Contract Marriage with Memory Loss on Top - Chapter 20
“Did the director eventually contact you, hyung? For money? Is that why you came all the way here…?”
Yeon-woo recalled that the director had said he tried to investigate his background. Seeing Ki-won here blatantly, it seemed like the director’s claim that the investigation failed was a lie. It appeared he was waiting for the right moment to approach when Yeon-woo let his guard down.
He wondered how flustered and embarrassed the director must have been. He was also worried that the director might have spouted nonsense and threatened Ki-won.
Perhaps Ki-won didn’t readily give money when he visited the office. He was a kind but also cold person. The director, whose deal fell through, probably injured Ki-won in a fit of anger. If his hand bled this much, the blood on his shirt was likely Ki-won’s as well.
‘How could I doubt hyung…’
Although Yeon-woo didn’t strongly suspect that the person who beat up the director was Ki-won, he felt sorry for having such thoughts even for a brief moment. Yeon-woo, bundled up with guilt, shed the tears welling up in his eyes one after another.
Ki-won, who had maintained silence, finally opened his mouth. What kind of words would he say? Yeon-woo’s ears perked up. He was prepared to receive scolding or criticism. It was entirely his fault that Ki-won got hurt.
“Yeon-woo, I’m in pain.”
However, the words Ki-won uttered were not what Yeon-woo expected. Ki-won was showing a weak side. Above all, Ki-won didn’t deny it when asked, “Did the director do that to you?” As expected…! Yeon-woo’s insides boiled.
How could someone do such a terrible thing to a person? Ki-won, who had retracted his hand, hugged Yeon-woo with all his strength. Yeon-woo, who staggered, was pressed tightly against his chest.
“Hyung, wait a minute, now is not the time to…”
“I’m in pain, and you’re trying to push me away again?”
Yeon-woo, who had been squirming to escape the man’s embrace, stopped struggling. It was because of Ki-won’s words that he was in pain. If this makes him feel a bit more comfortable…? Yeon-woo had no choice but to stay still in his arms.
“Who are those people? The ones near the director.”
Yeon-woo asked about the men in suits.
“My bodyguards.”
Bodyguards. Yeon-woo quietly chewed on his answer.
“Then the director ended up like that… Was it an accident that occurred while the bodyguards were subduing him?”
“Yes, I didn’t do anything.”
Ki-won recited once more that he had nothing to do with this. He must have been worried about being misunderstood. Yeon-woo kept answering that he believes Ki-won’s words.
It was as expected. Ki-won visited the office after being threatened by the loan shark, but he must have brought bodyguards with him because he was scared to come alone. Yeon-woo, who buried his face in Ki-won’s chest, shed tears once more out of heartache.
He was afraid Ki-won might be harmed. He was a businessman. Even if the director was the one who did wrong first, if this incident leaked out, Ki-won could be hit hard.
“Hyung, what should we do… Sob, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…. Because of me….”
As Yeon-woo cried aloud, Ki-won lifted Yeon-woo’s face to make him face him. Yeon-woo, who sniffled, shrugged his shoulders. Due to the moisture rising over his corneas, Ki-won only looked blurry. Yeon-woo blinked his eyelids hard to make the welled-up tears fall. He wanted to look up at the man with a vision that was even a little clearer.
“Where else are you hurt? Did the director only do this to your hand?”
He was such a bad guy. How could he make a person’s hand into such a rag? Yeon-woo himself could receive treatment at home, but Ki-won was someone who had to go to work. He was scared that other people would gossip after seeing Ki-won’s injured arm. His stomach churned from the worries that welled up without rest.
“I think it hurts here too.”
Ki-won brought Yeon-woo’s hand and put it on his cheek. Although he hesitated at the ambiguous words that it seemed to hurt rather than it hurts, Yeon-woo urgently checked his face.
“Were you slapped on the cheek?”
“It seems to get better when you touch it, Yeon-woo.”
Yeon-woo concentrated for a while as if he would examine it on a nano level. However, his cheek was the same as usual. It wasn’t swollen red or bruised blue. Is it a skin type that doesn’t show injuries well? Anyway, the fact that he was hit was important.
“I’ll hit him too…. Why did you only get hit….”
Unlike the director, Ki-won must not have been able to do it because he was soft-hearted. Yeon-woo’s eyes turned even redder than a little while ago.
“But Yeon-woo.”
“Yes?”
“You didn’t see anything, right?”
“…Yes, when I opened my eyes, this was the situation.”
The eyes looking at him were somehow bleak. When Yeon-woo nodded his head, meaning yes, the corners of Ki-won’s mouth twisted up slightly.
‘Is this something to smile about? Well…. Maybe he didn’t want to show himself getting hurt.’
Besides, the process of subduing the director must not have been very pleasant. Yeon-woo, who roughly guessed his thoughts, escaped from Ki-won’s arms. Yeon-woo frowned at the bodyguard approaching this way.
“Excuse me.”
Yeon-woo’s voice was chilly. He couldn’t talk to them kindly because he hated them for not protecting his hyung.
“Yes…?”
“No matter how terrible the director was to hyung…. How can you make a person like that? What if hyung gets harmed because of this…!”
If the director reported it to the police, the matter was sure to get big. He was the kind of person who would directly contact the media and make things difficult for Ki-won. Maybe he would demand an enormous settlement in exchange for not reporting it.
If you think about it, the person who caused it was Yeon-woo, so it was funny to get angry at the bodyguards, but to them, Yeon-woo was Ki-won’s spouse. He could interfere this much.
The bodyguard sent a glance behind Yeon-woo with a dumbfounded face.
‘Who are you looking at when a person is talking?’
The bodyguards’ faces turned blue before long. Yeon-woo, frowning, turned his head in the direction they were looking at.
“Who are you looking at… Hyung?”
The bodyguards were looking at Ki-won. But it’s strange. Why did the bodyguards’ faces turn blue? Yeon-woo, who became puzzled, called him, and Ki-won responded to the call with a powerless face. He was drooping his eyebrows as if it was difficult due to pain.
Turning blue at the sight of such a person.
They must have been scared of the situation where they would be scolded by Ki-won. Yeon-woo glared at the director’s subordinates, passing by the bodyguards. Aren’t they afraid to touch Yeonsung Group’s people?
The reactions of the subordinates who received Yeon-woo’s sharp gaze were all similar. They either made sullen expressions or awkwardly turned their heads.
“Since all of this is our failure, there will be no harm done to you, Executive Director.”
Yeon-woo, whose anger was evident, sharply turned his head toward the softly speaking bodyguard. The bodyguard bowed deeply while checking Yeon-woo’s reaction.
“We’re sorry for causing trouble when you trusted us and brought us along, Executive Director.”
“It’s alright. The other party must have been very violent. Since it happened while protecting me, I will help to wrap it up as quietly as possible.”
Ki-won gestured with his eyes toward the bodyguards as if to say it’s okay and to go. Yeon-woo, who had been listening to their conversation, let out a small sigh. It seemed there was a way to resolve it.
Perhaps because the tension had loosened to some degree.
The center of his body, which he had barely kept upright, shook, and darkness covered his vision. It felt like he lost control of every part from his toes to his head. It was a moment before Yeon-woo’s body tilted toward the floor.
***
Yeon-woo disliked the sensation of waking up from a very long sleep. Not the kind of sleep where you wake up after a few hours as usual, but one that spans more than a day. Originally, it might have been a feeling he wouldn’t have known about.
When Yeon-woo was a high school student, he reduced his sleeping time and did part-time jobs. As his father didn’t come home and wandered around gambling places, household chores naturally became Yeon-woo’s responsibility.
To pay overdue bills, pay rent, and even take care of meals, he had to work tirelessly. As a result, he pushed himself so harshly that even if he combined a week, his sleep time wouldn’t exceed 21 hours. Then, Yeon-woo fainted on his way home from school. When he opened his eyes, he was in the hospital, and they said two days had passed. Apparently, fatigue accumulation and nutritional imbalance came together because he only ate convenience store triangle kimbap for meals.
Besides hospital bills, Yeon-woo had to taste a terrible feeling in another aspect. The reason is unknown, but the sensation of waking up from a long sleep was disgusting. It’s probably trauma from an accident that occurred when he was young. Lying in a hospital bed for a long time with a young body.
He had to taste that feeling again. Before waking up his limp limbs, Yeon-woo moved his fingertips. Starting from the tip of his twitching fingers, the drooping muscles screamed. It felt like receiving all the muscle pain he would experience in his lifetime at once.
“…Ugh.”
A groan leaked out before he even opened his eyes. When he belatedly lifted his eyelids, a familiar ceiling came into view. He thought it was a hospital…. Yeon-woo, muttering inwardly, slowly turned his head. It wasn’t a hospital full of the scent of rubbing alcohol. It seemed Ki-won had brought him to his house. Because he woke up in a familiar bedroom, his mind that was about to become sensitive softened.
Yeon-woo slowly lifted his upper body and sat leaning against the bed head. Only one arm was particularly stiff, and an IV was inserted. Yeon-woo, who quietly looked down at this, took his feet out of the bed one by one. The pain that occurred from falling on his buttocks was more severe than expected. Yeon-woo, who lifted his buttocks while groaning, was about to pull the IV stand and go to the living room.
“Oh…!”
He happened to run into Ki-won, who was coming inside. Yeon-woo, who let out a meaningless exclamation, checked Ki-won’s hand first.
“Hyung, what about your hand? Did you get stitches?”
“Calm down, Yeon-woo.”
Ki-won’s one hand was tightly wrapped in bandages. Everything happened because of him. Yeon-woo drooped his eyebrows with a sense of guilt.