A case of Transmigrating as a Sick Villain chapter 118

* * *

Sanho looked around the hospital room and noticed the pile of fruit baskets and snacks in one corner.

It seemed like Jingyeom hadn’t eaten much, as both the fruit and snacks were still plentiful.

Sanho picked up a snack container with a cute bear on it and started eating without asking Jingyeom.

Jingyeom didn’t mind, as there were many things he couldn’t eat anyway, so he didn’t bother pointing it out or feeling offended.

Soohyuk always brought something whenever he came, even when Jingyeom told him not to.

Soohyuk insisted, saying this was the only thing he could do for him.

Even when he visited late at night due to overtime, he never came empty-handed.

Seeing the mountain of snacks, Jingyeom couldn’t help but think of Soohyuk and shook his head side to side.

“That whole ‘I won’t do what you hate’ thing—complete lie!”

It wasn’t that Jingyeom hated Soohyuk’s actions; they were just overwhelming.

Despite being told not to, Soohyuk pretended to listen but never changed.

While Jingyeom was thinking about Soohyuk, Sanho wandered around the hospital room, snacking.

Out of habit, he shook the crumbs off his hands, causing Jingyeom to purse his lips in slight annoyance as he watched Sanho move around.

Sanho approached the window, looked outside, and remarked that the view wasn’t bad before finishing his tour of the hospital room and sitting on the sofa.

“Wow… this hospital room is nicer than my place. This must cost a fortune.”

When Jingyeom didn’t reply and just looked at him, Sanho turned and asked, “Who’s paying for this? That guy who looks like a gangster? Or the one we saw at the café?”

He seemed certain someone else was footing the bill.

It never crossed his mind that Jingyeom or Jinwoo might be the ones paying.

Jingyeom tilted his head at Sanho’s question.

“Gangster?”

As Jingyeom pondered if there was anyone around him who fit that description, Wonbeom’s face came to mind, and his head tilted further.

He couldn’t recall Sanho ever seeing Wonbeom.

Just as Jingyeom was about to answer, Sanho added, “I’m talking about the guy who’s always in a black suit. He totally looks like a gangster.”

“He’s not a gangster. I told you, he’s a bodyguard.”

Jingyeom thought of Cheongoh and realized that others might see him that way.

With his sharp eyes and intimidating aura, Cheongoh did have a look that made it hard for people to approach him.

Although Cheongoh did engage in some shady activities, it didn’t feel right to call him a gangster when he introduced himself as a bodyguard.

Plus, a few days ago, Cheongoh had visited Jingyeom in the hospital.

Jingyeom thought it was a simple visit, but Cheongoh apologized for not keeping a closer watch on him.

Jingyeom told him it wasn’t his fault, but Cheongoh kept his head bowed, eyes lowered in shame, repeatedly apologizing until Jingyeom accepted the apology, and only then did Cheongoh straighten up.

‘He wasn’t to blame, but he felt so guilty. I guess Jinwoo didn’t tell Sanho everything.’

It seemed Sanho didn’t know that Wonbeom had been supporting Jingyeom for quite some time.

As far as Jingyeom knew, Wonbeom had been covering his hospital expenses ever since Jinwoo started working as a secretary at his company.

It had been over a year, so the fact that Sanho didn’t know suggested that Jingyeom hadn’t told him.

This made Jingyeom think that there might be more secrets between him and Sanho than he had realized.

Jingyeom got off the bed and stretched his stiff body. As his joints popped, Sanho burst into laughter.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Jingyeom did one last stretch before sitting down opposite Sanho.

In the short time it took, Sanho had already eaten half of the snack container.

“This stuff is really good.”

“It’s from a famous place. If you don’t go early, it sells out quickly. My brother bought it on a business trip abroad.”

“A business trip abroad… The guy we saw at the café?”

When Jingyeom nodded, Sanho threw the container onto the table as if suddenly losing interest.

No matter how good it tasted, knowing Soohyuk had bought it made him not want to eat it anymore.

The memory of Soohyuk glaring at him in the alley was still vivid, so Soohyuk’s image in Sanho’s mind was the worst.

Sanho had almost told Jingyeom everything Soohyuk had done to him back in the café, but he stopped himself.

Jingyeom had lost his memory and seemed closer to Soohyuk, so it felt like it might backfire.

Instead, Sanho contacted Jingyeom the next day and asked about Soohyuk, trying to figure out who he was.

He didn’t learn much, but he did find out that Soohyuk was a director at the company Jinwoo worked for and that he was very kind to Jingyeom.

‘He’s really rich.’

From head to toe, there wasn’t a single thing on Soohyuk that wasn’t a luxury brand.

His shoes, in particular, caught Sanho’s eye.

Not only were they designer, but they were also limited edition, meaning they were hard to come by and took a long time to get.

If someone wasn’t interested in fashion, they wouldn’t have noticed, but Sanho was into fashion and recognized them.

‘He’s definitely different from the guys Jingyeom has been with before.’

Jingyeom had dated some wealthy people before, but Soohyuk seemed to be in a different league altogether.

It was fascinating to Sanho that someone like Soohyuk, who had items so rare they were hard to even see among collectors, was interested in Jingyeom.

Despite feeling uneasy about Soohyuk’s personality, Sanho didn’t mind since it wasn’t him who was involved.

Jingyeom would handle getting money or things out of Soohyuk, and all Sanho had to do was be around to share in the spoils.

“Is that guy paying for the hospital bills too?”

“Why does that matter? You seem really curious.”

Jingyeom asked, puzzled.

Even as friends, there were boundaries, but it seemed Sanho didn’t have any.

If he did, he wouldn’t have pointed out only the bad things about Jinwoo to someone who had lost their memory.

Sure, it’s natural to be curious.

The luxurious hospital room was definitely out of Jingyeom’s financial reach.

But just because Sanho asked didn’t mean Jingyeom had to answer, so he ignored Sanho’s probing questions.

When Jingyeom pretended not to hear and looked away, Sanho finally got the hint and changed the subject.

“You said you had a cold, but you seem better now. When are you getting discharged?”

“I don’t know. I feel fine now, but the doctor keeps saying no.”

“Do you need the doctor’s permission to leave? Isn’t it just up to the patient?”

Sanho genuinely wondered.

He had never been hospitalized and didn’t know anyone else who was, except for Jingyeom.

Jingyeom nodded in agreement.

He did feel much better, but Doctor Hoonil kept saying he needed to be monitored for a few more days.

As they talked, Sanho picked up the snack container he had thrown aside earlier.

“Are you just going to keep eating? Didn’t you say you had something for me?”

The reason Sanho came to visit Jingyeom in the hospital, when Jinwoo could walk in at any moment, was to deliver something.

If not for that, Jingyeom wouldn’t have called him, knowing there was a chance they could run into Jinwoo.

As long as Sanho left before Jinwoo got off work, everything would be fine, and there was still plenty of time.

“Oh, right. Wait a sec.”

Sanho pulled out a photo of a middle-aged man from his pocket. When Jingyeom looked at it quizzically, Sanho pushed the photo closer.

“I thought this might help you regain your memory.”

Jingyeom squinted at the photo, tilting his head, trying to figure out who the man was.

Since Sanho had brought the photo, it seemed like the man should be someone related to Baek Jingyeom, but Jingyeom had no clue.

Seeing Jingyeom’s confused expression, Sanho tapped the photo and urged him to look more closely.

As Jingyeom scrutinized the man’s features, his eyes narrowed.

He still didn’t recognize him.

“Can’t you just tell me who it is?”

“Come on, think. Isn’t anyone coming to mind?”

A middle-aged man connected to Baek Jingyeom…

“…Could he possibly be our dad?”

“Do you recognize him?”

“Is he really our dad…?”

No matter how much they looked, he didn’t resemble Baek Jingyeom at all.

Nor did he look like Jinwoo.

When they stood side by side, there was nothing that made them look like a family.

Sanho, seeing Jingyeom’s confusion, added:

“You don’t see the resemblance, do you? I was surprised at first, too.”

“If he doesn’t look like me, shouldn’t he look like Jinwoo? How can there be not even a single resemblance?”

“Genes don’t lie.”

“Huh?”

Sanho smiled mysteriously and shrugged.

“You once said that you took after your mom. She was supposed to be very beautiful. I heard that uncle chased after her a lot.”

“Ah…”

Jingyeom, refocusing on the photo, felt that what Sanho said was true.

“Mom… is there a photo of her too?”

Even though Mom left the family even before Dad did, Jinwoo might still miss her, so he was hoping to get at least a photo.

When they moved, they lost the album, so all the photos were gone.

Jinwoo didn’t show it, but he must have been upset.

“No. This is all there is of uncle’s photos.”

“Then why do you have this?”

“You asked me to find uncle before, remember?”

“…I asked you to find Dad?”

Jingyeom’s eyes darted back and forth, unable to grasp the situation.

He had thought they had stayed in touch steadily, but it seemed that Sanho found him at Baek Jingyeom’s request.

What he couldn’t understand was why he had asked Sanho to find him.

‘…Why did he ask Sanho?’

How could Sanho have found Baek Jingyeom’s dad?

It wouldn’t be easy to find someone with just a single photo.

Thinking back, Sanho rarely talked about himself.

Although Jingyeom didn’t ask, Sanho was not the type to talk about himself first.

“So, you were in touch with uncle. Haven’t heard from him recently?”

“…No.”

Even after Jingyeom possessed the body, he received messages asking for money and blocked them right away.

Feeling uneasy, he unblocked them, but hadn’t received any messages since then.

He wondered if he should hide this from Jinwoo, but there were so many other things to think about at the time that he put it aside without delving deeper.

It had been bothering him for a while, and he had promised himself to resolve it someday, but he never expected to face it like this.

Unaware that Jingyeom was regarding him with suspicion, Sanho casually continued:

“Your uncle is probably waiting for your contact. Jinwoo is too scared to contact you, I think.”

“Why is Jinwoo scared?”

“He said he’d kill you if he got in touch.”

“…Jinwoo said that?”

* * *