Love Born of Pity Chapter 2

Sexual curiosity. 

The atmosphere was strange. Do all betas who sleep with alphas look like that? He thought Kwon Jiho’s striking looks were more suited for a career in entertainment. If that were the case, he would’ve caught the eye of a different sponsor, not Do Yeonjae.

“Excuse me, but who are you…?”

Kwon Jiho’s voice was pleasant to listen to, which further soured Kang Gyumin’s mood. At Jiho’s polite, seemingly apologetic response, Gyumin scoffed. Of course he wouldn’t know. Do Yeonjae wouldn’t have shown him my picture and introduced me as the person he’s going to marry.

“Would you know if I said I’m the person Do Yeonjae is going to marry?”

Kang Gyumin straightened his posture, holding his head, which he rarely lowered, even higher as he stared at Kwon Jiho. At Gyumin’s words, Jiho’s large eyes noticeably wavered. His reaction suggested he already knew about the impending marriage. Yet he’s still with Yeonjae? He must be more brazen than he appears.

“…Ah, hello.”

Kwon Jiho’s expression hardened as he realized Gyumin wasn’t a parent seeking consultation, but Do Yeonjae’s fiancé. Observing Jiho’s shifting expressions, Gyumin smiled brightly.

“Yeonjae said he would handle it, so I was going to pretend I didn’t know, but I thought it would be better coming from me.”

“…”

“I hear you’ve received a lot of help from him, Kwon Jiho. It seems Yeonjae’s influence is everywhere in your life.”

At Gyumin’s smooth words, Kwon Jiho bit the inside of his cheek, a habit. He looked down at the table, avoiding Gyumin’s direct gaze.

“You don’t actually love him, do you? These kinds of relationships are usually maintained by money, not affection. Just spreading your legs whenever your sponsor wants.”

Right? Gyumin’s voice remained elegant despite the deliberately vulgar example. Kwon Jiho’s lips parted slightly before closing again.

“Don’t tell me you’re the only one being serious about this? That would be hilarious. Playing innocent while selling your body is just deceitful. Don’t you think?”

“…”

“I heard how you two met. Yeonjae seems like someone who wouldn’t help others, but he can’t just ignore someone pitiful.”

The relentless barrage of words tangled in Kwon Jiho’s mind. The phrase about not being able to ignore someone pitiful stuck with him, bringing back the memory of the day he first met Do Yeonjae.

It was spring. Cherry blossoms were in full bloom, showering petals with every gust of wind. Kwon Jiho sat on a bench in the hospital garden, watching the small, white petals float in the air. He wasn’t planning on dying, but he wanted to. The endless misfortune felt suffocating.

His brother showed no sign of waking, and the medical bills were piling up beyond what he could handle. Bank loans, secondary loans, even private loans – his debt snowballed, and loan sharks hounded him daily, urging him to sell his organs or his body.

They were pushing him to the edge of a cliff and telling him to jump. He wouldn’t have even realized he was crying if it weren’t for the handkerchief offered to him.

When he looked up, he saw Do Yeonjae, a man who looked like he would be appraised at the highest price if humans had a monetary value. His presence seemed out of place in the hospital. He stood beside Jiho for a moment, a wisp of smoke curling around him. “This is a no-smoking zone…” Jiho murmured softly. Do Yeonjae smiled. Jiho’s heart skipped a beat.

He felt both uncomfortable and strangely at ease with this stranger. That day, Yeonjae stayed with him until he stopped crying. Jiho wondered if he was being pitied, but there was no sympathy in Yeonjae’s cool gaze.

They encountered each other several more times. The coincidences became frequent. Yeonjae appeared wherever Jiho was, and at some point, Jiho realized he was waiting for him. When he was with Yeonjae, he could experience a few dreamlike minutes of respite.

Instead of the antiseptic smell of the hospital, he’d inhale Yeonjae’s clean, refreshing scent, a sensation like being caught in a sudden downpour. Drenching him completely, then passing as quickly as it came, leaving only a sense of clarity.

Amidst this unfamiliar excitement and tranquility, the hospital administration informed him that his brother could no longer stay due to unpaid bills. Desperate, Jiho searched everywhere for money, but no one could help.

His parents were gone, and his only family was his comatose brother. The only relative he had was his father’s younger brother, his uncle, but he was the one who had burdened Jiho with debt in the first place, using his brother’s medical expenses as an excuse. He couldn’t ask him for help. Jiho would be lucky if his uncle didn’t add to his already overwhelming debt under the pretense of finding money.

No matter how hard he racked his brain, there was nowhere he could borrow tens of millions of won. Sensing his desperation, the loan shark made a concrete proposal: remove one of his kidneys. He could pay off his debt with the money and borrow more against the remaining kidney.

Why does my life keep getting worse? He barely had time to dwell on the thought. He left the hospital and crouched down by the flowerbed, hiding himself. The loan shark’s words echoed in his mind – You have two kidneys. You can live perfectly fine with just one. He told himself he’d think about it for five more minutes, but he knew there was no other option.

He covered his face with his hands, trying to control his ragged breathing, but it was no use. It felt like drowning. He was breathing, but he couldn’t breathe. Then, he caught a familiar scent carried on the spring breeze, the scent that had briefly comforted him.

He peeked through his fingers, wiping his wet eyes. He saw the familiar tall figure standing beside him, as always. The refreshing scent brought him no comfort this time. A choked sob escaped his lips.

Yeonjae had never asked him anything. Fearing he would leave after finishing his cigarette, Jiho quickly stood up, clutching at straws. He swayed dizzily, having not eaten for two days.

‘…Excuse me.’

‘…’

‘P-Please… help me. If you help me… if you help me, I will surely repay your kindness… sob, oh, no. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.’

Tears streaming down his face, Kwon Jiho bowed his head and stumbled backward. It was too much to ask of a man he barely knew, someone he’d never even had a proper conversation with. Shame washed over him belatedly.

Do Yeonjae, watching Jiho’s blushing face as he tried to flee, dropped the cigarette he held between his fingers and reached out.

‘You’re bleeding.’

‘…What?’

‘You have a nosebleed.’

A long, thick finger pointed at, then swiped across, Jiho’s nose. The lukewarm touch lingered on his philtrum. The metallic scent of blood mingled with the smell of cigarettes clung to his skin. Yeonjae handed him a handkerchief and waited silently until the bleeding stopped, Jiho blinking his wide eyes.

‘Shall I help you?’

‘…’

‘You asked for help. I don’t know what kind of help you need, but I’ll help you.’

‘Why…?’

‘You don’t seem to be in a position to ask such questions, Mr. Kwon.’

Do Yeonjae knew his name, even though he hadn’t told him. But at that moment, Jiho didn’t care. He felt like he’d found a light in the overwhelming darkness.

‘I’ll accept repayment for your kindness in the way I want, Mr. Kwon.’

‘Really…?’

‘First, shall we transfer your brother to a different hospital?’

Do Yeonjae hadn’t offered his help first. It was Jiho, desperate and on the verge of being kicked out of the hospital, who had blindly pleaded for help. Was it because he couldn’t just ignore my pitiful state? His memories had been romanticized, preventing him from seeing things objectively, but after hearing Kang Gyumin’s words, he wondered if that was indeed the case.

Lost in thought, the distant voice suddenly sharpened again.

“I don’t care if Do Yeonjae sponsors someone, helps the unfortunate, or keeps male prostitutes before we get married…”

“…”

“But I won’t tolerate it after we’re married. We’re going to have children, and it’s not right for one parent to be doing such trashy things behind the other’s back.”

Kwon Jiho’s shoulders trembled at the cherry blossom-like man’s cold words.

“So you do realize it’s a bad thing.”

Kang Gyumin pushed the business card he’d offered across the table towards Jiho.

“There will come a time when you need help. Whether it’s when you want to go far away, or when the guilt of having this kind of relationship with a man who’s engaged consumes you… whenever.”

“…”

“You’re surprisingly quiet. So Do Yeonjae has this kind of taste, too. I thought he only liked playing around.”

Kwon Jiho couldn’t bring himself to speak in front of Kang Gyumin. Unsure of what to say or how to say it, he simply listened silently.