Contract Marriage with Memory Loss on Top - Chapter 58

Restless due to his disorganized thoughts, Yeon-woo reached out to an approaching taxi after a while of fidgeting. He didn’t have the leisure to call the driver that Ki-won had arranged for him again to go to the hospital.

“Please go to Korea University Hospital.”

Even in the short sentence, his panting breath was blended in. He tried to place his hand on his chest to calm his startled heart, but the heaving showed no signs of subsiding. 

How badly was he hurt? Why wasn’t he answering? Not knowing Ki-won’s exact condition, the anxiety only grew as time passed. He wouldn’t be hurt so badly that a phone call was impossible, right? Yeon-woo bit his nails with rising impatience.

“Is something wrong?” the taxi driver asked Yeon-woo tentatively, as he was fidgeting and bouncing his leg restlessly. Seeing that the destination was a hospital and coupled with his poor complexion and unstable appearance, the driver seemed unnecessarily worried.

“Huh? Ah…” Yeon-woo couldn’t give any answer to the taxi driver’s question and only sighed. His heart was beating too fast and his jaw was stiff with tension, making the act of speaking difficult. All Yeon-woo could do was shake his head.

“Oh dear, but the road is jammed…” As the driver said, the road was packed. Although it was still a while before quitting time, it was difficult to avoid the busyness near the bustling court area. When they had to stop at a red light after barely moving, Yeon-woo’s face turned pale.

It would have been nice if at least a call got through. It didn’t have to be Ki-won. If there was someone who knew his exact condition, it wouldn’t have been this scary. 

“How many minutes do you think it will take to get to the hospital?” The voice that came out was heart-wrenchingly desperate. Even if he arrived at the hospital early, it wouldn’t change Ki-won’s condition, but he wanted to get to his side as soon as possible.

The taxi driver glanced at the estimated arrival time on the navigation and opened his mouth. Every word he spoke was filled with difficulty. Although he didn’t know why the passenger was anxious, he guessed that it wasn’t a light reason since they were headed to the hospital.

“Looking at what’s on the navigation, it seems like it will take a good 40 minutes… There’s road construction starting from that intersection, so it will be blocked for a while.”

Hearing the news that an already complicated place would be even more backed up due to construction limiting the lanes, Yeon-woo was startled. If it took 40 minutes by taxi, there wasn’t much difference from walking.

His mouth was getting dry and rough. Yeon-woo took a deep breath after rubbing his face to come to his senses. Just as he was about to decide to walk instead, his cell phone vibrated. Could it be a call from Ki-won? Yeon-woo hurriedly lowered his head and fumbled to check the cell phone screen placed on his thigh.

[010-3244-****]

Instead of Kwon Ki-won’s name, some phone number was listed on the screen. Normally, he would have thought about who the owner of the phone number was and then answered the call, but he didn’t have the leisure to do that now.

“Hello?” Yeon-woo quickly answered the call, afraid it might get cut off, and listened to the voice that would come from the other end of the receiver.

– Hello. This is Seo Wonjae, who is attending to Director Kwon.

As soon as he heard the name Seo Wonjae, one scene flashed through Yeon-woo’s mind. It was a name he had occasionally heard when Ki-won was contacting the secretary’s office.

“By any chance, are you Chief Secretary Seo…? You’re the chief secretary, right?” In response to Yeon-woo’s question, Chief Secretary Seo answered that he was indeed the chief secretary, saying that his introduction had been insufficient. It was the moment when the blood-drained face of Yeon-woo was gradually getting better.

“Are you calling to tell me about my brother’s condition? How is he? Is he badly hurt? Ah, and I’m going to the hospital right now, which room number should I go to?”

Although he should have given the other person a chance to answer, Yeon-woo poured out the questions he had in his mind without any room. However, even though he was speaking incoherently, the chief secretary remained calm without any sign of agitation. It seemed like he was deliberately using a composed tone to calm down Yeon-woo’s excitement.

– First of all, Director Kwon left for his residence a little while ago.

“Really? So he wasn’t hurt badly? Why isn’t he being hospitalized…?”

If he had been in a car accident and was rushed to the hospital, it meant there was an injury somewhere, so it was incomprehensible why he was returning home so quickly. Could it be that the injured area wasn’t severe enough to require hospitalization? Before hearing the other person’s answer, Yeon-woo came up with countless assumptions.

– Well… he was injured in the head area…

“His head? No, then he should be hospitalized, why…!”

It felt like his heart had sunk to the bottom. The chief secretary strangely seemed to hold back his words and didn’t provide any more information. He just kept repeating that he should go and check for himself.

Even the chief secretary wasn’t giving a definite answer in this strange situation. Yeon-woo tried to move his lips, but no sound came out of his mouth. It was because there was no point in getting angry here. Yeon-woo, who took a deep breath to calm down, held his throbbing forehead.

“Okay, I see… I got it. So in conclusion, you’re telling me not to go to the hospital but to go home, right?”

– That’s right. Yes…

It felt stuffy as if the center of his chest was blocked. Yeon-woo gently rubbed his solar plexus and thought of Kwon Ki-won, who would be at home. The worrying heart was as big as the perplexing aspect of the current situation.

After ending the call, Yeon-woo put strength into his dazed eyes and spoke to the taxi driver again. As soon as he changed the destination, he asked how long it would take. Fortunately, the estimated arrival time was shorter than the hospital. He had made up his mind to walk if this also took too long, so it was a relief that there was no need for that.

***

“You can drop me off here.” Yeon-woo said as the taxi entering the apartment complex was approaching near the building. Due to the urgency that came first, his bottom was fidgeting even though he hadn’t finished making the payment yet. The taxi driver’s actions also became busy, caught up in the passenger’s urgency to get out at any moment. As soon as the payment was completed, the driver urgently handed the card to the back seat.

“Thank you.” Yeon-woo reflexively greeted and swiftly left the car body. Even though he ran so fast that his feet were not visible, he was not out of breath. Perhaps it was because he couldn’t rest assured until he saw Ki-won’s appearance with his own eyes, but his physical strength had temporarily risen abnormally.

‘The elevator…’ The car being backed up and every little thing came as an obstacle to Yeon-woo. Yeon-woo swallowed dry saliva at the elevator status that said it was under inspection. There was a sub-elevator on the emergency exit side, but it had gone up to a high floor and was slowly coming down, making his mouth parched. He considered running up the stairs, but he knew that no matter how much he ran, he couldn’t match the speed of the elevator.

Yeon-woo waited patiently for the emergency elevator. The elevator that was coming down floor by floor finally stopped at the lobby level, and Yeon-woo took a big step through the opening door. After pressing the floor number, Yeon-woo’s pupils trembled finely as he watched the elevator door slowly close again.

The same as usual, but a different day than usual. It was a contradictory statement, but there was no more appropriate expression than this. Yeon-woo had to pull himself together from the confusion that had completely engulfed him that day. As the floor number went up, his heart rate gradually increased as well. He couldn’t think of anything else but the earnest desire for nothing to be wrong with Ki-won. His trembling legs were as precarious as his inner feelings.

Yeon-woo, who leaned against the elevator wall to maintain his balance, slowly exhaled. Come to think of it, he didn’t even know for sure whether Ki-won was home or not at the moment. That was because the secretary said that Ki-won had left for home, not that he had arrived.

‘If he’s not backed up, it seems like he would have arrived before me…’ The elevator stopped and the familiar hallway scene was revealed. Yeon-woo’s expression gradually became more determined as he took one step at a time toward the front door. It seemed like Ki-won would greet him from inside when he opened the front door, no, it had to be that way, so his steps became even heavier.

When he brought the front door key to the door lock, a beeping sound was heard as the lock was released. The noise of the door opening seemed louder than usual. Yeon-woo, who stepped over the threshold, slowly closed the door and looked around. The spacious living room was empty, just as it was when he left.

“Hyung…” A languid voice called out for Kwon Ki-won. However, there was no answer. Was the voice too small? He might be lying in the bedroom, so Yeon-woo moved his legs swiftly. Yeon-woo, who arrived in front of the bedroom, called out to Kwon Ki-won with a louder voice than before, along with a knock.

“Hyung, are you here?”