CH 71

Muyeol paced around anxiously. The situation was much worse than he had thought. Her safety had been put at stake, attacked by a patient with whom she was supposed to have a relationship of trust. She would have to deal with trauma or it would scar her forever; she would never be able to go back to her life as a doctor. Yiyoung was a strong person, sure, but this was an extremely serious problem.

Muyeol pressed a hand against his forehead, deep in thought as he tried to find a logical solution to this complicated situation. His face remained impassive like a robot, but his heart was far from calm. The fiery anger bubbling inside threatened to burn his heart to ashes.

“I-I got stabbed by… by a knife, and I’m s-so scared…” The rage inside him shot up his throat like bile as he recalled her trembling voice. Muyeol gulped, trying his best not to let it overwhelm him. He could barely hold it back. His throat was on fire, and it was driving him crazy.

In his entire life, he had never felt so enraged before. And unfortunately, this was one situation which called for him to remain as calm as possible and not get emotional.

“Excuse me, president…” Someone called out from behind, and Muyeol turned around. “These are Dr. Yoon’s belongings…”

The person held out a shopping bag filled with Yiyoung’s belongings, and Muyeol received it with trembling hands. Tongue-tied by his emotions, he simply nodded to acknowledge the person.

Once the person left, he reached inside, only to pull her blood-stained clothes. The smell of blood permeated the air, plunging him into fear. Muyeol collapsed, his very soul shaken by the sight of her bloody handprint on her phone. And the ring… He held her belongings to his chest, clinging onto them desperately.

‘Yoon Yiyoung… Shitty Yoon…’

He kept thinking about her; his eyes turned blood-shot.

* * *

Mr. Hong was hurrying to the operating room when he spotted the figure kneeling on the floor. His steps slowed down, unsure if the person was Muyeol. But one look at the figure’s face confirmed it; it was Cha Muyeol, his boss. Yet Mr. Hong could not bring himself to approach him. He stopped dead in his tracks as he watched his boss desperately hug something; it was his first time seeing Muyeol lose his composure.

So Mr. Hong decided to wait, refusing to take a single step forward until Muyeol was done. Once he saw Muyeol move to stand up, he walked forward. “I’m sorry for being late, Sir.”

Unlike the panicked way he had clung to Yiyoung’s belongings earlier, Muyeol seemed serene as he slipped her ring on his hand, calmly putting away her stuff back into the shopping back. However, he still needed to take a few deep breaths before being able to speak; he finally opened his mouth, his voice all low. “How’s the situation?”

Mr. Hong mentally debated over which news to break first. When the director left the meeting room after receiving a call, everyone had begun to panic. And not long after, Mr. Hong received a call which made him panic, too. “Mr. Hong! There’s a rumor going around in the company… about the director’s marriage. The director of S hospital called and…”

Mr. Hong understood why his boss had kept his marriage a secret. Anyone who knew the CEO’s personality and the kind of father he was, would understand why. It was to protect his wife. Mr. Hong would have done the same.

He had been working as a secretary for Muyeol since the man’s intern days. And from the first day until now, Mr. Hong had never seen his boss so perturbed. But he also knew why. Muyeol was trying his best to survive, so he probably couldn’t afford to let anyone see him in such a state.

CEO Cha’s monstrosity was well-known among the employees of the company. Whenever there was a meeting which involved CEO Cha, the employees removed anything and everything which could potentially be used as a weapon; CEO Cha had a habit of throwing the thing nearest to him if the meeting didn’t proceed according to his plans.

His behavior toward his sons was way worse, and because Muyeol refused to surrender to him like Jaeho, he was treated even more awfully.

Some people might say that since Muyeol was able to be born with a silver spoon in his mouth because of his father, he should simply endure such harassment. However, unless they were called a ‘filthy-blooded b*stard’ like he was, they would not be able to understand the pain he had suffered from. No one, no one would ever want to experience the same humiliation that he had.

The situation was so strange and unfamiliar; Mr. Hong couldn’t come up with any words to say to Muyeol. But Muyeol recognized his struggle and asked, “Are there rumors spreading in the company?”

“The hospital director called the chief secretary at the company.”

“Whose number is this?” Muyeol showed his phone to Mr. Hong, the unknown number from before still flashing across the screen.

Mr. Hong didn’t need even a second to answer, “That phone number belongs to Gong Heesu.”

“Where are she and Jaeho now?”

“I heard the chief secretary is blocking them from entering the meeting room.”

“That crazy…” muttered Muyeol.

Mr. Hong knew Muyeol’s anger was directed at Cha Jaeho and Gong Heesu, not at the chief secretary. “What do you want me to do?”

Muyeol fiddled with Yiyoung’s ring. He needed this chance, or all his hard work would be wasted. One wrong decision, and the opportunity to achieve the only thing he had ever wished for in his life would disappear. He turned around, only to be faced by the notification board.

‘In operation. Yoon Yiyoung,’ it read. Seeing her name on there made him tear up.

In that moment, Muyeol made his decision. “Tell Chief Kang to open the door. And tell him to proceed as if they’re in our team now.”

“What?”

“From this moment onward, Executive Director Cha Jaeho will be in charge of the project. Unless he’s out of mind, he would know that he can’t possibly lead the project successfully without Chief Kang. I’m sure he’s smart enough to make a good decision.”