#70
“Why are you so anxious?”
Ryu Jeong-woo, who had been checking Eunsol’s complexion while driving, spoke with a voice full of concern. He felt a belated regret that he hadn’t been able to reassure Eunsol because they had to leave in a hurry after receiving a phone call from Hyun-oh.
Even his own heart was racing as if he had just sprinted; it suddenly occurred to him that this situation might be even more frightening for the sensitive Eunsol.
“I just feel a bit strange…”
Realizing that he was worrying Ryu Jeong-woo, Eunsol shook his head with a faint smile. He attributed the odd feeling to the severe weather.
It was just as Eunsol took a deep breath to manage his expression.
“Huh…?”
He wished the premonition had remained just a concern. But shortly after, his lips parted blankly as the ominous feeling materialized like a wave crashing down.
“What’s that car?”
By then, Ryu Jeong-woo had also detected something amiss. The car they were in was currently driving on a two-lane road. Following what the navigation system had indicated as the fastest route to their destination had led them onto a somewhat rough road.
Ryu Jeong-woo, also unfamiliar with the geography of this area, had no choice but to follow the path shown by the navigation. The deteriorating weather conditions made it even more difficult to maintain clear visibility.
“Why is it coming this way…!”
Ryu Jeong-woo urgently turned the steering wheel. But was he a moment too late? The snow-covered road had less friction than usual.
From the moment they recognized and reacted to the car coming straight at them until the accident, only the time it took to blink a few times was sufficient.
Screeeech—
The tires created friction with the ground as they tried to stop the car spinning out of control, but it was futile. Inside the spinning car, Eunsol and Ryu Jeong-woo’s bodies shook helplessly.
CRASH—
“Ahhh!”
“Ugh…”
The rotation stopped when the front bumper of the car collided strongly with something. Eunsol’s body jerked forward. Terrible pain erupted from his upper body compressed by the seatbelt.
Although the airbag had deployed, preventing his head from hitting anything hard, it was momentarily difficult to breathe. Either due to the smoke rising from the front of the car or something else, a burning smell sharply stung his nose.
“No, no…”
Eunsol urgently looked at the passenger seat. Ryu Jeong-woo’s airbag had also deployed, but due to the violent shaking of the car, he seemed to have hit his head on the driver’s side window.
From Ryu Jeong-woo’s forehead, a thin line of bright red blood trickled down his pale face.
His firmly closed eyes were as still as if they might never open again. Eunsol’s face instantly became wet with transparent tears.
A piteous voice escaped through his trembling lips.
“Hyung…”
It was because of him.
If Eunsol hadn’t sought him out and asked for help, Ryu Jeong-woo wouldn’t be driving on this dangerous, snow-covered road now; he would have been safely indoors in a cozy environment.
‘Even your omega father who died giving birth to someone like you is pitiful. It’s because you bring misfortune wherever you go.’
Words his half-brother had once said to him surfaced in his mind. It was the day he had accidentally broken a piece of pottery that his alpha father cherished.
When passing by his half-brother, who had tripped him, Eunsol had reflexively knocked over the pottery placed on a display cabinet.
Looking down at him as he sat sobbing in front of the broken pieces, his half-brother’s words had lodged in his small heart like shards of glass.
The reason this memory surfaced now was because he truly felt like such a being.
“Jeong-woo hyung, please wake up…”
He lifted his heavy arm to shake Ryu Jeong-woo’s shoulder, but it fell back down before even rising a hand’s width.
He tried to move his arm again, but the pain he had momentarily forgotten came rushing back like a tidal wave.
“Ah…”
Unbearable pain pounded throughout his body, starting from his arms. Eunsol curled up and exhaled a painful groan.
His vision became blurry. Tears mixed with cold sweat traced a long line from the corner of his eye.
While everything from his shoulders to his torso ached, there was one area where the pain was intensifying.
“Lucky… No…”
The middle of his abdomen hurt as if it were being twisted. The pain felt like a stone pressing against his organs; it stung, cutting off his breath, making him choke.
Eunsol stroked his belly with trembling hands. The doctor who cared for Eunsol had warned that he was not yet in a stable period, so there was a risk of miscarriage, and he needed to be extremely careful.
“Huh… Hyun-oh…”
It was pain and fear too difficult to endure alone. Though he had run away, fearing Hyun-oh would not accept the baby, ironically, when driven to the edge of the cliff, it was Hyun-oh’s face that filled his mind.
“Ah…”
It was then that he felt a strange sensation below. His large eyes became consumed with fear.
The area around his hips was becoming warm and wet. Eunsol’s consciousness, which had been precariously holding on, could no longer endure and began to fade to black.
“Hng, hnh…”
Eunsol’s eyes closed weakly. He had wanted to protect the baby until the end. It was for this reason that he had mustered the greatest courage in his life.
But his selfishness had driven not only Ryu Jeong-woo but even the baby into danger.
He shouldn’t have been selfish. Perhaps he should have run away for both himself and Hyun-oh’s sake, rather than accepting him, from the moment their marriage partner had been switched.
It felt like his entire body was being sucked into a dark, damp swamp. Though it was a terrible sensation that he wanted to escape from immediately, Eunsol could no longer move even a fingertip.
“Ah, must go…”
A yellow light, like water mist, flowed over his drooping face. Though it was a bright light that could blind the eyes, his tear-laden eyelashes remained dutifully lowered in place.
***
“Chairman, it seems there’s been an accident up ahead.”
“Move around it. Take the necessary measures.”
“Yes.”
It was a two-lane road. Even from a distance, it was evident that the accident was not minor. Regardless of how it had happened, the front bumpers of both vehicles involved in the accident were completely crumpled.
The snow falling crazily could be seen accumulating on the vehicles that were emitting whitish smoke.
“Have one car stop and help manage the accident scene. Report immediately to 119 and 112.”
—Yes, Chairman.
Following Hyun-oh’s orders, Kim Myungjun contacted the person in charge of the vehicles following them. As soon as he received an affirmative response, he pressed the end call button.
Strangely, he had felt uneasy since leaving Seoul. Perhaps it was because Eunsol’s whereabouts had been traced not long after he had run away from Hyun-oh.
Although he appeared no different from usual on the outside, since learning of Eunsol’s disappearance, Hyun-oh’s pheromones had been dangerously surging around him.
Kim Myungjun, with his low pheromone level, usually found it difficult to sense Hyun-oh’s pheromones. But lately, even without consciously trying, just being in the same space as Hyun-oh made it hard to breathe.
Glancing through the rearview mirror, Kim Myungjun saw that Hyun-oh was lost in thought, his gaze fixed outside the car window. On the hand touching the corner of his mouth, an unhealed wound was visible.
His mouth went dry, not knowing how Hyun-oh would act when he met Eunsol. The one fortunate thing was that Kang Ye-ryeong had also received information about Eunsol’s location and had departed immediately from her residence.
Though there would be a time difference, she was expected to arrive within 30 minutes. All he could do was desperately hope that she would serve as a shield for Eunsol.
As Kim Myungjun continued to observe Hyun-oh’s reactions while also keeping an eye on the situation ahead, Hyun-oh, who had been deeply settled in the car seat, furrowed his brow.
“Stop the car.”
“Pardon?”
“I said stop the car!”
A shout filled the entire car. The road was completely covered in snow, making it slippery. Moreover, there wasn’t even a proper shoulder lane.
It was a late hour on a rarely traveled road. Currently, the only vehicles on the road were Hyun-oh’s car and the other vehicles carrying the people he had brought along, all moving in a line.
“Please stop slowly for now. Turn on the hazard lights.”
“Yes, yes.”
Regardless of the reason, in place of the extremely agitated Hyun-oh, Kim Myungjun spoke in a deliberately calm voice. The driver, with trembling body, followed his instructions.
“Chairman!”
As soon as the vehicle stopped, Hyun-oh flung the door open and rushed outside.
Startled, Kim Myungjun followed him. The breath escaping through his lips turned white, spreading around.
Though it wasn’t clearly visible due to the heavy snowfall obstructing the view, ominous smoke was billowing from the accident vehicles.
That’s why Hyun-oh had given the order to manage the accident. There was no guarantee that the vehicles wouldn’t explode before the ambulance arrived.
Even if the life or death of the people in the car was unknown, if they weren’t already dead, it was right to do everything possible to save them as a matter of human duty.
But upon closer inspection, something caught his eye.
“That car, could it be…”
Kim Myungjun unconsciously raised his trembling hand to cover his mouth. The license plate of one of the accident vehicles was strangely familiar.
‘I’ve confirmed the license plate of the vehicle Mr. Ryu Jeong-woo took out. It’s not his own car, but it seems he borrowed it from an acquaintance.’
It was a report he had personally submitted to Hyun-oh. The faintly captured photo showed Ryu Jeong-woo departing from his home in a white sedan.
Kim Myungjun’s complexion turned whiter than the falling snow. Hyun-oh’s back, as he ran toward the white vehicle, looked as if it might collapse at any moment.
“Mr. Eunsol, please…”
It was a moment so desperate that Kim Myungjun, who had been non-religious, wanted to call out to all the gods in the world.
“…Lee Eunsol!”
Meanwhile, Hyun-oh couldn’t believe the situation before his eyes. Since learning that Eunsol had disappeared, he had frantically searched for his whereabouts.
He had utilized everything at his disposal, even allowing Kang Ye-ryeong to borrow her grandfather’s power.
He had repeatedly ruminated on the events that had occurred between them, trying to understand why Eunsol had to make the decision to leave his side on his own.
…There was one reason.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
