Heavy Rain Chapter 15

Haejin stared blankly at the misty forest before looking back at the screen of the ATM. It was a small amount of money that would require him to worry about the very next week. Even so, strangely, he did not feel a sense of crisis. This was despite the fact that he was wandering about with neither a home nor money.

A vague dryness brushes the tip of his nose. It would be midwinter soon. In the winter of this city, famous for its heavy rain, thick snowflakes sometimes scattered down.

Therefore, winter was the perfect season to fade away. Even if he were to die in some random place, the snow would cover him.

After contemplating for a moment, Haejin simply withdrew all the remaining money. Not only had he come to the outskirts where it was difficult to find a withdrawal machine in the first place, but his assets were not worth splitting into several withdrawals anyway.

As he wandered vaguely wherever his feet led him, a single sign caught his eye. Snow Lake. It was a lake in the countryside where he had once come for a picnic with his family.

Seeing that, he suddenly felt a desire to see the lake. He wondered if, upon going there and realizing he was alone in that empty place, he might finally shed some tears.

Staring at the withdrawal machine spitting out money with mechanical sounds, Haejin looked up at the sky again. It was heavily overcast and the temperature was quite chilly, so it looked like it would rain tomorrow as well. It would likely be a bit longer before it snowed.

Until now, he had wandered quite well so as not to leave traces like this. He had started moving because of a faint foreboding, but he was able to travel while forgetting the pain in his legs more than he had expected. It seemed to be because it was his first time seeing the outside world in five years.

Naturally, Lyle had not been able to find him even once during that time. He wasn’t sure if Lyle couldn’t find him or simply hadn’t looked.

Was there really a need to run away this hard?

Haejin repeatedly pondered whether he was worth such effort. As Lyle said, pregnancy was a concern, but he was a recessive type anyway. He didn’t know much about it, but they said pregnancy was certainly not easy. He was even in a state where he could not even control his pheromones as he pleased. Above all, Haejin did not have the luxury to think about such heavy topics right now.

If Lyle hadn’t found an Omega to contract with, there was still a possibility he was looking for him. However, Lyle was not a man idle enough to chase someone who was so openly avoiding him. Although, the fact that he had chased him all the way to his room was still surprising.

So, he could stop now, couldn’t he?

In truth, it was close to making this or that excuse. It was also true that he was exhausted because he had pushed his body to the limit over the past few days, barely consuming even water.

Haejin, having taken out and tucked away the money, looked around and discovered an old motel. He debated whether he should go somewhere far from this machine just in case, but then he simply moved his legs trudgingly. One leg dragged, leaving a trail among the fallen leaves.

Who was he that Lyle would still be chasing him?

Haejin was too exhausted to go far now.

The shimmering waves of the lake caught young Haejin’s sparkling eyes. Having lived only in the orphanage, it was his first time coming this far since he was born. His foster father’s large car and the huge mart they saw on the way were all full of wonder.

It was a day when the sun had risen brightly in the sky for a change. To Haejin, who was still hovering hesitantly at home and watching their reactions, his parents suggested they go on a picnic.

With a shy nod, the whole family became busy. His father headed to the garage to get the items needed for the picnic, and his mother went to the kitchen in a bustle. His hyung held out his cherished toy box and told Haejin to pick the one he liked.

It was good weather, rare for this city. This lake, located in a secluded spot, actually did not have very diverse scenery. Because of that, there were no people, and his father winked playfully, saying it was their family’s secret place. In fact, on that day as well, only Haejin’s family was sitting near the lake on a spread-out picnic mat.

After being invited to a secret place, he felt like they had truly become a family. The sky was blue, and the sandwiches his mother had packed tasted heavenly.

It was truly a brilliant day.

“…Jin…!”

“Ah…”

The longed-for scene he saw after so long disappeared like the waves of the lake. Opening his eyes heavily, Haejin swallowed his sorrow while looking at the dark, moldy-smelling ceiling. Familiarly.

“Open the door!”

The sound of violent knocking on the door invaded his hazy mind. Haejin, barely raising his creaking body, looked toward the door.

A voice he could not fail to recognize was heard from outside.

For a moment, Haejin wondered if his brilliant memories had been covered by a dark nightmare. Did he still have enough strength left to fear and hate Lyle this much?

Then, the sound of the violent knocking abruptly stopped. While Haejin, who had barely raised his body, was staring blankly at the door, the latch suddenly turned with a Click.

At that sound, Haejin realizes that this is reality.

“…”

Creak. As the door opened, the guests staying nearby threw harsh curses toward the commotion. Along with someone standing against the darkness, the chilly night air rushed into Haejin’s room. The small amount of warmth he had barely managed to generate in his chest scattered away in vain.

His eyes met Lyle’s, who was looking down at him without a word. Even in the midst of that, Haejin could not quite regain his senses and thought a frivolous thought. He wondered if that man, who always acted so arrogantly, hadn’t been knocking on the door quite desperately just a moment ago.

“Jin.”

“…”

Exactly as the shabby figure that had been rolling around outside, Haejin was crumpled on top of the bed. Discovering that, Lyle unconsciously let out a sigh. He slowly brushes back his hair, which had become disheveled from rushing up the stairs.

Not long after Haejin withdrew the money, the secretary who obtained the information reported to Lyle that they had found a trace. It was an era where moving money was the same as moving the law. For Lyle, digging up the personal information of someone who didn’t have a single backer was easier than twisting a child’s wrist.

He could have just waited. Even so, Lyle could not just sit and rest at the mansion. By the time he came to his senses, he was instructing them to prepare the car.

In the night where darkness had fallen blackly, Lyle looked at the bank withdrawal machine where Haejin had finally stopped. The fact that the fellow had withdrawn all the remaining money here was utterly unsettling.

Just then, a guard searching nearby brought information that Haejin had not gone far and was staying at a motel. It is a city where Asian faces and black hair are not common. Haejin was an opponent who was easy to track as long as he left even a single trace.

After hearing that, Lyle had no room to think about anything else. He came up here even before the guards could bribe the owner with money to obtain the key.

He himself did not understand why he moved in such a hurry. Lyle was surprised by himself, but Haejin, who had been intruded upon, showed no sign of surprise. He was merely looking up at him with calm, empty eyes.

Whether the dry air had been shoved entirely down his throat, he was strangely thirsty.

“Stop this and come back.”

Come back.

Haejin felt a sense of resistance even through his dazed, drifting mind. That was not Haejin’s home. His warm home had long ago been disastrously handed over to a stranger’s hands. So how could that place be somewhere he could “come back” to?

He had starved for several days and then fallen asleep without even being able to warm his body. Because it was a body exhausted to the limit, Haejin simply could not come to his senses easily.

“That place is not my home.”

“…”

Even though their eyes were clearly meeting, Lyle received the feeling that Haejin was not looking at him. Pheromones had accumulated until they were stabbing at his brain. At the thirst that began the moment he entered this room—an endless thirst like an abyss—Lyle was on the verge of losing his mind.

“What do you want. Tell me.”

At Lyle’s words, which flowed out like a growl, Haejin slightly cast his gaze outside. There were so many guards surrounding the area that the outside could not be seen.

Looking at that scene, he spoke as if possessed. It was a voice so small it was likely to drift away in vain through the late autumn night.

“I want to disappear.”

“…You’re making me crazy.”

Lyle heard the sound of something snapping inside his head. At this moment, anxiety consumes his body to the point where he cannot wait for his reason to judge.