I Became a Villainous Character with a Limited Lifespan - Episode 91

Episode 91

Professor Kim’s face didn’t look good as he was checking the test results. Since the treatment was focused on pain relief rather than recovery from the beginning, even if he visited regularly, there would never be a day when he could see Professor Kim’s bright expression.

“Your condition is not good. Some figures remain the same, but some have dropped… The instability of your pheromone levels last time was a bit concerning, so we conducted additional tests…”

Professor Kim examined the last set of results with a serious face. Seung-hyun didn’t particularly feel any changes. He waited for the words to come with a calm face.

“Although we need to check additional figures in various situations to be certain, your pheromone gland has started to completely collapse. Not only is it losing function, but pheromones will suddenly be released strongly, and conversely, pheromones transformed from alpha pheromones will be released weakly. It’s one of the common complications…”

“There’s no point in hiding it now. I won’t be shocked by every little thing, so just tell me straight.”

“…Since it’s a complication that comes in the very late stage, it seems…”

In other words, the already short time left may have been further reduced. He had expected it, but it was still a bitter thing to hear.

“I’ll prescribe you pheromone suppression medication. Since your pheromone gland is damaged in many ways, you may not be able to judge for yourself, so I’ll also prescribe a detection kit. It’s okay to take it in advance, but I don’t recommend taking it excessively… It would be best to take it only when you have contact with others.”

Professor Kim wrote a new prescription. Along with the warning that traveling would be dangerous if his condition worsened further, he received a long lecture, but Seung-hyun didn’t regret going on the trip.

Because it was definitely enjoyable, even if it was a little different from the ideal trip he had in mind. So much so that he wanted to spend every day like that if he could.

If his condition had been a bit better, he could have gone to Europe as Jae-young had initially suggested, and he could have visited the villa he talked about so often.

He had thought there would be nothing to regret since this life was like a bonus time, but as time passed, he gradually became greedier and his regrets grew.

It was the thing he feared the most and wanted to avoid, but things in life didn’t always go smoothly.

It seemed it wouldn’t be easy for him to cut it off himself. He didn’t know how much time he had left, but he still wanted to enjoy the present as it was.

[Jae-young: You’ll be home tomorrow, right?] 4:12 PM

[Jae-young: I’m coming over.] 4:12 PM

Seung-hyun smiled slightly at the sudden declaration of coming over, not even asking if it was okay. Jae-young had been acting as if it were his own house for a while, and he thought it was something to at least inform him about.

“I’ll have to prepare before he comes.”

After returning home, Seung-hyun hid the prescribed medications in places out of Jae-young’s sight. They wouldn’t be noticeable unless the storage spaces were deliberately opened, but he placed them evenly so they could be taken out from anywhere in case of urgency. Then he threw himself on the bed.

Although he had been away from home for quite a while, there was someone managing it, so the bedding and mattress were fluffy.

‘Should I change the bed…?’

But somehow it didn’t feel right. The bed in the hotel room where they had spent several days seemed more comfortable, and Seung-hyun tapped the innocent bedsheet.

***

“A white oval pill, a small yellow round pill, and a blue capsule?”

“Yeah. Do you know what medicines they are?”

Jae-young asked his friend who was working as a doctor. He said he called because he was curious about how Seung-hyun was doing, but that was just an excuse.

After a long, meaningless exchange of greetings, Jae-young casually asked what he was really curious about. Although Seung-hyun said it was nothing, that momentarily pale face was on his mind, making it hard to believe it was really nothing.

Seung-hyun wasn’t someone who told him everything, so he thought he should find out this way to feel at ease.

Jae-young waited for the answer to come, feeling a bit tense. It really should be nothing. The brief silence felt too long.

“The white oval pill. Do you remember if it had any markings or not? Like a line drawn on it or some kind of symbol.”

“Huh?”

“When you say small, how small are we talking about? Do you remember if it was orange, dark yellow, or light yellow?”

“No. I don’t remember that much…”

“Then it’s difficult. Medicines all look similar, so it’s hard to differentiate with just that much information. The capsule also varies depending on whether it was all blue on the top and bottom, or if it had any printed symbols.”

He had only glanced at them hurriedly, so he couldn’t see them in that much detail. Jae-young answered with a flustered voice.

“The capsule was half blue and half white, I think, and there were no separate symbols.”

“You’re not certain, right?”

“…Yeah. The colors are like that, but the symbols… I didn’t get a proper look.”

“Even if you had seen it properly, it wouldn’t have much meaning. If there are no symbols at all, that’s something taken to protect the stomach when taking strong medicines.”

“……”

Jae-young made a troubled face. Not only had he failed to find out what the medicine was, but the one thing he had managed to remember was the unsettling fact that it was taken along with strong medicines, making him feel even more frustrated.

“But why are you suddenly asking about that? Is there someone sick at home? Your brothers or parents?”

“No. It’s not that, I just… suddenly thought of it.”

“It doesn’t seem like that’s the case.”

His voice had been somewhat controlled until he asked, but the moment he heard that the information wasn’t enough to know, his voice became serious. His friend said to Jae-young,

“To know exactly, you’d have to take pictures of the medicines and send them. Even if it’s the same medicine, the judgment of the condition will differ depending on what other medicines it’s taken with, so it’s best to include everything taken if possible.”

“…If I get the chance. Yeah.”

“More than that, I heard you haven’t been coming out much these days. Are you dating after Seon-hu got married?”

“Don’t say nonsense. Dating…”

He should have said what dating, but he couldn’t. The only condition to continue his relationship with Seung-hyun came to mind. Don’t define this relationship with a beautiful name.

“What’s with you? That makes it even more suspicious. Well, it wouldn’t be strange for you to get married to someone at this age. If anything, aren’t you late? Most people are already married.”

“No. It’s not that.”

“Why are you hiding it so much? If you go too, I’ll really be all alone. I’m the only one left. Being busy is a sin.”

“I said it’s not like that.”

It would be nice if he could say that. Jae-young let out a small sigh, feeling a bit bitter.

“Anyway, if it’s important, take a proper look and contact me again. And it’s good to date, but come out and show your face to us too. I’m going to forget what you look like.”

“Yeah. Let’s meet next time.”

The call ended without much gain, and Jae-young checked the messages that had come during the call. There was one message telling him to contact before coming.

‘He’s definitely hiding something. There’s no point in pressing him to talk properly since he’s not someone who will, so I have no choice but to find out myself…’

How could he find out? Jae-young thought about secretly searching Seung-hyun’s house tomorrow while avoiding his eyes.

It was clear that both he and Seung-hyun regarded each other as special, but unlike being able to be sure of that fact, there was nothing he could know for certain about Seung-hyun.

Contrary to his resolve to take it slow since he had plenty of time, as his feelings for Seung-hyun grew, so did his anxiety. He had thought everything would be fine as long as he had feelings, but he felt like he was missing something.

Things were going smoothly, so why did he have such a bad feeling? He gripped the phone tightly. This situation of becoming more anxious the happier he was felt strange.

“The conversation…”

There were many things he wanted to ask, but he was also afraid that the current peace would break if he asked carelessly. Sometimes, the moment when Seung-hyun cried in anxiety and asked him to keep his mouth shut came to mind.

Should he maintain the thin ice-like peace without knowing, or should he learn the truth even if the ground beneath his feet crumbled? Jae-young was more of a coward than he thought when it came to choosing one of the two.

‘Let’s think about it after meeting him tomorrow. My thoughts will somehow be sorted out after seeing his face.’

[I’ll come at lunchtime. You’ll probably sleep in and skip lunch again, so I’ll have to come and take care of you.] 5:01 PM

The message written with a stiff smile was light as if there were no worries at all. As if there was no anxiety, the kind words were the best he could do right now.

‘He shouldn’t be sick. He’s not good at taking care of himself, so I’ll have to pay more attention…’

He wanted to be in a position where he could meddle a bit more. Jae-young thought so and tried to sort out the things he had to do tomorrow in his head.