My Bloody Valentine - 13

“I have severe hypotension.”

At the unfamiliar woman’s voice, Han woke up. However, after experiencing several shocking events, pretending to be asleep and assessing the situation before opening his eyes had become a new habit.

“Hypotension?”

At Taesin’s voice from above, Han’s fingertips trembled lightly. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice, and the conversation continued. The woman’s voice continued.

“Among those with severe hypotension, some show symptoms of vasovagal syncope. When they experience severe physical and mental shock, the heart rate slows down, and blood flow to the brain weakens, causing fainting.”

“Ha… severe shock?”

“Yes.”

“If it’s fainting at this level, I would have died if I had fainted.”

Han inwardly sighed at the terrifying words uttered with a low voice. Tension automatically entered his dull eyes.

“…Rather than that, think of it as having a constitution that easily faints.”

“Is there such a moronic constitution?”

“Haha… well, yes. What should we do? Should I call someone to take you away?”

“Enough. Just leave me.”

The woman told Taesin that he should remove the ring after about two hours and left the room. With a clink, the door closed, and silence filled the room.

Han’s heart began to beat a little faster. Even without looking, he felt Taesin’s gaze on him. The face his gaze touched stung like a needle.

For a moment, without any movement, Taesin, who stood still, seemed to walk somewhere. Then, faint sounds of water and a vague sound of a shower reached Han. It seemed like he was going to take a shower.

“Damn…”

Han’s heart, irregular even in its breath, exhaled a big breath like a person emerging from a deep dive after a long time.

Opening his eyes as if he had waited, he looked around. As he expected, there were his shoes, the suit jacket he had taken off, and clothes resembling a dress shirt hanging on the couch armrest.

Feeling a sense of dread that if he delayed a bit more, Taesin might come out of the bathroom and grab him, Han quickly pulled out the syringe needle stuck in his arm and got up. Due to the sudden rise, his vision momentarily blurred, but fortunately, he could regain balance after a while.

With unsteady steps, he headed straight to the corridor, holding the shoes he had left behind, escaping from hell with a man like the Grim Reaper.

A while later, after finishing the shower and coming out to the living room in a gown, Taesin burst into laughter.

The person lying down had disappeared abruptly, and the liquid dripping from the syringe onto the sofa was creating stains like traces of tears.

Han, born with a weak body that couldn’t run as fast or as long as others, still had a talent for hide-and-seek. When playing games like tag or ice breaker with other kids in the orphanage, he always ended up being the first one caught.

However, he had a game he excelled at. No one could beat Han when it came to hiding. Han had an innate talent for hiding.

To hide well, it was essential to monitor the movements and activity radius of the seeker. Through information from Yujung, Han learned about the times and places where Jang Taesin usually appeared.

He said he came to Taesin about twice a week. He also mentioned reviewing things like business conditions and having conversations with familiar employees and managers.

The only places he had never shown himself were the underground floor where his lodging was and the restaurant connected to the store.

Well, for a person who owned an establishment of this size, it was unlikely that he would sit in a plastic chair without a backrest in the kitchen of a restaurant, putting food on a tray to eat.

In just a week since escaping from his room, Han spent the whole week holed up in his room, the restaurant, or the waiting room.

Han and Yujung, who used adjacent rooms in the accommodation, ended up waiting for each other and became companions for meals. Jaegu, who followed them around, always seemed to be with them. It was not because he was interested in Jaegu’s rice but because Han liked Jaegu’s company.

Unlike me, who was thrown into society and immersed in deep depression, Jaegu was a lively young man in his early twenties, full of vitality.

He had dreams of trying broadcasting and ultimately wanted to become a popular YouTuber. Watching Jaegu, Han felt a slight sense of satisfaction.

Among the three, Jaegu was the only one with a mobile phone. It was because he was not a slave to the store.

After taking a spoonful of rice into his mouth, Jaegu lifted his phone and posted a photo on social media. Han glanced at Jaegu’s phone.

On the day he was kidnapped, his phone was confiscated, and even when he had a phone, Han had never tried using social media. There was nothing worth taking pictures of, and there was no one to show the pictures to.

Jaegu, who skillfully tagged the location of the currently most popular Italian restaurant, was asked by Han.

“What are you going to post?”

“Yesterday, I had dinner with a guest and some friends. If I don’t post a picture, I’ll be upset. I was just a guest to you.”

Han raised his neck and looked into Jaegu’s phone. On the screen were pictures of a table spread with food and photos of people barely captured at an angle.

If faces don’t show, isn’t there no point in taking a picture…? Han wondered inwardly.

On a white plate where an amuse-bouche, meticulously crafted to the point where it was unclear whether it was food or art, was placed, it looked incredibly beautiful even to Han, who was ignorant of that side.

Glancing down at the screen with a hint of curiosity, Yujung made a nauseous gesture as she watched Jaegu swiftly move his fingers on the screen to input text.

“Ugh. Just write ‘Dinner with friends.’ What’s that? ‘Precious moments with my loved ones’? Ugh, I’m going to throw up.”

“Ha… Our Yujung doesn’t know the Insta vibe?”

“Do you want to die? Yujung? Am I your friend? Why do you keep talking down to me? I was the one who was studying math prep books when you were probably studying for the SATs.”

“Tch… What’s so important about age?”

Listening to the conversation between Yujung and Jaegu, Han suddenly found himself looking at himself from the perspective of a third party.

In less than two weeks, the familiar image of himself, accustomed to life here, was here. Moreover, in this place, he was doing things he couldn’t do even when he was free. Making friends, having comfortable conversations with the opposite sex, and even laughing like this together…

He even thought that, apart from the enormous debt and the presence of a terrifying man living on the 15th floor, this life was quite comfortable.

However, there was one thing Han overlooked.

The fleeting moment of peace he was enjoying was, in fact, the result of Taesin’s will and choices.

The male employees’ closing time was 9 a.m., but if there were no customers, they could leave at 8 p.m. because the entry closing time was 8 p.m.

Han came down to the accommodation with a sense of pride that he had endured another day. The adaptability of humans is truly remarkable. Room B-301, where he had stayed for just over a week, had become as familiar as the house he used to live in.

As soon as he opened the door and entered, he didn’t even think about turning on the light and started taking off his clothes. The clothes smelled strongly of things that weren’t his: the smell of cigarettes, alcohol, and the peculiar scents of various perfumes from the people in this place.

Without even thinking about turning on the light, Han undressed. He went into the bathroom.

The underground 3rd floor was pitch-dark with no trace of light, but now he could tell what was where in this room without looking, even though it was dark.

After thoroughly cleaning the bathroom with steaming hot water, as if disinfecting it, Han adjusted the lever to let warm water flow, enjoying a soothing shower.

Using such hot water like this was an impossible luxury in the cramped room where Han used to live. Every drop of water used and every adjustment of the boiler was meticulously calculated and billed as part of the maintenance fee.

It seemed bizarre to Han that his quality of life had improved in this situation where he was burdened with a staggering debt. He applied shampoo, creating a lather, and rinsed his hair.

Leisurely rinsing off the soapy suds from his well-lathered body, he used a towel to quickly dry himself. The small bathroom was filled with the scent of cotton flowers and steam.

Han emerged from the bathroom with his bare body. He didn’t bother knocking, considering there was only one person likely to come to this room, and she always knocked. Moreover, she usually finished work before 6 p.m., so by now, she was probably fast asleep.

Standing in front of the bathroom door and running a towel through his hair, Han suddenly stopped his routine action. A chill spread from under his ear, and for some reason, the airflow seemed different. There was no sound, but Han could sense it.

He wasn’t alone in the room right now.

A powerful energy passed through his spine.

“You took a long shower.”

“…!”

A languid voice echoed in the darkness. At that moment, the fine hairs on Han’s forearm stood up like iron filings meeting a magnet.

“H-How did you get in here…?”

Creak. The sound of the springs, previously pressed flat, signaled that the man sitting on the bed was trying to get up.

Han’s face reflected the realization that he was standing here completely naked. He panicked.

“Wait a moment…!”

“….”

“Please wait just a moment…!”

Han urgently shouted. Fortunately, there was no more sound. The man must have shown mercy and sat back down on the bed.

Han’s trembling hand pulled out clothes from the drawer. He didn’t even think about underwear, and he wasn’t sure if he wore the T-shirt correctly. The priority was covering his body.

Throughout the process of putting on pants and covering his legs, he felt a persistent gaze trailing him. In the darkness, he could sense the eyes of the man who had entered before him. It gave him chills, thinking that the man might already see him.

He didn’t want to see the man under the bright fluorescent light. Instead of turning on the light, Han gently pushed open the bathroom door.

Along with the steam, the yellow light from the incandescent bulb brightened the room. The silhouette of Jang Taesin faintly glowed in an orange light.

Han swallowed sharply. He didn’t want to see the man under the bright light. Instead of turning on the light, Han gently pushed open the bathroom door.

Along with the steam, the yellow light from the incandescent bulb brightened the room. The silhouette of Jang Taesin faintly glowed in an orange light.

He gripped the bed with one hand and held something in the other. Han’s eyes focused on the man’s hand, which was crumpling something like a piece of cloth.

“Ugh…”

Han swallowed a sharp breath. In the man’s hand, there was the underwear he had haphazardly tossed away.