‘Song Chanhyeok now believes that I’m obsessed with Jin Surim. So he must have started making his move.’
However, immediately kidnapping Jin Surim wasn’t something the cowardly Song Chanhyeok would do. Because he was probably still suspicious about whether Jin Surim might be Nasol’s bait.
The fact that Song Hanyeong didn’t dine outside was behavior that aroused strange suspicions among their kind. Banquets where they ate, drank, and even had sex together were events where their kind built intimacy, and Song Hanyeong, as the heir of the Song family, should naturally attend such gatherings frequently, but not only did he rarely attend, even when he did attend he would only drink and then leave.
Could there be some problem?
Amidst the low-quality rumors circulating, a truth that had been kept secret for years began to spread as gossip. It was a rumor that Song Hanyeong had drunk only the blood of a human named Jin Surim, a vegetarian he had brought to banquets over the past few years.
And Uncle had sent Yoo Hajin, whose body was made through a vegetarian diet, as a gift to determine whether that rumor was true. Since he neither drank from him nor sent Yoo Hajin back, he must now be accepting as fact that Song Hanyeong only drinks Jin Surim’s blood, not just any vegetarian’s.
However, he was probably still pondering whether this was simply a matter of picky preferences, or a serious problem that could determine life and death.
If it were merely a matter of preference, then Jin Surim would just be bait that Nasol and Song Hanyeong had spent a long time carefully crafting to catch him, and if he rashly took the bait and kidnapped him, he would only be providing grounds for them to search his house. Especially since the party who had been making blood donation contracts with Jin Surim for years was Nasol himself, he must be trying even harder not to make the wrong choice.
Not knowing that if that crazy Nasol wanted to, he could invade his house and forcibly search it without any justification.
Anyway, he was a cowardly bastard with a heavy ass.
If he were the type to charge forward without looking back the moment he saw an opening, things would have been much easier and faster.
‘He probably doesn’t even know that he’s the one who murdered Father, so it’s natural.’
Song Hanyeong sneered.
Stupid Song Chanhyeok thought the reason he treated him coldly was simply because he was wary of losing his position as head of the Song family.
Well, thinking of that bastard’s shameless face as he played the role of a caring uncle, it was understandable. In fact, Song Hanyeong himself would have thought Song Chanhyeok had nothing to do with his father’s death if Nasol hadn’t told him the truth.
Song Hanyeong turned his head back to the report with an expressionless face.
* * *
“It’s delicious…!”
Today’s lunch menu was kimchi fried rice. It contained well-fermented kimchi, rice, soy meat, peas, onions, and finely chopped green onions, and it was so excellent that it was hard to believe it was ordinary kimchi fried rice.
Surim ate the delivered food while exclaiming in admiration repeatedly.
“Yes, please eat a lot.”
Song Hanyeong’s expression as he smiled gently and encouraged him was the same as always. Surim thought it must be tiring to act like that, but he decided to just enjoy this situation, worried that if Song Hanyeong knew he’d noticed everything, he might become cold again like at the beginning.
“Manager-nim, if you’re not going to eat more of that, could I have it?”
“This, you mean?”
Song Hanyeong raised his eyebrows and asked back. Perhaps it didn’t suit his taste, as he had stopped eating after not even finishing half of the kimchi fried rice.
“If you’re not going to eat more.”
“Yes, please have it.”
Song Hanyeong pushed his bowl toward Surim.
“You’re not planning to take it home, are you? To that collection compartment, I mean.”
“I’ll put it obediently in my stomach, so don’t worry.”
When Surim smoothly deflected the joke, Song Hanyeong made an expression as if surprised.
While nonchalantly scooping up a huge spoonful of kimchi fried rice and putting it in his mouth, Surim thought.
‘I have to act like nothing’s wrong.’
Song Hanyeong was acting, and he was acting too. Neither side had any sincerity, just actions and lines appropriate to the situation. Since Song Hanyeong would pretend even normally to create the appearance of a good relationship in places where that person called Uncle’s eyes could see, he would accommodate him in most cases.
Thinking like that, unlike before, he didn’t feel tense and his mind became comfortable.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You’re not angry that I took your kimchi fried rice, are you?”
Then Song Hanyeong chuckled.
“Don’t worry and eat a lot. You need to gain weight so I can grab you more comfortably. Right now, Surim-ssi, your bones are protruding so it’s a bit uncomfortable when I grab you.”
“…Ugh….”
Surim glanced at Song Hanyeong who suddenly said something inappropriate for the situation, then put another big spoonful of kimchi fried rice in his mouth.
The kimchi fried rice was very delicious.
They say delicious food has zero calories, but this is a problem. I need to gain weight though.
Was thinking that a mistake? The problem arose about thirty minutes after finishing the meal, that is, around when work hours began.
‘I want to throw up.’
Surim, who had turned pale, gripped his mouse tightly. His stomach felt queasy and was churning. If he didn’t run to the bathroom right away, it seemed he would show an ugly sight in the office.
But before leaving his seat, there was something he always had to do.
[Jin Surim] Manager-nim
It was reporting to Song Hanyeong.
[Song Hanyeong] Yes.
[Jin Surim] I’m going to go to the bathroom for a bit.
[Song Hanyeong] Be careful.
Normally he would have argued about what there was to be careful about in the bathroom, but this time he didn’t have the leisure for that.
[Jin Surim] Yes.
Just as Surim jumped up from his seat and was about to move, another message appeared.
[Song Hanyeong] Jin Surim-ssi, is there some problem?
[Jin Surim] No. There’s no problem at all.
Before the perceptive Song Hanyeong could interrogate him further, Surim quickly headed toward the bathroom with quick steps. From where Song Hanyeong’s gaze couldn’t reach, he ran with all his might. If he had been just a little later, he might have vomited on the tile floor instead of in the toilet, it was that close a timing.
“Urgh….”
The food he’d put in his stomach not long ago poured into the toilet.
“Blegh….”
By the time he’d vomited everything in his stomach, Surim’s eyes were glistening with tears. His stomach burned, his throat stung, and his head was even dizzy. He needed to hurry out, rinse his mouth at the sink, and pretend nothing was wrong.
‘Otherwise Song Hanyeong will find out….’
When Surim opened the stall door and came out, he flinched at the sight of Song Hanyeong standing with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall next to the sink. Since when had he been there? Did he hear all the vomiting sounds too? He didn’t want to let Song Hanyeong hear such sounds.
As if his mind, jumbled with all sorts of thoughts, had stopped working, Surim couldn’t move.
“Rinse your mouth.”
“Yes….”
Surim moved to the sink while reading the situation. Even during this, Song Hanyeong’s sharp gaze kept poking his back. After rinsing his mouth very slowly on purpose, when Surim straightened his back, Song Hanyeong, who had approached at some point, handed him a paper towel.
“Thank you….”
Surim obediently wiped his mouth and lowered his hand. Then Song Hanyeong irritably pulled out another paper towel and gently rubbed and wiped Surim’s eyes. The area around his eyes, which had been a mess with physiological tears from vomiting, became clean.
“What happened.”
Surim, who had frozen stiff, mumbled an excuse.
“I think the lunch I ate didn’t digest well….”
“…Haah.”
Was it too much of a stretch to feel like the words ‘I knew this would happen since you ate so much’ were hidden behind that sigh? Surim couldn’t even retort and just lowered his head for no reason.
The silence lengthened. As Surim was contemplating how to escape from this thorny situation, Song Hanyeong suddenly spoke.
“Jin Surim-ssi.”
“Y-yes?”
“You promised me. That from now on you would report everything about where you go and who you meet.”
“I did… didn’t I?”
“I understood that to mean you would be truthful. But it seems it wasn’t that way for Jin Surim-ssi.”
“Yes? What do you…?”
“This is the last time.”
“Yes? What is?”
“Forgiving you for lying to me.”
“When did I ever lie…?”
“You said there was no problem at all. Didn’t you?”
He certainly had. Was that the reason Song Hanyeong’s mood had been rock bottom all along? Surim looked at Song Hanyeong in bewilderment.
“It wasn’t a big proble—”
A hand that came in abruptly grabbed Surim’s chin.
“Jin Surim. You being sick is a problem. Understand?”
“…Yes.”
“Good, that’s better.”
The hand that had been gripping his chin painfully enough immediately changed targets and passed over his head, stroking it.
“Go home early today.”
“Yes? But….”
“Go home. Don’t endure it when you’re sick.”
“Yes…. I understand.”
Surim obediently answered while holding his stomach that didn’t hurt at all. The truth was that saying he had indigestion was a lie, but he couldn’t confess the truth. If Song Hanyeong found out this happened because of stress, he would interrogate him about the cause of the stress.
“I’ll submit the leave request right away.”
At the sullen voice, Song Hanyeong responded as if dumbfounded.
“What leave request in this situation?”
“I still need to fill out what needs to be filled out.”
“Never mind that, just go home. Take good care of yourself.”
“…Yes.”
Song Hanyeong shook his head and took a few steps out of the bathroom, then soon stopped and turned around.
