A case of Transmigrating as a Sick Villain chapter 98

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Wonbeom glanced at the man with a look of disdain, as if he was less than a worm.

If only Cheongoh had arrived sooner, he would have dealt with this by now.

Wonbeom briefly wondered if this guy was the source of the suspicious feeling he had earlier.

If so, Cheongoh would have taken steps to ensure he couldn’t get near Jingyeom.

If the man had been targeting him, Cheongoh would have reported it by now.

Since he hadn’t, it was likely related to Baek Jingyeom, and Cheongoh was probably investigating further.

It’s troublesome, but it keeps him on his toes.

“What did you get from him that you’re acting like this?”

“A lot… a variety of things.”

When Jingyeom received the message, he was asked to provide his address to return everything he’d received.

But the man kept insisting on meeting instead.

Even when Jingyeom refused to meet and offered to send the items back, the man kept pushing for a meeting.

Jingyeom firmly stated that he had no intention of meeting, but the man was relentless.

So, Jingyeom blocked him coldly, knowing he had offered to return everything, and it was the man who had refused.

Even when the man contacted him from different numbers, Jingyeom ignored him, as it was always the same situation.

Wonbeom decided he no longer needed to deal with the man.

He signaled to Mr. Kim, who was standing a few steps back, to take care of it.

Understanding Wonbeom’s command, Mr. Kim nodded and approached the man.

“Who are you?”

“I’ll be the one staying with you from now on.”

Jingyeom watched in a daze as Mr. Kim approached and began dragging the man away. The man struggled and screamed, but it was useless.

Jingyeom hurriedly spoke up, panicked.

“Where are you taking him?”

“Afraid I’m going to bury him?”

“No, that’s not it…”

“I’ll handle this legally and cleanly. After all, Mr. Kim is a lawyer.”

“…A lawyer is working as your chauffeur?”

“Is there a law against lawyers being chauffeurs?”

Of course, there wasn’t. I was just curious why a lawyer would be working as Wonbeom’s driver.

Jingyeom watched until the man was out of sight, and then suddenly shuddered at the thought.

If Wonbeom hadn’t been there and he was alone, it was chilling to imagine what could have happened to him.

“Let’s go.”

Wonbeom, thinking Jingyeom was cold, took off his suit jacket and draped it over Jingyeom’s small frame.

The jacket sagged on him like a child wearing his father’s clothes.

“Don’t go out alone anymore. And stop sending those messages.”

“…But I’ve already sent them all.”

“How many more guys like the one from earlier are there?”

Jingyeom looked down, deep in thought, and started folding his fingers one by one, as if counting people while making sure Wonbeom couldn’t see.

Three people immediately came to mind. Besides them, there were quite a few who had sent threatening messages.

“…About four?”

“I’ll have Cheongoh accompany you for a while. You two should go together.”

Caught off guard by Wonbeom’s suggestion, Jingyeom hurriedly waved his hands.

“No, it’s okay! I’ll be staying home anyway!”

“Who’s to say some jerk like the one from earlier won’t follow you home? Do you really think that house with no security can protect you?”

Jingyeom quietly lowered his arms, knowing Wonbeom was right.

But the thought of having Cheongoh accompany him was really burdensome. H

e didn’t want to trouble Cheongoh, especially since he rarely went out anyway.

Apart from a brief outing for some sun in the past few days, he’d been staying indoors.

He knew he needed some exercise, but ever since receiving those messages, the idea of going out alone had been terrifying.

The only time he left the house was occasionally walking around the neighborhood with Jinwoo after he got off work to digest their meals.

Seeing Jingyeom in contemplation, Wonbeom added softly, “You’ll feel trapped if you stay home all the time. With Cheongoh, you can go out whenever you want.”

“…”

“And you need to exercise, right?”

At those words, Jingyeom’s eyes brightened.

‘…Why am I cooped up at home because of these stupid messages, unable to do what I want?’

He still feared the people who had threatened him might come to his home.

But the idea of staying indoors just because of that fear was stifling and unbearable.

Jingyeom pouted and scrunched up his nose.

‘Baek Jingyeom, just what kind of people have you been associating with?!’

It was true that he had taken it upon himself to clean up the mess, but he hadn’t realized the extent of the problem.

What on earth was wrong with Baek Jingyeom?

As Jingyeom grumbled, Wonbeom reached out his hand. Jingyeom, who had been walking steadily, blinked up at him.

Wonbeom didn’t say anything, just wiggled his fingers.

‘What’s he trying to do? Does he want me to hold it?’

It didn’t seem like a high-five, so Jingyeom hesitantly raised his arm but couldn’t bring himself to place his hand in Wonbeom’s.

His fingers twitched nervously in the air.

‘Is it okay to hold it?’

After a moment of hesitation, Jingyeom cautiously placed his small hand in Wonbeom’s large one.

‘Is this not it?’

When there was no response, Jingyeom thought he must have been mistaken and started to pull his hand away.

But Wonbeom curled his fingers around Jingyeom’s hand, holding it firmly.

“You’re so scared, so why hesitate?”

“…I might be scared, but I don’t want to go that far. I’ll handle it myself.”

“And if something like earlier happens again? You think you can handle it alone?”

“That’s…”

The sharp words that kept prodding at him hurt.

Jingyeom knew Wonbeom wasn’t one to speak empty words, so if he said he would have Cheongoh stay with him, he meant it.

Jingyeom couldn’t remember exactly what Cheongoh did, but he knew he was one of Wonbeom’s closest associates and was probably very busy.

Of course, even if it were someone else, Jingyeom would have refused the offer.

“But I still can’t. What if Jinwoo finds it strange?”

“You’re not planning to tell Baek Secretary about what happened today?”

Wonbeom asked while gently rubbing the small hand in his, a stark contrast to his own calloused and scarred hand.

He had noticed before, but Jingyeom’s hand was really small, soft, and smooth.

Wonbeom didn’t want to let go of that hand, so he deliberately walked slowly.

“Of course not! And don’t tell Jinwoo either! Please, I’m asking you. He’ll definitely worry.”

“Isn’t hiding it just going to make him worry more? Baek Secretary should know so he can be more careful, right?”

“That’s true, but… Jinwoo’s been paying more attention to me since my surgery, and I don’t want to add to that. What if he spends all day worrying about me?”

Jingyeom knew how much Jinwoo cared about him, which made him even more reluctant to cause him any more anxiety.

As they left the alley and reached the main road, Jingyeom looked up.

The lights of his house were on. It seemed Jinwoo was still awake.

As Jingyeom stared ahead, his eyes narrowed.

There was someone standing on the rooftop, though it was hard to see clearly because of the glare from the streetlights.

As Jingyeom focused on the figure, a smile spread across his face.

He let go of Wonbeom’s hand and raised both arms to wave enthusiastically.

The figure on the rooftop disappeared at that moment.

“Huh? Wasn’t that Jinwoo?”

He could have sworn it was Jinwoo. How strange.

Wonbeom felt an odd sense of emptiness when Jingyeom suddenly let go of his hand. He clenched and unclenched his fist in frustration.

It annoyed him that Jingyeom had let go of his hand just to wave.

Before long, Jinwoo emerged from the familiar creaky metal gate, and Wonbeom couldn’t help but frown.

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Jinwoo had finished all the housework after having a bland dinner at home.

Still, Jingyeom hadn’t returned.

He had said he was going to watch a movie, and since it was at a drive-in, Jinwoo knew it would take a while.

But even though he knew that, he couldn’t stop hoping Jingyeom would come home early.

Eventually, he couldn’t take it anymore and went outside to sit on the flat bench.

The weather had gotten quite chilly.

“Hoo…”

It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about getting a bench before, but their tight budget had always kept him from ordering one.

Who would have thought it would come in handy like this?

“Jingyeom will like it.”

Jingyeom loved being outside during the day and adored looking at the night scenery.

That hadn’t changed from before.

Back then, he’d stare at the night sky with vacant eyes, but now, even though it was a familiar view, his eyes always sparkled with wonder.

It was as if he was discovering everything anew, day by day.

“In winter, it’ll be too cold. Maybe I should buy a tent.”

Since the bench was already set up, there was no point in asking him to take it back, so Jinwoo decided to make the most of it.

“Or maybe an electric blanket…?”

In winter, they could lay an electric blanket on the bench and put a tent over it to stay warm.

Of course, this wasn’t for himself, but for Jingyeom.

The autumn sun was warm, so they only needed to block the wind. It seemed like a tent would be necessary.

As he planned to buy a tent with his next bonus, Jinwoo heard voices echoing through the quiet alley and quickly approached the rooftop railing.

“It’s Jingyeom.”

Seeing Jingyeom waving both arms, Jinwoo hurried down the stairs. He opened the creaky metal gate and stepped out into the middle of the alley.

Their eyes met, and the bewildered Jingyeom broke into a bright smile. Jinwoo couldn’t help but run toward him.

“I’m back, Jinwoo.”

“…Welcome home, Hyung.”

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