Actually, It’s a Messy Melodrama Chapter 60

“Hyung, your face…”

Seeing Inchan who had entered the room, Haeshin couldn’t finish his sentence and bit his lip. Inchan’s face, usually so sleek it was almost annoying, was hard to look at with a split lip and a bruise around his eye.

The owner, sitting next to Haeshin, clicked his tongue with a ‘tsk’. He was frustrated seeing Inchan who had taken a beating in his stead, and he was also frustrated seeing Haeshin who had rushed all the way here, worried about the people from the bar he had just managed to escape.

On the other hand, he felt helpless about what to do next, but seeing Han Taejun, who had come with Haeshin, he also felt a sense of reassurance, making his head a complicated mess.

“What are you doing coming all the way here…”

“How can you say that, Owner, when he’s in this state because of me?”

Haeshin raised his voice, glaring at the owner. Inchan wasn’t the only one who had been hit. He heard that there were others who had been kicked in the shin or had been taken out on.

And that wasn’t all. On his way in, he saw broken chairs and fragments of furniture scattered around the bar. It looked like someone had properly raised hell. There was a reason everyone was at the bar so early.

The owner scratched his head awkwardly and opened his mouth.

“Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt, and since you’re okay, Haeshin, that’s what matters. That Jin Youngmin punk was acting so menacingly, I was worried he might go to you and do something, so I called.”

“Owner. You say no one was seriously hurt, but can’t you see this face? My handsome face is in this state?”

This time, Inchan grumbled, rolling his eyes. Haeshin knew it was Inchan’s effort to lighten the mood and ease Haeshin’s mind.

“Did Jin Youngmin… say he would come again?”

However, despite Inchan’s efforts, Haeshin didn’t smile and let out a low sigh as he asked. The owner shook his head.

“No. He didn’t say anything like that.”

“Owner.”

Haeshin called the owner again in a stiff tone. Then, the owner, glancing at Taejun, added.

“Well, just… that if Cha Haeshin isn’t here next time he comes, he won’t let it go…”

Honestly, though he had acted tough in front of Haeshin, the owner was a wreck inside.

The connections of a cheap bar were, at best, third-rate local thugs. If a big shot like Jin Youngmin decided to bury him, getting rid of a place like this would be nothing. In such a situation, Han Taejun had appeared. It was like seeing a savior.

Speaking honestly about what Jin Youngmin had said was, in the end, no different from asking Han Taejun, not Haeshin, for help.

Haeshin let out a hollow laugh. He was certainly a master at tormenting others.

Since he couldn’t touch Han Taejun or Cha Haeshin who was backed by Han Taejun right now, he went after people who couldn’t even squirm when stepped on. At this rate, the owner of the convenience store where Haeshin was currently working could easily become a target.

A suffocating silence filled the room. The one who broke that silence was Taejun, who had been listening silently until then.

“Alright, let’s sort this out.”

Everyone’s gaze, including Haeshin’s, turned to Taejun.

“I will compensate for the damages to the bar, so please bill me. The employees’ treatment costs as well.”

“CEO.”

“In any case, it was done by a department head under Myungjin, so it’s not unfair for me to take responsibility.”

Taejun explained gently to Haeshin, who was looking at him with a downcast expression. It wasn’t a large sum of money, and if this could ease Haeshin’s mind even a little, that was enough. Taejun continued.

“Secretary Choi can handle Jin Youngmin coming back again, right?”

“Yes, CEO.”

Secretary Choi, who was standing behind Taejun, answered immediately without a hint of surprise. Secretary Choi looked at the owner and continued.

“I will give you a separate contact number. Next time Department Head Jin Youngmin or his employees come, please contact the number I give you. We will handle it immediately.”

“Ah, yes! Yes, yes! Oh my, thank you, CEO.”

The owner and Inchan stood up and bowed repeatedly to Taejun.

Taejun stood up, barely acknowledging their bows. Haeshin also got up. He had many things he wanted to say to Taejun, but this wasn’t the place to say them, so he held back.

Taejun approached the bowing owner and spoke again in a rather serious voice.

“I heard you looked after Mr. Cha Haeshin a lot.”

“Th-ah, it’s because Haeshin, no, Mr. Cha Haeshin, is such a good worker. Yes, yes, it’s nothing.”

“Owner, is the CEO going to eat you? You don’t have to be so scared.”

“As if I can control that. No, I mean, can I.”

Haeshin’s voice, chiding the owner who was too nervous to even speak informally as usual, had become quite light. His expression, which had looked like he was about to burst into tears, also looked much brighter. Taejun continued speaking to the owner.

“Helping Mr. Cha Haeshin is the same as helping me, so you don’t have to hesitate to involve me.”

This time, not only the owner but also Haeshin looked at Taejun with a surprised expression. Taejun, unfazed by the several gazes fixed on him, said.

“If people here get hurt, Mr. Cha Haeshin will be upset, so if you need help to prevent that, please contact me right away.”

“…Yes, CEO. Thank you. Um… please take good care of our Haeshin.”

The owner, who had been listening quietly to Taejun’s words, soon bowed deeply. Haeshin lowered his head. He felt like he might burst into tears right there if he wasn’t careful.

He had thought he was fighting a lonely battle all this time, but seeing these people who cared for him like this, it felt like all the suppressed sorrow was being released at once.

“Don’t worry about that.”

Taejun replied confidently to the owner’s last request and looked at Haeshin.

“Shall we go now?”

Haeshin couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth to answer and just nodded his head. It was a moment when he thought he had done the right thing by shamelessly contacting Taejun.

☂️

“Are you feeling a bit more at ease now?”

“…Yes.”

Haeshin, who had let out a long sigh after getting into the car, nodded slightly at Taejun’s question. When he was rushing to the bar, he felt like he would go crazy with all sorts of anxious imaginations, but it wasn’t as bad as he had thought, which was a huge relief. Though Inchan might be disappointed to hear him say that.

“They’re loyal people.”

“Yes. They are. Objectively, you can’t say they’re good people… but among people who do similar work in that field, there are many who are much worse.”

If the owner or Inchan had not been able to withstand Jin Youngmin’s threats and violence and had tricked Haeshin into coming, Haeshin would have been caught without a chance.

They wouldn’t have needed to put on a grand act. If Inchan had just said to drop by the bar for a moment to see his face, Haeshin would have gone without a shadow of a doubt. But even so, they didn’t call Haeshin, even with their faces in that state and the bar trashed.

“Um… CEO.”

Once he had calmed down to some extent, Haeshin felt an immense gratitude towards Taejun. He was grateful enough for him coming at a single phone call and handling a matter that had arisen because of Haeshin, but the greater gratitude was in Taejun’s attitude.

At the bar, Taejun had maintained a rather polite attitude towards the owner throughout. Haeshin could tell at a glance that it was an attitude shown not out of respect for the owner, but out of respect for Cha Haeshin.

And what about the words that helping Cha Haeshin was the same as helping himself? He had to doubt his own ears upon hearing them. So, just as Haeshin opened his mouth to properly express his thanks, Taejun said.

“I’m sorry.”

“Pardon?”

Startled, Haeshin flinched visibly. Taejun continued, unfazed.

“I was complacent. I should have anticipated that Jin Youngmin would act so cowardly…”

“No. I didn’t know either, so how would you know, CEO.”

Haeshin argued desperately. This was a method that even Cha Haeshin, who had experienced Jin Youngmin for so long, hadn’t imagined. It was because Haeshin had never once succeeded in completely hiding from Jin Youngmin before.

He knew that he was vile, petty, and had a nature of being strong against the weak and weak against the strong, but he didn’t know he would go to the bar where Haeshin had worked and cause a ruckus so soon.

“No. It should have been me who prepared in advance, not you. I was the one who promised to protect you.”

Taejun had to admit it. Cha Haeshin was right. He really didn’t know Jin Youngmin.

He had expected him not to give up, but he hadn’t thought his abnormal obsession would have progressed this far already. They hadn’t even been seeing each other for long, let alone married, so he had vaguely thought the weight of emotions would be different from the previous round.

“I’ll have to place people at your mother’s hospital for a while too.”

At Taejun’s following words, Haeshin let out a gasp with a dazed expression. In his absence of mind, Haeshin hadn’t thought of his mother, but when Taejun mentioned her first, he felt another surge of emotion.

“Thank you.”

Haeshin opened his mouth after a long while. As always, Taejun would act as if it were no big deal, but he still wanted to say it. As the days spent with Taejun piled up one by one, the hope that had been fading away began to burn brighter.

Maybe this time would be different. Maybe this time, the end wouldn’t be a brutal murder all alone.

He had learned how to discard hope before learning how to dream of it, and had endured life so far, so he knew he shouldn’t expect anything in the first place to avoid disappointment. Yet, Haeshin couldn’t control his own heart, which kept dreaming of better days than the present.

“I’m so glad I met you, CEO.”

Haeshin met Taejun’s eyes and smiled. Truly, everything was all thanks to Han Taejun.