Love Born of Pity Chapter 80

Kwon Jiho had disappeared. He got into a car that was waiting in the hospital parking lot, as if prearranged, and drove right out. Chief Kim’s face turned pale as he checked for the fastest means of transportation available to get from Busan to Seoul right away.

He had reported to Do Yeonjae as soon as he received the call that Kwon Jiho was injured, and had only relayed the order to get him treated immediately, but he felt as if the escape was his own responsibility.

He had cut his palm, they said. When told that it was torn and bleeding quite a bit, Do Yeonjae had made a fuss, ordering them to send him to the emergency room without waiting for a consultation. This had a significant impact on his successful escape, but no one could bring themselves to mention that fact.

“Mr. Do, there’s a flight departing in an hour.”

“Are you just informing me because you think I won’t go? Does this look like no big deal because I’m just sitting here idly?”

“……I’m sorry.”

“Fuck, the whole world is helping Kwon Jiho fly away freely. And I’m just sitting here like an idiot, hands tied, listening to talk about flights and trains. What’s next, you want to hold a fucking ritual for him to flee abroad?”

At Do Yeonjae’s outburst, Chief Kim could only bow his head once more. He adjusted the meeting schedule, booked the flight seats, and they moved to the airport.

The time it took to issue the tickets upon arrival and board the plane felt like an eternity. The vicious pheromones Do Yeonjae was emitting drew the attention of those around them.

“Mr. Do, would you like some coffee?”

“In your eyes, Chief Kim, do I look like I’m in any state to peacefully drink anything?”

“I’m sorry.”

Do Yeonjae reacted fiercely to whatever was said to him. He knew in his head that Kwon Jiho’s escape wasn’t Chief Kim’s fault, but his mouth was the problem.

“Boarding has begun.”

“The vehicle that took Kwon Jiho, have you found out about it.”

“That… it’s been confirmed as a ghost vehicle.”

“……Ha.”

He ran a hand over his face in frustration, letting a curse slip out. Passing through the gate and being guided to his seat by a flight attendant, Do Yeonjae irritably loosened his tie.

“I tried to trace the route, but it seems he switched vehicles in a blind spot not covered by CCTV. So…… we lost him. I’m sorry.”

“We lost him a long time ago, fuck. You say it as if we just lost him now. What about flights.”

Chief Kim’s report went in one ear and out the other. He’d replied so obediently when told to wait, and then he runs away? Do Yeonjae held his breath and closed his eyes.

“As you instructed, I looked into whether there were any flight reservations under Mr. Kwon Jiho’s name, but so far, no records have been found.”

“Keep checking anyway. As you know, Chief Kim, he’s pregnant.”

“Don’t worry too much……”

“Yeah, I’m fucking worried. Worried that something will happen to Kwon Jiho, or the baby. If anything goes wrong, I’m going to kill every single bastard involved, so find him fast. You’re one of those involved bastards too, Chief Kim.”

It was a threat mixed with exaggeration, but not a lie. Chief Kim felt the blood drain from his body as he replied that he would. Every second was precious, and even the 50-odd minutes spent in the air felt like a waste.

Do Yeonjae rubbed the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and turned his head to look out the window. An announcement that the plane was about to take off made him feel anxious. He would arrive in Seoul in an hour, but the thought of Kwon Jiho getting that much farther away in the time spent in the sky was enough to drive him crazy with impatience.

♬⋆.˚

At the time Do Yeonjae was crossing the sky to return to Seoul, Kwon Jiho had safely escaped the city. Kang Gyumin joined him, and together they headed for a port city. The place where Kwon Jiho would stay, he said, was a small and quiet island village that required a boat ride from there. All the village residents were betas, and since it was only grandmothers and grandfathers, there were no young people at all.

“I think the youngest person in that village is fifty-eight. There are no kids, let alone peers, so it should be quiet and fine for you to stay there.”

“……”

“Ah, you said you couldn’t hear back then. Mr. Kwon Jiho.”

Kang Gyumin, tapping his own thigh, opened the notepad app on his phone and wrote down the explanation he had just given. Kwon Jiho, who was staring quietly at the screen, carefully took Kang Gyumin’s wrist.

“I can hear now. I took a pheromone supplement.”

“Huh? Your hearing comes back if you take that?”

“Rather than coming back…… the clogged feeling is a bit less severe. The ringing in my ears has stopped too.”

“I’m glad you can hear.”

It sounded like he was saying he was worried, and it seemed to have sounded that way to Kwon Jiho as well. Kwon Jiho bowed his head deeply in thanks.

Kang Gyumin, feeling awkward, cleared his throat unnecessarily. It felt as if the two of them had teamed up with Do Yeonjae at the center, just like the saying ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend.’ He was afraid of Do Yeonjae’s reaction, but the situation was childish and a little amusing.

“Still, you managed to get out somehow. Though I’m a bit worried that hand of yours will get infected.”

At a small clinic on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province, which they stopped at as soon as they left Seoul, they stitched up Kwon Jiho’s palm. Looking at the hand wrapped tightly in a bandage, Kang Gyumin clicked his tongue, tsk.

He hadn’t thought he would get out unscathed, but he hadn’t expected him to come out with his palm in that state.

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

“What? Ah, this kind of thing…… is bearable.”

Kang Gyumin’s gaze fell on Kwon Jiho’s left wrist. It was covered by his sleeve, but he had seen the scar where new skin was beginning to form underneath, so he felt uneasy. What on earth had happened? The wound he saw while dressing his wrist at the same time as stitching his palm had the clear marks of being roughly torn by something.

“Are you really okay?”

“……Yes. I’m okay.”

“Okay, that’s a relief then. Ah, I’ve been curious, but how can a beta experience pheromone side effects? Is it because of too much exposure to alpha pheromones, is that why?”

At the question asked lightly to lift the heavy atmosphere, Kwon Jiho became visibly flustered. He fidgeted with his fingers and then glanced cautiously at him. He looked so pathetic that for a moment, he felt a surge of pity.

“So……”

He hadn’t expected to reveal the fact that he had presented like this, but he felt that if not now, he wouldn’t have another chance to be honest with Kang Gyumin. Kwon Jiho’s lips parted, and after hesitating, he opened his mouth.

“……I presented. So I’m not a beta anymore, I’m an omega. A recessive one. I was pregnant too……”

“You’re pregnant right now?”

“Ah, no. No. I miscarried…… I really have no intention of tying Director Do down with a child. I’ll never do that.”

“That’s not what I meant……. Well, okay. Even so, I’m sorry about the child. Really…… I’m sorry. You must have been upset.”

Kang Gyumin frowned with a serious expression, then nodded. It seemed like he was telling him to continue, so Kwon Jiho spoke again.

“……Director Do knows everything too. I’m sorry. I should have told you then, but there was no time, and I thought you wouldn’t help me if I told you this as well……. I’m sorry.”

“I would have helped you even if I’d heard. And there’s something I haven’t told you either, Mr. Kwon Jiho……”

Kwon Jiho’s head turned toward Kang Gyumin. Looking at the kind and innocent face, Kang Gyumin closed his mouth again instead of telling him about the broken engagement. It wasn’t because of lingering feelings, but from the hope that Do Yeonjae, who would be searching for Kwon Jiho with fire in his eyes, would suffer a little. It was also a hassle to answer if he were asked why he was helping when the engagement was off.

“It’s not important. Something you don’t need to know.”

“……”

“It’s funny to ask after helping you, but I’ve been continuously curious. Why are you trying to leave? Did you get tired of him? I thought you liked him.”

Kwon Jiho couldn’t answer Kang Gyumin’s question right away. The reason he wanted to end the relationship was, in fact, vague.

Do Yeonjae had repeatedly confirmed that there was nothing between them. He had asked if their relationship was really that special. He had told him to pay back the debt if he wanted to end things.

Once again, he had mistakenly thought he was something to Do Yeonjae. More than the hand that was raised so easily and the body that was taken at will, more than the sudden presentation and pregnancy, it was those words—that there was nothing between them—that crushed Kwon Jiho. The feeling of misery washed over him again like a tidal wave.

“……”

“There must have been a reason. You made a good decision. I’ll protect your sister, Mr. Kwon Jiho, as much as I possibly can. I’ll have people keep an eye on her too. So that Mr. Do can’t do anything bad.”

“Thank you. I’ll pay back the money somehow.”

“Forget about that. You should worry about yourself, Mr. Kwon Jiho. Like how you’re going to make a living from now on. Oh, but why can’t I smell any pheromones?”

Kwon Jiho smiled slightly at Kang Gyumin’s action of taking a deep breath. He thought the man with the elegant and noble air had a surprisingly cute and clumsy side to him.

“They said my pheromone glands aren’t developed.”

“Ah, ah……?”

Kang Gyumin, who vaguely remembered hearing about it during his trait education class, nodded his head emphatically. It was somehow fascinating. He had thought an omega without pheromones was a half-wit, but looking at Kwon Jiho, he wondered if such a thing was really that big of a deal.

“It might be a relief, in a way. They say it’s quite a struggle to control pheromones when you present late. And that would lead to many dangerous moments. Especially for someone who draws attention like you, Mr. Kwon Jiho, it’s easy to become a target.”

It was similar to what he had heard from the doctor when he was with Do Yeonjae. Kwon Jiho smiled faintly and nodded, just as Kang Gyumin’s phone rang. The two of them flinched at the ringtone that loudly shattered the quiet space.

“……There it is, the call.”