I've Been Possessed, But What If I Get Pregnant First? - C35
#35
“Mmm…”
I opened my eyes, feeling a damp sensation on my forehead. When I touched my forehead, I felt a wet towel.
“Ah…”
Did someone come and go…? Anyway, I must have been sick… No wonder my body felt heavy.
I still had a slight fever in my head, as if I hadn’t fully recovered yet. I turned my head at the unfamiliar feeling in my left wrist. Under the half-rolled-up sleeve, an IV needle was stuck in my dry hand, connected to an IV line. Perhaps because I suddenly got up, my head throbbed and I felt dizzy.
“What time is it now…?”
When I squinted with one eye and turned on my phone, it was already past 2 PM.
“Ha…”
I felt like a fool who slept all day. I should at least study today what I couldn’t do before. Ijun must have been really surprised too when I left like that without any contact and skipped hagwon without notice. Thinking I should go to hagwon tomorrow no matter what, I roughly pulled out the IV needle connected to the back of my hand. I bit my lip at the stinging pain that rushed in.
“Eut-“
Perhaps because I pulled it out too hard, blood slightly pooled and trickled down. I clasped the back of my bleeding hand with the other and lifted my body from the bed.
“Ugh…”
The headache that had been weak intensified, and I felt the pain spreading throughout my body. Grabbing the headboard with my staggering body, I slowly caught my breath. Just then, someone opened the door and entered the room.
I didn’t even have the strength to open my eyes and look back, so I just barely stood there, catching my breath. It seemed like they brought lunch, as a savory smell wafted over. But I still had no appetite, and rather, the smell of food started making me nauseous.
“I’ll just skip lunch, please leave the water and go.”
“……”
The other person didn’t answer at all. I frowned with one eyebrow and turned my head.
“I really have no appetite-“
“Yuwon.”
My body froze for a moment. Since it was someone I didn’t expect at all, my blank mind became alert as if someone had hit me.
“Cha Yuwon.”
“……”
My eyes met Kwon Taebeom’s. I reflexively turned my head and bit my lip hard. At his warm voice that had returned to how it was before, I felt like I was about to burst into tears. Not wanting to be caught with an emotional heart, I held back my breath and suppressed it, but Taebeom approached me.
“Are you okay?”
Ha. This is really the worst. At his warm voice, tears finally flowed. Before he could notice, I hurriedly wiped them away with the back of my hand and asked,
“…Why…?”
I rubbed my eyes until they stung, but the tears welled up again in an instant and it was useless no matter how much I wiped. My vision blurred from the tears filling my eyes. Only then did I feel like I could face Taebeom. I slowly raised my head and looked at him.
“Why… are you here?”
I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug into my palms, but I lowered my head again without feeling the pain. Why are you here? When you left like that back then, why only now…
“I’m sorry.”
“……”
“I went too far.”
He caressed my cheek with a careful hand. I flinched and hunched my shoulders but didn’t back away. Taebeom wiped my tears. As he carefully rubbed my eyes and apologized, saying he was sorry, a childlike cry burst out from me.
“Sorry. It’s all my fault.”
“Hic, sob… hic, wah… ugh.”
Taebeom rubbed my eyes, apologizing for his mistake. The falling tears followed his fingers and smeared long. He must have felt heartbroken, as he hugged me with a sad face.
“It’s my fault. I’m… sorry for everything.”
“Hic, hic… sob.”
I hated him for asking for forgiveness now. I hated him for leaving me alone. I pushed Taebeom who was holding me tightly and hit his chest, crying.
“I hate you… sob, why did you do that to me…?”
Taebeom fully accepted my fists. Once the crying started, it didn’t stop easily. As I burst into tears as if pouring out all the water in my body, he looked at me with a worried face.
“Hic, why did you say such mean things…?”
“I’m sorry… I won’t do it again.”
At Taebeom’s apology, the cry that represented my pent-up feelings in my heart didn’t stop. As I kept sobbing, Taebeom slowly patted my back. The pent-up feelings in my heart melted quickly at his gentle touch. After being held in his arms for a while, I said, sobbing,
“I, I, sob. I don’t know anyone here and, hic… only know you, Tae, Taebeom…sob…”
The only people I knew after falling into this unfamiliar place were Grandma and Taebeom. I also had to tremble in fear every day at the uncertainty of not knowing when I would return and the gap between the violent Taebeom I remember and the kind Taebeom in reality.
“…I see.”
“But, hic, if you say something to me, sob, what do I do…? Hic.”
Still, the Taebeom by my side now was endlessly kind and warm to me, so I could endure it. But at Taebeom’s unfamiliar face, the place I relied on the most, I was scared as if all the light in the world had disappeared.
As I cried in Taebeom’s arms and let out the words I had kept to myself, Taebeom hugged me tighter and listened to everything I said.
“Please treat me kindly… sob… Please be warm to me, Taebeom… sob.”
***
Yuwon eventually cried herself to exhaustion. Dr. Choi, who ran over at Taebeom’s call, gave her an IV and left. Yuwon’s wrist bone connected to the IV protruded. Taebeom sat next to Yuwon, covered her with a blanket, stroked her noticeably thin face in a few days, and sighed.
“Hyung-nim.”
“Come in.”
Taebeom turned his head at the sound of Junseok entering the room.
“It’s here. I brought what was at the main house for now.”
“Yeah, good work.”
“Yes.”
Taebeom looked at the shopping bag in Junseok’s hand and fixed his gaze back on Yuwon.
“Mmm…”
As if uncomfortable, Yuwon frowned and tossed and turned. Taebeom lowered the brightness of the lighting in the room and carefully covered her with the blanket. As he patted Yuwon’s chest and looked down at her sleeping face, Taebeom took out the item Junseok had brought from the main house.
“I’ll be back, so stay with her.”
Taebeom placed the tiger doll he used to play with when he was young next to Yuwon and got up from his seat. It was a doll that had been well preserved for over 20 years thanks to his mother, who had a hobby of collecting things he used when he was young.
It also had his pheromones strongly concentrated on it, as he had it when his first and second awakenings appeared. It might be selfish to leave such an item by Yuwon’s side before leaving. Taebeom, who got up from his seat with difficulty, kissed Yuwon’s cheek one last time before leaving.
“Hyung-nim, you need to leave at 9.”
“Yeah.”
“What about sister-in-law…?”
At Junseok’s question as he checked on Yuwon through the slightly open door, Taebeom answered.
“I’m going alone this time. And you stay by Yuwon’s side.”
“What? Then how will you handle work…?”
“Gichan is there too, and I’ll just make an appearance anyway, so you don’t need to come.”
“I understand.”
Originally, Taebeom was going to go on a business trip to Hong Kong with Yuwon. However, he couldn’t take Yuwon, whose health wasn’t good. Taebeom decided to leave Junseok, who at least had some acquaintance with Yuwon in this house.
Although he was reluctant to leave the house with Yuwon sick, if he simplified all the schedules, he could finish quickly. Taebeom forced his gaze that kept returning and left the house with difficulty.
“Then have a safe trip.”
“Yeah, I’m counting on you then.”
“Yes, Hyung-nim.”
***
“Ugh…”
“Are you awake, Mr. Yuwon?”
I was startled to see Uncle Junseok as soon as I opened my eyes.
“Eek!”
My head hurt from hitting the headboard as I got up in a hurry. As I frowned, Uncle Junseok, who seemed more surprised than me with his eyes wide open, approached.
“Are you okay?!”
Uncle Junseok, who furrowed his brows as if in a predicament, examined my head and sighed.
“You got a bump… Haha… I’m dead now.”
“What?”
“Hyung-nim told me to take good care of you, Ms. Yuwon, without even a single scratch.”
Ms. Yuwon…? The changed way of address from sister-in-law felt burdensome.
But why is this uncle taking care of me…?
“Ah, Uncle… Where is Taebeom?”
Did he really just leave like that?
As I tried to get up from the bed, the mustached uncle stopped me.
“You need to lie down more-“
“Taebeom!”
When I called for Taebeom, looking around, the uncle sighed and said,
“Hyung-nim went on a business trip.”
“What?”
A business trip to Hong Kong…?
When I closed my mouth, signaling for an explanation, Uncle Junseok continued.
“He told you to rest at home because your condition is worse than expected-“
Tsk. Taebeom, you son of a bitch! That bastard!
I got up from my seat in uncontrollable anger. The uncle tried to stop me, but I quickly bent down, avoided him, and ran to the door.
‘If the door is locked too, this time it’s really Taebeom dying and me living.’
With that thought, I turned the doorknob, and fortunately, the door opened smoothly with a clicking sound.
“Ms. Yuwon!”
“Don’t follow me!”
“Hyung-nim left a gift.”
At those words, I pushed my more than half-escaped body back and turned my head.
“A gift?”
“Nothing else, but he said to think of it as his substitute….”
The uncle pointed to the tiger doll next to my bed and laughed awkwardly.
“Ti-Tiger…!”
Translation Notes:
They are teasing Yuwon by calling him Ms. Yuwon