Chapter 82
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 82
Eun-seol, who was sitting next to the hospital bed I was lying in, looked at Dokyun kneeling beside her and spoke.
“…So, you want me to go with you?”
“Yes…”
At her words, Dokyun’s eyes darted around as he gave a short reply.
It stung.
Her gaze looking down on him was as sharp as the scorching sun.
At a loss for an excuse, he dropped his head, only for another reprimand to come from above.
“Do you live your life without thinking?”
“I’m sorry…”
To be honest, he had just blurted it out. His mother’s nagging had made his head spin, and the words had escaped him unconsciously.
No matter how he looked at it, the fault was clearly his. Dokyun simply bowed his head, letting the gesture serve as his apology.
After a moment of silence, Eun-seol let out a deep sigh and spoke again.
“…Let’s just think about it when the time comes. We still have a month and a half left.”
Dokyun lifted his head at her response and saw her frowning, her gaze already returning to her book.
Did I get off easy? he wondered, cautiously stealing a glance at her.
“Stop staring. You’re pissing me off.”
He heard her curse.
Dokyun flinched. The chill in her voice made him turn his gaze elsewhere as he managed a short reply.
“Yes.”
It seemed he had gotten off easy for now.
*
A few days later, morning arrived.
Still in a daze, Dokyun fumbled around on the bed. Rustle, rustle. The sound of his hand brushing against the sheets went on for some time before he finally realized he was alone and let out a small sound.
“Ah.”
Right. He was at the hospital.
Whenever he opened his eyes, he would unconsciously reach out to find her. They had only been together for a little over a month, but at some point, her presence next to him had become so natural that her absence was now met with an immediate sense of emptiness.
I need to get a grip. He thought, running a hand over his face, but the void remained, sapping his energy for a moment.
“Ugh…”
Shaking his head, he shot up in bed. Only then did his groggy mind seem to follow, waking fully.
He checked his phone. The clock read 8:00 AM. Perhaps it was because he’d been living on such a regular schedule, but his eyes would snap open at this time even without an alarm.
He let out a small, wry chuckle.
I’ll eat, shower, and then head out.
With that thought, Dokyun headed to the kitchen, shoved a few pieces of bread he’d bought the day before into his mouth, and then took a shower, washing away the last vestiges of sleep.
After his shower, he roughly towel-dried his hair and went into the dressing room. He got dressed, ready to go out, and then left the room, his eyes falling on the firmly shut door across the hall.
Her studio.
The one place in this house he had never been allowed to enter. As the thought crossed his mind, he walked over and tried the handle.
Clack—.
As expected, the door was locked.
Her secrets, the ones he didn't know, had to be in here. It was just a guess, but he had more than enough evidence to support it. Eun-ah didn’t like it when he paid any attention to this room. Eun-seol forbade him from entering. As for Eun-sam or Eun-ji, they acted as if the room didn’t even exist.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t curious. As a space that was still off-limits to him, it was sure to hold an important clue, but he had no viable way of getting inside.
As he mulled it over, Dokyun let out a hollow laugh, his body trembling with self-loathing.
…What do you mean, no viable way?
In truth, there were plenty of ways. He could break the doorknob. He could call a locksmith. He could find where she hid the key. But the reason he hadn’t was that, ultimately, he was afraid of what he would see inside.
He was afraid the truth inside would be something he couldn’t handle. Afraid that realizing it would bring him to his knees. And so, he had been deceiving himself.
He was afraid of discovering that, in the end, he couldn’t save her. Afraid of realizing he wasn’t someone who could be with her.
He didn’t even know what was in there, yet the anxiety born from his own delusions was making him refuse to find out.
Squeeze—.
His fists clenched. His stomach churned. Thump. Thump. His heartbeat grew stronger.
“Huuu…”
Realizing his state, Dokyun took a deep breath to calm himself. There was no need to go in right now. She still had to be hospitalized for another month, so he had plenty of time to prepare himself mentally.
Just a little more time. He would go in after he had steeled his heart.
His mind made up, Dokyun finally let go of the doorknob he had been gripping and slowly turned, leaving the house.
As he stepped out the front door, the frigid January air swept over his entire body. He shivered slightly at the biting cold, and when he exhaled, the hot breath that escaped his lungs met the cold air, creating a puff of white steam.
At that, Dokyun felt the murky torrent of emotions he hadn’t been able to wash away finally clear. He let out another long breath, watching the white cloud drift past the corner of his eye.
I’m craving a cigarette.
For a little over a month, he had been on an unintentional smoking hiatus.
Every time he thought about having one and brought it up, she would pout and say she hated the smell, so he had continued to abstain even now that he was alone. But when his chest felt this tight, it was impossible not to crave one desperately.
Then, he remembered how she would cling to him, saying that the smell of cigarettes would erase his scent, and that she liked his natural smell. A smile crept onto his lips.
Walking toward the garage, he recalled the moments they had walked hand in hand. They had watched the sunrise from that bench over there, and they had fed the koi in the garden pond.
He remembered how startled he’d been the first time he saw the koi. The thought of someone keeping koi in a garden pond had never even occurred to him. He’d stared at her with wide, surprised eyes, and she had just giggled and tossed food to them.
Come to think of it…
Was the last time I fed them last week? I should probably feed them again when I get back.
Lost in thought, he soon arrived at the garage. With a familiar motion, he opened it and stepped inside, where Go Eun-sam’s collection of foreign cars was lined up.
Dokyun stared at them for a moment, suddenly feeling a wave of emotion. It felt like just yesterday that he was trembling behind the wheel, but now, after driving with a “whatever happens, happens” attitude, he could look at them without a shred of fear.
He continued to scan the cars, then walked toward one. With his daily outings, he had developed a new hobby: driving a different car each day.
He opened the door of the SUV in the second spot from the left and slid into the driver’s seat. Starting the engine, Dokyun called Eun-seol.
The phone rang for a moment before she picked up.
—What.
A blunt tone. Realizing she had been sleeping until just now, Dokyun began programming the navigation system as he spoke.
“I’m leaving now. Is there anything you want me to get?”
—Coffee.
“The usual?”
—Yeah. That and some bread.
“Got it. See you in a bit.”
Click—.
The call ended the moment he finished speaking.
Eun-seol, who practiced the art of “business only” more diligently than anyone, would hang up the second the conversation was over.
Cafe first.
He had to stop by the cafe to get coffee before going to the hospital.
It was a taste he still couldn’t understand, but he would just buy the mint chocolate latte he always did when he ran errands for her.
A moment later, after confirming the destination on the navigation screen, Dokyun fastened his seatbelt, released the parking brake, and started driving.
*
After finishing his errands, Dokyun arrived at the hospital. As he stepped out of the elevator, he gave a small nod to the first nurses he saw and walked down the hall.
Once he was some distance away, he could hear them whispering behind him. Sharp stares and hushed words.
He had once asked Eun-seol for advice, wondering if they were badmouthing him. She had dismissed his anxiety as he stood before her, all shrunken and worried.
—It’s a VIP room. A young woman is hospitalized, and a man visits her every single day without fail. That’s pretty good gossip fodder. What’s more entertaining than someone else’s private life?
Her words had made perfect sense. Is this what it’s like to live in a different world? he recalled thinking, feeling a sense of unfamiliarity.
After that, he stopped paying attention to the whispering. Just as they say humans are creatures of habit, after hearing it not just for a day or two but for weeks, he had learned to just let it be.
Lost in thought, he walked down the hallway and soon arrived in front of the hospital room.
Immediately, Dokyun knocked and announced he was coming in, and a small noise came from inside.
He paused, puzzled for a moment, then opened the door. Inside, he saw her lying on the bed, reading a book. Dokyun walked toward her and offered a greeting.
“I’m here.”
“Okay.”
She answered without looking at him, just like always. But Dokyun sensed a subtle, inexplicable wrongness in her reply.
He scanned the room. The messy blankets, her somewhat awkward posture. She was hunched over, leaning to one side.
Strange. Something is strange.
Narrowing his eyes, Dokyun continued to observe her as he held out the coffee he was carrying.
“Here, I bought what you asked for.”
“Just leave it there.”
Another wave of wrongness washed over him at her reply.
Whenever he brought Eun-seol coffee, she would stop what she was doing and take it from him to drink. Not once had she ever refused it like this.
It was still just a feeling of wrongness.
Dokyun did as she said, placing the coffee on the bedside table and studying her again.
Her hair.
It wasn’t tied up. She always wore her hair in a high ponytail. The thought that she might not have had time to tie it after waking up was meaningless. She always had her hair tied up unless she was sleeping or showering.
Furthermore, her gaze was fixed motionlessly on the book.
When she read, her eyes always darted quickly across the page. She never stared blankly at one spot like that.
And the final, decisive clue.
Her smartphone.
Her phone, which she usually left on the shelf and rarely looked at, was peeking out from under her hip.
All the clues were gathered.
First of all, this wasn’t Go Eun-seol. Eun-ah? She wouldn’t be out when her body hadn’t fully healed. Go Eun-chae? She would never be this quiet. It wasn’t Eun-ji either. That little brat didn’t have the patience for such an act.
In that case.
Having reached his conclusion, a dangerous smile spread across Dokyun’s lips. The corners of his eyes curved slightly, and the whites of his eyes began to turn red as they filled with blood.
Thud.
Dokyun placed his own coffee on the shelf and approached the bed.
As he did, she glanced up, flinching. Seeing this, Dokyun shot his hand forward, grabbed her by the collar, and spoke.
“Go Eun-sam.”
Flinch.
Her body trembled again, her eyes shaking violently.
“Wha—, ya.”
Unable to hide her panic, she let her true nature slip out. The smile on Dokyun’s face deepened.
“Nice to see you?”
Another flinch. The trembling in her fingertips intensified.
“Let go, you… bastard…!”
Her face, slick with a cold sweat, her eyes darting around frantically.
It was certain. This was Go Eun-sam.
A pleasant thrill shot up his spine. His shoulders shook with laughter he couldn’t contain. As his laughter grew deeper and his body shook more violently, he got a reaction from her.
“Hic…”
A sudden hiccup escaped her.
At that, Dokyun…
“Caught you, you bitch.”
…leaned in close to her face.
A hatred, long-nursed and unfaded, had finally found its target.