Chapter 53
Of course, the medical examination results that came out the next day were normal.
It had only been a variable caused by the status window in the first place.
Seo Do-gyeom was reporting the results to Seo I-heum. Watching him do so, Baek I-hae opened her phone.
A short reply from Ye Eun-seol saying not to worry about the part-time job. Even that was kept extremely brief, just in case Seo Do-gyeom might catch sight of the message.
She sent a quick thank you back to Ye Eun-seol and let out a sigh.
She had secretly summoned the player in the early morning while Seo Do-gyeom was asleep, but there had been no response from him at all.
That made Baek I-hae anxious.
‘A warning to separate from Seo Do-gyeom, following the main quest related to Baek Yeong.’
It had been a rocky journey from the moment she decided to do things her own way.
Still, she had anticipated it to some extent, so she resolved to endure it.
“Are you really sure you don’t need to stay in the hospital longer?”
“Yeah. The hospital said it’s fine too. I’m more comfortable at home.”
Baek I-hae smiled and replied to Seo Do-gyeom’s worried question as he approached after ending the call.
“But they said your anemia levels are low, so if you feel dizzy or anything, tell me right away.”
She wondered if it might be because she had vomited that much blood, but Baek I-hae simply nodded obediently.
“Then I’ll pack up and come out, so wait just a minute.”
She left Seo Do-gyeom outside the hospital room and hurried to gather her things when her phone vibrated.
It was a message from Ye Eun-seol.
[Original Female Lead: Oh right. Your boss guy asked for your number, so I gave it to him.]
[Original Female Lead: Just in case a call comes from an unknown number, heads up.]
‘Boss guy, huh.’
That must mean Baek Yeong.
Baek I-hae rolled her eyes and glanced at the back of Seo Do-gyeom’s head outside. Fortunately, he wasn’t looking her way.
She scrolled through her message inbox, but there were no texts from unknown numbers.
Realizing that, Baek I-hae let out a hollow laugh.
‘What was I even thinking? There’s no way that guy would contact me out of concern for my well-being.’
There was even less reason for him to reach out about work. She was just a part-timer who’d worked for a single day.
She was suspicious about why he’d asked for her phone number, but Baek I-hae decided to let it go.
“Uncle Oh is here to pick us up.”
At first, Seo Do-gyeom had just called him Old Man Oh, but now he always added “Uncle” to the title when referring to him.
She remembered how shocked Old Man Oh had been the first time he’d called him that.
His face, soon realizing the situation and looking touched as he gazed at Baek I-hae, was still vivid in her mind.
When Seo Do-gyeom extended his hand to her, Baek I-hae readily took it. There was a lot she needed to teach him, but the future with him didn’t feel entirely worrisome.
‘Time-limited, huh.’
There had been a warning, and she’d vomited blood.
But unlike Ye Eun-seol, Seo Do-gyeom wouldn’t understand even if she explained the situation to him.
So it was something Baek I-hae had to handle on her own. For the sake of protecting that happily smiling face of Seo Do-gyeom’s, it was something she had to bear alone.
She would only realize later that this resolve made Seo Do-gyeom even sadder.
***
The next day, Baek I-hae moved diligently to head to her part-time job.
Though she was in a bind because Seo Do-gyeom and Seo-yeol disapproved, trying to stop her by saying where was she going with a sick body.
‘Unexpectedly, it was a relief that Uncle stepped in to mediate between those two.’
Even though it was just a part-time job, it was part of social life, so he advised that it was good to act responsibly. While adding that if she felt unwell, there was no need to push herself.
Thanking Seo I-heum, Baek I-hae checked her face on her phone.
Today, she had her hair twisted up and was wearing a navy blue dress.
“Hello.”
As she opened the door to the workplace and entered, Baek Yeong, who was sitting there, looked up.
She’d come relatively early, yet he was already working.
‘What on earth is that guy’s deal?’
Was he a gangster, or a company slave? She couldn’t pin him down.
Baek Yeong briefly showed a surprised expression at Baek I-hae’s appearance, then quickly erased it. A light nod of his head served as a greeting in place.
She didn’t mind the brusque greeting much and walked to her seat.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t come yesterday. I just need to finish up the work from the day before, right?”
“Yeah.”
She set down her bag and turned on the laptop. The battery had been fully charged in the meantime.
She hadn’t charged it herself, so it must have been Baek Yeong’s doing. He might be surprisingly meticulous.
Even now, the way he organized documents with his eyes cast down looked systematic.
Silence fell. It was only her second day, but the silence already felt somewhat familiar.
It was simple work, so she quickly proceeded with the Excel tasks when Baek Yeong spoke without even glancing her way.
“I thought you’d quit using being sick as an excuse.”
“It wasn’t an excuse. I suddenly vomited blood, so I got some tests done.”
For a moment, she wondered if it was okay to reveal something that could be a weakness, but then thought, whatever.
Even without showing vulnerabilities, she was a weak person to him, and he probably wasn’t interested anyway.
Upon hearing Baek I-hae’s response, Baek Yeong finally lifted his head and met her gaze. Staring back into those eyes, Baek I-hae decided to ask the question that had been on her mind, voicing it honestly.
“I have something I’ve been wanting to ask. Have you, by any chance, assigned someone to follow me? Like, planning another kidnapping or something.”
“Why would you think that?”
“There was this strange person tailing me last time, and I wondered if you sent them.”
Baek Yeong shook his head without much hesitation, as if it wasn’t worth pondering.
“I’m not idle enough to cause unnecessary friction with Seo I-heum.”
“But you did kidnap me back then.”
“That time, there was a purpose. Well, it wasn’t exactly my intention, but there was also the thought of assessing your value, so it wasn’t entirely unnecessary.”
Coming from someone who’d kidnapped a person and locked them in a truck, those words sounded awfully plausible.
Baek I-hae let out a hollow laugh.
‘Was it really not someone Baek Yeong sent?’
Recalling the man in the black hat, Baek I-hae shuddered slightly. If so, the chances were high that he was some pervert unrelated to the organization.
‘That’s even worse.’
Baek I-hae furrowed her brow. She resolved to be more proactive in the self-defense lessons she was learning from Seo Do-gyeom.
“…I apologize for what happened then. There won’t be any more incidents like that.”
“Huh?”
Lost in her thoughts, Baek I-hae hadn’t anticipated the apology and widened her eyes in surprise, her expression questioning whether she’d heard correctly.
Despite her reaction, Baek Yeong kindly repeated himself.
“I’m sorry. For having a purpose but still touching a civilian. For treating you, a minor in the organization, with violence. For taking your trauma lightly.”
Trauma.
It seemed Baek Yeong had also witnessed her losing consciousness after being trapped in the truck.
But she wasn’t the kind of benevolent person who would forgive so easily just because of an apology. Nor was she strong enough to open her heart, which had been closed off due to betrayal.
“This isn’t said in hopes of your forgiveness.”
“Then is it to ease your own guilt?”
“As if.”
Baek Yeong smiled lightly.
“Asking a gangster something like that— you really have no prejudices.”
“I’m just suspicious about why you’re suddenly in apology mode.”
“Let’s say it’s because I don’t want to lose a useful pair of hands.”
“Come on, how useful could a high school student be? You have Chai Ryeong, don’t you?”
The corners of Baek Yeong’s mouth dropped in an instant. The speed of his reaction was astonishing.
“That guy’s more helpful when he’s not around.”
“…?”
His face was so earnestly serious that it felt embarrassing to even ask if he meant it.
“Well… anyway, while I’m here, I’ll keep work and personal matters separate and do my job diligently.”
It wasn’t really her concern, so Baek I-hae uttered words that even she thought were rather callous.
[The favorability of Baek Yeong, the boss of the Baek faction, increases by 10.]
“…Don’t get the wrong idea. I’ll only do exactly what I’m told.”
[The trust of Baek Yeong, the boss of the Baek faction, increases by 10.]
…That was callous, right?
Baek I-hae decided to just keep her mouth shut.
