Salt Society Chapter 45

That was also the reason why he hadn’t said anything about Team Leader Lim until now. Aside from not wanting to go looking for trouble, he hadn’t felt the need to make a scene out of every little thing, but there was also a part of him that kept quiet because he didn’t want to look pathetic in front of Cho Yeonoh.

However, since it felt awkward to bring such things up honestly, he ended up acting out of pride. Even while thinking, “What does this bit of pride matter now?” he remained silent, simply wiping his forehead with his palm.

The weather had been chilly until recently, but now the wind carried a moderate warmth. The outdoors, now that the late spring cold snap had passed, was deserted. So Kihyun stole a glance at Cho Yeonoh, who had his back turned toward him, and let out a sigh that only he could hear.

Then, he asked the thing he needed to ask first.

“…Why couldn’t I get a hold of you.”

But Cho Yeonoh did not answer. Kihyun bit his lip once more. He even rubbed the lukewarm back of his neck with his hand for no reason.

He wondered if he should start with, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” Actually, he hadn’t done anything wrong, but knowing Cho Yeonoh’s personality, it seemed like it might be a shock if he had only just found out about this.

Kihyun thought of several things to say, picked one at random, and opened his mouth.

“What you saw earlier was…”

“—Fuck, Kihyun, I told you to shut up.”

It was a voice like metal scraping together. Cho Yeonoh turned toward Kihyun, his eyes bloodshot and red.

Kihyun inhaled sharply. For some reason, his body became extremely heavy. No, rather than heavy, it felt as though he were freezing. He felt exactly like someone driven out naked in front of a predator. When Kihyun swallowed his breath, Cho Yeonoh approached him, his brow furrowing fiercely.

“What on earth is this… Did you finally go and spray perfume?”

He came up abruptly and pulled Kihyun into an embrace by the waist, and that was the first thing he said with his nose buried in the crook of Kihyun’s neck. Kihyun, not understanding what was going on, pushed against Cho Yeonoh’s chest.

“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden. And what perfume.”

He asked because he was puzzled that Yeonoh would suddenly ask if he’d sprayed perfume when he knew Kihyun rarely used scented products other than the aftershave Yeonoh had bought for him, but there was no answer. Just as he was about to ask what he meant again, Cho Yeonoh gave a short, dry laugh and spoke.

“Then what, did you actually meet an Omega or something?”

“…What have you been talking about this whole time.”

He didn’t know the intent, but it was an unpleasant question. Kihyun broke free from the embrace by roughly shoving the chest he had only been pushing lightly.

Because of how tightly he had been gripping his waist, the treatment uniform—made of a material that didn’t wrinkle easily—was a mess in an instant. Everything was just one sigh after another.

The guy, staring intently at Kihyun, traced his brow bone with his index finger. He looked beyond anxious. No, he also looked strangely detached, like someone who had made a difficult decision.

Then, he spoke abruptly.

“That son of a bitch earlier—.”

“…”

“Ha, forget it. You probably played the martyr again, not telling me.”

Kihyun felt a sudden surge of irritation at those words. His physical condition wasn’t good to begin with, and he was in a bad mood from the embarrassment of showing something he shouldn’t have shown. It wasn’t like him, as someone who rarely had mood swings, but he couldn’t stop the blunt words from flying out.

“How can you say things like that. Watch your mouth.”

“Oh, are you angry? At me, even?”

The face that had begun to sneer with intent was beautifully distorted. Kihyun, thinking ‘here we go again,’ debated briefly whether he should just think about something else.

“You should have been angry at that guy, not me. Didn’t you pick the wrong target? Is it my fault that even with the hospital director and the foundation chairman as your friends, you got trampled by a piece of shit like that?”

Kihyun stuck out his tongue and licked his lower lip. His chest felt scratchy, as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper. He already knew the guy still considered him a friend, but since he’d been pushing several things aside because he hadn’t had time to cry, he suddenly felt a surge of emotion.

“Are we… friends?”

Upon hearing that, Cho Yeonoh muttered a curse, “You’re saying more crazy shit again, damn it,” then licked his own lower lip and continued.

“Kihyun, is that what’s important right now?”

Then what? When else is it going to be important if not now? For Kihyun, that was what had been important, more than anything else. It was just an issue that had been passed over because it wasn’t important to Cho Yeonoh. Kihyun fell silent.

Watching him, Cho Yeonoh clicked his tongue.

“I was saying why you’re putting up with something that could be cleared away from right in front of your eyes. You really…”

Of course, he knew that was Cho Yeonoh’s sincerity. But Kihyun had nothing to say regarding Team Leader Lim. Honestly, it didn’t even bother him that much.

Working was hard for everyone, and earning someone else’s money wasn’t easy. So even he could handle someone like Team Leader Lim. He had survived and endured in much worse places; a small-minded man who did nothing more than throw a patient’s chart was something he could easily tolerate.

But the one Kihyun found hard to tolerate was Cho Yeonoh. He didn’t know how much longer Yeonoh’s thoughts would stay stuck on being “friends,” or how much longer he would have to endure such a Cho Yeonoh. It might have been his own fault for starting this relationship without being prepared to wait forever.

The guy, who couldn’t have known about the storm blowing inside Kihyun, seemed to fumble in his pocket for a cigarette before giving up and speaking.

“…I couldn’t get back to you because I was busy.”

He seemed to be talking about the last few days. Kihyun had no words to offer in response, so he just nodded. Cho Yeonoh, stealing a glance at him, fell silent again.

He must have truly had a lot of work, as his complexion was pale. Kihyun was looking at him fixedly. He was just about to ask if he was sick.

The guy opened his lips. It felt like he was barely managing to do something difficult. Even the way his shoulders rose and fell slightly was unfamiliar.

“To you…”

“…Tell me.”

He wondered why he was hesitating so much to say something. Cho Yeonoh swept back his hair. He had his hair up, so there was nothing coming down over his forehead now, but it was a habit the guy—who found bangs annoying—might only have at home.

Watching that, the thought that he wanted to punch the guy’s jaw just twice moments ago was forgotten, and his heart felt a bit lighter. Moreover, because his body felt quite heavy, he wanted to stop the draining fight and just reconcile.

Cho Yeonoh’s irritability was nothing new, and since the guy acting that way was mostly because of him, his anger never lasted long. Thinking about it the other way around, Kihyun would have felt hurt by the guy too. He decided to forget about the “friend of the chairman” thing. Not for Cho Yeonoh’s sake, but for his own, as his condition had been poor lately.

If they just reconciled roughly and smoothed things over, wouldn’t tomorrow be worth living again? Kihyun wanted to return to normal as soon as possible. He was just about to tell him to let go of the anger and suggest they leave work together and grab dinner.

A low voice reached Kihyun’s ears.

“I… slept with another Omega.”

“…What?”

He had clearly heard something, but unable to understand it, he stared at Cho Yeonoh. The guy he had thought looked pale today was now completely white as a sheet.

Because his complexion was so bad, Kihyun could only stare at him blankly, forgetting the words Cho Yeonoh had just said. He wanted to ask again if he was sick.

“Another… Omega…”

Cho Yeonoh covered his mouth, unable to finish his sentence. As if he were about to be sick. He was suppressing an urge to vomit to the point that his eyes were turning red.

Kihyun was merely looking at that sight with a blank face.

“Wh-When…”

That was the only question he could spit out. It was because he felt the ground beneath his feet suddenly give way. Kihyun tried to stay calm.

An Omega? Come to think of it, there was something that came to mind. The incident at the Namhae resort. Kihyun felt like he knew who the partner Cho Yeonoh mentioned was. At that moment, the ground that had felt like it was giving way became solid, as if new flesh were growing.

It didn’t seem like he had slept with someone else again while he was busy. He had seemed to mistake it for a dream, but it was surprising that he now regarded it as an established fact that he had definitely slept with an Omega.

Had he found out something more in the meantime? It seemed he hadn’t realized the partner was Kihyun, but the fact that he had slept with someone appeared to have been clearly revealed.

However, he hadn’t expected him to tell him that. He knew the fact that Cho Yeonoh harbored a loathing for having relations with Betas. That was why he had told him to pretend he’d slept with an Omega, but because he hadn’t known he would inform him of it so certainly, his heart felt flustered.

Kihyun thought that if it were Cho Yeonoh, he would hide it until the end. Or confess after time had passed. It was the guy himself who had first given Kihyun permission to sleep with other Omegas. Although he said he had no intention of doing so himself, Kihyun had just assumed that was one of those stories about “free love” secretly spread among Alphas and Omegas, or some such thing.

So he was confused. In that short moment, countless worries flashed by, wondering if he should just say he understood for now, or if it would be more natural to get angry.

Before the startled Kihyun could gradually calm down, Cho Yeonoh spoke again. It was a heavily sunken voice.

“Let’s break up.”

“What?”

He didn’t hear those words properly. His hearing was fine and the voice he heard was clear, but his cognitive ability was completely failing. Kihyun tried to trace back what he had heard but, unable to understand, he asked again.

“What? I didn’t hear you well.”

That was a lie. He had heard it, but it was closer to not understanding what those words meant.