OMLM | Chapter 38

“Did you call me, boss?”38c17169e0c5cd72

The place where 25741cd836 the boss had 2b7f7fafa6 called Cha Hyuk dfe9d5b839 was an old 1d8047d73f warehouse.ab38912d4fe2dbfd

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Inside the warehouse, all the windows were covered with wooden boards, making it dark even though the sun hadn’t set yet.92610737926bff2d

Under the lone 4fb2b1bbb8 light of a 09dd7f541b hanging bulb, a 404a4a57ee burly man was 91f6b347a6 smoking a cigarette. It was Choi Hyungbae. He had effectively 75f0e5b695 taken over managing 08c3d7fabe Cha Hyuk after 591c082470 his fallout with 21b7ae2da3 Lee Wonpil.2d822452632befc0

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Long, thick scars a15ac51e24 ran along his 587447e464 arms under his 5a71a3317a rolled-up sleeves, bulging 652f711f2e all the way 7ec3f8d76c to his hands. They were 576a190bad burn marks.ccc51b70b8834190

Seeing Cha Hyuk, Choi Hyungbae twitched his face. As Cha Hyuk approached him, Choi spoke up, “Bite down on this.”dcfd5fd361bc7017

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

With a sharp snap, a sound echoed. Cha Hyuk’s face turned slightly to the side.bd25002c154151ef

His cheek quickly started a7e88bea36 to swell up and 2516e7a3f8 turned red, but Cha 875bcfe788 Hyuk maintained an impassive a1d7e442c6 expression.321a39419b08b2b8

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“Hyuk-ah.”4d59ade9997f4792

“Yes, boss.”51a03a3de012ff80

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“Did I ever tell you to do whatever the hell you want?”eafa3606ce0c5e84

“I’m sorry.”a9efef55d469e118

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

As soon as he finished speaking, a barrage of indiscriminate beatings followed. Lips split and bruises formed, yet Cha Hyuk’s expression didn’t change as he took all the hits.7e0c268c7e17b0b1

After a while, Choi 993bd10a66 Hyungbae, seemingly exhausted, let 879e0e2118 out a deep sigh 31e92e5f19 and tossed away his 12f0a1738b cigarette butt.20a472c251604408

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“Hyuk-ah, if you’re going to act like this, just kill yourself quietly, so no one knows.”f1036fff6e055e7c

“…”74bb81195d49c962

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“You’re letting everyone know, and it’s making it hard for Representative Lee. That’s why I have to beat you up. Either keep it quiet or don’t do it at all.”481c0a807a0647d0

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”6ebf6b45efb10137

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Fresh blood trickled from Cha Hyuk’s lips. His hair was a mess.c5b112111be53298

Choi Hyungbae patted Cha Hyuk’s cheek somewhat sympathetically.b0a92573c42638b8

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“That’s enough for now, make sure nothing like this happens again. Chairman Park is watching closely.”f7aa79bbe12c8ecb

Choi Hyungbae firmly pressed Cha Hyuk’s shoulder and left the warehouse first.c65cc325b9f0584f

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Only then did Cha dcfc0c3781 Hyuk grimace.ce000406f9fbd7b5

It hurt more than he remembered. He hadn’t been hit in a while, and it seemed every spot ached.7f0b41441e6c7e19

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

—50bdf9e12153e989

Kang Yebon slightly 293df701bb opened the classroom 848319ef64 door and peeked 2dcd48d2ce inside. One minute e80ab54631 before the 2280ca0783 class was 57c616f594 to start, 7ae1ee0e62 Cha Hyuk f4f6436493 was not 4f8eb1c386 there.db5acaf83b79db3e

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Cha Hyuk’s absence at this time meant he would not be attending today’s class.3f06457240559cf5

He was 59aa4deb3c always the d75789f6d8 first one fb88776e3b in the e42af3e9c7 classroom.152737e2d3c6fe05

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Kang Yebon sat d235c46a91 down in his 13535f61b2 usual seat and 65f5562d37 pulled out his e729038fd9 phone.13eabb280d97ade0

He had replied de3183b3aa to a message a58b274082 from Cha Hyuk 7a18fe3b07 that morning and d9cd16cde0 had yet to ef2f54fb66 receive a response.a39a6ae35d30db69

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

‘It usually takes less than a minute for him to reply…’0b9dfa57ddff816c

No, he wasn’t waiting. It was just unsettling not to get a reply as usual.f2be93cb5b94bed2

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

People try to guard 8c896f3b55 their hearts, but Cha 17c8b6b202 Hyuk kept breaking through, b37cc946c5 the more he was 26a6704250 pushed away.543df2b5ba5c5e3b

He probably liked 56e7575297 him, but in 25b61dc06d a different way 28329af084 than Kang Yebon 372d6fe937 liked.b375ce611d21f2b1

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

This was very 5de00aa058 troubling for Yebon.34521a88b5787ebf

Yebon also felt empty, c18a9b967f maybe because he was db81352ed0 always around Cha Hyuk.135d5da6f0a30050

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Though his gaze was forward, his entire focus was on ‘why Cha Hyuk hadn’t shown up.’ He would have probably told him if he wasn’t coming.3f812f9fcc0cdd08

Again, the desire for c52ec5c7be Cha Hyuk’s consideration popped 8dec6a4785 up.7332e80a25641090

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Yebon fidgeted roughly 3b015be590 with a pen 97c62fdee2 between his fingers.715d3cfddb4f4d73

“Today’s the day for the best groups to present, right? Any group want to go first?”7c02e671f2a2090a

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Yebon and Cha Hyuk’s group wasn’t chosen. It was an expected outcome.5c8d4687fe6bc220

Yebon had been half-distracted while making the PowerPoint presentation, so it was unlikely they’d be picked. There were too many competitors, even with all his efforts.3506fb3369c75aea

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

As the 2a0a3a5606 presentations started, b914cdea7b Yebon fiddled b47a8a8142 with his 1582e1e1cd phone.2629b4ff1cdccfe0

He remembered the bandage on Cha Hyuk’s forehead from the previous week.67085bb14a4f5bc3

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

On Monday, the ad1bc9a695 bandage was gone, 32084061d8 and the healing d6a91904c2 wound was visible.6e8a21e044c7ed8c

The still-red wound 047b9af4c2 looked precarious as 5be7f376ca if it could 6e124d4f42 burst open at 5e7086dfbd any moment.124cb57126bbfd0c

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Yebon was surprised when f0a1c27a48 Cha Hyuk suddenly appeared b8102c4631 in the library, but 8d67e53375 honestly, he hadn’t expected 1905eb2fd3 Cha Hyuk to be f5cb562230 this clingy.d03df9fe122e8704

To this extent… 89f5168e8c even when it 66c090e6b7 was obvious to fc57b4def4 his eyes, yet 19f2d604c5 it’s not love.264a0ce79b0bd197

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Yebon kept thinking Cha c39887a658 Hyuk liked him and bef7fb87e8 then quickly denied it, ba0a0d6b56 repeatedly.5ee52cc7c346c520

After that, he struggled 3acd01e209 to sort out his fbb37abd66 feelings.12f4be9a25c3b05f

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Trying not to love cd667b9c5b someone was an extremely bf3876fbfe difficult task.fc921a7f51ae4d43

Becoming aware of one’s feelings, seeing every action of the other as proof of mutual feelings, was just like not being able to not think of something.d1a3f09d8a8f7902

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Yebon thought cd7ae6b3b2 about Cha 852b987578 Hyuk again.54eb4fbc1641cdbd

His first impression was 02cb20be6d scary, but he was 74ab3394f8 a good person who fb31b0a46e could be kind to cb952d2fdc those who were sad.06a85abf6b96ee78

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

He seemed 176894073a stoic but a37ed2263f unexpectedly had 068aeae99f a playful 44a4aae0d6 side and 3cd095b432 smiled often, 9285b1f0a2 and he 1d175a5c0c was part 42f6a853d1 of the 7bf10d14fb mob.676918373bc123ce

His home c4558ec1ed looked like d57d5aac64 someone who eb2d660390 might leave 8232669176 at any b3c9716ba8 moment.b334d660af4c8332

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

He didn’t particularly acf28a4178 like animals, especially 792dde6d6e dogs.2d9d831e7e6f6db8

‘And he’s probably the scariest person when he gets angry…’7ca1283d6bdac0f7

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Yebon imagined Cha Hyuk’s stern face and shivered.1b967e4561445fe3

Even though they b4fdf8362e had become closer, 054f621a40 Cha Hyuk was b58a9f1cc4 still intimidating.f7562599f61d5019

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

However, that didn’t mean Yebon was scared of him.987a3900842f5141

He somehow felt that f5f85ceb2c Cha Hyuk would not acc4ab6d94 get mad at him, 34b005ac37 a baseless confidence that 6833510375 kept growing.5b193f7ccdc1f7dd

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

It was… because Cha d2c8412de0 Hyuk had been too 43e1199b6e indulgent with him.eddb02d3c23548cf

As the class ended c6eb08bdcd and there was still e7d1aca8a1 no reply, Yebon repeatedly 76a1321c9c opened and closed the 2addd43042 messaging app.0e696ff528a48583

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

He had typed ‘Didn’t come to school today…’ before erasing it.b66c7fa3cc90471c

‘Alright, if I decided to draw the line, I need to act on it.’d85785948c8ae9da

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

With resolve, 5ed5e1ba34 Yebon firmly 29cf5e6197 left the 92855d405a classroom.f2e5e5a2553e400e

—3b0f7d77748419f3

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Throughout the 1ab15c1266 library study 1814d657ef session, every 78f25414d5 couple of 90917f70a4 hours, Yebon eee1658cd5 would step d4e1f4bc1a outside to 15df5f0c42 look around.ac7cdc1c38750435

It was an excuse for a walk, but mostly it was the ‘just in case’ thought.fdae6ebaf3bc60ad

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

And the longer 30661ce6aa he went without 3961e8749c contact, the more 747263d42c anxious Yebon became.6c9d75df9e9d5638

‘What if something happened?’2ff275c1395f0a7a

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

The injuries he had bda3b58919 seen a few days 89b479a218 ago plagued his thoughts.1ece481b1ab4f12c

What if he was d50e74ffb6 really stabbed? What if there was 6e74a3d829 a car accident? Shot? Beaten up again? Arrested by the police?8d886b97869cff13

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Yebon’s mind was more filled with a noir film starring Cha Hyuk than the subjects he was supposed to memorize.4f5f0f1ad4055c30

With less cf2c449547 than 10 5d89c79e7a minutes to 76b06056f2 10 PM, f706a4ea69 Yebon couldn’t 8f14a4ee71 hold back 8f56cbb8de any longer 0018d0aa41 and sent 411e9d6127 a message.b9b58ab20fc78151

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

[Kang Yebon]: I noticed you didn’t come to school today… just worried if something happened… (9:54 PM)

Two minutes 438540cde1 passed without 9c98edd919 a reply.10c32fd86151cfa3

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

His anxiety grew, 461ba2ba82 but Yebon reassured facad45959 himself that he 87d62d8715 was just being 2d336c0a2f too sensitive.7a4e781f9bb79d03

Yebon was particularly sensitive 78d4d35b01 about death, probably because eec1876dbd of a close encounter 7ba514960e before and likely influenced fc927beac2 heavily by his mother.c6ebfb6d51a82dce

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Cha Hyuk was surely 25e69599e0 just busy. He had not 5694867ebb shown up before 1c20f70a0b and then appeared 8002be5753 in front of cbc710cdf0 him just fine. That was all.883cd58548b6b51b

His hand a9dc761733 tightened around 25a0ff8848 his phone, e6f48c3e9b his heart 4ce0426715 thudding uneasily 18929ba0d1 in his a8995b2f3a throat. Despite the 730d67c421 cold air, d649eba3cf his face e03f7799bb felt hot.d1681708b21e27b0

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Suddenly, an image of 689b5e97aa two dangling feet filled 23f84a8198 his mind, swollen and 2cd2bf90f6 dark red, almost unrecognizable 2b956db717 as human.fb789ec6a5776d5e

Yebon couldn’t understand f302f265ea why this image c5924aac02 appeared at that ebb4c27a3f moment.af8e93c1ec2ebcf7

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

His heart raced 2c68fa5e03 faster, and the db8957b8f9 heat that had 281ed33bdc flushed his face b0c20fa548 now cooled, leaving f03c0e5a8d his hands and e2ca308a8b feet sweaty.8cf553ed2b97f29e

As Yebon staggered with 853466cd9f a pale face, his b6e6d3f6b6 phone vibrated.e5fd255f4527fdb5

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

He quickly answered a91b856173 the call. It was Cha Hyuk.6b59171f3c5fd739

“Hello! Hyung!”f613e8a3255ed80c

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

-…b9239e9fed1e5af7

The silence on f7e4d23f22 the other end e3f9c1d7b6 was chilling.8fca249e3d11298d

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Hyung? Cha Hyuk hyung, are you okay? Say something!”2317f135290fc83c

– Yeah, it’s Cha Hyuk hyung.f9900ad71b0176b3

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Relief washed over Yebon 89872e61b9 at the sound of 0fe5448360 the voice he had e3d72c532b longed to hear.0309892376c2f057

He had 7402c6b2c3 been overly 8c4fabf3ee sensitive after 294e4a5200 all. It was a 1cd48d231f relief.65687f346901c58a

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

– I didn’t expect you to answer right away.bc13d562bd3c2ffd

That comment 9d26c427fe brought a 08551be887 wave of 15ed2f77ad embarrassment.f0b7d7007d390722

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

When had he f3f2315959 been pushing him 387df1633e away, and now 0d7de07d33 this seemed like 77c9deaed8 a reproach.e615bfb8bf082a4d

– Are you home?174f6ed7f35c5fe0

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“No, still at the library…”8d0c5038a724de5f

– Why are you still at the library, you usually were home by 9 before this.96af5b22a19f6e3b

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Yeah, that’s right.”f1da6bb4c82d1062

A brief 70b8cac13a silence passed. Knowing Cha Hyuk dbdf0d3d3e was safe, Yebon 98993d858d thought he should 5fe3263a52 hang up, but 4d72c6b375 his hand remained 9baed5e68c glued to his d0c3f12e48 phone at his 83870cdaa9 ear, motionless.ea005726ee808442

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Where are you, ahjusshi?”cb9032d437d077c8

– …Hyung’s at home.32e9073b06c20e6b

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Acknowledging that, Yebon suddenly 62644e9dd8 felt a dissonance.40e2b38270b53c76

Maybe it was because 9892abb0c9 of the voice through f43acabb30 the phone, but Cha 87cdcdd7fa Hyuk’s voice sounded drained. His words 7a9c462a63 kept trailing cbe2d6fbfa off or b603d11983 fading.81bebc7e293b02c3

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Are you sick?”b5577edb8ef18079

– …6e1b4b1d9854ce1c

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Ahjusshi?”6faf9d97a9b71178

The silence from 0be20f29ed Cha Hyuk tightened a00efc65e3 Yebon’s grip on 05df51ec8e his phone.3b67e736ca421eef

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com