Chapter 189
“How is CEO Yoo Siwoon’s recovery?”
“…His recovery is progressing quickly. Fortunately, the surgery went well.”
“And that boy…”
“…”
Lee Joon-seung started to speak about Eunseong but stopped and closed his mouth.
The air grew heavy. His gaze, which had been directed at Director Nam, briefly crossed paths before turning toward the opposite wall. After fidgeting with the can’s mouth for a while, Lee Joon-seung exhaled a resigned breath, as if giving up on something.
“I need to finish dealing with those bastards, so I’ll be going now. Get home safely. You’ve had a hard time with the investigation.”
Lee Joon-seung stood up and patted Director Nam’s dejected back. Director Nam barely nodded without looking up, his head deeply bowed.
After nearly dying while trying to eliminate a cult, it wasn’t right to press about Seo Eunseong’s whereabouts. Lee Joon-seung knew what Yoo Siwoon truly cared about. Yoo Siwoon wasn’t obsessed with the Yongse Pacheon Church; he was obsessed with Seo Eunseong. That was a personal matter. It wasn’t Lee Joon-seung’s concern.
Director Nam left the police station and headed straight to the hospital where Yoo Siwoon was admitted. After surgery, Yoo Siwoon was in recovery.
With the capture of the executives whose whereabouts had been unknown, there was no further threat, but security guards were vigilantly guarding the VIP room entrance and the corridor. They nodded to Director Nam.
After confirming there were no unusual issues with the security guards, Director Nam approached Eunseong, who was leaning against the corridor wall outside the room, fidgeting with his feet, without going inside.
“What are you doing here?”
“…Just standing around.”
It sounded as if he was saying he had nowhere to go and was waiting endlessly, not knowing where to go.
Eunseong had been in this state for days, saying he would find a way to forgive Yoo Siwoon. He didn’t go near Yoo Siwoon, nor did he engage in any conversation with him, despite claiming to forgive him.
Yoo Siwoon, who had regained consciousness after surgery, was the same. He had looked for Eunseong but didn’t try to keep him by his side obsessively as before. He seemed satisfied just knowing Eunseong was there.
“How is the CEO?”
“I haven’t gone in to see him. The nurse told me earlier that ahjussi woke up, that he’s awake.”
Eunseong spoke in a dejected tone.
Director Nam knocked on the door, waited a moment, and then entered.
He saw Yoo Siwoon lying weakly in bed. Only Director Nam knew the doctor’s diagnosis that while Yoo Siwoon could walk without problems, he might never be able to run again. For now, it was better to wait until the wound healed and observe his progress through rehabilitation therapy before discussing it. Anyway, at the moment, even walking was a challenge for him, let alone running. The priority was for his wound to heal well and for him to recover. He was grateful first and foremost for the reality that Yoo Siwoon was alive.
“Did you finish the investigation?”
“Yes, it’s complete.”
“I heard Lee Joon-seung is in charge of the investigation.”
“Team Leader Lee is doing his part. It’s his first time directly investigating those associated with the Yongse Pacheon Church, especially the elders’ council executives. He’s determined to squeeze every last bit of information out of them. Besides the terror attack on you, there are many unsolved cases, aren’t there? If all those are combined, they’ll never see the outside world again.”
“It seems things turned out as you said, Director.”
“Pardon?”
Not sure what Yoo Siwoon meant by “as you said,” Director Nam asked in a preemptively subdued voice.
“Didn’t you always say that Lee Joon-seung was the right person for the job?”
“…Yes, I did say that.”
“Indeed, there’s no one as expert on the Yongse Pacheon Church as Team Leader Lee Joon-seung. He even read and studied the scripture to find what had been fabricated.”
“…That’s right.”
Director Nam gave a vague answer while avoiding Yoo Siwoon’s gaze.
“Was there no other talk?”
“Those bastards are trying to weasel their way out. They’re making absurd claims that you harmed yourself, that it wasn’t their doing.”
“…They’re insane. Well, they are crazy people after all.”
Yoo Siwoon muttered as if there was no point in further discussion, seemingly without the energy to be angry. As he spoke, he turned his head toward the wall, as if looking for Eunseong. His consciousness was always seeking Eunseong.
“It’s fortunate. That Eunseong wasn’t home that day.”
“…I wanted to let him meet a friend because he seemed so depressed. If he hadn’t gone out that day… it’s chilling to think what might have happened.”
Though Yoo Siwoon hadn’t pressed him, Director Nam offered a false excuse. It wasn’t intended to hide his wrongdoing. He didn’t want to ignite another fire when both of them seemed to have barely stabilized after this ordeal.
“I’m glad I entrusted him to you before I left. What would have happened if both of us had been harmed? Their target from the beginning wasn’t the scripture copy but Seo Eunseong, The Great Crevice.”
“I suppose so.”
“…Then Eunseong would have been left alone… it could have been a disaster.”
“Hasn’t the disaster already happened to you, CEO?”
“Let’s consider it a major sacrifice to ward off bad luck. For better things to come.”
Despite having nearly died, he spoke with a slight smile, as if it were nothing.
“…I’m sorry. Due to my mistake… I should have been more thorough. It was clearly my fault.”
Director Nam couldn’t raise his head.
Not only had he endangered Yoo Siwoon’s life, but he had also deceived him and tried to send Eunseong abroad. Knowing how deep Yoo Siwoon’s feelings for Eunseong were, he had tried to separate them. Moreover, he had caused Yoo Siwoon a permanent disability.
Director Nam bit his lip painfully as a sense of dread and guilt washed over him, realizing he could have done something he might regret for the rest of his life.
“It’s not your fault, Director. Strictly speaking, it’s my fault. You suggested we should send a tracking team at that time, but I dismissed it as insignificant.”
“…”
“I didn’t anticipate this happening either. I overlooked the fact that ‘what if’ always exists. They weren’t the kind of people who would just disappear like that. I underestimated them.”
Yoo Siwoon didn’t blame him. There wasn’t the slightest reproach or regret about why he hadn’t been more attentive. Instead, he comforted Director Nam, saying it wasn’t his fault but entirely due to his own carelessness, so he shouldn’t mind.
It was a generosity that seemed not just forgiving but almost detached, despite being the victim. Director Nam felt a renewed respect for him, not uttering a single word of complaint. Yoo Siwoon had always been a person of such character. Director Nam felt angry at himself for having suspected that Yoo Siwoon would try to kill children.
“I’m sorry, CEO… Sorry… I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about. You’re making me feel awkward, Director.”
“…”
To Director Nam, who was just bowing his head apologetically, Yoo Siwoon asked:
“How is Eunseong?”
“…He’s outside. Should I ask him to come in?”
“No.”
Director Nam had expected him to naturally ask to bring Eunseong in, but Yoo Siwoon shook his head. After thinking about something for a moment, Yoo Siwoon continued.
“Move Eunseong to the penthouse.”
“…What?”
Director Nam couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Before this incident, Yoo Siwoon had flatly refused Director Nam’s suggestion to send Eunseong away.
“Send him with security. Keeping him like this is harder for me to bear. Make sure he doesn’t come back here.”
“He seems to be worried about you.”
“I’m fine, so please move Eunseong to the penthouse and let him do whatever… whatever he wants. Let him live normally. Not as The Great Crevice, but just as ordinary Seo Eunseong.”
It seemed his near-death experience had changed his mindset. He was saying things that were hard to believe based on how he had treated Eunseong until now.
“Have you talked with him? He’s still outside. Should I bring him in?”
“Eunseong doesn’t like talking to me. I don’t want to force him to do something he dislikes.”
“…”
Eunseong was in the process of finding a way to forgive Yoo Siwoon, while Yoo Siwoon believed he couldn’t be forgiven.
It seemed he thought that maintaining distance would be better than continuing to emotionally hurt each other.
If Eunseong truly disliked him, he wouldn’t be waiting endlessly in the hospital corridor like that, but Yoo Siwoon didn’t seem to realize this.
“Pay attention to Eunseong’s security until the Yongse Pacheon Church investigation is conclusively wrapped up.”
“I understand.”
Yoo Siwoon finished speaking as if telling Director Nam to leave now, closed his eyes, and exhaled a tired breath. Seeing his face turn pale after just a few words, Director Nam quietly left the room.
Eunseong was still standing in the same place, leaning his back against the wall.
“Have you seen the CEO’s face today by any chance?”
“No.”
“Have you been standing here the whole time? Since I left for the police station?”
Eunseong nodded, confirming that he had. Director Nam could understand why Yoo Siwoon wanted to send Eunseong to the penthouse.
“Let’s not stay here like this. Let’s go home. The CEO says to move you to… the penthouse.”
“What?”
“He says you should move. He wants you to live normally… without being entangled in these matters anymore. He seems to think it would be better for you to be away from him for that to happen.”
“…”
It meant that if Eunseong stayed with Yoo Siwoon, he would never be able to live a normal life.
Eunseong’s heart sank as if he had heard a declaration of separation from him. When Eunseong had asked to be sent away, Yoo Siwoon had pretended not to hear; he had said he would grant any request except that one. Now, in his current state, he was trying to separate Eunseong from himself.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
