Every election season, the money he distributed exceeded billions of won. One of the politicians he’d funded this time had such tremendous power that he was even eyeing the next presidential election.
“Well.”
Ganghyuk’s index finger tapped the desk at a slow tempo. Looking at Ganghyuk’s inscrutable face, Jaehyun waited. Whatever decision he made, all he had to do was follow.
“Contact Gal Hongdo’s side. Tell him I want to meet directly.”
“Yes. Understood.”
In the space that had quieted after the door closed, Ganghyuk pulled out one of the documents that had been piled up. During the time he’d stayed by Ian’s side, documents requiring approval had accumulated like a precariously stacked tower.
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“Meal is here.”
“Ah, thank you.”
The hospital room door opened and an ajumma came in carrying a meal tray. When Ian, who had been lying down, tried to get up, she waved her hands to stop him.
“Stay still. I feel more comfortable doing it myself.”
“……Yes.”
Perhaps because it was a private room. Everyone coming in and out of here was burdensome in how well they treated Ian. The medical staff were like that, and the ajumma bringing food now was like that too.
When the ajumma, who had approached the bed with quick steps, pressed a button beside the bed, the angle of the mattress changed.
The ajumma raised the bed table, set down the meal tray on it, and even arranged the position so Ian could sit comfortably and eat.
“I’ll put a pillow behind your back. When you finish eating, press the call bell here. I’ll come get the dishes.”
“……Thank you.”
Ian bowed his head with a grateful heart. Feeling uncomfortable, his bottom kept fidgeting. The ajumma personally opened all the lids of the rice, soup, and side dishes to set them up for easy eating before leaving the hospital room.
In the now-empty hospital room, Ian let out a long sigh. It felt like he was enjoying luxuries beyond his station.
Seeing hospital food different from what he knew, his worries grew even more. Since he wasn’t hospitalized for stomach pain, the meal tray was filled with various foods.
Tteok-galbi brimming with meat juices, shiitake mushroom pickles and white kimchi, three types of seasoned vegetables and braised chestnuts, colorful jeon that you’d only see on holidays, miyeok-guk with abalone half the size of a palm, and even beautifully colored black rice.
It wasn’t hospital food but looked like the full-course Korean meal plating that came with room service at a luxury hotel he’d once seen in a YouTube video.
There was even glutinous rice yakgwa, jujube pyeon, and ginger tea with yuzu syrup prepared on the side as dessert.
From Ian’s perspective, who ate quite a lot for his thin body, the large amount was good, but he couldn’t be purely happy about food that looked like it would cost over 50,000 won at a glance.
“This is all debt……”
He’d grown up under a grandfather who had given to others his whole life, never living while being a burden. Separate from his body being comfortable, his heart felt uncomfortable at the feeling of debt continuously piling up in his name.
Still, the food is innocent.
Looking at the soup with steam rising from it, Ian gripped the spoon in his hand. Since it was food brought out to be eaten, leaving it would be rude to everyone. Both to Ganghyuk who was paying a large sum, and to the person who made this food.
As the hot soup went down his esophagus, his body naturally relaxed drowsily. The rich broth stimulated his appetite. Realizing once again that his uncomfortable feelings had nothing to do with his appetite, Ian diligently emptied the meal tray.
Shortly after, the ajumma who came in after receiving the call smiled brightly upon seeing the cleanly emptied meal tray. With a proud yet embarrassed heart, Ian’s face turned red like a radish.
ლ
“You’ll be discharged this afternoon.”
Around the time the bruises on his face and body had almost completely faded, Ganghyuk visited the hospital room. At the face he was seeing for the first time in days, Ian glanced at Ganghyuk.
He truly had kept his promise. Even after a day had passed, he hadn’t sent Ian back to the club. And so, while his body was comfortable, several anxious days passed.
As each day passed, Ian gradually grew accustomed to the reality of having escaped from Hongdo. The number of times he lost sleep at night from nightmares at dawn also decreased.
Was it thanks to eating well and resting well in the hospital room? Ian’s complexion had improved a lot compared to before being hospitalized. Though minute, he’d also gained a little weight.
Unlike Ian, Ganghyuk seemed to have spent arduous days. The area under his eyes had darkened a bit, his jawline had become sharper, and the whites of his eyes were slightly bloodshot.
At his face that looked tired as if he’d stayed up for several days and nights, Ian wiggled his toes inside his slippers.
He felt sorry that only he seemed to have been living well. Though worried about the hospital bills, the food that came out was delicious, so he ate it all without leaving anything even once.
He didn’t have a phone so he was bored, but there was a large TV in the hospital room. Since he could watch various OTT platforms, time passed quickly when he spent all day blankly watching dramas, movies, and variety shows.
If not for the IV line connected to his arm, he’d lived no differently from playing, eating, and sleeping at a hotel. But in the time they hadn’t seen each other, Ganghyuk’s face was quite haggard, so his conscience pricked him.
“Would you like this?”
Ian, who had been gauging the situation, held up one vitamin drink from the nightstand and offered it to Ganghyuk. It was a drink that a nurse had given him, saying he reminded her of her younger brother.
It wasn’t much, but he wanted to give him something. If Ganghyuk drank the beverage, he planned to bring up the topic of the debt he owed.
“I’ll drink it well.”
Ganghyuk didn’t refuse and accepted the drink. When he opened the lid and drank, he felt a slightly sour yet sweet taste.
Sweet drinks weren’t his preference, but it reminded him of the candy young Ian used to hand him, so he drank it without complaint. After emptying the bottle in one go, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. A little laughter came out at the eyes that seemed to be gauging the situation.
“Why. Do you have something to say?”
The way his lips were fidgeting, it was written all over his face that he had something he wanted to say. At the transparently honest appearance unchanged from childhood, his stiff expression relaxed.
After struggling with documents for several days and dealing with people saying nonsensical things, he’d been exhausted, but he felt a bit energized.
“……The hospital bill came out to a lot, right? And there’s someone who sold me to the club. By any chance, did that person come looking?”
Ian didn’t miss the opportunity and asked the questions he’d been curious about all this time. During his time alone, he’d thought about many things. Ganghyuk had said he’d send him home if that’s what he wanted, but Hongdo’s presence was so intense.
From Ian’s perspective, he seemed like someone crazy about money. As if any unethical thing was okay if it could make money, he had ruthlessly educated young Ian and planned to pass him around to numerous alpha hands.
Hongdo had bought Ian from Sangmin for a large sum. So until he squeezed out several times the invested money, he would never back down easily.
And Ian’s prediction was correct. Ganghyuk recalled what had happened over the past few days. After talking appropriately with the guys who came from the club, he’d shoved money at them and sent them back.
But before even a day had passed, Gal Hongdo came to find Ganghyuk directly. He hadn’t even answered the contact, but had personally made the trip.
‘I heard you’re very interested in my property. I didn’t know Executive Director Tae’s taste was young omegas. And a male one at that.’
The face flashing gold teeth was vicious like a miser who’d caught the scent of money. Instead of answering, Ganghyuk took out a cigarette and blew hazy smoke toward Hongdo’s face.
He didn’t like that he was called ‘Executive Director Tae’ when he’d never even met him before, and above all, the word ‘goods’ was extremely grating.
Looking at Hongdo’s face, he remembered the bruises on Ian’s body and the eyes that had lost their vitality in a short time. Each time he recalled them one by one, his mood sank.
But Hongdo wasn’t easy either. He openly inhaled the cigarette smoke then giggled and laughed.
