RB 17

“Doctor… you said your specialty is psychiatry, right?”

Eunho’s eyelid twitched as he asked. The painful part was more or less over now. He exhaled and the strength in his clenched hand loosened a little.

“Mm, that’s right?”

Ahn Jaehwan was Choi Yoonho’s attending doctor. For the past five years, he had been in charge of Yoonho’s counseling and medication.

“I was just surprised you’re good at laser procedures too.”

“This is just a kind of side skill, in proper terms you could call it back-alley work?”

“……”

“…Are you going to report me?”

Eunho laughed. Contrary to his cold impression, Ahn Jaehwan often made jokes.

“How could I report you?”

“Even if it’s back-alley, the skill is good, so just trust me. I’m no worse than a plastic surgery clinic in Gangnam.”

After saying that, Ahn Jaehwan put a dressing foam over the treated area. His handling was always perfectly clean, not just bluff.

“How have you been these days?”

Ahn Jaehwan took off his gloves and asked casually. When the procedure ended, it naturally moved into counseling. Switching from a back-alley plastic surgeon to his real job, Ahn Jaehwan’s expression looked much more easygoing than before.

“I’m fine, nothing uncomfortable.”

“Did you read Choi Yoonho’s counseling records that I gave you?”

“Yes. About half.”

It was quite a lot, since it covered five years. Normally, a patient’s medical records should never be shared with another person, but in this special situation, even medical law meant nothing. In the plan Choi Yeorok designed, everything moved the way he wanted.

Eunho was still fiddling with the stress ball in his hand. He carefully chose his words before he opened his mouth.

“I… have one question.”

“Yes, ask freely.”

While Eunho hesitated, Ahn Jaehwan held a chart and pen in his hands. While calmly waiting for him to speak, his eyes kept observing Eunho’s complexion.

“Why does the chairman hate Choi Yoonho?”

“……”

“I don’t think it’s a simple reason.”

Ahn Jaehwan scratched his forehead awkwardly. He never thought Eunho would feel curiosity not about Yoonho but about Choi Yeorok.

“Mm, that… I think it would be better to hear it directly from him rather than from me.”

The difficult question only brought back a disappointing answer. Eunho swallowed his regret and answered quietly, “Yes.”

Even if he asked Seo Taehwa, he would probably get the same answer. Would the day come when he heard the explanation? These days, it was hard enough to even exchange words with Chairman Choi Yeorok, so it was doubtful a chance would ever come.

“Is Chairman Choi Yeorok hard to deal with?”

“It’s not easy.”

“Can you tell me which part feels hardest? If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”

“…That’s…”

Eunho wavered, as if he would speak but held back. It seemed he couldn’t bring himself to say it easily. Watching him, Ahn Jaehwan pushed his chair back and stood up.

“Eunho-ssi, shall we have a cup of tea first?”

He spoke as softly as possible to make the other feel at ease. It looked like today’s session needed to go a little deeper.

‎

“You bastard, the heavens will someday punish you.”

Late at night, Ahn Jaehwan muttered while sinking deep into the sofa. Yeorok was sitting across, he heard that and laughed.

“Seo Taehwa said the same thing.”

He swirled the whiskey glass in his hand, and the ice cubes clattered. Yeorok brought the glass with a smile still on his lips. His side profile as he took a sip was annoyingly elegant.

“When was I ever a good person? Why does everyone suddenly say that now?”

“Isn’t it all because Sim Eunho is too gentle? When you look into those deer-like eyes, you start feeling guilty.”

Ahn Jaehwan sighed. He rolled his own glass and sipped the cold liquor. Drinking strong alcohol only burned his throat, it did nothing to relieve the suffocation.

“You said you counseled him today, how was it?”

Yeorok asked while sitting with his legs crossed. Ahn Jaehwan put down his glass and held his jaw with both hands. His expression grew even more serious as he organized his thoughts.

“Sim Eunho is quite smart, especially his memory is good. I gave him Yoonho’s counseling records, and he already memorized about half of them.”

“That makes sense. I heard he was always first in school.”

Yeorok shared what he knew. From the background check, Sim Eunho had ranked first in his class for all six years of middle and high school. Not because he aimed for a prestigious university like others, but because he needed the scholarships given to top students.

Since he couldn’t afford private academies, he wore down the threshold of the teachers’ office, asking countless questions, and got teachers’ problem books which he solved until the pages wore out. He even made summary notebooks by subject and sold them to classmates for ten thousand won each.

The orphan tried desperately to find his own way to live. When Yeorok learned that, he realized Sim Eunho was quite tenacious.

“He seems to have a strong sense of responsibility too.”

“Go on.”

Yeorok tilted his glass as he spoke. For someone urging to continue, his attitude of listening showed no sincerity.

In contrast, Ahn Jaehwan kept a serious face and evaluated Sim Eunho from the perspective of a psychiatrist.

“He pays a lot of attention to his own words and actions, you could say?”

“Does he watch people’s reactions a lot?”

“It’s closer to being careful not to make mistakes. He’s very cautious about revealing his true feelings and he’s clumsy at expressing emotions. He knows it himself, so he holds back even more.”

Hmm, Yeorok only let out a long breath without adding an opinion. Sim Eunho’s personality wasn’t much different from what he had expected.

“His personality has to be fixed anyway. It’s the complete opposite of Choi Yoonho.”

“You say it so easily since it’s not your problem.”

“I already gave enough time because I know it’s not easy, so what’s the issue?”

Ahn Jaehwan stared at him and then scoffed.

“Now I understand why Eunho-ssi said that earlier.”

“What did he say?”

“He said he feels like he’s been deceived by you.”

Yeorok laughed with his shoulders shaking. Ah, he hadn’t expected that. He murmured quietly.

“Sim Eunho said that to you?”

“He figured out Choi Yeorok’s true nature. I told you, he’s smart.”

Yeorok couldn’t stop laughing. No wonder his eyes looked strange.

“The sooner he figures it out, the better. That’s good.”

“Why do you keep your distance from him? Wouldn’t it be better to keep him close and persuade him?”

“I’m afraid I’ll get attached.”

Yeorok answered directly without circling around. Even when the other sighed in frustration, he didn’t show any embarrassment.

Choi Yeorok had always been someone with clear lines. For those he considered his own people, he gave himself generously. For outsiders, he was merciless.

His tendency to treat humans purely as tools was definitely a flaw, but Yeorok knew how to use his charm. He was exceptionally skilled at luring people, and they ended up being used by him like they were bewitched.

Sim Eunho was just another piece to be used.

No, from the start, he had always been that kind of existence.

In truth, the more he praised and comforted Sim Eunho, the more Eunho would open up and devote himself to him. People who grew up lonely were always weak to affection.

The only problem was that Sim Eunho was someone who had to be thrown away without mercy in one year. Yeorok’s principle was never to give affection to someone who was destined to be discarded.

Ahn Jaehwan sighed and downed the rest of his drink with a complicated feeling. More than anyone, he knew Choi Yeorok was someone who never felt guilt.

“Then why didn’t you just treat him coldly from the start? Don’t you know how rotten it feels from the other side when you charm someone and then toss them away?”

“There’s something you don’t know.”

Yeorok tilted his head lazily. His gaze as he looked at Ahn Jaehwan grew deeper.

“Sim Eunho didn’t come over because I lured him.”

“What?”

“He also has his own clear line. He’s so wary that he doesn’t accept people easily. Even when I tried to coax him, he didn’t give in, so I even thought about kidnapping him… then heaven helped me at the right time, you could say.”

“I don’t understand a single word you’re saying.”

“There are things like that.”

Yeorok answered with a laugh. It seemed Ahn Jaehwan still hadn’t won Eunho’s trust as much as Seo Taehwa had. What use was his ability to read personalities, when he was the only one among them who didn’t know Shim Eunho’s secret.

“Anyway. So, you’re going to keep your distance from him?”

“……”

Yeorok, unusually, held back his words. He had never hesitated when making decisions, but this time the answer didn’t come right away. What came to mind was the look in Sim Eunho’s eyes the last time they met. Eyes that carried a mix of slight resentment and disappointment, yet were clear.

Even though he started resembling Choi Yoonho’s more and more, those eyes were the fragile Sim Eunho who had desperately asked him for help.

“It’s really difficult.”

Yeorok quietly swallowed his drink. His silence grew as he imagined how the relationship would change depending on his attitude. Unlike usual, he looked deep in thought.