91
“Oh, Ji-ho. You should have told me you had company. Who might this be?”
Hadad’s characteristically soft tone enveloped Yeon Ji-ho’s ears. He approached Seon-rok and Yeon Ji-ho with a smile.
On the surface, he appeared incredibly kind. Hadad seemed designed for anyone to easily take a liking to him. Unlike when Set first came here, Hadad’s naturally blended-in appearance sent chills down Yeon Ji-ho’s spine.
As he was looking at Hadad like that, Yeon Ji-ho suddenly frowned.
“Those clothes…”
“Ah. I borrowed someone else’s clothes without permission. I’m sorry, Ji-ho. Because you left so suddenly yesterday…”
Those were clothes that Yeon Ji-ho had bought for Set after arguing for a long time with the clothes shop owner in the market. He had paid five thousand won for that t-shirt, and seven thousand won for those elastic pants, hadn’t he?
Seeing Hadad wearing those inexpensive clothes, Yeon Ji-ho felt a surge of emotion for some reason. His eyes turned bright red and his fingertips trembled.
This really…
It felt like Set’s place had been taken by him.
Yeon Ji-ho, clenching his fist, walked briskly towards Hadad. Then he grabbed Hadad’s clothes and started pulling him into the house.
After asking Seon-rok to wait outside for a moment, Yeon Ji-ho entered the house with Hadad. Then, silently rummaging through his wardrobe, Yeon Ji-ho took out a few of his unused clothes and threw them at Hadad’s feet.
“Take those off.”
“…Hm?”
“I said take them off. They’re not yours.”
At Yeon Ji-ho’s low voice, Hadad hummed softly. Then suddenly, the corners of his mouth turned up.
“Ah, are they Set’s?”
Judging by the size of the clothes, they weren’t something Yeon Ji-ho would wear, and given his reaction, it was easy to guess. Hadad shrugged his shoulders and, as if he had no choice, simply took off the t-shirt he was wearing.
His exposed upper body, though not as much as Set’s, was covered with several large scars. In contrast to his well-formed face, he blatantly displayed his threatening body as he changed clothes.
As much as he wanted Hadad to change his pants too, he didn’t want him to take off his lower garments. Just as Hadad was about to put his hand on the waistband of his pants, Yeon Ji-ho spoke first.
“And get out of here.”
“My, how resolute. Ji-ho, I have nowhere else to go here.”
“So what?”
Hadad, not hiding his hurt feelings at Yeon Ji-ho’s cold attitude, let out a small sigh. He turned towards Yeon Ji-ho, showing his disappointment.
“Alright. Ji-ho, I’ll do as you wish, so don’t look at me with such frightening eyes.”
“…”
“And Set is alive and well there. Isn’t it too harsh to treat me so coldly when I haven’t harmed him?”
Yeon Ji-ho didn’t know exactly how Hadad had ended up coming here instead of Set and his companions. At the time, Yeon Ji-ho had been preoccupied with following Shango’s words and going through the gate.
So he was slightly relieved by the fragmentary news about Set that Hadad provided. He’s not dead. That fact alone was enough to bring relief.
Yeon Ji-ho’s attitude, which had been as cold as the north wind, improved somewhat upon hearing news of Set. Not missing that moment, Hadad interjected.
“If you really dislike me that much, alright. I’ll help you meet Set again… okay?”
At Hadad’s gentle whisper, Yeon Ji-ho lowered his eyes. Although he had been to another world, Yeon Ji-ho had no power, and Hadad was a protagonist in that place. Perhaps, as he said, with Hadad’s help, he might be able to meet Set again sooner.
As Yeon Ji-ho seemed to be considering it, Hadad was about to add a few more words when a sharp voice pierced his ear.
“Why would you?”
“…Huh?”
“You only move when you have a purpose, don’t you?”
Do you take me for a fool?
Yeon Ji-ho spoke in a low voice, as if spitting out the words. Hearing this, Hadad’s smiling expression began to freeze.
It was Hadad who had been constantly pursuing him in that other world. Although he didn’t know the exact reason, he knew that Hadad was targeting him. It was Hadad who didn’t hesitate to harm Isquis and Baal for his own purposes.
And now, he wasn’t stupid enough to blindly trust and run to him when he said he would help. Yeon Ji-ho looked at the frozen Hadad and gestured roughly towards the door.
“If you’re done changing, get out.”
The content was ‘get out,’ but the tone was ‘fuck off.’ Finally unable to keep smiling, Hadad shrugged his shoulders and walked past Yeon Ji-ho towards the entrance.
Before going out the door, Hadad grabbed the handle and suddenly stopped as he was opening it. Then he spoke softly to Yeon Ji-ho.
“You know what, Ji-ho?”
Hadad slightly turned his head to look at Yeon Ji-ho. Meeting his black eyes, Hadad grinned and opened his mouth.
“I’m a person with a lot of competitive spirit.”
“…”
“Rather than feeling despair when I see a wall I can’t overcome, I feel more exhilarated. So don’t act so resolute.”
Speaking as if advising a close younger sibling, Hadad opened the door and went outside. Creeak, thud. Finally, as the presence disappeared from the house, Yeon Ji-ho let out a sigh of relief.
He had barely managed to drive him out. If Hadad had refused to leave and persisted, Yeon Ji-ho would have had no choice but to call the police, so it was fortunate.
Yeon Ji-ho moved to find the wallet he had left in his room before leaving. As he was checking that his cards and cash were still there, he suddenly remembered Seon-rok waiting outside.
“…!”
Then it occurred to him that Hadad, who had just left, would have encountered Seon-rok. Yeon Ji-ho crumpled his wallet into his pocket and hurriedly went outside.
“…See you around?”
“We’ll see. Haha.”
Then he saw Hadad chatting and laughing with Seon-rok right in front of the gate. With an inexplicable ominous feeling, Yeon Ji-ho quickly ran towards the two.
Hadad noticed Yeon Ji-ho coming out and raised an eyebrow. Then he ended his conversation with Seon-rok on his own and leisurely walked out of the gate.
“What, what did you talk about? Did that person say anything strange to you?”
“Oh my, Ji-ho. You’re out of breath. You’re pregnant now, you shouldn’t run recklessly like that. Okay?”
As Seon-rok gently patted Yeon Ji-ho’s back while speaking, Yeon Ji-ho also steadied his breath. Then he asked again.
“…Did that person say anything strange?”
“Strange?”
“Just… he didn’t say anything unusual?”
“Well, he just said he was an acquaintance of yours.”
At the conversation that was less significant than he expected, Yeon Ji-ho let out a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to warn Seon-rok that Hadad was a dangerous person, Seon-rok spoke in a whisper.
“But he seemed really worried about you.”
“…Pardon?”
“Hm? What’s wrong? Aren’t you acquainted?”
At that moment, an ominous thought struck Yeon Ji-ho’s mind. His lips trembling, Yeon Ji-ho unconsciously grabbed Seon-rok’s hand and asked.
“U-Uncle… Did you, did you tell him I’m pregnant?”
“Yeah…? Didn’t he know?”
Yeon Ji-ho’s mouth fell slightly open. His head turned to look at Hadad’s retreating figure, who had already left.
It was Seon-rok who became puzzled by Yeon Ji-ho’s reaction. He recalled the brief conversation he had with the man called Hadad just before Yeon Ji-ho came out of the house.
‘Who are you?’
‘Ah, me? Just… someone Ji-ho knows.’
‘Someone he knows?’
Seon-rok felt an inexplicable unease at the silently smiling face. As the other person seemed to be leaving, there was nothing more to say, but it was Hadad who spoke again.
‘Um, by the way.’
‘Yes?’
‘Ji-ho… Is he sick? He didn’t look well.’
‘Ah. Well, he is an omega after all.’
‘…Omega?’
Seon-rok tilted his head at Hadad’s quiet repetition. He behaved as if he was hearing the word omega for the first time, so Seon-rok added a bit of explanation.
‘You can tell by how strongly his pheromones are fluctuating. Oh, are you perhaps a beta?’
‘Hm. Something like that. More importantly, since Ji-ho is an omega… he needs to take good care of his health. It’s an even more difficult time now.’
‘I suppose so. Especially now…’
At Seon-rok’s words, the corners of Hadad’s mouth turned up. Looking at that smile, Seon-rok asked with a puzzled face.
‘You knew he was pregnant?’
‘We’ll see. Haha.’
Just then, Yeon Ji-ho came out, and the conversation ended there. But Seon-rok had heard the small mutter Hadad made just before the conversation was cut off.
‘I’ve only just become certain of it.’
