PO 41

Early dawn, the car that Han Jaegang boarded headed straight to Hansae Medical Center. In his eyes that looked out at the faintly brightening window, worry flickered.

The plan to stay home after taking a day off from work fell apart from the start.

Chairman Han had been admitted a few days earlier. They explained that it was a regular checkup for chronic condition management, but his discharge was being repeatedly delayed.

Several skilled doctors were attending to Chairman Han’s health, but since he had reached old age, it was difficult to expect a full recovery.

Since they suddenly called him at this hour, something might have gone wrong.

“They said they contacted Gangwon too. They’re on their way right now.”

“To my sister? Did Butler Nam say anything separately?”

“For now, I understand that only you two were called first. The vice president and his wife are scheduled to return from Paris tomorrow afternoon, so they said they didn’t inform them separately.” Since the main family members weren’t called, it was fortunate at least that they could avoid a noisy situation.

Han Jaegang, who was staring at the window with a stiff look, turned on his phone screen.

It was still early. When he left home, Woojeong was asleep curled up. Han Jaegang looked at that sleeping figure for a while and then quietly turned away. Since he finally fell asleep at dawn after tossing and turning all night, there was no need to wake him up.

After visiting his grandfather at the hospital, should he call him out and at least feed him? Would he like it if they went somewhere nearby, even for a moment, to get some fresh air?

Hiding Woojeong in the Snow Reflection Residence wasn’t a good idea. That was no different from dragging him out of a house like a prison and locking him up in a new place.

Han Jaegang wanted to quietly bring Woojeong out. He didn’t want the rumors surrounding Woojeong to grow larger.

Even if someone twisted their words slightly, both he and Woojeong could become perpetrators. Stories that he toyed with two brothers of one household at the same time, or that Woojeong stole his brother’s lover, were more than enough to spark people’s curiosity.

If he wanted to settle the matter without rumors, he first had to grasp their situation. Han Jaegang ordered a thorough investigation into the maternal grandfather whom Lee Doyoung relied on.

He was a local notable who ran a fairly large food distribution company in the provinces. He was greedy and hated suffering loss, but when it came to his family, he cared for them with devotion.

Just in time, one of Han’s affiliates was doing large-scale business with that company. Thanks to that, they were able to grasp to some extent both the internal situation and the hidden management issues.

Han Jaegang intended to hold them accountable for tormenting Woojeong, who had lived all his life without worries. Only then did it seem like the suffocation in his chest would ease even a little.

•••

“Late at night his oxygen saturation suddenly dropped and his consciousness became clouded, so there was one critical moment. High-concentration oxygen treatment and antibiotic administration were necessary. The medical staff stayed at the chairman’s side throughout the night and closely…”

“How is his condition right now?”

Han Jaegang cut off the attending doctor’s words, which looked like he would recount the entire treatment process one by one, and he asked.

It had been a long time since Chairman Han was diagnosed with chronic heart failure. Hospitalized due to severe fatigue, Chairman Han’s cold had progressed to pneumonia, so his hospitalization was being prolonged.

“Fortunately his condition has improved right now. He has managed his health well until now, but he already has underlying illness, and since he is elderly, problems can occur at any time.” When he heard that there had been one critical moment last dawn, Han Jaegang swept his face with his hand. His head grew tangled at the fact that Chairman Han’s health was more serious than he thought.

“Have you seen grandfather?”

“Yes. He regained consciousness, but he is still struggling a little. They say they need to monitor his progress. Madam seemed very startled, so she asked to call you and Jaehee quickly.”

“When will noona arrive?”

“She will arrive within an hour. You should go into the hospital room first.”

“Yes, I will.”

After carefully understanding the situation while talking with Butler Nam in front of the hospital room, Han Jaegang headed toward the door. Just in case, he put his phone on silent and stuffed it into his jacket pocket.

When he entered the hospital room, his grandmother, who had been watching over the bed, walked over.

“Oh dear, Jaegang-ah.”

“I’m sorry. I should have come sooner.”

Han Jaegang embraced his grandmother and comforted her, and he turned his gaze to his grandfather lying in bed. The old man, whose face had become gaunt after just a few days of hospitalization, raised his hand toward him.

After staying for a while to accompany his grandmother, Han Jaegang left the hospital room and first picked up his phone. Around this time Woojeong would probably be awake.

Han Jaegang had turned off the silent mode and checked the notifications, his expression slightly turned cold.

There was a message from Woojeong.

[Something came up at my house, so I’m leaving. I’ll contact you again.] 07:02 AM

Han Jaegang checked the message and immediately called Woojeong. The call didn’t even ring a few times before the system message said the phone was turned off. He tried again, but the result was the same.

“……”

Han Jaegang opened the phone location tracking app and checked the status. The power was off, and the last location recorded was near Woojeong’s house.

“……Fuck.”

He had told him many times that he didn’t need to worry about the house. What was he thinking, going back into that house on his own at this hour?

Han Jaegang swept his bangs back roughly while looking outside the window at the end of the hospital corridor.

Since Lee Woojeong was staying at the Snow Reflection Residence, he hadn’t even placed people on guard yet. On top of that, he never imagined that he would move around this early, so he only found out after the fact. This happened in the brief moment when he couldn’t check his phone. As expected, Woojeong’s actions couldn’t be predicted.

He was lost in thought for a short time, Han Jaegang picked up the phone and made a call. Lee Doyoung, who normally picked up as soon as the ringtone started, didn’t answer this time.

Han Jaegang was about to try again, then he quietly lowered his hand.

……If he couldn’t reach him, he had no choice but to go himself.

He let out a bitter laugh.

•••

They first moved the collapsed Woojeong into the utility room on the first floor. Lee Doyoung crouched down quietly beside Woojeong, who was lying on the cold tiled floor.

He grabbed Woojeong’s jaw and looked down for a moment at the pale face, then he soon let go of his hand as if he had lost interest. Even when he saw Woojeong unconscious after being hit on the head with a flower vase, he felt nothing special.

Lee Woojeong brought this on himself. In fact, paying only this much of a price wasn’t enough.

He should have just kept him locked in the house like before. Allowing him to go out needlessly led to this ridiculous mess.

If he was locked in the windowless utility room for a few days, he would realize deep down in his bones what he had done wrong, and how undeserved the short freedom he enjoyed had been. Lee Woojeong had always been broken in this way.

“What if he got seriously hurt, madam?”

“You’re making a fuss over a little blood that already stopped.”

“But since he hasn’t regained consciousness, wouldn’t it be better to take him to the hospital right now…”

“I’ll take care of it, so you just stop caring and go do your work. You know very well what will happen if you run your mouth needlessly somewhere, right?”

When Madam Kwak was at a loss, worried about Woojeong, Kang Eonju frowned and spoke harshly.

Lee Doyoung got up from his spot and tapped Woojeong’s leg with his foot. After confirming a small twitch, he turned away indifferently.

To think he reached for Han Jaegang without knowing his place. No one could understand how such a fool managed to gather that kind of nerve.

As if nothing had happened, Lee Doyoung lay comfortably on the living room sofa and stared fixedly at his phone.

He deliberately ignored the call from Han Jaegang earlier. It made him furious when he thought Han Jaegang must have called him because Woojeong’s phone was off. He thought the call would come again soon, but unexpectedly there was no word after that.

He didn’t think what he did to mock Woojeong would return to him like a boomerang. The more he thought about it, the more absurd it felt, and Lee Doyoung hit the sofa armrest with irritation.

“So, what are you going to do from now on?”

“What else? It’s already a mess.”

This was an ending he never expected. All the plans he had imagined when he first met Han Jaegang were ruined. And it was because of Lee Woojeong, who had been so insignificant that he didn’t care about him at all.

“Doyoung-ah. Listen to your mother carefully.”

“What?”

“The marriage was only being pushed forward because of Han Jaegang’s conditions anyway. Right? Do you think there’s any alpha in a family like that who won’t have at least one problem like this? ……There’s absolutely none. This kind of thing is not even a real problem.”

“Mom. If it were someone else, I wouldn’t be this troubled. I could just tear him apart with my own hands and that would be the end. But Han Jaegang touched Lee Woojeong.”

“If it’s Woojeong, what changes? So then, are you going to just sit by and watch Woojeong fool around with Han Jaegang? What if he suddenly ends up having a baby? That would be like cooking porridge only to feed it to the dog, wouldn’t it?” At Kang Eonju’s words, Lee Doyoung clenched his teeth. He didn’t even want to imagine such a situation.

“……That can’t happen. I absolutely can’t see that.”

“A person has his class. Someone like Lee Woojeong doesn’t suit Han Jaegang at all, does he? I’m sure he didn’t touch him because he had any feelings, it was just an accident. That’s why I’m saying, right now no matter what we have to separate them.”

Lee Doyoung emptied the cup of ice water in one go.

Kang Eonju was right. Even if it meant the relationship with Han Jaegang ended like this, he could never allow Lee Woojeong to take that place.

“So, what should I do? When Han Jaegang called me, I think he noticed that Woojeong was here and was trying to ask me.”

“For now just deny it. If we say we didn’t see him, what can Han Jaegang do? We just hide him like this, and once things quiet down we send him abroad, and that’s it.” While Kang Eonju and Lee Doyoung put their heads together to figure out how to deal with Woojeong, the doorbell rang. Madam Kwak hurried to the front and checked the entrance monitor, then she turned back with a troubled face.

“Madam. Executive Director Han is outside.”

•••

Han Jaegang got out of the black car parked in front of the alley by Woojeong’s house and glanced up at the building. Just like the first day he came to this house, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

In the bright sunlight, the building gave a feeling very different from before. On the day he first came here, Woojeong had been standing in the evening scenery as the sun went down.

He had been standing pressed to the wall over the fence, and he must not have realized he was visible from outside, because he was looking this way with eyes full of curiosity.

Han Jaegang also observed Woojeong without making it obvious. Woojeong looked like a herbivore hiding its body in the grass.

That was why the quiet and peaceful mood carried an unplaceable tension.

If he had thought differently back then, would things have turned out differently? Only after making the foolish choice of taking the long way around when an easy path was before him, Han Jaegang ended up standing in this place again.

“The contract for the Philippine subsidiary that Lee Iljun was pushing, I had Pacific Provisions request to put it on hold. Since there are so many companies on the scale of Geumseong Distribution domestically, there’s a high chance the deal will fall through.”

Joo Yeongmo finished his call from a little distance away and approached. He reported what he had heard. The deal that Woojeong’s biological father had been pursuing was just about to be finalized. By having an affiliate step in and hit the brakes, Han Jaegang had blocked it. He slowly drew in a drag of his cigarette.

“Are you going to tighten their funds?”

“Get it ready.”

After disposing of the cigarette butt, he let out white smoke between his lips.

“For now let’s go in.”

He habitually tugged his jacket into place and walked toward the front gate of Woojeong’s house with a blank face.

•••

“Welcome, Executive Director Han.”

Han Jaegang gave a light greeting to Kang Eonju, who opened the door for him. She pretended to greet him calmly, but behind her unnatural smile she couldn’t completely hide her unease.

“I was so startled when I heard you suddenly came. If you had let me know beforehand, I would have at least prepared a meal…”

“No, it’s fine. I’m only stopping by for a moment. I tried to contact Lee Doyoung, but he didn’t answer.”

“Ah, Doyoung must have been too busy to pick up the phone. Anyway, come inside.” Following behind Kang Eonju into the house, Han Jaegang quickly looked around the interior. The living room had a vaguely disorderly atmosphere.

Han Jaegang caught the faint pheromone scent drifting in the air. It was the scent of the one he was searching for.

“Jaegang-ssi, what brings you here so suddenly at this hour? What about the company?”

Lee Doyoung ran down from the second-floor stairs and asked with a startled face. Han Jaegang only smiled.

“I had some matters, so I decided to take the day off. I also had something to say to you, Lee Doyoung-ssi, and things to settle, so I came without permission. I apologize.”

“No need to apologize. Please, have a seat first.”

When Han Jaegang sat in the seat Lee Doyoung offered, Joo Yeongmo quietly positioned himself behind him. Normally Lee Doyoung would be restless if he couldn’t sit right next to Han Jaegang, but today he sat across from him.

“If you had contacted me beforehand, I would have gone out to you.”

“I considered that, but I thought it would be better to talk here.”

“What is it about?”

Han Jaegang clasped his hands together, stayed silent for a moment, and then opened his mouth while looking at the mother and son. His voice that conveyed his point was lower and more resolute than usual.

“It would have been good if the arranged meeting had led to a positive result, but I think our relationship ends here. Lee Doyoung-ssi, I regret this.”

“Regret? What do you mean by that all of a sudden…?”

A flustered look appeared on Lee Doyoung’s face, he asked as if he couldn’t understand. Thinking that at this rate the conversation would drag on, Han Jaegang went straight to the point.

“You may or may not know, but for the past two days Lee Woojeong-ssi has been at my house. He went into heat. It couldn’t be calmed with medication, so he needed to be with an alpha.”

“…What?”

“I was with Lee Woojeong.”

They hadn’t expected him to say such words so directly, so their eyes darted between each other. They looked as if they were struggling to decide how to respond.

Han Jaegang sat quietly and waited for them to show a reaction. Lee Doyoung put on a convincing act of fluster and let out a long sigh.

“Actually… Woojeong told me about it. He said he lost control because of the heat cycle, and he regretted it, saying he didn’t know why it happened.”

“……”

“Jaegang-ssi, Woojeong doesn’t even remember properly. It was an accident caused by the heat cycle, and anyone can make mistakes. I can understand it.”

“I didn’t say it to be understood by you, Lee Doyoung-ssi. Because it was neither an accident nor a mistake.” Han Jaegang slightly rolled up his jacket sleeve and checked the time. He wanted to quickly wrap up this meaningless conversation and put things in order.

“Executive Director Han. He is still young and knows nothing, so he held onto you suddenly, and you couldn’t help it. We all know that. It must have been compassion.”

While Lee Doyoung faltered, Kang Eonju cut in on the conversation. Her tone was coaxing, she was trying to show she understood Han Jaegang.

“To end a relationship over such a trivial matter is nonsense. Besides, what would Chairman Han and Madam say if they heard such a ridiculous story? That’s why it’s best to just quietly cover it and move on…”

“I don’t quite understand from whose point of view this is a trivial matter. And you don’t have to worry about my grandparents. There will be no occasion for them to hear such a story anyway.”

Han Jaegang half-heartedly listened to the two people who thought he knew nothing and were trying to placate and persuade him, while he scanned each of the closed doors one by one. Behind which door was Lee Woojeong?

“…Why are you so confident, Jaegang-ssi? If you did that with Woojeong, shouldn’t you be apologizing to me?”

When persuasion didn’t work, Lee Doyoung began to act like he was squeezing out tears. Han Jaegang felt no need to play along with that performance any longer. He turned his gaze away from him indifferently and spoke with a cold warning.

“…That’s enough. Now bring Lee Woojeong here.”

The room fell into silence for a moment. The greedy mother and son didn’t obediently follow Han Jaegang’s words.

“Woojeong isn’t here. How can I bring someone who hasn’t come into the house?” Ignoring Lee Doyoung’s answer, Han Jaegang turned his head and pointed at Madam Kwak, who was standing near the kitchen.

“Ma’am. Where is Lee Woojeong?”

Madam Kwak, who fidgeted while glancing at Kang Eonju, raised her hand and pointed to the utility room. Han Jaegang immediately rose from his seat and headed in the direction she indicated.

“No, what nonsense is that woman saying?! I told you Woojeong isn’t in the house!”

“Jaegang-ssi!”

“Please wait just while he checks.”

Joo Yeongmo followed behind Han Jaegang and blocked the two who tried to stop him. Meanwhile, walking to the utility room, threw open the tightly closed door.

“……”

At that instant, Han Jaegang’s face stiffened. Gripping the doorframe, he looked inside and then quickly began to move.

“Lee Woojeong.”

Amid the clutter of long-neglected piled-up objects, Woojeong was lying in a narrow gap. Lying face-down on the cold tiled floor with his cheek pressed against it, Woojeong didn’t respond even when his name was called.

His heart began to pound violently. Pressing his palm against his chest, Han Jaegang approached Woojeong. When he tried to support his head, his brow twisted.

The hair that touched his palm was unpleasantly damp. Cradling Woojeong’s head with his arm, Han Jaegang looked at his palm and cursed

“Fuck, these bastards…”