Actually, It’s a Messy Melodrama Chapter 53

“I’ve set up a meeting with Jin Youngmin.”

“Ah…”

“I’ll be seeing him in a few days. I thought I should tell you.”

Haeshin clasped his still-damp hands tightly. His heart pounded even though Jin Youngmin wasn’t right in front of him.

“Will it… really be okay? If things go wrong, it could tarnish your name, sir.”

Taejun’s proposal seemed plausible enough. It was an attempt worth making. But that was only from Haeshin’s perspective; for Taejun, it was essentially inviting risk by stepping forward unnecessarily.

“What will you do if a rumor spreads that the heir of Myungjin has fallen for some guy who used to work at a bar?”

Haeshin had never received help from someone stronger than Jin Youngmin. This meant that in all that time spent dealing with Jin Youngmin, he had never seen how he acted when facing someone more powerful.

However, Taejun let out a chuckle as if it were no big deal.

“What, you think if one little rumor like that spreads, I’ll start faltering and have my position as heir taken away?”

“I won’t?”

“Hey, what do you take me for?”

“What if you get slapped by the chairman or something?”

“What do you take my grandfather for?”

With every word Haeshin uttered, Taejun kept laughing as if he found Haeshin cute. However, Haeshin’s words were based on a certain degree of experience. When Jin Youngmin had said he would marry him, he had actually been slapped by his own father.

“It doesn’t matter how many rumors like that spread. It’s not even a scandal in the first place.”

“I don’t see how it’s not a scandal.”

“It’s not like I kidnapped you from somewhere, and it’s not like you’re some homicidal criminal. How does falling in love with a poor person tarnish my image?”

“But…”

“It’ll cause a stir, sure. There will be some people talking nonsense. But so what? What are they going to do by talking?”

Haeshin fell silent. As Taejun continued to speak with such confidence, it started to seem like that might really be the case, and more importantly, a single word Taejun had uttered a moment ago had made Haeshin’s heart drop.

Love.

That was right. Han Taejun had definitely said love. He knew it was an act to protect Haeshin from Jin Youngmin, but the word ‘love’ pierced Haeshin’s ear like a sharp fragment.

Haeshin hated love. It was horrifying. All of Jin Youngmin’s abuse towards Haeshin was committed in the name of love.

Because I love you so much, because you won’t accept my love, because you betrayed me, because you don’t love me as much as I love you. Love, love, love, that was the reason for everything. Because of love.

So, to Haeshin, love was a sickening and terrifying emotion that made his blood run cold. It certainly had been, until now.

But strangely, the moment Taejun spoke of love was different. He was certainly surprised and his heart was pounding, but it wasn’t horrifying or nauseating like when he heard of Jin Youngmin’s love. Finding this strange, Haeshin repeated the word ‘love’ to himself for a long time.

“Anyway, Jin Youngmin won’t be able to do anything to me no matter what he tries, so you just worry about yourself. In your position, what are you doing worrying about others?”

“That’s true.”

Words that could sound insulting to others were different for Haeshin. Taejun’s words, filled with confidence, were slowly calming Haeshin’s anxiety. As he said, Haeshin was in no position to be worrying about a third-generation chaebol.

Feeling much more at ease, Haeshin brought up another question.

“Then, should I go with you, by any chance?”

Taejun shook his head firmly.

“There’s no need for that. Why come out and see that sight? I’ll handle it, so don’t worry about it.”

It was a consideration made entirely for Haeshin. Haeshin sank into thought. It was best not to see Jin Youngmin. Haeshin would have nothing to say in that situation anyway. But Haeshin soon changed his mind.

“No. I want to go too.”

“You do?”

“Yes. Please take me with you.”

“If you want to go because you feel sorry for me, you don’t have to.”

Haeshin shook his head. It wasn’t that he didn’t feel sorry for entrusting his own matter solely to Taejun, but that wasn’t all of it.

First, Haeshin wanted to get confirmation. If Jin Youngmin was going to give up on him, if he was going to say he would give up, he wanted to see it with his own eyes. Only then did he feel he could be at ease.

Second, Haeshin actually knew that Jin Youngmin would not give up at once. It wasn’t 100%, but he was about 99% sure. If he were to give up this easily, he wouldn’t have killed Haeshin in every single one of those many timelines.

So, Haeshin wanted to see Jin Youngmin’s reaction firsthand to gauge how he would act in the future.

Han Taejun didn’t know Jin Youngmin well. The only person in this world who knew the extent of his wickedness was him. So, he had to see it with his own eyes. That way, he felt he could protect not only himself but also Han Taejun.

That was right. Truly overstepping his bounds, Haeshin wanted to go beyond worrying about Taejun and protect him. He was the one who had dragged him into this, Cha Haeshin himself, but for that very reason, he did not want to see him get hurt by Jin Youngmin’s hands.

Even if this time were to disappear without remaining in his memory. Haeshin opened his mouth.

“It’s not like that. It’s just… it’s my life. So I want to be there too.”

“Alright. If you really want to, then do so.”

Taejun readily nodded. He was reluctant, but as Haeshin said, it was his business. He couldn’t just exclude the person concerned at his own whim under the pretext of helping. Instead, Taejun decided to make a promise.

“I will be by your side the whole time. So you don’t need to worry. You don’t need to be scared no matter what Jin Youngmin says.”

Taejun remembered the Cha Haeshin who, while keeping an eye on Jin Youngmin, had caught his gaze and gone to the restroom to meet Secretary Choi. The sense of dissonance Taejun had felt then was not wrong. Cha Haeshin was a brave person even then. Just like the person in front of him now.

“I’ll protect you no matter what happens.”

The Cha Haeshin of that day had died a miserable and painful death, but the fate of the Cha Haeshin now would be different. He would make it different.

Taejun made a fresh resolve and looked at Haeshin. Unfortunately, he couldn’t bring himself to express his desire to take Haeshin’s hand, which had been clenched tightly in nervousness since a while ago. Perhaps, in this moment, the most pathetic coward was Han Taejun himself.

☂️

“Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”

Haeshin offered comfort to his mother in her hospital gown and laughed to himself. Everything will be fine. They were the words that least suited his life.

But what could he do? He couldn’t very well tell his mother, “Even if the treatment doesn’t go well and you die, I’ll come back to life after I die, so don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried.”

“Don’t lose hope either.”

Haeshin knew exactly what his mother meant when she said she wasn’t worried. Since she had no expectations of success in the first place, she wasn’t worried about failure either.

The mother and son, who had passed through a similar tunnel of misfortune, were alike in that way. It was also the reason why the two of them could not easily reach out to each other. Because they both carried scars that were mirror images of each other, it was not easy for them to face the other directly.

“When you get all better, Mom… let’s go eat something delicious at an expensive, nice place together.”

Haeshin said, braving the embarrassment. It was Haeshin’s struggle to move towards a better life. Because after escaping death, the next step was to shape life a little better.

Haeshin was now cautiously looking towards a slightly more distant future and hoped his mother could do the same.

However, unlike Haeshin, his mother, Sunghee, could not answer easily. Her face, with her gaze lowered, unable to look at Haeshin, showed no anticipation for the future.

“It’s okay. You can.”

Haeshin understood his mother’s heart. Just as Haeshin had held feelings of resentment as a child, his mother must also have a sense of guilt accumulated over long years. Just as Haeshin couldn’t shed his resentment overnight, his mother would also need time.

First, it was important to treat the illness of the body. Only then would she be able to get the time to heal the illness of the heart.

“For now, don’t think about anything else and just think about your body, Mom. Get healthy and treat me better. That’ll be enough.”

“…Yeah, thank you.”

Sunghee spoke weakly, like someone answering reluctantly. Silence fell in the hospital room again. Sunghee, who had been quiet as if lost in thought, soon raised her head and said to Haeshin.

“You must be busy, so you should go now. Mom took up too much of your time.”

“How long have I even been here? It’s okay. I’ll stay a little longer and then go.”

“No. I’m tired too, so I want to get some proper rest.”

At her next words, Haeshin nodded. Even without the cancer, his mother’s stamina was very weak. She must be tired after undergoing various tests in a tense state. Haeshin stood up from his seat.

“Alright. Rest well. I’ll come again.”

“Don’t come too often for no reason. If you have time to come here, get some more sleep instead.”

“I told you. I don’t work while snatching naps like I used to. So don’t worry about me. Got it? I’m going.”

“Okay. Be careful on your way.”

Sunghee silently swallowed the many questions that rose to the tip of her tongue and offered a simple farewell. After Haeshin left, silence once again settled in the now-empty hospital room.