Heavy Rain Chapter 17

This time, Haejin did not have the desperation required to endure such cruel words. Nothing remained for him.

So Haejin collapsed right where he stood.

“Jin!”

There was an almost terrifying lack of sensation in his body as it collided with the floor.

The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was Lyle, wearing an expression he had never seen before.

“…”

Haejin, lying there with a pale face, was so quiet that one had to check occasionally to see if he was even breathing.

When Lyle had instinctively taken Haejin into his arms as he collapsed in the reception room, the man already had a boiling high fever. Thanks to the secretary, who had watched the situation from behind and moved quickly, they reached the hospital in no time. In the midst of this unexpected situation, Lyle postponed even his morning work and waited for Haejin to open his eyes.

Last night was a series of impulses. Even this moment, delaying work like this, was an impulse. Lyle liked to move through every matter with a sense of planning, to the point of checking travel times down to the minute. However, matters involving Haejin had long ago deviated from his plans. Issues like ruts or pheromone congestion were problems where the timing could not be calculated meticulously.

Still, he thought he had become somewhat accustomed to these useless traits of his nature, but it was a delusion. Haejin remained a non-routine existence to him.

Possessing a thought system quite different from others, Lyle knew this situation was irrational even in his own view. In truth, there was no reason for Haejin to accept this contract. Whether he stumbled from the sorrow of losing his family and died on the street, that was his life.

Even so, Lyle could not tolerate this situation. When Haejin asked him for a reason, he too wanted to find the answer. The assumption that he would know once he put Haejin before his eyes had long since shattered into pieces. He still could not understand himself—why he had to make a contract with Haejin.

The fact that he had no intention of letting go of Haejin, even in this state, was also strange.

In any case, having used the extreme measure of kidnapping, if Lyle did not back down, Haejin would have no clever way out. Knowing that, it was somehow difficult to shake the feeling that something was going wrong. He could just ignore whatever the fellow was thinking.

Why did he want so little from him?

“…”

Coincidentally, it was when Lyle was deeply contemplating his complex inner thoughts that Haejin opened his eyes.

The white ceiling he viewed with dim eyes was familiar. The accustomed smell of the hospital made Haejin tense. However, that habitual tension soon dissolved into hollow resignation.

Now his family was not in the hospital. He no longer had to worry about the misfortune that might approach every time he crossed the hospital threshold. It seemed that once a person is already swallowed by misfortune, fear disappears for this reason. The fact that he himself was now a patient did not feel particularly important.

Forcing his eyes, which were stiff from dryness, to turn, Haejin scanned the room. He saw the shadow of a person sitting in a chair. One might be surprised if someone were by their side, but Haejin merely turned his gaze weakly.

Of course, it was unexpected that Lyle, who was not even a caregiver, was still by his side. But he soon changed his mind. For some reason, it seemed Lyle would continue to be strange until this contract was made.

The man was glaring at Haejin as if he had become a stone statue. Feeling a foreign sensation on his wrist, Haejin looked to the side and saw an IV attached. The IV pack being injected into him was stamped with the Vermouth Pharmaceutical logo.

Strangely, the logo on the IV pack struck him more heavily than the Lyle before his eyes. It was the realization of a biting reality. While receiving a Vermouth Pharmaceutical IV in a hospital under the Vermouth corporate umbrella, Haejin had to force himself to understand this situation.

Unless Lyle desired it first, he would not be able to escape this situation.

“Are you going to keep pretending you don’t see me like that?”

At the somewhat angry question, Haejin’s gaze drifted weakly in that direction. He had not meant to ignore the man’s existence, but it was a strange reaction.

Lyle, who had stood up abruptly, slowly approached Haejin. Listening to the sound of Lyle’s shoes and the water-like sound of the IV dripping, Haejin had to swallow his sorrow again. Because of his severely swollen throat, that familiar action was very difficult.

Still, he forced his mouth open.

“Three months.”

“…What?”

“Let’s make the contract for three months.”

The best thing would be to disappear far away like this. However, Haejin quickly realized that it was realistically impossible.

He felt his current state was like a lake covered in thin ice. It was different from when he endured in that mansion before. He was in a state where he was easily broken by even a trivial thing, just like when he fainted.

Even if he wanted to let go of everything, it didn’t mean he couldn’t feel the pain of breaking. So he realized that accepting the deal Lyle offered was instead a way out.

Just as he had kidnapped him blindly this time, Lyle had any number of ways to force Haejin through extra-legal actions. It was a dangerous situation where his existence, without any ties, could legally disappear. Strangely, he was not afraid of disappearing. But he was utterly afraid of having to hurt more in that process.

So, in this reality, the contract Lyle proposed was essentially nothing less than a device to protect Haejin. The contract, which he finally looked back at after only running away, held that kind of meaning.

“…Why three months.”

“There is no particular reason.”

“It’s too short.”

“It’s not short. Failing to find one until then is a lack of ability on your part.”

“…”

However, that much was not enough. Haejin did not want to be held there indefinitely. He deliberately spoke words that would touch the nature of the arrogant Lyle. Hoping that out of spite, the man would accept his opinion. His rough lips tore in the meantime, and he tasted blood.

Waiting for peace after enduring a bit of pain was the best direction he could take now. He felt as if the IV hanging from his wrist was binding him, just like when he mixed bodies with Lyle.

“Whew… Fine.”

Haejin, who had only been looking at the ceiling with a hollow face since opening his eyes, looked as if he would disappear soon even though he was clearly right there. It was certain that the pheromones were not only invading his brain but were also affecting his eyes.

Furthermore, since he suddenly agreed to the contract he had been avoiding so much, Lyle became slightly tense. It was a situation he had longed for, but since Haejin changed his attitude so abruptly, he was quite curious about the inner thoughts.

While waiting for the fellow who had collapsed, Lyle had also tried to analyze his own physical condition in his own way. Could it be that his body had hardened because he had used only one type of pheromone for relief? If so, he could just bring Haejin into the mansion and gradually neutralize it with other pheromones. From now on, even if it was a bit bothersome, not maintaining only one contract was also a method.

So in any case, it was beneficial to accept, even if conditionally. Even so, strangely, the words “three months” stuck to his eardrums roughly and were extremely bothersome.

“And I need a clause stating that I can quit at any time, just like before.”

Haejin did not stop there and poured out words that provoked him. At the fact that even three months might not be guaranteed, Lyle suddenly felt as if the chilly winter air was invading the hospital room.

“…That is not allowed. Fulfill the term completely.”

“If that clause is not there, what meaning does the contract have to me?”

“…”

It was a voice that scattered tremulously, but the content pierced the essence. Narrowing his eyes, Lyle looked at those lips that had been bothering him since earlier. The blood that had burst out and seeped was clearly visible even in the dark hospital room.

“If you don’t like it, just tie me up and do it by force. Like you suggested.”

The sound coming from those rough, small lips strangely pierced Lyle’s heart.

Was the tone of the words he spat out that cruel?

“…I will allow that clause to be included this time as well.”

Inevitably, Lyle nodded. It was an achievement that made the commotion during the night not in vain. He judged that for now, it was time to back down this much.

“Get some rest.”

Spitting this out shortly, he turned around without lingering. Since his business was finished, there was no longer a need to be here. Without yet reflecting on the fact that he had been staying in this hospital room until now without a clear purpose.

“…”