“You punk, you’re here to die.”
A man, his face flushed with excitement, took a step closer. It was a rather absurd situation. The doctor they had been waiting for was hit, lying there, and no one came, so it seemed like the people outside were all beaten too. However, the good-looking guy who came in alone didn’t seem nervous at all.
“Wait… You…”
The man frowned at the unfamiliar face. It was someone he knew, Woo Heewoon’s junior.
Then, a shrill ringtone rang out.
Everyone’s gaze moved to find the source of the ringtone, but Heewoon remained unmoved, staring only at Kangwoo. Without giving any attention to Heewoon, Kangwoo spoke.
“Answer it. It must be from your boss.”
“What the hell are you saying…”
The man’s expression checking the phone’s screen was slightly distorted. With no expression, Kangwoo continued to stare at the man. The man hesitated for a moment, looking back and forth between Kangwoo and the phone, then pressed the phone to his ear. The man beside him stepped forward, brandishing a weapon, as if protecting him.
Kangwoo observed the scene, not showing any care.
“Yes, boss. I’m busy now… Yes?”
The man stole a look at Kangwoo.
“Yes. He just arrived… Chairman Yoon’s grandson? Is that what Chairman Yoon said?”
-Yeah, you stupid idiot!
The voice from the other end of the phone was audible throughout the surroundings.
“He has a different last name.. than Chairman Yoon…”
-Stop your stupid talk and just listen to everything he says!
As the conversation continued, Kangwoo touched his eyebrows and turned to the side, towards Heewoon.
Heewoon, who had been paying attention to even the smallest details with the thought of escaping this place, inadvertently caught snippets of the conversation. The faint sounds that had been heard before were now completely gone. Only the steady footsteps and the faint friction of cloth against a body could be heard.
Kangwoo stopped in front of Heewoon. He looked down at Heewoon’s face, which was raised slightly, seemingly frozen in fear.
Perhaps due to his cold sweat, his hair was wet, and bruises formed on his cheekbones. His face was pale. The round pupils hadn’t stopped following Kangwoo since he entered this place.
Moisture quickly gathered in his heated eyes. He didn’t even blink, but the formed tears dropped down his face.
A tear dripped onto the tape covering his mouth and formed a streak that ran down his chin. Kangwoo frowned at the sight.
“You weren’t crying before, and now you’re crying as soon as you see me?”
“Ugh… uh…”
Heewoon tried to say something, but the tape covering half of his small face obstructed him. Kangwoo clicked his tongue and reached his hand forward.
“You got stupidly tied up.”
Kangwoo’s fingernail touched the tape, reaching Heewoon’s cheek.
It was that small sensation. It made his constricted breath working again, and blood rushed through his previously numb body.
“Ah. Hold on like this for a moment.”
Kangwoo withdrew his hand and straightened his hunched back. The two men on the other end of the call glanced at Kangwoo and awkwardly lowered their weapons. Among those who worked with dirty money, no one had not heard of Chairman Yoon. But there’s no way a low-level henchman would know about Chairman Yoon’s grandson, and there’s no way he’d conclude that Kangwoo and Heewoon had a relationship of senior and junior in the first place. The man’s face was gaunt and defeated.
However, Kangwoo was not interested in those men at all. He thought Heewoon, who was sitting awkwardly with his legs tied, looked particularly fragile. His gaze moved slightly to the side. He could see the ankles in dirty sneakers.
“Sunbae.”
Heewoon looked up at Kangwoo with earnest eyes. Then, Kangwoo landed a strong step on that ankle.
Snap. The sound of bones breaking rang out, and Heewoon’s eyes opened wide.
“Ughhhhh-!”
The scream that couldn’t get out of his covered mouth seemed to explode in his throat.
The men stared at Kangwoo’s back with dumbfounded expressions. It was a completely unexpected behavior. Wasn’t he here to rescue him? Heewoon was also confused. The only one who remained calm, watching Heewoon writhing in pain, was Kangwoo.
“Ugh…! Hmph…”
His face, which had been pale, turned red from the pain, and blood vessels even stood out on his forehead. Heewoon looked down at his injured leg. Although it was not clearly visible under the pants, it must have been a gruesome sight. The sound was too loud. Perhaps his leg bone might have been crushed.
When Heewoon’s scream subsided, Kangwoo spoke.
“Why did you come all the way here without saying a word?”
His voice sounded calm, it didn’t seem like he was particularly angry.
“Uhhhhhh…”
“Oh. You can’t speak.”
Kangwoo inserted his fingers between Heewoon’s tape and cheek, pulling it downward. Due to the tears streaming down his face, it was damp enough to come off quite easily. Kangwoo draped the tape over Heewoon’s chin and stroked his thumb around Heewoon’s slightly reddened mouth. Heewoon was too preoccupied inspecting his injured leg.
“Uhhhh… It feels like my leg’s broken. I-It hurts so much. Huh…”
A wet, red face gasped. Whimpers seeped through his lips. Kangwoo’s brow creased slightly.
“Shhh.”
Kangwoo pressed a light touch on Heewoon’s lips, his moans abruptly stopped. Fearful that the moans might escape if he opened his mouth, Heewoon bit his lips. His cheeks trembled slightly from the pain.
“Don’t make any other sounds. Just talk.”
“…Yeah.”
Heewoon swallowed a groan along with his saliva before answering.
“I was wrong, Kang-woo. I, I really regretted it a lot, I should have called you…”
“Haaa…”
Kangwoo sighed. Heewoon thought he seemed annoyed. At that moment, he became terribly afraid. He couldn’t think of any other way to get out of here alive. He could only trust that Seo Kangwoo would resolve everything. Tears welled up in his eyes and burst out.
“K-Kangwoo… Hic…”
“I told you not to make other sounds.”
Speaking coldly, Kangwoo retrieved a handkerchief from his pocket. He rubbed it roughly across Heewoon’s drenched face. The cloth stung a little against his skin.
Heewoon realized that Kangwoo didn’t like him crying, so he desperately held back his tears afterward. Observing Kangwoo putting the handkerchief back in his pocket, Heewoon opened his mouth.
“I was scared, that’s why I wanted to call… B-But I got scared that I couldn’t make the call.”
“You’re saying weird things.”
Seo Kangwoo, with furrowed eyebrows, straightened his back and turned away. It seemed like he was going to walk out the door, abandoning himself in this space, so close to death.
“K-Kangwoo!”
Heewoon called out to Kangwoo desperately. Fortunately, Kangwoo wasn’t leaving him behind. He slowly walked around the operating room and sat on an empty surgical table. He picked up a scalpel on a tray, examining it under the light.
“Isn’t it scarier here?”
Kangwoo’s eyes were fixed on the cool glow of the scalpel, but Heewoon realized it was directed at himself.
“Yeah. T-This place is much scarier.”
Kangwoo, briefly glancing at Heewoon, let the scalpel fall as if throwing it. It collided with other surgical instruments, producing a clattering sound that made Heewoon’s shoulders twitch.
“If you’d listened to me, you wouldn’t be here, Sunbae. If I hadn’t found that bastard in time, what would have happened?”
Kangwoo nudged the doctor who had collapsed onto the floor with his foot. Heewoon turned his head. His casual voice pierced his ears.
“Your stomach would have been hollowed out, and your eyeballs would be gone.”
It was a blunt statement. Heewoon’s gaze, pale with horror, was fixed on the blood-soaked face. This middle-aged man would have been the one who made him like that.
If it weren’t for Seo Kangwoo.
“I was wrong. I’m sorry, Kangwoo.”
Trembling all over, Heewoon pleaded.
“I don’t know why I’m keeping you when you are so troublesome, Sunbae.”
Heewoon’s expression twisted at Kangwoo’s indifferent words, but he didn’t cry. He only breathed unsteadily. Watching Kangwoo, who always seemed colder when death was near, Heewoon moved his body. He spread the hands tied behind his back, pushed the floor, and shifted the injured leg beneath. When the shock reached the broken leg, pain surged, and Heewoon gritted his teeth, but he didn’t stop. Slowly, he crawled towards Kangwoo.
Sitting on the bed, Kangwoo watched Heewoon’s desperate struggle as if engraving it in his eyes. With his mouth tightly shut to avoid making any sound, his reddened eyes unable to look away from him. When he crawled to Kangwoo’s feet, Heewoon opened his mouth.
“Kangwoo.”
His voice was hoarse and shaky, but it sounded quite sweet. His round pupils held nothing but Kangwoo’s figure. Taking a sharp intake of breath, Heewoon spoke in a whisper.
“Don’t abandon me.”
The vibrations from his clear trembling voice, and his eyes not moving an inch.
“Ah.”
Kangwoo sighed. Heewoon was holding back tears, biting his lips and his shoulders trembling. Kangwoo’s gaze travelled past Heewoon’s shoulders, dressed in old clothes that weren’t his everyday clothes, to his legs. Just above where they were taped together.
“Does your leg hurt a lot?”
Kangwoo asked quite gently. Heewoon nodded, and Kangwoo made a sound like ‘Hmmmm,’ his throat vibrating. He then spoke, looking at Heewoon’s leg.
“Can I break the other one too?”
“….”
Those words made his ears perk up. Heewoon stared up at him blankly, and Kangwoo smiled playfully, locking eyes with him.
“You’re pretty when you crawl.”
“I-I can endure it.”
Heewoon replied. If he could survive here, breaking one leg wouldn’t be a big deal. Kangwoo watched Heewoon’s chin quiver and reached out his hand.
Heewoon thought he might break something other than the leg, but the big hand gently settled on top of his head.
“What about the leg…?”
“I’ll think about it.”
Replying in a low voice, Kangwoo gently stroked Heewoon’s head. After hesitating for a while, Heewoon opened his mouth.
“I won’t have any other thoughts now. I was scared because I thought I relied too much on you. I-It was strange to want to call you, and if I continue like this, I’m afraid I really won’t be able to do anything without you…”
After that, Heewoon kept babbling. He also said that he had thought about sending his mother and brother away and staying behind to be with Kangwoo. He didn’t hide the bad thoughts deep inside.
Kangwoo, who was listening calmly, spoke.
“I’ll save you from here.”
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