25.
300 million won was an enormous amount for Haseo. He had never held that much money in his hands in his entire life, and probably never would. But even so, he had no thoughts of betraying Choi Mujin for it.
He had received so much from him until now. It wasn’t just about money. When considering everything, not just material things but also the emotional aspects, he couldn’t think of doing such a thing. And Sion read this from Haseo’s attitude. He sighed deeply and then clicked his tongue.
Choi Minchul had talked about it easily, but Sion knew the reality was different. In the same situation, Sion would have hesitated too.
“This kind of thing really doesn’t suit me.”
Sion abandoned his forced attempt to appear likable. Instead, he made an expression he often wore normally. It was still a smile, but it felt completely different from before.
“Haseo. Lee Haseo.”
His voice calling the name was soft but contained an ominous feeling.
“How do you think I knew where to find you? Do you think we met by chance?”
Sion took out a folder from the bag he was carrying and handed it to Haseo.
“Read it.”
Without hesitation, Haseo took the folder and read its contents. As he read down, his expression became horribly distorted. It contained Haseo’s life story up to now. A messy life that no one would call successful. Looking at the documents that detailed even the things he wanted to hide, he could guess what Sion was trying to say.
First, they tried to persuade him with 300 million won, and now it was blackmail.
“Your grandmother is in this hospital, right? You’ve barely been able to pay the hospital bills until now, so you couldn’t even afford a private nurse. It must have been hard working while taking care of your grandmother, wasn’t it?”
It had been hard. But because she was his only family, Haseo couldn’t let go of his grandmother’s hand.
“Haseo. The people making this proposal to you right now don’t value human life. People like us are no different from stray dogs to them. Harming your grandmother, who can’t even move in the hospital, would be an easy thing.”
Haseo momentarily staggered, feeling dizzy. Even gritting his teeth, it wasn’t easy to endure. This wasn’t the first time he had been threatened in his life. But usually, the target was Haseo himself, not his grandmother.
“You, how can you…”
How can you say such cruel things? Haseo was about to ask but closed his mouth. It seemed that even if he begged or cried here, Sion wouldn’t budge at all.
“We’re not asking for anything difficult at first. Just answer the phone when it rings and tell us what you know.”
“…I don’t know anything.”
“Then we’ll tell you to do something else. My job ends here. You should have taken the 300 million when we offered it.”
Sion spoke coldly and took out an old phone from his bag.
“You’ll only use this phone for calls. Keep it hidden from others. And return the documents.”
Haseo returned the documents he was holding to Sion and received the phone.
“I hope your grandmother stays healthy.”
Sion smiled gently, then turned around and walked away. Haseo stared blankly at the retreating figure before coming to his senses. He put the received phone in his coat pocket and rubbed his cheeks with his hands.
He couldn’t let Park Dongsu see his pale face here. He might ask what had happened. Haseo struggled to recall happy thoughts and changed his expression.
“Is your conversation finished?”
The time spent with Sion hadn’t been that long, but it felt like hell.
“Yes, it’s finished.”
“What were you talking about?”
“Nothing special. He just told me to leave Choi Mujin. He didn’t like me from when I was at the restaurant, and now I know why.”
“Ah, there are occasionally people like that.”
Fortunately, Park Dongsu didn’t think much of it.
“Shall we go back now?”
“Yes, but please stop by the market before we go. I want to buy meat today.”
“Let’s do that.”
So Haseo moved with Park Dongsu, desperately hiding his trembling.
Each day felt like walking on thin ice. Haseo often looked at the phone that never rang and swallowed his sighs. But the call that seemed like it would come at any moment remained quiet for two days. It would be good if it stayed silent.
Even while doing housework, Haseo tried to figure out how to escape this situation. Should he move his grandmother to another hospital? But those people who knew almost everything about what Haseo had done probably wouldn’t have trouble finding out which hospital she was moved to. Or should he confess this to Choi Mujin and ask for help? At first glance, this seemed like the best method, but he wasn’t confident.
Would Choi Mujin really help me? They had become closer than before, but would that be enough reason for Mujin to actively help him? Haseo resembled someone Mujin liked, but he wasn’t a proper substitute. They had sex, but Mujin didn’t show any particular affection toward Haseo.
Though he had never dated before, he knew how people generally act toward someone they like. And from occasionally overhearing phone conversations, it seemed Mujin really disliked people who got in his way.
What if Mujin turned away from helping Haseo? Then what? He might kick Haseo out of the house and ask for the money back. That would mean returning to the terrible life from before. To the daily anxiety about hospital bills.
His thoughts spiraled more and more negatively, but Haseo didn’t know how to stop them. No one had ever helped him in any situation, except when he was very young, so he had always lived a difficult life.
He couldn’t fully trust others’ help. In the end, Haseo chose to keep quiet. And on the third day, the phone rang for the first time.
Haseo picked up the vibrating phone in alarm. Fortunately, it rang while he was in his room. The screen showed an unknown caller’s number. After hesitating, he pressed the call button and was greeted by an unfamiliar voice.
— Is this Lee Haseo’s phone?
They gave him the phone and now they’re confirming it. Haseo swallowed a sigh out of habit and clutched his chest. It felt suffocating, and sometimes he felt like he couldn’t breathe.
“Yes.”
When he reluctantly answered, the person on the other end laughed.
— What was Choi Mujin doing today?
At the abrupt question, Haseo bit his fingernails.
“Just… just eating at home and working.”
— What kind of work?
“He works in the study, so I don’t know much.”
— Does he work on paper, or does he use a PC?
“A tablet PC.”
— Good. Let’s stop here for today.
With those words, the call abruptly ended. Haseo held the now-silent phone and went over what he had just said. Had he unknowingly said something that could harm Choi Mujin? But even after reviewing the conversation, he wasn’t sure. Haseo put down the phone and scratched his chest area.
After that, the calls came once a day. Always at 9 PM. The time when Haseo had finished all his work and returned to his room. Most of the questions were ones whose purpose he couldn’t understand. Once, they asked what Choi Mujin had for dinner. All Haseo could do was answer obediently.
As days passed, another weekend came. Haseo headed to the hospital with Park Dongsu. And when he entered his grandmother’s room alone, he felt a little relieved.
“Grandmother.”
Usually, he would sit by his grandmother and chatter about various things, but today he couldn’t say anything. He just stared at his grandmother with a vacant expression. At that moment, the door opened and a nurse entered. Normally, nurses didn’t come during Haseo’s visiting hours.
As he stood up in confusion, the nurse looked at him with a tense expression. And at that moment, Haseo realized why the nurse had come.
The person who had been talking on the phone was now applying real pressure. The nurse moved her lips several times before whispering quietly.
“They say to keep doing well.”
Then she pretended to fiddle with the IV stand before leaving. Haseo stared at the closed door before sitting back down beside his grandmother.
“Grandmother.”
He called to his grandmother again, but as always, she showed no response. She was just barely breathing. Haseo buried his face in her bed and released the pain he had been holding in.
His face became soaked with tears, but he had many excuses he could give. However, Park Dongsu didn’t ask him about it. It was a kind consideration.
* * *
Choi Mujin was looking at Haseo standing in the kitchen, holding a tablet PC. For a while, he had been eating well and gaining weight, but at some point, he started losing it again. Moreover, although his face was smiling, his demeanor was subtly stiff. And he often got hurt. He bruised his waist walking past the dining table, and dropped objects on his feet.
There was a bandage on his finger from something that had happened while cooking. When asked how he got hurt, he said he cut himself while using a knife.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
