<31>
Jang Yeonhu woke up from his shallow sleep about an hour later. Needless to say, during that time, Han Jaekyung’s phone had been filled with countless missed calls from everyone from the chairman’s secretarial office to Jang Yeonhu’s parents. Choi Eunseong would shrink his neck like a criminal and gradually lower his gaze each time Jaekyung’s phone screen lit up. Eunseong and Jaekyung didn’t exchange many words. The previous power dynamics between them had flipped like a lie.
The suffocating silence that fell while Yeonhu slept. Ironically, it was Jaekyung who seemed triumphant. Perhaps that’s why Jaekyung failed to properly recognize his current position.
“Ah…”
“Jang Yeonhu! Are you awake? Your head… are you feeling dizzy?”
The moment Yeonhu’s eyelids began to flutter. Jaekyung rushed to the bedside, practically shoving Eunseong aside. It wasn’t even a conscious action. How tender was the back of his hand as it caressed those sharp facial features. Anyone watching would have thought Jaekyung, not Eunseong, was Yeonhu’s lover.
Biting his lower lip firmly, Eunseong couldn’t bring himself to step forward before Yeonhu, and only watched Jaekyung’s actions.
“Say something. Do you know how worried I was?”
If it had been the Yeonhu of before, he would have been overwhelmed with joy just by the mighty Han Jaekyung pouring out his concerns first. But the man before Jaekyung now was no longer the pushover that Jaekyung once knew, the one who belonged only to him. Frowning for a moment as he touched his forehead, perhaps feeling the throbbing pain of his wound, Yeonhu’s heavy lips finally opened.
“…Where is Eunseong?”
It was something Jaekyung had never expected to hear. Whether he didn’t notice Jaekyung’s stunned stillness, or was pretending not to notice, Yeonhu spoke again. Once more, he asked for Choi Eunseong.
“He must be shocked. Jaekyung, my phone… I should at least contact Eunseong…”
“Hyung…!”
Before Yeonhu could finish speaking. Eunseong, who had been standing in the corner with his head down as if being punished, approached in one quick step with an expression of obvious delight.
“I’m sorry, Eunseong. For not telling you beforehand. You must have been really shocked today.”
“No, hyung. Why are you sorry? What are we going to do with you injured like this?”
“It’s not a serious injury. It’ll heal soon.”
Jaekyung retreated gradually from the two. The surprisingly affectionate tone and expression had always been reserved for him. Jang Yeonhu doesn’t love Jaekyung anymore. His affection, his kindness—none of it belonged to Jaekyung anymore.
“…Yeonhu hyung.”
“Shh, don’t cry.”
I wonder how many times I need to realize it before I finally accept it. Jaekyung still kept forgetting this fact at the slightest opportunity.
When they first met at around seven years old, when they were about fourteen and busy exchanging glances full of excitement… Even until very recently when Jaekyung openly treated Yeonhu like a servant. Jaekyung had never once doubted that Yeonhu deeply loved him. Because Yeonhu’s affection was too immeasurably deep to doubt carelessly.
Slowly retreating, Jaekyung finally left the hospital room. Until Jaekyung was completely gone, Yeonhu, busy comforting his fragile lover whose tears had started flowing again, didn’t turn his gaze even once. As if it didn’t matter to him whether Jaekyung stayed or left. That’s what made Jaekyung feel the most miserable.
* * *
> [I’m going to leave home. Help me.]
“…What nonsense is this so early in the morning.”
Having fallen asleep with an unsettled feeling, Jaekyung glared at a message that had arrived at the crack of dawn. The message was from Jang Yeonhu. When there was no reply even after Jaekyung had seen the message, Yeonhu seemed unwilling to wait any longer and started calling abruptly. Jaekyung mercilessly hung up and immediately set his phone to silent mode before starting to prepare for work. As someone once said, he had become like a ‘kite with a broken string.’ Now that he had no one to rely on, he couldn’t afford to create problems at work.
He had left the car that Yeonhu bought him in the officetel parking lot and hadn’t purchased a new one yet, so he needed to hurry. Whether by taxi or public transport, Seoul’s city center during rush hour was always congested, so it was more comfortable to just leave early and walk.
When he left wearing whatever clothes he could grab, it was barely past seven in the morning. …No matter how much he used work as an excuse, it was an excessively early hour. Jaekyung was walking resolutely toward his company when he slipped his hand into his jacket pocket. The warm phone that was heating up was particularly bothersome.
“I’m just checking, just checking…”
Muttering an excuse to no one in particular, he finally stopped in the middle of the street. The gesture of sneakily pulling out his phone betrayed his undisguised anxiety.
[23 Missed Calls]
Checking the caller, as expected, they were all from Jang Yeonhu. Yet, as if deliberately trying to annoy him, there wasn’t a single message. After the initial message asking for help to leave home, there were only missed calls.
If he wants to leave home, he should ask that precious boyfriend of his for help. This is ridiculous, really. Jaekyung glared at the list of missed calls densely arranged on his screen and muttered. Just as he was debating whether to press the green call icon, another call came in with perfect timing. This one was also from Jang Yeonhu. Hoo… He took a deep breath and answered the phone without hesitation.
“Yeah. What.”
-Why aren’t you answering the phone? Did something happen?
“Did something happen,” my ass. Yesterday you didn’t even care if I existed, and now you’re asking this? Not even funny. He wanted to be as picky as possible, but people normally stretch their legs according to the space available. Jaekyung, unsure if Yeonhu would still accept him if he stretched his legs, decided to cut the conversation short instead of being sarcastic as per his nature.
“Of course I’m busy during work hours. Am I supposed to drop everything and wait for your call?”
To others, it might sound like he was being quite temperamental, but for Jaekyung, it was genuinely keeping it brief.
-Ah, sorry. I was so anxious that I forgot you had to go to work.
Until he got a boyfriend, he would be so distressed about not being able to pick him up every morning. Even the perfunctory sound of “sorry” made Jaekyung’s insides twist. Yesterday he felt upset, today he was getting irritated. In any case, everything had been a mess since Choi Eunseong appeared.
-But could you come now? I’ll talk to Attorney Shim myself.
Now that he’s mentioned the head of the law firm where Jaekyung works, there’s no excuse to refuse. I could just hang up and say don’t be annoying, why should I come, and it would feel satisfying…
-Hmm? You’ll come, right, Jaekyung?
Thinking about his forehead soaked in blood and his staggering body still made Jaekyung’s heart flutter. Seeing that, it seemed he would end up doing exactly what Yeonhu wanted.
“Shut up and wait.”
-Thank you. I knew you’d help.
After hanging up irritably, Jaekyung immediately turned around and caught a taxi.
Despite leaving behind his home and car with the determination to break free from Jang Yeonhu, Jaekyung still couldn’t escape him.
Even taking a taxi right away, it took quite a while to reach the hospital. The city center at the beginning of the morning rush hour could only be described as congested beyond measure. It took a full forty minutes to arrive at the hospital, during which time Yeonhu sent a couple of messages asking where he was. Seeing him so impatient, Jaekyung unconsciously felt relieved that Choi Eunseong didn’t seem to be with him.
“Jaekyung. Why are you so late? I was worried something might have happened to you.”
“Cut the crap, it’s annoying. Why did you call me? And what’s this about leaving home?”
The one who had asked for help was none other than the person himself, who had already completed all preparations for discharge. It’s not like he had no money. If he was childishly trying to run away despite being a grown adult, he could find a place to live on his own.
“It’s exactly what I said. It’s uncomfortable facing grandfather. And grandmother, mother, and father will just be watching grandfather’s and my reactions, making the atmosphere tense.”
“But.”
“On top of that, our chairman seemed ready to bring over the second daughter of Sindong Pharmaceuticals for a marriage registration right away when I saw him yesterday. If I stay in the same house, I’ll really be in trouble.”
They weren’t thirteen. They were thirty-one years old. Moreover, the problem at hand wasn’t something that could be solved just by running away from home. Jaekyung couldn’t understand why Jang Yeonhu, who had always dutifully followed the curriculum set by his family, was suddenly acting so irrationally.
“Why are you causing such a scene?”
“Huh?”
“Even if not now, you’ll have to marry someone eventually. You don’t seriously think you can live happily ever after with Choi Eunseong, do you?”
“Jaekyung, how can you say that…”
“Hey, get your act together. You’re Jang Yeonhu, Jang Yeonhu.”
Jang Yeonhu had to live like Jang Yeonhu.
Even if he was no longer Jaekyung’s Yeonhu, as the only precious grandson of the Jang family. As the only heir to Woojin Group.
Even if not immediately, at some point he would have to marry someone from a well-matched family… Inherit the company and have children. That’s what it meant to live a life widely recognized by family and society.
“It’s not too late. So apologize to the chairman first and gradually break things off with Choi Eunseong. If you really can’t part ways immediately, at least ask for some time. If you set the boundary first, he’s not the kind of elder who wouldn’t understand. You know that.”
Otherwise, there would have been no reason for Jaekyung to give up on Jang Yeonhu, knowing he would regret it for a long time.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
