A wheeze crept into his breathing, and Gyeoul clenched his phone and focused on inhaling and exhaling. The sudden abnormal symptoms scared him witless. Nothing came to mind about what to do.
He tried to steady his breath, but the world soon tilted as if it were spinning, and he slipped out of his chair. Only after his breathing grew even more labored did Gyeoul realize what was happening to him. Anaphylaxis. He was having a severe allergic reaction.
Straining, he jabbed at his phone to dial 119, but his vision was so dizzy it wasn’t easy even to do that.
“Secretary Cha? Secretary Cha!”
Hives erupted in an instant, and his breathing grew even more ragged. The world spun in circles and In Seongje’s voice sounded far away. He felt hands shaking his body—and then he completely blacked out.
When he opened his eyes, In Seongje and In Juhan were facing off like they were about to devour each other.
Even with all his memories back, Gyeoul still had one knot he couldn’t untie.
“…Director, how did you get here?”
He doubted asking In Juhan again would get him a decent answer, so this time he asked In Seongje. He slumped into the chair beside Gyeoul’s bed and let out a sigh.
“That’s what I’m saying. I don’t know why someone so busy came here.”
“No, that’s not what I meant…!”
“You heard that? He wants to know why you’re here, brother.”
The meaning was similar, but the nuance was oddly different.
“No! I didn’t mean it like that, Team Leader In.”
Gyeoul shot back at once. He wanted to say, Are you trying to kill someone right now? but barely held himself back. A frog dies from a stone thrown for fun.
“I—I’m just really glad I get to see the Director even on a weekend… I only asked how you knew I was in the hospital and came, th-that’s all!”
It was Gyeoul’s pitiful survival method.
Unsure he’d flattered properly, he rolled his eyes and tried to read In Juhan, but he couldn’t get a bead on the man’s mood. He seemed angry and not angry, both at once.
“I’ll ask again. Why were the two of you together?”
Ah. So he was angry. He didn’t seem inclined to answer Gyeoul’s question at all.
In Juhan fixed Gyeoul with a look that sent a tingle down his spine. He seemed to think it would be easier to target Gyeoul than to make In Seongje open his mouth. Naturally, that strategy hit dead-on.
“Ah, that’s, um, last time Team Leader In told me—mmph!”
The moment he began to speak, a large hand clamped over Gyeoul’s mouth.
“Mr. Gyeoul, that’s a secret between us.”
Mr. Gyeoul…?
A secret?
Gyeoul stared up at In Seongje’s hand over his mouth, baffled at what the man was saying. Then Seongje’s eyes curved prettily and he gave a gentle smile.
“I’d really like you to keep today between us, Mr. Gyeoul.”
He wondered why the man kept calling him “Mr. Gyeoul.” He’d had no trouble calling him Secretary Cha until now, so why this? In any case, Gyeoul nodded to show he understood. He figured maybe the man didn’t want anyone, especially his brother, to know he’d gone to the musical alone.
Only after he nodded did In Seongje’s hand fall away.
“Secretary Cha.”
“Yes!”
At the Director’s call, the broken speaker blared again.
“I asked you, didn’t I. Why were you together.”
Gyeoul was in a bind. The Director had surely heard what In Seongje just said. That he wanted to keep today a secret. Yet he was asking like that—how was Gyeoul supposed to answer?
“Answer.”
When the third prompt came, Gyeoul had to decide. In Seongje wanted the day kept secret; In Juhan wanted to know no matter what. There was no middle ground. He had to pick one of them—either In Seongje or In Juhan. At a glance, both seemed certain Gyeoul would take their side.
It was a very tricky, difficult situation, but Gyeoul didn’t actually hesitate that long. He looked at each man once, then opened his mouth.
“Um, before, about the meeting schedule, there was a bit of a miscommunication with the Global Business Team assistant—they wanted the meeting time changed, and I said it couldn’t be, so it turned into a bit of an issue? Ah, y-you remember that too, Director, right?! Back then you told me…”
He paused, glanced at In Seongje, then covered his mouth with his hand and shaped the words so only In Juhan could see:
T-h-i-s-b-a-s-t-a-r-d-d-o-n-t-h-e-l-p-h-i-m!
“…that’s what you said. Anyway, because of that, Team Leader In apologized on their behalf and gave me a musical ticket. I said I was fine, really, but he pushed it into my hand and left, so I accepted it with gratitude—but when it came time to go to the musical, I didn’t even have clothes…”
Gyeoul’s explanation was long-winded. At this rate he looked ready to recite the entire plot of the performance.
What? He promised In Seongje he’d keep it secret and now he’s spilling everything?
This was, shall we say, Gyeoul’s way of surviving. Of course promises with others matter. But what matters more is your life. You can only keep promises while you’re alive. Look at him—on the brink of death, and suddenly he’s eloquent.
“Get to the point.”
Gyeoul rolled his lower lip between his teeth and struggled over how to condense it.
‘If I take too long he’ll say, Answer! again. How do I explain this…’
While Gyeoul was floundering, another voice cut in.
“Enough. Why are you taking your temper out on Mr. Gyeoul just because you came in here pissed off?”
Fortunately or unfortunately, In Seongje stepped in to defend him.
“What? Taking my temper out?”
“Yeah. Taking your temper out. Don’t bother someone who’s sick. Since when do you take such care of a secretary?”
“I’m fine now….”
No one paid the slightest attention to Gyeoul’s small voice.
In Juhan looked between Gyeoul and In Seongje a few times like he’d run into an enemy from a past life, then turned on his heel. He strode away without a shred of regret.
“Are you okay?”
Only after In Juhan’s back vanished completely did In Seongje speak. His voice was the polar opposite of how he’d sounded with his brother—thick with concern.
“Sorry…? Oh, yes. You brought me to the hospital, right, Team Leader? You saved my life. I’m totally fine now. And I’m sorry I couldn’t keep the promis—”
With In Juhan gone like that, Gyeoul felt uneasy and stared a long time at the space where he’d disappeared. Those shoulders had to be broad and strong as ever, and yet somehow… they’d felt a little lonely.
Lonely? The Director?
He decided it was an absurd distortion of memory, even to himself. No way. Not with anyone else—but the Director?
“I was joking too, so don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re safe, Secretary Cha. I was really worried. It felt like it happened because I asked you to have dinner with me…”
“No! It’s just that my allergies are severe…”
“That’s not it. The restaurant messed up even after you emphasized you couldn’t eat meat.”
That was true. Even though Gyeoul had asked them several times to be careful, this had still happened.
“Ah, wait here a second. I’ll get the doctor first.”
As the chattering In Seongje left to fetch a doctor, worry rushed in on Gyeoul. What if In Juhan was very displeased? The look on his face before he turned away had been so bad that it bothered him even more. He even thought of running after him right now to explain as best he could.
Then it struck him he might be worrying for nothing.
Who was In Juhan. A cold-blooded psychopath—suspected. Would he even care about something like this? With high probability, he wouldn’t consider it the weight of a speck of dust. He was not a man whose emotions were swayed by a single word from someone else.
While he reasoned his way to an answer alone, a shadow fell across Gyeoul’s face. The sudden dimness made him lift his head. He naturally thought it would be In Seongje—but the sight that met his eyes made him startle like he’d seen a ghost.
“D-Director?!”
It was In Juhan, who had left just a moment ago, now standing right in front of him. What had happened in the meantime that his expression looked even worse than before? Seeing In Juhan closing the distance little by little, Gyeoul scooted back on his butt. It was an unconscious survival instinct. Alarms blared in his head that he must not let himself be caught by those hands.
“Looks like I’ve been treating you far too kindly lately.”
Gyeoul shook his head quickly. Absolutely not. Never.
Only after shaking for a while did he realize he’d made a mistake. He was scratching at a scab.
“You’ll pay dearly for daring to betray me, Cha Gyeoul.”
At In Juhan’s growled declaration of war—his face more savage than Gyeoul had ever seen—Gyeoul froze like ice. The menace was so intense he would have preferred to black out again. He came to only when the Director yanked out his IV and slung him over a shoulder.
“D-Director! What are you—! Director!”
With Gyeoul tossed over his shoulder like luggage, In Juhan ignored him and strode out of the emergency room. His force was so fierce that not a single person tried to stop him.
Gyeoul flailed his legs in panic, but a forearm clamped tight around his thighs made even that difficult.
“Look forward to it.”
Cold to the last, In Juhan muttered and lengthened his stride.
And like that, Gyeoul… was kidnapped.