I Became a Villainous Character with a Limited Lifespan - Episode 110

Episode 110

Seung-hyun had completely disappeared without a trace, as if he had vanished into thin air. There were no records of his card usage or communication, and not a single person had seen him, so it really seemed like he had evaporated.

“So, you still haven’t found him?”

“There are no records of him leaving the country, and I’m starting to think he might have smuggled himself out.”

Jaeseong sighed at the situation that remained unchanged. Although it had been a long time since they started looking for Seung-hyun, the answer that came back was always the same.

‘If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have said I’d hear what happened after the situation was over.’

He was just frustrated because he had said it and couldn’t call Jae-young without any results. He thought it wouldn’t be such a difficult task.

“It seems there are others looking for him besides us, and their situation seems similar.”

“Who?”

“I didn’t look into it, but it would be the HJ side. They must have some unfinished business with him.”

The man said, shrugging his shoulders. Since Seung-hyun had properly dealt a blow and disappeared, it was natural for Tae-sung to look for him.

“Usually, when there’s no answer to this extent, it means they smuggled themselves out, or they died and are buried somewhere… That’s the case.”

“Contact me again as soon as you hear any news.”

Jaeseong, who finished the fruitless conversation, waved his hand. He didn’t know it would take this long. Jaeseong, who was inwardly worried that he might have to struggle for a few more months at this rate, received news a few days later.

“It’s still a rumor, but there’s a sighting.”

“A sighting?”

The organization member who had left shaking his head as if it would be difficult contacted him first. Although he was the one who told them to tell him right away if there was even a small clue, it was a slightly unsatisfactory answer.

“You mean you haven’t directly confirmed it.”

“We’re in the process of confirming, so if it’s true, we should be able to find him soon. It’s just that the place is so unexpected that I was surprised, but it’s not a difficult place to enter.”

An unexpected place. Jaeseong stopped his hand and took his eyes off the document he had fixed them on. As their eyes met, the man spoke without hesitation.

“Someone said they saw Director Han at a university hospital walking trail.”

“Hospital walking trail? Did he go to visit someone? Who he was with is important. Who could it be? A politician? Or… did the J Construction chairman say he was hospitalized now?”

“It’s not that side.”

The man shook his head and looked around for a moment as if someone might hear. What is he being wary of in a private office? Jaeseong, getting impatient, frowned and urged him.

“Then what is it?”

“It seems he has been hospitalized all this time. We couldn’t find him because A University Hospital is thorough with personal information security, and we never thought he would be in such a place.”

A hospital. At the same time as thinking it was the perfect place to hide quietly, something felt suspicious.

“What do you think is the reason he hid in a hospital of all places?”

“Who knows? It could be a move to catch us off guard and he used his head to some extent… But it could be a simpler reason than we think.”

“Speak clearly.”

Jaeseong, who became even more frustrated at the cryptic words, urged for an answer. Only then did the man bring up the main point.

“The person who said they saw him said he didn’t look well. Although we couldn’t find out the exact illness or period of hospitalization because their security is so thorough… It seemed like he had been there for quite a while.”

“……”

“We were going to report to you formally after confirming it again on our side… But I thought it would be better to tell you first.”

“Yeah. You were right to think that.”

Although it was certainly a surprising news that he didn’t expect, it was news he heard after struggling for nearly a month. Thinking it fortunate that he at least grasped a clue, Jaeseong told him to let him know as soon as there was new information and sent him back.

And Jaeseong wasn’t the only one who heard the news.

“Hospital?”

“Yes. Someone said they saw Director Han and Secretary Lee at A Hospital’s walking trail.”

“Is it reliable information? Is there a possibility that incorrect information was deliberately leaked?”

“Since we heard it from an employee who was hospitalized due to an accident… That possibility is low. They said they saw him by chance too. We plan to confirm it again.”

It was an unexpected place. Catching them off guard like this. Tae-sung frowned and said,

“He’s doing all sorts of things. It certainly seems to have helped, but… What on earth is he hiding that he’s going that far…”

“Excuse me, but.”

Tae-sung muttered in a tone that sounded like he couldn’t understand what Seung-hyun was planning that he was hiding himself that much. Secretary Kang gauged Tae-sung’s reaction.

“What?”

“Perhaps it might not be simply with the intention of hiding himself.”

“Then?”

“According to the witness, his face had become very gaunt… The atmosphere was so different that they recognized who it was by looking at Secretary Lee’s face, not Director Han’s.”

Since Seung-hyun’s actions were suspicious, he naturally thought he had chosen the place as a means of seclusion, but a hospital definitely had its original purpose.

A place you go when you’re sick or to prevent illness. Moreover, A Hospital was famous for being thorough with personal information security. 

Isn’t that the same reason he himself goes there for regular checkups? Perhaps what Seung-hyun was trying to hide was not his whereabouts but his health condition. He understood it in his head, but inwardly thought there was no way that was the case.

‘Even if you stab him, not a single drop of blood would come out.’

Wasn’t he a lone wolf who seemed like he would avoid even illness? Tae-sung lightly shook his head and said,

“Now that we know his whereabouts, it won’t be difficult to meet him.”

“Are you planning to go see him?”

“Yes.”

Since it was finally the point where former president Han’s anger had subsided and work was slowly increasing, he thought it would be a waste of time, but it would definitely be better than having his ankles caught again by an unexpected event.

Secretary Kang nodded and said,

“Then I will prepare. Now that we know his location, it will be easy to create a coincidental meeting.”

Since Seung-hyun’s whereabouts were bound to spread soon, he wanted to end this tiresome thought as quickly as possible.

‘If I meet him, it will become clear. Thinking of the past for no reason… It seems I’ve forgotten how nasty of a guy Han Seung-hyun is because it’s been so long since I met him.’

“There’s no need to pretend it’s a coincidence. It’s not like we’ll have a long conversation. Just… I should have an excuse to tell Seon-hu, shouldn’t I?”

He had to tell Seon-hu that Seung-hyun is a hopeless person, that he’s someone who won’t even blink an eye at hurtful words and will do worse things.

In order to stop that overly kind Seon-hu from saying things like “But can’t people change?” and “The Seung-hyun I saw didn’t seem like that kind of person,” he could endure seeing an annoying face once or so.

“I will prepare so you can finish as quickly as possible. Even if the hospital doesn’t deliberately leak information, they won’t chase away someone who knows and comes to visit.”

If it’s A Hospital, it’s a place where most of Tae-sung’s family, including himself, get checkups. So they wouldn’t be able to recklessly refuse a VIP customer of Tae-sung’s level.

“I will let you know as soon as preparations are made.”

“Okay.”

The ill-fated relationship wouldn’t be severed, but at least through this meeting, he could escape from the absurd thought that he didn’t even try to get to know Seung-hyun.

Seon-hu’s words were the trigger, but after recalling the past, there were days when the question of whether that was really the best thing to do came flying in.

‘Now I can completely escape from such nonsensical thoughts.’

Tae-sung leaned back in his chair and became lost in thought for a moment. His relationship with Seung-hyun that had gone even more astray because of his immaturity. There was no reason to feel guilty, but Seung-hyun’s face that looked like he was about to cry, which he saw for the first and last time, kept invading his mind after coming to mind once.

“…It seems I was young.”

But it was only for a moment. Tae-sung finished his short reminiscence and returned to reality.

***

Seung-hyun, who had no way of knowing his whereabouts had been discovered, was still spending a day no different from yesterday. Since he was told that slowly increasing his walking time little by little would help with his recovery, Seok-hyung took Seung-hyun out to the walking trail again today.

If there was a difference from the day before, it was that Seung-hyun’s attire was more serious today. His body and face were half covered by a thick outer garment, a blanket covering his knees, and a scarf wrapped around his neck to the point it was a little stuffy to breathe.

“……”

“……”

Unlike the gentle touch that had carefully wrapped the scarf, the air between the two was as cold as if they were strangers.

“If you’re cold, please tell me right away. If you catch a cold for no reason…”

“It’s hot.”

Thanks to the suffocating clothes and cold-weather gear that covered his body, it wasn’t just that he wasn’t cold, but it felt hot enough to say so. At those words, Seok-hyung loosened Seung-hyun’s scarf a little and paused.