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“Your mouth may be crooked, but your words should be straight. Why do you think Yeonhu went to the airport this morning? Because he knew the Chairman… the elders wouldn’t allow it. Because he knew they would insist that he had to get married no matter what.”
“My boy, my boy. What on earth is Jaekyung, I mean, Attorney Han saying…!”
It couldn’t be more bewildering even if your trusted ax had struck your foot. Chairman Noh’s expression revealed that level of astonishment.
“Going to the airport at that time? If your only aim is to blame everything on Choi Eunseong… No one here is free of responsibility.”
“Y-you insolent…! After how I’ve treated you, how dare you look me straight in the eyes and…!”
Where did this courage come from? Or was it anger?
“Yeonhu would be so pleased to see how you’re acting when he wakes up and returns. You want to assign blame? Fine. But if you want to assign blame, do it to yourself, Chairman. Stop catching innocent people like mice.”
In front of the Chairman’s old and tired body, which looked as if he might grab the back of his neck and collapse at any moment, Jaekyung was able to maintain a surprisingly even demeanor. Meanwhile, Jang Yeonhu himself had never been able to breathe properly in front of his family, even while they treated him like a servant. Despite desperately racking his brain to maintain his position as the most beloved ‘pet.’
“A-Attorney Han…”
When Jaekyung grabbed his shoulders and lifted him up, Choi Eunseong, who had been trembling and crying, couldn’t even bring himself to say thank you and just kept shedding tears while calling Jaekyung’s name. His face, swollen from crying all day since morning, looked so delicate and youthful that one could hardly believe he was a man who had completed his military service.
“Don’t beg. Don’t apologize either. When Yeonhu wakes up later, just say thank you then.”
“But, but because of me… It’s really because of me that Yeonhu hyung…”
Being human, how could Jaekyung not feel the urge to blindly blame Eunseong? It was clear that if he were to follow the trend and pour out his blind anger on Eunseong, guarding the hospital room like the protagonist of a tragic love story, his heart would certainly feel much lighter than it did now, boiling with all kinds of emotions.
But he wouldn’t do that. Han Jaekyung wanted to maintain his dignity as Jang Yeonhu’s ‘friend.’
The most precious grandson in the world, a momentary fling his only son had indulged in. A cheap toy that might become a blemish on his son’s shining career.
Especially in front of people who could only regard eighteen-year-old Han Jaekyung and twenty-four-year-old Choi Eunseong as nothing more than that.
While firmly supporting Eunseong’s body, who was crying with his whole shoulders trembling, Jaekyung persevered with strength in his eyes. They deliberately didn’t relay the news to Madam Kang, who immediately took to her bed with a headache upon hearing that Jang Yeonhu had run away. So, only three people were standing before Jaekyung now.
Madam Yu, who had turned pale white and was just covering her mouth; the Vice Chairman, who was cowardly observing from a distance as usual; and the Chairman, who was pointing at Jaekyung with blood vessels bulging on his forehead, trembling with anger.
Now that he had actually done it, was it such a trivial matter? For the first time in his life, he had properly stood up to these adults who had dominated his entire youth like an occupation, and Jaekyung felt somewhat empty.
“Choi Eunseong-ssi. Listen to me. This was an accident. There’s nothing for you to apologize for.”
So these words, as he stood firmly protecting Eunseong… This was a kind of declaration that “we are not ruining anything.” Han Jaekyung was not going to… destroy Jang Yeonhu.
* * *
The strange standoff continued from that day onward. The positive news was that nothing unusual had occurred until Jang Yeonhu’s physical condition finally became stable enough for surgery.
The operation to remove the subdural hematoma was successful, and after the medical team confirmed stable vital signs, they opened the door to the VIP hospital room.
Jaekyung and the others felt somewhat relieved just to be free from the intensive care unit, where they had always been anxious and couldn’t even visit as much as they wanted.
One unexpected point was that after Jaekyung’s act of defiance, Chairman Noh, who seemed likely to prevent them from coming anywhere near the hospital room, permitted Jaekyung and Eunseong’s approach with a not-so-pleased expression. Of course, it wasn’t a permission that was readily granted overnight, but in this case, the fact that permission was granted at all was what mattered.
In fact, Jaekyung had been secretly preparing himself. The Chairman was notorious for his terrible temperament—acting like a friendly neighborhood grandfather with hearty laughter when it suited him, but forcing others to their knees by any means necessary when he was even slightly displeased.
Naturally, Jaekyung thought neither Eunseong nor himself would be allowed to leave even a footprint at Yeonhu’s hospital. So he had planned to strongly assert his position as Yeonhu’s legal representative based on the stock trading authorization and real estate transaction authorization that Yeonhu had given him. But making the documents he had carefully prepared seem useless, the Chairman took no action against the two.
He only asked for a day or two more to think, and then, with an incredibly tired face, requested that regardless of what Attorney Han said, he couldn’t face Eunseong right now nor could he promise not to blame him, so please mediate between them well.
It seemed the main reason was that he had discovered Jang Yeonhu had gone to the airport that day to leave Korean soil forever with Eunseong, avoiding his family. The Chairman, who learned that his preciously raised grandson had suffered this mishap because of his own greed, had aged noticeably overnight. Yeonhu’s parents seemed equally dumbfounded.
“…Attorney. I’m here.”
The hospital room door slid open, and a haggard-looking Choi Eunseong entered. It hadn’t even been five minutes since Madam Yu, who had stayed by Yeonhu’s side all night, had just left. Jaekyung had told him to go home and get some sleep. It seemed he had been waiting nearby and came in as soon as he saw Madam Yu leave. Jaekyung didn’t even have the energy to scold him. He just slightly raised his body, which had been half-lying down, and made room on the sofa.
“…Come sit here. The younger madam left earlier. But you probably know that from seeing her.”
Over the past few days, this cycle had become completely established. Jaekyung, who had taken leave from work, was attached to the hospital room almost 24 hours a day. At night, some available family members, and during the day, Eunseong stayed by Yeonhu’s side.
Eunseong and the other family members all tried to dissuade him, saying they would be there so he should get some rest, or that they could use professional caregivers. But Jaekyung firmly rejected all suggestions, saying that peace of mind was better than physical comfort. Perhaps because the memory of anxiously pacing outside the ICU without even being able to see Yeonhu’s face was deeply ingrained, he wanted to stay by his side continuously, even if it was physically demanding. It seemed like only then could he be assured that those terrible times had passed and that Jang Yeonhu was still alive.
“How is hyung doing? Did anything happen overnight…?”
“No. It was the same.”
“Ah…”
Today again, Jaekyung cut off Eunseong’s question, which was filled with unwavering faint hope.
They said the surgery went well. They said all vitals were normal. Strangely, Jang Yeonhu wasn’t waking up. It had already been five days.
Dr. Park, who had been looking at the brain CT results with a serious expression, said that no additional bleeding was visible on the CT, but because it took some time to remove the subdural hematoma, the possibility of additional brain damage couldn’t be ruled out.
‘Still, there’s response to pain stimuli and the pupils are fine, so let’s continue to observe. He’ll be fine when he wakes up after a good rest. It’s not time to give up hope yet.’
After hearing those words, Jaekyung became even more unable to leave the hospital room. He absolutely didn’t want to miss the very first moment when Jang Yeonhu would open his eyes, whenever that might be.
“…It’s a bit late to say this, but, Attorney.”
Jaekyung had just lain down on the guardian’s bed, hoping to get some sleep now that Eunseong had arrived. For the first time, there was a change in Eunseong’s repertoire, which usually didn’t deviate much from those three phrases: “I’m here,” “How is hyung?” and “I’ll go now.”
“That day. Thank you for taking my side.”
Although it wasn’t an action specifically intended to defend Eunseong, that’s how it had turned out, so Jaekyung just nodded once. It was an indifferent attitude, extremely worn out by fatigue.
But that very indifference was rather comforting to Eunseong, who felt like he might die from the weight of guilt even without anyone adding to it. I should greet him… I should… Because he had been foolishly conscious of and jealous of Jaekyung all this time, the words just wouldn’t come out.
“Watching you shield me, I suddenly thought: I’m being punished for harboring such ill feelings. This is the price for clinging to dreams beyond my station and refusing to let go.”
Eunseong began to reveal his honest feelings, saying he had long been jealous of and resented Attorney Han. Hearing these honest thoughts, Jaekyung finally saw Eunseong as somewhat human. He had actually thought Eunseong was like the incarnation of a cheerful boy from some outdated shoujo manga.
“That’s why I did it. When hyung suddenly suggested going abroad, I nodded along.”
“…What?”
“I felt like we would somehow keep getting entangled with you if we stayed here. I’m sorry. I know now that you two are truly ‘close’ friends.”
The nuance of his emphasis on the word “close” was peculiar. It was unclear whether this was truly an apology for his misunderstanding, or if it meant he knew about the subtle undercurrents between the two but was pretending not to. Jaekyung narrowed his eyes and focused on Eunseong’s continuing story.
“I must have been out of my mind. Unlike me, you’re so outstanding, Attorney. That’s why I was even more on edge. Even knowing how vague a choice it was to leave without a plan… Thinking about how you and Yeonhu hyung would continue to meet and clash, my heart, my heart was in so much pain… So…”
Funny enough, learning that he wasn’t the only one who had been conscious of the other made Jaekyung’s heart soften a bit. At the same time, he felt incredibly vulgar for feeling a crude satisfaction in front of the collapsed Yeonhu and his lover.
“You know what, Attorney?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Yeonhu hyung…”
Even until he lost consciousness and passed out, he kept calling for you, Attorney. The trembling voice scattered in the air as lightly as a feather. Jaekyung suddenly felt his eyes grow hot.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
