To eat something, he would need to lower his mask, which meant showing his entire face. If he didn’t absolutely have to lower his mask, perhaps it would be better to stay like this today. Yeonwoo waved his raised hand from side to side.
“I’ve caught a cold. Today, let’s just talk…”
Come to think of it, they had only set up the meeting without discussing its purpose. It seemed odd to ask why he had been called here now, and Yeonwoo thought he would probably find out if he waited, so he shifted his gaze to the table.
Even the salad here was fancy. Having only been familiar with the small bowls of lettuce with what looked like kiwi sauce sold at the mart, this was an unfamiliar sight to Yeonwoo. The sandwiches were thick and filled with many ingredients.
As he looked, saliva pooled in his mouth, and Yeonwoo tried to think of something else.
Until now, they had sex every time they met, but today they should avoid it.
If they had met a few days later, the bruise on his face and his split lip would have healed more. Having thought this far, Yeonwoo was embarrassed. It sounded as if he was disappointed about not being able to have sex with Ho Munbeom. Sitting face to face with him like this, he felt he would keep having these unnecessary thoughts. Yeonwoo gathered his courage and spoke first.
“I’m not feeling well today. Would it be okay if I go home early?”
“…”
There was no response to his question. Perhaps his words had been offensive. Yeonwoo hesitated and turned his gaze toward the window.
Though it was too dark to see anything outside, he pretended to be looking at something for a while. Then he heard a crunching sound. When Yeonwoo turned his head, he flinched. Ho Munbeom, with his sleeves rolled up a few times, was eating a large sandwich. It seemed like a size Yeonwoo couldn’t bite into in one go, but Ho Munbeom took big bites as if there was no problem. After quickly devouring half a sandwich this way, he scooped up some salad and put that in his mouth too, in one large bite. He really ate well. The amount that would take Yeonwoo two or three bites, he neatly put into his mouth in one go. After taking a sip of tea, Ho Munbeom wiped his lips with a napkin. Then, as if just noticing Yeonwoo watching him, he raised one eyebrow.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I was busy today and had a light lunch.”
“…Please eat more.”
Judging by how he had been eating just now, salad alone wouldn’t be enough. Instead of being here like this, shouldn’t he have had a proper meal?
Ho Munbeom wiped his mouth with a napkin again, shook his head, and said:
“The reason I called Yeonwoo here today is to finalize what we discussed last time. The draft documents are ready. If you check them and there are no issues, we’ll proceed accordingly.”
“…”
“But I left them in the car. I’ll go get them, so please eat. The content isn’t long, but you’ll need to check it carefully.”
Only then did Yeonwoo recall the conversation he had barely heard. The words about wanting to meet him often from now on. And the promise to prepare a contract for that purpose. Remembering this belatedly, Yeonwoo nodded. At his usual docile nod, Ho Munbeom’s gaze softened.
“Then, I’ll be right back.”
Ho Munbeom stood up and quickly disappeared. Yeonwoo looked in the direction he had gone, then checked the chair he had been sitting in, before shifting his gaze to the desserts on the tray. Even looking at them, he couldn’t tell what they were. The only thing he knew was that they would all taste delicious.
Since signing the contract Lee Jonghoon had presented to him, this would be the second contract he had encountered. Would it be thick like the one he had seen before? He said the content wasn’t long, so it might be just one or two pages. Thinking he should stay alert for such an important matter, Yeonwoo glanced outside and slightly lowered his mask.
Yeonwoo’s exposed left cheek had a yellowish bruise, and a scab sat on his lip. People say you shouldn’t associate with drunk humans, and Seongho’s fist had been quite painful that day. The impact of that one hit had caused his head to collide with the wall, making his vision spin for a moment. Fortunately, when someone in the distance shouted, “I’m calling the police!” the startled Seongho ran away. If he had taken a few more hits in that condition, his entire face might have been bruised and battered.
He could have avoided unnecessary confrontation, or he could have hit back when struck. It had been the same the first time he had clashed with Seongho. And then Seongho’s mother had shown up.
Even though Seongho had clearly come to pick a fight and had hit him first, Yeonwoo was treated as the criminal. The woman, whose face made it clear who Seongho took after, looked at Yeonwoo quietly before suddenly raising her hand. After being slapped several times, Yeonwoo heard:
‘I’m restraining myself from wanting to kill you and your filthy father. Don’t ever meet my son again. Don’t speak nonsense either. Stay quiet, do what you’re supposed to do, and leave quietly. Otherwise, I’ll cut off your father’s hospital payments starting today and make you pay back every penny.’
Seongho had been bearable. Anyone would be shocked to suddenly learn they had a half-sibling due to their father’s infidelity. But being slapped by the woman and subjected to verbal abuse left his head reeling.
Why did he have to hear such things? When you think about it, his father’s hospital bills were a sort of compensation for what he had to do. Initially, it was they who had contacted him first, seeking out a dominant omega. So why?
That day, Yeonwoo sat huddled in his room with the lights off, mentally calculating numbers.
Should he borrow money from somewhere, even a loan shark, to return the hospital money he had received from Lee Jonghoon? If he worked two or three jobs a day like his father had done, he might be able to earn enough for the hospital bills. His father was in this condition now, but wouldn’t he recover in a few months?
Bad things couldn’t keep happening to him forever. This year would be the last. Once this year passed, wouldn’t things get better next year?
But the feeling that he could take care of his father just as his father had raised him lasted only a few hours. Not even ten days into living alone, Yeonwoo learned the harshness of the world. No matter what he did on his own, covering the hospital bills was difficult.
Accepting Lee Jonghoon’s proposal was the best way to cover his father’s hospital expenses. And Lee Jonghoon contacted him several days after that incident.
[What the hell did you do?! Why did Seongho go there! What did you say to make him act like this?!]
He had thought he couldn’t be more disappointed in Lee Jonghoon, but apparently, he was wrong.
Erasing the faint hope he had felt upon seeing the number on his phone screen, Yeonwoo questioned back:
‘How did that person, Seongho, know to come all the way here? Did you tell him I was staying here?’
As if he hadn’t expected Yeonwoo to respond this way, Lee Jonghoon hesitated.
‘I didn’t do anything, and I just got hit by your side. If you’re not going to find me a different place to live, please make sure this doesn’t happen again.’
For Yeonwoo, this took quite a bit of courage to say.
He worried that Lee Jonghoon might say he was being impudent and pettily refuse to pay the hospital bills, but that didn’t happen. Instead, he complained about how difficult it had been to find that place and how Yeonwoo was asking for somewhere else. For something supposedly difficult to obtain, it was old, dilapidated, and in an unsafe area. Plus, it was a monthly rental.
[He’s been raised thinking he was an only child, and suddenly learning he has a half-sibling—how shocked do you think he was? It seems he looked into things without my knowledge and went to see you, but what on earth did you do to make him so agitated? The dog wouldn’t have hit you for no reason-.]
‘…’
[Ahem, make sure this doesn’t happen again by staying quiet. The atmosphere at home is a mess because of you. I’ve been walking on eggshells because of you two, do you even know? But, is your face okay?]
Taking his eyes off the phone, Yeonwoo stared into space for a moment.
His face, having been hit by Seongho and that woman who called herself his mother, was a mess. Because of this, he had to wear a mask even at the mart where he had been hired for his appearance. Even with good coverage, it was noticeable, forcing him to make unconvincing excuses about falling down.
[I brought you in because of your face. With all the money I’ve spent on you, if your face gets ruined, the loss would be enormous. Can you even work?]
I should have never answered the call. Why do I have to listen to these meaningless words?
Despite thinking this, he couldn’t hang up first. Crouched in the corner of his room with one hand on his head, Yeonwoo stared at the floor. After hanging up, he would lie down right away. No, he should eat something first. And, and… how could he quickly get rid of the bruise on his face?
Both then and now, Yeonwoo’s final thought was the same:
How could he quickly reduce the bruising and wounds on his face?
It couldn’t be helped. If he kept covering his face while working, the mart staff would find it strange. And he never knew when he might suddenly meet Ho Munbeom.
And as a result, he was now meeting Ho Munbeom before the bruise had completely faded.
“…”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
