<85>
"Try again. That can't be right."
Wang Lun, who had barely regained consciousness, had been searching for his lover since earlier, not even noticing the brothers who had saved him. A few hours ago, he had been transferred to a hospital—the same hospital where Kang Yoo-jung worked. Wang Lun wondered why his lover hadn't come and why she wasn't answering his calls. Ja-kyung and Wang Han just exchanged glances and vaguely claimed they didn't know.
He had barely come to his senses as it was, and if they told him the truth, it would only cause more chaos. On the off chance, they went to the hotel where she had been staying, but the room was already empty. After leaving the hotel, they looked around Kim Dong-myung's house where the gunfight had occurred early yesterday morning. The shattered glass and balcony were all neatly repaired, cleaned spotlessly as if nothing had ever happened.
There was no way to know who had cleaned it up. Killing people without anyone noticing and erasing all traces was something far too easy for people like them. While they were troubled in many ways, someone knocked on the hospital room door.
The person who opened the door and appeared was Kang Yoo-jung. She wore a doctor's coat and greeted Ja-kyung warmly. Ja-kyung, who had been sitting on the edge of the bed, stood up and bowed.
"Hello."
"I heard you were admitted to our hospital. If you had come here from the start, I would have stitched you up nicely."
She smiled kindly as she checked on Wang Lun's condition. Wang Han watched her profile with a dazed expression. After exchanging a brief conversation with Ja-kyung, Kang Yoo-jung disappeared, and Wang Han peppered them with questions about who she was. Upon hearing that she was Kang Il-hyun's older sister, he wore an expression of utter disbelief.
"My god. The siblings were certainly born with looks."
Wang Han repeatedly exclaimed that he had never seen a woman with such angelic appearance before, and Wang Lun agreed. But Ja-kyung kept his mouth firmly shut. Hadn't he almost had his eyes gouged out by Kang Il-hyun after ogling Kang Yoo-jung last time?
Of course, that wasn't what scared him. Still...
While Wang Han was praising Kang Yoo-jung's appearance, someone knocked on the door again.
The gazes of the three men turned toward it. The person who opened the door and entered was Kang Il-hyun. But what drew their eyes was not his presence, but the white chrysanthemums he held in his hand. Ja-kyung frowned, wondering if he had seen wrong. What was that? Wang Han had the same expression.
He held the chrysanthemums and first checked on Ja-kyung's condition. He scrutinized every inch from head to toe as if he wanted to devour him with his eyes, then seemed relieved to see he was more intact than expected. Then he noticed Wang Lun lying down and tilted his head in confusion.
"Ah, you're alive?"
Wang Lun scowled, then groaned as the knife wound on his side pulled. Il-hyun casually tossed the chrysanthemums he brought into the trash can. He had only heard that Ja-kyung was injured and missed the part about Wang Lun being critically wounded from a knife attack.
So he had bought flowers thinking he was dead, but since he was alive and well, the flowers became useless.
Belatedly grasping the situation, Ja-kyung demanded with an absurd expression.
"Surely you didn't know whether he was dead or alive?"
Il-hyun changed his attitude and smiled pleasantly.
"The message was relayed incorrectly. Don't be angry. I'm sorry, Wang Han."
Il-hyun called the lying Wang Lun "Wang Han." The three people finally realized that Kang Il-hyun couldn't even properly distinguish between the two names and were dumbfounded. Wang Lun, who had thought they had drunk together and developed a close bond, was shocked.
It was unjust to think how he had praised him as a cool man. Just then, Kang Il-hyun's phone rang, and he said he'd be back after taking the call, leaving his seat. Once only the three remained, Wang Lun wore a fed-up expression.
"What the hell. Is he even human? Someone almost died and he's like that? As long as Wei is fine, that's all that matters, huh."
Ja-kyung chimed in.
"Are you coming to your senses now? I told you he's not cool at all. You were praising him without knowing anything."
Wang Han also shook his head.
"I'm disappointed, President Kang. I thought of him as your match for a moment."
Ja-kyung flared up in anger. Who's whose match? Unaware that the three were cursing him, Kang Il-hyun didn't return for quite some time. Ja-kyung brushed off his seat and went outside. He was still on the phone some distance away.
Ja-kyung sat on the chair in front of the hospital room and waited for him to return. After about ten minutes, he walked over. His gaze thoroughly scanned Ja-kyung. Blood stains spattered on his clothes, his face and hair were a mess, and bandages were wrapped around the back of his hand.
"Finished with your call?"
"Yeah. A lawyer. I came up without finishing my work when I heard the news you were injured."
"I need to scold whoever delivered that news. Then you wouldn't have brought white chrysanthemums."
When he mocked him, he laughed. But Il-hyun liked white chrysanthemums as much as red roses. He occasionally wanted to place them throughout the house, but the lady of the house disliked them intensely, so he never put it into practice. When Ja-kyung's eyes met Kang Il-hyun's, he averted his gaze downward and spoke.
"I'm sorry... It seems information leaked from our side. This won't happen again."
Il-hyun didn't answer and just looked at the bandaged back of Ja-kyung's hand.
"What about you. Are you okay?"
"As you can see. I'm fine."
"Then that's enough. Don't get hurt again. This old man's heart dropped."
Ah, he really holds grudges for so long. Ja-kyung frowned in distaste, yet felt somewhat more at ease. It was strange. While Wang Lun was undergoing surgery from his injuries, that brazen voice kept coming to mind, almost composed. He had hesitated repeatedly, thinking of calling under the pretense of a report. Because he thought hearing it would make the fear disappear.
Looking back now, he didn't know why he did that. Perhaps he was being brainwashed into actually liking this person.
When silence fell, Il-hyun leaned his head against Ja-kyung's shoulder. Ja-kyung let him be. Time passed in silence, and Ja-kyung carefully opened his mouth.
"I met Chairman Kang during the day. In front of the hospital."
"You should have just shot him."
Il-hyun said it in a nonchalant tone, but his eyes sharpened.
"He told me not to trust you. That you'll let go of my hand someday."
Il-hyun laughed as if he had heard a joke.
"So what did you answer?"
"I told him I don't trust you to begin with."
Il-hyun just laughed without saying anything else. Ja-kyung agonized over whether to show him the photo or not. Why had he sent Park Tae-soo to meet Yoon Mi-ra? Even if he showed it, would he speak honestly? In his head, opinions still clashed sharply over whether to trust Kang Il-hyun or not.
[Do you know what happened to the people who used to meet with President Kang?]
[Aren't you curious? What happened to those people?]
[Whether they lived. Or died.]
"Don't think too deeply. If you're curious about something, just ask."
He tossed it out lightly, yet it pierced right through him. After much deliberation, Ja-kyung took out his phone and showed him the photo. Upon seeing the photo of Park Tae-soo with a woman, Kang Il-hyun's eyes narrowed.
"Tae-soo's girlfriend?"
Ja-kyung was dumbfounded.
"That's Lun hyung's girlfriend."
"What the. So he cheated with Park Tae-soo?"
This person is unbelievable.
"Don't you remember?"
After looking closely, Il-hyun belatedly recalled and let out an "ah."
"After you ran away, quite some time later, Tae-soo found the woman."
"And then?"
"He passed information to us. Thanks to that, we took your brother hostage and made you come to Korea."
"Did you... give him money?"
"Yeah."
"Is that all?"
"What more should there be?"
Ja-kyung silently looked down at Kang Il-hyun, who was still leaning on his shoulder. Il-hyun raised his head and met Ja-kyung's eyes.
"Your eyes are telling me. Half of you wants to believe, half doesn't."
"......."
"I understand. I did try to kill you before."
Ja-kyung felt exposed and averted his gaze.
"Back then, trying to kill you was sincere."
He knew that, but hearing it directly made it sting more. Ja-kyung didn't answer and clenched his teeth tightly.
Il-hyun, still leaning on Ja-kyung's shoulder, continued in a low voice.
"Right now, liking you is also sincere."
"......."
"It's late, but I'll apologize."
"......."
"My choice was wrong. If I had known I'd fall this hard, I never would have done such a stupid thing."
His heart thumped rapidly again. Fearing he might be found out, Ja-kyung stubbornly kept his mouth shut and stared at the floor. Il-hyun, who had been leaning on his shoulder, straightened up.
"Now. You tell me."
The gaze that had been on the floor finally turned to Il-hyun.
"Tell you what?"
"You could have hidden everything and suspected me."
Kang Il-hyun's deep eyes looked straight at him. Ja-kyung's lips twitched. He didn't completely trust him. But...
"You told me not to trust you but to trust money instead. Since you're pouring money on me, I decided to trust you a little."
Even so, he had come to want to trust this person called Kang Il-hyun. Unable to voice his true feelings, he made up an excuse about money. The corner of Il-hyun's mouth slowly rose. He held Ja-kyung's cheek and pinched it gently. When Ja-kyung tried to pull his hand away, he twisted while pinching.
"Sneaky. Playing dumb until the end."
"It hurts!"
"Admit the truth that you've come to like me."
After finally pulling free, Il-hyun grabbed the back of his head and planted a quick kiss on his lips. Ja-kyung recoiled and pushed him away.
"You want to do that even with this scruffy face?"
"It's fine. To my eyes, you're still splendid and handsome."
A nurse at the nearby desk was looking, so Ja-kyung bolted up and pushed his back.
"You've seen me, so now go."
Il-hyun stood up with a regretful smile.
"I have to go for work anyway. I came to check if you were okay."
"I know, so go."
"After I go down, people will come to help. Go home safely, wash up, and rest. You look very tired."
After all that chaos yesterday and not having slept until now, it was no wonder he looked that way. Ja-kyung nodded. Il-hyun gently stroked his cheek and walked toward the elevator. Ja-kyung stood in front of the hospital room, watching Il-hyun until just before the elevator doors closed.
When he waved once, Ja-kyung started to raise his hand to wave back, then flinched and hurried into the hospital room as if fleeing. Il-hyun burst out laughing at the cute behavior. The moment the doors closed completely, the smile vanished from his face.
Park Tae-soo was waiting in front of the elevator on the first floor.
"Father."
"He is currently at the main house."
The two headed to the parked car, and Il-hyun opened the trunk, took out a handgun, and tucked it inside his clothes. His eyes grew impossibly cold, and killing intent swirled around him.