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#A Narrow Escape
Though Hayun said he’d come as quickly as possible, things couldn’t be that simple. Having thrown all sorts of proposals at the many engagement party guests, the follow-up was no small task. Checking his watch, Dawoon saw that three more hours had passed, but he accepted it. He hadn’t believed the promise to come quickly in the first place.
Feeling a bit hungry, he went back down to the first floor and ordered another sandwich and drink. Since he used Hayun’s card, as soon as the payment went through, Hayun called.
[If you’re hungry, have a proper meal.]
“The moment I leave the cafe, it’ll be chaos.”
[…]
It was just an offhand comment, but Hayun’s silence suggested it was true.
“It’s fine. This is enough. Don’t worry and just finish your work.”
A sigh escaped, but given Dawoon’s history of running away, he understood Hayun’s anxiety.
“How much longer do you think it’ll take? If it’s going to be really late, I can get a nearby hotel room and rest there.”
He had no intention of going home. He’d heard that Haram was staying with Chairman Jeong recently, but he didn’t want even the slightest possibility of running into him. So he planned to stay at a hotel near the headquarters while Hayun wrapped things up.
[I don’t like the idea of you checking into a hotel alone. Just wait at the cafe. I’ll finish up within two hours.]
Dawoon thought it strange to fuss over a grown man checking into a hotel, but not wanting to argue, he simply agreed.
Two hours, huh… His back was starting to ache from sitting in the hard cafe chair. As he considered moving to a softer sofa seat, he paused. He found it amusing how obediently he was waiting just because he was told to.
Being tamed is really scary, he thought. Realizing how naturally he was following Hayun’s orders, he chuckled wryly. But he didn’t particularly dislike it. In fact, he was partly relieved that Jeong Hayun wasn’t acting much different from usual.
In the end, what I wanted was…
He smiled bitterly and shook his head. He didn’t want to define his emotions. Whatever name he gave them, it wouldn’t change his relationship with Hayun.
***
After an hour and a half, Hayun called. He said he was done with work and would come straight to the cafe. Dawoon said he’d go down to the company parking lot instead. The protagonist who had been all over the internet news since last night and throughout this morning appearing at a cafe right in front of Haedo Group headquarters would draw unwanted attention from numerous people. When Dawoon said he didn’t want unnecessary attention, Hayun agreed.
Standing in front of the headquarters building after crossing the street, Dawoon didn’t want to enter the lobby. His past experiences made him well aware of how the lobby staff would react the moment he entered. Instead, he went around the outside of the building and followed the car entrance into the parking garage. The security guard at the parking entrance stopped him briefly, but when Dawoon said his car was inside, the guard didn’t press further, seemingly unconcerned.
The executive parking area where Hayun’s car was located was on the lowest level, requiring a long walk down. The echo of his footsteps in the quiet parking garage felt eerie.
Just as he reached the last level, his phone rang. The caller was Hayun, of course.
“I just arrived at the parking garage.”
[Where? I don’t see you.]
“I walked down the car entrance instead of taking the elevator. Where’s your car?”
[Near the elevator…]
At Hayun’s words, Dawoon walked towards the elevator sign.
[Ah, I see you.]
As he turned the corner, he saw Hayun. As he started walking towards him, he heard a car engine sound from the right. Reflexively, he turned his head towards the sound. Suddenly, an intense light flooded his vision.
“Dawoon!”
Hayun’s shout echoed through the parking garage. Simultaneously, a car with its headlights on rushed towards Dawoon without slowing down. In an instant, the distance between Dawoon and the car closed. There wasn’t even time to think about dodging. The headlight glare turned everything white, leaving him unable to move.
Screeech! Bang!
The sound of tires scraping the floor and a loud impact rang out. At the same time, Dawoon’s body was pushed by a strong force and lifted off the ground. Thud. Only when his back hit the floor did Dawoon realize what was happening.
Was I… hit by the car?
But he didn’t feel as much pain as expected. Only his back and the back of his head where he hit the ground were throbbing. The rest of his body seemed fine. Instead, he felt a heavy weight on top of him.
He opened his eyes, but it was still dark as if something was covering him completely. After pushing away the weight pressing down on his body with both arms, someone collapsed to the side with a thud.
“Hyung…?”
His eyes widened as he realized it was Hayun.
“Hyung! Hayun hyung!”
Startled, he approached Hayun and checked his face and body. Red blood was trickling down his forehead, as if he had hit his head somewhere. Seeing this, Dawoon’s fingertips turned cold. Not just his fingertips, but his heart seemed to grow chilly.
“Hyung… No way… This can’t be happening.”
Dawoon’s voice trembled. His vision suddenly blurred, and tears began to fall. His throat tightened so much he couldn’t even make a sound. He sat down next to the collapsed Hayun, unable to do anything.
The images of his mother and father flashed over Hayun. Their faces, which he could never see again due to a car accident, slowly turned blood red. Soon after, he hallucinated that the blood flowing from Hayun’s forehead was engulfing his entire body.
“No… Wake up, Jeong Hayun. I said wake up!”
He crawled towards Hayun and grabbed his arm. Not just his fingertips, but his entire body was shaking. It couldn’t be that Jeong Hayun, of all people—the one he thought would hold onto even if he fell into hell—would die like this in front of him. This absolutely must not happen.
“Hyung, please…”
Tears fell so heavily that his vision blurred, but he didn’t dare wipe them away. Seeing Hayun motionless, he felt as if the ground beneath him was crumbling. It was a fear like pitch-black darkness rushing in to swallow him whole.
“Vice President!”
Director Park, who was coming from the elevator area, shouted in alarm and ran over. Dawoon, already in a state of panic, didn’t even register his approach.
“Dawoon, what happened…”
As Director Park was about to ask about the situation, he looked up at the sound of screeching tires. A car that had crashed into a nearby pillar was backing up, changing direction, and speeding towards the exit.
“…The car… number… check it.”
At Hayun’s voice, Dawoon and Director Park looked down at him simultaneously.
“Hyung!”
Dawoon burst into tears, hugging Hayun’s shoulders tightly. Finally able to sob out loud properly, Dawoon was embraced by one of Hayun’s arms as Hayun let out a sigh of relief.
“Are you alright?”
Hayun nodded at Director Park’s question.
“That was close. Did you get the car number?”
“I did. But we need to get you to a hospital first.”
Director Park tried to help Hayun up, but Hayun shook his head while stroking the back of Dawoon’s head, who was crying in his arms. Calming Dawoon was more important than going to the hospital.
“It’s okay. I’m fine. Just a few scratches.”
Although he kept telling Dawoon he was okay, in truth, Hayun’s heart was still racing at a terrifying speed.
That car just now was clearly aiming for Dawoon. If he hadn’t pulled Dawoon into his arms and dodged by a hair’s breadth, Dawoon might have been lying in front of him covered in blood right now. He had thought there could be nothing worse than Jeong Dawoon disappearing from in front of him, but he was wrong. If Dawoon had died before his eyes… The mere thought made him feel as if all the blood was draining from his body.
“Thank goodness.”
The words flowed out involuntarily. Even when his mother passed away lonely due to his father’s affair, or when he was told his father and stepmother died in an accident, his heart hadn’t felt this constricted.
For the first time, he understood Dawoon’s trauma. Why he was still tense when riding in cars, why he couldn’t even look at news articles about car accidents, why he hated the idea of dying together with a loved one—he finally understood.
When he saw the car rushing towards Dawoon, he didn’t even think about dying together. He only hoped that Dawoon would live, even if something happened to himself.
Dawoon, who had been crying nonstop in Hayun’s arms, finally raised his head at the touch of a hand stroking his back. He looked up at Hayun with his face a mess of tears, and his eyes immediately welled up again. Hayun smiled faintly and wiped away Dawoon’s tears with his thumb.
“I like making you cry, but not like this.”
At the joking words, Dawoon stared blankly before frowning a beat later.
“Are you really okay? The hospital…”
Dawoon reached out with trembling hands to brush aside Hayun’s hair covering his forehead, trying to check the wound.
“It’s just a scratch. I’m fine.”
Hayun caught Dawoon’s hand and pressed it to his cheek instead of his forehead.
“But still, the hospital…”
“I’ll go. After taking care of what needs to be done first.”
Hayun’s gaze turned to Director Park standing beside them. When Hayun indicated with his eyes the path the car that tried to hit Dawoon had taken, Director Park nodded slightly in understanding.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
