A case of Transmigrating as a Sick Villain chapter 86

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Jingyeom swiftly pulled his arm free from Soohyuk’s grasp.

“This is the first time I’ve been told I’m being unreasonable!”

“Well, you’ve only been remembering things for about two months now.”

“…Right?”

“If you’ve heard that during those two months, maybe you should get an intelligence test… huh?”

Soohyuk let out a small, incredulous laugh as he looked at the tiny hand that had just struck his arm.

It seemed like Jingyeom had acted out of frustration, but then he was the one who was surprised and quickly grabbed both of Soohyuk’s hands.

“I’m the one who got hit, so why are you the one who’s startled?”

“Oh, uh… sorry.”

Soohyuk raised an eyebrow at Jingyeom, whose voice was now small and whose arms and legs were huddled in surprise.

Despite Jingyeom’s small fists, which could easily fit within Soohyuk’s hand, Soohyuk wasn’t hurt.

It looked like Jingyeom was more shocked that he had hit someone rather than thinking about the possibility of hurting them.

Soohyuk’s lips twitched slightly before his eyebrows drooped. He wrapped his hand around the area Jingyeom had hit.

“Ow… it hurts.”

“Does it hurt? Does it really hurt?”

Jingyeom quickly changed his posture, kneeling in concern and not knowing what to do next, as if he had forgotten that Soohyuk was a patient he had recently operated on.

Soohyuk gently helped Jingyeom back into a proper sitting position, wondering if he had teased him too much, given that his body was still fragile and healing.

Still, he continued speaking, wanting to see more of Jingyeom’s worried expression.

“I got hit, so wouldn’t it hurt?”

“Yeah… it must hurt, right? Does it hurt a lot? Should I call a doctor? Should I call Doctor Hoon-il?”

“…”

“I’ve been watching some self-defense videos recently…”

Soohyuk’s eyebrow twitched at this statement.

Could watching self-defense videos possibly relate to the current situation?

“…Do you think it might bruise?”

Soohyuk couldn’t hold back his laughter any longer, amused by Jingyeom’s overly cautious tone.

He had always wondered what went on in that small head of Jingyeom’s.

How could someone draw such a conclusion?

To bruise from that tiny punch, Jingyeom would have to hit him thousands of times.

Soohyuk found it both ridiculous and endearing that Jingyeom seemed to think he was strong enough to cause a bruise.

Jingyeom continued to worry, examining the spot where he had struck Soohyuk.

When he brushed away Soohyuk’s hand, he saw that the skin was perfectly fine, though his eyes quivered slightly, as if still worried that it might hurt.

“Are you sure you’re okay? Please, stop laughing and just answer me!”

Seeing Jingyeom’s face gradually turn into a pout as he spoke urgently, Soohyuk tried to catch his breath and calm down.

He feared that if he kept laughing, tears would soon form in Jingyeom’s large, concerned eyes.

‘Ah, Baek Jingyeom.’

No one had ever made him laugh this much before.

Sure, he’d met people who piqued his interest and some who even matched him well, but none of those connections had ever lasted.

Anything that once intrigued him always faded with time.

Most of all, he had never met anyone who truly stirred his heart.

Yet, it wasn’t just this one time—Jingyeom always made him smile.

He was the only person who made Soohyuk’s hand move unconsciously to reach out.

The reasons were many—Jingyeom was cute, funny, and the situations they found themselves in were genuinely hilarious. But the most decisive reason was simple.

Just looking at Baek Jingyeom made Soohyuk smile for no reason.

His lips would naturally curl upwards, and his eyes would crinkle in happiness.

It wasn’t forced; a smile would naturally appear on his face, and he couldn’t control his expression at all.

Jingyeom had already become someone special to Soohyuk, simply by existing.

Finally managing to suppress his laughter, Soohyuk moved his arm to reassure Jingyeom.

“No, I’m fine. If I got bruised from a hit like that, what would be the point of all my workouts?”

“…”

“The surgery went well, so now you should start working out too. What do you plan to do with such thin arms? Can you even lift a laptop?”

“I can lift it just fine!”

Seeing Jingyeom’s reaction, which was reminiscent of a small dog barking, Soohyuk almost laughed again.

He cleared his throat, managing to suppress his laughter, and then spoke the words he needed to convey.

“I’m going overseas on a business trip starting tomorrow, so I won’t be around for a month.”

“You’re going abroad again?”

“Yeah. Director Tak seems to hate having me around. He keeps sending me out.”

“No way. It’s probably just because of work.”

“What’s this? Are you taking Director Tak’s side in front of me? I’m the one here with you right now.”

Soohyuk raised an eyebrow as he spoke.

He couldn’t help but feel irritable whenever Jingyeom took someone else’s side in front of him.

He was trying to come to terms with the fact that Jingyeom would occasionally side with Secretary Baek because they were twins, and there was a certain unbreakable bond between them that Soohyuk couldn’t encroach upon.

But Wonbeom was different. Wonbeom and Soohyuk were complete strangers to Jingyeom and were likely just annoying older men who kept hovering around him.

“…Sigh.”

Soohyuk felt a bit ridiculous as he realized what he had been thinking.

The age difference was indeed a sensitive issue.

It didn’t matter much now since Jingyeom wasn’t meeting many people.

But in the future, as Jingyeom met more people, Soohyuk feared he might end up being pushed to the sidelines.

He needed to secure his place in Jingyeom’s heart before that could happen.

Jingyeom bit his lip at the sound of Soohyuk’s deep sigh.

He hadn’t meant to take Wonbeom’s side; he was just expressing his thoughts.

But somehow, that came across as siding with Wonbeom.

“Don’t cheat on me while I’m gone.”

“…”

“Don’t meet other guys.”

“…”

“Why aren’t you answering?”

“I was just thinking about what the right response would be.”

Jingyeom exhaled a long breath.

It seemed like Soohyuk’s game of pretending to be Jingyeom’s boyfriend wasn’t over yet.

It wasn’t unpleasant or offensive enough for Jingyeom to demand an apology, but Soohyuk spoke so naturally about things that weren’t true that it could easily lead to misunderstandings if anyone overheard them.

Seeing the smile fade from Jingyeom’s face, Soohyuk lightly tapped his pale cheek.

“Why don’t you just say ‘Okay’? Is it that hard?”

“Isn’t it stranger to just say ‘Okay’?”

“Oh… you caught on?”

Soohyuk had expected this reaction, given what he knew about Jingyeom.

He might seem soft and accepting on the surface, but he could also be firm when it came to certain things. T

hat blend of softness and firmness was oddly fitting.

“Jingyeom.”

Jingyeom blinked slowly in response to Soohyuk’s gentle, calm tone as he called his name.

“Has any of your memory come back, even a little?”

“…No.”

Jingyeom’s light brown eyes, which had been looking at Soohyuk, slowly lowered. Soohyuk’s question made him recall the dream he had on the day of the surgery.

‘Was that my memory? Or… Baek Jingyeom’s?’

It was just a fleeting image, a fragment that offered no clues.

The scene remained vivid in his mind, but it gave him nothing to go on.

He hadn’t told Jinwoo about the dream, and he hadn’t even wanted to.

“I see. That’s too bad.”

“Why? Do you want me to regain my memories?”

“Not really. I’m more interested in the current you than in the you from back then. Although, I suppose both are still you.”

Soohyuk’s response caused Jingyeom’s eyes to deepen.

‘But the Baek Jingyeom from back then isn’t me…’

When he thought about it, everyone he knew was connected to Baek Jingyeom.

None of these relationships were his own.

He was the one who had reshaped and maintained these connections, but he hadn’t started them.

‘I wish I could at least find out who I really was.’

Jingyeom couldn’t help but sigh at the persistent question hanging over him.

“Why, are you worried?”

Jingyeom’s gaze turned back to Soohyuk.

“There’s nothing good about knowing who you were back then, but if you’re curious, I can tell you. Although, it’s only based on what I saw, so I’m not sure if it’ll be helpful.”

Baek Jingyeom had been a meaningless presence in Soohyuk’s life.

He had shown a brief interest in him only because he was Baek Jinwoo’s older brother, but he wasn’t someone who had wielded much influence.

Now, however, things were different.

If it was what Jingyeom wanted, Soohyuk found himself wanting to do whatever he could to help him.

If Jingyeom wanted to regain his memories, Soohyuk wanted to assist him.

But there was one thing that worried him.

“If you don’t bring back the emotions you had at that time, I’ll help you find your memories.”

Jingyeom immediately understood what emotion Soohyuk was referring to.

There was only one thing he knew Soohyuk would be concerned about.

His obsessive fixation on Tak Wonbeom.

For a moment, Jingyeom’s expression hardened, but then it relaxed.

However, Soohyuk, who was right in front of him, couldn’t have missed it.

“What was that expression just now? Did Secretary Baek tell you something?”

“…It was just some childhood stories. But I don’t really remember anything.”

Jingyeom’s voice sounded unusually forlorn.

Soohyuk stared intently into Jingyeom’s eyes.

At first, their gazes met, but slowly, Jingyeom’s eyes started to shift away.

He was avoiding eye contact. From that, Soohyuk could tell that Jingyeom was hiding something.

Soohyuk didn’t plan on prying into it just yet, so he pretended not to notice.

“Don’t take it too seriously. Memories have a way of coming back eventually.”

“Yes, I suppose so.”

Jingyeom forced a smile.

Talking about his memories always brought his mood down. It was something he would just have to deal with alone.

Soohyuk noticed the shift in Jingyeom’s mood and subtly changed the subject.

“You know you’ll need to be good at English if you want to become a secretary, right? You’ll probably need a good TOEIC score. Think you can manage that?”

“I’ll give it a try. I’m planning to take some classes while working part-time. Slowly, without rushing.”

“Taking your time is a good idea, but I don’t think working part-time is.”

He remembered how the last time Jingyeom had a part-time job, he got mixed up with some strange people and even collapsed.

Given that Jingyeom had only recently undergone surgery, Soohyuk didn’t want to see him pushing himself for money.

After thinking for a moment, Soohyuk made another suggestion.

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