#112
“Thank you for bringing me here.”
Idam politely thanked Rickdi. It felt awkward, but he was also grateful for learning more about Taemin’s family.
“It’s nothing.”
Rickdi smiled and patted Idam’s head. Startled by his sudden touch, Idam stepped back. Though Rickdi didn’t seem like a bad person, Idam felt uneasy. He was about to return to Hayun when suddenly he noticed a shadow in front of him. Cautiously, Idam looked up.
“Gasp!”
Taemin was right in front of him. Idam’s face instantly turned pale and froze. It seemed this alpha had finally found where he was. Because of this, Idam’s hesitation disappeared, replaced by an overwhelming compulsion to escape. He slowly stepped backward, extremely tense.
Rickdi also seemed taken aback by Taemin’s appearance and couldn’t speak. Taemin scanned both of them with a piercing gaze.
“What are you two doing? Since when were you close enough to meet privately?”
Taemin’s expression was as cold as if he had discovered his wife’s infidelity. The alley froze over. But soon, a relaxed smile appeared on Rickdi’s face.
“I just met with Idam because I had something to tell him. Is there a problem?”
He was even brazen about it.
“You… What’s your reason for doing this…”
Before Taemin could finish speaking, Idam quickly turned and started running deeper into the alley. Taemin, momentarily distracted by Rickdi, realized too late that Idam was escaping.
He couldn’t let him slip away this time. A clear future with Idam had come into focus.
“Shit.”
Cursing, Taemin immediately positioned himself to chase after Idam. Moreover, Secretary Kang had already instructed the employees to track Idam.
But…
Suddenly, Taemin turned and grabbed Rickdi by the collar. He slapped Rickdi’s face multiple times. It was like hammering a stone to pieces. It was even worse than the punches he had thrown at Hyeongman last time. In an instant, Rickdi collapsed to the ground with a nosebleed. Secretary Kang tensed up, thinking Taemin had lost it again.
“We’ll talk later.”
After quickly turning Rickdi’s face into a pulp, Taemin ordered Secretary Kang.
“Secretary Kang. Take this bastard Rickdi to the basement.”
“Yes? Yes, sir. Understood.”
Secretary Kang answered like a faithful dog and surrounded the unconscious Rickdi. Meanwhile, Taemin immediately went after Idam. He was determined to catch him this time.
* * *
“Huff… huff.”
Idam ran frantically. But despite the urgent situation, his expression was somewhat calm. In fact, this was something he had expected. And now he had decided not to rely on or receive help from Hayun anymore. It could harm Hayun too. He resolved to meet Hayun again when Taemin had forgotten about him.
Soon, he came to a road. There was a bus stop, and a bus had just arrived with people boarding. Seeing an opportunity, Idam quickly got on the bus.
After putting the bills from his pocket into the fare box, he moved inside. It was quite crowded. Not only were there no seats, but people were standing tightly packed by the windows. It felt stuffy, but Idam was relieved that he wouldn’t be visible from outside.
“Haa… haa…”
Idam took deep breaths and looked around, wondering if Taemin had followed him. Fortunately, there was no sign of him. Just as Idam was catching his breath, holding onto a handle behind a high school student…
“Oh? Aren’t you the madam?”
Hearing a familiar voice, Idam looked over. Sujeong was sitting in the back seat. Her face showed a mix of surprise and happiness. Just then, the bus arrived at a stop. The person sitting next to Sujeong stood up.
“Come sit here.”
Sujeong gestured busily, patting the seat next to her. Idam hesitated for a moment, but his legs hurt, and there were no elderly or disabled people around, so he decided to sit. He was worried about being seen from outside, but since she was sitting by the window, he thought he wouldn’t be exposed. So he quickly took the seat next to her.
“Wow. It’s so nice to meet you like this.”
Sujeong smiled brightly. When she was in Jihwado, she always wore a uniform, but now she was wearing a white shirt and jeans. It felt unfamiliar.
Suddenly, Idam remembered the moment when Taemin’s bodyguards were whispering while he was hiding in the cave. According to them, Sujeong had been fired and sent back to Korea. At that time, Idam was being chased by Taemin just like now, and the situation was so chaotic that he couldn’t know more about her circumstances.
In fact, even if he wanted to find out, he wasn’t in a position to do so. Anyway, Sujeong seemed fine now. She even looked healthier than when she was in Jihwado, which was a relief.
“When did you come to Seoul?”
Just as Idam was about to ask about her recent situation, Sujeong beat him to it.
“Ah, not long ago.”
“Did you come with the CEO?”
“No, I didn’t.”
Idam tried to hide his bitter expression. But Sujeong looked him up and down and asked directly.
“Then did you run away?”
Instead of answering, Idam confirmed with silence.
“You did the right thing. Everyone there is psycho, staying longer would only make things harder for you, madam.”
Sujeong spoke bluntly, then covered her mouth as if she realized she had gone too far.
“Ah, was I too harsh?”
“No, it’s the truth. Well.”
Having just heard various stories from Rickdi, Sujeong’s reaction felt even more refreshing.
“I think I was fired for good reason too.”
“Ah…”
It seemed she had indeed been fired, as the bodyguard had said.
“I thought it would be hard to work there for long, and the day I talked with you, madam, I was told to look for another job. I came straight to Seoul after that.”
While it wasn’t normal for Taemin to fire someone just for having a conversation, Idam couldn’t say he was completely blameless.
“Well, they did pay me a hefty salary. They even gave me generous compensation for my broken phone.”
“Ah…”
Idam remembered the moment Taemin smashed Sujeong’s phone. Even now, his heart trembled at the memory.
“If only I hadn’t borrowed your phone then, things wouldn’t have turned out like that.”
Idam’s face was full of guilt. Sujeong waved her hands dismissively.
“No, it’s not like that. I didn’t hear exactly why my phone was damaged… Did the CEO do something?”
“Yes…”
“Did he throw it?”
Faced with Sujeong’s direct question, Idam remained silent, unable to answer further.
Sujeong sighed.
“Actually, I’ve been worried about you, madam. It didn’t feel right coming to Seoul alone. I wanted to contact you, but I didn’t know your number, and even if I tried to find it, I couldn’t in that situation. Could you give me your number now?”
“I don’t have a phone right now.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes… I’m not in a situation where I can get one. So, what are you doing these days, Sujeong?”
“I’m going down to Cheongdo soon. My brother runs a cafe there. He says he can’t find part-time workers, so he asked me to help.”
“You’re from Cheongdo, Sujeong?”
“Yes, but I went to a boarding school in Seoul for high school. Ah… thinking about doing menial work down there makes me feel lost. And he’s also looking for a male employee and asked me to do the interviews, which is even more daunting. I’m not even good at judging people.”
Male employee.
Suddenly, Idam felt like he had found a new escape route.
“Sujeong, then could I work there?”
“What? You, madam?”
“Yes. I worked part-time at a cafe last year too!”
Currently, Taemin knows too much about Idam. That’s probably because his human relationships are very limited. Taemin probably knows that Idam was close to Sujeong in Jihwado, but he couldn’t have guessed that they would meet by chance like this here. This coincidence should be seen as an opportunity given by heaven.
“Uh… uh? Well, then I…”
Sujeong’s face gradually darkened. For a moment, Idam worried that he had made an unreasonable request. But gradually, the corners of Sujeong’s mouth lifted into a wide smile.
“That would be great! But are you sure it’s okay?”
“Yes, of course.”
Idam answered quickly. Sujeong also smiled, seeming pleased.
“I’m meeting a friend now to watch the fireworks at Han River tonight. So I’m going down tonight. When can you come down?”
“Can I go with you?”
“What? Right now, tonight?”
“Yes…”
In fact, he wanted to leave Seoul right away if possible. Sujeong showed signs of being flustered. But it was only for a moment; as if she had guessed Idam’s circumstances, she immediately took out her phone.
“Ah, then I should book the train tickets first.”
“Can I ask you to do it for me? I’ll pay you.”
“Yes, I haven’t booked mine yet either. I’ll book them together.”
Sujeong tapped on her phone.
“I’ve booked them. The train is at 9:10 PM tonight. Let’s just meet at Seoul Station at 9 PM and go in together.”
“Alright. I’ll give you the money right now.”
Idam took money out of his pocket and handed it to her. Sujeong accepted it shyly.
“Wow. It’s amazing that I’ll be working with you, madam.”
Idam smiled along with her but soon his expression became awkward.
“Ah, but please just call me Idam.”
“What?”
“We’re the same age anyway. And I’m done with the CEO now.”
At Idam’s meaningful statement, Sujeong was momentarily speechless but soon nodded.
“Okay. Since it’s come to this, let’s just speak casually to each other. Is that alright?”
“Huh? Um… sure, let’s do that.”
Idam was momentarily taken aback by Sujeong’s sudden suggestion, but agreed thinking it would be much more comfortable. Then Sujeong took out a pen and memo pad from her bag. She wrote something and gave it to Idam.
“It’s my number. I thought it would be good for you to have it, just in case.”
“Ah… okay, thanks.”
Idam quickly took it and put it in his pocket. Just then, the announcement for the next stop played.
“Then I’ll get off here. See you later.”
Promising to meet again, Sujeong got off the bus. Idam said goodbye too. While talking with Sujeong, the bus had emptied out considerably. Looking at the clock, it was just past 4 PM. He had to avoid Taemin’s eyes for the next five hours before getting on the train. Where should he go? As Idam was pondering this, suddenly the bus stopped even though it hadn’t reached a stop.
“Huh?”
Idam looked over, puzzled. Soon the front door opened and men in black suits poured in. They were all familiar faces. Idam felt his blood run cold.
“Yeo Idam!”
Finally, Taemin appeared among the men. It seemed he had managed to locate Idam after all. It felt exasperatingly persistent. Idam hesitated. He had just found a new hiding place and couldn’t be caught here. In desperation, Idam opened the bus window and jumped out. At the same time, whispers mixed with screams erupted from the people around.
“Damn it”
Taemin immediately exited through the front door of the bus and chased after Idam. With the continued pursuit, an even more intense fire blazed in Taemin’s eyes.
“Yeo Idam! Stop right there!”
Taemin shouted. But Idam ran and ran through the streets. He could feel people’s gazes on him, but he ignored them and kept running.
Then Taemin’s desperate voice continued.
“I know you’re pregnant!”
At the same time, Idam’s feet stopped as if caught by the ankle. Taemin, who had now gotten close, grabbed Idam’s hand.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
