Chapter 153
It must be a misunderstanding. He must be confused. He was misjudging the man who cared for him, worried about him, and looked at him tenderly. He was suspecting Yoo Siwoon based on nothing more than a few coincidental occurrences. Eunseong desperately wished to all the world that he was wrong, that he was misunderstanding him.
Please… please, he prayed that Siwoon hadn’t killed his father just to acquire Seongha Group and claim him.
He prayed that Siwoon’s declarations of love weren’t lies.
“Eat what you want when you want it. Then come quickly. I’ll tell my mom to make it for you. Hot fried too… I’ll prepare hot fried too. You know? Hot fried chicken.”
“Yes… get me hot fried chicken too. I’m really craving that. I think I could eat it all. I’ll come now.”
After finishing his awkward, stiff conversation with Choi Jung-eon, Eunseong looked up at Yoo Siwoon. He gazed at him as if seeking desperate permission from someone who was stubbornly refusing.
“Jung-eon says it’s okay for me to come. Can I… can I go? I’m hungry, I’m so hungry…”
Each word about being hungry from Eunseong felt like a knife scraping across Siwoon’s heart.
“Of course. Get ready quickly. I’ll take you there.”
There was no reason to refuse. Right now, if anything could enter Eunseong’s mouth, Siwoon would be willing to go to the opposite side of the earth to get it for him.
“No. I’ll go with Director… oh, Director Nam isn’t here. Then I’ll go with someone else. Someone who can drive me.”
“I’ll take you. Get up and get ready.”
“No!”
When Siwoon quickly turned around as if to prepare to go out himself, Eunseong firmly shook his head in refusal. Siwoon paused and looked at him.
“…Why not?”
Shaking his head resolutely in refusal, his hair becoming disheveled, Eunseong raised his eyes to meet Siwoon’s. He stared directly at that face. Though his own face was haggard from not eating for days, his eyes alone emitted a clear, bright light. With eyes that seemed to pierce through the abyss, Eunseong stared intently at Siwoon and said:
“Ahjussi… makes me nauseous.”
“…”
Even though he clearly knew that Eunseong was saying such things because of hormonal issues, that it wasn’t his conscious will or spoken with any real knowledge, Siwoon felt his heart grow cold.
Perhaps it was because Eunseong was looking at him with an expression that suggested he wasn’t simply voicing random thoughts that appeared in his confused mind, but rather that he had carefully contemplated words that would hurt Siwoon before speaking them.
Eunseong was studying Siwoon’s reaction with transparent eyes.
And casually muttered that Siwoon made him nauseous.
For a moment, Siwoon felt his heart sink as if falling into a swamp. But he couldn’t blame Eunseong for acting strangely due to hormones, nor did he need to be swayed by it.
He quickly refreshed his expression and mood. He gently comforted Eunseong.
“Still, how can I send you alone? I’ll take you.”
Eunseong was sitting in the back seat of the car as Siwoon drove. He kept his distance from him. He maintained the same gap that Siwoon had kept when they first met.
When they first met, Siwoon had kept a physical distance from Eunseong as if he were some kind of trash. He had hurt Eunseong by recoiling in shock whenever Eunseong inadvertently entered his personal space.
Now it was Eunseong who backed away as much as Siwoon approached. Unconsciously, when Siwoon came near, he trembled in surprise and couldn’t suppress his nausea, as if smelling garbage.
Still, Siwoon didn’t get angry. He showed no signs of feeling hurt or resentful. His face, his every action, was completely covered with concern and worry for Eunseong, and it didn’t seem fake. Everything seemed genuine.
Eunseong turned his gaze from Siwoon’s back to look outside the window. The street trees, which until recently had been nothing more than pale green buds, had already turned lush and green.
Eunseong’s eyes grew moist as he watched the busy people, each coming and going in vehicles headed somewhere. He didn’t feel a sense of reality that he was living in the present moment. Everything felt like a dream.
Eunseong dug his nails into the back of his hand and clenched tightly, trying not to cry, trying not to be swept away by emotion. He pressed his nails into his flesh hard enough to feel pain.
It can’t be true. I must be misunderstanding.
That’s impossible. Ahjussi… there’s no way ahjussi would do that.
I’ll find out that it’s not true, that someone is spreading lies about Siwoon.
Ahjussi isn’t that kind of person. Ahjussi… Uncle’s love for me is sincere.
Despite not knowing anything else, Eunseong knew one thing: Siwoon’s desire for him wasn’t a lie.
In the inside pocket of Eunseong’s outer garment were the intact wedding photo of his mother that he had secretly taken when Siwoon was away, and the phone that Jung-eon had given him.
Siwoon, who had been focusing on the road while driving, checked on Eunseong through the rearview mirror. Eunseong was looking outside the window with lifeless eyes.
“…We were supposed to travel to New York. When shall we go?”
“…”
“If you continue being sick like this, we probably can’t go.”
“…”
“We’ll look at houses, take walks in Central Park. When you get better, when your body recovers, let’s leave right away.”
Recalling Eunseong’s face, happy at the mention of travel, Siwoon tried to start a conversation. He suggested that if Eunseong wanted to travel, he needed to eat well and get healthy, but Eunseong gave no answer, no reaction. He just stared forlornly out the window, as if he couldn’t hear anything.
Eventually, they arrived at the entrance of the apartment building where Choi Jung-eon lived, without getting a single word in response from Eunseong.
After passing through the barrier and entering, they could see Jung-eon waiting for Eunseong at a distance, having come down to meet him. With both hands thrust into the pockets of his hoodie, he too was standing with what appeared to be an uncomfortable expression.
Siwoon smoothly parked the car in front of him. Jung-eon, recognizing Siwoon, flinched and stopped his fidgeting movement. Siwoon got out of the driver’s seat and opened the back door where Eunseong was sitting.
Eunseong got out of the car, heightening his senses to avoid touching Siwoon if possible. He quickly stepped back. Seeing this rejection, Siwoon looked at Eunseong painfully. Such a reaction wouldn’t last long. It was like a temporary rejection response, and with time, Eunseong would no longer find Siwoon’s scent nauseating. Siwoon looked at Eunseong with bitterness, harboring a vague hope.
“Hey! Eunseong! It’s been a while. How have you been? Hello.”
Jung-eon welcomed Eunseong and also gave a gruff greeting to Siwoon.
“…Eunseong hasn’t been well and couldn’t eat properly. Could you help him eat something?”
“Ah, yes… Don’t worry.”
“Eunseong.”
Siwoon called out to Eunseong as he was turning to go inside with Jung-eon. Leaning on Jung-eon, Eunseong slightly turned to look at Siwoon.
“Try to eat even if it doesn’t go down well. Take it easy… I’ll be here. I’ll wait.”
“…Yes.”
“Good, go on in now.”
Eunseong left him alone and entered through the main entrance with Jung-eon. Even until they boarded the elevator, he could feel Siwoon’s gaze clinging tenaciously to his back. It made him shudder. He had come here to find out that he was misunderstanding Siwoon, that it wasn’t Siwoon’s fault, trying to comfort himself not to blindly suspect him—but the persistent gaze made him want to retch.
Once the elevator door closed and they were out of Siwoon’s sight, Jung-eon, who had been carefully silent, finally spoke.
“…The hot fried situation is real, right?”
“…Yes.”
“That guy… I mean, the police officer who gave me the phone is at my house right now. That police officer said you would know who he is. Do you know him?”
Jung-eon asked with a seriously hardened expression.
“…Yes. I’ve met him before.”
“He really is a police officer. My dad checked. You know how well-connected my dad is, right?”
“…”
“That police officer says that Yoo Siwoon, your distant uncle, killed your father. For money. He said they were entangled in financial issues. Is that true? He’s not just some gangster… he says that man is really a murderer. The police officer said he’s investigating it, and that you’re in danger too.”
“…”
It seemed that Lee Joon-seung hadn’t told Jung-eon’s family the real story.
Indeed, it was an unbelievable tale. No one would believe such absurd stories—that Siwoon had killed his father because Eunseong was some legendary figure mentioned in their prophecy and Siwoon wanted to use him, or that Eunseong, a male, could become pregnant.
It seemed more plausible that he had committed murder over money or succession issues, and as Jung-eon spoke in this way, it really felt as if his father had died from such a dispute.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
