Love Born of Pity Chapter 83

“……What?”

Do Yeonjae’s expression turned fierce in an instant. Chief Kim squeezed his eyes shut then opened them, continuing in a trembling voice.

“With whose help I do not know, but Mr. Kwon Jiho has completely resolved his debt. That cannot be considered running away.”

Whose help, my ass. It’s Kang Gyumin, of course. Do Yeonjae frowned as Chief Kim stubbornly continued, all while cautiously watching Yeonjae, who had muttered in a low voice.

“I’m sorry to say this, but the very idea of you getting married is… absurd. Who, who on earth would abruptly agree to marry in a situation like this? Even if you were to marry, CEO-nim, you would not be able to see Mr. Kwon Jiho as anything other than a possession, not a spouse.”

“Wait. Spouse or whatever, the fact that Kwon Jiho is mine does not change.”

Do Yeonjae corrected the irksome words. He stared at Chief Kim with a disagreeably crumpled face.

“Mr. Kwon Jiho is a person, not an object. Since his debt has been fully repaid, you can no longer claim ownership. What exactly is the relationship between you two? Before, you were creditor and debtor, but what about now?”

“Obviously.”

Do Yeonjae couldn’t answer right away. We are, Kwon Jiho and I are, well… His lips moved but he soon fell silent. When he tried to define the relationship, not a single word seemed to fit.

“Are you sure that you like him?”

At the impertinently bold question, Do Yeonjae’s eyes flashed. Chief Kim flinched but maintained his stance to the very end.

“If you hold Mr. Hwang Gicheol hostage and threaten him, he will come back. Yes. Because he is a very responsible person. You’ve kept him by your side for three years using that method, so you know best, CEO-nim. That it will, of course, work.”

“So, what are you trying to say.”

“……I want to say that this way will not work. Above all, you need to confirm Mr. Kwon Jiho’s feelings first. He doesn’t like you, and he has no debt left, so there’s no reason for Mr. Kwon Jiho to stay by your side.”

At Chief Kim’s words, Do Yeonjae felt as if he’d been hit over the head. But at the same time, he felt an unbearable rage.

“You’re so calm, Chief Kim. I’m about to go crazy, and you’re telling me to play some pathetic game of love?”

“……CEO-nim.”

“Whatever my feelings are, none of that matters. The same goes for Kwon Jiho’s feelings. Whether he likes me, hates me, or fears me. None of it means anything.”

With Kwon Jiho gone, he was growing frantic by the second; where was the time to leisurely check his own feelings? He was pregnant anyway, so all he had to do was tie him down with the child.

It wasn’t pleasant that he, not Kwon Jiho, was the one using a pregnancy to tie someone down, but Kwon Jiho had a soft heart, so he would surely settle down by his side on his own.

“I need to meet Kang Gyumin.”

“……”

“I have to meet that bastard to find out where Kwon Jiho ran off to. Kwon Jiho is not alone in his body. If something goes wrong again this time, do you think he can recover mentally? Fuck, am I the only one whose guts are twisting in worry for him every single minute and second?”

Separate from the anger that surged from the fact that he had run away, he was anxious that Jiho might have to go through a situation where something went wrong with the baby all alone. It would be a relief if he gave birth safely, but if, by some chance, he had a miscarriage, he needed to be by his side or in a safe place where immediate action could be taken. A sigh attached itself to the end of every sentence like a period.

“Medical facilities, whatever. I need to check if he went to a place that has them. Catching him can come after that. If something happens to the baby, I won’t let that bastard Kang Gyumin get away with it either.”

“……”

“And Kwon Jiho’s hand, he left the hospital without even getting it treated, right? Then he must have stopped somewhere to get it treated. Find the hospital. I need to check if he was treated properly.”

Do Yeonjae, who had been sitting, stood up and left the hospital room. While moving to take the elevator, he found and dialed Kang Gyumin’s number. As if to taunt him, Kang Gyumin didn’t answer the phone. With a mindset of ‘let’s see who wins,’ he called repeatedly, but all he heard was the automated message that the phone was turned off.

“Let’s go directly to Geonyeong.”

Do Yeonjae, smiling with only the corners of his mouth raised, announced this and neurotically mashed the elevator call button.

“Check Kang Gyumin’s schedule.”

Do Yeonjae felt as if he were suffocating every moment, and Chief Kim just wanted to disappear into dust. It was only his boss’s first relationship failing, but he empathized so vividly it felt like it was happening to him. The object of his empathy, however, was the other party, not his boss. The sorrows of an office worker.

Stepping back, Chief Kim finished his call with the secretarial office of Geonyeong Construction and approached Do Yeonjae, who was expressing his anger with his entire body.

“I just spoke with the secretarial office.”

“What did they say.”

“Director Kang is on vacation for a few days for personal reasons.”

“Vacation, my ass. He planned this out meticulously just to screw with me. I don’t think he’s going home today, so let’s go to the hotel where Kang Gyumin stashes his trash. And Kwon Heeyeon, go get her.”

He felt like he needed to be holding onto something to feel secure. He thought that if he held her family hostage, Kwon Jiho would come back easily even if he said he didn’t want to.

Chief Kim swallowed a sigh at Do Yeonjae’s attitude. Even if he told him that winning Kwon Jiho back that way would mean he would never win his heart, would he even listen? People don’t change easily, he thought to himself, he’ll only realize it after he’s gone through hell and back. He replied that he understood.

Just then, the elevator arrived, and Do Yeonjae, who stepped inside, let out a low groan at the residual pheromones of omegas. His stomach churned. Nausea surged, so intensely that he wondered if it was possible to feel this disgusted.

He took a handkerchief from his inner jacket pocket and covered his mouth and nose. Do Yeonjae, who had been leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, shot them open as if he had remembered something important.

“Chief Kim.”

“Yes, CEO-nim.”

“Go back up to the hospital room and bring down the clothes Kwon Jiho was wearing. The bedding and the pillow, all of it.”

“Why the laundry……”

Towards Chief Kim who asked back doubtfully, Do Yeonjae just sent a silent, cold gaze.

“……I’ll be sure to gather everything meticulously.”

The elevator stopped frequently as it descended to the lower floors. The cramped space filled with omega pheromones as the number of people increased. Do Yeonjae swallowed a curse and furrowed his brow. He felt sick to his stomach. His vision spun.

His hand pressing the button was urgent. He pressed the button for the next floor and squeezed through the people without even being able to say excuse me.

“CEO-nim?”

Chief Kim, who followed Do Yeonjae as he shot out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened, saw his deathly pale face.

“Are you all right? Your complexion is so……”

“……The smell.”

“Pardon?”

“The pheromones are so…… disgusting.”

With those words, Do Yeonjae’s body collapsed. His eyes, which were always fiercely open, closed. Chief Kim, catching the limply falling body, supported Do Yeonjae in a panic.

“CEO-nim! CEO-nim!” The calling voice echoed in Do Yeonjae’s ears before fading away.

♬⋆.˚

Kwon Jiho sprawled out on the wooden platform in the yard and watched the sea in the same position until the sun set. The sea, both far and near, sparkled as if powdered with crushed pearls. Just watching the waves crash and the occasional boat pass by was quite entertaining.

“Cough, cough……”

Perhaps because his tension had eased, he felt a cold coming on, and all the energy drained from his body. He felt like he had a fever. His palm throbbed, and for some reason, his lower abdomen also ached with a dull pain. Kwon Jiho, lying curled up like a shrimp, rubbed his stomach with his palm. It didn’t get any better, so he slowly sat up.

He spent some time sitting still, gauging whether the pain was bearable or not. He had painkillers he’d bought from a pharmacy he stopped by before getting on the boat. His face was serious as he debated whether to take them now.

“Did I stress out too much?”

Soon, the pain subsided. It wasn’t bad enough to need medicine. Well, getting here had been so rough, he thought, scratching his cheek, it would be weirder if any part of him was completely fine.

He raised a hand to cover his left eye and checked with his blurry right eye to see how much clearer it had become now. In truth, there wasn’t much difference from yesterday, but perhaps because his environment had changed, it felt much better.

“……I can hear well too.”

The sound of the waves breaking, the cry of the seagulls, even the sound of a distant ship’s horn. He was amazed by his ears, which didn’t miss even the smallest things. After lazing around for a long time, he felt a shiver run through his body and got up.

He felt a little sad to go inside, but he comforted himself by thinking it was a view he would see continuously for the time being.

After entering the warm, cozy house and spacing out for a moment, he untied the bundle Ha Seongho had brought.

“Rice, flour, sesame oil, salt, sugar, chili powder.”

He continued reading the labels written in a messy script on the containers that held small portions of each.

“Clams, seaweed, soybean paste, potatoes, onions, green onions, po……rk?”

In that moment, a fishy smell rose from the ingredients, and his queasy stomach churned. It wasn’t enough to make him gag, but he felt that if he kept smelling it, he would have to throw up what little was in his stomach.

As the smell grew more and more nauseating, he covered his mouth and nose with his hand.

“Ugh……”