Heavy Rain Chapter 27

Haejin had no intention of retracing that miserable path with his own mouth. He doubted whether Lyle would even believe him if he mentioned every single detail now. Had he not just been ignored when he said he had never sold off his clothes?

However, if the man had even a slight will to do so, he would think about this question at least one more time. That is, if he had any intention of looking back at Haejin’s sorrow.

But Haejin found himself gradually killing his expectations even as he spat out the words. In the first place, there was no way Lyle would do something like digging into the past just to understand Haejin, was there?

“My life over the past five years as well.”

“I see.”

Therefore, the voice answering, “I see,” was as faint as if it were vanishing into thin air.

Having spat out those random words, Haejin quietly turned his gaze back out the window. The pheromones that had been radiating rejection died down completely, as if they had never existed.

However, breathing in the air inside the now-calm car, Lyle felt his breath tightening further. Rather, it felt as if these presence-less pheromones were building an even larger wall against him.

Suddenly, why is it like this?

Just then, the car pulled up in front of the hospital. Lyle only came to his senses after the driver calmly announced their arrival. The fact that his irrational actions were increasing made it feel as though his head were broken.

Outside, a bodyguard who had been contacted in advance by the secretary was waiting for Haejin. When the business at the hospital was finished, he would bring Haejin back to the mansion.

Even so, Lyle found himself reflexively grabbing the arm of Haejin, who was opening the car door and stepping out expressionlessly.

“Do not think of doing anything foolish.”

“…”

The kid’s gaze looked at his captured arm and then toward the bodyguard outside. As if to see for himself the measures Lyle had put in place.

Only after confirming that did Lyle let go of Haejin obediently. Still expressionless, the kid stepped out without a single word of greeting and headed into the hospital.

Lyle watched that receding figure as if possessed. Haejin’s gait was somehow awkward. The hems of his trousers were still exposing his ankles, leaving them to face the cold wind directly.

Like that awkward gait, Lyle felt a certain misalignment. Now, there would be no reason for Haejin to sell off his clothes, so isn’t something strange? He thought.

Haejin did not look back until the very end. Then, suddenly, his necktie felt suffocating.

It was a strange thing.

“Ah, seriously. I’m telling you, he was dawdling on purpose.”

“Why?”

“How did he know the Master was on his way to work? He’s struggling desperately to run into him.”

“It’s truly disgusting. Does he want to earn money that badly?”

Harsh words were exchanged, ill-suited to the sound of giggling laughter. The voices of the servants tending to the inner courtyard of the main building were heard all too clearly. Could they really not know that Haejin’s room was right above their heads?

“He even managed to get a ride in the Master’s car. After quitting so suddenly, with what kind of face did he come back? Maybe he’s aiming for something bigger. Even though he’s just an underdog.”

“It’s truly absurd.”

It was a meaningless assumption. It was doubtful whether those slanders would even stop if Haejin were to poke his head out right now.

Haejin, who was listening to that conversation while sprawled listlessly on the bed, simply turned over to the opposite side. Even the faintly visible scenery outside disappeared, and instead, the bleak interior of the room filled his vision.

It had been a long time since even the faint anger he felt while riding in the car with Lyle a few days ago had vanished without a trace. From the moment he heard the results of his examination that day, Haejin found it difficult to find any strength.

‘If it stays like this, you might not be able to walk properly for the rest of your life. You must be careful.’

Was it because he had neglected management even after wandering aimlessly? The doctor glanced once at the bodyguard standing firm behind him and said that a problem had been discovered in his ankle.

Normally, he should have managed it with steady physical therapy as soon as he received surgery after the accident. However, Haejin had to roam around on crutches to borrow money to save his parents. Naturally, his leg was an afterthought.

He certainly thought it couldn’t be helped, but actually hearing that diagnosis made his mood sink deep into the ground. To have leg trouble at such a young age. It was as good as saying that from now on, he truly wouldn’t be able to make a living through labor.

Thanks to that, Haejin had to return with his rejection of hospitals held even more distinctly. It was to the point where having the bodyguard monitor him and lead him back to the mansion was actually welcome. Because the moment he stepped out after the checkup and smelled the hospital scent, Haejin felt as if his leg were truly falling off.

Since he had no family, it was hard to shake the feeling that he was an endlessly worthless person. In the first place, it was his family who had created the value of a person who was an orphan. His parents had strictly scolded Haejin for such thoughts every time. Telling him that he was a person who shone in his own right.

But those parents were no longer here.

In the end, it was a recurring cycle. From a certain point, an excessively depressed emotion had been enveloping Haejin. He realized that this was all an irrational sentiment, but that was all. The motivation to actually escape that state did not well up.

He heard the sound of a tray rolling in front of the door. It seemed it was already dinner time.

After the butler had scattered pheromones saturated with anger and left, a tray would be placed carelessly in front of Haejin’s door as usual.

At the sound of the food tray being placed roughly in front of the door, Haejin lifted his gaze without any energy. If he didn’t bring it in quickly now, the food would disappear again.

“…”

Today, it was especially hard to get up, so he missed the mealtime. Judging by long experience, it was obvious that the food would have disappeared already, so Haejin did not even try to open the door.

For several days after returning from the hospital, his waking time, which had been getting later and later, finally ended up being pushed until late in the afternoon. He had opened his eyes at a time past even lunch. The bed sucked Haejin in as if it had become a quicksand pit. The cloudy sky made it unclear whether it was afternoon or morning, so he almost mistook the time for dawn.

He was this low on energy because he was hungry. Haejin judged rationally. However, unlike the thoughts in his head, his body would not listen at all. As if it knew that his thoughts were as transient as flowing rainwater.

He felt a hollow sensation as if a giant hole had been made in his stomach. Even so, he had no appetite at all, which created a strange distortion inside him.

Haejin, observing that heavy mood, slowly closed his eyes.

Strangely, no matter how much he slept, he felt sleepy.

“Then I will come to pick you up tomorrow.”

Lyle, who had finished work, nodded and stepped out of the car. It was a day no different from any other. He was still busy, his relatives continued to watch for an opening, and the fact that society demanded heavy responsibility from him remained constant.

And Haejin was quiet.

There had been one change for Lyle during that time. That he occasionally thought of Haejin. Of course, the feeling that it was endlessly bothersome was what he felt primarily. More often than not, he forced himself to push away the face that surfaced like an afterimage. And now, he did not dream.

Lyle thought it was a situation that wasn’t bad in many ways. His head was starting to feel heavy again, so he merely made the judgment that he would have to resolve his pheromones soon.

Even up until he encountered the servant clearing a tray at this late hour upon entering the main building, he certainly thought so.

“You there.”

“Yes, Master.”

“What is that?”

“Ah… I am in the middle of clearing this from Mr. Bright’s room.”

The only people who would have a meal in the main building right now are Haejin and himself. Therefore, it was natural to think of Haejin upon seeing the food tray.

However, the time the servant was clearing the tray was strangely bothersome. Lyle, walking with thud-thud steps toward the tray the servant was holding, opened the lid that was covering the food without hesitation.

Food that had not been touched at all was revealed under the brightly lit hallway lights.

“You say this is the food that went to Jin?”

“Yes, Master.”

The servant answered while quickly bowing his head. No matter how much he looked at it, it wasn’t food that was inedible. Even the plating, which seemed to have quite some care put into it, was flawless in Lyle’s eyes.

And yet again, he skipped a meal.

Lyle, who had set down the item he was silently holding with a click, immediately moved his steps. Not toward his room where he usually went, but toward the place where Haejin was staying.