Chapter 152
No sooner had Yoo Siwoon finished speaking than the enforcers grabbed Director Nam’s arms.
“CEO! Have you really gone mad? Come to your senses! If anyone finds out, they could take advantage of Eunseong! Let go! Let me go! Mmph! Mph!”
“…”
The dark group of men covered Director Nam’s mouth. Letting out muffled groans and shouts, Director Nam was helplessly dragged away by their unyielding strength.
After Director Nam and the enforcers disappeared, the commotion in the living room subsided and everything soon became quiet. The bustling around Yoo Siwoon also quieted down.
Staring blankly at the spot where Director Nam had been dragged away after raising defiant eyes and insisting the baby should be terminated, Yoo Siwoon quietly muttered to himself.
“That’s why I’m here—to prevent such things from happening.”
Forgetting how Eunseong reacted to his scent, Yoo Siwoon opened the door to his room. Eunseong was lying exactly as Director Nam had positioned him, without having moved at all.
Slowly blinking with half-open eyes, Eunseong looked up at Yoo Siwoon as he approached, as if only then regaining consciousness. Yoo Siwoon failed to read the fear pooling in those fragile eyes. Despite knowing it was wrong, his excitement was pushing him into an uncontrollable state of elation.
The fact that Eunseong was carrying his child.
“Was it noisy?”
“…”
“There won’t be any more disturbances now.”
“…”
Yoo Siwoon moved closer to Eunseong. He brought a chair and sat beside him. Then, pausing with sudden realization, he asked:
“Are you okay now? My smell… does my smell still make you nauseous?”
“…”
Eunseong just silently stared at him.
He still couldn’t believe it. It was unbelievable.
Yoo Siwoon’s gaze and actions, his careful touch like handling fragile glass—these things couldn’t be false. Tears welled up in Eunseong’s eyes, trembling on the verge of falling.
“Hnngh…”
Eunseong couldn’t hold back and burst into sorrowful tears.
“Eunseong.”
Yoo Siwoon tried his best to console him, reaching out to comfort Eunseong. But as soon as his hand made contact, Eunseong retched even while crying. Yoo Siwoon hesitated and backed away. Just like when he first met Eunseong and maintained a constant distance, he retreated to a similar physical gap.
Eunseong writhed painfully as he dry heaved. Yoo Siwoon wished he could bear all that pain for him if only it were possible. Unable to bear watching any longer, he turned around urgently.
“I need to call a doctor. This won’t do.”
“No! No! No!”
“…Eunseong.”
“I said no! I said no! I already said no!”
“…”
“Get out. Get out! Get out! I hate you, Ahjussi. Ahjussi… I hate you.”
“I’ll stay here. I won’t come closer, I’ll just stay right here.”
Backing away as if taking steps backward, Yoo Siwoon gazed at Eunseong with an aching heart as he screamed desperately.
“Hnngh, ungh… ugh, no… no… no.”
Thick teardrops fell one after another down Eunseong’s peach-colored cheeks. Yoo Siwoon’s face contorted as if watching pearls fall and shatter on the floor.
∞ ∞ ∞
Eunseong began refusing food. He wouldn’t even drink water. When Yoo Siwoon tried to call a doctor, Eunseong would violently refuse until he collapsed from exhaustion, making any intervention impossible. All Yoo Siwoon could do was replace the IV bag and administer nutrients.
Like a vegetative patient, Eunseong would occasionally come to his senses and ask for Director Nam.
“The Director had to go to the provinces for some business. It will take a while. He’s handling some work in my place.”
“…”
When Yoo Siwoon explained this, Eunseong would stare at him with disbelieving eyes before quietly closing them, as if even looking at him was exhausting. And he continued to neither drink nor eat.
Such behavior from Eunseong made Yoo Siwoon feel like his nerves were being burned away. No matter how he coaxed or pleaded, Eunseong couldn’t swallow anything. Regardless of who it was, not just Yoo Siwoon, Eunseong would have a violent adverse reaction, only asking for Director Nam. The mere mention of a doctor would make him reflexively tremble.
As Eunseong’s lips turned white, cracking and splitting, Yoo Siwoon’s anxiety and impatience reached their peak. He feared something terrible might happen to Eunseong.
Eunseong couldn’t even stomach porridge. When Yoo Siwoon held a spoon to his lips, he would turn his head away as if touched by filth.
“You need to eat something. Try to eat even if it’s difficult. Just a little, just one bite, please. Hmm?”
“…It won’t go down.”
“Still, please? Eunseong.”
Yoo Siwoon gently coaxed him, bringing the porridge to his lips again. Eunseong blankly stared at Yoo Siwoon, who was focusing all his attention on him and visibly distressed at being unable to help.
When Eunseong didn’t even move his lips, Yoo Siwoon withdrew the spoon from his mouth.
“Should I make you some European ssanghwatang? Do you think you could eat that?”
“…”
Eunseong shook his head to indicate no. As he did so, he stared at Yoo Siwoon with eyes that said he couldn’t believe it.
As if it were truly unbelievable, as if he couldn’t possibly believe it.
Though it seemed like there were no tears left to squeeze out, as he looked at Yoo Siwoon, his eyes would well up again and tears would drop. Despite not eating anything, large teardrops continued to fall from somewhere, wetting his cheeks and chest.
Yoo Siwoon roughly rubbed his face with hands that felt like they might go crazy. There was nothing he could do for Eunseong, and everything he tried was rejected. It was impossible to get close, let alone touch him. The fact that he could do nothing while Eunseong suffered so much made him feel miserable. He trembled with rage at his own powerlessness.
“…Ahjussi.”
“Yes. I told you the Director can’t come. He’s taking care of important business for me and will return after he finishes.”
Eunseong only asked for Director Nam. It was frustrating that Eunseong only called for him. Director Nam saw the baby Eunseong was carrying as something that absolutely needed to be eliminated. Such a person couldn’t be allowed near Eunseong.
“That’s not it… I want to go to Jung-eon’s house.”
“…Ah, your friend?”
Eunseong hesitantly continued, watching Yoo Siwoon’s reaction.
“Before, when I ran away. Jung-eon’s mother made something… I want to eat that.”
“You want to eat that? Should I ask her to make it for you?”
Yoo Siwoon brightened at the mention of food. He rose as if ready to fetch it immediately, breathing a sigh of relief. Eunseong’s hand gestured from afar to stop him.
“No, I want to eat it there. I think I can eat something if I’m there. Here… I don’t want to be here.”
“How can you go all the way there to eat? I’ll ask her to make it for you. You’re talking about Jung-eon, Choi Jung-eon, right?”
“I don’t want to eat here. I feel like I’ll throw up.”
Eunseong said just the thought of it made him nauseous, and suddenly covered his mouth, barely suppressing the urge to retch. Thinking Eunseong was about to dry heave again, Yoo Siwoon flinched in surprise and stepped back further, assuming it was his fault.
Eunseong and Yoo Siwoon looked at each other from an awkward distance. The fact that he couldn’t touch or comfort Eunseong in this state cut like a knife through Yoo Siwoon’s heart.
Hesitating continuously about something, Eunseong carefully observed his reaction. Yoo Siwoon exhaled carefully, even controlling his breath to hear what Eunseong was mumbling with his dry, barely moving lips.
“What did you say?”
“…I’m hungry.”
“I’ll contact them.”
Yoo Siwoon turned around urgently, as if under a spell that commanded him to feed Eunseong something right away. Eunseong stopped him.
“Let me do it. I’ll make the call. I can do it now.”
Eunseong got his mobile phone. He found Choi Jung-eon’s contact and dialed. Holding the phone to his ear, he anxiously gnawed at the white, peeling skin of his lips with his front teeth.
Please… please answer. You have to answer now. Please, Jung-eon, please…
“Hello? Jung-eon?”
—Yeah, Seo Eunseong.
At last, a stiff voice came through the phone. Eunseong felt a wave of relief wash over him, unknowingly breaking into a slight smile. He felt like he might cry again.
“It’s me, Eunseong.”
—Oh, yeah.
Choi Jung-eon seemed to know something too. His hardened tone suggested as much. He responded as if acting stiffly, like someone being threatened at gunpoint.
“Can I come over to your place now? I suddenly want to eat what your mother made for us before. We had it with hot fried chicken, remember?”
—Oh, you want hot fried chicken?
“Yes… I want that. I’ve been starving because my stomach hasn’t been well. But I remembered that food. I think I could eat that. I suddenly thought of it and called. Can I… come to your house? Ahjussi said I could go if it’s okay with you.”
Eunseong’s voice trembled tearfully. It sounded as if he was crying because he wanted that food so badly, and was sad that he couldn’t even touch any other food. Yoo Siwoon watched the tearful Eunseong with pity as he listened to the conversation.
Eunseong held the phone preciously to his ear and observed Yoo Siwoon’s expression. He was looking at the face of a liar. It was still hard to believe. He couldn’t believe what this man had done to him, all his actions and words. That it was all a lie… it was truly unbelievable.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
