Chapter 8: A Debtor’s Excuses

As if celebrating Si-hyeon’s perfect escape, the hallway remained completely quiet. Thinking he had almost made it, he applauded himself repeatedly in his head and finally straightened the back he had kept bent over.

Brushing the dust off his dirty clothes, Si-hyeon muttered to himself.

“Seriously… It’s not like I wasn’t going to pay the money back. I just said I’d quietly go to the police station and come back, but they had to attach like a dozen scary guys to follow me around. I told them I’d pay it back! What, have they been scammed their whole lives or something…?”

“Is this how someone who said they wouldn’t run away behaves? Sneaking out like this?”

“Exactly! Do you think I wanted to do something this crazy? I’d probably get caught before even reaching the police station! It felt like something out of a movie with a gang boss and everything… I said I’d pay it back! I’m not even trying to run away, so why are all those suited guys trailing behind me-”

Question marks popped up above Si-hyeon’s head.

At the same time, a dark shadow approached his feet.

Like a poorly oiled robot, Si-hyeon slowly turned his neck, and locked eyes with the person standing against the light.

Blue eyes stood out sharply.

“Uh… uh…”

A stupid sound slipped out between his parted lips, and before he realized it, his legs gave out and he collapsed to the floor.

“Hm.”

Cha Hae-jun looked completely relaxed, as if he had been waiting there from the beginning. It was almost like he had known Si-hyeon would crawl out of that narrow door gap.

“So this is what my debtor patient has been up to.”

His voice was quiet and gentle, like someone coaxing a child. But to Si-hyeon, it sounded no different from the roar of a messenger from hell.

Si-hyeon’s lips moved for a moment before he finally managed to speak.

“H-how did you know…? That I was in there…”

“Your hand.”

As soon as Hae-jun finished speaking, Si-hyeon instinctively looked at his hands. Hae-jun added calmly,

“I’ve never stuck under a bed before, so I can’t really say much… but seeing you trembling there, clinging to it, it felt a little pitiful to pretend I didn’t notice.”

In other words, he had seen the whole thing.

Si-hyeon wiped his face with both hands and sighed. Apparently, it had been a stupid plan from the start.

“Let me ask again. Why exactly were you cleaning the floor?”

Hae-jun’s well-shaped lips curved pleasantly.

“Was becoming a janitor your life’s dream? Or do you just enjoy dirtying hospital gowns?”

“…No, that’s not-”

“If not that… are you trying to end your life like this?”

At the single word end, Si-hyeon blinked blankly for a moment, then his gaze sharpened instantly. His expression clearly asked who gave this man the right to say such nonsense.

“Excuse me? Who said anything about logging out of life? I’m definitely going to live a long- well, maybe not that long, but at least until thirty-five! And once I leave the hospital, I’m going to be perfectly healthy! And that painting money, I’ll pay it back somehow! I’ll stick right beside you, boss, and pay it off until the end. I’m really good at keeping promises, you know?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t know about the first part, but the second one will fail.”

“What kind of nonsense is that? I’m only a little sick, okay? I just had some unnecessary surgery because of over-treatment! It’s not like I’ve got some incurable disease or anything. What, if I go ask the doctor right now are they going to say, ‘Unfortunately, you only have six months to live’? I’m not that kind of patient!”

After firing off his words rapidly, Si-hyeon wrinkled his nose.

A faintly sweet scent lingered in the air.

Now that he thought about it, it was coming from the man. Who in the world wore perfume to a hospital?

“I might not know much else, but I get my health checkups regularly. The doctor always says I’ve got a strong body. Ending my life, my foot. If anything, maybe you should say I’ve got a zombie virus or something.”

He grumbled sarcastically.

At that moment, the familiar scent drifted closer again.

The man was slowly approaching him.

The closer he got, the stronger the scent became.

It felt natural for a perfume, yet too strange to be real. It almost seemed fake because it felt impossible for a person to naturally smell like that.

Si-hyeon wrinkled his nose again and slowly lifted his head.

Their eyes met instantly.

“You’ve still got a sore arm, and you need to work hard to repay your debt. If you act like this, something serious might happen later.”

“…”

“I heard from the security guards you’re looking for your wallet. That’s something I can help you with.”

Help with what?

If what the man said was true, those scary guys guarding the door should’ve helped him long before. In other words, the reason they had been desperately blocking Si-hyeon was because of Cha Hae-jun.

Besides, how could someone accuse him of being a thief and then talk about helping him?

Sure, it annoyed him to be treated like a thief, but this man had also paid for the painting he broke. So technically he was a good person.

…Well. Maybe.

Actually, now that he thought about it, the whole situation felt strange.

Who treats someone who supposedly stole something like this? Normally you’d throw them in jail, not treat them in a hospital and take care of them. And suddenly being treated kindly like this made even less sense.

“Ummm…”

Si-hyeon desperately squeezed his brain, which wasn’t working very well, and finally reached a conclusion. It was the kind of thought process that the factory uncles would pat him on the back for.

“Well… um… what was it… oh! Right. From a very, very objective point of view, you did help me. If it weren’t for you, I might’ve woken up in a police station instead of a hospital… and even though you accused me of being a thief… you still treated me. I mean, I know that’s all money I have to pay back.”

Still sitting on the floor, Si-hyeon spoke carefully, trying his best to express his thoughts.

Before he knew it, Cha Hae-jun had already knelt down on one knee in front of him so their eyes were level. He kept smiling the whole time.

“You have to pay the money back anyway, so just relax and receive treatment.”

That was exactly the problem.

Money he had to pay back anyway.

It was already frustrating enough to be stuck in the hospital with broken bones, but now he had to think about paying for everything someday. The added four hundred million on top of the seven-point-one billion filled his mind.

It was driving him insane.

Si-hyeon was about to explain his situation, but when he looked at the man’s clean, composed face, he hesitated and closed his mouth.

“…I don’t need treatment. It won’t suddenly become a problem if I skip it…”

“Your back hurts, and your arm hurts too. Why refuse treatment?”

Why?

Wasn’t it obvious?

Even at this moment, bills far beyond what Si-hyeon could handle were piling up.

He lowered his head and fidgeted with his fingers for a while before finally sighing and telling the truth.

“As you know, I don’t have any money… I can’t pay it all right now. I’m not saying I won’t pay it back. I really have to go find my wallet… And those guys… what are they even doing? Those big bald men following me around everywhere… it’s so embarrassing I can’t even go anywhere. I just want to go quietly and come back…”

He mumbled incoherently with a deep frown.

Then the man reached out his hand.

Si-hyeon flinched, thinking he might get hit, but the fingers gently touched between his eyebrows. The soft touch smoothed out his frown.

“I only know your name and blood type, Bae Si-hyeon. Want me to guess your age?”

“…”

“Nineteen?”

“I’m twenty-one!”

His voice rose sharply, clearly offended at being treated like a kid.

Cha Hae-jun smiled faintly, then straightened up and stood. He extended his hand and curled his fingers as if telling Si-hyeon to grab it.

“If you’re a grown adult, you should take care of your injuries properly. Don’t tell me you’re doing this just because you hate injections.”

“I don’t need more treatment. I’ll work hard and pay back the money. And… I’ll cooperate with the police investigation too. I really… I really didn’t steal anything. I’ll pay the money back. I’m good at working nonstop…”

As he fidgeted with his fingers, he heard a shallow sigh, and suddenly his body lifted off the ground.

“…Huh?”

“I never thought you were actually worried about the hospital bills.”

Caught off guard, Si-hyeon struggled even more.

“I know it’s not a small amount! Boss, I’ll work really hard and pay it back. So… can’t you just let me go for now? My body’s basically useless except for being sturdy. My bones will heal quickly. I won’t skip paying for the painting either. And put me down!”

“If I let go, it looks like you’ll run away immediately.”

“I won’t! Seriously! I’m an adult, why would I cling to someone like this?”

“Twenty is still young.”

Was he rounding down? Or rounding to the nearest whole number like currency?

Si-hyeon smacked the man’s back repeatedly in protest. A faint crease formed between Hae-jun’s brows, as if it hurt.

“I said I’m twenty-one!”

“Here you’re twenty. You just became an adult, yesterday you were basically nineteen. You’re young.”

“Wow… People must tell you a lot that you’re impossible to talk to.”

“Sometimes they say my personality is trash.”

“…I don’t think that’s quite right…”

Muttering quietly, Si-hyeon suddenly realized the position he was in.

Even if no one else was around, this was still too embarrassing.

“I-I’ll walk! I’ll just walk! Please let me walk! I have this… um… weird condition where if I don’t step on the ground at least once a day, my feet cramp up!”

As he rambled desperately, the man stopped walking.

Slowly setting Si-hyeon down on the floor, he looked completely serious.

“You already have plenty of injuries… and you’re saying you have another strange illness?”

Seeing the expression on his face that seemed to genuinely believe it, Si-hyeon dragged a hand down his face.

He was so embarrassed he couldn’t even lift his head.