Hazardous Concentration Chapter 39

Lee Suwon’s pale face gradually turned blue. Soon, he let out a scream that was impossible to describe.

Trembling violently, he tried to retreat backward somehow, but he was blocked by the men and couldn’t budge an inch.

“If you open your eyes and look closely, you’ll be able to find the blood your father spilled, too.”

Soon, Lee Suwon let out a sound like a beast having its throat slit. While he was thrashing about with a face consumed by terror, he even wet himself.

Yeo Taejun frowned at the yellow liquid flowing between his trouser legs.

“Augh, ahhh!”

Yeo Taejun, who had been quietly watching Lee Suwon as he crawled on the floor in a complete state of panic, stood up and said,

“I don’t even need to dirty my hands with you.”

He wasn’t even worth that much. With an indifferent gaze, Yeo Taejun gave an order to his henchman.

“Handle it as you see fit.”

“Yes.”

Having said his piece, Yeo Taejun turned his back. The men all bowed in unison behind him.

“Please have a safe trip, Director.”

“Safe travels!”

Hearing their boisterous shouts, Yeo Taejun walked away from the workshop, his footsteps steady. Kim Hyunseong followed behind him.

It was when they finally came out of the foul-smelling basement to the ground floor that a scream, unmistakably Lee Suwon’s, rang out wretchedly.

Yeo Taejun boarded the sedan parked in front of the building.

After closing the back door, Kim Hyunseong moved to the driver’s seat. He turned on the navigation to head to the next location, but then Yeo Taejun’s voice reached him.

“Let’s change the destination.”

Kim Hyunseong only thought it was a bit unexpected, but he wasn’t surprised.

“To where, sir?”

“Hmm.”

“…?”

He then sent a puzzled glance through the rearview mirror. However, Yeo Taejun didn’t answer, merely frowning slightly as if something wasn’t to his liking.

∞ ∞ ∞

Eunhoo stared at the sign before him with dark eyes.

The sign read, 『Kim Sung-yeon Obstetrics & Gynecology』.

He felt so anxious he couldn’t stand it because of a man who hadn’t used a condom and, to make matters worse, had even ejaculated inside him. Although it happened only once or twice a year, he occasionally spotted a small amount of menstrual blood, so he couldn’t rule out the possibility.

However, once he stood in front of the clinic, his feet froze. He had no confidence to break through that door and enter, and even if he did, what would he explain to the doctor? It was obvious that if a man—who was clearly a man to anyone’s eyes—went in and said he needed the morning-after pill, he would be looked at like a lunatic. Yet, he didn’t have the confidence to explain his intersex body, either. So, he hesitated and turned away, only to see a pharmacy next door.

“Welcome.”

As he entered, a pharmacist, who looked to be in his mid-to-late 50s, greeted Eunhoo warmly.

“Um, excuse me….”

“What can I get for you?”

The pharmacist asked kindly. Eunhoo hemmed and hawed before mumbling in a small voice.

“…Medicine.”

“Pardon?”

The sound was so faint that the pharmacist couldn’t hear it well and asked again.

“…Contra-ceptive.”

“I’m sorry, but could you speak a little louder, customer?”

“Co-, contraceptive pill, please.”

“Ah, a contraceptive pill? Is there a specific brand you want?”

Are there many types of contraceptive pills? To the pharmacist’s question, Eunhoo replied to just give him anything. Just then, a pregnancy test kit caught his eye. He hesitated, wondering whether to buy it or not, then snatched it up as well and placed it on the counter.

“Are you running an errand for your girlfriend?”

“Pardon? Ah… Yes.”

The pharmacist seemed to be quite sociable, asking this and that. Cold sweat broke out. That short time spent scanning the barcode felt incredibly long.

“Would you like a bag for these?”

“No.”

“That will be 15,000 won.”

Eunhoo was someone who would tremble even over a thousand or two won, but in his flustered state, he obediently paid the price and left the pharmacy. His heart hammered as if it were going to break through his chest, as if he had committed a crime.

Eunhoo bought a bottle of water at the convenience store right next door and swallowed one contraceptive pill. Was he supposed to take it like this? He’d heard it had to be taken before, right?

He read through the manual inside the medicine box, but it didn’t readily make sense. If it’s been 24 hours, take it immediately, and if it’s been after that, take it at the next time?

A day had passed, but in terms of hours, 24 hours hadn’t elapsed. So did that mean it was okay?

Eunhoo bit his lip in anxiety. He didn’t know how many times he had poured it inside him since yesterday. Pregnancy wasn’t that easy, and it would be even harder for Eunhoo, who possessed two sets of genitals. It was probably not the case, but his mouth kept going dry from the anxiety.

Eunhoo, having carefully examined the manual a few more times, let out a deep sigh while squeezing his eyes shut tightly. He was already worried about what would happen in the future.

The next place Eunhoo’s footsteps led him to was [Songrim]. As it was just past noon, the restaurant was in the middle of the rush.

Creak.

It was when he entered through the back door, the entrance leading to the staff quarters and where employees came and went. He met eyes squarely with the manager, who had been giving instructions on something. He flinched for a split second, but he figured it was better to take the inevitable beating sooner rather than later.

“Eunhoo?”

The manager’s eyes widened in surprise upon spotting Eunhoo.

“Manager.”

Eunhoo approached him with an anxious face.

The manager’s face hardened instantly. Seeing that, his heart sank. What should he do? Was he very angry?

Then again, he would have felt the same way if he were in his shoes. From sudden monthly leave to being late. Since feelings toward him had already built up quite a bit lately, he was afraid he might be told to quit.

However, even if he were to be fired, he felt it was proper etiquette to explain that the circumstances were such. Eunhoo opened his mouth.

“Manager, I….”

But once he faced him, no thoughts came to mind.

Just apologize unconditionally. No matter how many times he thought about it, it was definitely his fault. It was the moment Eunhoo bowed his waist and was about to shout an apology. The manager reacted in a completely different way than Eunhoo had expected. Far from being angry, he actually…

“Eunhoo, are you alright?”

It was a face expressing concern for Eunhoo, in a voice brimming with worry.

“Your expression is so poor. There’s no color in your face at all.”

It was no wonder the manager was surprised. Eunhoo, too, had been shocked to see his own face earlier. Because a corpse was standing there.

Even while simply washing his face, his knees buckled several times, and he felt like he was losing his mind.

Eunhoo had used the back door to leave, just as he had when entering that house. And after walking out to the main road, he caught a taxi. Unless it was an emergency, he usually walked or used public transport, but he felt like he would really become a corpse if he did that in his current state.

The sweat on his forehead and the lack of any color in his face—the reflection in the rearview mirror was so sickly that the taxi driver had been startled the moment he saw Eunhoo and asked if he was alright.

So, in the manager’s eyes, Eunhoo’s condition must have been devastating beyond words.

“I’m alright.”

His legs were trembling, his waist was throbbing, and it was total chaos. Above all, he felt like he was going crazy because of the feeling of something constantly flowing downward since earlier. He didn’t think he could possibly work in this state, so what should he do? But he didn’t have the nerve to ask for time off again. It was when Eunhoo was gnawing on his lips, not knowing what to do.

“Is it that bad?”

“Pardon? No, if I rest for a little while….”

Eunhoo, who had been answering assuming he was talking about himself, stiffened at the following words.

“I heard your mother needs surgery.”

The manager looked at Eunhoo with a frustrated face.

“I heard you took leave yesterday because of that, too. No, why are you like that? If there was such a thing, you should have told me right away. Do you know how sorry I felt for thinking you were irresponsible and that I had misjudged you when I heard that?”

The manager spoke as if he were frustrated.

“I know well that you are tight-lipped, Eunhoo, but even so, is there a need to hide even that? The worse the situation, the more you should let people know to get help. I’ve always felt this, but you always try to solve everything by yourself.”