A case of Transmigrating as a Sick Villain chapter 87

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“If you really want to work, I can introduce you to something. But for now, focus on recovering first since you’ll need to go on an overseas business trip soon. I don’t want you to overwork yourself and collapse again.”

“I’m okay. I’ve been receiving so much help… I’m starting to worry about when I’ll be able to repay all of it.”

“I never asked you to repay anything, did I? Did Director Tak say something about paying it back?”

“No, it’s not that…”

“Then it’s fine. Neither I nor Director Tak are doing this because we expect something in return. So for now, just focus on resting and don’t worry about unnecessary things.”

When Jingyeom offered to see him off, Soohyuk refused and instead stretched out his arms wide.

“Send me off like this.”

“…Are you asking for a hug?”

“Shouldn’t it be you who’s getting the hug? Just thinking about not seeing you for a whole month is already giving me a headache. I need to do this before I leave.”

“Hyung… Do you know how strange you’re being?”

Jingyeom was aware that Soohyuk’s behavior wasn’t typical.

But he hadn’t yet come to the conclusion that Soohyuk might actually have feelings for him.

He simply decided that Soohyuk was an eccentric person and that there was no point in overthinking his actions.

And once again, Soohyuk was doing something that Jingyeom couldn’t understand.

A hug was something awkward for people who weren’t close.

“I don’t know about that. Now hurry up.”

With his arms still outstretched, Soohyuk waited, and Jingyeom hesitantly took a step forward.

He couldn’t quite bring himself to hug Soohyuk the way he would hug Jinwoo, so he just grabbed onto his waist and buried his face in Soohyuk’s chest.

As if he had been waiting for it, Soohyuk wrapped his arms around Jingyeom.

‘So small.’

Though it was obvious at a glance, Jingyeom’s body was indeed small.

Soohyuk took a deep breath, worried that the sound of his pounding heart might be heard by Jingyeom.

“Jingyeom.”

“…”

“You should wash your hair.”

“…Seriously?”

When Jingyeom tried to pull away with a sulky expression, Soohyuk tightened his grip.

He wasn’t going to let go.

Feeling Jingyeom’s head brush against his face, Soohyuk looked up.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

“Before I go…”

Soohyuk was exerting a superhuman level of self-control, something he hadn’t had to do for anyone before.

He wanted to grab Jingyeom’s face, which was looking up at him, and kiss him right then and there.

‘His lips are really red.’

As he stared at Jingyeom’s small, slightly parted lips, Soohyuk unknowingly swallowed hard.

With a brief sigh, Soohyuk slowly lowered his head.

Then, he placed a quick kiss on Jingyeom’s pale cheek. Jingyeom, shocked by Soohyuk’s sudden action, froze in place, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly.

“I’ll try to hold out for a month with this.”

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After leaving the hospital room, Soohyuk got into his car in the parking lot and immediately called Lee Cheongoh.

“Yes, hyung-nim?”

“Cheongoh, I need you to handle something for me.”

“Yes, what is it?”

Before responding, Soohyuk slowly licked his lips.

“Baek Jingyeom and Baek Jinwoo. I want you to find out more about them, beyond what you reported last time.”

“I’ll look into it and get back to you.”

“Good. Thanks.”

After ending the call, Soohyuk tossed his phone onto the passenger seat.

When Soohyuk had been the only one unaware of Jingyeom’s current condition, he had asked Cheongoh to gather information on him.

He had expected that Wonbeom had already investigated, and as expected, the information came to him right away.

But what Soohyuk wanted wasn’t the kind of information that anyone could find. He wanted to know the deeper, more hidden details.

“There’s got to be more to it…”

Soohyuk’s murmurs quickly dispersed into the air.

---

Even after Soohyuk had left, Jingyeom stood in the hospital room for a long time, staring blankly at the floor.

His cheek, where Soohyuk’s lips had touched, kept feeling hot, so he unconsciously rubbed it with his hand.

‘Why did he kiss me? …Does he really like me?’

Jingyeom replayed Soohyuk’s past actions in his mind.

Soohyuk hadn’t been showing the same obsessive interest in Jinwoo that he had in the original story. Nor had Wonbeom.

He had thought that his presence had caused things to change, but perhaps that wasn’t the case.

‘What if it’s true?’

If Soohyuk really did have feelings for him, what was he supposed to do?

It wasn’t easy to deepen a relationship with someone when you weren’t even sure you’d be staying in this world for long.

Jingyeom’s mind was becoming increasingly jumbled, and his chest started to itch. He wanted to scratch it, but he held back, fearing it might interfere with the healing of his surgery wound.

‘…I’ll think about it when I’m sure!’

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he decided not to dwell on the idea that he might be overthinking things.

Jingyeom walked to the window and looked outside. The sun had set, and complete darkness had fallen.

As summer came to an end, the days were growing shorter.

From a distance, the brightly lit hospital room reflected on the glass, but when he moved closer, he could see the night view outside.

‘When should I contact them?’

Being in the hospital had made him momentarily forget something important.

The day I first checked my phone, I decided it was time to clear out the people lingering in Baek Jingyeom’s life.

I had been putting it off, telling myself I’d do it after dealing with more urgent matters.

But I realized I couldn’t delay it any longer.

This was something I needed to do, not just for myself, but for Baek Jingyeom, who would eventually return.

As I went through our messages, I set aside the items with clear evidence that they were gifts from him.

Selling off things whose owners I couldn’t identify pricked at my conscience, but I convinced myself it was necessary.

Moreover, the thought of contacting those people made me a bit scared, considering they likely didn’t have a good impression of Baek Jingyeom.

“Well… it’ll work out somehow.”

It wasn’t something I could avoid forever, so I decided to just face it. I didn’t want to worry about things that hadn’t even happened yet, so I took my time preparing.

I jotted down the numbers I needed to contact and the details I had gathered from the messages in my notebook.

I also spent some time searching the internet, trying to draft a message that conveyed my apologies.

I tried writing it myself, but I couldn’t quite figure out how to word it.

So, I ended up referencing various apology letters online and put together a fairly long message.

Jingyeom, who had been gazing out the window, returned to bed and opened the laptop Su-hyeok had brought him.

He only did what he was shown, fearing he’d break it if he messed with it too much. Everything felt so cautious since it was all so new to him.

Then, he came across an article online that said the sooner you apologize, the better. So, he opened his notebook and re-read the densely written apology.

“…I should just do it now.”

He knew that the longer he delayed, the less he’d want to do it.

Jingyeom carefully typed out the message he had written in his notebook into the message window on his phone.

He double-checked multiple times, comparing it with the numbers in his notebook to ensure it was sent to the correct recipients.

After sending it to a few people, he began receiving replies from those who had read it.

As he tried to check the responses, pain shot through his ribs and shoulders, either because the painkillers had worn off or because his senses had become more acute as night fell.

The pain was so intense that he couldn’t help but groan with each slight movement.

He decided to lie down, tucking the notebook under his pillow.

He didn’t want Jinwoo to ever find out what he was doing.

Jinwoo likely had some idea of how Baek Jingyeom had lived, but still, he didn’t want him to know.

Although he wasn’t sleepy, as soon as his head hit the pillow, his mind went blank, and his eyelids grew heavy.

He wanted to check the replies, but he was too drowsy to read the words properly.

“….”

He rubbed his sleepy eyes and tried to stay awake, but it was no use. Soon, his eyelids closed shut.

In less than five minutes, Jingyeom’s breathing became steady as he fell asleep.

Shortly after, Jinwoo entered the room.

Jinwoo looked around the hospital room and then approached the bed where Jingyeom was lying, trying to walk quietly. He noticed a laptop on the bedside table.

‘A laptop?’

He frowned at the unfamiliar laptop.

Jingyeom definitely didn’t buy it himself, so there were only two possible people who could have given it to him: Director Sun or Director Tak.

Since Wonbeom was busy with meetings today, it was likely Su-hyeok.

Jinwoo clicked his tongue briefly, moved the laptop aside, and folded the bedside table.

He tucked Jingyeom in properly and started tidying up the area when he noticed the corner of a notebook sticking out from under the pillow.

Thinking it might have slipped under by accident, he carefully pulled it out so as not to wake Jingyeom.

Jingyeom had been trying to study recently, so Jinwoo figured he must have been doing that today as well.

Curious about how he was doing, he opened the notebook.

He slowly read through the hastily written notes.

“…Sigh.”

Jinwoo closed his eyes tightly, and when he opened them again, his face was grim. His jaw and neck muscles tensed as he clenched his teeth.

“You’re sorry…”

The notebook was filled with a detailed apology.

It wasn’t directed at any specific person, but it was clear that it was meant for those Jingyeom had been involved with in the past.

Jinwoo couldn’t understand why he was suddenly doing this, but it didn’t feel good.

Having been by Baek Jingyeom’s side all this time, Jinwoo believed he understood him better than anyone.

He knew that, just as the apology letter suggested, Jingyeom had often deceived others with insincere words.

Jinwoo was aware of this too.

But there was no point in trying to stop him.

Baek Jingyeom wasn’t the type to listen to anyone, and after realizing that, Jinwoo had only hoped that nothing major would happen.

So far, Jingyeom had managed to stay within certain boundaries, and nothing too serious had happened.

Jinwoo closed the notebook and placed it on top of the laptop. He gently brushed Jingyeom’s hair away from his forehead.

He thought Jingyeom had forgotten about all this after losing his memory…

‘Did his memory come back?’

Jinwoo had once asked Jingyeom why he kept his phone on silent mode. Jingyeom had replied that he received too many calls. Maybe he had started to realize how he had been living his life.

Letting out a light sigh, Jinwoo picked up Jingyeom’s phone, which had been vibrating non-stop.

Knowing that no one should be contacting him at this late hour, Jinwoo had assumed it was just general notifications.

But when he saw the messages on the screen, he clenched his teeth.

Jingyeom didn’t have a lock on his phone, so Jinwoo could see the messages right away. And it wasn’t just one person.

While some people responded warmly, glad to hear from him, others sent angry messages with over-the-top content.

As Jinwoo carefully read through each message, his hands and jaw trembled slightly. He felt as if he were getting a glimpse into how Baek Jingyeom had interacted with these people.

After closing his eyes tightly for a moment, Jinwoo began deleting the messages. Some people had accepted the apology, but many others had not.

“…There was no need to go this far.”

Jinwoo was happy with how things were right now.

The surgery had gone well, Jingyeom’s recovery was faster than expected, and they were steadily paying off their debts.

As long as they continued like this, Jinwoo didn’t care about anyone else. It didn’t matter to him if others were hurt or not.

To Jinwoo, Baek Jingyeom was the most important.

Recently, even Wonbeom and Su-hyeok, who had been getting on Jinwoo’s nerves, had lost interest in him.

Of course, Jinwoo knew where their attention was now directed.

What troubled him more was that their behavior was starting to stir up the desires Jinwoo had tried so hard to suppress.

It was a dangerous feeling.

As Jinwoo looked at the sleeping Jingyeom, the hidden desire in his eyes surfaced briefly before disappearing.

“Let’s pay off the debt quickly… and move somewhere else, Gyeom-ah.”

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