If it were his usual temperament, he would have eliminated the secretary who was spewing everything unfiltered right before his eyes, but given the situation, Dojun couldn’t act as he pleased. He didn’t have the energy to engage in a power struggle with the secretary right now. Therefore, Dojun thought he would deal with the hyena before him after confirming Jaehyun’s safety.
