TAF Ch 11

After my phone was confiscated, a wave of anxiety washed over me, making me regret ever thinking I could handle this. The feeling of being completely cut off from the outside world was incredibly lonely and unpleasant.

In the quiet space, only the ticking of the clock echoed rhythmically. Through that silence, long-forgotten voices, one by one, began to resurface.

‘What’s the kid’s secondary gender?’, ‘Who knows now, but with a face like a fox, it must be an omega, right?’, ‘Then he’ll follow in his mother’s footsteps.’, ‘Look at that little brat, already walking around with his head held high. Just like his mother.’

It was the same back then. My mother went out to work and wouldn’t return until late at night, and I, Yeonwoo, waited for her at home all day. When I couldn’t bear being alone in the single room for over twelve hours, I’d cautiously sneak out and wander around, watching for her return.

The neighbors passing by would throw words at me like that. As if I deserved such treatment. Every time, I pretended not to hear and retreated back into my small room, isolating myself.

Back then, I felt like I was trapped in a small box. No matter where I was, I felt suffocated and stifled. But because I hadn’t learned how to escape, I had to stay there even though I didn’t want to.

Even then, the ticking of the clock in the single room unpleasantly echoed in my ears all day long.

I thought I had forgotten all those memories. Yet, they resurfaced so vividly.

Sitting quietly on the sofa, I suddenly jumped up. I ripped the clock off the wall and pulled out the batteries.

“…….”

Finally, silence descended. The noisy clamor in my head also quieted.

However, I failed to completely detach myself from those childhood memories. Just like back then, I was staring blankly at the closed door of the officetel, waiting for Chahyun to open it.

The sudden realization that my situation might not be so different from my childhood made me feel sad. If Chahyun really married someone else, just like the villagers said, I would end up with the same fate as my mother.

What did I do wrong? I just wanted to be a respectable person. Was the desire to stand proudly beside Chahyun a dream I shouldn’t dare to have? Did I deserve this kind of treatment?

I stared blankly at the dismantled wall clock and batteries for a long time.

I must have dozed off because the surroundings suddenly darkened. Curled up on the sofa, I slowly blinked and checked the digital clock.

It was already past midnight. Chahyun, who had confined me here without my consent, hadn’t come again today.

Thanks to the nap, my melancholy had lifted, but anger had taken its place. Anger towards Baek Chahyun, who not only betrayed me but was also graciously providing me with an opportunity to be thoroughly condemned by the world.

What should I do in this situation? I pondered deeply.

“Sigh.”

Since I decided to avoid screaming or causing a scene, I took a deep breath to calm my boiling insides.

“Excuse me.”

Determined to get out of here by any means necessary, I went to the front door. I had thought of a way to get my phone back, even for a moment, from the men outside.

“Please let me call Baek Chahyun. It’ll just be a minute.”

As soon as I said those words towards the door, surprisingly, the door that hadn’t budged all day opened.

“If there’s anything you need, just tell us.”

“I’ll talk to him directly on the phone.”

As soon as I mentioned contacting Chahyun, the man readily returned my confiscated phone. As if ordering me to make the call in front of him, the man watched me silently.

Glancing at him, I called Chahyun.

—Hello.

Despite the early hour, Chahyun answered immediately. His voice was clear, as if he hadn’t been sleeping at all.

“My ankle hurts.”

I forced out the weakest voice I could muster. The man acting as my guard flinched at the drastic difference in my tone.

But I didn’t care. Since I had decided to escape, I decided to be shameless.

—How does it hurt?

Chahyun immediately asked back.

“I don’t know. It keeps throbbing. It’s stiff and…”

—How does it look? Is it swollen?

“No. But it hurts so much I can’t sleep.”

—Can you walk? I’ll leave now and meet you at the hospital. …No. I’ll just come there.

His agitated voice clearly pierced my eardrum.

It felt a little awkward to go to the hospital at this hour because of a fake ailment. I was flustered, feeling like I had made a bigger deal out of it than intended just to get Chahyun to come.

However, going to the hospital didn’t seem like a bad idea. I could take this opportunity to acquire things that might be useful later. Quickly thinking it through, I obediently replied.

“Okay.”

—Just hang in there. Be sure to take the painkillers I prescribed.

“…Hurry up.”

—I’m on my way. Don’t stand, sit or lie down.

Chahyun urged. Chahyun’s agitated reaction gave me a twisted sense of satisfaction.

Seeing this, he still loves me….

But then why does Baek Chahyun want to marry someone else?

Why does he want me to condone it?

Why?

I knew it was a useless question now, but I couldn’t stop the thoughts that had already taken root.

Sitting blankly, I suddenly remembered something and jumped up. I turned on the lights and opened the drawer next to the bed.

Rummaging through various miscellaneous items, my hand landed on a familiar pill bottle.

“Found it.”

Heat cycle suppressant.

It was a relief that the one I was taking before was still here.

If my heat cycle came as scheduled, things would get more complicated here. Suppressants didn’t always work perfectly, and in times like this, they could become poison. The suppressant was safer.

I swallowed the suppressant without water and put the bottle back in the drawer. At the same time, I heard Chahyun’s footsteps at the door.

✧✧✧

Chahyun carried me on his back to the car and headed to the hospital. It was a little embarrassing to pretend to be in pain and be carried like this when my ankle was perfectly fine.

Chahyun kept pestering me about my symptoms while he was driving, so I struggled to come up with answers. Except for the time I actually sprained my ankle, I rarely experienced serious pain, so I couldn’t describe the pain in detail.

I wondered if he was questioning me more persistently because he suspected I was lying, so I checked his expression. He was gripping the steering wheel, his face anxious as he focused on my words. Fortunately, he seemed to believe me unconditionally.

We arrived at the emergency room and were told to wait. Chahyun helped me sit down on a chair, and then he sat next to me.

“Don’t skip your rehabilitation sessions from now on.”

“Okay.”

“If I can’t go with you, I’ll have someone accompany you.”

“Who are you going to send?”

I stared at our feet side by side and asked abruptly.

“My secretary.”

“Why would you send your secretary for my business?”

“That’s what I hired him for.”

“…….”

“Fuck, why aren’t they coming?”

Less than five minutes had passed since we sat in the emergency room waiting area, but Chahyun was impatiently losing his temper.

“Good evening, Director.”

At that moment, a doctor in a white coat approached us quickly.

“There’s a patient here, you should have come sooner.”

Chahyun responded somewhat curtly.

“I apologize for the wait. You said your ankle is bothering you. Is it the same one as last time?”

“He fell three days ago. He sprained it then, and the pain hasn’t gone away.”

“Let’s do an examination first.”

The doctor and nurse kindly guided me to the examination room. Chahyun stared at my receding figure.

The test results were obvious. There was no way anything unusual would show up since it was a feigned illness in the first place.

It was true that my ankle had been stiff for a while after I fell a few days ago, but I’d been fine for a long time.

The doctor must have found it difficult to tell Chahyun, who was badgering everyone, that there was nothing wrong, especially since I insisted I was still in pain.

In the end, he gave the predictable diagnosis that my muscles seemed strained, recommended minimal use of the joint for a few days, and suggested physical therapy. He also wrapped my ankle with a support bandage.

“I haven’t been able to sleep because of the pain. Please prescribe me some sleeping pills too.”

“Alright. Please have a seat outside for a moment.”

There was a considerable distance between the examination room and the payment waiting area, so Chahyun told me to get on his back again. I tried to refuse but then obediently complied, fearing that my awkward limping would reveal my pretense.

As if I weighed nothing, despite being a grown man, Chahyun lifted me onto his back without a single grunt and walked to the waiting area.

He carefully placed me on a chair as if handling a baby. Only then did Chahyun’s attire catch my eye.

He looked quite comical with his outer clothes thrown over his pajamas. It was especially disconcerting because I knew he usually cared quite a bit about his fashion, despite his otherwise unruly behavior.