Actually, It’s a Messy Melodrama Chapter 17

“Happy to see me……?”

At Taejun’s murmur, Haeshin nodded. Those words were true. Haeshin was genuinely happy to see Han Taejun. He was thrilled that Taejun was reacting to him earnestly.

Han Taejun, who had never once stepped into his life in all the previous loops, had already sought him out twice in this one. While that alone wouldn’t solve his problems, the very fact that a path, clearly different from before, had opened up was exciting.

Trying not to reveal his excitement, Haeshin spoke.

“It might not be a big deal to you, CEO, but I was actually…… touched.”

“Touched?”

“Back then…… you gave me your contact information.”

Haeshin took out his wallet and subtly showed the business card he had carefully kept inside. Taejun’s gaze fixed on the worn and tattered wallet.

“You probably didn’t mean much by it, but you told me to contact you if anything happened……”

The business card inside the cheap wallet gleamed incongruously. Taejun bit his lip.

“There aren’t many people in my life who say things like that to me.”

“…….”

“So I’m going to carry this around like a good luck charm!”

Haeshin carefully put the card away as if it were some kind of treasure and put his wallet back in his inner pocket. He felt Taejun’s gaze, still fixed on his wallet.

To be honest, he wasn’t truly touched. He did feel a sense of anticipation, but not enough to call it being touched. Haeshin had been through too much to feel such sentimental emotions.

“I wouldn’t dare actually contact you, CEO, but still, thank you. It was more kindness than I deserve.”

However, Haeshin wanted to gain Han Taejun’s sympathy. He knew all too well what kind of attitude elicits pity from people.

The more sympathy and pity he could get from others, the better. Even if it didn’t always lead to significant help, it rarely resulted in any loss. Even before the regressions, Haeshin had received a lot of help thanks to the sympathy of those around him.

Fortunately, Han Taejun seemed to be an ordinary person; he couldn’t speak easily, his expression complex. Haeshin inwardly cheered and continued.

“I’ve been talking too much. But why did you come here, CEO?”

“Ah……”

“It’s not polite to keep you standing here, I’m sorry. But I thought you might be even more uncomfortable if I invited you inside…… My house is probably smaller and dirtier than you imagine. There’s no sofa, and there’s mold everywhere.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t come here with a lot to say anyway.”

Taejun’s reply sounded somewhat awkward. That’s because Taejun himself wasn’t sure why he had come. He hadn’t come here with specific words in mind.

He just wanted to come. Cha Haeshin’s face kept appearing before his eyes, so he wanted to come and check on him.

He felt like he wouldn’t be able to sleep unless he saw Cha Haeshin’s face unbloodied, Cha Haeshin without blood flowing from the wound on his neck, Cha Haeshin safe and sound. Naturally, this was a reason he couldn’t confess honestly.

“You must be cold……”

Taejun looked at Haeshin, who was absurdly worried about him. The padding he was wearing looked like it was over ten years old, its stuffing deflated to the point where it didn’t even resemble a padded jacket. Like his wallet, his jeans looked worn, his sneakers tattered; nothing looked like it could ward off the cold. And yet, Cha Haeshin was standing in front of a house that looked like a freezing, shabby room, worried about Han Taejun being cold. Impudently.

Taejun moved closer to Haeshin. In the restless pre-dawn hours, with the sound of a child crying from somewhere, Han Taejun, crushing powerless grains of sand under his feet, spoke.

“I told Jin Youngmin to stop bothering you.”

“Ah……”

Haeshin almost collapsed on the spot. Han Taejun had stepped in. He had listened to his request. The almost extinguished, barely visible flame of hope flickered.

“But I don’t think he’ll give up easily. You already knew that, right? He’s a crazy bastard.”

“Just…… Yes. A little.”

He’s not like a crazy bastard, he is a crazy bastard.

Barely suppressing the urge to answer that way, Haeshin nodded. Taejun let out a small sigh. Han Taejun also knew that Jin Youngmin wasn’t just a little crazy, but truly insane.

“I thought I might have provoked him unnecessarily.”

At first, he thought it was simple. Jin Youngmin had no choice but to be wary of Han Taejun. He thought that Jin Youngmin didn’t have the ability or the guts to defy Taejun’s orders, so if he pressured him to stop, he would.

If he was the type to stop so easily, he wouldn’t be able to kill someone, no matter how crazy he was. He had been naive.

“So be careful for a while, and if Jin Youngmin contacts you, don’t meet him alone. ……And if anything happens, be sure to contact me.”

“…….”

“Well, you might think it’s ridiculous that I came all the way here just to say that, but consider it a commoner experience along the way.”

He blurted out the absurd reason as it came to him. It didn’t matter whether it made sense or not; no one could question him in front of Han Taejun anyway. Taejun wasn’t someone who cared about what others thought.

Haeshin kept his mouth shut. He felt strange. He couldn’t understand why Han Taejun, of all people, someone who lived like a king in his own kingdom, would come all the way here and express such genuine concern.

Having been consumed by the malice and violence of others for so long, Haeshin was uncomfortable with the sudden kindness, but he didn’t dislike it, which made him confused.

“You’re…… a kind person, CEO……”

Haeshin muttered unconsciously in a small voice. Despite experiencing so many regressions, he hadn’t known that.

“What?”

“No, nothing. It’s just…… I said thank you. Thank you very much.”

Fortunately, Taejun seemed not to have heard Haeshin’s mumbling properly. Haeshin quickly came to his senses and bowed. Then, he smiled brightly and said,

“Don’t worry too much. I’m quite experienced in dealing with crazy bastards.”

“Is that something to brag about?”

“Yes. You’d be surprised if you saw how I handle the troublemakers who cause a scene at the store.”

“I’m not interested in that kind of thing.”

“Ah, I see.”

Taejun’s eyes narrowed again. Strangely, he felt like he was constantly being led by Cha Haeshin’s tone. This was rare for Taejun.

“I said what I had to say, so I’m leaving.”

“Shall I walk you to your car? It’s dangerous around here……”

“Don’t be cheeky.”

“Yes, I’m sorry! Be careful, CEO!”

Haeshin grinned and bowed like some gangster’s lackey. Receiving such a farewell in this kind of neighborhood made him feel like a real mafia boss.

Figuring he would only be further led on if he continued the conversation, Taejun turned around without replying.

“Be careful on the stairs!”

Walking down the stairs for a while, listening to Cha Haeshin’s voice seeing him off from behind, Taejun suddenly stopped and touched his face.

He was smiling. Surprisingly, Han Taejun was genuinely happy. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this way.

“I’m freezing to death.”

Feeling embarrassed even though no one was watching, Taejun muttered to himself and continued down the stairs. It was a night where even the cold, which he was feeling for the first time in his life, didn’t feel bad.

☂️

“You’re back now……?”

“Ah, did I wake you?”

Haeshin, tiptoeing into the house and taking off his clothes, spoke to his mother who was coming out of the small room inside. The small, skinny woman shook her head.

“You’re late today. Did you eat?”

“Yeah. It’s this late, of course I ate.”

“Okay, you must be tired. Wash up and go to sleep.”

“Okay.”

About to turn around after replying obediently, Haeshin suddenly stopped and looked at his mother.

He had been worried because she had suddenly lost more weight than usual. But he couldn’t take her to the hospital. Indigestion and heartburn were chronic symptoms, so he hadn’t thought much of it, and he was too busy working and struggling with debt.

In the end, it wasn’t until he saw his mother collapse from severe stomach pain, unable to straighten her back, that Haeshin finally took her to the hospital.

“Mom, come here for a second.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

The woman’s face, which looked much older than her actual age, instantly turned pale. Haeshin bit his lip. Sometimes, seeing his mother’s face was harder than any hardship life threw at him.

“Not me, you, Mom. Let’s go to the hospital together next week.”

“Hospital? Are you sick somewhere?”

“It’s for you, Mom. Let’s get you a health check-up.”

“……What is it now? Forget it. What checkup? I’m perfectly fine.”

“Just get it if I’m asking. I’ll get one too if you do, and if you don’t, I won’t either. My stomach’s been hurting a lot lately, but I’ll just endure it.”

Haeshin spoke like a whining child. He had long since learned how to break his mother’s stubbornness.

Actually, for a while, even if he regressed to this time, Haeshin hadn’t paid attention to his mother’s health. At first, he had struggled to save her somehow, but as the regressions and failures repeated, he didn’t have the energy to prevent his mother’s death as well.

Becoming numb to your own death meant becoming numb to the deaths of others. While struggling not to give up on life, Haeshin was unknowingly distancing himself from life itself.