Vol 4 Ch 4

The next day, when I arrived at the hospital, I was told that my mother’s attending physician had been changed. It was sudden news. The doctor who had told me there was no hope had been replaced by a new face. The new doctor examined my mother, lifting her eyelids and shining a light into her pupils.

“Well, her pulse is stable, and her breathing and body temperature are within normal range. Judging by her vitals, she’s in excellent health. There’s no need to worry too much.”

Standing off to the side, waiting for his words, I finally let go of the tension. The breath I had been holding burst out, and I quickly bowed my head.

“Thank you.”

“Of course.”

A light pat on my shoulder, and then he was gone. I stayed in the room with the caretaker, watching over my mother.

Sometime in the afternoon, someone arrived.

“Is this where Im Sunhwa is staying?”

At the sight of an unfamiliar face, I kept my guard up and asked who he was.

“Oh, I’m just a delivery person. Someone sent a gift for Ms. Im Sunhwa.”

“A gift?”

The caretaker’s face lit up. Excited, she confirmed the patient’s name, and soon, the hospital room was filled with flowerpots and fruit baskets.

“Where did all of this come from?”

She unwrapped each gift one by one, her face bright with joy.

The once-empty hospital room felt completely filled. The air, once cold and dull, overflowed with warmth and life.

“…….”

Standing in the middle of it all, feeling strangely dazed, I approached one of the flowerpots. It reached up to my thigh and was clearly expensive at a glance. My fingertips brushed over its long, strong leaves.

There was no sender’s name, but the source was obvious.

It had to be him.

The moment I lifted my fingers from the leaf, it flicked away as if shy.

***

Leaving the hospital, I climbed into the backseat of the car waiting for me. Unexpectedly, CEO Jang was already sitting there.

Settling in beside him, I idly played with my fingers resting on my thigh. Every now and then, I stole glances at him from the corner of my eye. But I wasn’t subtle enough—he caught me.

He frowned, clearly displeased, so I quickly spoke up.

“The things you sent to the hospital…”

For some reason, a ticklish sensation spread through my stomach. My toes wiggled inside my shoes as I added,

“…Thank you.”

CEO Jang raised an eyebrow and, as if it was nothing, brushed off my gratitude.

***

My relationship with him had become strangely complicated.

Calling it just a sponsorship arrangement felt too shallow.

We woke up in the same bed, ate meals together, intertwined our bodies, and fell asleep side by side. If I had nightmares, he woke me up. I had become so weak that without him, I could hardly sleep properly. Maybe that was why I had considered relying on medication.

He should’ve found it annoying, but instead, he silently pulled me into his arms. It was nothing like the way he had treated me before—like a stray dog.

Standing in the hospital room, wiping down the flowerpots he had sent, I suddenly clutched my chest.

…Ah, again.

Something inside me trembled. It felt like someone had blown air into my chest, where it had once been hollow and brittle, like dry paper. A soft breeze rippled inside me.

It was the same feeling as back then. When I had held his face while he shaved…

The memory flashed in my mind, and my grip on the cloth tightened.

…CEO Jang.

Arrogant, selfish, a bastard in every sense of the word.

But my only place of rest.

No matter how much I tried to deny it, that much was an undeniable truth.

Maybe this relationship wasn’t as disastrous as I had first thought. Maybe, for now, I could live with it—until the day he lost interest in me.

But contrary to my expectations, that peace didn’t last long.

***

“Take care.”

I saw him off, barely dressed.

This man had an utterly ruthless temperament—so much so that I sometimes wondered if he was trying to break me completely. He pushed me to my limits, only to leave, making sure I was standing at the door to see him out.

I looked up at him, my legs trembling.

“…….”

“…….”

Without a word, he left.

I barely made it back to his room, using the walls for support. It was the only place in the house without CCTV.

“…….”

I doubt he expected me to spend more time here than he did.

With no phone, I had little to do—house chores, staring out the window, or watching TV. I once had a normal life, attending college, working day and night to pay tuition. But that life had long since faded.

Now, all I did was wait for him.

And the scary thing was—I found comfort in it.

The funny thing was that I felt a slight sense of comfort in this situation. Maybe it was because the storm had swept away the cluttered thoughts that had been filling my head. I felt calmer than before.

The perfectly controlled surroundings were silent.

I stared blankly out the window before moving toward the bookshelf, as if drawn by an invisible force. After hesitating for a long while, I pulled out a book. Then, I quickly turned around. Even though I knew no one was there, I felt like a thief, and my feet tingled with unease.

I sat on the bed and quietly flipped through the pages. Before I knew it, I was completely absorbed, my eyes following the printed words. Just as I was deeply immersed in reading, I heard movement outside. Hastily, I put the book back on the shelf.

Only when CEO Jang left the house did I feel safe enough to reach for the bookshelf. One book a day was just right. By the time the man returned, I made sure to put the book back exactly as it was, leaving no trace behind.

Today, too, when I heard movement outside the front door, I rushed to return the book. But in my haste, I ended up bumping my thigh against the man’s desk. I had turned too abruptly, and a deep bruise formed.

Despite knowing my daily routine inside out, CEO Jang always asked what I had done when he returned home. Like a robot, I recited my answer.

“I went to the hospital, then did some housework at home. And…”

“And?”

His hand roamed over my body without hesitation. A large hand trailed down my waist and landed on my thigh. Seeing the dark bruise there, the man chuckled.

“You’re not a kid, so how…”

I instinctively flinched.

“You got this just from bumping into a desk?”

Maybe my skin was just sensitive. The man murmured to himself as he rubbed my thigh. As usual, I let his touch wash over me, but suddenly, an odd feeling crept in. A single suspicion flickered through my mind.

“…But how did you know?”

This had happened inside CEO Jang’s room. But instead of answering, the man pressed his lips together—an unusual reaction. A faint crease formed near his cheekbone. I stared at him intently. He shrugged his shoulders and spoke.

“You seemed to be deliberately avoiding the places with cameras, so I put one there.”

“…Then, the reason you brought in that bookshelf…”

The man didn’t answer, but his silence confirmed my suspicions.

So, the day after he realized I had fallen asleep while reading—he installed a camera in the bookshelf and brought it home.

I clamped my lips shut.

“Now that I’ve told you, you’re going to start avoiding the bookshelf too, huh?”

CEO Jang laughed lightly. Facing him, I let out a small, hollow chuckle.

“…Ha.”

That lopsided sneer wiped the smile from his face.

“What?”

“……”

His eyes, completely devoid of guilt, met mine. Even after being caught doing something unthinkable, the man remained utterly unbothered.

“What’s wrong with it?”

Of course. I quietly shook my head at his question.

I knew better than anyone that he was that kind of man.

And yet, something in my chest ached unbearably.

I tried to hide it, but the corners of my eyes and lips drooped involuntarily.

***

The next day, I sat in the hospital room with a strange expression on my face.

Slowly, I turned my head and examined the things the man had sent me.

…No way.

I walked over to the fruit basket and ran my hands over it.

I took out each piece of fruit and felt inside the basket.

Only after meticulously checking every gap did I exhale in relief.

Nothing.

“…Ha.”

Feeling ridiculous, I rubbed my face with a dry hand.

Then, something caught my eye.

The potted plant.

As if in a trance, I reached out and ran my fingers over its surface.

My fingertips, now hypersensitive, brushed against something smooth.

Lowering myself, I checked.

A tiny glint.

“……”

A small lens was embedded in the pot.

My hand dropped limply.

Something inside me crumbled.

My lower lip trembled.

My blood ran cold, freezing solid.

I had hoped—desperately—that at least here, there wouldn’t be one.

The memory of the man installing a camera inside a safe resurfaced.

Why had I ever thought he had changed?

He had always been this kind of person.

I straightened my bent knees and stood up.

I carried all the potted plants out of the hospital room and took them to the incinerator.

Then, I found a rock nearby and smashed them one by one.

Back in the room, I threw the fruit basket into the trash.

When the housekeeper returned after lunch, she tried to stop me, asking why I was throwing away perfectly good things.

But I didn’t stop.

I didn’t want to leave a single speck of dust from what he had sent here.