Chapter 177

EP.177 Caught! #2

I approached the doctor with a serious expression.

Barely holding back the laughter that was threatening to spill out.

As I got closer, I could see the doctor’s face turning pale.

She seemed to be racking her brain, probably trying to come up with an excuse. Let’s hear what she has to say.

I grabbed the doctor’s arm, who was standing on the bushes, and she followed weakly.

“What are you doing here?”

At my question, the doctor looked around and calmly retorted.

“That’s what I want to ask you.”

Are you going to get angry instead? Go ahead.

“What are you talking about? Why are you here, noona?”

“I came to meet Yuria, and I saw her coming out of the bar with you. So I followed.”

“What? So you were tailing me?”

“Exactly.”

Bold. I made it clear that I was annoyed.

“Why would you do that… No, how did you even know Yuria was at the bar?”

She answered immediately.

“Yuria’s Device has a tracker, you know.”

That’s true. It’s a decent excuse.

But Yuria didn’t wear her Device today. Didn’t you check that?

“Yuria had nothing on her arm.”

“I always tell Sehwa and Yuria to keep their Devices close. She probably put it in her handbag, so you didn’t see it. Think about it, if Yuria didn’t have her Device, how would I have come here?”

“Wait a minute…”

I took out my phone from my pocket to call Yuria.

But the doctor quickly snatched my phone and stuffed it into her pocket.

Frowning deeply, I raised my voice slightly.

“What are you doing now?”

The doctor’s voice also rose.

“This isn’t important. What are you doing? Hugging Yuria like a couple… Are you messing with me?”

“I was just comforting Yuria because she was feeling down. Besides, I had no such intentions. Yuria was the one who approached me first.”

“You didn’t push her away because you liked it? Fine, let’s say that’s true. How do you explain leaving just one message and ignoring my calls until this late hour?”

“I had it on silent, so I didn’t know, and Yuria kept talking to me… Also, after I sent you a message, you didn’t reply, so I thought you were asleep or busy. So I just left it.”

“Funny. Just say you forgot. Or say you’ve developed feelings for Yuria and don’t have time for someone like me!”

This wasn’t to change the subject, but a genuine reaction born of hurt.

I moved closer to the doctor, whose eyes were welling up with tears.

She bit her lip tightly and glared at me as if she wanted to kill me.

“I gave up everything for you, even my ex-husband’s belongings, and now you’re trying to cheat on me with another woman?”

“What are you talking about… If I wanted to cheat, wouldn’t I have gone to a motel or hotel? Would I have just hugged her in the park and left? And calling her a woman… Is that what you should say to Yuria?”

“Why are you taking her side!?”

The doctor shouted, her voice echoing through the park.

She must have been really upset.

I spoke calmly.

“Don’t overinterpret it. It’s nothing.”

“Then explain!”

“I did explain, but you don’t believe me.”

“Make it believable!”

She’s being stubborn. With a tired face, I reached out my hand.

“Give me my phone first.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Do you realize how strange your reaction is? It just looks like you’re avoiding the question of why you’re here.”

“…..”

“You’re not the type to be unreasonable. If you wanted to meet Yuria, you would have contacted her first.

But Yuria was with me the whole time and never took a single call.”

The doctor let out a sigh.

“Ha, what are you trying to say?”

“I’ll give you a chance. Be honest now.”

“What…! Are you doubting me now?”

Her expression clearly showed confusion.

It’s quite amusing to play along.

“You’re acting suspiciously, noona.”

“Explain properly.”

Trying to change the subject again? You’re digging your own grave…

I’ll play along. But know that the more you act like this, the more advantageous it is for me.

“I already told you. Yuria was feeling down and suddenly needed comfort, so she hugged me.”

“She needed comfort? She’s interested in you. You should have been cold.”

“She was depressed because she almost killed a human. How could I be cold? Could you do that?”

“You always say humans are violent, that they’re ruining the Earth, and now you’re playing the saint? What’s the big deal if a few humans die!? And you don’t even know if anyone died then!”

Ah… I feel a thrill.

Seeing the doctor, whose values have completely flipped.

Of course, we must consider that she’s currently out of her mind.

But the fact that the doctor, who was once all about justice, would say such things in a fit of anger is significant.

My efforts were not in vain.

“This isn’t about humans. The problem is that Yuria is mentally shaken. She’s a Beast Slayer. She has to fight demons in the future, and if her mental state is unstable, she can’t do her job.”

The doctor’s shoulders rose and fell a few times.

After calming her breathing, she let out a long sigh.

I pulled the doctor’s arm and brought her into my embrace.

She struggled for a moment, but after I patted her back, she quickly calmed down.

After holding her silently for a while, I spoke.

“If we keep going like this, we’ll end up fighting more. So let’s go home and talk. How about it?”

“But you…”

“Let’s not talk about this until we get back. I have a lot to say too, but I’ll hold back.”

“…..”

“If you want to keep arguing, say so. If not, stay quiet.”

The doctor, who had been silently listening, wrapped her arms around my waist.

A sign of accepting the proposal.

Without a word, I gently stroked the back of her neck along with her hair.

And as she seemed to calm down, I took her hand, interlocked our fingers, and headed towards the park exit.

**

After finishing my shower in the bedroom bathroom, I chuckled at the neatly folded panties, T-shirt, and shorts on the bed.

Even though she’s mad, she still takes care of me.

As I dressed and walked into the living room, the doctor, sitting on the sofa with a serious expression, asked.

“Have you eaten?”

“I had a lot of snacks at the bar. What about you?”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Alright.”

I let out a tired sigh and plopped down next to the doctor.

Then she turned her legs towards me.

“Jihyuk. Can we talk now?”

“Sure.”

“I… I can’t understand why you left just one message and met Yuria until this late hour. And hugging each other in the park… Even after your explanation, I can’t accept it. I’m still angry, and I think my feelings are completely normal.”

“Alright, I understand.”

“Hold me.”

The doctor suddenly acted spoiled.

I let out a small laugh and hugged her like I did in the park.

The doctor in my arms soon started to sob.

She didn’t cry loudly. Just sniffling and wetting my T-shirt.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t hold back her anger. If that were the case, she would have wailed.

Those tears were a mix of guilt for hiding the tracker and self-pity for letting her emotions take over.

Holding the doctor, I slowly rocked back and forth as if soothing a child.

And then I said.

“I’m sorry for making things difficult.”

At that, the doctor pulled away from me and wiped her eyes.

“…. Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“I wanted to comfort you first.”

“Don’t make me feel more miserable…”

She was asking me to share my thoughts.

I let out a shallow sigh and took out a tissue to wipe the doctor’s eyes.

Then I took out my phone from my pocket and fiddled with it.

“What are you… doing…?”

Ignoring the doctor’s anxious question, I opened the folder with the tracker and showed it to her.

“What are these four files here?”

The doctor’s pupils trembled as if an earthquake had hit.

“As far as I know, these are tracking files for drones. Why are they on my phone?”

“Th-that’s…”

“I’d like you to be honest. Before it gets harder to handle.”

The doctor’s Adam’s apple bobbed heavily.

I could almost hear her swallowing.

Unable to meet my gaze, she finally looked down and apologized.

“I’m sorry…”

“At least you admitted it. In the park, it seemed like you’d rather die than make excuses… No wonder it felt off. I asked Yuria directly at the bar. I asked where her Device was since it wasn’t on her arm. Do you know what she said?”

“…..”

“She said she left it at home. She said she’s in a troubled state and didn’t want to transform even if a demon appeared. She said she’d leave it to Sehwa if anything happened.”

“Ah…”

The doctor let out a sigh and closed her eyes tightly.

Not only was the tracker discovered, but her story in the park was also exposed as a lie.

Cornered like this, anyone would lose their sanity.

It was a reaction that was more than understandable.

I could push the doctor to the brink here.

But I decided to maintain this stance since I started gently.

This approach might work better than getting angry.

“When I tried to call Yuria with my phone in the park, it was to ask her again. To confirm if she really left her Device at home. But you snatched it away. You dug your own grave.”

“…. Jihyuk…”

“Honestly, I’m disappointed. Looking at the file dates, it wasn’t installed long ago… Why did you do that?”

The doctor’s breathing became labored, as if she was having trouble breathing.

After swallowing dryly for a long time, she explained in a trembling voice.

“I was afraid… you might be doing something else…”

“So, were you satisfied with spying on me?”

The doctor flinched.

Speaking softly seemed to scare her even more.

She shook her head.

“It was… just uncomfortable…”

“That day I did drugs with Chae Boyeong, you came to the company and took me to the lab, right? Was that also thanks to this tracker?”

“…. Yes…”

“Seems like it was worth installing. Should I congratulate you?”

As my voice slightly dropped, the doctor grabbed my arm and spoke urgently.

“J-Jihyuk…! I’m sorry…! I won’t do it again…!”

“I’m not blaming you. In fact, I’m grateful. You found me when I was into drugs.”

The doctor looked momentarily confused.

But at my following words, she hung her head like a criminal.

“But I’m really disappointed.”

“I’m sorry… I can only say I’m sorry…”

“Look at me.”

The doctor obediently followed my words.

I could hear her teeth chattering from here.

I smiled warmly at her, trembling like a lamb about to be eaten by a wolf.

“You installed the tracker because you were afraid I might go astray. Not because you didn’t trust me. Right?”

Distrust and caution are a fine line. Touching on that, a glimmer of hope appeared in the doctor’s eyes.

I could even see some reverence towards me.

She nodded hastily.

“Yes… I was afraid you might go in the wrong direction… I was scared something might go wrong…”

“You won’t do this again, right?”

“I’ll… delete it right away… I’ll clean it all up and show you… So please forgive me…”

After speaking, the doctor knelt on the sofa in front of me.

A face full of genuine remorse.

Originally, I planned to make her see Sehwa and me in bed, then amplify her jealousy and violence.

After that, I intended to use various methods to break her mind and reshape her ideology as I pleased, but after hearing her say in the park… that it’s no big deal if humans die, my thoughts changed.

Seeing the doctor like this now, I’m sure it was the right choice to explode here.

Yes, the doctor’s ideology is already largely aligned with mine, so there’s no need to break her mind.

Just keep melting her as I’ve been doing.

Also, there are plenty of ways to make her see a secret meeting scene without the tracker, so let’s not cling to the card I’ve already played.

Smiling kindly, I gestured for the doctor to come here.

Then she rushed into my arms, burying her face in my chest and sobbing.

I spent time stroking her head.

Next Episode―――――――――――――――――――――

---