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“Try again. It can’t be.”
Wang Lun, who had only just awoken, began looking for his lover from earlier as if the brothers who had saved him were nowhere to be seen. He was transferred to another hospital a few hours ago. It was also the hospital where Kang Yoo-jung worked. Wang Lun was confused as to why his lover had not come or why she had not returned his call, and Ja-kyung and Wang Han only looked at each other and said they didn’t know.
Wang Lun had barely regained consciousness, but if they tell the truth, there will be even more uproar. Ja-kyung went to the hotel where she was staying just in case, but the room was already empty. Ja-kyung looked around Kim Dong-myung’s house after leaving the hotel, where there had been a gunfight the day before. The shattered glass and veranda were also neatly repaired and cleaned as if nothing had happened.
There was no way to know who had cleaned it up. It was all too easy for them to kill people and leave no trace of them, without a rat or bird noticing. While Ja-kyung was thinking about all of this, someone knocked on the hospital room door.
Kang Yoo-jung was the one who opened the door and showed up. She put on a gown and greeted Ja-kyung. Ja-kyung rose from his seat on the bed and bowed his head.
“Hello.”
“I heard you were admitted to our hospital. If you had come here from the beginning, I would have sewn it up nicely.”
She smiled kindly and checked Wang Lun’s condition. Wang Han had a blank expression on his face as he looked at Kang Yoo-jung’s profile. Kang Yoo-jung left after a brief conversation with Ja-kyung, and Wang Han asked about her, wondering who she was. He couldn’t believe it when he found out she was Kang Il-hyun’s older sister.
“Oh, my god. Brother and sister are born with a different character.”
Wang Han admired that he had never seen a woman with such an angelic appearance, and Wang Lun agreed. However, Ja-kyung kept his mouth shut. The last time Ja-kyung was caught looking at Kang Yoo-jung, he almost got his eyeballs plucked out by Kang Il-hyun.
It’s not that scary, of course. Still…
While Wang Han was praising Kang Yoo-jung’s good looks, someone knocked on the door again.
The three men’s gazes were drawn there. The person who opened the door was Kang Il-hyun. But it wasn’t his presence that caught the three’s attention, it was the white chrysanthemum he was holding in his hand. Ja-kyung narrowed his eyes, wondering if he was seeing things wrong. What is that? Wang Han had the same expression.
He first checked on Ja-kyung while holding the chrysanthemum. He examined Ja-kyung from head to toe as if he were going to tear him apart with his eyes, then was relieved to see that he was in better shape than he had thought, and soon discovered Wang Lun lying down and tilted his head.
“Oh, you’re alive?”
Wang Lun frowned and groaned as if his stab wound was being poked. Il-hyun threw away the chrysanthemum he had brought. He only heard that Ja-kyung was hurt and ignored the news that Wang Lun was critically injured after being stabbed with a knife.
That’s why he bought flowers thinking he was dead; however because he’s still alive, the flowers were useless.
Ja-kyung, who had only just realized what was going on, asked in disbelief.
“Don’t tell me, you didn’t even know if he was dead or alive?”
Il-hyun changed his attitude and smiled kindly.
“I got the wrong information, don’t be angry. I’m sorry. Wang Han.”
Il-hyun called the lying Wang Lun Wang Han. It was only then that the three of them realized that Kang Il-hyun couldn’t even properly distinguish the names of the two, and they were shocked. Wang Lun was shocked, as he thought they had become very close after drinking together before.
It was embarrassing to have praised Il-hyun as a cool man. Just then, Kang Il-hyun’s cell phone rang and he left, saying he would answer the call and come back. When there were only three left, Wang Lun looked tired.
“What the hell. Is he really human? A person almost died, but how can he be like that? It means that as long as Wei is fine is enough for him.”
Ja-kyung responded.
“Do you realize it now? He’s not cool at all, and you complimented him like that without knowing anything about him.”
Wang Han also shook his head.
“I’m disappointed, CEO Kang. I thought of him as your lover for a moment.”
Ja-kyung was so upset that he lost his temper. Who was whose lover? Not knowing that the three of them were swearing, Kang Il-hyun did not come back even after he left for quite some time. Ja-kyung stood up and walked out. Il-hyun was still on the phone from a distance.
Ja-kyung sat on a chair in front of the hospital room and waited for him to come. After about 10 minutes passed, Il-hyun walked to him. His gaze scanned Ja-kyung. There were blood stains on the clothes, his face and hair disheveled, and the back of his arm bandaged.
“Are you done with the call?”
“Yeah. It’s my lawyer. I came here without finishing my work after hearing that you were injured.”
“You need to scold whoever broke that news, or you wouldn’t have brought white chrysanthemums.”
Il-hyun laughed when Ja-kyung was being sarcastic. But Il-hyun liked white chrysanthemums as much as red roses. He wanted to put it in different places around the house every now and then, but the housekeeper hated it and Il-hyun couldn’t do it. When Ja-kyung met Kang Il-hyun’s eyes, he averted his gaze and spoke.
“Sorry… There must have been a leak on our side. This won’t happen next time.”
Il-hyun didn’t answer and only looked at the bandaged Ja-kyung’s arm.
“How about you. Are you okay?”
“As you can see. I’m fine.”
“All right then. Don’t get hurt in the future. You gave this old bastard a heart attack.”
Aah, the grudge was fucking long. Ja-kyung grimaced in annoyance, but he felt a sense of relief in his heart. It was strange. He couldn’t stop thinking about Il-hyun’s playful voice while Wang Lun was injured and undergoing surgery. He hesitated several times about whether to use the report as an excuse to call. Ja-kyung thought the fear will disappear after hearing Il-hyun’s voice.
Looking back now, he didn’t know why. Perhaps he was so deeply brainwashed that he was actually starting to like this guy.
When he was silent, Il-hyun leaned his head on Ja-kyung’s shoulder. Ja-kyung let him as it was. Time passed in silence, and Ja-kyung cautiously opened his mouth.
“I met Chairman Kang during the day. In front of the hospital.”
“You should have shot him.”
Il-hyun said in a nonchalant tone, but his eyes sharpened.
“I shouldn’t believe you. One day you will let go of my hand.”
He laughed as if he’d heard a joke.
“So what did you say?”
“I said I don’t trust you.”
Il-hyun just laughed and said nothing. Ja-kyung debated whether or not to show the picture. Why did he make Park Tae-soo meet with Yoon Mi-ra? Would Il-hyun be honest even if he showed the photo? Ja-kyung was still torn between believing in Kang Il-hyun or not.
[Do you know what happened to the people who met CEO Kang in the past?]
[Aren’t you curious? What happened to those people?]
[Whether they’re alive or dead.]
“Don’t think too much, just ask me if you have any questions.”
Il-hyun said it lightly, but it struck Ja-kyung’s mind. Ja-kyung took out his cell phone after much thought and showed the photo. Kang Il-hyun’s eyes narrowed when he saw a picture of Park Tae-soo with a woman.
“Is she Tae-soo’s girlfriend?”
Ja-kyung was stunned.
“She’s Lun hyung’s lover.”
“What. Did she have an affair with Park Tae-soo?”
This man seriously.
“Don’t you remember?”
Il-hyun, who had been looking closely, remembered it belatedly and said ahh.
“A long time after you ran away, Tae-soo found the woman.”
“And then?”
“She passed the information on to us. Thanks to that, I took your brother hostage and brought you back to Korea.”
“Money… did you give it to her?”
“Yeah.”
“Is that all?”
“What more do you need?”
Ja-kyung looked down at Kang Il-hyun, who was leaning on his shoulder without saying a word. Il-hyun lifted his head and met Ja-kyung’s eyes.
“Your eyes speak. Half of your heart wants to believe me, but half of your heart doesn’t.”
“…”
“I understand. Because I tried to kill you once.”
Ja-kyung averted his gaze as he felt like he had been caught.
“I was serious about trying to kill you then.”
He knew it, but it hurts even more to hear it himself. Ja-kyung didn’t answer and bit his teeth.
Il-hyun continued to speak in a low voice, still leaning on Ja-kyung’s shoulder.
“I’m serious about liking you now.”
“…”
“It’s late, but I apologize.”
“…”
“I made a wrong choice. If I’d known I’d fall for you, I’d never have done something so stupid.”
Ja-kyung’s heart was racing again. Not wanting to be found out, Ja-kyung stubbornly shut his mouth and stared at the floor. Il-hyun, who was leaning on him, straightened his back.
“Now. You tell me.”
The gaze that had been looking at the floor finally shifted to Il-hyun.
“Tell you what?”
“That you could’ve hidden everything and doubted me.”
Kang Il-hyun’s deep eyes stared straight at him. Ja-kyung opened his mouth. He didn’t fully trust him. But…
“You said not to trust you, but to trust your money. Since you’re pouring money on me, I decided to trust you to a certain extent.”
Even so, I wanted to believe in you. Ja-kyung couldn’t bring his true feelings out of his mouth, so he made an excuse using the money. The corners of Il-hyun’s lips slowly go up. He grabbed Ja-kyung’s cheek and pinched it gently. When Ja-kyung tried to take his hand off, Il-hyun twisted it while pinching it.
“You’re a sneaky little boy. You keep lying all the way.”
“It hurts!”
“Tell the truth that I’ve gotten better.”
After barely taking off his hands, Il-hyun pulled the back of Ja-kyung’s head and kissed him on the lips. Ja-kyung was startled and pushed him.
“Are you sure you want to do that with this dirty face?”
“It’s okay, you’re still gorgeous in my eyes.”
A nurse at a nearby desk looked at him, so Ja-kyung jumped up and pushed him on the back.
“You’ve seen me, so now go back.”
Il-hyun stood up and smiled regretfully.
“I have to go to work anyway. I’m here to make sure you’re okay.”
“All right, go.”
“There’ll be people to help you when you get down there, just go home and wash up and get some rest, you look pretty tired.”
He hasn’t been able to close his eyes since all the commotion yesterday, so it’s only natural that he looks like that. Ja-kyung nodded. Il-hyun affectionately caressed his cheek before walking towards the elevator. Ja-kyung stood in front of the hospital room, looking at Il-hyun, even as the elevator door closed.
Il-hyun waved once, and Ja-kyung raised his hand to wave back, then flinched, turned red, and ran into the hospital room. Il-hyun chuckled at the cute behavior. The smile faded from his face as the door closed completely.
Park Tae-soo was waiting in front of the elevator on the first floor.
“My father.”
“He is at his home now.”
The two proceeded to the parked car, then Il-hyun opened the trunk and took a handgun from there, which he placed in his arms. His eyes couldn’t be more colder and murderous.