PO 55

Woojeong walked endlessly along the road, leaving the Snow Reflection Residence behind. His legs started to ache and he grew tired, but he didn’t stop walking.

When he passed the familiar scenery and finally reached a place that looked unfamiliar, he found a bus stop nearby.

Woojeong sat on the corner seat of the bench at the bus stop, and he tried to steady his rough breathing. During that time, buses with different numbers came without pause, they stopped at the bus stop, and they left, and this repeated again and again.

Woojeong had nowhere to go, and among all those buses, he couldn’t get on any of them, and he only stared at the people rushing.

Woojeong followed a person who was running hurriedly while speaking on the phone with his eyes, and then he pulled out his phone from his pocket. He picked one among the few contacts he had and pressed the call button.

-Oh, parachute. What happened? You didn’t even come to work, are you okay?

The workshop manager answered the phone and immediately asked how he was.

“Manager…”

-Hey. Why is your voice like that? Did something happen?

It seemed that the workshop in the gallery wasn’t a place that suited him. He had entered thanks to Yoon Hyunjun’s help, but he already had a record of being absent once without notice.

At that time, he was sure that when his body recovered he could return to work again, but now he could not promise what would come. Before he caused more trouble to the people in the workshop, quitting was the right thing.

“I’m sorry, manager.”

-Why are you suddenly sorry? Hey, Woojeong.

The time when he learned work at the workshop felt like a dream. In the dark and uncertain future, it felt like a ray of light came in, and his heart raced and he felt joy, but now there was nothing he could do.

Woojeong could not easily and he swallowed dryly again, and he forced a smiling face.

“Manager. I…”

After he ended the call with the manager, Woojeong fiddled with the dark phone screen. When he said he would quit the workshop, the manager soothed him and told him to think a little more and talk again.

Woojeong then called Seo Junho. The tone kept ringing for a long time, he was probably busy. Just as Woojeong was about to hang up, his voice came through.

-Hey, I’m at my part time now. I’ll call you after I finish.

Maybe he answered secretly during work, he whispered softly, and then he quickly hung up.

The saved numbers in the phone had increased a little compared to before, but Woojeong had no one he could contact comfortably. His gaze slid down to the bottom of the list, and it stopped at Han Jaehee’s name.

<If by any chance Jaegang makes things too hard for you and the day comes when you want to throw him away, then contact me first. Just once, okay? Can you promise me that?>

Suddenly the words she had told him came to mind. He was not sure if now was the situation she meant, but he felt he should contact her at least once as he promised.

Woojeong swallowed a heavy breath and pressed the call button. As soon as the tone rang, she answered the phone.

-Oh my, Woojeong-ssi.

“…How have you been?”

-I’m doing fine, of course. How about you, Woojeong-ssi? I’m so glad you called me. Nothing happened, right?

It was the usual way of asking how he was. So, it was enough if he answered yes, but he couldn’t answer. Woojeong picked words in his head, thinking of what to say, but in the end he could not open his mouth.

Han Jaehee waited silently for Woojeong to speak, and then she spoke again. Her voice was gentle, and the tone was lower than before.

-Woojeong-ssi, did you remember what I said and call me?

“…Yes.”

-…Thank you. Where are you right now?

Woojeong lifted his head and checked in front of his eyes. But since he had wandered aimlessly and ended up there, he could not tell where he was.

“…I’m just outside.”

-Is that so? What about Jaegang?

Maybe his tear glands broke. Just hearing the name made tears well up.

“…I don’t really know.”

Woojeong barely answered, and he bit his lip to hold back the tears, and he blinked rapidly. While the two of them stopped speaking for a moment during the call, the sound of vehicles running down the road and the footsteps of people passing by seeped in like background noise.

-Woojeong-ssi. Shall we talk face to face? Will you come here first? I’ll send you the address, so get in a taxi right away. Can you do that?

Woojeong hesitated.

There was no reason for her to involve herself this much in his affairs. Even if something happened between him and Han Jaegang, the person she had to look after was her own younger brother, not him.

-Just think of it as getting some air for a while and come comfortably. I really want to see you, that’s why.

“Then… please don’t tell the executive director.”

Woojeong now knew that making this request and getting that promise had little meaning.

Even so, saying it made his heart feel a little lighter.

-I’ll never do it. I’m a loyal woman. Stabbing people in the back isn’t my hobby. I’ll be waiting, so get in a taxi right now. Okay?

“…Yes.”

Even after he ended the call, Woojeong sat there for a long while. He had said he would go, but he was not sure if it was really okay for him to meet her.

Maybe Han Jaegang had already contacted her. Maybe she did not trust his words that he would come when his health failed, and maybe she called him to her house to hold him there.

Now Woojeong was afraid of kindness without reason. It was hard to clearly distinguish what was true and what was false.

“Excuse me, are you okay?”

Woojeong flinched in surprise. A middle-aged stranger sat on the same bench and looked at Woojeong. He had been there for who knew how long.

“Why are you crying in a place like this? Are you sick?”

The man wore a tailored suit, and his look was respectable. His voice, speaking was calm.

…Could this man be a good person?

“…No. I don’t have anywhere to go.”

Woojeong wiped away the tears wetting his cheeks before he realized it, and he answered. The man clicked his tongue with a pitying look.

“My, my. You look young too, what happened?”

When Woojeong shook his head without speaking, the man closed the gap and sat closer.

“Seeing you cry alone in a place like this makes my heart ache. Don’t stay here like this, come with me.”

“If I go, then what?”

“First, let’s eat something while we talk. I can also help you find a place to stay.”

In that instant, the respectable impression of the man completely changed. His eyes didn’t hide the lecherous intention of luring a young omega.

Woojeong stared at him with an empty heart, and the man misunderstood that look however he pleased, and he grabbed Woojeong’s hand to pull him.

“Let go of me.”

“Huh?”

Woojeong shook off his hand and stood up. Just then, he saw a taxi approaching nearby, and he raised his hand to stop it. The molester left at the bus stop stared at Woojeong climbing into the taxi with a look of disbelief.

“Where are you going?”

He caught the taxi, but he had no destination to tell. At the driver’s urging, Woojeong turned on his phone screen. A message from Han Jaehee had arrived.

“Is it fine if I just give you the address?”

“Yes, please tell me.”

Woojeong gave the address written in the message to the driver, and he rested his head against the window.

He suddenly thought that even if he had realized Han Jaegang’s intention earlier, there would have been no way to avoid it. Woojeong had no options.

Even now, while he did not trust Han Jaehee’s kindness, he was running to her because she called him.

Anyway, Han Jaegang was a person who made whatever he wanted happen. Wherever he went, nothing much would change.

Woojeong held the vibrating phone in his hand and turned his eyes to the scenery outside. The view beyond the window changed little by little.