Chapter 176

EP.176 Caught!

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Tick!

“Ah…!”

Dr. Jennifer Cash flinched as she made a mistake with the polymer welding.

This was already the fourth time. She had messed up four times while working on an important device.

Even during her yoga class, she couldn’t focus and got scolded by the instructor… She wanted to pull herself together, but yesterday’s events kept replaying in her mind, making it impossible.

“Are you okay? Do you want to go home and rest?”

Song Jihyuk’s gentle voice came from beside her.

The flustered doctor stammered in response.

“Ah, no… I’m fine.”

“You’ve been making a lot of mistakes. This is wasting polymer.”

“…..”

“Yuria just contacted me. Let’s call it a day.”

The doctor’s ears perked up.

Yuria contacted him? She must still be bothered by what happened yesterday.

But why did she contact Jihyuk and not her? If it came down to closeness, she was closer to Yuria than Jihyuk was.

Feeling a pang of disappointment, the doctor asked, “What does Yuria contacting you have to do with taking a break?”

“She wants to meet. Here, look.”

Jihyuk showed her his phone, displaying the chat with Yuria.

[There’s something about the Argentina incident. Can we meet alone on Handaegori?] was the message.

It was a bland message, devoid of any emotion, but the word “alone” stood out.

Still, there was nothing particularly suspicious, so the doctor agreed.

“Alright. Let’s stop here for today. Are you leaving right away?”

“Yeah. You should go home and rest.”

“…. Okay.”

The doctor obediently got up and stretched.

Then she suddenly hunched over.

Her lower abdomen was throbbing.

“Ah…”

It didn’t hurt. In fact, it was more like pleasure.

The remnants of yesterday’s intense sex. The doctor’s face turned red again.

To exaggerate a bit, it was the first time she felt like her womb was completely full.

If this kept up, pregnancy might not be just a dream. No, maybe implantation had already happened.

Jihyuk’s seed was that powerful.

“Huu…♡”

The doctor let out a hot breath involuntarily.

Seeing her like that, Jihyuk smirked.

“If you kept working, you might’ve ruined the device’s frame.”

That smile was also a problem.

Every time she saw it, her desire surged.

Her lips trembling, the doctor replied, “Y-yeah… I think I should go home…”

“I’ll drive you.”

“Okay…”

As she got into the car with Jihyuk, the doctor seriously considered making a move on him.

But she held back. Jihyuk had really exerted himself yesterday.

He deserved some rest today.

After chatting with him on the way home, the doctor kissed him goodbye and went inside.

The empty house. Just one person missing made the void feel enormous.

She was on the verge of sinking into depression. The doctor decided to just sleep.

After a quick shower, she flopped onto the bed without even drying her hair properly.

“Haah…”

If she ended up carrying Jihyuk’s child, would she have to change her last name to Song?

Would Jihyuk be happy if she suggested registering their marriage?

What would they name the baby?

She should also stock up on ingredients for pregnancy-friendly meals…

Lying alone in bed for the first time in a while, all sorts of thoughts flooded her mind.

Shaking her head to dispel the thoughts, the doctor closed her eyes, thinking Jihyuk would be there when she woke up.

She hadn’t slept much today, and the warm shower made her drowsy.

Soon, she fell asleep.

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An endless, bottomless abyss.

Edward Parsons was falling into it.

“Uwaaaaah!!”

With a scream that sounded like it was tearing through the air, the doctor and Jihyuk, standing at the edge of the abyss, embraced each other and shared a passionate kiss.

A smile spread across their lips.

A very evil smile.

Edward’s screams quickly faded as he fell.

And the doctor… completely ignoring her ex-husband, surrendered herself to the pleasure Jihyuk was giving her.

Floating in the air, watching herself and Jihyuk from a third-person perspective, the doctor tilted her head.

She noticed that the skin of the other version of herself kissing Jihyuk was a bit pale.

No, not just a bit—it was very pale. So pale that blue veins were visible.

‘What’s going on…?’

That was definitely her.

The hairstyle, facial features, body shape—everything was the same.

But why was only the skin so pale?

Thinking she needed to get a closer look, the doctor naturally flew through the air to behind Jihyuk.

Then,

Flash—!

The eyes of the other version of herself kissing Jihyuk suddenly opened.

Crimson irises and vertical pupils.

The doctor, meeting those ominous eyes head-on, gasped.

“Gasp!”

She jolted upright.

Looking around, everything was dark.

Realizing she had woken from a dream, the doctor suddenly felt a chill and began to shiver.

Her hands were drenched in cold sweat.

Grumbling about the ridiculous dream, she wiped her hands on the blanket and turned on her phone.

[10:23 PM]

Seeing the time, the doctor realized she had slept for a long time.

But where was Jihyuk? At this hour, he should be lying next to her…

“Did he go to the convenience store…?”

Muttering to herself, she unlocked her phone.

About to call Jihyuk, she noticed a message and paused.

[I’ll be a bit late. Go to sleep first.]

The message was sent around 4 PM, and there were no further messages.

Normally, he would’ve called… but there were no missed calls.

Puzzled, the doctor called Jihyuk.

But the call just kept ringing with no answer.

She tried twice, then three more times, but Jihyuk didn’t pick up.

“…..”

Licking her lips, she turned on the location tracker.

She had checked it so often lately that her conscience barely bothered her anymore.

‘Handaegori…’

Confirming Jihyuk’s location, she suddenly felt uneasy.

The chat Jihyuk showed her earlier, where Yuria suggested meeting on Handaegori.

And now Jihyuk wasn’t answering his phone… It was suspicious no matter how you looked at it.

Checking Jihyuk’s exact location, she saw he was at a bar on Handaegori.

Instinctively, the doctor got out of bed and got dressed.

She put on a simple T-shirt, long sweatpants, and a long cardigan, then left the house and started the car.

As she gripped the steering wheel, she thought.

‘Should I really go…?’

No matter how many times she asked herself, it didn’t feel right.

What if she got caught? Just the thought made her vision go dark.

But her gut was screaming at her.

Go. Something’s happening.

It was the same feeling she had before discovering Jihyuk doing drugs with Chae Boyeong.

The doctor clenched her eyes shut.

Was Jihyuk doing something indecent with Yuria in a bar room?

Or was Yuria trying to seduce him by getting him drunk?

If not, were they both rushing to do something even worse…

All sorts of delusions flooded her mind.

Opening her eyes, the doctor stepped on the gas with a determined look.

‘Let’s go.’

She had to go. It was better than sitting around biting her nails in anxiety.

Unconsciously grinding her teeth, the doctor’s right foot pressed harder on the pedal.

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Arriving at Handaegori, the doctor parked in the farthest corner of the public parking lot.

It was now 11:05 PM. Jihyuk’s location was still at the bar.

Getting out of the car, the doctor nervously chewed her nails as she headed toward the bar.

Then she realized.

‘Ah, right… a hat…’

She was supposed to be sneaking around, yet she came out without even a disguise…

Scolding herself for her carelessness, she went into a nearby shop and bought a hat.

After getting a mask from a convenience store, she ordered coffee and cake at a café near the bar.

Pretending to fiddle with her phone, she discreetly kept an eye on the bar’s entrance.

An hour later, she spotted Jihyuk and Yuria leaving the bar.

Holding her breath, the doctor pulled her hat down further and watched them.

Their expressions were quite bright. Their faces were flushed, likely from drinking, and they were smiling.

Convinced something was going on, the doctor left the café and began tailing them from a distance.

The two soon entered a park.

What business did they have in a dimly lit park?

Whatever it was, it had to be something suspicious.

The doctor suppressed her rising anger.

If her suspicions were correct… Jihyuk was as good as dead.

The two sat on a bench deep inside the park and began chatting.

The doctor wanted to get closer but held back.

Yuria’s senses were beyond human.

If she got any closer, Yuria would definitely notice.

So, the doctor had no choice but to endure the burning frustration and watch their actions.

After about ten minutes of talking, the two got up.

They seemed to be leaving.

The doctor hurriedly moved away, but then she saw Yuria wrap her arm around Jihyuk’s neck and widened her eyes.

‘Wh-what is that…!’

Seeing their embrace, the doctor was shocked.

That wasn’t a comforting hug. It was the kind of intimate hug people do when they’re attracted to each other.

What the hell were they doing?

The disgusting sight. Her worst fears were coming true.

The doctor clenched her fists and glared at Yuria as if she wanted to kill her.

Yuria knew Jihyuk was seeing Sehwa.

The important thing wasn’t that, but that Yuria knew Jihyuk was taken.

Yet she acted like this?

It seemed she had overestimated Yuria.

She thought Yuria was a chaste person, but she was wrong.

She was a shameless woman.

In truth, she herself was no better.

She knew Jihyuk was seeing Sehwa and wanted to take him from her.

Of course, Jihyuk had approached her first, but it was her fault for not pushing him away.

‘No! If I think like this, it’ll never end!’

Shaking her head vigorously, the doctor leaned against a tree and pressed her hand against her chest.

Her chest felt hot. It was as if someone was stabbing her heart with a needle.

How hard she had worked to get Jihyuk… and now a rival had appeared out of nowhere.

The doctor surrendered to the wave of anger that surged through her.

She was so angry.

If she didn’t get an explanation soon, she felt like she might commit murder.

Not even trying to calm her ragged breathing, the doctor tried to look at the two again.

But,

“Huh…?”

They had disappeared.

As the doctor looked around in confusion,

“Nuna…?”

A voice full of doubt called out from a distance.

Startled, the doctor turned toward the voice and,

“Ah…”

Her vision spun, and she staggered for a moment.

Jihyuk was standing at the park entrance, looking straight at her.

With a confident stride, he began walking toward her.

‘I’m done for…’

The doctor felt like she was falling into an endless pit of despair.

She was completely done for. How could she explain this?

Her head was spinning, but she had to pull herself together.

She needed to stay calm. There had to be a way out of this.

Thinking that, the doctor crossed her arms and stared at Jihyuk as he approached, her mind racing.

To be continued―――――――――――――――――――――

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