Heavy Rain Chapter 57

When the elevator opened, a space presumably acting as the foyer appeared immediately. Seeing as it operated through authentication from the start, it seemed to be a private elevator made specifically for this space.

Haejin leaned back deeply into his wheelchair, thinking that Vermouth’s wealth was amazing once again. Even when his ankle just ached, moving around was not exactly comfortable, but now that he had a cast on, it was even harder to move.

After undergoing strict authentication once more, he stepped inside to find a vast interior. The wide windows offered an unobstructed view of the city, which caught his eye first. The white marble floors and the luxurious furniture decorating every corner made the place look like somewhere out of a magazine.

Haejin looked around the house with an indifferent air. His gaze traveled naturally, but it was because he still did not know exactly where this was.

“How is it.”

“…It is high.”

He offered an awkward answer to the abrupt question. It seemed Lyle truly had business with Haejin in this space.

At that reaction, Lyle realized his explanation had been far too lacking. After stroking his cheek and choosing his thoughts carefully, he offered a proper response.

“This is the penthouse specified in the contract. Jin, this is the place to be provided to you.”

“…What did you say?”

Haejin, who had been leaning dazed in the wheelchair, turned around reflexively in surprise. The back of his head brushed against Lyle’s neat suit.

“This place is far too much as compensation for the contract.”

Haejin, who seemed agitated for a moment, spoke to Lyle in a stiff tone. His pale face, which had briefly turned toward him, heartlessly faced forward again.

Looking down at that small back of the head, Lyle noticed that Haejin had ultimately never read the contract to the very end. Even at the time, Haejin had only confirmed that the clauses he requested were written correctly before signing.

Feeling a bit troubled, Lyle rubbed his lips. This was Haejin, saying that merely this much was too much. He had no idea what the boy would say if he saw the other compensations written in the contract.

That said, it was quite uncomfortable to tell him not to worry since it was compensation for the damage he had received. Of course, he intended to pay appropriate compensation for the hardships Haejin had endured. However, the problem was this prickly sensation, clearly born of guilt, that kept lingering in his mouth.

In the end, Lyle had no choice but to speak calmly, as if letting out a sigh.

“It cannot be helped, as you have already signed.”

“….”

Haejin, who had briefly looked back at him, now stared straight ahead rigidly. That back view felt so distant to Lyle that it was hard to believe they were this close.

Lyle, gazing endlessly at the only part of the boy he was permitted to see—his back—took a deep breath. A heavy pheromone could be felt, reflecting his sunken mood. Haejin’s gaze, which had been looking around when they first entered, was now stubbornly fixed only on his own knees.

After much thought, Lyle cautiously took Haejin toward the living room window. The gaze that had been fixed downward reflexively turned toward the outside of the window. It was a view that could not be seen from his mansion; no, it was a view that was hard to see in most cities.

Haejin, taking in the landscape of Heavy Rain that could be seen at a glance, remained silent. Unlike him, the scenery did not even enter Lyle’s eyes. Lyle only stole cautious glances at the boy’s profile.

“…I recommended the hospital purely because of your leg.”

“Yes.”

“I had no intention of forcing you to take a pregnancy test.”

“Yes.”

He spoke of the matter that had been weighing on his mind all along. However, Haejin did not give him anything more than short answers.

He knew perfectly well that this reaction was not because the boy actually believed Lyle’s words. It was likely that it simply did not matter either way. In the first place, Haejin held no expectations for Lyle.

Just like that contract the boy had never finished reading.

Lyle, having realized that, had no choice but to twist his lips bitterly.

With the cast on, washing was quite uncomfortable. However, Haejin refused the help offered by the servants. Such things became very awkward when the man was an Omega. It was difficult to expect the same gender standards from those who were Betas. Especially for Haejin, who had grown up as a Beta, the sexual distinction was even more ambiguous, making it harder.

Having barely finished the difficult struggle, he let out a sigh and sat on the edge of the bed. One of his legs felt heavy because of the cast. He was told he would have to go back and forth to the hospital a few times for the time being. He was already worried about those days.

Still, it cannot be helped if I want to walk out of this mansion.

While trying to soothe himself, he suddenly frowned slightly. It was because he thought of the penthouse he had visited earlier. To think that such a thing was in the contract.

Pondering, Haejin left the bedroom and headed toward the dressing room. Because he had to use crutches, all the rugs in the bedroom had been removed.

He thought the contract had been placed somewhere around here, but he could not remember exactly.

“It is here.”

The contract was quickly found near his old trunk. It seemed a servant had neatly put away the document that had been rolling around. He hurried to take the papers out of the envelope. After flipping through a few pages, the things Lyle had mentioned were written in a section he had never even opened.

Just as expected, they were very excessive rewards.

“….”

Haejin blankly read and re-read the words stating that not only the penthouse but even the ownership of the building would be transferred. Besides that, the cash to be paid was also excessively high. He had once thought that for someone like Lyle, it would be more fitting to compensate for everything with just money. The contract seemed to have recorded that thought exactly.

He remembered the moment Lyle had barged into the motel where he had been slumped. The scent of the fierce, cold night air suddenly seemed to overwhelm Haejin. After already giving this much compensation, why on earth did he set the condition for Haejin to become healthy?

Just what did Lyle want from him?

Haejin, who had been examining the text on the contract for a long time while tapping it, eventually gave up on the calculations. In the first place, something like the ownership of a building was a value hard to fathom with his limited knowledge. Lyle’s intentions were the same. Whatever the man wanted, it had nothing to do with him.

Therefore, he simply had to return it all without thinking deeply about anything.

The next morning, to the Lyle who had arrived as always saying they should have a meal together, Haejin quietly held out the contract.

“…Why this.”

“The compensation was too excessive.”

“….”

Instead of the contract, Lyle looked at Haejin’s hand that had approached him gracefully. It was exactly what he had expected from the reaction the boy showed after seeing the penthouse yesterday.

There were several intentions behind showing him the penthouse, but there was one primary purpose. Unlike before, he simply wanted to clearly show that this contract would truly be kept. Had it, instead, produced the opposite effect?

Lyle took the contract with an effort to remain calm. Then, he cautiously pulled Haejin’s hand and pressed the document back into it.

For some reason, the brief contact of their skin felt regrettable.

“I do not need such things.”

“Jin, it cannot be helped as you have already signed.”

“It is uncomfortable.”

The hand stubbornly extended toward him held a sense of persistence. Lyle wondered lately if this was Haejin’s original personality; there were many things he was curious about.

Would a person capable of being this stubborn have lived in this mansion with his breath held so tightly?

“I know.”

“….”

Seeing Lyle affirm calmly, Haejin eventually ended up frowning slightly at the bridge of his nose. Observing that brow which revealed his displeasure anew, Lyle chose his words carefully.

He was determined to press these rewards into Haejin’s hands no matter what. This was because, viewed objectively, the damage Haejin received deserved to be compensated.

Furthermore, he wanted Haejin to have something for self-reliance other than Lyle as a means. If the boy were to leave this mansion, it would be very difficult for a person with no place to stay and an unhealthy body to survive.

Of course, the wall of the “end” that Haejin had declared was still tightening around Lyle’s throat. However, regardless of whether that time would come or not, he wanted Haejin to have the means to protect himself. So that, at any time, he would not starve because he lacked a few measly cents.