ETP Ch 1

33 years old. Beta male Lee Seongyeon was a counselor at the ‘Saebit Psychological Counseling Center.’

The salary was meager, but it was a five-day work week with no overtime, and the working environment was cool in the summer and warm in the winter, making it a perfect job for him.

And today was Friday night. The day that all office workers eagerly awaited.

Seongyeon, also an office worker, was staring at the wall clock, waiting for the end of the workday.

“Counselor Seongyeon.”

Knock, knock. 

A small knocking sound was heard, and a round, white face peeked out from behind the door.

Seongyeon’s dazed expression brightened at the sight of the familiar face he hadn’t seen in a while.

“Bokseung!”

“Counselor, are you free right now?”

“Yes, come in quickly! Kim Bokseung, it’s been a while!”

At Seongyeon’s welcome, Bokseung’s face also bloomed brightly.

Bokseung approached Seongyeon with quiet, neat steps and fiddled with his fingers. The gesture was exactly the same as it had been three years ago when they first met, so Seongyeon smiled even more mischievously.

“Shy guy, how have you been?”

“Yes. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here.”

“Yes, you kept saying you missed me, so I almost got really upset.”

Seongyeon laughed loudly and ruffled Bokseung’s thin hair. Bokseung just laughed happily despite the rough touch.

The two first met three years ago when Bokseung was a freshman in high school.

Bokseung, still a young boy, lived with his paternal grandmother, who was physically and mentally ill, making it difficult for her to care for him.

When Bokseung presented as an omega, she cursed at him daily and often beat him despite her poor health.

Bokseung’s homeroom teacher, unable to bear it any longer, introduced him to the center, and Seongyeon became Bokseung’s counselor, beginning their connection.

There were countless times when Seongyeon took care of Bokseung, who had run away from his grandmother, letting him sleep over. Seongyeon also helped the boy study for exams and took care of various small events.

The two had a close relationship, like brothers. Even now, although it had been a while since they had seen each other in person, they consistently exchanged messages.

After his grandmother passed away during his senior year of high school, Bokseung wandered for a while but seemed to be doing well once he became a college student.

He diligently worked at the part-time job Seongyeon had introduced him to, and from the photos occasionally attached to his messages, his relationships seemed smooth. Seongyeon was relieved that Bokseung could now forget his unhappy adolescence and live a new life.

That was certainly the case.

Was it the dinner they had planned to eat together that was the mistake, or was it the beer they drank cheerfully one after another?

The Bokseung currently in front of Seongyeon’s eyes was shedding tears of sorrow. He didn’t make any common crying sounds; tears just leaked like a broken faucet.

Seongyeon was at a loss as to what to do with the sudden event that occurred during their walk after dinner.

Seongyeon asked Bokseung with a bewildered face,

“Bokseung, Bokseung. Why, huh? What’s wrong?”

“Counselor…”

“Yes. Don’t cry and tell me. I’ll listen to everything. Have you been having a hard time lately?”

When Seongyeon comforted him, Bokseung finally stopped crying. However, his eyes began to well up again, as if he still had much to pour out.

“Oh dear, Bokseung!”

Seongyeon repeated, “Oh dear,” while stroking Bokseung’s shoulder.

His lips, tightly closed like a clam, wouldn’t open. The boy, who seemed to be living well, was festering inside.

While Seongyeon was at a loss for how to comfort the boy, Bokseung suddenly pushed his hand away and started running.

“Uh?!”

Seongyeon desperately chased after Bokseung.

If he had known this would happen, he would have had two fewer beers! Regretting it now was useless, but Seongyeon was that desperate.

Fortunately, like Seongyeon, Bokseung had also had a few drinks, so he was able to catch him before he went far.

“Ha, Kim Bokseung! What are you doing, suddenly running like that! It’s dangerous!”

“Sob! I, sniff… Counselor, I…”

Bokseung sobbed and tried to say something.

“Bokseung! Shall we sleep at my place tonight? How about it? Let’s go to my place and get some rest, and we can talk again tomorrow. You don’t have to talk if it’s too hard.”

Seongyeon wanted to calm Bokseung down first and get away from this precarious roadside. Bokseung’s toes, pointing towards the four-lane road below the sidewalk, kept catching his eye.

As Seongyeon wrapped his arm around Bokseung’s shoulders and tried to pull him further inwards, Bokseung, whose face had been hardened as he stared at the road, suddenly stepped towards the road.

“Kim Bokseung!!!”

Seongyeon, still holding onto Bokseung, tumbled onto the four-lane road with him.

“Ugh. Bokseung, you…!”

A groan escaped Seongyeon’s lips as he absorbed the impact meant for both of them.

Honk!

And at that moment, a loud honking sound filled Seongyeon’s eyes with bright headlight beams.

He didn’t even have the thought to avoid it. Bokseung was still crying in his arms, and Seongyeon was tumbling on the road while holding him.

He thought he met the driver’s horrified eyes. Actually, it happened so quickly, and he was so disoriented, that it was only a vague impression.

Someone said that before a person dies, their entire life flashes before their eyes like a revolving lantern.

Bullshit, he thought, death is just dark nothingness where you feel nothing.

He had lived for 33 years, from birth until now. It was quite a long life to recall everything in just those few seconds before getting hit by a car.

The car, unable to slow down or change direction, eventually ran over the two people who had fallen on the road.

The only fortunate thing was that Seongyeon lost consciousness before he could even register the pain.

Of course, when he opened his eyes, he would either be in excruciating pain or already dead. But for now, the fact that he felt nothing was the only comfort.

With the resolve to properly scold Bokseung this time when he woke up, Seongyeon’s eyelids closed tightly.

🍑‧₊ ⋆˙

Seongyeon’s first thought upon regaining consciousness was, ‘To think I could still be alive after being run over by such a large car. Humans are truly resilient creatures.’ It was an epiphany about the mystery of life.

And the next thing, of course, was the throbbing pain all over his body.

From his face to his toes, he felt like he was trembling, and he wanted to learn the Lamaze breathing technique right away.

“Ugh.”

Seongyeon cautiously voiced.

My goodness, how long have I been lying down for my voice to change like this?

His voice, which was huskier than most people’s, was now clearly clearer. It was different from most cases where the voice gets lower from not using it. The fact that it felt like his body was in that bad of a condition made him frown automatically.

Still, if he was alive, the thought that Bokseung, who was in his arms, would also be okay brought a sigh of relief.

And the moment he turned his head to look to the side.

“Are, are you awake!?”

Counselor Joohyun, who always had her hair neatly styled, was sitting there with a tearful face, her hair a mess.

“Counselor Joohyun…?”

Seongyeon looked at Counselor Joohyun’s hairstyle with a pitiful gaze. How shocked must she have been for the always-composed Counselor Joohyun to be in such a disarray?

However, Joohyun, without fixing her messy appearance, fumbled over Seongyeon’s body.

“Are you okay? Does it hurt? Oh dear, what happened!”

“I, I’m okay…”

But Counselor Joohyun, why are you speaking informally to me?

Seongyeon grumbled inwardly.

Although they worked as counselors at the same center, Counselor Joohyun was younger than him in both experience and age. Still, they usually respected each other by speaking formally, so being suddenly addressed informally upon waking up made Seongyeon frown.

Is it being a young, old-fashioned person to think like this in such a serious emergency?

As Seongyeon blamed his old-fashionedness and was about to ask Joohyun about Bokseung’s safety…

“Counselor, I, Bokseung…”

“Bokseung!! Sob, sob…”

Joohyun collapsed beside Seongyeon and began to wail loudly.

She sobbed so sorrowfully that Seongyeon forgot what he was about to ask and focused on comforting her.

“Counselor, don’t cry. You’ll collapse! Calm down and tell me what happened. Okay?”

The thought that something might have happened to Bokseung briefly crossed his mind, but Seongyeon shook his head again.

He distinctly remembered holding Bokseung tightly until the moment the car hit them. So, he must have cushioned the impact for the boy, who was inside his arms.

Then what did Joohyun’s sorrowful tears mean?

Frustrated, Seongyeon patted Joohyun’s shoulder with his trembling hand. At his urging, she finally seemed to have made up her mind to speak and grabbed Seongyeon’s hand tightly.

“…?!”

Even in an emergency, the sudden physical contact from Joohyun, who was no more than a colleague, made Seongyeon flinch.

“Don’t, sob, be too surprised when you hear this. Sniff, okay?”

He still wasn’t used to her informal speech.

Seongyeon nodded his head with a troubled heart.

“You were in a coma for a week due to the impact of the car accident. Thankfully, you didn’t suffer any major inju, injuries, just bruises… but… sniff. Counselor Seongyeon…”

The more Joohyun spoke, the stranger things became. Even though Seongyeon was right in front of her, she kept mentioning his name as if talking to someone else.

“Counselor Seongyeon, sniff… didn’t wake up…”

Seongyeon tilted his head at Joohyun’s words.

“Did I, die?”

“No. Bo, Bokseung, you just woke up.”

It was strange that Joohyun kept calling him Bokseung. Moreover, hearing such words while he was clearly awake in front of her sent chills down his spine.

“Who are you talking about…”

“Counselor Lee Seongyeon! Bokseung, don’t you remember? He always counseled you! The tall, tanned male counselor with the loud voice!”

Joohyun earnestly described Seongyeon’s appearance.

He just stared at Joohyun with blank eyes as she introduced him in his place.

Perhaps interpreting his gaze, Joohyun gripped Seongyeon’s hand even tighter than before.

“Of course, I understand you’re shocked and this is sudden. Counselor Seongyeon was so good to you, Bokseung. This is a very sad and difficult situation, but let’s live well, even for Counselor Seongyeon’s sake. Okay? I’ll be here to support you.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Joohyun started crying again, overwhelmed with emotion.

Seongyeon couldn’t answer her sincere words.

According to Joohyun, he, who was ‘Lee Seongyeon,’ was dead. Then who was ‘he’?

Joohyun, observing Bokseung’s continuously dazed expression, said she would quickly get the doctor and left the hospital room.

As soon as she left, Seongyeon turned his eyes to look around the room. After confirming that the bed he was lying on was right next to the window, he sat up with a creak and looked at the window.

The round, white face reflected in the window was soon tinged with silent horror.

“Kim Bokseung!!”