Love Born of Pity Chapter 74

Smiling handsomely like a sculpted masterpiece, Kang Gyumin took his wallet out from his jacket and held out a card towards Hwang Gicheol. As he took the card with a trembling hand, he looked back at the guard.

It was comical for either of them, both being employees, to seek permission from the other, but the guard’s thoughts were a little different. Believing he had more authority than Hwang Gicheol, he nodded his head as if permitting the movement. He judged that it wouldn’t be a problem if it was just a brief conversation before the blood test, not a change of location. Hwang Gicheol scurried off down the hallway.

“Are you in pain?”

Kang Gyumin lowered his voice and asked Kwon Jiho. Unfortunately, since he was sitting on the right side, Kwon Jiho couldn’t hear him. Kwon Jiho, who turned his head at the touch of a light tap on the back of his hand, smiled awkwardly. He scratched near his ear and moved his lips towards Kang Gyumin.

“……I can’t hear well. No one knows yet. Pheromone… a side effect? That’s what they say it is.”

Kwon Jiho lowered his voice just enough for him to hear and smiled as if it were no big deal.

Kang Gyumin, pretending not to, checked behind him and took out his phone. Then he waved it slightly so Kwon Jiho could see. It seemed they both had something to say to each other.

Kwon Jiho, who had been watching his hand intently, slowly raised his head. He had stared at the business card he had given him for so long that he had even memorized the phone number, but would he really help? He couldn’t be sure. What if he asked for help and he told Do Yeonjae?

“It will be spring soon.”

Kwon Jiho, who had been watching Kang Gyumin’s muttering lips, carefully took his hand. He seemed surprised by the sudden contact but didn’t pull his hand away. Kwon Jiho hesitated, then wrote just five characters on the soft palm.

「Please help me」

He hoped that his offer of kindness, saying there might be a moment when he needed help, was still valid. The offer to contact him when he wanted to go somewhere far away.

No matter how much he thought with his stupid and dull mind, there was no way to escape Do Yeonjae. He knew he was being shameless, but he looked at Kang Gyumin with the feeling of grasping at straws.

“There’s news of rain starting in a few days. They say it’s the autumn monsoon.”

Kang Gyumin, looking at the moist eyes that seemed about to cry, nodded slightly. Kwon Jiho let out a breath as if relieved.

“……Yes.”

“Be careful not to catch a cold. We’ll meet soon with Mr. Yeonjae. It seems like some things need to be sorted out.”

Kang Gyumin stood up from his seat. At the rustle of movement, Kwon Jiho’s head turned upwards. With the light behind him, his face was full of shadows. Even if that wasn’t the reason, for some reason, Kang Gyumin looked troubled.

He must be reluctant. He might not help. He wanted to tell him that he didn’t need to feel sorry for refusing, but there was no way to convey it.

“……I was sorry about that time. And… I’m okay.”

“It was understandable at the time.”

Kang Gyumin knew it too. There was no reason for him to help Kwon Jiho. He had broken off his engagement with Do Yeonjae. It was settled that he was the one breaking the marriage, so he managed to keep his pride, but the problem was the lingering attachment and the petty desire for revenge that remained.

The decision to help Kwon Jiho was an impulsive one, born from the determination to repay the humiliation he had suffered at the restaurant they had run into each other at and in Do Yeonjae’s office. Kwon Jiho’s debt was nothing more than loose change that could be used multiple times if it meant he could screw Do Yeonjae over.

“Why is he taking so long.”

Kang Gyumin, who muttered while checking his wrist, smiled when he saw Hwang Gicheol appear at the end of the hallway. He lightly grabbed and released Kwon Jiho’s shoulder, gave a nod, and then started walking. He took the coffee and card from the panting Hwang Gicheol. “Thanks,” he said, and with that fleeting farewell, he soon disappeared from sight.

Hwang Gicheol, who was catching his breath, was busy checking to see if anything had happened to Kwon Jiho in his absence, a flustered look on his face. His color was fine, and the area around his eyes was also clean, with no reddish marks.

“Mr. Jiho, drink this. I thought he was going to stay for a while, why did he leave so quickly?”

“……Thank you.”

Kwon Jiho stared intently at Hwang Gicheol, who was holding the drink. Would Hwang Gicheol help too? The gaze he always directed at him was full of pity, but the loss was too great to help just out of a feeling of pity. He would lose his job, and Do Yeonjae might take out his anger on him and his family.

“What’s wrong?”

At the mouth that opened slightly and then quickly closed, Kwon Jiho shook his head slightly. He put down the drink he was holding. It was because he remembered that if he drank this before the blood test, he would have to be tested again tomorrow.

“Would you like this? I don’t think I should drink it since it’s before my blood test.”

“Ah, ah……. Right. That’s right. Aigoo, look at my mind. I can’t drink cold things……. What should I do. Should I take it up to the room and leave it?”

Kwon Jiho’s expression turned serious at the long-winded speech. He couldn’t understand it, so he couldn’t decide how to answer. What should I do. As he nervously bit his lip, Hwang Gicheol took the drink and stood up from his seat.

“It’s better to go leave it before all the ice melts. I’ll be right back.”

Seeing his finger point upwards, it seemed he was saying he was going to the room. Kwon Jiho reached out and grabbed Hwang Gicheol.

“Then the drink…….”

“Yes?”

Kwon Jiho, who had roughly understood what Hwang Gicheol was doing, took the drink from his hand. He hesitated, then turned around and held it out towards the guard.

“Would you like this……?”

“……”

“If you don’t like it…… you can just take it to the room-.”

“Thank you.”

He thought he might refuse, but surprisingly, he accepted the drink readily. A rough hand took the drink. He even bowed his head towards Kwon Jiho.

♬⋆.˚

Only after finishing the blood test and various other examinations was Kwon Jiho able to have a very late lunch. He consciously controlled the amount he ate because he couldn’t use the bathroom freely, but his stomach had been upset since he was hospitalized, so he couldn’t eat much in the first place. Today, too, he put down his spoon after only two or three bites.

“I think you’d eat a little more if only the bathroom issue were resolved. It’s not easy.”

Hwang Gicheol smiled good-naturedly as he cleared the dishes. After he disappeared out of the room with the tray, muttering quietly, Kwon Jiho got up from the bed and slowly stood in front of the window.

He was now in a position where he couldn’t even take a night walk. It would have been less frustrating if he had at least been discharged early, but Do Yeonjae wouldn’t allow his discharge because of his wrist, which wasn’t healing and kept getting worse. The hospital also found it strange. The wound they checked every time they did a dressing showed no signs of healing.

Is it because I touch it unconsciously? Maybe it’s because the area under the bandage itches and he touches it without realizing. The itching isn’t resolved by gentle scratching, so he applies force, and it keeps getting pressed.

“Can’t even go for a walk. What are you going to do, being so frustrated.”

Kwon Jiho trembled, perhaps startled by the sudden presence. Hwang Gicheol, who had returned after returning the dishes, smiled awkwardly, then looked at the clear face staring down from the hospital room as if with pity.

He knew that the man who had hired him and Kwon Jiho had an unusual relationship. He had thought, how much must he like him to not even let him out, but now… he wondered if he really liked him. In what world does someone treat the person they like this way?

Kwon Jiho, who noticed Hwang Gicheol’s obvious gaze, turned his head slightly and met his eyes. Then, after checking the guard reflected in the glass window, he opened his mouth.

“……I want to listen to a piano piece. Would that be okay?”

“A piano piece?”

“……Could you ask the Director for me?”

The question was not directed at Hwang Gicheol, but at the guard standing behind him. Answering that he would, he turned his body. He didn’t leave the room entirely, but approached the doorway and operated his phone. Kwon Jiho, who confirmed this, leaned towards Hwang Gicheol.

“Um… could I borrow your phone?”

“……Pardon?”

Hwang Gicheol was flustered by the whispered question. Kwon Jiho grabbed him as his head was about to turn back noticeably.

“Please help me. I’m begging you. You just need to send a text message. Please…….”

“Mr. Jiho…….”

“Please, I’m begging you.”

Hwang Gicheol, who was looking at Kwon Jiho pleading with his hands clasped together with a troubled expression, let out a deep sigh. He had been so concerned, both at home and at the hospital. It was an impulsive decision to take out his phone at the expression that looked like it was about to cry at any moment.

“It’s a G. G. The, the pattern you draw for the password.”

To read his lips as he whispered so the guard wouldn’t hear, Kwon Jiho opened his eyes wide and watched intently.

“Pardon……?”

“G. No, Mr. Jiho-.”

Just as he was about to ask about a part that had been suspicious for a while, the guard turned and approached. Both of them were startled by the figure reflected in the glass window and turned around. Kwon Jiho’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.

“The CEO asks you to let me know what you want to listen to. If you tell me, I will pass it on.”

It was even more impossible to know what he was saying because his mouth hardly changed shape when he spoke. At that moment, Hwang Gicheol beat him to it and asked for paper and a pen. Pretending to write characters in the air, he nudged Kwon Jiho’s arm.

“No, people like us don’t really know even if you tell us. We need something to write on. Something to write on. Paper and a pen.”