Episode 22

‘Since Han Seung-hyun won’t readily tell me what he’s thinking, would it be better to approach from another side?’

No matter how many times he asked, the answers that came back were ones that couldn’t possibly come from the Han Seung-hyun he knew. He had other words to believe – was he supposed to believe a tiger saying it won’t eat meat?

Tae-sung recalled the Seung-hyun he met a week ago. A face that couldn’t be thought of as the usual Han Seung-hyun. Not the usual face that smiled yet couldn’t hide the hostility underneath, but a face that seemed to have no interest in him at all. That appearance remained in his mind like an afterimage even after a week passed.

For a person to change to that degree, there must have been some turning point, but there was nothing like that in Han Seung-hyun’s recent daily life. It seemed more believable to say he had secretly taken acting lessons behind his back.

“Ju Jae-young. Ju Jae-young…”

It also didn’t sit well with him that the man who irked him for a different reason was involved in this story. Seon-hu’s childhood friend. An alpha who was openly treated as a fiancé until his awakening, only without a formal marriage proposal being made.

And the man who looked at Seon-hu with displeased eyes even after that marriage discussion completely fell through. Tae-sung frowned as he pictured Ju Jae-young’s face.

A meeting of two irksome people. Even considering the saying that the enemy of an enemy is a friend, it was a meeting of quite unmatched people.

“I’ll have to check for myself after all.”

Tae-sung muttered softly and gripped his pen again.

***

“It’s already Tuesday.”

Seung-hyun, who had been spending a peaceful time at home regardless, stretched and got up. It was 11:30 AM. The hospital appointment was at 3, so there was still some leeway. His face had definitely improved during that time, but it wasn’t to the point of saying it had completely healed.

But to this degree, he could pass it off as a bruise from bumping into something. Seung-hyun examined his face in the mirror.

“I guess alphas are really different. Strong too.”

The scratch marks had already disappeared without a trace over the weekend. He wondered if applying sunscreen or something would make it better. Seung-hyun, who had been rubbing his face, soon decided to stop and grabbed his phone again.

The next course was a pool villa with a swimming pool. It was a bit cold to enjoy water activities, but he liked that there was an indoor and outdoor pool villa that operated with warm water.

‘The TV was huge too. It would be perfect for watching movies.’

Seung-hyun hummed as he looked at the reservation page. He planned to pack his bags after returning from the hospital. He had already bought the things he would use during his stay for tomorrow.

There were still people looking for him, but well, there was no need to respond to each and every one, right?

Han Seung-hyun’s garage had several types of cars. Seung-hyun decided to take the car with the largest trunk for his trip tomorrow. It seemed a bit much for just a 3-night 4-day schedule, but what was the point of considering practicality when playing to lift his mood.

“I don’t feel like going to the hospital.”

After only thinking about going out to play for a while, he really didn’t want to go to the hospital. It’s not like his condition would improve by going anyway. 

But since he had to live with this body anyway, it was only natural that reducing the pain was better than being sick.

“I have to go…”

After rolling around for a while, Seung-hyun checked the time and got up from his seat. There was no need to pack this and that just to go to the hospital. Seung-hyun, who only took his wallet, got into the car.

“Mr. Han Seung-hyun. Please come into the consultation room.”

After checking in and waiting a bit, a nurse called Seung-hyun into the consultation room. As Seung-hyun entered, Dr. Kim greeted him while gauging his mood.

“Did anything special happen?”

“I was on vacation.”

“Have you ever experienced a seizure or severe pain?”

“Once… it hurt like it was tearing here. Fortunately, I had the medicine nearby, so I was okay soon.”

Since that day, Seung-hyun had divided the medicine, keeping some within easy reach and also transferring some to his pocket whenever he changed clothes.

“You mean you were fine as soon as you took the medicine. Other than that, have you had any special pain or done anything else? Anything else? It would be good if you tell me even trivial things.”

“Hmm. I do feel like I get tired a bit more easily than usual. I sometimes have headaches, but not to the point of being unbearable…”

“I’ll prescribe you medicine to take regularly in addition to the emergency medicine, so please take it after every meal. Medicine can’t solve the stamina issue, but it will help with headaches and seizures.”

The doctor said as he scribbled something on the chart. Seung-hyun nodded and asked,

“Then do I have to exercise to improve my stamina?”

“It’s best to refrain from intense exercise to the point of straining yourself, but simple exercise will help with stamina management.”

“What about swimming then?”

“Swimming… I don’t recommend it. It’s an exercise that consumes quite a bit of stamina, and there’s also the possibility of having a seizure or something in the water.”

At the slightly chilling words, Seung-hyun meekly nodded, thinking he should just float around on a tube. The doctor, who had been tapping the keyboard for a moment, spoke.

“I’ll schedule your next appointment for a month from now. Is there any day that particularly doesn’t work for you?”

“No.”

“Then a month later… I’ll schedule it for this day. That day, we’ll also do a check-up together to clearly check your condition, so the hospital will send you precautions a week in advance. Please come in after checking.”

The doctor said, tapping a date on the calendar. Seung-hyun nodded and registered the date on his phone calendar.

“…You won’t inform others about your physical condition, will you?”

“I guess many people ask.”

“Ahem.”

The doctor couldn’t deny it and coughed. Seung-hyun asked in a nonchalant tone,

“So, did you tell them?”

“Not disclosing a patient’s condition to others is a basic principle as a medical professional.”

The doctor said, glancing at Seung-hyun’s bruised cheek. He seemed like a quite timid person since he was only observing every time, but he was thorough in this aspect. The doctor added a word to Seung-hyun, who thought it was unexpected.

“I will never tell, but… there are people who keep coming to see you…”

It meant, can’t you just tell them directly and make it so there’s no trouble? Seung-hyun slightly narrowed his eyes as he looked at the doctor’s desperate face.

“Please take care of it in the future too. I can get the prescription outside, right?”

If I tell them, all that annoyance will come to me, so why would I? Seung-hyun smiled brightly and got up from his seat.

“…Then I’ll see you next month.”

“Yes. Take care.”

Seung-hyun, leaving behind the doctor who quickly gave up, paid and took the prescription. Seung-hyun checked the medicine after receiving the medicine bag from the pharmacy inside the hospital and thought,

‘A long trip would be difficult because of the prescriptions after all.’

It would take a day or two just to go to a far country, so it felt like a waste to stay for only a few days and return.

‘I should travel to many nearby countries at least.’

Seung-hyun, who checked the month’s worth of medicine, headed to the parking lot. He wanted to hurry home and pack his bags for the pool villa, putting aside realistic thoughts.

“Director Han Seung-hyun.”

Then, someone grabbed Seung-hyun’s wrist and stopped him. Whenever he heard the damn word director, he had a bad feeling. Seung-hyun turned around with an ominous premonition.

“What brings you to the hospital?”

“Isn’t that what I should be asking? It doesn’t seem like you came to receive treatment.”

“……”

“You must be busy with company work.”

Seung-hyun said, glancing at Tae-sung. Unlike himself, who was unemployed, Tae-sung must have had a lot of work to do, yet he came all the way here.

“Are you spying on me?”

“……”

The lack of response seemed to indicate it was true. Tae-sung, who hesitated for a moment, met Seung-hyun’s eyes straight on.

“Is it related to quitting the company?”

Seung-hyun read a bit of an apologetic emotion in Tae-sung’s eyes as he said that. As the righteous protagonist, it must be a natural emotion. Seung-hyun stared down at the wrist Tae-sung was holding.

‘There’s no need to make him feel unnecessary guilt.’

Seung-hyun forcefully pulled his wrist out of Tae-sung’s grasp and said,

“I just came for a regular checkup. We’re not particularly close, since when did we care about each other to this extent?”

“Your face…”

“You know former Chairman Han’s personality. Do you think he would let me leave the company quietly?”

There was no need to hide it from Tae-sung. Seung-hyun shrugged and spoke. As if it had happened a few times before, Tae-sung shut his mouth without refuting.

“I heard you’ve been close with Mr. Ju Jae-young recently.”

“One stalker is enough. You must have a lot of free time.”

Now the one and only successor of HJ in name and reality. But it was still just the successor position, so he shouldn’t have time to idle around like this. Seung-hyun couldn’t understand Tae-sung spending time on him.