Chapter 35

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Sleeping?
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“No, you can’t.”

Yuna, startled, stood on her tiptoes, trying to snatch the phone back.

“I said you can’t.”

“When An Yunho answers, tell him you have to go to the hospital. Tell him loud and clear that if you get a scar because you didn't get your stitches out on time, he'll have to pay for the surgery.”

“He still won’t come.”

“Then tell him not to. Tell him you’ll just abandon the convenience store and run away.”

“…”

The phone rang for a long time, but there was no answer from the other end.

“What time is it that this bastard is still sleeping and not answering his phone?”

“Just give me the phone.”

“No.”

When the call went to voicemail, Taeseo ended it and dialed again. A moment later, An Yunho answered.

-Ah, fuck! What time is it that you’re calling me?

He wanted to shout, ‘It’s nine o’clock, you bastard,’ but he knew that would only make things difficult for An Yuna.

Not wanting to see An Yuna get hit by her grandmother, Taeseo gently placed the phone against Yuna’s cheek.

-Hey, why’d you call? Why are you calling and not saying anything!

“…”

Even though the call was connected, Yuna couldn’t say a word.

-Ugh, fucking bitch.

An Yunho cursed before hanging up.

“Who is that rotten son of a bitch cussing at?”

Seeing the call had ended, Taeseo cursed at An Yunho before dialing his number yet again.

“Please don’t—”

Before Yuna could finish her sentence, An Yunho answered the phone.

-Goddammit! Why do you keep calling!

Taeseo pressed the phone to Yuna’s cheek and spoke in a voice too low to be heard over the receiver.

“Tell An Yunho to come out. If you can’t, I will.”

Yuna, as if resigned, spoke into the phone.

“Oppa, I have to go to the hospital. Can you watch the store for a bit…?”

-What the hell are you talking about! You can go to the hospital this afternoon!

An Yunho shouted loud enough to be heard even without the phone. Taeseo then prompted Yuna with what to say.

“Tell him the hospital will be closed by the time he gets here at six.”

Yuna repeated Taeseo’s words.

“If I go to the hospital when you get here at six, it’ll be closed.”

-I’ll leave two hours early, so go at four. That should work, right?

An Yunho was trying to scheme his way into a little more sleep, but Taeseo, having already seen through his ploy, prompted Yuna again.

“Tell him yesterday was your original appointment, but you couldn't go because of his friend, so you're pissed off and he needs to come out now.”

“Yesterday was my hospital day, but I couldn’t go.”

“Also, tell him you’ll get a scar if you don’t get the stitches out soon.”

Taeseo didn’t actually know if leaving stitches in late would cause a scar, but An Yunho wouldn’t know either, so it didn’t matter. Like a well-behaved child, Yuna recited Taeseo’s words.

“The doctor said I’ll get a scar if I don’t get the stitches out soon.”

-No, fuck, if you were supposed to go to the hospital yesterday, you should have gone yesterday. Why are you making a fuss this morning?

“Tell him unless he's going to pay for scar surgery, he should shut his mouth and come out.”

“Unless you’re going to take responsibility for the scar, please come out and watch the store for me.”

“Tell him to come out in time for the next bus.”

“I’m leaving on the 10:30 bus, so hurry up and get here.”

-Ha, seriously, fuck. I’m doing you a favor this one time because you did one for Jaeseop. Wait. I’ll be there by ten.

With those final words, the call ended. Taeseo recalled An Yunho’s last comment and spoke with disbelief.

“Is this crazy bastard… saying he’s doing you a favor because you let his friend off the hook?”

The condition for An Yunho watching the store was that Yuna had let off the friend who had tried to sexually assault her. Was this even a remotely equivalent exchange?

“What a fucking moron…”

“Jaeseop-oppa is Yunho-oppa’s childhood friend.”

The kind An Yuna respectfully added the honorific ‘oppa’ even to the name of the guy who had done such a terrible thing to her. Displeased with the title, Taeseo twisted his lips into a crooked, delinquent-like smile and said,

“Not Jaeseop-oppa. Just Jaeseop.”

“Huh?”

“Repeat after me. That bastard Jaeseop.”

“…”

“I said, repeat after me. That. Bastard. Jaeseop.”

“That bastard Jaeseop.”

“Good girl.”

Only then did Taeseo flash a bright smile, patting Yuna’s head as if proud of her.

“If that bastard hits on you again, tell me. Got it?”

“Tell you?”

“Yeah. I beat him up for five million won’s worth last time, so next time I’ll give him a ten-million-won beating.”

Whether it was the talk of a beating or that he was taking her side, Yuna finally smiled along with Taeseo.

“I’ll beat him so he can’t even walk, so make sure you tell me, okay?”

“Where are you going to get the money for a ten-million-won beating?”

How fickle the human heart is. Just last night, he’d been annoyed by her obsession with money, but now, he found it endearing that she was worried about his finances.

“I can just sell the car, so be sure to tell me.”

Yuna, who thought of Taeseo as ‘car poor,’ looked surprised at the mention of selling his car.

He could beat up guys like Jaeseop as much as he wanted without selling any car. No, making them kneel before him was a piece of cake.

Still, he didn’t boast, because Yuna seemed to genuinely like the idea of him selling his car for her.

“You said you’re going to the hospital on the 10:30 bus, right? Does the bus stop in front of the hospital?”

“Yes. It stops nearby.”

“I’ll have my car parked in front of the hospital, so let’s meet there. Come looking pretty.”

He wanted to pick her up right then and there, but he was worried it would make things difficult for Yuna if they were seen leaving the neighborhood together, so he decided to park and wait at the hospital.

“I’ll see you later.”

It was an act so unlike himself. Knowing this, Taeseo kissed her lips once more.

* * *

A doctor with white hair looked at Yuna’s wound, removing the stitches one by one.

“Ouch… Doctor, that hurts.”

He was a different person from the on-duty doctor in the emergency room, and he acted friendly, as if he knew Yuna.

“This kid, such a baby. You know taking out stitches doesn’t hurt at all.”

“What do you mean, it doesn’t hurt? It stings a lot.”

Yuna, who couldn’t say a word to An Yunho’s friends her age, responded comfortably to the elderly doctor.

“Hey now, if you act like such a baby, you’ll scare me and I won’t be able to get the stitches out.”

Taeseo, who had been watching, casually took Yuna’s side.

“You look like you’ve been a doctor for at least thirty years. Saying you can’t even take out a few stitches sounds like you’re the one being a baby.”

“This little kid is ganging up on me with her boyfriend now, huh?”

Finally removing the last stitch, the doctor spun his chair around to look up at Taeseo’s face.

He’d thought he was just another neighborhood punk, but he seemed surprised by Taeseo’s unexpectedly handsome appearance and looked him up and down.

“Are you two dating?”

“Yes.”

Taeseo’s unhesitating reply made Yuna’s face flush.

“Your boyfriend didn’t hit you, did he?”

Hearing the doctor’s words, Taeseo let out a small laugh.

“I don’t think I look like that kind of asshole.”

“Good. Yuna shouldn’t be dating an asshole. She deserves to have an easy life for a change.”

The doctor prescribed an ointment for the wound and issued a playful threat that if she got hurt again, he would make the treatment even more painful.

Yuna and Taeseo thanked the doctor and left the hospital.

While Yuna went to the pharmacy to get the ointment, Taeseo started the engine of the black, tinted car.

There were many people from their town at this hospital, so he was being careful not to be seen.

Once Yuna was in the car, Taeseo asked the question that was foremost on his mind.

“Do you know the doctor? He seemed pretty friendly with you.”

“Yes. Since I was five, I think? Whenever I got hurt, I came to this hospital for treatment. That doctor is the director here, so I’ve seen him since then.”

Her words sounded as if she was often beaten by her uncle.

Taeseo gave a short nod and started driving.

He could have taken the country road he’d found earlier to get to the convenience store quickly, but instead, Taeseo took a detour, driving in a different direction. It wasn’t the way to the convenience store, but a completely different route.

“This isn’t the way back to the neighborhood.”

“I know.”

Realizing they weren’t heading to the convenience store, Yuna turned her head toward Taeseo.

“I have to get back to the convenience store.”

“Tell him you were late because you were sick and had to get an IV.”

“What?”

“Tell him to watch the store a little longer since he’s already doing it because of his friend.”

If An Yunho hadn’t been so smug about doing Yuna a favor because of his friend, Taeseo would have taken her straight back to the store.

“Tell him you’re all worn out because of his friend, so you got an IV and went straight to the factory. You need to be a little cunning to get by, not like a cow…”

As he was about to compare Yuna to a cow, he remembered that bastard Jaeseop, who looked like a cattle thief.

He worried that words could become reality—that if he called Yuna a cow, a cattle thief might come and snatch her away—so he quickly changed his words.

“If you live like that, you’ll just wear yourself out. You went through something terrible, so you should tell them you’re taking a few days off from the factory too.”

At that, Yuna said something unexpected.

“I’m not going to the factory for a few days.”

“Really?”

“Yes. The rumor has already spread through the neighborhood. An older lady I work with came by this morning and said she’d talk to the factory manager, and that I should rest for a few days before coming back.”

He had known there were no secrets in a small town, but he hadn’t realized rumors spread this fast.

“That’s great.”

“What is?”

“What do you mean, what is? It’s great that you get to rest for a few days.”

Taeseo drove the car onto the highway heading north. Yuna, thinking it was just a simple drive, chattered away excitedly.

Taeseo responded appropriately, and at some point, Yuna’s voice trailed off.

“An Yuna, you sleeping?”

“…”

“An Yuna, in that case, I’m going to…?”

He mumbled the destination, afraid of waking her. Yuna remained fast asleep, and Taeseo seized the opportunity to increase the car’s speed.

Thankfully, An Yunho was watching the convenience store.

In light of that graciousness, Taeseo intended to make the absolute most of his time with Yuna.